Chapter 295

In this world, all demons rise together, and the divine no longer exist; we vow to sacrifice our past, present, and future to forge a seal that cuts off heaven and earth, embedding it into this world's history to mend the gaps left by our predecessors' seals, in exchange for peace across all realms.

This path was not chosen by us willingly, but forced upon us. The moment we entered this world, all our possibilities collapsed into a single outcome—our way back was severed. Rather than be consumed and become one of the great demons, or forged into mindless ghost slaves, we chose to become the seal itself, to atone for our sins. The Emperor Tianyao, Chao Si, and the Lord of Chaos dared to harbor hope; thus, we imposed the Reverse Position upon them, transforming them into our own kind.

This coffin is modeled after the Three-Eras Bronze Coffin and shares its property of existing across all timelines, used to suppress one of the great demons—the evil soul of Confused Siming, Ji Zai—gradually eroding its self-awareness through the passage of time. Should this coffin ever be opened, it signifies the return of Confused Siming, Ji Zai. But do not fear—he is likely already lost in confusion. Inside are some of our lingering remnants... take them, you who come after...

The Three-Eras Bronze Coffin has three layers, in truth three coffins of differing sizes. The Supreme Pure Immortal Emperor and other companions cast themselves into the first layer to mend the seal's gaps, but I must awaken Yang Jian, so I have clung to life for a while longer, journeying to the second coffin where Yang Jian lies.

The beings of this world suffer so greatly, sunk in eternal aeons of the future without knowing it. This is a dream—a dream born collectively by the dead. All we must do is become its guardians, ensuring this dream endures, forever, forever.

I must have been affected by Ji Zai—I rarely recall key information, yet not a single detail has been forgotten. To those who come after: a warning...

Heavenly Dao artifacts are not power, but calamity. Beware these self-seeking Heavenly Dao artifacts and their masters.

With each line Xiao Nannan recited, her voice grew louder; by the end, I felt bones lodged in my throat, unable to speak.

Supreme Pure...

Supreme Pure Immortal Emperor?!

As the great worms converged, a white-and-red cloud emerged from the gate and flew toward a direction in the sky, while the portal before us swiftly closed, for this coffin had once again blocked the entrance.

Qiang Yiliangyuan reached out and pulled out a cage containing a group of children; the youngest were barely ten, the oldest no more than eight.

We encountered countless strange beasts, chased by a terrifying giant ape dozens of stories tall, then met a colossal Kun that devoured the ape...

A fat green worm was pinned firmly to a tree trunk by a golden flying knife; the surrounding space twisted violently—the knife was a Heavenly Dao artifact, the worm a gu insect.

The opponent's eyelids twitched; instantly, Fang Yuan's entire body sprouted dense red hair, a sight of extreme horror.

"Brother! Why is he doing this?!" Qiang Yiliangzheng shouted at Qiang Yiliangyuan: "Let's go home! Isn't this all meaningless?!"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Nannan vaguely grasped something, stunned, yet her expression remained unchanged.

"Hey, good stuff, let's share it together," Kuang Dao Balang grinned wildly, utterly unfazed by the atmosphere: "Supreme Pure Purple Void Scripture—just the name sounds dazzlingly awesome."

"You know Gu Yue Fang—he specifically investigated Ye Fan's origins before one of his rebirths."

"Lies? This so-called new world is merely a prison for the dominant souls of the weak within the seal! You, like this cultivator of high advancement, are nothing but a derivative born from our refusal to forget!" Qu Yanpingyuan pried open a corner of the ancient coffin and, amid swirling mist, tossed all the immortal herbs and the white worms swollen with blood into the bronze coffin:

Ye Fan's face turned instantly ashen; his body, already leaking vitality uncontrollably, trembled precariously. He clutched his head, as if recalling something both familiar and terrifying.

We... are trapped here.

"You see, I'm doing this for your own good—I only want you all to wake up," Qiang Yiliangyuan smiled faintly. "Strange, Elder Ye, why are you looking at me with that expression too?"

"Looks like there's something here," Kuang Dao Balang leapt into the coffin, rummaging through it, seemingly uninterested in Xiao Nannan's words: "What's this? A scripture?"

Boom—

"Heh, not wrong," Qu Yanpingyuan did not deny it: "But I have no kindness toward you—I only wish for you to remain in this fragment of the world until the dust settles. Why are you so restless, Ye Fan?"

The portal before them turned transparent and stretched infinitely—countless immortals, gods, demons, and beasts stood on the other side, including immortals Qiang Yiliang had befriended during that time, and spies from other factions who had followed after. They stood within the portal, staring with terror.

