Chapter 1419: God Realm (1)
Trouble at the Immortal Exuviate Pond
Tang Xiu discovered himself within a pond the next time he opened his eyes.
After making sure all 36 people who ascended with him were present around him, he sighed in relief subconsciously.
However, Tang Xiu's expression turned unsightly in the next moment as an unprecedented feeling of danger engulfed his entire heart when he realized that he seemed to have become similar to a mortal. Apart from physical strength, his entire body was bereft of any immortal spiritual force, which meant that the only outcome left for them was death if they were to encounter any danger within the pond.
"Husband, what's up with the water in this pond? It's like a swamp, and even moving my feet feels difficult to achieve," Apotheon Bella was the second one to open her eyes and asked with shock written all over her face when she saw Tang Xiu.
"From what was recorded in the memory fragment left behind in Supreme Drunken Immortal's inheritance, this place should be the Immortal Exuviate Pond. After Immortals ascend to the God Realm, they have to undergo the refinement of their immortal body to a divine body through the water present in the Immortal Exuviate Pond, only then would they be considered a genuine deity," Supreme Star Tears said deeply. "However, although the Immortal Exuviate Pond is an opportunity for us, it's equally dangerous because the Supreme Immortals of all galaxies arrive in the same Immortal Exuviate Pond. As such, the deities of the galaxies attempt to kill the Supreme Immortals of other galaxies so that their own Supreme Immortals can become deities faster and also strive to obtain more cultivation resources for them."
At the instant Star Tears finished speaking, Tang Xiu and Bella, both heard two screams reach their ears.
They followed the voices and discovered a giant donned in full-body golden armor in the midst of killing a Supreme Immortal with a sadistic grin on its face. This Supreme Immortal had really ugly looks and looked the same as the human form of a lizard spirit monster. Tang Xiu and the others felt a bit better when they realized it clearly hadn't ascended from the Milky Way Galaxy.
"Don't say anything and hide your heads within the water as much as possible. As we've run into a crisis, let's wait for our bodies to finish molding patiently and wait for an opportunity to move," Tang Xiu whispered when he noticed everyone had woken up and looked towards the direction of the screams with a worried face.
Tang Xiu's calm voice made everyone find their support and suppressed the anxiety in the hearts of the 36 Supremes, including Supreme Star Soul in it. They showed no hesitation at all and bent their legs to submerge their entire bodies inside the pond water.
Tang Xiu sighed in relief when he saw that the golden-armored giant was relishing in the feeling of killing the newly ascended creatures and hadn't noticed the movements on their side. He also submerged his body inside the water silently.
"Huh? How come the Heavenly Path of Cosmic Genesis is progressing suddenly? The space inside my Dantian has actually expanded by thousands of square kilometers and is also brimming with life force?" Tang Xiu was left stunned when he sunk his consciousness into his body.
"The twelve zodiac jade carvings actually had such a miraculous effect. I really hit the jackpot when I collected them unintentionally back when I was on Earth." It didn't take long for Tang Xiu to figure out what had caused the change in the world inside his Dantian.
Back when Tang Xiu was on Earth, Miao Wentang had given him two zodiac jade carvings that were family heirlooms. Tang Xiu could only make out that these jade carvings contained dreadful energy as well as traces of the heavenly laws inside it, and the sole reason he had collected all twelve of them was to increase his chances of ascending to the God Realm.
Tang Xiu never expected that these twelve zodiac jade carvings that hadn't shown any exceptional reaction in the Immortal World would actually undergo such a huge change after arriving in the God Realm. They were releasing the tremendous energy contained within them alongside the traces of the heavenly laws.
Only the Heavenly Path Universe Tree thrived inside the world in his Dantian before, but it thrived with vitality and was as vibrant as the real world now. Tang Xiu was left utterly shocked by this development.
"So, the water of the Immortal Exuviate Pond can actually activate the real function of the twelve zodiac jade carvings?" Tang Xiu's eyes glimmered with radiant light as he observed the world within his Dantian absorb the water within the pond similar to a crunching galaxy. Moreover, the twelve zodiac jade carvings also fused together with the world inside his Dantian gradually.
Tang Xiu could clearly sense that although the immortal spiritual force inside his body had already disappeared, a new divine force was being produced inside his body at an extremely ridiculous speed.
Tang Xiu's cultivation stage also progressed incrementally along with the increase in divine force.
Deity, True God, Great God, Heavenly God, Profound God, Ancient God.
Early-Stage Ancient God, Middle-Stage Ancient God, Late-Stage Ancient God, Peak-Stage Ancient God.
When Tang Xiu was about to cross the bottleneck of the Ancient God Stage and become a God-King, the Sun and Moon Star Disk shone with a resplendent glow suddenly, following which, the twelve zodiac jade carvings that were mere carvings, transformed into twelve animals under the illumination of the Sun and Moon Divine Radiance and began to wander across the world in his Dantian. The rise of divine force within Tang Xiu's body also slowed down eventually before coming to a stop.
"My cultivation actually broke through so many stages at once. Isn't this a bit too excessive?" Tang Xiu muttered in a daze after a long time.
According to what Tang Xiu knew, cultivation in the God Realm was divided into 12 stages, namely the Deity, True God, Great God, Heavenly God, Golden God, Profound God, Ancient God, God-King, God-Monarch, God-Emperor, God-Sovereign, and Supreme God Stage.
Among these, the Deities, True Gods, and Great Gods belonged to the bottom rung of the God Realm and were tasked with guarding the Immortal Exuviate Pond for 100,000 years and could die at any time because of all the dangers they might encounter.
They were only qualified to leave the Immortal Exuviate Pond and establish themselves in the divine domains after becoming a Heavenly God.
However, as the place with the weakest divine force within all the divine domains, the Immortal Exuviate Pond didn't have any other cultivation resources except for the pond water which had the effect of refining the body, so it was extremely difficult to become a Heavenly God. As such, a lot of Supreme Immortals were only able to spend their lives in the divine domains adjacent to the Immortal Exuviate Pond after ascending to the God Realm and finally embraced their natural death within the pond.
"I thought I would have to wait for 100,000 years in the Immortal Exuviate Pond just like Supreme Drunken Immortal before leaving and then resurrect Old Sycamore and Eagle after a really long time. However, since my cultivation has rocketed to the summit of the Ancient God Stage, I should be able to leave the Immortal Exuviate Pond quickly and resurrect them soon."
When he recalled how Old Sycamore and Eagle had advanced bravely during his battle with Shade Demon Zhu Wushou and detonated their immortal souls to fight for an opportunity for him to live, Tang Xiu's eyes teared up slightly and he felt a warm feeling well up in his heart.
Tang Xiu used his divine sense to scan the surroundings and discovered that the 36 Supremes who had ascended along with him had already finished refining their bodies and were waiting to leave the Immortal Exuviate Pond eagerly. However, since they hadn't received an order from him, they refrained from acting rashly.
Among the 36 Supremes, other than Supreme Star Radiance and Supreme Bella who had deep foundations and had become middle-stage Deities, the rest were all still early-stage Deities.
