Chapter 683: The Origin of Fate

Isn't it perfectly reasonable for a card game to include one or two banned cards?

“Hurry up and play!”

Only after Su Lin, gripped by his card addiction, repeatedly swore on the ship of their friendship, did the few who had been shouting agree to return and play with him.

Sorry, it’s a talisman card game.

“What are they so worried about?” Bōrei Reimu observed: “The danmaku and talismans only deliver impact, not real damage.”

“Heh. Who knows?” Hōrai Kōya smirked, glancing away: “Maybe it’s a dark game where lives are on the line.”

Xiao Yan placed both hands on Li Huowang’s shoulders and said solemnly: “Same as always—if anything goes wrong, kill me first.”

“.” Li Huowang nodded.

If you’re this scared, just don’t go, Brother Xiao Yan. No need to risk your life playing with Brother Su.

“I must seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

All emotion in Xiao Yan’s eyes turned to battle intent; his talisman card activated by spiritual force.

[Fire Talisman: Buddha’s Wrathful Rebirth]

A ring formed from multiple exotic flames contained the power of reincarnation; countless dense streams of exotic flame danmaku, each with different attributes, blotted out the sky and sun.

Clearly grasped the essence of the talisman card game: danmaku must be dense and always fired in circles.

“Rude bastard.” Su Lin’s eye twitched.

[Buddha Talisman: Only I Am Supreme]

A faint, brilliant, pure glow emerged from empty space—radiant, immaculate, the divine body of the celestial Buddha, flawless and majestic, fully formed.

He pointed one finger to heaven, one to earth, murmuring: “Above and below, only I am supreme!”

Buddha light blazed forth, dispelling darkness; unlike Xiao Yan’s exotic flame danmaku, countless “ Wan ” characters and sacred sutras filled the heavens and earth, emerging from the Buddha’s palms.

Each “ Wan ” seal collided with exotic flames, triggering dazzling light pollution effects.

“Is that guy a Buddhist monk?” Reimu blinked in surprise.

More like a Buddha himself than a mere monk.

Ye Fan stared, stunned, at the Buddha’s form, where pure lustrous light shone everywhere, its aura vast and solemn, celestial chants triggering cosmic phenomena: “You didn’t add anything extra, right?”

“So rare!” Song Shu felt tears welling up: “A battle style that’s actually normal—Master Su Lin is a once-in-a-century sight!”

As the original owner of the Black Hole Washing Machine Revival Premium Package, Song Shu now saw the Buddha’s golden body without translucent cloaks, no Guiyi smiles on its lips, no writhing “ Wan ” characters—and felt overwhelming emotion.

[Fire Talisman: Flame Sea, Lotus Pool]

[Dao Talisman: Swallow the Sun, Devour the Yin]

Xiao Yan upgraded his exotic flame danmaku; the flames devoured and fused into terrifying lustrous lotuses, petals blooming one by one.

Then Su Lin unleashed Nine Dragons Return to Origin, embracing yin and yang, wielding a divine blade, transforming into a rainbow of light, with earth, wind, water, and fire guarding and supporting him—clearly the posture of a divine lord.

“After the skin change—is it free or in the gacha pool?” Xing checked his wallet.

“I want to buy osmanthus and drink wine, but it’s never like being young again,” Kleene sighed: “It’s just fleeting youth, a brief bloom.”

Lu Mingfei jabbed his Desert Eagle into Kleene’s head and yelled: “You left as a good kid, came back like this—you guys are at least half to blame!”

Everyone was focused on different things.

Logically, the difference wasn’t huge, but normally when they saw this guy manifest and fight, they had to tread carefully—yet now, Su Lin somehow looked cool.

“Why is everyone’s attention on you?” Xiao Yan’s expression was numb, almost vacant.

It was a two-person match, yet no one seemed to care about Emperor Flame’s talisman show.

“Probably because you didn’t hit your timing,” Su Lin’s mouth twitched, suppressing the urge to blast the audience with danmaku.

“No problem—as long as I win!” Xiao Yan blocked Su Lin’s blade with his Xuan Chong Chi and cackled: “You’re out of talismans. Don’t blame me for winning unfairly.”

Everyone crafted the same number of talismans, but Su Lin had banned two himself; without differences in realm or stats, talisman count, strategy, and martial technique became the keys to victory.

In a flash of thought, Xiao Yan saw Su Lin had only one card left—and simultaneously activated [Divine Technique: Exotic Flame Dragon Transformation] and [Fatal Move: Golden Core Fire Refines the Cosmos], aiming to crush him outright.

