Chapter 182: Dongyue Temple

Chapter 182: Dongyue Temple

To Jie Fangcheng, everything seemed utterly baffling.

He had returned carrying "Lang Gu," who self-destructed a truck, confirming he was Ji Chaoyang.

Then Lang Gu woke up and discussed how he entered this instance.

When Lang Gu mentioned that a knife wound to the chest brought him here, Jie Fangcheng was still unmoved. Yet Zhang Dao'an, who had been calm, suddenly grew tense.

Next, Zhang Dao'an abruptly closed his eyes and, upon reopening them, uttered that unsettling sentence.

"Why would I kill you??" Jie Fangcheng was truly confused.

Zhang Dao'an wanted to explain, to tell him that his mental space had been overwhelmed by the game. Whether the game would successfully root itself was unclear, but at this point, as long as he remained alive, he might no longer be the Zhang Dao'an he used to be.

There really was no time left.

Zhang Dao'an could feel the memories that represented his own self slowly vanishing in his mind.

Zhang Dao'an was strong, incredibly so.

If he hadn't suddenly opened up his mental space in that instant, aiming to control his surroundings and quickly exit the instance, infiltrating his brain would have been exceedingly difficult, given his level of self-control.

But no matter how strong he was, he was still human, and a human brain could not handle such an overwhelming stream of data.

"Hey! What's happening???"

An influx of information like this into the mental space of a mere mortal was akin to running a high-end 3D game on a low-end computer. Even with Zhang Dao'an's quick-thinking mind, he couldn't manage the sudden influx of copious information.

Data about the game, the instance, the lives, memories, and experiences of countless players—the game's more than fifty-year history and the experiences of hundreds of thousands of souls—all of it was being copied into Zhang Dao'an's mind in an instant. It was as if they were forcefully transforming him into a condensed version of the Book of Life and Death.

It wasn't just a question of whether a human mind could handle this; his physical body definitely couldn't.

Every single blood vessel in Zhang Dao'an's body burst, and blood began to seep from the pores all over his body.

Two streams of blood trickled down from his eyes. By now, he could no longer see what was in front of him.

Not only was his vision clouded, but a large part of Zhang Dao'an's memory had also vanished.

He had forgotten many things.

He had forgotten glory, forgotten Wei Yuan and Nie Shuangshuang, forgotten the Infinite Game, forgotten his origins, forgotten the path he had walked, forgotten his learned knowledge, forgotten his brother... and forgotten the one person he least wanted to forget.

Memories ebbed and flowed in reverse.

Zhang Dao'an's hand, now stained red with blood, clutched tightly onto Jie Fangcheng's wrist.

There seemed to be voices surrounding him, and a pair of firm hands lay heavily upon his shoulders.

What can he still remember?

A hum resonates—

After his eardrums rupture, Zhang Dao'an finds himself in a world of piercing silence.

His mouth opens, as if to speak, but shards of internal organs block his windpipe; he can only violently expel a mouthful of blood mingled with the fragments.

The world becomes bizarre.

He feels like an infant, knowing nothing.

Yet he understands everything.

His mind is brimming with countless memories that impart knowledge beyond the reach of a human lifetime.

Astronomy and history, geography and politics—he knows them as well as the back of his hand, at will.

In this moment, this mere mortal encompasses the sum total of all human knowledge, becoming akin to an all-knowing, omnipotent deity.

No, perhaps even more terrifying than a deity.

His understanding stems not merely from countless human memories but more so from the game itself.

The knowledge required to craft an infinite game is so vast that the memories of hundreds of thousands of people seem insignificant compared to the breadth of information needed to reshape the world.

What he represents transcends the category of mere "knowledge."

He is redefining "rules" within his mind.

Why can't fire burn underwater?

Why does water flow from high to low?

Why must the sun rise from the west...?

Why can't the laws of the universe be altered?

Inside his mindspace, kaleidoscopic vistas unfolded as if the universe was being born anew—no, it was indeed the birth of a universe.

Like the ultimate force of destiny, Zhang Dao'an was shaping a new world.

Strangely, one foot had stepped into a dimension higher than that of a "god," while the other remained firmly grounded within the human realm.

The exalted plane of thought was incompatible with his human essence; torn between the two, Zhang Dao'an's head throbbed painfully, yet he felt exceptionally lucid.

He had touched upon the "rules" that Jie Fangcheng had previously mentioned.

He understood all the principles and laws of the world.

Yet, he had utterly forgotten who he was supposed to be.

Only the hands resting on his shoulders felt strangely familiar.

