Haotian was somewhat anxious, asking curiously, "How could you possibly know our plan? This was entirely designed outside your perception; you had no way of knowing it. Besides, weren't you dead? I distinctly heard the 'Main God' notification of your demise, and the shattered mobile phone surveillance back at Helm's Deep confirmed your death. Was it some cultivation method that could deceive the 'Main God'? Or did you use some instrument or artifact to induce hallucinations in me?" Chu Xuan nodded: "That's right, I died. Truly, absolutely dead. The flesh body speaking to you now is merely a corpse. From the moment I first received this information from the Elf Queen..." He obtained a method of soul preservation from her; since Elven souls return to the World Tree for revival, this secret technique required the mediation of an Elven sorcerer. "Without an Elven sorcerer presiding, I could only rely on the Elf Queen's blessing. Secondly, a soul cannot speak or act; even if the soul remains intact for twenty days, I couldn't do anything else. This necessitated something to allow an external agent to act, and also indirectly keep me within the physical body to ensure its survival. That 'something' was a leaf from the World Tree."

Chu Xuan touched his forehead: "The first time I suspected your situation was when you joined the Central Continent team. Your behavior was completely normal, without the slightest sign of insubordination. You could basically be seen as someone new to the reincarnation world but with a slight prior understanding of it. Unfortunately, in your very first horror movie reincarnation, you ran into the Celestial Team. Otherwise, you wouldn't have exposed the weakness that followed: when you had almost no personal revival actions planned, you showed surprising interest. That was when I handed everything over to you."

Haotian gave a bitter smile and pointed to the back of his head. "This thing, this was your real intention, wasn't it? I had considered the use of this item myself, but I never imagined it was single-use, and used in this manner! By that logic, those hundreds of Warg trackers were merely a temporary lodging you provided me? What a calculation!" "It was planned from the start, wasn't it? Faking my death to trick you into spreading the news to Adam. Given Adam's cautious and suspicious nature, he would certainly assume I faked my death to manipulate the situation. The result would be that he would absolutely dare not commit the Celestial Team's strongest combat force, Song Tian, to the Battle of Ganjze. Even if that battle was lost, with his and Song Tian's strength, they could easily survive in Mordor and find a place to lie low until this horror movie ended. While the Celestial Team would lose one battle, they wouldn't be completely wiped out. But the Central Continent team could achieve total victory in this world, thoroughly suppressing the Celestial Team. What a calculated move!" Haotian shook his head with a wry smile. Around the back of his head, he wore a silver metal collar. This collar was the instrument used to hypnotize the Warg trackers. After learning of Chu Xuan's death, he had confidently begun using this device to gain control over the Warg tracker unit. Its other function was merely secondary; although it could induce hypnosis, the main component was held by Chu Xuan. It was an instrument capable of controlling and destroying the human brain with powerful electric currents. It was cumbersome to put on, so unless one willingly accepted it or was captured, it was highly unlikely anyone would easily place it on another. Unfortunately for Haotian, he had done so voluntarily.

"Part of the reason was that. It forces the Celestial Team to hesitate during the Battle of Ganjze. After victory in that battle, the tone of this horror movie world would essentially be set. The Celestial Team would either risk annihilation fighting us desperately, or they would hide until the movie ended. The second reason was to make you wear this instrument; if I hadn't 'died,' you would have been very likely not to put it on. The third reason was a commission from someone," Chu Xuan stated calmly.

Haotian blinked, looking at Chu Xuan foolishly: "A commission from someone? Someone told you to die?" "No, he didn't tell me to die." Chu Xuan shook his head. "He informed me of the Celestial Team's numbers, the power level of each member, and Adam's location. His only request was that I create an environment where he could have a one-on-one duel with Song Tian. I believe Zhao Zhuikong has already gone to the Celestial Team's location now, so we should hurry as well. All Warg trackers, as well as Overlord, Wang Xia, Luo Gandao—grab your weapons and let's wipe out the Celestial Team!"

Meanwhile, on a certain mountain peak within the territory of Mordor, Zhao Zhuikong smiled at the two figures before him. These two were Song Tian and Adam. Song Tian stood holding an ancient, heavy saber, while Adam clutched a small, delicate dagger. Though their expressions differed, it was clear they were in a standoff.

