Chapter 3000: The Fallen Beauty Is Gone, Yet the Fair Face Remains!
But Jiangnan had no other choice. For now, he would just accumulate them. Accumulating more was always the right move!
Every drop of Realm Source Energy was Jiangnan's capital.
Perhaps once the Six Paths Soul Refining Method was fully cultivated, there would be a breakthrough?
As he pondered, Jiangnan wanted to fast-forward through time a little, directly to when Nian Hongyan returned, to see what the situation really was.
Just as Jiangnan was browsing backward through the pages of reality, he saw Li Daoyan and the others rushing over in a panic.
Standing before the black hole, they shouted anxiously.
"Lord Demon Lord? Are you there? Are you there?"
"The Great Dao World Tree lit up again. Are you planning to make a move against us?"
"Lord Demon Lord? Say something, please? I know you're home!"
The black hole suddenly vanished, and Jiangnan's figure emerged as he ran back from the Life Forbidden Zone.
"I know! I know! So the Dao Tree lit up. What's there to be so alarmed about? No need to worry—let it shine if it wants to."
"Make a move against you few? You think too highly of yourselves, don't you?"
As he spoke, Jiangnan gave them several sidelong glances.
Yan Xing swallowed his saliva. "I-it's not going to make a move against us? Then... were you bored and wanted to destroy the world?"
Jiangnan's face darkened. "Destroy my ass! You're disturbing my cultivation. Don't think you can leave so easily."
"Come on—let's go play some poker!"
Li Daoyan: ???
Inside the Eternal Demon Hall, within the cave heaven, the scenery was picturesque, like a celestial realm.
At the center lay a magical treasure cushion.
Everyone sat in a circle, and the poker cards on the cushion were made by Jiangnan himself, who had turned space into a two-dimensional plane. If one didn't use the Force of Will as protection and grabbed them barehanded, they wouldn't even be able to play poker—they'd become the cards themselves.
It was a high-end game; without a certain level of strength, you couldn't even play, alright?
At this moment, the atmosphere was extremely tense. All the Genesis Realm powerhouses were going all out, even expanding their small worlds to prevent others from seeing their cards.
Playing poker turned out to be more intense and thrilling than fighting.
Jiangnan's smile gradually turned devilish.
"Same old rules, huh."
"A six. Yan Xing, your turn."
Yan Xing's expression hardened as he pulled two cards and slammed them hard onto the cushion.
"Two kings! King bomb!"
Jiangnan: (≖_≖)...
"I think I'll go destroy the world after all."
Can't you even play properly?!
Yan Xing flinched. "N-no, no, please don't? The poker table is a battlefield, and isn't fighting all about momentum? What's wrong with my play?"
Jiangnan's face darkened. "Alright, alright! No one can take it? Next."
Yan Xing: "Lord Demon Lord? You're really not going to destroy the world, are you?"
Jiangnan's forehead bulged with veins as he raised the Godslayer Blade.
\=͟͟͞͞=͟͟͞͞=͟͟͞͞=͟͟͞͞=͟͟͞͞]=¤٩(ꐦ°᷄д°᷅)☛
"I'm not happy. I'll just carve a dozen trenches in the starry sky."
Yan Xing: !!!
In a flash, he vanished, leaving only his voice echoing in the air.
"I'll go accept my punishment right away!"
Because the loser had to enter the Gale and endure Jiangnan's top-tier beating output, that's why Chi San and the others were fighting so desperately.
They could never lose, because the loser would truly be beaten to death!
Jiangnan raised his hand. "I'm not playing this anymore. Let's switch. This method is an ultimate test of one's mentality, cunning, willpower, and composure under pressure. Whether you can grasp its essence depends on you."
Qian Hai's eyes lit up. Was it that high-end? Could it be some secret technique treasured by the Eternal Demon Lord?
"W-what method? I'd love to hear it!"
Jiangnan tilted his head. "Hmph! This method is called 'Draw the King Turtle.' Shuffle the cards!"
Qian Hai: =͟͟͞͞(꒪ᗜ꒪‧̣̥̇)...
The tense and exciting game began. As they played, they chatted.
Li Daoyan drew cards calmly while speaking. "Lord Demon Lord, in these past nearly two hundred years, although our levels haven't improved much and our small worlds haven't progressed much, our strength is already far beyond what it was."
"The concepts, techniques, systems, and knowledge we've learned from you have been incredibly beneficial. Just the growth we've achieved during this time has far surpassed the progress of the past ten thousand or even hundreds of thousands of years."
"Especially the Six Paths Soul Refining Method. We've also benefited from it. Although it's not fully developed yet, our soul strength has already surpassed the past."
"The scientific knowledge you brought has also breathed new life into the cultivation world. Lord Demon Lord, your noble character..."
Jiangnan's mouth twitched. "Stop blowing smoke up my ass. Even if you write a thousand-word essay praising me, it won't compare to a pretty girl saying 'handsome brother.'"
Ling Que quickly said, "Handsome brother~"
Jiangnan: (≖_≖٥)...