The world seemed to shrink into Xiao Yan’s palm, becoming the furnace’s contents; exotic flames replaced cosmic qi, coiling into dragons, massive golden fireballs plummeting like meteors.

“He really only has one card left.”

Su Lin drew [Divine Talisman: Primordial Light] and smiled sweetly: “But there’s still a gap between cardmakers. No useless cards—only useless duelists.”

The fire dragon raged, the golden fire swelled—but suddenly, the world darkened, not like Tianmo twisting the stars, just pure, absolute black.

Crimson light, like ancient totemic wings, rose behind Su Lin and unfurled—two thousand meters long, crimson waves of energy.

[Universal Cardmaking Rules: From Beginner to Grave]: Daily cards, energy cards, summon cards, martial technique cards, magic cards, support cards, recovery cards, attribute cards, item cards—all can be made into cards.

“I compressed a full deck into one new talisman.”

Skill copy from Primordial Light: Arad Knight skills loaded.

“WTF!” Xiao Yan’s eyes bulged.

[Dark Sky Fluctuation Eye]

Su Lin opened his closed eyes and barked: “Open!”

Rings of light and sharp stingers flooded the world; after violent ripples, countless massive blood-red eyes surfaced in empty space, filling every corner.

Crack

A sound like shattering glass rang out—all danmaku on every “screen” vanished.

“Your talismans are gone. Don’t blame me for winning unfairly.”

Swordlight slashed open and closed—another awakened technique, contained within.

Su Lin retracted his talismans, stretched his limbs, and said contentedly: “Xiao Yan, wanna play again tomorrow?”

“Go to hell!” Xiao Yan rolled his eyes.

He’d almost forgotten this guy had countless tricks—the spells in the Mirror Lake Heavenly Library were a compilation from multiple worlds, but Su Lin always just used “Let there be light” and his cheat methods, making him overlook this.

“Then follow the rules—the loser must fulfill the winner’s request,” Su Lin said: “I want to see your wedding.”

“I reject Japanese-style,” Xiao Yan interrupted.

“I want to see your wedding—with Zi Yan there.”

“?”

Xiao Yan wasn’t sure if the guy was serious, but he remembered Zi Yan constantly waving a copy of “Dou Po Cang Qiong” and asking, “When are you going to take me?” while Cai Lin stood nearby, coldly watching him—and he involuntarily shivered.

Su Lin raised his card and asked: “Anyone else want to play talisman cards?”

He found the system useful: during brief recovery periods, he could turn skills into cards, then compress entire decks into single talismans.

If needed, he could also deploy them directly for real damage.

Add a hint or quest system, and it’s practically an Arad Warrior system with skill panels—might as well build one properly someday.

Reimu stepped forward, puzzled: “Are you related to that gap demon?”

“Huh?” Su Lin had assumed she wanted to play.

“Those eyes you just made.”

“Just similar art style.”

Kagami Shiki’s gap demon eyes were Laplace’s Demon—one of the Four Divine Beasts of Physics.

His first world wasn’t Gensokyo, and he hadn’t been turned into a shikigami by Kagami Shiki—even if the system could replicate the ability, he had no intention of renaming himself “Kagami Lin.”

“Really?” Reimu waved her hand dismissively:

“Since you’re familiar with talisman cards, don’t use your powers to fight in Gensokyo anymore—it’s troublesome if your strength weakens.”

“Why would it weaken?” Su Lin frowned.

“Huh? Isn’t that common sense?” Reimu scratched her head impatiently.

Thud

A heavy stack of bills dropped onto the donation box.

“Ahem.” Reimu adjusted herself, hands folded before her, smiling:

“It’s because the outside world is unsuitable for demons and gods, and the human reverence and faith in Gensokyo can’t sustain the energy loss from battle damage.”

“Let me explain,” Shangbaize Huiyin smiled gently: “It’s all recorded in the history book I gave to that Mister Meng… but he seems to have returned.”

She looked up at the sky, her expression growing complex.

Meng Qi felt as if he’d just awakened from years of slumber, his body weak, limp, as if soaked in water.

“Why do I feel like I drank fake liquor?”

Aside from his head not hurting, everything else felt off. From past experience, this was likely discomfort from his mortal body struggling to handle immortal qi.

“Master, you’re awake.”

The low, resonant moo startled Meng Qi—he realized he was sitting on a bull’s back.

“Xiao Si, what are you doing here?”

“Master, you sent a message via the Ten-Thousand-Worlds Communication Talisman asking me to pick you up, so I shipped myself over to fetch you.”

The green ox spoke human words, its four legs slowly kneeling so Meng Qi could step down onto solid ground.

“My alcohol tolerance really has declined…” Meng Qi vaguely remembered this, but as he looked around, he froze.

