"Wang Ge, what should we do now? Should we go directly to the Immortal Realm?" Lin Yuanyuan didn't beat around the bush and asked about the task at hand.
"No, we stick to the old routine. Let's run a simulation first to assess the situation. Yuanyuan, you'll be my protector," Wang Ping exhaled lightly and became serious.
In the current Life Simulator, even running a single simulation without entering immersive mode took a considerable amount of time. Therefore, Wang Ping needed to find a safe place to use the Life Simulator.
The Immortal Realm was the epicenter of the conflict, and it would be too dangerous to conduct a simulation there.
"That makes sense. But, Wang Ge, when you just intervened and eradicated this already corrupted world, I have a suspicion that the aberration may have noticed us," Lin Yuanyuan nodded and hesitated.
"Hehe, it's normal to be noticed. Even if I hadn't acted, they would have detected us," Wang Ping said calmly.
"So, Cai Zi, remember to use your abilities to protect all of us at any time. As for Qu Zhong, I'll lend you one million group points to prepare for purification."
Wang Ping paused for a moment, then spoke seriously again, "Lastly, and most importantly, everyone should be prepared for an escape at any moment."
"Understood!" The team members nodded in unison, their hearts filled with determination.
Then, Wang Ping closed his eyes and said in his mind, "System, I want to run a free simulation."
"Ding, Life Simulator activated. Free simulation initiated."
The system's voice sounded, and Wang Ping felt a brief dizziness as he entered immersive simulation mode.
Next, the screen appeared, displaying familiar text:
[Day One: You chose to tear through the void and forcibly enter the Immortal Realm, using the connection between the two realms.]
[The moment you arrived in the Immortal Realm, you witnessed a horrifying scene. Everywhere you looked, there were even more twisted monstrosities, as if the entire Immortal Realm had transformed into abominations.]
[The moment you appeared, all the monsters immediately launched an attack against you. With an unchanged expression, you incinerated the attacking monsters and suppressed the world's aberrations underfoot.]
[However, you had no intention of lingering with them. Instead, you chose to use a secret technique to seek out the living forces in the Immortal Realm. Then, using spatial manipulation, you brought everyone to another area of the Immortal Realm.]
[In this area, you saw numerous Immortal Realm cultivators collaborating with ten Immortal Emperors to maintain a large formation, resisting the invasion of aberrations along with the remnants of the Cultivation Realm's Heavenly Dao.]
[Despite their desperate efforts, they were still unable to hold back the invasion. The remaining areas of the Cultivation Realm were shrinking at a visible pace.]
[Upon your arrival, the Immortal Emperors all looked at you with expressions of surprise.]
[This surprised you because it was the first time you had seen such expressions from the natives of the post-crossing task world. Generally, you were treated with suspicion as outsiders, especially in a world on the brink of destruction, where outsiders were viewed as enemies.]
[Soon, you understood the reason. The Heavenly Dao of this world had already informed the Immortal Emperors and other Immortal Realm cultivators about their plea for help from outside the realm. Your appearance was clearly what they had been waiting for.]
[Of course, there was one more thing: the Heavenly Dao also informed them of this fact when you appeared; otherwise, they would have been equally hostile since they couldn't immediately determine your identity.]
[After all, a foreigner had appeared before and attacked them, causing them to suffer heavy losses and making it difficult for them to hold out much longer.]
[Next, you learned about the specific situation of the Immortal Realm and the presence of the intruder from beyond the heavens. At the same time, you also learned about the power levels of the Immortal Emperors in this world and the intruder from beyond the heavens.]
[The power level of the Immortal Emperors in this world was roughly equivalent to that of ordinary Great Sages. As for the intruder from beyond the heavens, they were much more powerful. After entering this realm, they had instantly killed two Immortal Emperors, causing problems with the Immortal Realm's formation.]
[If it weren't for the Heavenly Dao's wrath, brewing a terrifying power to suppress them, the intruder would have continued to kill. Hearing this information, you felt a sense of gravity.]
[As expected, this world had faced other changes, as you had suspected, which had come from the various realms beyond. The outsider who had come to this world to aid the aberrations had been particularly ruthless and had violated the rules.]
[After all, it was a rule that aberrations must be eradicated. Those who helped aberrations destroy the world, even if they were from the Chaos-Order faction, would be eliminated. Even the Chaos-Evil faction would not easily side with the aberrations.]
