The moonlight washed over the earth, and the starry river cascaded from the heavens.
Qi Yuan looked up at the sky, a flicker of complexity in his expression.
"Only... three years left?"
His comprehension of the myriad daos had only reached three percent. Attaining perfection within three years was simply impossible.
Beside him, Zero-One hesitated before speaking. "Master..."
"Oh? What is it?" Qi Yuan asked offhandedly.
"No, nothing." Zero-One's voice remained as cold as ever, sounding like an emotionless machine.
"Zero-One, you've changed ever since your evolution." Qi Yuan stretched his arms.
"Zero-One has not changed. I remain Master's most loyal servant." Zero-One performed a mechanical bow of etiquette. "Relieving Master's worries is Zero-One's first directive!"
"Mm, good." Qi Yuan closed his eyes again, continuing to perceive the myriad daos.
It had to be said that having entered the Mountains and Seas Picture Scroll and traversed numerous worlds, his speed in comprehending the myriad daos was extraordinarily fast.
Yet no matter how fast he was, there were still limits.
Moonlight fell upon Zero-One's mechanical arm. Standing by the river, the automaton looked down at its own reflection in the clear water and murmured softly, "Is everything about to end?"
***
In the Origin Land, within the Eastern Alliance.
Several dozen Titled Martial Lords had gathered together, their expressions heavy with solemnity.
The woman at the fore spoke. "The worlds are about to converge. It is time for old relics like us to take action. Following Lord Dongjun's decree, we shall bring all worlds back to one, resurrect the Lord of Ancestral Demons, and aid Dongjun!"
The remaining Martial Lords nodded in agreement. "Yes, it is time for us to strike!"
"The memory fragments have already been refined. Now, they need only be assembled to recreate the Lord of Ancestral Demons!"
"It is also time to harvest those who carry Heavenly Mandate."
Gathered in one hall, these Martial Lords deliberated over the various details.
Then, Martial Lord Heilu suddenly spoke up. "The Heavenly Venerable... seems to have some ties with those memory fragments. Could he... try to stop us?"
To the Eastern Alliance, the stories within the Mountains and Seas Picture Scroll existed solely to reconstruct the memory fragments of the Lord of Ancestral Demons.
After that came the assembly.
As long as sixty percent of the worlds followed their original trajectory, the plan would be mostly complete.
What remained was nothing more than slaughter and devouring.
In the end, all falsehoods would perish, leaving only a single survivor.
That sole survivor would be the Lord of Ancestral Demons.
As for gathering... Heavenly Mandate?
They would execute all Resetters in the world and concentrate their Heavenly Mandate onto the Lord of Ancestral Demons.
With that, the Lord of Ancestral Demons would recover all of her former power.
"I trust the Heavenly Venerable will consider the bigger picture," one Titled Martial Lord said.
"They were created by Dongjun in the first place and are mere falsehoods. It is only right that they fulfill their destiny, sacrificing themselves to make way for the singular truth," another remarked.
"To sacrifice themselves is the very purpose of their birth!"
"They would never have had the chance to exist at all had Dongjun not bestowed life upon them."
"They were doomed to perish from the start. All that has changed... is that we have replaced the Great Tribulation as the executioner."
"The destruction of the world cannot be stopped, and Dawn's Toll is right before our eyes. It is time... to make a choice."
"Everything for the world!"
"Even if we must die, we shall protect this world!"
"Whoever dares stand in our way shall be slain without mercy!"
"To kill a million people to save the world is entirely worth it!"
***
In the Upper Realm.
Within a sacred land in the Third Heaven, an old man sat upon a fishing terrace, angling across the heavens.
A voice drifted over. "A Yang God has descended to that strange land."
"Oh? Who is it?" The old man was surprised.
"His name is Qi Yuan."
"Never heard of him." The old man shook his head. "Still, he is quite bold, daring to plot around that strange land of all places."
"He seems to have ties to the Moon Goddess Palace," the voice said, sounding somewhat muffled.
