Everyone never expected that there would be a hidden puppeteer controlling everything, intending to sweep away all the geniuses from the Upper Realm. It's truly ruthless.
What's most crucial is that he succeeded. He managed to tamper with the entrance to the secret realm, slaughtering the majority of the geniuses who entered, devouring their origins, and successfully refining the legendary Chaotic Body.
According to Ye Chen's description, the Chaotic Body's performance is terrifying. He single-handedly dominated the remaining geniuses in battle, and if it weren't for your intervention, dragging him into another dimension, all the geniuses would have perished.
Thinking about this, everyone looked at you, their expressions changing. The calculations behind the scenes were chilling, and your performance was equally astonishing. You fought the Chaotic Body alone and survived. Moreover, you suppressed Gu Xuan, who was about to unleash a power rivaling the Chaotic Body. This kind of strength is truly astounding.
However, before this, you appeared quite ordinary, known as the most disgraceful prince in the Taiyi Emperor's Palace. It can only be said that you hid your abilities too well, like a master of deception.
Subsequently, the various factions questioned the Immortal Mansion about why they had failed so miserably, repeatedly falling victim to someone's schemes, leading to the tragic deaths of their descendants. This must be explained to everyone, or they would never give up easily.
Facing the accusations from various factions, the Immortal Mansion's Mansion Lord wore a heavy expression, calming everyone down and promising that they would investigate and eliminate the mastermind behind the scenes, providing an explanation to all parties.
However, the Mansion Lord's response did not satisfy the various factions. They mocked the possibility that there might be problems within the Immortal Mansion as well, suggesting that they might have been involved in the conspiracy. After all, who else could have the ability to orchestrate all of this?
The Mansion Lord had nothing to say in response to the taunts from the various factions. This time, he didn't even believe in the internal integrity of the Immortal Mansion. However, he also understood the real purpose behind the strong stance of the various factions.
They were not only seeking accountability but also exerting pressure. Since the geniuses were already dead and the outcome could not be changed, they had to move forward. While collectively investigating the mastermind, they also wanted to probe the secrets of the Immortal Mansion, understanding why it could remain so mysterious and control the mysteries of the Immortal Gate and Immortal Destiny.
This time, the various factions had grasped the Immortal Mansion's weakness. If the Immortal Mansion refused to back down, disclose many secrets, or even surrender certain important locations, it would be impossible.
Just as the atmosphere was growing increasingly tense, a wave of terror descended. The Patriarch of the Longevity Gu Family appeared, and he was also Gu Xuan's father.
After the Patriarch of the Gu Family appeared, everyone turned their gaze towards him, their expressions serious and somewhat apprehensive, but their minds were also active.
After all, in this secret realm, Gu Xuan had been identified as the mastermind behind the scenes. Although it was only Ye Chen's account, Gu Xuan had already been labeled, and he was already dead.
When someone dies, they can't defend themselves, and if they wished, they could use this opportunity to target the Longevity Gu Family.
Of course, after thinking it over, these people did not take such actions. At this moment, it was more important to investigate the Immortal Mansion. The strength of the Longevity Gu Family was also indispensable in the Upper Realm. Among the various factions, only the Longevity Gu Family could vaguely contend with the Immortal Mansion.
Although it was speculation from various parties, the Longevity Gu Family and the Immortal Mansion had never had conflicts. But once the Longevity Gu Family took action, it would be more stable.
Subsequently, the elders of the various factions all looked at you, thinking that you were a good pawn to win over the Gu Family. After all, it was you who had suppressed Gu Xuan, and Gu Xuan had died at your hands. Although Ye Chen claimed that Gu Xuan had died mysteriously, supposedly due to the Chaotic Body, there was no evidence to support it, so they could say what they wanted.
You noticed the gazes of the various elders, feeling a sense of crisis. You knew that this group of elders had set their sights on you. Without fear, you stepped forward confidently, displaying the memory scenes using your divine power, trying to prove your innocence.
