Chapter 200: On Par with the Gods

Ye Chu traversed the snow plain through the night. His coarse robe, once unassuming, was now imbued with a golden divine radiance. His long hair flowed, and his flawless face, like that of an exquisitely handsome young man, featured pupils that flickered between bright and dark, symbolizing the alternating light and darkness of yin and yang.

The Asura God Record technique circulated ceaselessly within him. With each completed cycle, the divine glow in his pupils intensified.

The previous night, before his departure, he had left a note for Ning Changjiu at the last moment.

He had decided against killing Ning Changjiu.

One reason was that, if his plan proceeded without error, Ning Changjiu's life or death would not affect the overall situation. The second was that, despite having practiced the technique for a period that should have caused him to succumb to a cultivation deviation, Ning Changjiu remained unharmed and could converse cheerfully with him as if nothing were amiss. This made Ye Chu suspect that Ning Changjiu had seen through his deception, so he simply went along with it, leaving a favor instead.

However, these were not his most pressing concerns now.

He knew that Sī Mìng would undoubtedly try to intercept him upon his departure from the snow plain.

He was no match for Sī Mìng. Within this realm, where their cultivation had reached its peak, any true combat would be decided by the number of methods each possessed and the strength of their divine authority.

When the Divine Realm collapsed and they were exiled, Ye Chu was left with pitifully little fate authority. Even after patching some together over the years, it was still no match for Sī Mìng's.

Yet, perhaps out of a senior's indulgence towards a junior, he was willing to play one last game of "house" with Sī Mìng.

A faint smile graced Ye Chu's lips.

He couldn't help but recall Sī Mìng's first emergence from the Abyss of Fetal Spirits. How fragile she had been then, trembling nervously, her slender arms wrapped around herself as she faced the unfamiliar world. Her beautiful features perfectly resembled the ideal destiny he had pursued his entire life.

Unfortunately, Sī Mìng's ambition and ability surpassed his imagination. A strange emotion had stirred within him the first time she stood as his equal.

But those past events had long been swept away by the winds of time.

Yet, Ye Chu knew a lingering unresolved issue remained in his heart. If not for that, why would he choose a method of leaving this world that didn't require mutual destruction?

To cleave the heavens and depart might be awe-inspiring, but how could it compare to the safety of consuming one's opponent?

Ye Chu walked slowly across the snow plain. Along his path, he encountered no fierce beasts blocking his way, as if every step he took symbolized the best possible destiny. He was heading towards a path leading to the Divine Realm.

He journeyed thousands of miles across the ice plain before seeing black smoke billowing over a canyon—signal fires lit atop a fortress.

Ye Chu frowned slightly.

He couldn't understand Sī Mìng's intention. Could she be trying to trick him with these signal fires, making him think something had happened in the Royal City, thus lowering his guard and falling into her trap?

How ridiculous!

He certainly wouldn't trust Sī Mìng; he simply hadn't expected the woman to have become so foolish.

As he crossed the last inch of the ice plain, just as his foot was about to land, it was as if someone plucked the strings of fate, emitting a dangerous tremor.

Ye Chu felt his vision suddenly darken, as if dark clouds had obscured the sky.

He landed lightly, then looked up. He saw no dark clouds, but countless black feathers covering the firmament.

He stood on the snow plain, gazing up, his divine robe unfurling stiffly in the wind.

The surroundings abruptly dimmed, making the swirling golden light in his pupils appear even more striking.

"Constellations align, North and South Dippers shift!" Ye Chu immediately cried out without hesitation. His spiritual veins surged, carrying countless incantations, enveloping him like myriad stars.

A flash of cold light illuminated the snow plain.

Ye Chu should have appeared thousands of miles away in a snow canyon in that instant.

But his figure merely flickered, remaining in place.

Countless black feathers, like a clamor of noisy night crows, dove towards him like arrows.

Ye Chu took a deep breath.

His golden pupils shone brilliantly. Before his eyes, countless golden lines suddenly appeared. Their origins and ends were unknown, but they all came from ahead and stretched behind him.

These were his threads of destiny.

"Ye Chu, having navigated dangerous situations, finally leaves this place," Ye Chu declared his own fate.

Fate offered no response.

The black feathers formed a prison, and all paths of destiny seemed to have been severed by the attacker.

Ye Chu's Dao heart could no longer remain serene. He had only felt this sensation once before, a thousand years ago, when he faced the supreme God King on the Heaven-Reaching Throne—an awe and reverence for ultimate power and authority.

