"Taking a nap again? Do you know you'll be shouldering great responsibilities in the future?"
"Take a look at these Dao of Alchemy and Array Dao when you have nothing else to do; you have nothing else to do all day anyway."
"If I leave in the future, don't try to find me."
In the garden by the city wall, Lu Changsheng stared at the figure slowly approaching, momentarily lost in thought.
He was an old man dressed in a gray robe, with white hair and beard, a kind face, but his eyes held a wise look that had seen many hardships. He was the former head of the thatched Cottage who had taken in and taught Lu Changsheng in the Southern Region of the Wilderness Realm, and then mysteriously disappeared.
Strangely, the old man did not ask Lu Changsheng to become his disciple.
For Lu Changsheng, however, this person was even more like a master.
"Old man, you're still alive." Lu Changsheng's lips twitched, his tone tinged with a hint of reproach, yet unable to hide a trace of relief. "So many years, no word from you. I thought you'd really gone to some reincarnation to enjoy your retirement."
The old man walked to the chessboard, Nüwa smiled and stood up to make way for him. He sat down naturally, looking at Lu Changsheng with gentle eyes, "You brat, if I really went to enjoy my retirement, who would arrange so many 'coincidences' for you?"
"???"
Lu Changsheng looked completely bewildered, then his eye twitched as he said, "Why don't you just enjoy your retirement?"
So all those coincidences that happened to the disciples were arranged by this old man?!
Du Ni coughed and said, "Let's get back to the point... Didn't you want to escape this karma and destiny? Well, let me tell you, you really can't escape this karma and destiny no matter what."
Lu Changsheng: "What do you mean by that?"
"Because your arrival in this world was not accidental."
Before the Dao Ancestor dispersed, he used his last strength to disrupt the heavenly order and cast a seed of 'variable' into the lower realm. You are that 'variable'.
Under the watchful eye of the Holy Court, we have buried countless eras, awaiting the key to breaking the deadlock.
Lu Changsheng exclaimed in shock and anger, "So you've been plotting against me since the beginning of our time on Earth?!"
"What scheming..." Du Ni chuckled dryly, "It just so happens that I chose you... no, I should say I can't live without you."
"Not you..." Lu Changsheng took a deep breath. No, no, he couldn't swear.
But what Du Ni said next...
"Actually, we just created the environment for you, leading you to the Wilderness Realm, allowing you to inherit the Cottage and come into contact with the core cause and effect of this realm. As for how far you can go... it all depends on yourself. Your talent, your fearlessness... oh no, your cautious nature, are all indispensable parts to breaking through this predicament."
"Your mother!" Lu Changsheng felt instantly relieved.
It's true that you can't be too clean; you have to be a little dirty.
"Hey, why are you cursing like that, dragging your family into it?" Du Ni said impatiently, "You should know that the Holy Court's divination techniques are unparalleled in the world, but they can't predict 'human nature' and 'unexpected events.' With the Dao Ancestor's dispersal of the Dao obscuring the secrets of heaven, coupled with your personality, that's why they couldn't foresee your existence as a variable."
Nüwa added from the side, " The Holy Court monitors all realms, paying particular attention to bloodlines and lineages that may be related to Earth. The significance of the Divine Realm here is that the Divine Realm Holy Court intends to use its control over the Lower Five Realms to constantly nip any potential threats in the bud."
Lu Changsheng was silent for a moment, then looked at the blood-red, yellowish-brown earth outside the city walls. "So, you've been guarding this place all this time, resisting the Holy Court's infiltration?"
"Yes," Du Ni said. "This is where the roots of the World Tree intertwine. We old folks use this place to prolong our lives and lay the groundwork for eternity. Nüwa is in charge of the Spiritual Qi of all living beings in this realm, while I travel to the lower realms to guide key figures."
Lu Changsheng sneered, "Guided? It seems that most of the people we encountered before were guided by you, old man? For example, the Grand Preceptor of the Chaos Divine Dynasty, Xiang Liu, Xiangliu Huang Qian, and Willow Tree? Even the person who gave me the Yellow Springs River in the Netherworld?"
" The Willow Tree? I didn't guide it." Du Ni sighed, "That kind of existence... I'm not qualified."
Lu Changsheng understood the meaning behind Du Ni's words: he wasn't qualified, but someone else was.
Moreover, given the nature of these old guys, if they speak in such obscure and difficult language, they definitely won't tell the truth.
Lu Changsheng, too lazy to ask any further questions, instead inquired, "So this all-out attack on the Divine Realm is also the Holy Court's doing?"
"It wasn't the Holy Court's intention, but they certainly played a part in pushing things along." A cold glint flashed in Du Ni's eyes as he said, " The Holy Court has sensed signs of a resurgence in the celestial secrets of this realm, and thus they've been fueling the flames, forcing us to reveal ourselves."
Lu Changsheng then nodded.
That makes sense.
When Lu Changsheng was infiltrating the Divine Realm, he learned that the Divine Realm was wary of Nüwa and her group intervening.
If the sole purpose is to provide training for the disciples, then refraining from intervention would be a stretch.
"But they miscalculated... Your growth as a variable has exceeded everyone's expectations, and your disciples have also gathered enough fortune to shake up the situation. Now the chessboard is full of pieces; it's time for the player to step down!"
Lu Changsheng asked, "Are you going to join the fray?"
"Not us," Nüwa nodded with a smile. "The one who holds the chessboard has always been you. From now on, we will all become your right-hand men. As for the others, they currently have their own missions, wandering in the Heaven Beyond Heaven, but they will all be at your service later."
Is it me?
Lu Changsheng was somewhat stunned.
Du Ni laughed heartily, "Don't think too much about it. Anyway, you brat can't escape this fate. Just accept it. Now let's see how far your disciples can fight against the Divine Realm when you're on the field."
Lu Changsheng wanted to curse again...
The flowerbed fell into a brief silence.
In the distance, faint sounds of fighting seemed to drift from outside the city walls; these were the aftershocks of war from the lower realms, carried through space.
Lu Changsheng's gaze pierced through this space, encompassing the entire Lower Five Realms.
Things have come to this point, and things have been said to this extent.
I have no reason to run away any longer.
Since cause and effect cannot be avoided.
Then we must completely sever this cause and effect, eradicating it at its root!
Perhaps even Lu Changsheng himself didn't know.
I would never have had such impulsive thoughts in the past...
His gaze towards Lu Changsheng gradually hardened, becoming filled with murderous intent.
Nüwa and Du Ni exchanged a smile, then fell silent, quietly accompanying Lu Changsheng as he observed the situation in the Lower Five Realms.
The Lower Five Realms are now suffering immense devastation due to the impact of the Divine Realm.
Countless forces fell and perished.
The major powers suffered heavy losses and were forced to flee.
The Divine Realm's all-out attack was too sudden, so much so that many forces had not yet integrated.
Under such circumstances, it is absolutely impossible to contend with the Divine Realm.
If we say that the Cangxuan Continent is the center of the Chaos Realm...
The Qingming Continent is the most unknown region in the Chaos Realm.
The Qingming Sea is even larger than the four continents combined.
Most of these areas remain unexplored to this day.
Even the people of the Chaos Realm themselves haven't explored this place, so how could the people of the Divine Realm possibly detect it immediately?
Countless top forces are now gathered in the depths of the Qingming Sea...