Chapter 540: Instant Cultivation (Please Refresh)

Who wakes first from the great dream? I alone know my own life.

When Shang Yue remembered everything, he was already in a strange place with Shang Xiaoyue; he clearly recalled having just experienced a magnificent dream of ruling all heavens, but instantly afterward, he remembered being tricked by Bei Wu Zhenxian.

Where is this?

Right, Tiancheng.

Shang Yue looked around and saw several weapons embedded in the earth, rusting away despite their wielders being gone—countless sword relics.

Each and every one was as magnificent and radiant as the sun, moon, and stars in the sky.

The things in the sky aren't stars—they're swords?!

"What a nuisance."

A long sigh rose, accompanied by faint sword hums; a flash of sword light darted through wind and dust.

Drip, drip.

Torrential blood rain fell from the heavens, lead-gray clouds covering the sky; a man with white hair tied in a crown stepped out of the smoke and dust, cradling an unconscious girl.

"Another one here to seize the Holy Grail?"

Weigong Shilang?!

Holy Grail War?!

Shang Yue stared at the man in eastern robes stained with blood, then at the girl in his arms; before he could grasp what was happening, the man raised his hand in a motion almost lethargic and slowly slashed toward them.

A violent tide of sword qi surged, roaring ten thousand zhang high, stretching all the way to the horizon's end.

Shang Yue turned back in shock—the world had been torn open by a colossal scar; from the shattered void poured forth celestial warships unlike anything he'd ever seen, vast beyond measure.

Gods and immortals stood densely packed upon each of those immortal vessels.

This terrifying number exceeded by countless times the total of all people Shang Yue had ever seen in two lifetimes! The strongest among them were beings he had never dreamed existed!

"Why does the blood tide surge? Why does the sword swing?"

In Shang Yue's stunned expression, the man calling himself "Weigong Shilang," face blank, raised his snow-white sword; boundless immortal spiritual energy surged like a flood, then descended as an endless rain of swords, like a Milky Way falling from the highest heavens.

This is fucking Holy Grail War??

His heart nearly stopped beating; beneath this apocalyptic scene, Shang Yue was pulled away by Shang Xiaoyue's hand, racing toward another direction.

But there was nowhere to hide.

Within seconds, pain struck his head, abdomen, torso, ankles—and with it, his consciousness vanished.

"This Sword Tomb instance is so hard."

"I told you—among the historical echoes of the Sword Demon Immortals, choosing the Sword Tomb instance is pure self-torture for non-sword cultivators."

"Didn't the Supreme Sword Sect already complete their Reincarnation Awakening? With his help, their home universe, the Type-Moon universe, has already been devoured by Lord Haotian. What universe are we devouring next?"

"Who knows? As long as we gain benefits from every operation, we frontline soldiers just need to obey the great Lord Haotian's orders."

Shang Yue came to his senses, holding Shang Xiaoyue before a massive star gate; several immortal gods passed by them, departing on immortal ships or magical artifacts.

He stood there dazed, watching the flow of people, his mind in chaos.

"Fuck, you're awake too?!"

Suddenly, a hand gripped Shang Yue's right elbow; he turned sharply and saw John Constantine nodding at him, whispering: "Follow me—this place is wrong."

Shang Yue nodded blankly and walked with him into a group of angels with wings, who were casually leaning on immortal demons.

"In our world, killing one draws a whole wave—always undefeated, always killing, the path of being enemies with all under heaven, yet invincible against all under heaven."

Inside Qiongqi Tower, Ye Fan gazed coldly into the distance: "Since we're going to kill anyway, and fight anyway, why not just crush it outright? So to get ahead early, I kept some distance from those brutes and spent a fortune buying a cheat from Guai Ge."

"Bro, doesn't that logic sound off?" Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan didn't understand Ye Fan's reasoning.

One thing was certain: this was the most intense battle fervor Ye Fan had shown in years.

After all, Tiancheng was still clutched tight in his palm when Bei Wu Zhenxian pulled this move—clearly aiming for total dominance.

Ye Fan was the type who held grudges; after being tricked by Duan De when he first started out, Ye Fan nearly looted every treasure off Duan De's body.

Even after they went into business together, whenever Duan De's identity was exposed and he had to flee, he was always the one sent out to draw fire—only Duan De's fat, tough body could withstand such abuse; anyone else would've been broken.

"Zhang Sanfeng, who cultivates Yin-Yang Chaos and forms a world within his palm through the Supreme Taiji."

"Jiu Shu, who wields the High Divine Thunderbolt Severing and Judging Art, summoning the divine form of Confused Siming of the Eastern Peak."