At the same time, you mentioned many things you knew and some speculations, but you didn't mention the possibility of the Chaotic Body's death, as you had not entered the immersive simulation this time and did not have god-like knowledge of those events. As you explained, the expressions of the various factions changed once again. If what you said was true, then there was a big problem.
Because of the various forces and their reasons, everyone knew something about the existence of anomalies. Anomalies were extremely dangerous and had to be eliminated once discovered. If the one who had created the Chaotic Body by devouring the Immortal Demon Body was indeed an anomaly, then his ability to control Gu Xuan and many other geniuses without alerting the powerful beings from the various forces seemed reasonable.
For this reason, it seemed that this was not the time for disputes or testing the Immortal Mansion. The priority was to find and eliminate the mastermind behind the scenes. Besides, any forces that might have cooperated with anomalies also needed to be exposed and eliminated.
Otherwise, when anomalies grew to their full strength, it would be a disaster for the Upper Realm. After all, the goal of anomalies was to destroy all living beings and even the world.
This was undoubtedly a critical moment that determined the survival of all forces. It had to be handled with caution, and infighting at this time would be extremely foolish.
For this reason, the elders of the various forces, including those from the Killing Paradise and the Abyss, used the memory scenes and the anomalies' aura you had intercepted to prove the existence of anomalies. This also confirmed the presence of an anomaly-related aura within Gu Xuan's body. After this, most of the powerful beings put aside their anger and personal interests, and the prominent figures began discussing important matters.
After the Longevity Gu Family's Patriarch took Gu Xuan's body away, he cast a deep gaze in your direction. The profound gaze placed immense pressure on you, but you still showed no signs of fear. After all, Gu Xuan's death in this simulation had nothing to do with you, and you had a clear conscience.
Finally, the Immortal Mansion assessment came to an end. The number of geniuses who survived by luck was too small, and they were all taken into the Mansion. This made some of the survivors both relieved and terrified. After all, in a normal assessment, their chances of entering the Mansion were quite slim.
However, most people felt complex emotions. The so-called Golden Era had not truly begun, and they had not witnessed the scene where all geniuses proved the Dao together. It felt somewhat desolate.
They had anticipated the most brilliant era in history, but the result was that it turned into
the most desolate era. Both the quantity and quality of geniuses were far inferior to the previous Golden Era.
"It seems that the weaker forces may not be aware of anomalies, but the Great Emperors in the Upper Realm are aware of their existence. The Dark Source is related to anomalies, and those Great Emperors should be aware of it. However, because the Dark Source has not shown any signs of activity for so many years, there is no need to pay too much attention to its existence."
Wang Ping looked at the simulated text and thought to himself.
"Of course, at the level of the Dark Source, the powerful figures in the Upper Realm can't do anything even if they are aware of it. Even if they are aware, what can they do? Can they really kill it? Things that even the powerful beings from the various realms couldn't accomplish, it's impossible for the Great Emperors to do. Although it's just an extension of the Dark Source formed by a strand of hair, the powerful beings from the various realms should have a way to eliminate it, but there is no need for it, and the Great Emperors really can't handle it. However, from the reactions of the Great Emperors, if they know about the existence of anomalies, they will still abandon their preconceptions and try to kill the anomalies first. Obviously, in the past, there were probably anomalies that caused great havoc, resulting in significant destruction. Otherwise, the reactions of the Great Emperors would probably be similar to the Light God in Zhang Hu's world, thinking of using anomalies instead of uniting to eliminate them."
Wang Ping analyzed many things in his mind and finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Wang Ping's greatest worry was that the Great Emperors would not care about anomalies and would try to use them. Now it seemed that he had overthought it.
The one using anomalies was still from the various realms.
However, in the various realms, anomalies were public enemies, and he was too crazy to do what he was doing. He was not afraid of being eliminated.
"But it doesn't seem right."
Wang Ping frowned again, suddenly thinking of something.
He had anticipated that the creator of the Nine Stars Pavilion was a big boss who used anomalies.
However, the creator of the Nine Stars Pavilion came from the various realms, and with his identity and background, he should have been able to blend in with the various realms quite comfortably.
