Falling from Reality into Illusion

Damn my foul temper.

On the way home, Yang Qizhou slapped his forehead in frustration.

Before taking action, he had told himself to plan thoroughly, remain as steady as an old dog, and slip away quietly afterward. As long as there was a risk of exposure, he should immediately use the ability of the "Doom-Bringing Raven" to break away from the current timeline.

But the result was...

After being threatened by Wang Chuang, the fire in his heart flared up instantly. All that talk about a real man knowing when to bend and when to stretch, or not letting small grievances ruin the big picture—it all went out the window.

Vengeance had to be exacted on the spot, and the anger had to be vented immediately; no one could stop him.

Everyone is living life for the first time.

Why should he have to swallow this insult?

Thinking about it now, it wasn't really worth it. Although he had vented his anger and given Wang Chuang a good beating, he had also exposed himself to the eyes of the Bureau of Occult Investigation.

"It's all that trash Wang Chuang's fault. You want to be crazy, fine, but why threaten me? Don't you know my temper has always been bad?"

With things having reached this point, Yang Qizhou could only accept the facts.

As for using the "Doom-Bringing Raven" to revert his timeline and make a different choice... the save point had been overwritten the moment he took out the "Ancient God Fire Lamp" to shatter the illusions before him. Going back now wouldn't change anything, other than letting him beat Wang Chuang up again.

He could only hope that the members of the Bureau of Occult Investigation were too far away to see him clearly.

Returning to his apartment complex, he ran into Little Bean in the hallway. The girl had just finished playing and was yawning, looking like she could fall asleep at any moment. Yang Qizhou pinched her cheeks hard, making the little girl almost cry out of grievance, and only then did he enter his room with satisfaction.

He kicked off his shoes, tossed his socks aside, stripped off his coat, and collapsed onto the sofa without tidying up. A wave of immense comfort instantly enveloped Yang Qizhou.

Being a salted fish is truly blissful.

"This Old Day Item is a bit terrifying."

Yang Qizhou thought of the prop in Wang Chuang's hand—a wooden statue with a bizarre shape.

At the time, acting on the principle that he shouldn't leave empty-handed since he had already made a move, he had intended to snatch this mysterious "Old Day Item." However, upon seeing its attributes, he immediately abandoned the plan, thinking that he wouldn't even take this cursed thing if it were given to him for free.

Broken Statue of the Abyss Old God (Common-Grade Old Day Item): A product of the Cataclysm Era, created by a Mad Sculptor. He used the branches of a Demon Tree born in the abyss as material and the flesh and blood of an Abyss Old God as dye, attempting to create an artificial deity. He died on the spot just as he was about to finish. Since then, wherever the statue appears, terrifying disasters inevitably follow, causing countless lives to perish. It possesses living characteristics, but having lost too much power over endless years and having survived the catastrophes of two era shifts, its traits have all but vanished. Now that the statue has seen the light of day again, it will instinctively devour the flesh and blood of all living things to complete itself.

Effect: Emits an unobservable Abyss Fog that rewrites human senses; the number of targets cannot exceed 10.

Side Effect: The Broken Statue of the Abyss Old God will consume the holder's flesh and blood, pollute the holder's mind, and drive the holder to collect the flesh and blood of living beings to complete itself.

Comment: You are not the master; you are merely a slave.

It was no wonder the player "Wang Chuang" had turned into such a ghost; encountering this kind of cursed object would drive anyone mad sooner or later.

"It's fortunate that the effect of the 'Ancient God Fire Lamp' can break through illusions and reveal the truth; it just so happens to counter the Broken Statue of the Abyss Old God. Otherwise, it would have been quite troublesome."

Yang Qizhou muttered to himself and took the "Ancient God Fire Lamp" out of the game.

The lamp was made of bronze and burned with a flame that seemed eternal. Even though it was just a single flicker, it was exceptionally bright, as if it could illuminate even the darkest night.

