There are numerous religious paintings on the wall. The guards are strict, with knights standing guard every few steps.

Su Ming'an heard movement in the rooms on either side. He listened through the crack of the door and instantly recoiled as if electrocuted.

... What kind of castle is this, how come it's...?

He learned his lesson and only focused on places with red circles indicating clues. Five minutes later, he found a hall at the end of the corridor, with fluctuations from a spatial barrier coming through.

—A place protected by a spatial barrier must be very critical.

He cautiously approached, using his passive spatial perception to slowly pass through the barrier.

"Bop."

After passing through the barrier, he gazed through the crack in the window at the scene inside—

...!

He widened his eyes in disbelief.

Candlelight flickered, red satin draped up.

Scarlet blood flowed like red wine, with intestines like crushed rose petals.

Twelve figures in formal tuxedos surrounded the dining table, sharing a body.

No one spoke, maintaining graceful postures, resembling a solemn banquet.

A strong scent of blood rushed over, Su Ming'an's face went pale, and he witnessed firsthand—the elegant feasters picked up knives and forks, sending the flesh into their mouths.

Bloodstains dyed the white tablecloth while black hair spilled onto the table. And Su Ming'an could clearly see—the feasted upon had black hair, black eyes, resembling his own appearance, but the body seemed unlike his own, forcibly pieced together.

Eyes wide open, seemingly refusing to rest in peace.

Why was there a body here with his face?

Candlelight flickered on the faces of those attending, dim and flickering, twelve people displayed solemn expressions as if in a fervent pilgrimage.

The scene before him made him nauseous, the half-body of "himself" was even more visually shocking, he slowly stepped back and suddenly glanced at the wall—he realized that the castle's walls full of religious murals had similar scenes.

Despite being highly stylized, the fervent worship paintings vaguely depicted his black eyes, hands, and head, rendered with thick ink. Most scenes seemed to be people worshipping these icons.

Taking a few more steps, he saw the busy servants, who collected his bones and decorated them with roses and Manzusha flowers, placing them in glass cabinets. The collection room was already filled with such eerie bone "artworks".

... What kind of perverse Luowasha is this?

He was covered in goosebumps, returning to his room.

At that moment, a knock on the door suddenly startled him.

He adjusted his expression: "Come in."

A young man with blonde hair and blue eyes pushed the door open, with slightly longer sideburns neatly tucked by the ears, styled in a low ponytail, wearing a moon-white long robe, his waist adorned with frosted gemstones. As he walked, the silver hair band behind his head slightly fluttered.

The blonde youth glanced at him, seemingly unaware he had been outside: "Let's go, Your Highness, it's time."

Su Ming'an asked no more questions and followed him.

...

The blonde youth led him out of the castle, cloaked, with no one stopping them along the way.

The knights followed far behind, seemingly afraid Su Ming'an would escape.

This was Su Ming'an's first time seeing such Otherworld-style streets. The brick was crimson red, with entwined paintings of deep blue and red, and the sound of bagpipes filled the air.

Clusters of clouds floated leisurely in the sky, occasionally passing traces of the Celestial Clan and Dragon Descendants, inciting envious glances from the ground creatures.

The Wolf Tribe and Sheep Tribe on the street drank Blazing Liquor shoulder-to-shoulder, breathing fire as they drank. Winged Bird Tribe soared carrying bricks, replacing elevators with their bodies.

Stall-side, half-elves and the Human Race gathered around a cloth, discussing intensely:

"This must be the legendary Great Devil Pollo's towel! Look at the pattern, the color, it's a rare item from Asasi's hell, smuggled out by the [Celestial Treasure Thief] once losing seven or eight gnomes!"

"You think I don't know history? Great Devil Pollo was betrayed by his own son in the War of Eden, he fled to Twilight Realm long ago, you're selling me fake goods—"

Su Ming'an walked as he looked around. He once dreamed of crossing to the Otherworld when watching anime, never expecting such a day to come true.

He opened the live broadcast room casually.

Instantly, bombarding comments streamed in at the upper-right corner of his vision, with viewers hungry for content.

[First!]

[OMG, finally open!]

[The live room wasn't open just now, I thought something happened, scared me!]

[Has Su Ming'an chosen his race? I want to see the Insect Queen, I want to see the Insect Queen!! (whine) (roll) (uproar)]

[Hehe, Ming'an... Ming'an...]

