The Interrogated Ancient Origins—These Old Things Are Indeed Ingenious

Gu Yuan returned wearing an unremarkable eighteen-colored bead necklace.

Though this mission had failed without yielding any benefits, his life was now inexplicably held in someone else's palm.

Of course, these were trivial matters. What truly filled Gu Yuan with awe was that man—no, that lord. He had seized control of Gu Yuan’s fate, holding his life and death in the palm of his hand, yet the chat group showed no reaction whatsoever.

It didn’t even detect the slightest anomaly in him, completely unaware that his neck now bore a necklace housing eighteen avatars of a supreme expert, each with a combat power of 1.8 billion!

What did this imply?

It meant the chat group was nothing more than a toy to him!

He could trigger missions at will, and if he chose not to, the chat group remained oblivious to everything!

Gu Yuan boldly speculated that the reason this lord could operate freely under the chat group’s nose—even making it mistake his avatars as native powerhouses rather than fellow group members—was that, with over 90% certainty, the chat group wasn’t bound to his true body. Instead, he had transferred it to his avatars, turning an external cheat... into an external hanging!

Most crucially, this lord had only recently joined the chat group. Under normal circumstances, he shouldn’t possess any system-like cheats. Even if he had other golden fingers... what kind of heaven-defying treasure could the barren Purple Star Continent possibly produce?

Thus, it was highly likely that he had forced his way through the world’s bottlenecks with sheer strength, even daring to provoke the monstrous tribulation of ascension!

Though Gu Yuan had no idea how he’d pulled it off, the man was nothing short of legendary!

The mere thought of it made Gu Yuan’s heart surge with reverence, like an unending torrent or the raging Yellow River—unstoppable and overwhelming...

"Bro, can you hear me?"

Gu Yuan whispered, his now-unswollen face wearing a sycophantic smile as he hunched slightly, even though he was back in his own territory.

Soon, a ripple of intent emanated from the beaded necklace around his neck.

"Lay low for now. Await further orders."

"Got it, bro! Uh, by the way, the group’s been buzzing about my situation. Can I use the chat?"

"Permission granted."

"Sweet!"

With clear instructions, Gu Yuan confidently opened the chat interface.

The group was already heatedly discussing his mission failure.

[Multiverse Transmigrators Mutual Aid Group – Branch 2]

[Wūyā Zuò Fēijī: @Just a bit of wind and frost, Bro Yuan, how did you fail such a simple mission? Did you get caught by the local Heavenly Dao?]

[Dark Night Eternal: The mission’s combat requirement was just 1 billion. The target shouldn’t have reached the False Immortal Realm, meaning the Purple Star Continent hasn’t even hit the threshold of a False Immortal World. Even if you made a scene and alerted the Heavenly Dao, it shouldn’t have led to failure.]

[Withered Leaf in the Wind: Probably just bad luck—like running into an invasion of Outer Realm Fiendish Demons. If he couldn’t protect anything, mission failed, right?]

[Thousand-Faced Scarecrow: Makes sense. Those things are nasty to deal with. But hey, the group leader of Branch 98 wasn’t deleted, right? How does that count as Yuan’s mission failure? Could there be more to it?]

[Withered Leaf in the Wind: Very possible. Yuan’s been offline for hours, stuck on the Purple Star Continent post-failure. What’s he doing?!]

[Bamboo Panda Lover: Gasp What if... Yuan got captured?! But why didn’t he ask for help? Even if the mission failed and his status is locked, basic functions still work. A simple location share would’ve done it. Unwilling to pay the price? Or... unable to call for help?]

"Damn it, stop guessing!"

Gu Yuan panicked slightly. These old foxes were sharper than knives. If they kept deducing, they’d stumble too close to the truth.

If this caught the group leader’s attention, his undercover mission might end before it even began!

How could he allow that?

He’d sworn to outdo that bastard leader of Branch 98!

With that in mind, he quickly jumped in to steer the conversation.

Thanks for the concern, bros! I’m fine!

[Withered Leaf in the Wind: Then what really happened?]

However, a bit of weariness: Ugh, don’t even ask. I’m still fuming. The mission was almost done when three mature-stage Fiendish Demon Scions showed up. Those bastards smelled my Immortal Physique and started screaming about how ‘delicious’ I was, chasing me like mad!

[Thousand-Faced Scarecrow: And then? Three mature-stage Fiendish Demon Scions are annoying, but not enough to make you fail, right?]

However, a bit of hardship: ...Their Matriarch showed up too. I had no time to deal with the Branch 98 leader, so I ditched him and ran. The system auto-failed me.

[Hidden Sage (Group Leader): Illogical. Explain again.]

The moment the usually silent group leader spoke, many members hastily deleted their drafted messages, too intimidated to utter a word.

Cold sweat dripped down Gu Yuan’s back.

But in a quarter of an incense stick’s time, the group leader would fully believe him—because Gu Yuan had decided to spin the perfect lie.

However, a bit of hardship: Sigh I knew I couldn’t fool you, Group Leader. Just kick me. I’ve failed you... I...

[Hidden Sage (Group Leader): What do you mean? Stop stammering. Answer me!]

However, a bit of hardship: I swore on my Dao Heart—can't say it outright. But I'll tell you this: the Purple Star Continent doesn’t just have the Branch 98 leader. There’s another transmigrator... a madman who dared challenge the Ascension Tribulation!

In a celestial paradise shrouded in immortal mist, where dazzling starlight suppressed the laws of heaven and earth, Ye Wuchen—leader of Branch 2—slowly opened his eyes atop a meditation cushion woven from a river of stars.

"More than one transmigrator... a madman who challenges the Ascension Tribulation... and a reward tempting enough to betray me..."

"Could it be that old fool from Branch 1, the Tribulation Transcendent?"

Heh. Ranked 30th on the Individual Peak Leaderboard with 4.1 billion combat power. His growth speed is far slower than mine. Afraid I’ll surpass him and cut off his daily 10,000 Immortal Yuan Stones stipend?"

"You’re slow, old man, and now you’re blocking my path? Using Gu Yuan to target me?"

Heh heh heh... You really think my combat power is just 3.8 billion?"

Ye Wuchen’s eyes deepened like infinite galaxies, shimmering with fearless light.

His confidence stemmed purely from his own strength.

The chat group’s displayed 3.8 billion was merely the limit of his physical fists.

But what if he wielded the power of the stars, channeling the Abyssal Void Dao to swing entire rivers of stars as his weapon? How would you counter that?

During the Demon-Slaying Trials, his peak strike had annihilated a high-tier Fiendish Demon with 7.8 billion combat power!

Tribulation Transcendent?

As if you could actually survive that monstrous Immortal Ascension Tribulation!

But you're just a loose immortal barely clinging to existence after a forced reincarnation, relying on that chat group to scrape by. With a mere 4.1 billion combat power, do you really think I fear you?!

[Reclusive Cultivator (Group Owner): Gu Yuan, you need not speak or ask anything. Just follow his orders. Let’s see exactly how capable he really is!]

"Heh, he actually bought it... and even shifted his grudge onto the group..."

Gu Yuan smirked, immediately seizing the chance to curry favor.

"Bro, let me tell you something..."