"The hell!" Zhu Yao rolled her eyes. "Don't play coy in front of me right now, alright? We've already made it all the way here, and it's already too late to split up. You best thicken your skin and rush over to the Light of Guidance in a single breath. You're thinking of staying here with Zhonggu Lu and live in your romantic world? No way! There's no future for the both of you!"
Zhonggu Lu: "…" Why am I still dragged in when I'm so far away!?
Nangong Cheng's eyes reddened. Momma's egg. Dongfang girly, in such an emotional time, can you speak in a better way? We're clean and pure! He turned to look at Yu Yan and Yue Ying, and then sighed. It seemed like they really weren't going to leave them behind.
After taking a deep breath, Nangong Cheng gritted his teeth and then walked into the new region. Almost at the same time his foot landed on the ground, the ground reacted with a loud rumble, as if something was about to burst out.
Zhu Yao betted a cucumber that that definitely wasn't a sunflower, but some sort of weapon of mass destruction. The sunflowers that were still harmonious like little suns suddenly stopped shouting out their slogan, and looked towards Nangong Cheng altogether. Though they were still blinking, Zhu Yao could see the lustre of vengeance in their eyes.
Oh no! It seems like it's going to turn into Plants VS Zombies again! What to do, what to do? These plants are about to go into berserk mode!
Out of anxiety, Zhu Yao grabbed onto the flower head of one of the sunflowers on the side. "Calm down, calm down my fellow friend! Give me some face!"
Suddenly, the tremors really stopped…
Uhh… It seems my face is really important!
The yellow and brilliant flower in her hands blinked its eyes extremely slowly. In the next moment, the entire flower was dyed with a strange hint of red.
Is it embarrassed?
Please! You're just a flower, hey! The hell! Why is its stem red as well? Do you have to be this humanized?
Eh! Wait a minute!
She recalled that plants seemed to be pollinate from the flowers to give birth to the next generation. Then the flowers were their… unspeakable parts.
"…" She suddenly felt uncomfortable all over.
Her eyes blurred for a moment, as the sunflowers nearest to her suddenly bent their stems over. Every one of them was leaning their flower heads closer, their little eyes constantly blinking in joy. It was as if they were saying: Touch me… touch me…
She wanted some peace and quiet.
Even more sunflowers began to lean their flower heads closer. Zhu Yao had to pass this stage through developing friendship ties with the sunflowers, otherwise, she was really afraid that they would go berserk if she rejected. However, she couldn't lay her hands on their huge flower heads, so she had no choice but to take a step back and silently pull one of their leaves. She shook them as if she was shaking hands, which can be considered as her greetings to them, but even that's the case…
Why are all your faces still red, hey? Aren't you all sunflowers? Then face the sun like you're supposed to, hey! Why are you all lowering your heads in embarrassment? And the one over there that's using your leaves to cover your face! I've not done anything to you at all!!
Zhu Yao suddenly felt as if she had fallen into a sexual predator concentration camp of pure teenage girls, while she seemed to be the uke. She immediately hugged onto her master next to her to suppress her shock. Phew, fortunately, I still have my master.
Zhonggu Lu walked over as well. In the beginning, there wasn't any reaction from the grass field. However, as he moved closer to Nangong Cheng, the ground could no longer stay silent. No matter how Zhu Yao tried to form relationships with the sunflowers, they couldn't be suppressed. Half a Cob Cannon had already popped out of the ground nearby.
Zhu Yao's heart tensed. Could it be that hatred was additive? She immediately had the two of them stand further away from each other. As expected, the tremors of the ground finally stopped. Zhu Yao silently glanced at the two of them. See! This is why I say there's no future for you two!
It seemed like the situation had calmed down. Zhu Yao began to bring everyone forward. There was a distance of about three meters between each one of them, while there was at least a ten-meter distance between Nangong Cheng and Zhonggu Lu. Zhu Yao was walking at the very front. As she walked, she did not forget to shake the hands of the sunflowers on her left and right.
The sunflowers were rather well-behaved. The moment they saw her passing by, they would extend their leaves by themselves. After the shake, they would hurriedly use their leaves to shyly cover their flower heads, looking as if they were both excited and embarrassed.
As Zhu Yao continued to shake hands, she began to feel like a country representative who was visiting an ally nation.
Hi citizens of Sunflower Country, I am a representative of the Human Country. Hello fellow comrades, it must have been tough for you comrades.
Just like that, they progressed forward smoothly without any obstructions. Probably because her 'friendly visit' was truly effective, after using the power of her reputation, weapons of mass destruction no longer appeared in this wide grass field.
