Inside the Foundation.
"This thing is actually called the Destiny Dream Cauldron?"
Lu Hongshen, dressed in a janitor's uniform, looked at the bronze cauldron on the table with a mix of shock and confusion.
Wow, I've been calling it a lump of iron all this time, but its real name is the Destiny Dream Cauldron?
As for changing the past and future...
Lu Hongshen stared blankly at Qin Luo, who was sitting across from him: "I don't know anything about that."
*Slap!*
"Ugh—!"
As soon as he finished speaking.
Qin Luo slapped Lu Hongshen across the face and scolded, "Still talking nonsense? Spit it out!"
"Wahhh, I really don't know!"
Lu Hongshen covered his face, on the verge of tears, and cried out, "I didn't even know its name! All I knew was that it could help me cultivate through dreams! That's all I know!"
Qin Luo wasn’t buying it.
*Slap!*
"Ugh—!"
He slapped him again and yelled, "Still playing dumb? Isn’t this your bronze cauldron?"
"Yes... it's mine, wahhh..."
*Slap!*
"If it's yours, how could you not know its powers??"
Lu Hongshen had already been slapped three times, and his head was spinning.
Now, being misunderstood like this by Qin Luo, he sobbed and cried out, "I really don’t know! After I used it to cross over into the Profound Heaven Realm, I only relied on it for cultivation! I know nothing else!"
The Profound Heaven Realm? Crossing over?
Qin Luo caught the key information. He looked at Lu Hongshen, who was covering his face and crying uncontrollably, and suddenly remembered that, according to the novel's plot, this guy was a returned urban immortal who had crossed over from another world.
Thinking this, Qin Luo found it amusing.
"Interesting," he said, crossing his arms and resting his chin on his hands. His sharp gaze fixed on Lu Hongshen as he slowly spoke, "Tell me about the Profound Heaven Realm. And how you ended up there in the first place."
"You have the right to remain silent, but everything you say will be a reason for me to slap you again."
Are you interrogating a criminal here??
This is too much!!
Lu Hongshen trembled as he covered his face. Truly, a tiger fallen to the plains is bullied by dogs.
I, a mighty immortal, have been reduced to this state.
But when you're under someone else's roof, you have to bow your head.
He sobbed and choked out his story: "Back then..."
Half an hour later.
Qin Luo had pieced everything together.
He looked at Lu Hongshen, who was gulping down water after rambling for so long that his throat was dry.
Qin Luo fell silent.
Lu Hongshen was originally from this world. He had been an orphan since childhood, with no family or friends.
One day, by chance, he went to an antique market to browse for treasures.
Among the items he found was this bronze cauldron.
That night, he placed the cauldron on his bedside table.
After a night's sleep, he woke up to find himself in the Profound Heaven Realm.
Strangely enough, the bronze cauldron had followed him into his consciousness.
Well, an orphan with no family—classic protagonist material.
Speaking of consciousness, this was part of the cultivation system in the Profound Heaven Realm he described.
In that world, martial artists weren’t called martial artists but... cultivators.
The Profound Heaven Realm was rich in spiritual energy, making cultivation far easier than in this world.
Interestingly, the cultivation realms before the return to simplicity were identical to those in this world.
But beyond that...
They were divided into—
[Domain Realm, Spirit Origin Realm, True Spirit Realm, Supreme Realm, and Sovereign Realm.]
Qin Luo looked at the trembling Lu Hongshen before him.
The guy didn’t seem to be lying.
Additionally, Qin Luo frowned and asked, "You haven’t explained how you came back."
Hearing this, Lu Hongshen swallowed nervously and chuckled awkwardly, "Uh... that’s because I... ahem, with my exceptional talent, I broke through to the Supreme Realm."
As he spoke, his tone grew more confident. "In the entire Profound Heaven Realm, only seven people have ever reached the Supreme Realm, including me!"
"Get to the point."
