Why are all of us who transmigrated at the same time demons?

Angered questions, bewildered cries, and arrogant rebukes briefly echoed within the workshop. However, faced with Loran's well-prepared, layered contingency plans and absolute overwhelming power, no Servant could ultimately escape his clutches.

"wakaka!"

"Enjoyable! How delightful!"

Watching the numbers representing the number of Spirit Origin stock on the monitor screen jump rapidly, and the warehouse compartments being filled one by one, Loran's "hoarding addiction" and "collecting obsession" buried deep in his soul were greatly satisfied, and he couldn't help but let out an excited, strange laugh.

However, his unbridled behavior, which was almost like "fleecing" or even "poaching" the Throne of Heroes itself, finally crossed a certain line.

The Throne of Heroes, a colossal system standing outside the world and transcending the timeline, has had its built-in defense and purification mechanisms fully activated.

An unprecedented, ineffable, and seemingly overwhelming will, seemingly emanating from the entirety of "human history" itself, carrying the anger and chilling aura of countless heroic spirits, began to coalesce and counterattack.

The cold, emotionless declaration, like the very rules themselves, roared through the barriers of the world, resounding directly within Loran's soul:

"Those who toy with Heroic Spirits and desecrate the Order of the Throne... Slay them!"

Chapter 276 Type-Moon: Inner World

Looking at Earth in the Type-Moon universe, the trajectory of human civilization is like a great river rushing to a fork in the river, gradually evolving into two distinct main channels.

One is a mysterious path. This path is inherited from the glorious and distant age of gods, and is the afterglow of the authority and power of the ancient gods. Its core law is almost an ironclad rule—the closer one gets to the ancient source, the more powerful and unparalleled it becomes.

However, since the planetary restraining force "Gaia" caused drastic environmental changes and the great source "True Aether" dissipated, the mystery has become like a tree without roots, only able to eke out a living in the cracks of reality, inevitably declining with each generation, and will eventually be eliminated by the long river of time.

The other path is the path of science and technology. This is a bright and smooth road that humanity has personally forged out from ignorance and darkness through the arduous efforts of countless sages. In local parlance, this is the great achievement of the "pioneers of the stars".

From Descartes' coordinate system to Newton's universal gravitation and calculus; from Faraday's electromagnetic induction to Dalton's atomic theory; from Maxwell's unified electromagnetic equations to Watt's improved steam engine; from Tesla's alternating current system to Edison's lamp that illuminated the night, and then to Einstein's groundbreaking theory of relativity... these countless crystallizations of human wisdom have collectively constructed a path of civilizational advancement that is entirely different from ancient miracles and belongs entirely to humankind itself.

The latter is a genuine and thorough product of civilization, nurtured by human wisdom.

While the former also incorporates a great deal of human wisdom and re-creation, its roots and framework are ultimately built on the foundation left by the gods.

Loran has explored both of these paths and has achieved considerable expertise in them.

He would never give up on science and technology. But he was also keenly aware that the pinnacle of science and technology often depends on the collective efforts of a single civilization. Therefore, he would never place his ultimate pursuit of "attributing great power to oneself" entirely on the path of gathering the masses.

In Loran's view, the Type-Moon's native magic system was truly "unbearable".

Its internal factional infighting is fierce, with all sorts of bizarre maneuvers emerging one after another, making it a "master of internal warfare"; however, when faced with world-class crises or the impact of external systems, it often appears powerless to cope, making it a "master of external warfare".

Loran would at most take the essence of these techniques as a reference; to make them his main path for survival—only a fool would choose that.

Therefore, Loran is determined to forge a new path for himself in the gap between technology and magic, in order to completely break free from the shackles of his current mortal body.

He made specific demands regarding this new road:

First, it must not rely excessively on the "foundation" or "idea" within the planet, like magic. Otherwise, it will be extremely vulnerable to attacks from outside the system, and its power will gradually weaken as time changes and the mystery fades.

Secondly, it must be able to endow individuals with powerful, ever-ascending strength, and possess a broad and bright future, pointing directly to the highest peak.

The answer had already surfaced in his mind—it was the "heart"! More specifically, it was the "inherent barrier".

A Reality Marble is a type of magic that materializes the landscape of one's own mind. Once activated, it can forcibly transform the surrounding real space into the landscape of the caster's mind. It is hailed as the "magic" closest to "magic," and is even listed as a forbidden spell by the Mage's Association, included in the Forbidden Spells Index.

