All the heavens, starting as the ruler of the universe

"Li Changqing of the Tian Shu Sect?"

Ao Qing narrowed his eyes. What was this old guy doing here?

Li Changqing was one of the few human cultivators he knew in this world, but they were only nodding acquaintances.

"What is it?" Ao Qing's voice carried through the barrier, carrying the unique majesty of the dragon race.

"Dragon Lord!"

Li Changqing addressed him with a respectful title, "I have come here to invite the Dragon Lord to the Dao Inquiry Conference of the Eastern Continent's cultivation world, to discuss the grand plan for dealing with the calamity of the end of Dharma."

"Ha!" Ao Qing scoffed.

"The dissipation of spiritual energy is a catastrophe for this world. What can you do, and what do you intend to do?"

"Dragon Lord, you are mistaken. Our cultivation is about fighting against heaven and earth, fighting for this sliver of life."

Li Changqing's voice was so sincere, it was as if he were speaking from the bottom of his heart.

Ao Qing found it laughable.

Fight for a sliver of hope? With what can they fight for it? With those two old guys behind them who haven't uttered a word from beginning to end, but whose eyes have been constantly glancing towards the Dragon Palace?

"I can't get out." Ao Qing was too lazy to beat around the bush with them. "You humans can still survive in this world of declining Dharma, but I'll die if I go out."

"Dragon Lord, do not worry." Li Changqing swam forward a step and took out a palm-sized jade plate from his sleeve. The jade plate was engraved with dense patterns and emitted a warm spiritual light.

"This is the 'Spirit-Suppressing Plate,' the most treasured artifact of my Heavenly Pivot Sect. It can be carried with one's person and can prevent one's true spirit from dissipating. I am willing to lend this item to the Dragon Lord to help him attend the gathering."

Suppressing Spirit Plate?

It certainly sounds like a good thing, but Ao Qing firmly believes one thing: those who offer unsolicited favors are either up to no good or are thieves.

The Dao Asks the Questions Conference doesn't need him; offering such valuable gifts to send him away suggests ulterior motives.

"Fellow Daoist Li," Ao Qing spoke, his voice calm, "I remember your Tian Shu Sect doesn't have many people left, right? This is the only treasure you have left. Are you willing to lend it?"

Li Changqing's smile froze for a moment, then returned to normal: "Dragon Lord is too kind. No matter how precious a treasure is, it is not as important as the survival of the cultivation world in the Eastern Continent. If we can invite the Dragon Lord to the meeting to discuss important matters, what is a treasure?"

He spoke generously and sincerely.

But the two old men behind him never took their eyes off Ao Qing.

Ao Qing's tail tightened.

"Thank you for your kind offer," he said, "but I'm tied up with matters at the Dragon Palace and can't get away. I won't be attending the conference."

"Dragon Lord—"

"I said I'm not going!"

The dragon's roar echoed across the seabed.

Li Changqing fell silent.

He stared at the palace gate for a long time, his smile slowly fading. The two old men behind him exchanged a glance, their gazes darkening.

"Since that's the case..." Li Changqing slowly put away the jade plate, his voice softening slightly, "I won't insist. But Dragon Lord—"

He paused.

"This calamity of the Dharma's decline is inescapable. Confining ourselves to the Dragon Palace is ultimately not a long-term solution."

After saying that, he turned and left.

"You think I'm like you guys? I have a chat group." Ao Qing didn't care about anything else and happily opened the chat group.

[Group Message]

Ao Qing: Brother Lin, help me!

At this moment, Lin Yan is standing on a young planet.

Beneath his feet lay a boiling ocean of lava, its orange-red light illuminating his profile.

In the distance, several volcanoes erupted simultaneously, hurling molten lava hundreds of meters into the air, where it was pulled down like a waterfall by gravity and crashed into that never-ending crimson abyss.

He raised his right hand.

An octagonal talisman—the Ox Talisman—lies quietly in the palm of my hand.

On the dark surface of the runestone, a robust bull pattern gleamed with a metallic sheen under the light of the lava, as if it might break free from the small stone at any moment.

"strength."

Lin Yan murmured to himself.

Starlight emanated from his fingertips, seeping into the runes. In his perception, those rough, regular patterns were like the sinews of an ancient behemoth, each one containing a pure and direct will.

It lacks the sophisticated immunity mechanisms of the Chicken Talisman, possessing only the simplest and most primitive core—

power.

My feet trembled slightly.

The churning of the magma ocean seemed more intense than before, with several new cracks spreading across the surface and more lava gushing out.

Under his influence, the planet's core began to rotate at an accelerated rate.