He recalled the five precautions mentioned by the "Secret Cultivator."

The second one was... never use items from the [World of Weirdness] in reality indiscriminately, as that would release terrifying things.

For now, the "Ancient God Fire Lamp" seemed normal enough.

However, to be safe, he should try to use items from the "World of Weirdness" as little as possible until he figured out what exactly this "terrifying thing" referred to.

"Oh, it's twelve o'clock. The timing is just right."

Yang Qizhou smiled. Although there were no visions of sun and moon entwining, nor any surging golden light, a realization naturally dawned in his mind. The protective fire of fate reignited, the "Blasphemous Raven" let out a cry, and he once again possessed three chances for resurrection and five for timeline reversion.

Then, let's continue: the pregnancy plan for the unknown evil god, the "Lord of the Dreamy Hidden World."

Game start.

"You open your eyes in the residence arranged by Yixiu."

"Your heart is both excited and anxious. Making the 'Lord of the Dreamy Hidden World' pregnant—just thinking about this plan is thrilling."

"Before long, the injured Lena comes before you again. However, this time she is prepared for the Fire-Stealing Priest and is not severely wounded, though her blood-covered appearance still gives you a start."

"As soon as Lena enters, she complains to you that the sacred relic for the divine descent is still on the altar and hasn't been swapped out, and that the Fire-Stealing Priest even mocked her for it."

"You do not answer her question, merely smiling mysteriously to maintain the air of intrigue."

"A strange change occurs."

"You see the Sacred Fire in the Basin, which symbolizes the authority of the 'Ancient Fire-Stealing God,' flickering unsteadily. The scenery within your sight becomes illusory and distorted; the Fire-Stealing Village seems to be falling from reality into illusion, yet the ordinary villagers remain completely unaware of this terrifying phenomenon."

Yang Qizhou sat up abruptly, his nerves taut.

It's here, it's finally here.

Whether he can make the "Lord of the Dreamy Hidden World" pregnant depends on this very moment.

"Lena realizes that the divine descent ritual has begun and proposes to escort you to the Fire-Stealing Priest's house again. However, in her understanding, the 'sacred relic' required for the descent has not been replaced, so her attitude is somewhat dejected."

"As an explorer who loves to act mysterious, you still do not intend to reveal the truth, only strongly insisting that Lena escort you."

"Under Lena's escort, you head toward the Fire-Stealing Priest's house."

"During the journey, you see a blurry, illusory giant face appear in the sky, with nine eyes and thirteen mouths, and unknown whispers begin to echo in your ears."

"You surmise that the God-Descending Ritual has likely reached the stage of chanting the honorific name."

"So, you explorer full of malice, attempting to blaspheme the gods, do you choose to chant the complete honorific name of the Lord of the Dreamy Hidden World now to hijack the ritual?"

"Or will you wait a little longer?"

Another moment for a choice? The plan to get an evil god pregnant is certainly not as easy to realize as expected.

Trash game.

If it were any other player, they would surely be caught in a dilemma; after all, success is within reach, and no one wants to fall short at the final hurdle.

But Yang Qizhou has no such worries. Wielding the Blasphemous Raven, he is capable of fate-restarting, meaning he can afford to regret his choices.

Choose the first option.

"Explorer of trash-tier strength, you conclude that the Fire-Stealing Priest is already chanting the complete honorific name of the Lord of the Dreamy Hidden World, and fearing you might miss this opportunity, you decide to chant it simultaneously."

"You chant the complete honorific name of the Lord of the Dreamy Hidden World, but there is no sign of a god descending; other than the illusory giant face in the sky becoming more solid, nothing happens."

"The Fire-Stealing Priest senses your despicable behavior and is filled with rage, appearing with the Invisible Hound he keeps."

"Lena blocks the Fire-Stealing Priest to protect you."

"You hear the bark of a dog."

"Everything below your waist has been eaten by the dog; you bleed profusely and howl in agony."

"You have died."