Chapter 285: Reverse Position, Lord Donghuang Tai Yi

Once-prosperous ancient realms gathered here, led by countless transcendent beings whose worlds numbered like the sands of the Ganges.

Some transcendent beings sought a path to liberation for all sentient beings; others desired to devour other worlds to strengthen themselves; still others aspired to rule all worlds and establish an eternal dynasty.

Alas, prosperity could last only a moment.

"At first, it was merely a technological civilization declaring war on a magical civilization, resulting in the total annihilation of both."

"No one paid attention to this disaster—it was merely a common friction in the Myriad Worlds, caused by ** and contradictions."

"At that time, no one foresaw that this was merely the beginning."

To the right, a sunlit beach appeared in space; the witch retrieved from a rift in another dimension a table, a chair, delicate pastries, and black tea fragrant with orchid, then sat comfortably at the center of countless books, leisurely recounting stories of the past.

"Until a transcendent being who delighted in collecting the histories and possibilities of countless worlds arrived at the battleground of these two civilizations."

This transcendent being was astonished to discover that both civilizations had been utterly annihilated in every timeline and every possibility.

By normal logic, every individual has countless futures, countless possibilities—some ending in tragic lives, others in mundane ones, still others in supremacy over all.

Even an ordinary cultivator has the potential to reach the transcendent realm, let alone in infinite Parallel Worlds, where the two civilizations might never have even encountered each other.

Yet after tracing countless timelines and all possibilities, he was astonished to find that both civilizations had been utterly annihilated—and in every Parallel World, the cause of their destruction was conflict between the two civilizations.

Worldlines had collapsed; possibilities had been anchored to a single outcome; the future held only one ending.

He originally suspected involvement of transcendent beings in a struggle, yet not a single clue indicated this was a conspiracy.

Then

The Myriad Worlds erupted in countless conflicts, large and small.

Every conflict's outcome was predetermined; even moments before, countless possibilities still existed, yet the final annihilation would overwrite all worlds.

"For transcendent beings, time can be reversed, the lost can be restored, and even predetermined endings can spawn new possibilities."

"But the matter behind this destruction pulled everyone in, leaving none untouched." As the witch with gray-white hair spoke, she looked up at her own body, pierced through by a crimson spiral spear upon the cross, and smiled:

"I know only fragments of the specifics, and even the information I possess I cannot tell you—merely knowing it would contaminate you. Let me think—are there any beings long dead or sunk into eternal slumber?"

"Never mind. You only need to know that a phenomenon called 'Reverse Position' has begun spreading, and due to the transcendent beings' struggle for profit, it has become unavoidable for all living beings."

"Reverse Position?" Seeing Qu Yanping did not understand the term.

"Imagine a demonic overlord, once evil beyond count, who gathered vast armies in the deepest hells of countless dimensions—suddenly, one day, he became upright and kind, reversing himself at the root and transforming into a Saintly Light Grand Lord, doing one good deed daily, helping old ladies cross the street." The witch with gray-white hair blinked, sipped her warm tea, and said to Seeing Qu Yanping standing beside her:

"Or imagine the god of blind folly awakening beyond time and space, no longer a formless, chaotic, boiling mass of darkness—but becoming a creator god who established order, turning all chaos into harmony, all madness into reason, a tangle of fleshy tentacles transforming into a beautiful, human-aesthetic being capable of bearing normal offspring."

"Can you grasp this concept?"

Seeing Qu Yanping nodded, then asked instinctively: "Isn't this a good thing?"

"Yes, it is a good thing." The witch smiled strangely, her blue eyes flickering with obscure light: "In your Eastern terms, do you think this world has more righteous paths or demonic paths?"

Seeing Qu Yanping's mind went blank; fragmented myths and legends piled up in his thoughts.

Righteous path, demonic path

Reverse Position?!

He suddenly recalled the Yuan Shi Tianzun he had met before, and remembered how, in most myths and legends, it was always the "righteous path" that triumphed.

'No, this is not some shallow definition of justice or factional struggle—it is a reversal at the very essence and form of life, even reversing thought and Dao!'

If what the other side said was true, then when those already dominant "righteous paths" underwent Reverse Position, they would become the greatest demons of this world!

"There are still some ways to counter Reverse Position—for example, reincarnation." The witch gave Seeing Qu Yanping no time to recover from his shock, continuing to implant concepts into his mind.

For transcendent beings, Reverse Position is not instantaneous; unless they willingly accept it, it cannot affect them—but the key is, Reverse Position has already caused nearly irreversible changes in other living beings.

From individual to race, from race to individual, from the origin of all life to the end of fate.

While the great ones clashed and contended, the first disaster had already descended.

The gods of Asgard were the first to suffer; thereafter, the Nine Realms born of the World Tree were all infected by Reverse Position, and under the gaze of countless factions, Ragnarök began.

This battle was inevitable, and the gods' defeat was certain, for they faced the toxic dragon—Nidhogg—who had united the Reverse Position gods and evil deities.