"What do we sell to these guests? And what exactly is going on right now?"

This is just too damn much—got up too fast.

Had it not been for Han Li confirming that less than a dozen hours had passed, everyone would've thought they'd returned to Tiancheng after countless ten thousand years.

If Tiancheng had once been little more than a backwater market from the simulated universe era, now it was majestic, spanning countless worlds, boundless cosmic realms, where even casual conversations among divine arts carried the sound of Dao.

"Setting aside the scale of this move, just this thunder tactic suggests it was long planned."

Meng Qi sipped tea and gazed up at the cosmic vortex above, using the trait of All-Result Cause to discern that the universe they had just left was one among them—and could identify which one.

Warm steam rose from the teacup, but everyone suddenly fell silent.

That vortex, which had already carved out its territory and kept devouring other universes…

How to put it…

Pure coincidence.

"Mr. Azathoth, where are you going?" Meng Qi asked, puzzled.

Kleen, already at the door, his face hidden in the shadow of his hat, paused mid-step as he heard the question.

"Hey guys, do you think I should become the God of Steel or the Ultimate Iron Man?"

Su Su Tuoni Stark walked into the hall, projecting two templates, suggesting:

"What if I turn Ultron into armor and embed the Infinity Stones in my chest? Honestly, let's just focus on the DC universe—forget Marvel."

Ultron Era won't work, but Iron Era will?

To protect his world from being targeted by the Multiverse Devourers, Su Su Tuoni Stark may have chosen to embrace darkness, deliberately shifting the map.

"Your thoughts are too dark, Stark," Kleine shook his head and said.

"That way, I'll return first and ascend to an Ancient Day—this might help me deal with the current situation to some extent."

"Don't rush. The reason we dare return to this Tiancheng is because the rule prohibiting death, killing, and competition here is still active."

"If the other side could seize Tiancheng through killing and plundering, they would have already carried out this plan—why go through the trouble again?"

He casually swung his arm, reasoning aloud about the current situation, his steps slow and unhurried as he moved toward the door, seemingly indifferent to the "movie joke."

Zhongli patted the shoulder of the "Great Sage of the Demon Court," who was still lost in shame from the earlier "line," and said:

"As soon as we leave that world, everyone else will return to normal—our immunity is naturally due to the group chat's effect."

Everyone understood: it was precisely the ultimate treasure, the "Group Chat," capable of defending against Su Lin-level soul attacks, that had prevented them from being immersed.

"But that universe doesn't make sense!" Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan now dared not even let out a scoff—he was suffocating: "Why specifically the movie's setting?"

Yet that world was too strange.

All the settings of the simulated universe were present; the NPCs from both the film and the normal testing phase were all there, even the aliases everyone had used had become independent individuals.

For example, the Yuzhe Sect—aside from Yuzhe Kleine, Mei Lin, Father Amon, and Ge Erman were all diligently performing their duties.

Almost instinctively, everyone turned their gaze back to Kleine.

Kleine: "."

It always felt like someone was deliberately targeting him.

Meng Qi: "By the way, your and Miss San Yueqi's prophecy back then—"

"I have something to attend to," Kleine interrupted.

Sometimes coincidences are normal; with the vastness of the myriad worlds, just as a person might grow a flower identical to another, it's natural that over countless eons, some similar universes would arise.

Kleine planned to return immediately and fight Amon to the death—even if Amon seized the Source Fortress along the way, or Yuanshi Tianzun revived and possessed him, it would be better than staying here as a misunderstood target of his groupmates.

Speaking of which,

It's been a while since I sensed any sign of Yuanshi Tianzun's revival—could he be planning something big at a critical moment?

As Kleine grew increasingly restless, a message arrived from Su Lin.

"From my homeland's perspective, this Tiancheng seems linked to many different dimensions and distant universes in the void. Pulling Tiancheng back along with these universes is extremely difficult."

Su Lin also hadn't anticipated this, and continued:

"Currently, there are about three thousand universes—some large, some small; some are mature natural universes, i. e., multiverses, so their weights differ. Most importantly, the distances are all too great. If they were all in the same dimension, it'd be easy—just pull them over with some force."

Meng Qi: "It should be the world those traders came from."

Su Lin: "This Tiancheng is essentially hanging off these worlds. If we pull, we should think carefully—it feels like it'd cause too much commotion."

Lu Mingfei: "Aren't you saying the distance is too far and it's difficult?!"

Su Lin: "Yes, it's a bit. After all, reeling in from such a distance, my Heavenly Dao would be exhausted—it'd need to sleep for years to recover. I'd feel terrible for it."

