Chapter 282: Will You Sign the Bond of Servitude?

Time flows gently, years drift slowly. Years of memories and experiences can turn an ordinary peddler into a local warlord, or reduce a mighty prince with grand ambitions to a drunken wastrel.

Immortals are untouched by the erosion of countless eons.

In Shi Huanyu's Immortal Realm, countless images flashed rapidly across the screen before Ju Chang; to mortals, it would appear as nothing but shifting colors, but to the immortals present, it revealed years of the spy's life in mere moments.

"The one in Laiye made no statement, only said he was informed."

"When I went to Laiye, Archangel Raphael hoped to form a protective alliance with the Hundred Realms Alliance, enclosing this world and shielding it from the gaze of other worlds."

"The Demon Beast Realm was forcibly pulled into this realm; the Demon Beast Emperor severed the connection and swallowed a foreign world, placing it between the Demon Beast Realm and this realm—apparently intending it as a breeding ground for the Blood Demon Puppet army."

The envoy delivered the message and stood respectfully to one side.

"Demon Beast Realm," Ju Chang mused slightly; on the screen, Seeing Qu Yanping's experiences from last year were nearly over, and now all that remained was patient waiting.

Since entering the special world known as the Sword Tomb, she could no longer interfere with the spy's actions, but she had arranged for the spy to transmit information at regular intervals.

She had intended to say something, but the latest message made her frown—the spy's coordinates suddenly shifted to another dimension in the Infinite Void, and a single image was transmitted.

A figure from the ancient legends of Shi Huanyu, said to have appeared in the earliest Heavenly Realm!

"Yuanshi Tianzun?"

In the illusory, ethereal river of time, Seeing Qu Yanping saw his entire past life—from birth to this moment, every second, every instant.

He was like a drowning man unaware of his plight, lost in the sensations of power, marching toward a fate nearly certain death.

In Shi Huanyu, there were too many mortals like him who refused to accept their fate—why should cultivators enjoy eternal life while mortals were reduced to mere breeding tools, endlessly sifted like seedlings for the finest strains?

'Why ask so many why's?'

He saw the scene where he drained the life of a slightly gifted child.

'The strong devour the weak—it is the natural order.'

He saw all he had done since gaining the Heavenly Eye ability—his current cultivation and power were less than weeds in this realm, but one day he would stand atop the summit!

Unwilling!

He wanted his body to move, wanted to activate the Heavenly Eye on his forehead.

But it was useless; in the chaotic, disordered spacetime, Seeing Qu Yanping slowly closed his eyes.

In a daze, he passed through layers of thick water curtains, traveling through darkness, amid an ancient, primordial aura—his body and soul gradually lost a force, along with his cultivation.

His cultivation regressed from Combined Core to Spirit Manifestation; the Heavenly Eye on his forehead dissolved like mist—the Heavenly Eye ability had returned?

He strained with all his might to open his eyes, for he felt the river of time receding, and he himself had been washed ashore.

A faint golden light appeared before him—it seemed hope was near—but suddenly, his head throbbed, and in an instant he was plunged back into darkness, unable to think further.

Meng Qi retracted his fist, hastily adjusted his attire, then dragged the self-repairing "camera" to a patch of gray-white stone ground.

He sighed, feeling somewhat disgruntled: 'If only I could now take residence in Jade Void Palace—this place, though left by Yang Jian, is far too crude, and Biyou Palace remains in the hands of Lord Lingbao.'

Even though he now knew some information, he could not yet go and claim future opportunities.

As for daring to gamble, to fight without regret, to forge another future—

That's just something to dream about; perhaps later he could obtain it from other realms. For now, the product of the Three Pure Ones' reduction to emptiness is better than the fish of the Demon Buddha.

Speaking of which, since learning of the future, he finally understood why no one had originally intended to tell him the truth—but later,

According to them, there was a chat log that had been erased, yet he searched endlessly and found nothing.

Through indirect probing, he roughly understood what had happened—but an ordinary Beyond should not be capable of such feats. Ancient One Su Meng? What are you playing at?

Wait

If a version of him became an Ancient One, that would mean the Three Pure Ones have already transcended completely, having attained the Dao Fruit.

Then who are the Three Pure Ones now?!!!

Meng Qi frowned, then relaxed his expression.

Forget it—those are not matters for him to ponder; if he thought more, his mind would overload. No matter how much he thought, it was useless. The urgent task was to sever ties with the Demon Buddha—faster the better. Only then could he go to the myriad realms and

Only then could he leave his legend across the myriad realms, prepare the path ahead for himself, and give those Beyonds a little shock!

Though it's absurd for an Outer Realm cultivator to dream such thoughts, isn't everyone supposed to have dreams?

As for now—it's time to show true acting skills!

Meng Qi took out the Azure Jade Void Sword lent to him by Su Lin, stretched his limbs, and placed himself before the stone tablet inscribed by the Huangshan Zhenjun of Clear Origin and Marvelous Dao.

