Chapter 206: This Time, I Win Again!

“As expected.”

Lu Yan stared at the three choices on the version update interface—each one a Longevity Version—without the slightest trace of surprise in his eyes.

Compared to the last time, this update even added the character “again” to the Longevity Version names. In a way, it signified that the Longevity Version’s lock on Lu Yan was deepening.

Ever since the end of the Demon Version, Lu Yan had anticipated this moment.

He glanced at the top left of his vision. The designated privilege was only charged to 1/2—he would need to endure through another version before he could use it again.

Last time, Lu Yan had managed to escape disaster by relying on that privilege. But judging from the Sky Abyss God’s pursuit and the schemes laid out by the ancient clans in Luo City, it was clear that the Longevity Version had already foreseen everything.

With the designated privilege still unusable, what awaited Lu Yan this time would be a deadly kill strike from the Longevity Version.

Within the suspended space-time, the strange hand of dusk ahead and the abyssal maw of darkness behind closed in on him inch by inch.

A strong sense of unease in Lu Yan’s heart warned him—he had to choose before either touched him, or he would be swallowed by the eerie dusk and darkness.

Faced with this, Lu Yan remained calm.

He gripped the Human Emperor Banner in his right hand and looked at the version update interface, then suddenly smiled.

“You’re panicking.”

As soon as he spoke, the encroaching dusk and darkness visibly hesitated.

Lu Yan’s smile deepened.

“During the version update following the Demon Version, you had already planned out everything. You lured me into choosing the Demon Version, laid trap after trap—each seemingly countered by me, yet ultimately preventing me from entering the Cultivation Version. Even the designated privilege was within your calculations.

“At that time, you seemed like a god seated high in the heavens, using the world as a chessboard, moving mortals as pawns. No matter how cautiously I acted, I was still manipulated.”

He paused briefly. His gaze changed.

“But once I entered the Apocalypse Version and uncovered the truth of version invasion, I realized—no matter how powerful someone might be, even one capable of crossing versions, there were immense restrictions.

“The Supreme Will plotted against the Apocalypse Heavens, seized the core of transcendence, and almost took control of half the Apocalypse Version. Yet even then, it couldn’t act freely.

“At most, it could send down a wisp of will to ambush me—and even that was crushed by the suppression of Heaven’s Will once it was discovered.”

At this, Lu Yan felt genuine admiration for the Supreme Will. It was truly a remarkable villain.

Not only had it helped him grow stronger, but it had also personally demonstrated how version invasion worked, giving Lu Yan the confidence to face the Longevity Version.

Staring at the three version choices, Lu Yan said one word at a time:

“You’re stronger than the Supreme Will, but you still can’t break through the limitations of the Singular Reality.

“You could stir up storms in the Demon Version, but in the Apocalypse Version, you had no medium. You couldn’t descend. There’s no way you could interfere with the update screen from across versions.

“That can only mean one thing—the source of interference with the version options is already inside the Apocalypse Version.

“And the only one who can bypass version update restrictions… is me.

“So the truth is obvious.

“In the Demon Version, you secretly left a medium on me, followed me across the version update, and used it to alter the version choices!”

As he spoke, Lu Yan slowly raised his left hand.

In the frozen time-space, he activated the long-unused Scripture of the Mysterious Womb, and a purple vortex-like portal appeared in his hand. It pulsed with the origin of all laws and the foundation of all Dao.

What appeared in his hand was his greatest gain from the Demon Version—the Gate of the Mysterious Womb, born from the Dao Truth derived from the Scripture.

Lu Yan’s smile widened as he whispered softly:

“From the moment I tried to use this Dao Truth against the Sky Abyss God during the last version update, I already sensed something was wrong.

“This Dao Truth originates from the Heaven and Earth of the Demon Version. Its power came from resonating with that world’s Dao.

“But the Apocalypse Version is incomplete. Even the Sky Abyss God’s Space Dao was downgraded to the level of a basic divine ability.

“I’m no exception. Though I remain unchanged, the Heaven and Earth do not. Thus, my True Arts should be limited.

“And they were—sixteen other arrays failed to work. Only the Gate of the Mysterious Womb still functioned, able to suppress the Sky Abyss God’s space control. That alone was a red flag.

“Combine that with your inability to descend into the Apocalypse Version, and the fact that I’m carrying a source of interference… the answer becomes clear.”

“The root of the version interference lies in the Gate of the Mysterious Womb.

“You used the third-ranked True Art as bait, luring me into practicing it.

“And the moment it took form, I became connected to you. Every chase, every twisted version option—was because of this!”

With that, Lu Yan released the Gate of the Mysterious Womb from his right hand and grasped the Human Emperor Banner—now upgraded into a Heavenly Dao Merit Artifact—with both hands.

A radiant sun of Heavenly Dao Merit rose from the banner like a blazing dawn.

He swung the banner.

The Heavenly Dao Merit surged, mobilizing the entire Soul Continent and hundreds of miles of imperial aura.

The banner’s shaft turned into a long spear, and Lu Yan drove it straight into the Gate of the Mysterious Womb!

There was no resistance. The Heavenly Dao Merit Artifact pierced the swirling purple gate—the one that had once seemed to encompass all laws—and suppressed it completely.

Lu Yan had avoided using the Gate of the Mysterious Womb ever since he suspected danger. He hadn’t activated the scripture at all during the Apocalypse Version, all to prevent its recovery.

It wasn’t at its peak. With the Human Emperor Banner surpassing the limits of Heaven and Earth and empowered by the foundation of the Underworld, he managed to suppress the gate’s very essence.

