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

Chapter 271 Beyond the Chessboard (Part 2)

Gu Fangchen finally understood the true meaning of this sixth ending.

In "The Mirror in the Dust", up to the point of his transmigration, there are a total of six endings.

【Eternal Imprisonment】is the worst ending, requiring all main quests to fail, resulting in premature death of the character.

All subsequent events, of course, have nothing to do with the player; it's all about "what happens after I'm gone, who cares what happens to the world?"

【A Moment of Compassion】is the descent of evil spirits. It requires completing the Nine Netherworlds side quest and cooperating with the "Extinction" action to turn heaven and earth upside down and disrupt the order of Yin and Yang.

This "moment of compassion" refers to the massacre at the Garan Temple. This single wrong thought left the evil spirits unchecked, ultimately leading to a great disaster.

A moment of compassion left for evil spirits will only result in rivers of blood flowing through the human world—a complete irony.

[Eternal Heaven] goes without saying; it was orchestrated by Xie Qian.

The phrase "The power of human hearts" refers to the struggle for supremacy and dominance.

【The Descendants of Demons】is the Demonic Cult storyline.

The "Return to Truth" path involves finding the final hidden boss, "Lord Hengchang," to end the cycle of dynasties and establish a new order.

Of the six endings, the literal meanings of the other endings are quite easy to understand.

But the final ending, relatively speaking, is like a riddle, presenting a mystery.

"The Six Dusts" refer to all physical and mental sensations. Does "Returning to Truth from the Six Dusts" mean returning all physical and mental sensations to reality...?

If this is the true ending, then this understanding is correct.

But Gu Fangchen already knew that this was also a false ending!

The player who ultimately returns from the underworld, as a member of "Tan Yuan," as a member of the force that serves [Heng Chang Dao Zhu], helps him consolidate his rule, and assists him in establishing new dynasties time and time again in the cycle of reincarnation, will once again become a vessel for "Heng Chang."

The Tao is eternal, and players themselves are also part of the constant cycle, so how can they escape the cycle of reincarnation?
Therefore, the answer is already in the riddle itself.

The "Returning to Truth from the Six Dusts" is a false ending, and this method is of course also a false method.

The role played by the "player" never transcends reincarnation, but ultimately becomes a vessel and puppet of "constancy".

So, can Xiao Zhenwu, who has walked the same path, transcend the mundane by practicing the Way of "Constancy" over millions of years?

Don't forget, Xiao Zhenwu, the "Ancient Human Emperor," was also an "enlightened one"!
The six directions and the universe are filled with constellations. The great furnace of heaven and earth originally had no Dao, and the "Dao" on him was also polluted!
Gu Fangchen recalled a certain speculation about the six endings that had been made on the game forum.

—Although no one had been able to achieve the sixth ending at the time, because the achievement was not yet unlocked, players could guess that there was one last true ending, so many people made guesses about the sixth ending.

One of the conjectures had been on Gu Fangchen's mind for quite some time, and he found it to be very reasonable.

That conjecture is called the "Six Realms Theory".

Its content is speculation; the six endings actually correspond to the six realms of reincarnation.

【Eternal imprisonment】is the animal realm.

A single thought of compassion is the path of Asura.

【Eternal Unity of Heaven】is the way of humanity.

The "human heart is immense" is the realm of hungry ghosts.

【The Descendants of Demons】is the path to hell.

The final ending corresponds to the Way of Heaven.

At the time, Gu Fangchen also liked the post and agreed with the original poster's opinion.

Now, Gu Fangchen knows that the final ending is called "Returning to Truth from the Six Dusts".

And he did indeed see the Way of Heaven, except that at this moment, it should be called the "Heavenly" Way.

These six endings, still within the cycle of reincarnation, have never deviated, thus corroborating Gu Fangchen's thoughts.

"Returning to the True Nature of the Six Dusts" is both a metaphor and an explicit statement.

The cycle of reincarnation manipulated within the game is a smaller cycle.

Outside of the game, the six endings that players can see represent the truly endless, ever-flowing cycle of reincarnation.

After going through hardships, players who thought they had reached the end abandoned their original intentions and actually worked for others, becoming containers for "Hengchang".

Unconsciously, we have entered the beginning of another great cycle!
"What's wrong? Is something the problem?"

Xiao Zhenwu noticed that he had stopped and asked slowly, his expression unchanged.