Ignoring the changes occurring throughout the universe, Lin Yan subtly moved his mind, and a semi-transparent panel appeared before him.

The group message still displayed Ao Qing's message, "Brother Lin, help me!" followed by a string of question marks from Peter Parker.

Lin Yan clicked on "List Items," filled out the form, and clicked "Confirm."

[Group message notification: Lin Yan has listed 5 new items]

[6. Jackie Chan Adventures: The Ox Talisman] - Listed by: Lin Yan

Description: One of the twelve talismans, its core principle is "power amplification." Once activated, it can greatly increase the user's power, theoretically with no upper limit. It requires no spiritual energy or internal force; it is driven solely by willpower.

Price: 700 Source Points

Inventory: 5

"??????" Ao Qing was the first to blurt out, "A bull talisman? Brother Lin, when did you finish researching another one???"

"Just now," Lin Yan replied.

"I have a question, Brother Lin. The power of talismans shouldn't be very important to someone like you, right?" You Lingfeng was quite curious about this.

"To me, the power of talismans is truly meaningless."

Lin Yan patiently explained.

"While the power of the talisman is useless to me, the power of the rules within the talisman is very important."

"Each rule is a node in this network of universal laws. Understanding it is like learning a new language."

Peter Parker pondered: "So, Lin, you're not gathering power, but... learning?"

"Yes." Lin Yan confirmed his idea.

"But what exactly are these rules you're talking about, Brother Lin?" Ao Qing felt that rules were too abstract. If one could master the rules in the cultivation world, wouldn't that mean becoming an immortal?

"What are the rules?"

Lin Yan looked at Ao Qing's question and remained silent for a few seconds.

The planet beneath our feet is becoming increasingly violent.

In the distance, a volcano is hurling molten lava high into the air, which then falls back down like a waterfall under the pull of gravity.

He reached out and caught a stray spark, letting it extinguish in his palm.

Have you ever played video games?

Peter Parker was the first to react: "Of course I've played it! I'm a gaming pro!"

"There are various rules in the game—characters can jump because there's a jump button; they can get hurt because there's a health bar; they can level up because there's an experience point system. These rules determine how the game is played."

"It's just that the rules of the game are written in the code, while the rules of reality are written in the underlying structure of the universe."

Ao Qing seemed to understand a little: "So, Brother Lin, the rules you're talking about are... the rules that govern how the world works?"

"Yes." Lin Yan wasn't sure if they could understand him.

"But how are we supposed to grasp these rules?" You Lingfeng was a little confused.

"Let's use a game to explain it. If you're a character in a game, you can never rewrite the game's code; you have to step out of the game."

"It's a vicious cycle." Liu Ming was quite philosophical about it. Among the few people in the chat group, he was the weakest, and still just a mortal.

"Not entirely. If nothing unexpected happens, it is indeed a vicious cycle, but now that there are chat groups, there are variables." Lin Yan is still optimistic about chat groups.

After all, they can locate various different worlds in the endless void and exchange resources from all walks of life through chat groups.

------

Liu Ming silently looked at the messages in the group chat, without continuing to type.

He huddled in the cramped room, staring at the translucent panel.

The screen's glow reflected on his tired face, highlighting the bloodshot eyes.

rule.

What Brother Lin said is too far-fetched.

He was just a truck driver who got up at four in the morning every day and drove that stone truck that didn't belong to him back and forth between the quarry and the engine.

One trip, two trips, three trips.

Until the shift ends, until my body falls apart, until I can't do it anymore.

In this world where the sun has gone out, no one can remain unaffected; everyone becomes a cog in the machine of humanity's survival plan.

Liu Ming looked down at his hands. They were rough, cracked, and covered with freshly applied frostbite ointment.

Among the people in the group, Ao Qing is a dragon, Peter has superpowers, Kara is a Kryptonian, and You Lingfeng is the first martial arts master to join the chat group.

Even Brother Lin... He didn't know who Brother Lin was, but he was definitely stronger than the others.

He is nothing.

"Rules..." Liu Ming murmured repeatedly, "I can't even understand the rules of the game."

Outside the window, the underground city's "sky" is always gray—it's just a giant display screen simulating day and night on the surface.

The current display shows "Night," with the brightness turned down to the lowest setting, shrouding the entire dungeon in dim light.

I could hear a child crying next door, people arguing upstairs, and a vendor selling dried earthworms downstairs still calling out his wares.

This is the underground city, where millions of people are crammed into narrow spaces, like sardines in a can.

Liu Ming closed the chat group and lay back down on the creaking bed.

Unable to sleep, I tossed and turned, then opened the chat group again, looking at my 300+ Source Points, wondering how many more I needed to get the enhancement potion.

