Oops, caught me.

With the announcement of the second place, the bullet comments in the Heavenly Dao livestream room immediately exploded.

[As expected, Old Demon Lu won!]

[Is this right? "Eight Directions Venerable" spent so many spirit stones and unexpectedly...]

[Second place is not bad, losing to Old Demon Lu is nothing to complain about.]

[Not bad? The rewards for second and first place are worlds apart!!]

[It shouldn't be! All the cultivators around me are playing "Eight Directions Venerable."]

[Could it really be like what people are saying in private, that the Illusionary Realm's Heavenly Dao is biased towards Lu Ze?]

[I just think "Operation Immortal Abyss Continent" is more fun to play, without all that messy stuff.]

[Fun is fun, but the judging criteria are right here. You can't just ignore the rules, right?]

[Unfair!!]

...

The cultivators supporting "Eight Directions Venerable" and those supporting "Operation Immortal Abyss Continent" argued endlessly.

Although the first place had not yet been announced, there was no suspense left; it could only be Lu Ze's "Operation Immortal Abyss Continent."

Just as the bullet comments said,

Although there was only a one-rank difference between second and first place, the rewards in the prize pool were worlds apart!

"No, this is impossible!! Absolutely impossible!!!"

Rakshasa shook his head in disbelief.

"How could we lose? Why would we lose!?"

Blood Crow's mask instantly turned a terrifying red, his appearance even more frantic than Rakshasa's.

Having exhausted all schemes and squandered their fortunes...

And now it resulted in this?

He couldn't accept it.

"Oh my, you two elders should look on the bright side. Isn't second place pretty good too? You can at least sell the rewards to recoup some losses!"

Behind Blood Crow and Rakshasa, the cultivator wearing a deer-shaped mask suddenly offered words of comfort.

"What the hell do you know!? Someone like you..."

Just as Rakshasa was about to lash out, a beam of red light shot into the sky, completely dyeing the entire Heavenly Dao Illusionary Realm red.

Everyone involuntarily looked up at the sky.

A massive red curtain slowly lifted, and on the red leaderboard, golden text boldly declared:

[Realm Master: Lu Ze]

[Illusionary Realm: "Operation Immortal Abyss Continent"]

[Rank: First]

"Dammit!!!"

Rakshasa cursed furiously.

"There must be a mistake somewhere... there definitely must be a mistake!!"

A red screen of light shot up from the leaderboard into the sky.

Whenever a rank on the leaderboard was revealed, a pillar of light would illuminate among the crowd below. This was how the Heavenly Dao's remnant spirit announced the results.

For instance, behind Rakshasa and Blood Crow, there was a golden screen of light.

The camera of the Heavenly Dao livestream room firmly followed the movement of this red light screen, and the livestream's bullet comments became lively again.

[It really is Old Demon Lu in first place!]

[Where is Old Demon Lu? I've been looking for ages and haven't seen him.]

[Rumor has it that Early Saint Lu is handsome and truly has the appearance of a saint... Is it all a lie? He's hidden in the crowd and completely invisible!]

[Actually, the first time I saw Old Demon Lu, I thought he was quite handsome. Later, after he did so many wicked things, I felt he wasn't that handsome anymore.]

[How strange! Why is this red light screen moving in the exact same direction as the golden light screen for second place?]

[Wait a minute! The landing point of the red light screen is right next to the golden light screen!]

[Isn't that where the cultivators of the Illusion Alliance are? How could Old Demon Lu...]

...

The resentful gazes of Blood Crow and Rakshasa constantly followed this red light screen.

It wasn't until that red light lit up from behind them that they realized something was wrong.

That Illusion Alliance member wearing a deer-shaped mask, who called himself Lu Guan, was now enveloped in a towering pillar of red light.

"You!? How could it be... you are Lu Ze!?"

Rakshasa reacted, and the aura around his body instantly skyrocketed several levels.

"Oops, I've been found out."

Lu Ze smiled easily, took off the mask of Lu Guan, and restored his true appearance and voice.

"Bah! Sneaking into our Illusion Alliance to gather information, not daring to show your true face... And to think you even triggered a saintly phenomenon!"

Blood Crow's resentful gaze could be felt even through a thick mask.

Lu Ze could understand.

After all, this gentleman had thrown in more than half a lifetime's worth of savings...

Besides, this was just the beginning.

If they knew that the real Lu Guan was currently stripped naked and locked in a dark room by him, who knows what expressions these guys would make...

"Did I? I just saw everyone wearing bizarre masks and thought it was a custom of this Illusionary Realm..."

Lu Ze feigned surprise.

Rakshasa gritted his teeth: "You!"

"The Illusion Alliance is truly wealthy! Shelling out so many spirit stones without a second thought... It doesn't matter if you're out of money. With such charitable deeds, Elder Blood Crow becoming a saint is surely just a matter of time."

