Chapter 994

Fan Cun hurried to the small courtyard where they’d agreed to meet, glanced at an inconspicuous corner of the wall where a peculiar lu character was inscribed, sighed bitterly, pulled his hat lower, and stepped inside.

The squad leader, resembling an old farmer, knocked the ash from his pipe as he saw him enter. “Everyone’s been here long ago—only you’re late!”

“You’ve been silent for days. If we weren’t Reincarnators, I’d have thought you’d gone rogue and defected!”

Fan Cun, long since shed his dwarf form and now merely short in stature, smiled wryly: “If not for this inescapable Reincarnator identity, I’d truly have preferred to quietly join the Xuanzhen Sect!”

The seductive woman beside him paused, then laughed: “You really mean to join that Xuanzhen Sect?”

“Don’t forget—they’re just plot characters. Our Alliance’s great ones have long deduced that most Reincarnation Worlds are merely faint projections of the past. No matter how powerful the plot characters, none can escape the fate scripted for them by the Lord of Reincarnation. Even the Primordial Spirit True Immortals within the plot are bound to their predetermined destinies. A plot is a plot precisely because it’s an anchor point of fate set by the Lord of Reincarnation.”

“Like a book, like a chapter of history. Why would you abandon being a proper Reincarnator to become a fake character in someone else’s story?”

She sneered, tracing her finger under Fan Cun’s chin.

The old farmer frowned. “Yu Meiren, this world is different from before—it’s a world that produces Dao Seeds. Its depths are so profound that drowning ten thousand of us would stir not a single ripple.”

He turned to Fan Cun. “Since you say this, there must be a reason. Speak—what exactly has stripped you of that unshakable Reincarnator pride?”

Fan Cun sighed. “The Xuanzhen Sect Master… he’s no minor figure of the Sixth Realm. He’s likely one of the most terrifying figures in this world—a hidden plot boss.”

He stared at his right hand, smiling bitterly. “Before him, I couldn’t even summon the will to resist.”

“Is he a Primordial Spirit True Immortal?”

The old farmer’s brow tightened, and he set down his pipe.

Fan Cun stared blankly. “I don’t know what realm a Primordial Spirit True Immortal occupies. But if I had to imagine what one looks like… it’d be just like him.”

As he spoke, his tightly clenched right hand slowly loosened, and a wisp of gold flashed briefly.

The old farmer sighed. “It seems this is a plot thread our Alliance never uncovered. Zhigu is an important location in this world’s plot, but the true main storyline should be Jingcheng. After all, the Immortality Elixir forged by the Demon Emperor is the very embryo capable of forming a Dao Seed here. Zhigu’s main plot is the battle between three gods and four demons when the main ingredient of the Immortality Elixir entered the capital.”

“The Xuanzhen Sect Master’s plot is merely suppressing the Nine-Eyed Fire Gui—its importance is even less than that of the White Lotus Holy Maiden.”

“Not to mention the Shaman Chief, who plays a crucial role in Jingcheng’s plot! He brought the Five Immortals into the capital as a vital pawn in the Demon Empress’s hands—how could he have been defeated by the Xuanzhen Sect before even reaching Zhigu?”

“The Alliance’s main plot lines were deduced through thousands of entries into this world. What thread could have been triggered to cause such a deviation?”

The old farmer frowned, looking up at Fan Cun. “Did you do something?”

Fan Cun shook his head vigorously. “We’re not worthy!”

The old farmer thought for a moment, then said: “Due to the concept of ‘Secret Histories,’ our Alliance and other Reincarnation factions have identified eight main plot lines. Main plot lines are those capable of producing Dao Seeds. The Third Epoch’s main plot is the clearest. The First Epoch’s main plot is too terrifying—it spans the Mythic Age to the Great Flood, with legends of Five Mythic Beings, even including the Cauldron Mother crafting humanity and the Avatar of Shi Chen appearing at times. It yields the most Dao Seeds, yet even Primordial Spirits die the fastest within it.”

“It’s become a taboo among all factions, rarely recorded.”

“The Second Epoch’s main plot is divided into East and West—a time when Longevity Holy Realms walked the earth and Ascension Rituals were as common as dogs. The East was the Era of a Hundred Schools Contending; the West, the Era of Religions—a grand tide of founding great sects and establishing doctrines, yielding multiple Dao Seeds.”

“More than three Dao Seeds from this epoch have fallen into Reincarnators’ hands.”

“Then came the Third Epoch—from the Savior’s Enlightenment to the Black Death—its main thread being the Dark Tide. Besides the Black Death’s Apocalypse, it includes the Descent of Original Sin, the Savior’s Enlightenment, and the Unification of the World.”

“Then the Fourth Epoch—from the Black Death to the World Wars—its main plots are the Jingjing Elixir Refining in the East and the Land Alchemy in the West.”

“The briefest Fifth Epoch has only one main plot: the War of Color Light.”

“Each Dao Seed’s emergence requires vast ‘resources.’ An epoch is the plundering of an entire world’s foundation as fuel—after the Dao Seed is forged, the depleted world collapses into ruin.”

“The nodes of main plot lines are the critical moments when all resources have been fed into the furnace, and the Dao Seed is about to form. We Reincarnators are both the magpies come to steal the Dao Seed and the fuel feeding its fire. In this Jingjing Elixir heist, countless hands have bet on that single furnace. Dao, Buddha, Demon, Devil, Foreign, Ghost, and Evil—the seven Longevity Holy Realms—all represent the pinnacle of this epoch’s paths. They are both the mantises seeking to seize the Dao Seed and achieve Ascension, and themselves one of the main ingredients of the Dao Seed.”

“The ingredients of the Immortality Elixir alone are the accumulated essence of countless Primordial Spirits.”

“Just like our Tai Sui Alliance, which focuses on the Jingjing Elixir heist. We’ve reportedly planted countless hidden hands. Our Alliance’s Primordial Spirit True Immortals have traversed the timeline countless times, poured in endless effort, to perfect one path and cultivate one main ingredient of the Immortality Elixir. Now, it’s time to reap the harvest!”

Fan Cun suddenly stared at his squad leader, his eyes filled with deep distrust.

“What kind of Alliance secret is this? We’re just peripheral figures—how could you possibly know?”

The old farmer drew a puff of smoke, exhaled slowly, and said helplessly: “Of course, the Great One told me.”

He glanced at the assembled squad members and smiled bitterly. “Great Chi Fenruo has ordered us to fully assist the Alliance’s harvest of Dao Seeds. All our personal affairs are to cease—we answer only to Great Chi Fenruo’s commands.”

“If we seize the Dao Seed, rewards will follow—even the chance to become a Yangshen. The Great One won’t hesitate to nurture us.”

“But if anyone disobeys…”

Yu Meiren shuddered, her beautiful face twisting into a grimace. “How dare we? The Alliance’s Heavenly Demons have spoken—we dare not defy!”

The old farmer looked at Fan Cun calmly. “Great Chi Fenruo also mentioned the Xuanzhen Sect Master. This being, possibly a Primordial Spirit True Immortal, was already within the Great One’s plans.”

“Yang Qin, Fan Cun—the Great One orders you to withdraw from the Xuanzhen Sect. Do not interfere with his plans.”

He swept his gaze over the group. “Now, I’ve gathered you to assign a task.”

“Assist General Jiuyou in excavating one of the three ghost tombs outside the city—the Zhongguan Tomb…”