Reversing Falsehood and Preserving Truth: All Gods and Gods Are in My Hands

Lu Yu gently closed the bedroom door, shutting out his parents' deliberately hushed conversation in the living room. The deep-seated exhaustion that seemed to drain him of his very bones finally surged up like a tidal wave.

He slid slowly to the ground with his back against the door, took several deep breaths, and then barely managed to get up and walk to the desk.

Lu Yu closed his eyes and let his consciousness sink into his dantian.

The ancient herbal cauldron floated quietly in the center of the Qi Sea. Its body shimmered with a warm, cyan luster, and the patterns of plants, birds, and beasts engraved on its surface flickered like breathing, subtly resonating with the vitality of the spiritual plants within the body.

With a slight thought, Lu Yu's consciousness, like a wisp of smoke, probed into the spiritual field within the cauldron, a world unto itself. The rich spiritual energy, almost solidified, rushed towards him, carrying the crispness of grass and trees and the mellowness of soil.

What lay before me was not the neatly divided field ridges I had imagined, but a vibrant miniature world.

In the center stands a strange tree, three zhang tall, with a trunk like black jade and leaves that are translucent pale gold. The soil beneath the tree is a rare "stardust soil," and upon closer inspection, one can see countless tiny, shimmering lights, as if the Milky Way had been crushed and sprinkled into the soil, nourishing the spiritual veins below.

Lu Yu's consciousness swept across the spirit field, and one rare spiritual material after another came into view:

In the southeast corner, the Earth Vein Blood Ginseng takes root in the reddish-brown rock layer. Its body is as thick as a child's arm, with naturally formed dragon scale-like patterns. At the top, each of the nine branches condenses a drop of crimson dew, which is the main ingredient for refining the "Nine-Turn Dragon Blood Pill," which can reshape the physical body and bring the dead back to life.

Within the Cold Jade Pool on the west side, three Moon Shadow Ephemeral Flower buds are tightly closed, their entire bodies shimmering with moonlight and ice-blue. They bloom only for a fleeting moment when the moon is full, forming the core of the "Ice Heart Soul Stabilizing Pill," which is specifically designed to cure damage to the soul and the erosion of inner demons.

Deep within the spiritual field, a pool of milky-white stalactite liquid slowly seeps out. Seven seven-colored lingzhi mushrooms on the edge of the pool emit rosy light. These are essential ingredients for the "Seven-Colored Heaven-Mending Pill," which can replenish innate deficiencies and repair the foundation of the Great Dao.

Other spiritual materials, such as Dragon Bone Vine and Yi Wood Thunder Mushroom, either cling to rock walls or grow in special terrains. Although each has its own unique uses, there is no need to examine them one by one. Their rarity can be sensed simply from their aura.

Lu Yu's consciousness paused deep within the spirit field, where he could vaguely sense the massive outline of the pangolin's body, enveloped in layers of stardust soil. However, after much thought, he realized that both crafting a puppet and creating an external avatar required corresponding Dao inheritances, which he currently lacked the ability to begin with, and thus had to temporarily set aside the task.

Exiting the spiritual field and returning to reality, Lu Yu slowly opened his eyes. The myriad medicinal formulas instilled in his mind by Shennong were as vast as a galaxy. The "Nine-Turn Rejuvenation Pill" requires 365 main ingredients and is refined by the fire of the stars for 365 days, which can bring back to life those whose souls have not yet dissipated; the "Chaos Opening Heaven Pill" requires the Qi of Chaos as the main ingredient, which can open up the small world within the body and enter the realm of "Inner Universe".

Too far.

These divine pills are ultimately too far removed from his current state. At present, he can only refine basic pills such as "Qi-Boosting and Yuan-Replenishing Pill" and "Mind-Clearing and Spirit-Calming Powder," and at most a few variations of "Hundred Herbs Pill."

The spiritual materials in the spiritual fields that require the Returning to One Realm or even higher to process can only be viewed but not used for now. It's like guarding a mountain of gold but only being able to spend copper coins, inevitably causing a sense of helplessness in one's heart.

Calming himself, Lu Yu suppressed his distracting thoughts and sank his consciousness into a deeper realm—the Hub of Myriad Paths.

