Chapter 261

Under the meticulous care of Young Lady Cuixi, Qu Yanping recovered his health quickly and had now been in Eden for nearly half a year.

His injuries were fully healed, but aside from retaining his physical strength, he could not use any of his cultivation, and during this time he had tried every method imaginable—all ended in failure.

Eden.

He had heard this name mentioned by many cultivators before, and it also appeared in the common knowledge he had acquired as a mortal.

The paradise of Western mythology, the original land where all things lived.

According to the information he gathered, Eden had been completely destroyed in the ancient great war, and its ruins had long been visited by countless powerful beings—even in the Western Cultivation Realm, one could simply buy a ticket to enter.

But what did this town look like in his eyes?

Prosperous, harmonious, all sentient beings coexisted peacefully here; the rare races of myth lived alongside humans.

"Can't finish it? Here, take one." A fearsome dragon-beast walked past Qu Yanping and kindly placed a blue fruit the size of a human head before him.

"Thank you."

Qu Yanping placed the fruit on the chair beside him; the beast had just interrupted his thoughts.

This place had no currency system—when hungry, one picked fruit from the forest; when thirsty, one drew water from the river; production depended entirely on whim; some beings produced piles at once and left them by the roadside for anyone to take, and when rare items appeared, some beings exchanged them through barter.

"I entered the Penglai Ruins—why did I appear in Eden?"

He had tried interacting with the supernatural beings here, but without exception, none of them knew anything beyond Eden—they regarded Eden as the entire world.

And what chilled him most was that two months ago, he had asked a great dragon how large Eden was—the answer was infinite.

'The great God created this boundless paradise, where all living things coexist in harmony.'

'You ask me about the starry sky? There's nothing fun out there—those barren planets are utterly meaningless.'

For Qu Yanping, this was undoubtedly another terrible piece of news, implying two things.

First, he was not trapped in some region of Earth, nor even in a Mystical Realm—he was very likely on another planet or even an entire world.

Second, barring unforeseen circumstances, he could not return to his previous location by his own power.

Although he had never felt a strong sense of belonging, in Eden he could not cultivate.

What did that mean? It meant that if he could not return to his former place or find a way to cultivate, he would remain stagnant for the rest of his life with no progress whatsoever!

"Mr. Qu? I didn't expect to meet you here. Good afternoon." A brown-haired man in a suit walked from behind the fountain, speaking Chinese: "The sunlight today is as bright as yesterday's."

"Mr. Jonas, I've told you many times—instead of trying to extract information about Eastern cultivators from me, you'd be better off using your MI6's strengths to gather intelligence," Qu Yanping said, gazing at the blinding sun, a faint smile on his lips.

"If there's any way out, I'd be happy to share some information—at least then that information would have value."

Eden was not home to only him as a "lost" person—there were many other mortals from Earth.

When Young Lady Cuixi mentioned the word "cultivator" in conversation with friends, foreign intelligence agents came knocking.

Until he met these people, Qu Yanping learned that about half a month ago, every day at noon, an unfamiliar island appeared in the South Pacific, located twenty kilometers outside the Northern Mariana Islands, existing for only one hour.

Many curious adventurers and intelligence operatives from various nations had boarded the island.

According to their accounts, one year here equaled one day in the outside world—the earliest entrants lived here for a year before meeting someone who arrived the next day, but this state was not constant; according to reports from those who had accidentally entered over a decade ago, the time flow was once normal.

"Just call me John. And I think you've misunderstood me—I'm only here for afternoon tea. You seem a bit anxious?"

John smiled, carrying a suitcase; after sitting beside Qu Yanping, he opened the leather case, revealing several loaves of bread, two white porcelain teacups with ear handles, and several packets of instant drink mix.

"I've been here nearly ten years—six years just to find this city-state. I was twenty-seven when I arrived; now I'm thirty-seven."

As he chatted casually, he leaned over and scooped a cup of water from the fountain behind him, shook the packet twice, then tore open the instant drink packaging.

"I heard Eastern cultivators achieve immortality in the end, and even beginners live a hundred years—someone like you shouldn't be in such a hurry."

"After all, you've only been here less than half a year—you've got plenty of lifespan to waste."

"But me? If nothing unexpected happens, I'll be meeting God in a few decades. Well, luckily, God actually exists in this world—and I'm in Eden."

