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

Chapter 276 Where Are All Living Beings (Part 5 Combined)

"Reality?"

Xiao Zhenwu was still in shock and confusion facing this completely unfamiliar world, but Gu Fangchen's words pulled him back to his senses.

"This is...the new world?"

Although Xiao Zhenwu had glimpsed a small part of another world through Gu Fangchen's previous demonstration, it was only some insignificant everyday things.

Whether it's cola, barbecue, or a freezer, judging from their appearance alone, none of them touch upon the underlying logic of another world.

The things that Gu Fangchen brought from another world through the "fake-turned-real" technique are beyond the comprehension of outsiders unless they are actually in the world.

Xiao Zhenwu could tell that the freezer used electricity.

But this was nothing special to him.

Even cultivators can summon wind and rain, possess thunder in their palms, and condense water into ice.

Therefore, in Xiao Zhenwu's mind, the other world was always just a world that was not much different from the Great Wei or Honglu.

But because of his habitual thinking, he forgot that it was a world without spiritual power.

"Dudu-"

And just then.

A sharp, piercing horn blare, accompanied by the deafening roar of a massive engine, exploded from the street corner!
Xiao Zhenwu subconsciously turned his head.

A semi-trailer truck, as imposing as a steel beast, seemed to have malfunctioned. Ignoring traffic rules and kicking up clouds of dust, it hurtled towards the driver's location, leaving him terrified.

—They made a fierce comeback!

Xiao Zhenwu had actually seen this thing before.

Previously, when Gu Fangchen killed Li Kan, she used a semi-trailer truck to briefly reveal a corner of that world, turning the dignified "God of War" into a speed bump.

At that time, Xiao Zhenwu's assessment of Gu Fangchen was that her abilities were becoming stronger and stronger.

It was described very casually.

However, because he thought he had the victory in his grasp, and looking down at that small illusion from a high place, he naturally felt that the method was very crude and clumsy.

In his eyes, this semi-trailer truck was nothing more than a "magical weapon" that could overcome any skill with sheer force.

When he lost control of his power and truly stood in front of the truck, experiencing Li Kan's perspective, he understood why Li Kan had been so terrified back then.

It has no spiritual energy fluctuations, no "Dao" blessing it possesses, and what it carries is only a pure and savage "momentum".

Simply and relentlessly, we must crush all obstacles in our path into dust.

For the [Ancient Human Emperor], this should have been a joke.

In his world, let alone a lump of ordinary iron, even a star crashing from the sky to the earth would correct its trajectory or turn into the gentlest wisp of dust in the universe with just a thought from him.

He is the constant, he is the rule, and all things should operate in an orderly manner under his will.

Any uncontrollable "accident" will vanish into nothingness within the order he has constructed.

However, at this moment, his will, which was powerful enough to command heaven and earth and make his words law, vanished without a trace.

His usual way of "constancy" seems to have no basis for being established here.

He was like a supreme administrator stripped of all privileges, facing a completely new operating system with entirely unfamiliar underlying code.

Every command he issued turned into invalid gibberish, leaving him only to furiously pound the keyboard in frustration.

Time seemed to stretch out infinitely at that moment.

Xiao Zhenwu could clearly see the mottled rust on the truck's front, the driver's face contorted with terror, hear the ripples of the horn's blaring echo in the air, and smell the mixture of burnt and dust kicked up by the tires rubbing against the ground...

He was filled with shock and anger, because he realized that even though he knew this must be a tactic by Gu Fangchen against him, at this moment, his instincts began to drive him to retreat and give way!

When the so-called "Dao Heart" constructed by cultivators from "Dao" and spiritual power collapses, they are nothing more than clay idols, unable to even protect themselves.

This instinct was so "real" that it impacted his soul, which was used to being high above and battling with laws and concepts.

No, absolutely not!
How could I retreat? How could I possibly avoid this piece of ordinary iron!
Xiao Zhenwu subconsciously clenched his teeth, his facial muscles almost contorted.

He tried to mobilize the power of heaven and earth, but found that this world did not respond.

He tried to distort space, but found that the space here was as solid as a piece of stubborn iron, a single entity, and his invisible will could not even leave a scratch on it.

The car roared as the wind whipped up and hit his face.

Xiao Zhenwu finally broke down.

