Qi Yuan looked at the empty Mountain of Visualization, his thoughts a tangled mess.
He always had a hunch that the God Visualization Art was not that simple.
Nor did this mountain seem so simple.
In other worlds, he had never seen or even heard of anything like the Mountain of Visualization.
"An innate world... what truly makes it different?"
Qi Yuan murmured to himself as his figure exited the Mountain of Visualization.
Meanwhile, within the rolling mountain range...
Dong Jianghe’s eyes darted back and forth continuously, and he could not help but sigh. "Abandoning a Mythological-grade God Visualization Art to submit to Origin Celestial Venerable... I have sacrificed too much."
Venerable Shenmiao rolled her eyes at him. "Stop dwelling on that crummy Mythological-grade art of yours! Don’t you know that ever since the Celestial Venerable arrived, Mythological-grade God Visualization Arts aren't worth a copper coin!"
Over the past two days, the Ancient Gods who had later pledged allegiance to Qi Yuan had already learned why Great Venerable Shenlei and the others had grown so formidable.
It was because of the God Visualization Arts!
Origin Celestial Venerable had not merely visualized eight Mythological-grade arts; he had even journeyed into the past... and visualized a whole heap of them.
Yet Dong Jianghe remained slightly puzzled. Glancing at Great Venerable Shenlei, who stood at the front, a question rose in his mind. "Doesn't Great Venerable Shenlei already possess a God Visualization Art? Why did he come as well?"
"Not only him, but all the other Ancient Gods and villagers who already have God Visualization Arts came too," Venerable Heilong said with deep, meaningful nuance.
Hearing that, Dong Jianghe sucked in a sharp breath.
If his suspicion was true, it was terrifying.
It meant Origin Celestial Venerable did not lack God Visualization Arts at all—what he lacked was evil god spiritual power.
The pride in Dong Jianghe's heart crumbled once more.
"So what if I yield the title of Youthful Heavenly Emperor to Origin Celestial Venerable!" Dong Jianghe declared grandly.
Venerable Shenmiao gave him a sideways glance, offering no reply.
Right at that moment, a calm voice suddenly rang out.
"I possess myriad arts capable of unraveling the mysteries of sentient beings, discerning the ultimate truths of yin and yang, and observing the cycle of life and death."
"My grace is bestowed upon you this day!"
A man clad in a dark robe appeared, surrounded by points of light resembling a sea of stars—each a God Visualization Art.
As all the Ancient Gods and subjects gazed upon those arts, an urge to revere and worship welled up inexplicably within their hearts.
Great Venerable Shenlei, who had previously maintained a tranquil expression, lost his composure entirely.
*Hiss!*
"There are still... this many that are stronger than mine?"
After obtaining the visualization art of the Nine Heavens Thunder Sound Universal Transformation Celestial Venerable, Great Venerable Shenlei had actually been quite smug.
He had believed it to be Origin Celestial Venerable's supreme visualization art!
After all, the might of that Thunder Ancestor had already exceeded the boundaries of his comprehension; all the thunders of heaven and earth were under his command.
Commanding absolute authority, he reached up to the Thirty-Three Heavens and down to the Nine Underworlds.
Yet now, many of the visualization arts swirling around Origin Celestial Venerable were terrifying to the extreme; just looking at them filled him with an impression of unfathomable mystery.
In particular, the three arts situated at the very top appeared simple, yet they seemed to be the origin of all things.
When Great Venerable Shenlei looked upon them, a sensation of wanting to prostrate in worship washed over him.
And now, these visualization arts were about to be bestowed upon them!
The Ancient Gods present felt their minds turn solemn, mixed with intense excitement.
"We thank the Celestial Venerable for bestowing the arts!"
"We shall place the Celestial Venerable's will above all else! If we violate this pledge, let heaven and earth condemn us!"
Every Ancient God was flushed with excitement. Dong Jianghe finally admitted to himself that the Mythological-grade God Visualization Art he had visualized was nothing more than dog shit.
Everyone looked at Origin Celestial Venerable as devoutly as disciples. The white-haired elder, Great Venerable Lishan, even had moisture gathering in his eyes.
It was as if he saw hope for the world.
Great Venerable Lingzhong remained silent, seemingly understanding something.