"Hey, do you think God will forgive my first half of life? I once castrated a priest who liked little boys."

John handed a prepared drink to Qu Yanping.

"Try it—don't wait, or it'll expire. A good afternoon deserves good afternoon tea—it's our national tradition."

"Those damn fools in the Logistics Department gave me drinks with only a ten-year shelf life—FK! Now even my last hope is gone."

Qu Yanping did not refuse; he took the drink and looked at the man beside him: "The fruits and crops here—even this water—have longevity-enhancing effects. You could all live for hundreds of years; drinking daily, you could reach a thousand years easily."

"Whoa." John Jonas raised an eyebrow in surprise: "I thought the maximum was maybe a hundred and some years—after all, the oldest outsider here is still from Queen Victoria's era."

Qu Yanping said nothing; John also did not continue the conversation, as if, as he claimed, he had come here only to enjoy afternoon tea.

About half an hour passed; John washed his hands by the pool, dried the cups with a cloth from the suitcase, then began packing up to leave.

"A new Easterner arrived at the Iris Inn—looks like your type," John said as he walked away, picking up his small leather suitcase and heading back the way he came.

Libraries, inns, taverns, fountains, glass—these were all things brought by outsiders; Eden's creatures loved these foreign objects.

"Type…" Qu Yanping's smile slowly faded: "Could it be Gao Sheng and the others?"

He had indeed felt moved by Gao Sheng's life-saving act.

"But if it's Gao Sheng now, it brings no advantage."

After all, he was neither strong nor possessed any Dao-attuned artifacts—he could not help with escaping.

He stood and called out to a five-meter-tall eagle preparing to take flight, handing it the blue fruit beside him.

"If it's convenient, please take me to Chengxi's Iris Inn."

"Hop on—I'm heading there to fight."

"?"

"That unlucky bastard Kuang Dao Kuangdao Sanlang is back."

Sip~

At eleven at night, Su Lin was eating instant noodles on the Water Mirror Peak's training ground, while Kleine edited a video nearby.

Su Lin stared blankly at the edited footage, pointing at Kuang Dao Kuangdao Sanlang in the video, who was entering the only church in all of Eden alongside Qu Yanping to investigate the truth.

"Why is Kuangdao Sanlang in there?"

Random factors—he entered the Eden City-State while it was still in internal testing, so he lived for several years within the time-perception bug and cognitive deception created by Amon.

Ke Lan felt his inner office drone soul awaken again—how long had it been since he'd experienced working past eleven o'clock? Unscrupulous colleagues slacked off beside him while he toiled for his boss's family business.

He seemed to be being hunted, and in his panic, he ignored the sign reading "Under Construction."

Beside him, Song Shuhang glanced cautiously at Zhongli, whose expression was calm—as if he bore no anger or anything of the sort.

"Senior Zhongli, I apologize on behalf of Senior Kuang Dao Kuangdao Sanlang; he went too far this time," Song Shuhang thought for a moment, then spoke up: "How is Senior Ping's health?"

"Mm," Zhongli rested his chin, pondered for several seconds, then said: "He hasn't yet emerged from his deviant cultivation state."

Song Shuhang broke into cold sweat and asked again: "What about the other seniors? Any lasting aftereffects?"

If it had been a normal concert by Senior Zao Hua Fa Wang, that would've been one thing—

But this was Senior Zao Hua Fa Wang, who had chosen the path of musical cultivation within this simulated universe and reached the flawless Ruyi Zhenxian realm through false cultivation!

King Dou Dou even held a challenge: "Hold on for one minute, and you get a Heavenly Dao artifact!"

To recoup his costs, he told Senior Ping before the event that a celestial master skilled in music was hosting a concert—and under the guise of paying respects, gifted him ten tickets!

Was that a concert?! That was a death zone, a life-prohibiting abyss!!!!!

The Battle Buddha Sect had originally prepared emergency measures—using self-sacrificing Nirvana to escort comrades out—but Senior Kuang Dao Kuangdao Sanlang had welded the doors shut.

Misfortune never comes alone—Yu Rouzi then requested Senior Zao Hua Fa Wang perform one more song.

Su Lin paused, then understood: "That's why the number of people queuing for resurrection that day was ten times the usual."

