174: Chapter 174 Projection from the Upper Realm: It Didn't Even Last Until the Opening Theme

In the sky above the Heavenly River Sword Sect, the grayish-white 'firewall' that only Li Mo could see suddenly began to tremble violently.

The originally cloudless sky seemed to be torn open by an invisible giant hand, creating a massive gash. However, this gash did not spew chaotic void currents or unleash world-ending thunder. Instead, it revealed an extremely unsettling, deathly pale white.

This white was not the white of snow, nor the white of clouds.

If Li Mo had to describe it, it was the white of a 'failed webpage loading'.

It's here.

On the second floor of the Scripture Pavilion, Li Mo set down his teacup. His gaze, peering through a crack in the window, fixed intently on that fissure.

Although the 'local network encryption Formation' he had just set up could block most signals, the other side was clearly well-prepared. It was like an Administrator with the highest privileges was forcibly attempting a remote desktop connection to the terminal named 'Heavenly River Sword Sect' through a backdoor program.

Bzzzz—

A low, deep hum, akin to the sound of electrical overload, reverberated through heaven and earth.

Immediately after, a massive, illusory figure slowly squeezed out from that deathly pale crack.

It was not a person.

To be precise, it was an 'aggregate' composed of countless complex geometric lines and glowing runes. It hovered high in the Nine Heavens, lacking facial features, possessing only a single enormous, vertical, solitary eye. Within that eye, torrents of data streamed like cascading waterfalls, each flicker accompanied by a heart-palpitating, oppressive might.

This was an 'Inspector'.

Or, to use the terminology from the 'Dimensional Review Standards'—this was an 'Automated Inspection Unit - Annihilation Type'.

The moment it descended, a will that was icy, mechanical, and devoid of any emotional fluctuation instantly swept over the entire Heavenly River Sword Sect.

'Illegal operation detected...'

'Locating anomaly source...'

'Target locked: No. 404 - Shielding Giant Crab (Status: Lost Contact).'

That grandiose voice exploded directly within the Sea of Consciousness of everyone present, carrying an indisputable air of judgment.

Under normal circumstances, faced with such a projection from the Upper Realm (higher dimension), Cultivators of the Lower Realm would have long been scared witless, prostrating themselves and begging for mercy, or heroically self-destructing to preserve their dignity.

But today's situation was clearly not normal.

Because the entire staff of the Heavenly River Sword Sect had just finished their group meal.

The buff named 'Outlaw' was still in effect, and the intoxication named 'Ignorance Breeds Fearlessness' was still clouding their heads.

On the plaza, Elder Liu Changqing, who had just trained his stomach into a 'bottomless pit' from eating too much crab roe, was fretting over having nothing to fill his eternally unfillable stomach. At that moment, he tilted his head back, squinting his drunken eyes at the glowing giant eyeball in the sky.

Burp—

Liu Changqing let out a seafood-scented belch and nudged Sect Master Li Xuanji beside him.

'Senior Brother, look at that thing in the sky... is it a relative of that crab from earlier?'

Li Xuanji, currently picking his teeth with the ten-thousand-year-old black iron fork, looked up upon hearing this and drunkenly analyzed, 'Although large in size, it appears unstable and ethereal. The meat doesn't look very firm... but the gloss is good, like some kind of fluid-like ingredient.'

'Fluid?' Liu Changqing's eyes lit up. 'So, a soup dumpling? Or perhaps jelly?'

As soon as these words were spoken, the Disciples around them, who had been dozing off, suddenly jolted upright as if hearing a rallying cry.

'What? There's more food?'

'Second course is served?'

'I knew it! Just eating dry stuff is too choking. There's definitely dessert after the meal!'

In an instant, the clanging sounds of swords being drawn rose and fell across the plaza.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Three thousand Sword Cultivators drew their swords simultaneously.

But the Sword Intent held no Killing Intent, only appetite.

