Xu Ying hurriedly took control of the Tianzhu Sword lest the lightning vortex dissipate and fling them into the chaotic rift of spacetime.
The bronze bell swiftly slipped into Jiang Qi's Realm of Xiyi to check his condition, transmitting via divine sense: "Ah Ying, his Realm of Xiyi is critically damaged! Many of his Dao images have been obliterated, his Primordial Spirit is crippled, and his divine sense is ruined. His physical wounds, on the other hand, are minor enough to be healed by the Mud Pill's vitality, but damage to his cultivation realms is far harder to treat."
Xu Ying replied, "Don't worry for now—save his body first. Lord Qi, help him heal!"
Yuan Qi, who had transformed into a giant bug, hurried toward Jiang Qi upon hearing this. But as he ran, he flopped into the form of a salted fish, limply twitching in the palm of the dragon-headed deity.
Fortunately, Xu Ying managed to steer the Heavenly Dao divine artifact through the lightning vortex, emerging just outside a massive gas giant glowing with shades of red, yellow, and white.
They had passed this planet earlier aboard the Stone City; it was home to numerous fish tens of thousands of li long that flew across its sky.
Xu Ying frowned slightly. Floating on the planet's fringes, he had no idea which way lay the main continent of the Yuanshou world.
"Lord Qi, wake Jiang Qi up as soon as possible, or we'll end up lost in the starry expanse," Xu Ying instructed.
Yuan Qi mobilized the vitality of his Mud Pill secret depository, channeling it into Jiang Qi to treat his physical injuries, while the bronze bell busied itself suppressing and steadying Jiang Qi's scattered divine sense.
When the divine sense was in turmoil, consciousness could not easily awaken. Settling his divine sense would greatly aid in bringing him around.
Xu Ying looked around, trying to find a path back to Yuanshou. Suddenly, his gaze fell upon the dragon-headed deity's shoulder—perched upon it was a severed hand.
It was the palm of Heavenly God Longyuan, which Jiang Qi had cleaved off moments before; it had landed here rather than tumbling into the spacetime rift.
Xu Ying stepped forward, lifted the heavenly god's hand, and leaped down onto the deity's palm. Setting the massive hand down, he examined it closely.
The heavenly god's palm lacked ordinary human palm prints; its creases formed patterns resembling bird-and-worm seal script.
"Something isn't right."
Surprised, Xu Ying looked closer and murmured, "Are heavenly gods truly beings born of nature? If He was born naturally of heaven and earth, why are some of the bird-and-worm characters on His palm written incorrectly?"
He was completely baffled. In just this brief moment, he had already found eight misspelled characters in the bird-and-worm script across the heavenly god's palm!
How could a natural creation have so many spelling errors?
"Heavenly gods are man-made!"
Xu Ying was profoundly shaken. The heavenly gods who dwelled in the Heavenly Dao world, wielded Heavenly Dao divine artifacts, controlled the destinies of all living beings, and monopolized the path of ascension were actually artificial constructs—not deities born of nature!
*And whoever created these heavenly gods doesn't seem particularly well-educated, either—probably an illiterate,* he thought to himself.
Yuan Qi had once said that you couldn't call someone illiterate if they could actually write the word "illiterate." Only someone who butchered the characters into gibberish was a true illiterate.
At that moment, a school of myriad-zhang-long fish inside the adjacent gas giant spotted the gargantuan dragon-headed deity. They swam over in droves, congregating together.
Their long fins served like wings, carrying them through the skies with every flap, yet they were unable to swim past the atmosphere. No matter how high they climbed, they could not break free of the planet.
Trapped like fish in a glass bowl, they stared out with pairs of massive eyes at the minuscule figures of Xu Ying and his companions, evidently eager to taste these tiny morsels, yet powerless to breach the barrier.
Being ogled by such behemoths made even Xu Ying uneasy. Just as he was about to step forward and assist Yuan Qi in treating Jiang Qi, a low hum vibrated behind them.