Zhongli nodded: "The Guardian Yaksha General still feels unwell, but the others are fine. As for aftereffects—"

"That's good," Song Shuhang exhaled slightly, relieved for Senior Kuang Dao Kuangdao Sanlang.

"After one resurrection, there's no problem."

Look at the sky! So only the Guardian Yaksha was in the best condition?!

Song Shuhang gazed at the moon in the sky, hoping Senior Kuang Dao Kuangdao Sanlang would hide in Eden forever and never come out.

【Young friend! Hold on just a little longer—we'll be out soon!】

It was a scene of Kuang Dao Kuangdao Sanlang and Seeing Qu Yanping helping each other, searching for a path through a haze of lost history.

Within the mist, countless twisted, fallen beasts roared; tidal waves of fleshy tentacles surged from the earth toward the two men at the cliff's edge.

In desperation, Kuang Dao Kuangdao Sanlang leapt with Seeing Qu Yanping into the thousand-meter sky—but lacking spiritual energy, he could not fly.

【Orewa gantai da mo da!】

After summoning the modified Heavenly Dao artifact, a colossal robot retrieved a high-tech rifle from its shoulder, unleashing a beam of energy capable of annihilating heaven and earth—it pierced the clouds, shattered the endless haze of history, and struck the bright moon above.

After the moon shattered, a space appeared where the moon had been.

It was a desolate land—dry riverbeds and blood-soaked earth littered with the bones of countless beings; occasional mounds rose, faintly resembling ruins of structures.

The giant robot gripped Seeing Qu Yanping as countless light particles drifted down; the next moment, the two broke through the fleshy blockade and soared toward the endless heights of the ruins.

But just as they neared the exit, the Heavenly Dao artifact's energy depleted—they suddenly appeared mid-air; the gray mist below surged upward at terrifying speed, and the false moon began to heal.

In utter despair—

【Sorry, young friend! Confucius said: It's better for a comrade to die than for me to perish! I'll go first—hahaha!】

With lightning speed, Kuang Dao Kuangdao Sanlang stomped on Seeing Qu Yanping's chest, using him as a springboard to leap upward.

Seeing Qu Yanping cursed as the gray mist swallowed him whole, while Kuang Dao Kuangdao Sanlang cheerfully embraced the space ahead.

But at that moment, a speck of green light flickered like a star in the crimson sky of the alien space.

【Where did this Jin Chida come from?!】

The camera suddenly zoomed out, then pulled back—a Jin Chida tore through space with its wings, flying from the distant horizon toward Kuang Dao Kuangdao Sanlang.

Instantly, it halted upon seeing Kuang Dao Kuangdao Sanlang—but less than a second later, it reacted again: its wings folded, and a long spear materialized before them.

The spear's shaft and tip gave off the texture of jadeite; as the Jin Chida activated it, the tip grew ever greener.

【We've had no past grudges or recent quarrels! Sir… oh shit!】

The scene abruptly switched to slow motion—a kite-shaped bird sculpted from jade and basalt had already come face-to-face with Kuang Dao Kuangdao Sanlang.

Kuang Dao Kuangdao Sanlang was instantly impaled and driven into the gray mist, never to resurface.

Meanwhile, the false moon in the sky gradually healed; as time passed, the Eden City-State below, after its battle, returned to its original state.

And the edited video ended at this moment.

Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!

Warm applause erupted.

"Excellent!" Su Lin clapped, delighted: "This movie will be a huge hit!"

"Does anyone care about Senior Kuang Dao Kuangdao Sanlang's future?" Song Shuhang covered his face: "Though, he got what he deserved."

Damn it—Eden isn't safe anymore. Thank goodness this is a simulation—almost got brainwashed by the setting. Thank goodness this is Senior Su Lin's domain; otherwise, Senior Kuang Dao Kuangdao Sanlang would spend the rest of his life in endless pursuit.

"Su Lin, what about the soundtrack?" Ke Lan asked: "I don't think any horror music fits the previous scene."

The audience fell silent—they admitted the editing was excellent, the fleshy monsters terrifying, yet something felt missing.

Su Lin thought for a moment, then pulled out a black disc.

"What's this?" Ke Lan asked.

"A remix of Zao Hua Fa Wang and the True Creator."

(End of Chapter)