Haven't We Met Somewhere Before

The illusion realm, the main server world of the Heavenly Dao's Remnant Spirit.

"You really caused quite a stir, didn't you..."

Lu Ze held his forehead and shook his head, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

The incident at the Immortal Execution Terrace yesterday could be described as earth-shattering.

An expert who had been hidden from the world for a hundred years, the Old Geezer, suddenly appeared; a true disciple of the Green Mountain Sect was personally crippled by an elder; the Heavenly Dao's Remnant Spirit taking control of the Dao of Illusions...

Any single one of these events alone would be enough to leave people dumbfounded.

The actions of the Heavenly Dao's Remnant Spirit, translated into layman's terms, meant:

All the illusion realms in the world were now connected to a network, and everyone could access them.

In other words, creating games and letting everyone play them was no longer Lu Ze's exclusive privilege.

"What, are you unhappy with this?"

The golden sphere of light slowly opened an eye, looking at Lu Ze with indifference.

"I'm happy with it, more than happy."

Lu Ze curled his lips.

Even if he had ten thousand grievances in his heart, facing this almighty entity before him, who would dare say "no"?

However, given the temperament of the Heavenly Dao's Remnant Spirit, its declaration yesterday was well within Lu Ze's expectations.

Considering itself the Heavenly Dao, it naturally could not violate the principle of "fairness."

Since it was the power of the Heavenly Dao, it could not be monopolized by Lu Ze alone.

It was fine when no one paid attention to it before, but once people started talking about it, it was not hard to understand why things turned out this way.

"Whatever, it just means spending a bit more time."

Lu Ze stretched his back, quickly coming to terms with it.

With the popularization of "universal internet access," a diversion of traffic was inevitable.

But, it was destined not to be too significant.

What did the illusion realms he created rely on to attract so many cultivators?

They were fun!

When it came to making fun games, all the cultivators in this world put together couldn't hold a candle to him.

Even with the change in rules, Lu Ze remained confident that he could keep the vast majority of cultivators... no, players, firmly in the palm of his hand.

The Demonic Dao Points lost due to the diverted traffic could be made up for by the rewards from the Heavenly Dao's Remnant Spirit, so he wouldn't necessarily be at a loss.

"Hmph, that's more like it... If you didn't even have this level of mental fortitude, then this Heavenly Dao would have misjudged you."

The Heavenly Dao's Remnant Spirit transformed into a human figure, giving a cold snort and turning its back to him.

"Those ants are inferior to you."

...

...

Just as Lu Ze left the illusion realm world of the Heavenly Dao's Remnant Spirit, the crisp sound of a system notification rang in his ears:

[Ding! Mission completed!]

[The Demon Execution Assembly has concluded. The host has successfully emerged victorious, changing the righteous cultivators' perception of demonic cultivators!]

[Mission Reward: Bestowal of Life to All Spirits]

"Oh? A new skill?"

Looking at the red name of the skill, Lu Ze's eyes lit up. He quickly focused his mind and activated the technique.

"Hmm? It's still illusion-based? Interesting... Is the system giving out rewards based on my recent main focus?"

Lu Ze muttered to himself and swiftly entered the illusion realm to study the skill.

...

...

The Demon Execution Assembly finally came to an end.

However, as the story of Qin Ming coming out of seclusion because of an illusion realm and unprecedentedly saving a pair of demonic cultivator siblings spread, the popularity of "This Demonic Cultivator Is Not Too Cold" only increased instead of diminishing.

Countless new players flooded in.

The veteran players remained addicted to the illusion realm, trying to find new ways to beat the game.

Zhong Yi was cleared of his false charges and finally returned from the Repentance Valley.

"My good disciple, you have suffered during this time..."

Zhao Wendao looked at Zhong Yi's haggard face and lifeless eyes, unable to help but feel a pang of heartache.

Thinking about how he could only secretly sneak an Illusion Pagoda in for him, he felt somewhat guilty for not doing enough as a master.

Little did he know that Zhong Yi's haggard state was entirely caused by that very Illusion Pagoda.

Zhong Yi's gaze wandered, his expression dazed.

Because he had tried countless times to load his save file at the boss fight, but no matter what he did, either he or Su Di'er had to die.

Even if he went back further in the timeline, he couldn't change the grand scheme of things.

"Everything is clearly unfixed, so why is this ending... Sigh! Heaven knows how Junior Brother Lu managed to create such a profound and mysterious world..."

After finally managing to coax Zhao Wendao into leaving, Zhong Yi let out a sigh of emotion and took out the Illusion Pagoda once again.

As his spiritual sense sank, entering the familiar illusion space,

This time, he did not choose to load a save file.

"If everything is already destined, then I'll just start all over again."

Zhong Yi sighed softly and chose to start a new illusion realm.

He returned to the very beginning.

Starting from the assassination mission at the Sun and Moon Villa.

Skillfully administering poison, skillfully dodging throwing knives, skillfully completing hidden storylines...

When he walked toward that attic with an anxious heart, Zhong Yi couldn't help but stop in his tracks and swallow hard.

However, nothing unexpected happened.

Just like that novice mission, it was the familiar scene: the young girl swinging her legs on the staircase, the dialogue that he could recite backwards...

Everything was exactly the same as before, without the slightest difference.

Zhong Yi had countless impulses in his heart, but under the restraints of the role-playing system, he could not voice them.

'It seems that fate has already been decided.'

Zhong Yi lamented in his heart. Disregarding the warnings about his behavior score, he affectionately patted the young girl's little head, and then turned to leave.

"Wait!"

The young girl suddenly called out to him from behind.

Zhong Yi turned around in confusion, his eyes meeting her clear gaze.

The young girl tilted her head, the smiling corners of her mouth looking incredibly beautiful.

"Have we..."

"...met somewhere before?"