"What?"
Venerable Huanghun was a bit dazed.
"You don't seriously think that having Divine Domain Celestial Liquid will let us beat the evil gods, do you? You're giving us way too much credit!" Venerable Huanghun laughed.
Venerable Huolian rolled her eyes at him. "Who said it was for you?"
Forget about handing out Divine Domain Celestial Liquid; even if the twenty-odd Ancient Gods present all broke through to Great Venerables at once, it wouldn't change the overarching situation in the Mortal Heart Realm.
"This time, I will take everyone to a certain place. Once we arrive, don't move around recklessly. Follow my instructions in everything," Qi Yuan instructed the Ancient Gods and villagers present.
This time, having slaughtered two evil god military camps and wiped out the evil gods at Sunset Slope, Qi Yuan had accumulated an immense amount of evil god spiritual power.
Since Great Venerable Shenlei had asked him to leave a few Mythological spots for the Mythological Plan, Qi Yuan decided not to take what others cherished. Instead, he would use the Lost Glowstick to travel to the past and visualize there.
Back then, the Heavenly Pillar had not yet collapsed, so visualization would not face any restrictions.
At his words, the Ancient Gods were stunned.
So the benefit wasn't giving out Divine Domain Celestial Liquid?
The anticipation in their eyes visibly faded.
Still, facing Qi Yuan, none dared to bring it up.
Great Venerable Shenlei looked at the Ancient Gods and couldn't help muttering, "A bunch of spineless cowards. What does Divine Domain Celestial Liquid even amount to?"
Hearing this, Venerable Huanghun badly wanted to retort that he was a Great Venerable who had no need for Divine Domain Celestial Liquid, while ordinary Venerables like them desperately needed it. Wary of Great Venerable Shenlei's strength, however, he held his tongue.
"Don't worry, this benefit is by no means inferior to Divine Domain Celestial Liquid," Qi Yuan said.
Amid everyone's puzzled looks, he brought out the Lost Glowstick.
The Ancient Gods and villagers stared at the Lost Glowstick with curiosity.
The Lost Glowstick radiated light, enveloping everyone present.
Spacetime shifted and flowed.
The scene before them abruptly changed.
"Where is this?"
"How strange—why can't I touch the flowers, grass, or trees here?!"
"Wait, what is that... the Heavenly Pillar!"
The Ancient Gods and villagers couldn't help looking toward the towering mountain ahead, their eyes filled with shock.
That majestic mountain was the Heavenly Pillar!
Hadn't the Heavenly Pillar collapsed long ago?
How had it suddenly appeared?
Everything before them defied their expectations.
Qi Yuan looked at the villagers and Ancient Gods and said calmly, "Don't panic. We've simply traveled to the past."
Traveling through spacetime was something Qi Yuan did all the time; he was thoroughly used to it.
The villagers and Ancient Gods, however, sucked in cold breaths.
"Traveled to the past..."
"Hiss..."
The stronger one became, the more one felt one's own insignificance.
Across the myriad realms, a Yin God was merely a speck of dust.
True Gods, who appeared omnipotent in the eyes of mortals, were actually incapable of doing many things.
Traveling through spacetime was an exceptionally profound feat.
A Yin God couldn't even touch the Dao of Time.
In the eyes of these Ancient Gods, even Yang Gods likely found it difficult to grasp.
Now, Qi Yuan had brought them through spacetime back to the past.
How could they not be shocked?
"I brought you back to the past using a treasure I obtained from the Ancient Clan's Ancestral Land. However, aside from looking, we cannot sense the past, nor can we interact with the people of the past."
Qi Yuan made no secret of the Lost Glowstick.
He didn't know whether the Lost Glowstick's original owner was dead or alive, so he couldn't copy it—unlike Wu Tong back in the Liufeng Realm, who had said a line Qi Yuan really liked. Qi Yuan had simply killed him, taken the line for himself, and turned it into his own original work.