[Next, you believed that to resolve the aberration issue, you needed to find and eliminate the outsider who had come from beyond the heavens. To do this, you brought your team back into the aberration world, using the information provided by the Heavenly Dao to track their whereabouts with a secret technique.]
[However, you didn't have to search for them specifically. As soon as you entered the aberration world, you were immediately blocked. This outsider from beyond the heavens, accompanied by a large number of monsters, began to attack you.]
[These monsters were on par with Immortal Emperors and, due to their tenacious vitality and terrifying corruption abilities, were much more troublesome than Immortal Emperors.]
[However, you had no fear. You used thunderous methods to instantly kill these creatures that were on par with Immortal Emperors. Although your rewards hadn't refreshed the Time-Origin Source and you didn't possess a complete Time-Space Dao Body, you had gained insights from your last paid simulation.]
[In other words, you had comprehended the complete Time-Space Law and practiced the Devouring the Void Emperor Scripture, making you incredibly powerful.]
[Seeing your incredible strength, the outsider from beyond the heavens was momentarily shocked. However, they had no fear and engaged you in battle.]
[It must be said that this outsider from beyond the heavens was incredibly powerful, even among Great Sages. Even though you unleashed your full strength, you couldn't easily suppress them, and the battle was intense.]
[Seeing this, you didn't hesitate and directly used your Golden Talent - Damage Nullification to withstand their attacks and unleash your most powerful divine technique.]
[This time, although you didn't trigger a critical hit, you achieved a double resonance. Caught off guard, the outsider from beyond the heavens was severely wounded, and their facial disguise was shattered, revealing their true face.]
[When you used a divine technique that resembled a Divine Eye to see their true appearance under the mask, your pupils suddenly contracted. You were astonished to find that this individual was one of the predecessors among the second-generation chat group transgressors.]
[You had clashed with the second-generation chat group transgressors multiple times and had Alpha provide you with
information about all the transgressors in the second-generation chat group. You had memorized them all to avoid any omissions.]
[The individual before you was one of the chat group transgressors from the second generation, named Yilian Tao. According to the information Alpha had given you, during the destruction of the second-generation chat group, his combat power was roughly equivalent to a Saint King's level.]
[Now, he was displaying formidable power even among Great Sages, indicating significant growth over the years.]
[However, that was not the most critical point. The most critical point was that he had appeared here and was collaborating with the aberrations, which was terrifying. You couldn't help but suspect that this was a calculated move by someone from the second-generation chat group, perhaps a major player in the second-generation chat group.]
"!!!"
王平 stared at the simulated text, his pupils contracting suddenly, his expression filled with uncertainty.
Dealing with the aberration seemed manageable, at least for now.
This time, confronting the aberration was like playing with open cards. As long as they were strong enough, perhaps they could help the Heavenly Dao of the Cultivation Realm turn the tide in their favor.
At worst, if they failed the mission, they could simply retreat.
However, the appearance of a second-generation chat group transgressor from among the second-generation crossers complicated matters significantly. The mission's difficulty had skyrocketed, and Wang Ping had to consider whether this was part of a massive conspiracy targeting him.
"No, in the eyes of the second-generation chat group transgressors from now, I'm just a small fry at the God Realm level. Sending Yilian Tao or the Killers from the Killjoy Paradise here already shows they take me seriously. They wouldn't go through such trouble otherwise. Even if the Supreme Wind Demon has found out that the Killer from Killjoy Paradise has died, they would only suspect I possess combat power at the Divine Realm level."
"Although this combat power is already astonishing and my rate of improvement is terrifying, it's unlikely they'd cooperate with aberrations to target me. Furthermore, how would they know that Qin Tian's world has group members, and that I'd definitely fall for their trap?"
Wang Ping muttered to himself, his mind racing with various thoughts as he continued to stare at the screen.
[You've recognized Yilian Tao, but it seems he hasn't recognized you. You had already uploaded the Nine-Star Pavilion's secret techniques to the chat group long ago. Lin Yuanyuan and the others have learned the Nine-Star Pavilion's secret techniques through group points and are unlikely to be recognized. As for Qu Zhong, being a newcomer, he won't be recognized either.]
