Chapter 238: The Hidden Puppeteer Revealed! The Reason for Emperor Tianyu's Disappearance!?

"Is the Gu Family really hidden so deep? There are immortals among them? It's safe to say that they truly deserve to be called the Longevity Clan, able to survive from the previous era to now. Their heritage is indeed terrifying."

Wang Ping looked at the simulated text and was equally astonished.

"But is it possible that even the Gu Family is not the puppeteer behind the scenes? Could they too be a force manipulated by someone else? If that's the case, who has such incredible capabilities to manipulate so many forces and powerful individuals, leaving them unable to deduce the orchestrator's identity?"

Wang Ping furrowed his brow, his gaze uncertain.

You see, at the level of the Great Emperor, one can already deduce certain things, not to mention the existence of figures like Heavenly Calculators and Divine Calculators capable of deducing celestial secrets.

With so many powerful beings present, none of them detected anything unusual. Such methods were truly astonishing.

"Could it be that the Gu Family fears the Immortal Mansion? Or is it simply that the Immortal Mansion itself houses an immortal? Wang Ping recalled the reaction of the Gu Family Emperor, pondering.

"No, that's not right. Neither the Gu Family nor the Immortal Mansion should have immortals. After all, if there were real immortals, the Immortal Mansion wouldn't need to open the Immortal Gate to cultivate an immortal. In other words, whether it's the Gu Family or the Immortal Mansion, there's a high probability that they possess immortal artifacts or are harboring powerful individuals with some degree of immortal power."

"Although they aren't true immortals, they're terrifying enough. Even so, they still haven't detected anything. It can only mean that the puppeteer behind the scenes has incredibly astonishing methods. It's all so mysterious."

Wang Ping narrowed his eyes, thinking of a possibility.

The mysterious power level was indeed high, and it was also potentially mutable. If allowed to develop, one could only wonder how high their power level could reach.

If everything was truly orchestrated by this mysterious individual, it would make sense why so many powerful figures couldn't perceive any anomalies. Everything started to seem reasonable.

The mysterious power level was extremely high, capable of controlling the Black Mist prodigies silently, cultivating prodigies of that level, and even shielding celestial calculations.

However, the mysterious power wasn't strong enough to directly challenge the entire Upper Realm, which is why this individual resorted to various schemes and couldn't directly confront the disruptor.

"Mysterious," Wang Ping said, his eyes gleaming with insight. As he continued to speculate, he felt that the possibility was indeed high.

At the same time, Wang Ping also considered whether eliminating this mysterious figure would fulfill Alpha's conditions.

If it did, he could save himself the trouble of waiting while going to the Celestial Paradise in the future. After all, no one knew when a being of that level of mystery might appear, and the types of special abilities they possessed might not always have straightforward solutions.

The current mystery figure, since they could only scheme and manipulate, indicated that their power was strong but not the type that could be easily defeated by a single mistake.

Otherwise, there would be no need for such elaborate schemes, and understanding their true strength and specific abilities would be a better way to deal with them.

"Of course, all of this is my speculation. Whether it's truly a mystery figure remains to be confirmed. Besides, the most crucial question is whether this mysterious figure is already strong enough in the real world or if they have chosen to come to the Golden Great World and conceal their strength. If they aren't strong enough, finding and eliminating them in the real world may not satisfy the conditions."

Wang Ping thought of this and shook his head slightly.

Then, he refocused his attention on the screen.

"Very soon, some powerful beings noticed that something was amiss. Although the aura of the Immortal in the Gu Family was formidable and even frightened the Emperors, giving them a sense of deadly danger, it still didn't feel like it surpassed the level of Emperors completely."

"If it were a true immortal, even in the presence of Emperors, they should be like ants. After all, the higher the cultivation level, the greater the disparity. A quasi-Emperor is like an ant in front of an Emperor. So, the gap between an Emperor and an immortal would be even more terrifying, a true qualitative change."

