Chapter 1448: Fortune Plays Tricks

“Master.”

Seeing Cang Yuan suddenly appear, Zhou Yuan immediately wanted to stand up. Cang Yuan waved his hand to stop him, then sat down beside the tea table. His gaze swept over the colossal tower standing tall in the distance. He smiled and said, “This is quite an undertaking for you. Even the people at the Divine Dwellings of Returning to the Ruins heard about it and are marveling at your audacity.”

This Nine-Nine Creation Pagoda was built by Zhou Yuan using countless resources from the Cangxuan Heaven. However, resources weren't the most important factor. What truly mattered was Zhou Yuan's decisive action to directly extract Genesis Qi from other regions of the Cangxuan Heaven. This method of using an entire heaven-domain to nourish a single pagoda required such boldness that even many Saints were secretly astonished.

“It was already a mess. If I had to be so meticulous with calculations, I wouldn't know if there would ever be a chance to turn things around,” Zhou Yuan said helplessly. The Saints from other heaven-domains were surprised by the commotion here because they weren't from Cangxuan Heaven and thus didn't realize the extent of the disaster Cangxuan Heaven had become.

“There's no problem with what you did. After all, these are extraordinary times. Even Ancient Venerable Jinluo and the others expressed their approval after hearing about it,” Cang Yuan nodded and said.

Hearing this, Zhou Yuan smiled, “Then I must thank the Ancient Venerables for their understanding.” Although the Divine Dwellings of Returning to the Ruins wasn't an organization belonging exclusively to anyone, it nonetheless represented the will of many Saints across the Heavens. It was also the highest power resisting the Sacred Race. Therefore, even though Zhou Yuan was now the Heaven Master of Cangxuan Heaven, in a sense, he still had to respect the opinions of the Divine Dwellings of Returning to the Ruins.

The two spoke about the Creation Pagoda for a moment, then the atmosphere suddenly quieted. Zhou Yuan glanced at the calm-faced Yaoyao before him, took a deep breath, and asked Cang Yuan, “Master, is there news from the Divine Dwellings of Returning to the Ruins?” Previously, when Ancient Venerable Jinluo and the others left, they took a wisp of the “God-Slaying Cursed Poison,” saying they would gather the power of the Saints in the Divine Dwellings to deduce a solution. Several months had passed, so there should be some results by now.

Cang Yuan nodded and said, “Has Yaoyao undergone some changes recently?”

Zhou Yuan was silent for a few seconds, then said, “She's become quite similar to how she was when I first met her.”

Cang Yuan let out a bitter laugh, his voice heavy. “That's because the God-Slaying Cursed Poison is devouring the divinity within her. When divinity weakens, her human nature naturally becomes more prominent.”

Zhou Yuan's eyes narrowed slightly. So that was it. But this God-Slaying Cursed Poison was terrifying to such an extent that it could even devour divinity?

“There's nothing strange about it. I've said before that the Saint God was severely wounded by the Ancestral Dragon's will and fell into a deep slumber. The power of the Ancestral Dragon's will tormented Him for tens of thousands of years within His body. However, since the Ancestral Dragon had already perished, that power of will wasn't enough to completely destroy the Saint God, so He gradually endured it.”

“Finally, He managed to force out the Ancestral Dragon's will. Then, using it as a base material and infusing it with the pain and darkness He endured over countless millennia, He formed the God-Slaying Cursed Poison. So, in a sense, what's contained within this God-Slaying Cursed Poison is actually a twisted form of Ancestral Dragon power, warped by the Saint God,” Yaoyao's calm voice suddenly interjected. “This is a poison specifically designed to target me.”

Yaoyao was the Third God, born from the will of the Ancestral Dragon. And now, the Saint God was using a twisted form of Ancestral Dragon power against her.

“I just want to know, besides devouring the divinity within Yaoyao, does this poison cause any other harm to her?” Zhou Yuan asked in a low voice.

Cang Yuan and Yaoyao both fell silent.

“Don't hide it from me!” Zhou Yuan's voice already held a trace of anger.