If his goal was to become an Immortal and become stronger, it didn't seem necessary to take such risks.
"Perhaps the development in reality and in the simulation is completely different. In reality, everything is normal, and the creator of the Nine Stars Pavilion and other forces from the various realms can communicate normally and travel back and forth between the various realms. However, in my simulation, they have lost contact with the outside world."
Wang Ping came up with this idea.
"Which means they might panic and think something is seriously wrong. In the simulation, they have lost the advantage of going to the various realms and using the resources of related forces. This means that in the simulation, they can only rely on themselves and the resources of the Upper Realm to achieve their goal of becoming stronger. If not, they will also age. However, they won't enter the Dark Source like those Great Emperors who had no choice."
"These people are more aware of the terror of the Dark Source and don't expect the Dark Source to remain dormant forever. For this reason, they will do whatever it takes to become stronger, ascend to the Immortal Realm. Only in that way can they achieve immortality and escape from this world.
Based on this speculation, it is certain that the actions and intentions of the Nine Stars Pavilion's creator, as well as other celestial forces, are different in the simulated world. Perhaps in reality, the creator of the Nine Stars Pavilion would not use anomalies, and anomalies would not harm individuals like Gu Xuan and many other geniuses to such an extent.
Although the existence of anomalies remains a significant threat, without the backing of a figure like the creator of the Nine Stars Pavilion, they wouldn't be able to create such a huge disturbance, and once their tracks are discovered, they can be eliminated.
Wang Ping thought to himself, "All these speculations are still uncertain. It might not necessarily be my fault; perhaps the creator of the Nine Stars Pavilion or others had such plans from the beginning."
Wang Ping sighed silently, realizing that he had been overthinking things.
"Never mind, all of this is just speculation, and it might not be my responsibility. It's likely that the creator of the Nine Stars Pavilion or someone else had these plans from the beginning."
Wang Ping rubbed his forehead and dismissed the idea, shaking off any blame, much like a non-stick pan.
Next, Wang Ping continued to gaze at the screen, eager to see the upcoming developments.
"In the blink of an eye, a year has passed. During this year, you have been quietly cultivating in the Immortal Mansion. It must be said that the cultivation environment in the Immortal Mansion is much better than that in the Taiyi Emperor's Palace, with secret places that aid in achieving enlightenment.
You are confident that if you continue to cultivate in this mysterious place for another hundred years or so, you will successfully condense the Dao Fruit, break through the Supreme bottleneck, and attain enlightenment.
It can only be said that the near-extinction of the geniuses in the assessment has brought many benefits to those who survived. In a normal scenario, these secret places would require a considerable contribution of Immortal Mansion points to access. Now, they are freely available to you.
Of course, this is also due to your outstanding contributions in the secret realm and the Immortal Mansion sensing the looming crisis. The mastermind behind the scenes is terrifying, and their alliance with anomalies has forced the Immortal Mansion to want to nurture more geniuses and even cultivate Immortal Seedlings to counteract them.
During this year, the Immortal Mansion, in alliance with other forces, has been investigating the truth. They have made many discoveries. They have learned that the Heavenly Calculations Child seems to have awakened from a state of madness and has formed a partnership with anomalies and the mastermind behind the scenes. However, this is quite normal. Without the Heavenly Calculations Child, it would be impossible to resist the Immortal Mansion's Divine Calculation Technique.
Furthermore, within the Immortal Mansion, the Mansion Lord conducted a thorough investigation and exposed the spies of the quasi-emperors, eliminating them. It must be said that anomalies' abilities are indeed terrifying, as even quasi-emperor experts were secretly controlled by them.
However, this also allowed the Mansion Lord to trace the mastermind behind the scenes. In the Mansion Lord's eyes, only the Nine Stars Pavilion could have the ability to control quasi-emperor-level experts and even make them leave the Immortal Mansion.
In other words, the suspicion of the Nine Stars Pavilion's creator is extremely high. This has made many forces even more wary of the Nine Stars Pavilion, showing great hostility, and the vast majority have distanced themselves from the Nine Stars Pavilion to avoid being manipulated once again.
