Gu Yun’s response left Zhong Yi and Qin Li’en in a brief silence.
“Senior Sister, you’re not a jinx, are you? Speak of the devil, and here we are—actually running into a case where memory can deceive…”
Zhong Yi couldn’t help but complain.
No sooner had Qin Li’en mentioned that memories might lie than they encountered Gu Yun, who had no idea why he wanted to go to the Moon Realm.
“Shut up… I think you’re the real jinx.”
Qin Li’en shot Zhong Yi a glare.
“Still, we’re in luck.”
Zhong Yi looked curious. “How so?”
“All we have to do is plant a ‘cause’ of joining the Nine Heavens Sect,” she replied. “For a child, it’s easy to accept.”
A piece of information immediately popped up in front of Zhong Yi:
[Nine Heavens Sect: One of the few remaining major sects in the Blue Realm, highly skilled in the way of exploration. Using the sect’s grand formation, one can step out of the Blue Realm and travel to other domains.]
Qin Li’en’s reasoning wasn’t hard to follow.
To go to the Moon Realm, one had to join the Nine Heavens Sect and learn its techniques.
Whatever Gu Yun’s true reason for wanting to go to the Moon Realm, joining the Nine Heavens Sect was the only way to achieve it.
Thus, if they planted the “cause” of joining the Nine Heavens Sect early in Gu Yun’s life, they would likely fulfill his wish to go to the Moon Realm.
“Senior Sister’s right. What kid doesn’t want to become a cultivator? If we plant this ‘cause,’ we’ve got a ninety-nine percent chance of success!”
Zhong Yi praised, fully agreeing with Qin Li’en.
Decision made. Qin Li’en walked over to Gu Yun and talked things over with him.
“…Now we need to go into your childhood memories to plant that ‘cause.’”
Qin Li’en explained the stakes in detail.
“To enter your past memories, we need an item that’s very important to you as an anchor point.”
“Will this work?”
Gu Yun cooperated without hesitation, handing over the yellow-and-blue paper rabbit he kept by his side.
“Yellow-and-blue paper rabbit? I saw that in the lighthouse—it seems really important to Old Master…”
Zhong Yi whispered to Qin Li’en.
Qin Li’en took the paper rabbit, cast a technique, and a faint glow emanated from it.
“It’s done. Junior Brother Zhong, let’s go.”
…
…
The figures of Zhong Yi and Qin Li’en reappeared in the old mansion—this time on the first floor.
White-haired Gu Yun sat before an exquisite seven-stringed zither, his fingers plucking the strings rapidly.
It was that same tune, “Remembering Lin Xi.”
Though a cheerful melody by nature, it now carried an inexplicable sorrow.
“Why are there so many paper rabbits!?”
Qin Li’en exclaimed in surprise.
Fortunately, before entering this memory, they had already concealed themselves as observers, moving through it without affecting anything, so Gu Yun was completely unaware of their presence.
The old mansion was covered floor to ceiling—paper rabbits everywhere: on the ground, on tables, on the stairs…
Countless white folded paper rabbits, with only one yellow-and-blue two-toned rabbit standing out among them.
“Senior Sister, you might not know this, but in the real world, the old mansion has just as many of these paper rabbits…”
Zhong Yi described what he had seen in the basement and lighthouse.
“It seems these paper rabbits are very important to Old Master Gu.”
Qin Li’en walked thoughtfully toward the two-toned paper rabbit. The moment her finger touched it, a flash of light entered the jade pendant on her chest.
From the skill description, Zhong Yi had basically figured out how [Memory Leap worked.
To reach a more distant memory, one first had to collect dream power from items that carried the host’s memories.
Then, find special objects that existed in both memory scenes to serve as memory fragments that would open the passageway.
Using dream power to activate the [Memory Leap] technique, they could use these memory fragments as conduits to enter even earlier recollections.
Zhong Yi’s sharp eyes quickly spotted several items imbued with dream power.
“Paper rabbit, wall clock, chrysanthemum, books… even pickled cucumbers can hold dream power!?”
Zhong Yi couldn’t help muttering under his breath.