This technique is a sub-genre of "Imaginary Manifestation," and it has its own merits compared to the True Ancestor's unique "Imaginary Manifestation." Although the former has a fixed form and is not as flexible and changeable as the latter, it can interfere with non-natural creations that the latter cannot affect.

Originally, "realm boundaries" were mostly the exclusive abilities of elves and demons, and most of the Twenty-Seven Dead Apostles could use them. In short, magicians capable of performing such world-altering magic were extremely rare.

The most famous example is the signature move of Shirou Emiya, the "Gundam Jumper"—the Reality Marble "Unlimited Blade Works".

However, aside from naturally occurring spirits, man-made otherworldly realms are rejected and modified by the entire "world" (nature). Therefore, maintaining an inherent barrier requires an enormous amount of magical and mental resources, and usually only lasts for a few minutes.

In response, Loran came up with a completely new idea.

This is similar to the "Feng Hou Qi Men" in "Under One Person". If the Qi Men formation is placed outside the body, although one can obtain the supreme power to control everything within the formation, it will bring terrible backlash from heaven and earth, disrupt the qi of the person who set it up, and eventually lead to serious illness. The true way to use it is to place the "central palace" within oneself, and to control the power of the seventy-two pentads of heaven and earth within the body, so as to "transform myself into king".

Similarly, in Loran's view, the "inherent barrier" is nothing more than an alternative, unique "Qimen formation" that reflects the outside world through one's own mental image. The "natural" elimination and enormous consumption encountered in maintaining the barrier are just like the backlash caused by randomly turning the four plates, both of which are rejection reactions of heaven and earth.

So, since maintaining a barrier in the outside world is so difficult, why not follow the example of Feng Hou Qi Men and "set up" it inside the body?

To transform one's own body into a "world egg," a miniature "otherworld"! Like Nero Chaos, one of the Twenty-Seven Dead Apostles, to create a world within oneself. Then, to continuously sublimate and expand, until this physical world evolves into a complete small world, a medium world, and even a vast world encompassing all things!

"Wait a minute..." A sudden flash of inspiration struck Loran, like a thunderbolt piercing through the fog, "A body that becomes a universe, countless parallel worlds and others, the older the better, a mythological background... Hiss, this thing, it has such a strong sense of déjà vu!"

"I understand! I know what to do!"

The heavens have "nine heavens," and the earth has "nine provinces," with the number "nine" being revered in the Hetu and Luoshu diagrams. The human body also has "nine orifices"—two eyes, two ears, two nostrils, a mouth, and the genitals (front and back), perfectly aligning with this fundamental principle of heaven and earth. These nine orifices are the gateways for communication and energy exchange between the human body and the vast universe.

The reason why heaven and earth can give birth to all things is that they have "apertures" such as mountains, rivers, wind, clouds, thunder, rain, darkness, and light for the flow of energy; the reason why life can continue is that it breathes, eats, and senses through the nine apertures. Therefore, having the nine apertures means having the basic structure to circulate energy with heaven and earth and to receive and release "vitality".

In Journey to the West, the Bodhi Patriarch reveals the secrets of cultivation to Sun Wukong, the core of which lies in "stealing the power of Yin and Yang creation".

How to "steal" it? It's through these nine orifices.

Therefore, anyone with nine orifices can practice cultivation.

The spiritual practice system created by Loran is rooted in this oldest Chinese wisdom of spiritual practice.

The first step is to lay the foundation over a hundred days.

The human body has 365 major acupoints, each requiring nine breaths of primordial qi. During meditation, this qi is naturally generated, but only one breath can be produced per quarter of an hour. Therefore, depending on the individual's daily practice time, it takes approximately one hundred days to a year to complete this step. In meditation, the qi transforms into a golden elixir, ultimately converging into a clear, sweet "nectar," which is swallowed and fills the corresponding acupoint.

Once the acupoints are full of Qi, the Qi channels will naturally become unobstructed. After foundation building, with abundant essence, Qi, and spirit, and the initial opening of the Qi channels, one can then move on to the next step—accumulating Qi and strengthening the body.

Once the Qi has been accumulated to the point where the meridians are fully open and the physical body has been initially tempered, one then moves on to the cultivation of the "internal organs and acupoints".