[Of course, this is only within the simulation. If it were in the real world, and if Yilian Tao were live streaming with bigshots from the second-generation chat group watching, your secret techniques would undoubtedly be exposed.]
[At this moment, although various thoughts flashed through your mind, you didn't give up the opportunity to strike down a wounded opponent. You continued to launch a fierce attack against Yilian Tao.]
[Ultimately, under your relentless assault, Yilian Tao was left on the brink of death, unable to resist. In response, you handed Yilian Tao over to Lin Yuanyuan.]
[Lin Yuanyuan, not holding back, used her formation to obscure their vision and immediately began absorbing all of Yilian Tao's remaining power. Her strength skyrocketed to a level very close to yours among the Great Saints.]
[Next, you had no intention of delaying. After killing Yilian Tao, you began cooperating with the Cultivation Realm's Heavenly Dao to confront the aberration.]
[The aberration seemed to sense danger and went berserk. It gathered a terrifying force from the majority of the Cultivation Realm, surpassing even the Great Saints.]
[In response, your expression grew serious. You summoned your ultimate weapon and ordered Chen Si and the others into action.]
[Chen Si directly used his power of debilitation and sealed the aberration. Due to Chen Si's Gold Finger being optimized once, the power of debilitation was doubled, leaving the aberration with only a quarter of its strength.]
[Simultaneously, Zhang Yueying used her power, causing your combat power to gradually surpass your current level.]
[As for Cai Yonglong, Liu Mei, and Qu Zhong, they were all prepared to use their powers to assist in the battle.]
[Due to Zhang Yueying's enhancement, along with your holding your ultimate weapon, your combat power had already risen to a level where you could contend with the half-step Supreme. Every move and technique you used exuded destructive power, especially your mastery of time and space, which was unparalleled. You intended to tear through the contaminated part of the Cultivation Realm completely.]
[Your outburst left the Immortal Emperors extremely shocked, making them see you as a monster due to your overwhelming strength.]
[The aberration, on the other hand, was caught off guard by your immense power and the fact that Chen Si had suppressed three-quarters of its strength. It was in great discomfort.]
[The most troublesome part was that the Cultivation Realm's Heavenly Dao began to counterattack, causing you to feel a sense of crisis that you hadn't experienced in a long time.]
[Seeing this, the aberration realized it had a choice now: gather all its power to kill you, leaving behind the rest of the Cultivation Realm; or give up on the remaining Cultivation Realm. Initially, it had planned to fully corrupt the Cultivation Realm and make it its stronghold, but that seemed unattainable now. Since it was impossible, it decided to kill its strongest opponent first.]
[Soon, the corrupted Cultivation Realm began to wriggle, gradually shrinking and transforming into a miniature tentacle monster. When this tentacle monster appeared, even you, your expression changed drastically, because the energy fluctuations from this monster were too powerful, surpassing even the half-step Supreme.]
[Facing a monster that exceeded the level of a half-step Supreme, even with Zhang Yueying's Gold Finger-enhanced strength, you couldn't contend with it. Unless you were extremely lucky and triggered your Purple Talent - Endless Blade and the Ninth Overture, there was no chance of victory.]
[Just as you were filled with dread, the aberration launched an attack. It locked onto you and unleashed its corrupting power to the maximum. In an instant, your energy barrier couldn't stop the corruption, and the bodies of Cai Yonglong and others underwent changes.]
[Seeing this, Cai Yonglong reacted swiftly, using his Gold Finger's absolute defense to protect Qu Zhong and the others. When Qu Zhong realized the situation, he immediately instructed them to use their purification abilities to cleanse the corruption from their bodies.]
[However, it was clear that the power levels had shifted. Even though Qu Zhong had optimized his Gold Finger once, the purification was not as efficient as before. Although the process was still ongoing, it had slowed significantly.]
[Seeing this, you wore a serious expression, knowing that you couldn't let this drag on, or you would all be wiped out. Consequently, you instructed Chen Kang to use his restraining ability to immobilize the aberration.]
[Then, holding your ultimate weapon, you launched a fierce attack, intending to trigger the Purple Talent - Endless Blade and the Ninth Overture's effects simultaneously.]
[However, what frustrated you was that, during Chen Kang's restraint, you couldn't trigger your talent effects. Without them, your attacks on the aberration earlier were like scratching an itch and had no effect.]