Just then, Qi Yuan's gentle voice carried over.
"In ancient times, the God of War Xingtian contested godhood with the Sovereign, and the Sovereign severed his head.
"Undaunted in death, Xingtian made eyes of his nipples and a mouth of his navel, brandishing his battle-axe and shield in fierce dance!"
Great Venerable Lingzhong felt a stirring resonance within.
His gaze turned dazed as he looked toward one of the visualization arts.
He seemed to behold a terrifying heavenly deity, battle-axe and shield in hand, locked in fierce combat against the Sovereign.
Even with his head taken by the Sovereign, that fearsome deity remained indomitable, swinging his weapons and fighting to the death against the Sovereign!
This moved Great Venerable Lingzhong deeply.
He thought back to the Mortal Heart Realm and the Ancient Gods who had fallen in battle.
The Heavenly Pillar had broken, the Mythologicals had died, and the backbone of the Mortal Heart Realm had shattered.
Yet the Ancient Gods of the Mortal Heart Realm still had not abandoned their resistance against the evil gods.
After the Heavenly Pillar broke, before full-scale war even resumed, minor skirmishes had erupted without end, claiming nearly two-thirds of the remaining Ancient Gods.
Even those Ancient Gods who opted for the Mythological Plan merely left hope to the youth, while the aging gods chose to pave the way with their own bodies.
Did the God of War Xingtian not resemble the unyielding, indomitable Mortal Heart Realm?
As all the Ancient Gods looked upon the visualization art of Xingtian, they seemed to witness the God of War, unbroken and relentless, waging war against the heavens.
"If every god of the Mortal Heart Realm were like Xingtian, then even in defeat, we would die nine times over without regret!" an Ancient God sighed.
"Even a great deity like this met with disaster, let alone us!"
"Celestial Venerable..."
The Ancient Gods murmured in discussion. Those who had later become subjects of Origin Celestial Venerable looked upon Qi Yuan with ever-increasing awe and reverence.
The visualization art belonging to the God of War Xingtian descended before Great Venerable Lingzhong.
Great Venerable Lingzhong took a deep breath. "Thank you, Celestial Venerable, for bestowing this art. I shall eradicate every last evil god!"
Qi Yuan's gaze shifted to Great Venerable Huanghun.
As if sensing it, Great Venerable Huanghun adopted a grave expression.
"The Gonggong Clan contended with Zhuanxu to be emperor; in fury, he rammed Mount Buzhou, snapping the Heavenly Pillar and severing the cords of the earth!"
Within the visualization art, all the Ancient Gods seemed to behold a majestic deity in command of all waters under heaven, charging toward a Mount Buzhou that was incomparably taller than the Heavenly Pillar.
After having received the disaster-relieving visualization art, Great Venerable Huanghun now received the visualization art of the ancient deity Gonggong, bestowed by Qi Yuan!
Receiving the art, Great Venerable Huanghun bowed deeply.
Origin Celestial Venerable continued to chant.
Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Li... Red Boy... Star Lords... the Ten Yama Kings...
One mythical figure after another stepped forth from Qi Yuan's memories.
Every mythical legend was a story sealed by time.
Every subject received a deity meant for them.
Each person present was granted an exceedingly powerful God Visualization Art.
Shi Chongshan was granted True Monarch Erlang, and his gaze turned profound!
Great Venerable Shenlei was granted the visualization art of Longevity Great Emperor, one of the Six Imperial Sovereigns, and shock filled his heart.
Formidable deities seemed to reemerge through every single subject.
In the end, three God Visualization Arts remained by Qi Yuan's side.
These three arts represented the supreme Three Pure Ones from his memories.
By this point, every subject had obtained a God Visualization Art, roughly reaching a state where everyone was like a soaring dragon.
Unfortunately, when Qi Yuan offered the Three Pure Ones to those present whom he deemed qualified, none could visualize them.
Eventually, Qi Yuan even permitted all the Ancient Gods to attempt visualizing the Three Pure Ones.
Yet not a single person present could accomplish it.
This surprised Qi Yuan and shook the Ancient Gods to their cores.
"Celestial Venerable, the status of these three honored deities is far too exalted; thus, we are unable to visualize them!" a Great Venerable spoke up, his expression full of emotion.