Amid the frightened gazes of the children, he seized a little boy with porcelain skin and twin buns: "Took you long enough to find you—Da Lingye."

"Home? Do you mean the outer world or the inner world? Maoshan? Hahaha..." Qu Yanpingyuan covered his mouth, trying to stifle his laughter, but finally could no longer contain himself—he burst into uncontrollable fits of laughter.

"I don't think so," Ye Fan touched the bronze coffin, then turned toward a spot in the wasteland: "Something has been watching us since we entered here."

"No way—after using the Spring-Autumn Cicada, your fortune will be terrible. I'm sure you already know this." Qu Yanpingyuan crushed the cluster of white worms in his palm; crimson blood dripped from his hand, and at that moment, his aura surged continuously: "So unless absolutely necessary, I have no desire to oppose Ye Fan, no ill will toward him—even now, I still wish to spare you."

"Quiet down, Uncle Balang," Ye Fan, disguised as the white junior, frowned deliberately and stepped away from the coffin, puzzled: "Is this coffin not the one we found last time? Where did the original coffin go?"

A thunderous crash—suddenly, a magnificent waterfall descended upon the cliff of the One-Line Sky gorge, its silver-white torrent roaring with immense force, crashing directly onto Xiao Nannan's group.

"The time node I returned to using the Spring-Autumn Cicada is far older than you imagined," Qu Yanpingyuan evaded the question, gazing at Qu Yanpingzheng and said:

He pulled out a stack of worn jade scrolls, their inscriptions eroded by a terrifying force into irreparable fragments.

Each drop of water in the waterfall was a thought, shaped like a sword; the torrent's violent impact could obliterate even immortals, reducing them to dust.

The soil beneath their feet rose, and patterns of a formation spread from the earth, climbing up every person's body—yet it only restrained, without other effects.

"I finally underestimated your fortune. I thought you merely favored by the Heavenly Dao, but I never imagined that even within this realm where all laws are nullified and the Heavenly Dao does not exist, you still possess a heaven-defying fortune."

At that moment, Qu Yanpingyuan pulled out a gu insect; red threads emerged from Da Lingye's body and flew directly toward Fang Yuan.

As soon as he finished speaking, a flash of cold light shot from his sleeve, streaking toward the nearby figure.

"Even in the outer world they speak of, few know that Gu Yue Fang's Ye Fan despises bullying the weak—especially tormenting his own junior brother, Ye Fan—constantly targeting him!"

With a wave of his hand, the silver-white waterfall vanished instantly.

These beings' bodies melted into pools of pus and blood; crimson fluids spread across the bronze corridor, converging upon the many white worms—larger than mosquitoes, each bloated to a glowing red abdomen.

"Enough!" Ye Fan hugged his head, tears streaming: "All of this belongs to the next life!"

Qiang Yiliang turned his head, his expression brightening upon seeing Fang Yuan; at that moment, Qu Yanpingyuan released his grip, allowing Qiang Yiliang to run toward Fang Yuan.

"Awaken, Ye Tian Di!"

"Look here— isn't that man's back the same as your brother's?" Qiang Yiliangyuan said to Da Lingye.

"Fang Zheng, can you guess why I asked you to invite Fang Yuan and the others to explore the Penglai Ruins? And why I adopted our relatives before we entered the Penglai Ruins?"

Ye Fan shouted: "Brother, don't listen to him!"

Why does the same name appear here? Is it the same entity—or...

Amid Qiang Yiliangyuan's laughter, Ye Fan, carrying Fang Yuan, was crushed halfway into the ground; he spat out a mouthful of blood, as if unable to bear the rank of the figure on his back.

"Do you guys have such good luck?!" Kuang Dao Balang raised an eyebrow: "When I was fourteen, I also had a Heavenly Dao artifact fly to me—but I gambled it all away and lost it. What was it called? The Gentleman's Sword?"

"Everyone, be careful—the monsters released here have vanished without trace," Han Li warned: "Moreover, this bronze coffin could not have opened by accident—if someone didn't deliberately open it..."

A moment ago.

So it began from this point...

But aren't Ye Fan and the others supposed to be reincarnations—or new entities born from this world? What does Qu Yanpingyuan mean...?

Two Heavenly Dao artifacts capable of self-destruction via internal rules were destroyed; the lives of all present were greatly diminished—yet only Ye Fan retained the same vitality as when they entered.

"Brother!"