The World Tree, which had nurtured the universe and all things, was reversed; an unprecedented winter descended, snow falling endlessly, frost freezing the earth, icy winds howling through the dark sky, storms raging without sunlight.

In the biting cold, shadows of war and conflict filled the cosmos; wild beasts roamed the wastes seeking food.

The humans born in this world no longer showed mercy or mutual aid; brothers turned against brothers, fathers became enemies to sons, slaughtering each other in vile struggles of desire, heading toward oblivion.

Good and evil were inverted; the world held only evil and terror; even the earth trembled, seas dried, lands cracked.

The dead numbered beyond count; vultures circled and shrieked overhead, feasting on corpses; crimes flowed rampant, blood stained the earth; countless sinners' souls struggled across the River of the Dead, even darkening its color.

Nidhogg, having hollowed out the World Tree, gained immense transcendent power; his wings blotted out the sky, and he would soon devour even the World Tree's outer shell—the end was sealed, unavoidable.

Yet even so, the Norse gods faced this final outcome with frankness.

They made themselves vessels of the Reverse Position meme; with aid from the Norns, they fully reversed their flesh and souls while preserving their original consciousness.

Aside from the gods already Reverse Positioned, they mixed their blood with that of evil deities as much as possible, planting seeds of reversal within their divine essences.

When the battlefield was piled high with the corpses of gods and giants, the plains had become a sea of blood; the Black King Nidhogg flew above, his wings emitting terrifying sounds, greedily gnawing on corpses still warm with blood.

Finally,

The mad Black King Nidhogg began a senseless slaughter and consumption.

After the entire universe burned and was destroyed in the crimson flames of a lotus, the Reverse Position Black King stepped from the ashes—he became the new World Tree, assuming a new mission, giving rise to a new Nine Realms.

All things perished; new life would form again; all things in the world were cyclical, and the departed gods reappeared in another form.

With this precedent, to prevent the spread of Reverse Position contamination as much as possible, rulers of realms still untouched—Heavenly Court, Heavenly Realm, Olympus—launched a cataclysm.

The floods of the River of the Dead surged, swallowing the Myriad Worlds.

Destroying meteors fell, striking the endless cosmos.

The gates of reincarnation opened, guiding the souls of all heavens.

This was the apocalypse foretold in countless myths—and the disaster all survivors would never forget.

Reverse Position cannot be changed; only reincarnation can. When all living beings return to their original forms, shedding their dross, all grudges, loves, hates, ambitions, and aspirations will return to the origin through reincarnation and the Underworld.

Yet even so,

The Disaster of Destruction still occurred.

"The infection of 'Inverted Position' was merely the spark; the true destruction arose from the wars ignited by one after another supreme being who had fallen into demonic corruption."

"But, Elder, if supreme beings possess sufficient means to handle the Inverted Position, then why did this happen?" Seeing Qu Yanping asked, puzzled.

"The Inverted Position does not mean forgetting all past memories, nor does it mean losing former power," the demoness said calmly.

"It is also a path—a path of advancement. Where there is a road forward, some will inevitably try it; some even deliberately embraced the Inverted Position to break through the supreme realm, even transcending it."

"For example, the lord of the ancient Heavenly Court—he fell into eternal slumber, and his corruption is minor; I can show you."

She snapped her fingers, then set down her teacup and pointed upward.

All the shattered dimensional fragments—the kaleidoscopic mosaic of scenery—merged into one. A ruinous landscape rapidly transformed, as if time flowed backward, and in an instant became a magnificent, peerless palace.

The image in the sky shifted to the deep void of the cosmos, where, in its remotest corner, a warm glow burned.

A golden heavenly star plummeted from beyond the heavens at an unimaginable speed; countless worlds shattered, countless beings twisted and corrupted. This star resembled a heavenly demon descending—merely passing through those worlds brought destruction.

The golden heavenly star finally pierced through the celestial net and descended into the boundless, mist-shrouded heights, where ten thousand rays of golden light rolled like crimson rainbows, and a thousand auspicious mists spewed violet vapor.

At that location stood an archway of deep green, crafted from lapis lazuli, gleaming brightly, adorned with precious jade. Inscribed upon its plaque in ancient script were three characters—Southern Heavenly Gate.

The celestial star's mortise-and-tenon structure disintegrated into countless golden particles, which then coalesced into a figure clad in a black-gold imperial robe, long hair reaching his waist, loosely draped over his shoulders, illuminated by the morning sun filtering through the sea of clouds, revealing a faint brown hue.

His facial features were sharply defined and deep, like a sculpture; atop his head were two dragon horns, faint scales edged his eye corners, and his gilded-gold eyes held the entire cosmos of stars. He did not look at the heavenly soldiers and generals surrounding him from endless layers of time, but fixed his gaze toward the depths of the celestial palace.