He was far cleverer than Sī Mìng. In a very short time, he had deduced the identity of the newcomer.

"Sin Lord?!" Even in disbelief, he uttered the assailant's name.

But no sooner had the words left his mouth than he regretted them. For no one was permitted to address a God King by name. If the God King were angered, there would be no escape.

Ye Chu was immersed in the myriad threads of destiny, as a black tide transformed into a cage, trapping him.

The Sin Lord's figure, coalesced from black feathers, appeared before Ye Chu. Shrouded in a black robe, sharp claws protruded from the edges of his sleeves, and a long tail trailed on the ground like winding, transparent water.

He stood calmly, emitting no aura, yet he conveyed an impression of unshakeable presence, as if the collapse of ten thousand mountains could not even stir his form.

A trace of despair bloomed in Ye Chu.

He had once wondered if this seven-hundred-year-old secret would be discovered by the God King. He had even yearned for such an event, hoping that the God King's punishment would fall upon the one who had beheaded their God King, and perhaps they could seize this opportunity to escape this boundless, desolate wilderness.

But the price would undoubtedly be the surrender of their authority.

The legacy of a shattered divine kingdom, even for another God King, was an incomparable treasure, potentially granting power beyond that of other rulers.

The moment Sin Lord appeared, countless thoughts flashed through Ye Chu's mind. Then, the black shadow shimmered closer within his golden pupils.

"Crime of Deception."

This was Sin Lord's judgment upon him, for deceiving Ning Changjiu with the flawed Asura God Record.

Sin Lord's sleeves hung down at his sides, yet countless arrow-like fist shadows instantly appeared before him.

Ye Chu's robe billowed as he activated his fate authority. Like a flying insect in the rain, he followed the simplest paths, weaving and leaping through tangled destinies, evading hundreds of Sin Lord's fist shadows. But Sin Lord's judgment descended like billions of raindrops from the sky; how could a person standing in a desolate plain escape such a massive, days-long downpour?

Thudding sounds echoed continuously as Ye Chu's radiant divine robe was repeatedly dented, its golden light dimming with each blow. He clutched his threads of destiny, weaving through them. At one point, he altered the direction of a thread of destiny, turning it skyward. He followed this thread, soaring high into the sky, attempting to escape.

Sin Lord stood unmoving, merely raising a sleeve slightly and curling a sharp, elongated finger.

Ye Chu's high-flying figure plummeted like a kite with a snapped string. Sin Lord, using his authority of judgment, infiltrated Ye Chu's destiny, seized that thread, and pulled him back.

"The mysterious cloaked figure chose the wrong destiny."

When Ye Chu was pulled back to the ground, he reactivated his authority. However, he dared not utter Sin Lord's name, fearing his own laws might instantly fail.

Destiny was altered again. Ye Chu instantly broke free from Sin Lord's control and fled along an extremely complex and winding path of destiny.

Sin Lord remained utterly unchanged.

Both Sī Mìng and Ye Chu's authorities were incomplete. Otherwise, if they had joined forces within this realm where power was suppressed, they might indeed have had a chance to contend with him.

Alas, they were all defective products.

Once Sin Lord's judgment descended, it was an endless pursuit. The countless threads of destiny seemed immersed in a colossal dye vat; not a single one could escape Sin Lord's corruption.

The root of this judgment was Ye Chu's deception of Ning Changjiu. However, Ning Changjiu had actually seen through his trick and was never truly in mortal danger. Therefore, the power of this judgment was much weaker than the one against Sī Mìng.

The strings of fate trembled ceaselessly. Ye Chu, who had been the spider in the web, suddenly reversed roles, becoming the prey trapped in the web when Sin Lord extended his hand.

Sin Lord's figure vanished from its spot, reappearing directly in front of Ye Chu.

He drew a perfect circle around Ye Chu.

Drawing a circle to mark a prison.

Ye Chu was confined within Sin Lord's cage. All his destinies were like broken strings, utterly useless to him.

Ye Chu's golden pupils dimmed considerably. He suppressed his fear of Sin Lord and activated his authority one last time.

"Chóng Suì detected the disturbance here and made a decision."

At the ancient battlefield in the snow plain, Su Yanshu, in a red dress, leaned against a colossal, building-like instrument. Despite the instrument's cold surface, she treated it like a warm embrace.

