How could Venerable Taiyi not be furious?
What kind of pedigree did he even have to warrant an ambush from a Great Venerable?
Those terrifying lightning serpents—any single one of them was capable of slaying a True God at the first step of Sky Treading.
Faced with such an overwhelming powerhouse, he had no ability to fight back whatsoever.
High in the heavens, Great Venerable Shenlei stood amidst raging gales, his coarse hair cropped short.
When Qi Yuan's voice reached his ears, he felt a flicker of confusion.
His massive hand swiftly reached out and grasped.
From the peerlessly formidable Venerable Taiyi, nothing remained of his body except for a single scrap of mangled flesh.
Clutching that scrap of flesh, Great Venerable Shenlei materialized before Qi Yuan. "Disciple, you spoke too slowly. Still, we got lucky—he's still got a bit of breath left in him."
Great Venerable Shenlei spread his broad palm, revealing a scorched, blackened hunk of meat.
This piece of meat looked more well-done than anything in a barbecue joint.
And yet... it was actually still alive.
Qi Yuan stared at the scrap of flesh, his eyes gleaming. "Big Boss, could you give that to me?"
He could sense that the powerhouse before him was a Great Venerable.
Though not quite on par with Great Venerable Wangyue, an existence of this caliber was still far beyond what he could handle right now.
A true man knew when to bend and when to stand tall.
"This old man promised you a meeting gift, so of course it's yours." Great Venerable Shenlei tossed the blackened hunk of meat to Qi Yuan.
Qi Yuan stared at the charred mass. The sword behind his back materialized, gleaming with a blinding burst of light.
He had to slay a god to reap the experience points.
"Take my sword, you old fossil!"
Qi Yuan had coveted this white moonlight of his for quite some time.
He had plotted and carefully schemed in every conceivable way just to coax it down here.
There was no way he would let the experience and evil god spiritual power go to waste.
*Clang!*
The blade collided with the scrap of flesh, producing an excruciatingly awkward result.
Qi Yuan nearly stumbled back on his heels.
That hunk of meat was far too resilient; his strike failed to leave so much as a scratch.
Witnessing this, Great Venerable Shenlei burst into uproarious laughter. "You need to eat more meat and build up your strength! Look at those scrawny arms and legs of yours—I doubt you could even manage three thousand women in a single night!"
He naturally knew Qi Yuan had not stepped into the True God realm.
Without entering the True God realm, how could one possibly fight a True God?
Even with a piece of god flesh lying completely defenseless before him, Qi Yuan couldn't cut through it.
Great Venerable Shenlei had deliberately waited just to watch Qi Yuan make a fool of himself.
As for the people of the fief, seeing this unfold, every one of them desperately wanted to laugh but didn't dare.
After all, they still had to preserve their divine lord's dignity.
At that moment, Wang Wenqi, standing beside Qi Yuan, extended her hand and plucked the strings of her pipa.
A piercing, discordant note rang out, and the hunk of flesh disintegrated into ash in an instant.
In that split second, boundless experience flooded into Qi Yuan's body.
Having only recently crossed level seventy, his level surged continuously, breaching level eighty-nine in the blink of an eye before coming to a halt just shy of level ninety.
A potent surge of evil god spiritual power also settled into Qi Yuan's grasp.
He instantly felt high-spirited and thoroughly satisfied.
Only then did he turn toward the burly, short-haired elder, his eyes sparkling. "Not bad, Big Boss. You've got some serious skills."
"Your talent isn't half bad either." Great Venerable Shenlei regarded Qi Yuan closely. "Back in ancient times, which department did you belong to?"
Qi Yuan looked at Great Venerable Shenlei and lowered his voice conspiratorially. "My background is a bit confidential. If I tell you, you can't tell anyone else."
Understanding dawned in Great Venerable Shenlei's mind.
*As expected, an operative on a special assignment. How else could he know of so many True Gods I have never even heard of?*
"I belong to... the Huaxia Dragon Group!" Qi Yuan said placidly.
Who on earth didn't know the legendary Huaxia Dragon Group?
It was packed to the brim with top talent, so having something like the Four Heavenly Kings show up was completely standard, wasn't it?
"The Huaxia Dragon Group?" Great Venerable Shenlei murmured the name under his breath. "I've never heard of it. Yet the moment I hear those words, they strike me as... extraordinary."
"Big Boss, are you interested in joining the Dragon Group? If you sign up now, I can make you the captain of a special ops squad," Qi Yuan coaxed persuasively.
The might of a Great Venerable was still nothing to scoff at.
A playful smirk played across Great Venerable Shenlei's face. "I came here to take you as my disciple, not to join some damned Huaxia Dragon Group. This old man's strength is decent enough, isn't it? Come on, become my disciple, and your master will dote on you plenty."
Qi Yuan's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "You want to take me as your disciple?"