Xu Ying looked back, only to see the lightning vortex that had just closed suddenly forced open once more.
"Not good! Heavenly God Longyuan tracked us down!"
Xu Ying's scalp tingled. He immediately seized the heavenly god's severed hand and shouted, "Lord Qi, open your mouth!"
Yuan Qi opened his mouth without thinking, and Xu Ying immediately shoved the heavenly god's hand into his mouth. Driving the Tianzhu Sword, Xu Ying steered the dragon-headed deity carrying them as it hurtled directly toward the gas giant.
The giant fish watching them thrashed their tails in excitement, eagerly waiting for the meal to deliver itself right to their doorsteps.
*Whoosh—*
Xu Ying drove the Tianzhu Sword straight into the atmosphere of the gas planet. The colossal fish swished their heads and tails, surging toward them. The fastest of the bunch cheerfully gaped open its blood-red maw, revealing rows of teeth as thick as rolling hills!
Giving it no chance to chew, Xu Ying piloted the Tianzhu Sword straight into its gullet!
The giant fish snapped its jaws shut, only to feel as though it had swallowed thin air, not tasting a thing.
The other fish rushed up and were thoroughly disappointed. A female fish was so annoyed that she slapped it across the face with her tail before swimming off in a huff.
Deeply deflated as well, the big fish wagged its head and tail, diving into the clouds below.
Suddenly, outside the gas planet, the colossal lightning vortex churned violently, and Heavenly God Longyuan stepped out, one arm severed, a maple-leaf-shaped radiance crowning His neck that obscured His features.
He glanced around in search of Xu Ying and the others, sneering, "Severing one of my hands only revealed that your strength was already spent! No one fools a heavenly god and walks away unscathed!"
His expression was sinister, consumed by thunderous fury.
It was one thing to be grievously wounded by a human Qi Refiner, but to be duped by one, lose an arm, and flee in disarray was utter humiliation.
Fortunately, He hadn't fled far before realizing the truth: Jiang Qi's sword strike lacked follow-through, meaning his injuries were clearly far worse than His own!
Thus He had charged back in vengeance, yet Xu Ying and the rest were nowhere to be seen.
Heavenly God Longyuan channeled His dharmic powers, opening the divine eye between His brows—like an eye growing out of the maple leaf—and scanned in every direction for Xu Ying's whereabouts.
His figure blurred, streaking past the gas planet and heading straight toward the Yuanshou world. "They must have headed for Yuanshou!"
After a moment, Heavenly God Longyuan retraced His steps, gazing at the gas giant with flickering eyes. "The most dangerous place is the safest place," He murmured. "This place is closest to me, making it the most likely to be overlooked."
He focused on sensing His severed limb. He could clearly tell it was nearby, yet could not pinpoint where Xu Ying and the others were.
"Heh heh. Where could you be hiding?"
Heavenly God Longyuan slowly poked His gigantic face into the planet's atmosphere, the eye upon the maple leaf swiveling back and forth. He chuckled, "You are nearby. I can feel it..."
Suddenly, a fish ten thousand li long came surging forward, swishing its head and tail. With a sickening *crunch*, it clamped its jaws onto Heavenly God Longyuan's head and gave a violent yank, dragging Him into the gas planet!
Overjoyed, the giant fish opened wide and swallowed Him whole.
The very next instant, the fish's head burst open. Heavenly God Longyuan erupted skyward through blood and gore, incensed beyond measure. A dignified heavenly god, made a fool of by a mere fish—intolerable!
Right then, He froze, then chuckled under His breath. "I know where you're hiding! In the belly of a giant fish! Heh heh, a clever scheme. But all I need to do is slaughter every last fish here, and you will have nowhere left to hide!"
His silhouette flashed, immediately setting about mercilessly butchering the other giant fish!
Inside one of the giant fish, Xu Ying steered the Tianzhu Sword, guiding everyone down the creature's gullet.
