Chapter 114 The Descent of the Heavenly Dao

Like being in a sea of ​​golden sand, all that could be seen were floating and sinking dust particles, yet set against a pure gold background, they appeared as fine golden sand. Ye Chi reached out and touched them, and the dust particles drifted into his hand. Without the golden backdrop, even the most magnificent dust particles would ultimately remain just a handful of inconspicuous specks of dust. Ye Chi stared intently for a while, until a voice broke the silence. He wasn't surprised and turned his head to look in the direction of the voice. He saw Cen Dao standing at the other end of the golden sand sea, his deep eyes filled with a look of infatuation. Even though he noticed Ye Chi's gaze, he was reluctant to look away. After a long while, he finally deigned to look at Ye Chi, a hint of disdain flashing in his eyes: "...Heh, no wonder you're considered the darling of Heaven. Even so, you managed to enter this place. You're incredibly lucky."

"The darling of Heaven?" Ye Chi was no stranger to this term; he had used it countless times to describe Cen Dao ever since he transmigrated into the book. The center of attention, the epicenter of the world, the recipient of all resources—Cen Dao practically possessed all the luck a qualified protagonist should have. Even though his life trajectory was forcibly altered by the transmigrator, his protagonist aura still protected him from major injuries. Perhaps it was also the inherent resilience in his personality that prevented him from being easily defeated; instead, he successfully withstood the invasion of demonic energy and was reborn from adversity. This was something Ye Chi had always admired about Cen Dao.

But what did he say? The darling of Heaven, who? Him? Ye Chi?

For a moment, Ye Chi even wondered if he had misheard, or if Cen Dao had lost his mind. How could he have bestowed upon him the seemingly irrelevant title of "the darling of heaven"? In his life before transmigrating, Ye Chi hadn't accomplished anything extraordinary. He was neither a hero nor a villain, just an ordinary person in the vast sea of ​​humanity, a hapless transmigrator who had the good fortune to survive to this day. Even after transmigrating into the book, if he hadn't actively fought for his place, he would probably still be a beggar, perhaps not even alive today, having already perished in the massacre by the corrupted Ya Feiyu.

In terms of talent, this body is indeed quite talented in cultivation. Ye Chi's cultivation is also profound, but he has not shown it to the outside world. There are many experts who possess unique skills but keep a low profile. They are almost everywhere in the entire cultivation world. He is just one of the most insignificant ones. He should not attract the attention of the Heavenly Dao.

In short, no matter how Ye Chi thought about it, he felt he was just an ordinary cultivator, the most special thing about him being the disciple and bedmate of the villain Ya Feiyu. But that wasn't enough to warrant such a terrifying title as "the darling of heaven." Ye Chi hesitated for a moment, thinking it over and over, and finally attributed the reason to Cen Dao himself—could it be that Cen Dao had suffered too much, and compared to his previous life, this life was like falling from heaven to earth overnight, thus generating jealousy and causing him to say such things?

Otherwise, there would be no way to explain it.

So Ye Chi tried his best to find the right words to start, using a method that was tactful and wouldn't hurt anyone, his wording as elusive as a rollercoaster: "Uh... I'm actually... very ordinary..."

"Ordinary?" A sneer escaped Cen Dao's lips, his dark eyes swirling with a dark undercurrent of resentment and bitterness. He forced a smile, but it was utterly devoid of any genuine emotion. His eyes remained cold, colder than the starless, moonless night, reminding Ye Chi of a black hole devouring light in the heavens. Cen Dao stared intently at him, gritting his teeth, "No, you're not ordinary. You're anything but ordinary. Otherwise, why would Heaven go to such lengths to pull you from a completely unrelated timeline, just to stop me?"

Every word he uttered was laced with hatred. Without a second thought, Ye Chi knew he absolutely loathed him. His molars clenched as if he wanted nothing more than to tear him to shreds, turning him into worthless scum crawling at the protagonist's feet. Ye Chi was momentarily stunned, not expecting such a massive amount of information; his brain couldn't process it all at once.

The Heavenly Dao... sent Cen Dao, an outsider completely unrelated to the main world, through countless world lines to this place in order to prevent him from becoming the chosen one.

That's why he had the opportunity to save Ya Feiyu. And why, from beginning to end, although the Heavenly Dao tried to intervene in various plot aspects, it never took the initiative to act on its own? Could it be because of this?

Because the will of Heaven is actually on the opposite side of the protagonist?

How is that possible?

Ye Chi immediately dismissed the idea, but seeing Cen Dao's indignant expression, which seemed genuine, he couldn't help but ponder the possibility of this. Theoretically speaking, the Heavenly Dao, the manager of this world line, should want the world to proceed according to the original storyline more than anyone else. So why is it going against the grain here?