Gu Fangchen put down the [White Steed] in her hand, turned her head to look at him, and said:

“It’s nothing, I just think you’re really smart—Master Hengchang.”

Xiao Zhenwu shook his head and sighed:
"Why are you suddenly saying this? Although we don't have a father-son relationship, we are still father and son in some way. Why use such a term to disgust me?"

Gu Fangchen twitched the corner of her mouth:

"Disgusting? Not necessarily."

"If you truly wish for a world free from the intrusion of the 'Tao,' you wouldn't have set traps for me all the way, deliberately leading me down the wrong path."

Xiao Zhenwu let out a long breath, put his hands behind his back, looked up at him, and said in a deep voice:

"Wrong path? Tell me, where did I go wrong?"

"With everything at the last minute, what are you thinking? What has misled you to have this idea?"

His tone gradually became serious and slightly urgent, but he quickly took a deep breath and calmed down again:

"I believe you understand everything. No rush, there's still time. We can continue our discussion."

Gu Fangchen twirled her sword, then sat cross-legged in mid-air, placing the [White Steed] across her knees. She nodded and said:

"Okay, then let's talk."

He gestured with his hand in front of him.

Xiao Zhenwu stared intently at Gu Fangchen's expression, but Gu Fangchen's face remained calm, revealing nothing.

After a while, he stepped forward and sat down as well.

"Okay, let's talk."

The two sat facing each other high in the air, and time and space seemed to freeze, waiting for their debate to determine the fate of the entire world.

Xiao Zhenwu asked directly:

What made you suddenly feel that I had led you down the wrong path?

Gu Fangchen looked at him and said:
“Those causal lines are not deduced from my perspective at all, because I am the ‘limitless void,’ and no causal technique can predict my future.”

This conclusion is based on triple verification from the Grand Preceptor, the "Six Star Lords," and the "Snail Book."

A future involving Gu Fangchen is bound to be uncontrollable and unknowable.

Therefore, in the story, Gu Fangchen can only be a cannon fodder who dies early and has no impact on the subsequent plot.

"so."

Gu Fangchen said decisively:
"Those causal lines are all fake."

"Only in this way can I be unable to judge whether the things I experience and the people I meet after I truly participate are absolutely real."

“Every single one of them, more or less, has been modified by you to make you appear to be a villain on the surface, but in reality, like those self-sacrificing individuals, you are wholeheartedly trying to fight against the ‘Tao’, so that I will trust you. What you want to hide is your true purpose.”

Xiao Zhenwu smiled and said:

"What makes you so sure? This is just your guess."

Gu Fangchen said, "I've said it before, it's a game, and every game needs a protagonist."

"And the causal line you deduced is naturally based on your causal anchor point, creating a character as the person who experienced all of this."

"This person is a member of 'Tan Yuan,' and also one of your subordinates."

"If everything is true and credible."

"Then, at this very moment, he should exist somewhere in this world."

"You can have him appear before me right now, and I'll overturn all my previous reasoning, admit I was wrong, and continue to sever all causal ties, how about that?"

Xiao Zhenwu's face twitched.

He seemed somewhat hesitant, clenching his fists as if he wanted to take action and prove to Gu Fangchen that it was all true.

But in the end, he simply slumped his shoulders as if he had just breathed a sigh of relief.

Perhaps he could immediately fabricate such a person.

However, Gu Fangchen is the one who bears the burden of both "truth" and "falsehood".

All illusions are exposed to him.

The smile that Xiao Zhenwu had been deliberately maintaining gradually disappeared, and he said expressionlessly:

"I have nothing to say."

Gu Fangchen raised her eyes:
"You said before that you were curious about what these futures would look like in my eyes. Were you trying to test me?"

"Because from the moment these causal lines entered my world, you lost control of them and could not know what they had become or whether they had given you away."

"Unfortunately, the answer is yes."

Xiao Zhenwu sighed:
"The world is never fair."

"The world you created should be far more wonderful than I imagined, beyond my understanding. The loopholes are not in the causal lines I modified, but in the discrepancies that appear when these causal lines fall into your eyes and are filled in by your world rules."

"Those changes are beyond my control."

The biggest factor that determines victory or defeat is never on the chessboard.

Victory or defeat lies outside the chessboard.

The causal relationship provided by Xiao Zhenwu, having been modified by him, naturally had no problems.

