this infinite world

Chu Hao was not someone who had never seen the world.

In the world of the Ghost Circuit, he became the will of the world and witnessed the opening and closing of a plane; in the Terminator world, he saw Zheng Zha throw an entire continent out of Earth; not to mention the extremely bizarre meme effects he experienced and dealt with in the real world... Although he has not yet reached the fourth level, he has experienced far more than the average fourth level.

But no matter what Chu Hao had experienced, he had never seen Yang Yunlu's move before. After all, the power of this "earth vein elevation" was beyond the realm of ordinary imagination.

Like Zheng Zha, pulling a continent out of the sea might only require brute force; but like Yang Yun, making the entire goblin kingdom "float" smoothly on the ground without damaging a single brick or losing a single soldier requires not only strength, but also an exquisite level of control...

The earth's veins are like a string; the slightest misstep could lead to cataclysmic destruction. And in Chu Hao's perception, Yang Yun's methods were not simply about "manipulating the earth," but rather about using his own will to subjugate this world, causing it to spontaneously lift up the goblin kingdom—not through brutal destruction, but through elegant reshaping. Such methods likely touched upon the realm of rules, a level Chu Hao couldn't comprehend at all.

Moreover, the various Buddhist sounds and golden Buddhist lights rising from around the goblin kingdom were clearly hindering what Yang Yun had just done...

Although he had no recollection of the scene before him and had never had any dealings with Buddhism before, for some reason, the moment he saw the bursts of golden light, Chu Hao inexplicably thought of the dream he had in Rivendell… that dream that lasted for forty-eight hours, a dream indistinguishable from reality.

At the end of the dream, he seemed to vaguely see the same golden light...

In fact, it wasn't just Chu Hao, Nian Xikong, Tom, and Oqi; aside from the usually aloof Sterry who inexplicably shifted his gaze away from the golden light, even the newcomers who had just entered the Main God Space in this mission world felt a strange sense of familiarity rising within them. Because at the end of their dreams, that golden light had appeared, to varying degrees…

"……Amitabha."

Suddenly, a sigh echoed between heaven and earth, its origin and destination unknown. It did not come from any particular direction, but resonated directly in the hearts of all beings, as if the entire world was echoing it... And the next moment, as the chanting of Buddhist prayers subsided, a figure appeared before everyone's eyes.

It was a young monk with red lips and white teeth, dressed in a spotless white robe. He stood barefoot, and with each step he took, golden lotuses bloomed from the void, turning into specks of light as he lifted his feet—truly a dignified and enlightened monk. But at this moment, this young monk gazed at the rising goblin kingdom before him and the gradually fading golden Buddhist light around him, his face filled with regret.

"What a pity." Seeing that the situation was irreversible, the young monk sighed again and turned to Yang Yun, saying, "Young friend—"

"—Who is your little friend?"

However, Yang Yun showed no mercy to the young monk's calm words, clapping his hands and standing up to sneer, "I did it, so what?"

"Young friend, you have gone too far this time."

Faced with Yang Yun's extremely impolite retort, the young monk seemed oblivious and continued to say what he had just left unsaid: "To ruin my seven days of hard work with a single word is truly too reckless."

Strangely enough, although the young monk was speaking face-to-face with Yang Yun, not looking at Chu Hao or anyone else, in the eyes of the members of the Northern Ice Continent team, his face seemed to be facing them directly. No matter which direction they looked from, they could see his face clearly, as if the young monk's face was directly imprinted in their hearts, transforming into a golden, gleaming Buddha statue, occupying everything within their sight—

"You guys go in first."

Suddenly, Yang Yun's voice jolted the members of the Northern Ice Continent team from their bizarre state. When Chu Hao regained his senses, he realized there was no Buddha statue anywhere. Only Yang Yun's unremarkable back was visible: "The Celestial Team is inside the Goblin Kingdom." "Next, it's your Reincarnation Squad's battlefield; and everything that happens here is my responsibility."

"……Understood."

Anyone could see that the standoff between the two was beyond the reach of the Arctic team. Chu Hao was decisive; he didn't care about the dwarven warriors he had painstakingly brought from the Blue Mountains. He immediately led his team into the cave through the entrance where Gandalf and the others had entered, without glancing at the young monk and Yang Yun even once more.

"Click."

After the Arctic team disappeared completely at the cave entrance, the space between Yang Yun and the young monk finally emitted a crisp cracking sound, shattering under the strain. There was no spectacular energy collision, no deafening explosion, but the space between them silently turned to dust, as if an invisible giant hand was erasing reality bit by bit…

"...It seems that you are determined to be my enemy."

Watching the North Ice Continent team, especially Chu Hao, completely disappear at the entrance to the Goblin Kingdom, the gentleness in the young monk's eyes finally faded, replaced by icy coldness. Even so, he maintained his last shred of restraint: "I wonder what your background is, friend? Why are you so determined to prevent me from forging this amicable bond?"

"Ant, young friend, fellow Daoist, senior... I've always been annoyed by this hierarchical system of addressing people."

Upon hearing this, Yang Yun couldn't help but shake his head and chuckle, but his focus differed from the other person's: "You behind-the-scenes manipulators are so opportunistic, scheming and calculating, haggling over even the smallest details like a title, wishing you could bring everything under your control, so it really is..."

At this point, Yang Yun shook his head: "Forget it, it's just a matter of doing it once. Anyway, I can't stand your behavior of saying you're 'making a good connection' but not actually leaving anyone else any other way out... I am Yang Yun, what should I call you?"

"Yang Yun..."

Upon hearing Yang Yun introduce himself, the young monk immediately frowned. No matter how he tried to deduce the cause and effect associated with the name, he couldn't. However, judging from the other man's expression, it didn't seem feigned…

"It is impolite not to reciprocate. How shall I address you?"

While the young monk was still trying his best to calculate, Yang Yun's sarcasm followed one after another: "It's one thing to use an alt account to smurf, but now you don't even dare to introduce yourself? That's too petty of you."

"..."

Seeing Yang Yun's confident demeanor, the young monk's eyebrows twitched. But in the end, he clasped his hands together and chanted a Buddhist prayer: "Amitabha—"

"I am Jieyin." (End of Chapter)