Chapter 630: The Pursuit of Truth

At this moment, the people inside were watching him, and he was also looking straight through the Nine-Layer Demonic Realm within his body, seeing the jubilant deities of the Valkyrie Palace there.

"The Phoenix is still inside," Xu Zhi felt a bit troubled, wondering how he would get his hands on the Phoenix Egg.

"The stagnation of time means all defenses are wide open, including space, which can be freely entered and exited."

He stopped, disregarding the shock of the surrounding deities. He had no interest in knowing their feelings. He only knew he was a Heavenly Emperor. He wasn't a truly omniscient and omnipotent Creator God, and what he needed to do now was very difficult! Silently entering the sandbox and breaking through the layers of defenses of powerful deities like Lin Hongfeng to take the Phoenix Egg was unrealistic. Therefore, he naturally arrived in the true form of the Creator God.

It didn't matter if these people fought, but the Phoenix absolutely could not die. He had to take her away to help her through her weak period; leaving her with Lin Hongfeng and the others was still too dangerous, as even with their full effort, they might not be able to protect her. But how was he to take the Phoenix Egg from Lin Hongfeng and the others? Aside from controlling the flow of time, he had no other special abilities; no matter how much he deified himself, he was merely an oversized Heavenly Emperor.

"The main problem is breaking through the space occupied by these deities." He pondered to himself, "Although I am skilled in the spatial positioning of the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Art and have calculated the body's spatial node locations, and the deities in the Sea of Consciousness are also confined, effectively leaving the gates wide open, with my current realm, I still ultimately need incredibly precise and formidable techniques to cross into the time-space of those deities."

"Breaking through space, this is a good test." He smiled, finding it challenging. "Only now do I realize that insufficient energy isn't necessarily a bad thing. Constantly striving for perfection and refining within the same realm will make one's foundation incomparably solid."

"Now, I'll first extend a branch and bring the Phoenix Egg to the threshold of space."

All of a sudden, to everyone's astonishment, a vine sprouted from the soil at the edge of the Phoenix Egg, shooting up from the ground and transforming into a towering vine.

*Whoosh!*

It was as if a pinkish-white flower bud appeared, tightly enveloping the Phoenix Egg. It slowly ascended, piercing through the heavens.

"I can try now." Xu Zhi gently extended a hand and pointed. The demonic core's processing speed rapidly increased, as systems and civilizations from countless worlds overlapped and merged. "Roughly here, in this manner..."

The more he thought, the smoother it became, giving him a feeling of sudden enlightenment.

*Whoosh!*

Ripples appeared in space.

*Tap, tap, tap...*

Again, he lightly tapped a few spots with his fingertips. As if using skill to overcome force, spatial nodes were miraculously broken one by one. With incredibly meager power, he actually managed to forcefully break open the entire space.

*Whoosh!*

The emerald vine, supporting the Phoenix Egg's flower bud, continued to grow, directly piercing through the internal space. Xu Zhi gently took the Phoenix Egg, and it disappeared into his palm.

"It's done," he whispered inwardly.

The next moment, his voice resonated. Like the voice of the Great Dao between heaven and earth, sacred and originating from the very fabric of nature, it resounded through every corner:

"The Dao Monarch, having experienced the Seven Chaotic Tribulations, will, in this world, open up heaven and earth as commanded. With merits complete and true enlightenment achieved, they will depart from this realm and enter the Land of Origin."

As soon as the words fell, Xu Zhi had no desire to linger; what needed to be done was finished, so there was no need to stay. He simply turned and left. As Xu Zhi slowly walked away, his figure gradually faded into the distance. With every step he took in this world, the time frozen on them quickened slightly, gradually returning to its normal flow.

Behind him, the deities exchanged glances.

"Ordered to open up heaven?"

"Merits complete, achieved true enlightenment?"

"Entered the Land of Origin?"

Hearing these words, they were almost speechless; the amount of information contained within was too vast and terrifying. It was then that they recalled the history recorded in *Ancient Gods*, specifically the passage about the Dao Monarch opening up heaven, and vaguely guessed the identity of that most mysterious existence.

At the same time, the Land of Origin—what kind of place was that? Origin? These two words were simply too startling. What origin did it refer to? The origin of all things? The origin of the Great Dao? The origin of the world? The origin of time, space, and dimensions? Or all origins? Perhaps the world was a single point, and time, space, dimensions, the Great Dao, and life were all lines radiating outwards from it, and that central point... was the Origin?!

"Also, what was just taken away?"

"Didn't the Dao Monarch already perish?!"

"Could it be that he was traveling through the long river of past time, tracing back to the past, and seized the deceased Dao Monarch's divine soul, bringing the Dao Monarch, who had died of old age, back to life?!"

At this moment, all the deities' minds raced wildly, but with the flower bud surrounding it, no one could see clearly. The Dao Monarch's death and the celestial phenomena were too bizarre. An unknown ancient law existence had descended.

Bai Xiaosheng, however, frowned. "This isn't the most important thing," he said. "Did you notice? He only took it after breaking through the deities' space."

"Isn't that normal?" a deity said. For a mysterious phenomenon with such great power, it would be effortless.

Hu Renlong, whose mind was extremely meticulous, also fully realized. "No," he countered, "from beginning to end, it was only Heavenly Emperor level power; there was no power exceeding that of a Heavenly Emperor!"

