Old friends are fading away day by day, while new ones are flourishing increasingly.

The investigation into Zhang Bairen, a first-rank Spacetime Inspector, had concluded.

"He's clean, absolutely loyal to the Celestial Court and to His Majesty Wuji, just like me..."

So remarked Chen Ye, the Seal-Bearing Immortal Official.

Meanwhile, on the other side.

Liu Xiaoyao, the Hall Guardian General, was violently elbowing Ling Que and Chu Xingyun, two sixth-rank Archival Immortal Officials from the Bureau of Destiny.

"Who tampered with the intelligence?"

Chu Xingyun slumped in his chair, picking his nose. "No idea."

Liu Xiaoyao slammed the table. "I'll ask one more time—who tampered with it?"

Ling Que, chewing on a strand of celestial grass, shook his head. "No clue!"

"Shameless, aren't you?!" Liu Xiaoyao whipped out a broadsword and pointed it at them. "Altering intelligence to deceive His Majesty Wuji—that’s the crime of deceiving the sovereign! What gives you the right to act so brazenly?!"

"How would I dare? I’m just a lowly sixth-rank official, following orders, diligent and cautious, never overstepping my bounds!"

"Back when Immortal Emperor Lingxiao was exiled to the Purple Star Heaven, we were so starved we had to scavenge for scraps in other celestial domains. Seriously, we were dirt poor! Now that we’ve finally become official Celestial Court officials, we wouldn’t dare slack off!"

"Besides, during the uprising war, I slaughtered at least five thousand, if not ten thousand, celestial soldiers! I’ve shed blood and earned merits for the Wuji Celestial Court! General Liu, you may be a Hall Guardian, but you can’t just slander us out of thin air!"

"Sure, we’ve had dealings with Zi Lingyun, but it was all official business—nothing shady!"

"Framing the innocent—that’s the real crime of deceiving the sovereign!"

"I’ll take this to the central court! I’ll appeal to His Majesty Wuji himself! You —"

Ling Que and Chu Xingyun continued to resist stubbornly, their words growing increasingly vehement. Their righteous, loyalist demeanor was almost moving.

Yet, everything flipped the moment Seal-Bearing Immortal Official Chen Ye arrived like a drifting breeze.

No one knew what methods he used on Ling Que and Chu Xingyun.

All that was known was that he dragged them into a dark room for half an hour. When they emerged, their defiance was gone. Pale as death, they confessed everything and ultimately marched to their execution with tragic resolve...

"Farewell, comrades. Believe in our ideals—they will be realized. The world of our dreams will come!"

Upstream in the River of Time in the Divine Realm, Zhang Bairen wore a pained expression.

Two more key operatives lost on the covert front. Their ranks were thinning, dwindling to almost nothing.

"The spark of the Divine Realm lies with the Disciple of the Supreme, but our hope..."

Zhang Bairen turned slowly, his gaze settling on a certain fragment of ancient history where a certain mischievous avatar was idling.

"Chen Yi, we’ve done all we can to pave the way. Whether the Divine Realm can unite with us against the Immortal Realm is now up to you!"

Chen Yi remained blissfully unaware of the turbulent undercurrents. At the moment, he was happily harvesting a group of recruits.

Originally, these individuals were deeply bound to Lingxiao. The slightest move from Chen Yi would set Lingxiao off—jittery, defensive, like a prickly hedgehog, making it impossible to act!

But now, with the cleanliness-obsessed Wuji stepping in, Lingxiao had retreated again and again. The once-impenetrable defenses crumbled like dust, leaving Chen Yi with an open field. Naturally, he wasn’t about to hold back!

"Your Eminence, you’ve finally come to save me! I’ve waited so long!"

Ye Chen, formerly ranked 30th on the Peak Leaderboard as the 'Tribulation Transcender,' was beside himself with emotion.

A sensitive soul, he’d sensed something was off the moment he set foot in this so-called Immortal Realm. But before he could react, he’d been violated—his soul imprisoned, trapped in an inescapable illusion.

This was definitely not the Immortal Realm!

He’d once met an envoy dispatched during a tribulation. If this were truly the Immortal Realm, that envoy would’ve sought him out immediately!

After all, hunting down tribulation fugitives and upholding the laws of the Immortal Realm was everyone’s duty!

With so many unorthodox cultivators who’d skipped tribulations running around, if this were really the Immortal Realm, how could that envoy not come to arrest them?

Back then, he’d merely brushed against the outskirts of the true Immortal Realm, and the envoy had sniffed him out in an instant!

So the envoy must’ve lost track of him. This place couldn’t possibly be the real Immortal Realm!

That unreliable scoundrel Cai Yu must’ve smuggled them all into some twisted, corrupted dimension, turning them into puppets of some malevolent force!

But now, at last, the envoy had found him!

"Your Eminence, I, Chen, have wandered half a life, lamenting never finding a true master. If you’ll have me, I swear allegiance as your sworn son!"

Freed from his soul’s imprisonment, Ye Chen was overcome with gratitude. He dropped to his knees in reverence.

Chen Yi: "..."

Oh no. This guy’s fixated on me!

I never corrected his delusions, and now he’s dug himself in deeper!

Ah, whatever. The Purple Star Immortal Realm is still an Immortal Realm. What’s the difference where you serve?

Can’t let a genuine immortal go to waste!

After all, the Purple Star Continent had developed too quickly. Every high-tier cultivator was already in use, while nurturing mid- and low-tier ones required time they didn’t have. The talent gap was severe—they had to recruit top-tier outsiders to fill the void!

With that in mind, Chen Yi pulled out a soul contract.

"Sign this, and you’ll be an official member of the Immortal Realm."

In a flash—

Ye Chen didn’t hesitate. Not even a little. If anything, he was eager, stamping his soul mark without a second thought.

And then...

He went from a seasoned veteran to a wide-eyed newbie.

[Multiverse Transmigrators Mutual Aid Group – Branch 108]

[Group Owner has invited ‘Tribulation Transcender’ to join the chat.]

[Chen Bo (Runner-Up in Cultivation World): Who’s this?!]

[Adolf Anlan (Unemployed God of Light): This newbie’s kinda weak, only mid-stage True Immortal!]

[Liu Bo (Crow Sitting on Airplane): Anlan, you’ve got guts! A mere peak Unity Realm trash talking a True Immortal? You’re not even a fraction of his power!]

[Adolf Anlan (Unemployed God of Light): Bro Liu, why hype him up and trash us? The boss told us to stay spirited—why you slacking?!]

[Lin Yuyu (Little Land God): Newbie need a guide? Sharing group file—"Survival Guide for Newbies."]

[...]

Ye Chen: "..."

This... isn’t what I imagined.

This is the complete opposite!

The envoy isn’t a tribulation dispatcher—he’s the owner of Branch 108?!

His seniority’s so shallow... he could be my grandson, and I just called him ‘father’?!

And what’s with these nobodies in the group?

They don’t even respect a bona fide True Immortal!

Where does this unshakable confidence come from?

From sheer audacity?!

I’m screwed!

I think I’ve been scammed into a cult!

Out of the frying pan, into the fire. My life’s been walking on thin ice—can I even make it to the other side?