"Old Geezer Drunken Immortal, I finally understand why you arranged for so many Deities of the Milky Way Galaxy to enter Immortal Exuviate Pond recently. So, 37 people have actually ascended from your Milky Way Galaxy this time, but do you believe the Deities you arranged would be able to protect all 37 of them?"
"Old Geezer Drunken Immortal, you have waited for nearly 100,000 years and over 30 people have finally ascended from the Milky Way Galaxy. These fresh blood from the Milky Way Galaxy are your hope, so would you be willing to let them die in the Immortal Exuviate Pond?"
"How about this? 10,000 divine rocks for one of them. As long as you prepare 370,000 divine rocks, we'll let these newcomers from the Milky Way Galaxy reach the shore successfully. What do you say?"
Just when Tang Xiu was planning to tell Supreme Star Radiance and the others to go ashore, a series of rambunctious voices resounded within everyone's ears. At the same time, a dozen or so silhouettes appeared above them, each looking at Tang Xiu and the others playfully.
Chapter 1420: God Realm (2)
A Show of Divine Might
In the God Realm, divine stones were the most foundational cultivation resources used by everyone because of their ubiquitous and distributive nature, and they were also the most widespread currency in the God Realm.
A high-grade divine stone was equivalent to 100 middle-grade divine stones, and a middle-grade divine stone was equivalent to 100 low-grade divine stones.
The deities in the bottom rung of the God Realm could only amass 300 divine stones each month even if they worked really hard, and this amount barely satisfied their cultivation needs, so it was impossible to have any surplus amount of divine stones left. The deity from Marionette Galaxy was obviously asking for a sky-high price when he quoted 10,000 high-grade divine stones for a person each and wasn't actually planning to let anyone from Tang Xiu's group leave alive.
Although the deities of the Milky Way Galaxy knew that this deity of the Marionette Galaxy was playing around with them and trembled in fury because of it, they were helpless about the situation too.
It was because the Marionette Galaxy was a powerful force in the God Realm that had control over most of the Jade Pool Divine Domain where the Immortal Exuviate Pond was located. As such, the deities of the Marionette Galaxy deprived the deities of the other galaxies often, and this caused their strength to soar higher while the strength of the other galaxies tanked lower.
"Great God Eternum, we, the deities of the Milky Way Galaxy have always labored at the bottom rung and have no other means of income, so we can't gather so many divine stones. We're willing to give up all our savings, so please show some leniency and spare them." When Tang Xiu and the others thought the deities of the Milky Way Galaxy would protest, an obsequious voice reached everyone's ears.
These words were spoken by a hunchbacked gray-haired old man who carried a golden gourd at his waist.
"Scram to the side if you aren't willing to pay up. I believe I would be able to sell these wretches for at least a few ten thousand divine stones if I took them to the slave market." Eternum kicked the old man to the side after hearing his words and then checked out Tang Xiu's group closely.
"Huh. The quality of these newcomers from the Milky Way Galaxy is pretty good. They actually have a lot of beauties, so it seems like we'll make a killing this time!" Eternum's eyes lit up when his gaze scanned across Bella, Gu Yan'er, and the others inadvertently, and he turned spirited immediately.
"Hahaha. Congratulations, Elder Eternum. You have gained yet another few bed-warmers."
"Elder Eternum, could you send them to us for a while once you are tired of them before selling them to the slave market?"
"It's not just the women who are pretty among the newcomers from the Milky Way Galaxy, the men look quite handsome too. I just recalled that Lord Pearwood hasn't found a suitable boy toy recently, so he will definitely reward us generously if we send these gigolos to him."
...
The deities of the Marionette Galaxy scanned Tang Xiu and the others with their unbridled gazes and passed comments while laughing heartily.
The deities of the Milky Way Galaxy showed furious and sorrowful expressions, and even Bella and the others standing behind Tang Xiu felt despair and helplessness.
"You must be Senior Drunken Immortal, right? I'm the Star Cultivation Great Emperor as well as the Great Tang Heavenly Emperor. I would like to know what's the highest cultivation of the deities among the protectors of the Immortal Exuviate Pond and the Jade Pool Divine Domain." Tang Xiu patted Bella's shoulder and pacified the others behind him with his gaze before he walked in front of the deities of the Milky Way Galaxy and inquired the old man with the golden gourd.
Tang Xiu had once seen the projection of Supreme Drunken Immortal in the Secret Palace, so he had recognized the old man with the golden gourd at his waist to be him at a single glance and also made out his cultivation as well. He was a middle-stage True God and also the deity with the highest cultivation among the deities from the Milky Way Galaxy.
"As the protector of the Immortal Exuviate Pond, Lord Pearwood possesses the highest cultivation over here and is a middle-stage Heavenly God. As for the deity with the highest cultivation in the Jade Pool, it should be a peak-stage Heavenly God." Although Drunken Immortal didn't know why Tang Xiu asked this, he nodded towards him kindly and answered it immediately.
"Senior Drunken Immortal..." Tang Xiu sighed in relief after hearing that the deity with the highest cultivation within the Jade Pool Divine Domain was a peak-stage Heavenly God, and a crazy thought manifested within his mind simultaneously.
"How dare you speak, gigolo! Scram to the side now!" While Tang Xiu intended to inquire more information about the God Realm to make the best choice, he heard a sharp voice echo at his ears suddenly and felt a gust of wind hit him at the crown of his head.
A deity from the Marionette Galaxy became infuriated when he saw Tang Xiu ignore everyone and chat with Drunken Immortal and thus struck his palm towards him.
"Dear, watch out!"
"Master, watch out!"
"Xiu'er, watch out!"
...
The members of the Great Tang Empire almost had a stroke and called out to him in alarm subconsciously when they sensed the fearsome strength within the palm of the malevolent-faced deity from the Marionette Galaxy.
The deities of the Milky Way Galaxy led by Drunken Immortal closed their eyes in dread as they didn't wish to see the scene of Tang Xiu getting swatted into grounded meat.
Conversely, all the deities of the Marionette Galaxy revealed malicious smiles on their faces.
Everyone thought it would be difficult for Tang Xiu to escape this calamity, but Tang Xiu grunted coldly and reached out to grab that deity's palm with his left hand in the next moment.
Tang Xiu grabbed the opponent's palm with ease under the stunned gazes of the deities from the Marionette Galaxy and punched towards his opponent's face with his right fist.
Followed by a bang, the deity's head then vanished before he could even realize what was going on.
Tang Xiu looked at the headless body within his hands before he observed his fist and then tried to comprehend the sudden strength he had gained.
"This guy wasn't on guard just now, so it's difficult to judge my real strength from this exchange," Tang Xiu muttered and then laid his gaze upon the dumbfounded deities from the Marionette Galaxy.
"How dare you murder a deity of our Marionette Galaxy?! Do you wish to die?"
"You've dug your own grave now. Your actions harm not just yourself, but will also lead to the extermination of all the Milky Way Galaxy's deities in the Jade Pool Divine Domain!"
...
The deities of the Marionette Galaxy finally reacted after a long time and berated Tang Xiu one after the other.