Mn, she loved peace! However… Her hands were about to break from all the hand-shaking, hey. Though shaking hands was not a hard work, one couldn't possibly shake hands for four hours straight! Yet, she did not dare to stop. She was afraid that the sunflowers would flip sides the moment she do.
The further they walked, the number of sunflower appearances grew. Initially, there were only two rows – one on her left and one on her right. Further back, the number of rows grew to three, four and five rows. When she finally reacted, other than the path they especially let off on the grass field, the place was filled with sunflowers.
There was too much sunlight stored, but because they had already made a compromise with the zombies, there were too many unused space, so they decided to just plant sunflowers… was that it?
Wait a minute, sunlight!
The plants here were formed by resentment initially. Resentment was inclined to darkness, while sunlight was inclined to light. The resentment underneath required the sunflowers to absorb sunlight in order to produce various weapons that could harm them. However, light and darkness could not complement. Light was supposed to be similar to spiritual energy and divine energy, the purest form of energy in this world. Though sunlight could not be used to eliminate resentment, it should at the very least suppress resentment. That was most likely why darkness filled the place where she first woke up. Also, no matter the shadows formed by resentment or these plants, they could not be seen as the resentment that she witnessed in the Netherworld. Back then, she had become a Demigod, but she was still unable to do anything to resentment. It seemed like the yang energy of this world had been suppressing these resentment.
In the beginning, she treated everything as something similar to the brainless Gomoku and Sudoku settings, a real-life upgraded version of Plants VS Zombies. That was why she did not think about it too deeply. However, this was after all the final stage to becoming a God, so it couldn't just be a mere game. Furthermore, the sunflowers were such a fatal weakness. Adding the non-complementing nature of yin and yang, why were the sunflowers able to summon the other breeds by absorbing sunlight? It couldn't just be due to the settings of the game. Then the reason could only be…
Zhu Yao's heart sank. She suddenly recalled her master's words… Natural Law! Was the non-complementary of yin and yang the law here? Because of the law's limitations, the resentment here could only take form when the sunflowers take in sunlight. However, sunlight could suppress resentment. The sunflowers were so friendly to her because they had sunlight in them?
She was very familiar with the Wood Spirit, and because she had once placed it in her divine sense, it could be understood why these sunflowers, which were also plants, to be intimate with her as well. Furthermore she had also gone through Yi Ling's instance where she turned into a tree demon. Back then, she could hear the voice of plants and trees, and those trees were strangely friendly with her as well. Not to mention, the lower the cultivation of the spirits and demons, the better their relationships. When it came to Nangong Cheng and Zhonggu Lu who had already cultivated into Deities, especially with those demonic beasts and spirits in the Lightning Divine Tower, this form of intimacy no longer existed. They could only be treated as regular people or friends.
It was the same back when she ventured into Demonic Immortals' continent. The red and yellow Demonic Immortals she encountered in the beginning still threw her into jail as they should, even though they had a favourable impression of her. They were completely different from the demonic beasts that acted cute and wanted to protect her with all their hearts in the Lower Realm. When it came to why those demonic beasts treated her well, rather than attributing it to the World Favourable Impression ability, it was rather due to… instinct! It was a form of subliminal suggestion that could not be resisted, where they would unconsciously treat her well.
This instinctive suggestion thus allowed these sunflowers, which had taken in sunlight and had suppressed the resentment in them, to regain the slightest bit of sentience to express their kindness towards her. Could this be why these sunflowers liked her so much?
However… Why did they call her 'lord'? She just couldn't understand this point.
The distance from the Light of Guidance was already shrinking, and Zhu Yao's hands were already turning numb from the handshaking. She could barely feel them now, let alone raise them up. Her master who was closest to her could still grab onto her hands to help move them in the beginning, relieving some of the numbness. However, this action would always result to the rejection of the plants. Every single time when she was not paying attention, they would either push her master away, or intentionally use their leaves to block him. It was as if they were a disapproved couple, and had to cross several "Sunflower Mountains" in order to meet. Later on, even Yu Yan had lost all strength as well. At the very end, she didn't have to take the initiative at all, as every step she took after that, the sunflowers on her left and right would automatically stretch out their leaves to wrap around her hands, treating that as handshakes.
Her heart was tired!
Momma's egg! Who wants to try shaking hands for three days and nights straight!?
In the beginning, it was still fine. However, the number of sunflowers continued to grow. Looking afar, other than the path that intentionally left empty, the place was filled with sparkling golden sunflowers, and the view was simply blinding to her eyes.