As it was pierced, the gate’s aura visibly declined, its once-majestic form reduced to a crumbling stone door.

Even the Scripture of the Mysterious Womb and the other sixteen True Arts were affected. Lu Yan’s own aura quickly weakened.

And in front of him, the version update screen began to flicker wildly, cycling through tens of thousands of option variations in an instant.

This was proof. The interference came from the Gate of the Mysterious Womb.

As time passed, the gate no longer displayed any divine power. All seemed to be settling.

The flickering options finally stopped. Once again, clear text appeared:

[Version update complete. You may now choose one of the following versions:]

Longevity Version: Dyi…
Longevity Version: …ing…
Longevity Version: …struggle!

Everything fell silent. In this suspended time-space, all slowed and twisted.

The dusk before and the darkness behind merged. Shards of time shattered and reformed, painting a terrifying scene.

It was a being beyond comprehension, suspended between dusk and darkness—neither real nor illusory. Countless tendrils emerged from its unspeakable form, each one entwined with the broken fragments of time and space.

As it appeared, Lu Yan seemed to hear the cries and struggles of countless cultivators in the Demon Version before they were assimilated by the Dao. Millennia of sin and corruption manifested before his eyes.

In that instant, Lu Yan’s pupils shrank. He finally understood why that entity had chosen the Gate of the Mysterious Womb as its medium.

Because it truly was the source of all Dao—and therefore, of all pollution as well.

In the Demon Version, that was a disaster.

To carry all laws was also to carry all corruption and sin. The most terrifying truth of the Gate was that it housed the origin of the world’s downfall.

Lu Yan had suppressed the gate with the Human Emperor Banner, but in doing so, he had also released the entity born of millennia of sin.

As its gaze fell on Lu Yan, the suspended time-space quaked under its divine might.

Its godly pressure surged like a tide, warping time and space, threatening to drag everything into eternal chaos.

The figure—woven from dusk and shadow—radiated a divinity that struck fear into the soul.

Its tendrils fell from all directions, intent on tearing Lu Yan apart.

And on the version screen, the words [Dying Struggle] mocked his futile resistance.

As the tendrils closed in, Lu Yan trembled, head bowed, as if accepting fate.

He slowly raised his right hand. In this life-or-death crisis, it seemed he was about to tap one of the three choices.

But just before touching it, his hand stopped.

He raised his head—and smiled with mocking amusement.

“You think I’m afraid?”

His calm voice cut through the madness. No matter how terrifying the scene, he remained composed.

“You’re too desperate.”

With a sigh, Lu Yan shook his head and looked on indifferently.

“You really thought you could scare me into choosing quickly?”

He tapped his temple with a sneer.

“If you could actually act during the version update, why resort to trickery and cheap tricks with text the last two times?

“You’re bound by the Singular Reality. You can’t override the version system.”

“I’m the only one who can traverse all versions and cross eternity.

“And the only powers that can act in this suspended space are those tied to me—powers of the Unchanging One.

“So tell me—can you use my power to kill me?”

As the entity’s tendrils neared, carrying madness and corruption, Lu Yan stared them down.

Any ordinary lifeform would have fallen into insanity just by looking at it.

Yet just before they touched Lu Yan’s forehead, the entire illusion—dusk, darkness, horror—vanished like smoke.

All returned to normal.

Dusk glowed warmly on the land, no horror in sight.

“Well played.”

Lu Yan clapped slowly, eyes filled with admiration.

Had he not seen through it all, he might’ve fallen for it—chosen the Longevity Version out of fear.

After all, even a slim chance in the Longevity Version was better than certain death at the hands of that abomination.

He glanced at the still-intact three Longevity Version options—utterly unbothered.

“You were in too much of a hurry this time. That’s not like you.”

He narrowed his eyes at the version interface.

“Let me guess why you’re so desperate…”

A faint light flickered over the first option. The version interface was changing.

“Back in the Cultivation and Urban Versions, I disrupted the version’s Heaven’s Will, increasing the version shift value.”

“In the Cultivation Version, just 1% was enough to draw Heaven’s attention. That led to the next update offering three nightmare options: Infinite, Ghost, Cyber.

“And in the Urban Version, I caused a full 100% version shift, replacing the heavens entirely—resulting in three near-death traps: Ascension, Demon, and Longevity.”

“Each major disruption makes the next version update much harder.”

“This seems to be a balance mechanism—the more I alter the world, the harder the next choice becomes.”

“So I began to wonder—was the interference from the Longevity Version stronger… or was the balance mechanism more powerful?”

The glowing light spread, replacing the first option with new text.

[Ghost Version: My name is Lu Yan. If you’re seeing this… I’m already dead.]

The Ghost Version—one of the three nightmare choices Lu Yan had once seen.

Back then, it was a certain death trap.

But now, he’d rather deal with cunning ghosts than the Longevity Version’s traps.

This confirmed his guess: the Longevity Version had been pushing him to choose quickly—before the balance mechanism kicked in.

But it was too late.

Still smiling, Lu Yan looked at the second option. Its text also began to shift.

[Starfield Version: In Year 3761 of the Galactic Era, the first Martial God crossed the stars with his body alone. Thus began the Starfield Age.]

“It seems the balance mechanism wins after all.”

As he spoke, the third option changed again:

[Cultivation Version: Dao Struggle? Immortal Crossing? But what are the immortals behind the scenes truly planning?]

Lu Yan’s smile finally eased into relief.

“This time, I win again!”

(End of Chapter)