It's not the world of "X-Men," which was actually within expectations.

Gu Mo originally held a gambling mindset, after all, when the system shop listed corresponding items, it was highly likely that the system had located a corresponding Dungeon World...

Although it's still not completely certain, at least there's a probability, so it was worth a try for a Dungeon he fancied... If the gamble was right, then everyone would be happy. If the luck wasn't there, then it could just be considered normal gameplay, having no real impact on him.

Just didn't expect—

"... came back, huh."

With a tone of inexplicable sigh, Gu Mo nostalgically surveyed his surroundings. A giant cherry blossom tree quietly stood ahead, and he was just beneath its shade, with bright sunlight outside, the sky clear and cloudless, unlike the previous endless night.

This was the first Dungeon he officially tackled, marking the starting point of his true journey—

It was called Thirteen Sakura Village.

This was the abandoned temple on the back mountain of the village, located higher than the shrine halfway up the mountain, hosting the largest and most beautiful cherry blossom tree in Thirteen Sakura Village... A village that once thrived due to inns and livestock was ultimately ravaged and overtaken by Demon Ghosts.

Besides the Ox-headed Ghost lingering in the village's graveyard, another powerful Demon Ghost, the Horse-headed Ghost, resided in this temple. It was once an opponent he thought impossible to challenge, unimaginable was the feeling of helplessness and unease at the time, and now recalling it in detail was truly moving...

It was probably less than two years ago, seeming like it happened yesterday but also as distant as if in a past life.

Gu Mo slowly walked to the cherry blossom tree, gazing up at it in slight daze. After a moment, he withdrew his gaze and turned to carefully examine the entire yard.

This place left a deep impression on him, for instance, during those days when sleep was still needed, he'd occasionally dream of this giant Purple Nether Cherry Blossom, meeting that strange yet beautiful figure... And now, he had indeed returned to this world.

Though he knew he would return, he didn't expect it to be at such a time, and in this manner.

It was indeed somewhat sudden; he, unprepared mentally for this, couldn't help but fall into memories and nostalgia.

Shaking his head, Gu Mo collected his thoughts and calmed down, beginning to carefully feel his current experience. Just as he mentioned, upon entering this Dungeon, Hiri decisively closed the Dungeon entrance, but... he could feel the very stable anchoring from his true self.

—"Single Appearance."

—A skill able to independently appear in the present world, which also embodies "oneself existing in any time and space"...

The skill obtained from the Mother of Creation, and it was on this skill's foundation that, using his own Vast Spirit and the Spiritual Projection Power of the Sheep Talisman, plus the inspiration from the summoning ceremony of the Summoned Servant, Gu Mo mastered the current Incarnation Walking Technique.

Initially, he was a bit worried; after all, though "Single Appearance" seemed able to surpass world lines, judging by those Beast of Original Sin's performance, it was only the transcendence among parallel world lines within the same world, whether such greatness could exist between truly different worlds was still unknown.

But now, facts seemed sufficient to prove this indeed being the case.

Or perhaps it was just because the Beast of Original Sin was ultimately constrained within a time-space template, so this power's characteristic could only calibrate based on that world's benchmark, affecting countless existing parallel world lines...

Whereas Gu Mo, although his Life essence, existence scale, and possessed Power are far from reaching the heights of the Beast of Original Sin. His only advantage is being naturally unconstrained by a single world, just as now his true self remains on the Moon in the real world, while presently this incarnation appears in this Dungeon.

These are completely different worlds...

With countless thoughts spinning, in an instant countless ideas turned over, Gu Mo also confirmed his current situation.

The true self and the incarnation can synchronize information...

This is a very important point, and also his most concerned issue. Because only by ensuring this basic principle, can the relation between the true self and incarnation be confirmed, ensuring the latter is the projection of the former's thoughts and extension of Power... Otherwise, over time with information accumulation, differences might ultimately turn them into two different existences.

As someone continually progressing, advancing further in the fields of Spirit and Soul as a Master of the Mind, Gu Mo deeply understands what that implies.

So even though he had the idea of letting the incarnation walk, to tackle the Dungeon, he was still very attentive to this point, once the situation seemed off, he would directly terminate this plan... Once confirming this point at present, he naturally became relaxed, everything proceeding as he wished.

Gu Mo glanced at this overgrown yard, contemplated slightly, and lightly waved his robe sleeve, clearing it entirely.

Following that, he turned and lightly pointed with a finger, instantly, it seemed as if spring sakura blossomed.

Like snow like clouds, branches were filled with blooms, a gentle breeze blew by, softly sprinkling petal like beautiful butterflies...

