Chapter 373: Amen

Blue Star, Blue Star

A white lotus bloomed; as time slowed to a halt, it then abruptly accelerated into withering, and not long after, a new white lotus bloomed again upon the rotting mire.

Birth, decay, extinction—caught in an endless cycle of return and rebirth.

Jiang Taixu fixed his gaze on the white lotus, suddenly enlightened, his own qi ebbing and flourishing in tandem.

After a long while.

"All conditioned things are impermanent. All phenomena are without self. Nirvana is stillness." Jiang Taixu lifted his head; his aura had nearly vanished from this world: "Thank you, Elder, for transmitting this Dharma."

Around him, chaos reigned; in the distance, a phantom glazed myriad-character seal floated, upon which Su Lin sat cross-legged in empty space, his body drenched in supreme radiance, holding a flower between his fingers, brilliant, pure sparks of light emerging from the void and merging into the halo of merit behind him.

"We may still address each other as fellow cultivators. This power of mine is but a fleeting epiphyllum—a dust to dust, earth to earth. After this, I still have much to learn from you." Su Lin opened his eyes and looked at Jiang Taixu.

"The current state of affairs is not what we wished for."

"Some Buddhist methods, offered to help you draw analogies—consider them an apology from Ye Fan for not explaining the situation earlier. Please do not blame him."

"For now, the situation is largely under our control, yet uncertainties remain. If the Divine King wishes not to remain involved, you may leave. I will have Ye Fan visit you later to apologize."

"Elder, no need for such formality. Let future matters be addressed in the future." Jiang Taixu bowed respectfully, his tone solemn.

"Now I understand why you were able to perform such a miraculous, heaven-rending technique to save Caiyun's life."

"This world is unique and teeming with powerful beings. Without fear of death or retaliation from the strong, I may comprehend diverse Dao paths—this is a tremendous opportunity for me."

Jiang Taixu was always one who clearly distinguished gratitude from resentment, and now, the situation was effectively a gift of opportunity.

He could fight without restraint against foreign powerhouses and deities, exchanging techniques in the instant of clash, then, after recovery, sit and discuss Dao, learning different arts.

Even when wielding an Emperor Artifact, he could sacrifice himself fully to activate it!

He had no fear the other harbored ill intent—such accumulated power and depth, if truly malicious, would make all four regions of Zhongzhou combined no match for a single Emperor, even if the other had only temporarily restored past strength.

"Then, for these few days, I ask you to use the Emperor Artifact to guard the dimensional rifts at the edge of this star system."

Su Lin offered no further explanation; when the time came, things would naturally resolve themselves.

Jiang Taixu nodded, then hesitated a moment, unable to suppress his curiosity: "May I ask, Elder, which Buddha Emperor are you, having achieved Nirvana?"

The Nirvana-extinction method Su Lin had just transmitted had allowed him to grasp a thread of the Dao of breaking and rebuilding; combined with the dense merit-light and Buddha-body, Jiang Taixu's suspicion was not unfounded.

But then.

"Buddha sect?" Su Lin's voice echoed from all around Jiang Taixu: "I've dabbled a bit."

Jiang Taixu turned—and saw multiple versions of Su Lin appearing beside him. The nearest one had a wheel of light rotating behind his back, layers upon layers of temporal and dimensional realms encircling him.

He tilted his head slightly, glancing to his right—where a Daoist stood within ink-wash Shanhe, holding a blazing sun.

"I was presumptuous." Jiang Taixu had been about to look behind him, but he sensed something of immense terror there, so he chose to take his leave, departing via the automatic teleportation of his puppet body.

Before leaving, he glanced at the palace named Yu Xu Palace.

The powerful beings here… far outnumber one.

After Jiang Taixu vanished, within the dim, chaotic Yu Xu Palace, several distinct figures stepped into the center, merging into Su Lin's body.

"Wasn't that satisfying?" Kleine emerged from the chaos beside him: "Being a big shot, huh?"

Su Lin shook his head: "Not satisfying. Extremely satisfying."

Kleine rolled his eyes: "You've only been transcendent for less than five years and you're already this satisfied—what if your threshold gets too high later?"

"You've only been cultivating for five years?" Meng Qi stepped out from the mist, his form shifting constantly between the Three Pure Ones: "That's excessive."

"First, he didn't count time items. Second, with Song Shuhang around, nothing's excessive." Su Lin's expression remained blank.

"Besides, don't act like you two have been cultivating for ages. Of course, my cultivation path has been smoother, luckier—just a little."

"True enough," Meng Qi sighed deeply.

"Before I was transported, I'd have been eating skewers with beer after work, watching football, playing games, catching new anime in my free time, occasionally daydreaming about saving the world in my dreams."

"Now I've become a figure from myth. What a fickle world."

He was not entirely ordinary—he was a fish secretly nurtured by Anan. Fortunately, amid the contest of the Shore's great beings, he gained a sliver of survival.

"Actually, everyone's doing fine right now," Kleine reminded him: "Normally, you still have 606 years before you abandon your beloved and perish with your Dao, Mr. Su Lin."

