Chapter 202: First Arrival at the Divine War: The Brutality of the Past

Shen Yan felt as if he had been stuffed into a washing machine and spun for ten minutes, with all his organs displaced. He opened his eyes—the sky was gray, the clouds were cracked, and the air carried the scent of burning.

A deafening explosion erupted beside his ears. A distant mountain peak shattered in a massive blast, flames soaring into the sky. A streak of Sword Qi swept across the horizon, slicing half of the mountain clean away. Immediately after, a hundred-foot giant beast roared out from beneath the earth, shrouded in black mist. With one claw strike, dozens of figures instantly turned into bloody mist.

“Is this… not an illusion?” Yu Xiaotang lay sprawled on the ground, her candied hawthorn long gone, “Did we really arrive a thousand years ago?”

“Don’t move.” Shen Yan pushed himself up from the ground. His phone screen flashed, and the Terminal displayed a line of text: 【Current Space-Time Coordinates: Divine War Era · Seventh Day】.

His eyelids twitched. “This is deadly. This day marks the beginning of the Celestial Clan’s internal strife.”

Ye Zhao drew her sword and stood up, tracing a circle on the ground with the tip. Spiritual Power surged forth, forming a thin barrier around everyone. But just as it solidified, it crackled under the oppressive killing intent drifting through the air.

“The rules here are rejecting us.” Shen Yan gritted his teeth. “We are external Variables. The System might purge us as erroneous Processes at any moment.”

Pei Yue’s face paled. “I feel my soul tingling, as if something is corroding it.”

Luo Li stared at a collapsed Totem Pillar in the distance, her lips trembling slightly. It bore ancient patterns of her clan, now peeling off piece by piece.

“Don’t look!” Yu Xiaotang yanked her back. “Your emotions are unstable now—you’re vulnerable to invasion by resentment!”

Shen Yan sat cross-legged, fingers rapidly tapping in the void. Green Code spilled from the tips of his fingers, forming a rotating Protective Shield that temporarily blocked the external onslaught.

“First, stabilize our existence.” He said. “Remember, don’t touch anything, don’t participate in battles. We are merely Observers.”

Before his words finished, the ground beneath them suddenly trembled. Dark red Runes emerged from the cracks, spreading outward in concentric circles.

“The Nine Abyss Soul-Binding Formation?” Pei Yue exclaimed in shock. “This is an ancient Formation for suppressing demonic souls!”

“It’s triggered.” Shen Yan stared at the ground. “Someone intruded and activated the defense mechanism.”

Boom!

Several dozen humanoid figures condensed from black mist burst from the earth. Their eyes were blood-red, their movements stiff yet swift, charging straight toward them.

“AI guards.” Shen Yan uttered instinctively. “Behavior pattern Loop, fixed paths—likely preset Programs.”

“What are you talking about?” Yu Xiaotang retreated while hurling three Talisman Papers, exploding a patch of black mist.

“I’m writing a Command override Script.” He closed his eyes, concentrating, rapidly writing Code in his mind. “If I inject it into the core, I can shut them down.”

The first segment of the Program was sent.

But the next moment, all the Puppets doubled their speed, their attacks becoming fiercer.

“Rebound!” Ye Zhao swung her sword horizontally in front, unleashing consecutive Sword Qi strikes, forcing back two approaching Puppets.

One demonic Puppet seized the chance to pounce toward Yu Xiaotang, nearly grabbing her shoulder.

Luo Li spat out a burst of Demonic Fire. The flames spiraled around the Puppet, instantly burning it to ashes.

“Next time, don’t test unverified Code!” She roared.

“Got it!” Shen Yan sweat beaded on his forehead. “This time, I’ll switch to recursion zeroing Logic.”

He rewrote an extremely simplified Program, compressed it into a streak of green light, and with a flick from his fingertip, shot it toward the Formation Eye stone tablet.

The entire scene abruptly fell silent.

All the demon puppets froze in place, like a paused recording. Then, the black mist slowly dissipated, and the runes dimmed.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

“You code faster than you draw talismans,” Yu Xiaotang gasped.

“That’s because your talismans are terrible,” Shen Yan wiped his sweat. “I almost wrote myself into an infinite loop.”

He walked up to the stone stele, where a line of carved characters remained: Traitors shall be eternally suppressed in the Yellow Springs.

He stared at the words, his heartbeat quickening.

This was no ordinary battlefield ruin. Someone had tampered with this Divine War.

“Let’s go,” he said. “Let’s check over there.”

The group moved along the edge of the mountain ridge. In the distance, a Celestial Clan army was engaged in battle when they were suddenly ambushed from both sides. A demon-monster alliance charged out from the valley, arrows raining down like locusts, wiping out the entire force in an instant.

Shortly after the bodies fell, faint shadows began to coalesce in the air. One by one, wandering spirits appeared, repeating the scenes from their final moments.

“Memory echoes,” Pei Yue whispered. “Images left behind by intense obsessions on the battlefield.”

