Chapter 627: The Hidden Risks of Eternal Life

**Main Volume**

“I can’t believe Di Qi actually exists in reality!”

Inside the soup shop, Meng Po watched the departing back of the Divine Official and found it incredible. “This type of being is terrifying. Are there really monsters who can learn an opponent’s moves just by glancing at them or picking up on a few clues?”

She felt a shiver of dread.

Are these Divine Officials, children of the All-God, who maintain the order of the world and planets, all so powerful? To what extent, then, is the All-God powerful?

Still, this Tenth Divine Official must be exceptional even among other Divine Officials, right?

Shangguan Man thought for a moment, then gently began to arrange the tableware.

She suddenly recalled the book that had been taken away, and a blush crept up her face as she remembered its plot. Even though she had read countless tropes of overbearing CEOs, her face flushed instantly, and she couldn't help but show a flicker of excitement. "Why, out of hundreds of books, was this one chosen? A miracle, perhaps. Maybe it's fate."

“I can only help you this much.”

Xu Zhi walked through the cosmos, leisurely strolling and wandering among the countless planets.

He had no idea that Caroline was currently hiding in the shadows, reading some strange book—the players' 《Paternal Love Like Water》…

After wandering for a bit, he began to consolidate the knowledge from his three avatars. Each avatar diligently studied within the sandbox, causing his knowledge and wisdom to advance by leaps and bounds.

Whoosh!

Endless knowledge poured into his mind.

A tide of information washed over him, as if he were seeing dense arrangements of characters stacked together.

He loved this feeling, which might also be why many people enjoy reading and learning.

The acquisition of knowledge was always satisfying, especially when obtained effortlessly.

Xu Zhi pondered whether his current knowledge base surpassed that of many deities. The foundation of a strong being was the accumulation of wisdom and knowledge, and his own foundation was now firmly established!

“However, the Eternal Blood gene talent I mentioned earlier is quite a problem.”

He mused, “This gene talent belongs to Earthlings, and I estimate many Insectoid powerhouses would want to integrate it into a gene slot. It’s both powerful and a mixed blessing.”

Eternal life?

Was he tired of not dying fast enough?

The flaws were too great.

Moreover, there wasn't just one type of eternal life talent. The phoenix’s rebirth from ashes was also a form of immortality, and it allowed them to revive and grow stronger. It was truly an unkillable cockroach.

“They both involve cyclical weakness, but the phoenix’s is clearly much better.” Xu Zhi smiled, though he had no intention of integrating phoenix genes.

While the phoenix could resolve issues with its divine soul, the flaws on its end were also terrifying.

A phoenix’s rebirth from ashes actually involved two forms of death.

The first was death from injury, followed by Nirvana rebirth through fire for healing. This rebirth was relatively quick. For instance, if injured in their prime, they would recover and still be in their prime. This healing-type rebirth generally required a shorter recovery period.

Even various unexpected situations could trigger this state.

The second form of death was from lifespan exhaustion.

As their lifespan waned, they would become an old phoenix, reaching the end of their life, and could only undergo complete Nirvana rebirth, transforming into an egg. They would revert completely to their infant stage, needing to re-cultivate their realm and grow anew.

This was the true weakness period of rebirth from ashes.

To completely lose all cultivation, become an infant, and re-cultivate their realm?

How long would that take?

This period was comparable to the duration of his own slumber, except one was asleep and utterly defenceless, while the other was awake but equally defenceless. Both periods of weakness required a Guardian of the Dao.

Essentially, they were the same.

But Xu Zhi was a lazy idler. If he could just sleep comfortably and have the weakness period pass, why would he bother painstakingly cultivating again? That would be having too much time on his hands.

Since Earth posed no danger, for him, it was merely a matter of sleeping on time every day.

Therefore, he continued to maintain his "half-day slumber" cycle.

What about others?

Medusa didn’t dare to do the same.

She had an even longer weakness cycle: sleeping for a hundred years and waking for a hundred years. If she were to sleep half the day like Xu Zhi, that would mean discontinuous time and a rapid increase in her vulnerabilities.

When powerful beings fight, it often lasts more than a day. What if she suddenly fell asleep in the middle of a battle?

It was better to concentrate the weakness period, allowing Ermin to guard her.

Caroline’s question had made Xu Zhi think of many things.

“Eternal life… It seems there is a natural balance in all things in the world. Any form of eternal life appears to be accompanied by a periodic weakness. While eternal life seems beautiful, in reality, it leads to death even faster!”

A Guardian of the Dao?

Such a person was not easily found.

“After all, during a deity’s period of weakness, they can’t even self-destruct. After killing you, one can read your memories through your corpse. All the wisdom, power, omnipotence, and knowledge accumulated over countless years can be acquired, effectively obtaining your complete legacy. Who could resist that?”