"In this situation, perhaps an immortal could easily kill an Emperor with a glance or suppress an Emperor with their immortal aura. It might be a bit exaggerated, but it wouldn't be limited to just that level."

"As a result, some Emperors expressed their disappointment that the Gu Family lacked an immortal, speculating that there might be an Immortal Spirit within the Gu Family. This statement made many Emperors realize the same, and they all felt somewhat disappointed."

"If this world truly allowed direct ascension to immortality, they wouldn't need to rely solely on Immortal Fate or wait for the Immortal Domain Gate to appear."

"Unfortunately, there are no immortals in this world. The Gu Family's Emperor probably obtained an Immortal Spirit after the Immortal Gate and refined it, gaining some of the essence of immortality, possessing power surpassing that of the Emperor."

"Although Immortal Spirits are extremely rare and legendary, the Emperors present couldn't help but envy the Gu Family's Emperor. But this revelation was much less shocking than if there had been actual immortals."

"The Gu Family's Emperor surveyed the crowd and calmly stated that indeed, the Gu Family did not have an immortal. However, after refining the Immortal Spirit, they had a quasi-immortal. If anyone dared to make a move against the Gu Family, they would meet their end here."

"This statement made the Emperors present furrow their brows and look towards the Gu Family with some trepidation. With a quasi-immortal in the Gu Family, and given Gu Xuan's high talent, it seemed unnecessary to plot against their descendants. It would be more harmful than beneficial."

"This means there is a high possibility that the Gu Family is being manipulated as well. With a quasi-immortal in the Gu Family, if a real conflict were to occur, it would likely come at a heavy cost. Furthermore, in this situation, the Emperors present were not united in purpose, as no one was willing to directly confront the quasi-immortal of the Gu Family to test their strength."

"For this reason, some Emperors calmly suggested that since the Gu Family was also being manipulated, it would be better for everyone to collaborate in investigating and find the real culprit."

"This statement provided both sides with an opportunity to save face. The Gu Family's Emperor squinted his eyes and finally nodded slowly."

"With that, a terrifying battle came to an end, leaving many cultivators in the Celestial Continent unable to calm their hearts. As for you, you breathed a sigh of relief and entered the Longevity Gu Family along with Emperor Tianyu's incarnation."

"As for the Great Emperor Council's efforts to find the culprit, it's temporarily unrelated to you. Perhaps after the Great Emperor Council concludes and the Emperors are unable to deduce the results, they will call you over."

"Soon, the detailed events spread throughout

 the entire Upper Realm. For a moment, the Upper Realm was in turmoil, as no one expected that the prodigies on the Sacred King and Great Saint Rankings would almost be wiped out. A mysterious figure manipulated all the Emperor-level forces in the Celestial Continent, with the Qin Family suffering the most, even the Gu Family being wrongly accused."

"However, what followed was your widespread fame. Your performance in the Secret Realm was widely praised, earning you the title of the greatest genius of ancient and modern times, surpassing even those Emperors in their youth."

"Of course, while many acknowledged your title and position as the top genius, they no longer placed as much emphasis on talent and future achievements as they did in the past."

"Although they knew that talent didn't guarantee future success, the near-annihilation of the prodigies this time was too shocking and had a profound impact. It reinforced the belief that only those who stood till the end were the true winners."

"For this reason, some cultivators began to lower their level of importance placed on prodigies. They began to consider that investing all their resources in nurturing a single prodigy was too uncertain, and it might be better to use these resources to cultivate two or three sub-prodigies."

"While the outside world was in turmoil, during the Great Emperor Council, you chose to seclude yourself, stabilizing the spatial runes you comprehended in the Secret Realm and attempting to merge two sets of runes into a true space-time rune."

"However, while you were doing this, the red patterns on the back of your hand suddenly lit up, causing your complexion to change."

Chapter 239: The Mysterious Red Pattern and a Plan

"Then, you suddenly felt a sharp pain in your sea of consciousness, as a force began to erode it."

