A New Game Icon, Meeting the Grand Priest

A strange look flickered in Venerable Mohui's eyes as well. "This venerable one has never seen such an amusing little worm before." "Just who... gave you the courage?" As Venerable Mohui spoke, the aura of a Yin God pervaded the air. The greatest difference between a Yin God and a Purple Mansion was divine spiritual power! A Yin God had already transformed the spiritual energy in their body into divine spiritual power. That was something higher than an origin divine ability. With a casual wave of a strand of divine spiritual power, one could create a desolate forbidden ground. Not far away, the divine emissary saw this scene, his body completely unable to move. Yet at that moment, Qi Yuan shouted at the heavens, "Ning Tao, save me!" That was right—Qi Yuan was using the Grand Summoning Technique! At this moment, he chose to live off a woman! The spiritual energy in his body was not enough to summon the projection of a star. However, summoning Ning Tao's projection was well within his power. Living off a woman for the first time, Qi Yuan was thrilled and full of anticipation. The cheerful melody of suonas sounded light and breezy. Across the firmament, the sun seemed to flash with brilliance. Space appeared to freeze; time seemed to stand still. Under everyone's watchful eyes, a woman in a black dress materialized out of thin air. She possessed a face that could bewitch all living beings. Her skin was snow-white—excessively fair, like the finest porcelain in the world. Her petite, delicate figure was draped in long hair that cascaded like a nighttime waterfall. Her left eye was pure as fine rain, resembling a lively maiden of spring, while her right eye was deep and seductive, like a possessive, lovesick goddess of the dark night. A profound, immense aura emanated from her person, like an ancient deity. *Was this the Blood-Robed Sword God's backing?* Jiang Ya instantly understood. The Blood-Robed Sword God and this Yin God woman were definitely close—he might even be her most valued descendant. "The Second Step of Sky Treading!" The pupils of Venerable Mohui's eyes shrank; he sensed an overwhelming threat. He had only reached the First Step of Sky Treading, possessing merely three divine apertures. The newcomer, however, was a terrifying existence of the Second Step of Sky Treading. Her strength was at least ten times his own. Low-realm cultivators might still be able to fight across realms. Yet among those who had cultivated to the Yin God realm, which one was not a genuine prodigy? If one opened even a single divine aperture fewer than an opponent, it was nearly impossible to make up the difference through other means. With a gap of an entire minor realm, fighting above one's realm was out of the question. Even young Great Venerables possessed no record of fighting above their realm. He wanted to flee. Right then, Qi Yuan's voice rang out, "Ning Tao, hurry and help me kill him!" "Husband, please wait a moment!" Ning Tao said, waving her pale hand. Venerable Mohui, who had intended to flee, was instantly frozen in midair. Seeing this, Jiang Ya was completely dumbfounded. What had this divine maiden called the Blood-Robed Sword God? *Husband???* *Wasn't she the Blood-Robed Sword God's ancestor?* *How did she become his Dao companion?* *A mere Purple Mansion like the Blood-Robed Sword God actually abducted a Yin God of the Second Step of Sky Treading to be his wife?* *This is just too...* Her thoughts were in disarray as she stared at the battle ahead. "No!" Venerable Mohui roared. The divine spiritual power within the three divine apertures across his body surged frantically, attempting to shatter the constraint. Yet compared to Ning Tao's projection, the gap in his divine spiritual power was far more than tenfold. The difference between them was even greater than that between a late Divine Infant and an early Golden Core. It was a disparity equivalent to an entire major realm. To Ning Tao, his divine spiritual power was as weak as a mountain trickle. With a single point of her finger, she locked him down. "You cannot kill me! My elder brother is also at the Second Step of Sky Treading!" Seeing that he could not break free, Venerable Mohui quickly forced himself to stay calm. Ning Tao did not reply. Instead, she turned toward Qi Yuan, nestling into his embrace like a delicate little bird. "Husband... how should we handle him?" Not far away, Jiang Ya watched with utter disbelief. A supreme Yin God, acting like an infatuated young girl. Qi Yuan helplessly stroked Ning Tao's hair. The last time she appeared, when no one was around, she called him Blood Pearl. This time, with a crowd present, she called him Husband. How could he not understand the girl's thoughts? Looking at Ning Tao's breathtaking, snowy face, he muttered, "So this is what it feels like to live off a woman... It's really damn satisfying." After muttering, he looked at Venerable Mohui and declared with his chin held high, "Your big brother is a Yin God, but my... wife is also a Yin God!" Perhaps out of competitiveness, he referred to Ning Tao as his wife for the first time. Ning Tao's left