The faces of the deities of the Milky Way Galaxy turned ashen with angst as they knew Tang Xiu had indeed provoked a huge disaster.
The deities of the Milky Way Galaxy had been somehow eking out a living in this corner of the God Realm for the past tens of thousands of years and Tang Xiu's actions had undeniably given the deities of the Marionette Galaxy the perfect excuse to eliminate them.
However, Drunken Immortal recalled the two questions Tang Xiu had asked him after seeing the calm expression on his face and his eyes glimmered with hope.
"I'll kill wretches like you if I want to, it's nothing to fuss up about at all." Tang Xiu grunted coldly when faced with the curses of the Marionette Galaxy's deities and leaped out of the Immortal Exuviate Pond. After that, he punched towards the deity who had scolded the most viciously among the Marionette Galaxy's deities.
This deity felt infuriated when he saw that Tang Xiu actually dared to attack him, so he welcomed Tang Xiu's fist with his own while wearing a malicious smile on his face.
However, his smile froze in the next instant.
Followed by a crunching sound, this deity's fist was crushed from his palm to the arm, bone, and all.
"If you all have only this much strength, you'll find it very difficult to leave the Immortal Exuviate Pond alive." After saying this, Tang Xiu grabbed the head of the deity before him.
The pitiful deity couldn't accept the fact that Tang Xiu had defeated him and followed his companion's footsteps in the next moment.
"Stop making a fuss now and bring out your entire strength! I don't like a rowdy scene!" Tang Xiu took a stance with his hands after dealing with yet another deity from the Marionette Galaxy, following which, another two deities that had berated Tang Xiu darted towards him immediately.
Tang Xiu showed no hesitation as he sliced off their necks momentarily.
The deities of the Marionette Galaxy finally quietened down after the death of four of their own and sized up Tang Xiu in a panic, trying to figure out what was so exceptional about him.
Unfortunately, Tang Xiu hated the way they blabbed and threatened a few moments ago, so he didn't give them any time to react.
Tang Xiu seized the opportunity while the Marionette Galaxy's deities were dazed and killed yet another dozen or so of them instantly.
The Immortal Exuviate Pond sunk into a strange silence momentarily, and Tang Xiu seemed to act out a feast of killing for the observers. They seemed to have lost their sense of hearing as they couldn't hear any voices and could only observe the scene of Tang Xiu taking down the deities of the Marionette Galaxy with his punches.
The showy and bossy deities of the Immortal Exuviate Pond seemed just like powerless kids before Tang Xiu and were wiped out clean by him easily.
Soon after, Eternum was the only one left alive from the Marionette Galaxy's deities in the Immortal Exuviate Pond. However, Tang Xiu had grabbed even him by the neck as if he was a little chick.
"Will you choose to redeem your life with a million high-grade divine stones or choose death?" Tang Xiu asked while observing Eternum, who was frightened out of his wits right now.
"I-I... don't have a million high-grade divine stones. Only Lord Pearwood could have so many divine stones in the entire Immortal Exuviate Pond. Lord, please spare my life. I'm willing to serve you with my all." Eternum abandoned his former superior attitude and chose to surrender without the slightest hesitation.
"Lord, as long as you spare my life, I can help you take control of the Immortal Exuviate Pond and even help you take over the entire Jade Pool Divine Domain. The deities of the Milky Way Galaxy will be able to live in peace as long as you take over the Jade Pool Divine Domain.
"With enough time, you'll certainly be able to conquer the three divine domains adjacent to us with your cultivation."
Eternum explained his worth in haste when he sensed the dense killing intent on Tang Xiu's body.
"You can sense my cultivation?" Tang Xiu was planning to get rid of Eternum, but he frowned when he heard Eternum's final sentence.
"Lord, I awakened a perceptual innate ability when I became a Great God that allows me to sense the cultivation of any deity. If I'm not mistaken, you're a peak-stage Ancient God right now and are just a step away from becoming a God-King." Eternum's heart filled with bitterness as he said these words.
Eternum's perceptual innate ability had brought him countless advantages during battles and allowed him to avoid a lot of calamities, but he never imagined that his arrogance and carelessness of not activating the perceptual ability would lead to such a disaster.
Eternum's words spread across the entire Immortal Exuviate Pond like wildfire and caused all the deities to look at him with shock and reverence.
Chapter 1421: God Realm (3)
Chaos Wrought by Carnage in the Divine Domain
"A mere perceptual innate ability is far from enough if you want to live." Saying so, Tang Xiu tightened his grip.
Eternum still had things he wanted to say, but Tang Xiu had no intention of giving him such a chance.
Tang Xiu's family had already become his sensitive spot ever since he returned to Earth, so even if Eternum was highly valuable and worthy of exploiting, just the fact that they had looked at Tang Xiu's women in an unbridled manner and the proclamation of his intentions to sell the members of the Great Tang Empire to the slave market had already doomed the fate of Eternum's group.
"You all need to prove you are worthy enough for me to leave you alive, or else you will welcome the same fate of the members of the Marionette Galaxy." Tang Xiu's gaze swept across the deities other than those from the Great Tang Empire and the Milky Way Galaxy after he killed Eternum.
The God Realm had thousands of Immortal Exuviate Ponds that were scattered across different divine domains, and each divine domain was controlled by a dozen or so galactic immortal worlds. The Supremes of a galaxy's Immortal World would ascend to the corresponding divine domain's Immortal Exuviate Pond, so almost all the galaxies of the divine domain would send a group to welcome the newly ascended deities from their galaxies.
Jade Pool Divine Domain's Immortal Exuviate Pond wasn't that huge, so the deities of the other galaxies had sensed it immediately when a conflict arose between the deities of the Marionette and Milky Way Galaxies, but none of them spoke up for the Milky Way Galaxy and instead watched the scene in glee, so Tang Xiu obviously didn't have a good impression of these groups.
"Hah?"
"You better know your place, newcomer. We didn't offend you, so why would you want to kill us?"
"Eternum claimed you are a peak-stage Ancient God only because he wanted to live. Did you really think you are an Ancient God or what?"
...
The onlooking deities obviously hadn't expected to get implicated just because they were spectating the scene in glee, so a few of them shouted back indignantly after blanking out for a few seconds.
Tang Xiu grunted coldly and waved his palm, following which, the deities making a fuss all turned into a mist of blood.
Tang Xiu's cold-blooded actions subdued all the onlookers in the Immortal Exuviate Pond thoroughly and even the deities of the Milky Way Galaxy exchanged glances with each other and their leader, Drunken Immortal. On the other hand, the members of the Great Tang Empire were already habituated with Tang Xiu's style, so they were still in the middle of digesting the fact that Tang Xiu was already an Ancient God, entirely unfazed by his action of killing the other deities.
Faced with Tang Xiu's gaze, the onlooking deities handed over the divine stones on them without the slightest hesitation and also told him about the information they believed was most valuable within their possession with the hope to come out alive from his ordeal.
Tang Xiu just listened to all of them from start to finish in silence and didn't kill anyone, but he also didn't say he would let them off, so it placed the deities under huge mental pressure.
