Chapter 249: We

The Fool is a true deity existing in this world.

He possesses many titles, including the Mystic Lord, the King of Time and Space, the Fate Beacon, the Avatar of the Source Vault, the Dominator of the Spirit Realm, and the Great Ruler Above the Gray Mist, but his followers universally revere him as "The Fool."

"It seems this year's sponsorship ads worked well—barely had the competition ended when a lost lamb came seeking guidance." Father Amon tapped his chest four times, but his expression made it impossible to feel any clerical solemnity.

"Father Amon, you misunderstand." Gu Yue Fang Yuan waved his hand, signaling Qu Yanping to step forward, saying: "This brother Qu has information regarding the Heavenly Dao relic 【Bieyun Flute】 unearthed from the Penglai Ruins—he wishes to exchange it for a certain reward."

"I know—I watched that match too." Amon smiled, his tone tinged with regret: "I thought perhaps you'd also want to learn about the glorious deeds of our great Savior, the Fool, and might even feel the call."

"I believe in the greatness of the Fool, but I'm not accustomed to placing my hopes and ideals in deities. I'm sorry to disappoint you." Gu Yue Fang Yuan refused politely, like a gentleman of gentle jade.

"Come with me." Amon nodded and turned toward the inner room.

The group followed him, passing through an iron door into a corridor lined with piles of bones from all manner of creatures.

"If you don't wish to become believers, you might consider becoming employees."

"Our Yuzhe Sect's benefits are quite good: four days on, three days off, nine to five, weekly divine-group team-building events; internal staff enjoy cross-space delivery services; the top three performers annually in regional business metrics receive angelic blessings; the top three in overall regional metrics receive sealed artifacts as rewards."

"Far better than some heartless guilds that demand 24/7 labor and corrupt capital that deserves to be hanged from streetlamps."

Father Amon turned his head slightly backward, adjusting his monocle as he said:

"So, are you really not considering it? Join now and receive a resurrection spell that resets time—Lu Mian, the divine favored of the neighboring sect, swore by it."

"Why the neighboring sect?" Qu Yanping couldn't help asking—he admitted, the offer of a free resurrection spell had caught his attention.

"Because my Lord is poaching talent." Father Amon said seriously: "Frankly, someone like Mr. Qu ought to join our Yuzhe Sect."

"Your kindness is overwhelming, but I have no intention of joining any organization for now." Qu Yanping intended to avoid affiliating with any faction until he fully integrated into this world, lest he expose some of his secrets.

"What a pity." Amon turned back, disappointed; no one spoke along the way.

Torches lined both sides of this bone corridor; the path ahead stretched endlessly—surely some spatial technique was at work.

After walking several minutes, Qu Yanping began recalling events from the Spirit Feast.

Though called a Spirit Feast, it was more like a Dao-discussion—the time flow inside the private chamber differed entirely from the outside; nearly one dish per day, each portion astonishingly vast, and only after ten full days did they emerge from the chamber.

Outside, less than two shi had passed.

These cultivators were all extraordinary; through exchanges of cultivation insights with Gu Yue Fang Yuan and the others, Qu Yanping gained much, and he also shared insights on the principles revealed by his Heavenly Eye Divine Art.

Simultaneously, he used his Heavenly Eye to point out issues in their cultivation, and shared some techniques from the Huan Yu Realm—though not outstanding, they offered insight into the development of the body and spirit.

Under these circumstances, the three grew warmer toward him; they exchanged views on matters, shared amusing incidents from their cultivation journeys—it was truly a feast where host and guest both rejoiced.

Now Gu Yue Fang Yuan, Li Feiyu, and Gao Sheng were all quite familiar with him.

After exchanges and probing, Qu Yanping felt these cultivators, though intelligent and shrewd, held classic righteous-thinking views: when it came to commoners, each was deeply concerned with their welfare and development, and had clear perspectives on the relationship between cultivators and mortals.

【They don't seem to be demonic—even Gu Yue Fang Yuan, a Gu cultivator, leans toward the righteous camp.】

Then, under the pretext of his ignorance of the cultivator world, he subtly inquired about matters concerning this world's cultivator realm.

These cultivators told him this—

【On this planet, Immortals, Gods, Demons, Monsters, Spirits, Essences, Weirds, Cultivators, and Mortals coexist.

In ancient times, a cataclysmic upheaval occurred; after it, the Heavenly Dao shattered, followed by the collapse of the Immortal Realm and the destruction of the Divine Realm, the Six Realms of Rebirth vanished, and countless ancient greats fell one after another—both East and West were left in ruin.

The surviving greats ceased interfering in mortal affairs almost entirely; 1,700 years ago, the Lord of the Lime Moon Immortal Court and the vast majority of surviving greats entered a mobile ruin and never emerged again.

Another 207 years passed, and the last remaining Underworld collapsed; a spiritual resurgence occurred—ghosts were infected by the Rebirth Law, and a race of "ghosts" emerged, seeking to devour all life; these ghosts had no self-awareness, yet varied in strength, wielding various laws; their most vexing trait was their utter indestructibility.