[In this situation, you knew you couldn't afford to continue like this, or you would all be wiped out. So, you had no choice but to ask Wu Jun to use his Gold Finger's power.]
[This time, Wu Jun was very lucky and triggered the positive effect. The aberration's body froze, then began to collapse, conceptually dying completely.]
[Seeing this scene, you were shocked but also amazed at the incredible power of Wu Jun's Gold Finger. However, you couldn't help but smile bitterly, realizing that the possibility of the aberration dying in such a way had only been simulated. In reality, the problem remained unresolved.]
[Because you killed the
aberration, you decided to return.]
[Due to your return, the simulation ended.]
After the text simulation ended, Wang Ping's mind was filled with various images, and his vision returned to the real world.
"Wang Ge, how did it go?"
Cai Yonglong impatiently asked.
"The aberration is dead, but..."
Wang Ping sighed and directly explained the situation.
"This..."
Everyone exchanged glances, not expecting the aberration to be so formidable. When it went berserk, it had condensed a body surpassing even the half-step Supreme.
"Even with my sister's debilitation ability, he had only a quarter of his power left, and he's still this strong. How are we supposed to deal with this?"
Chen Kang said, his head aching.
"And his corruption ability is so potent. If we don't resolve it within the effective period of my Gold Finger, we'll all be turned into monsters."
Chen Si added.
"The problem is, even if we kill him and stop the corruption, we still can't resolve the issue. This level of strength is just too much to handle."
Wang Ping said with a heavy expression, realizing that they couldn't afford to delay any longer, or they would all be wiped out.
"For this reason, you had Chen Kang use his restraining ability to immobilize the aberration in place."
"Then, holding your ultimate weapon, you unleashed your most powerful attack, intending to activate the effects of the Purple Talent - Endless Blade and the Ninth Overture simultaneously."
"However, what frustrated you was that, during Chen Kang's restraint, you couldn't trigger your talent effects. Without them, your attacks on the aberration earlier were like scratching an itch and had no effect."
"In this situation, you knew you couldn't afford to continue like this, or you would all be wiped out. So, you had no choice but to ask Wu Jun to use his Gold Finger's power."
"This time, Wu Jun was very lucky and triggered the positive effect. The aberration's body froze, then began to collapse, conceptually dying completely."
"Seeing this scene, you were shocked but also amazed at the incredible power of Wu Jun's Gold Finger. However, you couldn't help but smile bitterly, realizing that the possibility of the aberration dying in such a way had only been simulated. In reality, the problem remained unresolved."
"Because you killed the aberration, you decided to return."
"Due to your return, the simulation ended."
Wang Ping recounted the simulation to his team, explaining how they managed to defeat the aberration but also highlighting the uncertainty of the outcome in reality. The situation was still precarious, and they needed to come up with a solid plan to deal with the aberration's threat in the actual world.
Cai Yonglong frowned, his expression looking grim.
"Um, my purification ability, if it evolves once more, would it be incredibly effective?" Qu Zhong cautiously asked.
"Not really," Wang Ping glanced at him and didn't intend to spend another hundred million group points to strengthen it. Unless the Gold Finger's ability could directly cleanse the strangeness and form a kill, further optimization wouldn't be very significant.
"The most crucial thing is still strength. I can continue to simulate and enhance my power. However, the critical issue with immersive simulations is the passage of time."
Wang Ping furrowed his brows, feeling a headache coming on. Continuing the previous paid simulation, with its guaranteed duration of up to a hundred thousand years, even if he didn't enter an immersive state even once, several months would have passed in the real world.
If he lived longer, then even more time would have passed in the real world.
At that point, the strangeness would definitely not let them go. The strangeness already knew of their existence, and it was highly likely that Yilian Tao from the second-generation chat group knew they were here. If he reported the situation, Wang Ping and his team would have to deal not only with Yilian Tao and the strangeness but also with the powerhouses from the second-generation chat group who might be on their way.
"Let's prepare to give up the mission," Wang Ping made a decision, and he was not willing to take unnecessary risks. Although the value of this strangeness was significant and could serve as his ticket to participate in the Heavenly Paradise games in the future, he was not in a hurry. When his strength increased further, hunting strangeness at this level would be much easier, wouldn't it? Although this level of strangeness was not very common, Wang Ping had plenty of time and could afford to wait.
"Uh..."
