314: Destiny's Visitor, the Truth of the Great Disaster

The Immortal Alliance's recruitment assembly proceeded in an orderly fashion, yet within a strange and solemn atmosphere.

Those who passed the test were led by Fatty Zhang and arranged into a temporary resettlement area on the outskirts of the base. Those who failed, or were still observing, were politely "invited" by the Immortal Alliance's patrol fleet to a safe distance away.

Lin Fan's figure had long since vanished from the sky, returning to the Main Control Room.

His gaze, however, pierced through layers of the Void Realm, locking onto the new members who had passed the test.

He wasn't scrutinizing the clever ones who had gambled correctly, nor was he paying attention to the old man who harbored a death wish.

His sight was fixed intently on the slender woman wearing a veil.

Chaos.

Dense fog.

In the vision of his Luck Divine Ability, this woman's existence was a paradox in itself.

She had no past, no future, no clear destiny line. She was like a sudden, ink-stained void on a painting, unable to be defined by any rules or spied upon by any power.

Interesting.

Lin Fan withdrew his gaze and transmitted a message to Fatty Zhang: "Pay special attention to that veiled woman."

"Alright, Boss!" Fatty Zhang didn't ask why and immediately scurried off to carry out the order.

Lin Fan turned, preparing to return to his secret chamber to thoroughly research the treasure fragment he had just "picked up."

The moment he turned.

In the Main Control Room, the veiled woman also seemed to sense something, subtly raising her head. Her gaze, from beneath the veil, precisely looked towards Lin Fan's direction from afar.

Despite the infinite space separating them, Lin Fan clearly "saw" that glance.

No hostility, no Killing Intent.

Only a... confirmation.

As if saying: I found you... Late at night, profound silence.

Lin Fan's exclusive secret chamber was enveloped by dozens of layers of top-tier Restrictions. Not even a mosquito could fly in without alerting him.

He sat cross-legged, holding the ancient metal fragment in his hand, which had already devoured the curse and now only contained pure Luck Law.

Just as he was about to calm his mind and fully analyze it.

The space before him rippled silently like water.

A figure, without any warning, walked out from the ripples, as if she had been standing there all along.

It was the veiled woman from earlier in the day.

Lin Fan's pupils sharply contracted.

His entire body's muscles instantly tensed, his Divine Soul power was on high alert, and the System interface furiously refreshed in his vision. The long string of numbers for [reality interference points] was his only confidence at this moment.

She could actually ignore all the Restrictions he had set up!

This method was no longer simple spatial displacement, but a deeper understanding and application of spatial rules!

"Who are you?" Lin Fan didn't act immediately, his voice cold.

The woman didn't answer his question.

She just quietly looked at Lin Fan. After a moment, she spoke a sentence in an ethereal and clear voice that caused huge waves to surge in Lin Fan's heart.

"What is the probability, in your eyes, of the World-Stabilizing Divine Tower's core node?"

"What is the probability of Xiao Jing suffering Qi Deviation from furiously activating his Divine Power?"

"What is the probability of that Cultivator who lied in front of you choking on his own saliva?"

With each question she asked, Lin Fan's Killing Intent grew stronger.

She knew!

She actually knew his biggest secret!

"Reality Interference," a trump card that even he himself was still exploring, was actually exposed by a woman of unknown Origin with a single sentence!

"Want to kill me?" The woman seemed to read his mind, her tone still calm and unperturbed. "You can try. Correct the probability of 'my heart suddenly stopping next second,' or 'the space beneath my feet suddenly collapsing.' See how many points it costs you."

Lin Fan's thoughts flashed rapidly across the System interface.

[Instruction Simulation: Interfere with the physiological rules of target 'Unknown Being,' causing its sudden death.]

[Performing interference assessment... Target possesses high-intensity rule protection, interference difficulty extremely high...]

[Estimated 'reality interference points' consumption: Unquantifiable.]

[Instruction Simulation: Interfere with the spatial structure of the target's location, causing it to collapse.]

[Performing interference assessment... Target has a high degree of synchronization with spatial rules; forceful interference will lead to widespread Karma disorder...]

[Estimated 'reality interference points' consumption: Unquantifiable.]

Looking at the two glaring "Unquantifiable" lines returned by the System, Lin Fan's Killing Intent slowly settled, transforming into extreme vigilance and solemnity.

Cannot kill.

At least, not with conventional "probability correction."

This woman was a terrifying existence, a million times more dangerous than the Central Star River Alliance's envoy!

"What exactly do you want to do?" Lin Fan's voice softened.

When you can't win, talk first. This was his usual style.

"I came to tell you a truth." The woman's voice finally carried a hint of emotion, a deep weariness, as if from a distant past.

"What you perceive as 'Heavenly Dao Reckoning,' the so-called 'High-Dimensional Calamity,' are merely appetizers."

