Feng Xi felt somewhat awkward.
His feigned unconsciousness had been exposed, leaving him utterly helpless.
He stopped pretending and gave an embarrassed little laugh before scrambling to his feet—
He was afraid that if he kept pretending, someone would really drag him over and use him as bait to fish through the River of Time!
He opened his eyes and carefully surveyed his surroundings.
The first thing that caught Feng Xi's eye was the wealth he had been dreaming of.
It had all been placed to one side. Dozens of thousands of storage bags, each sorted and arranged by category, held the wealth of the Witch Clan's Golden Immortals. They had simply been piled together.
It was obvious that the existence who had struck Feng Xi and given him a harsh lesson did not care about these things.
After all... he was an existence capable of fishing through the River of Time. From his words, he clearly did not even care much about the Dragon Clan's ancestor. He was vaguely a king of the Human Race, or at least a Great Luo.
How could such a powerhouse take a fancy to the meager possessions on Feng Xi?
What they truly valued and discussed was mainly Kong Xuan, which had also brought up the Phoenix Lineage and the current state of affairs within the Feathered Clan.
A Peacock Feather had been removed and placed alone across a stone platform. A palm-sized Phoenix was bouncing up and down on it, stomping one foot after another.
Feng Xi glanced over. The tiny Phoenix was incredibly beautiful. When its wings spread, the shifting colors were dazzling.
Even though its bean-sized eyes radiated anger, its small body only made it seem adorable.
So cute. It must taste delicious roasted, right?
It's just a little small... There isn't enough meat on it for even two bites...
A shameless thought crossed his mind, but he quickly crushed it—because the Phoenix's gaze instantly turned dangerous as it narrowed its eyes at him.
Faced with that, Feng Xi chose to follow his instincts and did not dare entertain any more suicidal thoughts.
Instead, he turned his gaze to the other side. Beside a river that seemed to flow out of the void, a grand and imposing divine figure sat quietly with his back to Feng Xi, holding a fishing rod. The line disappeared into the River of Time.
Feng Xi was not unfamiliar with that fishing rod—it was the weapon that had given him the blow over the head earlier!
I was actually knocked unconscious by a fishing rod... And that dog... His eyes swept over to the strange black-and-white beast nearby. It was wagging its tail happily, lying on the ground with its front paws wrapped around an exotic fruit and licking it from time to time. A satisfied smile spread across its dog face.
Perhaps sensing Feng Xi's gaze, the dog bared its teeth at him in what looked like a dignified and wise smile. Then... it pulled the fruit closer into its arms.
Was I really tricked by something like this? Feng Xi struggled to keep the muscles in his cheeks from twitching. Other people fish, and I rush over to join them. In the end, I get casually knocked flat... What is this?
The willing catch the hook?
He had a thousand things to say, but when the words reached his lips, nothing came out.
Only the phrase "damn it" condensed and distilled everything to the extreme, stuck in his throat, neither rising nor falling.
"What? You're not going to keep pretending to be unconscious?" The divine figure fishing chuckled and leisurely turned his head. "What a pity... If you had waited a little longer, you could have experienced what it feels like to be washed by the River of Time."
"That is treatment only those at the peak of the Taiyi Realm can enjoy... To experience the washing of time and condense your true and unique self within Endless Space-time, preparing for the ultimate leap of proving the Great Luo Dao and traversing the River of Time."
"What a rare opportunity!"
The divine figure sighed. "After making this journey, as long as you can ensure that your consciousness is not overwhelmed by the endless information in the River of Time, you will comprehend a trace of the mysteries of eternal time. In the future, when you reach the peak of the Taiyi Realm, your chances of success will increase by thirty percent."
After hearing this, Feng Xi smiled awkwardly. "Thank you for your kindness, Senior... It's just that I've only recently proven myself a Golden Immortal. The peak of the Taiyi Realm is still so distant, so I shouldn't aim too high... Wait?!"
"Are... are you Great Sage Fuxi?!"
He forced his eyes wide open.
Amid the halo surrounding the divine figure and creating an imposing atmosphere, Feng Xi finally saw his true appearance.
At the same time, he finally understood why the voice had seemed so familiar earlier.
He had thought that running his business these days and speaking with thousands upon thousands of merchants, each with their own accents, had created an illusion.
But that was not it.
The source of the voice was none other than Great Sage Fuxi, who had once left a deep impression on him by matching wits with Ancestral Witch Dijiang!
But why?
Why was this Xi Emperor, who should have been locked in a battle of wits with Ancestral Witch Dijiang, fishing here?
Could it be that even "slacking off" had already spread to the highest levels of the Demon Clan?
"Little fellow, you're making a fuss over nothing." Fuxi gave a mocking laugh. "Great Luo means eternal freedom across Endless Space-time. We can manifest trillions upon trillions of avatars, existing everywhere and in everything—we are the Dao!"
The Dao was everywhere!
"So what if I have a few avatars and alternate accounts?"
"What? You don't believe me?"
"If you don't, I'll use a few more accounts to say hello to you."