"Ahem... Once you reach the Supreme Realm, we no longer refer to such individuals as cultivators."
He took a deep breath and said seriously, "We call them... Immortals."
Immortals?
Qin Luo looked at Lu Hongshen in surprise. "So, this isn’t just a title you gave yourself?"
"Of course not."
Lu Hongshen puffed up with pride. "Once you reach the Supreme Realm, you gain mastery over the laws of the world. For example, thanks to the bronze cauldron, I was able to control the Law of Dreams."
"I could manipulate others’ dreams."
"I was known as the Dreamweaver Immortal!"
"Unfortunately..."
Lu Hongshen sighed and shook his head, his expression filled with dread. "One day, a terrifying monster appeared in the Profound Heaven Realm."
"A monster? Like a demonic beast?"
Qin Luo frowned.
"No..."
"It was... a person!"
As he said this, Lu Hongshen clenched his fists tightly, his entire body radiating fear. "The seven of us, all Supreme Realm experts, couldn’t even withstand a single palm strike from that monster!"
"That thing was just too powerful!"
Qin Luo asked curiously, "Did you make a breakthrough at the last moment and defeat it, then return by tearing through the void?"
At this, Lu Hongshen scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "No, I was shattered into pieces with a single palm strike."
"........"
"Then, when I woke up, I found myself back here."
"......"
Qin Luo left, deep in thought as he pondered everything Lu Hongshen had told him.
The Profound Heaven Realm.
The same cultivation realms.
The bronze cauldron... crossing over...
And dreams...
Real dreams...
Wait!
Qin Luo’s eyes narrowed as he caught onto something crucial.
Thinking this, he pulled out his phone.
On it was some of the information he had copied from the Alliance Headquarters' database during a previous infiltration.
He scrolled through the app he had created for the database.
Finding the history section, he swiped to the last few pages.
His eyes scanned downward.
[Year 1 of the Martial Era: The Alliance was established. Spiritual energy dissipated, downgrading to true energy. This era is known as... the Martial Era, also called... the Age of Decline.]
The Age of Decline...
No, go further back.
[The Profound Heaven Era: Cultivators relied on the natural spiritual energy of the world to cultivate. The spiritual energy was abundant, and all things possessed spirit.]
[At this time, this world was called... the Profound Heaven Realm.]
Found it.
The Profound Heaven Realm.
Qin Luo took a deep breath and continued reading.
[Primordial Era: @#@￥%]
[@@￥]
[...]
Well, it’s all garbled from here?
Qin Luo’s expression grew serious.
Something’s off. Very off.
The Profound Heaven Realm was once a part of this world’s history?
But that era... was destroyed?
Lu Hongshen thought he had crossed over to the Profound Heaven Realm, but in reality, it was likely that the bronze cauldron had plunged him into a vivid dream, giving him a real experience of that world.
Right.
Qin Luo searched the database again for the name "Lu Hongshen."
The next second.
[Lu Hongshen: A person of high destiny and fortune. Crossed over to the Profound Heaven Era and altered parts of history.]
Hiss...
At this point, Qin Luo was almost certain.
He took a quiet breath.
The Alliance Headquarters had a big problem.
And its founder was an even bigger problem.
Combined with the system upgrades...
Could there be a system user within the Alliance Headquarters?
If so...
Then...
"How interesting."
Qin Luo’s lips curled into a slight smile, a glint of amusement in his eyes.
He hadn’t planned to get too involved with the Alliance.
But if there was a system user within the Alliance, then...
He would love to get involved.
After all, let’s not forget.
The purpose of his system upgrade...
Was to devour other systems!
Hmm?
Qin Luo tilted his head.
First, there’s a mental hospital capturing people of destiny.
Now, a system upgrade to devour other systems.
If someone didn’t know better, they’d think he was some kind of multiverse janitor.
Whatever, no point overthinking it. Let’s grab some barbecue and head back to feed the young miss.