Absolute Destiny Game.

Chapter 610 The Celestial Venerable's Invitation

Xiao Jie pushed open the gleaming glass door in front of him and stepped into the restaurant.

The restaurant's interior design is quite unique, presenting a fusion of Chinese and Western styles.

One side features mahogany tables and chairs, and ink-wash screens, exuding an antique oriental charm; the other side, however, boasts warm-toned leather booths and simple pendant lights, radiating a modern Western casual style.

The restaurant was empty and quiet enough to hear the low hum of the central air conditioning; there were hardly any other customers in sight. Only one person sat in the best window seat with the view.

The person had their back to the door, and their figure looked somewhat blurry, as if shrouded in a thin mist. But for some reason, it gave Xiao Jie a strange sense of familiarity, as if he had seen them somewhere before, or as if it was a natural attraction stemming from a kindred spirit.

Xiao Jie walked over without making a sound. As he got closer, he saw the man holding a huge, roasted leg of lamb, its aroma wafting and its fat dripping, and devouring it without any regard for appearances. The table in front of him was even more "spectacular"—

Golden and crispy fried chicken legs and fries, bubbly cola, stacked hamburgers, steaming hot instant noodles, tempting sweet and sour pork ribs, tender and flavorful braised pork knuckle, fragrant Peking duck, thin-skinned and generously filled Cantonese shrimp dumplings...

A dazzling array of delicacies from all over the country, each with its own unique style, filled the entire table, resembling a chaotic yet tempting feast.

When Xiao Jie walked to the table, the man didn't even look up, as if he was completely absorbed in the world of food. He just casually gestured for Xiao Jie to sit down, but his chewing and swallowing continued without stopping, his cheeks bulging.

Watching the other person devour their food with an almost wolfish yet purely enjoyable manner, Xiao Jie found it inexplicably comical and amusing. He sat down opposite the person as instructed, not in a hurry to speak, but silently observing them as if studying an interesting specimen. The other person, seemingly oblivious, continued to devour the food on the table with astonishing speed.

The man's stomach seemed like a bottomless pit, or perhaps the entrance to some kind of spatial device. He ate for a good ten minutes, until the empty plates and wrappers in front of him had piled up into a small mountain. Only then did he finally stop, satisfied. He grabbed a bottle of ice-cold cola, tilted his head back, and gulped it down in one go, then let out a loud, satisfied burp.

"Ah—that feels great!" He let out a long sigh of relief, as if he had accomplished a great feat.

After saying that, he raised his head, casually wiped his mouth with the back of his greasy hand, looked at Xiao Jie, and revealed a slightly roguish yet seemingly all-knowing smile.

"Celestial Venerable?" Xiao Jie asked calmly, though it was a question, his tone carried a strong degree of certainty.

"Ha, fellow Daoist, you certainly have a good eye." The other party did not deny it, but admitted it with a grin.

Xiao Jie said calmly, "It's not a matter of keen insight. The one who could pull me into such a realistic dream without my noticing and converse with me here must be a fellow cultivator who has mastered advanced methods of using divine sense. Among players, only immortals have this ability. Besides you, the mysterious and unpredictable 'Celestial Venerable,' who else could it be?"

Indeed, Xiao Jie knew perfectly well that the restaurant before him, the seemingly real street scene outside the window, and even the aroma of food wafting in the air, were all part of an extremely realistic yet ultimately illusory dream. He looked out the window at the streets of an unfamiliar city, where pedestrians hurried by and cars streamed back and forth. The scene seemed ordinary, yet it always carried a sense of familiarity tinged with a deliberate imitation, as if it were a template pieced together from countless fragments of impressions of real cities.

All of this is an illusory world constructed by the person before me with powerful divine sense.

A hint of surprise flashed across the Celestial Venerable's face. "You were able to immediately realize that you were in a dream? Could it be... that you have successfully advanced to the True Immortal realm?"

“That’s right,” Xiao Jie answered frankly. He understood why the other party had asked that question. If he were still at the Loose Immortal realm, his primordial spirit and perception had not yet fully transformed, and he might have been misled by this realistic dream, unable to immediately distinguish between reality and illusion. But since advancing to True Immortal and initially mastering the use of a trace of the power of laws, his perspective on all things in the world had undergone a qualitative leap.

Although the dream world before him was incredibly realistic in detail, the underlying "rules" were fundamentally different from those of the real world. In his perception, it was like a speck of ink on a blank sheet of paper, its illusory nature easily discernible.

"Speak, what brings you here after all this trouble?" Xiao Jie asked bluntly.

The Celestial Venerable sighed, a helpless smile appearing on his face. Combined with his slightly roguish expression, it looked somewhat comical: "Alas, what else could it be? My few incompetent subordinates acted recklessly and offended you, fellow Daoist."

