World version update

Chapter 307 When will the banquet begin?
The instant that terrifying, all-encompassing face enveloped the entire Orank, Lu Yan clearly felt an unparalleled and sublime great will, like an invisible shackle, locking him firmly in place.
This will was so vast and powerful, like the wrath and judgment of the entire world, that he could not muster the slightest thought of resistance.

Immediately afterwards, Lu Yan was horrified to discover that the flow of time around him seemed to be reversing in an incredible way.

It's not a real reversal of time, but rather the great will of the Storm God forcibly retracing everything that happened to him.

His memories, his experiences, and all the secrets he had hidden were revealed at this moment, like an onion being peeled back, layer by layer, before the will of the one and only being in this world, without any concealment.

"not good!"

Alarm bells rang in Lu Yan's mind. He frantically urged the magic power within his body, trying to mobilize the power of the Emperor's Dharma Image, and even to activate the still nascent order of the Divine Court and Underworld, in an attempt to resist this destructive probing of will.

However, everything is in vain.

Lu Yan's mid-Nascent Soul cultivation, his incomplete control of the Divine Court and Underworld, and even his transcendent Emperor Dharma Image, were all as insignificant as dust before the great will of a truly unique being in this world.

That will, like an invincible torrent, easily shattered all his defenses and continued to penetrate deep into the very essence of his soul, as if it wanted to see through him completely, inside and out.

The moment the one and only being in this world was born, everything seemed to be predetermined.

All his pretense and scheming will appear pale and powerless in the face of absolute power.

However, in the next instant, something unexpected happened!
A dazzling sword light, indescribable in any words, seemed to traverse endless time and space and Lu Yan's own river of memories, descending upon this world without warning.

That sword light was so sharp that it pierced through the cause and effect of all the heavens and myriad realms, ignoring the boundaries of the past, present, and future, and was omnipresent.

"laugh!"

A faint tearing sound, almost negligible, rang out.

That supreme and noble will that was originally recalling Lu Yan's memories was as fragile as paper in the face of this sudden and dazzling sword light, which instantly annihilated everything.

Along with the secrets and memories being traced back, they too were shattered and vanished into nothingness under the domineering sword light.

Above the sky, the enormous face formed by the storm suddenly froze.

For the first time, a look of disbelief and astonishment appeared in those eyes that were like black holes.

He clearly felt the terror of that dazzling sword light, and the chilling fact that his own great will had been completely annihilated.

The God of Storms fell into a brief silence.

He could sense that although the sword light was incredibly sharp, it was not aimed at his own body. It was more like a negligible aftershock, a warning from a distant past timeline.

The intent contained within that sword light told Him that if He tried to trace it further, it would lead to unpredictable consequences, and might even bring about a terrifying calamity that would threaten His own existence.

His gaze fell once again on the tiny human below, the one who had previously seemed like an ant in His eyes.

At this moment, Lu Yan still stood there calmly, as if the thrilling clash of wills just now had nothing to do with him.

The contempt and disdain in the eyes of the Storm God gradually disappeared at this moment, replaced by a sense of solemnity and a hint of interest.

"interesting."

A grand and majestic voice, like rolling thunder, descended from the heavens, causing the entire Orank to tremble slightly at the divine word.

"As an avatar, you barely qualify to speak with me!"

No one knew what kind of turmoil was churning inside Lu Yan, who appeared calm and composed on the outside.

He was struggling to suppress the horror within him, and the fear that stemmed from the instinct of a living being for the only being in this world.

Even though he managed to evade the initial probing by the Storm God thanks to the residual power of that eternal sword strike, a lingering fear still flashed through his heart.

Although the mysterious versions of the One and Only in This World all originate from the power of the past, even if the power was stolen, the One and Only in This World is still the only one.

The positions of the seven great gods are enough to reveal the truth of that version.

Their will, to some extent, has already transcended the rules and principles of this world.

With just a single thought, one can discern the true nature and illusion of everything within the version.

Although Lu Yan was not the original being of this mysterious version, he was unable to resist the probing of this will from a higher level, given that the Divine Court and Underworld were not yet fully formed and his own status was far from reaching the level of the only one in this world.