Up to this stage, the methods practiced by Loran were not significantly different from the foundation-building and energy-accumulation methods of the Type-Moon native region. However, from the "awakening period" onwards, the paths diverged sharply.

The so-called nine orifices are essentially one with the five internal organs and six bowels; practicing the orifices is equivalent to practicing the internal organs.

The eye orifice is connected to the liver; opening it greatly enhances eyesight, allowing one to see through illusions and improve the body's ability to recover.

The ear orifices are connected to the kidneys; when they are open, one's hearing and vision become sharp, and one can hear faint sounds from afar.

The nasal passages are connected to the lungs and internal organs. When they are open, the sense of smell becomes acute, and the impurities of the primordial energy of heaven and earth can be filtered out, thus accelerating cultivation and the recovery of true energy.

The mouth is connected to the heart; opening it will naturally unlock the body's secret reserves of energy and vitality.

The two orifices, the anterior and posterior genitals, open up channels for the elimination of impurities. Once completed, all nine orifices are opened, and one initially reaches the state of harmony between heaven and man.

However, human strength has its limits. In the Type-Moon world, even if one's nine orifices are fully opened, one can only possess some supernatural powers and live a few more years. One is still powerless to pluck stars from the sky or move mountains and seas. Eventually, one's lifespan will be exhausted and one's soul will return to heaven and earth.

But at this moment, Loran fully reflected and imprinted his own "inherent barrier" mental image into his body, transforming it into his own "inner world"!

The eyes belong to the element of wood, which transforms into the "sun and moon" of the inner world. The opening and closing of the eyes is like the rising and setting of the sun and moon, governing the alternation of day and night and the order of light in the inner world.

The ears govern water, which manifests as the "celestial constellations." These stars, high in the sky, follow their orbits, emitting the resonant sounds of the universe. The ears are opened precisely to listen to this "celestial music of the Great Dao," to perceive the most subtle fluctuations in the world.

The nasal passages belong to the metal element, which transforms into the "wind, clouds, rain, and mist" of heaven and earth. Each breath in and out is like the flow of wind and air in heaven and earth, the movement of clouds and the application of rain, nourishing all things.

The mouth is governed by fire, which transforms into "thunder and heavenly fire." Speech, once uttered, is like a divine decree, and words become law. The fire of the heart rises, corresponding to the flowing fire of the heavens and the true blaze of the sun.

The two orifices of the lower body (the anterior and posterior genitals) are called "turbid orifices," which are responsible for the downward excretion of heavy and impure substances. Therefore, they correspond to the earth's phenomena and are transformed into the "Nine Netherworlds, Returning to the Void, and the Netherworld Underworld" of the inner world.

Heaven and earth possess the virtue of growth and nurturing, but they also need a place of destruction and tranquility.

Opening these two orifices not only completes the physiological cycle, but also symbolizes the construction of a complete "cycle of life and death" system in the inner world, allowing the pure yang energy to rise without hindrance.

The immense true energy that Loran had accumulated during his Foundation Establishment and Qi Accumulation now surged forth, like the primordial power at the beginning of creation, injecting vitality into the circulation of his inner world. He even refined and injected the few magic circuits within Liu Xie's body, further enhancing the flow and circulation of energy within his inner world.

To ensure a solid foundation, Loran personally led his army out of the city to perform the art of finding dragon veins and extracting the essence of the earth's veins, transforming them into dragon veins that were then injected into the inner world, making its structure even more robust.

Because the body's acupoints are perfectly isolated from the repulsion of the outside world, the operation of the inner world no longer requires a huge amount of magic power to maintain, unlike when an "inherent barrier" is deployed outside. The ever-regenerating true energy within the body is sufficient to support its daily operation.

Through countless repetitive refinements of the acupoints, the nine acupoints of the human body become like nine ancient, indestructible nails, firmly anchoring the "inherent barrier" within Loran's physical body. The two continuously merge and permeate each other through the ceaseless circulation of true energy, until they become one, indistinguishable from one another.

At this moment, Loran knew that the time had come. The next step was to open the ancestral aperture between his eyebrows, greatly enhance his spiritual power, and use this to break through the barrier between life and death, build a bridge connecting the inner and outer worlds, and allow the inner and outer worlds to officially converge.

When the ancestral aperture at the center of the forehead is fully formed, it will trigger a communion between heaven and man. This is a sign that the frequencies of the inner and outer worlds are gradually approaching each other, producing an initial resonance.