"Naturally."
"Your strength isn't quite up to par, though."
The smile froze on Great Venerable Shenlei's face.
"I used the qi of the five elements for Qi Refinement, consumed the Heavenly Dao for Foundation Establishment, and condensed a Stellar Golden Core... Your abilities are just so-so. At most, you could qualify as a special effects artist in my crew," Qi Yuan continued.
He already had background music and audio effects covered, but every time he marched out to battle, he was still lacking in the visual effects department.
Great Venerable Shenlei's boundless sea of thunder and horrifying god of lightning were certainly more than enough to serve as special effects.
"Fascinating." Great Venerable Shenlei narrowed his eyes. "You already have a master?"
"I do." Qi Yuan looked at him. "I don't know exactly how strong my master is, but... she is definitely leagues ahead of you. Even though I formed a Stellar Golden Core, I wouldn't dare try to show off in front of my gorgeous master."
Qi Yuan's tone was dead serious.
In his eyes, his master, Ruan Yixi, had always been shrouded in mystery.
"Your master sounds intriguing. Where is she?" Great Venerable Shenlei asked.
He wondered if Qi Yuan's master, sounding as powerful as she did, might be the head of this so-called Huaxia Dragon Group.
Could she be an absolute powerhouse who had taken the sixth or even seventh step of Sky Treading?
If that were the case, he truly had no right to compare himself to her.
"My master is rather introverted. Because I called her 'wifey' every single day, she got shy and ran off," Qi Yuan said earnestly.
"..." Great Venerable Shenlei's expression turned exceedingly strange. "You actually call your master 'wifey'?"
"She's my wife to begin with. What's wrong with calling her wifey?" Qi Yuan took it entirely for granted.
"*Cough, cough*... On second thought, this old man won't be taking you as a disciple after all. I don't have the blessing for it!" Great Venerable Shenlei had no desire to be called "wifey" by another man.
The sheer thought of such a spectacle made his skin crawl.
Imagine taking his disciple along to visit old friends down the line, only to have the boy chirping "wifey, wifey" behind him—he would die of sheer mortification.
A sudden thought struck him, and he asked, "Did your master ever take you to meet her friends?"
"No," Qi Yuan answered, shaking his head.
Great Venerable Shenlei understood at once. *How could she possibly dare to?*
Just picturing the scene was terrifying.
Qi Yuan looked at Great Venerable Shenlei, feeling thoroughly baffled. "I feel like you've misunderstood something. I don't have a habit of calling men 'wifey.'"
Great Venerable Shenlei chuckled. "No misunderstanding at all."
"Big Boss, do you want to join my effects team or not? If you join now... you can still be the team lead. Once the rest of our Huaxia Dragon Group and the heavenly pantheon descend upon this world, you'll be relegated to an extra," Qi Yuan pointed out.
As far as he was concerned, someone of Great Venerable Shenlei's caliber was still well worth roping in.
Seeing his persistence, Great Venerable Shenlei laughed heartily. "I'm quite intrigued by this Huaxia Dragon Group of yours. This old man will stick around and see just what gods you've got—could it really be that I won't recognize a single one?"
"It's fine for you to stay in Qingshui Village, Big Boss, but let's make things clear beforehand: don't you go stealing my kills." Qi Yuan loathed having his kills stolen.
After all, every single takedown represented a massive haul of experience.
"Amusing." Great Venerable Shenlei studied Qi Yuan. "This old man will not make a move casually. Otherwise, if it draws other powerhouses here, even I could die in this place."
In truth, his intervention today had been heavily restrained.
If he had drawn the attention of the other New Gods, escaping would have been no easy feat.
"That works, then." Hearing this, Qi Yuan breathed a sigh of relief.
***
Meanwhile, within Feihuang City.
The crowd gathered in the City Lord's Manor was filled with sheer disbelief.
"Venerable Taiyi's... aura is gone!"
"Gone?"
"Did you all see that horrifying lightning just now?"
"That was definitely a True God! Origin Celestial Venerable actually had reinforcements!"
"We misjudged him all along..."
Huang Mengying's voice trailed off, deep regret washing over her heart.
Back then, they had harbored immense dread toward Origin Celestial Venerable.
Now that the truth had come to light, she felt intensely self-reproachful.
The others present shared similar expressions of shame.
Ruoyu was no exception.
Driven by fear of Origin Celestial Venerable, he had fled Shisha Town altogether to seek refuge in Feihuang City.
The shame weighing upon him was heavier than anyone else's.
At that moment, Nangong Wuji spoke with a grave expression. "Venerable Taiyi's fall... means the greatest crisis for Feihuang City has only just begun!"
The moment those words were spoken, the faces of everyone present darkened once more.
In the past, because Venerable Taiyi had staked a claim on Feihuang City, other evil gods had refrained from making a move on it.
