And so, before he saw Chen San, Qin Zhou first encountered Shen Yun—

Shen Yun was bound hand and foot and thrown to the ground.

Although Qin Zhou had judged that Shen Yun’s strength likely exceeded the Golden Core Realm, that was of no use.

Shen Yun was skilled in the Art of Beast Taming.

But the Art of Beast Taming, when pitted against the Ten Thousand Spirits Holy Body… had no chance of victory.

Not even the slightest.

If Qin Zhou’s game title granted him a natural 20-point favorability rating with the spirit beasts of Zhutian Realm, then Shisi’s innate physique would likely earn him around 30 points.

This 30-point base affinity, combined with his ability to converse and communicate with spirit beasts…

Unless there was a blood feud, no spirit beast would easily attack the Shisi.

In fact, if a beastmaster’s contracted spirit beast lacked a firm will, it might even be swayed by the Holy Body of Ten Thousand Spirits.

“Village Chief, this guy is from that Spirit Mountain Realm!” Fourteen shouted.

“This brat wandered onto my turf, and I caught him!” Shisi said smugly.

Shen Yun lay on the ground, and Little Sparrow pecked frantically at Shisi’s shoes in distress, but Shisi paid him no mind at all—it was downright inhumane.

“Senior, please let me explain… Though I come from the Spirit Mountain Realm, I have never harmed anyone. This body was already on the verge of death; I did not plot against anyone…”

When he said he hadn’t harmed anyone, Shisi felt a twinge of guilt. “You didn’t harm anyone, and I haven’t done anything to you… just tied you up… Anyway, as long as you tell the truth, if the Village Chief says to let you go, I’ll let you go!”

Only then did Shen Yun struggle to lift his head and look at the “Village Chief” he was referring to.

The moment he saw him, Shen Yun froze.

Isn’t this…

He’d met this senior once before! Shen Yun quickly called out, “Senior, do you remember me? Last time at the Spirit Beast Frontier, you even fed Little Sparrow a pill!”

The Little Wind Sparrow twisted its head, fixed its gaze on Qin Zhou, and chirped repeatedly.

Uncle Sugar Bean!

Upon hearing the Little Wind Sparrow’s cry, Shisi was taken aback. Did the Village Chief actually know this man?

Qin Zhou: “Untie him. He’s not a bad guy.”

Shisi: “You know him?”

Wen Jue, who had been watching from the side, fell into an unexpected silence.

Another person from the Spirit Mountain Realm. Yet another person from the Spirit Mountain Realm.

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

Shen Yun finally broke free. He let out a sigh of relief and climbed to his feet.

“Thank you, Senior.” Shen Yun wiped the sweat from his brow before addressing Shisi, “Senior, although I am from the Spirit Mountain Realm, I harbor no ill will toward any of you.”

“Those who are not of our kind must have different intentions,” Shisi said skeptically. After all, that person from the Spirit Mountain Realm last time had participated in the Demon-Slaying Plan.

Shen Yun felt he couldn’t possibly defend himself.

It was true that he had first possessed another’s corpse and traveled about using it, but he truly harbored no intention to harm anyone.

Fortunately, Qin Zhou spoke up to break the tension, “You belong to the Spirit Mountain Realm—how did you end up here?”

Shen Yun sighed helplessly, “To be honest, Senior, I actually came here chasing someone.”

This answer took everyone by surprise.

Wasn’t he forcibly dragged through that rift because of the Heavenly Dao’s intervention?

“Explain yourself.”

Shisi brought over two stools, setting one for Lu Yi and one for himself.

Wen Jue patted his head. Good boy.

Shisi brushed his hand away. Get lost!

Shen Yun stood between the three of them, looking like a prisoner on trial. “I came here because I was chasing someone. When the spacetime black hole opened, I was in the middle of clearing out my domain. That person, in order to evade me, recklessly threw himself straight into the breach.”

Qin Zhou didn’t doubt a word of it. A spacetime black hole? He must be referring to the hole Lu Yi smashed open in the sky. When the Heavenly Dao pulled his soul here, it must have also opened the entrance to the Spirit Mountain Realm.

This caused the black hole to appear within the Spirit Mountain Realm as well.

The black hole hadn’t existed for long, so not many souls must have fallen into it; otherwise, the Heavenly Dao would have already intervened.

With that thought, he continued listening.

“…I have a sect in the Spirit Mountain Realm. That man was a traitor to our sect; after killing several fellow disciples, he stole their contract spirit beasts. No matter what, I must take his life to set an example. Therefore, I also leaped into that black hole.”

