In fact, Lu San wasn’t the only one who had been separated from the group.

The moment Qin Zhou opened his eyes, he found himself at the entrance of a rustic village. There was no sign of Lu Yi, Lu San, or the others nearby.

This cross-dimensional teleportation had, it seemed, taken him to a random location.

However, even though he’d been separated from the others, Qin Zhou wasn’t particularly flustered. He wasn’t worried about them. Lu Yi, Lu Shi, and Lu San were all at the Union Realm or above. With their strength, even in their Primordial Spirit forms, no one could harm them.

As for Zhanyu, whose cultivation was low…

Zhanyu was smart; he shouldn’t have any major problems either.

With that thought, Qin Zhou walked toward the village.

The stone stele at the village entrance bore the inscription “Wanling Village.”

Everything here—whether the scenery or the stone stele at the entrance—left a deep impression on Qin Zhou. Before he died in a car accident and entered Zhutian Realm, he had been pulling all-nighters preparing for the game’s launch event.

In the PowerPoint presentation he’d prepared, the very first slide was this image.

The beginner’s village of the Spirit Mountain Realm: Wanling Village.

The “protagonist” played by the player lived in this village, but one day, a cultivator discovered this secluded hamlet, shattering its tranquility.

The cultivator seemed to be searching for something. Upon being discovered with malicious intent, he attacked and killed villagers, only to be killed in return by the “protagonist” due to his weak cultivation base.

It wasn’t surprising that he was killed in return.

Because the “protagonist” was actually a “cultivator hiding his cultivation level.” He had lived in this village all along; though he aged every year, his appearance remained unchanged. He looks only twenty years old, but the protagonist has actually lived for over fifty years and has even cultivated to the late Qi Refining stage.

With his peaceful life shattered, the ‘protagonist’ realized he could not sit idly by and wait for death, nor could he endanger the villagers of Wanling Village.

Thus, the ‘protagonist’ left the mountain, cultivating while searching for the truth of his origins.

Throughout this journey, the protagonist—played by the player—will undertake numerous main quests, eventually discovering that he is actually one of the divine artifacts meant to save the world, specifically designed to defeat the boss monster sealed beneath the Red Cloud Sea.

Of course, these plotlines are merely the game’s opening—akin to a prologue.

Once these main quests are completed, the game has only just begun.

As a large-scale open-world RPG, the fundamental difference between *Spirit Mountain Realm* and *The Little Mountain Village of Zhutian Realm* lies in the fact that *Spirit Mountain Realm* leans more toward massively multiplayer online gameplay, while *The Little Mountain Village* focuses on single-player experiences centered around a personal save file.

Qin Zhou once speculated that the reason the World Tree in *The Little Mountain Village of Zhutian Realm* withered might not be due to the game shutting down, but because he, the “player,” had quit the game.

“The Zhutian Realm” was his personal save file—not the entire game environment.

It was more like a world that existed with him at its center. The fact that the save file didn’t pause after he left might have been a choice the Heavenly Dao had to make to save itself.

As for “Spirit Mountain Realm,” it was originally a complete game world that didn’t depend on anyone, so even without its creator god, it could continue to function on its own.

Of course, these were merely Qin Zhou’s speculations.

Following the Zhutian Realm, the Spirit Mountain Realm had also transformed from a game world into a living, breathing world—a development that greatly astonished Qin Zhou.

Qin Zhou walked into the village.

As an open-world realm, the Spirit Mountain Realm was far larger than the Zhutian Realm, and its spiritual energy was far more abundant.

Although the average cultivation level was only at the Golden Core stage, practitioners at the Transcendent Soul stage were already considered among the world’s elite here.

But any cultivator from the Zhutian Realm who came here for a glimpse would feel that the future held great promise.

Before him, neat rows of houses built with stone bricks stood side by side.

On the narrow stone path, children were laughing and playing; a middle-aged woman carrying a basin was on her way to the stream to wash clothes; and from the rooftops of a few early-rising households, wisps of smoke were already rising—a sign that they had begun to light fires and cook.

Qin Zhou didn’t walk inside, but instead grabbed a child and asked, “Little one, I’m looking for Jin Tongzi. Is he here?”

“Jin Tongzi” was the “protagonist’s” nickname in the village. As for their real names, those were chosen by the players themselves.

The oldest child present was about eleven or twelve years old. Seeing that Qin Zhou looked unfamiliar, he quickly pulled a younger child in front of him for protection, eyeing Qin Zhou warily. “You’re looking for Brother Jin Tongzi? Brother Jin Tongzi left the village two years ago. Who are you?”