"Xiu'er, if they haven't engaged in wicked deeds and are willing to work for us, why not let them live? After all, it's better to make friends than enemies. We have just ascended to the God Realm, so just the 37 of us are far from enough to establish ourselves as a force here." Star Soul stood up and suggested Tang Xiu.
The expressions of the onlooking deities lit up after hearing Star Soul's words that had revealed his relationship with Tang Xiu.
They kowtowed towards Star Soul and Tang Xiu in succession and thanked them for sparing their lives before Tang Xiu had even promised anything.
"Senior Drunken Immortal, you've been defending this Immortal Exuviate Pond for around 100,000 years now, so you probably know the backgrounds of these men. Can you tell me which ones to kill and pardon?" Tang Xiu nodded towards Star Soul and inquired Drunken Immortal immediately after that. "If you don't mind it, you are welcome to join our Great Tang Empire, Senior Drunken Immortal. After all, we have a deep relationship between us since my aunt is the inheritor of the legacy you left behind in the Immortal World."
The expressions of a few deities who were in the middle of kowtowing towards Tang Xiu for his leniency changed after they heard Tang Xiu's words and they immediately turned around to flee.
The strength of the Milky Way Galaxy was almost at the bottommost position in the Jade Pond Divine Realm, so they would have probably been eliminated already if it weren't for their cohesiveness and communicativeness.
However, as they were weak and small in number, they were humiliated and bullied often as members of the bottom rung, and those who had fled just now were undoubtedly ones who bullied the deities of the Milky Way Galaxy mostly.
"Did you think you can flee?" Tang Xiu knew they had fled because of their guilt. So, grunting coldly, in the next moment, those deities fell in front of him.
Tang Xiu didn't even give them a chance to plead for their lives and deprived them of their lives immediately.
"Drunken Immortal greets the Great Tang Heavenly Emperor. It's my luck to be able to serve you and your ascension to the God Realm is a blessing for all the deities of the Milky Way Galaxy as well." Drunken Immortal's eyes lit up after seeing Tang Xiu kill the deities swiftly and he knelt on the ground immediately.
The other deities standing behind Drunken Immortal blanked out for a few moments and followed suit after him by bowing their knees to Tang Xiu.
After seeing Tang Xiu's actions and style, Drunken Immortal and the others knew that the Tang Xiu would leave carnage in his wake in the God Realm.
"Heavenly Emperor, although the deity with the highest cultivation in the Jade Pool Divine Domain is just a peak-stage Heavenly God, Jade Pool Divine Domain is just a mere subsidiary domain of the Sky Jade Divine Domain and even I'm unclear about the highest cultivation of the deities there. If you intend to make the Jade Pool Divine Domain as the base for our Milky Way Galaxy, I propose that you should eliminate the protector as well as the Domain Lord of the Jade Pool Divine Domain swiftly before your strength is exposed to them and then block the information channels to prevent the Sky Jade Divine Domain from learning about the changes that have occurred in the Jade Pool Divine Domain.
"As long as we have 10,000 years, the resources of the Jade Pool Divine Domain would be enough to allow you to become a God-King and also allow the other deities of the Milky Way Galaxy to promote their strengths and contribute their power for the expansion of the empire."
"..."
After realizing that Tang Xiu respected and valued him, it didn't take long for Drunken Immortal to figure out Tang Xiu's purpose in inviting him to the Great Tang Empire. Hence, he assumed a proper state immediately and described the situation of the Jade Pool Divine Domain and Sky Jade Divine Domain briefly, raising a few appropriate and realistic suggestions.
Tang Xiu revealed a pleased smile after hearing Drunken Immortal's words as they matched well with his actual intentions.
The fact that Drunken Immortal had guessed Tang Xiu's intentions wasn't strange at all, but his methodical suggestions implied that Drunken Immortal had already made such plans priorly and just couldn't implement them because he couldn't find the opportunity to do so because he lacked the strength for it. Hence, it was a real boon for the Great Tang Empire to have obtained such an excellent strategist who was also familiar with the divine domain.
"We shall follow your suggestions, Senior Drunken Immortal. I shall head out to implement the plan of beheading the top brass of the Jade Pool Divine Domain immediately and leave the job of cleaning up and gathering the resources to you. I also hope that you can keep an eye out for methods related to resurrecting Supreme Immortals when you are cataloging the resources." Tang Xiu teleported away after getting a simple explanation of the power distribution of the forces within the Immortal Exuviate Pond as well as the Jade Pool Divine Domain.
And the location he had teleported towards was none other than the residence of the Immortal Exuviate Pond's protector.
With his strength, it took less than 10 breaths for Tang Xiu to cleanse the entire residence. As such, he left towards the residence of the Jade Pool Divine Domain's Domain Lord immediately afterward and eliminated him before he could even react.
Tang Xiu finally shifted his focus to check the changes in the world inside his Dantian after he scanned the entire divine domain with his divine sense and discovered that there wasn't anyone above the True God Stage left anymore.
Tang Xiu had sensed that the world inside his Dantian had undergone a fantastic transformation the moment the twelve zodiac jade carvings incarnated into animals. The twelve zodiac jade carvings had released countless heavenly laws into the world that consisted of heavenly laws from countless galaxies and the strongest ones among these heavenly laws were those belonging to Earth.
Tang Xiu even had a faint feeling that he would be able to return to Earth with just a single casual thought of his.
Chapter 1422: God Realm (4)
Legacy of the Supreme God, The Free and Unfettered Path
Tang Xiu did his best to suppress the urge to return to Earth and investigated the changes in the world within his Dantian solemnly.
It was because Tang Xiu knew that just like how a barrier existed between the Immortal World and Earth, a similar barrier existed between the God Realm and Earth. It also wasn't that easy to pass through this barrier or else Immortals and Gods would have roamed free on Earth and left the entire world a mess.
"Huh? This is... an Immortal Exuviate Pond?" Tang Xiu had only observed the transformation of the twelve zodiac jade carvings into animals before the deities of the Marionette Galaxy had interrupted him and he had actually discovered a new lake within the world of his Dantian in this subsequent inspection of his that looked the exact same as an Immortal Exuviate Pond.
Actually, it wasn't proper to call the world inside Tang Xiu's Dantian a world as it was rather apt to call it a cosmos instead.
This was because the world inside his Dantian was too huge compared to the space within the Dantian of the average deities. Furthermore, the world inside Tang Xiu's Dantian also contained countless planets that thrived with endless vitality, which was an impossibility for the worlds in the Dantian of the other deities.
"This isn't an Immortal Exuviate Pond, it's actually the Ying Yang Divinity Lake!" After carefully observing the energy contained within this lake in his cosmic world, Tang Xiu discovered that the lake water's energy had far surpassed the Immortal Exuviate Pond's and this made him subconsciously link it to the legacy he had obtained in the Walled Hill Village before.
When Long Zhengyu had helped Tang Xiu construct the Walled Hill Village, the land had undergone a collapse and injured the workers. Tang Xiu and Yang Le, a disciple of the Thief Sect, ventured inside first to investigate it and discovered a multilayered grave there that finally transported them to a sub-world.