It was as if he had walked a long, arduous journey through boundless darkness, stumbling, being pricked by thorns, beset by misfortune, calamity, fear, and cold. Cursed was he to be forever alone; such was the fate he could clearly perceive from birth.

Zhang Dao'an was not one to meekly accept destiny, but in the end, he could only choose to seal himself in a confined space because he couldn't gamble with the lives of others.

In that encompassing darkness, those hands had brought in a warm, golden light.

Shrouded in a dark mist, Zhang Dao'an couldn't see the face of the person in the fog, but he distinctly remembered that although the hand was cold, it touched his forehead with unmatched tenderness.

The powerful being, almost godlike, spoke to him with a smile: "Impressive, young man. Live well in the future."

Having comprehended the vastness of heaven and earth, he still cherishes the green of grass and trees.

—Who was it?

He should know this person...this person is important.

Mustn't forget...

Zhang Dao'an, entirely blind, clenched Jie Fangcheng's wrist tightly.

Jie Fangcheng had not anticipated any of this; while Nie Shuangshuang and the others only saw Zhang Dao'an suddenly bleeding profusely, Jie Fangcheng saw much more.

Zhang Dao'an's body was disintegrating. Not just physically, but also spiritually. Originally comprised of numerous fragmented souls, he had managed to fully integrate them due to the golden light of virtue from Jie Fangcheng and his own unparalleled self-control.

But even the most skilled artisan cannot make a shattered porcelain whole without leaving cracks.

Now, those cracks were widening.

"Hey!" Jie Fangcheng gave him a couple of shakes but dared not shake him further.

Systemic potions were utterly useless.

To put it bluntly, those systemic potions were merely infused with Yin energy, which might be useful for healing the injuries of ordinary people, but the damage to Zhang Dao'an was far beyond the reach of a little Yin energy.

Jie Fangcheng had abundant Yin energy; having been a ghost messenger for many years, his body might not store much, but the amount of Yin energy he possessed was considerable.

But his Yin energy was muddled with too many karmic obstructions and malevolent spirits; it could kill but couldn't heal.

Seeing Zhang Dao'an on the verge of disintegration, Jie Fangcheng gripped one of his shoulders with one hand, while his wrist was held tightly by the other. He reciprocated the grip.

It seemed... this was the last resort.

It was risky, but Jie Fangcheng really didn't want to lose his friend Zhang Dao'an.

This time, even Nie Shuangshuang and the others saw it.

A violent wind suddenly swirled around Jie Fangcheng, surrounded by a thick black aura.

Faint sounds of thunder echoed through the world; people involuntarily stepped back, not daring to get within a step of Jie Fangcheng.

Amidst the dense black aura, flashes of golden light twinkled.

The golden lights, which had originally enveloped Jie Fangcheng, now flowed like a river in slow-motion sunlight towards Zhang Dao'an.

When the golden river encased both individuals, an immense clap of thunder resounded between heaven and earth.

In the ten directions of the world, mountains trembled, and rivers roared.

It was Heaven's wrath manifesting.

Legend had it that when a mortal possessed enough virtue in the form of golden light, that light would turn into divine power, allowing the mortal to transcend and become a god.

This virtue was for the individual's exclusive use and should not be shared with others.

Jie Fangcheng's casual bestowing of golden light, treating it like a systemic healing potion, was already intolerable to the Heavenly Dao.

Now, he was going even further, attempting to share all his accumulated virtue with another human.

One should know that given the intensity of his golden light, a mere tenth of it could deify someone. After all, he was a ghost general maintained by the faith of an entire nation; the richness of his golden light typically surpassed even those gods who had ascended to higher realms.

Now he wanted to share this, and although Zhang Dao'an's soul was fragmented, he had little karmic obstructions. He could indeed become a god with this golden light. How could Heaven permit this?

In the world below, a sudden, ferocious wind swept up; above the Eastern Peak Temple, the previously clear sky darkened as a massive, black cloud formation appeared. Indistinct sounds of reluctant, furious roars emanated from the clouds.

"What is that? What's happening?"

The apocalyptic scene sent the crowd inside the temple into a frenzy, lifting their phones to capture the spectacle overhead.

Individuals from special departments, dressed in casual attire, hurried over, scrambling to find a "science-based" explanation—solar flares, magnetic storms...

Inside the inner sanctuary of the Eastern Peak Temple, two figures, one standing and one seated, sensed something and simultaneously looked up.

The standing figure was dressed in a modern suit, appearing like a burly, average office worker.

He was holding a phone, having just confirmed the current situation through a call.

The man sitting in the chair has his eyes tightly closed, his skin pallid, dressed in antiquated attire whose era is hard to discern.

