Nothing but Clowns, Let Him Run Wild for a Few Days

With a single sword strike slaying the short man, the atmosphere inside the temple instantly froze. A look of shock crossed the white-haired elder's eyes, followed swiftly by dread. He had never expected his companion to be so utterly possessed by greed as to voice direct threats. Even less had he expected the Ancient God before them to cut him down without a second thought. This was severing all ties with the Ancient God Alliance! "You..." "What, are you like him? Do you want my God Visualization Art too?" Qi Yuan asked, eyeing the white-haired elder with an amused look. The white-haired elder looked down at his companion's corpse and spoke as if resigning himself to fate. "The fault lay with him. He deserved death. However, this action has severed the venerable ancient god's ties with the Ancient God Alliance. From now on... you will never be able to join us." Truth be told, the white-haired elder had earnestly hoped an Ancient God like Origin Celestial Venerable would join their alliance. With the evil gods tightening their net by the day, the Ancient Gods were already on the decline. Yet even in such dire straits, the Ancient Gods still squabbled for power and profit, utterly incapable of true unity. He had always admired a deity like Origin Celestial Venerable, who dared to take action against the evil gods, and had genuinely wanted to recruit him into the Ancient God Alliance. Within the alliance, there were still many deities who genuinely wanted to accomplish something. "I have no interest in joining any Ancient God Alliance," Qi Yuan said, looking toward the heavens. Far in the north, an unknown True God had just fallen. "Feihuang City has five towns entirely under the rule of evil gods. Those five evil gods are all divine creatures at the late stage or perfection of the Purple Mansion. Origin Celestial Venerable, you must exercise caution," the white-haired elder kindly warned. Qi Yuan lowered his gaze. He already knew this information. The energy scale of this world seemed rather high, and the power of these New Gods was formidable. Sweeping across the evil gods of those five towns would indeed be somewhat troublesome for him right now. "You should be particularly wary of the evil god in Kuangfeng Town. He is no ordinary Purple Mansion Perfection!" "Is he Wang Wei's Purple Mansion Perfection?" Qi Yuan couldn't help asking. The white-haired elder blinked, having no idea what Qi Yuan meant. He had no choice but to continue, "He has already condensed half a divine aperture!" Hearing this, Qi Yuan's expression turned solemn. The greatest difference between a Yin God and the Purple Mansion was that a Yin God commanded divine spiritual power. Having formed half a divine aperture, Shelang could already be considered a demigod. He was already capable of unleashing divine spiritual power. "He's that strong?" Surprise showed in Qi Yuan's eyes. He glanced up at his Stellar Golden Core, finding a sliver of reassurance in his heart. "Unless one becomes a True God, defeating him is utterly impossible!" the white-haired elder said. Qi Yuan fell silent for a moment. Relying on his origin divine abilities, he could slaughter ordinary late-stage Purple Mansion cultivators at will. However... against someone who had condensed half a divine aperture, origin divine abilities would barely take effect. He would no longer be able to instantly kill his foe as he had done against the other Ancient Gods. Unless he also broke through to the Purple Mansion and reached Level 60. Yet right now, he was only in the Level 30s. His only sure method for an effortless one-shot kill was summoning his Stellar Golden Core. Yet within this game, Qi Yuan still preferred to keep a low profile. Until he thoroughly understood how this game worked, he did not want to summon his Stellar Golden Core indiscriminately. "Among the evil gods, are there any Yang Gods?" Qi Yuan asked. "Yang Gods? Does the venerable god mean those above True Gods?" "Yes." "During the Hongtang Great War of antiquity, one entity above a True God among the New Gods did indeed participate." At the mention of this, the white-haired elder sighed with deep sorrow. "It was precisely because that entity above a True God entered the war that the Mortal Heart Realm suffered a crushing defeat." "What happened to that entity?" "Unknown." The white-haired elder shook his head. Qi Yuan furrowed his brows in thought. Over this period, he had already learned about the Hongtang Great War through the chat group he accessed during visualization. It was the war where the evil gods invaded the Mortal Heart Realm. Deities served as generals, Purple Mansion cultivators served as foot soldiers, and the battle shook the heavens and shattered the earth. Nearly ninety percent of the True Gods in the Mortal Heart Realm fell. It was the battle that broke the Mortal Heart Realm's spine. Ever since then, the world had undergone a drastic transformation. Without special treasures, a peak Purple Mansion cultivator