Tang Xiu had obtained the legacy of the Free and Unfettered God in this sub-world and also obtained the Ying Yang Divinity Vein that had been brought to Earth from the God Realm by the Free and Unfettered God, which had promoted his cultivation of the Heavenly Art of Cosmic Genesis from the Meridian Transformation Stage to the summit of the Viscera Transformation Stage.
"They say that the Immortals cleansed themselves in the Ying Yang Divinity Lake to ascend to the God Realm in the distant past, but ever since 200,000 or so years ago, Immortals could only cleanse themselves in the Immortal Exuviate Pond's pond water to ascend to the God Realm. Could the reason behind this be the Free and Unfettered God moving the Ying Yang Divinity Vein and the Ying Yang Divinity Lake to Earth?
"If the Ying Yang Divinity Lake in the cosmic world inside my body is the same as the Ying Yang Divinity Lake from the ancient times, does it mean that I would be able to make my family in the Immortal World ascend to the God Realm without going through the divine tribulation by allowing them to cleanse themselves in this lake water once I have shattered the barrier between the God Realm and the Immortal World?
"Why did the Free and Unfettered God move the Ying Yang Divinity Vein and the Ying Yang Divinity Lake to Earth and not some other planet? He even said that Earth was the primogenitor star, but that it had experienced a huge change and wasn't as glorious as before.
"The Walled Hill Village had traces of the God Realm and so did the Resting Cemetery Island. Just what is the link between Earth and God Realm?"
...
A series of questions popped up in Tang Xiu's mind that forced him to ponder on them deeply.
"I'm really stupid. The Free and Unfettered God had told me that his legacy is inside the Ying Yang Divinity Lake, so wouldn't I understand these intricacies as long as I obtain the legacy from it?" Tang Xiu slapped his forehead a moment later and sent his divine intent towards the depths of the Ying Yang Divinity Lake.
A golden orb shot from the Ying Yang Divinity Lake in the next moment and entered the space between Tang Xiu's brows.
A golden light flashed before Tang Xiu's eyes before he found himself in another space.
His eyes turned into wide saucers the moment he entered this space because he saw a huge halberd drop from the skies and hack down towards him. He couldn't budge his body at all under the pressure of this giant halberd's aura and couldn't even use his divine sense, so he couldn't help but want to scream.
However, Tang Xiu soon discovered that this giant halberd wasn't hacking down towards him but instead towards the body his divine sense had attached itself to, which was the reason he actually hadn't screamed out in reality.
The giant halberd was being wielded by a muscular, curly bearded man who was hundreds of meters tall and was shrouded in purple crackling lightning. The man moved with swift movements as he brandished the giant halberd and left a lifeless barren land in his wake while all human and organic life had turned into ashes.
"Free and Unfettered God, you have ignored the laws of the God Realm and disturbed the order of the realm with your crooked behavior. You ought to receive a thousand deaths for your crimes and today is the day you shall suffer judgment!" A devious smile appeared on the bearded man's face as he watched his giant halberd that was close to striking the Free and Unfettered God.
"What are the laws? The only law is the law of the jungle. Do you want me to allow the twelve of you to continue deceiving and enslaving all the deities?
"If even becoming a deity doesn't give us freedom, what's the point in becoming one? What's the use of becoming a deity if we can't even pursue our ideals after becoming one?
"I, the Free and Unfettered God, swear that as long as I am alive, I won't allow the twelve of you to hide the truth of the primogenitor star's destruction and will prevent you all from lording over all the deities!"
Once the bearded man finished saying his piece, a familiar voice echoed at Tang Xiu's ears that he recognized to be the Free and Unfettered God's voice. This also made him realize that he had possessed the Free and Unfettered God's body right now and was watching this scene from the perspective of the Free and Unfettered God.
"Free and Unfettered God, nothing can be accomplished without proper laws in place. If it weren't for us twelve Supreme Gods spending such a large amount of time and energy in bringing order to the God Realm, the God Realm would have probably remained in a war-stricken state and wouldn't have flourished as much as it has to this day."
"Free and Unfettered God, we may invite you to become the 13th Supreme God if we approve of your strength, but the condition is that you need to act according to our laws."
When he turned around, the Free and Unfettered God saw a dark-faced Buddhist monk and a white-haired Daoist priest approach and surround him from the other side with trepidation in their eyes.
Other than the curly bearded man as well as the black-faced monk and the white-haired priest, there were another four people glaring at the Free and Unfettered God present in this world right now.
"What laws, heh. They allowed you to deceive me for about a million years. If I hadn't discovered the truth of the primogenitor star's destruction accidentally, you might have continued to deceive me forever..." The Free and Unfettered God stated mockingly with a disdainful sneer.
However, he stopped speaking soon after as the seven Supreme Gods had finished deploying the array the moment he had finished speaking and had unfolded an assault on him simultaneously.
"Die! Did you really think we came here to make peace with you because we were willing to chat with you?" The bearded man grinned maliciously and hacked his giant halberd towards the frozen Free and Unfettered God.
"Oh, Free and Unfettered God, don't blame us for being tyrannical. The sole blame lies in you for being too smart as smart people never have good endings."
"Free and Unfettered God, this lord has never admired anyone in my entire life, but I really admired you with all my heart. However, the world you want to build harms our interests, so the only end left for you is death."
"Don't become enemies with us in your next life!"
The seven Supreme Gods had schemed for thousands of years to develop a divine artifact that targeted the Free and Unfettered God and pretended for a few decades after that to lure him into a trap. They sighed in relief internally after realizing they were finally on the eve of killing the Free and Unfettered God successfully and looked at him with sympathy and pity.
"I put on a show for so many decades and thought I would be able to exchange it with the lives of the twelve Supreme Gods, but it seems like I can only exchange it with the lives of seven of them. What a huge loss this is. Looks like I'll have to leave the remaining five demons for my successor to deal with." The Free and Unfettered God sighed all of a sudden and a blazing aura exploded out from within his body immediately afterward.
Unfortunately as it was, as they were on the eve of succeeding, the seven Supreme Gods never imagined that the Free and Unfettered God still could move nor did they think he would choose to take them down along with him.
Followed by a loud bang, the eight Supreme Gods, including the Free and Unfettered in it, disintegrated into a fine powder.
Two trails of hot tears ran down Tang Xiu's cheeks as sorrowful emotions welled up from the depths of his heart.
The world then descended into endless darkness as a stream of information flowed into Tang Xiu's mind.
Chapter 1423: God Realm (5)
Karmic Cycle, Golden Peng Joins the Ranks
"Earth is the real God Realm and the current God Realm is just a new world established by the twelve Supreme Gods that imitates the comprehensive environment of Earth?" Tang Xiu felt stunned after he digested the information obtained from the golden orb as it was too unbelievable for him.
Tang Xiu had obtained the legacy of the Free and Unfettered God through the golden orb, and at the same time, he had also learned about the origin of the God Realm and the truth of how the twelve Supreme Gods had enslaved all the deities using underhanded means.
