Chapter 286

"Give me a drink." Yi Leina took the beverage from Ke Lain with vacant eyes and gulped it down in one go. "Phew—! My mouth is dry from reciting so many lines. Can't the script be shorter?"

"This is crucial—it affects the finale's filming and setting development." Su Lin smiled, pulling out a small jade vial. "Could you make him drink this? During the next scene, his entire cultivation will be sealed; otherwise, going to Ye Fan's world without his buffs would be hard to explain."

"Faced with power within reach, willingly clinging to demonic forces—this is normal for a cultivator," Han Li said, unsurprised, only shaking his head.

"As expected, this guy still chose power in the end." Ye Fan watched the video on screen and teased, "Mr. Donghuang, what are you thinking?"

"I don't deserve the title of Donghuang—just acting." Zhong Li regarded Su Lin with interest. "I'm wondering—if he truly chose to abandon power and leave like that, what would Su Lin do?"

"If he really chooses to abandon it, I might even give him a chance to return to the Shi Huanyu Realm and die on his own." Su Lin scrolled through a memory orb, which synced the entire life and inner thoughts of the demonic cultivator:

"Most people's nature is selfish. Occasionally, there are a few outliers—oh, sorry, Weigong, I didn't mean you."

"Even those rare outliers are exceptional cases. He likely doesn't believe any of this—but if the moment arrives, he certainly won't sacrifice the chance to gain limitless power for a group of strange beings from another world."

"To be honest, if I were in his position, I'd probably do the same."

Su Lin smiled at everyone present, not hiding his thoughts or humanity just because others were watching.

Though the group members got along well, it wasn't due to shared ideals, but rather a tolerance for differences—a coexistence without uniformity.

"Really? I thought you were kind of a great benefactor," Lu Mingfei scratched his head, remembering Su Lin's ascension. "I recall you once bestowed blessings upon all of humanity."

Weigong Shilang looked at Su Lin with some admiration—he knew what Su Lin had done in Lu Mingfei's world; eliminating all human illness was impressive.

"You've misunderstood," Su Lin said, putting away the memory orb and granting partial permissions to the player extras. "To be blunt, that was just my personal self-satisfaction—I did it because I could, and because it suited me, made me happy. Just like the grand lie I'm now preparing to deceive this demonic cultivator. His feelings? Irrelevant."

The fundamental reason I act is not because I harbor grand ideals or possess noble character—it's simply that I'm capable of doing this, and doing it benefits me, such as bringing me joy? Just like the enormous lie I'm now telling this demonic cultivator; his feelings don't matter at all.

Just like Zhong Li once asked him: if one day, the entire population of his world clashed with his own interests, would he do something for them?

Like Zhongli once asked him: if one day the entire human population of his world clashed with his own interests, would he do something for all of humanity?

"Aside from forced Sage Mode, the cultivation of Gu Tianwang has one advantage: it makes you view things more objectively and be more honest with your own thoughts—but only to a point." Su Lin had once thought this scripture could sell well on JieSeBa: "Alright, filming today was tiring. Good luck tomorrow."

After everyone had left, Su Lin went to the window of his childhood home, opened the first-floor window, and climbed in.

"Whoa!" Su Tuoni jumped. "Why not just teleport in? No aura, no noise—why crawl through a window?"

"There has to be some ceremony." Su Lin said, expression unchanged.

"Makes sense." Su Tuoni nodded, tossing Su Lin a memory orb. "Personal sections deleted. All remaining info is inside."

"Got it." Su Lin immediately read the memories—everything about all the Cosmic Emperors and key personnel outside the Shi Huanyu Realm. "Where's the memetic contagion vector?"

"I really wish the system had a transfer function. Even online games give points for transactions—you're freeloading off me." Su Tuoni handed Su Lin a red capsule. "Take it. Reverse memetic agent, produced by the Memetic Customizer. Raw materials are rare—I've got zero stock left."

One of the few high-tier items in Su Tuoni's system inventory: the Memetic Customizer.

"Enough." Su Lin waved his hand. "Handle the other spies."

Su Tuoni waved back, then vanished without a trace.

【Reverse Memetic Agent (Microdose): Produced by the Memetic Customizer. Raw materials: one drop of Titan's Blood, 0.1g of Fate Law fragment, and one vending machine.】

【Effect: After use, triggers reverse memetic infection in up to 300 individuals. Effect varies by life tier. Duration: six months. (Hopefully no one customizes a memetic infection for eating spaghetti through their nostrils—Foundation 1@#3 Containment Object)】

"Even a dead camel is bigger than a horse—you've got plenty of good stuff." Su Lin glanced at the red pill in his hand, murmuring. "Don't need much time—six months is enough."