After flying for eight hundred li, the path opened up before them. Within the belly of this colossal fish lay an entire world of mountains and rivers! The sky was a fleshy reddish hue, illuminated by an enormous pearl—evidently a treasure condensed by the fish itself.
The pearl radiated blazing light and heat, illuminating the mountains and land below.
Across these lands grew flowers, grass, and trees; birds, beasts, insects, and fish thrived and multiplied right inside the fish's belly.
Xu Ying put away the Tianzhu Sword, dispelling the vision of the dragon-headed deity. Looking down, he discovered that nestled among the landscape were villages, towns, and even cities!
Beside the cities and villages, crops were growing in neatly cultivated fields!
There were actually humans living inside this fish's belly!
Yuan Qi clicked his tongue in wonder, and the bronze bell was equally stunned, at a loss as to why humans were living here.
They descended into a town. Seeing them drop from the sky, the townsfolk were astonished and asked where they had come from.
"We come from Shenzhou in the Yuanshou world," Xu Ying told them. "On our journey back to Shenzhou, we were pursued by an enemy and swallowed by the giant fish, blundering in here by accident. Who are you people?"
A white-haired elder replied, "Our ancestors were people of the Shang era. To flee corvée labor and taxation, our entire clan relocated away from Shenzhou. Upon reaching this planet, they were swallowed by the giant fish. Finding a world with its own heaven and earth within the fish's belly—and without any labor or taxes—they settled down here."
Yuan Qi sighed. "Must people flee into the belly of a fish just to escape corvée labor and taxes? First hiding in a fish's belly, later snake catchers... Has this world truly never changed at all?"
Xu Ying and the others decided to lodge in the town for the time being, concentrating on treating Jiang Qi's wounds.
Before long, Jiang Qi slowly came to. However, his injuries remained severe, especially the damage to his Dao images; most of his cultivation had been ruined, leaving him temporarily unable to heal himself.
Seeing his complexion improve slightly, Xu Ying asked, "Grand Preceptor Jiang, there is one thing I don't understand. The Tianzhu Sword shouldn't be powerful enough to pull a being as mighty as you from Yunmeng Marsh into the Taiyi Lesser Mysterious Heaven. So how did you enter the Lesser Xuan Heaven?"
The Tianzhu Sword could only pull in weaker Qi Refiners or Nuo masters; anyone whose cultivation was too high would exceed the sword's limit.
Jiang Qi was the exalted Grand Preceptor of the Great Zhou, possessing peak cultivation and strength; there was no way Tianzhu could have transported him to the Lesser Xuan Heaven.
Jiang Qi drew a ragged breath and smiled faintly. "I entered the Lesser Xuan Heaven aboard the Stone City. But who said I was this strong when I arrived at the Stone City?"
Xu Ying looked puzzled.
Though lying down, Jiang Qi maintained a composed demeanor. "When I arrived at the Stone City, I was just like you—merely a Qi Refiner at the Cross-Refinement stage. Just last night, I had only newly formed my Golden Core."
At these words, Xu Ying, Yuan Qi, and the bronze bell were all dumbstruck.
Xu Ying exhaled a breath of turbid air and praised, "Impressive."
Yuan Qi asked in bewilderment, "You had only just formed your Golden Core then! Beyond that lies the Second Pass-Breaching stage, the Twelve-Story Pavilion stage, the Jade Lake stage, the Divine Bridge stage, and the Third Pass-Breaching stage, before finally reaching the Ascension stage! How could you possibly cultivate all the way to the Ascension stage in a single night?"
From the Stone City entering the Lesser Xuan Heaven to its departure, merely one night had elapsed.
To leap from the Cross-Refinement stage to the Ascension stage in a single night, subdue the Heavenly Dao divine artifact Tianzhu, restore the world spirit root Yin-Yang Vine, and fight Heavenly God Longyuan in a decisive duel—how could that even be possible?
Jiang Qi smiled faintly. "Very simple: primordial Dao essence."
