Chapter 2211: Dragon God and Ancient God's Disagreement

“To circumvent the restrictions imposed by the laws of the realm barriers, they had to abandon the divine bodies they had meticulously refined over many years,” Zhong Shengguang said, taking a sip of water to moisten his throat. “It’s fortunate that the celestials can only descend to the mortal realm through divine manifestation. Otherwise, even if we could defeat Mitya, we might not be able to stop him from escaping.”

He Lingchuan nodded. “Even Saint Lord Lingxu couldn’t catch him.”

“It’s more than that,” Zhong Shengguang sighed. “I’ve heard that Mitya has deep connections with the Ancient God of Death, one of the three Holy Gods of the Demon Realm. To this day, many demonkind in the Demon Realm believe the Ancient God of Death never truly perished. Considering Mitya, who inherited its Death Divine Spark, it would be incredibly difficult for anyone to destroy his physical body, unless he chose to abandon it himself…”

He Lingchuan immediately said, “When we deal with divine manifestations, we won’t have so many troubles, right?”

“If Mitya descends, he must enter my son’s spiritual sea. You’ll be right there; his comings and goings shouldn’t escape your notice.” Zhong Shengguang’s gaze was solemn. “Since he cannot bring his physical body to the lower realm, he won’t possess those myriad shapeshifting abilities, and the scope for his so-called Death Divine Spark will be limited. If we can destroy his divine soul, then he will truly be dead.”

He Lingchuan pondered for a moment: “Lord Zhong, what exactly is the use of the Death Divine Spark? Can it tailor a specific way for someone to die?”

“Tailor a way to die? No, no, I heard that’s the power of the Fate Divine Spark.”

Hearing that, He Lingchuan raised an eyebrow.

“I actually asked the Dragon God about that,” Zhong Shengguang continued. “He told me that a divine spark is the manifestation of a demonkind’s fundamental understanding of power and laws. If different demonkind have different understandings of the same law, they might form vastly distinct divine sparks.”

He Lingchuan understood: “A divine spark is a demonkind’s comprehension of the ‘Dao,’ not the ‘Dao’ itself.”

The answer wasn’t unique.

As an proverb He Lingchuan had heard in another world went, truth can only be infinitely approximated.

“Exactly,” Zhong Shengguang continued to explain. “It’s just that because ancient gods had a profound understanding of laws, their divine sparks are more powerful and closer to the Dao.”

“And the Dragon God, having fought against both Saint Lord Lingxu and Mitya in ancient times, held a different understanding of ‘death’ than the ancient god who formed the Death Divine Spark.”

“Based on the characteristics of the Death Divine Spark, the Ancient God of Death believed that ‘death’ is the process where disorder ultimately defeats order, and extinction eventually devours vitality. Everything that comes into being rushes towards destruction from the moment of its birth. Therefore, all things must eventually come to an end. Time will ultimately prove that the most powerful and unyielding force in the world is ‘destruction’ itself.”

“So the power contained within the Death Divine Spark is the most potent force of absorption and destruction?” A new understanding dawned on He Lingchuan. “Then, how does the Dragon God define ‘death’?”

“He believes that what is called life and death is merely a process of energy transfer.”

“Energy… transfer?” The Dragon God was once the foremost being under the Heavenly Dao; his understanding of laws and principles was arguably unparalleled throughout history.

“Precisely. Energy continuously enters the body, allowing it to flourish, grow dark hair, and maintain health – this is the power of vitality. When energy leaves the body, it gradually ages and weakens, hair turns white, teeth loosen, eventually leading to demise – this is the power of death. Energy always transfers from aging individuals to nascent ones; this is the cycle of life and death. Therefore, while all things are born and die, only energy flows ceaselessly.”

“One believes that all things eventually end,” He Lingchuan pondered deeply. “The other believes that all things have their own birth and death.”

The Dragon God and the Ancient God of Death had both similarities and differences in their understanding of “death.”

“The Dragon God said that life and death are simply the coming and going of energy. This law applies not only to birds, beasts, insects, and fish, but also to all things in the world, such as mountains and rivers, and even to things beyond this world, like stars and the universe,” Zhong Shengguang said softly. “Therefore, life and death are merely appearances; the forces of life and death should not be viewed in isolation, as the boundary between them is actually very blurred.”

He Lingchuan nodded. Indeed, from birth to vigor, from aging to end, it’s a process of energy coming and going. From the Dragon God’s perspective, birth isn’t necessarily a beginning, nor is death necessarily an end, because the energy cycle is endless.

That must be why he is so serene, then?

“Legend has it that the Ancient God of Death could create his own ‘Land of the Dead,’ or ‘Oblivion’ for short, where he would take in deceased demonkind.” Zhong Shengguang stood up and stretched. “I wonder if Mitya possesses such an ability.”

He Lingchuan hesitated before asking, “The Dragon God, currently hidden in General Hong’s spiritual sea, isn’t in his peak condition either. How confident is he about defeating Mitya?”

“No need to worry.” Zhong Shengguang, however, showed great confidence. “In the ancient wars, the Dragon God had fought against both Saint Lord Lingxu and Mitya, so he understands them quite well. He told me that battles at that level aren’t just about spiritual or divine power, but more importantly, about the understanding of origins and laws.”

Hearing this, He Lingchuan breathed a long sigh of relief: “It’s best if the Dragon God can give us such reassurance.”

“Unless Mitya’s understanding surpasses that of the Ancient God of Death, who was the first possessor of the Death Divine Spark.” Zhong Shengguang offered a rare smile. “However, the Dragon God doesn’t believe that will happen.”

“How will we know the outcome of this epochal battle?” He Lingchuan lamented. “It’s a pity we can’t bring the Haoyuan Golden Mirror here.”

“First, go to Panlong City and borrow the Great Divination Heavenly Pearl from the gate beast.” Zhong Shengguang walked to the table, bit his finger to draw a talisman, and then handed it to He Lingchuan. “Whether it’s the Dragon God, Wuhuan, or Mitya, all are intricately linked to the Grand Cauldron, and so is the Great Divination Heavenly Pearl. Perhaps, through it, you can see what you wish to see.”

He Lingchuan took it and carefully put it away.

Zhong Shengguang was quite generous today: “Is there anything else you wish to ask? Ask it all at once.”

He had already revealed Panlong City’s most core secrets; answering one or two more questions wouldn’t hurt.

He Lingchuan thought carefully: “Why did the Dragon God and you originally choose Mitya as your target?”

This plan was decided over twenty years ago, but the target was somewhat… extremely difficult.

Wouldn’t it have been better to pick an easier target?

“Mitya harbored extreme hatred for other demonkind and was thus easier for me to win over at the time. Otherwise, other demonkind, being two-faced and treacherous, might have immediately betrayed Panlong City. Furthermore, the Death Divine Spark he controls is not only a sharp weapon against Saint Lord Lingxu, the leader of all demons, but also a treasure highly coveted by the Grand Cauldron.”

Indeed, the Grand Cauldron’s appetite for devouring treasures has always been strong.

“Where is General Hong?”

“She went to Lujia Fort to choose horses and pick out a mount for herself. Calculating the time, she should be returning to Shiquan City soon.”

Upon hearing this, He Lingchuan knew that Zhong Shengguang had deliberately sent General Hong away so she wouldn’t participate in today’s military council.