"A dead camel is still bigger than a horse—you've got plenty of good stuff on you," Su Lin murmured, glancing at the small red pill in his hand. "I don't need much time—six months will be enough."

……

"Senior Su Lin, isn't this a TV drama?" Song Shuhang held the recorded disc—rumored to be a limited Blu-ray given to everyone after filming.

"Senior Su Lin, isn't this a TV drama?" Song Shuhang held up the recorded disc, supposedly a limited Blu-ray given to everyone after the event.

"It's already twelve episodes." Song Shuhang counted.

"It's a movie." Su Lin repeated. "If it can be screened in theaters, it's a movie."

"It's a movie," Su Lin said again. "If it can be screened in a theater, it's a movie."

Whatever makes you happy. Hope the audience and theaters are fine.

These days, Su Lin and the others filmed additional scenes of the main characters' fates after falling into the old world—after all, they themselves would watch the final movie.

【Gao Sheng discovered the ruined remnants of the Kongyun Sect. Inside, he found a skeleton wearing his favorite robe, clasped tightly around another female skeleton.】

【Li Feiyu displayed terrifying power unlike anything before, crushing countless cultivators and monsters emerging from temporal residues. His skin now pure white, he bore the look of a popular idol xianxia protagonist. Eventually, he arrived at a ruin filled with the remains of Gu insects.】

【Gu Yue Fang Yuan and Gu Yue Fang Zheng showed brotherly harmony, supporting each other through hardship, defeating a strange demonic entity and acquiring a precious jade. Along the way, many cultivators arrived, discovering a bronze gate—realizing this was the ruins of a celestial court from another realm.】

【Bai Zunzhe, portraying Da Lingye, conversed with a bone-winged man formed from a black dragon, sealed within a prison.】

After filming these scenes, Ye Fan opened a portal to his own world. Using Su Lin's Divine Light avatar's buff, he arrived beside a massive pit in the Ancient Wasteland, opened the portal, then returned to Su Lin's world. A terrifying aura spread over him as he lay inside a bronze coffin.

After Ye Fan entered, Pang Bo closed the coffin lid and placed the bronze coffin atop the open portal.

"Ye Zi, go well." Pang Bo clasped his hands together.

"When I get out, you're dead!" Ye Fan's cold voice echoed from within the bronze coffin.

【North of the Old World, at the humanoid giant face carved into the bronze earth, Seeing Qu Yanping spent years cultivating and stabilizing his foundation. He then followed karmic threads to find Gu Yue Fang Yuan and the others. They were astonished by Seeing Qu Yanping's cultivation. Gu Yue Fang Yuan proposed exploring the celestial court ruins Seeing Qu Yanping had discovered—but Gao Sheng's demeanor seemed strange.】

"Brother Qu, my eyes never fail me. Your fortune far surpasses ordinary people." Gu Yue Fang Yuan snapped a creature emerging from temporal residues. "Karmic threads entwine you—yin number eight, yang number nine. Did you obtain the legendary Xuan Gong, the Jade Void Legacy?"

"Brother Fang Yuan, you've seen much." Seeing Qu Yanping returned from his Dafa Xiangdi state and revealed partial truths to these familiar, useful allies—nine truths, one lie. He concealed only the fact that he had replaced Yang Jian.

"Brother Qu, let me confirm again: are you certain the elder you met is trustworthy? That the Inner World is a lingering illusion, and we are similar beings born from the new world? I find this claim…" Li Feiyu's words were cut off by Gu Yue Fang Zheng.

"If it's not an illusion, does that mean there's another version of us? Even if there is, it's probably a Parallel World—and our goal is to return." Gu Yue Fang Zheng interrupted.

"If this isn't an illusion, does that mean there's another version of us here? Even if there is, it's probably a Parallel World—and what we need to do is go back," Gu Yue Fang Zheng interrupted.

Li Feiyu frowned, then nodded. "Alright."

Seeing Qu Yanping said nothing further. His only task now was to strengthen his cultivation and draw closer to the corresponding fate path by slaying these undead abominations. He could feel himself slowly approaching Yang Jian, who wandered this realm, and his inner power was steadily accumulating.

"Other treasures are fine, but heavenly artifacts are always better in quantity. Rather than wait aimlessly, we should actively explore—perhaps we'll find a way back." Gu Yue Fang Yuan smiled. "Pity I can't use the Dream Butterfly Gu here—if I could, I'd send you all out first."

"Concerning all sentient beings, how could I stand idly by? Remember: when the nest is overturned, no egg remains whole." Seeing Qu Yanping turned, then looked at Gao Sheng beside him. "Brother Gao, are you troubled?"

Gao Sheng ignored him, walking silently down the corridor ahead.