"At the moment of your mishap, several Great Emperors' divine thoughts descended, including the incarnation of Emperor Tianyu. They all fixed their gaze on you and chose to take action without hesitation."

"Evidently, these individuals had suspicions that you were hiding something. They had been secretly observing you during the meeting. Now that you've encountered an issue, they've managed to uncover some clues."

"However, what surprised all the Great Emperors was that even they couldn't stop this force from invading your sea of consciousness."

"In that moment, some of the Great Emperors were prepared to use forceful methods to suppress this force and extract more information from you. However, Emperor Tianyu's incarnation angrily shouted, attempting to stop them."

"Unfortunately, no matter how powerful Emperor Tianyu's incarnation was, it couldn't block so many Great Emperors, especially since this particular Emperor wasn't the same as the elderly Emperor."

"But in the midst of their dispute, a rainbow light suddenly burst forth, completely eradicating the intrusion into your sea of consciousness."

"Due to your entry into a special state, this simulation comes to an end."

The text simulation ended here.

In Wang Ping's mind, various images and insights related to his cultivation and experiences flashed before him.

Then, his presence appeared within the Longevity Gu Family.

"Indeed, something went wrong. That red pattern that Gu Xuan activated and entered my body is clearly not a good thing."

"But why did this individual act so urgently and detonate the red pattern, effectively silencing me? They should know that I'm likely being monitored by the Great Emperors at this point."

Wang Ping observed the scene and muttered to himself.

Wang Ping silently pondered, realizing that he couldn't obtain answers at the moment. He shook his head helplessly and exited the immersive simulation.

As his perspective shifted back to the real world, the system's voice resounded.

"Ding! Reward generation successful. Host can choose two rewards from the following options:

1. Seven-colored Talent: Origin-Breaking Celestial Eyes.

2. Celestial Cold Ice.

3. Random Supreme Artifact.

4. Personal Supreme Artifact."

"System, I choose option 1: Seven-colored Talent - Origin-Breaking Celestial Eyes and option 4: Personal Supreme Artifact."

After glancing at the reward list, Wang Ping made his choices without hesitation.

With Wang Ping's selections, his eyes underwent a transformation. Mysterious halos appeared within his pupils and quickly disappeared.

Simultaneously, within Wang Ping's storage world, his Personal Supreme Artifact materialized.

"Two Personal Supreme Artifacts now. If I can somehow enhance and combine them, that would be amazing. However, the enhancement and fusion abilities haven't been optimized again, so it's quite a gamble. I'll have to wait for the right moment."

Wang Ping examined the weapon he had obtained and put it away.

Next, he closed his eyes in contemplation and continued to ponder the many questions arising from the simulation.

"If that red pattern allows the puppeteer to access my memories, they must be aware of the danger I pose. It's in their best interest to eliminate me quickly, especially since they know I'm likely under surveillance by the Great Emperors. So, why did they wait until now to trigger the red pattern? A normal person would have detonated it when it first entered my body. Or perhaps the red pattern has a limited range, and it can only be activated when the distance between me and the puppeteer is sufficiently reduced. This scenario aligns with some of the peculiarities I've encountered before."

Wang Ping considered various possibilities.

Suddenly, he furrowed his brow.

Since the puppeteer behind the scenes could orchestrate such peculiar simulations, replace the Immortal Mansion's secret realm, and even infiltrate the Longevity Gu Family unnoticed, their decision to quietly enter and delay activating the red pattern seemed odd.

However, these two possibilities were flawed with significant loopholes.

A more likely explanation was that his Golden Talent, which nullified damage, caused a bug in the red pattern, leading to a delay or shortened activation distance. Both scenarios were plausible.

"Phew, I've gathered quite a bit of information this time. It brings me closer to the truth. From now on, I'll focus on normal simulations without the need to defeat Gu Xuan prematurely, which triggered this dramatic turn of events. I'll continue cultivating and exploring slowly, gradually exposing the puppeteer's secrets."