"Wait patiently until I open the first layer in a dangerous way, isn't that better?" Qiang Yiliangyuan toyed with the Sky-Palm Vase beside him—the "true" Eight-Eras Bronze Coffin—while numerous immortal herbs sprouting around him replenished vitality.

These people were the ones Xiao Nannan deliberately abandoned!

"What do you mean, Heavenly Dao artifacts aren't power but disaster?" Lu Mingfei said casually. "You weren't born with a Heavenly Dao artifact, yet you've seen disasters too."

"It seems no one arrived at that place before you," Qu Yanpingzheng said coldly.

"Could it be that..."

"Hahaha..." Qu Yanpingyuan's smile faded; his gaze grew deep and dark: "All beings become empty, yet you become a demon. Xiao Meng, awakened after ten thousand years, knows the truth—you. Right and wrong are all illusions; only today do you know you are you."

Di Sheng stepped back one step and said: "No wonder every time you invited him to meet Ye Fan, he always found excuses to avoid it—or claimed he was out gathering intelligence. He's deliberately avoiding Ye Fan?!"

"He should be more confused than anyone. This isn't some future, nor some illusion—this isn't his body! His true form!" Qu Yanpingyuan's voice carried a smile.

Da Qiangyi's eyes were wet with tears, deeply fearful of Xiao Nannan's strange smile.

"Why is his relationship with Ye Fan so bad now? Has he dreamed about it every night? His past memories..."

"Even if you deliberately avoid them, they still find their way to your door after your life force fades. The fate-blessed—such things are truly annoying."

Ten days ago, his life force ceased to flow, and even before he had much left to replenish it, Qiangyi Liang followed Ye Fan to the mouth of a dark, dry gorge.

Even though he had never met such a great figure, he had heard the name of that Immortal Emperor who had reopened heaven and earth before the complete collapse of the Hengyu Realm's mortal world!

"Ji Zai?!"

The white dragon, who had protected them all, let out a deafening roar, seized the crimson-furred Qiangyi with one claw, and shot skyward. Stones rained down from below, waves of air surged from the heavens, and then came an overwhelming demonic aura.

"Witness it with me, Brother Qu—come here, let's go together to Yang Jian..."

Xiao Nannan was now completely stunned. He stared at Di Sheng, recalling the words the man had once spoken—"There's still a chance—you're not dead yet?" "I found the ruins of Gu Yuefang on a falling floating island; there were two cultivator corpses inside—one was you..."

"Big Brother Nannan, what is he going to do...?" Da Lingye said timidly. "Why is he locking everyone in? We've all listened to him—he promised to take us to find our family."

"What? You've never encountered a Heavenly Dao artifact?" Di Sheng said dejectedly. "Everyone else has one."

"You're the one who trapped me in another fragment of the world, aren't you?" Ye Fan said fiercely. "Otherwise, I would've fallen with you all onto that great land."

He had regained his cultivation—despite being in a forbidden zone where his power was severely suppressed?!

He was so weak—Qiangyi Liang instantly recalled Qu Yanpingyuan's odd behavior back at the Sword Tomb. He had claimed at the time that he regretted never having met Qiangyi, that legendary figure—but ever since, he'd always found some reason not to see him.

"What exactly do you intend to do?" Qiangyi said grimly, his face unreadable, his long sword pointed at Qiangyi Liang.

Qu Yanpingyuan's words suddenly cut off. He saw a purple sword protruding from his chest. Slowly, his robes turned red, then blood-red Dao robes.

"Inverted White King Nidhogg—hasn't he awakened yet?" Qiangyi Liang stared warmly at the white dragon in the Ten Thousand Sword Waterfall, the one bearing the torrent for them all. "Indeed, Brother Ye Fan—your luck is truly enviable. I'm so curious—whose soul are you?"

"Why... is he here..."

"It's... it's true... you're not Di Sheng's reincarnation..." Di Sheng sat on the ground, utterly drained of strength.

"Do they not know they're already dead? Brother Di—you should know, shouldn't you..."

Xiao Nannan glanced at the side where Qiangyi stood. For these few days, he had truly witnessed what fate meant.

"So funny, is it?!" Qu Yanpingzheng drew his sword, pointing it at Qu Yanpingyuan, fire blazing in his eyes: "Are you the Devil-Taker or Qu Yanpingyuan?!"

And he hadn't finished speaking the final words, because he had once heard Han Li say—his Palm of Heaven Vase had appeared beside him of its own accord, a Heavenly Dao artifact...

Two more chapters remain.