Chapter 1927: Mortal God

The mountains and forests were serene and dim, while children babbled.

Under the Emperor's Great World Acacia tree, where sorrowful cries echoed, BeiHuai and a black-robed phantom sat opposite each other, with three bowls of blood-red liquid on the table.

The life essence was so rich it seemed to overflow.

"You are dimmer than before."

A gentle breeze blew, and the evening's melancholy was quite pleasant.

BeiHuai, sitting upright with a graceful posture, picked up the blood wine in front of him and took a small sip, his words light.

Opposite him, GuiZu's figure was hazy, noticeably more "blurred" than the last time he appeared.

He remained silent.

In front of BeiHuai, GuiZu was taciturn.

This did not dampen the enthusiasm of a lonely life researcher. BeiHuai put down the stone bowl with its yellowed rim, looked at the other side, and mused to himself:

"The path of the soul has long been fixed. Those who ascend will inevitably hit the wall of the highest. This was supposed to be the moment of your final showdown."

"But now, HuaChangDeng is encroaching upon your authority, and your 'soul' is being devoured, yet you remain indifferent."

"Why?"

BeiHuai stared at him, his eyes filled with pure investigative curiosity.

He resembled a refined scholar, exuding an aura of scholarly knowledge and a profound interest in the unknown and the nascent.

Outsiders couldn't see it, but from BeiHuai's perspective, streams of power were draining from the black-robed figure into an invisible vortex behind him.

And GuiZu did not take even the slightest measure to stop any of this from happening.

BeiHuai spoke again, tentatively:

"Constantly ceding authority will only worsen your condition. I know this, and you know this."

"So, you are not 'giving way,' you are 'helping to fulfill,' just like my research. Do you also wish to be reborn through HuaChangDeng, in the form of a ghost beast host?"

GuiZu remained motionless, the two ghostly fires under his black hood not even flickering a fraction, giving no indication whether his answer was 'yes' or 'no.'

"No need to hide."

BeiHuai shook his head slightly, pushing one of the three bowls of blood in front of him forward:

"Your divine soul is boiling."

The fluctuating divine soul aura opposite him showed no attempt at concealment; after hearing his words, there wasn't even the slightest sign of stillness.

Just as human emotions change with words, so did GuiZu. He was imprisoned in BeiMing, and also stark naked and exposed there.

"Lifeblood."

GuiZu stared at the blood-red liquid in the stone bowl, and BeiHuai also looked at the three stone bowls:

"That's right. My current strength is only one-third of yours, so I can't obtain you yet. You don't need to be afraid."

"And just like this bowl of water in front of me..."

He pointed to the bowl that was only two-thirds full, then looked up, smiling:

"You chose to cede the authority of the soul to HuaChangDeng."

"You chose to cede the authority of reincarnation to XuXiaoShou."

"You were originally a full bowl, but now two-thirds are gone. You even want to proactively reduce yourself to one-third... GuiZu, you are tempting me."

BeiHuai tilted his head, his eyes playful: "My self-control isn't very good, I might actually make a move."

A gentle breeze swept across the hillside.

GuiZu's black robes rippled slightly, and the ghostly flames in his eyes flickered.

He didn't care about his own life or death, only regretting that BeiHuai had, after all, deduced everything about his meeting with XuXiaoShou.

And so far, XuXiaoShou had not truly activated the Scythe of the Grim Reaper.

This was a very clear signal: he did not trust him, and was even less willing to engage in deep cooperation.

Naturally so!

From XuXiaoShou's perspective.

Why should he, a stranger, even if he was an Ancestral God, necessarily cooperate just because he extended goodwill?

He already had better candidates for cooperation, such as BaZunAn, KongYuHen, and even MoZu and YaoZu.

Whether in terms of potential or current state, the priority of these beings was far higher than his own.

Yet, understanding was understanding, and GuiZu could only sigh in the end...

Time was not on his side.

Destiny was not on his side either.

Now, isolated and unsupported, facing wolves from the front and tigers from the back, he was at his wit's end. His only hope was forced to be parasitic on HuaChangDeng—if everyone could see that, who would let him succeed?

Under the surveillance of YaoZu and BeiHuai, GuiZu had actually made many small moves over the years, but every single one was detected and thwarted.