The others looked at the Lost Glowstick in utter awe.
They had long heard that the Ancient Clan's Ancestral Land was fraught with peril, but they never imagined it held such a peerless treasure.
The only pity was that they couldn't affect or sense this world.
Didn't that mean they couldn't do many things?
"Right now, the Heavenly Pillar hasn't broken yet. Hurry and seize this time to cultivate; you might gain quite an improvement," Qi Yuan said.
So traveling to the past to cultivate was the benefit?
The crowd didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Only Great Venerable Shenlei thought of something and sent a voice transmission to Qi Yuan: "Don't tell me you plan to visualize a god from your Huaxia Dragon Group!"
"You guessed right," Qi Yuan replied.
"Really?!" Great Venerable Shenlei looked stunned. "I missed it last time. This time... I must see it with my own eyes."
Qi Yuan smiled faintly.
He stepped into the Land of Visualization.
This time, there was no chat group. He entered the Land of Visualization directly.
Looking at the mountain ahead, Qi Yuan felt rather intrigued.
"It seems the Heavenly Pillar and the Land of Visualization are both related to the Ancient Clan's Ancestral Land. Otherwise, a lot of things can't be explained," he murmured.
Casting aside all distractions, Qi Yuan began to visualize.
This time, he had brought several thousand villagers and thirty Ancient Gods.
As for what the villagers needed, aside from a few familiar faces who would get custom visualizations, the rest would simply be assigned as heavenly soldiers and generals, or from the Thirty-Six Heavenly Spirits, the Seventy-Two Earthly Fiends, the Sixty Year Gods, the Twenty-Four Cloud-Summoning and Rain-Aiding Dharma Protector Heavenly Venerables, the Thirty-Six Thunder Generals, and so on.
In any case, the deities in Qi Yuan's memory were countless.
Beyond the Heavenly Court, there were also the Ancestral Witches and Innate Gods and Fiends from the Primordial Era.
The one thing he never lacked was deities to visualize.
"I'll start by visualizing a formidable one for old geezer Shenlei. Otherwise, what if he suddenly kicks the bucket one day?"
Qi Yuan pondered which deity to visualize for Great Venerable Shenlei.
There were actually many deities associated with thunder: the Five Direction Thunder Emperors, the Five Direction Thunder Kings...
Among them, Qi Yuan remembered the most about Leizhenzi and the Nine Heavens Thunder Sound Universal Transformation Celestial Venerable.
The former, according to Qi Yuan's memory, had ultimately achieved physical sanctification and possessed immense strength.
The latter was the supreme commander of the Thunder Bureau, governing the entire bureau and revered as the Ancestor of Thunder. He was an incarnation of the Southern Pole Longevity Great Emperor, one of the Six Imperial Sovereigns, and held an exceedingly exalted status.
The Six Imperial Sovereigns were the Jade Emperor, the Heavenly Emperor, the Ziwei Great Emperor, the Qinghua Great Emperor, the Longevity Great Emperor, and Empress Earth.
An incarnation of such a supreme figure was a tier higher even than Marshal Tianpeng.
"The Nine Heavens Thunder Sound Universal Transformation Celestial Venerable it is!" Qi Yuan decided after some thought.
This grand figure's path suited Great Venerable Shenlei best.
Qi Yuan closed his eyes, and that terrifying deity surfaced in his mind.
A deity of this caliber, in Qi Yuan's understanding, far surpassed a Yang God.
Even "Mythological" was insufficient to describe it.
"Nine Heavens Yingyuan Mansion, Supreme Jade Purity King. Transforming forms to fill the ten directions, expounding the Dao atop nine phoenixes."
As Qi Yuan murmured the words, no figure appeared beside him in the Land of Visualization this time.
Yet across the firmament, terrifying dark clouds gathered densely, as if brewing world-shaking lightning.
The air turned still.
The Land of Visualization sank into silence.