As the boss, I can't just stand by and watch you come knocking and take them out, can I? I have to step in and cover for them. Considering they were ultimately working for me and running errands, I beg you to be lenient and let this go. I promise they'll never bother you or your friends again.”

Upon hearing this, Xiao Jie smiled slightly, "Of course. Actually, I never intended to really kill them. The reason I made the harsh statement and gave them three days was just to force you to show yourself."

"Haha, Fellow Daoist Suifeng is indeed quick-witted and insightful!" The Celestial Venerable clapped his hands and laughed, then snapped his fingers, "Waiter!"

At his call, a beautiful waitress in a well-fitting uniform with a sweet and charming face appeared as if by magic, smiling as she approached: "Sir, is there anything else you'd like to order?"

"Bring back everything I just ordered, exactly as it was!" the Celestial Venerable said with a grand gesture.

"Okay, sir, please wait a moment." The waiter smiled and nodded, then his figure quietly faded away.

Almost at the same moment she disappeared, a faint light flashed on the table, and the food that had just been devoured reappeared out of thin air, steaming hot and fragrant, as if it had never been touched.

Without any hesitation, the Celestial Venerable picked up a juicy soup dumpling and looked at Xiao Jie with a smile: "Fellow Daoist, you don't mind if I have some more, do you?"

"Do as you please." Xiao Jie gestured for him to go ahead, gaining a deeper understanding of the dream architect's perverse sense of humor.

While skillfully sipping the soup from the bun through a straw, the Celestial Venerable asked indistinctly, "So, Fellow Daoist Suifeng, you went to such lengths to lure me out, is it because you have something important to discuss with me?"

“Perhaps I should be the one asking you that.” Xiao Jie looked at him sharply. “Fellow Daoist Celestial Venerable, you’ve been sending your subordinates to stir up trouble in the game, pushing forward game version development and plot events, even at the cost of instigating conflict and bloodshed. What exactly… is your purpose?”

"Didn't I tell you about my subordinates?" The Celestial Venerable raised an eyebrow and continued to eat the steamed bun in his hand.

"You did say that. The Divine Calculator Heavenly Demon guesses that you want to accelerate the game's progress and create more 'ascended' players."

"Hehe, it really was that kid who said it. He is indeed quite clever, good at analysis and speculation." The Celestial Venerable smiled, which was taken as tacit agreement.

"That's right, but why is that?" Xiao Jie pressed, this was the core issue he was truly concerned about. "What benefit would you gain from training more ascended players? It can't be for the sake of saving all living beings, can it?"

The Celestial Venerable finally put down the food in his hand, his playful expression vanishing, replaced by a rare seriousness. He pondered for a moment, as if weighing something, and finally seemed to have made up his mind.

“It’s alright to tell you.” He leaned forward slightly and lowered his voice, though it seemed unnecessary in the dream. “Everything I’ve done is for—to allow more players from the Nine Provinces world to enter the ‘Great Thousand World,’ where they can team up with me to do quests, run dungeons, and explore secret realms!”

"Team up? Do quests? Run dungeons?" Xiao Jie repeated these words, an incredulous look on his face. "Is this your reason... for indiscriminately killing innocent people and stirring up conflict in the real world? Isn't what you're doing a bit too much?" His tone was tinged with doubt and coldness.

Upon hearing this, the Celestial Venerable burst into laughter, as if he had heard something utterly ridiculous.

"Hahahaha! Fellow Daoist Suifeng, you're really hilarious!" He laughed so hard he almost fell over, finally managing to stop. He looked at Xiao Jie with a hint of mockery and a detached indifference in his eyes. "If we follow the laws of mortals, committing crimes is naturally wrong. But throughout the thousands of years, with the rise and fall of dynasties, which successful rebellion wasn't a heinous crime of 'treason'? Yet, after the victors are remembered, who will investigate the 'crimes' of the victors?"

He picked up a French fry, dipped it in ketchup, and said leisurely, “Fellow Daoist Suifeng, we are all immortals who have transcended the Three Realms and are not bound by the Five Elements. There is no need to be so hypocritical and cling to the moral standards of the mortal world. To us, mortals are nothing more than ants that live only a day and die at night. Whether or not to abide by the rules has always been determined by the power that makes the rules.”

His tone became calm yet carried an undeniable air of dominance: "Now, in this world, we immortals are the pinnacle of power, the most formidable force. Tell me, what mortal laws and rules can truly bind us? What does the death of a few mortals matter? Compared to the grand goal I am pursuing, which concerns our future path, this price is utterly insignificant."