However, although the Immortal Mansion Alliance wants to find the creator of the Nine Stars Pavilion and eliminate him, they have been unable to locate the creator or the Nine Stars. They have destroyed many of the Nine Stars Pavilion's bases, but it has been a futile endeavor.
After all, as long as the creator of the Nine Stars Pavilion remains alive and anomalies exist, no matter how many underlings are killed, it won't make much difference.
This, however, is not your concern, and you can't do much about it. What you can do now is continue to cultivate and strengthen yourself.
In the blink of an eye, a hundred years have passed. During this hundred years, the Nine Stars Pavilion has been suppressed repeatedly and dare not show itself. However, the top-level figures of the Nine Stars Pavilion have not been captured, which has caused some frustration within the Immortal Mansion Alliance. The Divine Calculator has also made calculations and sighed, discovering that the Heavenly Machine is in chaos, and a major change is approaching, with a great calamity possibly coming early.
This has made many strong individuals even more serious, determined to find the creator of the Nine Stars Pavilion and the anomalies at any cost. Even the Divine Calculator intends to use the power of various forces and the aura of destiny to perform a forbidden divination.
After much debate, it eventually gained the approval of many forces and began to use the aura of destiny as a guide to slowly meet the conditions for using the forbidden divination.
It was at this time, while the top-level experts were taking significant actions, that you made a breakthrough. You successfully condensed the Supreme Dao Fruit, broke through the Supreme bottleneck, and achieved the level of Supreme.
Although you have just broken through to the level of Supreme, with your powerful physique, innate talent, and divine eye, you believe that defeating ordinary Supreme-level experts would be effortless for you.
After breaking through to Supreme, the Immortal Mansion's ancient creatures were relieved, and many other geniuses came to congratulate you. You accepted their congratulations one by one.
Then, you continued to seclude yourself, intending to stabilize your cultivation and reach a perfect state.
In the blink of an eye, another year has passed, and your cultivation has finally reached a stable state. However, as you emerged from your seclusion once again, something unexpected happened. You sensed a terrifying aura of destruction.
This aura of destruction made your face change drastically, and using your Divine Source Eye, you discovered a horrifying scene. You found that the entire Upper Realm was in the process of disintegration, as if it was being consumed by something.
Whether it was the Upper Realm or the cultivators, they were all being consumed in this process. This made you suspect that the Dark Source was in turmoil."
However, something unexpected happened that you didn't anticipate. It wasn't a turmoil in the Dark Source, but rather someone was refining the Ten Great Universes.
At this shocking revelation, whether it was the Eternal Gu Family, the Immortal Mansion, or other powerful forces, they were all furious. No one had expected someone to do something so insane, attempting to refine the Ten Great Universes, along with all the beings within them.
Although it's possible for those at the Emperor level to escape into the Dark Source for survival, none of them were willing to do so. What they wanted most was to completely eliminate the one responsible for this madness.
However, the Divine Calculator's Forbidden Divination had already been activated, and the Great Emperors from various factions couldn't move because they were the catalysts for the aura of destiny. If they recklessly left, they would suffer the backlash of destiny, causing the Forbidden Divination to fail.
This made everyone suspect that the other party had seized this opportunity to act. Of course, it could also be a coincidence.
At this moment, the Divine Calculator became extremely serious and accelerated his calculations. In the end, he coughed up blood and revealed the names of the Heavenly Calculator and the creator of the Nine Stars Pavilion.
As it turned out, all of this was the handiwork of the creator of the Nine Stars Pavilion and the Heavenly Calculator. Whether it was their cooperation with anomalies or the current act of refining the Ten Great Universes, it was all part of their plan, which they successfully executed step by step.
The purpose of the Nine Stars Pavilion's creator was to refine the Ten Great Universes, become an Immortal, and achieve the perfection of his Chaotic Body. At that time, his power and potential would reach unimaginable heights.
This kind of action was truly ruthless, calculating and plotting against everyone, with the intention of annihilating them all.