Qi Yuan looked toward the Mountain of Visualization and saw it transform into lightning. The once-solid mountain took on the form of thunderbolts.
"Condense!"
Suddenly, a vast voice echoed within Qi Yuan's mind.
Qi Yuan blinked in surprise.
Why hadn't the Mountain of Visualization posed the Two Inquiries of the Heart? Had it condensed the God Visualization Art directly?
This caught Qi Yuan off guard.
Originally, when he slew the evil gods at Sunset Slope, he had summoned the projection of a sun not only to eliminate enemies, but also to intercept a wisp of the Great Oblivion Heart Scripture's origin. After all, returning to the past meant he couldn't use his Stellar Golden Core to illuminate himself and pass the Two Inquiries of the Heart.
Who would have guessed that simply by visualizing this entity, he would directly... assimilate the Mountain of Visualization? Or rather, beat it into submission?
It hadn't even posed the Two Inquiries of the Heart before condensing straight away.
So rushed?
The grand figure's projection that Qi Yuan had imagined didn't manifest either. There was no disturbance whatsoever. All the thunder and lightning condensed into a single God Visualization Art manual, looking not like a Mythological revelation, but the most ordinary of God Visualization Arts.
In the Land of Visualization, Great Venerable Shenlei was thoroughly bewildered.
When Qi Yuan went in just now, he had said he would help visualize a God Visualization Art for him. Although Shenlei had acted dismissive on the surface, he was secretly full of anticipation. He didn't ask for much—it didn't have to be Mythological, or even Legendary; an Epic one would do.
Yet Qi Yuan had been inside for so long, and not a single golden glow had appeared in the Land of Visualization.
It couldn't be... the most ordinary kind, could it?
Great Venerable Shenlei twitched his lips.
If Qi Yuan really visualized an ordinary God Visualization Art for him, he wondered how he could give Qi Yuan the cold shoulder without enraging the kid. After all, as a dignified Great Venerable, he still needed his pride. Even if he had to kowtow, he would find a place with no one around to do it.
"This kid better not really be messing with this old man!"
"I only said I looked down on the benefits in passing; it was just talk!"
"He'd better not take it seriously!"
Great Venerable Shenlei muttered to himself.
Suddenly, his eyes went wide.
Before him, a crack actually appeared on the Mountain of Visualization...
The Mountain of Visualization had cracked!
What was going on?!
Great Venerable Shenlei was utterly shocked.
On the other side, Qi Yuan also showed a hint of surprise.
"This Mountain of Visualization of yours is pretty flimsy. It cracked just from visualizing an incarnation of one of the Six Imperial Sovereigns?"
Qi Yuan found it absurd.
If he remembered correctly, the Mountain of Visualization had been completely fine back in Qingshui Village. Now, he had only visualized an incarnation of one of the Six Imperial Sovereigns, and it had cracked?
Wasn't the Heavenly Pillar still intact here? It ought to be sturdier!
"Should I... try again?"
"What if the Mountain of Visualization was just feeling mischievous and wanted to crack?"
...
High atop the Heavenly Pillar, a woman in a red dress looked out with a cool, detached gaze. The gentle breeze brushed the strands of her hair, making her appear exceptionally lonely.
Just then, a helpless voice sounded.
"Inedia... leave the Heavenly Pillar."
"The collapse of the Heavenly Pillar is irreversible. Why must you stubbornly hold on? What this consumes... is your Divine Domain!"
Great Venerable Lingzhong appeared. He had no head upon his neck, presenting an exceptionally eerie sight.
"I promised him that I would guard the Heavenly Pillar for him. The day the Heavenly Pillar snaps will be the day of my demise." The Holy Mother of Inedia looked at the Heavenly Pillar, a trace of youthfulness lingering in her eyes.
Yet the aura radiating from her was undeniably Mythological.
