Chapter 268

「Ah!!! 」

Chen Nan let out a deafening roar to the heavens, his black hair standing rigidly on end like a divine demon; an infinite will descended from the sky, forcibly exposing all his secrets beneath this unresistible force.

In the night, light elements coalesced into a six-winged silhouette, a grand and solemn melody resounding in vast harmony, singing of the arrival of a glorious divine realm.

Beneath a sky split between night and day, the position of the God of Light rose nearly infinitely; in carrying out Heaven's will, the avatar's strength far surpassed the original.

Endless starlight shimmered across heaven and earth, ten-thousand-zhang divine light plummeted vertically.

「Life. 」

Thus, boundless vitality flooded into Chen Nan's body, and the myriad spiritual consciousnesses, divine and demonic remnants, slowly awakened from chaotic void.

Within the Divine Demon Diagram, countless ancient immortal and godly soul-shadows stood densely packed.

Vast soul fluctuations surged like a world-ending meteor striking the ocean, raising tidal waves; the soul energy stirred here was sealed by Su Lin, and the unrelieved power even surpassed the speed of light, racing toward the depths of the starry void.

「Yes, just like that. 」

A chilling wind, stirred by divine light, whipped across Su Lin's face; he smiled faintly with delight—when suddenly, a jade ruyi surged toward him with overwhelming divine power.

Su Lin was not startled; he had anticipated it. He extended one finger to block the jade ruyi.

「Du Gu Xiao Xuan, not bad. 」

He flicked lightly; the jade ruyi flew backward, leaving behind a phantom, dazzling figure.

「Who are you?! 」

Facing the overwhelming disparity, she showed no fear—instead, she shouted out.

Su Lin did not answer his question; instead, he directly extracted the residual souls from Chen Nan's body, and the next moment, he brought the entire Water Mirror Peak to the vicinity of a bronze altar piercing the clouds.

This was the Ruins of Penglai, also a world forcibly opened.

Amidst the gazes of countless cultivators, Su Lin's true body donned the Tianhe Battle Robe and scattered the struggling, writhing 「flame」 from the God of Light's avatar into every corner of this world—in an instant, sparks ignited and lit up the vast realm.

On Earth, all beings saw another world appear in the sky: mountains and rivers, sun and moon, stars, bronze altars, towering ancient trees, broken steles and ruined walls.

Each city's inhabitants saw different scenery, yet the sole commonality was that countless flame-like lights rapidly filled the sky, and these lights soon transformed into immortal gods, divine demons, and strange beasts.

Roars of dragons echoed, crimson bloodlight surged into the high heavens, divine light and demonic miasma surged together.

Billions upon billions of souls awoke; in an ocean of collective soul force, countless supreme beings roared in alien tongues, declaring their return to heaven and earth!

The moment of return was the moment their residual souls fully awakened—these immortals, gods, demons, and monsters had originally intended to fully awaken, restore themselves to their peak, and battle 「Heaven's Dao」—but now they were plunged into confusion.

They stared at the returning vitality within themselves, even figures from the previous mythic age long eradicated by Heaven's Dao could not believe their own reemergence.

「Alive?! 」

Could something in this world truly resurrect them?! Where had the evil Heaven's Dao gone?! They all turned their gazes toward the bronze altar.

「Let me introduce you, 」 Su Lin said slowly, standing shoulder to shoulder with his avatar: 「I am the director of this grand drama. I have granted you temporary revival to ask a small favor—and in return, in the future, I will grant you a small favor as well. 」

「Who are you, and what is your purpose? 」 asked a fire-elemental deity.

One side could not fathom the truth; the other exuded an unfathomable aura, like facing a heavenly abyss.

「This world is not your original world, and I—」 Su Lin clasped his hands behind his back, took two steps forward, and said: 「You may regard me as Heaven's Dao's emissary—or as Heaven's Dao itself. 」

The earth sank; the high heavens tore open.

The moment Su Lin finished speaking, countless killing techniques came one after another.

「Kill! 」 Shouts shattered the clouds; though many beings pondered Su Lin's words and analyzed the situation, under such a vast base, there was always some 「foolhardy」 creature charging ahead.

But when the foremost warriors were pierced through by a spear of light, it was certain—this was a war to the death.

Everything happened too fast—even Chen Nan could not react in time, let alone explain.

「It seems you are unwilling, correct? 」

The Sky-Blue Jade Void Sword materialized in his hand; Su Lin smiled at the legions of powerhouses scattered across the heavens.

Azure sword qi glowed brighter than the blue sky; within the dazzling veil of starlight, the indistinct faces of the 「Immortal Emperor」 and 「Deities」 charged into the overwhelming onslaught of destruction.

Vast energy waves swept all directions, amid the lamentations of gods and the furious roars of billions of living beings.

One world.

Rivers ran red with blood.

To the eyes of Earth's beings, this was a rebellion against the supreme—they had witnessed a scene destined to be etched into history.

