Cooperating with the New Gods?

Wei Ting, towering like a colossal giant, looked at the remaining evil gods, battle lust blazing in his eyes. He stepped forward violently, the Flower-Pattern Axe in his hands turning into an executioner's blade. With a vicious swing, half of the surviving evil gods were instantly cleaved to pieces. Incarnate as a god of war, Wei Ting slaughtered them without restraint. "No!" "Mercy! Spare us!" Facing Wei Ting, how could these evil gods—once high and mighty—retain even a shred of their former arrogance? The seductive Tao'an wore a frantic, twisted expression. "Spare me! This realm is destined to belong to the New Gods! If you slaughter us like this, a True God will surely reckon with you!" In just a few breaths, only two New Gods remained alive on the field. She spoke as fast as she could, grasping for a sliver of hope. "The surrounding lands are filled with New Gods! We are preparing to welcome Venerable Taiyi's descent. If you slay us, you will thoroughly offend Venerable Taiyi, and when he descends, he will never let you off!" In her alluring red dress, Tao'an's stunning face was pale as her mind raced desperately. "Oh? Slaying you will completely offend Venerable Taiyi?" Qi Yuan paused, looking mildly surprised. A True God was descending? Seeing this, Tao'an felt there was a chance and hurriedly pressed on, "We gathered here in Kuangfeng Town precisely to summon Venerable Taiyi. "If you slaughter all of us, the summoning ritual will be terminated, and you will utterly offend Venerable Taiyi! "Yet if you think that means Venerable Taiyi won't be able to descend, that is nothing but a delusion! "It will only delay his descent by a year or two. Offend him, and he will personally strike to obliterate you!" "If you continue the ritual, when will Venerable Taiyi descend?" Qi Yuan asked. He cared very much about this matter. The evil god spiritual power contained within a True God was bound to be horrifyingly immense. If he could get his hands on it... he might just be able to visualize a truly formidable deity. "Half a month," Tao'an replied, then continued, "Origin Celestial Venerable, your talent is astounding. It would be an absolute pity to remain in the Ancient Gods' camp. "Right now, two-thirds of the cities in Lin Country are already under our control. "Not long ago, in Jiang Country not far from us, a True God stepped in and directly struck down that realm's Ancient God Venerable. "Jiang Country has already become the domain of us New Gods. "Origin Celestial Venerable, I hope you consider your future wisely. "Joining our New God faction is countless times better than staying with the Ancient Gods. "Take that Ancient God from Lü Country, for instance. After joining our ranks, his life has become the envy of all. "He earned the favor of Great Venerable Guxuan, who even betrothed his daughter to him! "If you join us, Origin Celestial Venerable, not only will you escape the disaster of god-slaughter, but you might even have the chance to wed the daughter of a True God. "Even if not... this humble woman is more than willing to warm your bed..." At this point, Tao'an donned an enchanting expression, brimming with feminine charm. Qi Yuan merely muttered to himself, "So to quickly summon Venerable Taiyi, you have to be kept alive?" Tao'an's eyes lit up, feeling she had swayed Origin Celestial Venerable. She quickly added, "Once Venerable Taiyi descends, I will definitely put in... a good word for you before His Holiness. "You will hold the chief merit for welcoming the Venerable's arrival." A sense of having survived a brush with death rose within Tao'an's heart. From the other party's reaction, he genuinely seemed ready to cooperate. "Welcoming Venerable Taiyi's descent sounds quite good to me," Qi Yuan said, looking at Tao'an. Overjoyed, Tao'an slowly drifted toward Qi Yuan. The fabric over her shoulder deliberately slipped down a notch, revealing a tantalizing expanse of fair skin. "Your choice today will surely be the wisest decision of your life." "However... I don't want to cooperate with you." A blood-red sword rang with a crisp hum. Moving with thunderous, blinding speed, it sliced clean through the air, severing Tao'an's lovely head from her neck. Her facial expression remained frozen in that enchanting smile. Her final thought was one of boundless bewilderment. Hadn't they agreed to cooperate? Why did he kill her? Alas, she would never have the chance to understand why. Having decapitated Tao'an with a single strike, Qi Yuan turned to the shivering evil god standing nearby and squeezed out an amiable smile. "How about we cooperate instead?" The evil god's body shook even harder, and he nodded frantically. "I want to summon Venerable Taiyi down as quickly as possible." The evil god didn't dare utter a single word; he could only keep nodding vigorously. Just then, something crossed Qi Yuan's mind, and he asked, "Since I'm temporarily cooperating with you New Gods, doesn't that make us... friends? No, colleagues at least, right?" The evil god could not fathom what this demon was getting at, but he still nodded submissively. "It... it counts." "Sigh, their wives and families aren't around here. "To perish in a foreign land is truly miserable. "I suppose it falls on me to arrange their final affairs. Having a funeral feast for them isn't excessive, is it?" Qi Yuan then called out, "Wei Ting, send word