Chapter 294: The Truth

A pitch-black eclipse emerged above, the obsidian-gilded light forming a fearsome halo; that black sun, symbol of the Dark Age's descent, now became a radiant crown resting behind the youth's head.

Lu Mingfei stood at the very center of this black sun, seven distinct alchemical weapons guarding his sides; at this moment, he resembled a deity descending upon the world, ready to judge all things.

The black sun slowly rotated, devouring air at an astonishing speed, stirring violent hurricanes; crimson winds, reeking of rust, swept across, and all twisted flesh and earth began to die; the mighty figures reappearing from the river of time turned to burning charcoal, and in an instant, the bronze architecture below gradually emerged.

"It's truly strange," Da Lingye stood with his hands behind his back, a gentle smile on his face:

"I once picked up a magical artifact, only to discover inside it the spiritual essence of the Nidhogg Group's heir—he had fled his family's arranged marriage by hiding within the artifact."

"But after I fell into this fragment's seal, its interior contained a black dragon corpse that resonated with him; though it took some time, we finally broke free. Qu Youjia, your complexion looks poor—what happened?"

Bai Zunzhe, portraying Da Lingye, recited the lines, though Lu Mingfei strongly opposed this script.

To pick up the heir of one of the world's greatest powers while outside? To resonate with a black dragon corpse upon entering the Old World? Then he must be the reincarnation of that one… Nidhogg Group… the inverted White Dragon King Nidhogg. Strange, but the odds are too high.

The legendary chosen one of fortune truly lives up to the rumors—truly enviable.

"Yes, nothing's wrong," Lu Mingfei's pale face improved slightly; he did not look at this Ji Zai, hesitating: "His master's uncle…"

"Master Ba Lang, you're fine—I thought you'd been completely wiped out," Da Lingye waved toward Lu Mingfei's front.

The crowd murmured, seemingly puzzled by the contents of the bronze coffin; then Gao Sheng glanced at Lu Mingfei and asked: "Qu Brother, what's wrong with you? Are you unwell?"

Personnel B: "The Huoyudan Alliance is recruiting! Join and receive a Qi-Condensing Powder immediately! Eliminate a hostile sect cultivator to earn faction contributions for exchanging real pills!"

Through that corner, no other mist-shrouded universe existed—only a strip of red fabric appeared through the crack before their eyes.

In a town at the filming location, cultivators, half-breeds, and awakened beings from the Divine Tombs gathered here; though the scheming among these temporary factions involved many NPCs, especially the awakened beings from the Divine Tombs, they had nothing to gain—this time, just be background props, eat, drink, and sleep again before the Seventh Life's Heavenly Rebellion.

【I, along with Taiqing, Tian Ye, Lester, Jin Heng… the Seventy-One World Emperors of Wangchuan, sacrificed ourselves to seal Yan Xiao Mo here.】

The starry sky kept splitting into fragments, hurled into the void; only this single blue planet remained unchanged, steadfast in its same position.

Could we really go to the Ancient Forbidden Zone to film the final scene? Better play it safe—create a slightly different map, then use the "adjacent world fragment" premise to bluff it.

"I love peace—I don't enjoy fighting…" Thank you," Tong Wanle said politely to the server as her red-sugar spirit-rice cake arrived.

"How is that possible?!"

"Fellow Daoists, for the sake of all beings under heaven, hurry," Lu Mingfei bowed, then shot a divine light from his third eye, piercing the spatial seal, pointing deep inward.

A muffled sound echoed; the bronze ancient coffin was moved aside, revealing several objects and a red Daoist robe.

Lu Mingfei sensed it—yet he felt no resonance; this proved Yang Jian's body was not here—but…

After entering this place, we anticipated many scenarios; to prevent loss of vitality, we specifically brought many immortal herbs capable of replenishing lifespan, and also collected a celestial artifact.

"Break Tong Wanle's seal, and you've succeeded on your end. As the inverted pillar of orthodox Dao, you don't intend to lead your followers to conquer cities and lands, do you?" Su Lin tapped twice in midair, replicating the approximate map of the Ancient Forbidden Zone, constructing a similar model.

While others examined their surroundings, Bai Zunzhe, portraying Da Lingye, looked up at the sky and pointed to a blue planet: "That one… seems to be Earth?"

