Enduring the pain, the black-robed man said, "It's all a misunderstanding! We both worship the New Gods—there's no need for infighting."
Only upon hearing this did Qi Yuan take a proper look at him.
"A little bundle of experience?"
Catching Qi Yuan's gaze, fear welled unbidden in the black-robed man's heart.
For reasons he could not fathom, even though the other man's look was distinctly gentle—tinged even with a trace of eager anticipation—it sent chills straight down his spine.
"What did you come to me for?" Qi Yuan asked, suddenly intrigued.
Was he playing out a scene from *Infernal Affairs* right now?
He needed to look stylish and exude an imposing aura, uttering profound and inscrutable lines to elevate his swagger.
"A woman from Jiang Country fled into Feihuang City, carrying a tremendous treasure."
"Solanum?" Qi Yuan asked in surprise.
"...No. Her name is Wang Wenqi, a direct bloodline descendant of Venerable Tianbao.
Half a month ago, she abruptly left the Jiang Country capital under suspicious circumstances, seemingly carrying a supreme treasure.
By the decree of True God Suihan, I came to capture her and retrieve that supreme treasure." The black-robed man spoke with a blend of truth and lies.
He had received no decree from True God Suihan whatsoever, but invoked the name in hopes of intimidating Qi Yuan.
"Out with it," Qi Yuan said. He had nearly tacked on the second half of the colloquial phrase, but remembering that he was supposed to be undercover in *Infernal Affairs*, he had to preserve his dignity. Barking "spit it out or fart it out" would make him sound like a common thug.
The black-robed man hastened to say, "However, several formidable experts from the Foodless Cult currently reside in Feihuang City. I am no match for them alone. I ask Origin Celestial Venerable to join forces with me. Whatever treasure we secure, we split fifty-fifty."
Qi Yuan looked at him. "Is that all?"
The black-robed man inwardly sighed with relief. Between True God Suihan's name and an equal split of the treasure, he felt confident he had swayed Qi Yuan.
Yet to his utter bewilderment, Qi Yuan came out with an inexplicable line: "In the past, I had no choice. Now, I want to be a good person."
*Bang.*
Qi Yuan snapped his fingers as though pulling a trigger. The black-robed man's head burst apart, leaving him dead beyond dead.
Even in his final moments, the man could not comprehend why this spineless coward who had supposedly defected to the New Gods dared to kill him.
Qi Yuan turned to Qi Qi, looking every bit the stern old father. "If you ever dare bring an old man like this home again, I'll hack him to death on the spot!"
He didn't even ride a modded scooter.
Qi Qi fell silent for a long moment before finally saying, "Godfather, I didn't bring him here."
"Ah? Did I kill the wrong guy then?" Qi Yuan felt a pang of embarrassment. "Time to eat!"
Once the feast concluded, Qi Yuan returned to his dilapidated temple in Qingshui Village.
Dusk had already fallen, and the crimson hue in the sky deepened. The entire village seemed bathed in an eerie red glow, appearing extraordinarily unsettling.
Qi Yuan logged into the chat group.
The group was fairly quiet at the moment.
Qi Yuan sent a message: "Do any of you know Venerable Tianbao's surname?"
Before long, Venerable Baixi, who usually lurked in silence, popped up: "It should be Wang."
"Thanks, boss!" Qi Yuan replied.
"Origin Celestial Venerable, are you preparing to visualize again?" Venerable Baixi asked. "Last time, golden light flared brilliantly across the Mountain of Visualization before you departed. Could it be that you visualized an Epic god?"
Venerable Baixi was referring to Qi Yuan's previous trip to the visualization realm, when he had manifested the Giant Spirit God.
"Yes, that was me," Qi Yuan answered without concealing anything.
The moment those words appeared, the lurking members in the group exploded.
"Two Epics?!"
"This aptitude rivals even Venerable Baixi!"
"Eastern Heavenly Emperor, stop boasting about being a Youthful Heavenly Emperor from now on. Clearly, Origin Celestial Venerable is the true Heavenly Emperor!" Venerable Shenmiao chimed in.
Venerable Heilong could not help but add: "I bow before the master!"
Visualizing two Epic beings placed him at the very top of the group.
Even Venerable Baixi was half a step behind compared to Origin Celestial Venerable.
"Sigh, it's really nothing. Right now, all I'm visualizing are small fry—it feels rather underwhelming.
I blame having so little evil god spiritual power. Otherwise, it would be great to visualize someone truly formidable," Qi Yuan said honestly.
Who had he visualized so far?
The Howling Celestial Dog, the Earth God, and the Giant Spirit God.
While their names were renowned, their actual combat strength was somewhat modest.
