"During the Tianji era, otherworldly demons appeared in the cultivation world, wreaking havoc on the world and disrupting the Heavenly Dao. They were eventually wiped out by the combined efforts of all cultivators."

"This sorcerer is a disciple of Yunxian, the head of the Qing Dynasty's Huizong Sect."

In just a few words, Lu Zhaozhao's hands trembled uncontrollably.

A demon from another world, a disciple of Yunxian—isn't that her?

What was the ending? Was she wiped out by the combined efforts of the cultivators? Was this her fate, or was it the punishment that Heaven had bestowed upon her, this uninvited guest who had intruded?

Lu Zhaozhao slowed her breathing.

Running my fingertips over the book, the rough, matte texture felt like holding a pirated copy. It roughly copied the story's content but added a disjointed ending, causing the entire article to stray from its original core.

She looked around, surveying the area, and could see every corner clearly, inside and out.

She was indeed all alone here.

"This is just a trial, Lu Zhaozhao, just a trial."

She murmured to herself, trying to comfort herself, but her trembling eyelashes betrayed her tension and unease.

In this world, everyone operates according to the logic of this book, that is, the Way of Heaven. Only she, a true outsider, does things that change the fate of this character, and in the process, she unintentionally changes the fate of others.

Like the butterfly effect, things have already deviated from the original plan. What kind of punishment will Lu Zhaozhao, the instigator, suffer?

She stood there helplessly in the utter silence of the space. She opened the window, stepped out the door, and found herself in the same room again, an endless, suffocating cage that bound her.

Instinctively, the book fell to the ground, and she took a step back.

"She moved."

The audience below the mountain had been watching the movements of the five people climbing the steps. They stopped amidst the swirling smoke and remained motionless for a long time.

At this moment, Lu Zhaozhao took the initiative to move, but instead of moving upwards, she moved downwards.

What's wrong with her?

The people below whispered among themselves, not quite understanding what was happening.

Ying Che's face turned pale instantly in the crowd.

Having attended one Golden Banquet before, this scene was all too familiar to him.

The so-called trials at the Golden Terrace are actually more of a test of one's character. They will bring out a person's deepest fears, no matter how well they are usually hidden, they will be dug out and displayed to the world bit by bit.

Lu Zhaozhao's first ten years of life were smooth sailing.

Born into a family of cultivators, she joined a top sect at a young age. Her talent, background, and appearance were all top-notch. Even the cultivation process, which caused pain to many cultivators, seemed to be easy for her. Logically speaking, she shouldn't have any difficulties.

Therefore, before the competition began, Ying Che had great confidence in Lu Zhaozhao.

Liao Chou suffered loneliness and hardship in the first half of his life, and the physique of the artifact master tormented him day and night; Yao Tong was kind-hearted but was also easily troubled by this; Sang Pan, needless to say, as a rogue cultivator, the suffering he endured to reach this point is beyond words.

The only one similar to Lu Zhaozhao is Bai Yuanshi from Wenyuan Academy. The two have similar life experiences, neither of them having experienced any major storms.

But to Ying Che's surprise, he didn't expect Lu Zhaozhao to be the first to back down.

Having spent so much time together, he knew Lu Zhaozhao's character very well. Her resolute mind seemed genuine. Could it be that she was hiding such a great fear in her heart?

Fortunately, Lu Zhaozhao only took one step back before stopping again.

She picked up the book again.

The best way to overcome fear is to confront it directly.

After much deliberation, Lu Zhaozhao finally calmed down and faced the novel with its flashy cover.

After flipping through a few pages, she realized that the few sentences that had been most unsettling her were just one of the many storylines.

This book, despite bearing the name of the original work, has absolutely no connection to its content.

A quick glance revealed five or six world lines.

The first rule is that the demoness must be executed.

Subsequently, there was Lu Zhaozhao who attempted to alter the workings of Heaven and was thus annihilated by Heaven; there was Lu Zhaozhao who, in a jealous rivalry with her junior sister, injured someone and was punished, dying in despair; there was Lu Zhaozhao who framed her fellow disciples and harmed her fellow cultivators, and was condemned by thousands, committing suicide out of shame…

In short, this is a novel that could be called "Lu Zhaozhao's Thousand Ways to Die".