He abandoned his cherished dignity, raised his hand, and shouted:
"stop!!!"

Xiao Zhenwu tried to stop time, but the half-carriage continued to approach at an unstoppable speed.

Time, here, seems to possess a supreme authority that cannot be interfered with by any individual will.

Not long ago, he could simply say "stop" and keep Gu Fangchen in front of him.

If Ning Caiyong had not saved them with the help of "Heaven's Way," the outcome might have been very different.

However, at this moment, his shout of "Stop!" sounded like that of a madman who had lost his mind in fright, drawing stunned and terrified stares from passersby.

Xiao Zhenwu, or rather, the "Ancient Human Emperor" or the "Lord of Hengchang Dao," experienced for the first time the feeling of ordinary ants facing natural disasters—insignificance, powerlessness, and... absurdity.

Li Kan's fear... his fear was not directed at the lump of ordinary iron itself.

But at this moment, he discovered that even a lump of ordinary iron could kill him!
For cultivators like them, who were already accustomed to the power of life and death, losing their power—something that should never have happened—was their greatest fear.

Because their foundation, their "way," from the very beginning, was based on strength first, followed by "martial courage" and "the heart of the Way."

If the power is withdrawn, then everything becomes a castle in the air, crumbling at the slightest touch.

"boom--!"

The semi-trailer, kicking up dust and a rough wind, whistled past Xiao Zhenwu, whose face was contorted in pain.

It wasn't that he regained his power, but rather that at that critical moment, Xiao Zhenwu was finally overcome by instinct.

He stumbled back a step, nearly falling onto the sidewalk, and crashed into the wall with a thud, his palms and the back of his head burning with a mortal pain.

The semi-trailer truck, accompanied by a gust of wind, roared past the spot where he had been standing.

Finally, with a screeching screech of brakes, it came to a stop at the intersection not far away.

The driver, still shaken, stuck his head out, cursed a few times in a dialect, and then roared away.

However, passersby took out their phones and called the police. A few people came over to take a look, but when they found that Xiao Zhenwu was alright, they left.

The surrounding crowd stirred briefly before resuming its numb and hurried flow.

No one respected him.

No one scrutinized him.

Nobody... cares about him.

Xiao Zhenwu slowly and stiffly steadied himself, patted the dust off the ancient robe that seemed out of place, then raised his hand and touched the blood seeping from the back of his head.

He lowered his hand with slight trembling and looked down at his palm, which was scraped and bleeding.

For the first time, a profound shock, a mixture of humiliation and bewilderment, surfaced in those eyes that had been indifferent for millions of years.

pain.

This is physical pain, a base, primal, yet incredibly clear sensation.

In his own world, his physical body had long been an aggregate of Tao and laws, impervious to water and fire, and indestructible through countless eons.

But in this world, he is as fragile as a piece of paper!

He... was actually injured.

It was scratched by a very ordinary wall.

Even—it was to avoid a lump of ordinary iron that could be torn apart with a single thought in the past!

These thoughts, like the most vicious curses, repeatedly exploded in his mind, crushing his cognition time and time again.

He hadn't felt this way in far too long...

Xiao Zhenwu raised his head, looked around, expressionless, and slowly walked forward.

What a bizarre and chaotic world this is!

Everything around me became incredibly clear, and also incredibly... blinding.

He stopped trying to understand the world through his soul, because he found it useless.

Xiao Zhenwu was forced to use his senses, which he had forgotten for millions of years and which belonged to the original "Xiao Zhenwu" human being, to receive information again.

In my ears, there was a constant, irregular noise.

The roar of cars, the noise of the crowd, the music from the shops... these sounds mixed together, forming a chaotic wave of sound that assaulted his eardrums.

The air inside my nose was thick with a foul odor.

Dust, exhaust fumes, the greasiness of food, the sourness of sweat... these smells are the most primal and unadorned flavors of life.

His eyes were filled with bizarre and dazzling colors.

The flashing neon lights, the huge billboards, the brightly colored clothes on the crowd—all things that were clearly not natural—made him feel dizzy.

Is this... the "truth" that Gu Fangchen was talking about?
A world without the guidance of the laws of heaven and earth, where countless mortal wills collide and rub against each other, thus creating another possibility?