Fortunately, Qi Yuan was in no hurry. He planned to visualize someone a bit stronger next.
Yet to the ancient gods in the group, his earnest words sounded painfully provocative.
"You punk, you're even better at flexing than me!" Dong Jianghe said indignantly.
Thinking of Origin Celestial Venerable visualizing two Epics gave him a raging toothache.
*Could the fortune of my Eastern Dynasty truly have run dry? Am I fated to become the Duke of Eastern Ruin?*
Dong Jianghe resolved that this would never do.
He had to visualize a formidable God Visualization Art of his own to reclaim his face.
The other ancient gods in the group hurried to shower Qi Yuan with flattery.
"Origin Celestial Venerable, please don't forget us in the future!"
"A master is indeed a master—not even satisfied with Epics!"
None of them took Qi Yuan's self-deprecation at face value.
In their eyes, after countless eras, very few True Gods remained available to be visualized.
Perhaps a few unknown Epics lingered undiscovered.
But Legendary and Mythological beings were unfathomably terrifying, and nearly all had already been claimed through visualization long ago.
Even if any remained, there were likely only a sparse few left—each visualization meant one fewer existed in the world.
One had to realize that once a Legendary God Visualization Art emerged, the practitioner could instantly step into Purple Mansion perfection. Provided they had the requisite treasures, they could directly take the First Step of Sky Treading and become a True God.
And they would be an exceptionally powerful one at that.
"Unfortunately, my evil god spiritual power is still too meager. This time, I can only visualize a background-character deity. Still, it's a step up from the previous ones," Qi Yuan said.
"A background-character Epic? Origin Celestial Venerable, you must be joking!" Venerable Heilong remarked.
Everyone assumed Qi Yuan was merely teasing them.
In ancient times, which Epic-tier True God had not been at least a Great Venerable from the outset?
And not an ordinary Great Venerable, but an exceptionally mighty one!
At that moment, Qi Yuan entered the Mountain of Visualization.
*The pantheon is still too chaotic. Which one should I visualize?*
Qi Yuan pondered.
He wanted to visualize the Four Heavenly Kings.
However, on the Blue Star, there were many different versions of them.
The Four Heavenly Kings also had an unofficial title: the ultimate litmus test for experts.
Anyone capable of taking on all four at once was undeniably a truly powerful deity.
Like Fairy Zixia toying with them single-handedly in *A Chinese Odyssey*.
Or Chenxiang furiously battling them in *Lotus Lantern*.
And in *Journey to the West*, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven had clashed with them as well.
Though they repeatedly suffered defeat and served as background props, their intrinsic strength was unquestionably formidable.
This time, Qi Yuan planned to visualize one of the Four Heavenly Kings.
He lacked the evil god spiritual power to bring all four into being at once, but manifesting one was well within his means.
"A divine body of pure white, purple hair, face cast in wrathful majesty."
"Adorned in celestial vestments and red armor, clasping a pipa."
Qi Yuan blended the various imagery of this deity from his imagination, constructing an imposing figure of the Four Heavenly Kings: Chiguo Heavenly King, Mo Lihai.
In Qi Yuan's mind, a terrifying and majestic divine phantom materialized.
He cradled a pipa, and as music resonated, it seemed capable of dispelling all evil and upholding order.
A stray thought popped into Qi Yuan's mind: *This Chiguo Heavenly King could easily join a suona funeral troupe.*
As the Stellar Golden Core shone brightly, the Mountain of Visualization posed its inquiries.
Qi Yuan answered them one by one.
Suddenly...
Golden light erupted within the Mountain of Visualization.
And this time, it was not merely golden radiance; the melodious cries of a hundred birds echoed across the realm.
A God Visualization Art descended into Qi Yuan's hands.
Back in the chat group, chaos erupted.
"The cry of a hundred birds—someone has visualized a Legendary!"
"How could there still be a Legendary left?!"
"That is a Legendary! Back during the Hongtang Great War, they were supreme overlords commanding an entire front!"
There were only a dozen or so Mythological entities.
Even for Legendaries, there were merely several dozen to a hundred at most.
Those that could be visualized should have been depleted long ago.
With one suddenly surfacing now, how could the group members not be astounded?
Even the usually composed Venerable Baixi could not resist speaking: "The one who visualized a Legendary... it couldn't be Origin Celestial Venerable, could it?"
The question was met with stunned silence.
"Impossible, absolutely impossible!" Dong Jianghe could not accept this reality.
Just then, Qi Yuan returned to the chat.
Venerable Shenmiao quickly asked, "Origin Celestial Venerable, was it you who just visualized a Legendary?"