Once the God of Storms discovers that this so-called Emperor of Fengdu is not the only one in this world, and that the underworld he painstakingly built is just a magnificent empty shell, then what awaits him will be a thunderous suppression, with no possibility of escape.

The moment Lu Yan realized that the seven righteous gods would awaken ahead of schedule, he began to think of countermeasures and prepared to cover up the truth.

However, he knew that due to the vast difference in their social status, any proactive resistance would be futile.

His only way out is to take advantage of the situation!

So he took a huge gamble.

He risked everything, especially his memories about his origins, version updates, and the core secrets of the construction of Fengdu Underworld, and deeply bound and linked them with the memory of Jiang Zhiwei's sword strike that killed Taiyi Immortal.

His plan was simple, yet extremely dangerous.

As long as the God of Storms tries to pry into his core memories, he will inevitably touch upon the truth of Taiyi Xian's fall.

As the only one in this world in the Xianxia version, Taiyi Xian's existence itself contains unimaginable cause and effect and taboos.

As an outsider in this mysterious version, once the God of Storms learns of the existence of Taiyi Immortal and attempts to investigate further, he is very likely to trigger cause and effect in the dark, causing Taiyi Immortal, who should have completely perished in the long river of history, to return from oblivion.

Jiang Zhiwei's "Chang Shi" sword technique inherently possesses the supreme power to sever all illusions and prevent such situations from occurring.

Any being that attempts to uncover the truth behind the fall of Taiyi Immortal and to guide him back, no matter how powerful, will be annihilated by that dazzling sword light that transcends time and space.

Even the mighty will of the Storm God, the only being in this world, could not prevent it.

As it turned out, Lu Yan made the right bet.

The great will of the Storm God was indeed mercilessly extinguished when it touched upon the memory of Taiyi Immortal.

The terrifying killing intent contained within that sword light, enough to threaten the life of the only one in this world, successfully made the God of Storms abandon his plan to continue probing Lu Yan's memories.

The greatest threat was thus eliminated without anyone noticing. However, this did not mean that Lu Yan was completely safe.

Although the altered and manipulated memory, along with the lingering power of Changshi Yijian, successfully led the Storm God to make a wrong judgment, mistaking him for the incarnation of the Fengdu Emperor descending to this world.

But the long-suppressed rage of the Storm God will not be quelled by this.

The fall of the Storm Angel King is an intolerable disgrace for the Storm Cult.

For Lu Yan, the current situation remains precarious.

If he appears too weak and yielding, trying to appease the situation, it might arouse the suspicion of the Storm God.

After all, how could an embodiment with such terrifying trump cards easily bow its head in the face of provocation?
Once the God of Storms becomes suspicious and tests Lu Yan again, as long as He doesn't try to forcibly probe Lu Yan's memories but instead takes direct action, Lu Yan, with his current strength, will be powerless to fight back.

However, if Lu Yan acts too aggressively, speaks defiantly, or even tries to resist, he may also incur the thunderous suppression of the Storm God.

After all, in the eyes of the Storm God, even if Lu Yan had a powerful background, he was at this moment just an incarnation similar to the King of Angels.

How could a true unique being tolerate an incarnation acting so presumptuously before him?

At this moment, Lu Yan was like walking on a tightrope along a precipice, with a bottomless abyss beneath his feet.

Every step must be taken with utmost care and precision, for the slightest misstep could lead to a fatal fall.

He must find a delicate balance between being tough and yielding, showing enough confidence to intimidate the other party without overly provoking this capricious storm god.

Countless thoughts flashed through Lu Yan's mind like lightning, and in just a moment, he had already formulated a strategy to deal with the current crisis.

He knew that any verbal defense or show of weakness at this moment could lead to even greater trouble.

Only by demonstrating sufficient strength and confidence can he truly be regarded as an equal dialogue partner by the high and mighty God of Storms and other righteous gods who are eyeing this place.

Once he made up his mind, Lu Yan no longer hesitated.

He took a deep breath and, under the terrifying pressure that almost froze his soul, slowly sat cross-legged.

The next moment, a majestic and vast aura surged from his body.

