91: Chapter 91 Forcing a Duck onto a Shelf! The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao!

The sound, like mountains calling and seas roaring, converged into an invisible, spiritual tidal wave that crashed fiercely against the white jade preaching platform.

Su Changge stood at the edge of the platform, overlooking the black ocean of surging heads below, feeling his legs go weak.

His white robes rustled in the mountain wind, accentuating his immortal demeanor and making him look utterly profound.

In reality, however, his back was already soaked through with cold sweat, icy and clammy.

"System, my dear System, just do something!"

He roared silently in his heart, but the panel in his mind still displayed that eye-piercing, despair-inducing line: [Reboot Progress: 99%...].

There was no turning back.

Su Changge's chest heaved slightly as he forcibly suppressed the suffocating panic and took a step forward.

He had to walk from the edge of the preaching platform to the lotus throne in the center.

It was only a hundred steps, yet at this moment, it felt as long as the path to ascending to heaven.

Every step felt like treading on burning knife blades.

The white jade steps beneath his feet were bone-chillingly cold, and that icy sensation surged up from the soles of his feet, threatening to freeze his very heart.

Below, hundreds of thousands of eyes stared at him without blinking.

Those gazes were a mixture of fanaticism, worship, and anticipation, pressing heavily upon his Divine Soul.

Further away, deep within the clouds, obscure and terrifying auras intertwined; that faint, lingering scrutiny was heavier than an ancient sacred mountain.

Su Changge felt as though he were not walking toward a throne, but toward an altar, waiting to be sacrificed.

In a moment of distraction, he tripped over his own feet and stumbled violently.

"It's over!"

Alarm bells rang in Su Changge's mind; if he were to fall face-first under the gaze of everyone, his "Dao Ancestor" persona would instantly collapse into a joke.

In a split second, he braced his waist and back, forcing himself to stabilize, and took the opportunity to come to a halt.

He did not continue forward but instead looked up at the firmament.

On his face, he forced a compassionate expression, his eyes distant and profound, as if piercing through the clouds to see the end of the Universe.

At this moment, it seemed as if he were communing with the Dao of Heaven and Earth, or perhaps mourning for the suffering common people of the world.

The entire sequence of movements was fluid and flawless.

In the crowd below, someone immediately let out a gasp of realization.

"Look! The Dao Ancestor has stopped!"

"The Dao Ancestor is looking up at the heavens... His eyes—I see a hint of compassion in them, compassion for all living beings!"

"So that's it! Every step the Dao Ancestor takes is a contemplation of the ultimate truths of Heaven and Earth, a prayer for us! And we, mere Mortals, dared to rush him!"

"The Dao Ancestor is merciful!"

Qin Wudao was so moved that his eyes filled with tears, and he said to the Elder beside him in a trembling voice, "Did you see that? This is the Realm! Every move the Dao Ancestor makes contains supreme meaning! Being able to catch even a glimpse of it is a tremendous stroke of good fortune for us!"

Listening to the "script" automatically generated by the crowd below, Su Changge felt slightly more at ease.

Fortunately, the imagination of this generation of believers remained strong.

He maintained his posture, looking up at the sky, while his brain raced at an unprecedented speed, searching for a way to break the deadlock.

He couldn't avoid the preaching, but what should he preach? Physics and chemistry? Nine-year compulsory education? No, those things would sound like gibberish to people in this world, and they lacked any sense of prestige.

Got it! A flash of inspiration struck Su Changge. Among the three great skills of a transmigrator, besides math, physics, and chemistry, wasn't there that other one!

He slowly withdrew his gaze and took another step, then another, walking as steadily as a mountain to the lotus throne in the center of the preaching platform.

He did not sit down immediately but turned around, his indifferent gaze sweeping across the entire crowd. Wherever his eyes landed, everyone bowed their heads in reverence, not daring to meet those eyes that seemed to contain the sun, moon, and stars.

Only then did Su Changge slowly turn around and sit down cross-legged. Throughout the entire process, he kept his incredibly handsome face taut, revealing not a shred of emotion.

He knew very well that his only weapons right now were this face and this temperament.

The entire venue was silent, so quiet that a pin drop could be heard. Everyone held their breath, waiting for those earth-shattering golden words.

Su Changge cleared his throat; his throat was so dry it felt like it was smoking. He opened his mouth and, with a tone that was as ethereal and devoid of worldly concerns as possible, spoke the prepared opening line.

"The Dao that can be told is not the eternal Dao." "The name that can be named is not the eternal name."

The voice, amplified by the formation, spread clearly throughout the entire valley and into the ears of everyone present.

In an instant, everyone perked up. It's here! The Dao Ancestor has finally started preaching!

However, after these two sentences were spoken, time passed second by second. And then? What about the visions? What about the promised golden lotuses springing from the ground, the falling heavenly flowers, and the Purple Qi Coming from the East for Thirty Thousand Miles? Why was there nothing? Not even a single auspicious crane flew over to show support?