A faint voice suddenly rang out from the golden sea of ​​sand.

"I want to live too."

In a boundless expanse of gold, a figure suddenly appeared, appearing and disappearing. The newcomer was dressed strangely; despite Cen Dao's extensive reading, he had never seen the style of this person's clothing before. It seemed to be different from any kind of clothing throughout history. As the newcomer drew closer, the figure became clearer. This person had shoulder-length short hair. Cen Dao's pupils contracted slightly, realizing something was wrong. He instinctively tried to draw his sword, but was restrained by an invisible force, unable to control his hands and feet.

When he felt uneasy, his eyes widened, like a wildcat that had been restrained and could not move, and he roared, "Who goes there!"

“I am the Heavenly Dao of this world,” the man said expressionlessly. “Or you can call me the author of this story.”

Ye Chi's eyes widened instantly. Cen Dao might not recognize the clothes on the person in front of him, but Ye Chi was very familiar with them—they were modern clothes. According to what this "Heavenly Dao" said, Ye Chi suddenly understood something. This so-called Heavenly Dao seemed to be trapped in this world as well.

But what's more important right now isn't that.

Rather, it was the person's appearance that felt strangely familiar.

He was so familiar with Ye Chi's fists that he inexplicably felt an urge to punch someone.

At first, he only felt the person looked familiar, but he attributed it to the fact that they were from the same hometown and the clothes they were wearing. However, when the person got closer and their face was fully exposed to Ye Chi, that eerie sense of familiarity not only didn't dissipate, but actually intensified. This feeling gave Ye Chi goosebumps, and he rubbed his forearms as if trying to get rid of the goosebumps.

This person...this voice...this aura...

Ye Chi, relying on his excellent memory, repeatedly considered the man's figure, features, and clothing against everyone he had ever seen. Finally, Ye Chi suddenly exclaimed in surprise, pointing at him and saying, "Old Deng?! No, you wrote this idiotic novel?!"

Hearing this, "Old Deng's" eyes, which had been dulled by long hours of staying up late, suddenly lit up. He took off his thick glasses, rubbed his eyes in disbelief, and finally recognized who was in front of him. He instantly became excited: "Ye Chi!!"

Old Deng's full name is Deng Mingtian, which sounds like "waiting for tomorrow." True to his name, he is a procrastinator. Although he is a bit slow and inefficient, he can generally give people a satisfactory answer. Therefore, although his personality is quite criticized, he has never changed because he has never caused any major trouble.

This person was Ye Chi's roommate from junior high to high school. The two got along very well and walked to and from class together. However, Deng Mingtian went to study in another province after the college entrance examination and changed his phone number. After a few years, Ye Chi could no longer contact him and he did not come to the class reunion. This relationship was gradually forgotten by the two of them. When they suddenly met, they did not recognize each other for a while.

Ye Chi suppressed his elation and first chuckled as he teased his old friend: "Weren't you so arrogant back then, saying that everything you wrote would become a world-famous masterpiece? How come you've fallen so low as to write this kind of stupid, wish-fulfillment novel?"

Deng Mingtian scratched the back of his head sheepishly and said, "Sigh, life forces me to do this. Besides, I've read a lot of these wish-fulfillment novels. Look, Ye Chi, aren't you one of them?"

"...Haha, just killing time, killing time."

After exchanging a few casual words of catching up, Ye Chi didn't forget the important matter and changed the subject, asking, "You've been trapped here too? How long have you been?"

Deng Mingtian paused for a moment: "Uh... three years? Thirty years? I don't know, anyway, when I transmigrated here, the plot hadn't even started yet."

Ye Chi: "..." Well, he shouldn't expect someone trapped in this illusion to remember when they traveled here. Somewhat helplessly, he asked again, "So you don't know why you're trapped here? Do you know how to get out?"

Deng Mingtian shook his head this time, glanced at Cen Dao somewhat guiltily, and said, "Well..."

Cen Dao felt a chill run down his spine from that glance. He had overheard most of their conversation and roughly understood the key points. The most important part was that he wasn't a living, breathing person, but merely a character created by this man called "Old Deng." A light novel… though he didn't know the genre, it was clear from the tone that it lacked depth, evident in the two men's attitudes. Thinking this, Cen Dao's expression turned grim, and he said coldly, "So, my life is just a tool for your amusement?"

Ye Chi didn't answer, and Deng Mingtian became even more guilty. He looked up at the sky, then at the ground, then at Ye Chi, but dared not look Cen Dao in the eye. The latter's face darkened, and he stared intently at Deng Mingtian, as if he wanted to tear him to pieces.

A moment of silence.

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