could no longer ascend to become a True God. "I see." Qi Yuan decided that against Shelang, it was still best not to summon his Stellar Golden Core or Ning Tao. There was no Void Realm here; battles between Yin Gods took place directly in the mortal world. Summoning them would draw far too much attention. Right now, Qingshui Village was still too weak. For now, he ought to follow Emperor Gaozu of Han—stockpile grain and be slow to claim kingship. In any case, he still had plenty of God Visualization Arts. "You may leave." Qi Yuan did not kill the elder. He had always kept his debts and grudges distinct. The white-haired elder had not provoked him, so he would not kill him. He was hardly Homelander, wiping out whole families on a whim! After the white-haired elder departed, Qingshui Village grew extraordinarily busy over the next few days. More and more plague-stricken refugees arrived at the village. Fortunately, under Xiaoxue's leadership, the Earth Gods worked tirelessly, and the epidemic gradually began to improve. Three days later, Qi Yuan was inside the temple continuing to compile his *Qi Yuan Scripture* when he suddenly heard a young girl sobbing. He opened his eyes and looked at the maid Xiaoxue not far away, confusion in his gaze. "What's wrong? Did someone bully you?" Xiaoxue's eyes were red. Seeing Qi Yuan, she rubbed her eyes and hurriedly said, "No, I just... remembered my late parents." "Oh? Is that so?" Qi Yuan gave her a searching look. "Godfather, it's nothing. I'll stay with Xiaoxue," Qi Qi said. With that, she took Xiaoxue by the hand and led her away. Once they were far from the temple, Xiaoxue's eyes welled with tears. "I'm sorry, Miss. I couldn't hold it in. The people in Jinshi Town... their fate is too miserable!" Remembering the horrifying sight in Jinshi Town, Xiaoxue's eyes filled with deep grief. To uncover the source of the plague, she had snuck into Jinshi Town on her own, only to be met with an inhuman living hell. When she had first traveled toward Qingshui Village, she had passed through Jinshi Town. Back then, it was still a relatively peaceful, harmonious little town. Now... corpses lay strewn across the ground, uncollected. Every family kept their doors tightly shut, seemingly waiting for death. The town had been reduced to purgatory on earth. "Right now, Godfather has only just established himself and is short on manpower. He cannot help Jinshi Town," Qi Qi said, her eyes weighed down by deep concern. The plague in Jinshi Town was blatantly man-made. So... who was behind it? It was obvious: those evil gods. Qingshui Village was formidable now, but it still could not clash with the remaining five towns. Qi Qi feared that if Xiaoxue revealed the truth about Jinshi Town, it would only add to her godfather's burdens. At present, Qingshui Village should not rashly start a war. They needed to develop slowly. "I understand, Miss. I won't tell Master about this." Meanwhile, in the temple, Qi Yuan opened his eyes. "How much evil god spiritual power do I have now?" *** At the same time. Inside Jinshi Town, five New Gods had gathered. A smug grin curled Shelang's lips as he looked upon the tragic scene before him, utterly satisfied with his handiwork. "Brother Shelang's methods are truly extraordinary. When Venerable Taiyi descends, he will surely reward you generously. Perhaps you might even soar in a single leap and become a True God!" a New God in yellow robes flattered. Beside him, a slender woman parted her vermilion lips. "I hear Qingshui Village possesses a method to cure the plague. How does Brother Shelang intend to handle this? When will you strike?" "Tao'an, killing and fighting are all you ever think about. Brother Shelang only tolerates Qingshui Village because it is inconvenient for him to move against the New Gods of those villages himself," an old man said with a chuckle. Unlike divine creatures at the late Purple Mansion stage like them, Shelang had already condensed half a divine aperture. Within the New God faction, Shelang already had numerous followers. Yet as long as those village gods remained, he had no excuse to install his own followers in their place. That was why he had allowed Qingshui Village to go on a killing spree. Understanding Shelang's intentions, these New Gods had held back from attacking Qi Yuan simply to give Shelang face. "Let him run wild for a while. Once Brother Shelang makes his move, Qingshui Village will be wiped out in an instant!" "Mourning the dead, blowing suonas, crashing banquets... he's nothing but a clown." "Given his audacity, he might actually dare to come after us." "Laughable. Just because we haven't acted, does he truly believe he's a divine being of any consequence?" The New Gods mocked him relentlessly. Hearing their chatter, Shelang merely smiled without a word. Remembering something, he said, "Don't miss tomorrow evening's Child Banquet." "Since Brother Shelang invites us, how could we possibly miss it?" "We must attend, absolutely!" "It has been quite a while since I tasted such a