After breaking through this barrier, one can be considered to have reached the "half-step exterior view". Although there is no violent conflict between the inner and outer worlds, they are not completely integrated. It requires a lot of time to make meticulous adjustments. This is a slow and painstaking process.

One must constantly adjust the legal structure of the inner world, seeking the perfect state that resonates most strongly with the outer world, until one achieves true unity of heaven and man, and even the state of returning to simplicity, before finally being able to steadily step into the realm of "outer landscape".

Otherwise, if one forces an advancement with incomplete inner world laws, subsequent cultivation will be greatly hindered, and the future will be bleak.

“Hmm, perfect.” Loran felt the newly formed inner world within his body, his gaze turning to the vast storage treasury filled with various spirit foundations, a satisfied and expectant smile appearing on his lips. “This time for adjusting the inner landscape and refining the foundation will allow me to peacefully and carefully ‘study’ these precious materials that I have obtained.”

Chapter 277 Type-Moon: Heroic Spirits Arrive

Perhaps, from the moment Loran descended with the soul of another world and took the body of Emperor Liu Xie of Han, embarking on a path completely different from that of the puppet emperor trapped in the deep palace in "Pan-Human History," the trajectory of this world line's fate had already undergone a decisive shift.

The unusual ripples, like a stone thrown into a river of time, eventually reached the other side.

The "restraining force" that sustains human reason and the "Alaya consciousness" that records the seat of heroes cast their cold gaze upon this land that is gradually spiraling out of control.

The fourteen heroic spirits descended at the call of heaven, their mission being to investigate and “prune” the divergent branches of history.

However, upon their arrival, they were met with a devastating blow—the three companions were unable to even glimpse the walls of Luoyang City before their spiritual foundation signals were instantly "erased" by the strange presence deep within the Nangong Palace, as if swallowed by an invisible giant mouth, leaving no trace.

The remaining eleven heroic spirits were forced to scatter across the vast and unfamiliar Central Plains.

They intended to trace the root of the anomaly, but were first shocked by the extraordinary "martial virtue" displayed by the local lords of this dynasty, which was said to have "fallen because of its strength."

In Ji Province, they witnessed Yuan Shao's "Halberd Warriors" forming a forest of formations, drawing upon the primordial energy of heaven and earth to create an invisible barrier that was impervious to swords and spears, and unimpeded by arrows.

In Youzhou, Gongsun Zan's "White Horse Cavalry" galloped like thunder on a snowy plain. The combined force of man and horse could briefly transcend space, and wherever they charged, all things were defeated.

In Jiangdong, Sun Ce, the Little Conqueror, could stir up the Yangtze River with just a long spear, and his aura of dominance soared to the sky.

In Xuzhou, Liu Bei wielded his twin swords like dragons, his benevolent sword energy overwhelming and unstoppable. Beside him, Guan Yu's Green Dragon Crescent Blade and Zhang Fei's Eighteen-Foot Serpent Spear complemented each other, their power astonishing.

And the still-active Flying General Lü Bu personally demonstrated to these observers from the "seat" what it meant to be the bravest warrior of the late Han Dynasty! The Fangtian Halberd, the "Five Weapons of the God of War," in his hands truly possessed the style of an ancient warlord wielding slaughter, and its power was far beyond what that Berserker spirit, who had lost his mind and was driven only by rage, could compare to.

Even Liu Biao of Jingzhou, who seemed weak and scholarly, had a navy that could deploy a "Mysterious Water Array" using specially made warships, drawing in river mist to create a maze that could trap and kill everything invisibly...

This was by no means the end of a dynasty they had imagined, a dynasty whose fate was sealed and whose military preparedness was lax! Every lord seemed to be driven by an invisible force, burning the last vestiges of the empire so fiercely that they were even... distorted.

With such a "hellish picture" start, the heroic spirits' investigation was difficult and slow, and some even got entangled with local forces, or the heroic spirits broke out in internal strife due to ideological and factional conflicts.

Loran's reckless actions and the increasingly violent fluctuations in the world line finally crossed a certain critical point. A more direct and ruthless "correction" began.

On this day, Loran was engrossed in optimizing the core structure of the "Sun Furnace" and reweaving the transmission system of the "Hercules" using the "Primal Runes" inscription derived from Brunhilde. Suddenly, he keenly detected an extremely subtle spacetime fluctuation, seemingly originating from the cracks in the world.