"Alright, what's the matter?"
Li Daoyan swallowed. "Lord Demon Lord, we only ask you to show us a way."
"Over the years, although we've improved a lot and the cultivation world has undergone a new technological revolution, none of this is enough to break the shackles of the heavens."
"Even if we complete the Six Paths Soul Refining Method in the future, relying on our strength to contend with the Starry Sky Will is far from enough."
"The gap in level cannot be made up by these methods. How... how do we break the deadlock?"
"We really don't want to just stay like this for the rest of our lives, Lord Demon Lord. Can't you give us the Realm Source Energy? Doing so wouldn't break the law of conservation!"
Now Li Daoyan and the others believed that with Jiangnan's help in the form of Realm Source Energy, they could nurture their own worlds into true worlds and achieve Genesis. It seemed to be the only solution.
Jiangnan refused again. "Don't even think about it. I won't give you the Realm Source Energy. I'll say it again: I don't want to take the risk with you."
"However, I can point the way. To break the deadlock and develop sustainably, it's not just about shattering the heavens' shackles and surpassing the Starry Sky Will."
"What happens after surpassing it? What will this immortal palace starry sky world become? World collapse, devastation? Would that count as winning or losing?"
"So don't always think about defying heaven. Seek a way to coexist. You were born in this world, nurtured by the starry sky world. You are not enemies; you are interdependent. Understand?"
"Only by finding the balance can you extend the path forward."
"You bring brilliance to the world; the world paves the way for you. Resistance is a means, a process, not the goal. Got it?"
Li Daoyan smiled bitterly. "That's true, but... but how exactly do we do it?"
"The basic condition for peaceful coexistence and mutual support is being able to talk on equal terms. Right now, we don't have that qualification."
"If the heavens don't open, we can't ascend. Isn't this a dead end?"
Jiangnan looked profound. "I told you, don't worry about useless things. Everything is predestined in the unseen. That's the best arrangement."
"Right now, you are indeed trapped in a dead loop. If the heavens don't break, everything is empty. But someone will always jump out to break this cycle."
"It's just that... that person isn't you."
Li Daoyan and the others were stunned. "Not us? Then... who is it?"
Jiangnan raised an eyebrow, looking into the void before him. "Her."
The next moment, space in front of them suddenly fluctuated. A dazzling immortal light bloomed, and Nian Hongyan's figure emerged within the Eternal Demon Hall.
A breathtakingly beautiful smile adorned her face.
"Senior! I'm back!"
Li Daoyan and the others widened their eyes. Nian Hongyan? Was it her?
She was the one who would tear open the heavens and break the dead loop?
They were shocked to find that Nian Hongyan was no longer at the peak of the Eternal Realm, nor was she at the Pseudo-Genesis or Genesis Realm.
But the aura she emitted was extremely vast.
Li Daoyan was even certain that Nian Hongyan at this moment could suppress him in a fight.
But how was that possible? She clearly wasn't even a Pseudo-Genesis yet, without her own small world.
Jiangnan also smiled. "Should I call you Qingcheng Fairy, or Nian Hongyan?"
At these words, Ling Que, Qian Hai, and the others were all stunned. Goosebumps rose all over them. Their jaws dropped to the ground, eyes bulging.
Chi San exclaimed, "Huh? Qingcheng Fairy? Didn't she already fall during the Primordial Era? How could she still..."
"Nian Hongyan is Qingcheng Fairy?"
The shock of this revelation was no less than a neighbor's old cow giving birth to a pony!
Nian Hongyan's smile grew even brighter. "Nian Hongyan greets Lord Demon Lord."
"It is Qingcheng Immortal who transformed into Nian Hongyan, not Nian Hongyan who became Qingcheng Immortal."
"Lord Demon Lord... it's been a while."
Before receiving the inheritance, Nian Hongyan had indeed been worried, but her worries were completely unnecessary.
Qingcheng Immortal had indeed chosen to end herself, allowing the golden age to continue.
But this end was also a new beginning for her.
Qingcheng Immortal didn't simply die. The Qingcheng Immortal Palace was her backup plan. Although she underwent weapon dissolution, she left behind the World Seed.
When Nian Hongyan entered the Qingcheng Immortal Palace, she obtained the World Seed, as well as all of Qingcheng Immortal's memories and everything.
This was not a fusion; it was Nian Hongyan as the main body, receiving all of Qingcheng Immortal.
And thus, Nian Hongyan learned the whole truth and Qingcheng Immortal's true intentions.
Jiangnan was also taken aback, a hint of joy in his heart.
So it was still Nian Hongyan?
After all, they had spent so much time together. If this event had made her no longer herself, even if she was still her, Jiangnan would have had some reservations in his heart.
But what surprised Jiangnan was that Nian Hongyan did not become Qingcheng Immortal.
Instead, Qingcheng Immortal transformed into Nian Hongyan?
This was interesting. Was this Qingcheng Immortal's own choice?
"Care to tell me what really happened?"
Nian Hongyan smiled brightly and nodded firmly.
"Mm!"