Chapter 894: Time's Promise

Indifference was the sole hue in the eyes of this deity. To him, all life experiences were devoid of joy or sorrow. Whether it was birth or death, it was merely a simple cycle of reincarnation. He could foresee both his awakening and his departure.

Destiny, like a vast river formed from countless particles of dust, flowed before him; he possessed complete knowledge of every wave and ripple within it. And so, tranquility was the unchanging state of this deity's gaze, constant through all time. It seemed that ever since he gained consciousness, his gaze had remained undisturbed. This was true during his battle with the Human Ancestral Shaman in ancient times, and again when he was later suppressed by the Three Deities.

Today, his awakening through the Emperor's Corpse within his own divine realm, intended to alter the sealed situation in the Mountains and Seas Grand Domain, held the same significance for the deity. Even though he was now incredibly weakened, success or failure—both were merely experiences.

Therefore, he gazed upon this place of his awakening. The sky shattered, stars turned to dust, storms ceased their spread. Time in this place stopped flowing, rules and laws lost their origins, and even the void solidified. There was no need to mention… the mere ants rushing towards him.

Xu Qing, Captain, and Yan Xuanzi!

Their three figures froze in his gaze, paused in the void, and in time, they seemed to become mere paper cutouts. Their flesh and souls withered, while their destinies and karmic ties dimmed. Slowly, they were about to be erased from the deity's sight. Just as he had foreseen with his omniscience, nothing had changed.

Thus, his gaze did not focus on those three paper cutouts. He looked beyond Diyan, within his omniscience... at another seemingly inevitable destiny. That was his only chance! As an omniscient being, he understood that this universe contained no absolute omniscience, only relative knowledge limited by scope and level. Therefore, this was a divine war he had waged long ago with the three mysterious deities of later generations, a battle that transcended time and space. In this battle, they were each other's divine fruits. Those were his true enemies!

He would then awaken here, abandoning the divine source of his true body within the Mountains and Seas Grand Domain. He would return here as the Lord of the Divine Realm, and here, he would win the divine war. Subsequently, he would suppress the Three Deities and consume the divine fruits into which they had transformed. He would then use this experience to evolve into a divine platform, allowing himself to truly ascend and enter another realm of deity.

He would reshape all time and, by doing so, change things. In a way incomprehensible to mortals, he would return to his ancient battle with the Ancestral Shaman to sever all destinies unfavorable to him. The only remaining destiny was the divine platform; this was his divine path. He would traverse time, sever opposing fates, and achieve the Divine Platform realm after gaining divine fire. He was very serious, for as an omniscient being, he understood that deities faced inevitable obstacles when achieving the divine platform.

In the destiny he foresaw, the mysterious Three Deities were naturally his obstacles. Therefore, long ago, he had used the divine realm as a battlefield, thoroughly intertwining them with himself. This was the essence of "mutual divine fruits." Yet, as he had come to realize, a deity’s omniscience was not absolute, but merely relative.

Thus, the moment he gazed beyond Diyan, a change hidden beyond his omniscience—an unexpected event concealed within the temporal destiny he had foreseen—appeared, like a variable escaping the Great Deduction, both natural and sudden. It originated from the ants his gaze had pierced. It came from the timeline of Captain and Xu Qing. Or, more accurately, it came from another omniscience within time that, in scope and level, encompassed his own.

Long ago, within the Sacrificial Moon Grand Domain, Xu Qing had asked Captain a question: "Senior Brother, in the past of the Sacrificial Moon Divine Son, in that battle, the arrangement you were responsible for severing—was Li Zihua present there? Did you meet Li Zihua within that timeline, after Li Zihua descended upon the Sacrificial Moon Grand Domain and took the Crimson Mother from the Red Moon, moving far from the Wanggu Continent?"

Captain answered Xu Qing: "I made a deal with Li Zihua in that timeline." At the time, Xu Qing had thought that transaction was related to the Crimson Mother. Only now did he understand that a transaction made within time must also unfold within time.

And so, Li Zihua arrived. What arrived was the transaction between him and Captain. It was a finger, extending from the timeline of Xu Qing and Captain, as if it had been waiting there all along. The finger was indescribable. At first glance, it appeared to be formed of destiny, transformed from a galaxy, and condensed from the will of the universe. It embodied all light, all power, and all omniscience.

The entire Diyan, with the finger's appearance, became a mere superfluous ornament. The entire star became an insignificant decoration. The entire divine realm became a negligible background. Its brilliance was incomparable. Yet, upon a second glance, it appeared remarkably ordinary, just a simple finger. It was neither overly delicate nor remarkably rough, with visible fingerprints—utterly simple. It appeared in the deity's gaze, landing on the speckled spider on its face. With a gentle touch.