Ye Fan: "Better not. I don't want to see you devour so many universes."

Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan: "Yes, let's all get along peacefully!"

Su Lin: "Kleine, dear friend, if you want to go back, just go. Even without a cross-realm talisman, visiting you from my side is still quick."

Kleine: "."

What did Mr. Yuzhe do wrong that you'd threaten him like this?

Doesn't Reality Online have a GM who can give this guy some fairness mechanisms?

Oh, I forgot—he's the GM's own pet, specially granted by his Heavenly Dao.

Kleine always felt his mental state and the Yuanshi Tianzun's will within him growing increasingly calm, yet he couldn't feel the slightest joy.

Ever since this guy successfully renewed his subscription, even Shi Hao barely spoke in the group anymore, because

Most_Loves_Ani_Milk: "This place is decent for training. As long as I stay here, my true cultivation gradually increases—it seems the universe's primordial source is flowing into my body."

Song Shuhang: "Huangshan Zhenjun also said his cultivation increased after leaving."

Su Lin: "How could it not increase? Stay here for tens of thousands of years—you could even launch a million-fold Huangtian Di plan."

As long as you accept the setting of that world and integrate into it, you can tap into the universe's power, while your true cultivation slowly increases.

Fortune?

It can also be considered fortune.

Zhongli: "It seems the Northern Wu Zhenxian didn't lie about this matter, but his scheme and the hidden secrets behind this Tiancheng must be even more astonishing."

Weigong Shilang: "Dada Liya thinks that world is interesting and wants to go back and play."

Song Shuhang: "I'm still looking for Bai Qian. The other seniors from Jiuzhou No. 1 Group are scattered across various factions according to the movie script. Kuangdao Sanlang seems missing—no one has seen him."

Zijin Shenlong: "Aowu! Boss, bad news—Chen Nan's inner entities have all escaped! They only obey your orders!"

Su Lin: "Forget it. I'll go to the Penglai Ruins and gather everyone to send them out first. Xing, Bao, where are you?"

Everyone in the group chat had sent messages—only Xing was nowhere to be found.

"Gu Yue Fangxing! Stop! Don't destroy the Order Moth—!!!"

"Without the Order Moth, the entire new world will fall into chaos! The beings of countless realms won't know where they're headed!"

Surrounded by immortals, the celestial court's deities rushed to stop her, yet still could not prevent a flaming spear from tearing through the starry sea.

Under the glow of fire, her skin was as white as snow, cold as frost; her eternal gray hair fell down, her brilliant golden eyes gazing at everyone without a trace of emotion.

"What order? What chaos among countless beings? None of this matters to me." She grabbed the sapphire-fanged Order Moth, named the Procreation Envoy, pressed it to her chest, and smiled coldly:

"Why do birds fly? Why do living things sleep?"

"One day, everyone will awaken from this dream and fly toward the free sky. When that time comes…"

"Qiong, once more—I will create a world with you again!"

She gently applied pressure—and a soft crack sounded.

The Order Moth was crushed into fragments by her hand.

The vast Heavenly Court fell into absolute silence; at its edge, hundreds of li away, a man clad in a white robe with pale skin and jet-black flowing hair frowned strangely, then turned to leave.

"Young friend, let's go—to Tiancheng."

"Gu Yue Fang Yuan, where is your token?"

Shang Yue asked, puzzled.

The man called Gu Yue Fang Yuan smiled faintly: "I didn't bring it on me—just use yours. Didn't you come to me first?"

"No, he's not the Gu Yue Fang Yuan from Tiancheng!" Constantine said.

The man chuckled lightly: "But I am Gu Yue Fang Yuan—didn't you recognize me at once?"

His gaze grew colder; his smile lost its earlier softness.

In Shang Yue's solemn and startled gaze, the man stepped closer—when suddenly—

"You're Gu Yue Fang Yuan? Then who am I?"

A voice of suspicion arose—identical in tone—from behind him.

In the instant the "Gu Yue Fang Yuan" turned his head, a hand seized his crown, and he chanted: "Beneath the Imaginary Tree, cold winds blow; cicadas sing through spring and autumn as the youth returns; beneath the Soul-Shaking Mountain, the Underworld King is bound; the Heavenly Paradise wanders as the Buddha heads west; on the River of Time, the Outer Gods retreat; Fate yields to the fool's mouth; Order, forged by Heaven, is destined to fall; Joy I regret not, though others repent!"

With that said.

Instantly assimilated!

(End of Chapter)