Those pairs of eyes gleaming with green light stared fixedly at the 'Inspector' in the sky, as if studying where to take the first bite for the most juice.

The enormous solitary eye in the sky clearly paused for a moment.

As an automated program deployed by the Upper Realm, it had handled anomalies across countless dimensions. Some native inhabitants would feel fear, some would resist, some would despair.

But it had never encountered this kind of... look that treated it as 'takeout'.

That naked, undisguised greed caused even this emotionless program to generate a data fluctuation akin to a 'chill'.

'Warning! Warning!'

The voice emanating from the solitary eye grew sharper, attempting to regain control.

'You insignificant ants dare to devour a 'Review Divine Beast', violating Article 784 of the Dimensional Management Regulations! Unforgivable!'

'Now, I shall execute the 'formatting' program and erase your existence!'

Accompanying the roar, a terrifying beam of light began to gather at the center of the solitary eye. It was a higher-level attack method than the 'Shielding Giant Crab's'—[Data Deletion Ray]. Once unleashed, not even ashes would remain of the entire Heavenly River Sword Sect; it would directly become a blank document.

However, just one second before the beam was about to fire—

Slurp.

Elder Liu Changqing could no longer restrain himself. He directly summoned his Lifebound Treasure—a large black wok he had recently refined into dining ware—and roared at the sky:

'Be you Divine Beast or demon! Once you enter the territory of my Heavenly River Sword Sect, you are an ingredient!'

'All Disciples, heed my command! Prepare your utensils! This wokful is on me!'

Roar!!!

Three thousand Disciples roared in unison, rising on their Flying Swords. Countless streaks of light, transformed from the myriad Flying Swords, actually charged *towards* that gaze about to destroy the world. The scene looked less like confronting a powerful enemy and more like elderly aunties and uncles scrambling for discounted eggs at a supermarket.

The solitary eye in the sky was utterly dumbfounded.

Its logical core could not process this 'suicidal food-snatching' behavioral pattern.

Just as its calculations experienced a momentary lag—

Second floor of the Scripture Pavilion.

Watching this scene, Li Mo shook his head helplessly.

'These guys are really high on the feast. They've even forgotten how to write the word 'death'.'

He understood clearly. That solitary eye was not a crab. The crab was a physical entity; it could be eaten. This solitary eye was a pure energy projection. Eating it wouldn't just be indigestible; it would directly blow a hole through their stomachs.

Moreover, that [Data Deletion Ray] was no joke.

'I must shut it down before it fires.'

Li Mo took a deep breath, his gaze locking onto the enormous solitary eye in the sky.

In his [authority dog] vision, this awe-inspiring 'Inspector' wasn't actually that grand. Above its head floated a long string of code, visible only to Li Mo, along with several conspicuous operation buttons.

[Target: Upper Realm Inspection Projection (Low-spec Version).] [Attribute: Pop-up Ad/Malware.] [Threat Level: Red (Severely Impacts User Experience).]

Li Mo extended his right hand, lightly bringing his index and middle fingers together in the void, mimicking a 'mouse click' gesture.

'Since it's a pop-up, there should be a 'close' button.'

He narrowed his eyes, his gaze quickly scanning the edges of the solitary eye.

Sure enough.

In the top right corner of the giant solitary eye's luminous form, in a blind spot even the Heavenly Dao's Laws couldn't reach, there was hidden an extremely tiny, almost transparent, nearly invisible 'X' mark.

This was a loophole in the rules. Any program, as long as it runs, must have an exit interface.

'Found it.'

The corner of Li Mo's mouth lifted slightly.

The solitary eye in the sky seemed to sense something. Its enormous eyeball suddenly swiveled, fixing its gaze firmly on the direction of the Scripture Pavilion.

'Anomaly core detected! Locking targ...'

Before it could finish its sentence—

Li Mo's finger had already lightly tapped the void.

There was no earth-shattering surge of Spiritual Qi, nor any dazzling sword light.