Two years—it seems the story has already begun.

But Qin Zhou was curious: since this world was no longer a game world, there shouldn’t be any “players.” Without players to control them, who could the “Protagonist” be?

“I’m an old friend of Jin Tongzi. I was just passing through and stopped by to see him. Since he’s not here, I’ll take my leave.” With that, Qin Zhou turned and walked away.

Having been teleported near this village by Xiao Lu, he’d simply stopped by to ask around.

The most urgent task was still to find information about the World Tree.

What Qin Zhou found particularly tricky was that, as the Creator God, he couldn’t recall ever designing a World Tree for the Spirit Mountain Realm. But since Xiao Lu had stated with certainty that every world had its own World Tree, it was highly likely that this one wasn’t part of the game’s content.

“Xiao Lu.” Qin Zhou tried to call out.

【Present】

To his surprise, Xiao Lu actually responded—something that caught Qin Zhou off guard.

Logically speaking, having crossed over to another world, the Heavenly Dao shouldn’t be Xiao Lu anymore.

【Village Chief, even if I am not the Heavenly Dao in this world, I am still your game system’s guide spirit.】

With those words, Qin Zhou understood.

Xiao Lu’s current existence seemed more like a means for the game system to communicate with him.

Immediately after, Qin Zhou took out the villager roster from his Cosmos Bag.

Lu Yi.

【Cannot Summon】

Lu San, Lu Shisi, Zhanyu.

【Can Summon】

Qin Zhou: “……”

This scene felt somewhat familiar.

Qin Zhou looked again; beneath Lu Yi’s character portrait, it still read “Cannot Summon.”

Does the Spirit Mountain Realm have an Immortal Restraint Prison too?

Come to think of it, though it wasn’t called the Immortal Restraint Prison—it was called a 【Prison】. It was generally used to restrain players who had ‘violated the game rules.’

Wen Jue wasn’t a player; he shouldn’t have ended up in a place like that.

“Xiao Lu, what’s going on?”

【I don’t know】

【I cannot use any abilities; I can only answer questions within the scope of my knowledge.】

In short, it wasn’t the Heavenly Dao of this realm, and it couldn’t see Lu Yi’s situation.

Qin Zhou accepted this answer. He glanced at the portrait and saw that Wen Jue’s status showed no injuries or other negative effects, so he let it go.

As for Lu Yi’s situation, he did have some theories, but he wasn’t entirely sure.

Qin Zhou flipped to Lu San’s page and clicked “Summon.”

If he had to pick one person he was most worried about, it was Lu San.

【The Village Chief currently cannot use the summoning function. The Village Chief can only view villagers’ statuses through the roster. (This function will be reactivated upon returning to Zhutian Realm.)】

Qin Zhou: “……”

If he couldn’t summon them, there was nothing he could do.

It would indeed be quite troublesome if the game system of the Zhutian Realm weren’t functional.

No sooner had this thought crossed Qin Zhou’s mind than Xiao Lu began reporting an error—

【&#！@……（）￥@#……）】

【Beep—Intruder detected, access denied】

【Beep! Beep! Beep! Cannot deny access】

【Override successful, connection established—Spirit Mountain Realm’s Creator God System】

As this prompt appeared, Xiao Lu fell completely silent.

Suddenly, a scroll materialized before Qin Zhou.

The scroll, roughly half a meter long, was tied with a golden cord.

Qin Zhou looked closely; a few simple characters were written on the fluttering ribbon—

【Map of the Mountains and Rivers of the Spirit Mountain Realm】

Qin Zhou reached out and unfurled the map.

In an instant, everything within the Spirit Mountain Realm was laid out before Qin Zhou’s eyes.

Since it was an open world, the map of the Spirit Mountain Realm was absurdly vast. Yet it encompassed nearly everything.

Red Cloud Sea, Zhu Mingshan, Nine Emperors’ Court, Shan Ning Realm…

This was the game’s setting compendium.

Qin Zhou tapped the Red Cloud Sea at the center of the Spirit Mountain Realm map, and something popped up from there.

【Red Cloud Sea NPCs】

【Master of Red Cloud Sea, Shen Yun】

【Disciple of Red Cloud Sea, XX】

【Red Cloud Sea Disciple, XX】

【……】

Qin Zhou silently tapped the name that looked the most familiar.

【Shen Yun】

【Height: 180 cm】

【Age: 4,701 years】

【……】

Everything about Shen Yun was meticulously documented. Qin Zhou felt there were too many words, so he stopped. Scrolling to the very end, he saw the clear words “Modify.”

