Subverting Perceptions

“This kid, eavesdropping on our conversation.”

Huang Zhen was instantly filled with rage.

“Don’t speak nonsense!” Elder Zhen quickly stopped him, saying, “Strength is what commands respect. With their level of power, we might even have to address them as seniors. And if they wanted to know what we were doing, a single thought would suffice.”

“Since they’ve invited us, let’s all go together!”

Elder Zhen, leaning on his cane, led the way.

He understood clearly that if the other party intended them harm, whether they boarded the spirit ship or not, the outcome would be the same.

The members of the Demon-Slaying Alliance followed Elder Zhen’s steps and boarded the spirit ship.

Once aboard, Elder Zhen and his group gathered together, observing the others.

Before them stood a dozen or so young men and women, whose depths they couldn’t begin to fathom.

Even more astonishing were the guards standing watch nearby, who also seemed unfathomably powerful.

“Are you… from beyond the realms?”

Elder Zhen’s seemingly cloudy eyes flickered slightly as he asked.

“Beyond the realms?”

Aside from Bai Jun, the other young men and women sneered and walked away without a word.

“Beyond the realms? That’s your mistaken way of putting it!”

Bai Jun’s expression remained calm as he spoke indifferently. “We are all part of the same world. What is this talk of ‘beyond the realms’?”

Elder Zhen furrowed his brow and clasped his hands together.

“Senior, you must be joking.

Our Nine Realms, along with countless lower planes, have always formed a self-contained world since ancient times!” Elder Zhen stated firmly, though in his heart, he now understood that these were likely the legendary outsiders.

Bai Jun didn’t elaborate further. Instead, he waved his hand.

A surge of immortal energy materialized, and an image appeared before Elder Zhen.

In the image, a sphere with alternating patches of brown and blue floated in space.

“This is called a planet. It is our world. The brown you see is land, and the blue is the ocean.”

“We come from here.”

Bai Jun pointed to one of the continents.

“And you…”

He gently tapped another spot.

His finger stopped near the edge of the land, close to the ocean.

“Your location is here, on this small island…”

After saying this, Bai Jun poured himself a cup of tea and began sipping it leisurely.

Elder Zhen and the others stared wide-eyed, their minds thrown into turmoil.

The young man’s words had completely overturned their understanding of the world.

Their world… wasn’t a world at all?

Just a tiny island in this greater world?

How… how could that be?

They shook their heads, unable to believe it.

“Stop trying to deceive us! Tell us, what is your purpose here?” Huang Zhen couldn’t help but shout.

Bai Jun paused mid-sip, then flicked his teacup. Huang Zhen let out a cry of pain and was instantly flung off the spirit ship.

“I don’t like being shouted at.”

“He deserved death, but for the sake of smoother conversation, I’ve spared his life.”

“Of course, I never act without compensation.”

Bai Jun spoke impassively, holding a storage ring—Huang Zhen’s, to be precise.

He effortlessly erased Huang Zhen’s spiritual mark and opened it.

Frowning, he began to inspect the items one by one, his expression growing increasingly disdainful.

What Elder Zhen and the others considered priceless treasures were casually destroyed by Bai Jun without a second thought.

Finally, in his impatience, he destroyed the entire storage ring, leaving only a single book titled *Nine Realms Compendium*.

He poured himself another cup of tea and began flipping through the book.

Hearing that Huang Zhen was unharmed, Elder Zhen and the others felt somewhat relieved. However, watching Bai Jun destroy Huang Zhen’s possessions and listening to his tone left them deeply uncomfortable.

Yet, faced with such overwhelming power, they dared not voice their grievances.

Glancing at the still-visible image, their hearts remained unsettled. They couldn’t bring themselves to accept Bai Jun’s earlier claims.

“May I ask… what level of power do you possess?”

Elder Zhen shifted the topic, hoping for clarity.

“Hmm?”

Bai Jun, who had been reading, tilted his head slightly and replied, “By your standards, I would be beyond the 99th level of True Immortal.”

“What?!”

The shock nearly made their jaws drop, and Elder Zhen trembled so violently that his cane almost slipped from his grasp.

“You… you… you’re a god?”

Elder Zhen exclaimed in disbelief.

Bai Jun smiled.

It was the first time he had shown any emotion.

“Look at the image again.”

“Beyond this planet, there are countless others.”

Elder Zhen and the others turned their gaze back to the image. Indeed, beyond the planet, there were innumerable others.

“These planets are what you see as stars in the night sky.”

“And beyond the planets lies the cosmos…”

At this point, Bai Jun closed the book and looked up at the sky with a longing expression.

“And the gods… reside beyond the cosmos.”

“In our world, who dares to call themselves a god? Who is worthy of such a title?”

“As for your so-called 99th level of True Immortal, it’s nothing. Even your entire cultivation system is just a self-delusion!”

His words struck like a thunderbolt.

Once again, their understanding of reality was shattered.

“No… this can’t be.”

Elder Zhen shook his head. “Our Nine Realms were created by the Eight Great Sovereigns, and the cultivation system was passed down by them. After the 99th level of True Immortal, one ascends to godhood. This is what we’ve known since childhood. How can it be as you say?”

“The Eight Great Sovereigns… Lin Jiao, Chen Yu…”

Bai Jun reopened the book, tapping his finger on the page as he murmured, “Familiar names. So it’s them.”

“If I’m not mistaken, you’ve simply been… cultivated by them.”

“As for their purpose, given their level of power, what they likely seek is your faith energy.”

“Cultivated?”

Elder Zhen’s face turned pale, as if struck by lightning.

The others were equally stunned.

Yet, none of them were fools.

There was no smoke without fire. Why else would Bai Jun and his group bother explaining this to them?

For a moment, their minds were in chaos.

On one side was the deeply ingrained knowledge they had held since childhood.

On the other, they couldn’t find a single flaw in Bai Jun’s words.

“If you still don’t believe me, consider this: why do we speak the same language?”

Bai Jun said leisurely.

This statement left Elder Zhen and the others frozen in place.

The implications were terrifying.

If they weren’t from the same world, how could they share the same language and culture?

“No… no…

How can this be?”

Elder Zhen and the others were deeply unsettled, their beliefs shaken to the core.

“Bai Jun, why waste so much time on them? Whether they believe it or not doesn’t matter.”

Another young man approached, his tone impatient. “We’re here to claim territory, not to educate these frogs at the bottom of a well.”

He turned to Elder Zhen and spoke in a tone that brooked no argument.

“From now on, this unoccupied land is under our control. We’ll carve out a small area for you natives to live in. You have no choice but to accept.”

“No.”

Elder Zhen’s expression turned cold.

This was nothing short of outright invasion.

“No?”

The young man sneered. “Old man, do you not understand the situation? Your so-called Nine Realms combined probably couldn’t even take down that low-level demon from earlier. What gives you the right to refuse? What do you have to refuse with?”