He had imagined what a world without spiritual energy would be like.

In his vision, it should be a stagnant, silent world, like a pool of still water.

Everything follows the oldest laws: working at sunrise and resting at sunset, everything is slow and orderly.

But the scene before him completely overturned his understanding.

This world is not silent, but incredibly noisy; not lifeless, but filled with a certain... morbid, distorted "vitality".

What's even more terrifying is that even though it has lost its spiritual power and its "Tao," it still has its own set of self-consistent logic.

A set of logic that... completely disregards the "constant" way he constructed.

This is what terrifies him the most!
His existence, his path, everything about him, is unnecessary to this world.

This realization plunged Xiao Zhenwu into utter confusion.

He froze on the spot, motionless.

Under the scorching sun, the pain from the wound on the back of his head became increasingly sharp, and he experienced waves of dizziness, causing him to sway.

Xiao Zhenwu's mortal senses were being amplified infinitely; he began to feel hungry, tired, and... powerless.

Xiao Zhenwu paused, and when he raised his head again, his eyes flashed with a cold light, and his face remained expressionless.

"Gu Fangchen! You want to undermine my foundation, retaliate in kind, and destroy my 'Undying Dao Heart,' causing me to lose my way and sink into the depths of this world?"

Xiao Zhenwu laughed hysterically.

He looked around but couldn't find Gu Fangchen. All he could see were endless high-rise buildings surrounding him, like the high walls of a maze.

"Ridiculous! Ridiculous!"

The "order" here is not the kind of absolute order that he understands as originating from the laws of heaven and earth and having a strict hierarchy.

The "Tao" is not controlled by any individual, nor does it obey anyone's command.

Therefore, there is no spiritual power here, no cultivators, only mortals who seem insignificant to him.

However, the mortals here are actually able to utilize the "Tao"!
This is a kind of "Tao" that he had never imagined before.

A "Tao" that belongs to mortals, is created by mortals, and is maintained by mortals.

"ridiculous……"

Xiao Zhenwu muttered to himself.

"You don't think that the 'undying Dao Heart' of the True Immortal Realm is only at this level, do you?"

"Or do you think that the 'Tao' represented by the two characters 'Hengchang' is merely a matter of whether or not it possesses spiritual energy..."

“Spiritual energy and the ‘Dao’ mastered by cultivators are indeed the foundation of the ‘Constant’ Dao, but they are only a part of it.”

He suddenly looked up, squinted, and refused to look at the chaotic scenes that were disturbing his mind.

His gaze pierced through the gaps between the tall buildings, through the city's smog, and looked towards that eternally unchanging sky.

These two worlds may seem completely different, but... are they really completely different?

The foundation upon which the world was born is the same; what does it matter what kind of branches grow from it?

A world born from both "truth" and "falsehood" must have something in common.

He needs to find an anchor point.

An anchor point that would prevent him from sinking in this "real" vast ocean.

Standing between two worlds, it is an anchor point for "constancy".

Gu Fangchen aimed to undermine Hengchang's foundation, disrupt his Dao heart, and cause him to lose his way in this new world.

It has to be said, that's really quite ruthless.

And... it almost succeeded.

"But your biggest mistake was not killing me outright!"

Xiao Zhenwu raised his head, his gaze piercing through the sky.

Then, he saw—the sun.

That burning, enormous star still hangs high in the sky.

Its light shines fairly on every inch of land, whether it be a celestial mountain or a steel jungle.

Its rising in the east and setting in the west still define the "day" and "night" of this world.

Its very existence is a kind of constant!
Xiao Zhenwu felt a trace of the power of "Hengchang" return to his body.

This heavy, powerless body, like someone drowning, was suddenly lifted up and floated upwards...

His consciousness rose up, and he seemed to see another side of this planet, the cold, bright moon, and the starry sky.

Together with the sun, they constitute the alternation of "yin" and "yang".

Sun and Moon.

Light and darkness.

Day and night.

These oldest and most fundamental unity of opposites still exist in this world!
They did not change because of the presence or absence of spiritual energy, nor were they shaken because of differences in the form of civilization.

boom!
In Xiao Zhenwu's mind, it was as if billions of thunderbolts were exploding simultaneously.

At this most critical moment, his Dao heart, which was on the verge of collapse, found that life-saving straw, that indestructible foundation!