Following the word “Modify,” a line of fine print appeared: “Please modify within the rules. Every cause has its effect; even the Creator God must take responsibility for bugs, you know~.”

【You have obtained ‘Creator’s Power’】

Qin Zhou understood. This was no longer just a simple game world. It was a living, breathing world, and even though he had the power to modify it, he couldn’t tamper with it lightly.

Whatever cause you set in motion will bear its corresponding fruit.

The entire setting compendium had been created by his team, so he was already fully familiar with its contents. There was no need to read further.

However, on the right side of the Map of Mountains and Rivers, there was a teleportation button.

Qin Zhou thought for a moment. He’d head to the Red Cloud Sea first. If his guess was correct, Lu Yi should be there, and if he wanted to find information about the World Tree, leveraging Shen Yun’s influence would be a good strategy.

He tapped it.

He selected it.

【Do you wish to teleport to the side of NPC ‘Red Cloud Sea’ – ‘Shen Yun’?】

【Yes】

A dizzying sensation washed over him as golden-red light engulfed him, transporting him directly to the Red Cloud Sea thousands of miles away.

In a daze, Qin Zhou heard a notification sound—

【The God of Creation has appeared. You have gained a base affinity of 20 with all NPCs in the Spirit Mountain Realm and a base affinity of 20 with all spirit beasts in the Spirit Mountain Realm.】

At the same time, Wen Jue also awoke from his slumber.

He opened his eyes, unsure of where he was. The surroundings were unnaturally quiet. It seemed he was in a special space.

“Qin Zhou?” he called out instinctively.

But no one answered.

“Shisi, Zhanyu… Third Brother…”

No one answered.

He only felt his body was extremely heavy, with a sense of weakness in his limbs caused by having slept for too long.

Body?

Wen Jue raised his hand and pinched his arm.

Wasn’t it a spiritual body after all?

Could it be that his soul had unconsciously possessed someone else?

That shouldn’t be possible.

Wen Jue struggled to his feet. Just as he steadied himself in this space, a voice came from below.

“Lu Yi, you’re awake.”

He actually knew his real name?

Wen Jue looked down and saw a massive array of grids etched beneath his feet. The strange symbols made it impossible for him to identify the origin of the formation.

Beneath the formation lay a vast, churning mass of black mist.

If he wasn’t mistaken, that was the… demonic creature trapped by the formation? Wen Jue didn’t know what the thing actually was, but just looking at it filled him with an indescribable sense of revulsion.

What on earth is this?

“Lu Yi, you’d better let me out. Don’t make me find the flaw in your heart…” The black mist spoke in a human voice, but suddenly paused mid-sentence. “Eh…”

“Lu Yi, what kind of nightmare did you have while you were asleep?” the black mist exclaimed, both shocked and delighted. “You actually have a heart demon!”

It had actually discovered a heart demon within Lu Yi’s mind! A dormant, yet seemingly powerful, heart demon!

“Quickly, let this master see what your heart demon is…”

Wen Jue:?

Before Wen Jue could react, a wisp of black mist suddenly pierced through the formation and surged into his brow.

The black mist couldn’t penetrate his defenses, yet it seemed capable of peering into his innermost thoughts.

Immediately afterward, the sound of the black mist’s maniacal laughter echoed—

“Hmm? A heart demon is… Hahahaha, a man! Your heart demon is a man?!” The black mist’s voice, brimming with triumph, was shrill to the extreme.

Wen Jue narrowed his eyes, the coldness in them gradually intensifying.

Was this thing mocking him?

“Though I don’t know what you are, I find your behavior rather presumptuous.”

Black Mist: 

The black mist watched in stunned silence as a massive sphere of light coalesced at the tip of Wen Jue’s finger.

Wh-what?

“Lu Yi, what are you trying to do?!”

Wen Jue sneered, “Beat you up.”

Wen Jue actually found it strange himself. He had only used a small amount of spiritual energy, yet this energy sphere was larger than any he had ever condensed before.

His cultivation… felt a bit off, too, as if he were stronger than when he was in Zhutian Realm.

Never mind, that’s not important.

Let’s deal with this thing first.

“You just said the heart demon is a man. So what?”

“Ah!!”

The black mist’s screams kept coming from beneath the formation.

He didn’t understand! Lu Yi had just woken up from a nap—how could he have become so violent?!

He’d heard that some humans get angry and hit people when they don’t get enough sleep. Could this actually be true?!