A terrifying, blood-red behemoth encircled by seven multicolored halos was devouring everything in existence.
Even beings as mighty as Yang Gods shattered the instant they touched this monstrous creature.
Only Realm Lords could barely hold out for a moment or two.
"Kill, kill, kill!"
"Devour, devour, devour!"
At this moment, Qi Yuan's consciousness was completely dissolving, preserving only a solitary sliver of his true spirit.
He no longer looked human. He resembled a colossal, blood-red serpent from the game Snake, relentlessly devouring everything in the world.
The Three Thrones sat high in the heavens, looking on indifferently as Yang God after Yang God was swallowed and killed.
Countless cosmic rules were consumed and refined. The number of first-grade rules Qi Yuan now possessed was far beyond a hundred.
Even the rule of time, the hardest for him to grasp, was brought under his control.
Rules of flame, dark light, true words, metal, and more all became part of the seven halos.
The seven radiant colors were now utterly chaotic.
Qi Yuan had become a terrifying leviathan, consuming all.
*Has 'Do As One Pleases' finally been comprehended in this game as well?*
Previously, though Qi Yuan had been exceedingly strong, slaughtering Yang Gods at will within Heitian, he had still needed to steer clear of Realm Lords.
Now, he truly seemed able to do as he pleased.
This Supreme Ultimate Principle had only just been comprehended.
Yet it had not transformed into cosmic rules.
It seemed Do As One Pleases refused to be bound by cosmic rules.
Countless Heitu and countless Yang Gods were devoured.
Qi Yuan continually circulated the Great Oblivion Heart Scripture, preserving his sole remaining sliver of true spirit.
At this moment, all the rules fused.
A sudden stroke of insight dawned.
A spark of brilliance flickered deep within Qi Yuan's eyes.
*Is this the Heaven-Opening Realm?*
*My Yin God path?*
Looking at the hundreds of thousands of Yang Gods remaining in Heitian, Qi Yuan felt hungry.
To open the heavens, how could one manage without sufficient substance?
And so, Qi Yuan opened his bloody maw.
All the Yang Gods were violently devoured, transforming into Qi Yuan's experience.
Rules and matter turned into fragments, swallowed down into Qi Yuan's belly.
His consciousness grew even more turbid and chaotic.
Only that single thread of true spirit struggled to hold on.
At this moment, Qi Yuan had a premonition.
If his true spirit failed to hold out, he would likely become a bizarre, horrifying monster driven purely by instinct to devour everything in the world.
He seemed to understand something.
With all the Yang Gods and Realm Lords devoured, he lifted his terrifying head and looked toward the Three Thrones.
"Can you tell me now... what Heitian is?"
All three thrones were in the Heaven-Opening Realm, a stage of cultivation difficult to fathom.
Even if a universe were destroyed, Heaven-Opening Realm experts could carve out a new world in the void and create new living beings.
"Haven't you... already realized it?" one throne spoke, its voice indecipherable.
Another throne wore a mechanical smile. "You could be Heitian as well."
"Heitian's devouring is irreversible... Do you intend to stop it?" the last throne questioned.
"Could I just... let it devour my game?" At this moment, Qi Yuan's eyes no longer held the clear, bright gaze of a university student; instead, they were murky.
"Heitian devouring everything in the world is an established fact. It is... irreversible. How can you stop it?" the throne's voice sounded mechanical.
"How would I know... without trying?" Qi Yuan's voice was calm.
Even though he was now immensely powerful—so much so that he felt he could swallow the entire Divine Wood Universe if he simply opened his mouth—his right eyelid still twitched wildly as he faced that massive black bubble representing Heitian.
This meant there was not the slightest chance of victory.
A strange smile appeared in the throne's eyes.
"Heitian exists in the past, or in the future, but never in the present."
"What you see before your eyes is not Heitian at all. It is nothing more than an illusion."
"This realm was already swallowed by Heitian long ago, in some distant span of time."
Qi Yuan fell silent.
