Absolute Destiny Game.

Chapter 599 Ma Yuan's Apology, A Shocking Speculation

Xiao Jie suddenly flew out from the giant Kun's abyss-like maw.

Without the slightest hesitation, he frantically circulated his immortal power, pushing the speed of the Golden Crow Dharma Form to its limit, transforming it into a golden rainbow that tore through the sky, and accelerated its escape towards the vast and boundless North Sea ahead.

At this moment, alarm bells rang in his heart, and he dared not hesitate or linger in the slightest. Since achieving immortality and mastering extraordinary power, this was the first time he had truly experienced the feeling of a life-or-death crisis. The absolute crushing power he felt filled him with powerlessness and urgency.

He could clearly sense that his defeat was not due to any major oversight in combat skills or a mistake in tactical choices, but rather a fundamental difference caused by the vast gap in their cultivation levels. If his opponent had only been a True Immortal one realm higher than him, with the powerful Dharma forms of the Myriad Transformations Immortal, plus the divine artifacts and magic treasures in his possession, he might have had a fighting chance.

But the opponent is a Celestial Immortal! Two whole realms higher! That's equivalent to a level 10 player fighting a level 30 player. There's no way to win.

"He can't even break through my defenses..." Xiao Jie recalled the attacks he had just launched, and how easily his opponent had deflected them, and a chill ran down his spine. This guy is too dangerous! With my current mere Loose Immortal cultivation, facing him is like an egg hitting a rock—I have absolutely no chance of winning.

Even if we went back and asked our fellow Daoists Lin Xuance, Wu Qingyue, and Su Zhiqing to join forces, it would still be difficult to deal with this guy. The outcome was uncertain, and the risk was too great.

To be on the safe side, it would be most reliable to go to Shenjizi. Xiao Jie's mind raced. Although Shenjizi was indifferent to worldly affairs and all the immortals of Guyun were completely subdued, Ma Yuan was a mysterious figure with strange behavior. He was neither a Guyun immortal nor did he seem like an immortal from Penglai. Shenjizi would be interested in him. As long as Shenjizi made a move, a mere Earth Immortal would definitely be easy to capture.

It would be best if Ma Yuan, oblivious to his own mortality, chased him all the way to Guyun Prefecture, alerting Shenjizi. Then we'd see how he died! A celestial being versus an earth immortal—Ma Yuan would be the one crushed.
Thinking this, Xiao Jie pushed his Golden Rainbow Escape Technique to its limit, instantly flying thousands of meters away. While flying at full speed, he also glanced back to observe the situation. Sure enough, he saw Ma Yuan's figure emerge from the giant Kun's mouth like a ghost, hovering in mid-air, seemingly searching for his trail.

Xiao Jie's heart tightened, and he decisively squeezed out more immortal power, making the golden escape light even more dazzling and increasing his speed once again. In the blink of an eye, he was left thousands of meters behind. He deliberately did not use any methods to conceal his tracks, but instead made the trail left by his escape light even clearer and more obvious, just waiting for his opponent to follow the trail and catch up. Then he could lead them all the way to Lonely Cloud Prefecture.

However, to his surprise, after Ma Yuan rushed out of the giant Kun's mouth and scanned the surroundings, he did not immediately give chase. Instead, he stopped on the turbulent sea next to the giant Kun and remained motionless.

Huh? What's going on? Xiao Jie was greatly surprised and slowed down slightly, observing from a distance. This guy was just now acting like he wouldn't give up until he killed me, so why did he suddenly stop chasing? Is he afraid of the outside environment? Or is there some other conspiracy?
His mind was filled with doubts, so he activated his Eagle Eye Technique and stared intently at Ma Yuan in the distance. What he saw surprised him even more: the glaring red name above Ma Yuan's head, which had previously signified hostility, had somehow transformed into a friendly green!

"What the hell? Is there a bug in the system? Or..." Xiao Jie was stunned for a moment, almost thinking he was seeing things. He blinked hard and checked again, and it was indeed the green "Ma Yuan (Hun Yuan Immortal)" text.