In humanity's despair, an ancient great forcibly awoke and turned the tide; he reached the peak of transcendence, yet even his might could not withstand the endless, indestructible ghosts.

Thus, that great willingly submitted to the Rebirth Law's corruption, becoming a 【Heavenly Dao Relic】 eternally hunting ghosts—having lost his self, he still wanders the world, hunting and suppressing the remaining ghosts.

739 years later, the greats returned; they found a way to gradually restore the world, and thus the Separation of Heaven and Earth occurred.

In the ensuing millennia, the transcendent world and the mortal world overlapped yet remained forever parallel; mortals' joys, sorrows, partings, and reunions lay before the cultivators' eyes, yet cultivators could only sit high upon cloud thrones, watching sunrises and sunsets, moon phases wax and wane.

Cultivators used their great power to mend the Heavenly Dao and recast the Three Realms and Six Realms of Rebirth; the shattered Great Myriad Worlds and Minor Thousand Worlds returned to the void.

Until roughly a century ago, the Three Realms and Six Realms were nearly restored, and the effect of the Separation of Heaven and Earth began to weaken; cultivators began returning to this world.

Yet even upon their return, the ancient glory was gone—now it is the age of mortals.

Whether demonic or righteous, all factions united and signed a pact.

That pact: allow mortals to develop freely, while cultivators maintain separation from mortals; occasionally, individuals with anomalous abilities cause disturbances, but they are swiftly dealt with by specialists—until…

The physical bodies of the Immortal Emperor and the Lord of Light suddenly appeared, and their battle tore a hole in this pact.】

Even in its current impoverished state, this cultivator world is already pitiful—what would the Huan Yu Realm's cultivator world be? A beggar realm?

Moreover, even after several days had passed, Qu Yanping still felt a chill when he thought of this, because he had, in a moment of inexplicable impulse, asked a question.

【"Which mythological figure is this Immortal Emperor? Which one from Journey to the West does he correspond to?"

Everyone shook their heads.

"We don't know. No one in the cultivator world knows who this Immortal Emperor is—not even the ancient greats recognize him."

Qu Yanping had asked then: "Wasn't the Lord of Light originally one with him?"

Gao Sheng shook his head and replied:

"Our sect's Lord of Light, when watching TV, would say upon seeing the Western one: 'No wonder it's me—so damn cool.'"

"Do you know what he said when he saw the Immortal Emperor?"

Qu Yanping, of course, did not know; Gu Yue Fang Yuan answered: "He said, 'I hate purple. This man is definitely not me.'"

In distant history and records—even in the memories of the greats—this Tian Di had never appeared; they had impressions of the Western one, but knew nothing of any connection between him and the Eastern Immortal Realm.】

Tap tap tap

A soft knocking sound arose; Qu Yanping pulled his attention back.

Amon pressed down the doorknob, applied slight pressure inward, and the plain door opened, revealing an interior lined with stacked bookshelves—a library.

The scent of ink mingled with a faint orchid tea fragrance filled the space; a small white table stood at the far end, and a figure steeped in scholarly aura sat cross-legged on a wooden chair.

Sunlight streamed through the glass onto his position; he sat quietly, turning the pages of the book in his hands, writing with a feather pen on slightly curled paper.

"Mr. Miss Kelaien, this Mr. Qu wishes to exchange information on a Heavenly Dao Relic for some compensation." Amon clasped his hands behind his back and stepped aside to make room, saying: "This is Mr. Miss Kelaien, our Yuzhe Sect's ancient scholar."

Hearing Amon's voice, Mr. Miss Kelaien put down his feather pen and smiled: "That's excellent news, Mr. Amon."

He turned his head, facing everyone directly—then everyone noticed a single eyepiece, carved from crystal, resting over his right eye socket.

"Mr. Amon, you are indeed highly competent," Mr. Miss Kelaien smiled meaningfully.

Gao Sheng and Li Feiyu instinctively glanced at Amon, only to see his smile frozen on his face, as if petrified.

Immediately, Father Amon, still smiling, turned to look at Gu Yue Fang Yuan and said: "This truly is a surprise—I thank you on behalf of Mr. Miss Kelaien."

Qu Yanping, upon hearing this, looked toward Father Amon.

"Mr. Miss Kelaien has long awaited news of the Heavenly Dao artifact 【Bieyun Flute】," Father Amon explained with a beaming smile to Qu Yanping. "He's neglected tea and meals, poring over texts for months—finally, there's some progress. So I thank you on behalf of Mr. Miss Kelaien."

"Your relationship must be close," Qu Yanping replied politely. "You and Mr. Miss Kelaien must share deep friendship."

"Hah—cough, cough!" Gao Sheng suddenly coughed twice. Seeing Qu Yanping's gaze turn to him, he quickly adjusted and said: "Sorry, I just remembered my senior brother Lingye—he's also deeply interested in Heavenly Dao artifacts, and…"

"Our relationship is close too, hmm."

"It's just some information—I can relay it to your senior brother later," Qu Yanping smiled slightly, showing his generosity.