At this moment, he understood why his eyes saw no information whenever he looked at Heitian.
It was because he had not seen Heitian; he had seen absolute nothingness.
The Heitian devouring the Divine Wood Universe right now was not an action happening in the present continuous tense, but in the past continuous.
It was profoundly abstruse.
It also sounded like absurd nonsense.
It was somewhat like an eighteen-year-old youth on Blue Star kissing the empty air, only for every man and woman across the globe to become pregnant ten years later.
How could Qi Yuan, ten years later, possibly stop that?
He looked at that black bubble, his eyes terrifyingly calm.
"In the past... or in the future?"
"What if... I return to the past, or travel to the future... Could I stop it then?"
A bizarre smile curled on the throne's face. "Except for Heitian, no existence... can share the same timeline with it. Unless... you discard your true spirit and become a part of Heitian."
If Qi Yuan lost his true spirit now, his state would be quite similar to Heitian's.
Not standing in the present spacetime, endlessly devouring everything.
What was being displayed before the eyes of the mortal world right now was merely an anomaly, yet one that had truly come to pass.
Unless one reached the same realm as Heitian.
Yet upon reaching that realm, Qi Yuan would become a part of Heitian—or rather, become Heitian itself.
How, then, could he stop it?
"What is called Heitian is the fourth tier of the Yang God realm!
"To stop Heitian, you must break through to the fourth tier of the Yang God realm!
"Yet... are you willing?" one throne asked with a sinister smile.
"From the third tier of the Yang God realm, there are only two paths forward. Break through to the fourth tier, and you will never reach the fifth.
"If you bypass the fourth, break through to the fifth tier, and become a Dao Lord... I am sorry to say, you still will not be able to stop Heitian." The mechanical voice of another throne seemed tinged with bitterness.
Qi Yuan fell silent.
The fourth tier of the Yang God realm.
Indeed.
Heitian was of the fourth tier.
A terrifying existence that did not reside in the present, existing only in the past and future.
Like the Root Demon, it had become a Root Demon Tribulation etched into the hearts of countless Yang Gods.
Yet Heitian was different. Heitian was disorder and chaos; devouring was its entirety, its ultimate objective.
For the first time, Qi Yuan felt immense pressure, accompanied by a sense of insurmountable odds.
Without entering the fourth tier, he could neither see Heitian nor stop it.
Yet stepping into the fourth tier would turn him into the disordered Heitian.
His consciousness would dissolve, and his true spirit would vanish...
"So... go back. With your strength, perhaps you can shelter the living beings of the sixteen realms," one throne said placidly.
None of them possessed wisdom or consciousness; they were merely fragments of code, mere projections.
Yet even these programs and projections possessed Heaven-Opening strength.
This was particularly terrifying. The gap between each tier of the Yang God realm was like an insurmountable chasm.
Those in the third tier of the Yang God realm could never witness the fourth tier in their lifetimes.
Yet the third tier would be unconsciously devoured by the fourth.
Was this game simply too perilous?
Retreat?
Retreat was out of the question!
Setting aside that this was his own game, if he were to retreat, Heitian would spread into the Immortal Realm.
The next thing to be devoured would be the Immortal Realm.
Therefore, unlike other games, Qi Yuan had no way out this time. He could not even return to reality to end the game.
"I insist on seeing... whether I can stop it!"
At this moment, a profound resolve flashed in Qi Yuan's eyes.
Great Oblivion Heart Scripture!
Once again, he circulated the Great Oblivion Heart Scripture. This time, what he sought to forget was his true self.
"I am not Qi Yuan."
"I am not of the Heaven-Opening Realm!"
"I am not of the fifth tier of the Yang God realm!"
"I am of the fourth tier of the Yang God realm!"
The Great Oblivion Heart Scripture activated incessantly.
Qi Yuan seemed to forget himself.
The true spirit of the blood-red leviathan dimmed to the extreme, appearing as if it could dissipate at any second.
At this moment, he forgot that he was a cultivator; he only remembered that he was of the fourth tier of the Yang God realm.