As the Celestial Venerable spoke, his face revealed a mixture of boundless longing and fervor, as if he were describing a paradise. "Fellow Daoist, you have no idea how incredible that Great Thousand World is! It's practically a paradise for cultivators!" He waved the chicken leg in his hand, describing it with spittle flying, "The orange legendary equipment that's revered as the pinnacle in the Nine Provinces World is nothing but trash there! So-called divine artifacts are just ordinary equipment there!"

"There are countless mysterious and unpredictable immortal techniques and ancient inheritances to learn and cultivate there. Many forbidden arts that have long been lost in the Nine Provinces World may only be introductory textbooks there! Spiritual veins are everywhere, immortal herbs are readily available, and any secret realm may contain an astonishing inheritance!" He described the wonderful scene with shining eyes, "It's simply a matter of every step bringing an opportunity, and every place is a hidden paradise! The speed of cultivation improvement is ten or even a hundred times faster than in the Nine Provinces World!"

Xiao Jie muttered to himself: Really? It sounds so mysterious, like a dream... Oh, right now I really am dreaming.

"Is it really that good?" He asked calmly, going along with the other person's question.

"It's that good! Even better than this!" the Celestial Venerable said decisively, but then his face fell, revealing a distressed expression. "What a pity, things don't go as planned. There are so many good things, but I... damn it, I can't get them all!"

"Why can't you get it?" Xiao Jie asked, feigning curiosity at the opportune moment.

The Celestial Venerable glanced around mysteriously. Even though there was no one else in the dream, he subconsciously lowered his voice, as if worried about being overheard by some unseen being: "Do you know that this 'Nine Provinces World' we are in is nothing more than a... beginner's village compared to the vast 'Great Thousand Worlds'!"

He held up three fingers and waved them in front of Xiao Jie: "And there are as many as three thousand known 'newbie villages' like this! In each newbie village, if you're lucky, you can get three to five, or even ten or more ascendants; if you're unlucky, you might only get one or two; and some small worlds don't even have a single ascendant!"

"This leads to a very real problem—" The Celestial Venerable shrugged, looking helpless, "Ascension players from the same small world naturally form cliques and stick together for mutual support! The more people there are, the stronger they are, and the more they can team up to run higher-level dungeons, challenge more powerful world bosses, and obtain better treasures and resources. The monsters in this vast world are also incredibly fierce! Many powerful bosses cannot be challenged by a single person; they can only be defeated through teamwork."

Those players who ascend in groups can naturally form teams to run dungeons and defeat bosses.

He pointed to his nose, looking miserable: "Someone like me, a solo player who came out of our 'newbie village,' is weak and alone. I can only follow behind those large groups with many people and pick up the scraps they leave behind. Or, I can only go and solo some lone monsters to get some junk artifacts and learn some low-level immortal techniques to barely make ends meet."

The Celestial Venerable looked helpless and bitter, as if he had suffered a great injustice: "You may think, how could I, a dignified immortal, who ascended to the Great Thousand Worlds before you, end up in such a miserable state? The problem is—every single player who can enter the Great Thousand Worlds from their own small world is either a god or an immortal! Aren't they all outstanding talents? The competition is too fierce! Sigh, it's all tears when I talk about it."

As he spoke, he seemed to turn his grief and anger into appetite, picking up a shiny, greasy roasted pig's trotter and gnawing on it viciously, as if he were gnawing on the bones of those big guild players.

Xiao Jie was speechless for a moment, his lips twitching slightly. He never expected the other party to give such a reason. He had always thought that the Celestial Venerable was the kind of villain who hid behind the scenes, plotting earth-shattering conspiracies, but he never expected his motive to be so... "simple and unpretentious," even revealing a hint of the bitterness of a lowly player.

"So... all that you've done, stirring up trouble in the Nine Provinces world, is just to... increase your future teammates?" Xiao Jie still found it hard to believe and asked again to confirm.

"That's right! That makes perfect sense!" The Celestial Venerable nodded vigorously, even stopping his pig's trotter-eating motion, his eyes gleaming with a "you finally understand" light. "It's easier to get things done when there are more people! Quickly send a few Ascended to the top, so we can at least gather enough people to do some small five-player dungeons, instead of always being ostracized by those big guilds, or having to be subservient to others and have our equipment stolen!"

Then, we Earth players can band together, raid dungeons, farm equipment, cultivate immortal techniques, improve our cultivation, explore unknown realms, share insights into the Great Dao, and jointly ascend to the pinnacle of immortality. Wouldn't that be wonderful? This is the true path to a carefree immortal life!

Xiao Jie thought to himself: "They're making it sound so wonderful, but is it really that good? Something feels off. This Celestial Venerable is being far too 'frank' and 'eager.'"

