The rain fell without end.
On a broad avenue in Feihuang City, Wang Wenqi, clad in a coir raincoat, turned sharply into a narrow alleyway.
Her pace quickened abruptly, splashing water across the flagstones.
Behind her, a man in black robes appeared, a mocking smile in his eyes. "Remnant of Jiang Country, where do you think you can run!"
The black-robed man struck without warning, aiming to seize her.
Just then, an elder dressed in Confucian robes stepped forward.
Instantly, dazzling light flared through the alley, halting the black-robed man's attack in its tracks.
The black-robed man stopped, surprise flashing across his gaze. "Someone from the Foodless Cult?"
The Confucian-robed elder looked at him with a sigh. "Your Excellency is of the Lin Country imperial line. Why do you do the bidding of evil gods?"
"A wise bird chooses the tree upon which to perch; I have merely made a better choice." The black-robed man did not strike again, his voice thick and steady.
"Cooperating with evil gods is no different from plotting with a tiger for its hide. The evil gods will slowly synchronize with you until you become nothing more than their puppets!" the elder said sternly.
In the Northern Lands today, many countries had been occupied by evil gods for generations.
In such lands, most of the populace were no longer genuine living citizens, having been reduced to mindless marionettes of the evil gods.
Believers of the Foodless Cult had once ventured deep into those cities, only to witness scenes that chilled them to the bone.
Those commoners appeared no different from ordinary folk at first glance, working by day and resting by night.
Yet every single one wore the exact same expression, kept the exact same schedule, and never took the initiative to speak.
Children did not cry. Dogs did not bark. It was horrifying beyond measure.
Why did the Confucian elder and other mortals resist the New Gods with such vehemence?
A large part of it came down to this.
As for the monthly sacrifice of virgin boys and girls, to certain grand figures, it was hardly worth mentioning at all.
Hearing this, the black-robed man showed neither sorrow nor joy. "The Lord God has already promised that those of us who surrendered to Him first will retain autonomous control over our consciousness. Your strength is sufficient... Would you care to defect as well? The Lord God would accept you."
"You..." The elder trembled with rage. "Just because you can maintain your own consciousness, you would discard everyone else?"
"The others are too weak to even qualify to pledge allegiance to the Lord God. Their inability to control their minds is solely because of their weakness." The black-robed man forced a cold smile onto his otherwise expressionless face.
"That is still no excuse to aid an oppressor in his evil!" The elder attacked furiously.
Sensing something, the black-robed man's eyes narrowed. "Reinforcements have arrived? I shall spare your lives for now."
With that, the black-robed man dissolved into thin air.
A few breaths later, six or seven people rushed into the alley.
At their head were none other than Huang Mengying and Nangong Wuji.
Wang Wenqi, still in her coir raincoat, looked at Huang Mengying and the others with deep gratitude. "Thank you, Sister Mengying, for saving me."
Huang Mengying gazed at her with a complicated expression. "Do not go outside during this period."
Wang Wenqi lowered her head and gritted her teeth. "I never imagined the evil gods' claws would reach even here!"
At these words, everyone present felt their hearts sink.
Just moments earlier, the Confucian elder had sent word that the one attempting to assassinate Wang Wenqi was a member of the Lin Country imperial family.
"Jiang Country fell in defeat, its royal capital reduced to ruins... It has terrified far too many people," Huang Mengying said with deep helplessness.
An evil god at the peak of the Three Steps of Sky Treading had descended upon the royal capital of Jiang Country.
The Ancient God guarding Jiang Country had resisted to the bitter end.
Rumor had it that this defiance had thoroughly enraged the evil god.
After slaying that Jiang Country Ancient God, the evil god had flattened the royal capital entirely.
All six million souls within the capital had perished.
This had scared countless people out of their wits.
The upper echelons of Lin Country were trembling in terror.
Beside them, tears welled in Wang Wenqi's eyes, threatening to spill over.
Seeing this, Huang Mengying hurried to say, "Forgive me, Little Sister Wenqi. I should not have brought up your sorrow."
Wang Wenqi was a native of Jiang Country. Huang Mengying knew her parents and clan had all lived in the royal capital and perished at that evil god's hands.
She had escaped disaster only because circumstance had brought her to Feihuang City.
Wang Wenqi shielded her face with her sleeve, then asked with a trace of indignation in her voice, "Did the Origin Celestial Venerable truly defect to the New Gods?"
Hearing that, Huang Mengying could not help recalling the young man she had met at the banquet that day.
That Ancient God was handsome, unrestrained, and treated evil gods as nothing.
A few days ago, he had struck without warning, slaughtering the gods of Kuangfeng Town, which had thoroughly dropped everyone's jaws.
After all, even Nangong Wuji had been helpless against the evil gods of the six towns.
Having clashed with Shelang himself, Nangong Wuji knew full well how formidable that demigod was.
Yet Shelang had still been slain by the Origin Celestial Venerable. How could they not be astonished?
However, what followed had left them even more dumbfounded.