A deity's status being too exalted to visualize was unimaginable.
Or rather, such a thing had never occurred before.
At present, this was the only explanation that made sense.
As for Origin Celestial Venerable's identity, the Ancient Gods present felt even more certain that it was noble and exalted beyond measure.
It defied the imagination of the gods present.
The deities they visualized were already terrifying beyond belief.
Just what kind of existences were these three...?
At that moment, Great Venerable Shenlei spoke up. "Why doesn't the Celestial Venerable attempt to visualize them?"
As soon as those words were uttered, the gods present nodded in agreement.
Their status was insufficient, but Origin Celestial Venerable's certainly was.
Hearing this, Qi Yuan blinked in surprise. "What you say makes sense."
...
Thunder rumbled incessantly as heavy rain poured down furiously.
Feiwu City fell into total stillness.
After an unknown amount of time, Qi Yuan opened his eyes. His originally deep, ancient gaze seemed extraordinarily tranquil at this moment, as if he were merely an ordinary mortal.
"The Three Pure Ones truly live up to their name. Right now... do I stand at the peak of Mythological?"
Qi Yuan mused thoughtfully.
After visualizing the Three Pure Ones, his strength had skyrocketed.
Against an Army Master like the one from before, he would not even need a sword; a single glance would suffice to suppress and kill him.
Even the Holy Mother of Inedia in his memories, at the absolute height of her peak, would not be able to withstand a single blow from him.
He even had a feeling that he could suppress and kill the avatar of Great Sage Blood Sun right in the mortal realm!
His strength had increased by far more than tenfold or a hundredfold.
He felt that he could be counted as the foremost Mythological he had ever seen in this world!
However... his cultivation remained halted at the Seven Steps of Sky Treading.
Once seven steps were completed, one could become a Yang God.
Yet these seven steps felt vast and boundless, with no path forward.
Just as others had said, he was stuck at Mythological, unable to advance another inch.
A glint of contemplation flashed through his calm eyes.
Right then, an elegant, serene, and even mysterious female voice sounded beside Qi Yuan's ear.
"Godfather, an envoy from the evil gods has arrived."
The speaker was Qi Qi. At present, she wore a brown gown, and her demeanor had grown grounded and increasingly detached.
It was somewhat different from her previous quirky, mischievous self.
The deity Qi Qi visualized was Houtu, one of the Six Imperial Sovereigns, noble and extraordinary beyond compare.
"An evil god envoy?" Qi Yuan was surprised.
He had not expected the evil gods to send an envoy to see him.
With war on the horizon, he might as well hear what they had to say.
Roughly a hundred breaths later...
Led by Qi Qi, one of the evil gods' Army Masters, Army Master Wu Kui, walked up before Qi Yuan.
For some reason, the moment he laid eyes on Qi Yuan, an urge to prostrate and worship surged wildly within his chest.
This sensation was considerably stronger than when facing a Yang God.
Shock filled his heart.
They were clearly both Mythologicals at the Seven Steps of Sky Treading, so why was the disparity so vast?
Moreover, in this remote Feiwu City, his divine spiritual power could not stop trembling, as though terrifying divine demons lay dormant within this small city.
At that moment, Qi Yuan, seated in the high seat, glanced at Army Master Wu Kui and sighed wistfully. "It was such a pity that you all managed to run away last time. But fortunately, if fate wills it, we meet again."
Last time, when Qi Yuan wiped out the evil gods of Qingheng Province, he had planned to eliminate the remaining Army Masters while he was at it.
Yet before he could act, those evil gods had fled in panic, leaving him quite disappointed back then.
Army Master Wu Kui's heart clenched inexplicably. Remembering his master's instructions, however, he spoke in a deep voice, "Greetings, Origin Celestial Venerable. By order of my master, I have come specifically to... sue for peace!"
As soon as those words were spoken, the Ancient Gods attending Qi Yuan were all somewhat astonished.
A strange glint appeared in Qi Qi's eyes as well.
The evil gods... had actually come to sue for peace.
In the past, this was something they would never have dared to imagine.
Who would have thought the day would come when the evil gods had to feign weakness and sue for peace?
Chapter 233