Looking at her stubborn demeanor, Great Venerable Lingzhong sighed softly. "Why must you embody the Heavenly Pillar and tie your life and death to it? You are... blessed by the world. One day, you will have the chance to step beyond the True God realm."
The Holy Mother of Inedia smiled mournfully. "There is no chance."
"Why... must you be so stubborn?" Great Venerable Lingzhong said regretfully. "The Heavenly Pillar is teetering on the brink. Before long, it will collapse."
The Holy Mother of Inedia looked at Great Venerable Lingzhong, her expression calm but her tone resolute. "Go back. Stop trying to persuade me."
"Why bother? Why cling to the delusion of guarding the Heavenly Pillar for a fabricated person who doesn't even exist? You are the darling of the world; the disasters of your youth were merely trials set by the world to temper you. The one who helped you wasn't anyone else—it was the world, and it was yourself. I went and asked Old Man Fanxin, and he said... the person you have been searching for does not exist at all. It was merely a delusion of your youth!" Great Venerable Lingzhong pleaded earnestly.
"No!" The Holy Mother of Inedia's voice suddenly turned sharp. "A promise I made will certainly be fulfilled!"
Her gaze grew profound.
She had always kept her promises.
What she agreed to, she would see through to the end—even if it cost her life.
She looked at Great Venerable Lingzhong. "Leave. If you take another step onto the Heavenly Pillar and cause it to destabilize, I will not let you off!"
Great Venerable Lingzhong sighed in lament. "Doing this will offend the other Mythological beings. After all... the Heavenly Pillar doesn't belong to you. Occupying it for ten years, or a hundred years, the other Mythological beings won't say anything. But for a thousand years, or ten thousand years, it becomes unreasonable."
"So what if I offend them? As long as I am strong enough, who would dare say a word to me!" Dressed in red, the Holy Mother of Inedia possessed an aura that looked down upon the entire world.
Seeing this, Great Venerable Lingzhong finally said no more, his figure fading away.
High atop the towering Heavenly Pillar, only the Holy Mother of Inedia remained.
Suddenly, the Heavenly Pillar shuddered violently, and her face went deathly pale, as if the pillar were on the verge of snapping.
Yet across her pale face, a faint smile emerged.
"I knew it wasn't my delusion."
Meanwhile, within the Land of Visualization.
Qi Yuan had just visualized the Nine Heavens Thunder Sound Universal Transformation Celestial Venerable and was preparing to continue when a familiar female voice reached his ears.
"If you... visualize now, the Heavenly Pillar will snap."
"Holy Mother of Inedia?" Qi Yuan was startled.
The voice belonged to none other than the Holy Mother of Inedia.
Hearing her voice again stirred mixed emotions within him. Having witnessed her demise before, meeting her once more filled him with deep sentiment.
"I am atop the Heavenly Pillar. Come find me," the Holy Mother of Inedia's voice came again, carrying a slight tremble.
Hearing this and recalling the matter of the Heavenly Pillar, Qi Yuan decided to go see her. What if he really ended up breaking the Heavenly Pillar?
Qi Yuan exited the Land of Visualization.
Atop the Heavenly Pillar, the Holy Mother of Inedia seemed to hear something, her face turning pale for a fleeting moment before the pallor faded, replaced by a radiant smile.
A familiar voice had sounded beside her ear.
"Could it be that this time, my identity wasn't exposed?" Qi Yuan said, looking at the Holy Mother of Inedia.
He was rather curious.
If he met the Holy Mother of Inedia now, why hadn't she recognized him the last time they met? Or were these parallel spacetimes?
"What identity?" the Holy Mother of Inedia asked, her voice filled with curiosity.
Qi Yuan sized her up.
Compared to when they first met, she appeared slightly more youthful, but... her strength was already Mythological.
"I mean, if I told you we met once in the future, would you believe me?" Qi Yuan said casually. "Why isn't there a recliner this time? Fetch me one."
Chapter 218