Adam touched his forehead: "It all connects now. Chu Xuan calculated everything exactly as I described, right?" Zhao Zhuikong shrugged with a faint smile: "How could I possibly know the calculating prowess of you psychos? I couldn't be bothered trying to guess what's going on inside your heads. In any case, since my duplicate trusts him in the Demon Reincarnation Squad, he must be a genuine talent, not just some charlatan boasting about his intellect. So, I decided to test him. The result is this level of progression, even I don't know how he managed it. But that’s fine, hahaha! Song Tian, you lost an arm in our last fight; today, you can take another one of mine!" As he spoke, Zhao Zhuikong, usually calm and smiling, suddenly burst into wild laughter before vanishing from their sight.

Song Tian reacted with extreme speed. The heavy saber thrust forward, and Zhao Zhuikong instantly appeared before him. Following the trace of air disturbance between them, Song Tian drew his long saber back, his speed increasing exponentially. Before Zhao Zhuikong could fully reposition, Song Tian cleaved his blade down where Zhao Zhuikong had been, unleashing a massive gale. When the sudden hurricane subsided, the ground before him was ravaged and churned, with several boulders cut into fragments by the wind blades.

"Impressive fine control! Using your blade force to whip up such a massive hurricane, every bit of force perfectly contained within the tempest. Song Tian, your blade momentum is growing ever stronger." Zhao Zhuikong said, standing on a rock to Song Tian’s side, though his clothes now sported several rents.

"Likewise," Song Tian replied, as the fabric of his own clothes instantly tore. At some unknown point, Zhao Zhuikong had managed a close-quarters strike, though it seemed it hadn't actually hit Song Tian himself.

Zhao Zhuikong exhaled: "Close combat with weapons—it progresses from striking the enemy with a weapon, to killing them with a weapon, to executing techniques with a weapon, and finally to manifesting 'momentum' with a weapon. Song Tian, you have reached the Zenith of Blade Momentum. All that remains is to continuously condense your power and enhance the momentum's potency. Let's fight; I’m excited!"

Adam, however, muttered at this juncture, "Zhao Zhuikong, why did you choose to cooperate with the Central Continent team? Is it merely because you wanted a chance to fight Song Tian? Or do you have another motive?" Zhao Zhuikong replied without turning back: "I am an assassin, not some virtuous warrior! If I don't seize an opportunity to challenge him, should I openly walk up and get dogpiled? The others are one thing, but the potential of that Luo Yinglong—you understand better than anyone how great it is. He grows stronger day by day; surpassing Song Tian is only a matter of time. While he can't intervene in a fight between Song Tian and me now, I won't deny that the magic artifact he refined recently does pose a threat capable of killing me. Do you understand now? If I don't eliminate the other members of your team, especially that Luo Yinglong, how could I possibly fight you with peace of mind?" "How could I safely annihilate the Celestial Team?" Zheng Zha was not dead. At that critical, hair-thin moment, Luo Yinglong, who was manipulating the formation, suddenly shattered and died, causing the entire formation to lose control simultaneously. Zheng Zha, trapped within, felt his body on the verge of being ripped apart. He had to force his body rigid with all his might. At this moment, he was still in the state of unlocking the Fourth Stage of the Gene Lock, and bizarrely, he could consciously control his awareness. In this instant, he slipped into a profoundly mysterious and inexplicable state. In this state, he seemed to sense the arrangement of the genes within his body. Though not represented by numbers or images, in his perception, these gene sequences were clearly defined: which genes were weak, which were strong, which represented brief bursts of power, which represented formidable endurance, which genes controlled internal energy, which controlled healing, as well as genes for heat resistance, cold resistance, and various genes dictating body structure—all materialized in his mind. (It’s so hot; I need more heat-resistant genes, and genes to make the body significantly sturdier.) The rotation of the eight banners gradually ceased, yet the purple flames within them did not stop; instead, they spun faster and faster. Then, this mass of purple flame flashed violently and exploded across the battlefield, leaping towards...