"Wow, I guessed right again. This creator of the Nine Stars Pavilion is really the big boss, and his actions are ruthless enough. He wants to directly refine the Ten Great Universes, become an Immortal, and perfect his Chaotic Body. If he really succeeds, it will be terrifying to what extent."
Wang Ping looked at the simulated text and was greatly surprised.
"However, what was the Heavenly Calculator thinking? What is his goal? He actually cooperated with someone like the creator of the Nine Stars Pavilion; it's like making a deal with a tiger to get its skin. As a quasi-emperor, can he really escape the clutches of the creator of the Nine Stars Pavilion? Once the creator of the Nine Stars Pavilion becomes an Immortal, he will definitely be eliminated. Even before that happens, he might be killed."
Then, Wang Ping remembered the Heavenly Calculator's situation and muttered.
"Anyway, whatever he thinks doesn't matter. What I need to do is simple – eliminate these people in advance."
Soon, Wang Ping abandoned his thoughts and continued to gaze at the screen.
Unless the Immortal Mansion Alliance could stop the creator of the Nine Stars Pavilion, which was unlikely, given the creator's cunning and abilities, he must have been very confident.
"The Immortal Mansion Alliance quickly mobilized, with the Immortal Mansion Patriarch and the Gu Family Patriarch, two quasi-immortals, leading a group of Great Emperors to attack the creator of the Nine Stars Pavilion. At the same time, other Great Emperors attacked the Nine Stars in the Ten Great Universes, trying to disrupt the formation and prevent the refinement of the Ten Great Universes.
However, they ultimately failed and couldn't stop the creator of the Nine Stars Pavilion. In the end, the Ten Great Universes were refined by the creator, and you were also consumed, thus meeting your demise.
Because of your death, this simulation comes to an end."
The simulated text stopped here, and Wang Ping's mind was filled with various insights and memories. His consciousness also appeared in the place where the simulation ended.
"I didn't manage to stop the creator of the Nine Stars Pavilion after all. I must say, the methods of the creator are truly formidable."
Wang Ping sighed, feeling quite unsettled.
The heavens have created so many Children of Destiny, perhaps in an attempt to save themselves.
Unfortunately, the Children of Destiny couldn't grow quickly enough and ended up perishing as well.
One could only say that this world was too chaotic.
While Wang Ping was lost in thought, his consciousness blinked, and his field of vision changed, returning to the real world.
Then, the system's voice rang out.
"Ding, the reward has been generated successfully. The host must choose one of the following rewards:
1. Initial cultivation level in the Supreme Realm.
2. Radiant Profound Body.
3. Dark Profound Body.
4. A randomly selected quasi-imperial weapon."
"Hmm, is this time an obligatory reward selection? I wonder what the Life Simulator is up to."
Wang Ping looked at the content of the reward this time with a subtle gaze and murmured.
Then, Wang Ping felt a bit conflicted.
When things deviate from the norm, there must be a reason. Wang Ping had a feeling that he should choose cultivation this time, or something might go wrong.
Perhaps the Life Simulator was trying to warn him.
However, if he chose cultivation, the cost of the premium simulation would increase significantly, causing him a headache.
"Alright, let's trust my intuition. System, I choose option 1, initial cultivation level in the Supreme Realm!"
After some hesitation, Wang Ping made his choice.
"Ding, reward selection successful. Reward distribution in progress."
The system's voice sounded.
Then, Wang Ping felt an incredibly powerful force surging within his body. Whether it was his physical body, his mana, or his spiritual essence, they were all undergoing a transformation.
Simultaneously, he condensed the Supreme Dao Fruit, achieving a divine confirmation.
"Is this the power of the Supreme Realm? The increase in strength compared to the Half-Step Supreme is truly immense. It seems I've underestimated myself," Wang Ping said, feeling his newfound strength and recalling the scenes of ordinary Earthly Sovereigns he had witnessed before. He couldn't help but feel confident that he would have an easier time if he were to battle an ordinary Earthly Sovereign.
Of course, this was under the assumption that he was facing ordinary Earthly Sovereigns and not the extraordinary geniuses who were qualified to become quasi-emperors or even emperors. In such cases, it would still be difficult to emerge victorious unless he used his unique talents, rather than relying solely on his own strength.