Ma Yuan hovered above the sea, not looking in the direction he had fled. Instead, he stood there, looking around blankly at the scenery—the vast North Sea, the gloomy sky, the howling sea breeze carrying a salty smell… His eyes were filled with confusion, unfamiliarity, and a sense of disorientation, as if he had just woken up from a dream.

Everything before him seemed utterly unfamiliar.

Recalling Ma Yuan's previous frantic mentions of "immortal puppets," "them," and "my spiritual energy" inside the giant Kun's belly, and looking at his completely different state now, Xiao Jie had a vague idea: "Could it be... that his previous mad and violent appearance was not his true nature? Or was it due to some reason that caused a loss of mind or a split personality? Now that he has left the special environment inside the giant Kun's body, or has been stimulated by some external force, he has regained his senses?"

This conjecture was quite bold, but not entirely impossible. Xiao Jie looked at Ma Yuan, who stood there seemingly lost in thought and memories, and struggled with his conscience. Should he seize the opportunity to flee far away, prioritizing safety? Or should he risk going back to find out the truth? After all, the value of a level 92 Earth Immortal who was fully conscious and might possess ancient secrets was immeasurable.

Ultimately, curiosity and the weighing of potential gains prevailed. He gritted his teeth and decided to go check it out. As long as the other party was a green-named individual, according to the underlying rules of this world, it was impossible for them to attack him first. The power of the system was one of the fundamental laws that constructed this world, and even if the other party was an Earth Immortal, theoretically they could not violate it—at least not without special reasons.

However, just to be on the safe side, Xiao Jie quickly transformed back into human form, secretly clutching the Myriad Soul Banner in his hand. Although ordinary spells and supernatural powers might be ineffective against his opponent, the Myriad Soul Banner was a divine artifact crafted by the Underworld Emperor, specifically designed to injure the soul and imprison the spirit. It could even pose a certain threat to an Entropy Earth Immortal, and might be able to protect himself in a critical moment.

He carefully concealed his aura, riding the auspicious cloud, and slowly and cautiously approached Ma Yuan's location.

Just when he was still several kilometers away from Ma Yuan, Ma Yuan seemed to sense his presence, suddenly turned his head, and locked his gaze on him instantly!
Xiao Jie was so frightened that his heart almost skipped a beat, and he almost turned and ran as a reflex, but he forcibly suppressed the impulse and confronted Ma Yuan from a distance.

Surprisingly, when Ma Yuan saw him, his face didn't show any ferocity or hostility. Instead, a complex expression appeared, mixed with apology and a hint of relief. He cupped his hands in a gesture of respect towards Xiao Jie, his voice still somewhat hoarse, but his tone was calm and sincere, a stark contrast to his previous frenzied roars inside the giant Kun's belly.
"Greetings, fellow Daoist. I am Ma Yuan. I was hiding inside the belly of a Kun for a long time and was unaware of the passage of time and changes in the world. My mind was clouded and my spirit was unclear, which is why I offended you earlier and disturbed you. It was not my intention at all. I sincerely apologize and hope you will forgive me."

Huh? This tone, this expression, this words... are completely different from the crazed immortal who was shouting for battle and acting like a madman before! Xiao Jie was hesitant, wondering if this old guy was playing tricks? But the other party's green name status and this sincere apology did not seem like a trick.

However, Xiao Jie still didn't dare to completely trust the other party. After all, his life was at stake, and he couldn't afford to be careless. Who knew if this was just another disguise? He simply kept a distance and replied from afar, "Fellow Daoist Ma Yuan, there's no need for such formality. The world is unpredictable, and it's normal to sometimes lose one's way. Now that you've regained your senses, what are your plans? Judging from your words, you seem to be an ancient immortal, quite unfamiliar with the current world. Why don't you come with me to Guyun Prefecture? It's a place where immortals cultivate in seclusion, and there are several like-minded experts there who can explain the current situation in the Nine Provinces to you, so that you can quickly understand the current state of affairs."