down. Let the feast begin—and keep it going until... the True God descends!" In the past, whenever Qi Yuan held a funeral feast, he always felt his justification was a bit flimsy. This time, eating at a colleague's funeral feast—surely that was above reproach? *** Meanwhile, in Shisha Town. Ruoyu sat with his eyes closed, sealing his five senses. Today was the day the Child Banquet began. He was powerless to stop such atrocities. To keep out of sight and out of mind, he had sealed off his senses and sat alone within the divine temple. Barring an absolute emergency, no one would dare disturb him today. Suddenly, a piercing beam of light shone down upon the divine statue, prompting a look of startled disbelief to appear in Ruoyu's eyes. This was the highest level of alert. Unless something monumental had occurred, the people of Shisha Town would never awaken him. Why had an alert of this level been triggered? Could it be... that the evil gods were attacking? His heart tightened, and he hurriedly unsealed his senses. "What happened?" Ruoyu looked over to find the village head wearing a frantic expression. "Lord Deity, this is terrible! Just moments ago, that deity from Qingshui Village brought a colossal giant to attack Kuangfeng Town! The earth was shaking and the mountains were trembling just now!" "What?!" Ruoyu's expression changed drastically. "How dare he?! What was the outcome? Is he dead?!" He could not fathom how a village-level Ancient God dared to strike against multiple town-level deities out of nowhere. It was true that the other side was hosting a Child Banquet, an act of sheer villainy that drew the wrath of heaven and earth alike... but all they could do was watch helplessly. Charging in was nothing short of seeking death, yet that god had actually charged straight over. In Ruoyu's view, the battle had surely ended by now. That Origin Celestial Venerable of Qingshui Village had completely overestimated himself. "Sigh, by acting so recklessly, he has infuriated those evil gods and brought disaster upon Shisha Town. "I only hope this doesn't drag us down with him." Right then, a figure came sprinting madly toward the divine temple. Clad in coarse hemp clothing, Xu Youping abandoned all composure as he dashed inside. "Disaster!" Ruoyu's heart clenched. "They're attacking us?" "They've been slaughtered... all of them slaughtered..." Shock was plastered across Xu Youping's face. Ruoyu was thoroughly bewildered, having no idea what Xu Youping meant. "Origin Celestial Venerable, along with that colossal giant, slaughtered all the evil gods!" Xu Youping declared with immense gravity. Ruoyu's eyes went wide, his dignified bearing as a guardian god vanishing completely. He grabbed Xu Youping by the shoulders. "What did you say?!" "Just moments ago, a towering giant walked out of Qingshui Village!" Remembering that colossal giant, Xu Youping was still gripped by profound awe. That terrifying giant made the earth shake with every step. He stormed straight into Kuangfeng Town and crushed those formidable evil gods like baby chicks. Xu Youping recounted everything he had witnessed today to Ruoyu in full detail. Ruoyu was stunned beyond words, unable to calm his racing thoughts for a long time. Eventually, he asked, "What about Shelang?" Shelang was a demigod. Once he made a move, nothing short of a True God descending could resolve the situation. Yet there were no True Gods anywhere near Feihuang City. "Qingshui Village's Origin Celestial Venerable stepped in personally and slew Shelang with a single sword strike!" Mentioning this, Xu Youping still could not steady his trembling heart, picturing once more that breathtaking slash. Ruoyu was shaken to his core. He paced back and forth within the temple, clearly weighed down by heavy thoughts. Finally, he gritted his teeth and said, "Let's go. We're going to Kuangfeng Town to see for ourselves." At that moment, Xu Youping hesitated before speaking haltingly, "Only... in the end, Origin Celestial Venerable slew nearly every evil god, but spared one. He formed a cooperation with that evil god to... welcome a True God together." "What?" This time, Ruoyu completely lost his composure. Slaughtering all the evil gods in one clean sweep, only to spare a single one and cooperate with him—what kind of logic was that? He could not understand it. He decided it was better not to visit Kuangfeng Town for now, choosing instead to wait and watch. *** Qi Yuan taking Wei Ting on a sudden, sweeping massacre shocked countless people to their core. Even the folk of Qingshui Village had been working alongside each other just moments earlier, only to suddenly receive word that they needed to go to Kuangfeng Town to play the suona. Meanwhile, Chenxi Village rounded up all their best cooks and rushed toward Kuangfeng Town. When the news arrived that the evil gods of Kuangfeng Town had been wiped out, practically everyone was dumbfounded. Everything had been fine that very morning, yet Kuangfeng Town had suddenly been crushed, with Shelang and the other evil gods slain one after another. And now, a feast was back on the schedule. How could anyone not be astonished? At this moment, at the banquet tables, the rich aroma of roasted meat filled the air. The shock in the eyes of Village Chief Yulei had yet to dissipate. Beside him, Shentu was equally rattled. Zhu Zhuangshi kept casting envious glances toward Wei