A flash of cold light pierced the air—Seeing Qu Yanping frowned but still struck it down, the short blade woven with Dao and principle falling to the ground. From deep within the bronze corridor, the tide of time rippled, and a knight clad in armor stepped out—his cultivation weak, perhaps at the Earth Immortal level.

With a hiss, a speck of cold light shot through the air from ahead; Seeing Qu Yanping frowned but still struck down the short sword woven with Dao and principle, and from deep within the bronze corridor, the tide of time rippled as a knight clad in armor stepped out, his cultivation weak—likely at the Earth Immortal level.

Although the River of Time did not appear, occasional phantoms from the past would step forth, possessing extreme aggression.

"Gao Sheng!" Li Feiyu shouted.

Gao Sheng instantly snapped to, drawing his broadsword: "Sorry."

"Are you worried about Da Lingye?" Gu Yue Fang Yuan walked over and comforted him: "Although we haven't found him, he's probably fine—he's a man of great fortune."

Gao Sheng glanced at Gu Yue Fang Yuan and gave a bitter smile: "I have a question for you all—have you ever considered the possibility that we're already dead?"

Seeing Qu Yanping opened his mouth to speak, but above them the dome shattered; bronze stone blocks tumbled down as the River of Time surged in from above.

Gu Yue Fang Yuan 【Su Lin】 froze mid-speech—he remembered no such scene.

Many cultivators exploring this place (extras) were each swallowed by the auto-targeting constructs of the God of Time and Space, and at the very center of the crowd stood one with a face full of terror—

A giant monkey?!

"If the tiger doesn't roar, you think I'm Kuang Dao Kuangdao Sanlang the sick cat? You want to ask for homework?!" Kuang Dao Kuangdao Sanlang glared at the army mostly composed of Confucian cultivators, pulling out a talisman:

"Yesterday!!!"

What the hell?!

"I told you we should've banned him!" Su Shi Aqi looked smug, as if this was exactly what she expected.

The Herbalist: "."

Zhenjun Luo Chen: "Actually, this is also Heng Huo Zhenjun's fault—he pushed Kuangdao Sanlang too hard."

Huangshan Zhenjun: "."

Huangshan Zhenjun suddenly felt a stomachache—he hadn't noticed this guy had broken through from the neighboring instance and landed right on set.

"No need to worry about that," Jiao Ba Zhenjun said: "We all know the protagonist's appearance. Kuangdao Sanlang won't break character—in fact, it fits perfectly with the reincarnated great master backstory."

"Except the protagonist might get pregnant again," Jiang Ziyan muttered from the side: "Thank goodness I'm on duty today."

Zao Hua Fa Wang walked over and asked: "What did you do to my younger brother?"

"What do you mean, what did we do? What happened to Tun Yun?" The Herbalist turned and asked.

"He just gathered all his belongings, borrowed the Celestial Resonance Disc from me, then ran off and jumped headfirst into the Penglai Ruins, saying he was going to fight to the death," Zao Hua Fa Wang was baffled.

"."

I hope Kuangdao Sanlang is alright.

Gao Sheng pushed aside a pile of bronze fragments and carried Kuang Dao Kuangdao Sanlang toward the space ahead, its colors shifting constantly.

"I never thought this guy would be the reincarnation of a former Confucian Sage," Gu Yue Fang Zheng poked Kuang Dao Kuangdao Sanlang's cheek on Gao Sheng's shoulder and said: "Why won't he wake up?"

"Who knows? Thanks to him, we're completely trapped." Gao Sheng glanced at Kuang Dao Kuangdao Sanlang, sound asleep on his shoulder, then turned to Seeing Qu Yanping behind him: "Qu brother, why are you standing so far away?"

"Nothing," Seeing Qu Yanping said blankly, though his three eyes occasionally flickered warily toward the sleeping man—he felt a faint phantom pain in his abdomen.

He had originally been curious how Kuang Dao Kuangdao Sanlang escaped after being betrayed by the Yuzhe Sect's elders, but now he knew.

But isn't this just too coincidental? It's almost absurdly convenient—several Eastern cultivators I know who came to this realm became major figures.

"Everyone, just ahead, there's a weak point in space," Seeing Qu Yanping shot a divine light from his forehead; under the gaze of the Heavenly Eye, the colors along their path shifted from deep blue to light blue, then to pink and orange, finally turning gold: "There it is!"

Gu Yue Fang Yuan summoned a crimson thread that darted swiftly toward the golden space—a maggot-like insect with sharp mandibles; it shattered the space, explored inside briefly, then flew back rapidly.

Gu Yue Fang Yuan nodded and stepped forward first; the others followed closely behind.

Passing through the space, they entered a dimmer realm.

Around them, light from a source divided the surroundings into overlapping yet non-interfering worlds.

"That's…" Seeing Qu Yanping looked in that direction and saw faint ripples of the River of Time—though the River could not take form, only waves of time and struggling phantoms lingered.