“After passing through the black hole, I arrived here,” Shen Yun recalled. “But I am not truly a native of this world. I came without a physical body—only my soul passed through. To find the person I was looking for, I borrowed the corpse of a disciple of Lingqi Mountain and reincarnated into it. The result…”

Shen Yun looked ashamed. “I became so obsessed with the history of thousands of years ago that I completely forgot about my mission to find people.”

Shi Si looked utterly confused. “What history from thousands of years ago?”

Shen Yun bowed respectfully. “If I’m not mistaken, you are all my elders. To you, I must be someone from thousands of years in the future.”

Shisi:?

I’m getting even more confused.

Seeing Shisi’s bewilderment, Shen Yun had no choice but to explain more plainly, “Take the supreme treasure within the Boundary City’s secret realm, for instance… that illustrated compendium documenting ten thousand kinds of spirit beasts—I’ve even seen it myself. In fact, that compendium now belongs to me; it is the sect’s most precious treasure.”

“When I first learned that this world also possessed the Encyclopedia of Ten Thousand Beasts, I was utterly shocked. I had assumed that the traitor had stolen our sect’s most precious treasure, so I pursued him all the way to Boundary City. It wasn’t until later, after hearing the full story, that I realized in this world, the Encyclopedia of Ten Thousand Beasts does not belong to my sect. In fact… among the sects of the Upper Realm, my sect doesn’t even exist.”

“It wasn’t until I had traveled through most of this realm that I realized this must be the Spirit Mountain Realm, as it was thousands of years ago.”

Qin Zhou couldn’t even recall setting the ‘Zhutian Realm’ as the predecessor to the ‘Spirit Mountain Realm.’

As far as the game itself was concerned, such a design was impossible.

The Zhutian was a save file for the game *Immortal Cultivation in a Small Village*, while the Spirit Mountain Realm was a separate, standalone game. He might have slipped in some personal preferences within the world-building, but aside from that, the two should have no other overlapping elements.

After all, copyright issues and such are quite troublesome. If there were too many similarities or overlaps, he wouldn’t be Qin Zhou—he’d be the defendant.

The bestiary Shen Yun possesses in the Spirit Mountain Realm should not be the same as the Spirit Beast Bestiary in the Realm of a Thousand Heavens.

But why is Shen Yun so certain?

“How do you know that?” Qin Zhou asked again.

Shen Yun smiled. “Do you all know the Lord of All Heavens?”

Qin Zhou: “……”

Wen Jue, however, laughed. “We know. So what?”

“The Lord of All Heavens is the creator god of our Spirit Mountain Realm,” Shen Yun sighed. “Legend in the Zhutian Realm holds that the Lord of All Heavens has ascended and departed, and in the Spirit Mountain Realm, there is a similar legend of a creator god.”

Qin Zhou: “……”

Great, now he has two names that sound like something out of a teenage fantasy novel.

“Of course, we don’t know where the Creator God is now. With monsters running rampant in the Spirit Mountain Realm, we too are hoping for the Creator God’s return,” Shen Yun sighed. “As for why I’m so certain that the Lord of All Heavens and the Creator God are the same person, it’s actually because…”

“The Creator God has a descendant—an ascended elder of our Spirit Mountain Realm named Lu Yi.”

The moment those last two words were spoken, Shisi’s eyes widened in shock. “Are you sure his name is Lu Yi? An ascended elder?” Shisi glanced at Shen Yun, then at the older brother beside him.

Wen Jue merely looked at a certain man who was feigning composure. Hmm? An ascended elder?

“I’m absolutely certain. In the historical tales of our Spirit Mountain Realm, Elder Lu Yi single-handedly vanquished countless demon beasts and restored peace to the realm. After that, Elder Lu Yi ascended with peace of mind.” Shen Yun spoke, his tone growing increasingly somber. “If Elder Lu Yi were still here, the Spirit Mountain Realm likely wouldn’t be troubled by those demon beasts.”

Wen Jue cleared his throat and shifted his hands and feet uneasily.

Qin Zhou—he really had given him quite an extraordinary background.

“When I first arrived and learned that Senior Lu Yi was from here, I was quite surprised as well. However, I heard that after he went missing while a disciple at the Cangyun Sword Sect, he never reappeared.”

“Moreover, that *Compendium of Ten Thousand Beasts* was originally the property of the Creator God.”

The existence of Senior Lu Yi and the Creator God to whom the *Compendium of Ten Thousand Beasts* points.

Finally, Shen Yun reached a conclusion.

The black hole that suddenly appeared above the Spirit Mountain Realm must be a spacetime tunnel, leading directly to the world where Senior Lu Yi and the Creator God resided countless years ago.

Qin Zhou furrowed his brow. “Wen Jue, do me a favor.”