Suddenly, Su Yanshu felt a spiritual resonance. She looked around, sensing that Ye Chu seemed to have returned and was close by.

But all around her lay only endless wind and snow.

She composed herself and walked towards the direction of her spiritual intuition.

That feeling seemed to emanate not from elsewhere, but from the center of this massive instrument. Now, Su Yanshu had become the master of this snow canyon and was certainly qualified to enter. However, before leaving, Ye Chu had cautioned her not to enter lightly, so she had never ventured deep into the instrument of fate.

Now, she tentatively opened the door.

The center of the colossal structure was also a precisely and complexly structured space. Countless gears and interlocking components intersected within her vision, layered and expanding, each narrower than the last, like a towering pagoda. In the center of this massive tower was a thick supporting pillar, from which countless wooden beams fanned out, stabilizing the structure.

A spiral wooden staircase ascended around the massive pillar.

Su Yanshu climbed the wooden stairs step by step, searching for the source of her recent spiritual connection.

As she ascended the spiral staircase, the entire world seemed to rotate with her steps. What awaited her at the end of the staircase completely dazzled her—a crystal coffin containing a corpse.

It was Ye Chu's corpse.

The body was in the form of a broken puppet, without facial features, and bearing the large fissure from Sī Mìng's blow.

Su Yanshu's heart gave a slight wrench. She knew this was one of Ye Chu's forms, the one he had died in, which was why he had sealed himself away in the attic in his last moments, unwilling for her to see him.

Su Yanshu had known his appearance for a long time, so she felt only a dull ache in her heart at the current scene.

She pushed open the crystal coffin and embraced Ye Chu. Then, as if guided by destiny, she unconsciously bit her finger, feeding her blood into the puppet's mouth. The centuries of time Ye Chu had gifted her, mingled in her blood, poured back into his body.

Su Yanshu's eyes trembled as she gazed tenderly at the puppet in her arms. Then, like in a fairy tale, after drinking her blood, Ye Chu miraculously awoke as if by a final flicker of life.

He opened his eyes, as if a soul had been infused into him.

Su Yanshu stared blankly at the scene, overwhelmed with joy. She whispered, "You... are you back?"

Ye Chu looked at the woman in his arms, cupped her face, and kissed her forehead.

Su Yanshu was overjoyed. She knew Ye Chu would return one day, for it was his promise. She just hadn't expected him back so soon. But quickly, her smile froze on her face as Ye Chu said, "I must go. This time, I may not return."

Su Yanshu's spirit sank. She trembled, "Why? Where... where are you going?"

Ye Chu braced his broken body and began to ascend higher.

This was the last resort he had prepared for himself, and the confidence he needed to face Sī Mìng one more time. No matter what Sī Mìng tried, he had a way to return to this snow canyon.

Features appeared on the puppet body, wounds healed, and it gradually transformed into the likeness of a young man. The formidable physique granted by the Asura God Record had allowed him to withstand Sin Lord's assault, and the absolute destiny he had long imprinted on the puppet pulled him back into this snow canyon, back into his body.

But he still could not escape judgment.

Ye Chu could clearly perceive that judgment had arrived with Sin Lord, reaching just outside the snow canyon in an instant.

"I am going to my Divine Realm," Ye Chu declared without further hesitation.

His figure darted upward, ascending, condensing into an infinitesimally small point in Su Yanshu's eyes. Su Yanshu's intuition told her that Ye Chu was not deceiving her; this might truly be a permanent farewell.

Ye Chu reached the very top of the structure.

With a thought, the entire building began to emit a colossal rumbling sound.

Its outer surface started to peel away, layer by layer, deconstructing itself to reveal its true form.

It was a multi-layered, complex cylindrical object. Its core was a colossal, towering cylinder, capped by a sharp cone. Surrounding this massive central body were eight smaller cylinders, each corresponding to one of the eight trigrams, and each trigram began to glow.

Heaven, Earth, Thunder, Wind, Water, Fire, Mountain, Lake.

Each trigram lit up, radiating its own color and aura. These elements furiously ignited the eight arrow-shaped cylinders, which seethed with swirling, ash-white liquid time.

He had deceived Su Yanshu; he had collected far more than centuries of time over the years. What he had given Chóng Suì was merely the tip of the iceberg.

"It's not that I don't love you," he still said to Chóng Suì.

It was just that this compartment could only hold him.