"Lord Donghuang Taiyi," said a stern old man with crane-white hair and a ruddy complexion, clad in a white robe and tall hat, pointing at the imperial-robed man: "You, who rule as the demon god Morax in another realm—why have you stormed the Heavenly Court? Do you wish to destroy the celestial demons?!"

"Hah~" Lord Donghuang Taiyi exhaled a slow, turbid breath, speaking with apparent gentleness: "I have come merely to invite you all to witness."

"Witness what?!" an immortal scolded. "Under the gaze of Hun Tian Di, what do you intend to do?!"

"To witness," Lord Donghuang Taiyi condensed a golden spear woven from Dao and principle, smiling: "I reclaim the throne of Hun Tian Di."

"Audacious!" The crane-haired immortal's expression changed—next instant, every heavenly soldier and general present disintegrated into blossoms of blood, and a jade-green spear tip protruded from his chest: "Jin Chida Peng?! How are you still alive?!"

Puch!

The jade-green spear was withdrawn from the immortal's chest; a streak of green light flashed, and a grotesque, terrified mask emerged from behind him—but behind the mask was a humanoid form composed of blood-smeared tentacles, each tentacle bearing oily feathers that opened and closed.

"Lord Haotian, it is time to settle this."

Countless personified murmurs and strange, mysterious symbols appeared, swirling like a storm to envelop Lord Donghuang Taiyi.

But he reappeared—his form twisted, and the golden spear in his hand was now covered in black veins; an eyeball had emerged from the spear's butt, turning left and right.

A shadowy humanoid, as dark as the universe yet filled with countless stars, stepped forward. Where his head should have been, only profound darkness remained—within it, a single golden star rotated. That golden star began to spin, carrying with it the brilliant stars within his body.

Lord Donghuang Taiyi raised his sharpened hand, now turned to shadow, and a dark-gold "heavenly star," wrapped in pitch-black sludge, materialized—unlike before, it resembled an abstract sun, scribbled like a child's drawing.

"Heaven Moves All Things!"

"Hey, are you alright?" The demoness's voice came: "Deal with those tentacles on you—they look disgusting."

Seeing Qu Yanping grunted and began channeling the Yuan Shi Jin Zhang and ** Divine Art; the slimy, brownish-yellow tentacles on his body fell from his eyes.

He gasped for breath—he had merely glanced at those images, and already been corrupted!

'So this is the Inverted Position? An ancient deity, transformed into such a monstrous thing…'

'Wait! The Eden of the Yuzhe Sect—were those monsters there also…?!'

Seeing Qu Yanping broke into a cold sweat, a possibility flashing through his mind, yet his soul gradually stabilized.

'What is this world really like?'

'Why do I feel no one can be trusted—not even Yuan Shi Tianzun?'

"Were you present when it happened, Elder?" Seeing Qu Yanping probed.

"Yuan Shi Tianzun presides over the Jade Pure Sacred Realm, Qingwei Heaven—the thirty-fifth layer of the Heavenly Court. This is Qingwei Heaven's record. Are you not a disciple of Yu Xu? How could you not know this?" The demoness's tone dripped with disdain.

"I'm only here to deliver a message. Have you made your decision after all these questions? Of course, whatever you decide doesn't concern me—you don't need to tell me."

"Disciple…" Seeing Qu Yanping hesitated; he now roughly understood the situation—either Yuan Shi Tianzun or Yang Jian was lying: "I have a few more questions. I humbly beg Elder to answer them."

"Tsk. Ask the original." The demoness dissolved into a drop of crimson blood, shimmering with seven-colored light, and vanished.

Seeing Qu Yanping sighed helplessly, left the place, and returned to the earlier library, gazing at the woman on the cross above. After a moment of silence, he spoke:

"Elder."

"Mm, I know what you want to ask. Your questions are too many—I can only answer you broadly." The demoness's true form seemed more approachable:

"The current Yang Jian is a wall. After the Disaster of Destruction, he was the only supreme being left. Though he gradually lost his self, he can suppress the sleeping and extinct beings within the old world."

"Those hybrid entities in the River of Time likely seek to cultivate you. When you replace Yang Jian, you won't immediately gain all his cultivation. At that time, they can easily enter the new world."

"Once they use all living beings as vessels to connect the River of Time with the Dao of the new world, they can sacrifice all life to return from the Primordial Age."

"And those supreme beings who fell into slumber will gradually awaken, using the new world's primordial essence to heal their wounds."

"You want to know what will happen to you then? They likely cannot harm you, and you cannot harm them. When they fully recover, you will have absorbed enough to attain supreme realm power yourself."

"Don't worry—even if you refuse me, I won't harm you. Even he didn't foresee that the new Eye of the Heavenly God would appear on a rotten soul. I'm only here to deliver the message. The choice is yours."

"But if that day ever comes, help me pull out this God-Slaying Spear. The Inverted Position is still better than being consumed, isn't it?"

Hearing this, Seeing Qu Yanping smiled—he had already made his decision.

End of Chapter.