Chapter 381.2: Qi Yuan, Ill Wait for You Beyond Principle

Chapter 381.2: Qi Yuan, I'll Wait for You Beyond Principle

"Blazing brilliance, hidden nascent emerge. Hear my command, slay Dong Jun!"

Four thousand Nascent Souls resonated like the voice of the Great Dao itself.

"Great Emperor of Eastern Azure Splendor obeys!"

"Great Emperor of the South Pole of Longevity obeys!"

"The True Lord of Pure Source and Wondrous Dao obeys!"

"Gatling Bodhisattva obeys!"

"Solar Luminary obeys!"

Vast voices echoed throughout Qi Yuan's divine treasury. Without reservation, they poured their strength into Qi Yuan. As a result, he felt stronger than ever. Ethics, rules, morality—all of them seemed fragile enough to be broken by a single punch. Such was true power.

"So my myriad dao was never truly the myriad dao. It has always been slaughter."

As the four thousand Nascent Soul cultivators roared in unison, towering projections emerged behind Qi Yuan. Each threw a punch, which fused into Qi Yuan's own.

Flames, destiny, fortune, stars—infinite laws became part of his fist. "Can such a punch kill you? Die!"

An irresistible, unstoppable punch descended. It was the myriad dao, yet also beyond dao itself.

Dong Jun's face twisted with despair. "How can such a monster exist?! Three million years—Aaaah!"

Three million years of planning, gone in a flash. He couldn't understand, nor could he accept it. The fact remained that he was powerless to withstand such a domineering punch. That blow shattered every worldly convention within the Mountain-Sea Scroll, crushed all schemes and calculations, obliterated the myriad dao, and overturned every rule. Not Principle, yet surpassing Principle.

Dong Jun roared for one last time, "You will never reach the Principle realm!"

The power of Principle he had glimpsed shattered instantly. Dong Jun, who had lurked in darkness and plotted for millions of years with the Brush of Mountains and Rivers, finally perished.

Qi Yuan gazed at the empty space before him, calm as ever. "As expected, real men solve problems with punches."

As his words faded, the countless projections vanished, and he reverted to his blood-red robes. Somehow, an inexplicable feeling of emptiness arose within him. That was how little killing Dong Jun meant to him. Nevertheless, the battle still helped strengthen his conviction in his own dao.

Then, he looked ahead. "The Root Demons?"

The sea of colors before him were the Root Demons.

These were the entities that had entangled Dong Jun for millions of years—beings whom even he treated with caution. Upon stepping into the sea of Root Demons, Qi Yuan sensed that something still awaited him.

The moment he entered, the terrifying Root Demons behaved exactly as he had anticipated. They did not attack. Qi Yuan understood this was related to his Origin Divine Technique: Inner Demon Lure. He ventured deeper. Every Root Demon regarded him as one of their own. He wandered safely through the sea.

Joy, slaughter, pain—countless Root Demons stirred his emotions. Time passed, until a strange voice echoed beside him. "Hey, Qi Yuan."

Qi Yuan turned sharply. He saw a mass of black stockings. More precisely, a woman whose head was covered by black stockings.

He was surprised, but only briefly. "Wang Yuanyu."

She asked smugly, "Did I scare you?"

The black stockings covering her head disappeared, revealing a face that was impossible to describe. In her, Qi Yuan seemed to see Zhong Niao, Wang Yuanyu, Green Pearl, and countless other women.

He stretched lazily. "As expected. You're the featherless bird from the game's opening screen, aren't you?"

The game's icon had always depicted a bloodstained bird, stripped of all feathers. The fall of the Primordial Seed had been connected to that bird.

"They are my feathers." A medical report appeared in her hands as she said softly, "Your mental illness isn't fake."

Qi Yuan rolled his eyes. "Your kidney deficiency is the real thing."

"I don't have kidney deficiency. This is merely the tribulation of advancing beyond Principle." Her eyes held complex emotions. "Dong Jun was merely one part of that tribulation. Using your terminology, he was part of the game's lore. I am both the developer and the player. The world itself has always been a game."

"Oh."

"I never expected that my greatest gain this time would be you. Originally, I intended to use Dong Jun's Saint Light Words to comprehend the true myriad dao and experience what I had once failed to experience. Once my tribulation ended, I would return to my homeland, carrying this world with me."

When speaking of home, intense longing appeared in her eyes. Such emotions were exceedingly rare for someone of her stature.

She added, "But you've given me new inspiration. The myriad dao are all illusions."

He was convinced she was the truly insane one. "I never said that. Don't train yourself into nonexistence."

"Don't worry. I won't steal your thread." She smiled with longing. "This world used to be a part of my homeland, and I sought to reclaim it. But now, I realize that this world is different. I should seek the path home alone."

Qi Yuan gazed at her politely. "Have a safe journey."

The woman smiled mysteriously. "Isn't it interesting how the game's setting transformed from a romance drama into a conspiracy thriller?"

The romance drama referred to Dong Jun and his dao companion. The conspiracy involved Dong Jun exploiting the woman's tribulation as Root Demons proliferated during her breakthrough.

"Still, whether it has always been a romance, who can say? What Dong Jun said may not have been false. Perhaps it happened in the past, in the present, or even the future."

He complained, "Stop speaking in riddles."

Why did all powerful people insist on acting mysterious? He preferred being straightforward. If he wanted steamed buns, he'd simply eat steamed buns.

She began to vanish. "Qi Yuan... I shall wait for you beyond Principle."

The endless sea of Root Demons vanished as well.

Then, the game's notification rang.

[Quest complete. You have obtained a reward.]

[Reward: Brush of Mountains and Rivers x 1]

***

Years flowed onward. Within towering skyscrapers, a slender robot rode an elevator into ancient ruins. Scattered throughout the ruins were shattered spacecraft, fallen metallic debris, and fragmented laws and data.

Expressionlessly, she tightly grasped a marriage certificate, seemingly recalling something. At last, a trace of human emotion emerged within her eyes. "Master, the myriad dao are zeros and ones..."

Her voice carried endless contemplation.