PGVCW 78

Playing God in Various Catastrophic Worlds

Chapter 78: Journey to Yunxing

Xia Wang'an made one final trip back to the Anomaly World.

Across the landscape, which shared a topography similar to Blue Star's, merely hundreds of thousands of human survivors now remained.

The seven major bases were actively deliberating a merger; the Corrupters had been driven out, the sentinels were finally granted days off, and they could at last begin rebuilding a proper human homeland.

Although numerous anomalies of varying sizes still drifted across various regions, the survivors had all begun learning talismanic arts, acquiring the means to defend themselves against the aberrant entities.

Even within this brief span of time, sects of all sizes had sprouted up across the land. Naturally, the most dazzling among them was none of other than the Heavenly Talisman Sect.

Following the eradication of the anomalies, Xia Wang'an and her companions vanished from public view.

From that day forward, the world gained a legend regarding a secluded, hidden sect.

Legend held that this sect was named the Heaven-Salvaging Sect, originally an offshoot of the Heavenly Talisman Sect that had retreated into mountain forests after splitting away. Every disciple possessed profound cultivation and specialized supremely in talismanic arts, remaining perpetually hidden from secular affairs save for moments of global cataclysm, when they would emerge to save the world.

Naturally, the locals remained unaware that Xia Wang'an had returned; she simply chose to remain concealed without revealing herself.

She observed that many individuals had begun groping their way toward stellar astrology, geomancy, and spatial arrays.

Whether influenced by the surge of spiritual qi or not, certain anomalies that had previously lacked sentience were gradually developing consciousness. There were even instances where humans consumed by anomalies managed to usurp and seize control of the aberrant physical forms instead.

Some of these individuals believed they were no longer human, choosing either to live in solitary detachment or carve out independent territories, while others returned to human settlements, beginning a long, arduous process of integration amidst welcoming or wary gazes from the populace.

"As expected, the world always finds its own path to survival."

Standing amidst patches of newly sprouted green grass, Xia Wang'an effortlessly captured a grey wild rabbit that was poking its head out to observe her.

The Emergence of Monsters

In an era when anomalies once ran rampant and humans were cornered inside city walls, the fauna of this planet had actually expanded their territorial ranges considerably, harboring very little direct fear of humankind.

Within this wild rabbit, Xia Wang'an perceived the circulation of spiritual qi.

The rabbit, which ought to have been terrified by human capture, appeared instead in a state of naive bewilderment, its large, glossy eyes darting up at Xia Wang'an as the primitive sparks of sentient thought began to take root within its mind.

Observing for a few seconds, she remarked: "It is growing up."

007 reached out to stroke the rabbit's small head as well: "Grow up well, then."

Releasing the wild rabbit, Xia Wang'an watched it hop away into the distance.

Perhaps in the near future, alongside anomalies and humans, the anomaly world would give rise to a brand-new classification of living beings known as "Yao" (demonic cultivators/beasts).

Humans, anomalies, and Yao would ultimately coexist upon this planet.

Inevitably, there would be competition, conflict, and the cultivation of friendship, familial bonds, and romance, but at the very least, this was a narrative entirely belonging to them.

Because the rudimentary embryonic form of "Yao" had manifested, Xia Wang'an concluded that Rong Luo was best suited remaining right here.

"With the emergence of [Yao] in this world, cultivating right here will yield far greater benefits for you than anywhere else."

To put it simply, the Anomaly World had released vast reservoirs of spiritual qi that dispersed in all directions, blessing all creation and establishing institutional pathways for cultivation.

Humans acquired the Daoist cultivator pathway.

Anomalies acquired the Demonic Cultivator (Moxiu) pathway.

Flora and fauna acquired the Beast Cultivator (Yaoxiu) pathway.

From this moment onward, illegal cultivation no longer existed in this world; if Imperial Princess Rong Luo wished to transition into a Beast Cultivator, practicing her arts here was the optimal choice.

Rong Luo raised no objections.

Provided she could maintain total suppression over her bestial instincts, she was willing to undertake any directive.

She remained deeply opposed to You Mo accompanying her to Yunxing; for him, an S-rank world remained fraught with excessive risk.

Crucially—

She articulated her anxieties utilizing intricate clicking gestures.

[Yunxing is the world closest to the Corrupters.] [Should a single misstep occur there, discovery by the Corrupters is virtually guaranteed.]

You Mo, however, held a diametrically opposed perspective. Having aggressively crammed a massive volume of cultivation lore while on Blue Star, he was acutely aware that for a beast cultivator to achieve true fruit status, it required centuries of dedicated practice.

What if Her Highness lost her cognitive stability entirely during that protracted duration?

As an absolute safeguard, acquiring genetic serums was an imperative mission.

Naturally, rather than rejecting Rong Luo outright, he flashed an ingratiating grin: "I am merely guiding the Great Deity to her destination; the moment the guidance is complete, I shall return immediately."