"Can this... stop Heitian?"
As the final whisper faded, Qi Yuan's figure vanished without a trace.
***
Within the Divine Wood Universe, the Void Realm Lord looked toward Heitian in the Void Sea, His expression unfathomable. "Qi Yuan's true spirit... has vanished."
The irascible, heavily bearded Ancestral God froze. "Gone?"
"Lord Qi Yuan... is gone," Sheng Nü said, her face brimming with sorrow.
One could not tell whether she was grieving Qi Yuan's death in battle or mourning the impending fate of the Divine Wood Universe.
"It's over. Everything is over!"
"I am utterly useless! Why couldn't I forge the eighth Mankind-Kindled Light?!" The usually refined Ancestral God Qiyu roared in fury.
Despair gripped everyone.
With Qi Yuan dead in battle and seven pieces of Mankind-Kindled Light shattered, what use would forging the eighth piece be even if it were possible?
With Qi Yuan fallen, the Divine Wood Universe was finished.
Just then, a strange light flickered in the Void Realm Lord's eyes. "Heitian's devouring... has slowed."
"What?" An Ancestral God was stunned.
Qi Yuan had fallen in battle, leaving no one else to stand against Heitian. How could Heitian's devouring have slowed?
"It must be Realm Lord Qi Yuan holding Heitian back at the cost of his own life!"
"Lord Qi Yuan..." All the Ancestral Gods were deeply moved, some feeling agitated while others wept in bitter sorrow.
At this time, Yuan asked, "May I ask the Realm Lord, with Heitian's devouring slowed, how many years does the Divine Wood Universe have left?"
The others looked toward the Void Realm Lord as well, their eyes full of anticipation.
The Void Realm Lord shook His head. "I do not know either."
Silence descended. No one had expected such an answer, and they were taken aback.
This meant Heitian could resume devouring at any moment.
That moment could be the very next second, or a century from now.
Yuan took a deep breath. "Then I must ask the Void Realm Lord to intervene and escort away the living beings of the Three Realms."
"It shall be done."
***
Spring came and autumn went.
Ten thousand years drifted by in the mortal realm.
Amidst the continuous rumbling of steam-powered cars, Wang Ku held a book in his arms, reading with great relish.
"That old guy sure knows how to talk big. It's written in simplified Chinese, the cover is brand new, and he insists he dug it out of an ancient tomb. Authentic antique my ass!"
"Still... the stuff in this book... it sounds completely bizarre, but it's actually pretty entertaining to read."
Wang Ku read the book very intently.
The book was titled *Chunyu*.
Inside, it told many short stories.
"This male lead is way too much of a simp. He gave his eyes to the female lead and still couldn't beat the big villain?"
"Man, the male lead is so tragic. Just how many times has he died by now?"
"This time, his ears are gone, and he lost his hearing."
"Aha, call me a prophet—his mouth is gone this time!"
"Next time it'll probably be his ears, right?"
"Ugh, is the author poisoned in the head? Why can't the male lead and female lead ever meet? It has to be on purpose, right?"
"Definitely on purpose. If the male lead just waited there for a single year, he'd run into her."
"Sigh... this big villain doesn't seem that tough either. I wonder if I could run him over with a train and kill him."
Wang Ku pondered to himself.
As night fell, Wang Ku clutched the book and slowly drifted off to sleep.
Perhaps because he had been too engrossed in the book, he even dreamed about its contents while asleep.
"This male lead... is way more handsome than I imagined."
In the dream, Wang Ku saw a tall, upright figure clad in a blood-red robe.
The figure held a longsword, standing atop a black vortex.
He was covered in wounds, battered all over, and even missing an eye, the socket dripping with blood.
Holding his sword, the blood-robed figure seemed to be confronting a swollen bubble hanging in the dark void.
At the sight of that swollen bubble, Wang Ku's young heart trembled, as if he had laid eyes upon the most terrifying thing in existence.