eye softened with water-like tenderness, tinged with a young girl's shyness, while her right eye brimmed with seductive allure, color blooming on her cheeks. Venerable Mohui was utterly bewildered by Qi Yuan's response. "Our Moluo Clan has five Yin Gods present this time..." "My wife is a Yin God!" "Two are at the Second Step of Sky Treading, three are—" "My wife is a Yin God!" Qi Yuan boasted proudly. No matter what Mohui said, Qi Yuan blocked him with that single phrase, looking insufferably smug. "Your Excellency does not belong to Wangyue Continent. Why wage war against our Moluo Clan for its sake? The three Venerables of your Canglan Realm already reached an agreement with us to divide Wangyue Continent equally. If Your Excellency lets me go, our Moluo Clan can yield one-third of the territory to you!" Venerable Mohui continued his desperate pitch. Qi Yuan's face turned cold. "Utterly ridiculous. Wangyue Continent was mine to begin with. What right do you have to yield it to me!" Seeing that he could not sway Qi Yuan, Venerable Mohui turned to Ning Tao. "The conflict between the Moluo Clan and Wangyue Continent involves... two Yang Gods. It was not easy for Senior to cultivate to the Second Step of Sky Treading. One day, Senior will surely become a Great Venerable and ascend to the Upper Realm. Why offend our Moluo Clan over such petty matters, and offend the... Yang God behind us!" At this moment, Venerable Mohui played his trump card. The struggle between the Moluo Clan and Wangyue Continent was merely the continuation of a conflict between two Yang Gods. Of course, the Moluo Clan had no direct connection to that Yang God at all—they could not even be counted as direct subordinates. He was merely using the name to intimidate Ning Tao. Ning Tao did not spare Venerable Mohui a single glance; her eyes remained fixed on Qi Yuan. Her projection had limited time, and every single second was precious. "Using a Yang God to scare me? If he has the guts, tell him to descend to the lower realm and cut me down himself!" If Qi Yuan could be frightened by such threats, he wouldn't be Qi Yuan. Besides, descending to a lower realm was hardly a simple task for a Yang God. "Kill him!" Qi Yuan held Ning Tao and said softly. Ning Tao waved her hand. A terrifying change overtook the restrained Venerable Mohui's body. His bloated flesh withered away, and the scales all over his body dried up and shattered. His visage aged in an instant from a young man to a decrepit elder. Incredulity surfaced in his murky eyes. "A Divine Domain seed..." His aura was extinguished entirely in that breath. A dignified Yin God, powerful enough to pierce straight through an entire continental empire, had perished just like that. He died simply and cleanly. It was as if the one who died were not a god, but an ordinary mortal. Everyone present felt a surge of shock. This was the first time they had ever witnessed a battle between Yin Gods. They had imagined a clash that would obscure the sun and moon and tear apart mountains and rivers. Instead... it had been too effortless. The divine emissary from before also stared wide-eyed. What transpired today had completely exceeded his expectations. At this moment, Ning Tao's figure grew even more ethereal. "Husband... call for me next time you face a powerful enemy!" Her eyes were filled with lingering affection. As soon as those words left her lips, the projection dissipated entirely, and she returned to the Stellar Golden Core. Arriving like wind and rain, departing like a speck of dust. A faint sense of emptiness rose in Qi Yuan's heart. The surroundings were deathly silent. The suonas had stopped playing; everyone was stunned by the battle just now. After a long time, True Monarch Dazhi could not help saying, "Senior is truly a genius of great caliber, possessing a goddess for a wife." Had his own Dao companion not passed away early, he probably would have been unable to resist asking the Blood-Robed Sword God how to land a goddess wife. Jiang Ya remained silent for a moment before saying worriedly, "Senior must still be careful. The Moluo Clan has more than one Yin God, and two of them are at the Second Step of Sky Treading." Jiang Ya's concern was not without reason. The Blood-Robed Sword God's Dao companion was only a single Yin God. As the saying went, two fists could not withstand four hands. Even with one Yin God dead, the Moluo Clan still had four Yin Gods left, possessing formidable strength. "I have a plan that can resolve Senior's predicament," True Monarch Dazhi said earnestly. "Senior just needs to find a few more goddess Dao companions. When encountering enemies, simply call them all over. What would the Moluo Clan amount to then?" Hearing this, Qi Yuan felt it made quite a lot of sense. "It's fine." Though he was relying on a woman now, that didn't mean he would rely on one for the rest of his life. Before long, he would take complete control of Wangyue Continent. When that time came, he would be the true sovereign of Wangyue Continent. "Rest for half an hour, then we continue slaughtering the Moluo!" Qi Yuan looked at Venerable Mohui's corpse and glanced at the five Purple