Projections Across the Heavens, Shrouding the Heavens Great World

Gray Mist Space.

After discussing the initial mass production of alchemy pills with Xiao Zhan, Xiao Yan sensed a disturbance here as if guided by fate. After steadying himself, he returned once more.

When he returned, the mist that had blocked the countless passages in Gray Mist Space had already dispersed.

It was time to project himself into the heavens again.

Finding that he still could not travel to Naruto or The Outcast again, Xiao Yan was not in a hurry.

After his strength reached the Dou Zhe realm, this place seemed to have undergone a new change.

At some point, a ball of gray mist had appeared, floating in the center of the space.

With a thought, Xiao Yan understood. This was the most important change.

His previous projections had been somewhat like those tomb-raiding games he played in his past life. If he managed to withdraw, he could bring whatever he carried with him; if he failed to withdraw, only his memories would remain.

But after his breakthrough in strength, it seemed that something akin to a safe had appeared. Linked to his strength, it could store one item within Gray Mist Space. Whether he died or not, it would be brought back to the Dou Qi Continent.

In that case, he could venture forth without restraint.

"Come on, new world. Let me see what kind of place you are."

He raised his head and let out a long breath. Choosing the passage that looked the most agreeable at random, Xiao Yan immediately pressed his hand against it. Gray mist surged, instantly filling Gray Mist Space, and his figure vanished from where he stood.

Following the gray mist passage downward, he did not know how long he traveled. It felt like a river flowing from ancient times to the present.

Countless grand scenes emerged one after another upon the river, while a cloud of light wrapped in gray mist sped along one of its tributaries before finally merging into it.

As the view pulled back, colossal illusions appeared and vanished somewhere upstream or downstream. Vaguely, a figure standing atop a great cauldron fought side by side with another holding a flaming ruler.

Yet from afar, those illusions seemed to form a single eye flickering with firelight.

After this strand of gray mist flowed in, every illusion vanished.

Shrouding the Heavens Great World.

At the foot of Mount Tai.

"Hey, hey, Xiao Yan, are you okay?"

Not cold. Not trembling.

Noise filled his ears. Traffic streamed around him, dazzling lights flashing brilliantly. Looking up, he saw towering buildings all around and crowds flowing endlessly through the streets.

Xiao Yan's powerful soul strength allowed him to clearly perceive everything around him.

This was a prosperous modern city.

And he was lying on the ground.

When he opened his eyes, Xiao Yan saw a huge face looming right in front of him.

Thick brows and big eyes, the young man looked honest and simple. At that moment, his expression was anxious, with a trace of guilt.

Behind him was a Mercedes with its hazard lights flashing. No one was inside, and the driver's door was still open.

Seeing this, Xiao Yan immediately understood what had happened.

He grabbed the young man before him, his voice full and strong despite his trembling manner.

"Ow, my elbow!"

The young man's expression grew even more anxious at those words. Yet Xiao Yan, who had merely grabbed the other man's hand, suddenly widened his eyes.

The man had actually broken free from his grip and reached out to feel his elbow.

Why was he so strong?

"Old Xiao, don't scare me. What's wrong with you?"

"Ow, my knee!"

Ignoring him, Xiao Yan clutched his knee and began howling. But after realizing something, he abruptly raised his head.

So this was someone he knew?

He was not surprised by that. His projection was not a direct crossing into this world; it was more like projecting over a possibility of how he might have crossed over back then.

It was just that he had skipped through the plot as fast as he could.

"Who are you?" Xiao Yan eyed him sideways.

"I'm Ye Fan." Ye Fan instantly grew nervous. After so many years apart, had he nearly rammed his old classmate to death the first time they met? Looking at the situation, had he even hit him into amnesia?

"Ye Hei?" Xiao Yan froze.

He looked again at the Mercedes in the distance, then at Ye Fan, who looked so honest. The corner of his mouth twitched.

So he had actually arrived in Shrouding the Heavens? He could even project himself here?

"Oh, sorry. I lost my memory, so I forgot."

"You..." Ye Fan was left speechless.

Just as he was about to say something, Xiao Yan patted the dust off his backside, stood up directly, opened the front passenger door of the Mercedes, and got in as though nothing had happened.

"No, Old Xiao, what's going on with you right now? Don't move around."

Ye Fan immediately panicked. Though he had braked in time, knocking someone unconscious was no light matter.

"It's fine. I was just hit into amnesia. Let's go, Hei. Tell me about my past."

Xiao Yan patted Ye Fan's shoulder as he leaned in, completely unconcerned.

Ye Fan: "..."

Two hours later, at a roadside food stall.

"So you just came back from Russia?" Ye Fan's mouth twitched as he looked at his childhood friend of more than a decade, from elementary school through high school. He could not help mocking him.

"Didn't you lose your memory?"

"Maybe I spent a few years delivering food. Maybe I went off to be a mercenary for two years." Xiao Yan's eyes shone as he casually made things up.

"Tch, you're still the same, always spouting nonsense. If you really became a mercenary, I'd bet one hundred percent that you used a fake name." Ye Fan rolled his eyes. Although their reunion had begun in a rather absurd way, meeting again after so long still left him unable to suppress the surging emotions in his heart.

Xiao Yan merely smiled without speaking. A man did not change his name while walking or his surname while sitting; whenever he went out, he had always randomly mixed together names.

After chatting for a while, he finally understood the path his projection had taken this time.

As an orphan, he had been childhood friends with the Heavenly Emperor Ye. Because he had been too ambitious, he had successfully gone abroad on a state-sponsored program.

Because of Russia's terrible internet environment and the inconvenience of communication, he had effectively disappeared from Ye Fan's world for several years.

Ye Fan had just finished gathering with his classmates and planned to climb Mount Tai in a couple of days.

Having caught those key words, Xiao Yan completely confirmed where he was. His heart alternated between blazing excitement and utter despair.

The waters of the Shrouding the Heavens world ran far too deep.

One fucking glance back could create countless spacetime continua and countless universes. A single trace of negative emotion could reshape an entire world. Existing in the past, existing in the present, existing forever—it had transcended everything entirely.

How the hell was anyone supposed to play this?

But he was only stunned for a moment. Staring at Ye Fan, who looked especially like an honest man, Xiao Yan cast all those thoughts out of his mind.

He had already projected himself here, so why worry about any of that?

Beyond Sacrificial Dao, then Beyond Sacrificial Dao it was.

Three hundred... thirty thousand... three hundred million years east of the river, three hundred million years west of the river!

After considering it, Xiao Yan still chose a comparatively shorter time.

For some reason, he suddenly wanted to go to the Douluo Continent.

He could get himself a godhood there and gain eternal life directly. Why come to such a treacherous place as Shrouding the Heavens?

Still, although this place was dangerous, since he was fine for now, he could make a good haul.

His eyes rolled as he thought of all those treasures and the new function his golden finger had unlocked. Xiao Yan immediately began scheming.

Since he was here, he should eat first.

"Come on, Hei. We won't go home until we're drunk. This time, I'm definitely drinking you under the table."

Feeling the Dou Qi within him continuously grow, Xiao Yan said cheerfully.

He was a reckless man. He could not be bothered with so much.

"Hei, the gears of fate are about to start turning."