"I found her... Gu Fangchen. I won this battle of dao... Haha... Hahahaha..."

He stood on the street, laughing softly as if no one else was around, his laughter carrying a kind of ecstatic joy at surviving a catastrophe and a profound clarity of understanding.

Xiao Zhenwu's expression once again became indifferent and resolute.

His wavering resolve seemed to have found its first solid foundation and began to stabilize again.

He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, then looked at the bustling street in front of him and said:
"The Dao is: it has purity and turbidity, movement and stillness; heaven is pure and earth is turbid, heaven moves and earth is still; it descends from the root to the branches, giving birth to all things; purity is the source of turbidity, movement is the foundation of stillness..."

This... is the true embodiment of "constancy".

The principle of "constancy" is not a law exclusive to another world.

Perhaps the circulation of spiritual energy, the cycle of cause and effect, and the birth and death of the two realms are the "special rules" of the Great Furnace.

Therefore, when he arrived in this world devoid of spiritual energy and with vastly different laws, most of his "Dao" became ineffective.

But that part of the "constant" way is merely a "manifestation" and "application" within a specific world.

From the perspective of a practitioner, that is essentially a "technique" rather than the "Tao" itself.

The true core of the "constant" principle is not a specific set of rules, but a more fundamental and universal axiom.

That is—opposition and unity.

It is the interdependence and balance between Yin and Yang.

This world may seem chaotic and disorderly, full of "change," but at its core, it is still shrouded in an invisible net.

This network is woven from countless fundamental principles of "unity of opposites".

Everything exists in a state of balance. The only difference is the form of that balance.

The essence is the same!

This is the "unchanging" [constancy].

"Haha...hahahaha..."

Xiao Zhenwu stood on the noisy street, letting out a low laugh as if no one else was around.

Passersby cast strange glances at him, as if he were a madman, and quickly moved away. In the distance, the sirens of police cars could be heard.

His laughter was filled with the relief of surviving a disaster and the confidence of regaining his strength.

He was no longer confused, no longer wavering.

His Dao heart, after teetering on the brink of collapse, not only did not break, but instead rose from the ashes, becoming more solid and more harmonious than ever before.

Xiao Zhenwu was not happy about these principles that he had long understood, but rather that he had avoided Gu Fangchen's most unexpected and dangerous trap!
If he had lost his composure due to panic, focusing on the dissipation of spiritual energy and cultivation, and his Dao heart had been shattered, and he hadn't grasped this anchor point, he would have truly been tricked by Gu Fangchen!

Unfortunately, he realized what was happening!
"What a pity, Gu Fangchen... you were really just one step away."

Xiao Zhenwu sneered, slowly closed his eyes, and his soul, which had regained its lightness, sank into this world to search for the countless threads that belonged to the "Constant Balance" Dao.

He no longer tried to forcefully interfere with the world using his past "techniques," but began to "resonate" with the world's most fundamental "constant" principles!
He sensed the alternation of day and night, the cycle of the seasons, the gravitational balance of this planet's stable operation in the universe, the inevitable cycle of every life from birth to death, and the flow of wealth and the change of power in society...

A brand new, more magnificent, and more primal power began to re-condense deep within his soul.

This power no longer depends on external spiritual energy, nor is it limited to the laws of a particular world.

It originates from "principle," from the most fundamental principle of "opposition and unity" in the universe.

As long as the concepts of "yin" and "yang," "positive" and "negative" exist in this world, its power will never be exhausted.

He remains the master of the Way of Balance and Constant.

However, this time, what he seized was the true "Dao of Heaven," which transcended countless world dimensions.

When Xiao Zhenwu opened his eyes again, his Dao heart had been reshaped, and the whole world had become completely different in his eyes.

The cacophony was no longer a nuisance, but rather a complex interplay of movement and stillness.

Those countless high-rise buildings under construction are no longer just empty shells, but monuments where "existence" and "destruction" are in constant struggle.

The crowded masses were no longer numb ants, but vibrant carriers of the Dao, experiencing "life" and "death," "gain" and "loss."

Xiao Zhenwu still disliked this strange world devoid of spiritual energy, but he had come to understand it.

His gaze passed through the bustling traffic and countless hurried figures, finally landing on Gu Fangchen across the street.

