The fake prince was exposed at the beginning, and I took office as emperor on the spot

Chapter 266: This is exactly what the players are here for! (Two-in-one)

The inner demon tribulation doesn't simply disappear after reaching the fourth rank.

On the contrary, the fourth rank is merely the beginning of the tribulation of inner demons.

From then on, cultivators truly embarked on the Great Path, but inner demons would constantly lurk, appearing like ghosts and entangled the divine consciousness should anything happen that contradicted one's knowledge and actions.

Even those who have "attained enlightenment" are the same.

Only a "true immortal" can truly forge an indestructible Dao heart in the furnace of heaven and earth, free from worries and doubts, and naturally free from inner demons.

Gu Fangchen was thinking.

He thought that if he hadn't intervened, there would only be one way for Shi Qingguang to break free from his inner demons and wake up from this incredibly beautiful illusion.

She needs to realize that this is a false world, and she must remember everything she has experienced.

Therefore, she had to destroy everything herself again.

In other words, in this flawless, unchanging illusion of Baidi City, she would have to play the role of the executioner from her memories.

He killed all his closest and dearest loved ones, spilled the phoenix's blood across the river, toppled the phoenix tree, and reduced the entire White Emperor City to ashes...

Tear this illusion to shreds.

She will naturally wake up.

Gu Fangchen lowered her head and saw the little girl lying on her lap with her chubby, fair face. Her innocent sleeping face was slightly flushed, and she was charming and cute. She vaguely resembled the number one swordsman in the world who would later call her "stupid master".

But there's still a big difference between her and that dignified matriarch in her green dress.

He could sit idly by and let Shi Qingguang break the deadlock on her own, watching her go through all of this, which could perhaps be described as a rebirth.

But if you can directly change the cause of everything, why not?
If none of this had happened, Shi Qingguang would still be the most beloved daughter of the city lord of Baidi City. With her talent and resources, attaining enlightenment would have been a natural outcome.

In the past few days, Gu Fangchen has explored the entire city of Baidi, and knows everything she should and shouldn't know.

The two most precious things in Baidi City are the phoenix that descended and the "Sword" Dao Seed hidden in the parasol tree.

If Li Kan had made a move back then, it could only have been for these two things.

Since the phoenix tree has withered, it should be unable to descend.

So Li Kan turned his attention to the Dao Seed, and that's when the tragedy happened.

But the seed of Tao was ultimately taken away by Shi Qingguang, which perhaps saved her life.

Gu Fangchen's gaze was deep and thoughtful.

Therefore, Li Kan's swift action must be because he was certain that the "Way of the Sword" was planted in Shi Qingguang.

Shi Qingguang is likely an orphan of Baidi City, which is why they sent three "enlightened beings" here, eager to kill Shi Qingguang in the southwest.

Leaving Shi Qingguang in Baidi City wouldn't change much of her life trajectory.

She is only nine years old at the moment, and it has only been five years since the illusion array was activated. Even if there is a butterfly effect, it won't be too much.

"However... there is already a paradox here."

Gu Fangchen touched her chin:

"If Baidi City had not leaked its coordinates and had not been massacred, then Shi Qingguang would most likely not have gone to the southwest to develop the Sword Pavilion, nor would he have encountered Zhang Yi and fallen into this illusion array."

"Therefore, as long as I successfully use the illusion array [Making the False Real], everything that follows will change."

"Whoever gave me this illusion, I'm afraid it'll have to be someone else soon..."

Involving time, space, and causality, a small action can trigger a series of effects like dominoes.

This is also why Gu Fangchen doesn't use this ability easily.

He knew about the bug in this ability.

But that's precisely why he's even more careful. If he accidentally causes spacetime to get tangled up, it's no small problem... it could even lead to a universe reboot.

Gu Fangchen thought for a moment, gently put Shi Qingguang aside, and then disappeared silently, appearing at the highest point of Baidi City.

On the highest branch of the phoenix tree, the young man in white robes stood quietly, reaching out to touch the enormous phoenix that was gracefully sleeping.

"Fluttering..."

The phoenix shook its wings, opened its eyes, looked back at him, paused for a moment, and then went back to sleep.

She seemed to know him, and wasn't afraid he would do anything wrong; she seemed completely at ease.

This phoenix was also extremely old and weak. It had come to Baidi City not just to rest for a while, but probably to truly undergo nirvana here.

Ancient spirit beasts like it are common in the "Great Furnace Era," but they have all entered old age.

As the number of cultivators increases, the spiritual energy in the world is decreasing, and the already small number of these large spirit beasts is rapidly declining.