Rong Luo's hundreds of ocular orbs revolved, as though evaluating whether You Mo was attempting deception.

You Mo maintained a posture of absolute integrity.

Once Rong Luo averted her gaze, he breathed a sigh of relief while quietly surging with excitement.

Heh, heh, heh—I successfully deceived Her Highness~

The Banishment

Half a day later, having intercepted a Corrupter actively attempting to breach spatial boundaries, You Mo prepared to escort Xia Wang'an toward Yunxing, only to watch the raven-haired maiden and the youth beside her glide past him with effortless grace.

And then, one of them casually planted a boot squarely against his chest and kicked him straight down—

You Mo: ???

Compared to Xia Wang'an, who exhibited zero remorse and absolute brazenness, 007 at least offered a polite, gentle explanation:

"Her Highness Rong Luo instructed us to execute this maneuver; please do not harbor resentment toward us, as we will certainly bring the serums back for you."

Xia Wang'an appended: "Blaming us is equally futile, since he cannot defeat us anyway."

007 nodded in immediate agreement: "Indeed so, therefore the matter is settled."

You Mo: "...?"

While he lay prone upon the earth, bitterly agonizing over precisely how his deception had failed to slip past the sovereign—

Back within the Anomaly World, B06 had quietly infiltrated the sector.

Members of the resistance organization had perpetually struggled to maintain reliable communication channels; for undercover operatives like himself, contacts were handled strictly through unidirectional channels.

Yet seizing every available opportunity, B06 invariably returned to the breeding grounds to pay clandestine visits to Imperial Princess Rong Luo.

You Mo had risked his life previously precisely because he understood this operational reality: Rong Luo would never terminate him, and by remaining quietly concealed at the bottom of the crater, he could secure extraction when his comrades arrived.

B06's hurried arrival today was prompted by an alarming anomaly within the breeding facilities of the Anomaly World—every single Corrupter had suddenly lost all vital signs, and within the Corrupter central headquarters, this world's dimensional coordinates had undergone an automatic self-detonation.

Naturally, the headquarters had plunged into frantic chaos. While caught up in the emergency response workflows, B06 burned with acute anxiety.

The sole intelligence available indicated that a formidable entity had materialized, ruthlessly annihilating every single Corrupter stationed across this world.

If the Corrupters were all dead, what had become of the mutated prisoners held within the breeding farms?

He felt utterly frantic, yet dared not betray his agitation outwardly. Seizing a rare operational window, he rushed straight to the site.

Corrupters relied upon neck collars to execute interdimensional transit, whereas resistance members did not; instead, they hitched rides on temporal ripples generated by Corrupters, forcing them to meticulously memorize the coordinates of every visited dimension.

Consequently, B06 successfully infiltrated the Anomaly World without hindrance.

Upon entry, he was first startled by a palpable surge of spiritual qi, followed by the astonishing discovery that the local humans were not only unharmed, but enthusiastically engaged in large-scale infrastructure construction alongside a contingent of active anomalies.

Judging by their seamless cooperation, they were clearly operating as an integrated faction.

B06: ?!

This bizarre spectacle would likely cause even a seasoned Corrupter's jaw to drop in disbelief; yet pressed for time to check on Rong Luo, B06 suppressed his shock and bolted toward the breeding facility at maximum velocity.

Then, he beheld a colossal arachnid beast standing with hundreds of limbs pointed toward the heavens, its hundred ocular orbs peacefully closed, rigidly maintaining a formal meditative posture.

B06: ?!?!?

He had only been absent for a brief interval—what on earth had transpired here?!

Arrival at Yunxing

While B06 remained paralyzed in profound shock, Xia Wang'an and 007 had successfully materialized within Yunxing.

Whether due to 007 being an artificial construct of her own making, or because her personal combat threshold had scaled upward once more, traversing the space-time continuum alongside Xia Wang'an produced zero spatial resistance for him.

For Xia Wang'an, this constituted unadulterated positive news. While outside observers might assume she invariably operated as a solitary traveler whenever venturing into novel worlds, she had always maintained a fundamental conviction: she was never truly alone, for she possessed 007.

Had 007 lost the capacity to accompany her across dimensional boundaries following his transformation into a human, Xia Wang'an would have struggled immensely to adapt.

For instance, Xia Wang'an had long since grown accustomed to 007 promptly unearthing commendable attributes upon arriving in a fresh world, followed by enthusiastic bouts of cheerful praise.

Observe, he had already initiated the routine:

"Host, this new world is so gorgeous~"

"Indeed, it surpasses the visual rendering of any motion picture." Xia Wang'an's eyes were already glittering.

Literally glittering, because at this exact moment, the two of them were standing amidst an ocean of stellar nebulae.

Indeed, to be precise, the pair were floating directly within outer space.

As an advanced interstellar realm, although this dimension was designated as Yunxing, its inhabitants occupied numerous planetary bodies rather than a solitary globe.

Where Blue Star defined territorial divisions by terrestrial municipalities, the citizens of Yunxing calculated territory on a planetary scale.

