Chapter 38

In the Reincarnation Space, different players receive the opportunity to choose the direction of their Path of Transcendence upon entering their first world, after which they strengthen themselves along that chosen path.

In the end, all paths converge, and the Great Dao returns to Unity. Various abilities merge into a single Path, allowing one to comprehend and grasp the most essential “Dao” that spans the Myriad Worlds.

Taking it a step further leads to “Mastery,” which is currently the highest realm known to Luo Shang among all existences—players and non-players alike—across the Myriad Worlds.

Those myths and legends passed down through folklore, and even special customs, might all stem from the influences left by players in various worlds.

For instance, a great figure like the Queen Mother of the West—she was already a legend in Luo Shang’s ears back when he was not yet a player, and Su Shang had simply treated it as a mythological tale at the time.

But after he entered the Reincarnation Space and became a player, he learned that the Queen Mother of the West truly existed. She had once been a great player who came infinitely close to the pinnacle of transcendence, only to later vanish from everyone’s sight.

Ninety percent of the immortals and gods in those legends were projections left behind by powerful players in the Multiverse.

The mere existence of those overwhelmingly powerful players allowed their radiant Spiritual Energy to permeate multiple universes, giving rise to legends in various worlds based on their deeds.

Even Luo Shang’s Native World was a remote place severed from spiritual power, yet the glory of ancient immortals and gods still shone here. Their stories had been passed down for thousands or millions of years, enduring until the world itself reached its end.

To ordinary people, the abilities mastered by players were indeed godlike means. However, even they could not achieve true immortality—only extended lifespans, potentially lasting millions of years, but never eternal.

Although Peaches of Immortality could prolong life, their effect was merely to grant one the lifespan of heaven and earth, binding a person’s longevity to that of a small world, making it equally vast.

Worlds naturally perish, and so do Extraordinary beings.

Behind those fading tales of immortals and gods lay the disappearances of those mighty existences, without exception over millions of years.

The Peach Garden might have been the Queen Mother of the West—this player’s—attempt to extend her lifespan. She had infused it with elements of her “Dao,” granting the Peaches of Immortality their “lifespan of heaven and earth” effect.

There were also rumors that the Queen Mother of the West had sought to prove her Dao as the Path of Eternal Life, only to fail and suffer a backlash that led to her death.

Various rumors abounded, but regardless, as the legacy of the Queen Mother of the West—the pinnacle among players—its emergence was bound to attract attention from all sides.

Even the “Fate Priests,” a profession that hadn’t appeared in the Reincarnation Space for a long time, had resurfaced because of it, eager to claim a share.

Luo Shang had roamed freely in the Reincarnation Space for several centuries without issue before. If not for the potential risk of being sniped due to the hidden flaw within him, he wouldn’t have returned to face this unfavorable Plot.

He enjoyed the sensation of destroying worlds, tinged perhaps with a desire for vengeance.

Eternal life—Luo Shang silently repeated the word to himself.

Who in this world didn’t crave eternal life?

Having attained power, status, wealth, and strength, the next pursuit was eternal life, to enjoy it all forever.

Yet to date, while many could achieve longevity, none could attain true eternity. Even titans like the Queen Mother of the West, the King Father of the East, and Nüwa had lost contact, their whereabouts unknown.

Exploring the traces of ancient immortals and gods was a common mission theme in the Reincarnation Space, ranging from small tasks like visiting a world that had developed worship of a particular immortal or god, to grand ones like searching for the ruins of a certain one.

Just like the mission the Luo Shang Squad had previously undertaken—they had discovered clues to the Queen Mother of the West’s ruins during that task, entered to explore, and successfully obtained the resource known as the “Peaches of Immortality.”

Previously, the Peaches of Immortality in the Reincarnation Space had always come from stockpiles in certain immortal or god ruins—once used, they were gone forever. Before the Luo Shang Squad discovered the Peach Garden, no newly produced Peaches of Immortality had ever appeared on the Reincarnation Space’s trading market.

Without the rules of the “Peach Garden” to empower it, even advanced Druids could not make a Peach Pit sprout, let alone produce new Peaches of Immortality.

To obtain this item, one had to go through the “Peach Garden.” And now, this treasure trove that continuously produced Spiritual Energy had fallen into the hands of the Luo Shang Squad—or more precisely, into Luo Shang’s hands.