Phoenix, dragon... only one remains.

Soon, the phoenix will be reborn, but the spiritual energy supporting its rebirth will be insufficient, and it will dissipate into the cycle of reincarnation. The true dragon, on the other hand, will die in the area of ​​the Dragon Soul Sea.

Gu Fangchen smiled and patted it, then turned to look down at the bustling Baidi City, appreciating the warm and ordinary human scenes for a while, feeling content.

The entire city of Baidi has a population of 40,000.

From this day forward, I am alive.

That's what players come here to do!
He can be a heinous thug or a savior who saves all living beings; it all boils down to the simple words, "I'm happy."

Gu Fangchen stretched out her hand and snapped her fingers at the world in front of her.

"Snapped--"

[Turning a falsehood into reality].

Everything before Gu Fangchen's eyes collapsed like a sandcastle, vanishing into the darkness. The brightly lit scenes receded rapidly, eventually disappearing into a single point.

Everything is calm.

The illusion array that Gu Fangchen was in collapsed, and the illusion it created for him dissipated. He naturally left the illusion and thus left the real White Emperor City.

He was only involved at that particular point in time.

Then, he returned to the original point in time.

In other words... the point at which he met his ancestral master was about to change from a few months of master-disciple relationship to a few chance encounters as a child, like meeting a male ghost.

Gu Fangchen stared at the scene before her, then seemed to daze for a moment, and almost laughed.

original……

It was I who made the matriarch forget the name and person of Gu Fangchen.

No wonder the later matriarch didn't recognize him!
Gu Fangchen had wondered before that even if her cultivation and memories were suppressed, her ancestral master should have only regressed a little bit, so why did she not remember anything at all?

Given Grandma's happy and fulfilling childhood, how could she possibly remember the strangers who appeared in her home like a hallucination?
……

"rustle……"

The sound of sycamore leaves rustling against each other, carried by the cool night breeze, brushed against the girl's cheeks.

Her long eyelashes trembled, and she groggily woke up, sitting up and looking around blankly, but she didn't find her "ghost friend".

Shi Qingguang stood up, went outside, and looked around in confusion.

But apart from the peaceful and prosperous Baidi City, she could find no trace of this "ghost friend".

"Look! It's been reborn! The phoenix has risen from the ashes!"

Suddenly, shouts and screams came from below.

Upon hearing this, Shi Qingguang suddenly looked up and saw the phoenix let out a mournful cry, its long, graceful neck drooping down and transforming into golden feathers that drifted into the air.

As the golden feathers fell from the sky, a golden thread descended from the void and landed in front of Shi Qingguang.

The girl held her breath, blankly reaching out to catch it. A flash of golden light transformed it into a long sword in her palm. Behind her came the surprised voice of the White Emperor City Lord:
"This is... the seed of the 'Sword' path!"

The city lord stepped forward, patted her head, and sighed with satisfaction:
“Qing’er, this Dao seed appeared once when you were born. Now it has finally come to your side. You are a born sword dao seed.”

Shi Qingguang seemed to understand but not quite, and he grasped the long sword.

……

Although she missed out on a pleasant time with her grandmother, Gu Fangchen only felt a little regretful.

Even though the matriarch was chasing him, it was because he had stolen her things first, and their subsequent "cooperation" was quite pleasant, wasn't it?

At this moment, Shi Qingguang was merely Gu Fangchen's "clever disciple" Shi Qingguang.

It's not the same concept as "Grandma".

He didn't want to see Shi Qingguang gain that so-called growth from the pain of having his entire family slaughtered, so he did as he pleased and simply turned that illusion into reality.

As for Shi Qingguang's original grudge, let him take revenge.

Anyway, that old bastard Li Kan was going to be killed anyway, so whether he was killed sooner or later was the same...

As Gu Fangchen was thinking this, she suddenly heard a shocked voice filled with disbelief.

"Pfft! How is this possible... My illusion array, this person is clearly not even an 'enlightened one,' how could it be broken so quickly?!"

Gu Fangchen came to her senses, and the dark barriers in front of her receded like the tide, while some memories surfaced like a surging tide.

He looked in the direction of the sound and saw a middle-aged man carrying a coffin, who had suffered a backlash from the formation and was spitting blood, his face pale and in a very sorry state.

This person was none other than Zhang Yi, the "Sleeping Celestial Venerable".

Gu Fangchen ignored him, looked around, and found that the place was almost the same as before she left.

The disfigured corpse of the "Lord of Bliss" lay on the ground, a mixture of charred black and crimson.