Based on the game's plot itself, no matter how Gu Fangchen deduced it, she could only conclude that the final boss, [Hengchang Daozhu], was actually using his own methods to fight against the "Dao" that was eroding the world.

Everything he does is aimed at cleaning up the pollution of the world caused by the "Tao".

But when Gu Fangchen stepped out of the game's storyline and saw the game itself, saw the cycle composed of the six endings, and saw the original protagonist who did not exist.

This led to the discovery of the loopholes left behind by Xiao Zhenwu.

Gu Fangchen asked:
"why?"

"Before that debate, you must have truly wanted to do what you said, to save the world from the gaze of those 'Tao's', but after that, even though you found the method, you instead succumbed to the 'Tao' and became their puppet."

Xiao Zhenwu looked at him, then suddenly chuckled and said:

"It's too late...it's too late!"

He looked up at the sky and murmured to himself:
"If it were the ten thousandth year, I would scoff at the seduction of those vermin."

"Even if it is the 100,000th year, I will remain steadfast and vow to perpetually reincarnate and remain constant, to find a path for all people in this world that can be spared from being devoured by the Dao Fire."

"If it were the millionth year, I would still hope to find a way to salvation, even if it meant sacrificing my life to achieve my goal."

"But now, it is already the four million six hundred and ninety-seven thousand three hundred and thirty-two years."

He remembered more clearly than anyone else which year it was when he discovered the truth, joined forces with Ning Caiyong, and sealed the entire "Great Furnace Era".

He witnessed firsthand the dwindling number of "enlightened ones" and the countless rise and fall of dynasties.

He thought that as long as he eliminated the last "enlightened one", he could stop everything, but by then, "constancy" had become the iron law of this world.

The number of "Tao" continued to increase, leaving Xiao Zhenwu in a dilemma. He finally realized that he had stepped into a trap.

"Hengchang" will take over the whole world. He has gone to great lengths, but in reality, he has only benefited others.

If he retreats, once he dies and his Dao disappears, the "constant order" will be broken, and other "Dao" will make a comeback and continue to invade this world.

Moreover, because of his past suppression, there are no longer any cultivators in this world who can contend with the "Dao".

Xiao Zhenwu then realized that it was his decision that had plunged the entire world into a true dead end.

As he himself said, the long years can be terrible for people; even the strongest will can be driven mad by the torment.

Just when he was wavering and completely dominated by "Heng Chang", Ning Caiyong told him that she had found the two paths of "truth" and "falsehood".

Once a container can be found to merge the two into one and create a new world, everything will be solved.

"So you pretend to still be focused on saving the world because you realize that this is an opportunity to truly eliminate future troubles and completely take over the entire world."

“'Heaven' is your competitor, so you tell her to wait a little longer and everything will be over, which leads her to choose to seal herself away.”

"Or, it became something you forcibly sealed away."

Gu Fangchen sneered:

"You lied to me about severing cause and effect, but you only wanted to shatter the vessel, grasp the two paths of 'truth' and 'falsehood,' and seize the true foundation of this world."

Gu Fangchen is a vessel that should not exist, and he exists simultaneously in two worlds, the real world and the false world. He stands in the real world, while the false world stands in him.

When he left the false world, all his karma had already fallen into this real world.

After severing the causal ties here, he will never return to the false world.

Because the false world will vanish along with him.

Severing the cause and effect is tantamount to suicide!

"Therefore, I should not sever cause and effect... but rather, I should bring cause and effect together!"

Gu Fangchen raised the White Steed in her hand and slashed it sharply towards the sky behind her.

"Keng!"

It was as if an invisible shackle had been severed.

Countless strange sights appeared in the sky, day and night changed constantly, stars twinkled and faded, and as the world spun, Gu Fangchen turned around and flew away.

But Xiao Zhenwu raised his hand and said:
"stop."

Everything froze, and Gu Fangchen's movements also came to a standstill.

The "Hengchang" Dao, accumulated over millions of years, acted like the heaviest shackles, binding Gu Fangchen's existence.

But the next moment, the night gently embraced him, covering Gu Fangchen's body like water, dragging him into it and completely submerging him.

Gu Fangchen's vision went black, and she was plunged into a pitch-black space.

He blinked, puzzled, when he felt a pair of familiar, gentle hands lightly caress his cheek from behind.

"Chen'er..."

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.: Please vote for me, muah! (づ￣ 3￣)づ

(End of this chapter)