[Why does it look like a Human Race? So normal?]

[The instance just opened, I'll make a quick prediction—In his past life, the Human Race Great Emperor Su Ming'an perished under the oppression of foreign races. In this life, he's going to change his destiny! Before dying, he signed a contract with the World Tree, reincarnating as an ordinary human, bearing eight sealed shackles. When he breaks those seals, all beings will tremble at his feet! Luowasha, your Emperor has returned!]

[No, no. It should be this way—Su Ming'an is a deity mastering dimensions. He returned to a thousand years ago, split his "kindness", reincarnated through generations accumulating "malice", elevating Yun Shang City!]

[You've turned into the shape of the World Game (joy)]

[Ming'an turned into white hair (sad)]

[This world must be Pulaya's ten thousand years later, if not, I'll live stream eating a banana.]

...

Su Ming'an stared at the comments for a while.

No particular reason, primarily due to severe PTSD from the World of Old Days, pondering if it was something like deities typing. But the usual World Game routine doesn't repeat twice, this should be genuine comments.

"—Excuse me, excuse me!"

Street-side, a massive three-meter-tall plush cat dashed by, with a cluster of monkeys atop. The monkeys surrounded a banana 1.8 meter tall.

... Wait, banana?

Su Ming'an immediately looked up but could only see the plush cat's swaying big tail.

At that moment, the blonde youth introduced: "That is the Banana Clan from Preserving Forest, a race protected by Harvest Angel Candice. Red Tower is a grand country of mixed races, so this Banana Clan should be here for tourism."

His hand resting on his chin, a hint of amusement flickering in his ocean-blue eyes: "However, being targeted by a group of monkeys, once they leave the Royal Capital, those monkeys are likely to make a move."

"... Make a move?" Su Ming'an repeated.

The youth smiled: "That won't just be robbery, it's... deeper, harm."

Eat them?

Su Ming'an suddenly realized, even the food he saw earlier contained Azure Phoenix sinews and infernal beef. These should be sentient creatures, just like humans, yet slaughtered and served on dining tables.

A kaleidoscope of races also implies a distinct food chain; if most animals transformed into Beast Clan, then where did the animals meant to be eaten come from? Actually, it's all the same source.

"No one will care." The youth seemed to see through his thoughts: "You see, although most people on the street saw, no one would warn that banana. The inexperienced banana can only pay a painful price for its gullibility. Even if it disappears, no one cares about a banana."

"Some races are born to be eaten. Some are swallowed whole, while others are consumed slowly over a lifetime. From birth to old age, they are on the path of being eaten."

"Have you heard of the Carrot Clan? Most of them are raised in the backyards of high-class races, laboring for life. They are trimmed and eaten bit by bit as they grow since the carrot will grow back, so it doesn't matter how they are peeled alive. As long as enough carrot seeds are kept, there will be a continuous supply of carrots."

"No matter how much carrots grow, they remain carrots; they cannot mutate into peppers or cannibal flowers, so they can never escape this shackle, forever destined to be food."

Su Ming'an frowned. He knew that every world had deep-rooted maladies, and Luowasha's issues, though not as stark as The World of Old Days, were still difficult to cure.

This illness did not originate from the features of each world but was named "human." As long as there are living beings, this universal disease will never disappear.

"So..."

As they reached the street corner, the blond young man pressed the brim of his hat, concealing his face even more.

"Never trust others, regardless of the time."

"You don't know whether they are 'monkeys' or 'bananas.' You don't know if they will harm you in secret."

"The Celestial Clan, appearing compassionate, especially enjoys eating jellyfish from the sea. Their merciful faces sometimes show bloodthirsty fangs. Many races rely on eating to become stronger, and humans are at the bottom of the food chain. It's only under the protection of the Human Empire that humans manage to survive."

... It's too dangerous.

When Su Ming'an looked again at the stunning sun and moon sky, it no longer seemed beautiful. Many of those excited players had likely already paid a heavy price.

The young man noticed his expression and chuckled, "It seems you are indeed an inexperienced jellyfish."

Su Ming'an pointed at himself, "Jellyfish?"

The young man nodded, "As far as I know, jellyfish are even easier prey than humans, sitting at the bottom of the food chain. So, you'd better hide this identity well."

Su Ming'an fell into thought.

He did not notice the fleeting crimson in the blond young man's eyes.

...