Great Sage Fuxi's smile was warm and amiable, but in the next moment, he forcibly directed an entire horror film.
The nearby mountains came alive.
The mountains had spirits. Their bodies trembled, producing a sound.
"Hello, I'm Fuxi."
The surging river roared as it flowed.
Countless droplets of water flew into the air, reflecting the radiance of the sun and scattering rainbow shadows.
The river had a god. The rainbows refracted by the water droplets twisted and turned into a line of words, offering a greeting.
"Hello, I'm Fuxi."
Above the vast sky, the clouds and mist flowed. At that moment, they suddenly changed.
Whether by coincidence or coincidence, a gust of astral wind swept past. The clouds and mist shifted, naturally forming a sentence in the sky.
"Hello, I'm Fuxi."
Feng Xi's expression went blank. What could he say now?
He was completely speechless.
"Eternal freedom, endless avatars." Fuxi sighed wistfully. "Even I'm a little confused. I don't know how many of me there are... Perhaps the number is infinity."
"The me negotiating with Dijiang is me."
"The me sitting here fishing is also me."
"Even you... are actually me."
Fuxi smiled.
"You're kidding, right?" Feng Xi's pupils widened. "How could I possibly be someone else's avatar?"
"Oh, no, I said that wrong..." He suddenly grew excited, visibly thrilled. "Is it true?"
Feng Xi's expression changed at once. He looked as though he was about to rush over and hug Fuxi's leg. "The main account! The original body!"
"Look, I'm your avatar, and I'm living such a miserable life right now... I'm about to lose all my dignity just trying to earn a little money."
"Could you perhaps show mercy and provide me with some assistance?"
"My demands aren't high. Just share some of your cultivation and realm with me. And ten or eight Innate Spiritual Treasures would be fine too..."
I'm weak. Please carry me to victory!
In just a few words, Feng Xi vividly and expressively conveyed that meaning.
He grew excited, but Fuxi fell silent.
This lofty and magnificent divine figure looked Feng Xi up and down with a strange gaze, smacked his lips, and said, "You're the most shameless person I've ever met. No, you're the least pretentious..."
"Have you abandoned your independent self-awareness and your freedom of thought entirely? Are you just waiting for me to overwrite you?"
"Only powerhouses who can break the Rules have the right to talk about independence and freedom..." Feng Xi complained. "I'm merely a Lesser Witch constrained by survival and development. Every day, I have to consider how to allocate cultivation resources and how to survive the coming catastrophe..."
"On the surface, I'm free... But beneath the countless invisible frameworks of this world and the countless shackles binding me..."
"To put it bluntly, I'm just a puppet on strings, or perhaps a leek harvested over and over again... Why talk about independent self-awareness and freedom of thought? Why put a flattering label on myself?"
"Laughing and chatting merrily in front of others, pretending that I'm doing fine, while secretly bearing endless pressure and suffering, lost and worried about the future... What's the point?"
Feng Xi spoke with conviction. "My goal isn't actually that great... As long as I can live my whole life peacefully, without worrying about my safety, and do whatever I want without anyone restricting me... that's enough!"
"If I had to define the time span of this life, I would want it to be—eternity!"
The corner of Fuxi's mouth twitched, then twitched again. He had never seen someone with such a bizarre style before, and he felt completely powerless and defeated.
After rubbing his brow, he laid his cards on the table. "Assistance is impossible, and carrying you to victory is impossible too... Give up on that idea."
"No!" Feng Xi wailed. "Aren't we the same person? You can't be so heartless!"
"No, no, no, I said that wrong just now... You're actually not my avatar." Fuxi shook his head repeatedly. "I sympathize with your circumstances, but there's nothing I can do about them."
"How could this happen?" Feng Xi was deeply shaken. "Someone as important as you has started joking around too?"
"He wasn't joking. He simply didn't finish speaking." The little Phoenix spoke at that moment, becoming a lamp that illuminated the darkness in Feng Xi's heart.
Feng Xi turned his head and listened to her explanation.
"You are his avatar, but you are also not his avatar..." The little Phoenix flapped her wings, taking delight in teaching others. "Actually, you are also the avatar of every Great Luo."
"What the hell? Am I really that incredible?" Feng Xi stared in astonishment.
"Of course not," the Phoenix said slowly. "Because all living beings beneath the Great Luo Realm are the shared avatars of every Great Luo."
"Otherwise, how could the nobility and supremacy of Great Luo be demonstrated?!"
"The Primordial World is a game. Those who have not become Great Luo are people within the game, strings of data... But Great Luo are the players, the administrators, the ones with authority."
"We can alter data and take on designated characters... That is the truth of everything."
"Great Luo are the Dao." Though the Phoenix was tiny, her tone was lofty. "The Dao evolves the heavens and earth... The living beings within the heavens and earth achieve their existence by following the laws of the Dao."
"Every Great Luo participated in the grand project of constructing the Primordial World, providing data for this world... It's just that, because their strength differs, so does their share."
Before you continue