She just had to explain it away with an excuse, this little food-scrap bucket was really quite proud...
Chen Kuang chuckled silently in his heart.
If someone like Shen Xingzhu had said something similar, it would've come off as awe-inspiring and domineering.
Power, it was the foundation of all credibility in this world.
Unfortunately, the one speaking now was just a four-year-old little brat with no cultivation whatsoever.
As for what the future held? Who could really say?
But even so, underestimating her would be foolish.
Her consciousness had endured sixty-four full cycles in the illusion, at least several hundred years of time.
Even if it was the same set of experiences repeated, the accumulation and perception were still completely different.
The illusion may be false, but the growth of her will was very real.
What was more, if the illusion realm simulated reality accurately, then Su Huaiying, the little food-scrap bucket, was essentially a reincarnator.
Information that even great cultivators could not easily predict might have already been revealed to her.
Once she returned to the real world and verified a few of those things, she'd instantly know whether they were true or not.
But before any of that, they actually had to get out first...
Once again, Chen Kuang boarded his senior brother's ghostly ferry.
Only this time, he stood on the deck, facing the wind... and had a very different feeling about what his senior brother had said.
If not for the chaos aboard Lin Eryou's floating pavilion, he could've reached Chu Wenruo and her daughter earlier, perhaps in time to stop the little food-scrap bucket from drawing the Demon Sword and triggering the Great Void Illusion Realm again.
Though, according to Qingcuo, the Demon Sword had some kind of ability to erase its own presence, which was why even though she and Chu Wenruo had been nearby, neither noticed it at the time.
But Chen Kuang's two passive skills, Blood Premonition and Piercing Insight, happened to counteract that very ability.
If he had been present, the Demon Sword likely couldn't have bound Su Huaiying as its host.
Which meant... perhaps Xi Mengquan's true intention in sending his senior brother to ferry him aboard was to delay him, just enough to prevent him from interfering.
Thus setting everything else into motion.
The so-called "Azure Rise" wasn't a person or an event, but a cascade of cause and effect leading to this very moment.
"Could Xi Mengquan's true aim have been to get me into the illusion realm?" Chen Kuang muttered.
Then he remembered, Su Huaiying had said that, during one of the loops, she had met a nameless musician in the illusion realm.
It was that musician who told her to check whether Chen Kuang's corpse had a shadow.
"That musician... was definitely Xi Mengquan."
Chen Kuang was certain.
But he was puzzled: "'The Way has lost its One', what Way? And what One?"
"If he's using me as a chess piece, it must be to fulfill some personal Dao... But he's a Music Sage, not a Calculation Sage, even if he can divine outcomes with great precision, how does that help him break through to that Profound Vastness Realm?"
"And Liang's emperor was clearly involved too. That corpse without a shadow is irrefutable proof."
The more he thought about it, the more his head ached.
Those inside the board and those outside playing it saw completely different things. Unless one could step off the chessboard, it was impossible to see clearly.
Had time not been so short, Chen Kuang would've tried getting some answers out of Huo Hengxuan, who was still alive within this illusion.
But he had never expected to understand everything now.
After dealing with so many enigmatic figures, he had long since resigned himself to simply moving forward.
What disappointed him most right now... was the realization that this illusion realm couldn't be used to farm new passives.
Yes. He had been too naive.
As long as everything followed the established trajectory, his status panel didn't refresh at all...
Though the display seemed to update each day, it merely re-sorted his existing passives, bumping relevant ones to the top.
But, this also pointed to a possibility:
If things didn't follow the preset path, perhaps new passives could appear!
How exactly to trigger that change, though, remained uncertain.
Just then, another thought struck him:
If the illusion was fully simulating reality, then wouldn't it also simulate an illusion within the illusion?
Wouldn't that lead to an infinite recursion?
He had a bad feeling about this...
As events once again replayed themselves, that premonition proved true.
When he arrived late again, just in time to disembark with Shen Meinan on the giant turtle and head through the reeds toward the shore, he heard Chu Wenruo's scream, and suddenly the world blurred before his eyes.
...
That familiar ceiling, wait, that familiar prison.
Chen Kuang looked down. Su Huaiying looked up.
The two stared at each other.
"...You touched the Demon Sword?" Chen Kuang asked after a pause.
Su Huaiying nodded grimly. "The moment I did, I was pulled right back here."
Chen Kuang murmured, "The illusion can't simulate a world that includes another illusion... not enough computational power. Logic collapse..."
So in the end, this illusion realm couldn't generate a fully recursive world.
In other words, it was essentially a supercomputer trying to simulate a future by replicating reality.
But every computer had its limits.
The moment Su Huaiying, the illusion's host, entered a new illusion by touching the Demon Sword, a simulation within a simulation, the system overloaded.
The illusion realm couldn't handle it.
So it forcibly "reloaded the save," sending her back to the start.
In layman's terms, she crashed the CPU of the Great Void Illusion Realm.
Chen Kuang massaged his forehead and sighed deeply.
So this was just going to be... teleporting in circles?
Forever jumping from illusion to illusion, never escaping.
Su Huaiying looked at him. "So the plan's stuck?"
"Stuck? It's completely shot," Chen Kuang replied.
"You said you found Tie Baiyuan after I entered the illusion. That means... to get the Langhuan fragment again, I have to enter the illusion first."