Seeing Wang Ping's decision, Cai Yonglong and the others exchanged glances, not expecting him to make such a choice. After all, in the past, even if the strangeness was dangerous, Wang Ping never gave up and would find a way to clear it through multiple simulations.
"It's true that there's no need to continue the mission. After all, this time is different, and we'll have to face other crossers who may try to deceive us. This could be a conspiracy," Lin Yuanyuan said, her eyes flickering in agreement.
The others naturally had no objections either.
"Wu Jun, use your Gold Finger, try to trigger the instant death effect. If we can take advantage of it, that would be great," Wang Ping looked at Wu Jun and said.
"Alright, I'll give it a try," Wu Jun said, slightly surprised, and then nodded.
"Wait."
At this moment, Wang Ping seemed to remember something and looked at Cai Yonglong.
"Cai Zi, activate your absolute defense and protect all of us. I'm afraid that if Wu Jun triggers any unfavorable possibilities, we might all be wiped out together."
Wang Ping sighed lightly and said seriously.
"Okay."
Cai Yonglong also felt that Wang Ping's idea made sense and did not hesitate to activate his Gold Finger, enhancing the protective barrier.
Wang Ping went even further and prepared to activate his Gold Talent - Nullification of Damage at any moment when Wu Jun used his ability. With dual protection, even if Wu Jun's Gold Finger triggered any negative effects, he would remain unharmed.
Soon, Wu Jun used his Gold Finger.
In an instant, under the gaze of everyone, Wu Jun transformed into a woman.
However, everything remained calm, as if nothing had happened.
"Wang Ge, it seems like I failed," Wu Jun said somewhat embarrassed.
"It doesn't matter if you failed. Let's get ready to leave. The longer we stay in this world, the more dangerous it becomes," Wang Ping furrowed his brows and said.
"Okay."
Hearing this, everyone felt somewhat helpless and chose to return.
In an instant, Wang Ping and his team all turned into white light and disappeared, returning to their original world.
However, just a few minutes after Wang Ping's return, the chat group system's notification sound suddenly rang out, leaving Wang Ping and the others stunned.
"Ding, the strangeness is dead. The group mission is completed, and rewards have been distributed separately. Group members can claim their rewards on the group rewards page."
"The strangeness is dead?" Wang Ping was somewhat surprised. Could it be that Wu Jun had triggered the instant death effect earlier? If that were true, then Wu Jun's luck was truly extraordinary.
"To deal with such difficult-to-solve strangeness, it's Wu Jun's powerful Gold Finger that came through, ignoring everything and killing it directly."
Wang Ping felt somewhat emotional.
In Wang Ping's view, his Life Simulator was powerful, but people like Wu Jun and Lin Yuanyuan were not inferior to him. If one day, Lin Yuanyuan reached the Supreme or even Semi-Emperor level directly, and Wu Jun triggered the possibility of gaining terrifying power, then these two would undoubtedly surpass him easily.
"You're thinking too much. It wasn't Wu Jun who activated the Gold Finger to kill the strangeness," Alpha's voice sounded.
"What was the reason, then?" Wang Ping asked, slightly surprised.
"Wu Jun's activation this time only weakened the strangeness's ability to contaminate the Heavenly Dao. The one who truly acted against the strangeness was someone from the second-generation chat group."
Alpha's voice rang out, seemingly unchanged in tone but with a hint of unusualness.
"What, someone from the second-generation chat group?" Wang Ping's eyes widened in astonishment. "Isn't this their plan? Why did they take action to kill the strangeness? Or is it that they wiped out the entire cultivation world along with it?"
"Not at all. His purpose was twofold: to kill the strangeness and then to clean house," Alpha's voice sounded again.
"Clean house?" Wang Ping furrowed his brows slightly and speculated, "Are you saying that this cooperation with the strangeness was a unilateral decision by Yilian Tao and not the plan of the senior crossers from the second-generation chat group?"
"That's right," Alpha replied slowly. "It seems that there are principled individuals among the members of the second-generation chat group."
Wang Ping nodded.
Whether it was Chu Xiu or this Yilian Tao, both were willing to use the strangeness to achieve their goals, which could be considered quite reckless. Wang Ping had originally thought that these senior crossers were all ruthless and acted without considering the consequences, but it seemed not to be the case.