Cang Yuan glanced at Yaoyao and sighed softly, “As the God-Slaying Cursed Poison devours divinity, it will gradually grow stronger. At the same time, it will corrode Yaoyao's body. Once it reaches a certain level, it will pose a true threat to her.”

“However, according to our deductions, if the God-Slaying Cursed Poison truly begins to threaten Yaoyao, she will enter a self-protective dormant state.”

“A self-protective dormant state?” Zhou Yuan frowned slightly.

Cang Yuan looked at Zhou Yuan with a somewhat complex expression. “Simply put, her body will become uncontrollable by her, because the other dormant divine aspects within her will fully awaken due to the threat, protecting themselves and expelling the God-Slaying Cursed Poison.”

“At that time... she will become the true Third God.”

Zhou Yuan's hand, gripping the wine cup, suddenly trembled, spilling wine. He looked up, staring blankly at Yaoyao. How could he not understand what Cang Yuan implied? Once Yaoyao's divinity fully recovered, becoming the Third God, then all her human characteristics would likely be erased. At that time, she would be the Third God... not Yaoyao. Just thinking of that moment, Zhou Yuan's breathing grew heavy, and a heart-wrenching pain surged from the depths of his soul like a tide, making his palms tremble slightly.

Zhou Yuan understood that he had been avoiding this matter, because he didn't know what he should do if Yaoyao became the Third God, if she started to become a stranger, if she began to forget everything they had shared. He had been with Yaoyao all this time, and as he felt her emotions becoming more vibrant, he couldn't help but harbor a selfish thought: to no longer care about the Sacred Race or the Saint God. If things could just continue as they were, he would willingly give up everything. Yet, even with his desires, he still couldn't change anything, even though he had now advanced to the Saint realm and became the Heaven Master of Cangxuan Heaven.

Perhaps, in this world, he was the only one who wanted to keep Yaoyao as she was now. As for the Saints of the Divine Dwellings of Returning to the Ruins, what they truly hoped to see was clearly the Third God making her appearance. In their view, only the Third God could stop the Saint God. If the Third God presided over the Heavens, the Sacred Race would not dare to invade while their Saint God was not fully awakened. On this point concerning Yaoyao, he might stand in opposition to the entire world.

Zhou Yuan couldn't utter a word, only feeling a deep weariness. His gaze, somewhat unfocused, fixated on the spilled wine on the table, as he fell into a dazed state.

Cang Yuan looked at Zhou Yuan, who had instantly transformed from spirited and confident to this broken state, and felt a pang of heartache. He knew very well Zhou Yuan's tenacious character, yet even so, this turn of events had still battered the once bravely progressing young man to the core.

Cang Yuan sighed, then turned to Yaoyao and said, "I'm suddenly regretting entrusting you to him back then.” He had never imagined that a fleeting thought from years ago would lead to such an outcome. He never anticipated that Yaoyao, who should have been incapable of emotional attachment, would develop such an indelible bond and affection with Zhou Yuan over years of companionship. Indeed... fate plays cruel tricks.

Yaoyao said nothing, only extended her cool hand and gently took Zhou Yuan's. Meeting Zhou Yuan's somewhat reddened eyes, a breathtaking smile suddenly bloomed on her exquisite face, one that could dim the light of heaven and earth. That smile, like a fleeting glimpse of a swan, was enough to astound time and be etched into the deepest parts of one's soul.

She said little else, merely gazing into Zhou Yuan's eyes and softly saying, “Zhou Yuan, marry me and make me your consort.” Without waiting for Zhou Yuan's reply, she then looked at Cang Yuan, a mischievous smile appearing on her face—a smile he hadn't seen in many years. “Grandpa Hei, please officiate our wedding.”

At this moment, even Cang Yuan couldn't help but feel tears well up in his eyes and a pang of bitterness in his heart, because it was the first time he had heard Yaoyao call him by that name since she left years ago. He looked at Yaoyao as if seeing her again from the days when he was taking her into hiding. Back then, she was just a little girl who would only tug at his sleeve, dependent on him and trusting him. Cang Yuan rubbed his eyes, smiled, and nodded heavily.

“Alright.”