The man in the suit explained, "Only the Eastern Peak is experiencing this phenomenon. It can't be Zhou Yi; he couldn't pull off something of this scale. He colluded with malevolent spirits back in the day and is now reduced to a mere vessel for some broken game... We still don't know how he managed to escape."

The one with closed eyes "looked" toward the sky and answered, "It's likely an issue with Jie Fangcheng."

"Jie..." the man in the suit furrowed his brows, glancing at the person beside him, "I told you long ago, even if you want to reform the Underworld, he is not the one to involve. Jie Fangcheng carries too much blood on his hands. Furthermore, the virtue in his golden light is stagnant. How long will his remaining light protect him? Once it fades, he will become a malevolent spirit far more fearsome than Zhou Yi. Who in the Underworld could restrain him then? Not to mention your current state, can you still keep him in check—Eastern Peak God?"

Eastern Peak God did not speak; he just quietly "watched" the sky.

Overhead, dark clouds loomed, with flashes of violet lightning, creating an apocalyptic scene.

And indeed, it was apocalyptic.

Zhou Yi was one of the malevolent spirits sealed during the great war... no, he can't even be termed as a mere spirit.

He was one of the Ten Yama Kings.

Seduced by some unknown force, he plotted with malevolent spirits to overthrow the entire Underworld.

Now that Zhou Yi has broken free, he has disappeared.

And something has gone wrong on Jie Fangcheng's end...

"You should go back; the Underworld is in turmoil. It can't function without someone to oversee it."

"What... exactly are you planning to do?"

Eastern Peak God gave a faint smile.

"I can't do anything now."

Thunder roared and lightning flashed.

The lightning illuminated the entire courtyard, revealing Eastern Peak God as a seemingly ordinary man. He sat in a wheelchair, eyes tightly closed, and his attire suddenly sagged below the knees—clearly, both legs were now missing.

In the past, he led the charge, spearheading the investigation into the "Life-Death Ledger Incident," culminating in the massive Underworld War, bearing the heaviest of burdens.

Alas, the enemies were too numerous; rats scurried from their hiding spots to bite him. If not for the timely intervention of Jie Fangcheng, the outcome of the initial battle would have been uncertain.

The present weakened state of the illustrious Eastern Peak God, appearing even frailer than a mortal, attests to the horror of that past battle.

When he spoke, the man in the suit fell silent, recalling the scenes of that time.

"We did owe him a lot back then... but times have changed."

"Have they?"

The man in the suit wanted to say more but, in the end, simply patted the back of the wheelchair.

"Don't overthink it. At least for now, he seems to be on our side."

Having said that, he watched as the calamitous clouds in the sky amassed ever more heavily, looming over everyone's heads as if another Eastern Peak had emerged.

As the human world quivered amidst the storm, the man in the suit waved his hand, and a door to the Underworld materialized in the courtyard.

"I should indeed return. Oh, I heard online gaming is quite popular in the mortal realm these days. Maybe I should get you a computer to play games."

With those words, the man in the suit stepped through the door and disappeared.

Eastern Peak God sat alone in the courtyard, suddenly breaking into a soft chuckle.

"Games, you say? I... am already playing."

.

Inside the temple enveloped in white mist, golden light shrouded Jie Fangcheng and Zhang Dao'an.

Closing his eyes, Jie Fangcheng allowed Hui Mengyu to lead him into Zhang Dao'an's cognitive realm.

Protected by the golden light of virtue, the collapse of Zhang Dao'an's body and soul was arrested.

Yet his cognitive realm had become quite peculiar.

Entering it had been easy for Jie Fangcheng in the past, as Zhang Dao'an was entirely open to him.

But this time, even though he saw Zhang Dao'an's cognitive realm, it seemed as if a membrane separated them. No matter how Jie Fangcheng touched it, the membrane firmly kept him and Zhang Dao'an apart.

It was then that Jie Fangcheng finally understood why Zhang Dao'an had asked him to kill him.

Within Zhang Dao'an's own cognitive realm, all the amusement parks and Ferris wheels had vanished.

His mental space was like a slideshow, filled with innumerable memories that did not belong to him, memories that expanded with each passing moment.

These were the memories of countless players accumulated over more than fifty years.

At the same time, his cognitive realm was rapidly reconstructing the game lobby and various game dungeons at an unimaginable speed.

However, compared to the cosmic breadth of the cognitive realm of the "god" that Jie Fangcheng had witnessed, Zhang Dao'an's realm, though inconceivably vast for a human, could not bear the strain of so much incoming information.

Jie Fangcheng even saw figures within that cognitive realm.