"Knock knock knock".

There was a knock on the door.

"Who is it?" Liu Ming sat up from the bed, still wearing his work clothes.

"Ming-ge, it's me."

Hearing the familiar voice, Liu Ming finally felt relieved and opened the door.

Standing outside the door was a young man of about seventeen or eighteen, with a slightly arrogant smile on his face, but bright eyes. It was Liu Qi.

"Liu Qi? What are you doing here instead of sleeping?"

Liu Qi squeezed through the door, showing no sign of being a stranger.

He got to know the neighborhood well and knew that Liu Ming was his grandfather's colleague in the car team. He was easy to talk to, and most importantly, Liu Ming was a good driver and was willing to teach him.

"I couldn't sleep, so I came to chat with you." Liu Qi waved his arm. "I've got something good to show you."

He rolled up his sleeves, revealing a section of metal frame—simple, crude, but definitely a mechanical exoskeleton, extending from his wrist to his forearm.

Liu Ming narrowed his eyes.

"Where did it come from?"

"I made it myself." Liu Qi said proudly, "I pieced it together from scrap parts, and it took me over a month. Look—"

Liu Qi pulled out a steel pipe from behind his buttocks, held it in his hand, and the steel pipe instantly deflated.

Liu Ming stared at the crude robotic arm and remained silent for a few seconds.

He knew the story was about to begin.

In the movie, Liu Qi sneaks onto the surface with his sister, which leads to a series of troubles.

This mechanical exoskeleton is likely one of the "equipment" he prepared for himself.

"What's the point of making this?" Liu Ming asked, feigning ignorance.

Liu Qi's smile faded, and his gaze drifted to the window. Outside, everything was shrouded in a gray haze; even the stars in the simulated night sky on the screen were fake.

"I want to go up and take a look," he said.

"above?"

"The ground," Liu Qi's voice lowered, "My grandpa said it's over eighty degrees below zero up there, and people would freeze solid if they went outside. But I still want to see—real stars, real snow, not the kind on the screen."

Liu Ming didn't speak. Although he had only read the elective course on The Three-Body Problem and hadn't seen the movie The Wandering Earth, You Lingfeng had already told him the general plot.

He knew Liu Qi would go up.

You Lingfeng once said that this kid, along with his younger sister Han Duoduo, stole his grandfather's car card and drove that heavy transport vehicle at breakneck speed.

Then Earth's engines malfunctioned, and Earth was captured by Jupiter, triggering a crisis that nearly destroyed humanity.

But he couldn't say it.

"Ming-ge," Liu Qi turned to look at him, "what exactly has happened up there?"

Liu Ming looked at him, suddenly feeling a little dazed.

He knew why Liu Qi wanted to go up there, and he also knew about the impending disaster, but he was helpless, and even whether he himself could survive this disaster was a question mark.

"Ming-ge?" Liu Qi saw him staring blankly and waved his hand in front of his eyes.

Liu Ming came to his senses.

Does your grandfather know?

"I don't know," Liu Qi said, a little guilty. "Don't tell him."

Liu Ming was silent for a few seconds, then took something out of the bedside table and tossed it to Liu Qi.

Liu Qi caught it and saw that it was a pack of compressed biscuits—something Liu Ming had saved from his survival kit.

"Take it."

"Ming-ge, this—"

"Take it with you when you go up," Liu Ming said. "In case we get stuck somewhere, at least we won't starve to death."

Liu Qi froze, staring at the compressed biscuits in his hand, then at Liu Ming, his eyes welling up with tears.

"Ming-ge, you..."

"Get lost." Liu Ming waved his hand. "Go back to sleep early. Don't worry your grandpa."

Liu Qi, holding the bag of biscuits, stood at the door and suddenly turned around.

"Ming-ge, I will definitely succeed. Wait for me to come back."

The door closed.

Liu Ming stood in the dimly lit room, staring at the door, and remained silent for a long time.

Wait for me to come back.

In the movie, the kid did come back and became a hero.

But how many people died on the way back? Han Zi'ang, those rescue team members, and how many ordinary people didn't even leave their names behind?

he does not know.

All he knew was that the plot was about to change starting today.

Liu Ming lay back down on the bed, opened the chat group, and looked at the messages that were still popping up in the group.

Ao Qing was complaining about being poor, Peter was complaining about the rent, You Lingfeng was talking about his martial arts insights, and Kara occasionally replied with an ellipsis.

Lin Yan's profile picture was lit up, but he didn't say anything.

Liu Ming silently closed the control panel and shut his eyes.

I have to get up early tomorrow.