So much so that the Divine Court had to be lost, authority had to be relinquished, and the once glorious Ancestral God was now reduced to a stray dog.

Such was the general trend, the larger picture.

GuiZu looked around, easily seeing his own end.

Without unexpected circumstances, he would be the first miserable soul to be eliminated, his power parceled out and completely devoured by various factions.

"But I don't want to make a move that quickly."

BeiHuai rested his fist against his cheek, his other finger pointing at the bowl of lifeblood in front of GuiZu:

"Drink it and maintain some of your strength."

"Don't let HuaChangDeng succeed so easily. Of course, XuXiaoShou won't suddenly want to help you either. You continue to linger on, until..."

He turned his head, gazing at the beautiful, lush scenery of BeiMing, breathing in the air tinged with the scent of earth and flowers, utterly content:

"Until I want to consume you, then you can willingly offer yourself up for death, how about that?"

This was not a request.

This was a naked threat.

All tricks had been seen through, and the courage and ability to break the jar had been lost. This bowl of water, whether he wanted to drink it or not, he had to drink it.

GuiZu picked up the stone bowl and drank the blood water in one gulp.

It contained a rich essence of life, the aura and imprint of YaoZu, and BeiHuai's BeiMing power, all entering his belly.

This was not the first bowl; in the past, he had "voluntarily" drunk too many.

"Good boy."

BeiHuai smiled.

He pushed off the table and stood up, his figure tall and slender, his bare feet feeling the vigorous life force of the BeiMing land as he walked down the mountain:

"I'm going to HanGongDiJing. This might be a chance for you. You can take any action, in any way, by any means."

GuiZu's heart stirred, but soon the ghostly light in his eyes dimmed again.

Opportunities like this were countless.

But even if BeiHuai went, the Great World Acacia was still there, meaning YaoZu was still there. Where would he have a chance?

"What do you want to do?" GuiZu rarely spoke.

By now, understanding BeiHuai and being curious about him had become his sole motivation for survival, and also the only thing he could do.

He tried to find a tiny bit of leeway in "everything" to escape, but unfortunately, BeiHuai never made mistakes.

"A-Yao said to look for YueGongQi. I think he's right."

"You want to eat him?"

"Hmm... maybe? If possible, eating him would certainly be best. That way, I could gain the will of MoZu. If not, I'll assist him, help him recover faster."

"What benefits will you gain?"

"...Benefits?"

BeiHuai paused slightly, deep in thought.

This question, which was applicable to everyone in the Five Domains and should be clarified before any action, had actually stumped him.

It was as if he had never considered this point.

In his world, "benefits" and "profit" were things that ranked very low.

There were more important and more worthwhile things to research, and those were within his scope of thought before taking action.

BeiHuai shook his head: "I don't know. Life is diverse. Maybe I'll see a different landscape because of it?"

GuiZu was silent, speechless.

No one could stop BeiHuai anymore!

The difference between people lay in talent, and even more so in resources.

AiCangSheng, at his peak, could only display a fleeting ancestral transformation combat power in XuXiaoShou's Illusionary Sword Art.

BeiHuai was different.

After BeiHuai's greater concentration and affinity with YaoZu, his combat power soared, also reaching ancestral transformation combat power.

Therefore, the ban on BeiHuai by the Five Great Saint Emperor Families had long been a mere formality. Otherwise, HuaChangDeng would not have immediately visited after becoming a Saint Emperor last time, carrying lanterns to hunt ghosts, to demonstrate deterrence to all clans.

Deterrence didn't work much; it seemed to have the opposite effect.

BeiHuai went from being unable to leave at first, to getting used to staying home and not wanting to leave.

Even when RaoWang was still around, BeiHuai didn't want to move.

Now that the great trend was approaching, he needed to hold back even more, suppress the urge to go out early, and act as a fisherman.

This first major "outing" of his was certainly not as simple as it appeared on the surface.

GuiZu didn't ponder for too long.

Seeing BeiHuai about to leave, he spoke again.

This time, he cut directly to the core, asking something related to BeiHuai himself:

"No matter what, you cultivate life, walking the path of YaoZu, just as HuaChangDeng walks my path."

"You will eventually encounter him. You are still willing to do so much for him. This is digging your own grave. Neither you nor I can escape death."