Now that Venerable Taiyi had perished, those evil gods would likely be unable to restrain themselves from striking at Feihuang City.
"Let's go. We're heading to Qingshui Village to see Origin Celestial Venerable!" Huang Mengying made her decision.
Yet before roughly fifteen minutes could pass, a clear, crisp voice echoed across the entirety of Feihuang City.
"By decree of Origin Celestial Venerable!"
"Venerable Taiyi has perished!"
"Feihuang City shall hold a feast and celebrate for three days!"
Those who had been preparing to leave for Qingshui Village all froze in their tracks.
Nangong Wuji shook his head. "This Origin Celestial Venerable is truly a fascinating fellow. What a shame, what a pity."
"A pity for what?" someone asked him.
"A pity that I worship the Holy Mother of Inedia. Otherwise, I would certainly feast for three full days," Nangong Wuji said.
Laughter rippled through the gathered crowd.
"Since Origin Celestial Venerable is throwing a three-day feast in Feihuang City, that means he's claiming the city as his own. As for the threat of an evil god invasion, with him looking after it, there's no need for us to pull long faces," Nangong Wuji noted.
Venerable Taiyi had barely descended before being slain by a village-level deity of Qingshui Village—Origin Celestial Venerable.
Like wildfire, the news swept through the neighboring cities and regions.
Many True Gods took note of Qi Yuan with curious gazes, while several evil gods sneered with contempt, paying him no heed.
Among the Ancient Gods, a few looked on with peculiar glints in their eyes.
***
Deep within the North Sea God Eye.
A woman clad in magnificent robes held several invitations in her delicate hand.
A faint, surprised smile touched her eyes. "Origin Celestial Venerable of Qingshui Village... actually eliminated Venerable Taiyi. Interesting, very interesting."
This was the second time she had heard the name Origin Celestial Venerable.
The first had been just a few days ago, when the Palace Master of the North Sea God Eye planned to hold the Hundred Flowers Gathering and sent out invitations far and wide to invite various Ancient Gods.
She had been placed in charge of the matter.
A few days prior, an old friend of hers had approached her, asking to add an extra name to the guest list.
She had looked into him, only to find that the candidate was merely a village-level guardian god who wasn't even a True God—he might not have even attained the Purple Mansion.
She had politely turned her old friend down.
After all, if they weren't careful, every stray mongrel under the sun would end up walking into the Hundred Flowers Gathering.
Now, however, since the man possessed combat strength on par with a True God, granting her old friend this favor was a different story.
"Someone, summon Granny Ma here," the robed woman instructed.
Before long, an elderly woman stepped into the palace hall.
The old woman appeared dazed and entranced, her eyes cloudy and her spirit rather frail.
"Granny Ma, that guardian god of Qingshui Village you mentioned before seems to possess combat power at the True God realm. Originally, he would still not be qualified to attend the Hundred Flowers Gathering, but in consideration of our many years of friendship, I will grant him this invitation." The robed woman produced an invitation and tossed it over to Granny Ma.
Catching the invitation, a glimmer of lucidity surfaced in Granny Ma's cloudy eyes. "Thank you."
The robed woman smiled faintly. "Given the bond between us, there is no need for such formalities. However, you must remind that ancient god of yours that the guests arriving at the North Sea God Eye this time all possess extraordinarily noble status. He should keep a low profile as much as possible. If he ends up offending other ancient gods, even I won't be able to smooth things over for him."
"Understood." Granny Ma nodded.
The robed woman looked at Granny Ma with a wistful sigh. "Our two clans were originally family friends, both magnificent lineages in the ancient era. What a pity..."
The North Sea God Eye was inhabited by the Water Clan.
Without the Water Clan's permission, not even a True God could enter the North Sea God Eye.
Coupled with favorable terrain and other strategic advantages, the remaining evil gods had not dared set their sights on the North Sea God Eye for the time being.
Within the northern lands, the safest place was none other than the North Sea God Eye.
Every year, numerous True Gods journeyed here seeking asylum.
A sharp light suddenly flared within Granny Ma's eyes. "The Phoenix Clan will surely rise from the ashes!"
As long as she could bring the Young Miss back to the Ancestral Land, the Young Miss would undoubtedly have the chance to obtain the Phoenix Clan's legacy and restore their former glory.
In ancient times, several mighty beings who walked the sixth step of Sky Treading had emerged from the Phoenix Clan.
Even back then, they were considered colossal titans.
***
Back in Qingshui Village.
Qi Yuan held the treasures in his hands, his gaze complicated.
"These five treasures... aren't enough for me to break through to the True God realm?"
After hitting level eighty-nine, Qi Yuan had prepared to break through to the True God realm.
Yet even with five supreme treasures ready, he had a distinct premonition that he would still fail to achieve the breakthrough.
He glanced over the descriptions of the five treasures.
