46: I direct the future

The Secret Realm closed, and the Qingyun Sect's team returned to the mountain gate, the atmosphere heavy.

Most Disciples returned empty-handed, and several more were completely annihilated, forever remaining in the Beast Valley.

Su Qing followed behind Lu Yuan, her aura more condensed than before entering, becoming the only bright spot in the team.

No one thought there was anything wrong with this.

Nor would anyone connect all of this to that ordinary, quiet Outer Sect Disciple, Lu Yuan.

He was just lucky enough to survive, that's all.

That night.

Outside Sect Master Yun Wanshan's meditation chamber in Qingyun Sect, a storage bag appeared.

Next to the storage bag, a slip of paper was pressed down.

There was no signature, only two words.

An old friend.

The moment Yun Wanshan opened the storage bag, his breathing hitched.

The bag, filled with crystals shimmering with spatial glimmer, stung the eyes of him, a Golden Core Sect Master.

He picked up the slip of paper, his fingers trembling uncontrollably.

That night, the lights in Qingyun Sect's Council Hall burned all night.

Lu Yuan meditated in his Immortal Cave, his Dao Heart like still water.

Offering the Void Crystals was part of his plan.

The core of the mountain-protecting formation was not something a small Foundation Establishment Cultivator like him could access.

He needed an identity.

A legitimate identity to "learn" from the sidelines.

Now, the opportunity had arrived.

He lightly tapped his fingertip, and the Azure Bird imprint of the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion flashed and disappeared, sending out a message.

"Crystals are ready, awaiting your meeting."

The next day.

Above Qingyun Sect, the sky suddenly turned cool and clear.

A figure arrived, treading upon the moonlight, without any earth-shattering power, yet it plunged the entire Qingyun Mountain into an absolute silence.

As if her existence was the sole Dao of this place.

"Junior Yun Wanshan respectfully welcomes the Upper Realm Envoy!"

The Sect Master, leading all the Elders, bowed at the mountain gate, their heads lowered, their posture humble to the dust.

Han Yuexi did not look at them.

Her gaze pierced through the crowd, past the halls, and landed in an inconspicuous corner in the distance, on the young Disciple who was bowing his head as if studying ants on the ground.

She had arrived.

As an Envoy from the Upper Realm.

An identity that Qingyun Sect dared not defy in the slightest.

The repair of the great formation began immediately.

At the core of the formation in the sect's back mountain, several Elders were sweating profusely, carefully embedding Void Crystals into the damaged formation eyes.

Han Yuexi stood by with her hands behind her back, occasionally speaking.

"This node, spiritual energy is stagnant, Samadhi True Fire, seven breaths."

"The crystal is off by three fen, restart."

Her voice was faint, devoid of emotion, yet each of her pointers deepened the Elders' understanding of the formation.

Lu Yuan, as the "meritorious Disciple" specially approved by the Sect Master to observe, stood quietly at the outermost edge.

His eyes were slightly lowered, his expression focused.

No one noticed.

When an Elder, following Han Yuexi's guidance, injected spiritual energy into a certain obscure node, a faint, almost non-existent trace of Karma power flickered from Lu Yuan's fingertips, which hung by his side.

The trajectory of that spiritual energy beam showed an imperceptible deviation.

It precisely bypassed a hidden energy undercurrent and perfectly connected with the next node.

That Elder only felt that his touch today was incredibly smooth, and his awe for the "Upper Realm Envoy" was now like looking up at a god.

Han Yuexi's brow, beneath her veil, furrowed slightly.

Her gaze swept towards Lu Yuan again.

That kind of Dao fluctuation that swayed results was very familiar.

Three days later.

Buzz—

As the last Void Crystal returned to its place, the entire Qingyun Mountain suddenly shook.

An invisible light barrier shot up into the sky, like an inverted giant glazed bowl, enveloping the mountain gate.

The dust in the air was swept away, and the spiritual energy became fresh and dense.

The great formation was repaired.

In the Immortal Cave.

Lu Yuan's body trembled slightly.

A sense of lightness, as if shackles had been removed, surged from the depths of his Divine Soul.

That cold, prying sensation that had been locking onto him ever since he drew down the Heavenly Tribulation... had disappeared.

The ominous aura lingering on his Karma lines was completely shielded and severed by the great formation.

He was safe.

However, the changes did not stop.

The immense ancient energy from the core of the great formation seemed to resonate with the [Dao Option Exchange] in his mind.

The light screen interface before him flickered violently, distorting.

Countless golden data streams scrolled past.

"[Detecting homologous high-level Dao energy... Analyzing...]"

"[Permission verification passed... Unlocking deep modules...]"

"[Congratulations, you have unlocked one of the ultimate functions: Sandbox Simulation.]"

A line of brand new golden characters floated in the center of the interface.

"[Sandbox Simulation: You can select a core event in the future, consume a huge amount of Karma points, perform over a million simulations, and deduce the path to the 'optimal result'.]"

Lu Yuan's breathing paused for half a beat.

From discovering opportunities, to creating opportunities, and then to... directing the future.

This was the power of a chess player.

He did not hesitate.

"Target event: Three months later, seize the Nine Revolutions Soul Revival Plant."

"[Confirmed. This simulation is expected to consume one hundred thousand Karma points. Do you wish to activate?]"

"Activate."

Instantly.

Lu Yuan's consciousness was drawn away by an irresistible force.

He sank into a void sea composed of countless light rays and data.

Every light ray was a future.

He saw himself sneaking into the God Burying Abyss, only to be crushed into a bloody mist by a guardian monster's claw.

He saw himself joining forces with Han Yuexi, only to be besieged by two other Cultivation Realm forces, both bleeding profusely.

He saw himself obtaining the Divine Plant, but triggering the valley's Restriction, his Divine Soul utterly destroyed.

Betrayed by Ye Chen.

Ambushed by Jian Wuchen.

Intercepted by an unknown third party.

One thousand three hundred and forty-two ways to die.

In an instant, he experienced them all.

The pain and fear of repeated deaths were enough to completely shatter a Golden Core Cultivator's Dao Heart.

Lu Yuan's consciousness, however, coldly observed "his" repeated deaths, absorbing all the failed data.

After an unknown period of time.

All the death scenes faded.

In the sea of data, only a single, faintly glowing Karma line remained.

That was the only path to survival among a myriad of dead ends.

Lu Yuan's consciousness followed this line, seeing clearly every step towards success.

He also saw the most crucial part of the plan.

At the end of the scene, it was not himself, nor Han Yuexi.

But a young girl.

At a specific time, in a specific place, she performed a specific action.

Su Qing.

Lu Yuan's consciousness returned, his face ashen, but his eyes glowed with an alarming intensity.

So that's how it was.

An unintentional investment, unexpectedly, was the key to finally breaking the situation.

Just as he was about to exit, the corner of his eye caught a dark red future line, marked as "high risk."

In that line.

At the end of the decisive battle in the God Burying Abyss, monstrous demonic energy erupted from the ground.

Ye Chen floated in the air, his eyes blood-red, his aura surging, and with his own power, he slaughtered all living beings present.

On his glabella, a bizarre, living demonic imprint was throbbing eerily.

The Demon Child had returned.

The biggest variable.