Chapter 299: The Tilt of the Balance

The universe is becoming "unclean".

Worlds that Sun Wukong has "contaminated" one by one are like nails,

hammered deep into Hongjun's grand blueprint that represents absolute order.

In that orc world, by day the tribes still fight over the ownership of a hill, bloodied and torn, flesh flying, in utter chaos.

But when night falls and the horn signifying "survival threat" sounds,

all orcs instantly cease fighting, form the strictest battle formation, and jointly repel the meteor stream in the void, their order as orderly as a machine.

In that elf world, top mages, to glimpse the ultimate secret of Chaos magic,

spare no cost in conducting the most dangerous forbidden experiments, triggering localized law disturbances.

Yet their societal law stipulates that for each portion of the world's Primordial Source energy they draw,

they must plant a magical forest that can nourish the world, so the world's energy cycle always maintains perfect balance.

These "gray" civilizations are like stubborn bugs in Hongjun's perfect system.

They neither meet the "Chaos" deletion criteria nor fully belong to the "Order" retention category.

The storm of Order Purge can only helplessly skirt around them time after time.

And something even more terrifying is happening.

The existence of each "gray civilization" itself affirms the "variable".

For every second they survive, they draw from the root the nutrients of Hongjun's Order Path,

while simultaneously feeding back new forces representing "possibility" into Sun Wukong's Equal Heaven Path!

It's like a silent tug‑of‑war.

The Multiverse's rod that represents the ultimate balance between "Fixed Number" and "Variable",

after a long stalemate, for the first time, a visible tilt toward Sun Wukong's side appeared!

Above the ruins of Zi Xiao Gong.

Hongjun's figure, composed of pure law, flickered more intensely.

He can clearly feel his grip on the entire Multiverse slipping away, strand by strand, irreversibly!

The "variables" he once regarded as ants, easily erasable, have now become bone‑gnawing maggots that corrode his Dao foundation!

He is no longer the lofty master who controlled everything.

He feels himself being pulled down from the altar, dragged into a mud‑filled melee he despises and scorns!

"Can't… go on like this!"

The cold, emotionless will, for the first time, acquired a hint of agitation.

Buzz—!

A brand‑new, harsher, more complex law command issued from Hongjun's will core instantly enveloped the entire Multiverse!

Heavenly Dao Law Update—Patch V2.0 Activated!

Definition Revision: Any entity possessing "self‑will" and capable of doubting the "established order",

regardless of its civilization's overall structure, shall be defined as a "potential threat"!

Execute Command: Eradicate!

This is Hongjun's patch!

He intends to forcibly redefine these "gray" zones as "black" areas that must be eliminated!

He aims to seal this loophole!

Yao saw the scene, and her heart tightened instantly.

Hongjun's reaction was too swift! He directly altered the judgment criteria at the source!

This time, can those worlds escape unscathed?

Yet Sun Wukong's smile showed no change whatsoever.

"Too late."

He merely whispered two words.

Almost at the exact moment Hongjun's patch took effect!

The first tech civilization that was released sounded its highest alert within.

"Alert! Detected a modification of the Universe's underlying law detrimental to 'individual free thought'!"

"Initiate 'Thought Firewall' protocol!"

"All entities, immediately enter 'Collective Subconscious' linking mode!"

"Externally, display as a 'Absolute Unity' hive mind!"

"Internally, retain the 'Thought Fire Cage' to keep each entity's thought spark alive!"

Buzz!

The civilization's blue radiance dimmed instantly, all entities became robotically rigid, outwardly projecting a facade devoid of "self‑will"!

When Hongjun's version 2.0 purification command scanned, the conclusion was:

"Target: pure collective intelligence, lacking independent individual thought, meeting the 'preserve' criteria!"

Hongjun's patch failed once again!

The same scene unfolded simultaneously in the orc world, the elf world, and hundreds of civilizations altered by Sun Wukong!