[*Xuanling Armor: Origin somewhat peculiar. Capable of aiding one in breaking through to the True God realm.*]
...
[*Sanhuan Jade: Origin somewhat peculiar. Capable of aiding one in breaking through to the True God realm.*]
"It clearly says it can, so why can't I? Could it be that I'm not human?"
Staring at the treasures, Qi Yuan felt a strange mix of bewilderment and curiosity.
Recalling something, he walked out of the shrine.
Right away, he spotted his goddaughter, Qi Qi, alongside Great Venerable Shenlei.
Upon arriving at Qingshui Village, Great Venerable Shenlei had originally intended to take Qi Yuan as his disciple.
Later, however, after encountering Qi Qi, he had set his sights on taking her instead.
Unfortunately, Qi Qi had refused.
Why work hard herself when she could just let her godfather do the heavy lifting?
"Qi Qi, your talent is by no means inferior to your godfather's. You really shouldn't let it go to waste!" Great Venerable Shenlei pleaded earnestly.
Qi Qi shook her head. "Say no more. I decline."
Just then, Qi Yuan's light chuckle drifted over. "Qi Qi did the right thing. If she took you as her master, wouldn't you be of the same generation as me? That would be far too big a loss on my end."
Great Venerable Shenlei's eyes bulged. "Being of the same generation as this old man is an injustice to you?!"
"Just a tiny bit," Qi Yuan answered honestly.
If glares could kill, Great Venerable Shenlei would have slain Qi Yuan dozens of times over by now. "You brat, your mouth is fouler than mine. Watch out that disaster doesn't strike you for running your mouth!"
Even as he said that, Great Venerable Shenlei felt that Qi Yuan was remarkably to his taste.
Otherwise, if anyone who wasn't even a True God dared prance around in front of him like this, they would have ended up dead without ever knowing how it happened.
"I brush my teeth every day, so my mouth isn't foul at all." Qi Yuan looked at Great Venerable Shenlei. "Would you like me to recommend a toothpaste to you? Hmm, Nice Yiyale would suit you very nicely."
Great Venerable Shenlei rolled his eyes at him. "Weren't you inside preparing to break through to True God? What did you come out for?"
Qi Yuan took out the five supreme treasures, a gloomy expression on his face. "*Sigh*, for some reason, these supreme treasures can't help me break through."
A trace of shock crossed Great Venerable Shenlei's eyes. "They can't help you break through?"
"Nope, not at all." Qi Yuan nodded vigorously.
Great Venerable Shenlei's gaze flickered thoughtfully. "These supreme treasures can indeed help someone break through to the True God realm. However... certain true prodigies with immense potential truly cannot break through using just a single treasure. They require... more. Brat, could it be you're actually that kind of prodigy? I sure can't tell."
Great Venerable Shenlei found it utterly inconceivable.
Prodigies of that caliber were exceedingly rare.
Hearing this, Qi Yuan's face fell. "That extreme?"
He knew very well that supreme treasures on the level of the Yin-Birthing Stone were limited in quantity throughout this world.
Or rather, there were only so many in existence.
If even breakthroughs had restrictions like this, did that mean if he visualized someone on the level of True Monarch Erlang, even a pile of these treasures wouldn't be enough to achieve the breakthrough?
"Speaking of this matter, one must trace it all the way back to ancient times." Great Venerable Shenlei looked at the treasures in Qi Yuan's hands. "Do you know what these treasures... actually are?"
"Huh?" Holding the items, Qi Yuan looked puzzled.
"These supreme treasures are, in truth... the remnants left behind by the Holy Mother of Inedia before her death," Great Venerable Shenlei said, his voice tinged with melancholy. "During the Hongtang Great War, the Holy Mother of Inedia was the strongest ancient god of our Mortal Heart Realm. In terms of strength, she stood a mere half-step away from transcending the True God realm. Unfortunately, facing the evil gods, she ultimately fell in battle. The evil gods' invasion severed the Mortal Heart Realm's Heavenly Pillar, and from that moment onward... mortals of the Mortal Heart Realm could no longer break through to the True God realm. The Holy Mother of Inedia could not bear to witness this fate. Before her demise, she transformed her very being into these supreme treasures, preserving an alternate path for the Mortal Heart Realm."
Qi Yuan was visibly moved by the tale.
The Holy Mother of Inedia's sacrifice carried the profound tragedy of a fallen whale giving life to an entire ocean.
"Because of this, once an individual's talent is too high and surpasses that of the Holy Mother of Inedia, a single treasure can hardly allow them to break through to the True God realm. There are even some whose innate gifts are so peerless that not even a multitude of treasures will suffice," Great Venerable Shenlei explained slowly.
Though the Holy Mother of Inedia had once been arguably the foremost figure in the Mortal Heart Realm, her raw talent had never belonged to the absolute pinnacle of her era.
Chapter 187