Yet, only the two rows of sunflowers next to her would get to shake her hands. Those which couldn't, could only blink their eyes and look at her with resentful expressions.
Hey hey hey… Don't turn sour now! You're all sunflowers, so even if you didn't get to shake my hands, don't change to something else now! Also, the one over there that's lying on the ground. You're planted too far away. Even if you lying on the ground, you won't get to grab my hand. Don't waste any more efforts already!
The passion of the "Sunflower Country" citizens had really made her from the "Human Country" speechless! Let's give it our all to dedicate to the friendship between the countries of Sunflowers and Humans! I will shake, I will shake, I will shake, shake, shake…
Zhu Yao's repeated actions were however extremely meaningful and sincere, as they actually had a smooth journey, and the Light of Guidance was soon right before their eyes. Of course, there were slight mishaps in-between, but it was largely due to a problem of distance. The distance between Zhonggu Lu and Nangong Huang before was very delicate. Being too far would be bad, as her favourable impression would be rendered ineffective and cause the plants to initiate attacks. If they were too close, the two's hatred would be added upon each other, and the plants would attack indiscriminately as well.
That was why there accidents would always happen on the way. Occasionally, one or two Pea Shooters would appear, constantly shooting peas at them. Whenever this happened, Zhu Yao had no choice but to increase her pace in saluting the army and leave the attack range of the Pea Shooters. However, she did not initiate any attacks, in order to prevent them from pulling even more hatred.
Chapter 384: Undefeatable EnemyFour days later, though there were a few surprises, the group safely crossed "Sunflower Country". Zhu Yao could finally see the Light of Guidance before her eyes. Compared to the Light of Guidance in the Divine Realm, there were barely any differences compared to this pillar of light. However for some reason, even though it clearly looked golden from afar, it was actually pure white when seeing it from such a near distance.
Furthermore, the ground surface about twenty to thirty meters away from the pillar of light was actually completely white. She unconsciously looked at the ground, and realized that it wasn't tiled with white jade, but rather, it was just empty, as if even dust and dirt could not stain it. The surface was sacred and elegant, as though it was the purest object in the world. Just by looking at it, her heart would feel at ease.
Is this… the Light of Guidance for ascending to Godhood?
Zhu Yao finally shook the leaf of the final sunflower. She raised her head to look at the pillar of pure white light, and then once again looked at the receding greenery on the ground. They finally arrived at their destination. However, for some reason, she was not the least bit excited. Instead, an uncertain feeling rose in her heart.
She hesitated for a long while and did not proceed forward, until Zhonggu Lu and Nangong Cheng behind her came rushing over.
"So this is the Light of Guidance!" Nangong Cheng had a surprised look on his face. He stared a little blankly at the light as he walked in, and then he unconsciously stretched out his hand, as if he was trying to touch something. "I've never… seen such a pure colour."
Zhonggu Lu had a similar expression as well.
The strange feeling in the depths of her heart grew even heavier, and for some reason, she felt a little anxious. Feeling uneasy, she turned around to look at the path they came from. The long field of sunflowers suddenly began to return to the earth, starting from the very far end. Like falling headlong down onto the ground, they disappeared without a trace.
When the sunflower that she last shook hands with saw her turning back, it tilted its large flower head and responded with a joyful look. "Chi!"
As it called out, it once again stretched out its leaf, wanting to shake hands with her once more. Zhu Yao wanted to respond out of instinct, but suddenly, she realized that the leaf it stretched out was beginning to disappear, as if it was being devoured by something. Its green leaf turned pale white inch by inch, and then it fragmented and disappeared. When Zhu Yao regained her senses, half of the leaf was already gone. What remained was a neat slice, as if it was cut off by something.
"Chi!" The sunflower cried out in shock, and then it shrank back into the ground, as if it was terrified by something.
The sunflowers… can't enter this region?
Before she could figure everything out, she suddenly heard a thud. Yue Ying was raising his fists and hitting something in the air. "Big sis… I can't get in!"
"…"
When she turned around to look, Yue Ying seemed to be blocked out by a transparent barrier and could not take another step forward.
"How's that possible?" Zhonggu Lu turned around and carefully looked at the surroundings as well. Then, he walked back and forth a few times. "There isn't any formation or barrier here though?"
Zhu Yao's heart clenched, and she walked back and forth to inspect the area as well. There indeed wasn't any trace of mystic arts. "Just why is this so?"
"It's because I'm a Devil." Yue Ying lowered his head slightly with a depressed look. With a self-mocking tone, he muttered. "I never had the qualifications to become a God in the first place."