Everything that just happened seemed to be merely a fleeting flash and extinguishing of a spark of divine consciousness.

Such a perilous struggle for the Dao was nothing more than a clash of thoughts that happened in an instant... In reality, Xiao Zhenwu and Gu Fangchen still stood facing each other, as if nothing had happened.

The people who walked past the two were completely unaware that, in that very instant, the future of the world had been gently tossed aside.

At this moment, the nostalgia for returning to her hometown on Gu Fangchen's face had faded, replaced by a solemn expression.

He had clearly noticed the changes that had occurred in Xiao Zhenwu.

Xiao Zhenwu, who had just been in a sorry state like a stray dog, was still wearing that inappropriate robe, but the aura emanating from him had become subtly one with the world.

Gu Fangchen sighed inwardly.

Trying to outsmart Xiao Zhenwu and kill him by trickery is proving to be no easy feat...

"I have to admit, you gave me a huge surprise."

Xiao Zhenwu spoke, his voice not loud, but it clearly pierced through the crowd and reached Gu Fangchen's ears.

His tone returned to its usual aloof indifference.

"This world is indeed much more interesting than I imagined... including the game 'Mirror in the Dust'."

Xiao Zhenwu's gaze was calm:

"I just realized that in your eyes, my existence, and the existence of the whole world, is really just a game played at will."

"However... I suppose this is also a manifestation of the fundamental way."

Gu Fangchen raised an eyebrow slightly, but didn't speak. She just looked at him quietly, as if waiting for him to continue.

“You dragged me here simply to use a higher-dimensional ‘reality’ to shatter my Dao heart and prove that my ‘constancy’ is ‘false’.”

A cold, all-knowing smile curled at the corners of Xiao Zhenwu's lips:

"But you seem to have miscalculated one thing—the foundation of any 'real' world must be 'constancy'."

"A universe without order is just a chaotic void, and this world is no exception."

"These two worlds are merely different branches, but 'truth' and 'falsehood' are the origin, and isn't 'constancy' also the origin?"

He took a step forward. This step, though seemingly on concrete, felt as if he were stepping on the boundary between two worlds.

His figure swayed slightly between reality and illusion.

The scenery around them became extremely unstable, shifting back and forth between the modern world and the Great Wei Dynasty.

“Now, I have found the anchor of ‘constancy’ in this world, connecting the two worlds. This should be what you wanted, right?”

"The cause and effect of the two worlds are in your hands, but the anchor connecting the two worlds is in my hands."

"Now, neither of us can do anything to the other."

He slowly raised his hand, and the surrounding light seemed to converge on his palm.

"But, Gu Fangchen, this game of chess must have a winner and a loser."

"What do you want to do?"

Gu Fangchen finally spoke, her voice calm and unsurprising.

"I want to show you just how naive your self-righteous 'savior' really is."

Xiao Zhenwu's voice turned low and menacing as he looked at Gu Fangchen, a mixture of pity and mockery in his eyes.
Do you think that by destroying the old order and building a new world, everyone will be grateful to you? Do you think that the 'choice' you offer is what they truly want?

"No one will agree with your destruction of order and your stripping of power!"

"Let's take a gamble, Gu Fangchen."

The moment the words fell, Xiao Zhenwu clenched his fist tightly, gripped the anchor point of "Hengchang", and plunged it fiercely into the void in front of him!

"Since we cannot determine a winner, let the beings of this world decide their own fate."

Buzz—! ! ! !

The whole world trembled violently.

Not only in this modern metropolis, but also in another dimension, in that briefly stagnant furnace, a mournful cry was simultaneously emanating.

A massive rift spanning two worlds was forcibly torn open by Xiao Zhenwu with his supreme power!

A “passage” connecting the two worlds suddenly unfolded!

At one end of the passageway lies a modern metropolis bustling with traffic and towering buildings.

At the other end of the passage lies the Immortal Dynasty, where the world changes color.

Two completely different worlds were forcibly spliced ​​together at this moment.

As day turns into night, the neon lights of the modern city illuminate the ruins of Huangtian City.

Immediately afterwards, an unimaginably vast and magnificent scale made of "Tao" slowly rose from the crack and hovered above the two worlds.