This fluctuation is like an undercurrent lurking in the deep sea, extremely difficult to detect by ordinary means. But for Loran, who has already mastered the Parallel World Interference Method (Second Method) and possesses a "clairvoyance" derived from the Thought Disk that is almost comparable to the Grand Caster, observing the ripples in spacetime is as easy as reading the lines on the palm of his hand.

The current state of China, and even fragments of the past and future within a certain range, are all within his field of vision.

“This feeling… is not normal spacetime activity inside the planet, it’s closer to the summoning of Heroic Spirits, but the source is higher… is ‘something’ forcibly descending from a higher dimension?” Loran frowned slightly, his mind racing as he made countless deductions. “Judging from its size, its spirit origin scale… is probably equivalent to the collection of dozens of Servants!”

"Hmm? Initial coordinates locked within Luoyang City? Coming for me?" Loran was initially taken aback, then a cold smile curled at the corner of his lips. "A decapitation strike? Interesting..."

"Fantastic! I was just worried about not having a suitable testing stone. Do you really think my Luoyang City is a public place where anyone can come and go as they please?"

Luoyang at this time was no longer the old capital it once was. Under Loran's painstaking and comprehensive transformation, the entire city had been turned into an extremely dangerous personal fortress, especially the palace area. In terms of defensive and counter-attack power, even Empress Semiramis's EX-level "Hanging Gardens of Vanity" would pale in comparison.

This war machine is not only indestructible externally, but also riddled with countless "surprises" aimed at invaders internally.

Lorraine excitedly wiggled her fingers.

"The takeout has arrived? Good, I should get ready to 'eat' now."

With a thought, the main control system of Luoyang City was instantly activated. Invisible energy channels flowed continuously underground and within the walls of the city, and countless hidden weapon units were ready to be deployed, waiting for the unknown object to fall into the net before delivering a head-on blow.

However, at that moment, the descending spacetime fluctuation suddenly shifted! As if it had hit an invisible barrier, its trajectory was forcibly reversed, and it finally landed dozens of miles east of Luoyang City.

"Huh? A sudden change of landing point? Sensing danger? Or... being interfered with?" Loran was slightly surprised, quickly calculating the new coordinates, "This location... west of Hulao Pass, southwest of Xiaopingjin..."

"Interesting... It seems there are people on the opposing side who are skilled in precognition or spatial manipulation. This game is getting more and more interesting."

At almost the same time, about forty miles east of Luoyang City, on a plain beside the Sanchuan River Valley.

Without warning, the earth lit up! A colossal summoning array of unprecedented scale and extreme complexity suddenly appeared, its dazzling light soaring into the sky and even briefly dispelling the clouds on the horizon.

Within the light, figures radiating powerful auras gradually solidified.

They are Valkyries, beautiful in appearance yet with unwavering gazes, wielding giant spears wreathed in azure flames;

He was a king clad in golden armor, with a handsome face but an undisguised rage and arrogance, as if he might swear at any moment.

He was a pharaoh with black hair, golden eyes, holding a radiant scepter symbolizing the authority of the sun, and a majestic expression;

He was a spearman who gripped a blood-red magic spear tightly, wore a blue bodysuit, and had a wild and tragic air about him between his brows;

She was a young woman, clad in purple robes, wielding a strange staff, her eyes sparkling with wisdom and a fire that seemed capable of consuming everything…

A vast array of nearly a hundred heroic spirits descended upon this place, making it a miniature Holy Grail War in terms of sheer grandeur.

However, among these heroic spirits, there was one particularly striking figure—a swordsman of exceptionally tall stature, wearing a stark white skull mask, wielding a greatsword and tower shield, and exuding an aura of silence as profound as death itself—whose presence vanished without a trace the instant his form solidified, like a drop of water merging into the shadows.

Of the descending heroic spirits, only the arrogant king with golden hair and armor seemed to sense something, slightly frowning as he glanced at the empty shadow. The others did not notice anything unusual.

Several Servants exuding regal bearing were about to speak, to reorganize the group, and explain the current situation. Suddenly, the expressions of several Archers in the group changed drastically! Their class-specific "Clairvoyance" ability allowed them to see the devastating threat from afar much earlier than the others!