"I haven't traveled back; I'm still in Great Yu. It's just that my consciousness entered the fourth mural... and this painting, it's actually the world from my memory. Here, I have my original identity, and even the time is the same as the point when I transmigrated..."

Zhao Douan, somewhat clumsily, exhales a cloud of smoke, akin to a 35-year-old unemployed corporate worker, sitting on the curb, gazing up at the sky marred by severe light pollution.

"So... could it be that the ability of the fourth painting is to construct a world based on my self-awareness? Just like when 'Master Gu Huo' invaded my memory back then? This would explain why it's a modern city..."

"...But Zhenbao also said she entered an unfamiliar world... There's no reason Zhenbao would construct a new world too..."

"Unless..."

Zhao Douan's eyes suddenly become introspective, his brow furrowed:

"Could it be that the fourth mural really depicts such a city? So, when I saw countless stars scattered on the mural from outside, it's exactly the nightscape of the metropolis seen from above?"

This guess is astonishing... yet... it's not entirely impossible!

"I can transmigrate, there's some connection between Great Yu and Earth, so why not? But how did Xu leave this painting six hundred years ago?"

"Can't be that Xu was a transmigrator as well, that would be too cliché, right?"

Zhao Douan thought it was absurd.

"No... it doesn't make sense. If Xu was also a transmigrator, then why hasn't he left any trace of 'transmigration' after six hundred years? Even if he were a bumpkin, he should at least leave a poem like 'Hoeing the grass under the midday sun' or something."

However, over a year after his own transmigration, he never found any trace of a "fellow countryman" in the Yu Country's Grand Ancestor Emperor.

"Was it erased? Hidden for some reason? Or is my guess wrong? Was Xu a native?"

"Zhang said that Xu rose to prominence after entering the Mubei Forest and gaining an opportunity, and historically, he wasn't the only one to enter there... If he were a native and somehow had a connection with Earth by accident, then why is he the only one who left such a painting?"

"The key is, what kind of connection do I have with all this?"

A mural left six hundred years ago, recording the city he transmigrated to on that day.

This is inherently an inexplicable mystery.

"Moreover, when I first cultivated the Martial God Inheritance, I already displayed something special... almost as if Xu knew that six hundred years later, I would come into contact with these steles..."

The more Zhao Douan thought about it, the more he felt spooked, as if veiled in layers of mist from the history six hundred years ago.

Suddenly, he felt a strong urge to enter the "Big Dream Scroll" beside Pei Niannu, finding Xu of that time to seek clarity!

To unravel the confusion in his heart, this seems one of the only two ways; the other is to explore the Mubei Forest, but it is too far from him.

Unconsciously, the cigarette in his hand burned out, scorching him with pain as he snapped back to reality, smiling bitterly as he remarked:

"Here, my body is just an ordinary person again."

He scrubbed his face vigorously, determined to pull himself together, and decided to explore some more while he was here.

As for the disappointment that this place was not Earth... it was quickly dispelled.

He had long given up hope of returning, and now that it was confirmed to be an illusion, he wasn't too disappointed.

"I wonder how big this place is, whether I can drive back home... considering the distance, it seems unlikely."

"Even though the network is down, since the texts in the folder are still here, the books in the library should still be here too, right?"

Zhao Douan muttered, thinking about hailing a late-night taxi... But just as he stepped out and tried to hail one, he felt the world spinning.

...

Fourth floor of the old building.

Zhao Douan suddenly opened his eyes to see a solitary stone wall standing in front.

In the ancient-styled house, the candlelight was bright. The empress, like a fairy in white, stood beside him. Seeing him awake, her eyes filled with anticipation:

"Did you succeed? Did you see that world?"

Have I returned? Because my current cultivation isn't enough to stay in that picture for long? Zhao Douan was taken aback, and then felt a throbbing headache, as if his spirit had been exhausted, like staying up for three days and nights without sleep, feeling a strong fatigue.

"Minister... I vaguely glimpsed a strange... city."

Zhao Douan pinched his brow, urging the Green Lotus in his Sea of Consciousness to sway, regaining his energy.

He hesitated for a moment, tentatively probing his words.

He didn't say the visualization failed, but instead gave an ambiguous answer, testing the waters.

Xu Zhenguan's eyes lit up; he leaned forward slightly and asked eagerly:

"What kind of city? Is it full of strange columns taller than the tallest buildings in the Capital, with no visible lamps but bright light? And fast-moving carriages on the road that shine but have no horses?"

"..." Zhao Douan's heart sank as he replied:

"It seems so. But when I tried to see clearly, I failed. Your Majesty, what is that?"

The naive empress, unguarded, voluntarily exposed key information, clearly showing that this "Human World" does depict Earth's cities.

And it's not an illusion targeting others.

Xu Zhenguan wasn't too surprised, but rather excitedly paced back and forth within the room:

"You are indeed special, seeing the same world as me. Unlike Eunuch Hai, who even at his peak as a Half-step Celestial, could only barely make out an ancient city from the past in this picture."