"Who is he? How strong is he now?" Wang Ping asked curiously.
"Chen Mu, based on his displayed strength, he should be able to rival a Semi-Emperor," Alpha provided an answer.
"Chen Mu, a Semi-Emperor-level combat power. Alpha, did you manage to seize the origin of the strangeness from his hands?" Wang Ping's eyes flickered as he asked.
"I did manage to take some of it, which is why I distributed rewards to you. However, since this time it wasn't you who killed the strangeness, you probably won't get the entry ticket," Alpha's icy voice sounded again.
"Hehe, it's okay, no need to rush. When I reach the Emperor level, as long as you detect the strangeness, I can go there and easily crush it," Wang Ping said with confidence.
"Alright," after a brief response, Alpha went silent.
Seeing Alpha go silent, Wang Ping put the previous matter behind him and casually collected the rewards, finding that he had received several hundred million group points in rewards. He was quite satisfied with this.
Next, Wang Ping closed the somewhat noisy chat group and prepared to enter immersive simulation mode.
This time, he must break through the Great Sage level and, most importantly, he hoped to refresh the Time Origin or obtain a complete Space-Time Dao Body. If he couldn't refresh them, he would still have a difficult time in the real world, relying on an incomplete Space-Time Dao Body.
"If it doesn't work out, I'll have to wait until my cultivation level goes up and then try to enter the secret realm of the Ji family or Wang family in the real world and obtain the Time Origin through trade," Wang Ping thought silently. This was the easiest thing to achieve. After all, it was the End of Dharma Era, and as long as Wang Ping offered something of astonishing value, going to the secret realm wouldn't be difficult.
As for the question of whether there would be a risk to his life, in the simulation, he couldn't use the chat group, but in the real world, he could. Even if he encountered a life-threatening situation, he could use the chat group's teleportation function to escape, and even a Semi-Emperor wouldn't be able to stop him.
"Thinking about it this way, it's much easier and more relaxed. I can take some risks, but there's no need to go overboard. In the real world, what needs to be fought for, I will fight for it," Wang Ping chuckled and entered immersive simulation mode.
The screen and text appeared again.
[On the first day, you chose to take action. This time, you choose to take Wan Yu back to the Taiyuan Ancient Star and meet Lin Qinghe.]
[In previous simulations, you were not sure if Taiyi Emperor's Palace would accept the Devilish Body Prodigy, so you didn't plan to bring Lin Qinghe and Wan Yu to Taiyi Emperor's Palace. That would be too dangerous. Therefore, you chose to let them go.]
[After letting them go, you didn't see them make much progress in the previous simulations and were somewhat worried.]
[Now that you know the character of Taiyi Emperor, you have a great affinity for Taiyi Emperor's Palace. For this reason, you think you can try to see if Taiyi Emperor's Palace accepts these two Devilish Body Prodigies.]
[If Taiyi Emperor's Palace is willing to accept them, you can rest assured. If Taiyi Emperor's Palace refuses to accept them, you can take Lin Qinghe, Wan Yu, and Cai Yonglong to the Transcendent Immortal Continent, where they can grow more conveniently. With you watching over them, if they encounter bullying from old monsters, you can also help them.]
[Next, you found Cai Yonglong and left the Taiyuan Ancient Star with the three of them.]
[During this process, Yuan Lei the Supreme also set his sights on you, but after some contemplation, he ultimately did not take action.]
[You were relieved about this. Next, you took the three of them to the Transcendent Immortal Continent and paid your respects to Taiyi Emperor's Palace.]
[Taiyi Emperor's Palace's Master was greatly surprised by your talent and cultivation and naturally allowed you to join. As for Lin Qinghe and Wan Yu, he did not see their talent, but out of respect for you, he allowed Lin Qinghe, Wan Yu, and Cai Yonglong to join Taiyi Emperor's Palace.]
[You breathed a sigh of relief. Although you had a good impression of Taiyi Emperor's Palace, especially your deep respect for Emperor Tianyu, you didn't know where Emperor Tianyu was now, and you didn't have a complete Space-Time Dao Body. If the master of Taiyi Emperor's Palace didn't like Devilish Bodies, it would be quite troublesome.]
[Luckily, the Supreme couldn't detect the Swallowing Immortal Devil Body and the unawakened Abyssal Devil Body.]
(End of this chapter)