Gods and Buddhas fell, celestial dragons wept blood; even the Buddha, once compassionate, who had fallen into demonic ways, could not harm those two in the slightest—demonic titans bearing boundless miasma were sliced in half by a single sword, a phoenix larger than a city had its wings severed and fell from the sky in lament, a peerlessly beautiful immortal maiden had her head severed and, unwilling, dissolved into energy to empower her companions.

A tragic and resolute scene unfolded; countless hearts screamed within: what could have happened to make demons and immortals unite to kill these two?!

Golden-armored angel legions were slaughtered by crimson-armored angel legions; groups of Eastern-style warriors, led by their commanders, sacrificed themselves in slaughter.

Boundless slaughter.

It was slaughter without any doubt.

Moments later, the celestial phenomena vanished; all remained immersed in the sorrowful, harrowing scene, unable to tear themselves away.

Their spirits, fragile and shaken, nearly plunged into despair from the vision—when suddenly, above every city, a transcendent figure appeared, standing in empty space, dressed in varied attire, male and female, old and young.

Their only commonality: each held a golden bronze bell. With the ethereal, melodious chime, people's emotions gradually calmed; their memories of the preceding scene faded—not forgotten, but no longer as vividly etched.

「You're really awesome, 」 one Daoist gazed skyward, voice filled with astonishment: 「Are you trying to defy Heaven?! 」

「Brilliant! Beat the crap out of him, Wuhu~! Dragon Grandpa's just watching you fight! 」 Purple Gold Divine Dragon wore sunglasses, gleefully watching his former comrades being slaughtered—among them were surely a few he disliked; he just clapped his hands.

「Is this... really okay? 」 Chen Nan, though aware these elders had long perished, could not bear to see them slain like this.

But they struck first; Chen Nan could not stop them—and after experiencing this time, he understood that on Su Lin's territory, life and death were not the most pressing concern.

This kind of ruthless person

「I got no hair! O Great God of Light, I'll never steal fruit again, QQ waaah! 」 Long Baobao shuffled back several steps in terror—he had just watched a celestial dragon explode into powder.

「Destroy the evil Heaven's Dao! Death is nothing!! 」

A passionate, stirring voice echoed across heaven and earth; the last immortal god triggered self-destruction—the force sweeping all directions struck Su Lin, yet amounted to nothing more than raindrops.

「I hate it! A grand plan spanning millennia—thwarted at the final moment! 」

The exquisite goddess's flesh shattered! A blood blade slashed toward Su Lin, only to instantly dissolve.

Blood rain fell from the sky; the battered heavens and earth were stained crimson.

Su Lin gazed at the desolate scene; Du Gu Xiao Xuan, urged on by Pizi Long and Chen Nan, had not moved—but now she stared fixedly at Su Lin, for she held back not because she mattered, but because her presence made no difference.

"Did you record it?" Su Lin called to the crew. Beihe Sanren raised a trembling thumb.

Su Lin nodded, then cast a rule-based sound barrier over Beihe Sanren's crew and all participants at the Penglai Ruins.

Snap—

Su Lin snapped his fingers, and the fallen beings reversed in time, returning to their state just before death.

To launch attacks using life-empowered flesh is like punching cotton—you might as well punch it to strengthen your body.

"Evil Dao!"

The same reckless fools led again, but this time, many beings understood the situation and stood still, watching.

Seeing the opponent was annoying, Su Lin tossed aside the Tianqing Yu Xu Sword and launched straight in with his fists.

"Help or not?"

"Evil Da—"

"Can you speak properly?"

"Evil—"

"Won't speak, huh?"

"You—"

Punch after punch landed on the opponent's face—no technique, only rule and authority crushing down.

"Enough?" Su Lin gripped a god clad in black battle armor, eyes red, and asked the surrounding immortal gods: "Is his brain broken?"

"He's the Mad God, but he should be able to communicate normally," said Du Gu Xiao Xuan.

"I just asked you to help—why are you playing with your life?" Su Lin seized the god's throat and lifted him, warning: "If you cause trouble again, I'll send you back to sleep."

The Mad God could summon no power; he strained to force out words: "What do you want me to help with? Say it! I never said I wouldn't help!"

Su Lin: "."

He tossed the god back into the dark tide of divine and demonic armies.

"I should've said this before—this world is not your original one, and I have no connection to the Dao of your world. To prevent misunderstanding, I restate it clearly," Su Lin said, scanning the surroundings.

"Your world's Dao is the collective will of all beings, a gathering of resentment. All beings destroy the Dao; the Dao destroys all beings."

"But here, heaven and earth are small—I am the greatest! Your fate is mine, not heaven's! All beings destroy the Dao and sip tea."

"Even if your world's Dao came here, he'd have to crouch with his hands on his head. Understood?"

Su Lin held his thumb and forefinger apart, continuing:

"I'm just a bit stronger than him."

All living beings froze at Su Lin's words—this exceeded their expectations; even the most optimistic had assumed the old Dao had been destroyed and this was a new one.

