Su Muwang Might Already Be at the Eye of the Storm

But who would be the vanguard of these three factions?

The "Evil Beings" refer to the malevolent creatures, while the "Nether River" represents the "Havoc."

As for the vanguard of the Heavenly Dao... the most likely candidate...

Qin Luo's eyes sharpened—the Heavenly Dao... the Void!

In other words, this world was likely about to witness the arrival of members from all three factions!

But what was their purpose?

This was something Qin Luo couldn't figure out. Could it really just be a simple fight?

But even a fight needed a reason.

What were they fighting for? What were they after?

Qin Luo kept deducing but couldn't uncover the hidden motive behind it all.

Perhaps the answer was beyond the level of his current deduction skills.

If he could unravel this mystery, he might find a way to prevent the impending catastrophe.

However... even if he couldn't directly deduce why these three factions were clashing...

He could still...

Qin Luo performed a quick divination.

At the very least, he could calculate how many players would enter the fray.

A moment later,

Qin Luo lowered his hand, his brow quirking slightly.

Though the specifics were unclear,

the results aligned closely with his suspicions.

The Nether River, the Heavenly Dao's Void, and the Evil Beings.

Tch, what a mess.

But if they wanted to play...

A cold glint flashed in Qin Luo's eyes—then he'd play along.

He was about to turn and check on Su Muwan,

when suddenly—

A realization exploded in his mind.

Wait!!

I... get it now!!

He turned to Su Muwan, who was blinking at him innocently.

Tell me, who is the greatest villain right now?

The Evil Beings? The Heavenly Dao? The Nether River? Or some other miscellaneous force?

No! None of them.

The biggest villain was right in front of him!

And that was... Su Muwan!

So, while not 100% certain,

the simultaneous appearance of these three factions had to be related to her!

No need to ask why—it was simply Su Muwan's innate villainous aura at work again!

Thus, making a bold assumption...

Qin Luo took a deep breath and looked at Su Muwan.

"Miss."

"Hmm?"

"You... might already be at the eye of the storm."

"??"

The goal of these three factions was most likely Su Muwan herself!

No, even if it wasn't her directly, it had to be connected to her!

So... what could it be? An event? A person? An object?

Su Muwan's mind buzzed in confusion.

Huh?

Shaking his head, Qin Luo grabbed her hand. "Never mind, Miss. Come with me to the next spot."

"Where to??"

"To scavenge."

...

...

At the edge of the Great Cosmos.

Boom!!

The guardian beast of the Central Heaven Sacred Realm, the Mystic Turtle, slowly awakened.

Its body was as vast as a star, its shell engraved with ancient runes.

Now, it raised its head toward the sacred domains, its murky eyes widening in shock.

"An Evil Tide... how could it erupt so suddenly?!"

The Mystic Turtle growled, "And this aura... a 'Gluttony-class' Evil Being?! Impossible!"

"They should still be sealed beyond the heavens!!"

Just as it prepared to take flight and suppress the threat, a hoarse voice chuckled behind it—

"Old turtle, don’t be so quick to meddle."

"Who?!"

The Mystic Turtle whirled around to see a skeletal spider perched on its shell.

Since when?!

And this presence...

Its eyes filled with horror.

"You... the Bone Shepherd?!"

The Mystic Turtle roared, divine light erupting from its body. "You broke free from your seal?!"

"No... your true form isn’t here. This is just a fragment of your consciousness?!"

Before it could react—

Boom—!

The Mystic Turtle and the skeletal spider clashed, shockwaves shattering clouds for miles!

After three exchanges, the spider dissipated into mist, leaving behind only eerie laughter.

"Keh keh keh!!"

"Heavenly Dao’s watchdog, I’ve left you a little gift. Enjoy it~~"

"Next, our Evil Legion will surely retrieve 'that existence'!!!"

Panting heavily, the Mystic Turtle suddenly noticed something wrong.

Looking down, it saw black spots spreading across its front limb, flesh rotting at a visible rate.

"No…"

"Corrupted by Evil Qi..."

Its pupils contracted as it urgently reached out to the other guardian beasts:

[Mystic Dragon! Mystic Phoenix! Mystic Tiger! Reinforcements needed! The Evil Tide has mutated!]

Yet, the responses it received plunged it into despair—

Not just the Central Heaven Sacred Realm, but the Western Nether Realm, Northern Profound Realm, and Southern Blaze Realm were all under siege!

"All of them... infected?!"

In a final act of desperation, the Mystic Turtle locked onto the one untouched domain—the Netherfrost Divine Realm—and sent a last message:

[Xiaobai… I beg you!]

[The Great Cosmos... is in peril!!]

The moment the message left, black mist consumed its vision.

Crack—!

Petrification spread from its limbs, encasing its entire body.

All four guardian beasts had fallen into slumber!

But the next instant—

Gurgle~~

A shadowy vortex surged, swallowing the petrified Mystic Turtle into the abyss.

Then—

Whoosh!

Qin Luo and Su Muwan reappeared.

The former nodded. "Just as I thought. The Bone Shepherd can’t manifest physically yet, so it’s relying on possession."

"The Black Crow Squad must’ve encountered it on the Great Cosmos battlefield."

Su Muwan frowned. "But why are we collecting this weird stone?"

"Simple."

Qin Luo smirked. "My system can synthesize shadow creatures from materials."

"While it was alive, this guardian beast was beyond my reach. But now that it’s petrified... it’s just free loot, isn’t it?"

"Wait, seriously?? But won’t fusing a guardian beast cause problems? Shouldn’t we be trying to reverse the petrification? Aren’t they key to fighting the Evil Beings?"

Su Muwan was stunned.

In the anime she watched, guardian beasts were pivotal in defeating the villains.

Surely, they had to find a way to restore them!

Qin Luo shrugged. "Miss, hearing such a normal line from you is... refreshing."

"Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?!"

...

...

The Tree of Fate.

A golden silhouette sat on a branch, swinging its legs while Doctor Ya gazed into the distance.

The former chuckled. "As expected of the main body, foreseeing that multiple factions would intervene simultaneously."

"That’s why the memory fragments were unlocked now."

Ever since the Nether River’s arrival,

the golden silhouette had received a directive from the Heavenly Dao.

So far, everything was proceeding according to the script.

"Pathetic Bone Shepherd, thinking sealing the guardian beasts would secure its victory."

"Little does it know, this was part of the Heavenly Dao’s plan all along."

Doctor Ya remained silent, though a frown flickered across his face.

The golden silhouette continued, "The four guardian beasts were corrupted and petrified as scripted."

"But the true purpose was to awaken Qin Luo—the most crucial piece on the board."

"He will gather his companions and, through successive battles, break the seals on the divine beasts."

"Then, by merging the divine beasts, they will defeat this incarnation of the Bone Shepherd."

"And Xiaobai is the key to guiding Qin Luo to find the remaining divine beasts."

"What do you think, Doctor Ya?"

Doctor Ya fell silent for a moment.

Then, with a distant tone, she murmured, "I can't shake the feeling... things aren't this straightforward..."

"Don't overthink it. So far, everything has followed the Heavenly Script. Even if something goes awry,"

"these divine beasts are destined to help Qin Luo and his group vanquish the evil."

"That may be true, but something still feels... off."

"What's happened to you? Where's the person you used to be?"

"......"

Doctor Ya said nothing more. Perhaps she really was overcomplicating things.