Chapter 161: Replacing Heaven with Man

Mu Chunqiu’s resistance only stirred a flicker of mild curiosity in Lu Yan.

But the moment Mu Chunqiu submitted, Lu Yan shifted his gaze away, quietly contemplating the transformation brought about by replacing Heaven with man.

His current state was the result of a temporary transformation during the forging of his Supreme Dao Foundation, when his will merged with the world and momentarily replaced the Heavenly Dao of Spiritual Energy.

But this replacement was only fleeting.

The gap in level between Lu Yan and the true Heavenly Dao was far too vast. He simply couldn’t command the full momentum of Heaven’s authority.

If he tried to forcefully remain in this state, he would be fully assimilated by the Spiritual Heavenly Dao—becoming a part of it.

For most cultivators, such a result would be a mythical outcome—Unity with the Dao—a pinnacle even immortals might only dream of attaining.

But this path was clearly not Lu Yan’s.

To discard the essence of self and become merely an extension of Heaven’s will—that was a complete reversal of what truly mattered.

Thus, Lu Yan treated this fleeting moment of replacing Heaven not as an end goal, but as a rare opportunity for Dao enlightenment.

Strictly speaking, Lu Yan at this moment was not a true Heavenly Dao, but rather a living manifestation of the Dao.

At a glance, the two seemed similar—but the difference was as vast as sky and earth.

The regular type of Heavenly Dao—like those of the Urban Version, Apocalypse Version, or Cyber Version—operated according to fixed rules and patterns.

Unless Lu Yan actively disrupted the natural flow of a version and altered its Dao, the Heavenly Dao would never interfere with him. These systems merely embodied the order of the world and lacked a defined self-awareness or preferences.

For example, the Urban Heavenly Dao, despite being able to rewrite the memories of humanity, could not directly attack Lu Yan. Such actions were restricted by rules.

The Apocalypse Heavenly Dao operated similarly. When Lu Yan purified the land of zombies and wandering spirits, it was deemed an act of salvation and thus earned him merit. Even if he later sacrificed those spirits in rituals, there was no consequence—what mattered was whether it aligned with the world’s laws.

But a living manifestation of the Heavenly Dao—like Lu Yan in this moment, or perhaps the Artificial God after completing soul ascension—was different.

They had self-awareness, were no longer bound solely by order, and could manifest their will with divine might.

Perhaps even the Immortal Cultivation Version’s Dao could be considered a living Dao. Back when Lu Yan revealed Ji Xingyao’s photo in that version, he had been warned directly by the Dao.

Of course, the Immortal Cultivation Dao’s level was so high that it vastly surpassed the Urban, Apocalypse, or Cyber Daos. Lu Yan couldn’t be entirely certain of its nature.

But that was far removed from his current concerns.

What truly mattered now was the insight he gained from stepping into the Heavenly Dao’s place.

Though he had already replaced two versions’ Daos through the momentum of transformation, it wasn’t until this moment—when he truly became the Dao—that he realized just how lofty that status truly was.

All the rules of the Great Dao across the world unfolded before him.

No need for comprehension, meditation, or study—with a single glance, he understood all laws.

In the sky above, the Emperor’s phantom lifted His eyes slightly. The lingering fire from the nuclear blast was quietly wiped away, along with the very concept of its power to erase the supernatural.

He let out a soft breath.

And within a hundred-mile radius, gentle rain fell from the heavens. Those who had been blinded by the nuclear light felt a soothing warmth in their eyes—and their sight was miraculously restored.

With a mere shift of thought, the bright daytime sky turned into a starry night, with the full glory of the constellations shining across the heavens.

Lu Yan could feel that, if not for the fact that the world’s spiritual revival had only just begun and many supernatural laws had yet to emerge, the number of Great Dao rules he could glimpse would have been even greater.

At last, a faint fatigue crept into his will.

To replace Heaven with a mortal mind was simply too taxing—even with the ceremony of forging the Supreme Dao Foundation, there was no avoiding it.

But the gains from this experience were already immense.

Lu Yan no longer needed to push any further.

Now, only one final task remained.

He raised his right hand. His index finger traced a line through the void—where space itself silently tore open.

Beyond that tear, what was reflected was not any earthly scene—but the vast, endless realm of the Soul Banner’s inner continent.

That land was so massive it seemed to blot out the sun and stretch over eight hundred miles. Even an entire state would be hard-pressed to contain it.

Across the lands of the Federation, everyone who looked up toward the sky saw the Soul Continent descending. Cloaked in thick black mist, its true form was impossible to fully behold.

A crushing pressure gripped everyone’s hearts—as if an entire world was falling toward reality.

Then, the ground above Mount Beimang shook violently.

The Emperor’s phantom reached down with His hand—and before the stunned eyes of the world, He tore the mist-shrouded forbidden zone away from reality.

The forbidden zone of Mount Beimang rose into the sky, returning to the vast Soul Continent beyond the veil of reality.

And with the closing of the rift in space, the world’s crushing pressure dissipated completely.

Having completed His task, the Emperor phantom slowly closed His eyes.

The altered night sky reverted to a sunlit daytime.

All the Great Dao laws dispersed back into the ten directions of the world.

And the majestic figure of the Emperor—vanished without a trace.

Though the process appeared slow, in truth, it had all happened within just a few breaths.

People looked up at the sky in confusion, searching for any trace of the phantom—but all that remained was a faint memory, like the remnants of a fading dream.

Only those whose sight had been restored understood that what they’d just experienced was no illusion.

Outside Mount Beimang, the representatives of the various factions struggled to calm their beating hearts.

If the battle between the Ghost Gods had rewritten their understanding of the world, then the appearance of this Emperor phantom had shattered their entire worldview.

The Emperor’s final act—taking away the forbidden zone—undoubtedly proved His connection to the Underworld.

Putting all the clues together, the factions quickly pieced together what they believed was the truth.

This “recovery” of Mount Beimang’s forbidden zone had simply been a chance at redemption granted to the Blood God by the Lord of the Underworld.

The Blood God had orchestrated the conflict, using all the factions to force the Ghost God into abandoning its resurrection.

After a climactic battle, the two sides ended in mutual destruction.

So far, this all still seemed logical.

But then—the United States, manipulated by an unknown supernatural force hostile to the Underworld, dropped a nuclear bomb to destroy Mount Beimang.

The bomb failed—but this act of provocation drew forth the Underworld’s supreme sovereign: the Emperor phantom.

He erased the lingering threat and took Mount Beimang’s forbidden zone back to the Underworld.

Now understanding the full picture, all factions began urgently reporting back to their headquarters.

—

Outside Mount Beimang, Mu Chunqiu, supported by He Dongsheng, slowly rose to his feet, his expression dazed.

He faintly felt that those strange impulses that occasionally flickered through his mind had vanished without a trace under the phantom’s gaze.

And then—he began to sense it.

A subtle flow of something new in the air was flooding into his body, filling him with an unspeakable tension.

Acting purely on instinct, he activated the Long Spring Technique he had discovered in the murals.

In the very next second—

The shackles on his body shattered.

First Layer of Qi Refining!

(End of Chapter)