The spider on the Emperor's Corpse's face trembled violently. Its ancient, unchanging indifference crumbled, and its eternal tranquility shattered. Even deities possessed emotions. Indifference transformed into bewilderment. Tranquility became confusion.

At this moment, he seemed to understand that the obstacle to the divine platform was not the Three Deities, but this finger that should not have appeared. "So, it was a springboard!"

The spider, without any unexpected resistance, shattered into pieces, becoming dust. The Emperor's Corpse offered no resistance. The altar beneath it transformed into an abyss, continuously falling, destined to be buried by the void. The remnant soul, unable to stir any ripples, was suppressed and fell. His world turned utterly dark. The darkness that descended was not confined to this place alone; it also enveloped the Mountains and Seas Grand Domain…

His world became darkness, yet within Diyan, the world of Xu Qing and Captain gained color; the paper cutouts vanished, and flesh and blood returned. Captain, for once, did not disappoint Xu Qing. "Sound blast to clear obstacles, light slaughter to break seals, the Time Finger to suppress the deity. Junior Brother, our era has arrived."

As Captain laughed heartily, he transformed into a streak of light, rushing joyfully towards the Emperor's Corpse, now suppressed by Li Zihua's finger. Xu Qing's heart surged with intense emotions. This was the first time his inner world had been so stirred since he arrived in the divine realm, despite having undertaken so many major endeavors with Captain that he had largely achieved composure. Even so, he was inwardly shaken, but he did not hesitate. His body became light as he rushed with Captain directly towards the Emperor's Corpse. One headed for the Dantian, the other for the Niwan Palace.

Another figure, Yan Xuanzi, also moved with astonishing speed. She had witnessed everything from beginning to end, and these shocking scenes churned within her. Thus, she strengthened her resolve: whether to stop or to plunder, she would not abandon this opportunity. Just as her figure was about to rush into the Emperor's Corpse with Xu Qing and Captain, at that moment, Captain raised a hand, formed a seal, and pointed into the distance.

Within the Imperial Mausoleum, outside Diyan, amidst the collapsing labyrinth, a bead appeared. This bead shimmered with light, capable of stabilizing Yin and Yang. An ancient aura circulated within it, containing the very source of life; it was clearly a supreme treasure. However, the moment it appeared, it was like a fish removed from water, or a lump of mud that had lost its moisture… It began to crack, to shatter, to die. Once shattered, it would cease to exist, unless—within a short time—the fish could return to water and the mud regain its moisture.

In that instant, Yan Xuanzi, who was about to rush into the Emperor's Corpse, trembled violently. She sensed the aura of that bead; it was precisely her natal bead, and the very source of her hatred for Captain. For her, the importance of this bead could be seen from the depth of her hatred for Captain. She quickly made a decision: either continue to pursue into the Emperor's Corpse, or abandon this place and retrieve her natal bead. This was precisely the purpose of Captain's seal.

Yan Xuanzi had no choice. Her eyes turned crimson, and her body swayed as she instantly darted away, speeding with all her might towards the location of her natal bead. Almost the moment she departed, Captain and Xu Qing had neared the Emperor's Corpse, which was continuously falling into the abyss. One above, one below, the two instantly entered it.

The Emperor's Corpse sank into the abyss of nothingness, disappearing without a trace. This section of Diyan also completely collapsed at that moment, ceasing to exist. The Imperial Mausoleum and this star collapsed together. As for Tian Mozi and the others within, they swiftly moved away, their hearts still trembling with lingering fear.

After everyone had left, the star located in the core region of the divine realm transformed into a black vortex, silently spinning and pulling the entire divine realm with it. Outside the vortex, Tian Mozi and the other two remained silent. Until a vast aura descended from above them, divine light shone, and divine might enveloped all directions. The figures of the Three Deities descended into the divine realm, appearing above this vortex.

"The time has come!" the Sun God stated calmly. Tian Mozi and the others bowed their heads, their hearts filled with complex emotions. They had previously speculated why the Three Deities had not appeared from the beginning. But now, it seemed this was no longer a question. Yan Xuanzi, who reappeared after retrieving her bead, was also silent. She now understood that everyone, including Tian Mozi and herself, were mere pawns in this divine realm game.

"So, who is the next player?" Yan Xuanzi lowered her head, gazing at the deep vortex. It gradually spread into her eyes, consuming her entire pupils. Utter darkness.

Beneath the Nine Li of the Mountains and Seas Grand Domain, a pair of eyes slowly opened in the darkness, gathering the night into their pupils like an endless vortex. "Has the time come?" A hoarse voice murmured from his lips, as if the winds of ages had swept through an abyss, awakening a promise of godhood from within time.

Then, he slowly stood up. He walked towards the shrine above him, which was sealed and suppressed beneath the Nine Li. Within the shrine, the withered spider deity, whose fate was linked, began to lose its essence, causing the approaching figure's aura to grow ever stronger. He was absorbing everything from this spider deity.