"The Moon Goddess Palace?" The old angler hesitated for a moment before speaking. "If it is the Moon Goddess Palace, it makes sense. Their current situation is dire; if they don't find a way out soon, they will likely tumble from the Sixth Heaven.
"Unfortunately, their luck is atrocious—to have set their eyes on that specific strange land."
"What makes that place so special? I have heard that many Yang Gods treat it as an utter taboo."
"There is a member of the Holy Light Clan within that sacred land."
"What... the legendary Holy Light Clan?!" As a Yang God who sat high above the Nine Heavens, few things in this world could stir his emotions.
Yet at this moment, he was genuinely shocked.
Because... the Holy Light Clan was a taboo, a taboo whispered among Yang Gods.
"To think it is actually the Holy Light Clan. It seems that Yang God's schemes are destined to come to naught."
The Holy Light Clan possessed extraordinary origins, appearing mostly in strange lands.
This clan possessed an exceedingly terrifying innate divine ability.
It was called the Words of Holy Light.
Whatever a Holy Light clansman said, anyone who heard it would believe it to be true.
Once, a Yang God of the Lesser Ultimate Principle Realm entered a strange land and encountered a Holy Light clansman.
That clansman simply said, *I am your father.*
And absurdly enough, that Lesser Ultimate Principle Yang God truly believed it.
The Words of Holy Light were just that domineering.
Consequently, whenever a strange land was known to harbor the Holy Light Clan, Yang Gods would steer clear.
Otherwise, they risked perishing and becoming nourishment for the clan.
"The Holy Light Clan is far too impossible to deal with. Unless one's realm is an entire major stage higher, one will inevitably be deceived.
"Even if one is an entire realm higher, there is still a chance of falling under the spell," the old angler said with a sigh.
"The Words of Holy Light rival the Ultimate Principles of the Nine Heavens; they simply cannot be resisted," the other Yang God added.
"I share some past ties of karma with the Moon Goddess Palace. News regarding the Holy Light Clan ought to be passed along to them," the old angler mused.
Perhaps the Moon Goddess Palace simply lacked this information, which was why they sent a Yang God to the lower realms to scheme for that strange land.
"A pity. Even if we inform them, it is already too late.
"That strange land is located in the lower realms. When a Yang God descends, unless he captures the land and transforms it into his own star, he cannot return to the Upper Realm."
"Alas, the Moon Goddess Palace will lose another Yang God. Woe, woe... could it be that we are destined to witness the fall of a sacred land?"
Within the grand hall, their murmurs carried endless sighs of lament.
***
Snow fell across the frozen chill, and all things rested in silence.
Zero-One sat on the riverbank, holding Xie Xinsu. The wide river was coated in a thick sheet of ice.
Qi Yuan wore a white robe that matched the snow, blending together until the boundary between them seemed to blur.
Flakes gathered on their shoulders as Zero-One, Xie Xinsu, and Qi Yuan were blanketed by the same snowfall.
Before long, the world was a vast expanse of white.
"The myriad daos of this world are far too numerous..."
Qi Yuan could not help but sigh.
Snow had its own Dao of Snow.
True Monarch Dazhi had once said that snowflakes did not speak simply because they lacked mouths.
If Qi Yuan wanted to comprehend the Dao of Snow, the most effective way would be to converse with a snowflake that had a mouth.
"Hey, snowflake, why don't you grow a mouth? If you don't speak up and tell me your dao, how am I supposed to know what it is?
"Always making people guess, guess, guess!" Qi Yuan muttered.
One should never try to guess the mind of a snowflake.
Yet all myriad daos had to be guessed.
Hearing this, Zero-One could not help but chuckle. "Master, anything is possible in this world.
"Perhaps in the very next breath, you will experience an epiphany and comprehend the myriad daos?"
Anyone else hearing this would have scoffed in disbelief.
Qi Yuan, however, nodded earnestly. "You're right. Anything is possible.
"Maybe in the next breath, the myriad daos of the world will take a liking to me, grow mouths, and frantically introduce themselves."
Qi Yuan let his imagination run wild.
With his sheer charisma, wasn't it only natural for the myriad daos to want to date him?
It was just a game anyway, right?
Any genre was fair game.