The twelve Supreme Gods were neither the strongest entities in the God Realm nor were they the earliest to have become Supreme Gods. However, during an exploration, they had unexpectedly found the Land of Divine Origin—Divine Origin City.
Divine Origin was also known as origin force in the God Realm. It was the fundamental requirement necessary for a God-Sovereign to become a Supreme God and was the most precious and expensive resource in the God Realm without exception.
The discovery of the Divine Origin City invoked the greed within the hearts of the twelve Supreme Gods and caused them to kill the other dozen or so God-Emperors and God-Sovereigns in the exploration team.
If it weren't for the fact that the twelve Supreme Gods feared they may lose their lives because they were equally matched in strength and the fact that the Divine Origin City had an abundant amount of origin force that could satisfy all of their needs completely, they would have undoubtedly fought each other.
After seizing the Divine Origin City, the twelve Supreme Gods feared that the other Supreme Gods might come over and plunder the Divine Origin, so they didn't hesitate to launch an unprecedented war against the other Supreme Gods.
The twelve Supreme Gods used the Divine Origin as bait and employed a majority of the God-Emperors and God-Sovereigns to attack the other Supreme Gods. As such, faced with the overwhelming assault, all the other Supreme Gods fell into the hands of the twelve Supreme Gods and even their godheads and legacies were deprived after they perished.
This unprecedented war was known as the Battle of Ruin and it had almost destroyed the entire God Realm.
The twelve Supreme Gods always came up with dignified reasons in each of their campaigns, so they always held the moral high ground in the public and thus didn't incur the revulsion of that many deities.
After the war ended, to eliminate all chances of anyone discovering the Divine Origin City, the twelve Supreme Gods announced that they were willing to offer all the resources in their hands to build a new God Realm and solicited contributions from all the deities concurrently.
As the twelve Supreme Gods had completely isolated the Divine Origin of the Divine Origin City, all the deities responded to their call after discovering that the Divine Origin on Earth wasn't enough to satisfy their cultivation needs, and the twelve Supreme Gods even obtained the highest honor and respect thusly.
After establishing the new God Realm, the twelve Supreme Gods discovered that they hadn't actually used up that many resources and instead gained a lot of rare cultivation resources, so they spent several tens of thousands of years to continuously thicken the barrier between the new God Realm and the God Realm of Earth to prevent the other deities to leave for Earth and find the Divine Origin City, leaving behind a backdoor to Earth which only they were aware of.
By establishing the new God Realm as a result of the Battle of Ruin, the twelve Supreme Gods had not just managed to eliminate all the forces stronger than them, they had also accumulated deep fame at the same time that allowed them to candidly become the supreme rulers of the God Realm without any qualms.
After realizing the benefits brought by the authoritarian regime, the twelve Supreme Gods began to plunder the cultivation resources, cultivation methods, and battle skills of all the deities in an unbridled manner and enslaved all the deities. At the same time, they began to closely monitor all corners of the God Realm for any anomalies and nipped the danger in the bud if any such uncontrollable elements made their appearance.
Under the enslavement of the twelve Supreme Gods, the God Realm was no longer a place where entities lived a free and unfettered life and instead became an existence similar to the eighteen layers of Hell. It became very difficult for the deities to promote their strength and even more difficult to survive as almost all the deities served either the twelve Supreme Gods or their affiliated forces.
And this only changed with the appearance of the Free and Unfettered Supreme God.
It was because the Free and Unfettered Supreme God cultivated the free and unfettered path that allowed him to have countless incarnations and understood his heart well. Furthermore, he always acted in a low-profile manner because of his prudent nature, so the twelve Supreme Gods who had grown lax from an easy life for so long failed to discover his existence from the very beginning.
By the time the twelve Supreme Gods had found the Free and Unfettered Supreme God, they were already unable to defeat him and instead suffered defeats at his hands, which damaged their reputation greatly.
As the divine power of incarnation was too powerful, the twelve Supreme Gods were even on guard against each other because they feared one of them might be an incarnation of the Free and Unfettered Supreme God.
It was also this divine power of incarnation that allowed the Free and Unfettered Supreme God to find out about the truth behind the Battle of Ruin and gave rise to the thoughts of eliminating the twelve Supreme Gods in his mind.
"Senior Free and Unfettered God, please rest at ease. I will definitely fulfill your final wish and return the God Realm to all the deities from the hands of the twelve Supreme Gods."
Tang Xiu had also figured out the history behind the twelve zodiac jade carvings from the huge amount of information he had obtained from the golden orb.
The Free and Unfettered Supreme God had carved these twelve zodiac jade carvings when he was in the God Realm and they contained the heavenly laws of Earth, the primogenitor star of the God Realm, and also contained the heavenly laws of the entire God Realm. As long as he had sufficient cultivation resources, these heavenly laws would allow Tang Xiu to ignore any bottlenecks in cultivation and reach the Supreme God Stage without any hindrance. However, as Tang Xiu's body wasn't strong enough to handle so much power, his cultivation stage stopped increasing when he became a peak-stage Ancient God.
Moreover, the heavenly laws contained within the twelve zodiac jade carvings also allowed Tang Xiu to return to Earth.
After communicating with Drunken Immortal, Star Soul, and the others with his divine intent, Tang Xiu appeared in another space momentarily with a single thought.
This space contained a dense amount of Divine Origin Force along with a blue sky full of white clouds, black land, and a series of mountain ranges. However, these mountains didn't have any plants and instead had countless gravestones and ancient graves packed together.
After seeing a totally different scenery compared to Earth, Tang Xiu almost believed he was still in the God Realm and hadn't returned to Earth.
"Youngling, thirty years hath passed yet thou still haven't ascended to the Immortal World? How long am I to wait for mine returneth to the God Realm?" A weak voice echoed in Tang Xiu's mind suddenly and caused his gaze to shift over to another direction.
A 300-meter-tall huge Golden Peng that had its two bare feet chained with two thick manacles and had a conflagration of flames burning on its body came into Tang Xiu's view.
However, after experiencing decades of torment, the Golden Peng obviously lacked its former spiritedness and rested its head on the ground morosely instead of raising it up arrogantly. The gaze with which it observed Tang Xiu had also turned dimmer.
"Karmic Cycle." Tang Xiu understood the reason he had appeared in this space immediately after seeing the Golden Peng.
The Golden Peng had helped him consolidate the Buddhist Golden Body when he arrived at the sub-space under the Resting Cemetery Island back in the past and that had allowed his cultivation of the Heavenly Art of Cosmic Genesis to experience enormous progress, causing his strength to leap from the Meridian Transformation Stage to the Viscera Transformation Stage. In exchange, Tang Xiu promised to free the Golden Peng after becoming a Supreme and returning to the summit of the Immortal World.
Unfortunately, although he wished to return to Earth to rescue the Golden Peng after cultivating back to a Supreme in the Immortal World, he was unable to find a way to shatter the barrier between Earth and the Immortal World and had to shelve the matter as a result.
Tang Xiu felt a twinge of guilt after recalling this and looked at the Golden Peng with a guilty gaze.
