Chapter 731 - 392: A Very Plain Name

Yang An’s brain was working overtime, analyzing the meaning behind Can Meng Daoist’s words until it felt like it was about to start smoking.

He thought of Broken Armor. The ruins within it suggested that Broken Armor might have once been another world. ’Could it also be the past creation of a Cultivator who practiced the `Food Realm Record`?’

"Senior, could Broken Armor also be..."

Yang An didn’t hesitate, immediately voicing his question to Can Meng Daoist.

Can Meng Daoist had already made it clear that her time was limited. If he didn’t ask now, he might never get another chance.

His use of "Senior" seemed to acknowledge Can Meng Daoist’s true identity. Hearing Yang An’s voice, Can Meng Daoist manipulated the mask to turn and look at him.

Although the mask had no eyes, only two dark, empty holes, it now felt as if a surprised gaze was fixed on him.

"That’s right! Broken Armor was once a world my master attempted to control, but she failed. During the process of taking control of Broken Armor, foul miasma appeared in the Origin Realm, causing Broken Armor to become tainted by it as well. It ultimately shattered, unable to form another Origin Realm, and instead fell upon the original one.

Her failure also directly caused the Origin Realm to split, forming the Central Continent and the Outer Continent."

Can Meng Daoist replied, enunciating every word.

’During the assimilation of Broken Armor, foul miasma appeared in the Origin Realm, causing Broken Armor to become tainted by it...’

Hearing Can Meng Daoist’s words, Yang An was horrified.

This meant that long before the Origin Realm was polluted by the foul miasma, someone had already tried to use the `Food Realm Record` to take control of Broken Armor and assimilate it into another Origin Realm.

So, the Broken Armor he had seen on the 6th Floor truly did predate the Fifth Floor from the era when the Five Great Celestial Sects sealed off the Central Continent.

And the people he had encountered on the Fifth Floor, those called the World Body, were perhaps the original inhabitants of Broken Armor.

To escape with one’s life at the cost of assimilating and sacrificing another world—the idea was utterly insane.

Yet someone had actually done it, had put the idea into practice. But the final result was failure, leaving an entire world in ruins.

Yang An’s heart was in turmoil, as if a great stone were pressing down on it.

’What’s the point of assimilating a new world into another Origin Realm?’

’Is it just so that the people who escaped to the new world can continue down the same old path of cultivation?’

’But the price is to turn a new world, one that might have been peaceful and perfect, into a filthy place like the Origin Realm.’

’Lunatics! These people are all fucking lunatics!’

All at once, Yang An’s mind flashed back to his meeting with Huan at Earth Demon Cliff. Huan had told him everything he knew about what Life Crane had done in the Central Continent.

"That bastard... he ruined the Daoist Sect’s plan and killed every last World Body!"

"He instigated suspicion and war among the Five Great Celestial Sects and took the new world!"

"He broke through the Central Continent’s Seal, drew in the cataclysmic black fog, and channeled it into the Forbidden Sea!"

"He even sealed me here, humiliated me in every way, and ensured I could never be reborn!"

"And! I’m sure you’ll be very interested in this! He also took the Daoist Sect’s legacy and its kindling!

I can feel the aura of that kindling on you!"

Back then, Yang An hadn’t fully understood Huan’s words, and had even doubted their truthfulness.

But now, it seemed that Life Crane was in league with Can Meng Daoist and Meat Tree True Master. Everything Huan had said was true.

Life Crane took the new world... He finally understood what "new world" meant.

’Pan Yu!’

Yang An’s gaze shifted to Pan Yu.

"Master, why me?"

Just then, Pan Yu suddenly spoke up.

Yang An’s voice had snapped her out of her stunned state, and she subconsciously directed her question to Can Meng Daoist.

A heavy burden had suddenly been placed on her shoulders—a plot that had been in motion since Can Meng Daoist first began raising her.

In her mind, her Master and Martial Uncle Meat Tree were just elders from the small Sect on Sansong Mountain, their Cultivation Levels not particularly high.