BeiHuai remained still for a long time, his back seeming somewhat lonely.

He suddenly turned his head, his eyes actually sparkling, his face brimming with excitement:

"It's different."

"We are vastly different."

He pointed at GuiZu: "You, fish on a cutting board, to be slaughtered by me."

He pointed at himself: "I, A-Yao, my name has always just been a code name. 'I' am persistent."

"No matter who consumes whom in the end, even if 'I' am swallowed, 'I' am planted within A-Yao's will."

"Even if A-Yao is consumed by others, as long as the path of life does not die..."

He suddenly looked dispirited, then became animated again, raising his sleeves high, "As long as the path of life does not die..."

*Pupu!*

The radishes planted on the mountain ground opened their big, watery spiritual eyes, grew small cherry mouths, and softly called out:

"BeiHuai"

"BeiHuai"

There were also blooming violets.

And peanuts poking their heads out of the ground.

Some couldn't stop their joy and softly called out BeiHuai's inner thoughts:

"Greedy God"

"BaZunAn"

"Delicious, I want to eat it"

BeiHuai raised his sleeves high above his head, his heart and eyes filled with piety and love.

He stared at GuiZu like this, retreating step by step out of BeiMingDiJing, shouting loudly:

"Life不死, BeiHuai不灭——"

*Boom!*

The Ancestral God's Annihilation Tribulation surged down.

Even with the ancient Battle God Platform's power passively pushed to its limit, more than half of LingYu Mountain was leveled, its recovery speed far slower than its destruction speed.

Some FuSang wood and LingYu wood even showed signs of withering, falling into complete death, beyond the recovery power of the ancient Battle God Platform.

Among the three Ancestors outside the boundary, the phantom of the Great World Acacia stirred.

YaoZu was the most impatient, his motives and desires extremely pure and undisguised:

"The GuiFo 'barrier' has loosened."

"According to me, we can enter now."

"Even if it's just a wisp of Ancestral God's will, it's enough to deal with those Saint Emperors!"

As he spoke, the phantom of the Great World Acacia, standing in the starry sky, left the external space node of the time rift and began to move quickly towards the GuiFo space node.

At GuiFo, the three Ancestors of the White Vein and the Devil Emperor Black Dragon sensed it almost simultaneously, their divine souls beginning to tremble and grow cold.

"They're here?!"

Crying out to heaven yielded no response, crying out to earth was fruitless.

Lord Xu was like dead, not showing his face, which scared the four Saint Emperors half to death.

How could they defeat an Ancestral God?

Even if it was just a consciousness avatar!

"Don't... panic..."

The GuiFo's main body, which had already solidified, emitted a long-lost sound; Elder Sang had awakened.

"What do you mean 'don't panic,' they're coming to kill us!" The Devil Emperor Black Dragon wished he could grab this guy and shake him to dry out the water in his brain.

Elder Sang couldn't respond to their words, as he was currently far beyond what he could bear, his consciousness extremely muddled.

He hadn't even finished a sentence, pausing after two words, and then continued on his own:

"No... big deal..."

In the time rift battlefield, KuLeiHan stared at the three Ancestral God manifestations, then suddenly his eyes blurred, and only two remained!

He immediately became alert, turning his head, inclining towards the Eastern Domain.

*Zzz—*

Purple lightning surged.

In an instant, it streaked from the Northern Domain time rift, across the sky, over the ocean, and to the former site of GuiZhe in the Central Domain, where GuiFo was located.

"Long time no see."

A greeting startled the Devil Emperor Black Worm, causing him to almost curl into a true insect, "Who?!"

GuiFo trembled, a faint Buddhist light appearing, as if responding to KuLeiHan's greeting.

The purple lightning touched GuiFo.

After a long pause, Elder Sang's voice slowly emerged again:

"Seal..."

"Okay."

The purple lightning dissipated.

Returning from whence it came.

"...Slow...ly."

The two belated words startled the Devil Emperor Black Dragon again, fearing the command had been misinterpreted, and he screamed hoarsely:

"He said 'seal slowly'!"

"Hey! Person! Did you hear that? Not 'seal,' but 'seal slowly'!"

—There was no response at all.

The Devil Emperor Black Dragon was furious.

What kind of companions were these, abandoning him at the crucial moment?