[After Lu Shu woke up, he found himself in a luxurious palace, scarlet sheets scattered with petals, and the air flowing with an intoxicating wine aroma.]

[He was a Bloodline Marquis.]

[Bloodlines live on the remote Crescent Island, but most mingle among crowds. Though there are Blood Hunters to counter, Bloodlines can always hunt innocent souls.]

[At this time, a Bloodline meeting was convened, which Lu Shu attended.]

...

Lu Shu frowned at his own story.

... It didn't seem like a very interesting story.

"According to the prophecy of the great Master of Abyss, Lestory, the Rin Clan will soon revive."

The candlelight flickered across the long table, where more than thirty shadows sat quietly. Even among their own, the Blood Clan wouldn't easily expose their faces.

Lu Shu had heard of the Master of Abyss, Lestory, a Third-level God of the Blood Clan, who ruled the Sea of Desire, the Twilight Realm, and Crescent Island. He didn't quite grasp what these words meant, but he knew this deity was formidable.

"The Rin Clan? A new term." Another shadow voiced, sounding like a child.

"That is a divine race from long ago, even higher than Dragons, Angels, and Demons," an old voice spoke, "In today's world, the Holy Temple's influence spans the Five Great Planes—they believe in the supreme deity, the Deceptive Lord, Tosolius. They regard the World Tree as the Deceptive Lord's earthly incarnation, and the Rin Clan as a divine race personally created by the Deceptive Lord."

"Whenever Luowasha faces a crisis, the World Tree will spawn the Rin Clan to save the world from destruction."

"The Rin Clan bears the blood of the gods, having saved Luowasha multiple times, carrying the 'destiny' of salvation, akin to the Deceptive Lord's children."

The child's voice laughed, "Such a powerful divine race, why did they disappear?"

The old voice replied, "One theory is that only three members of the Rin Clan are born each time, known as the Triplets, and after the crisis is resolved, the World Tree reabsorbs them. Another theory suggests... the Rin Clan was too tempting, and once the crisis ended, people betrayed them..."

Silence engulfed the table.

The child's voice became excited instead, "So they could be eaten."

Their first reaction was not indignation but pondering if they could partake. After all, when disasters are over, who needs gods to shelter from the storm?

"There's another theory," said Modesty, the rose-headed being beside Lu Shu. This Eternal Night Rose dripped blood, and her red gown flowed like blood, yet her demeanor remained graceful: "The Holy Temple personally killed their Divine Son; they didn't want anyone above them. Faith is merely a tool, and power is eternal."

"An interesting theory," a female voice said, "During the crisis, they sincerely worshipped, yet once it passed, they bared their bloody mouths... it really aligns with the nature of Luowasha's hearts."

"When disasters end, who needs gods anymore?"

"The Game Day is approaching, signaling a new world crisis. Thus, the World Tree will give birth to a new set of Rin Clan Triplets?"

"Probably in a few days. I've heard that about five hundred million Otherworld Ghosts have arrived in our plane, likely summoned by the Deceptive Lord to help Luowasha through the crisis."

"We have to snatch back those Rin Clan. Once consumed, wouldn't we become the new divine race?"

"Many races think this way. Beside each major root of the World Tree, thousands of races have gathered. Even the Celestial Clan and Half-demons have clashed fiercely."

Lu Shu listened with urgency.

Even with his eyes closed, he could tell that Su Ming'an must be of this race, seemingly still buried under the tree.

No, he had to dig him out.

When the Blood Clan discussed who would lay in waiting, Lu Shu eagerly raised his hand.

"I'll go."

At that moment, he suddenly heard a system prompt:

...

"Ding Dong!"

[Your storyline has intersected with "Su Ming'an."]

["Inspiration Integration" module has been unlocked.]

[When your storylines intersect, you can share inspiration, forming a "Multi-threaded Narration" story.]

...

"Ding Dong!"

[You have acquired Memory Clip: "First Act · Liujin's Arrival at the Red Tower Country, Bloodline Assembly on Game Day"]

[Excitement Level: C-]

[Thrill Level: D]

[Depth: C]

[Elements: Passion, Reality, Playing the Fool, Cultivation]

[Overall Score: 11]

[Belonging to: Su Ming'an, Lu Shu.]

...

——

③ Celestial Thieves: Shuttle between the Five Great Planes, skilled in sweet-talking to steal others' treasures. They believe in the God of Trade, Youli, though Youli never acknowledges these bandits.

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