Chapter 256: Now It’s Your Turn

What Lu Yan referred to as the “unexpected development” was, without a doubt, the destruction of the Main God version fragment.

As early as when he destroyed the Cyber version fragment, Lu Yan had already sensed the probing hostility from the Main God.

However, constrained by the rules of the Great Collapse Version, the Main God couldn’t interfere with reality like the being behind Longevity Heaven by projecting His will.

If it were any other this world’s sole existence, Lu Yan wouldn’t be too concerned—but the Main God was different.

Lu Yan knew well the connection between the Main God’s domain and the Reincarnators, and more importantly, that the Main God held nearly absolute control over them.

While the Main God couldn’t project direct power, He could still stir up chaos by utilizing Reincarnators within the Great Collapse Version.

Lu Yan had planned to use the deterrence of a Forbidden Existence to unite the various version factions against the external threat—but the Main God would never let that happen easily.

Once the joint conference began, the Main God’s domain would undoubtedly issue missions to sabotage it.

Although Lu Yan could have used the Clear Sun Alliance’s power to fight back against the Main God’s domain, doing so would mean stepping right into the trap He had laid.

“Why bother with political maneuvering and power struggles,” Lu Yan murmured, “when brute force breaks through all things?”

The instant Lu Yan stepped into the Main God version fragment, the world fell silent.

The boundaries of the realm trembled. Laws stirred. It was as if the entire version sensed the arrival of a being beyond logic. In the void, the fragment’s incomplete rules formed countless invisible chains, attempting to bind the intruder.

In the skies above, the once gentle and warm sun faded away, replaced by a colossal white sphere of light radiating immense pressure.

This was the manifestation of the Main God’s core will—an existence revered yet unreachable by all Reincarnators. Countless incomplete rules orbited the light sphere like stars, evolving the myriad Dao of the Main God’s domain.

For the first time, even Lu Yan felt the weight of true pressure.

This version was unlike anything he had encountered—far more vast and complete than the Mechanized City or the Universe Tower. Its laws were far more intricate and perfect.

Lu Yan faintly sensed an indescribable supreme will watching through the veil of versions, peering through the barrier between truth and illusion.

It was the gaze of this world’s sole existence, a high-dimensional being overlooking the world.

Were it not for the Great Collapse Version shielding him, Lu Yan was certain that even a glance from that will would have been enough to obliterate him.

Suddenly, the light sphere swelled. Endless brilliance surged toward Lu Yan like a tidal wave, intent on engulfing and assimilating this unwelcome intruder.

Within that radiance lay countless chains of laws, capable of binding and subjugating any being to the rules of this realm.

However, the moment the light reached within three feet of Lu Yan, it halted, as if meeting an invisible barrier.

Lu Yan floated in the void, robes fluttering, expression serene—unshaken as if this wasn’t the onslaught of a core world’s rules but merely a breeze brushing past him.

The light sphere above quaked violently, then intensified its assault.

The void trembled. Rules collapsed. Everything within a hundred miles twisted and shattered under its force. Even Nascent Soul Dao Lords would be annihilated under such an impact.

But Lu Yan stood firm—like a mountain, like an eternal cliff.

“Are you done yet?”

His voice thundered like divine lightning, cutting through the void and shaking the heavens.

In that moment, the entire Main God version fragment trembled. Time itself seemed to pause under his rebuke.

He strode forward through the void. Each step landed on invisible threads of the Dao, ripples spreading beneath his feet.

Though his aura was steady and calm, it carried a power that could shake heaven and earth. His plain green robe billowed without wind, the very image of an immortal descending to the mortal world.

He approached the massive light sphere in the sky, and between them a ripple of power spread—two opposing rules colliding in silence.

Darkness fell. Everything ceased.

The entire Main God version fragment entered a strange stillness. Even the wind stopped breathing. Clouds froze midair. Birds hung motionless in the sky. Streams halted in their flow.

Then came a sound like glass shattering.