"Should we dig it out?" Han Li asked cautiously: "We have no clues about Yang Jian yet. Qu Brother, what do you think?"

Yet one question rose in his mind: Is Kuangdao Balang truly Kuangdao Balang? Ji Zai… perhaps Ji Zai is the original being who walked beside me…

The moment he finished speaking, everyone held their breath; the entire desolate zone fell utterly silent.

"The robe holds an ancient scripture," Nidhogg retrieved a golden-threaded book; when opened, it displayed archaic script: "Can't read it—who can?"

Lu Mingfei pondered, then pointed to a spot on the left rear: "Probably there."

The bronze ancient coffin broke through the earth.

During our observation, the teleportation gate shrank and expanded irregularly—it seemed unstable.

"What's this? Open it," Kuangdao Balang placed his hand on the bronze coffin and shoved hard: "What's to fear? It's already open."

"But…" Tong Wanle paused, pointing at the bronze coffin: "It's already been opened."

"This bronze ancient coffin was buried under earth," Lu Mingfei said.

Upon hearing this, Tong Wanle visibly froze—he saw, in the position he remembered, a seventy-meter stretch of land utterly barren.

Boom—

Kuangdao Balang patted his chest with overblown confidence, yet Lu Mingfei was unsettled—before his eyes stood the female Daoist with the blood-stained copper coin mask—yet everything felt like an illusion, never having appeared or occurred.

"The last bronze coffin wasn't like this—why is this one…?"

"You're fine—your enemies couldn't kill you even if they…"

Seeing all the grotesque monsters cleared by this powerful figure with overwhelming force, Lu Mingfei exhaled, then led the group toward the first layer of the Eight-Coffin's suppressed world, guided by the direction of his Heavenly Eye.

"Terrifying," Su Lin sat in a tavern co-owned by an immortal chef and a Divine Tomb deity, watching the personnel supervisors being taken away by the Heavenly Palace Police; he shook his head: "If this happened on original Earth, those two would've wiped out a whole city. Sigh—worlds with transcendent power are truly terrifying."

He didn't notice that when the thought entered his mind, Nidhogg's lips behind him twitched violently, his fist clenched tightly, then slammed onto the ground.

"By the way, how much daily income do you get?"

【After a new teammate joined, Lu Mingfei's group reached the Eight-Coffin unimpeded, moved the Eight-Coffin, and entered the desolate zone they had once entered.】

"How did this place become like this?" Han Li carefully surveyed the surroundings, warning: "Be careful! Our vitality is draining faster than before!"

"I'll do it—my power can still be partially used," Tong Wanle, portraying the Tong Wanle heir, stepped forward, muttering incantations.

Personnel B: "Hey! What are you blood-factory workers talking about?!"

Tong Wanle looked up and realized the starry sky was fractured—a sensation he had seen before: in the library, the demon boy had once split different dimensions, allowing himself to reassemble even when shredded into countless flesh fragments.

He glanced at the murals along the bronze corridor—they glowed faintly purple, like Lei Ting; last time, this had not occurred—this indicated some unknown change had emerged deep within the ruins.

"I see," Su Lin moved his chopsticks, sounding slightly regretful: "I have some gray industries in your world—you know. Lately, I've neglected them; income is low. For example, the Nightingale Tavern—I said if you win, I'll hand over its management to the Yuzhe Sect."

"Here you go," Lu Mingfei took the book and saw, clearly written:

The bronze colossal coffin was plain yet ancient, adorned with faint, ancient patterns, radiating the weight of time—it was exactly the object seen last time.

Yet emotion is a common trait among all sentient beings; upon encountering a favorable or kindred "tester," they cannot help but feel compelled to impart knowledge or skills.

"I want to worship the Star God of Destruction—they say this place gives out baseball bats you can take out of the simulation universe," said a half-breed. "Others say you NPCs can't worship star gods—the rules are meant to be broken!"

【Fortunately, the strange monster vanished—for now. Otherwise, if this kept up, I'd be the one driven mad.】

This was no joke—Lu Mingfei's current confusion was precisely what he sought; only thus would the other overlook certain details later.

"These items have lost all spiritual aura—they're not good treasures, and certainly not celestial artifacts."