Suddenly, a majestic imperial image, towering ten thousand feet tall, clad in a black robe and wearing a twelve-tasseled crown, appeared in the sky above Orank, facing the storm-like face that blotted out the sky.

This imperial image bears a striking resemblance to Lu Yan, but exudes an even more imposing and profound aura that commands respect.

Between the opening and closing of his eyes, it seemed as if the sun and moon were turning, and stars were being born and dying.

As soon as the Emperor's Dharma Image appeared, it exuded an ancient and desolate aura. It was not simply a condensation of magical power, but also contained a trace of indescribable ancient charm originating from a higher level.

With a gentle wave of his wide sleeves, the Emperor's Dharma image spread out an invisible force of attraction.

In an instant, the countless stars that had been obscured by the terrifying face of the Storm God and were almost completely dimmed seemed to be summoned by some mysterious power, and began to shine brightly again.

One, two, ten, a hundred. The brilliance of countless stars pierced through the layers of thunder and storm, like sharp swords cutting through the darkness, and reappeared in the night sky.

The storm that had swallowed the heavens and earth began to dissipate rapidly under the sight of this re-gathering of the stars, as if ice and snow had met the blazing sun.

The return of the stars to their proper positions is not a simple celestial change; it involves forces originating from the past.

Although the God of Storms is powerful and can briefly obscure the brilliance of the stars with his own might, he cannot truly conceal the power emanating from those stars.

The storm has passed, and the thunder has subsided.

Above the sky, only the countless glittering stars remained, along with the majestic and incomparably dignified image of the Emperor standing silently beneath the starry sky.

Strands of ancient aura lingered around him like living things, reflecting the divine light emanating from him, which was formed from the power of the divine court and the underworld. This gave Lu Yan a certain majesty and demeanor as a true god.

Upon witnessing this scene, the black holes in the eyes of the enormous face formed by the storm contracted slightly, as if it too was somewhat surprised by this sudden turn of events.

Under the watchful eyes of the seven righteous gods, some filled with surprise, some with scrutiny, and some with indifference, the majestic image of the Emperor slowly took a step forward.

As Lu Yan took this step, the scene before him began to undergo a dramatic and drastic transformation.

The brilliance of the surrounding stars seemed to be infinitely stretched, transforming into streaks of dazzling light that rapidly receded backward.

He felt his consciousness being infinitely elevated, breaking free from the constraints of the original material world and entering a higher and more profound dimension.

Once everything settled down, Lu Yan found himself piloting the Emperor's Dharma Image, in a strange space that defied description.

There is no heaven and earth, no sun, moon and stars, only endless nebulae and bands of light radiating various kinds of brilliance.

He looked down and saw that the mysterious world that had once seemed so vast and contained billions of lives had now shrunk to the size of a tiny speck of dust beneath his feet.

This is the true dimension where the divine kingdom of the gods, as described in mysterious myths and legends, resides—the Astral Realm!
Lu Yan looked around and saw that in this vast and boundless star realm, seven tall phantoms radiating different divine light and pressure were sitting on their respective thrones, watching him from afar.

Their forms are more solid and majestic than when they manifest in the material world, each representing the ultimate authority.

In the farthest, higher dimensions of the astral plane, a terrifying being of unimaginable form, so vast that it defies any scale, lies silently.

That is the original body of the ancient corpse!

Without the tangible manifestation of the stars in the material world, Lu Yan truly understood the terror of the old corpses.

He was completely unable to describe His existence with any known language or concept. Just a glance from afar made his soul tremble, as if he were about to be assimilated and devoured by that endless chaos and madness.

If it weren't for these seven righteous gods supporting this relatively stable astral dimension, he would probably have been completely corrupted by the ancient corpses and turned into a part of Him the moment he set foot here.

Suppressing the shock and excitement in his heart, Lu Yan controlled the Emperor's Dharma Image and, under the gaze of the seven majestic gods, bowed slightly with his hands clasped in a humble yet respectful manner.

His voice, transmitted through the Emperor's Dharma Image, carried a deliberately crafted indifference and detachment, echoing throughout this silent star realm:

"I have come at your invitation. Gentlemen, when shall the banquet begin?"

(End of this chapter)