Even without me, this place won't be peaceful from now on

"On behalf of all members of the Tianxuan Sect, this old man thanks you, Young Friend Lu!"

Chi Shengtian was so moved that he immediately performed a grand bow, then retrieved a nine-inch-long purple jade scepter from the void.

"This is the [Profound Heaven Decree]. To the disciples of the Tianxuan Sect, seeing this object is akin to seeing me in person. Holding it within our sect grants you all the privileges of an elder."

After handing the Profound Heaven Decree to Lu Ze, Chi Shengtian asked further:

"Beyond this, our Tianxuan Sect should present a grand gift to express our gratitude. Does Young Friend Lu have any requests?"

Lu Ze pondered for a moment.

Given his current cultivation level, offensive magical treasures were the least cost-effective—definitely not an option.

Life-preserving treasures were somewhat useful, but his cheap master occasionally gifted him some, so he had just enough.

As for the Tianxuan Sect’s divination-type treasures, rumors said they could easily backfire unless one specialized in fate calculation—which he didn’t. So, those were out of the question too...

After a long deliberation, Lu Ze spoke:

"This junior walks the path of illusion, yet struggles with the slow growth of divine sense... Does the Tianxuan Sect possess any treasures that could enhance it?"

"Enhancing divine sense..."

Chi Shengtian frowned slightly.

This was a rare request.

Whether in cultivation or combat, one’s divine sense was always sufficient for their realm.

Only an eccentric like Lu Ze, obsessed with crafting illusions, would find his divine sense lacking.

"Such treasures are scarce, but since you’ve asked, this old man will ensure you obtain one."

"Then I thank Elder Chi in advance!"

Lu Ze smiled in satisfaction.

Given Chi Shengtian’s character, even if the Tianxuan Sect didn’t have such a treasure, the elder would likely use divination to locate one for him.

After some more pleasantries,

Lu Ze left his portable Illusion Tower within the sealing formation.

The remnant spirit of the Heavenly Dao still bore unresolved karma and couldn’t recklessly depart.

However, it had already slipped into the main world of Minecraft, temporarily escaping causality.

At the very least, the Tianxuan Sect no longer had to live in fear of their sect being blown up one day.

......

......

Lu Ze returned to his quarters and happened to run into Nangong Yuan.

"Did the Tianxuan Sect give you any trouble?"

Nangong Yuan asked.

Over the past few days, he had learned that the sect had detained the two of them primarily because of Lu Ze, sparking his curiosity.

Lu Ze shook his head. "No."

"Good."

Nangong Yuan relaxed, then suddenly raised an eyebrow.

"By the way, didn’t you say last time that if this master advanced in cultivation, you’d gift me Three Kingdoms Kill skins?"

He had been bored stiff in the Tianxuan Sect lately.

Now that the sect’s server was up, he had returned to playing Three Kingdoms Kill to pass the time.

But after pouring in piles of spirit stones, he still hadn’t drawn any skins, leaving him itching with frustration—and reminded of Lu Ze’s earlier promise.

"Coincidentally, I’ve recently had some epiphanies and may soon..."

Before he could finish, Lu Ze blinked in confusion:

"Huh? When did I ever say that?"

Nangong Yuan: "???"

......

In the past, Lu Ze had relied on his master to handle the server, but now he had a better alternative.

Still, since Nangong Yuan had always looked out for him, Lu Ze decided to secretly tweak the drop rates for him in the backend.

As for convincing the remnant spirit of the Heavenly Dao to serve as his server—that negotiation was still ongoing.

Lu Ze returned to his room, picked up a spare Illusion Tower and illusion crystals, and entered the Minecraft backend.

Only one world was currently active, and without a doubt, it belonged to the remnant spirit of the Heavenly Dao.

Lu Ze activated administrator mode and connected to the world.

In the sky, he immediately spotted the remnant spirit of the Heavenly Dao, which had taken the form of a little boy with a topknot, standing outside a fence and watching two chickens mate.

Lu Ze couldn’t help but laugh.

After all, the remnant spirit of the Heavenly Dao knew the method of creating worlds.

Instead of crafting a brand-new world, this guy was obsessed with watching chickens lay eggs?

Truly, he had the heart of a child.

Just then,

two eggs appeared on the ground.

The remnant spirit picked them up, smashed them against the ground, and a tiny chick hatched.