"." Su Lin stared at Kleine for a moment, then asked:

"Why are you here? I must maintain focus to slow the convergence and prevent Karosso's will from descending."

"Though I won't be harmed, this world will likely face some trouble."

That came out of nowhere—can we not mention that if-path?

The Fortune Teller is great in every way—except sometimes he's too much like a Hunter.

"Weigong Shilang has awakened, and our village's best blacksmith, Weigong, is now showing signs of autonomous response," Kleine said.

"By the way, be careful with Nyarlathotep. He seems unusually restless."

"I know. Two guests from the Arad Continent have entered the dimensional rift." Su Lin manipulated space, drawing forth a fragment of the dimensional rift, smiling:

"Young Master Kongxu and Nyaari."

On the screen, in a dense forest, a young man with dark circles from long cultivation and a girl resembling a succubus walked along a narrow path.

"Give Anduin a Class Two trait—have him go deliver a team invitation." Su Lin took a trait from his extradimensional vault.

"Aren't you afraid one day Anduin will lose control?" Kleine said, then shook his head: "I forgot—you move faster than Amon's theft."

Before Su Lin acted, his avatar dissolved into particles.

"This guy…"

Su Lin glanced at the Azure Jade Yu Xu Sword in his hand, then directly commanded it to fly into Meng Qi's grasp.

"Epic gear," Meng Qi brushed his palm along the blade's surface; within the azure flame, stars seemed to howl: "When I was transported, this game was already on its last legs."

"Every year they say it's dying, yet it's never fully dead," Su Lin said. "It's yours now."

Meng Qi gave a slight nod; in the instant he turned, he and the outside Biyou Palace dissolved into illusory bubbles.

Inside Yu Xu Palace, Su Lin looked upward, then pulled out the cross Adam had traded him, revealing a warm smile:

"Amen."

Like a prayer, yet tinged with amusement, tiny sparks of light, like fireflies, danced together, shaping within the chaos the embryonic form of a Holy Grail.

Those firefly-like lights were fragments of the Holy Grail!

"Let me see something interesting, since I can't join the simulation universe team-building."

The Alvin Front of the Interdimensional Rift

【npc】 The blacksmith Weigong Zheng mechanically hammered the red-hot iron, seemingly weary, wiped sweat from his brow, and fell silent, staring at the eternal flame.

Within the furnace, the melted Holy Grail fragments flowed along a dark passage deep beneath the earth, illuminating the pitch-black underground cavern like lava.

Rin Tohsaka continuously chanted incantations, while Illya, clad in the Robe of Heaven, floated above.

"We're at this point already, but I still have to ask: brat."

The Second Mage, holding the Jewel Sword, smiled charmingly, his voice soft and gentle: "You wouldn't seriously try to steal all the Weigong Shilangs across every timeline, would you?"

"If I said yes, you'd probably rather die with me, wouldn't you, Rin?" Illya smiled, cradling a sphere of pure mana in both hands.

"Don't worry—it's only a temporary, localized effect. The main branch of the UBW timeline won't be affected much. If another version of me steals him away, it just means you lack charm. And—"

"You don't want to see other timeline's Sakura Matou suffer, do you, Pump?"

Rin tightened her grip on the Jewel Sword, then suddenly smiled, enigmatic.

She laughed: "You'd better keep a close eye on that idiot you stole. Or else—heehee."

Upon hearing this, Illya's smile grew slightly strained, then quickly returned to normal.

"Try it, if you think you can."

Beyond even the world's side, from a higher-dimensional perspective.

The malformed world's main branch, once encircled by white storms, suddenly emitted an invisible ripple; countless linear timelines began to ripple with irregular waves.

Like a trigger pulled, or a switch flipped.

The influence spread from the deep subconscious of humanity to specific beings across different timelines.

January 31, 2004, the first night of the Fuyuki Holy Grail War.

In the late-night residential street, a few fluttering snowflakes drifted from the sky.

"If you don't call out soon, you'll die, big brother."

The instant Illya and Weigong Shilang passed each other beneath the streetlamp.

Weigong Shilang suddenly felt fragments of memory surge into his mind, and shouted: "Illya?"

The girl, who had just been smirking, froze in surprise. As she turned her head, fragmented memories suddenly flooded her mind—even a scene of herself kissing him.

Her face instantly

Turned bright red.

February 3, 2004. The Saber group and Archer group, having left the Yagō Church, encountered Illya accompanied by a powerful Berserker.

At this moment, Saber was locked in a desperate battle; Archer's occasional support had no effect.

Just as Saber was about to be slain by Shi Fu's blade, Weigong Shilang rushed forward and shoved Saber aside.

The swordwind howled; Weigong Shilang's fate seemed certain.

Yet even after Weigong Shilang fell to the ground, the giant's axe-blade never descended.

"Shilang, are you an idiot?!" Illya appeared beside Weigong Shilang via spatial teleportation, seized his arm with her right hand—now missing one Command Seal—and frantically checked his condition.

Saber's pupils shrank. Her battle instinct told her this was a perfect opportunity; her longsword was about to strike—then flashed the image of Irisviel, and she changed her intent to seize the girl instead.