"Then, according to you, is the vast world... dangerous?" he asked a question he considered crucial. The high difficulty of the game alone didn't seem sufficient to explain some of the other party's behavior.

"Dangerous? It's not that dangerous!" The Celestial Venerable waved his hand dismissively, wiping his mouth with a napkin. "Although the monsters there are indeed fierce, the dungeon mechanics are complex and difficult, and wipes and failures are commonplace. We die frequently. But don't forget, fellow Daoist, we are immortals! We possess immortal bodies and can resurrect at any time! Even if we accidentally wipe, it's just a matter of running back to our corpses a few more times and losing some experience and cultivation. It's not a big deal. Compared to the rewards there, this risk is completely acceptable."

Xiao Jie sneered inwardly: Heh, you make it sound so easy.

Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't be able to immediately refute what the other party said about the specific situation of the world.

However, he knew very well that immortals were not truly immortal! Just in this world of the Nine Provinces, he knew that at least the Underworld Emperor possessed the power to completely kill immortals.

Moreover, he had personally seen and spoken with refugees from the Great Thousand World—the mentally unstable Earth Immortal Ma Yuan, and the giant Kun from the North Sea who had been to the Great Thousand World! From what they said, the Great Thousand World was by no means a paradise for cultivation, but rather a place filled with unknown terrors and calamities, where even an Earth Immortal like Ma Yuan could only flee at the mere sight of the wind and seek refuge in haste!

Seeing the Celestial Venerable's feigned ease and attempt to downplay the risks, Xiao Jie's mind raced as he pondered why the other party was concealing the truth and why he wouldn't tell him the facts.

Were they worried that knowing the dangers would frighten them and prevent them from venturing into the vast world? He quickly dismissed the idea. No, it couldn't be that simple. Ordinary players faced just as many dangers and the same risk of death in the Nine Provinces world. I was able to rise from a level one alt to level 50 and ascend to immortality; the Heavenly Venerable must be aware of the dangers and trials I faced. With my temperament and experience, this level of 'danger' description could not possibly frighten me or make me back down.

"Then, there seems to be only one answer..." Xiao Jie's gaze deepened, "The real dangers of this world are far greater than he so lightly described... It may even involve some kind of... irreversible resurrection, or consequences more terrible than death."

“Not entirely…” He continued to think deeply, “Even if the danger is high, as long as you can exit the game at any time and return to the safe real world, it is still essentially a game and cannot be considered a dead end.” His gaze fell again on the Celestial Venerable’s ravenous eating, as if he could never be full, and an astonishing thought flashed through his mind like lightning!
"His abnormal craving for food... could it be in reality..." A terrifying yet logically plausible possibility suddenly occurred to Xiao Jie.

Although it wasn't entirely certain, this conjecture gave him a sudden clarity, and many doubts seemed to have a reasonable explanation.

Why is it that despite the Celestial Venerable's unrestrained and reckless personality, we've never heard any news about him on Earth...?

Why did he choose to meet me in a dream instead of having a real-life meeting with me...?

Because he's not even on Earth!

"As for whether it's really as I suspect..." Xiao Jie's mind raced, "I'll test it out and find out the truth."

He broke his silence, suddenly shook his head, chuckled, and revealed a complex expression on his face that seemed to have seen through everything, tinged with pity and understanding.

"Hehe, Heavenly Venerable, Heavenly Venerable..." Xiao Jie's voice was calm yet carried a penetrating power, "Since you and I are both practitioners of the immortal path, pursuing transcendence and truth, why do you... go to such lengths to deceive me?"

"Lie to you? What makes you think that?" The smile on the Heavenly Venerable's face froze for a moment, then he showed an extremely exaggerated expression of surprise, his eyes looking unusually "sincere," as if he had been greatly wronged.

Xiao Jie ignored his performance, his gaze sharp as he stared directly into the Heavenly Venerable's eyes, which were trying to conceal something. His tone was calm, yet every word carried immense weight:

"If you weren't trying to trick me, why didn't you mention that crucial piece of information from beginning to end—"

He paused slightly, observing the subtle changes in the other person's expression, and then said, word by word:

"Why didn't you tell me that once I chose to enter the 'Great Thousand Worlds,' I... would never be able to exit the game?"

His voice suddenly turned cold, carrying a sharp questioning tone:

"Or perhaps... you've become some kind of 'being' beyond your control, like—a celestial puppet? Is that why you're so eager to lure me to the Great Thousand World, so that I... might suffer the same fate as you?"

The restaurant fell into a deathly silence upon hearing this.

The Celestial Venerable, who had been calm just moments before, suddenly froze! His nonchalant, self-assured smile vanished instantly, replaced by a look of surprise and astonishment.

(End of this chapter)