Catching his breath, he continued, "I was originally an Ascension-stage Qi Refiner. Although the immortal fire of the other shore burned away all my cultivation and realms, my foundational experience remained. I spent six thousand years poaching immortal herbs on the other shore, accumulating a vast reservoir of them within my body. All I needed was to harvest immortal Dao spirit roots and ingest primordial Dao essence, and I could rapidly break through realm after realm."
Entering the Lesser Xuan Heaven with only the cultivation of a Cross-Refinement Golden Core, he immediately set off to harvest immortal Dao spirit roots without a moment's delay.
As his realms advanced, his strength grew proportionately, until he reached the Jade Lake realm and realized that the primordial Dao essence in ordinary immortal spirit roots could no longer yield substantial progress.
So he resolved to subdue the Tianzhu Sword!
To attempt subduing a Heavenly Dao divine artifact at merely the Jade Lake stage was audacious in the extreme.
Yet he actually pulled it off!
Once he possessed Tianzhu, everything fell into place naturally. He used the Tianzhu Sword to impersonate the Heavenly Dao and broadcast His decree across the myriad heavens and realms, demanding the return of the immortal Dao spirit roots to restore the heavenly road.
Once the Yin-Yang Vine spirit root was restored, the primordial Dao essence he obtained helped him refine even more of the immortal herbs stored in his body, enabling him to take the final step and reach the Ascension stage!
He then unleashed the Tianzhu Sword to annihilate an entire world among the heavens, demonstrating his might to the myriad realms and coercing them into surrendering even more immortal spirit roots, finally stabilizing the Yin-Yang Vine.
Yuan Qi remained silent for a moment before asking, "In other words, when you first arrived, your cultivation was roughly on par with Ah Ying and me?"
Jiang Qi nodded with difficulty. "At that time, hiding in the depths of the Stone City, I might not have even been a match for you two."
Yuan Qi pressed, "And you had already resolved back then to seize a Heavenly Dao divine artifact, revive the Yin-Yang Vine spirit root, and reconnect the heavenly road?"
Jiang Qi replied, "Even before that, I had already planned out every single step after entering the Stone City."
Yuan Qi sighed and muttered, "I really feel like my years have all gone to the dogs."
The bronze bell remarked with feeling, "Perhaps that is why he could become the Grand Preceptor to the Son of Heaven of Zhou. We truly aren't cut out for it. Besides, Lord Qi, I also think your years have gone to the dogs."
"You're the dog!" Yuan Qi snapped in fury.
Jiang Qi coughed repeatedly, then smiled. "I merely acted only after my plans were set. It may have seemed reckless, but in truth, I was fully confident."
His depth and cunning were profound. From entering the Stone City to seizing the Heavenly Dao divine artifact, and then coercing the myriad worlds to surrender their spirit roots, every move had been calculated with surgical precision!
At the same time, he was ruthlessly callous, obliterating an entire world with a Heavenly Dao divine artifact without batting an eye!
Even handing the Tianzhu Sword to Xu Ying had been part of his calculations. He knew his own strength alone was insufficient to activate the Heavenly Dao divine artifact and return to the Yuanshou world.
He also knew that Heavenly God Longyuan possessed rapid regenerative powers and would surely launch an ambush en route, against which he would have been helpless on his own.
That was why he had entrusted the Tianzhu Sword to Xu Ying—to borrow Xu Ying's strength to break the stalemate!
Xu Ying inquired, "Grand Preceptor Jiang, what is the origin of Heavenly God Longyuan?"
Having realized that heavenly gods might be artificial creations, he was intrigued by Longyuan's origins.
Jiang Qi hesitated briefly before answering truthfully, "Heavenly God Longyuan was a deity stranded in the mortal realm during the war of the heavenly road, unable to return to the Heavenly Dao world. In that war, many heavenly gods descended to the mortal plane and failed to make it back."
Xu Ying said, "Grand Preceptor Jiang, what I want to know is: are heavenly gods man-made?"
Chapter 153