*A train definitely couldn't kill that thing!* Wang Ku thought to himself, then muttered, *According to the book, this standoff has lasted a billion years. What a tall tale. How long have humans even existed?*
Looking at the blood-robed figure, Wang Ku could not help but shout, "Hey, hurry up and go find the female lead! You can't beat the big villain on your own!"
At that exact moment, the tall figure confronting the black bubble stiffened slightly. A chilling gaze fell squarely upon Wang Ku.
Wang Ku felt as if he were being glared at by a terrifying behemoth, feeling like he could die at any second.
"Damn it, it's my own dream—why am I so scared?"
"Aren't I supposed to be the master of my own dream?"
Wang Ku woke from the dream, only to find himself drenched in cold sweat.
He looked toward the ancient book by his pillow and began flipping through it earnestly once more.
"Great, the male lead died again. This time... the grave doesn't even have a name on it, buried in Divine Wood Abyss.
"What on earth is the Divine Wood Abyss anyway? Why does it sound kind of familiar?"
"I'm so hungry. I need to eat a steamed bun," Wang Ku mumbled.
He opened his leather bag, fished out two steamed buns, and paid no mind to their icy temperature as he stuffed them into his mouth, chewing messily.
In the room, the radio was broadcasting various news reports.
"Major news: otherworldly beings have been discovered in our country!"
"The Shenluo Society declares that the apocalypse will arrive in three days."
"The Heitian Cult states: Heitian approaches; all things shall wither."
"Why is everyone acting so crazy? Can't they report anything useful? It's worse than this book."
Wang Ku switched off the radio.
World destruction, apocalypses—he didn't believe in any of it.
Besides, believing it or not wouldn't change reality.
Rather than worrying about whether the apocalypse would arrive, he was more concerned with whether the villain in this book was dead yet.
"Damn it, does this author even know how to write? He's still not dead?"
Lately, Wang Ku had been reading *Chunyu* day and night, forgetting to eat and sleep.
"Tropes, nothing but tropes!"
"Just how many times has the male lead died?"
"Easily a hundred thousand times!"
"And he still hasn't killed the villain!"
"He hasn't even met the female lead!"
"Can't he just go see her and team up to fight the villain together?!"
"Trash book, I'm done reading it!"
In the dead of night, Wang Ku dreamed of the book once again.
He had no idea how many times he had experienced this dream.
This time, just like always, he could not resist roaring, "Hey, hurry up and go meet the female lead!"
When he woke up the next morning and saw the heavy dark circles under his eyes in the mirror, Wang Ku wanted to cry.
"I can't read this book anymore. I'm going to lose my mind."
He pushed open the door and took a deep breath of the fresh morning air outside.
"As expected, reality is still better."
Right then, the door to the neighboring apartment opened, revealing a delicate, pretty face and youthful, fair, slender legs.
Living next door to Wang Ku was a female university student. Seeing Wang Ku, a shy expression crossed her face, but remembering something, she blinked and asked, "Brother Wang Ku, I heard an ancient tomb was excavated in the Southern District recently, containing many cultivation manuals. A lot of people are going over to watch. Do you want to go check it out?"
"Hey, you're a college student, why are you so superstitious? Where would cultivation manuals even come from?" Wang Ku dismissed it casually.
The female college student looked slightly disappointed.
This neighbor of hers was truly oblivious to romance.
"Brother Wang Ku, you haven't had breakfast yet, right? I made some porridge..."
"How could porridge be better than steamed buns?"
After turning her down, Wang Ku shut the door with a loud thud.
"Reading is still better. People outside are so annoying, babbling on and on without stopping."
Wang Ku reopened the book and began reading attentively.
Yet, when his eyes landed on the words on the page, his expression froze.
*"While confronting Heitian, Qi Yuan vaguely heard an urgent voice calling beside his ear: 'Hurry up and go meet the female lead.'*
*"He did not know that this voice had come from the youth Wang Ku."*
"What the hell? Who's messing with me?!" Wang Ku was completely dumbfounded.
Chapter 562