Xiao Jie secretly calculated that as long as he could lure Ma Yuan to Guyun Prefecture, once he was on his own territory with Shenjizi in charge, whether to kill or capture him, question him or spare him would be out of Ma Yuan's hands. No matter how powerful Ma Yuan was, he probably wouldn't be able to cause much trouble in front of the immortals of Guyun Prefecture.

Upon hearing this, Ma Yuan slowly shook his head, a look of desolation and determination on his face. He cupped his hands and said, "Fellow Daoist, I appreciate your kindness. However, I am but a 'survivor of the calamity, a fish that slipped through the net,' having witnessed the cataclysmic changes in the world, the collapse of my sect, the fall of my fellow Daoists, and the damage to my own Dao foundation, which greatly altered my nature, leaving me in a daze until now. Now, I have been fortunate enough to escape this cage and see this pure world. Although the spiritual energy is thin and the laws are incomplete, it has already filled me with heartfelt joy, as if I have been reborn. I wish to take advantage of my remaining strength to travel to a place where people are more numerous and prosperous, to sever my worldly ties, and to seek a chance for transcendence. Therefore, I will not disturb your cultivation any longer."

As he spoke, he reached into his robes and pulled out an object that emitted a hazy spiritual light. With a gentle push, it floated in mid-air.

"This misunderstanding arose entirely because of me. I have no way to repay you, but here is a piece of [Li Huo Xuan Jin], which is a remnant from my weapon forging in the past. Although it is not a peerless treasure, it still has some value. I offer it as a token of my apology and ask that you accept it, otherwise I will not be at peace."

After speaking, Ma Yuan bowed deeply again in the direction of Xiao Jie, his posture extremely humble. Then, without waiting for Xiao Jie's response, his body emitted a burst of light, transforming into a hazy stream of light that instantly tore through the sky, speeding towards the southern horizon opposite to Gu Yun Prefecture. In the blink of an eye, he disappeared without a trace, his speed seemingly even greater than when he was chasing Xiao Jie.

Xiao Jie was stunned by this sudden turn of events and stood there dumbfounded. He suspiciously used all his spiritual sense to carefully observe the fluctuations of the surrounding天地元气 (heaven and earth energy) and spatial traces, fearing that Ma Yuan had used some clever illusion to feign retreat while actually lurking in the shadows, ready to suddenly attack at any moment.

He held the Myriad Souls Banner in his hand, his immortal power surging within him. He remained on guard for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. Apart from the sound of wind and waves, there was no unusual movement between the sea and the sky. Ma Yuan's aura had also completely disappeared from his perception range, as if he had truly fled thousands of miles away.

"It seems... he really left?" Xiao Jie breathed a slight sigh of relief, but his doubts deepened. He cautiously flew to the vicinity of where Ma Yuan had been standing and, sure enough, saw an object enveloped in pure spiritual energy floating in mid-air. He carefully reached out and grabbed it, and the object floated lightly into his hand.

The aura dissipated, revealing its true form. It was a strange metal, roughly the size of a fist, irregularly shaped, with a deep, dark gold color throughout, and faintly flowing crimson flame patterns on its surface. It was incredibly heavy in the hand, as if holding a small mountain, and at the same time, a pure and scorching Geng metal aura and a gentle yet powerful solar essence intertwined and emanated from it.

At the same time, item information also appears before your eyes.

【Fire-Separated Mystic Gold (Materials/Nine-Rank Immortal Material)】

Uses: Can be used as a core material for refining divine artifacts and immortal artifacts.

Item Description: A legendary metal said to have been formed in the core of the sun since ancient times. It contains both the essence of Geng metal and the spirit of Li fire, making it an excellent material for forging divine and celestial artifacts.

"A ninth-grade immortal material?" Xiao Jie stared at the dark gold metal in his hand, utterly bewildered and filled with doubt. Had this guy really left him a treasure? But what grade was this 'ninth-grade immortal artifact'? He'd never heard of immortal materials in the game before. He noticed the [Fire-Separating Profound Gold] was marked purple, which puzzled him. "Isn't purple the quality color for epic-grade items? Does this mean a ninth-grade immortal material corresponds to an epic-grade item?"

Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind, and he remembered the Myriad Souls Banner in his hand. The Myriad Souls Banner was clearly marked as a "divine artifact," as was the Demon-Slaying Sword from before, but both of these pieces of equipment were marked as blue in quality.

"Could it be that... in this world's item system, besides the five quality levels of Common (white), Fine (green), Excellent (blue), Epic (purple), and Legendary (orange), there is another, more advanced item grading system related to the Immortal Realm?"
Are they all white, green, blue, purple, and orange?

The Myriad Soul Banner and the Demon-Slaying Sword are 'divine artifacts' and are blue, while this ninth-grade immortal material is a higher level, so it is purple. In other words, above this purple 'immortal material', there should be an even higher grade, corresponding to orange quality... Could it be a 'sacred artifact' or a 'dao artifact'?
This discovery led Xiao Jie to speculate about Ma Yuan's origins. To be able to casually offer ninth-grade immortal materials as an apology, Ma Yuan at his peak was likely far more than just an ordinary Earth Immortal! His talk of 'drastic changes in heaven and earth' and 'the collapse of the sect' probably involved an unimaginable, enormous secret.

However, based on this limited information alone, it's difficult to deduce anything further. Perhaps we could go back and ask Lin Xuance and Wu Qingyue; they have cultivated for a long time and have extensive knowledge, so they might know some ancient secrets.

However, the most urgent task was to complete the visualization of the giant Kun first. Xiao Jie suppressed the distracting thoughts in his mind and carefully put away the [Separating Fire Profound Gold]. Thinking of the giant Kun, a thought stirred in his heart again.

Ma Yuan said he "hid in the belly of the giant Kun for too long, which is why he was unaware of the changes in the world." Doesn't that mean he and the giant Kun were from the same era, or at least experienced certain events together? Doesn't that mean finding the giant Kun would reveal more about his origins?

He flew to the giant Kun that was still slowly swimming in the sea. The giant Kun seemed to sense the disappearance of the "worm" in its body and appeared much more relaxed. It opened its huge eyes, which were as big as lakes, and looked at him with a clear and understandable expression of gratitude and relief.

"Thank you, immortal. You helped me drive away the little bugs. Thank you." The giant Kun's deep and slow divine thought wave came through, carrying heartfelt gratitude.

Almost simultaneously, a system notification sounded:

[System Notification: You have completed the mission "Pest Extermination Operation," and the Giant Kun of the North Sea has increased your favorability towards you by 100 points.]

"Haha, no need to be so polite, it was nothing." Xiao Jie replied with a smile, then changed the subject and asked, "Speaking of which, big guy, what was that... um, that 'little bug' just now? How did it get into your stomach? How long has it been there?"

The giant Kun slightly swayed its massive head, as if recalling something, and its divine thoughts came intermittently: "I don't know his name. A long, long time ago, when I left the previous world, he was already there."

"The last world?" Xiao Jie's heart stirred as he grasped the key information.

"Yes, in the last world..." The giant Kun's divine sense carried an ancient aura, "Our giant Kun clan possesses the power to traverse the void. We can travel between different worlds..."

"Tell me in detail..."

Xiao Jie's conversation with the giant Kun grew increasingly astonished. According to the giant Kun's simple yet information-rich description, it was not a native creature of this "Nine Provinces World"! The giant Kun race was born with the ability to survive and navigate in the endless void, unaffected by the 'Nine Fiends Yin Wind,' 'Soul-Eating Star Fiend,' and 'Chaotic Entropy Flow'—all terrifying phenomena and treacherous environments existing in the endless void. Even immortals, without special protection or powerful magical treasures, would find it difficult to survive there for long.

Therefore, the giant Kun can travel between different worlds. Whenever a world encounters insurmountable danger, or its resources are depleted and it begins to decline, the giant Kun will leave, relying on its long lifespan and ability to traverse the void, to find another new world suitable for survival. Each such migration may take tens of thousands of years or even longer.