Mansion cultivators who had long since been shattered into pieces by the shockwave. A strange glint flashed in his eyes. Just now, when Ning Tao executed Venerable Mohui, he noticed a subtle anomaly in his game jade slip. While the others cleared the battlefield, Qi Yuan walked off to a secluded spot alone. He sank his consciousness into the game jade slip. "A new game icon actually appeared!" He felt a surge of excitement. Soon, however, his excitement cooled significantly. "It hasn't even downloaded a quarter of the way?" The good news was that a game icon had appeared; the bad news was that less than a quarter had downloaded. Qi Yuan pondered, putting his brilliant mind to work. *Could it be that either I... or Ning Tao has to slaughter Yin Gods to boost the download progress of this game?* He stared blankly at the game icon. Right then, several male voices reached his ears. "O God, it's not that we won't offer you sacrifices, but our Qingshui Village is dirt-poor!" "Yesterday, Village Chief Yulei led us to fight the neighboring village for water, and the chief's Divine Infant ended up getting bitten by the neighboring village chief. Sigh, when will days like this ever end?" "What era is this? Still worshipping ancient gods! We should be worshipping the new gods!" "Bullshit new gods—those are man-eating gods!" "Even if they eat people, at least they protect the surrounding area! But what about the one you worship? The ancient gods... declined long ago. You kowtow devoutly every day, but does he ever respond?" "Sob... It must be because we had no offerings and starved the god to death." "Shentu, oh Shentu, take my advice as an older brother and switch to a new god, just like our village!" Qi Yuan listened to these bizarre exchanges. *So is this the new game's background?* Ancient gods, and man-eating new gods. Only... what was up with a Divine Infant village chief? Did Divine Infant cultivators have government posts and serve as village chiefs now? And why was a village chief brawling over water? Qi Yuan was completely baffled. Listening to the conversation, he suddenly spoke up, "I am Origin Celestial Venerable. He who believes in me shall gain eternal life!" In a distant world, inside a secluded village. The fast-asleep Shentu widened his eyes. Staring at the worn-out divine statue in the shrine, suspicion filled his gaze. *Wasn't this the Foxtail Grass God? How did it become Origin Celestial Venerable?* he wondered in confusion. Did the god starve so much that his brain broke? *** Heavy snow drifted down, draping the imperial capital of the Moon Dynasty in a coat of silver. The branches and trunk of the Ancient Qi Toon Tree were piled high with accumulated snow. A young girl of six or seven, dressed in a goose-white fox-fur coat, sat atop a bluestone with her eyes closed, resting her mind. At that moment, a woman in white appeared without making a sound. The young girl opened her eyes. "How is the situation?" "Grand Priest, behind that Blood-Robed Sword God is a Yin God of the Second Step of Sky Treading. Not long ago, that Yin God took action and slew Venerable Mohui." The woman in white was a Yin God—the very one who had previously met with Qi Yuan. Noble as a Yin God was, her demeanor before this young girl was extraordinarily respectful. The Grand Priest gazed toward July Lake ahead, her eyes limpid. The woman in white earnestly urged, "Grand Priest, even with another Second Step Sky Treading reinforcement, it cannot change the outcome. Wangyue Continent... can no longer be held. We must leave." The Grand Priest's face was tender, but her gaze was resolute. "We cannot leave now. I have to wait for someone." Hearing this, the woman in white paused for a long time before asking, "The one the Grand Priest is waiting for... should be that Faceless Sword God?" The Grand Priest did not answer, but that silence was an answer in itself. "Ten thousand years have passed. If the Faceless Sword God had not perished, he would have arrived here long ago." "I have already sat here for five thousand years; a few more years won't hurt. I haven't seen him yet. I want to know if he is truly as the legends describe..." Endless yearning welled up in the young girl's eyes. Then, as if recalling something, she could not help asking, "Who would you say is stronger—the Blood-Robed Sword God, or the Faceless Sword God?" Hearing this, the woman in white felt quite helpless regarding her young mistress. She smiled wryly and said, "Whomever the Grand Priest considers stronger is the one who is stronger." "The Blood-Robed Sword God's wife is only at the Second Step of Sky Treading; on this point alone, he cannot compare to the Faceless Sword God. The Blood-Robed Sword God's looks definitely cannot compare to the Faceless Sword God either." As the Grand Priest spoke, she gazed at her reflection in the water. Regarding the latter point, she was exceptionally certain. "Therefore, the Faceless Sword God wins completely," the Grand Priest said proudly. The woman in white said nothing, the gloom in her eyes lingering. At that point, the Grand Priest murmured, "I understand your worries. When the time comes... if the