Meanwhile, many cultivators were fighting with Yin Jin's disciples from the "Paradise Hell" sect.

Even without Shi Qingguang's involvement, the struggle for the "Mandate of Heaven" Daoist lineage in the Southwest still saw the emergence of "enlightened ones."

But only "Lord of Blissful Underworld" Yin Jin and "Sleeping Celestial Venerable" Zhang Yi.

Li Guisu was not involved.

Yin Jinxian obtained the "Heavenly Mandate" Dao Seed, but his formation was exposed, which angered the cultivators in the southwest. Under Zhang Yi's call, they attacked the formation's core barrier together and broke the blood god's sacrifice formation.

But Zhang Yi wasn't a good person either; he was also after the Dao Seed.

Using the cultivators from the southwest to break Yin Jin's barrier, he then unleashed his own "Dream" Dao Domain in an attempt to seize the "Heavenly Mandate" Dao Seed.

However, the two lowly soldiers who he had initially ignored, who were not even "enlightened ones," quickly came to their senses.

One is Gu Fangchen.

The other one was De Yuanzi, who had come along.

"Ugh! Pshaw! You think you can fool this old Taoist priest with your first love? Not so easy!"

De Yuanzi glared angrily and spat at Zhang Yi several times.

"As for me, my heart is as firm as iron. I have long since severed all worldly ties. How could I be deceived by such a ridiculously false illusion!"

Gu Fangchen raised an eyebrow, quite surprised.

This old Taoist, Deyuanzi, clearly seemed preoccupied with his own ambitions and full of lies, appearing to be easily swayed by illusions and inner demons, yet he remained completely unaffected.

I don't know what he saw in the illusion... but it probably wasn't some so-called first love.

Gu Fangchen looked around and found that most of the players were dead or injured, and the final circle had been almost completely cleared out.

He then raised his head and said calmly:

"This seed is not yours."

Zhang Yi wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his expression fierce and ferocious:
"You say it's not true, so who do you think you are! Come and take it if you dare!"

With a wave of his hand, the Great Path of Dreams reappeared, and countless dreamlike illusions surged in from all directions.

Gu Fangchen didn't even look at him, and flew straight towards him.

Wherever it passed, all illusions vanished.

"you you……"

Zhang Yi was taken aback at first, then seemed to realize something terrifying, his face showing fear as he quickly retreated.

But it's obviously too late.

Gu Fangchen's Dharma form reached out and grabbed the "Sleeping Celestial Venerable" in her hand.

Zhang Yi struggled to his feet and repeatedly begged for mercy:
"I only conceived this seed because of my wife. I beg you, senior, to have mercy on my deep affection and spare my life..."

Gu Fangchen paused, and Zhang Yi seemed to see a glimmer of hope. He continued to speak of his wife's virtues and his deep affection for her.

Since the young man in front of him was handsome, he must be a romantic at heart, and he thought he could resonate with him.

"Ah……"

Gu Fangchen suddenly laughed.

With a thought, he took the coffin off his back and had it float in front of him.

Zhang Yi's eyes widened in horror, and he hurriedly said:

"what are you going to do?!"

Gu Fangchen reached out and stroked the coffin lid, then lifted it open, revealing a well-preserved female corpse inside.

The woman was beautiful, and even with her eyes closed, she exuded a sorrowful aura.

Zhang Yi shouted, "Stop!"

Gu Fangchen ignored him and gently stroked the face of the woman in the coffin.

Even De Yuanzi, standing to the side, couldn't stand it anymore and smacked his lips:
“Senior… well, although Zhang Yi has committed many evils, his wife is innocent after all. Doing this is a bit too much…”

He spoke tactfully, but in reality he was stunned.

This senior is too abnormal!

They don't even spare the dead!

"Innocent?"

Gu Fangchen sneered, cupped the woman's face with her hand, and pressed down.

"Do not--!!!"

Zhang Yi cried out in despair.

De Yuanzi stared blankly as Gu Fangchen's hand lightly passed over the woman's face and landed on the wooden board at the bottom of the coffin.

The woman's figure twisted like wisps of smoke, finally revealing the aura of the "Dream" Dao.

Gu Fangchen withdrew her hand:

"It's nothing but a pipe dream, just self-deception."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

P.S.: I originally thought of a angst-inducing scene... but after thinking about it, I changed the writing style, deleted it, and rewrote a section. After all, I'm a fan of happy endings; a perfect ending is better than anything else.

Let's save the knives and such for the next book.

(End of this chapter)