In an instant, all the deities found it incredible. A mere Heavenly Emperor broke through the deities' space? As they recalled, they finally fully understood: Why did this mysterious Great Dao law phenomenon only possess Heavenly Emperor level power? And how could a mere Heavenly Emperor break through the deities' space?

"That moment's action was too exquisite," Bai Xiaosheng mused, trying hard to recall. "It seemed like a move that approached the Dao itself, beautiful like delicate, perfect, fragile porcelain." He clearly knew that it was an opportunity: if one could learn the perfect application of such terrifying power, that technique of breaking through a surface with a single point, one would be incomparably strong in the same realm.

"Heavenly Emperor realm?" Ermin frowned, thinking to herself, "I seem to understand a little. In the most ancient Sumerian era, the Creator God's avatar that descended had no cultivation. In the Wizard era, the avatar was Fourth-Tier... and the avatar that descended now is Seventh-Tier Heavenly Emperor level... This is a pattern: the Creator God's avatar level is influenced by the world's tier. The higher the world's tier, the stronger the descending avatar! The Sumerian era was the lowest, most primitive era, so its avatar was the weakest. But this current extraordinary world is already powerful enough to require a Heavenly Emperor level avatar to descend. Perhaps in the distant future, this world will ascend again in dimension, and a deity-level avatar will descend?"

"Very good." Xu Zhi naturally had no time to mind them; he was very calm, striding away as naturally as if he were taking a stroll in his home's cellar. He was merely a Heavenly Emperor, and what he did was very simple: he worked hard to break through the deities' space and took the Phoenix Egg. As for what they thought or how they would ponder? Organize their thoughts? Guess and deduce? That was their business. His own merits were complete. For Xu Zhi, this was merely a small matter.

At this moment, in the distance, as Xu Zhi departed step by step, the time on each deity rapidly sped up, returning to normal. For them, the celestial phenomena had vanished. They could only describe the scenes they witnessed today as shocking. The Dao Monarch's demise made them no longer confine themselves to a corner and recognize a new world. They intently gazed at the gradually departing giant, tens of thousands of feet tall, their eyes filled with awe. Even though the time on their bodies was rapidly recovering, no one dared to act rashly. To easily approach and anger that unknown law phenomenon might be like an ordinary person touching lightning or riding a small boat towards a tsunami; approaching nature and experiencing a moment of vast grandeur also meant death.

An unexpected situation occurred. Medusa, who had not moved until then, suddenly bent slightly at the waist and made a run-up motion.

"Where is the Land of Origin? Take me with you!"

The next second, her serpent tail transformed into long, slender legs, stomping through mountains and rivers.

*Thud, thud, thud!!*

The earth shook violently as she frantically chased after that colossal giant, tens of thousands of feet tall, fiercely spreading her arms and lunging forward.

Xu Zhi's figure suddenly froze, nearly stumbling. His face instantly darkened. "Why did she suddenly cause trouble?" he thought. "Can't I just leave peacefully? This one's trying to ambush me!"

"Is she out of her mind?!"

"The Origin Demon God, overestimating herself, to actually want to chase..."

All the deities behind him were also stunned. Including Ermin, who couldn't stop her for a moment. She hadn't expected Medusa to be so bold and crazy this time, unafraid of death. Mengmei, Thunder Emperor, and the others were also shocked. Now, even Mengmei didn't dare to act rashly! She was usually bold with her cheeky remarks, but at times like this, she could only silently curl up in a corner, feeling timid and cowardly, frantically reassuring herself, "There'll be a next time..." Her defining characteristic was cowardice.

She gritted her teeth. "Medusa, how could she be so reckless?" she fumed. "With her eternal life, she should value her life more than anyone! That's the supreme Creator God! The one and only supreme being! Even if it's just an avatar descending, it's not to be offended. How dare she!?!" Mengmei roared inwardly, her understanding of Medusa's insane personality completely refreshed.

But she had no idea that Medusa, despite her eternal life, had a history of such recklessness. Once, during the era of Babylon's destruction, Ermin also hadn't dared to act rashly, yet Medusa alone fearlessly charged forward, even wishing to duel, and doing so with a determination to die.

"Is this her belief in pursuing truth? Medusa has come this far, ruthless and decisive enough, and daring to risk her life. It's certainly not accidental." Mengmei frantically watched Medusa's giant figure, trampling through mountains and rivers, and completely recalled the group of people who pursued truth in the ancient Babylonian era. She also seemed to see a myth from ancient times, as Medusa's figure gradually overlapped with another giant who also pursued truth, constantly striding forward. That giant chased the scorching sun and died of thirst on the land while pursuing it. A similar overestimation of oneself. A similar disregard for one's own well-being.

"Are you out of your mind?!" She looked at Medusa's figure, as if seeing that ancient giant who pursued truth, and muttered aloud, "Kua Fu overestimated his strength, wishing to chase the sun's shadow, pursuing it to the corner of the valley. Thirsty, he went to drink from the Yellow River and the Wei River. The Yellow River and Wei River were not enough, so he went north to drink from the great swamp... Before reaching it, he died of thirst on the way!"

"She is also now..." She couldn't help but exclaim, her skin covered in goosebumps, watching that mythical giantess running wildly across the land, "Kua Fu Chasing the Sun—no, that's wrong. It's Medusa Chasing the Sun."