Chapter 146: Jin's Assist

Lan Yi gave a wave of his hand, and an identical white plastic chair materialized beside him.

"Sit down."

The Phantom Face paused for a moment, then took a seat next to Lan Yi.

For a time, the two remained silent. Only moments ago, they had been locked in a life-or-death battle, yet now they sat like warriors enjoying their retirement, peacefully gazing into the distance at the garden world that looked exceptionally magnificent within their memories.

"So, I've lost, haven't I? From the very beginning, you never intended to let me achieve Dao integration. Your goal was to devour me." Stripped of the extreme emotional volatility brought by its ghostly vessel, the Phantom Face suddenly found clarity in many things. Oh, and by the way, the megastructure of this garden world was truly breathtaking.

This was a supernatural transdimensional monstrosity, a crystallization of wisdom meant only to be admired from afar.

Yet now, it was close enough to touch.

Only by observing it up close, with a tranquil mind, could one truly appreciate its magnificence.

"If you want to snatch food from the tiger's jaws, you always have to pay a price. Otherwise, when calculating contributions, the Conquest Space would never allow me to seize the opportunity to tear away a portion of the forced-landing entity." The white bird perched on Lan Yi's hand groomed its feathers with a sharp beak. Fluttering its wings from time to time, it fixed an uncanny gaze upon the Phantom Face.

The white bird was no mere avian.

It was the materialization of Lan Yi's martial arts.

The Phantom Face also noticed the white bird. In its eyes, this was not a bird at all; its essence was a highly condensed light of the soul (a martial arts mindscape) nearing its first sublimation, containing endless destruction and consumption within.

Truly incredible.

Mere mortals, whose realms were hardly profound, yet possessing the authority to devour everything. What on earth were they? What allowed the human race to consume the landing entities of transdimensional monsters?

"You deliberately let me in, letting me grind away your excess shell... No, what on earth are you? Your soul structure is unprecedented, your existence both foreign and ancient. Are you really human?" The Phantom Face's expression gradually grew horrified, filled with the unease an ordinary person might feel upon seeing an anomaly disguised in human skin.

As a transdimensional monster.

Before being formatted, it actually knew a great deal. Having frequently wandered among the artificial divine realms, it certainly possessed profound knowledge. It had learned from intelligence shared among transdimensional monsters that this multiverse harbored countless ancient secrets, buried long ago in the garbage heaps of history as ancient beings faded away.

The older a secret.

The more terrifying it was, and the greater the likelihood that disturbing the garbage heap would rattle ancient remains and court danger.

"Actually, I'm somewhat curious about what I really am myself. But since you ask, I can confirm without a doubt that I am human." Considered an unexpected bonus, Lan Yi had not originally intended to steer the topic toward himself, yet as he gave this reply, he felt an immense pride in his identity as a human.

As death approaches, a person's words are wise.

The moment it laid eyes upon that white bird, the Phantom Face understood that the fragment of itself that had lunged into Lan Yi's soul was bound to die.

Lan Yi did not view it as a formidable enemy.

Instead, he saw it as a whetstone, a fragrant plate of braised pork. Using the heaven and earth as a furnace, the cycles as fire, a fragment of the Phantom Face as the herbal catalyst, and the collective will of the masses as the supreme medicine—this was an unprecedented feast. It was a banquet that only Lan Yi could gorge upon, one that would allow his mind and spirit to take a massive leap forward.

The Dharma Form!

Reaching the Dharma Form realm from the human form at maximum speed, completely free of side effects, and without having to worry about overindulgence causing him to lose his sense of self.

The greatest harvest of Artificial Divine Realm 2055 was this harmless stroke of fortune upon the path of martial arts.

Only Lan Yi, who had resonated with the entire world and carried the Daoist rhythm of the Divine Fate Cluster [Luo Qian], was qualified to enjoy this fortune. Anyone else would lack the necessary strength and conditions.

"Have you ever been to this place?" Lan Yi's consciousness projected a wave of psionic energy, conveying a string of artificial divine realm coordinates.

"I've approached it, but I never deployed power there," the Phantom Face answered truthfully.

Lying here was meaningless. Though textually it appeared Lan Yi was merely asking, in reality, he was directly reading the Phantom Face's reactions through consciousness-based interrogation.

It was a mere appetizer, a warm-up.

"You carry the aura of [Luo Qian]. Someone must have guided you, sending you to m..." A smiling face flashed through Lan Yi's consciousness, and he halted his inquiry.

Jin?

Why on earth had he forgotten about that profiteering merchant?

"There's an event that occurred near that world, and I think you'll be interested." The Phantom Face did not attempt to bargain. This consciousness of its was already doomed; what it truly wanted to negotiate with Lan Yi was the future of this world after its Dao integration.

Here, the far more rational Phantom Face had no intention of fighting Lan Yi to the bitter end.

Instead, it made its choice with extreme rationality, bordering on mercantile pragmatism.

"You want people?"

Lan Yi easily saw through the Phantom Face's intentions.

"The human race develops the fastest. After my Dao integration, I'll need a batch of people." The better the world developed, the greater the higher-dimensional computer authority would be. The Phantom Face's final struggle before its consciousness was completely assimilated was to secure a divine position for itself by any means necessary.

Were there still people left in Artificial Divine Realm 2055?

The answer was: not a single living soul remained!

Exchanging intelligence it could no longer use for an opportunity to accelerate this world's development after its Dao integration—the Phantom Face had no reason to refuse. Nor did Lan Yi have any reason to decline. Following the Second Trial of the prime world, separatists were a dime a dozen; he could just grab a few thousand people, toss them into Artificial Divine Realm 2055, and let them play whatever games they pleased.

The deal was struck.

Having no other options, the Phantom Face eagerly transmitted the information it held to Lan Yi.

The content of the information was actually very simple.

Old Devil Lan had a competitor.

While wandering near that vicinity, the Phantom Face space had captured certain pieces of intelligence. Although it didn't have much to do with the Divine Fate Cluster [Luo Qian], that artificial divine realm had been invaded by cross-border powerhouses. The scale of the invasion at the time wasn't massive—it amounted to a battle royale scramble among a few intersecting worlds.

Given the concealment and elusiveness of the Divine Fate Clusters.

[Luo Qian] wouldn't be uncovered anytime soon through such a free-for-all battle royale format.

Yet the risks were undeniably growing day by day.

Jin Buhuan had delivered this intelligence to Lan Yi at an opportune moment, serving as a reminder that the Divine Fate Clusters remained paramount. In his past life, this plane merchant didn't seem to have participated in Old Devil Lan's world-destruction plan, but in this life, upon acquiring certain pieces of intelligence, he had very spontaneously begun cooperating with Lan Yi.

He was actively pushing Lan Yi to collect the Divine Fate Clusters.

Friend rather than foe, it seemed.

However...

Lan Yi was well aware of just how vicious Jin's character was and how cruel his true nature remained. As a merchant dealing in both hope and despair, his purpose in doing this was certainly not to help him; it was far more likely that he wanted to stir up a colossal spectacle.

For someone like him, what despair could possibly surpass the horror of a system reboot, only for countless artificial divine realm clusters to usher in Old Devil Lan's reign of world destruction once more—a destruction carried out by an even more terrifying, stronger Lan Yi?