Wen Jue raised an eyebrow. “Go ahead.”

“Go back and retrieve that book from the warehouse.” If Wen Jue went, he’d only need to return his spiritual essence to its place—it wouldn’t take long.

He wanted to verify a hypothesis.

If this compendium were the same one Shen Yun had in the Spirit Mountain Realm…

Then, likely, the two worlds were merging.

And the cause was likely Lu Yi’s existence. With the same Lu Yi existing in both worlds, had the world laws of the Spirit Mountain Realm begun to self-correct and fill in the gaps in the timeline to “close the loop”?

And the reason for the convergence was probably his appearance as a “human” in the Zhutian Realm.

“Wait here.” Wen Jue knew exactly what he meant; after leaving those two words, he vanished from the spot in an instant.

Shisi was still lost in the story Shen Yun had told him. Hmm? The Creator God and the Ascended Elder? If Lu Yi is the Ascended Elder, then isn’t the Creator God the Village Chief?

“In your world, isn’t there anyone named Lu Shisi?” Shisi’s wide eyes were filled with anticipation.

Shen Yun replied regretfully, “No.”

Shisi was puzzled. “That shouldn’t be right.”

With a Village Chief and Lu Yi, how could there not be a Fourteen!

“What about Lu Er and Lu San?” Fourteen persisted.

As he listened, Shen Yun sensed something was off. A hint of displeasure crept into his expression. “Do you think I’m lying? No matter how low I might fall, I wouldn’t make up a story to deceive anyone. Senior Lu Yi is simply called Lu Yi—there’s no Lu Er, no Lu San, and certainly no Lu Shisi.”

Fourteen was startled by his stern glare. “…That’s not what I meant.”

“In this world, Lu Yi has ninety-nine brothers and sisters,” Qin Zhou explained, giving Fourteen a light pat on the head. “The one called Shisi is the younger brother your Senior Lu Yi likes the most.”

Upon hearing this, Shisi immediately burst into laughter. “Right, that’s exactly what I meant.”

Shen Yun finally caught on as well, his face flushing red. “I thought… You were making fun of Senior Lu Yi’s name.” He’d forgotten that this was Senior Lu Yi’s world; having siblings was only natural.

But…

Ninety-nine… isn’t that a bit much?

No, that’s not right.

Speaking of which, “And you are…?”

Shen Yun suddenly realized he’d explained so much to them, yet he still didn’t know who they were.

Especially Qin Zhou, sitting directly across from him.

When they met last time, he was at the Golden Core stage, just like now. Shen Yun had assumed he was merely a Golden Core cultivator, but now it seemed he was far more than that.

After all, this senior who had snatched him up like a little chick was clearly acting quite submissive in front of this man.

“My name is Qin Zhou.”

“Shisi,” Lu Shisi said, puffing out his chest. “My name is Shisi, Lu Shisi.” No one had asked him, but he felt compelled to say it anyway.

—The one called Shisi is the younger brother that your Senior Lu Yi loves the most.

Shen Yun recalled those words and froze in place.

The person standing before him was the younger brother of the senior he respected most?!

Shen Yun’s pupils contracted slightly.

No, Senior Shisi himself was also incredibly formidable.

He could communicate directly with spirit beasts.

In the Spirit Mountain Realm, that was a top-tier talent, as rare as a treasure.

Shen Yun wiped his face and bowed respectfully. “I was rude to both of you earlier. Please do not hold it against me.”

Fourteen waved his hand. “It’s no big deal.”

“…Senior Shisi, may I ask if you know where Senior Lu Yi is?” Shen Yun asked cautiously.

Could it be that by stepping into this black hole, he might actually see the senior he longed to meet?

What does the Senior look like now? Does he already possess that aura of slaying demons with a single sword strike from later on?

Upon hearing this, Shisi pointed to the empty seat beside him.

Shen Yun: ?

Fourteen grinned. “The one standing right here just a moment ago was Lu Yi.”

Shen Yun: “……”

Just now?

That means…

So, he had actually met Senior Lu Yi back when they were at the border! Shen Yun, Shen Yun, just how much have you missed out on!

Just as Shen Yun took a few deep breaths to try and calm down… the gate to the village courtyard was knocked upon—

“Young Master, are you there? It’s Chen San.”

Qin Zhou’s eyes instantly sharpened.

Chen San. He’s here.

“Shisi, take Shen Yun and hide.”

Shisi didn’t understand why, but he obeyed the village chief and led Shen Yun and the Little Wind Sparrow into hiding.

“Do you know how to conceal your aura?”

Shen Yun nodded.

Little Wind Sparrow nodded its little head too, “Cheep!”