Sun Wukong's "Thought Steel Seal" is more ingenious!

It resembles a top‑tier AI program, not only setting rules but also pre‑programming countless emergency responses to "system updates"!

Hongjun frantically patches.

Sun Wukong's planted "Thought Virus" wildly evolves on its own, releasing new "viral variants"!

This is no longer a Dao contest.

This is a top‑level, silent hacker offensive‑defensive battle!

And Hong Dummy, who boasts of being the universe's supreme administrator, sadly discovers that in this war he is passive at every turn and constantly lagging behind!

Puff!

Above the ruins of Zixiao Palace, Hongjun's law‑bound body, overwhelmed by violent logical contradictions and computational overload, for the first time emitted a wisp of Primordial Source essence!

That is his Dao, showing signs of collapse!

He feels… Fear Heart Demon for the first time.

It is not fear of Sun Wukong's Iron Staff.

It is a fear, born deep in his Original Spirit, of this invisible, untouchable "thought" weapon that can dismantle everything about him from the root!

He can destroy a Universe.

But how can he destroy a "idea"?

He can erase a Living Being.

But how can he kill a "contradiction" that is already deeply embedded in the marrow of civilization?

He does not know!

His all‑knowing, omnipotent Heavenly Dao mind, for the first time, encounters a problem it cannot compute, cannot comprehend, and cannot resolve!

He knows that if he lets this monkey keep "poisoning".

His Order Dao foundation will be utterly shaken and completely shattered!

He will lose this Dao contest that has lasted for countless eons!

A crushing defeat!

A baffling loss!

"No…"

"Never!!!"

A soundless shout, yet it reverberated through the will of the entire Multiverse dimension, exploding from the depths of Hongjun's Primordial Source!

Extreme rage and Fear Heart Demon cause his originally cold law‑bound body to emit a maddening, scorching heat that seeks to annihilate everything!

He makes a decision.

A decision that defies his own Dao, a mad decision.

He's done playing!

He will no longer play this "hacker game" with the monkey that he cannot comprehend!

Since the system is infected by a virus, he will smash both the system and the virus together!

Since the chessboard is already out of control, he will overturn this board!

Buzz—!

The gray Storm sweeping the entire Multiverse, purifying countless worlds, suddenly comes to a halt.

Then it begins to reverse!

The boundless Order power, like countless rivers returning to the sea, rushes from all directions of the Universe, crazily retracting toward the ruins of Zixiao Palace, condensing!

Yao watches the scene in shock, not understanding what Hongjun intends.

He has abandoned "Order purification"?

Only Sun Wukong, in that instant, has his gaze sharpen suddenly!

He senses an unprecedented, extreme danger!

"Old Zamao, finally driven to desperation…" he mutters, and his battle spirit begins to reconsolidate.

Hongjun's eyes, which have surveyed eternity and regarded all beings as chess pieces, at this moment relinquish their monitoring of the entire Universe.

His vast, omnipresent will, for the first time, in the true sense,

withdraws all attention, all power, all killing intent from the grand chessboard of the Multiverse.

Then, it locks onto Sun Wukong alone, dead‑set!

At that moment, Sun Wukong feels as if the entire Universe is staring at him!

That pressure, that malice, is billions of times more terrifying than any attack he has faced before!

Because this time, it is no longer the Heavenly Dao that seeks to erase a "variable."

Instead, Hongjun, as a cornered, independent individual, will spare no cost to kill the enemy he despises most in his life!

Order, Fixed Number, Heavenly Dao…

These identities he once took pride in and were bound by are all abandoned at this moment!

He is no longer the lofty arbitrator.

He will step onto the field himself!

A cold, venomous message, brimming with endless killing intent, traverses time and space and imprints directly onto Sun Wukong's Original Spirit.

"Monkey…"

"This Dao contest…"

"You have no right to continue playing!"

"Now…"

"It is a private, unending, immortal battle between you and me!"