He floated cross-legged in midair, placed the Azure Jade Void Sword flat on his knees, and waited for the protagonist's awakening.

"Almost forgot."

He summoned the solemn, ageless mask of Yuanshi Tianzun and placed it over his face; then chaotic qi spread, and his **Mystic Art simulated the operation of the Yuanshi Golden Scripture—and so,

Ancient, resonant sounds of the Dao emanated from the Azure Jade Void Sword; a Daoic resonance began to link between the two. In the hazy, chaotic void, Meng Qi gradually resonated with the still-sealed Yuanshi Sword.

In this realm's chaotic sea, mist was scattered by a thunderclap, and then brilliant starlike threads wove and illuminated the entire ocean.

Meng Qi was bewildered—this commotion seemed even more intense than before?!

An ancient, primordial aura spread; the surroundings abruptly transformed. A seal of crimson radiance and azure light rose from the Azure Jade Void Sword, and as its power gradually manifested, Meng Qi felt his Yuanshi Golden Scripture automatically guided into motion.

All was dark, chaotic, returning to its primordial state.

Within the chat group

Meng Qi: "Bigshot… if this sword really has a connection with me… could I sign an IOU?"

Su Lin: "?"

Lu Mingfei: "Don't talk yet! Su Lin, how does this sword compare to the Great Expansion Pearl I shattered before?!"

Su Lin: "It's like after fighting over land ownership, someone went all-in with a super double."

Lu Mingfei: "Is the Great Expansion Pearl that valuable?"

Su Lin: "I'm talking about this sword."

Su Lin snapped back to reality, incredulous: "Hey, this isn't a joke… Bigshot, you're not seriously saying this sword has recognized you as its master?!!"

Miss Kelaien: "@Lu Mingfei, follow procedure or welcome the new member directly?"

Meng Qi: "What does that mean?"

Lu Mingfei: "Welcome to the headquarters of selling your soul."

Kleine: "???"

Meng Qi: "I'm leaving! I like girls!"

Kleine: "Lu Mingfei, if you can't speak properly, just shut your mouth."

Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan: "Sss, terrifying."

Ye Fan: "Sss, terrifying."

Song Shuhang: "Terrifying! Terrifying indeed!!!"

Yi Leina: "No wonder you had no reaction back then—you even asked if I'd catch a cold."

Xing: "The information upstairs feels overwhelming too."

Penglai Shan Huiye: "Wasn't it said this group has no unwritten rules?"

Han Li: "Miss Yi Leina, you and Su Lin—forgive me, I've become overly curious."

Yi Leina: "It's a misunderstanding! No, back then, Lu Mingfei and the others asked me to wear it—I had something to attend to and went offline."

【Yi Leina (Offline)】

Zhongli: "It was indeed a misunderstanding (laughing). At that time, Su Lin was wholly devoted to cultivation, emotionally detached, and uninterested in anything beyond cultivation."

Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan: "Zhongli, are you sure this thing you're describing is Su Lin?"

Su Lin: "What the hell are you all doing?!"

As the administrator who had been overthrown by his groupmates, Su Lin could no longer sit idle and quickly steered the topic back on track.

Su Lin: "I like girls too!! Don't change the subject—what's going on with that sword? Weren't you filming a movie?"

Meng Qi: "I've realized the sealing array on this sword seems absorbable and cultivable by me."

The sealing array on the Tianqing Yu Xu Sword, after resonating with Meng Qi, gradually dissolved into fine threads of pure spiritual energy that merged into every one of his acupoints.

Moreover, a trace of chaotic energy, along with the vast amount of spiritual energy he could not yet fully absorb, was likewise contained within his acupoints.

He had long cultivated the divine technique "Flesh and Blood Possess Spirit," which, at its peak, allows each acupoint and every inch of flesh to manifest a separate universe or world. Now, as Meng Qi absorbed this sealing array, his acupoints subtly began to carry the intent of primordial creation.

Meng Qi: "That's the story—it seems like a stroke of fortune, but I've already absorbed it, so I can't return it to you."

Su Lin, after struggling for a long moment, typed two words: "Unnatural."

Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan: "@Su Lin, bro!"

Ye Fan: "Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan, you piece of trash without a cultivator's heart! Su Lin, come over tonight for a gathering."

Han Li: "Thinking carefully, perhaps no one else besides Meng Qi could have obtained this fortune."

Zhongli: "Does this imply that as Meng Qi draws closer to Yuanshi Tianzun, he may one day carry similar power into other worlds?"

Zhang Chuyan: "wele，longhuhan"

Ye Fan: "I seem to have my own Yuanshi Tianzun too—come to think of it, if you come over next time, you might trace the connection and find the remnants."

Meng Qi: "Cough, cough—let's talk about this later, later."

Meng Qi: "So, about my thing—"

Su Lin: "Mutual benefit—just slowly consume the sealing array. Just remember to return the camera and the sword to me."