On one side of the scale stands Gu Fangchen, representing this brand-new "real world" without supernatural powers.

On the other side of the scales, Xiao Zhenwu's figure appears, representing the old, power-obsessed "cultivation world".

"The right to choose should be given to all people."

Xiao Zhenwu's voice, like a divine decree, echoed in the minds of all living beings in the furnace:

"Now, I present two worlds to you. Whichever world you wish to live in, cast your will into this scale."

"Is it the choice to become a powerless, insignificant mortal, living a mundane life like an ant in a so-called 'equal' world?"

"Or do you choose to stay in this original world of cultivation, where you can pursue the Great Dao and take control of your own destiny?"

His words were full of seduction, and he stopped pretending altogether.

To make this choice seem more "real," Xiao Zhenwu smiled, stood with his hands behind his back, and said calmly:

"Of course, just by saying that, how can you know which is better or worse?"

"Why not experience it for yourself?"

He gently tapped the scale on his side.

In an instant, in that fantasy world, all the surviving cultivators, whether they were high-ranking second-grade Great Saints or newly initiated ninth-grade cultivators, were horrified to discover that their spiritual power, Dao techniques, supernatural abilities... all extraordinary powers were rapidly disappearing in an irresistible way!
Their power did not disappear, but was temporarily "stripped" by Xiao Zhenwu and used as weights on the scales.

In the ruins of Huangtian City, a sect leader who had just been using his supernatural powers to try to heal his disciples suddenly went limp and fell from mid-air, his head bleeding profusely.

He stared in horror at his hands, which were empty and he could no longer muster any magical power.

A peerless fairy whose face had never aged lost its radiance in a short time, and within a few breaths, she revealed the signs of aging and wrinkles that matched her true age.

She screamed wildly, unable to accept that she had become an ordinary old woman.

……

Countless similar scenes are playing out all over the world.

Then, they were cast into another world, where they experienced the cycle of life and death, living an ordinary life as mortals.

Countless powerful figures who once commanded the wind and rain and moved mountains and filled seas were all brought down to the mortal world at this moment.

They experienced unprecedented weakness and panic.

For the first time, they discovered that without their power, they were no different from the ordinary people they usually regarded as worthless, and they couldn't even beat a strong, ordinary martial artist.

This enormous fall from the clouds to the mud is enough to drive any cultivator accustomed to being high above the world completely mad.

And Xiao Zhenwu's voice rang out again just when they were at their most desperate and furious:

"Do you see this? This is the world Gu Fangchen wants to give you! A world without power, without dignity, without hope, where everyone is exactly the same! Do you... still want it?"

This statement was like lighting the fuse of a powder keg.

"No! I don't want it!"

"Give me back my power! I've cultivated for a thousand years to gain this power! Why should it be taken away from me!"

"What's the point of living in a world like this! I'd rather die!"

"Kill Gu Fangchen! He's the one who tried to destroy everything we have!"

Anger, resentment, unwillingness, fear... countless negative yet incredibly powerful emotions erupted from the hearts of those cultivators who had been stripped of their power.

These wills transformed into dazzling golden torrents filled with desire and obsession, surging wildly towards the giant scales in the sky!
Wow!
The golden power of all beings' wishes, like a flood bursting its banks, poured into the scale pan representing Xiao Zhenwu.

After groaning under the weight, the enormous scales began to tilt rapidly toward Xiao Zhenwu at a visible speed!

The "real world" that represents Gu Fangchen is raised high, appearing so thin and powerless.

Xiao Zhenwu's face finally revealed a calm yet smug smile.

He looked at Gu Fangchen across from him, his eyes filled with a condescending, judgmental gaze.

"Look, this is the answer, Gu Fangchen. This is 'human nature.' You will never understand that for those who have possessed power, losing power is more terrifying than death. Your world is the most vicious curse to them."

"You wanted to use the world to negate me, but now, the beings of this world, with their will, have negated you."

"I won this bet."

He opened his arms wide as if to embrace his victory: "The future of the world is naturally a choice made by people, and now they have made their choice."

The scales have tilted to their extreme.

The end belonging to Xiao Zhenwu fell heavily, making a loud bang as if announcing a final verdict.

However, faced with this already decided "judgment," Gu Fangchen's face showed no sign of defeat or frustration.