“That stuff is sour as hell—Old Master Gu has a weird taste.”
“Stop blabbering and let’s move on to the next memory!”
Qin Li’en grumbled, dragging Zhong Yi by the arm downstairs.
The memory fragment for this segment:
An umbrella.
…
…
Memory jump.
Rain poured, thunder roared.
Zhong Yi and Qin Li’en followed that umbrella and appeared before the lighthouse in the storm.
In their observer state, they remained dry despite the downpour.
Amid the furious wind and rain, white-haired and gaunt Gu Yun held the umbrella, standing sorrowfully before Lin Xi’s tombstone.
After collecting the dream power, Zhong Yi walked to the lighthouse entrance.
He and Qin Li’en were about to head up the tower when a hoarse, choked voice came from behind.
“It’s all over, Lin Xi.”
Gu Yun’s voice was fragmented, nearly merging with the rain.
“Now I can take care of her every day, just like you did.”
“…She won’t be alone anymore.”
Zhong Yi and Qin Li’en both stopped, turning back to look.
In the rain, Gu Yun stretched out a hand full of wrinkles and calluses, gently stroking the tombstone.
“Though I might never understand what you were thinking…”
“But I’ll do it for you.”
“An Ya must be grateful to you too.”
As he spoke—whether it was rain or tears—the side of Gu Yun’s face became wet.
“But after I’m gone…”
“Who will take care of us?”
Zhong Yi and Qin Li’en exchanged glances, both full of confusion and doubt.
Who was An Ya?
It sounded like their child, but according to the commission’s records, Old Master Gu had no children.
Just as Zhong Yi was puzzling over this, Qin Li’en—usually so sharp-tongued—suddenly disengaged her observer state, revealing herself to actively ask Gu Yun.
“She was never meant to rest here…”
“She didn’t have to do this. But she…”
“You wouldn’t understand. Neither would I…”
Mentioning Lin Xi, the old man was overwhelmed with grief, causing ripples throughout the entire illusion world.
Zhong Yi quickly froze Gu Yun, stabilizing the illusion.
“Senior Sister, weren’t you the one who told me not to break the observer state?”
“Shut up.”
“What you just did was dangerous. If I hadn’t—”
“Shut up, shut up, shut up.”
“Who is An Ya?”
“I don’t know. Didn’t have time to ask. But it’s not important—as long as we get him to join the Nine Heavens Sect, the mission is complete.”
Qin Li’en sounded a bit flustered.
They reached the top floor of the lighthouse, gathered enough dream power, and activated the memory fragment again—
The patched, slightly faded platypus plush that Gu Yun always carried with him.
…
…
This time.
The timeline had been pushed back much further.
Gu Yun’s hair was just starting to gray, and he seemed much more spirited.
Zhong Yi and Qin Li’en appeared in a bedroom. Though the layout was similar, the room was smaller—clearly not the old mansion from reality.
The bedroom floor was also covered with layer upon layer of paper cranes.
Lying on the bed was a middle-aged woman with graying hair, presumed to be Gu Yun’s deceased wife, Lin Xi.
ver to a world of cultivation and returned invincible. Modern medicine is child's play compared to elixirs; technological might crumbles before true cultivation. My name is Qin Ning, Earth's sole cultivator!
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
for mindless slaughter, this isn't for you.] My name is Ye Shu, and I'm a transmigrator. It seems I'm supposed to be the protagonist, but that feels pretty unlikely. This world has been invaded by a system. The antagonists on the other side have suddenly become pure, flawless saints. The female leads have been force-fed the so-called "original plot," making them think they've been reborn. Now, everyone thinks I'm scum. Including the old lady in my ring. And here I am, in the Monster Beast Mountain Range, braising pork. To put my situation in perspective— It's as if, the moment Xiao Yan stepped into the Monster Beast Mountain Range, the Soul Emperor already knew he would become the Flame Emperor, and Yao Lao had been turned to the enemy's side. I have nothing right now. Oh wait, that's not true. I do have a white-haired loli child-bride who's the Heavenly Dao, and her only skill is acting cute. So, tell me guys... what are my chances of making it to the end?