Xu Zhi constantly organized his thoughts.

So-called eternal life was inherently a form of death. Many powerful beings did not die of natural old age; most were killed on their path of growth.

“But speaking of the phoenix, she must be nearing old age, right? Is she about to complete this life’s cycle?” Xu Zhi suddenly remembered something.

Currently, within the entire sandbox, Medusa had the longest lifespan, followed by the phoenix, and then Ermin.

Medusa aside, Ermin was already facing death from old age and contemplating entering slumber early. The phoenix, being older than her, must be nearing her eight-thousand-year lifespan limit soon, right?

“The phoenix has always lived in secluded detachment. After the Ancient God Era ended, there were no familiar faces left in her time, so she largely stopped appearing. I had almost overlooked her.”

“Eight thousand years… Unbeknownst to me, a deity’s lifespan truly passed in three months of my time.”

“The phoenix is practically a founding elder who started around the same time as me… Time truly flies like a white colt galloping past a crack, in the blink of an eye.”

Xu Zhi sighed with emotion, his gaze seemingly fixed on the phoenix somewhere. While the Supra-ancient God wasn't nearing their end, the phoenix’s limit was approaching. This was indeed a sudden, urgent matter.

“If no one guards her Dao, then I shall guard it for you.”

***

**The Primeval World.**

Amidst lush, spring-like trees, birds sang and flowers bloomed.

Being located in the cellar, directly beneath the surface Wizard Land, it was perpetually spring-like, basically very warm and livable. Compared to the entire surface Wizard Land, which was plunged into deep winter, it was an extremely fortunate place.

The most ancient deity who created this world of ancient trees, the Ancestor Sun God, the Dao Monarch who opened up heaven and earth, resided in a world of flora imbued with the Nine Revolutions Divine Art.

Within the nine layers of inner heavens, there were only plant and tree spirits.

In a pavilion by a stream.

A colorful fawn, emitting a faint glow, held a book titled 《Ancient God》. Complex, centipede-like ancient script covered its pages. The fawn was incredibly cute and naive, shaking its head as it read aloud in a crisp, childlike voice:

“Darkness and primordial chaos, heaven and earth like a chicken egg. The Sun God was born within the egg, enduring seven Chaos Tribulations. He was commanded to descend to this world to create heaven. With an angry roar, he separated heaven and earth, burning in heaven, scorching on earth. Heaven rose a foot each day, and earth thickened a foot each day, and thus the world was formed!”

The surrounding small animals listened, overjoyed.

“That’s amazing, isn’t it?!”

“Truly worthy of Lord Dao Monarch!”

“Indeed! Creating heaven and earth, this entire world was created by Lord Dao Monarch!”

They were filled with admiration, especially that line, “burning in heaven, scorching on earth, heaven rose a foot each day, and earth thickened a foot each day.” Instantly, the mythical imagery emerged: an ancient divine bird, enveloped in flames, descending from the nine heavens, burning heaven and earth. This was an unparalleled, great achievement, for which billions upon billions of beings on this land should be grateful.

They were all disciples and followers of the Dao Monarch, living in these nine heavens, filled with peace and tranquility, free from worries about food and clothing.

A little rabbit said, "I hear Lord Dao Monarch's lifespan limit is approaching. During her long period of weakness and re-cultivation, other beings might harbor ill intentions!"

"No way? Lord Dao Monarch is the first to create heaven and earth! Surely someone will be willing to guard by her side and protect against those with wolfish ambitions."

“Hehe, human hearts are hard to fathom! You must know, the Dao Monarch is the only being with the innate divine ability to create heaven and earth, burning to create worlds.”

“If you ask me, the Underworld Emperor, I hear she’s very kind and upright, she’ll definitely help the Dao Monarch...”

“Hard to say! She has Medusa by her side, can’t be trusted!”

“Then what about Earth Mother Qing Teng, who is a maternal figure to the world, compassionate and peaceful...”

“She can’t be trusted either!”

“What about the Heavenly Dao Notary, compassionate to all beings...”

“He’s the Earth Mother’s disciple!”

Suddenly, the little animals’ faces fell.

The more they discussed, the more they realized that in the entire vast Three Realms, there wasn't a single truly trustworthy being whom they could entrust their lives to.

The remaining faction was the bizarre group of the Dream God and Hundred Scholars, which was even less plausible.

Medusa survived because she had Ermin and was also the Origin Demon God. As a Demon God of the potion system, she couldn’t afford any accidents, or the Demon Realm system would collapse. Like Earth Mother Qing Teng, she couldn't be lost, and everyone had to protect her. However, even though the Dao Monarch created heaven and earth, still…

“How infuriating.”

“The Dao Monarch is clearly such a kind person…”

“At a time like this, isn’t there anyone trustworthy?”

These little animals were very annoyed.