Just a simple, plain interaction command.

[authority dog skill activated: Anti-Spam Ad Blocking Technique.] [Command confirmed: Mark as 'harassment information'.] [Executing operation: Close window.]

The next second.

The terrifying solitary eye, which had been gathering energy and preparing to deliver a 'formatting' blow to the Heavenly River Sword Sect, suddenly froze.

The data streams in its eye instantly halted.

Immediately after, under the astonished gazes of all the Disciples, that overbearing Upper Realm projection began to behave like an old-fashioned television set whose plug had been pulled.

Zzz—

The image flickered once.

Then, it rapidly shrank.

From a sky-obscuring behemoth, it became a plate-sized spot of light, then a fingernail-sized speck of light.

Finally.

Pop.

A sound like a soap bubble bursting.

It vanished completely.

Along with it, that world-destroying oppressive might and that deathly pale fissure disappeared without a trace.

The sky returned to a clear, azure blue, with a few white clouds drifting leisurely past, as if everything moments ago had been a collective hallucination.

Elder Liu Changqing, who had charged to the forefront, stood frozen mid-air, mouth agape, holding the black wok aloft, maintaining a posture akin to 'scooping the moon from the sea bottom.'

Before him, there was nothing.

Only an awkward breeze swept past, ruffling his disheveled Daoist robe.

'It's... gone?'

Liu Changqing stared dumbfoundedly at the sky, his tone filled with unbelievable disappointment.

'My jelly? My dessert? That big one... how could it just vanish like that?'

The Disciples below erupted in uproar.

'What happened? Did it run away?'

'It must have been scared! Once Elder Liu's big black wok comes out, even Immortals have to make a detour!'

'What a pity. I had just finished mixing the dipping sauce.'

The Disciples sheathed their Flying Swords (utensils), landing back on the plaza with expressions of lingering regret. None realized they had just walked past the Ghost Gate Pass. In their perception, this was simply prey that had escaped before being served.

Only Sect Master Li Xuanji's eyes narrowed slightly.

He looked towards the direction of the Scripture Pavilion.

At that moment, he seemed to have sensed an extremely subtle, yet supremely high-level fluctuation that flashed past from the direction of the Scripture Pavilion. That fluctuation wasn't Spiritual Qi; it was more like an... erasure at the level of Laws.

'Did that Senior act again?'

A storm of shock and awe surged within Li Xuanji's heart.

Without shedding a drop of blood, without even showing his face, he made that terrifying existence vanish into thin air.

What level of cultivation was this? Mahayana Stage? Undergoing Tribulation Stage? Or... the legendary Immortal?

Li Xuanji took a deep breath, bowed deeply towards the direction of the Scripture Pavilion, then turned around, putting on a stern face to scold the Disciples still complaining about 'not being full':

'What's all this noise! All of you, be quiet!'

'That was not food! That was... that was...' Li Xuanji thought for a long time, utterly unsure how to explain the vanished giant eyeball. In the end, he could only brazenly fabricate, 'That was a test from the Heavenly Dao! Testing our... uh, digestive capacity!'

'It seems now that your appetites are excellent; you passed the test! That... well, 'Void Realm jelly' was scared Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering by Elder Liu's black wok!'

'Elder Liu is mighty!'

Someone shouted.

'Elder Liu is mighty! The Heavenly River Sword Sect is invincible!'

Another wave of cheers erupted across the plaza. Although Elder Liu Changqing didn't get to eat anything, he inexplicably became the hero who repelled the powerful enemy, and he happily stroked his beard with a foolish grin.

Inside the Scripture Pavilion.

Watching the group of joyous, foolish youngsters outside, Li Mo let out a long sigh and slumped into his rocking chair.

'That was close.'

A fine layer of cold sweat had broken out on his forehead.

That single finger tap, seemingly effortless, had actually consumed nearly eighty percent of his Divine Soul power.