"Really? Thank you, Brother Qu!" Gao Sheng said gratefully.

Clap, clap.

Mr. Miss Kelaien clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention back.

"So, Mr. Qu, what is your information, and what do you wish to exchange it for with our ancient scholar?" Mr. Miss Kelaien picked up the cane leaning against his chair, then somehow summoned a top hat from nowhere.

Qu Yanping stared at this dressed-up Mr. Miss Kelaien and suddenly realized—wasn't this the man he'd seen during the time-stop? Except for the crystal eyepiece on his face.

A master who manipulates the laws of time.

'I wonder whether he relies on a Heavenly Dao artifact or possesses this ability intrinsically,' Qu Yanping thought to himself.

Regarding the Penglai Ruins, Gu Yue Fang Yuan's reply was that he had found a broken "key"—if restored, it could open the gate to the depths of the Penglai Ruins.

By normal logic, this key was an item impossible to repair, unless time flowed backward and the past was restored.

He took a deep breath and spoke with calm composure: "Mr. Miss Kelaien, I wish to exchange for one-time usage permission of the Heavenly Dao artifact 【Talisman: Yesterday Repeated】."

Heavenly Dao artifact 【Talisman: Yesterday Repeated】: A unique artifact of the Yuzhe Sect's Ancient Scholars' Study Group, possessing partial living traits, fond of scholars who pursue lost histories, granting them the chance to summon itself. Its effect: to reproduce a thing or person's past state.

This unimaginable ability was utterly unknown to Qu Yanping, but recent experiences had granted him some immunity—and he now had sufficient interest in the relics of Penglai Immortal Island.

That was the place where the Heavenly Dao artifact 【Bieyun Flute】 had been unearthed; rumors said some great cultivators still wandered its outer zones, unable to penetrate deeper—for countless cultivators, it was an untouched treasure trove.

Gu Yue Fang Yuan actually valued Qu Yanping's eye technique, for that place now suffered from temporal and spatial chaos, with shattered miniature worlds mingling within—step wrong, and you'd be lost forever.

'If this eye technique can peer into the origins of Heavenly Dao artifacts, it should also be able to find the correct path,' Gu Yue Fang Yuan had said at the time.

Gu Yue Fang Yuan sought Li Feiyu because of the latter's Heavenly Dao artifact 【Palace of Heaven Vase】, whose related information had long been sought by ancient scholars of Dongtinghu.

Li Feiyu clearly did not wish to expose information about his Heavenly Dao artifact, so he made a deal with Qu Yanping.

'Brother Qu, since you've just entered the cultivation world, you likely have no resurrection methods. I'll trade you two resurrection methods for your information—exchange it with the Yuzhe Sect for usage permission of the Talisman. How?'

Qu Yanping briefly weighed the costs and benefits and agreed. No matter how easily ordinary cultivators might access resurrection methods in this world, what he lacked most was a second chance.

Especially since items and spells related to resurrection were often expensive—hermits typically needed half a year's work to afford one.

The Yuzhetian Guild paid well—three months' wages bought one—but it was said cultivators who joined often spent part of their salary buying pills from the neighboring Huoyudan Alliance.

Mr. Miss Kelaien curled his lips into a smile: "Then, sign the contract."

He pulled out a golden parchment, inscribed with clauses in this world's Chinese.

"A notarized contract from the Liyue Immortal Court," Gao Sheng stepped forward to examine it. "Those who break it turn to stone, eternally bound—copied from the legacy of the fallen God of Contracts, Morax. No one knows how the Immortal Court's lord obtained it, but they make plenty of spirit stones selling these contracts every year."

Without hesitation, Qu Yanping signed the contract, and Mr. Miss Kelaien signed his name upon it as well.

"I heard one phrase."

The phrase was short, and its meaning left Qu Yanping baffled—he even doubted whether this single phrase could truly exchange for usage permission of a Heavenly Dao artifact.

Mr. Miss Kelaien fell silent for dozens of seconds, then, under everyone's gaze, pressed down his top hat and said: "Interesting."

Swish.

The other threw something—Qu Yanping caught it instantly. He opened his palm: a carved stone, marked with a strange pattern.

"Take it. One-time use only."

Qu Yanping felt disappointed—he'd hoped the man might casually reveal the origin of the 【Bieyun Flute】, after all, he'd risked his cultivation and life to obtain this information.

"Mr. Miss Kelaien, can you reveal anything about that Heavenly Dao artifact?" Li Feiyu asked.

"Heh, do you pay?" Mr. Miss Kelaien smiled. "Tell me about your Palace of Heaven Vase, and I'll tell you."

Li Feiyu shook his head and turned to leave.

"Related to Hun Tian Di," Mr. Miss Kelaien said suddenly, watching Li Feiyu's retreating back.

Li Feiyu paused for a moment, then continued walking—he clearly hadn't been swayed.

"Hun Tian Di." Qu Yanping froze. Though vague, this hint had revealed far too much.

Cultivators in this world really are easygoing, Qu Yanping thought, adding a label to Mr. Miss Kelaien: "Good person."

(End of Chapter)