He simply stared silently at the tilted scales, at the triumphant Xiao Zhenwu on the other side, a complex expression on his face that was hard to describe, a mixture of pity and mockery.

"is it?"

He said calmly:

"Why don't you... take another look?"

Xiao Zhenwu's smile suddenly froze.

An ominous premonition rose from the depths of his heart without warning.

He subconsciously turned his gaze back to the scales.

At this moment, a sudden change occurred!
From the other end of that torn world passage, from every corner of that dilapidated world dominated by cultivators, tiny, yet incredibly pure, rays of light suddenly rose.

These lights came from ordinary people who lived hand to mouth due to the oppression of cultivators.

They came from ordinary families who were forcibly conscripted into slavery by sects and could never rise again.

It comes from farmers who toil all year but have to hand over 90% of their harvest to "immortal masters" in exchange for illusory protection.

It comes from parents whose daughters have been forcibly taken away by monks, yet they have no recourse and can only weep every night.

It comes from those street vendors who were run over and killed in the street simply for blocking the vehicle of some important person, and couldn't even get a simple coffin in return...

They are the silent majority in that world.

They are the truly "all living beings" at the very bottom of the pyramid, ignored, disregarded, and treated as resources and backdrops.

How could it be only cultivators who are cast into another world for reincarnation and rebirth?
They looked up and saw a completely new world.

In that world, there are no immortal masters who can ride the wind and regard mortals as ants.

In that world, there is something called "law," which binds everyone and prevents the indiscriminate killing of innocent people.

In that world, even an ordinary farmer can, through hard work, send his children to a spacious and bright "school" to learn knowledge and change their destiny.

In that world, life seemed to be endowed with an unprecedented "dignity".

They didn't understand any grand principles or laws; all they knew was that in that world, they might... be able to live more like "human beings."

Thus, a most simple and sincere "yearning" arose from the bottom of their hearts.

These tiny aspirations converged into silvery-white specks of light.

Countless points of light converged into trickling streams.

Countless streams eventually converged into a vast, silvery-white ocean, hundreds of times more expansive than the previous golden torrent, sweeping across the heavens and earth!
The light of fireflies, when gathered together, dares to rival the brilliance of the sun and moon.

Boom boom boom——!!!!!!

This ocean of silvery aspirations, formed from the hopes of the most ordinary people, crashed violently against the enormous scales with an unstoppable, overwhelming force!

After the silver ocean collided with the scales, it transformed into a dazzling galaxy that stretched across the heavens and earth, pouring into the scale pan that represented Gu Fangchen, which was tilted high!
Click—click—!
The scales that symbolized the fate of two worlds emitted a sickening, unbearable cracking sound.

In Xiao Zhenwu's suddenly contracted pupils, filled with disbelief, the scales that had sunk to the bottom, representing him, were slowly, yet unwaveringly, lifted up again by an unimaginable, gentle yet incomparably powerful force!
Then, the end representing Gu Fangchen, carrying the hopes of billions of ordinary people, crashed down with tremendous force!

boom--! ! ! !

The scales tipped dramatically toward Gu Fangcheng at an even more exaggerated and thorough angle than before!

The anchor point of the "constant" principle that served as a pillar crumbled inch by inch in the face of this vast and boundless power!
The smugness and confidence on Xiao Zhenwu's face froze, turning into pure, soul-deep shock and astonishment.

He lost.

He actually lost!
They lost...utterly.

“Sentient beings…have never been limited to practitioners.”

Gu Fangchen's voice rang out calmly, as if she were setting the final outcome for this gamble.

It's like putting a coffin lid on Xiao Zhenwu...

He smiled slightly and looked at Xiao Zhenwu:
"Do you know how many of your cultivators there are? Throughout history, have there been ten million people with exceptional talent who embarked on the path of cultivation?"

"But now, look again..."

His gaze passed over Xiao Zhenwu and fell upon the silver ocean that was unleashing its greatest power in the most humble manner.

"...Here, there are billions of living beings."

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.: The dust has settled; the next chapter will be the grand finale.

Of course, reality isn't as idyllic as it's portrayed in books, but this "modern society" is Gu Fangchen's utopia, a place where she can indulge in a beautiful dream. Goodnight~
(End of this chapter)