But what was this being saying? Wasn't this too fantastical? Other worlds? Shouldn't he listen to himself?

"I want you to live in this world for a while—settle grudges, fight, risk your lives. When this is over, you'll return to Chen Nan's body."

Su Lin reached across space and snatched Chen Nan over, saying:

"This is your village's hope—the living Divine Tomb. Use this chance to train him, pass on knowledge, and raise your future success rate."

"Now—who agrees? Who opposes?"

Chen Nan bowed respectfully to the divine and demonic warriors: "Chen Nan of the Chen Clan, greetings, elders."

Immediately, some who recognized him opened their mouths—but Su Lin's divine sense swept unchecked over the divine and demonic hosts, forcing them into silence.

After ten seconds passed with no opposition, Su Lin nodded and said:

"You're free to act as you wish. Later, I'll tell you what to watch for. If nothing urgent, proceed to the newly created Penglai World to reside."

As soon as Su Lin finished, living beings began vanishing in streaks of divine light, like a rainbow rain across the sky—yet many still stared at Su Lin and Chen Nan beside him, as if wanting to speak.

"I leave it to you," Su Lin slapped Chen Nan's back and vanished.

At that moment, the Purple Gold Divine Dragon manifested his true form beside Chen Nan: "Aowu~ Does anyone know me, Great Master Zi Feng? No time for old stories—hand over your divine arts and secret techniques! Hey, why are you staring so wide-eyed? That god just now? He's my brother. Got it?"

"Time-Space God, why didn't you attack me just now?" Su Lin, carrying Shuijing Peak away from its former location, said to the white-haired elder beside him: "If you had, you might've held out a little longer."

"You jest, Elder," chuckled the white-haired elder. "My soul fragment's vitality comes from you; my Time Heart and Space Heart also come from you. I'm grateful beyond words."

He had known the future's outcome from the start—why risk getting beaten?

After speaking with Su Lin, the Time-Space God smiled and walked into the Penglai Ruins, becoming a river of time; the hazy radiance made Penglai grow ever more complete.

"Chen Nan is literally a walking treasure trove of talent."

Su Lin sighed, then closed his livestream in the chat group.

Yes, he had opened a livestream.

If life isn't for shining before others, it's meaningless.

Why had he pushed so hard just now? Naturally—to display his glorious image before his groupmates. My splendor must be admired by all realms.

Look at the comments—everyone was too focused to interact with fans. Hehehe.

Xing: "Is this some live-action movie? Feels like terrible acting."

Lu Mingfei: "Here we go again."

Yi Leina: "I'm used to it."

Ye Fan: "Tonight, Pang Bo and I are eating hot pot. Anyone joining?"

Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan: "Song Shuhang, my teacher's been missing for days—ask Master Yaoshi and other alchemists if they've seen him? I'm about to vomit from pill refining."

Song Shuhang: "I'll ask. But honestly, Senior Su Lin looks exactly like a villain."

Weigong Shilang: "Such a hopeless scene. Indeed, never act impulsively. Count me in for hot pot."

Penglai Mountain Huiye: "Why did the internet suddenly cut out? @Su Lin"

Meng Qi: "Won't this scene get censored? The broadcasting authority won't approve this."

Meng Qi: "By the way, Admin, you're so powerful—could you spare a moment to save little Meng?"

Meng Qi: "Can I bring the Demon Buddha along? Didn't you just chop down a Buddha a moment ago?"

Han Li: "Wait until I've returned before you come over."

Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan: "+1"

Ye Fan: "+1"

Song Shuhang: "+"

Zhang Chuang: "+1"

Zhang Chuang: "Wait no—Lord Tianzun, please go ahead. The path is this way. I'll return first to burn incense for you."

Su Lin gazed up at the sky at a forty-five-degree angle; at a moment like this, there ought to be a rain to wash away disappointment—the gray, oppressive sky resembled that summer from the early 2000s.

People live for themselves; they don't necessarily need others' approval.

What is righteous? What is villainous? Merely subjective definitions.

Laughing loudly to the heavens—that's right, I forgot one thing.

Su Lin: "Don't come over, please. @Meng Qi"

Meng Qi: "I'm surnamed Su too, Boss—we were family five hundred years ago. Can you really be heartless?"

Su Lin: "Can you really be heartless?!"

Zhongli: "Actually, you needn't panic. From my personal experience, the chat group has its own divine qualities—you needn't worry that the Demon Buddha will sense anything because of its appearance."

Zhongli: "If you leave your own world, before you block their perception or sever the connection, trouble is likely to arise."

Meng Qi: "Sigh, fine then. I guess I'll just go become Yuanshi Tianzun."

Damn, Su Lin felt a long-held complaint stuck in his throat, unable to voice it.

Ye Fan: "6"

Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan: "6"

Song Shuhang: ""

Zhang Chuang: "Stop being Fan, Fan's dead—when can I rip apart a nuclear bomb with my bare hands?"

(End of Chapter)