I hope this guy doesn't say next that the sword automatically recognized him as its master—then the Cause of All Results could do whatever it wanted?

Su Lin suddenly froze, thinking carefully: cause transformed into points.

Su Lin: "Lu Mingfei might be right—how about you consider it? You can keep the sword."

Meng Qi: "?!"

Meng Qi: "The camera's fixed! I've got something to do!"

Seeing Qu Yanping awoke from his daze; the instinct of revived life drove him to gasp deeply, and a wave of relief washed over him.

"Huh… huh…"

A lingering phantom pain still throbbed in his head; logically, even falling from great height, his physical strength should have prevented this.

His thoughts gradually steadied; Seeing Qu Yanping began to observe his surroundings.

Thick, lush qi of plants and trees; ancient trees towered; emerald grass spread like velvet; exotic flowers bloomed; vines coiled—everything was verdant and thriving.

Not the Sword Tomb?

Seeing Qu Yanping rose from the ground, clutching his head. He remembered the swordsman drawing that sword—clearly, that sword was the key to suppressing the horror—and then… the world collapsed?!

He checked his condition, touched the center of his forehead with disappointment, then immediately felt a sense of release.

This was not the Sword Tomb; the spiritual energy concentration was lower than in the two realms he had previously traversed, but here in Hengyu Realm, it was still a decent blessed land.

"Hmm?"

Before him stood a pale golden door—suddenly appearing, utterly incongruous with the natural scenery.

He stepped back; his experience in other worlds told him to restrain his curiosity.

Yet the next instant, the scene shifted instantly—he appeared without resistance in the center of a barren, gray-white stone ground.

Gulp

Seeing Qu Yanping's throat moved; he realized he had rejoiced too soon—the strange events had not ended.

Without hesitation, he immediately attempted to use the Heavenly Eye Divine Technique to scan his surroundings.

"That stone tablet?"

Following the guidance, after confirming no traps or arrays, he approached the prominent stone tablet.

The tablet emitted no aura of heavenly treasures or divine laws; the Heavenly Eye Divine Technique confirmed it was nothing more than an utterly ordinary stone tablet—but the characters upon it…

Were not any script from Earth, nor any script he had encountered in the Penglai world.

No!

He suddenly remembered that years ago, in the library of Gu Yue Fang Yuan, he had seen similar characters.

【Brother Qu, are you also interested in the Ancient Lost Script?】

【Ancient Lost Script?】

【A lost script, heh—if you're interested, I can teach you some of it; it's useful both here and in the outside world.】

The meaning on this stone reads—"In this realm, there shall be a Sea of Chaos, mist that bewitches the spirit, unceasing thunder-punishment, hidden whirlpools, fissures appearing in the void; only three months per year allow passage, severing the two shores."

This realm? Two shores? Is this a decree of a great immortal? The Heavenly Eye Art could sense it—these characters seemed linked to heaven and earth? But this place doesn't seem to be the full heaven and earth; it resembles a small world?

Seeing Qu Yanping was baffled, but he noticed another door beside him; after a moment's thought, he walked inside.

It was as if each door led to another stone tablet, each inscribed with a rule in the Ancient Lost Script.

Finally, he entered a small chamber, where another stone tablet stood—no rule, only faint characters declaring its own existence.

【Disciple of Jade Void Gate, Yang Jian】

Yang Jian!

Seeing Qu Yanping's pupils shrank, his heart pounded violently, his breath seized, and he stood frozen like a wooden statue.

That Celestial Lord of Pure Origin and Marvelous Dao?!

"I thought you were him, but you are not."

In the moment Seeing Qu Yanping was lost in thought, a voice came from behind the stone tablet.

"Who?!" Seeing Qu Yanping cried out instinctively.

He formed the Heavenly Eye runes, trying to trace the source of the voice.

Boom—

All around him lost all sense of up and down; an ancient, weathered aura spread thickly. Though the being behind the tablet did not appear, in the chaos Seeing Qu Yanping perceived and saw the scene beyond—a void, nothing at all.

Yet within this void, a faint flame suddenly ignited, beneath it an ancient bronze lamp; this dim light illuminated the dark void, as if it were the first ray of light at the dawn of an age.

This light did not spread outward, but shone inward; at the very end of the flame, a Daoist clad in black Dao robes sat seated in chaos. His appearance could not be described in words, neither old nor young, his breath drawing in chaotic qi and vast spiritual energy.

Though he had never seen this Daoist before, Seeing Qu Yanping suddenly understood—his name hovered on the edge of his tongue, yet something was missing, preventing it from becoming words.

At that moment, he noticed the Daoist held in his hand a jade-like object; upon closer look, it was an eyeball.

The Divine Eye?!

"I am Yuan Shi," the Daoist spoke with a vast, distant voice, gazing at him: "You are Seeing Qu Yanping, a demonic cultivator from the Hengyu Realm?"

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