Then, right in front of the parent chickens, he proceeded to punch the little chick to death.

"……"

Lu Ze’s lips twitched.

Well then.

It seemed that even without him, this illusionary world wouldn’t be peaceful.

"It’s you? How did you break into my world?"

The remnant spirit noticed Lu Ze’s arrival and was visibly displeased.

"Because I am this world’s Heavenly Dao… If you agree to my earlier proposal, you too can become a ‘Heavenly Dao.’"

Lu Ze coaxed patiently.

"Hmph, mortal, do you think I’m so easily fooled?"

The remnant spirit snorted coldly.

"I only created this illusionary realm to avoid being devoured by karma… Why should I act as your so-called server?"

"What if I told you I could stir conflict among cultivators and help you resolve your karma?"

"Why should I believe you?"

The remnant spirit had good reason to doubt.

The world he was in now was the most basic version of Minecraft, not much different from its past incarnation.

Lu Ze’s modpack wasn’t included here.

Although the characters in this world had no cultivation, the monsters weren’t particularly strong either.

The remnant spirit refused to believe that cultivators would repeatedly die in such a world.

And even if death came easily, so what?

He found it even harder to believe that—aside from special existences like himself—any cultivator would spend all their time immersed in this illusionary realm.

Was it really that captivating?

If the benefits were minimal, why should he waste his effort to become the core of a formation spanning the entire cultivation world?

He wasn’t interested.

"Soon, you’ll believe me."

Lu Ze smiled.

He opened the control panel in front of the remnant spirit and inscribed a series of spell sigils.

"Now, you also have administrator privileges."

"Players will soon enter this illusionary world…"

"You can see for yourself whether what I’ve said is true."

The remnant spirit pondered for a moment before replying, "Hmph, fine. I’ll wait and see."

"Oh, right."

Lu Ze suddenly remembered something and asked curiously,

"Earlier, when you exited the illusion, why did you flicker a few times as I passed that purple-robed old geezer?"

"Daring to usurp the name of the Heavenly Dao? I had to teach him a lesson. For the next two months, his cultivation will only regress!"

"Brutal."

Lu Ze blinked, then added,

"That’s a bit harsh for a ‘lesson.’ Next time, maybe just make him feel like he’s constantly about to wet himself."

……

……

Lingxiao Sect, Danqing Peak.

"Brother Zhou, stop sulking! Junior Brother Lu sent me to deliver a gift for you!"

Zhong Yi looked at Zhou Yue’s solitary training figure and couldn’t hold back a chuckle.

"What gift?"

Zhou Yue didn’t even turn his head, clearly still in a huff.

Not long ago, Lu Ze sent over a batch of Illusory Realm Crystals.

Rumors claimed they had helped the Holy Son of the Heavenly Profound Gate overcome his inner demons, elevating his cultivation realm, which led to countless disciples scrambling to get their hands on them.

Zhou Yue was one of them.

But instead of confronting his inner demons, he nearly lost his composure entirely.

That very night, he yanked out the Illusory Realm Crystal and hurled it to the ground,

his roar of "Get out! Get out of my Illusory Tower!" echoing across the entire Danqing Peak.

"New Illusory Realm Crystals."

"No thanks!!"

Zhou Yue stiffened, the fiery spiritual energy around him flaring up three feet high—he nearly succumbed to qi deviation on the spot.

"Ah, Brother Zhou, don’t be so hasty. I asked around about this one. Junior Brother Lu said it doesn’t require spending spirit stones on draws, nor does it have any absurdly difficult challenges… It’s supposed to be a relaxing, leisurely illusion."

Zhong Yi tried to reassure him.

Truth be told, he hadn’t fared much better in Getting Over It.

After just two hours, he’d started smashing trees and rocks with his hammer in frustration.

Junior Brother Mu Yawen was even worse—obsessively smashing pots all over the place…

By that evening, every pot and hammer in the Forgegold Peak had been shattered by those body cultivators…

"......"

Zhou Yue hesitated for a moment.

Several days had passed since that damned sledgehammer had broken his spirit.

His anger had mostly cooled by now.

And thinking about Immortal Realm Domination and Legends of the Three Kingdoms, he felt a faint itch of curiosity.

"Fine, I’ll give it a try. By the way, what’s this new illusion called?"

"It’s called..."

"Minecraft."