"Right."
"But now, I can't enter the illusion while still inside one," Su Huaiying reasoned.
Then her eyes brightened. "But, what if we simply don't trigger the Demon Sword this time? We avoid that node entirely."
Chen Kuang's eyes lit up. "Go on, Your Highness."
Su Huaiying continued, "You said those affected by the Demon Sword's illusion go mad when the illusion breaks because their memories contradict reality."
"But this only happens after enough time has passed for memories to blur. It's the time that causes the impact."
"And from the moment I touched the sword until now, it's only been three days. Hardly anyone else even knows the Demon Sword exists."
"Even if we change this short span, the impact will be minimal."
"As long as the overall storyline is preserved, you can explain the discrepancies later."
Chen Kuang considered this, then nodded. "Agreed!"
"But we should minimize deviations. We'll substitute the Demon Sword with another reason for your collapse... perhaps a sudden illness after coming ashore?"
Su Huaiying nodded. She had been unconscious in the real world and wouldn't know the ongoing events, Chen Kuang would have to manage the rest.
Yet even the smallest changes created massive ripples...
As they traveled, a group of bandits suddenly tried to rob them.
After killing the attackers, as they settled in for the night..
Chen Kuang's long-stagnant status panel suddenly updated!
[You intercepted stolen goods and food from bandits. You have gained the passive skill "Seal of Rising Fortune": Your fortune increases with your accumulated wealth. The richer you are, the richer you will become.]
His eyes widened in shock. He nearly jumped up. His Composed Aura passive almost cracked!
What the hell, this actually worked?!
A real new passive, in the illusion!
It was actually possible to farm passives in the illusion realm!
Taking a deep breath, he looked at the sleeping Su Huaiying and whispered: "Forgive me, Your Highness. I'll have to trouble you to do a few more repeats with me..."
At first, he'd avoided changing the timeline.
But now? Why not make the most of it?
The next morning, Su Huaiying noticed that Chen Kuang's "mistakes" were happening more frequently...
[You passed an anthill without stepping on a single ant. You have gained the passive skill "Virtue of Mercy": Creatures you spare may someday return the favor.]
[You read a book three times. You have gained the passive skill "Photographic Memory": You can remember everything you've experienced.]
[You interfered in a street chess match and caused one side to lose. You have gained the passive skill "Grandmaster Strategist": You can intuitively read your opponent's next move.]
[You moved within one meter of an enemy without being noticed. You have gained the passive skill "You Can't See Me": You can sense and evade attention, making yourself harder to detect.]
[You killed an enemy while near death. You have gained the passive skill "Last-Second Reversal": When in danger, your capabilities will surge. The more dangerous the situation, the greater the boost.]
[...Gained passive skill: "Bullet Time"...]
[...Gained passive skill: "Mirror Flower"...]
[...Gained passive skill: "Quiet Night Thoughts"...]
[...Gained passive skill: "Shifting Flowers and Grafting Trees"...]
And so on...
Meanwhile, Qingcuo faced the white-browed Daoist on a rooftop. "Speak. Quickly."
The Daoist stammered, "Y-you have to swear a Heart-Knot Oath not to kill me!"
Qingcuo frowned. The Daoist quickly added, "Not a Heart-Demon Oath! Just a Heart-Knot Oath!"
She relented, took the oath, and the Daoist finally said:
"The governor, knowing Chen Kuang is here, has already contacted the Martial Saint Pavilion to send elite warriors to encircle and eliminate him!"
"Three experts just below Master Realm level, with many disciples, they're on the way!"
"You must flee with Chen Kuang immediately, or it'll be too late!"
Qingcuo's heart sank.
The Martial Saint Pavilion wouldn't let it go after what happened to Di Wu.
The Martial Saint Pavillon members were determined to kill Chen Kuang.
But Chen Kuang was currently inside the illusion, trying to save the princess. They couldn't risk moving him.
She narrowed her eyes. "You signed a Soul Contract with the governor. Why betray him so easily?"
The Daoist grinned sycophantically. "Eh, the reward was just a fancy Spiritual Treasure. Why work myself to death for that?"
He dropped all pretenses of elegance, rubbing his hands together. "Honestly, I always knew the governor's plan was suicide. I was just waiting for him to crash and burn... and for a righteous hero like you to show up!"
Qingcuo frowned. "Waiting to swoop in for the spoils?"
The Daoist quickly waved it off. "N-no, I meant waiting for justice to prevail! Once he dies, his stuff's up for grabs, right?"
Qingcuo said coldly, "Fine. Leave. I won't kill you."
The Daoist instantly turned into a streak of light and fled.
But halfway into the sky, he let out a scream and crashed to the ground, dead.
Qingcuo didn't kill him.
But Shen Xingzhu could...
Back in the Chen estate, chaos reigned. The family was fighting desperately against the continously encroaching soldiers.
Chen An was locked in battle with a squad leader.
Though he was at the Eight Meridians level, his youth and late start put him at a disadvantage. He was barely holding on.
Then, with one misstep, he was struck and hurled into a pillar, coughing blood, watching the home descend into ruins, despair washing over him.
The squad leader grinned and lunged forward again.
Suddenly, a flying sword shot through his skull, dropping him instantly.
A green-robed figure landed lightly on the wall.
Chen An's pupils shrank as he stared in shock.
"Y-you?!"