Cracks began to spread across the white light sphere.

The version’s rules trembled. Its order teetered on collapse.

And at last, the glowing orb above retreated and disappeared.

Though this version fragment bore the imprint of a this world’s sole existence, it could not stand against the trait of the Immutable One.

Because this Immutable trait was a path that transcended even those this world’s only.

The core rules had been thoroughly suppressed—but for Lu Yan, this was just the beginning.

Far on the horizon, hundreds of Reincarnators had arrived at the battlefield, their expressions filled with terror as they stared at Lu Yan.

With their power, they had clearly witnessed Lu Yan defy the core laws alone—a power beyond their comprehension.

Yet even in the face of such overwhelming might, not one of them dared to retreat.

Because they all bore the same mission:

[Temporary Mission: Defeat the enemy and protect the Main God Space’s core domain. Reward: SSS-level Plot Points Failure Penalty: Erasure!]

Most of them had never even seen an S-level Plot Point, let alone SSS.

Completing this mission could grant them a high-rank core ability—maybe even elevate them to the Nascent Soul realm.

But none of them were excited.

In the Main God Space, high rewards rarely came without high cost.

And when a mission promised such a reward—especially one mobilizing the entire Reincarnator force—it often meant certain death.

Were it not for the forced nature of the mission, which erased them upon failure, most Reincarnators would have already fled.

Now, facing the solitary figure of Lu Yan, they could only steel themselves and charge forward.

“How dare you trespass into our Main God Space! Such audacity!”

“Use every rare artifact and advanced authority you’ve exchanged from the Main God—everything!”

“Stall him! Some of our best are still at the joint meeting. As long as we delay him until they return, everything will be fine!”

The Reincarnators surged like a tide, each with vastly different cultivation systems—a reflection of the endless updates across versions.

There were cultivators ablaze with True Yang Fire, with dazzling Dharma artifacts and divine arts. There were psionic warriors, bodies modified through energy surgeries, waves of power roaring from them. There were martial artists whose blood and qi thundered like dragons, each step shaking the mountains. There were saints glowing with divine light, rule-wielding through belief. There were even alien beings with exotic bloodlines that carried the might of ancient behemoths…

Hundreds of Reincarnators unleashed their arts. The void filled with intersecting rules, dazzling lights, and techniques as brilliant as fireworks—each powerful enough to shift mountains and overturn seas.

Lu Yan, standing amidst the surging killing intent, felt no emotion.

Why?

Because they were far too weak.

Among the hundreds present, less than two hundred had reached the Core Formation stage. Only seven were Nascent Soul level.

Reincarnators didn’t hail from a civilization-based version. Every skill they had was earned by struggling through the Main God’s trials—there was no formal inheritance.

This created a chasm: the strongest among them could overturn a version fragment, while the weakest weren’t even qualified to leave one.

For the joint conference, the Main God had sent its strongest—over a hundred elite Reincarnators.

Among them were three Nascent Soul peak-level Reincarnators, each a master of their own system. In total, there had been eleven other Nascent Soul experts.

The remaining Reincarnators—at least Core Formation—represented nearly all of the Main God Space’s high-end power.

With them gone, only seven Nascent Soul stage cultivators remained, with the strongest at mid-level.

Unlike the Mechanized City, which had deep roots and devastating forbidden tech, the Main God Space’s elites relied on themselves. They had no loyalty to the version fragment and thus no heritage treasures for protection.

These few Reincarnators were the last cards in the Main God’s hand.

If they could just hold out a little longer, maybe the others could return in time to stop Lu Yan.

But unfortunately for them, they didn’t even have the time to stall.

Lu Yan gently waved the Human Emperor Banner.

The black-gold banner swept through the air in a graceful arc.

The void tore like fabric, revealing a deep, dark rift beyond.

Through it could be seen a vast realm of towering mountains and roaring Yellow Springs.