situation is truly hopeless, I will activate the teleportation array and take the... Moon Dynasty away with me." It was just that... if the Faceless Sword God awoke then, would he be able to find July Lake? Moreover, Wangyue Continent would likely turn into a true purgatory. How could she bear to see the place he had once defended with his life reduced to utter ruins? Hearing her words, the woman in white breathed a sigh of relief. She had feared the Grand Priest would stubbornly insist on staying here. Right then, an urgent voice called out, "Grand Priest!" A divine emissary of the Faceless Cult clad in black embroidered robes appeared, a strange look on his face. Curiosity showed on the Grand Priest's delicate face. "The Blood-Robed Sword God's wife being at the Second Step of Sky Treading is something I already know. Is there anything else?" "Grand Priest, I feel this Blood-Robed Sword God is... somewhat strange," the emissary said hesitantly. "What is strange about him?" the Grand Priest asked calmly. She had seen plenty of strange things in this world. "The moment I saw him, I felt an extraordinary sense of closeness. Furthermore, this subordinate discovered that I am not the only one; anyone from Wangyue Continent feels immense affinity upon seeing him and places exceptional trust in him," the emissary said. This matter was indeed quite bizarre. The woman in white glanced at the emissary, her eyes darkening. "There are no traces of divine arts having been cast on him." A thoughtful expression appeared on the Grand Priest's face. "Anything else?" "There is one more thing. The sword technique he executed... carries traces of your sword technique, Grand Priest." "What...?" The Grand Priest's starlike eyes flickered, reflecting an entire winter of snow. *** Gazing at the Ancient Qi Toon Tree against the firmament, Qi Yuan raised his arm. The mark of the crescent moon never surfaced. "She isn't Yue Nü?" Qi Yuan felt somewhat disappointed. If the Grand Priest were Yue Nü, then by reason, the mark of the crescent moon on his hand should have appeared. And Yue Nü... would probably have sensed him long ago and come to see him. Thus, that Grand Priest was very likely just a coincidence. "Really, why does it have to snow?" He stood in the boundless snowy landscape, letting the heavy snow blanket his shoulders. As they drew closer to the Moon Dynasty, Qi Yuan had found staying in the inn rather boring, so he had walked out alone. His state of mind was quite different from back then. Perhaps ten thousand years had already passed, and everything had dissolved into the long river of time. Even Southern Qian was no more. The Heavenly Fortune Sect was a sect from nearly ten thousand years ago as well. Everything had vanished into the dust of history. Suddenly, snow slid from a tree branch, tumbling onto Qi Yuan's shoulders and head. Just as he was about to look up, he saw an eighteen-year-old woman strolling toward him from not far away. She wore a fox-fur coat, her expression elegant and serene. Her hood was pulled back, revealing a face bathed in the clear glow of a crescent moon, pure as snow-laden flowering branches. Her lips were thin, and her eyes were limpid and tranquil—refined and graceful. She approached Qi Yuan and parted her vermilion lips. "Is she... pretty?" She raised a slender finger, pointing at her own face. Qi Yuan was momentarily startled. [This is a somewhat mysterious girl who shares a deep bond with you.] "Pretty. Very pretty." Qi Yuan looked at the face, unsure of what he was thinking. He wanted to ascertain her identity. "Tee-hee, if she heard that, she would definitely be very happy." "Who... is she?" Qi Yuan looked at her face as many thoughts arose in his mind, along with a bold guess. "She said that if you remember this face of hers, you won't fail to recognize her... when you meet her in the future." "Is she Jin Li?" Qi Yuan stared blankly at the face. The Jin Li whom he had waited so long for beneath the Ancient Qi Toon Tree, but had never met. "She is also Yue Nü," the young woman said softly. Time and space froze once more at this moment. Qi Yuan recalled July Lake in the past, and that stubborn girl. The promise that had spanned time and space—two people situated at opposite ends of time who should never have been able to meet—had nevertheless met in another form under destiny's arrangement. He hadn't known she was Jin Li. And she hadn't known that he was the Qi Yuan she would come to know in the future. In truth, it wasn't that they had never met, nor was it just a reminder of her presence; she had been there all along. "Who... are you?" The young woman before him shifted, transforming into the appearance of a girl of seven or eight. Looking at the young girl before him, Qi Yuan was inexplicably reminded of the Yue Nü from back then. He saw traces of Yue Nü on her. "I'm Mother's daughter, and Father's daughter!" The young girl looked at Qi Yuan, her face radiant with smiles. "And I am Father's most precious gift to Mother." Back then, Jin Li had retrieved her from the divine statue of the Faceless Sword God. All those memories flooded into her mind. She had truly met him.