What if this game happened to be a romance anime?
Just then, a voice called out, carrying a faint tremor.
"Mr. Qi!"
Qi Yuan turned his head and saw a young woman.
She dressed in youthful fashion, with slouch socks gathered around her slender legs.
"Dr. Zhong Niao, long time no see." Qi Yuan looked at her calmly.
The person greeting him was his former doctor, the one who had once treated him for mental illness.
Later, she had also stepped onto the immortal path.
After all these years, she had reached the perfection of Foundation Establishment, merely a step away from the Origin Core realm.
"Mr. Qi, I... I have a favor to ask of you!" Zhong Niao hesitated, clearly having mustered immense courage just to approach him.
"Speak." Qi Yuan looked at her with clear eyes.
"Lately, my nightmares have been getting worse..." Back then, Zhong Niao had told Qi Yuan about her bad dreams.
In them, numerous women who looked identical to her stabbed her with knives.
At the time, Qi Yuan had diagnosed it as kidney deficiency.
Now, the nightmare had returned again and again, growing ever more vivid.
"Your kidney deficiency is getting more severe," Qi Yuan said with a grin.
Zhong Niao looked utterly helpless.
She desperately wanted to shout: *Bro, you're literally someone who swallows stars, and you're still calling it kidney deficiency?*
Yet at the same time, she could not help but wonder: *Could my kidneys really be weak?*
"Mr. Qi, can this kidney deficiency be cured?" Deeply tormented by the nightmares, she had no choice but to turn to Qi Yuan for help.
"It's simple. Kill the ones trying to kill you."
"Huh?" Zhong Niao was bewildered.
Qi Yuan looked up at the sky. "Watch the heavens. The other worlds from the Mountains and Seas Picture Scroll will likely manifest here shortly.
"Just think of them... as versions of you from parallel universes.
"They will slaughter one another until only one person remains alive."
"What?" Zhong Niao was utterly stunned.
Versions of her from parallel worlds were going to kill her?
"Still, you don't need to worry." Qi Yuan smiled faintly. "Until I become a Myriad Dao Martial God, the worlds will not merge.
"Who knows what will happen once they do?"
Qi Yuan maintained a healthy degree of caution toward Dongjun, the supposed game boss.
After all, he had played plenty of games, and every game had a final boss.
In this game, who looked the most like a boss?
Clearly, Dongjun.
Most importantly, that man spoke with a bizarre charm that made everyone believe whatever he said.
Without that uncanny trait, Qi Yuan might have genuinely believed Dongjun was selflessly saving the world and fighting Root Demons.
Yet Qi Yuan's nose told him that Dongjun was a liar, that his words were false.
Really, did he even need to think about it?
Anyone who dared lie to Qi Yuan had to be a villain, right?
What, was he supposed to be some pretty maiden instead?
As for saving the world?
This world belonged to Qi Yuan!
After all, once he became a Myriad Dao Martial God, this world would be his domain.
If the world were destroyed, he would fall from the Myriad Dao Martial God realm.
So he had a massive stake in keeping it intact!
Qi Yuan would save it himself.
The Root Demons appeared formidable, but they seemed to share a common origin with his innate divine ability, Virtual Realm Sovereign: Inner Demon's Beckoning.
When the time came, Qi Yuan could just activate the Great Oblivion Heart Scripture and tell the Root Demons, *I am your daddy.*
Would the Root Demons still invade the world after that?
Of course not.
And if they didn't invade, wouldn't that mean the world didn't need to be destroyed?
So what was the point of all this slaughter just to back up Dongjun?
Qi Yuan had his own plans.
With that, he murmured a single word toward this world.
"Freeze."
At the same moment, in the Origin Land.
Countless Martial Lords in the Eastern Alliance underwent a drastic change in expression.
"What is happening? Why has the convergence of the worlds... stalled?"
"What on earth is going on?"
"In the Land of the End, an unknown power is resisting the fusion of the Mountains and Seas Picture Scroll!"
"Who could it be?"
"Could it be the Heavenly Venerable?!"
The Martial Lords immediately thought of Qi Yuan.