"So, what was your previous world like?" Xiao Jie asked curiously.

“Not good.” The giant Kun’s answer was simple, but the emotion conveyed in its divine sense was clearly unease and rejection. “It’s very dark and bad. The sky is broken and the earth is burning. There are many terrible things... fighting. It’s noisy and painful.”

Xiao Jie could sense the unease the giant Kun felt when it recalled that world. He continued to guide it, asking, "Compared to our current world, which is bigger?"

“That world is very large,” the giant Kun replied confidently. “This world is very small.”

Just as I suspected! Xiao Jie was now about 60-70% certain. Ma Yuan and the giant Kun must both have come from the so-called "Great Thousand World"! According to the scattered introductions to the upcoming expansions on the official game website that he had seen when redeeming game rewards, the "Great Thousand World" was the main map of the next major expansion.

The official website didn't provide much detail about the new map, only vaguely mentioning that it was a wider, more dangerous, and more opportunity-filled world. However, combining this with the description of the giant Kun, Xiao Jie could now deduce some things.

Since the expansion takes place in the "Great Thousand Worlds," then the "Nine Provinces World" where they are currently located, according to the general setting logic, should be the so-called "Lesser Thousand Worlds" or "Lower Plane."

Clearly, some extremely terrible changes occurred in that "Great Thousand World" tens of thousands of years ago (or even longer), possibly a war or disaster that affected the entire world, forcing even a terrestrial immortal like Ma Yuan to hide inside the belly of a giant Kun that was just about to migrate. Then, he drifted across the void with the giant Kun and arrived at this relatively peaceful and tranquil "Small Thousand World"—the Nine Provinces World.

This terrible turn of events must be related to the so-called "Immortal Puppet" that Ma Yuan mentioned. Judging from Ma Yuan's previous terrified and frantic state, regarding it as a formidable enemy, this "Immortal Puppet" must be an extremely terrifying existence. It should be some kind of high-level monster from the advanced map of the "Great Thousand Worlds," or a manifestation of some kind of disaster.

That vast world seems to present a very difficult game...

Xiao Jie was secretly astonished; even a celestial being was so frightened that he could only hide and flee for his life...

Suddenly, his expression changed as he thought of an even more terrifying problem.

The fact that even Earth Immortals were frightened into hiding... weren't the immortals of Lonely Cloud Prefecture also hiding in the Mountain and Sea Painting Realm of Lonely Cloud Prefecture because they foresaw the 'Great Apocalypse'? Could the apocalypse they predicted be... a calamity similar to the one encountered by the 'Great Thousand Worlds'? Or even the spread of the same thing?

This thought sent a chill down his spine. If that were true, then the so-called "salvation" would likely be far more difficult and dangerous than they had previously imagined!

"No! I must find Ma Yuan and get to the bottom of this!" Xiao Jie made up his mind. "But it would be best to tell Lin Xuance, Wu Qingyue and the others first, and also tell Shenjizi. I'm sure everyone will be very interested in the truth about this 'great calamity' that concerns everyone's life and death, and we must take it seriously!"

Thinking of this, Xiao Jie quickly composed himself, preparing to seize the time to complete his visualization of the giant Kun. He had to settle things here as soon as possible and then immediately return to Ginkgo Village to discuss this matter of life and death with his three fellow immortals!
He flew to the giant Kun's enormous eyes and said gently, "Big guy, tell me about your 'Universe Within Your Belly' supernatural power. And tell me, what does it feel like to be a Kun that can traverse the void and roam among the stars?"

The giant Kun blinked its enormous, deep-pool-like eyes, seemingly intrigued by Xiao Jie's request. However, it held great goodwill towards the immortal who had solved its great problem and showed no intention of refusing. It began to recount, in its own way, the innate divine power involving the mysteries of space, as well as the long and lonely journey it had taken traversing between different worlds...

(End of this chapter)