Around the entire preaching platform, aside from the howling mountain wind, it was so quiet that it made people feel uneasy. The atmosphere began to turn strange.

The ecstasy on Qin Wudao's face froze, and he looked at the figure on the platform in confusion. What was going on? Why was the Dao Ancestor's preaching today so... plain and unadorned?

Could it be... that this is the legendary "Great Dao is simple," Return to Simplicity?! That must be it!

Qin Wudao instantly found the perfect explanation for Su Changge, and the worship in his eyes became even more firm.

But just because he could imagine it didn't mean the hundreds of thousands of Cultivators below could. The crowd had already begun to show signs of uncontrollable restlessness.

"How come... it's not like what I imagined?" "Yeah, the day Old Ancestor Kurong had his Breakthrough, there were ten thousand rays of rosy clouds and a thousand auspicious colors. How can the Dao Ancestor's preaching today be so quiet?"

"Don't be impatient. How can we, mere Mortals, fathom the Dao Ancestor's preaching? Perhaps the true Dao is just this plain and unremarkable." "But this is too plain... I don't understand a single word, and I can't feel any flow of Dao Rhyme."

The voices of doubt were small, but like pebbles thrown into a calm lake, they sent ripples spreading outwards.

Su Changge sat on the platform, taking in the reactions below. His heart was sinking inch by inch.

Cold sweat had soaked through his inner garments, sticking tightly to his skin, feeling both cold and clammy. He knew that relying solely on reciting scriptures wouldn't last long.

But now, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and keep reciting. "Therefore, always without desire, one can observe the mystery; always with desire, one can observe the manifestations..."

He could only pray that the System would finish that damn one percent before he was exposed on the spot.

However, just as he was reciting until his mouth was parched, an extremely discordant voice, like a sharp sword, suddenly pierced through this delicate balance.

"Please forgive this Junior for being bold!" A young man dressed in luxurious robes, with an aura as sharp as a sword, stood up from the crowd, his voice loud and clear, making no attempt to conceal his edge.

"I am Li Haochen, a Disciple of the Heavenly Sword Sect in the Central Plains! I came here admiring the name of the Dao Ancestor, originally expecting to see the true face of the Dao and listen to supreme teachings!"

He glared at Su Changge on the platform with burning eyes, his voice suddenly rising. "But why, when the Dao Ancestor preaches, is there not only a complete lack of heavenly visions, but we cannot even feel a single shred of Dao Rhyme?"

"The scriptures you recite sound mysterious, but in reality, they are empty and devoid of substance! Is this what you call the preaching of the Dao Ancestor?!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire crowd was in an uproar! Qin Wudao's face turned instantly livid, and he was just about to stand up to stop him.

But he saw an old man with a profound aura beside Li Haochen glance at him indifferently, and an invisible pressure pinned him firmly in place. A protector in the Void Refining Realm!

Qin Wudao's heart sank. And Li Haochen's words had completely ignited the doubts in the hearts of countless people present.

Yes, why? Why was there no feeling at all? In an instant, countless gazes of suspicion, scrutiny, and inquiry transformed into sharp swords, shooting toward Su Changge on the preaching platform.

The originally fanatical atmosphere instantly dropped to freezing point. Su Changge looked at the young man named Li Haochen and felt the world spinning. The thing he was most worried about had happened after all.

And in his mind, that damn progress bar was still at [99%...].

Seeing Su Changge silent, Li Haochen assumed he was feeling guilty, and the mockery on his face deepened. He said loudly, "Today, I shall see what kind of sacred being you, this so-called Dao Ancestor, really are!"

Before the words left his mouth, he tapped his foot, and his entire body transformed into a brilliant sword light, soaring into the sky and heading straight for the preaching platform!

"You brat! How dare you be disrespectful to the Dao Ancestor!" Qin Wudao was both shocked and angry, and was about to force a move.

But the Void Refining Realm old man just lightly flicked his sleeve, and a gentle yet irresistible force blocked Qin Wudao and several Grand Elders.

"Why must you interfere in a verification between Juniors?" The old man's voice was flat but carried an indisputable majesty.

In the blink of an eye, Li Haochen had landed on the white jade preaching platform, standing less than ten meters in front of Su Changge. He looked Su Changge up and down, his eyes overflowing with contempt and disdain.

"You pretender, today I will tear off your mask in front of all the Cultivators of the Eastern Wasteland!"

He flipped his palm, and an ancient bronze mirror appeared in his hand. On the surface of the mirror were engraved complex and profound runes, radiating a strange fluctuation that could see through illusions.

"This is the treasure of my Heavenly Sword Sect, the 'Shadow-Reflecting Precious Mirror.' It specializes in breaking all illusions and can reveal the Origin of all things! No matter what your cultivation level is, in front of it, you will have nowhere to hide!"