While Wang Ping was analyzing his newfound power, a strange beam of light suddenly descended upon the Taiyi Emperor Palace and directly struck its grand formation.
Even though there was a protective formation in place, this peculiar beam of light managed to penetrate it. To be more precise, it eerily pierced through the defenses and shot directly towards Wang Ping, piercing through his body.
Even though Wang Ping now had Supreme Realm cultivation, he couldn't react in time and was directly penetrated by the peculiar beam of light.
When Wang Ping finally realized what had happened, he was drenched in cold sweat and quickly checked his condition.
"Alpha, what was that thing just now? Why did it appear here and penetrate my body? Is it some kind of curse?"
Wang Ping couldn't find any answers and asked Alpha with an uneasy expression.
"It's not a curse; it's a rare item used for targeted assassination. These items are extremely rare. What you encountered should be a tool capable of assassinating cultivators below the Supreme Realm. Even beings surpassing the Emperor level would find it challenging to obtain such an item within the Celestial Paradise. Obtaining one relies purely on unique in-game events and luck."
Alpha's voice sounded.
"So, if my cultivation were lower than the Supreme Realm just now, I would be dead. This assassination-type item takes pinpoint assassination to the extreme. It can kill an enemy regardless of distance, and the victim cannot be resurrected unless they possess a higher-tier resurrection item or ability."
"!!!"
Wang Ping fell into silence upon hearing Alpha's explanation.
Damn, does Celestial Paradise really have items like this?
Targeted assassinations are beyond belief.
However, it's fortunate that this item is extremely rare; otherwise, Wang Ping would be in deep trouble.
"Why are you so calm? I almost died just now."
Wang Ping rubbed his temples and asked Alpha with a hint of frustration.
"You won't die. Although your current talents couldn't withstand the attack earlier, as long
as you consume enough World Source Essence, I can still save you."
Alpha's cold voice echoed.
"Uh..."
Wang Ping fell silent.
Well, this is akin to paying a high price to avert a disaster.
Although he didn't know how much World Source Essence he would need to consume, it would definitely be an astronomical number. His own World Source Essence might not be enough.
Now, by simply advancing to the Supreme Realm, he avoided the cost of depleting his World Source Essence, which could be considered a huge gain.
"However, this also proves that the Life Simulator is more unique than I imagined. What is its true nature?"
Wang Ping thought again about the subtle changes in the Life Simulator that had warned him of danger. He couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.
Although these subtle changes might be overlooked by those who are careless, Wang Ping has always been extremely cautious, so he didn't ignore them. This cautiousness had saved him from bankruptcy.
"I probably won't be able to figure out the true nature of the Life Simulator in the short term. Instead of thinking about that, I should focus on who is behind this assassination attempt and is willing to spend such precious items to kill me."
Wang Ping shook his head, his expression turning serious.
Could it be the Supreme Devil Wukong, his senior?
Didn't he already go bankrupt? How could he possess such a precious item?
Or could it be that after the start of this simulation, Supreme Devil Wukong had just learned about the death of the Saint within the Carnage Paradise, and his situation was only exposed to Supreme Devil Wukong's eyes at that time?
Therefore, Supreme Devil Wukong mentioned it in the Second-Generation Chat Group.
The result was that the seniors in the Second-Generation Chat Group thought his growth was too abnormal, so they decided to spare no expense to obtain this precious item, along with more powerful divination items, to detect his location and launch this assassination attempt.
Although it was just a guess, Wang Ping felt that this was very likely.
After all, the Supreme Emperor, Cold Moon, was still in the Dark Source, and he didn't know her situation.
Only the people in the Second-Generation Chat Group, especially Supreme Devil Wukong, had been targeting him all along.
"Supreme Devil Wukong, my dear senior, you forced me into this situation. I originally wanted to survive a bit longer and then kill you after reaching the Supreme Realm, but now it seems that I have to kill you immediately."
Wang Ping's face darkened, and his killing intent surged.
End of the chapter.