Zhu Yao's heart clenched, and everyone else turned silent as well.
"There must be another way." Zhu Yao stroked his head. "Don't worry, I said that I won't throw anyone aside."
Yue Ying finally raised his head, and his eyes seemed to glisten. After a moment, he carefully asked. "If… If you become a God, will you still come back?"
"Of course." She said matter-of-factly. "I'm only here to clear the tower, and not to become a God…"
After speaking halfway through, she was stunned for a moment. Wait a minute, clearing the tower!?
Something instantly flashed in her mind, but she was unable to grasp it in an instant. Just as she was pondering about this, a green vine suddenly shot out from the ground, appearing right before them. Like a hemp rope, it split into two and came charging forward with their sharp tips.
"Big sis!" Startled, Yue Ying instinctively pulled Zhu Yao and they rolled onto the ground, dodging the vines. One of the vines instantly split into two once more and swept over towards Zhu Yao and Yue Ying. The vines however were instantly burnt into ash by the devillic energy which Yue Ying materialized. The vine on the other side had directly struck Zhonggu Lu, sending him flying several meters. He then fell into the midst of the sunflowers that had yet to completely disappear.
"Zhonggu Lu!" Zhu Yao cried out. She wasn't in the grass field right now!
Almost at the same time he fell onto the ground, five Cob Cannons immediately appeared from the grass field. Five overlapping cross-hairs instantly appeared beneath Zhonggu Lu's feet.
"Hurry and run!" Zhu Yao shouted out with all her strength and wanted to charge over to save him. However, she was already too late. Five enormous corn cobs had already been shot out. Even when Zhonggu Lu desperately ran out, he was still struck by the combined force of five corn cobs.
Five explosions rang out, and the place was instantly filled dust and white popcorns. Zhonggu Lu was already lying on the ground with a body covered entirely in blood. His legs were already a mesh of flesh and blood, while a large hole had already been pierced through his chest. Not the slightest bit of his human figure could be discerned.
"Hahahahaha…" A sinister and crazed laughter rang out several meters away. At its source was a person enveloped by thick tree barks. Her body was dyed entirely in blood-red, and streams of dark-red blood would occasionally drip out of the tree trunk. The face at the core of the tree could no longer be seen as human, as what remained was a pair of terrifying black holes. However, everyone present could recognize her at first glance.
"Mei Xue!" The hell, why is she still alive?
"Brother Zhonggu Lu!" Nangong Cheng's eyes reddened and immediately wanted to charge out to save him. Zhu Yao desperately held him back. "What are you doing? Release me!"
"Calm down."
"Calm down my ass!" He was instantly enraged. He immediately raised his hand against her, wanting to beat her hand off. "I'm going to save him!"
Zhu Yao instantly stepped on his feet and lectured him while he was still tasting the pain. "Those plants harbour immense hatred for you in the first place, if you head out now, isn't he just going to die even quicker? If you want to die, don't motherf**king drag us in!"
Nangong Cheng was startled, and then he immediately calmed down. If he were to head over, there was a chance that another five Cob Cannons would appear.
"Master, Yue Ying!" Zhu Yao shot a glance to the two of them, and then she and Yu Yan hurriedly ran towards Zhonggu Lu's direction. Yue Ying immediately responded by releasing his devillic energy to cover the sunlight in the sky as well.
As expected, all of the sunflowers lowered their heads in the next moment, while the loading speed of the five Cob Cannons slowed down as well. Zhu Yao, along with her master, took this opportunity to carry out the disfigured Zhonggu Lu to the sides of the boundary.
"Yue Ying, hurry…" The moment they placed Zhonggu Lu down, Zhu Yao had Yue Ying immediately stop his bleeding. He was the only one here who could save him now.
Mei Xue on the other side had already gone insane. The pair of black holes was constantly leaking out blood, but she still glared at them with all her might. It was as if the hatred within those eyes wanted to swallow them whole. Her laughter continued to grow even sinister. "Hahaha… Even I'm in such a deplorable state, what makes you all qualified to become Gods? Die! All of you must die!!"
"I'm going to kill you!" Nangong Cheng charged towards Mei Xue with his weapon raised. However, before he could even approach her, three enormous red man-eating flowers appeared in her surroundings. They were completely different from the ones they saw before, though they looked exactly the same as the few men who were swallowed along with Mei Xue.
"This…" He was stunned for a moment. Mei Xue could control these plants?