The familiar vast sea of ​​light came into view, and the 9999-step starlight staircase stretched into the distance, with colorful rays of light flowing in the air. Without hesitation, he walked straight to the Feng Hou Temple. The Qing Tong wood was still upright, and the star patterns shimmered with a faint blue light in the void. The array base patterns on the Xuanhuang stone ground flowed as usual, revealing the weight of the ancient array.

"Senior." Lu Yu bowed respectfully to the figure holding a beast bone scepter in the center of the hall.

Feng Hou looked at Lu Yu with a complex gaze, filled with scrutiny and concern: "You've arrived. Can your physical body and soul withstand the strain?"

"I feel very tired, but the Spirit Plant Returning to Origin Body is repairing itself, so my foundation in the Great Dao should be fine," Lu Yu answered truthfully. He then asked the question that was most pressing to him, "Senior, what was the reason for your appearance before...? Why did you suddenly appear?"

After a moment of silence, the ancient god's face showed an expression of near confusion, and his voice echoed in the empty temple, carrying a hint of bewilderment: "I too have no way of knowing."

"At that time, I was recuperating in the temple when I suddenly felt a will of heaven and earth far beyond my comprehension, forcefully dragging my soul away, ignoring the rules and constraints of the myriad paths, and forcibly stuffing it into your body."

He paused, then gently tapped the ground with his beast bone scepter, causing subtle ripples to spread across the Xuanhuang stone floor. "That was neither your summons nor a normal response from the Nexus, but rather a higher level of power that temporarily altered the rules of this place in an instant."

Lu Yu was deeply shocked and subconsciously asked, "A higher level than you?"

"I have been trapped here for countless years, and my divine power has been reduced to less than one-tenth."

Feng Hou shook his head, his tone heavy with unspeakable solemnity. "Even if I were to go back to my prime, I don't think I could have altered the Nexus rules so easily. The mystery of this place far exceeds my understanding of what I once knew."

He looked at Lu Yu, his gaze suddenly turning serious, carrying an undeniable warning, his tone as resounding as an ancient bell: "You must remember, the arrival of that level is an extremely heavy burden for you. The arrival of this incomplete body has already caused your meridians to rupture and you to be on the verge of collapse; if it were me in my prime, even if I only descended for a moment, your physical body, soul, and foundation of the Great Dao would be reduced to ashes in an instant, leaving you with no chance of life."

Lu Yu nodded emphatically.

He certainly remembered that feeling: his body no longer belonged to him, every cell was groaning and disintegrating, and his soul was being torn apart by two opposing consciousnesses.

"Does the senior know the source of that will? Is it the Hub of Myriad Paths itself, or... some other being?"

"I don't know."

Feng Hou answered crisply, without any pretense, "The secrets of the Hub are as numerous as the sands of the Ganges. My understanding of this place is merely the tip of the iceberg. It is both a place of inheritance and a prison of confinement, and it holds endless unknown mysteries."

Lu Yu's heart was churning with emotions.

The Hub of Ten Thousand Paths was left to him by his grandmother. It is the key to his strength improvement, the confidence to fight against the Void Spirits and protect his companions, and the only hope for him to grow to a high enough level in the future, find his grandmother, and revive Liu Jing.

But the lock behind that key, and what it locked, was a million times more complex than he had imagined.

"I understand." Lu Yu bowed again. "Please take good care of yourself, senior. I will come to see you again if needed."

Feng Hou nodded slightly.

Lu Yu's consciousness withdrew from the Myriad Dao Hub. In reality, the moonlight outside the window was already high in the sky, and the cool moonlight shone through the gaps in the curtains onto the table, reflecting faint spots of light.

He sat at his desk, looking at the mark on his palm.

too tired.

Lu Yu could no longer hold on and collapsed onto the bed fully clothed. Almost the instant his head touched the pillow, his consciousness sank into darkness. He didn't even dream; only the Hundred Herbs Cauldron floated quietly in his dantian, emitting a warm glow that nourished his weary body.

Late at night, Pinggang Port, Qingdao City.

The night was as dark as ink, dyeing the sea and sky a somber deep blue. The salty sea breeze carried the chill of early winter, whipping up layers of white waves that repeatedly pounded against the reinforced concrete embankment, producing a monotonous yet powerful crashing sound.

Most of the port was asleep, with only a few scattered navigation lights flashing lonely in the darkness, cutting the shimmering waves into fragmented golden pieces.

Only Pier No. 3 was brightly lit...