Although the rules rendered these figures grotesque in appearance, this was also part of touching upon the "rules."

The immense flow of information and rule-touched figures caused Zhang Dao'an's cognitive realm to show signs of impending collapse. With Jie Fangcheng's golden light holding it together, it was as if two opposing forces were at play.

One side wanted to destroy him, while the other aimed to save him.

What exactly did Ji Chaoyang want to do?

However skilled Zhang Dao'an might be, he's no god. Copying the game into his mind would only shatter his soul; he simply couldn't sustain it.

This has nothing to do with how smart Zhang Dao'an is; it's a matter of innate limitations.

Or perhaps... was the fracturing of Zhang Dao'an's soul his ultimate goal to begin with?

Simply killing Zhang Dao'an won't suffice... No, killing someone in a game dungeon is indeed useless; the soul returns to the Book of Life and Death.

Is this also why Zhang Dao'an wanted himself killed?

But the current state of the Book of Life and Death is uncertain. Would dying in this dungeon result in just "death," or would one's soul be scattered?

What can be done to save Zhang Dao'an?

Just then, a white Hui Mengyu fish unexpectedly appeared from nowhere.

It fluttered around Jie Fangcheng, its body tinged with a smidgen of golden light of virtue.

While that touch of virtuous golden light was insignificant, Jie Fangcheng found himself blocked by Zhang Dao'an's cognitive realm. Yet the fish could traverse it freely.

This gave Jie Fangcheng a hint.

Channeling a wisp of golden light to protect himself, Jie Fangcheng found that the instinctive membrane of self-protection from Zhang Dao'an that had been resisting him yielded almost instantaneously.

The kid still recognizes my golden light of virtue, even in this state.

With these thoughts, Jie Fangcheng floated into the rapidly expanding game world.

Drawing his massive sword, he swung it down.

"Ding—Dungeon [Heaven's Path] has been damaged, rebuilding in progress..."

"Ding—Rebuilding failed."

"Ding—Dungeon [Mountainous Behemoth] has been damaged, rebuilding in progress..."

A series of alert tones rang through the void, reminiscent of how Jie Fangcheng had destroyed dungeons before.

It's working!

Countless dungeons are under construction before my eyes, but at least they can be destroyed.

As long as I can prevent their continuous expansion and give Zhang Dao'an a moment to catch his breath, he'll surely regain control of his own cognitive realm given his capabilities.

Reinvigorated, Jie Fangcheng started smashing through each instance from the outside in.

Reaching the center, the "Player Lobby" that was being reconstructed collapsed as he swung his sword.

This should do it...

Just as Jie Fangcheng thought so, the owner of the cognitive realm seemed to finally come to his senses.

In the blink of an eye, Jie Fangcheng was ejected from Zhang Dao'an's cognitive realm.

He quickly opened his eyes.

The flow of time in the cognitive realm is different from that of the real world. While he had accomplished so much within Zhang Dao'an's mental space, in reality, only a blink of an eye had passed.

Nie Shuangshuang and the others anxiously asked, "Brother Jie, are you all okay?" Wrapped in golden light, Zhang Dao'an lay in his arms, bloodied and with furrowed brows, as though trying to open his eyes.

However, his eyeballs had already ruptured.

But now that the root cause of his impending explosion had been removed, the healing elixir quickly mended the physical injuries on Zhang Dao'an's body.

Finally, Professor Zhang, both strong and vulnerable, slowly opened his eyes.

Just as Jie Fangcheng let out a sigh of relief, and before he could ask "how are you?", Zhang Dao'an in his arms looked at him calmly.

"You are..."

Jie Fangcheng paused for a moment, recalling the state of Zhang Dao'an's cognitive realm.

Given the condition he was in, it was only natural that Zhang Dao'an had lost all his own memories and did not recognize him.

However, for some reason, Jie Fangcheng felt a sense of regret.

He was silent for a moment before quickly rallying himself.

"I am Jie Fangcheng, your friend," he said. "You've been through some things and have lost your memory. I will recount to you all the events that have transpired."

Zhang Dao'an sat up straight.

He did not recognize the person before him, but a voice deep within seemed to be hinting that this person was important—very important.

"Jie Fangcheng?" Zhang Dao'an, who now resembled a blank sheet of paper, repeated the name and nodded. "Sounds familiar."

Familiar? What could be familiar when you've lost your memory?

This kid really knows how to put on a tough act...

"I feel that, before my amnesia, I must have really liked you."

Thus spoke the usually aloof Professor Zhang, who always seemed to be encased in a protective barrier of frost, rarely revealing his inner emotions.