Li Haochen laughed wildly, pouring his magic power frantically into the precious mirror. Hum! The Shadow-Reflecting Precious Mirror shone brightly, and a blinding beam of light instantly engulfed Su Changge completely.

Su Changge sat where he was, motionless. It wasn't that he didn't want to move, but he knew that as a rookie at the Qi Refining First Layer, any struggle in front of the opponent would be a futile and ugly display. He could only watch helplessly as the light swallowed him.

It's over. This time, he was really going to suffer social death. No, perhaps not just social death, but real death.

He did not close his eyes; instead, meeting Li Haochen's triumphant gaze, the corners of his mouth curled into a faint arc, as if carrying endless mockery and sorrow.

"System, screw you!"

Below, everyone held their breath, staring fixedly at the preaching platform. Qin Wudao and the others were anxious, their eyes red. As for those Cultivators who were already suspicious, they wore gloating expressions, preparing to watch a huge show.

Within the light, Su Changge's figure began to clearly appear on the surface of the Shadow-Reflecting Precious Mirror. There were no earth-shattering cultivation fluctuations. No unfathomable flow of Dao Rhyme. What the mirror showed was just an ordinary young man.

Apart from the fact that his face was outrageously handsome, there was not a shred of spiritual power fluctuation on his body. He was just a Mortal! A complete and utter Mortal who didn't even have a sense of Qi!

"Hahahaha!" Seeing the scene in the mirror, Li Haochen let out a deafening, wild laugh, full of extreme satisfaction.

"Did you see that! Did you all see that!" He held the Shadow-Reflecting Precious Mirror high so that everyone could clearly see the image on its surface.

"What kind of bullshit Dao Ancestor! He is just a Mortal! A piece of trash who hasn't even touched the threshold of cultivation!"

"You idiots, you were actually led around by the nose by a Mortal, and you were even kneeling here in worship! It's simply the biggest joke in the world!"

Li Haochen's laughter was like the loudest slap, striking fiercely across the face of everyone present. Below the platform, there was first a dead silence. Immediately after, it erupted into a volcanic uproar!

"A Mortal? How is this possible!" "The Shadow-Reflecting Precious Mirror wouldn't make a mistake... Could it be that we were really deceived?"

"A Mortal, how could he enlighten Old Ancestor Kurong with a single word? How could he drive back the Demon Venerable with a single word?"

"An illusion! It must be some kind of top-tier illusion that we cannot see through! Even the Shadow-Reflecting Precious Mirror was deceived!" "Abominable! We were actually played like puppets by a fraud!"

Anger! Humiliation! The emotion of being fooled erupted in the crowd like a tsunami. The more they had worshiped him before, the more furious they were now!

The fury of hundreds of thousands of Cultivators converged, forming a terrifying Killing Intent that made the sky darken.

Qin Wudao and the others from the Taixuan Sect turned pale as paper; they looked at the image in the mirror, their minds completely blank.

"No... impossible... this is absolutely impossible..." Qin Wudao muttered dejectedly, unable to accept the fact.

"Sect Master! We've been deceived! This kid is a complete and utter fraud!" An Elder roared in grief and indignation.

On the preaching platform, Li Haochen put away the precious mirror, his smile becoming ferocious and cruel. He slowly drew the long sword from his back; the blade shimmered with cold light, and Sword Qi flickered.

"Fraud, your act should come to an end." He walked step by step toward Su Changge, the tip of his sword pointing directly at Su Changge's glabella.

"Today, I will use your blood to wash away the common shame of us Cultivators in the Eastern Wasteland!" "Go to hell!"

With a violent shout, Li Haochen's long sword transformed into a beam of death, carrying a sharp whistle that tore through the air, fiercely stabbing toward Su Changge's glabella!

The sharp Sword Qi, even from a foot away, already made Su Changge's skin feel a piercing pain. The scent of death had never been so clear, so cold.

Su Changge still did not close his eyes. He just quietly watched the sword tip rapidly enlarging in his pupils; the compassionate smile on his face didn't change in the slightest.

He could even imagine that, in the next second, his head would be completely pierced by this sword. Goodbye, this damn world. If there is a next life, I will never pretend to be cool again...

Just as the sword tip, flashing with a chilling light, was only an inch away from his glabella and about to touch his skin, Ding! An incredibly crisp electronic sound, like music from the Nine Heavens, exploded in his mind!

[System reboot complete!] [Divine-Grade Special Effect System version 2.0, officially online!] [Detecting that the Host is facing fatal danger...] [Automatically triggering novice version protection special effect—Absolute Stasis!]

The next instant. The wind stopped. Li Haochen's ferocious smile froze on his face. The expressions of anger, astonishment, and gloating of the hundreds of thousands of Cultivators below turned into a static picture.

The long sword, only an inch away from Su Changge's glabella, along with the trembling air around it, came to a complete stop. The entire world, all sounds, all movements, everything, in Su Changge's perception, fell into eternal silence.