It was an operation beyond his level. Using the identity of an 'Elementary authority dog' to forcibly close an 'Advanced inspection program' was like using an intern's badge to forcibly swipe access to the CEO's office. If it weren't for the projection itself having the rogue attribute of a 'pop-up ad', which happened to be countered by his skill, the backlash from that move could have turned him into an idiot.

'System, settle the account.'

Li Mo weakly summoned the interface.

[Ding! Successfully intercepted Upper Realm inspection projection.] [Achievement obtained: It Didn't Even Last Through the Opening Credits.] [Reward: Mental Energy upper limit +20%.] [Warning: Although the window was closed, the other side has recorded the coordinates. Next time, it might not be a projection, but a physical entity.]

'Next time...'

Li Mo rubbed his temples, looking at the gradually darkening sky outside the window.

This time, he managed to bluff his way through because the opponent underestimated him, and his abilities happened to counter it. But the real crisis was not resolved.

The Heavenly River Sword Sect had eaten the 'official' crab and slapped the 'official' face. This feud was now established.

'And...'

Li Mo patted his stomach.

'I'm hungry too.'

That series of operations just now had not only consumed his Divine Soul power but also depleted the energy he had replenished from eating the crab earlier.

He glanced at the bookshelf. It was empty.

That familiar, maddening feeling of 'book famine' washed over him like a tide once again.

'No books to read means no new entries. No new entries mean when those guys come again, I'll really have to poke them with a broom.'

Li Mo stood up, his gaze gradually turning sharp.

Since books wouldn't fall from the sky, then he could only...

His gaze passed over the plaza, landing on the Disciples who were cleaning up the battlefield.

Especially when he saw a few Disciples writing diaries in crooked, messy handwriting, recording today's 'crab-eating insights', Li Mo's eyes suddenly lit up.

Although the handwriting was ugly and the prose poor, every single character on those pages was... original!

'It's time to give these uneducated slackers something proper to do.'

A 'nuclear-kind' smile curled at the corner of Li Mo's mouth.

'Convey my decree (pretending it's a dream from the Ancestor Master).'

Li Mo whispered into the void. His voice, transmitted through the [authority dog]'s broadcast function, accurately reached the ears of the foolishly happy Sect Master Li Xuanji.

On the plaza. Li Xuanji, just about to announce dismissal, suddenly shuddered all over. He heard a majestic, ancient voice, imbued with supreme Daoist resonance, ring out in his mind:

'Xuanji...'

'Your Disciple is here!' Li Xuanji was so startled he nearly knelt, thinking the Ancestor Master had manifested.

'Today's battle greatly pleased me. However... you all only know how to eat meat, not how to improve. How much of the great Dao principles contained within that 'Divine Beast' have you digested?'

Cold sweat dripped down Li Xuanji's back. 'Your Disciple... your Disciple was too busy dipping it in vinegar...'

'Hmph! Rotten wood cannot be carved!'

The voice was filled with frustration at their failure to meet expectations.

'Effective immediately, the Scripture Pavilion will open a 'Special Advanced Training Class'. All Disciples of our Sect, regardless of inner or outer Sect, must pass an examination to enter the pavilion for training.'

'Furthermore... to test your Comprehension Ability.'

'Every member of the entire Sect, from top to bottom, must submit a 'Post-Eating Reflection'... ah, no, a 'Divine Beast Spiritual Qi Analysis Thesis' of no less than five thousand characters.'

'I want to see the first draft tomorrow morning.'

'Those who cannot write it... will not be allowed to eat in the future.'

After delivering these words, the voice fell completely silent.

Leaving only Li Xuanji standing alone, utterly bewildered in the wind.

A moment later.

A shrill, miserable scream tore through the night sky of the Heavenly River Sword Sect.

'Five thousand characters?! And a thesis?!'

'Ancestor Master! You might as well have let that heavenly thunder strike me dead!!!'