Lu Ze wasn't panicked in the slightest, cheerfully teasing them.

He said this with a smile, but falling into Blood Crow's ears, it hurt more than needles piercing his heart.

First of all, he was out of money.

Secondly, this kind of behavior would absolutely not lead to becoming a saint. Conversely, Lu Ze triggering a saintly phenomenon was even more heart-piercing.

Lastly, he didn't even snag first place...

He had essentially lost everything down to his underwear.

Blood Crow immediately felt his blood pressure skyrocket wildly. Under the impact of his vital energy and blood, he was almost provoked into developing a heart demon, and even his stance became unsteady.

"This is outrageous! You cheated!!"

Rakshasa was exasperated. Behind him, a ferocious and malevolent ghost apparition suddenly materialized, and boundless killing intent directly locked down the area around Lu Ze.

"You guys? Who are you referring to besides me?"

Lu Ze's face was full of confusion, deliberately asking while knowing the answer to lead him on.

As long as Rakshasa dared to say a single bad word about the Heavenly Dao's remnant spirit, this guy could immediately reincarnate into another world.

"You and..."

Just as Rakshasa was about to speak, he immediately felt the gaze of a terrifying entity and instinctively shut his mouth.

He shifted his gaze and saw the countless bullet comments in the sky.

According to the feedback from the comments, there was a soundproofing barrier, and the people outside seemingly couldn't hear what was being said inside.

A flash of inspiration hit Rakshasa. He waved his hand to erase the surrounding barrier, then shouted loudly:

"Lu Ze! You must have used some method to deceive the Heavenly Dao..."

"There are a full 390,000 cultivators playing 'Eight Directions Venerable' every day! Under the heavens, how many cultivators can there be? Could your 'Operation Immortal Abyss Continent' possibly exceed 400,000!?"

"Furthermore, it was agreed that the judging rules would take the last seven days, and besides the number of people, it also depends on the immersion time in the Illusionary Realm..."

"The spirit stone rewards of 'Eight Directions Venerable' require staying for a full 6 shichen before they can be claimed. Even if these cultivators stayed in both Illusionary Realms, there are only 12 shichen in a day. Could the time spent in 'Operation Immortal Abyss Continent' possibly be higher than 6 shichen!?"

At the end, he added loudly:

"What 'Eight Directions Venerable' distributed were genuine spirit stone rewards, and the records can be checked!"

"How many cultivators stayed in 'Eight Directions Venerable' for a full 6 shichen, our Illusion Alliance couldn't possibly lie about that, right?"

As soon as these words came out, they immediately sparked heated discussions in the bullet comments.

[What's going on? Old Demon Lu was wearing the Illusion Alliance's mask, and now they're arguing again?]

[Rakshasa of the Illusion Alliance has a point... How many cultivators can come to play in the Illusionary Realm? It absolutely can't be a million!]

[If it's really as Rakshasa said, and there are nearly 400,000 cultivators staying for a full 6 shichen in 'Eight Directions Venerable' every day... I think it's indeed impossible for 'Operation Immortal Abyss Continent' to have more than that.]

[Shady deal! Shady deal!!]

[Are you all idiots... Can't you stay in two illusions at the same time?]

[No, you can't! Old Demon Lu's illusion doesn't support entering with a divided mind at the same time...]

[It was changed!!]

[When was it changed??]

[How come I didn't know???]

[Even if you can stay in both simultaneously, how is it possible for over 400,000 cultivators to spend more than six shichen a day in "Operation Xianyuan Continent"?]

[Fellow Daoist, it's obvious you don't do knife runs. Knife runs are addictive!]

[If I don't loot a red item, I feel awful all day. Who are you looking down on with a mere six shichen?]

...

Arguments erupted across the bullet screen.

Many fools, following Rakshasa's guidance, actually began to question the Remnant Spirit of the Heavenly Dao.

Lu Ze took all of this in, his peripheral vision glancing up at the sky.

He saw that the wisp of golden light was gradually turning black around the edges.

'You kid...'

Lu Ze muttered in his heart, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

The viewers in the livestream chat knew that the law couldn't punish the masses, so their comments became increasingly brazen.

But only Lu Ze knew that the Remnant Spirit of the Heavenly Dao wouldn't try to reason with anyone.

If it encountered something displeasing, it would just raise its hand and obliterate them.

If this uproar continued, it truly wouldn't end well.

Taking action would not only consume the Remnant Spirit's vitality, but bearing more killing karma would also increase its burden.

Lu Ze thought for a moment. With a single thought, his voice rang out like a massive bell, suppressing all the noise within the Heavenly Dao Illusion:

"Since you want to die understanding why, I will let you die with absolute clarity."