Personnel C: "Ye Zhetian Trading Co. seeks talent! Imperial ambition, one leaf obscures the sky! Top 100 contributors receive a Grade-7 cultivator set, plus a one-time King Weapon copied from the novel 'Ye Zhetian' awaits you! Kill Dan Alliance cultivators—double points!"

Yes! It's right!

After the crowd gathered, they saw Tong Wanle pointing at one corner of the bronze coffin, which had been pried open slightly, revealing a clear gap.

"Is that so? That's truly terrible." Su Shi Qi sighed in relief: "If your mind had remained stable and you weren't afraid at all, then you'd have to eliminate such a protagonist with abnormal mentality—root and branch—or else the troubles will never end!"

Thus, in the back-and-forth clashes, it had essentially shifted from large-clan armed brawls into small-scale heavyweight wars.

Lu Mingfei turned back and saw that, without him noticing, the Daoist Priest before him had vanished, replaced by a fierce, martial woman whose brow radiated wild energy.

"But the Savior's hospitality is hard to refuse—just take this a little more seriously."

Lu Mingfei removed the monocle, took a deep breath; the searing cold and burnt odor surged into his nasal cavity, tugging his confused thoughts into clarity and revulsion.

Added to the various factions and tricks concocted by the organizers and the "Testers," aside from being forbidden to reveal their origins or use sensitive terms, our activity permissions differed little from those of the "Testers."

"Earth doesn't even need to thank him," Qu Yanping said with a practiced smile, his eyes filled with disbelief: "The psychological team just sent word—the Demon Cultivator's mental state seems to be very poor."

"So… a world severed from others has now bordered our own?" Da Lingye said solemnly: "Comrade Qu, you must swiftly locate Huangshan Zhenjun and awaken him—otherwise the consequences are unimaginable."

HR C: "Sweatshop? What's wrong with your guild's blessing system?! You sell aphrodisiacs—dare you say it again?"

"And the phrase 'pillar of the righteous path'… sounds like a character doomed to sacrifice in some epic novel or TV drama. Whatever. The movie's goal was achieved anyway, and everyone had a fairly miserable time."

Lu Mingfei looked around at the surroundings; though his cultivation was still suppressed, his Heavenly Eye on his forehead remained usable.

"Don't act rashly—observe first, and it'll be fine," Lu Mingfei warned: "There's great terror inside—don't open it!"

After steadying himself, he probed with his Heavenly Eye; above lay a mass of pitch-black void impossible to discern clearly, but from its outline, it appeared to be the bronze coffin.

As you know, Ju Chang, origin of the Heavenly Eye technique, can glean thoughts and intentions from others; accurate information can also serve as guidance.

"I'm not greedy or stingy—just that I once needed a lot of gold pieces; now it's slightly better." Qu Yanping savored the sweet aroma of brown sugar mingling with rich rice fragrance in his mouth, smacked his lips, and said:

A thousand mountains, birds flown away; ten thousand paths, no human trace. Wherever the eye reached, lay boundless desolation, life extinguished.

Lu Mingfei said nothing; he merely stared at the blood-red robe, the two long swords, and the bronze coin mask within the coffin, silent for a long time.

"You won't see this bronze ancient coffin again," Song Shuhang, playing the High Ascendant, told Tong Wanle: "Brother Qu, do you still remember where exactly this bronze ancient coffin was located?"

That was Lu Mingfei's lie; once he merged with Yang Jian's old body, he would consume it entirely, overlaying the Path of the Hunter—no self-aware star deity, merely a vessel of power. At that moment, he, as Huangshan Zhenjun, would indeed awaken.

It was fast becoming impossible to tell which memories were abnormal…

Tong Wanle froze. Rumors that the other was obsessed with cultivation were true—some Western dragon had truly lost its mind and come to cultivate.

"Like a ceremonial tomb?"

His eight eyes fixed on the barren, lifeless land; an uncanny sensation whispered to him that digging might yield something—by his realm, intuition had been repeatedly proven vital in battle.

"Any other…?" Tong Wanle's voice was dry, but he forced himself to shift topic: "Any other discoveries?"

HR A: "Miss Kelaien Group offers superior treatment for extraterrestrials, future humans, otherworlders, and cultivators… Hey, you half-breed over there—where are you even going to work?"