He apologized to Su Yanshu, then sent her outside. Su Yanshu struggled frantically, but to no avail. She fell into the snow, twisting desperately, unable to rise. She looked up, her hair tangled with melting snow clinging to her cheeks, and then she witnessed a truly unforgettable scene.

A deafening roar reverberated across the entire ancient battlefield.

On the ground, the ancient, unmelting snow was instantly pushed aside and vaporized. The colossal, infinitely magnified arrow-like object, as if released from a bowstring, lifted off the ground with a thunderous roar, steadily rising.

The gigantic arrow accelerated further, propelled by burning time. The world's entire power seemed to converge, exerting itself to lift it, sending it towards the heavens.

It flew ceaselessly, faster and faster, diamond-shaped flames erupting from its eight cylinders. The time liquid within them was rapidly consumed, propelling it towards the endless heights.

Having reached high altitude, the eight cylinders ceased emitting crystal-like flames. The time liquid within them completely exhausted, they began to detach from the main body and fall downwards.

The main body, meanwhile, ascended at an even greater speed, its tail flame still vibrant.

This was the most exhilarating moment of Ye Chu's life.

This colossal structure had taken him hundreds of years to build. And Sī Mìng, that foolish woman, thought it was merely a fortune-telling tool. Its true nature, masked by the facade of divination, was the culmination of his seven hundred years of research. Every detail within it had been calculated countless times, all for this very day.

This magnificent spectacle was witnessed by everyone in Boundary City and the tribes.

Sin Lord also saw it.

Sī Mìng, bound to the cross, opened her eyes. Watching the figure departing with its extremely long trail of flame, her chest heaved with intense humiliation and resentment. Perhaps the light was too dazzling, for she felt an urge to weep. She knew her divinity was gradually being consumed...

Ning Changjiu also saw the blazing light. He had never imagined such a sight, and so he genuinely felt that Ye Chu was a true genius, filled with admiration.

In this world, everyone's cultivation was suppressed below the Purple Court realm. It was, of course, impossible to cleave the heavens and depart by human power alone.

But when human effort reached its limit, external power could still be borrowed.

This was the fruit of Ye Chu's centuries of effort, and the pinnacle of man-made creations in this world.

At the very last moment, everything would disintegrate, and his physique, perfected by the Asura God Record, would smash through the barrier and return him to the Divine Realm, even if it left him utterly wasted afterward.

It flew on, faster and faster, surging into the chaotic firmament.

Unfortunately, there was no historian here to record it for posterity.

More unfortunately, Sin Lord was still here.

If Sin Lord had not been present, no one could have stopped this magnificent event today.

Sin Lord would not allow anyone to escape his control.

He, too, moved.

He moved across the snow plain, covering thousands of miles in a flash. In countless blinks, he operated at the very limits of this world's laws on human power, closing in on that extremely long tail flame.

Ye Chu was no longer afraid in the slightest.

He looked at the chaotic sky, at the figure pursuing him from behind, and suddenly tears streamed down his face. This was the most exhilarating moment of his life. Even if he were to be utterly shattered, turned to ash, or everything ceased to exist afterward, he would have no regrets.

Sin Lord's black-robed figure pressed relentlessly forward. He, too, exerted all the power he could manifest in this world.

His long robe resembled burning black flames, fiercely exploding in the immense wind. This feeling was one he had not experienced in many years, for he found that he too felt a trace of respect for that sky-piercing, burning giant arrow.

A deity's respect is always battle intent.

The law of judgment enveloped him, driving him closer and closer to Ye Chu.

Ye Chu's smile was gone; he began to laugh wildly. This was his first direct confrontation with a God King in his life. Regardless of success or failure, he was proud, but he wished even more to emulate that person from over seven hundred years ago, the one who had directly beheaded a God King!

Sin Lord blocked his path, like a whole expanse of dense, dark night.

They met each other's gaze.

Ye Chu, riding the burning arrow, crashed into Sin Lord.

Or perhaps, he himself was the burning arrow.

After a moment of silence, a wave of fire exploded in the sky, spreading rapidly. All the clouds were burned red, like a brilliantly blooming red lotus. This scene was just like the "Dusk Day" from ancient prophecies, the sky full of splendid flames resembling the opened gates of hell.

Boom!!!

After the red lotus bloomed, the sound of the collision on the firmament echoed faintly.

This was also the first time in seven hundred years that someone had, by their own power, contended with a true, supreme deity.