The Origin Celestial Venerable actually intended to cooperate with the New Gods and guide a True God into the world.
They could not comprehend it at all.
"I am not entirely sure about this matter," Huang Mengying said. "Yesterday, our scout sent to Qingshui Village returned. The Origin Celestial Venerable said... he is indeed cooperating with the New Gods, and that he intends to welcome a True God into Qingshui Village."
Hearing this, Wang Wenqi's eyes turned bloodshot. "My great-grandfather placed his trust in him in vain!"
Wang Wenqi was, in truth, a descendant of Venerable Tianbao.
More than a dozen days ago, she had been entrusted by her great-grandfather to travel to Feihuang City in Lin Country, find a man named the Origin Celestial Venerable, and deliver certain items to him.
Those items were supreme treasures capable of helping a divine creature at the peak of the Purple Mansion break through to the realm of a True God.
Her great-grandfather had held this Origin Celestial Venerable in such high regard that he had sent her across thousands of li to present the treasures.
Yet her great-grandfather had died at the hands of an evil god, while that man... had actually sided with them!
How could Wang Wenqi not burn with fury?
Nangong Wuji merely let out a long sigh. "You can know a person's face, but not their heart. What he truly intends, we do not know. But his desire to guide down a True God is certainly real. We must awaken Ancient God Yuan as soon as possible. Otherwise... once a True God descends, not a sliver of hope will remain."
***
Elsewhere, the black-robed man who had been pursuing Wang Wenqi entered a dilapidated courtyard, his figure shrouded beneath his dark hood, hiding his face from view.
Before him stood an ugly man.
"My lord." The ugly man resembled a rat from the sewers, having just returned from a brothel, his body reeking of cheap rouge and powder.
The black-robed man frowned. "What is the state of the New Gods' power in Feihuang City right now?"
He had been tasked with capturing Wang Wenqi, but had run into the Foodless Cult.
Unable to overcome them alone, he had come seeking assistance.
The ugly man took on a slightly conflicted expression. "I hear that all the nearby New Gods have been killed."
"Oh? Slayed by whom?" The black-robed man's heart tightened. Could it be the Foodless Cult?
"There are plenty of rumors floating around. Some say the Five Great Families did it, some say Ancient God Yuan made a move, and others say it was the Origin Celestial Venerable." The ugly man recounted what he had overheard in the brothels.
The black-robed man raised a brow in displeasure. "Who is the Origin Celestial Venerable?"
"I heard he is an Ancient God... no, wait, a New God," the ugly man said.
"Speak clearly." The black-robed man suppressed his mounting irritation.
"I remember now! He's an Ancient God who defected to the New Gods. Supposedly, he is the one in charge of welcoming Venerable Taiyi."
"Are you certain?" The black-robed man kept his voice low.
"Certain!" the ugly man said cheerfully. "He joined the New Gods, absolutely true!"
"Hmph." The black-robed man let out a cold snort, his palm pressing forward to shatter the ugly man's skull. "Useless trash!"
After slaying the ugly man, the black-robed man wore a thoughtful smirk.
"So this Origin Celestial Venerable is a fellow traveler after all."
Having defected to the New Gods himself, he understood the psychology of Ancient Gods who did the same better than anyone.
Such individuals possessed no bottom line, climbing the ladder by any means necessary.
The deity he served was a New God at the peak of the First Step of Sky Treading—substantially stronger than Venerable Taiyi.
He could completely exploit this leverage to mobilize the Origin Celestial Venerable to assist him in capturing Wang Wenqi in Feihuang City.
If he failed to catch Wang Wenqi and she were taken by someone else later, he would lose tremendous face.
Before the True God, he would never be able to hold his head high, outmatched by his peers.
***
Kuangfeng Town.
Qi Yuan was feasting with immense satisfaction.
"Godfather... regarding that Venerable Taiyi, will there be any trouble?" Qi Qi asked cautiously.
She was deeply worried about Venerable Taiyi.
That was a genuine True God.
"How is the Yin-Birthing Stone coming along?" Qi Yuan asked.
At this, Qi Qi broke into a bright smile. From her pale, delicate palm, she presented a stark white stone. "Your daughter has just finished preparing it."
Qi Yuan took the Yin-Birthing Stone and examined it.
[Yin-Birthing Stone: Origin somewhat peculiar. Capable of aiding a living being in stepping into the realm of a True God.]
"Such a precious treasure, and you're willing to give it to me?" Qi Yuan said, amusement in his eyes.
"As long as Godfather can step into the realm of a True God, what does it matter if I give it to you?" Qi Qi did not mind in the slightest.
The satisfaction of raising her godfather to greatness could not be matched by anything else.
"By the way, Godfather, do you plan to break through into the True God realm using the Yin-Birthing Stone before making your move against Venerable Taiyi? I hear Venerable Taiyi has three divine apertures; you must be careful," Qi Qi added from the side.
In her view, her godfather's decision to guide down True God Taiyi was born of an intent to slay a god.
