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King Xiang Tomb...

Chen Qing stared at the massive stone tomb, lost in thought.

Returning here once more, he couldn’t help but sigh at the world’s resistance to change, even after countless players had wreaked havoc on the timeline. The tomb of the future strongest Ghost King from the Ghost Domain still stood, untouched by any alterations in the timeline.

Interesting, so... to what extent have the players actually effected change? And how much of it is still his own original design?

This time... facing such adversaries, facing beings from the same dimension as himself, did he... still stand a chance at winning?

"I see no hope of leaving this place, with its multitude of evil spirits and a presence that unsettles me..." Bai Feng looked at the King Xiang Tomb, "You do realize what that is, don’t you? King Xiang, one of the ten great Ghost Domain lords, and a being players couldn’t kill off completely in the second version, do you understand what he’d become? "

"Uh-huh..." Chen Qing nodded, without saying much more. Bullshit, he had designed the creature himself in a week of all-nighters, of course he knew.

He was the king of the Ghost Domain and its challenger.

Born a king, he submitted to no power, including those ancient forces behind the Ghost Domain.

According to the normal plot, he indeed shattered the original rules of the Ghost Domain in the end.

Amongst players, he was voted one of the most charismatic bosses.

But charisma referred to the game, for in the game it wasn’t one’s own person who suffered. In reality, such a charismatic overlord was a very troublesome entity indeed!

"And you still dare to approach it?" Bai Feng lowered her voice, "We’re still trying to figure out the previous life’s design for King Xiang, especially the Ghost Domain aspect. I’ve heard..."

"Heard what?" Chen Qing grew curious.

He was very interested in whatever these players had done—it was, after all, the unknown.

Bai Feng pondered the few memories she had, "Originally, the Ghost Domain was a highly coveted area for all guilds, as it controlled reincarnation. No one wanted their own reincarnation influenced by others. And as everyone knew, whoever controlled reincarnation, controlled the future."

"That’s why, once they had enough power, the major guilds exhibited unprecedented cooperation to overthrow those ancient beings behind the Ghost Domain.

Now, each guild has a stake in the Ghost Domain, with no one able to convince the others, and every reincarnation here becomes the site of the biggest disputes. "

"Is that so..... guilds, huh?" Chen Qing sat on the ground, gazing up at the darkening sky, the term brought back memories. He had once loathed those guilds that disrupted the game ecology. And to think, even after transmigrating, these things still lingered like persistent spirits.....

"But what’s strange is, with so many guilds creating chaos within the Ghost Domain, King Gui Xiang was still born!"

Chen Qing: "....."

Something indeed wasn’t adding up.

Guilds controlling the Ghost Domain aimed to perpetuate its ancient authority, ruling over the Path of Yin and Yang and maintaining control over reincarnation. They naturally wanted a stable situation without anomalies.

Yet King Xiang, who later disrupted the Ghost Domain’s balance, was the greatest anomaly. So, if they couldn’t fully control him, Chen Qing guessed that the powerful factions would seek to erase his existence first and foremost.

But... King Xiang was still born!

What did that signify? Someone had absolute control over him?

"I heard..."

"You heard what?" Chen Qing asked curiously.

"I heard that it couldn’t be stopped..."

"Couldn’t be stopped?" Chen Qing was taken aback.

"Yes..." Bai Feng nodded, "Some had even tried to kill off all the snakes in the Celestial Serpent Palace, to completely eliminate the possibility of King Xiang’s birth..."

"There was such a thing?" Chen Qing was astonished, "And then?"

"Then, at the end of the cycle of reincarnation, there would still be newly-born giant serpents that could ascend, creating a new Celestial Serpent Palace.

The players who held the most ancient and powerful forces would eventually fall asleep, forced to watch as the Celestial Serpent Palace rose again, the Western Sea Dragon King was once again enticed, and the Serpent Mother.

.. once again betrayed, seducing the human Emperor! "

Chen Qing: "...."

An unchangeable cause and effect?

Could such a thing truly exist?

Chen Qing fell silent. What was the reason for this? Were some of the key characters advancing the version, unkillable and unchangeable?

Is this some kind of pattern?

"Let’s focus on the present..." Bai Feng said warily as he looked towards King Xiang Tomb, "No one knows for sure if someone is controlling King Xiang, but I think those people from the four major guilds wouldn’t let such a disruptive force be. There must be various schemes at play. Are you sure there’s a clue out here in such a deadly place? "

"Well... as you say, but... this really is the only way out."

"Why?" Bai Feng was puzzled.

"Because of this..." Chen Qing led the way to a place that was once familiar, where he had first created the Path of Yin and Yang for someone who had fancied himself a transmigrator.

But honestly, Siao Mingyue really knew how to play the game, getting Ali to change people’s memories to make them believe they were transmigrators. Tsk, what a great script. If only I could go back, I would definitely add a...

"This is..." Bai Feng’s pupils contracted: "Flying Star!!"

He suddenly understood, "The Twilight Sorcerer? You’ve taken control of the Twilight Sorcerer?"

The Twilight Sorcerer was a notorious troublemaker in the first version of the game, active in many game regions until the late stages.

If a player managed to inherit and strengthen it, they would become the ultimate troublemaker.

Because of this, players from all regions reached a consensus to gang up and eliminate any Twilight Sorcerers they encountered!

One thing was certain, though; it was rare for anyone to control a Twilight Sorcerer.

There was only one succession for this profession per region, and strangely enough, any player who inherited it acted as if they were rebelling against their brain, betraying their guilds even if they were from major ones, to become merry troublemakers.

There were even forum posts calling this profession a cursed career that could muddle a player’s mind.

So he was amazed. Could Chen Qing control a Twilight Sorcerer?

During the gaming era, no power in any region could control it. And now, after the transmigration, it seemed even more impossible despite the countless times they had been slain.

"I naturally can’t control it..." Chen Qing said with a bitter smile.

In his own design, the Twilight was meant to be a troublemaker, and this time, the ones who inherited it were two very troublesome individuals.

Zi Yue had mentioned that Wang Ye ultimately chose to follow Liu Yu, which upset him. When he arrived in this world, Wang Ye had been the first to save his life, which gave him a special affection for this NPC, often leading to an inexplicable trust.

So he never suspected that Wang Ye... was the Ancient Worm!

And now... would he still come to save me?

Chen Qing silently stroked the Flying Star Seal that fellow had left behind!

----------------------------------------------------

"I am very pleased that the Chief of Staff has come here!"

On the other side, Ali, still earnestly pretending to be Chen Qing, smiled at the visiting member of the Chen Family, "You won’t regret this choice, I assure you!"

"We haven’t made a choice yet..." Chen Baiye’s third son, Chen Feng, was far from polite.

"Shut up!" Chen Baiye glared at his foolish son, then looked around and said, "The King of Qin was quite straightforward in his letter, so I won’t beat around the bush."

Ali: "Indeed, it’s best that way."

"Is this Mr. Shen Qi?" Chen Baiye looked at the white-robed scholar next to Ali.

Shen Qi bowed slightly; he looked young, but by age, he was actually Chen Baiye’s elder, so his demeanor couldn’t be too humble.

"As expected, the Shen Family is truly loyal to His Highness the King of Qin."

Ali smiled faintly: "What makes you say that?"

"I only want to know two things."

"Please, go on..." Shen Qi gestured for the visitor to sit before replying with a smile.

"First, what conditions can you offer?"

"And the second?" Shen Qi didn’t rush to reveal their conditions, instead asking about the second point.

"Secondly, does the King of Qin truly intend to duel with Wutu Gu? Could you tell this old man, what are the odds of victory?"