Only Qi Yuan possessed the immense might required to achieve such a feat.
"What is the Heavenly Venerable doing? Why would he disrupt Lord Dongjun's plans?"
"Heh, isn't it obvious? Back in the Mountains and Seas Picture Scroll, he actively sabotaged the Heaven Mending Pavilion's mission progress.
"Clearly, he is targeting Dongjun! He wants this world to be destroyed!"
"Impossible! The Heavenly Venerable is not that kind of person!"
The gathered Martial Lords erupted into fervent debate, each harboring their own thoughts.
Some believed it was a misunderstanding, while others insisted Qi Yuan was stirring up trouble from the shadows.
Right then, a voice rang out.
"You aren't mistaken. I'm the one stopping the Mountains and Seas Picture Scroll from merging."
As the voice faded, Qi Yuan appeared in his long robe.
Zero-One stood behind him, holding a cat, curiously surveying the surrounding world.
"Heavenly Venerable, what is the meaning of this!" Martial Lord Heilu demanded with a darkened face, stripped of his earlier affability.
"Once I become a Myriad Dao Martial God, I'll let the worlds merge.
"If they merge now, there will be too many daos, and I'll end up wasting a lot of time." Qi Yuan yawned lazily.
"Heavenly Venerable, this absolutely cannot be allowed! If the worlds do not merge, Dongjun's Dao companion cannot be revived. How then... can we reinforce Dongjun? How can we fight the Great Tribulation?
"Once Dawn's Toll begins, all of us will die!"
A smile lingered in Qi Yuan's eyes. "There's no need to revive Dongjun's Dao companion. I'll go meet the Great Tribulation myself!"
"Heavenly Venerable, Lord Dongjun stated that only the revival of his Dao companion can resolve the Great Tribulation!
"Mighty as you are, I fear you are no match for the Great Tribulation!" Martial Lord Heilu said anxiously.
He seemed genuinely pained, appearing deeply worried that Qi Yuan was straying down a disastrous path.
"I haven't even fought the Great Tribulation yet. How do you know I'm no match for it?" Qi Yuan asked with a faint smile.
"Lord Dongjun said that the only way to save the world is to revive his Dao companion!" a Titled Martial Lord declared resolutely. "The Heavenly Venerable's intervention is bound to fail."
"What if an omniscient and omnipotent god came along? Could he save the world?" Qi Yuan asked curiously.
"Certainly not!" the Titled Martial Lord answered firmly.
"Certainly not!" more than a dozen other Titled Martial Lords echoed in unison.
"Interesting. Very interesting." By now, Qi Yuan was thoroughly certain of his suspicions. "I actually have a working brain."
"Heavenly Venerable, please return from your erroneous path!
"Do not sabotage Lord Dongjun's grand design over personal selfishness!" a Titled Martial Lord pleaded earnestly with a heavy voice.
Qi Yuan replied languidly, "Haven't you all noticed that your trust in Dongjun is a bit ridiculously exaggerated?
"This kind of trust is unhealthy.
"When things are abnormal, foul play is afoot.
"Quite clearly, you've all been brainwashed by Dongjun!
"Something even an omniscient, omnipotent god can't solve, Dongjun can?
"That's the biggest joke I've ever heard, riddled with plot holes.
"Now, let me show you how an un-brainwashed brain with independent free will answers this question.
"Old Geezer Shenlei, get over here. I want to ask you something."
Qi Yuan decided to use concrete facts to reveal the truth.
The figure of Old Geezer Shenlei materialized.
The remaining Martial Lords swallowed their words, watching closely to see what Qi Yuan intended to do.
"Tell me—if I claim I can solve something that an omniscient, omnipotent god cannot, would you believe me?" Qi Yuan asked with utter confidence, looking at Old Geezer Shenlei.
He believed Old Geezer Shenlei would provide an excellent demonstration for these Martial Lords, showing them just how thoroughly brainwashed they were.
Hearing the question, Old Geezer Shenlei adopted a thoughtful posture before speaking.
"This old master... believes you."
"..." Qi Yuan.
Chapter 376