Wolves circled them on all sides.

However, Luo Shang wasn’t worried that those people would find this place anytime soon.

His Native World was a remote one, and remoteness had its advantages. Blended among thousands of other remote worlds, it was as difficult to pinpoint as finding a single grain of gold in a pile of sand—nearly impossible to lock onto its exact location.

If Luo Shang didn’t provide precise spiritual energy coordinates, relying solely on the system produced by the Main God Space to filter through them would probably take centuries. By then, Luo Shang would have long since completed his mission and returned home.

With a single command, the Labrador at his side began using its mouth to pack up the fishing gear Luo Shang had scattered on the ground. It first extended a paw to press down the folding chair he’d been sitting on, folding it neatly along the seams. Then it picked up the fishing rod from the ground and slotted it into the bucket. Finally, it grabbed the handle of the water bucket in its jaws and looked toward Luo Shang.

Luo Shang walked forward, and the Labrador followed, bucket in tow.

According to the plot, his next step was to head to the Shen Residence and grind favorability.

In the original work, Su Shang hadn’t yet realized that the projection at the recognition banquet had been Shen Changqing’s doing. He assumed it was Su Mingyao’s handiwork, all to mock him as an outsider to the Su Family.

As a result, Su Shang resolved to seize every possible advantage to secure his status—like his “good brother,” the ultimate simp Li Lingran, or his fiancé, Shen Changqing.

Since Su Shang had no prior connection with Shen Changqing and couldn’t flirt outright like he did with Li Lingran, he pulled a retreat-to-advance maneuver. He went to the Shen Residence on his own initiative to ask Old Master Shen to call off the engagement. Naturally, Old Master Shen refused and staunchly affirmed the betrothal.

Su Shang would also run into Shen Changqing there. At that point, he planned to deliberately show his vulnerable side to Shen Changqing, putting on a display of fragility in front of him.

When his normally arrogant, disdainful fiancé suddenly bowed his head, turning meek and gazing at him with hopeful eyes, pleading with him—Su Shang was convinced that even the haughty Shen Changqing would take an interest.

Su Shang’s scheme wasn’t bad. If Shen Changqing hadn’t overheard his conversation with Su Mingyao in the Su Family’s back garden and recognized Su Shang for the green tea bitch he was, he might have actually fallen for it.

But with that prior mental preparation, Shen Changqing saw right through every move as an act, all designed to exploit him to shore up Su Shang’s position. Seeing Su Shang play the pitiful card only fueled his disgust, while convincing him that Su Mingyao was the true match for him.

He humiliated Su Shang thoroughly before walking away.

Readers of the original reveled in the scene, praising the male lead for spotting the green tea and proving himself a righteous, devoted hero, loyal only to the protagonist.

But as the vicious male side character in the story, Su Shang didn’t take it well. He only grew more resentful, blaming it all on Su Mingyao’s arrival.

He’d wonder: If Su Mingyao hadn’t shown up, wouldn’t my life have been better?

Once such dangerous thoughts took root, they never vanished. They lurked like seeds in the heart, waiting for the right moment to sprout.

This plot point wasn’t due until tomorrow, but to speed up progress, Luo Shang planned to visit the Shen Residence that afternoon. Shen Changqing should still be at the Shen Residence lately.

And indeed, Shen Changqing had been staying at the Shen Residence. Unlike Li Qingshu or Su Tiancheng, he couldn’t use business as an excuse to skip town. From here on, he was a key player and had to stick around B City—that much was clear from what Su Mingyao had told him.

Shen Changqing firmly believed that even if he fled to another district, hopped a plane abroad, or shot off into space, Luo Shang had the power to kill him and hijack his body.

Knowing what came next was crucial—quite literally a matter of life and death.

That’s why Shen Changqing had arranged to meet Su Bingyao and Su Mingyao at the Shen Residence that afternoon, to discuss how to plausibly follow the plot and what exactly lay ahead in detail.

Now that they could all hear Luo Shang’s conversations with the system, and having personally felt the terror he inflicted and witnessed his overwhelming strength, none of them could act naturally in line with their characters anymore.

So I think it’s better not to hear heart voice… Shen Changqing mused.

He was even starting to suspect that Luo Shang was deliberately broadcasting his heart voice for them to hear. Why else would Luo Shang remain unscathed while they kept stumbling from one misfortune to the next?