Only the last timeline, which Lu Zhaozhao carefully examined, was not yet finished. However, the Lu Zhaozhao in the book experienced exactly the same things as her. Currently, the updates have stopped at the stage of participating in the Golden Banquet.

It's a bold guess that the identity of Lu Zhaozhao has probably been held by more than one person, and this Lu Zhaozhao is just one of them.

But each of them failed for one reason or another, and they lost their lives as a result. But now, Lu Zhaozhao is reborn once again.

Her story continues, and she doesn't know what will happen next, because everything is unknown.

The future is unknown, but the present is not!

As she turned to the last page of the book, Lu Zhaozhao looked at the "To be continued" sign in the bottom corner, her thoughts racing.

Then, she slowly closed the book. As she held it in her hand, a burst of fire suddenly appeared from her palm. The flames quickly engulfed the book, and the pages fluttered in the firelight.

The firelight made his eyes exceptionally bright.

Lu Zhaozhao watched quietly as the book turned to ashes.

At the same time, a voice rang in my ears.

Aren't you scared?

Aren't you scared?

She was certainly afraid, but in another sense, she wasn't afraid.

At least here, she knew how to break free from this illusion.

Rebellion was summoned and plunged into the abdomen with lightning speed.

Strangely, no blood flowed out; the sword pierced through the body without even causing pain.

Its body gradually began to become transparent.

As the image blurred, that voice rang in my ears again.

"Deep affection is short-lived, and excessive wisdom is prone to premature death."

Lu Zhaozhao raised the corners of her mouth. She didn't know where the voice came from, but she knew that it could hear her if she spoke here.

So she said, "This is not what I wanted, but since I have embarked on this path, I am not afraid to bear the consequences."

The smoke grew thicker and thicker, blurring the view inside the room. All Lu Zhaozhao could see was a dense white haze. She heard a sigh beside her.

It is ancient and enduring, as if it has traveled through thousands of years.

When I opened my eyes again, I instinctively took a step.

"She has advanced to the first level of the Heavenly Realm!"

Someone exclaimed, and the sound even faintly reached Lu Zhaozhao's ears.

Ying Che immediately raised his head, his eyes filled with disbelief.

He knew all too well that no one could wake up and move forward after encountering difficulties.

During the final leg of his journey that year, his inner fears were amplified to an extreme degree. Even after barely making it through, it left a huge shadow, and for the next year, this scene would often appear in his dreams.

When he woke up, he saw the actions of the people around him. They walked down step by step as if unconsciously, automatically withdrawing from the competition. Their actions and expressions were exactly the same as Lu Zhaozhao's at the beginning.

"Junior sister..."

Ying Che frowned. Why did Lu Zhaozhao in front of him seem so different from his familiar junior sister?

After a brief moment of clarity, Lu Zhaozhao could see the path beneath her feet again.

She stood on the steps and looked around.

This time, the fog lifted, and she saw the other people.

Yao Tong appeared to be in great pain, and she involuntarily backed away.

Liao Chou was in no better shape; although she didn't show any pain on her face, she kept retreating.

A person who harbors compassion will find their world scarred; a person who has never experienced kindness will never find liberation.

Lu Zhaozhao felt a pang of pity. She was close to Yaotong and secretly didn't want her to leave, but there was nothing she could do. She even tried to help her, but was blocked by invisible shackles beneath her feet.

Bai Yuanshi opened her eyes at that moment. She looked at Lu Zhaozhao, somewhat surprised, but also finding it reasonable.

The two locked eyes and realized that there was more than one winner this time, and it seemed that there would be another choice to be made later.

The two of them walked uphill step by step at their own pace.

They had only gone about halfway when the people below could no longer see them.

Only Sangpan remained in place.

Where no one could see, he opened his eyes, his gaze clear and bright.

He never fell into the illusion.

Perhaps Huangjintai saw through his identity and blocked his path forward; or perhaps the fear in his heart was too great, and a thousand years of loneliness could not be borne by Huangjintai.

In short, that concludes his trip.

Fortunately, he never intended to actually go on stage, which is good enough.

He turned around and walked down step by step.