Several minutes later, Wang Ping exhaled and cleared his mind, murmuring to himself.

"I've examined your memories, and that red pattern on the back of your hand does indeed exhibit strange power fluctuations."

At this moment, Alpha's voice, which had been silent for a while, resurfaced.

"Is it genuinely unusual?"

Alpha's words made Wang Ping pause for a moment, then narrow his eyes.

"If it is indeed unusual, as I had speculated earlier, everything starts to make sense. Alpha, does this unusual phenomenon satisfy the conditions?"

After contemplating for a while, Wang Ping inquired.

"Based on the behavior of this unusual phenomenon and the red pattern, it should satisfy the conditions of the Golden Great World during its prime. However, at this point in time, there's only a 40-50% chance that it still meets the conditions."

Alpha's voice rang out.

"That aligns with my thoughts. If it doesn't meet the conditions at this point, I might be able to cultivate it further," Wang Ping said, considering the possibilities.

He believed that the chances of his plan backfiring and harming him were close to zero. With his extensive experience in dealing with unusual phenomena and gaining full control over the puppeteer's abilities, there was little to fear.

Otherwise, Wang Ping wouldn't act recklessly.

Besides, even if he killed the puppeteer prematurely, he wouldn't go to the Celestial Paradise, which was meaningless.

"Let's continue the simulation. This time, I hope to make significant progress in my strength."

With that, Wang Ping collected his thoughts, preparing to start a new simulation, silently saying in his mind.

"System, I want to initiate a new paid simulation."

"Ding, deduct four million high-quality divine sources. Life Simulator activated. Talent refreshing in progress."

The system's voice rang out.

"Ding, talent refresh successful. Congratulations, host, on acquiring the Red Talent: Light Profound Body and Red Talent: Dark Profound Body."

"You're really persistent with these Profound Bodies, aren't you? How badly do you want me to choose them?" Wang Ping wasn't surprised by this non-mainstream choice. It would be strange if he continuously got Seven-Colored Talents. However, the frequency of these Profound Bodies was off the charts, with two appearing at once this time.

"Whatever, I'll pick one. Can I get all the Profound Bodies and evolve into a Seven-Colored Constitution Talent?" Wang Ping couldn't help but complain and randomly chose the Light Profound Body.

"Ding, talent selection successful. Life simulation begins."

The system's voice sounded again, and Wang Ping's consciousness flickered as he entered the immersive simulation.

Then, the screen appeared, and text began to appear.

"On the first day, you chose to act as you did in the previous simulation, heading to the Dao Palace. Ultimately, you obtained the Emperor Artifact: Void Eternal Emperor Sword, just like in the previous simulation."

"However, this time, you didn't choose to go to the Ancient Purgatory Star but went to another place instead. Surprisingly, this place was the Canglan Ancient Star."

"Previously, you were chased relentlessly on the Canglan Ancient Star during the simulations, forced to flee, and found yourself in a very miserable state. However, this time, you came here for a specific reason."

"That reason was a remark from a cultivator on the Canglan Ancient Star. They claimed that obtaining the blood of the Swallowing Immortal Demon Body could lead to a great opportunity."

"In the past, you forgot about this due to various reasons and never investigated what this opportunity entailed. Now, you intend to find out what this significant opportunity, which required the blood of the Swallowing Immortal Demon Body, really is. Perhaps it could help your disciple, Lin Qinghe, gain a valuable inheritance and grow rapidly."

"Of course, if this opportunity also benefits you, you wouldn't mind taking it for yourself and using it later."

"Your actions in coming to the Canglan Imperial Dynasty went unnoticed by any cultivators. After all, on the Canglan Ancient Star, the most powerful beings were only at the level of Great Emperors. Among them, the most powerful were those from the Canglan Imperial Dynasty, thanks to their Emperor Artifacts and quasi-Emperor Artifacts."