Ting. "Sigh, alas, I'm clearly so much fatter than him, so why didn't Lord Deity pick me?" Today, Wei Ting had manifested as the Giant Spirit God and swept through all opposition, dazzling everyone who witnessed it. This proved that their Lord Deity had brought out another immensely precious God Visualization Art. Judging by Wei Ting's overwhelming combat power, this visualization art had to be exceedingly rare. Unfortunately, the deity had chosen Wei Ting, leaving Zhu Zhuangshi drooling with envy. Beside him, Chen Xifan couldn't help but chime in, "Lord Deity needed someone strong and sturdy, not someone fat." Hearing this, Zhu Zhuangshi immediately protested, "Doesn't my name say it all?!" "Heh." Chen Xifan scoffed, unwilling to banter further with Zhu Zhuangshi. In truth, his heart was also filled with boundless envy toward Wei Ting. An outsider who had arrived out of nowhere was suddenly favored by Lord Deity, shooting straight to the heavens in a single bound. That single God Visualization Art had directly propelled Wei Ting into the late Purple Mansion realm. As long as Wei Ting was given enough time to cultivate to the peak of the Purple Mansion, pairing that with a supreme treasure would allow him to become a True God. That meant their Qingshui Village would gain a True God of its own! What an immense honor that would be! A ragged little village like theirs could actually produce a True God. Yet it was also deeply enviable, for that True God could have been any one of them—yet they had failed to seize the opportunity. Nearby, Qi Qi overheard their conversation and smiled. Looking at her maid Xiaoxue, she said, "See that? Nurturing a godfather and having him work hard is so much more comfortable than working hard yourself." A brilliant smile blossomed across Xiaoxue's face. "Indeed." Yesterday, she had witnessed the horrific tragedy in Jinshi Town, her heart wrenching with grief and resentment toward the mastermind behind it. Yet she hadn't dared to mention what happened to the master. She understood that Qingshui Village needed to develop slowly and was currently in no position to oppose any town. Yet the very next day, an overwhelming sense of joy had surged into her heart. What had she witnessed? The master had taken Wei Ting and swept through the six towns, wiping out every last evil god in a single stroke. Even now, her chest remained filled with elation and deep gratitude. She felt just like an aggrieved child whose parent had stepped in the next day to vent all her fury for her. Stealing a glance at Qi Yuan not far away, she lowered her voice and asked, "Miss, do you think I could take the master as my godfather too?" Qi Qi raised an eyebrow. "You want to snatch my dad?" "...A god-uncle would work too," Xiaoxue muttered sheepishly. "I don't have a daughter like you!" Qi Qi glared playfully at her maid. At the tables, the crowd partook in the banquet, their laughter and chatter ringing out merrily. The gloomy atmosphere that had weighed on them for days was swept away entirely. At this moment, Village Chief Yulei sent a voice transmission to Shentu. "What do you think of Lord Deity?" Hearing this, Shentu thought of something and his expression changed slightly. He transmitted back, "Could it be that you want to..." Village Chief Yulei said nothing. Shentu frowned in contemplation. "In ancient times, Lord Deity was bound to be a supreme, formidable existence—perhaps even a being at the Third Step of Sky Treading." "The Third Step of Sky Treading is barely qualified to enter the Ancestral Land," Village Chief Yulei murmured. The folk of Qingshui Village were descendants of a branch of the Ancient Clan. The Ancient Clan possessed an Ancestral Land that was fraught with extreme danger; even True Gods had a high probability of perishing within it. Even Great Venerables faced the risk of falling there. Yet within that Ancestral Land lay countless treasures. Some could help one break through the limits of heaven and earth to reach the True God realm, while others were innate treasures possessing boundless power. As a remnant branch of the Ancient Clan, they technically possessed the right to recommend their village's guardian god to enter the Ancestral Land. "However, even if we wish to recommend Lord Deity to enter the Ancestral Land, he must at least step into the True God realm first. "And to truly secure the right of entry, one likely needs to reach the Third Step of Sky Treading. "To reap great rewards and make it out in one piece, one must at least be a Great Venerable. "Our Lord Deity is still far away from that. "For now, let's not dwell on things that are so distant. We should first consider how to survive the siege of the evil gods," Shentu sighed with emotion. Shentu's words were undeniably reasonable. Sweeping through the six towns had certainly been impressive. Yet Lord Deity's actions had undoubtedly caught the attention of some truly formidable evil gods. Before long, powerful evil gods would likely arrive in person to settle the score. What was more, Lord Deity currently seemed to be plotting something massive—playing with fire by cooperating with a beast. That Venerable Taiyi would probably manifest in this realm before long as well. They could not imagine how their Lord Deity intended to handle it. Could he simply visualize another God Visualization Art? But where could one possibly find so many mighty gods to visualize?