She took out a jade vial. “I can collect one segment for analysis.”

“Hurry up,” Shen Yan reminded her. “Staying too long in a place like this will drive you mad.”

Pei Yue closed her eyes and focused, guiding the clearest remnant soul into the jade vial. A flash of light, and the seal was complete.

Shen Yan took the vial, connected it with his Source Code System, and played it frame by frame like debugging a log.

In the image, a white-robed Celestial knelt at the center of an altar, clutching a shattered command token in his hand. His face was smeared with blood as he roared, “You lied to me! The Heavenly Dao is not heartless—it has been tampered with!”

“What?” Ye Zhao’s pupils contracted sharply.

The image abruptly cut off.

【Data integrity insufficient. More samples required.】

“Tampering with the Heavenly Dao?” Yu Xiaotang’s eyes widened. “Who did it?”

“Don’t know,” Shen Yan shook his head. “But this person might be a Celestial Clan outcast.”

He thought of his own identity from his past life, a dull ache tightening in his chest.

“Our current state is very dangerous,” he said. “Every second we stay here increases the risk of being erased by the rules. We must find a way to stabilize our existence.”

“Can your Source Code Spiritual Root modify local rules?” Ye Zhao asked.

“Theoretically, yes,” Shen Yan said. “But my mental power is down to thirty percent. Writing any more complex programs will crash me directly.”

“Then I’ll guard you,” Ye Zhao stood behind him. “You write, I’ll protect.”

“Me too,” Pei Yue sat down against the wall. “Qi-Blood Resonance can hold out a while longer.”

“Count me in,” Luo Li ignited demonic fire, illuminating the surroundings. “Can’t let you shoulder all the bugs alone.”

“Then I’ll handle lookout duty!” Yu Xiaotang pulled out her last handful of talisman paper. “Anyone who dares come close gets a face full of explosions!”

Shen Yan smiled, opened the terminal interface, and began writing “Existence Anchor v2.0.”

Halfway through the program’s run, a bolt of lightning suddenly split the sky. At the center of the distant battlefield, a pitch-black vortex slowly rotated, as if connected to another world.

“What is that?” Pei Yue looked up.

“Doesn’t look like a natural phenomenon,” Shen Yan narrowed his eyes. “More like… a data interface.”

Just then, his phone vibrated.

【Detected signal of same origin】

【Source: Unknown】

【Establish connection?】

He froze.

This signal frequency was identical to the memory packet left by Ye Shi’er.

“He’s still here?” Yu Xiaotang leaned over to look. “Wasn’t he swept away?”

“Perhaps fragments of his consciousness are stuck in the System.” Shen Yan stared at the confirmation key. “If we connect now, it might expose our location.”

“But there might be clues,” Luo Li said. “About this war, about your past life.”

A few seconds of silence passed.

Shen Yan pressed confirm.

The moment the connection was established, a massive stream of information flooded his mind. He grunted, blood trickling from his nose.

Images flashed before him—

A man wearing a Bronze Mask stood before an Altar, holding a glowing heart in his hands. He whispered, “As long as we restart the database, you can return.”

Then came a sea of flames, cries of anguish, and a group of immortals surrounding a solitary figure.

“Is that… me?” Shen Yan clutched his head. “No, that’s my past self…”

“Shen Yan!” Ye Zhao steadied him. “Disconnect now!”

“Wait!” He struggled, refusing to retreat. “Just a little more… I can see the ending…”

The information stream suddenly cut off.

The Terminal went black for three seconds before lighting up again.

【Warning: High-dimensional surveillance detected】

【Recommend immediate relocation】

“Too late,” Luo Li suddenly turned. “Someone’s coming.”

In the distance, dust rose as a squad of soldiers clad in black armor advanced rapidly. Beneath their feet, ancient Rune formations glowed—clearly no ordinary warriors.

“Historical entities,” Shen Yan forced himself to stand. “We can’t fight them head-on. They’ll trigger Karmic backlash.”

“Over there!” Yu Xiaotang pointed toward a collapsed Altar. “Hide inside first!”

The five of them moved swiftly. Just as they entered the ruins, the black-armored soldiers arrived at their original spot. The leader looked up, his gaze sharp as a blade.

Shen Yan held his breath, quietly typing a command into his phone:

【Initiate: Stealth Protocol v0.3】

【Mental Power consumption: 40%】

A flash of green light vanished in an instant.

The enemy lingered for a moment before leading the squad away.

“Safe for now,” he collapsed to the ground, his face pale.

“How much Mental Power do you have left?” Pei Yue asked with concern.

“Enough to write one escape Program,” he smiled bitterly. “But no more fighting.”

Ye Zhao looked at him, suddenly reaching out to grasp his wrist. “Next time, don’t carry the burden alone.”

“I didn’t mean to—” he began, but his phone vibrated again.

【New Message】

【From: Unnamed Device】

【Content: You’ve finally come, brother】

Shen Yan abruptly looked up, gazing toward the dim sky outside the Altar.

(End of Chapter)