Their world was originally peaceful and reclusive, with the outside world barely knowing of their existence. Now, with the Dao Monarch's lifespan limit approaching, they too were drawn into the world's vortex, and a great tribulation was imminent.

Currently, the Nine Heavens of the Demon Realm were in turmoil, with a storm brewing.

“They say the Dao Monarch was ordered to descend to this world with the Ancient God of Creation. Now that her mission is complete, she’s actually doing nothing! How bad!”

“Hmph, indeed, it’s like killing the donkey after it grinds the millstone!”

“At a time like this, they’ve all disappeared!”

A group of little animals chirped indignantly.

However, one small animal spoke up, waving its tiny paws and loudly encouraging, "Everyone, don't panic! Lord Dao Monarch is not unprepared for the tribulation. The Valkyrie Palace has already agreed to help cover her passage through it."

“Ah? The Valkyrie Palace? The one who pioneered martial arts?” A small animal remembered something and earnestly said, "It is said their system is very unique. They ushered in a new era and founded the martial arts lineage, earning great merit for all living beings. Even the Dao Monarch is learning and cultivating martial arts."

Indeed, there was no one trustworthy left; they could only choose the Valkyrie Palace.

The little fawn spoke, its voice crisp, “Currently, no one in the Three Realms knows that the Dao Monarch will be reborn. They all think her lifespan limit is approaching and are preparing to contend for her remains and wealth.”

“At that time, the Dao Monarch will feign death, return to her infant stage, and re-cultivate. She will join the Valkyrie Palace as one of their spirit beings, re-cultivate among their members, and pass through her weakness period.”

Everyone immediately felt a little more at ease.

The Valkyrie Palace could still be trusted.

After all, what kind of force was the Valkyrie Palace?

Outwardly, everyone thought they were human, but in reality, they were a demon/monster force, with each member being a demon cultivator. In recent years, they had become very close to the reclusive Demon Realm!

One could say they were of the same kin. In fact, many fairies and demons from the Demon Realm who gained wisdom in recent years had joined the Valkyrie Palace and were walking among the world.

In their Nine Heavens, there were countless plant and tree spirits. How could no geniuses be born among them?

Over the years, most of them had joined the Valkyrie Palace.

The Valkyrie Palace had expanded into a large force of hundreds of members. At the same time, their elixir-making methods had been completely perfected, forming a complex super immortal elixir of a hundred types!

Every member was a part of the elixir's formula.

“Wait, if that’s the case, they’ll take the Dao Monarch’s original spirit back to her infant stage, feigning death to hide and re-cultivate among their members. Won’t they have to abandon this high-level deity’s body?” someone suddenly asked.

This divine body was not inferior to the Heavenly Dao!

It was even quite a bit stronger.

The Heavenly Dao had the Nine Heavens of the Immortal Realm within its body, and the Dao Monarch had the Nine Heavens of the Demon Realm within hers.

“I don’t know. Everyone will probably contend for it,” a small animal said, troubled. “After all, it’s a world in itself! Everyone wants to take control of the Dao Monarch’s terrifyingly invincible and unparalleled divine body of this age, sit in command in her sea of consciousness, control the Nine Heavens of the Demon Realm, and become the second esteemed Heavenly Dao!”

“The Valkyrie Palace also doesn’t want to abandon it. Palace Master Lin Hongfeng, Shira, Luo Caiwei, Pan Xuexian—four of them have already become gods over the centuries… They plan for the four of them to join forces at that time, enter the sea of consciousness of this immortal divine body, and resist attacks from all realms!”

“Ah? Wouldn’t that expose them?”

“Yes, it would expose their demon race identity, and they would be targeted, which is very dangerous. Especially since their constitutions are perfectly matched elixirs, hunting them would yield great benefits. However, if they resist all realms, it will be the moment for the demon race to rise!”

“After hiding their identity for so long, it’s also time to contend for power.”

“The world will no longer be just the Three Realms; it can be said to be Six Realms! In fact, it could have been said to be more than Three Realms long ago… The Great Zhou Incense Dynasty and Shu Mountain Sword Immortals of the Human Realm, the demons of the Demon Realm, the undead of the Underworld, the ancient immortals of the Sea of Consciousness in the Immortal Realm, the demons of the Void Realm—all represent a faction. And then there’s the rise of our demon race, the Demon Realm!”

“Six Realms??”

“Don’t panic, everyone! The Valkyrie Palace is very experienced in taking control of other strong beings’ seas of consciousness and bodies. They controlled Messiah’s Heavenly Emperor body during their humble beginnings, weathering the danger. This is merely the second time!”

The small animals' confidence was immediately boosted.

Contending for the Dao Monarch’s body, and if they couldn't win, then taking the Dao Monarch's primordial spirit and escaping by returning to her infant form—this was the best strategy.