With Gu Fangchen's current eighth-rank divine cultivation, he could not even see the threads of causality on his own body,
let alone truly perceive their existence.
Previously, when he had turned the false causality of the fake heir into reality, he had relied entirely on the system's prompts; he himself had not felt a thing.
But now he could clearly see that in his divine soul, the grand golden wheel seemed to have been caught by some invisible force, unable to turn forward.
Gu Fangchen knew that the driving force of the Wheel of the Sea of Calamity was the karmic power gathered by the Lord of the Four-Phase Calamity.
Karma was also a form of causal art.
Since this thing had been stolen onto his body, he had to bear it with his own karmic causality.
It was like riding a wild horse, he was already on its back and could not dismount. The only way to survive was to seize the reins and hold it steady.
Otherwise, the wild horse would go mad at once, throw him off, and trample him to death.
Of course, comparing the Wheel of the Sea of Calamity to a wild horse was an understatement. Given its divine power against the strength of his own soul, it was more like he was riding a nuclear bomb.
Thus, the only thing that could halt it was his own "causality."
The threads of causality on Gu Fangchen's body were abnormal; so far, only Princess Prajna had truly discovered this.
Even someone of Princess Prajna's level, a second-rank divine powerhouse, could not see the truth behind it.
But Gu Fangchen was not completely ignorant of his own abnormality.
First of all, being a transmigrator was enough to make him a unique existence.
If anyone ever managed to peer into all his memories, no matter what their rank, they would go mad, as if they had gazed directly upon an elder god.
That was something that could shake the foundation of cognition itself, far more terrifying than simply shattering one's Dao heart.
Of course, someone like Xie Qian, a first-rank saint, would be an exception.
According to the game's descriptions, Xie Qian's complete form could interfere with timelines, transcending the current dimension entirely.
But strangely, in theory, the game should have included some Meta event at this point,
For example, in the middle of battle, Xie Qian suddenly breaking the fourth wall to speak directly to the "player."
Yet, to the players' disappointment and confusion, no such plot ever happened.
Gu Fangchen had once found that strange too, but after all, he himself had been sent directly into the game world by a semi-trailer from the "Honglu" Corporation.
So perhaps Xie Qian's inability to break the fourth wall was also the work of "Honglu."
A deliberately designed "mechanism."
In other words, Gu Fangchen's own existence was already something even a first-rank Eternal Realm could not fully control.
For such an existence, for his causality to be equal in weight to the Wheel of the Sea of Calamity was only natural.
Secondly, Gu Fangchen had once verified something through Xu Fu,
Even the "Sage of Fate" could not accurately predict his short-term actions, nor those of anyone directly connected to him, for some unknown reason.
Back when she had possessed Xuexiang and accidentally fallen onto him, resulting in overly intimate contact, that had been undeniable proof.
A person as cold and aloof as Xu Fu would never have thrown herself at someone on purpose.
With these two points in mind, Gu Fangchen was somewhat confident as he looked upon the scene before him, suppressing his expression.
But to Lu Fuyi, what she saw was like watching an ant shake a great tree,
The difference being, this ant had actually shaken it!
The mocking smile froze on Lu Fuyi's lips; her gaze turned to disbelief and deep shock.
If having the Wheel of the Sea of Calamity stolen had been so far beyond reason that even she did not know how to react, her emotions then had been more confusion than comprehension.
But what was happening now was within her understanding, within a field she knew intimately, and that made the incomprehensibility of it all hit her even harder.
An eighth-rank divine ant.
In Lu Fuyi's eyes, that rank was no different from having none at all.
And his identity was clear, nothing more than the Northern Garrison Prince's fake heir, Gu Fangchen, the abandoned pawn they had long discarded.
The only causal threads he should have had were connected to Sword Pavilion, the Northern Garrison Prince's household, and at most the demonic sect members involved in that past operation.
Since his cultivation was essentially nonexistent, it meant,
He was holding the Wheel of the Sea of Calamity in place purely through the power of his own causality.
But how?
What was he, to be able to counter the crushing weight of the Wheel of the Sea of Calamity with his own karma?!
She, who had created the divine art herself, knew precisely how much karmic power it contained.
It was the karmic energy of an entire self-contained miniature world!
Crushing an ordinary second rank cultivator would have been a trivial matter.
Lu Fuyi's gaze turned cold as she stared at the golden wheel, waiting for it to move again, to prove to herself this was nothing but coincidence.
Perhaps this man had only withstood it temporarily because of some role he had played in their demonic sect's previous plans.
However...
One breath.
Two breaths.
Three... ten breaths.
Gu Fangchen, somewhat trembling inside, stared at the golden wheel within his own soul alongside her,
terrified that it might shift even a little and crush him into dust.
But, thankfully, after sixty breaths, the wheel still did not move.
"Cough- cough!"
Gu Fangchen looked at the silent Lord of the Four-Phase Calamity, cleared his throat twice, and shattered the last traces of her wishful thinking.
He shrugged and said,
"Does the Lady Calamity still want to keep watching? I don't mind wasting more time, or stealing something else, maybe... but no matter how long you stare, the facts won't change."
Lu Fuyi lifted her head. Though her face was still that of a gentle young beauty, her aura had completely changed. Those pitch-black eyes were void of light, like hollow abysses.
One glance felt as though it might devour a soul.
She had regained her composure. Her expression was blank as she said,
"You did this on purpose?"
Gu Fangchen smiled, and instead of letting go, boldly continued to hold the Lord of the Four-Phase Calamity's small hand,
even daring to give it a few extra squeezes.
This was no ordinary hand, this was the hand of the game's second-hardest boss. With a legitimate excuse to tease her, how could he not take full advantage?
He grinned.
"Lady Calamity, what are you saying? Your divine art's already on me, did it just wander over here by itself?"
Since his causality had set him up to act big, he might as well play the role to the end.
Lu Fuyi: "..."
Her expression shifted, growing solemn and heavy.
Divine arts did not just walk themselves over to other people.
Who was this man, truly?
Had he anticipated her arrival, lying in wait to seize her Wheel of the Sea of Calamity?
In this world, the only one with power completely opposite to hers, and capable of such a feat, was that one person...
Seeing she had not immediately blasted him away, Gu Fangchen knew he had at least managed to bluff her for now.
But relying on himself alone was not enough to keep her off balance.
Still, the Lord of the Four-Phase Calamity's premature appearance could be used to his advantage, to stop certain others from acting rashly.
As that thought settled, he leaned toward the beautiful woman's ear, narrowing his eyes and whispering softly:
"Does Lady Calamity wish to kill me? Too bad, right now, the Wheel of the Sea of Calamity is on me. If I die, the karmic power will return to heaven and earth, and all your effort will be wasted."
Gu Fangchen lifted his head toward the sky, his expression grand and righteous, laughing freely:
"I have long been willing to be a chess piece, this is the moment I've been waiting for!"
"From this day forth, Heaven's Equal Through Eternity shall no longer be an empty dream!"