He turned back and stared at GuiFo, utterly confused: "Seal what? What are you talking about... Ah! Explain clearly! We're facing an Ancestral God!"

GuiFo became still.

Divine Prison Green Stone felt that something might go wrong with the details.

After all, among the three White Vein Ancestors, there was Emperor QiShu. Divine Prison Green Stone knew too well what miraculous effects these "guidance" like things could sometimes have.

A green chain shot out, wrapping around the Devil Emperor Black Dragon.

Divine Prison Green Stone's "tentacle" directly pierced GuiFo's chest.

"Ugh!"

A muffled groan came from within.

JingZhao Old Ancestor and Emperor QiShu's pupils constricted, but they said nothing.

"What are you doing?" The Devil Emperor Black Dragon had a very low ignition point and immediately exploded, "You traitor! Do you believe I..."

Just as he was about to attack, Divine Prison Green Stone spoke in a deep voice: "Just one question, do we still need Black Dragon present now?"

Elder Sang was woken up by the刺.

"Can..."

The Devil Emperor Black Dragon's movements stopped somewhat; a dignified Saint Emperor was hard-controlled, slowing down his attack speed.

"Go there..."

The four Saint Emperors waited expectantly.

"...Side."

Divine Prison Green Stone waited for a while longer. After no more sounds, he shook the green chain, breaking off a link and tossing it to the Devil Emperor Black Dragon:

"Swallow it."

"Then, go to KuLeiHan's side. From now on, don't listen to anyone else's orders, only mine."

Why?

The Devil Emperor Black Dragon snorted, I am the sole ruler of the Black Vein, you are one-third ruler of the White Vein...

Soon, he sensed YaoZu's aura rapidly approaching and timidly shrank his head.

The Black Dragon wasn't foolish; his eyes darted to JingZhao Old Ancestor and Emperor QiShu, the meaning clear.

The latter two were about to speak.

GuiFo stirred. This time, a clear and very peaceful voice emerged:

"Listen to Green Stone."

YouYuanFoTuo!

Had he also awakened?

Or was it that his main body's will, cornered at the Crossroads, had no choice but to come here?

YaoZu's aura rapidly approached.

The Devil Emperor Black Dragon was not foolish; he knew GuiFo's location was more dangerous now, immediately swallowed the Divine Prison Green Stone's chain link, shook his dragon tail, and vanished.

"But let me say this first, if XuXiaoShou gives an order, I'll listen to XuXiaoShou!"

Time Rift.

KuLeiHan scanned his surroundings and, seeing no one left on the Four-Square Platform battlefield, slowly exhaled a turbid breath.

Lost in thought, the corner of his stubbled mouth curved slightly, a rather contented smile.

Soon, he gathered all his concentration.

He sat cross-legged in the air, eyes closed, Three Flowers Gathering at the Top, Five Qi Towards the Origin.

Without the accumulated power of death for billions of years, nor the various powers gained after the collapse of the Divine Court and the Underworld.

This ordinary Spirit Cultivator, who had only cultivated for a mere half a century, chanted, reciting only a self-written, nameless cultivation method that had been in existence for just over thirty years, and was even being revised just half a day ago.

He chanted quickly, initially with pauses, but eventually becoming indistinct, even his voice and emotions seemingly stolen by something, completely entering a state of "enlightenment":

"Thought, is void, non-action and non-delusion, without form and without name. Heaven and earth give birth to the thoughts of all things; XuanHuang opens the desires of Dao and Dharma. Color dyes the seven emotions, returning qi and intent; color dyes the six desires, returning to oneself. Thus, it thoroughly transforms, returning the spirit to form. Breathing in and out naturally, meridians as mountains and rivers, thirty-six thousand five hundred, one hundred great cycles, from nothing into being, from zero to one. This is the first thought..."

"There is a carrier, equivalent to a person, body and intent merge, intent and qi merge... There is a carrier, equivalent to Dao. Imparting Dao to the body, equivalent to heaven and earth; imparting Dao to the intent, equivalent to the four seasons; imparting Dao to the qi, equivalent to the breath of time and space rotation..."

Majestic Dao sounds, like the midday sun.

*Boom!*

Before long, as the murmuring became faster and more intense, tribulation clouds gathered inside and outside the time rift.