"They are just pre-set programs for clearing Universe junk before the true Great Tribulation arrives."

Lin Fan raised an eyebrow.

This explanation was certainly novel.

"The true Great Tribulation is a 'Great Formatting' that sweeps through all known Universes," the woman slowly said. "When a Universe Era reaches its end, accumulating too much entropy and too many 'BUGs,' the Heavenly Dao will activate its final program to reset everything."

"And we are the so-called 'BUGs.'"

She looked at Lin Fan and said, word by word: "All beings who have transcended their predetermined destiny, mastered powers they shouldn't have, and even existences like you who can overturn the logic of life and death, are primary targets on the Heavenly Dao's formatting list."

"This isn't the worst of it."

"Before the 'Great Formatting' officially begins, a group of 'Hunters' will go first. They are 'failures' from other already collapsed Universe cycles, 'viruses' that escaped formatting. They live by hunting 'BUGs' like us, devouring our Origin to resist the next formatting."

"And you," the woman's gaze seemed to penetrate Lin Fan's Soul, "because of that ridiculous performance a while ago, have successfully landed on their 'hunting list.' Congratulations, in their eyes, you are an extremely delicious snack."

In the Main Control Room, there was deathly silence.

Lin Fan's brain was working at high speed.

Great Formatting, BUGs, Hunters... an unprecedented, grander, and more despairing worldview unfolded before him.

If what this woman said was true, then his previously smug "courting death for rewards" was like lighting a huge torch in a dark forest and desperately shouting all around: "Come quickly, I have something delicious here!"

"What is your purpose in telling me this?" Lin Fan asked in a deep voice.

"Cooperation." The woman answered swiftly and decisively.

"I have a map of Opportunities. I know where the 'World Fragments' of the previous era still remain in this 'formatted' ruined Universe. Those fragments contain power that can resist the Great Tribulation."

"But those places are also full of deadly rule traps and space-time turbulence. I need a pathfinder."

She looked at Lin Fan.

"A pathfinder... who cannot die."

So that's how it is.

Lin Fan instantly understood. This woman was interested in his ability to revive infinitely.

"There are countless capable people and extraordinary individuals in the Universe, why seek me out?" Lin Fan retorted. His suspicion had never waned.

The woman was silent for a moment.

She slowly raised her hand and removed the veil from her face.

Beneath the veil was a face of breathtaking beauty, enough to make the stars pale in comparison.

But across this face were several intertwined, dark demonic patterns that writhed like living things.

Those demonic patterns exuded the majesty and destructive aura of the Heavenly Dao, as if they were the most malicious curses, firmly imprinted upon her flesh and Divine Soul.

"Because, I am like you." She gave a self-deprecating smile, filled with tragic beauty and resolute determination.

"My name is Yue Xi, a Fated Defector. These are the 'souvenirs' the Heavenly Dao left for me."

"I am hunted by the Heavenly Dao and also by the 'Hunters.' In this Universe, I cannot find a second ally."

Yue Xi.

Lin Fan's heart stirred. He had heard this name before.

The assassins who ambushed her in the depths of the starry sky, causing her severe injuries and fall, were precisely from the Central Star River Alliance!

It turned out that all the clues were connected at this moment.

Lin Fan looked at the Heavenly Scourge Demonic Patterns on her face and then thought about his own situation, also targeted by the "Heavenly Dao" and "Hunters."

They were indeed the same kind of people.

Both were solitary fugitives, intolerable to the world.

"I need your intelligence," Yue Xi put her veil back on, her voice returning to its clear and cold tone. "You need my protection and my 'pathfinding' ability. This is a fair trade."

Lin Fan pondered for a moment.

He indeed urgently needed more intelligence about the "Great Tribulation" to formulate his next plan for survival... no, his Cultivation plan.

And forming an alliance with this mysterious and powerful woman, while risky, offered equally considerable benefits.

"Good, I agree." Lin Fan nodded. "Give me the star map."

Yue Xi seemed to have expected him to agree. She flicked her finger, and a Jade Slip shimmering with starlight flew before Lin Fan.

Lin Fan took the Jade Slip and extended his Divine Thought into it.

A vast and boundless star map unfolded in his mind.

On the star map, several light points were prominently marked, representing the so-called "World Fragments."

His gaze fell on the first marked point, the closest to the Immortal Alliance.

It was a dark Star Domain named "Burial God Abyss."

And it was precisely where that mysterious Ancient Will had once told him another bone fragment had fallen!

A trap set by the Heavenly Dao, specifically designed to ensnare and kill him!

Two completely different information sources, from extremely high levels, actually pointed to the same place.

A strange smile slowly appeared on Lin Fan's face.

It seems this high-quality death location is unavoidable.