No sun in the sky, no light dimmed; green grass like velvet, flowers everywhere; in the distance, endless seas of clouds.

“Where is this?”

Return? Return where?

He’d assumed the unicorn bull was pulling him back to the heavenly realm—or at least some fairyland. If he’d somehow, in his daze, returned to the Real World, he’d have to make the unicorn bull lie low.

But then he reconsidered: the Cause of All Results was now restricted, the Ten-Thousand-Worlds Communication Talisman couldn’t transport people, and the unicorn bull alone couldn’t accomplish this.

The green ox said: “Master, this is the Doushao Palace of Heaven—your domain in this realm.”

The Doushao Palace of Heaven?

Meng Qi turned around, his vision obscured by swirling mist, and through the haze stood an ordinary palace, its center bearing three characters that were unrecognizable yet instantly understood.

‘.’

This unfamiliar Doushigong—why do I have no memory of it?

“How did you find this place?” Meng Qi asked.

“After you told me to return, some unseen force guided me to the Heavenly Realm,” said the Blue Ox, his eyes filled with admiration and awe.

“Where was the Jade Emperor when you sent me away?”

“He was holding a banquet in a temple on the Mortal Plane with various great beings.”

This realm’s Mortal Plane

Even after enduring this so many times, Meng Qi could only spit out two words: “Again?”

Could these Three Pure Ones be treating me as some shared product of reduction and emptiness? If I ever reach the day of reduction to seek emptiness, could I even shed it?

Meng Qi let the thought pass—he shouldn’t dwell on such things now.

He climbed the steps toward Doushigong, intending to follow protocol: knock gently, test the door, observe proper etiquette, and confirm whether anyone was inside: ‘.’

No.

Meng Qi studied the palace for a moment, then gave it a light push.

Behind the door lay an endless sea of clouds, and above it, a peach grove—the Heavenly Realm’s Doushigong had become nothing but a single wall.

“How did you know this was the Heavenly Realm?” Meng Qi asked, turning back.

It wasn’t the Immortal Realm’s Heavenly Court, nor was it the Li Hen Heaven—how could a newly arrived One-Horned Sihou possibly know this place’s name?

“I told him.” From the swirling mist beside them stepped an old man, his face full of confusion and slight unease.

Meng Qi’s pupils contracted—he was the old man he’d met fishing by the Mist Lake.

“Taigong Wang bows to the Heavenly Venerable.” Taigong Wang offered a slight bow.

He’d barely returned to the Heavenly Realm when this Blue Ox arrived, wreathed in purple qi, carrying the drunken Meng Qi—nearly making him drop the luggage he’d just packed.

“Aren’t you the reincarnation and host of the Authority?” Taigong Wang glanced at the open door.

“Are you Jiang Shang?” Meng Qi’s eyes went vacant for an instant.

So I didn’t imagine it—Taigong Wang is still chasing me.

Upon hearing this, Taigong Wang looked up at Meng Qi: “You don’t seem to be the reincarnation or host of the Authority… and you’ve forgotten me?”

“Master has undergone trials and rebirth, all worlds unified—he is now a being of the Three Pure Ones as one, long since forgotten his past.” The One-Horned Sihou spoke.

Meng Qi hissed, then slammed his palm hard against the ox’s head.

“Shut up!”

This kind of setup—straight out of too many Worldlink Forum threads!

But Taigong Wang’s eyes now held a glimmer of understanding. He immediately said: “Congratulations, Heavenly Venerable. Joy to you, Heavenly Venerable.”

Forget it.

Fine, let’s follow protocol—if any of the Three Pure Ones show up to object, Meng Qi could always apologize on the spot.

“Don’t treat me as the old Shang.” Meng Qi changed the subject. “What did you mean by ‘Authority reincarnation’ and ‘host’?”

“It’s normal you don’t know,” said Taigong Wang.

“After the Mythic Age ended, corruption bestowed upon immortals and gods the concept of ‘lifespan.’ Some ancient gods perished and vanished utterly; others relied on faith as a buffer against corruption, gradually decaying and losing their essence.”

“The authority of those gods reincarnated as living beings—or found new human or demon hosts.”

“Faith and fear aren’t without side effects: once used, they cannot be stopped. If insufficient, they turn against the user. Thus, some immortals and gods became ‘demons,’ while others decayed, losing their essence and even their self-awareness.”

Bai Ze Huiyin said: “In Gensokyo, you needn’t fear external corruption—but if power is lost in large amounts, recovery becomes difficult.”

Su Lin: ‘.’

He felt a sudden urge to step outside and test it—what kind of corruption could be this powerful?