Chapter 423: Why Is My Career Panel in a 2D Art Style? Chapter 194

But after witnessing Fischer turn to ash before her eyes, she dared not say another word.

Yet Li Ang had no time to attend to this member of the 【Great Love Project】 headquarters.

【Anchoring is about to enter its final phase; prepare for the surge】.

Looking at the prompt that flashed on his career panel, Li Ang's expression remained utterly still.

The main universe completed anchoring faster than he could have imagined—he had expected it to take months, yet it had taken less than half a month.

He had some suspicions: it was likely tied to his uniqueness.

Still, finishing anchoring sooner was better; no one wanted to remain burdened with debuffs indefinitely.

As if sensing the final moment was near, the One World intensified its assault.

The Three Calamities, the Nine Trials; the Five Decays of the Celestial.

These calamities, once known only through ancient texts, now filled the void; nearby, Kate's face turned instantly pale from merely brushing against their edge, and she could not stop coughing.

Too bad. It was useless.

Under the effect of 【Reverse Birth】, Li Ang might not be entirely immune to all evils, but he was close.

Yet his face showed no joy—instead, he frowned, lost in thought.

'The One World is full of weaklings, fine, but other worlds—'

To oppose this world sounded absurdly exaggerated, and the pressure it brought Li Ang was far from trivial.

Only because the One World had no true powerhouse, and thanks to the resistance granted by his 【Immortal】 career, could he act so recklessly—but in another world, things would be different.

Thus Li Ang still needed a way to conceal his presence, and achieving that would almost certainly require the 【Immortal】.

Fortunately, having previously controlled a 【Great Love Project】 headquarters member, he already had a rough plan.

Just as Li Ang was pondering how to proceed, the One World's targeting grew increasingly severe.

Amidst an inexplicable tremor, a terrifying gale of wind, laced with endless lightning and fire, surged toward the young man standing firm in the void.

With the aid of 【Communicate with Heaven】, Li Ang could perceive with perfect clarity the One World's boundless fury.

Though the world had no subjective thought, it still displayed an unforgiving stance toward a "traitor."

Facing the world's hostility, Li Ang let the wind, thunder, and fire strike his body, sighing involuntarily: "Can't you just calm down?"

Undeniably, the world's final counterattack was terrifying—even his current stats were barely holding up.

That is, excluding 【Reverse Birth】; this refined Sanyi Sect technique continuously repaired the damage inflicted by the calamities.

But if a fifth-tier powerhouse had chosen to intervene, the final outcome would have been uncertain.

Unfortunately, none did; the only other transcendent present, Kate, was entirely under Li Ang's control, her mind incapable of even considering resistance.

On the other side.

On Earth, many Xuan Sect practitioners vaguely sensed the world was undergoing a great transformation.

Of course, they knew nothing of world development—only that, mysteriously, their communion with Heaven had become extremely difficult.

The most affected was the Cishangqing Sect; recently, their success rate in crafting talismans had plummeted drastically.

If they found no solution soon, the Cishangqing Sect risked losing this vital means of survival.

With no other choice, they turned to the Sanyi Sect, hoping the Immortal might have a solution.

Gazing at the white-haired man seated at the head, the Qingpaizhang Sect leader bowed respectfully and asked: "Master Zuo, might we meet the Immortal?"

"Or has the Immortal revealed anything about these recent anomalies?"

Due to the gap in status, the Cishangqing Sect members had no real hope of meeting Li Ang.

For them, even a few fragmented words from Zuo Zuo Ruotong would suffice.

Moreover, today they did not come merely on their own behalf—before departing for the Sanyi Sect, numerous other transcendent factions had secretly approached them.

In response, Zuo Zuo Ruotong shook his head slightly: "I'm sorry, I don't fully understand the details, but my disciple mentioned the anomalies should end soon."

Hearing this, the Cishangqing Sect members exhaled in relief; as long as it wasn't permanent, that was enough.

After relaxing their tense postures slightly, they smiled faintly: "That's good, thank you, Master Zuo."

"Then we won't overstay our welcome—please convey our gratitude to the Immortal on our behalf."

With that, the Cishangqing Sect members rose and prepared to return to their own Shanmen.

Having received the answer they sought, they had no reason to linger at the Sanyi Sect, even though they had many more questions for the Immortal.

For instance, the 【Communicate with Heaven Talisman】 he had passed down.

But the Immortal had not appeared—he seemed unwilling to meet them.

The Cishangqing Sect members could not press further; after all, the vast gap in power made them dare not make any bold requests.

Seeing this, Zuo Zuo Ruotong also rose, preparing to see them off.

His disciple becoming an Immortal had not changed the great Yingshen Immortal's demeanor—he remained exactly as he always had.

If anything, after glimpsing the path ahead of Reverse Birth: Three Layers, Zuo Zuo Ruotong no longer resembled his former self; though his face remained youthful, his entire being exuded a sense of death.

As they chatted, the group reached the mountain's foot.

At that moment, the Qingpaizhang Sect leader raised his hand to stop Zuo Zuo Ruotong, smiling appropriately: "Master Zuo, please stay here—this far is sufficient."

"Very well. May you all travel safely."

Zuo Zuo Ruotong halted, speaking gently in polite farewell.

Though the Cishangqing Sect's talisman arts had been affected, being called the Xuanmenzheng Sect meant they were far from lacking in other methods.