From that crack, 6,600 ghostly troops and generals stepped out—thunder in their wake, shaking the heavens.

In an instant, the aura of the Human Emperor surged like a roaring tide.

Under the shadow of that minor Underworld world, five ghost deities emerged, cloaked in divine armor formed by the Human Emperor’s energy. Though only at Core Formation peak, their presence rivaled Nascent Soul cultivators.

“Yellow Springs Formation!”

With a single command, the five ghost deities took up their positions. Guided by the Underworld’s computing deity, the ghostly army assembled. The formation activated in a flash.

Yellow Springs Water surged from the rift. At first trickling like thread, it soon became a monstrous flood.

This water carried the core law of that underworld—it represented the end of all things, the final destination.

Even outside its native domain, just a trace of this essence carried the power to corrode all life. The void rippled beneath it, unable to bear its weight.

The Reincarnators’ powers—mana, psionics, belief—all crumbled upon contact with the Yellow Springs. Treasured artifacts aged as if weathered for millennia. Even the mightiest divine abilities and innate talents proved fragile before it.

In a blink, hundreds of Reincarnators below Core Formation were swallowed and erased.

In a heartbeat, they knew terror.

They couldn’t resist.

They couldn’t fight back.

Faced with imminent death, some finally tried to flee—but it was already too late.

The ghostly army marched across the Yellow Springs. Each step left ripples in the air.

The water followed them as if alive, reflecting not this world, but the eternal gloom of the Underworld.

Their formation did not strike with raw power—it moved in mysterious rhythm, invoking the law of erasure.

Before even reaching the ghosts, the Core cultivators’ internal energy shattered, their Dao foundations cracked. Their prized techniques became their downfall.

The formation swept through. Two hundred Core Reincarnators were crushed before they could respond. Their souls, torn from their bodies, were instantly dissolved—no hope of rebirth.

The brilliant spells they had once cast now echoed like fading sighs in the air.

Only seven Nascent Soul-level Reincarnators remained.

But even they showed despair.

Before they could react, the Yellow Springs Water engulfed them.

It didn’t destroy them violently. It gently clung to their bodies—like a patient weaver unraveling the very threads of life.

First their powers peeled away.

Then their vitality drained.

Finally, their true souls cracked.

Some raged. Some accepted. Some tried to flee.

All perished the same.

Their souls flickered one last time like candles in the wind—then vanished.

Their bodies collapsed into bone and sank beneath the murky yellow.

Within the Main God version fragment, as the last powerful Reincarnator fell, silence returned.

As if the Main God lost its anchor to this realm, the gaze from beyond began to fade.

Far away, the returning Nascent Soul Reincarnators’ bracelets flashed red.

[Mission Failed!] [Erasure!]

“No! Noooooo!!”

They roared in despair. After all they had endured, they were only a step away from transcendence.

Yet now, because of a mission they hadn’t even taken part in, they were to be erased.

But their will could not defy the Main God’s laws.

A beam of white light pierced space and time, erasing every Reincarnator it touched.

Back within the fragment, the shattered white sphere reappeared.

Scarlet letters bloomed before Lu Yan’s eyes—

[Erasure!]

White light descended, as if to erase him like the others.

This was the Main God’s erasure rule—anchored through the sacrifice of hundreds of Reincarnators, finally able to descend.

It was not tied to the core rules of the version fragment.

Even the Immutable One could not be exempt.

And yet, Lu Yan showed no fear.

He only whispered:

“Your turf. Time for you to act.”

Between heaven and earth, a mighty will slowly awakened.

In the past seven days, Lu Yan had destroyed no less than ten version fragments. Though none matched the Nine Heavens, they had still helped the Great Collapse Heavenly Dao recover further.

Though the Great Collapse Heavenly Dao could not act directly against living beings due to the laws of order—it could still counter rules from beyond its domain.

Before Lu Yan, the scarlet words began to glitch.

The word “Erasure” was overwritten.

[Harmonized]

(End of Chapter)