Tang Xiu actually didn't care much about the 30 years mentioned by the Golden Peng. This was because of the special nature of the spatial barrier which caused a time dilation when he ascended to Immortal World. A similar time dilation might have existed when he returned to Earth from the God Realm. Hence, Tang Xiu wouldn't have found it strange even if only a single day had passed since his ascension to the Immortal World after returning to the God Realm.
In any case, for Tang Xiu, it was better to return to Earth earlier than later.
"Senior Golden Peng, pardon me for coming so late. I will free you from the dharmic flames and the chains right away." Tang Xiu didn't give an explanation to the Golden Peng and instead took out the sword he had obtained from the Free and Unfettered Supreme God's legacy within the Walled Hill Village and hacked at the chains binding the Golden Peng's feet with force.
As for the dharmic flames on the Golden Peng's body, they were even easier to solve. With just a single thought from Tang Xiu, the Ying Yang Divinity Lake inside his body jetted out a stream of lake water and extinguished the dharmic flames on the Golden Peng's body that had been burning for several million years.
"Thou... Thou hath used the Ying Yang Divinity Lake's lake water to extinguish the flames?! This is too wasteful!" The Golden Peng felt like it was dreaming when the dharmic flames on its body were extinguished and then, it berated Tang Xiu with an incredulous tone after glaring at him.
In the next moment, the Golden Peng no longer bothered to criticize Tang Xiu for his wasteful extravagance and opened its mouth as it unfurled its wings, following which it sucked all the Ying Yang Divinity Lake's lake water that had splashed onto the ground after hitting its wings dry, not even leaving a drop behind.
After swallowing the Ying Yang Divinity Lake's lake water, the Golden Peng's spirit, energy, and soul experienced a monumental change as it was freed from the torment of the chains and the dharmic flames, and its aura climbed up little by little.
"Huh... thou cultivation... shouldn't thou be a Supreme Immortal? How art thou an Ancient God?" The Golden Peng was dumbstruck when it sensed Tang Xiu's strength as it prepared to thank him.
"Senior Golden Peng, perhaps only 30 years have passed on Earth, but I have already experienced several tens of thousands of years in the Immortal World and the God Realm." Tang Xiu only knew that the Golden Peng's master was a Supreme God who possessed the Heavenly Art of Cosmic Genesis once and was the nemesis of the Buddhist Sect. Other than this, he was completely clueless about the Golden Peng's circumstances and also had no intention of demanding any answers from it, so he explained things with a smile on his face.
"Allow this junior to seek forgiveness, Senior Golden Peng. This junior failed to find a method to shatter the barrier between the Immortal World and Earth after becoming a Supreme Immortal, so this junior couldn't return to rescue Senior immediately. This junior barely managed to return to Earth from the God Realm because of the help of an almighty deity."
The reason Tang Xiu was explaining things to the Golden Peng patiently wasn't that he was afraid the Golden Peng would harm him, but rather because its former master possessed the Heavenly Art of Cosmic Genesis. Tang Xiu believed his cultivation speed would increase by several degrees with the help of the Golden Peng, so he felt tempted to recruit it into his ranks.
"Good! Good! Good!" The Golden Peng laughed out loud after observing Tang Xiu for a while. "Thou art loyal and resolute! Thou eke hast a deep affinity with Buddhism and hast an exemplary cultivation aptitude! Youngling, let us hast another deal. Help me avenge mine master and I shalt fight for thou in the God Realm!"
Chapter 1424: God Realm (6)
Forming a Master and Servant Contract, Divine Origin City's Location
Tang Xiu's face blushed a little when he heard the Golden Peng's words and also felt sincere admiration towards it from the bottom of his heart as he felt that compared to him, the Golden Peng was the one truly loyal and resolute. Even though several hundred thousand years had passed, the first thought in its mind after regaining its freedom was to avenge its master.
However, Tang Xiu didn't agree to the deal that the Golden Peng had proposed that rashly.
From the legacy of the Free and Unfettered God, Tang Xiu had learned that deities placed a lot of importance on karmic links in their cultivation, and the deeper karmic links they had, the harder it would be for them to progress. Often, just one of the karmic links could lead them to cultivation deviation and prevent them from reaching the next stage of cultivation.
"Senior Golden Peng, have you never wondered who sealed you here?" Tang Xiu asked slowly while facing the Golden Peng's expectant gaze.
"Although my memory was erased once, I clearly remember that the person who sealed me here was a Buddhism disciple from another world. He killed my master and even sealed me in this land bereft of Divine Origin for several hundred thousand years." The Golden Peng fumed.
"You once told me that Holy Monk Amitabha tried to steal the Heavenly Art of Cosmic Genesis and was chased to death by your master before. Did your master never tell you that he killed countless Buddhism disciples during his several million years long chase of the Holy Monk Amitabha..." Tang Xiu asked faintly after arranging all the information he knew in his mind.
However, Tang Xiu's heart filled with doubts as he asked this because the Golden Peng had told him once that its master was a peak-stage Supreme God powerhouse who stood at the pinnacle of the God Realm.
But from what Tang Xiu knew, the God Realm was under the control of the twelve Supreme Gods, so they absolutely wouldn't allow a powerhouse who they couldn't control to appear in the God Realm.
Moreover, if the Buddhism disciple could really kill a peak-stage Supreme God powerhouse, he wouldn't have had to flee here and there and finally come hide on Earth.
And although Tang Xiu could understand the reasoning behind sealing and tormenting the Golden Peng, the Buddhism disciple had no reason to erase the Golden Peng's memories.
A horrible truth faintly took shape in Tang Xiu's mind, but after taking a look at the Golden Peng, he didn't have the heart to tell it his conjecture.
"You're saying my master killed millions of Buddhism disciples? That's just impossible. My master is the leader of the twelve Supreme Gods, a well-reputed virtuous deity in the entire God Realm. He unified the God Realm of the primogenitor star along with the other eleven Supreme Gods and even pushed to establish the new God Realm. If it weren't for him, the current God Realm wouldn't exist at all..." The Golden Peng screamed emotionally before Tang Xiu could even finish his words.
The Golden Peng's scream had pretty much confirmed Tang Xiu's conjecture and this made him turn silent.
"Youngling, hark not selectively. I hast followed mine master for millions of years. If it be true he's yond kind of evil deity, I would hath left him already. How about it? Mine desire is for thee to ponder on mine offer. Mine strength hath not recovered to mine peak, but with enow resources, mine cultivation can recover to Supreme God Stage speedily." The Golden Peng reiterated once again after justifying its master.
"Senior Golden Peng, if I told you that your master isn't dead and that the person who imprisoned you isn't that Buddhism disciple, but rather your own master, Sacred Demon, would you still ask me to avenge your master?" After remaining silent for a while, Tang Xiu decided to speak out as he couldn't bear to keep it hidden from the Golden Peng any longer.
"What? Mine master, Sacred Demon, hath not died, and be the one who hath imprison me? This be impossible!"
"The fact that I know Sacred Demon's name is already enough to prove it. If that Buddhism disciple really killed your master, he should have killed you too instead of just erasing your memories since he had no reason for letting you live. Furthermore, Sacred Demon isn't as powerful as you imagine, and he had selfish motivations behind his actions..."