delicacy." *** Inside the temple of Qingshui Village. Qi Yuan looked at Xu Youping and remarked casually, "Tell Venerable Ruoyu that I appreciate his kind intentions. I shall keep them in mind." Xu Youping let out a breath of relief. He had come under Ruoyu's orders to advise Origin Celestial Venerable to maintain a low profile and leave Qingshui Village if at all possible. He had assumed Qingshui Village's deity would be as stubborn as rumors suggested, but to his surprise, Qi Yuan was exceptionally agreeable today, offering no argument whatsoever. "By the way, do you know the source of the plague in Jinshi Town?" Qi Yuan asked. Xu Youping hesitated before replying, "It is likely connected to the New God they are ushering in—a deity named Taiyi. "When he descends, the more severe the plague in his territory, the faster his divine power will recover. "Therefore, this plague was almost certainly spread by the evil gods of the five towns. "Origin Celestial Venerable, it is best to pretend you know nothing of this." "Understood." Qi Yuan waved his hand. Only then did Xu Youping leave the temple. Inside the empty temple, Qi Yuan was left alone. Before long, Xiao Jia's petite figure materialized, leaning quietly against his shoulder. "Xiao Jia, which deity do you think I should visualize with this evil god spiritual power?" Xiao Jia looked up at Qi Yuan, her eyes seeming to say that everything was entirely up to him. Qi Yuan wrapped an arm around Xiao Jia's waist and looked up at the sky. The rain had cleared, but the plague raged on. It had been barely an hour since the maid Xiaoxue had sobbed. Qi Yuan directed his consciousness into the chat group once more. The epidemic was growing increasingly severe; relying solely on Earth Gods seemed insufficient to cure the root cause. He contemplated visualizing another deity. With his current stock of evil god spiritual power, it should be enough. At this moment, the chat group was lively with banter. "Do you all know what a Youthful Heavenly Emperor looks like?" Group Admin Dong Jianghe was pontificating again. "Just now, I visualized another rare three-star! "To be honest, I don't even know where my limits lie. "Once my past memories fully awaken, I might even frighten myself!" "Stop bragging, you can't compare to a single hair of Origin Celestial Venerable!" Venerable Shenmiao was equally lively and outspoken. "Origin Celestial Venerable is here. You aren't planning to visualize another New God, are you?" Dong Jianghe asked cautiously. "The plague in my territory has grown severe lately..." Qi Yuan answered. "Something of that sort?" Hearing this, the weight in Dong Jianghe's chest lifted. It sounded like the visualized tier wouldn't be very high; his right to bark could last a few more days. Just then, the usually dormant and solemn Venerable Heilong spoke up in the group: "Venerable Tianbao hasn't appeared for quite a while." "Oh, now that you mention it, it really has been a while. Last time, he even said he wanted to give a treasure capable of breaking through to True God to Origin Celestial Venerable." "I was even hoping to take him as my adoptive father." At that moment, Venerable Shenmiao suddenly asked, "Origin Celestial Venerable, a few days ago, did you sense True Gods clashing to your north?" Hearing that, Qi Yuan immediately recalled the pillar of light that had pierced the heavens days before. "Yes," he replied. The group fell into silence before Venerable Heilong said, "Origin Celestial Venerable, the battle you witnessed was likely Venerable Tianbao fighting the evil gods. Alas." "Sigh." The atmosphere in the group turned somber. "Safe travels on your final journey, Venerable Tianbao." "Safe travels on your final journey, Venerable Tianbao." "Origin Celestial Venerable, the Northern Lands are fallen territory. If you can leave, you should leave. "Last time, Venerable Tianbao wanted to pass his supreme treasure to you probably because he realized he was trapped in a hopeless situation and didn't want it to go to waste." "Since Venerable Tianbao knew long beforehand that New Gods intended to move against him, with his strength... he could have escaped," a member lamented. Yet everyone present understood that Venerable Tianbao had stayed behind because he could not bear to abandon the mortal subjects under his protection. "If I remember correctly, one of Venerable Tianbao's close friends defected to the New Gods and is currently in Lü Country, isn't he? "He must have seen Venerable Tianbao?" Qi Yuan murmured in inquiry. "Yes. Origin Celestial Venerable, why do you ask?" "Nothing, just asking." With that, Qi Yuan plunged straight into the visualization domain. The vast Mountain of Visualization came into view. Qi Yuan looked at the evil god spiritual power in his hand. "Cure the plague?" "Wrong!" "Killing the ones spreading the plague is the true solution!" He decided to switch to a different deity to visualize. So many people were advising him and warning him to stand down. If he truly cowered, would he still be Qi Yuan?