Clang!!

A semi-transparent sword-shadow instantly appeared before the Excalibur, and the one gripping that blade of energy was—

Weigong Shilang?!

"Illya, how many times have I told you, don't just randomly—"

Weigong Shilang instinctively scolded the girl in a weary tone, then realized something was off. He looked at the sword-energy blocking Saber's blade in his right hand, then at the girl collapsed against his chest.

She, too, seemed to awaken from a dream, dazed and confused.

"Shilang, what are these memories?" Illya's face flushed slightly as she asked: "We... have we been somewhere... before?"

Weigong Shilang froze. A sword technique called the Ten Fang Sword Art surfaced in his mind, along with fragmented memories.

February 12, 2004.

Weigong Shilang and Rin Tohsaka, seeking aid from the Einzbern Castle in the Fuyuki suburbs, hid on the castle's second floor.

On the first-floor hall, Illya, cornered, wept as she watched Berserker, bound by the Chains of Heaven, his chest pierced.

Gilgamesh's longsword then slashed out, blinding the girl. He stepped forward, sword in hand, preparing his next move.

Rin was pinning Weigong Shilang beneath her, trying to stop him from rushing out—when suddenly, she felt nothing beneath her.

"Shilang?!"

Ssshhhh—

The sound of flesh and blood flying.

Rin looked down urgently—and saw the golden Servant's sword-arm lying on the ground. He stared in disbelief at the suddenly appearing Weigong Shilang.

Weigong Shilang held a phantom longsword, standing before Illya, his hollow eyes fixed on her current state—then suddenly reflected the image of a longsword:

"Die, Gilgamesh."

Power came from nowhere; he somehow knew the name—then swung the blade.

The half-destroyed Gilgamesh murmured: "Awakened?!"

"Could movie plots be real events? Hahaha, little girl, what a joke you're telling."

Emerging from his exclusive Messia Room, the resurrected Kuang Dao Kuangdao Sanlang raised an eyebrow, sighing:

"Another one obsessed. Not surprising—after all, the Simulation Universe is too real. But I've never met a staff member like you before."

If all of this is true, then I must really be a reincarnation of a Confucian Sage.

Kuang Dao Kuangdao Sanlang couldn't help bursting into laughter: "What kind of hellish joke is this?! Hahahaha!"

Tenzan Lixiang and Mashu exchanged a glance, while Merlin behind them leisurely flipped through a manga of "Fate/Stay Night," holding several Type-Moon works in his other hand.

These were manually drawn R12-censored versions created by some cultivators who had more contact with human society, to help their sect mates, elders, and juniors understand the settings of the Simulation Universe.

In Navigation World, except for the yet-unreleased "Primal" and "Exhaustion," all copyright-related matters had already been resolved by cultivators using their money power; trailers had already been released. The mixing of so many IPs into one pot once led audiences worldwide to wonder if some mysterious billionaire had lost his mind.

"Is it really just a TV drama?" Tenzan Lixiang fell silent.

After traveling together this long, she had gained a general understanding of Kuang Dao Kuangdao Sanlang, this eccentric "Sage Reincarnation." He was overly fond of courting death, but when it came to the Simulation Universe, players, and the Cultivation Realm, Kuang Dao Kuangdao Sanlang never lied—or rather, considered lying beneath him.

But a problem arose.

Known information could prove both Kuang Dao Kuangdao Sanlang's claims and the real existence of the TV characters; many things could be verified yet clashed with reality.

"In Mr. Kuang Dao Kuangdao Sanlang's world, we are all characters from fictional works."

"But in reality, we are real people, and Master Emiya truly traveled to other worlds."

"Other great ones are treated by cultivators as actors, yet seem real! #￥"

Thud! Thud-thud! Thud-thud-thud!

Tenzan Lixiang muttered to himself as he bashed his head against a nearby tree, causing several HP-recovering wild fruits to fall.

"Master, calm down!" Mashu hugged Tenzan Lixiang, trying to stop his self-harming behavior:

"Even though this isn't the Sky Veil Leviathan, if a wild extreme-environment tree spirit sees this, it'll attack us!"

"Hahaha, aren't these things interesting?" Merlin chuckled as he turned the pages.

"This is far more interesting than saving Human History. Just make this the main quest and treat the Alien Gods as side content, Tenzan."

"Don't even mention those things," Tenzan Lixiang lifted his head, glanced at his current gear and the gauntlets at his waist, and smiled sweetly:

"If I can take this gear back, once I'm fully equipped, I'll tear that trouble-making bastard who never shows up when trouble strikes into two pieces."

"Aren't Alien Gods' blood red?"

Although his ability to summon Spirit-Shadow Servants had led players to classify him as a Summoner, Tenzan Lixiang had purchased only melee weapons.

"Master, snap out of it!!!" Mashu grabbed Tenzan Lixiang's shoulders and shook him. "This is a game world!!! Don't take it seriously!!!"

Merlin looked at the two in confusion: "Isn't this reality?"

(End of Chapter)