"In the past, you were wary of the Canglan Imperial Dynasty, but now, you can easily ignore them. After all, you can already contend with Great Emperors, easily defeating ordinary Great Emperors. With an Emperor Artifact in your possession, the Canglan Imperial Dynasty is nothing before you."

"Next, you start thinking about how to lure out the cultivator who knows about the great opportunity. After all, in the previous simulations, only a passing mention was made without revealing who had this knowledge."

"In the end, you find that searching one by one is too troublesome. Therefore, you decide to be more straightforward."

"For this purpose, you openly display your aura and use the Emperor's Scripture of Taiyi to manifest your divine power, causing a commotion throughout the Canglan Ancient Star."

"Instantly, all the self-proclaimed cultivators are awakened from their slumber, looking at you in fear. They recognize the Emperor's Scripture of Taiyi and speculate that you should be a powerful figure from the Taiyi Imperial Palace. However, they don't understand why such a prominent figure has come here."

"The self-proclaimed Great Emperors of the Canglan Imperial Dynasty are also awakened, and they notice you. Moreover, they sense the deliberate aura you're emitting, and it terrifies them. They quickly send a message to you, inquiring if someone on the Canglan Ancient Star has offended you. If so, they are willing to take care of the matter and root out the offender completely."

"In response, you smile faintly, holding the Emperor Artifact, and pay no attention to the Great Emperors of the Canglan Imperial Dynasty. You calmly announce to the entire ancient star, your voice echoing throughout, that you are looking for someone. This person knows the secret related to the Swallowing Immortal Demon Body. If he comes forward and reveals the secret, you will retract your power, and no one will be harmed. However, if he doesn't come forward, then along with the ancient star, he will turn into ashes."

"This ruthless behavior left all cultivators terrified, praying that the cultivator who knew the secret would come forward quickly. Even the supreme of the Canglan Imperial Dynasty was quite troubled. They didn't expect you to disregard them and utter such outrageous words."

"While he could use the Canglan Imperial Dynasty's Emperor Artifacts to protect the dynasty, if the ancient star were destroyed, they would face significant trouble. Moreover, he would be forced to exit his self-sealed state, making it difficult for him to endure the end of an era."

"Amidst the watchful eyes of all, the cultivator who knew the secret cursed you in his heart, thinking you were utterly insane. However, he didn't want to be buried along with the ancient star, so he quickly contacted you through a voice transmission and revealed the secret, hoping you would spare him."

"Upon hearing the cultivator's words, you were somewhat surprised. You hadn't expected that the secret he knew was related to a heritage of a certain generation of Swallowing Immortal Demon Body. It turned out that he had found the location of this heritage, but it was highly unique, requiring the blood of the Swallowing Immortal Demon Body to unlock. This was why he had been searching for immature Swallowing Immortal Demon Bodies everywhere."

"Unfortunately, finding Swallowing Immortal Demon Bodies wasn't easy. After many years of searching, he had found nothing and was forced to seal himself in his hometown, hoping that when the Golden Age arrived, he might have a chance to find a Swallowing Immortal Demon Body, obtain its blood, and unlock the heritage."

"Listening to the cultivator's explanation, you were somewhat taken aback. It seemed that the cultivator had regrets about not making a move to compete for Lin Qinghe. However, you still felt that he was too greedy. If it were a heritage related to the Swallowing Immortal Demon Body, it definitely wouldn't be that simple. Just obtaining the blood might only allow access, and inside, there would likely be trials. If one wasn't a genuine Swallowing Immortal Demon Body, the chances of a gruesome death were high."

"Of course, you also remembered that this cultivator had been cultivating for many years and had only reached the level of a half-step Great Saint. Moreover, his lifespan was limited, and he was in a self-sealed state, so taking a desperate gamble was understandable. If he won, he might become a Great Saint or even reach the level of Daoist Supreme. If he lost, it would just be an early demise."

"Next, you chuckled and retracted the Emperor Artifact, stating that it was all just a little joke, hoping they wouldn't mind. After saying this, you left the Canglan Ancient Star with Fang Xingyu."