Presently, standing atop a colossal drifting meteorite, the two figures possessed a direct vantage point overlooking a massive starship cruising past in the distance.

Xia Wang'an initially debated whether to extract a space suit from her spatial storage pendant, but rapidly realized that given her current cultivation threshold, internal spiritual qi spontaneously generated a transparent protective envelope surrounding her person without requiring conscious channeling.

Invisible to the naked eye and imperceptible to tactile sensation, these localized spiritual currents permitted her to exist within the vacuum of space with the exact physical comfort of walking upon terrestrial soil.

The identical phenomenon applied to 007; while his cultivation metrics fell short of Xia Wang'an's, he had long since attained the Golden Core stage.

After all, serving as a system residing within his host's consciousness for years had instilled robust operational diligence.

Consequently, the two of them stood comfortably amidst the vacuum of space, enjoying the cosmic scenery in a posture utterly defiant of scientific logic.

Clack!

As though blinding illumination had detonated across the void, with a brief flash of visual static, the starship vanished entirely from that sector.

Clack! Clack!

Succeeding bursts of stellar radiance marked the instantaneous appearance and disappearance of auxiliary starships across the cosmic sea.

This deviated somewhat from the interstellar cinematic tropes Xia Wang'an had previously consumed; yet upon reflection, it was entirely logical. The cosmos possessed unfathomable scale, and the spatial distances separating stellar bodies were astronomical; if starships genuinely crawled along at the leisurely paces depicted in films, reaching an adjacent planet would require geological epochs.

The velocity they were currently witnessing constituted true rational efficiency.

Starships within an interstellar civilization hardly constituted rare commodities; their transit frequency rivaled the vehicular traffic density of Blue Star thoroughfares.

Consequently, within mere minutes, explosive bursts of light bloomed like brilliant fireworks across the majestic, boundless canvas of the cosmic ocean, elevating the aesthetic grandeur of the vista.

Xia Wang'an was reveling in the pleasant, relaxed demeanor of a tourist appreciating a fine landscape—

Crash—

An enormous starship collided catastrophically with a massive drifting meteorite.

The drifting meteorite, floating aimlessly across the void, suffered unprovoked devastation; yet possessing the structural mass and geological density capable of enduring long-term interstellar exposure, its durability proved exceptionally formidable.

Thus, under the direct observation of Xia Wang'an and 007, a scenic vista instantly devolved into a disaster film as the starship structurally disintegrated from the impact.

Xia Wang'an: "?"

She stared in mild hesitation at the exploding, fracturing vessel: "Do interstellar civilizations experience vehicular accidents as well?"

Even on Blue Star, vehicular collisions triggered emergency airbags to safeguard occupants; yet observing this starship, the human passengers were clearly reduced to scrambling for immediate escape.

The Genetically Modified Humans

Then, she watched with her own eyes as numerous individuals drifted out from the interior of the crippled starship and underwent dramatic, instantaneous transformations.

Transitioning from baseline human physiology, they morphed into an array of bizarre, multi-faceted beastial configurations.

Individuals who moments prior lacked the capacity to survive within the vacuum of space suddenly secured functional viability for a sustained duration.

Xia Wang'an: "Yao?"

Incorrect; they bore little resemblance to true Yao: "Did You Mo not state that Yunxing was inhabited entirely by baseline humans?"

007 pondered briefly: "He appeared to indicate they were genetically altered humans; it is probable that these individuals incorporated animal genomes within their biological constitution."

This perspective rendered You Mo's determination to secure genetic serums from this world entirely logical; after all, the humans inhabiting this realm exhibited advanced technological pragmatism.

Xia Wang'an regarded this as an exceptionally ingenious methodology. Human biological frameworks possessed inherent physical fragility, making the integration of diverse genetic traits a rational enhancement.

In truth, had her personal cultivation not advanced with such exponential velocity while lacking native technological infrastructure, she would have harbored similar inclinations herself.

For instance, grafting several hundred gills onto her person, supplemented by thousands of arms and tens of thousands of ocular sensors.

Such modifications would ensure that regardless of the number of adversaries faced in combat, engagement would never induce operational confusion.

007, having listened to Xia Wang'an articulate her grand aspiration, offered his assessment: "That sounds splendid, but Host, observe those individuals—despite their genetic augmentations, they clearly cannot endure within the vacuum of space indefinitely."

Xia Wang'an focused her gaze; true enough, frost was beginning to encrust the bestial visages of the survivors, accompanied by expressions of acute agony.

She remained uncertain: "Are they perishing?"

007 conducted a rigorous observation for a second before nodding clinically: "They are approaching expiration."

"Then I shall render assistance."

Xia Wang'an retained a deeply ingrained "savior" consciousness.

Although across her preceding decade of dimensional traversal she had repeatedly encountered scenarios where individuals she rescued turned upon her with suspicion or hostility, this historical reality never prompted her to adopt a policy of indifference toward distress.

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