He intended to use the Yin-Birthing Stone to break through into the True God realm, then do battle with Venerable Taiyi.
Although her godfather would have only one divine aperture upon just breaking through, it was obvious that he had been exceptionally powerful in his past life—at least an existence of the Three Steps of Sky Treading.
For such an entity, crossing one or two divine apertures in battle once reaching the True God realm would pose no problem.
Hearing this, Qi Yuan shook his head. "I'm only at the middle stage of the Purple Mansion, not even at the peak. Even with the Yin-Birthing Stone, I can't break through into the True God realm."
The Yin-Birthing Stone was indeed a supreme treasure, but one still had to obey the fundamental laws of nature.
"Huh?" Qi Qi gasped, instantly anxious. "Godfather, you aren't at the peak of the Purple Mansion?"
She could not comprehend it. If not, how had he slain Shelang?
If he wasn't at the peak of the Purple Mansion, didn't that mean even with the stone, he couldn't break through to become a True God?
Wei Ting was strong, standing at the late Purple Mansion stage, yet even he would need half a month of steady cultivation to reach the peak.
What was her godfather thinking?
"Of course I'm not. I still have a ways to go. Still, if I slay a Venerable God, I'll probably reach the peak of the Purple Mansion," Qi Yuan remarked casually while munching on a piece of braised pig's head.
Otherwise, why would he choose to cooperate with the New Gods and summon Venerable Taiyi down?
It was entirely because this Venerable Taiyi met every single one of his criteria for a dream target.
First, he was old, definitely an old man.
Second, he was a treasure trove from head to toe. Killing him would grant not only a massive mountain of experience points, but also evil god spiritual power.
A True God's evil god spiritual power was vastly more fragrant than the scraps of Purple Mansion evil god spiritual power he currently held.
With it, Qi Yuan could visualize even stronger deities.
If he could bring out one of the Three Pure Ones or the like, he could practically lie flat and coast through life.
Of course, considering that his target was only Venerable Taiyi, that probably wasn't enough to visualize the Three Pure Ones.
This made Qi Yuan feel that Venerable Taiyi was, frankly, quite useless.
"Once this feast is done, I need to head back." Qi Yuan decided that after eating, he would return to Qingshui Village and proceed to the Mountain of Visualization.
Just then, a voice called out: "Lord God, a guest has come looking for you."
"Oh? What kind of guest?" Qi Yuan asked, mildly surprised.
He looked over to see a black-robed man walking toward them, led by Wei Ting.
The black-robed man glanced at Qi Yuan, his demeanor arrogant. "You are the god of Feihuang City?"
When dealing with people who had defected to the New Gods, one had to act haughty and domineering.
Such spineless cowards feared nothing more than that.
With that, the black-robed man showed no courtesy whatsoever, sitting himself down directly in the empty seat beside Qi Yuan with absolute fearlessness.
Qi Yuan blinked in bewilderment. "I don't think I told you that you could sit next to me?"
The black-robed man seemed not to hear him at all, pointing instead at Qi Qi. "This woman is quite beautiful. Is she your plaything? Lend her to me for some fun."
Hearing this, Qi Yuan flew into a rage. He lashed out instantly, slamming a fist straight into the black-robed man's gut. "You don't even ride a cheap moped or dye your hair yellow, and you dare set your eyes on my daughter!"
Qi Yuan's punch was ferociously brutal and infused with an origin divine ability, slamming the black-robed man flat against the ground.
He was utterly exasperated and furious.
Indeed, having a daughter who was too pretty brought endless trouble. Now even a street-punk wannabe—no, a black-robed creep who couldn't even afford a moped—dared covet her.
The black-robed man was stunned, having never anticipated that Qi Yuan would strike without a word.
Normally speaking, shouldn't spineless cowards who defected to the New Gods be extraordinarily cautious?
Why did he throw hands right away?
"Origin Celestial Venerable, I am an Imperial Guard of the Lin Country imperial court, a believer of True God Suihan!" The black-robed man felt he had to bring out his credentials.
Hearing that, Qi Yuan grew even more indignant. "A mere Imperial Guard! Do you have a five-insurance benefits package? Do you own a house and a car? And you dare set your sights on my daughter? And who the hell is True God Suihan? Is he retired? What's his monthly pension?"
The black-robed man was utterly dumbfounded. He suddenly felt that he had come today gravely unprepared.
This Origin Celestial Venerable was nothing like the spineless cowards of the past. The man was completely unhinged.
He hurriedly blurted out, "A misunderstanding! It's all a misunderstanding! I was only joking!"
Pinned to the ground by Qi Yuan's strike, his entire body was immobilized, unable to stir in the slightest.
"Joking around like some greasy creep," Qi Yuan scolded, staring down at him. "Did your father never teach you that a joke is only a joke if the other person can laugh at it?"
Beside them, Qi Qi stared blankly, the events having unfolded so swiftly that she had not even had time to react.
Chapter 184