So I'm also a part of your plan Do you have any idea how much trouble you can cause

"Did he really stub his toe and get an ingrown nail?"

Chen Yi shook his head with a wry smile. The answer was absurd, yet it made perfect sense.

After all, the Immortal Emperor was invincible. If not for some unforeseen mishap—some internal flaw—who could possibly challenge him?

Viewed this way, Wuji’s cowering behavior behind the door became understandable. It wasn’t about fastidiousness; he was terrified of stubbing his toe and getting an ingrown nail!

After toppling Ling Xiao with great difficulty, barely securing his position, another misstep would render all his efforts and perseverance utterly meaningless.

"Don’t laugh yet!" Cui Changsheng suddenly turned serious, placing another white stone on the board, directly targeting the vital point of the black dragon formation:

"Right now, you’re just a soft thorn—not yet ripe for plucking—which is why Wuji hasn’t moved against you. But once you harden and reach the moment of tribulation, the Immortal Emperor will show you what true cruelty looks like!"

"Countless people of Zi Wei in the Immortal Realm have sacrificed too much to prevent our homeland from being destroyed. Now that we’ve finally glimpsed hope, we beg you—do not let us down. Please!"

Hearing this, Chen Yi’s hand, poised to place a stone, froze mid-air. His expression darkened as he asked quietly, "What do you mean? Am I part of your plan too?"

Cui Changsheng didn’t deny it. "Correct. You were a piece of the plan, but you’ve sent the entire scheme spiraling out of control, steering the ship into uncharted waters. Us old-timers have had to clean up your mess in the shadows..."

Clack!

Chen Yi placed his stone, dismantling the deadly "Demon Blade" offensive, and replied calmly, "I’d like to hear the details."

Cui Changsheng sighed deeply, adjusting the board’s formation as white shifted from offense to defense. "The Immortal Realm may be magnificent, but it is not our homeland. We are outsiders here—no matter how hard we strive, we’re never truly trusted..."

"From a black-mine slave to the ruler of the First Heaven, it took me ten epochs—129 million years. I once fought side by side with His Majesty Ling Xiao, carving out glorious achievements across the realm!"

"Yet after he ascended to the throne as Immortal Emperor, he exiled me to the most desolate corner of the First Heaven, while those far less capable than me—simply because they were native immortals—were welcomed into the central court..."

"From that moment, I knew: no matter how much I tried to blend in, I would always be an outsider."

"This world does not belong to me. The Immortal Realm is the homeland of immortals, not mine."

"The cruelest part? Once you enter, there’s no leaving. I can’t escape this mountain, yet more descendants of Zi Wei keep pouring in."

"At least, having endured the storm myself, I could shield them from the worst. They no longer face slavery in the black mines, but they’re still shackled, forever second-class."

"Ao Yuyuan, Qingqiu Jiuming, Sun Zhantian, Chen Lingxiu... These names should sound familiar to you, no?"

Chen Yi had been composed until he heard Chen Lingxiu’s name. His mood instantly turned heavy. "They were the most dazzling prodigies in Zi Wei’s history. Don’t tell me they..."

"It was my failure—I couldn’t protect them." Cui Changsheng’s voice was thick with sorrow. "When Wuji first rose to power, we immediately recognized it as our best chance to break free from the Immortal Realm’s grip."

"But after escaping, where could we old relics go?"

"‘East or west, home is best.’ We all agreed—we would return."

"Yet our homeland is fragile, unable to bear our weight. So, we set our sights on Ling Xiao’s treasure vault."

"With enough resources, we could elevate Zi Wei’s realm."

"But the risks were immense. Not only was the epochal vault closely guarded by Wuji and Ling Xiao, but any world ascending beyond a certain rank would invite annihilation."

"Take the Divine Realm as an example—once the equal of the Immortal Realm, one of the twin pillars of the cosmos."

"But its system grew too convoluted, its foundation unstable. Its decline began, further hastened by its rivalry with the Immortal Realm, which drained its reserves. When its Heavenly Dao failed to self-optimize, it collapsed entirely."

"Since then, the Immortal Realm has reigned supreme, dominating all realms."

"Though it claims openness, it allowed the Divine Realm’s remnants to fester, breeding Calamity Entities to suppress other worlds."

"If we recklessly elevated Zi Wei, we’d draw the attention of those monstrous aberrations."

"So we devised a plan. Some of us joined Wuji, exploiting the chaos of his nascent regime to infiltrate and cover our tracks."

"Others sacrificed themselves as rearguard, helping Ling Xiao escape with the vault to earn his trust for the long game."

"And you, Chen Yi—you were meant to be our pawn in Ling Xiao’s restoration scheme, a legitimate channel to access the vault’s riches."

"But your growth... defied all expectations."

"The moment you first slipped through the clutches of the Immortal Ascension Tribulation, you vanished from our sight. No past, no future—even your present became unreadable. Like some unfathomable aberrant, you kept shattering our plans, forcing us to scramble and adapt."

"Do you have any idea how much effort we’ve spent covering for you? Any idea?!"

Cui Changsheng’s spiritual projection flickered, his composure cracking.

"Uh..." Chen Yi blinked. "That can’t be right. How exactly did you ‘cover’ for me? I never noticed."

Cui Changsheng’s eye twitched. "Of course you didn’t. We were erasing Zi Wei’s footprint."

"Granted, your concealment methods are masterful—you made Zi Wei disappear from the Immortal Realm’s radar. But you couldn’t erase the traces of its history."

"And let’s not pretend you’re not a walking catastrophe. You keep pulling stunts that make Zi Wei seem far beyond its tier. If we hadn’t worked tirelessly to divert attention, your ‘ever-advancing homeland’ would’ve been marked for extermination long ago!"

After a moment’s reflection, Chen Yi rose and clasped his hands in a deep bow.

"My apologies for the trouble, Elders."