"Upon hearing your words, the cultivators on the Canglan Ancient Star had contorted expressions and cursed in their hearts. They thought, 'What a freaking joke! Did you look like you were joking when you said that?'"

"The cultivators on the Canglan Ancient Star grumbled, and Fang Xingyu rolled his eyes like crazy, silently complaining."

"Following this, you had no intention of going elsewhere and directly returned to the Tongxian Continent, bringing Fang Xingyu back to the Taiyi Imperial Palace."

"After returning to the Taiyi Imperial Palace, you didn't immediately take Lin Qinghe to search for the heritage at the chosen location but chose to go into seclusion."

"In the blink of an eye, the Golden Age arrived, and you chose to reappear. You sought out Emperor Tianyu and inquired if there was anywhere he needed to go next. This surprised Emperor Tianyu, and he was curious about your reasons for asking. If there was anything he needed to handle, he could do it first before attending to other matters."

"In response, you shook your head, indicating that it was just a curious question. Seeing you persist, Emperor Tianyu contemplated for a moment. While he felt that you shouldn't know about this, he still provided an answer."

"It turned out that Emperor Tianyu had reached a bottleneck in his cultivation, and there was something he needed in the Ghost Demon Sea, one of the Ten Forbidden Lands. Additionally, one of his daughters had gone missing, and he had been searching for her whereabouts for years. After thorough investigation, he discovered that, for some unknown reason, she had ventured into the Ghost Demon Sea."

"Upon hearing Emperor Tianyu's response, you understood why he had disappeared. He had gone to look for his daughter, despite the Ghost Demon Sea being one of the Ten Forbidden Lands."

"While you believed that Emperor Tianyu's main purpose was to search for his daughter, he had mentioned the need to go to the Ghost Demon Sea due to a cultivation bottleneck. Nevertheless, you thought that Emperor Tianyu was primarily focused on finding his daughter."

"Although you believed that Emperor Tianyu's daughter had most likely perished in the Ghost Demon Sea after so many years, he, as a father, wouldn't give up as long as her death wasn't confirmed."

"In the previous simulations, he helped you find the Space-Time Dual Emperor Scripture before embarking on his search. This decision was likely to avoid delaying your cultivation and to keep hope alive for the Taiyi Imperial Palace."

"Perhaps Emperor Tianyu also considered the possibility of encountering danger. After all, the Ten Forbidden Lands were risky places, even for Emperors."

"Emperor Tianyu's actions undoubtedly showed some disregard for the Taiyi Imperial Palace. His better course of action would have been to cultivate a new Emperor first before going. However, as a father, his selfishness was understandable."

"Moreover, Emperor Tianyu had chosen to delay his departure for so long, even though he was anxious to find his daughter. This showed how considerate he was towards you, and you didn't think he had done anything wrong."

"'So, this is why Emperor Tianyu disappeared. He went to find his daughter, even if it meant braving the dangers of one of the Ten Forbidden Lands, the Ghost Demon Sea.' Wang Ping looked at the text simulation content and sighed inwardly."

"As a father and a mentor, Emperor Tianyu was undoubtedly outstanding."

"However, you couldn't dissuade Emperor Tianyu any longer. Your relationship with him wasn't deeply rooted yet. Although you had deep respect and affection for Emperor Tianyu, to him, you were just his newly accepted direct disciple. Your opinions couldn't sway his determination."

"Seeing your wry smile, Emperor Tianyu shook his head and assured you not to worry. He would leave sufficient trump cards for the Taiyi Imperial Palace and you, even if he didn't return. This way, you wouldn't suffer any setbacks when facing other prodigies."

"In the end, you could only nod, unable to persuade Emperor Tianyu. You had to put this matter out of your mind and continue your closed-door cultivation."

"This time, you planned to take a low-profile approach and see if you could change something when the Immortal Mansion opened."

(End of this chapter)"