Without retracting his finger, he gently turned his palm, catching a sakura petal falling on his palm, Gu Mo chuckled lightly, then closed his five fingers. No longer lingering, he proceeded directly towards the gate, preparing to first leave this memory-laden place.

He only knew how long he had been away, but not how long time had passed in this world, the time flow speed between the real dimension and the Dungeon World doesn't necessarily follow any particular pattern, and it still needed checking.

Pulling open the heavy door in reverse, then descending along the mountain path.

The mountain path was rugged and steep, but on the most difficult sections were stone steps built by the villagers of Thirteen Sakura Village in the past, indeed a bit rough, but the humanly renovated road was still much easier to walk, Gu Mo examined the shrine halfway up the mountain that was once occupied by numerous Demon Ghosts.

There doesn't seem to be any signs of excessive ruin, but it hasn't been renovated either; it's just about the same as he remembered.

He was well aware of this, after all, the nearby village down the mountain was filled with a sense of lifelessness—

There was no vitality, and he didn't even sense any Demon Qi; the village hadn't been re-inhabited by people, nor had it been occupied by Demon Ghosts again... From this perspective, perhaps from this world's standpoint, he hadn't been gone too long?

Before long, Gu Mo arrived at the foot of the mountain.

The village was desolate; there were almost no intact houses, and the ruins from burns were scattered everywhere. The lingering resentment and bloodiness on the land could be keenly detected with superhuman Perception. The massacre had happened not long ago.

Gu Mo followed his memory and found a relatively intact house.

Inside, soft straw was spread out. Although there was dust on the ground, it was very light and there were no cobwebs or anything in the dark corners.

His lips curved slightly, and his slight worry almost disappeared as if this entry was picking up from the point when he last left, maybe a saved point in time?

This was definitely good news.

Turning his head to look in a certain direction afar, Gu Mo's eyes became piercingly bright. He had returned, and it was already completely different from the last time... The Demon Ghosts were no longer a threat, and he, who once felt like he couldn't take a step in this world, now seemed to have the ability to easily stir up the winds and clouds.

......

...

Mino Country.

Lushan City.

"Still can't understand it at all..."

In a spacious, clean, and tidy room, Fujikichiro put down the document in his hand, couldn't help yawning, and then rubbed his sleepy eyes, feeling unusually fatigued and weary, wishing to just lean back and sleep. But he still shook his head with effort, forcing himself to stay awake.

It was midday now; he couldn't just fall asleep.

After all, it was the rising period of his career, and he had to maintain his Spirit and not slack off...

Warned himself over and over again, the man, who was not very old but looked mature and worldly with the face of an uncle due to his vicissitudes, couldn't help but let out a long sigh.

Born into poverty and humility, he originally thought it would be tough to make something of himself, but the process was incredibly smooth. He only wanted to find a few strong partners, but unexpectedly, each one seemed to have an extraordinary background, and he quickly rose to prominence...

But after a period of smooth sailing, troublesome matters naturally followed.

Gu Mo had been away for a while, seemingly to do something back at Thirteen Sakura Village, and shortly after his departure, subtle changes occurred. Fujikichiro, who once thought his future was bright, suddenly found that the issues in Lushan City had become numerous...

How could this be?

There really wasn't any significant change, yet when Gu Mo was around, he effortlessly integrated the entire city to operate with unparalleled efficiency, like a well-oiled machine...

And now, everything had changed?

Fujikichiro had been overwhelmed by all these issues, running around tirelessly. Fortunately, he was just a messenger at the moment, and Old Sir Dao San was still stationed in Lushan City; otherwise, he couldn't imagine bearing such pressure.

"Still can't understand it..."

Picking up the document to repeatedly review it, he studied carefully the policies once issued by someone.

They covered both major and minor issues, with demands on all aspects, but no matter how hard Fujikichiro tried, he couldn't understand the governance strategies they contained.

Completely incomprehensible...

Was it because the underlying principles were too profound and enigmatic, or was Gu Mo's previous governance purely achieved through personal charisma that couldn't be learned or replicated? Yet it felt like he didn't even show up often; why did obstacles turn into aids, demanding assistance like devoted followers?

Fujikichiro sighed deeply, trying to think it over.

The current situation wasn't particularly bad; there's an inertia in governance. Even with some rebound now, it's still better than the previous Lushan City. But contrasts are often revealed through comparison, especially with Lord Dao San watching over.

He didn't want to leave Old Sir Dao San with the impression of incompetence, so he had to grit his teeth and see what he could do to improve the current situation.

Just then, there was some commotion outside.

With a furrowed brow, Monkey listened carefully to the sounds outside, and then his expression lit up with joy—Gu Mo... No, Lord Mo had already returned?