"Let's go take a look," Gu Yue Fang Yuan said, guided by the maggot's exploration, heading toward the light source.

Clouds rose, auspicious qi shimmered brilliantly, five-colored mists spread, and the magnificent Xianshan flickered in and out of view.

Soon after, they reached the source of light—Seeing Qu Yanping drew in a sharp breath, for the brilliant, thousand-fold radiance came from a bronze coffin twenty meters long.

The massive bronze coffin was plain and ancient, adorned with faint, age-worn patterns, radiating the weight of time.

"How could this be?!" Gu Yue Fang Zheng froze: "This coffin is—"

"Do you know this coffin?" Li Feiyu asked.

Gu Yue Fang Zheng replied: "I've heard that a Hun Tian Di, before transforming into Dao, buried himself and his imperial artifact inside a bronze coffin. And this is the ruins of the Heavenly Court…"

After Gu Yue Fang Zheng's explanation, all of them looked troubled.

Gu Yue Fang Yuan glanced at Seeing Qu Yanping's Heavenly Eye and asked: "Qu brother, what do you think?"

Seeing Qu Yanping found the question odd, but carefully scanned it with the Heavenly Eye—finding no trace of divine power, he finally sighed and shook his head.

"No problem? Then I'll open it."

Who spoke?

All turned their gazes to the sound's source—there, beside the coffin, Kuang Dao Kuangdao Sanlang, who had been sleeping, had somehow awakened and was pushing open the lid.

"Wait! That's not what I meant!" Seeing Qu Yanping's eyes widened, rushing forward to stop him.

But it was too late.

The coffin opened with no resistance, simply pushed open—yet nothing happened; even his hurried defensive measures proved useless.

After a moment of silence, they gathered closer—and found inside only a slender boy, his aura uniquely ethereal, like a celestial exile.

His eyes were closed, lips rosy, as if merely asleep.

"Ye Fan?!" Gu Yue Fang Zheng cried out to Gu Yue Fang Yuan: "Brother! It's Ye Fan! Xiao Nannan's brother, Ye Fan!"

Seeing Qu Yanping's step halted.

Don't they… forget that little girl?

Shi Huanyu Realm, Immortal Realm.

Ju Chang discovered that her connection with the spy had re-established? No—it had never been broken, but since the incident with Yuan Shi Tianzun, the spy's cultivation had surged violently and gradually begun blocking the link.

She narrowed her eyes, processing the newly received information—and clearly sensed the spy's cultivation had dropped to that of a mortal?!

She had no time to dwell on those irrelevant memories; after quickly filtering some, she focused on the latest information.

After the bronze coffin was pushed open, a young man named Ye Fan lay inside, and then the scouts and those otherworldly cultivators found a door beneath the coffin.

"Memories?"

After the scouts and the others carried the young man through the door, their cultivation was completely stripped, turning them into ordinary people.

Ju Chang sensed her surroundings—the dimension had shifted again to another part of the endless void, no longer in the original world, and time had synchronized.

"Just like when Yuan Shi Tianzun was involved—could it truly be that many worlds have merged?"

"This also explains why that world possessed such immense gravitational pull, forcibly drawing other worlds toward it."

She glanced at the immortals below, their expressions varied—some worried, some calm: "But this so-called reverse-position corruption sounds absurd. If he truly possessed a Heavenly God's Eye, the connection should have been severed long ago."

As Ju Chang contemplated and pre-simulated numerous scenarios—including deception and hostile forces targeting them—the scouts' life essence began draining rapidly, and at this moment, they discovered another ancient bronze coffin.

Her gaze sharpened as she carefully observed these people exploring the newly discovered bronze coffin.

Unlike the previous one, this bronze coffin was extremely heavy, but driven to desperation, these people mustered all their strength and pried open one corner.

As if unlocking the treasure of an Immortal King, a divine Dao sound echoed through heaven and earth, while a radiant glow swirled around the coffin, spreading outward.

"What is this?"

The coffin resembled an ancient universe, constantly giving birth to and collapsing into nothingness, shrouded in hazy, luminous mist that could not be penetrated.

Amid her shock, Ju Chang's divine sense followed the connection through the scouts, peering into the interior of the coffin.

"Impossible!" Her breath faltered, and the space of the Immortal Realm froze in response to her reaction.

Ju Chang's face had never been so pale—even when she had foreseen the backlash from encountering a forbidden, immensely powerful entity, she had never been this panicked.

At the center of this ancient universe, a figure lay still in the starry void, indestructible through countless eons.

"Immortal Emperor!"

The figure inside was none other than Taiqing Immortal Emperor!

The pace has already been accelerated—yesterday's chapter laid out the false setup; now things will move much faster.

End of chapter.