Moreover, the world had since returned to peace; the highway bandits once common just a few years ago had nearly vanished entirely.

"Then we take our leave."

As the words ended, the Cishangqing Sect members bowed slightly to Zuo Zuo Ruotong, then turned to depart.

Yet before they had taken more than a few steps, a sudden sense of dread gripped their hearts.

They froze instantly, glancing at each other unconsciously.

After confirming it wasn't an illusion, they turned to look at the Sanyi Sect Sect head behind them.

Seeing the other also frowning, the Shangqing Sect members internally jolted: "Zuozuo Sect Head?"

The Shangqing Sect leader cautiously called out.

Hearing the voice, Zuo Zuo Ruotong snapped back to awareness, paused for a moment of thought, then said: "Everyone, first—"

He intended to say that the current situation clearly wasn't suitable for departure, and that for the next few days, the Shangqing Sect members should remain at Sanyi Sect.

But before Zuo Zuo Ruotong finished speaking, a flicker of clarity arose within him.

He finally knew who had caused the anomalies these past days.

Li Ang—his own disciple.

Yet faced with the sudden information appearing in his mind, Zuo Zuo Ruotong initially did not believe it; instead, he suspected someone was scheming in the shadows.

'Who?'

Unfortunately, after pondering for a long while, Zuo Zuo Ruotong could not think of any possible suspect, so he temporarily suppressed his doubts and turned toward the nearby Shangqing Sect members.

On the other side, the Shangqing Sect members wore deeply strange expressions, for just now they too had experienced the same sudden clarity as Zuo Zuo Ruotong.

As an Xuan Sect specializing in talismanic inscriptions, the Shangqing Sect was more familiar than other Xuan Sects with the matter of 【Tongtian】, so they naturally knew the information they received was correct.

But the problem was—they were currently on the very person's own territory!

After a brief silence, the Shangqing Sect leader wore a composed smile: "Then we shall be a burden for a while longer, Zuozuo Sect Head."

"Sect Head?!"

Hearing this, the Shangqing Sect disciples couldn't help but cry out.

But before they could say more, the leader raised a hand to stop them: "The Immortal has helped us greatly—some words should not be spoken."

Saying this, he turned to the Great Full Immortal: "What is your opinion, Zuozuo Sect Head?"

In response to the question, Zuo Zuo Ruotong's expression showed no change.

He looked at the Shangqing Sect leader, whose words and manners were flawless, yet he could not tell how much sincerity lay behind them.

But in the end, Zuo Zuo Ruotong was prepared to refuse.

The pure remain pure; Sanyi Sect had no need to prove its innocence through such means—he believed his disciple could never have done the things described in the message.

But those Shangqing Sect members had all received the message; other forces in the Realm of Extraordinaries would likely—

Thinking of this, the white-haired man slightly shook his head: "No need. Everyone should—"

Before he could finish, a chilling, terrifying aura descended from the heavens.

Everyone present instinctively looked upward—but saw nothing.

'Is the battlefield beyond the sky?'

The Shangqing Sect leader's gaze flickered slightly—this was the most reasonable guess he could make.

Unlike Sanyi Sect and Shangqing Sect, martial sects like Wudang and Shuzi Sect, which specialized in Qi Men, clearly understood what had happened.

At this moment, they stared blankly at the dials in their hands, muttering involuntarily: "How is this possible? One of the Zhou Tian Stars is gone?!"

Qi Men is tied to the stars, so these sects naturally knew the Zhou Tian Stars well.

But just now, the number of Zhou Tian Stars had suddenly decreased by one—meaning all ordinary Qi Men formations would need major revision.

Only if their mastery of Qi Men reached the Immortal's level could they escape this limitation.

Yet combined with the inexplicable information appearing in their minds, they now knew who had caused this situation.

'Is this what an Immortal is?'

Hu Tu, head of Shuzi Sect, couldn't help swallowing hard. Without any advantage, even uniting the entire Realm of Extraordinaries would be no match for this opponent.

He found the being sending the message somewhat amusing.

Thinking of this, Hu Tu instructed his disciple beside him: "Notify the sect members—tell them to keep their mouths shut and not speak of the Ancestor."

"A…Ancestor?"

The disciple froze.

Seeing this, Hu Tu's face darkened with displeasure.

"Yes, yes, I understand!"

The disciple shuddered—he hadn't expected his own Sect Head to be so deeply immersed in the role.

Would the Ancestor—the Immortal—really acknowledge him?

The disciple dared not ask, and merely followed his Sect Head's order to notify the others.

Ignoring the disciple's odd reaction, Hu Tu gazed at the blue sky, silently thinking:

'I hope the Ancestor sees my sincerity.'

At this moment, every being in the One World received a similar message.

Unfortunately, the World could only stir the emotions of living beings—it could not force them to oppose Li Ang.

Even if they did oppose him, they could not possibly threaten Li Ang.

Just as all minds were diverging, they suddenly heard, without warning, a thunderous crash from nowhere.

Boom—!

They looked around in confusion, unaware of what had happened.

Before they could react, the crash shifted into a continuous series of cracks.

Crack—crack—!

"What's happening—"

Helplessness was their best description.

Fortunately, the panic did not last long, for the inexplicable noise gradually ceased, replaced by a new clarity.

The World has changed hands.