She had once been so proud of her cultivation progress, on the verge of reaching the Zombie God stage. She thought she would become the strongest person in the Sect, able to protect the Sect, her Master, and her Martial Uncle in return.

But now, her Master was telling her that her entire life had been arranged, all for a grand affair concerning the salvation of the entire world and everyone in it.

’Is this something her Master and Martial Uncle, with only their Corpse Transformation Cultivation, could possibly handle?’

In other words, her Master and Martial Uncle had been deceiving her and her senior brother all along. None of it was real. She couldn’t accept it, couldn’t face it. She felt like a puppet on a string.

"Yu’Er, this has been your mission from the moment you were born. Look at this face. Do you know who she is?"

Can Meng Daoist looked directly at Pan Yu. Her tone was gentle at first, but then it suddenly turned stern.

She was telling Pan Yu to look at her current face—the mask formed by the Command Token.

Pan Yu looked lost and bewildered.

"She is my master! But she is not your grandmaster, because you *are* her!"

The moment Can Meng Daoist said this, Pan Yu and Pan Shi froze completely. A thunderclap echoed in Yang An’s mind, and his face was a mask of astonishment.

’Damn it, was I actually right?’

He had made a wild guess before that Pan Yu might be someone Old Life Crane once knew, someone who had fallen and been reincarnated.

’It can’t really be true, can it?’

"My master used the `Food Realm Record` to try and control a new world, but it was shattered and polluted by the foul miasma. As a result, she faced the peril of death.

But on the brink of death, she stripped off her last flesh and blood and fused it with the soul of a World Body to create you, placing all her hopes on you.

This is why I raised you and guided you to practice the `Food Realm Record`.

My master’s will resides within you. With her dying breath, she said that failing once was nothing. There was still hope, and if she could do it again, the same thing would absolutely not happen.

And you, born from her, are that hope."

The room fell deathly silent. Pan Yu began to tremble all over. Can Meng Daoist’s words had shattered all her doubts—not replacing them with something beautiful, but with despair.

Imagine if one day someone suddenly told you that you aren’t really you. You’re just a walking corpse, artificially created. Your flesh isn’t yours, your soul isn’t yours, and nothing you do can ever be for yourself.

Absurd, isn’t it?

"No! How can this be? Master, I’m Yu’Er! I’m Pan Yu! I’m just me..."

Pan Yu retorted emotionally, her voice already choked with sobs, her eyes turning red.

But Can Meng Daoist just sighed softly.

"Yu’Er, my time is limited. This is all I can say. Regardless, you must face this. It is your destiny, and it is the destiny of us all.

Furthermore, there is one last thing I must warn you about.

This world you have entered... when you began practicing the `Food Realm Record` and formed a connection with it, I had already paid a great price to scout the path ahead for you.

Though I don’t know why, the moment you connected with this world, its Celestial Dao suddenly weakened significantly. But for us, this is a good thing.

To prevent you from repeating my master’s mistake, I have followed her instructions and already linked a trace of this world’s trajectory to the ruins of Broken Armor, which were fortunate enough to escape contamination.

At least, until you have fully matured, and before Broken Armor is completely devoured by the cataclysm, this world will not be detected by the foul miasma.

Moreover, perhaps because of the original World Body soul within you, the world you connected with is one very similar to Broken Armor.

My master was right. The first failure was nothing. Failure only grants us a more advantageous second chance.

Did you know? This world, it has a simple name: Earth. I think that name sounds much nicer than Origin Realm, don’t you?"

Can Meng Daoist’s tone gradually softened as she tried to continue guiding Pan Yu.

But Yang An, who had also heard these words, felt a cataclysmic storm tear through his mind, as if the heavens were falling and the earth was splitting apart. The shock was deafening.

In that instant, his Heart felt as if it had stopped beating. Even his breath caught in his throat as he stared at Can Meng Daoist in utter disbelief.

"You... What did you just say?!?"