The other gods stared at the chat feed in breathless anticipation.
"Yeah. Fluked my way into visualizing one."
The ancient gods in the group swallowed hard.
Dong Jianghe's eyes bulged with disbelief. *Could it be that I'm the real clown in this group?*
"Who was it?" Venerable Heilong asked with a trembling tone.
How could a God Visualization Art of this caliber still exist?
"I visualized Chiguo Heavenly King, Mo Lihai," Qi Yuan replied truthfully.
The members were left utterly bewildered.
"Why have I never heard of this True God?"
"Nor have I."
"Sigh, what a pity my evil god spiritual power wasn't enough. Otherwise, I would have visualized his three brothers as well."
"He has three brothers?!"
"What is their strength? What are their names?" Venerable Baixi hurried to ask.
He wanted to deduce who this so-called Chiguo Heavenly King was.
If the individual was unknown, perhaps he could work backward through the brothers.
"Mo Liqing, Mo Lihong, and Mo Lishou. The four of them are the Four Generals of the Mo Family, also known as... the Four Heavenly Kings.
Their strengths should all be roughly on par—rather average, really."
Hearing this, the group members looked at each other in utter shock.
They had no inkling who these four were.
Yet Origin Celestial Venerable described them as... average.
"Meaning to say, there are three more Legendary-tier God Visualization Arts... that you haven't visualized yet?" Venerable Baixi inquired in the chat.
"Yeah."
Everyone was thoroughly shaken.
Venerable Baixi immediately followed up: "Origin Celestial Venerable, would you consider leaving Lin Country for somewhere else?
Your talent is simply too terrifying. Lingering in Lin Country is a waste.
Why not head to the Ancient God Alliance? I have a close friend there!
I can recommend you for entry!"
Venerable Baixi was truly moved by this peerless talent.
Yielding four Legendaries was extraordinarily rare across the entire Mortal Heart Realm.
It was fair to say that Origin Celestial Venerable's worth was no less than that of a Great Venerable.
Four Legendary God Visualization Arts would undoubtedly forge four Great Venerables.
Such capability was staggering beyond belief.
"No thanks. I'm busy right now and don't want to travel elsewhere," Qi Yuan refused flatly.
Having said his piece, he promptly exited the chat.
Meanwhile, in far-off Hu Country to the east.
Venerable Baixi stared at the messages, his expression shifting continuously. "A true paragon!"
How could he let such a talent slip away?
A thought struck him, and he lit a stick of incense inside his chamber.
Moments later, a white-haired elder materialized, looking upon Venerable Baixi with a kindly gaze.
"Baixi, why have you summoned me?"
This white-haired elder was a terrifying ancient god at the Great Venerable realm.
Though only a phantom projection appeared, every divine creature within the palace felt an overwhelming, suffocating pressure.
"Master, your disciple has encountered an extraordinary genius!" Venerable Baixi hurriedly recounted the matter regarding Origin Celestial Venerable.
Hearing the tale, a look of wonder crossed the elder's eyes. "To think such a genius exists. If he grows to maturity, our Ancient Gods will gain at least five more Great Venerables!"
"Master, he is currently located in Lin Country, which is a fallen territory.
I implore Master to intervene—either bring him out of the fallen territory or safeguard his life!" Venerable Baixi said earnestly.
The white-haired elder's gaze flickered thoughtfully. "His talent is formidable indeed, but... compared to the Child of Destiny, he still falls short.
At present, several of us are focused entirely on nurturing that Child of Destiny; we simply cannot spare the hands."
The elder made a swift judgment.
Origin Celestial Venerable certainly intrigued him, possessing exceptional gifts.
Yet compared to the Child of Destiny, who could visualize a Mythological God Visualization Art, he still paled in comparison.
"But..." Venerable Baixi had not anticipated such an outcome.
Still, he understood the priority.
"Master, his talent and potential are genuinely immense—far surpassing my own!" Venerable Baixi pressed on, desperate to plead his case.
"Right now, nothing may jeopardize the Child of Destiny. Since he is in a fallen territory, I cannot go," the elder said. "Four Legendaries... are truly impressive. However... even ten Legendaries cannot compare to a single Mythological."
"Master!" Venerable Baixi wanted to dissuade him further.
"My disciple, I know you cannot bear to see a genius fall," the elder chuckled warmly. "Great Venerable Shenlei happens to have no disciples, nor can he join us in nurturing the Child of Destiny. I shall inform him of this matter instead."
Venerable Baixi let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Master."
While Great Venerable Shenlei could not rival his master and was severely injured, his cultivation sharply diminished, he was nonetheless a Great Venerable!
Chapter 185