Since he had decided to tell the truth, Tang Xiu obviously didn't hold back on anything and spoke about his conjecture from what he had learned from Drunken Immortal as well as the information he obtained from the Free and Unfettered God's legacy.
In the beginning, the Golden Peng was still feeling a bit emotional and wished to interrupt Tang Xiu's words, but Tang Xiu didn't give it a chance to do that.
The Golden Peng's expression changed slowly as it listened to him and it turned silent in the end too.
In fact, after several hundred thousand years had passed, the Golden Peng had already recovered most of its erased memories and its fabricated memories had also turned vaguer as well.
However, the Golden Peng just wasn't ready to believe the memories that didn't conform with its actual recognition of the events, and it even believed the reason his memories were a mess was because of some injury it might have suffered to its brain during the war several hundred thousand years ago or because they had been tampered by the Buddhist disciple using divine power to make it hate its master and dull its intentions of avenging its master.
"So, mine master hast deceived me for millions of years?" Although the Golden Peng had a simple mind, it wasn't a fool. A part of its memories indeed conformed with what Tang Xiu had told it, and this proved that Tang Xiu had actually spoken the facts just now. Furthermore, it and Tang Xiu were just strangers, so Tang Xiu had no reason to dupe it.
Moreover, even if Tang Xiu had lied to it, it would have learned the truth after reaching the God Realm, so it didn't believe Tang Xiu had duped it.
Huge drops of golden tears fell down from the Golden Peng's eyes.
Its condition that had become rejuvenated just recently declined again.
And even its life aura began to diminish little by little.
There was nothing sadder than a withered heart in this world. The Golden Peng had got acquainted with Sacred Demon, a newly ascended deity, just after it had escaped from the extermination of its clan and signed a master and servant contract with him. From that moment onwards, the Golden Peng had fought for Sacred Demon in the God Realm for millions of years and even saved him from countless calamities.
However, after several million years, someone had told it that the Sacred Demon it knew wasn't the true Sacred Demon, and that he was actually a selfish and evil demon, so the Golden Peng felt it had been made a fool of.
"Senior, you must live on if you wish to avenge your clan!" Tang Xiu felt anxious when he saw that the Golden Peng intended to kill itself and had a flash of brilliance in his mind that prompted him to shout at it, "The extermination of the Golden Peng Clan wasn't because of a powerhouse from the Monster Realm but rather an insidious plot schemed by Sacred Demon. The Golden Peng Clan got exterminated because of you, but if you die just like this, they would never be able to rest in peace in the Underworld!"
Tang Xiu's words struck the Golden Peng like a bolt of lightning. Its body quivered as it directed its ferocious gaze at Tang Xiu and raised its voice. "Youngling, doth thee dare taketh responsibility for thy words?"
"Senior, I have no reason to kid about this matter with you since the truth will come out eventually. Senior must have already had guesses about what I just said, right?" Tang Xiu said sincerely after meeting its gaze for a while.
"Youngling, I shalt sign a master and servant contract with thee as long as thee taketh a Heavenly Oath to help avenge mine clan. I can sense Free and Unfettered God's aura on thee, so thou art forsooth a foe of Sacred Demon. Since we hath the same goal and I am more familiar with Sacred Demon and the God Realm, thee won't refuse this request of mine, shalt thee?" A glimmer of determination flashed through the Golden Peng's eyes after a while.
After deciding to trust the memories it had regained, the Golden Peng had received answers to a lot of things it was confused about before. Moreover, Tang Xiu's huge potential and the character he had shown had made the Golden Peng trust him and ally with him without the slightest hesitation.
Tang Xiu felt ecstatic after hearing the Golden Peng's words.
He believed that he had no chances of recruiting the Golden Peng after he had refused to kill that Buddhism disciple, but he never imagined that he would see the light at the end of the tunnel and that the Golden Peng would choose to form a master and servant contract with him.
Fearing that the Golden Peng would go back on its word if he delayed any longer, Tang Xiu took a Heavenly Oath immediately before it.
And under his expectant gaze, the Golden Peng also handed over a drop of its lifeblood essence to Tang Xiu.
Tang Xiu received the drop of lifeblood essence solemnly and refined it slowly according to the Golden Peng's instructions.
After spending 6 hours on it, Tang Xiu finally finished refining the lifeblood essence of the Golden Peng fully and a faint connection formed between it and him simultaneously.
Tang Xiu even had a feeling that he could kill the Golden Peng with just a single thought of his.
"Master, art thee planning to return to the God Realm or art thee planning to settle thy karmic links on Earth first?" After forming the contract, the Golden Peng didn't call him "youngling" anymore and instead asked for his instructions in an obsequious manner.
Tang Xiu wasn't accustomed to its momentous change in mannerism, so it took him some time to adapt to his new identity.
"Golden Peng, the reason I came to Earth this time was mainly to free you and also to seek the Divine Origin City to promote my strength. I wonder if you know where the Divine Origin City is hidden?"
"Divine Origin City? Master, the Divine Origin City is Shennong Ridge's Ghost King Valley. T's defense ist too well, though. The twelve Supreme Gods hath killed nearly 100 Supreme Gods back in the Battle of Ruin then refined those deities into puppets and placed them deities 'round the Divine Origin City. Move they shalt not in times ordinary, but they shalt attack anyone who hast entered a range of 300 meters 'round the Divine Origin City," the Golden Peng said faintly after hesitating for a moment.
"Nearly 100 Supreme God puppets?" Tang Xiu's expression changed after he heard the Golden Peng's words. He thought he would be able to find the Divine Origin City with his cultivation after returning back to Earth and that no one would be able to stop him from taking the Divine Origin City, but now, it appeared that even if he found it, he would only be able to gaze at it from afar because he lacked strength.
"Master, though thee hast nay way to obtain the Divine Origin City, others eke hast nay way too. The twelve Supreme Gods hath left 100 Supreme God puppets to protect the Divine Origin City back then to prevent other Supreme Gods from obtaining it.
"Moreover, the twelve Supreme Gods wast on guard 'gainst one other, so the twelve of them deities art essential to remove the barrier between Earth and the God Realm, even one canst be missing. From what thee hath told me, seven hast fallen already, so the remaining five hast nay way to returneth to Earth."
Tang Xiu was stunned after hearing the Golden Peng's words and even felt like laughing.
"Golden Peng, since we have no way to obtain the Divine Origin City right now, I shall resolve some of my mortal karma in the secular world. Will you come with me or return to the God Realm first?" Tang Xiu hadn't given up on the Divine Origin City as he had a faint feeling that the Free and Unfettered God definitely left a method to deal with the 100 Supreme God puppets and he just hadn't found it yet.
"Master, mine appearance too improper to appeareth ere mortals and with thy cultivation, nothing can harm thee unless thee wend to the Divine Origin City, so I shalt returneth to the God Realm lest I am powerless at which hour thee needeth mine help." After learning that Tang Xiu was planning to remain on Earth, it didn't hesitate in choosing to return to the God Realm.