"Nangong Huang, return!" Zhu Yao shouted at him. She turned to look at Mei Xue and her expression sank. "She… is about to be completely swallowed by resentment. In essence, she's already not much different from those flowers outside. The her now, most likely doesn't even know who she is anymore."
Nangong Cheng clenched his hands tightly, suppressing his intent of exacting revenge no matter what. He then turned to look back at his good friend on the ground, his eyes were instantly filled with incomparable pain.
"Kill, kill you all!" Mei Xue on the other side was crazily motioning her hands, yet there wasn't the slightest bit of anxiety in her eyes. Several vines stretched out around her, flailing around meaninglessly as she strangely laughed out. "Hahahaha… I'm favoured by the Heavenly Dao, how could I possibly lose? I've never lost before! Right! I will never lose! It's all your fault! It's all because of all of you… All because you obstructed me despite the recklessness of it all! Those who obstructs me… shall die! Hahaha…"
She laughed crazily for a moment, and then she suddenly saw the pure white Light of Guidance. Her wilted face began to stretch open inch by inch, as if she was pulling a smile. She then stretched out a wilted branch. "Light of Guidance… I can become a God now… I can finally become a God…"
She suddenly began to move recklessly towards the Light of Guidance. However, she had already completely turned into a plant. With these movements of hers, her body began to crack even more. However, it was as if she was not feeling those cracks in her body as she desperately crawled over. The tree barks and leaves on her body immediately disappeared the moment they came into contact with the white surface. She desperately crawled over, as though she was severing out a layer of skin out of her plant body, leaving behind a long trail of blood. However, she did not stop. It was as if too much madness was entangled inside that pair of black hole-like eyes.
A moment later, she was severed out of her initial plant body. She was swallowed for too long, and her body had long been meshed together with resentment. Her bones and skin were severed off, and not even a moment later, what remained on the ground was a cracked skeleton.
Yet, she continued to crawl. Slowly, towards the Light of Guidance. In the next moment, even that skeleton could persist no longer and crumble apart. Right at that moment, her body actually began to condense, and even her former features could be seen on her face.
Zhu Yao turned to look at the crumbled skeleton, especially the pair of black holes in the skull. She then looked at Mei Xue who was already a step away from the Light of Guidance, and sighed. Just how strong was her desire to become God? To the point where she couldn't even sense her own death and had to crawl in even with just a soul?
Mei Xue had made her way right before the Light of Guidance. With crazed joy in her eyes, she immediately crawled up and unhesitantly walked in. Zhu Yao thought that nothing would happen, but with a flash of bright, white light, what remained of Mei Xue's soul began to slowly rise within the ascending light. Joy filled her face, but that smile merely lasted for an instant. As she ascended even higher, the emotions on her face instead grew dimmer. Forget about happiness, not even a shred of hatred could be seen from the eyes she was looking at them with.
Zhu Yao's heart skipped a beat, as though she had realized something.
Could it be…
Chapter 385: Ascend to Godhood, or Fall into Devilhood?"Brother Zhonggu Lu." Nangong Cheng's voice was solemn. Looking at Zhonggu Lu whose aura was growing weaker by the second, his hands tightly clenched.
Zhu Yao's heart tensed up as well. Though Zhonggu Lu had avoided the core of the Cob Cannons' attack and was not struck directly, the combined force of five explosions held incredible power in them. It was already a miracle that Zhonggu Lu was holding onto his last breath.
However, his Dantian had already shattered and his primordial spirit had already scattered. There were even traces of his soul leaving his body. His injuries were incredibly severe, and even if everyone expended their divine energy, they wouldn't be able to save him, let alone in a situation where they could not use any divine energy at all.
"Yue Ying…" Zhu Yao looked at the expressionless Yue Ying. Though after looking closely, his brows were actually a little creased. "Can you save him?" He was the only one who they could rely on right now.
Yue Ying raised his head and looked at her. Then, he once again looked at the gasping, disfigured Zhonggu Lu who merely had his upper body left. After a moment, he solemnly said. "There's only a single way."
"What is it?" Nangong Cheng immediately looked at him, his eyes instantly shone as he agitatedly reach out to pull Yue Ying's hand. "Daoist Yue, you have a way to save him? Is that true?"
Frowning, Yue Ying immediately dodged. After throwing Nangong Cheng a glare, he then continued to look at Zhu Yao and said. "Flower Deities have frail bodies in the first place. Now that his primordial spirit has scattered and his inner core is destroyed, his soul will leave his body in less than fifteen minutes. Unless…"
"Unless?" Zhu Yao pushed for his answer.
A hint of hesitation flashed across his face as he showed a slightly uneasy look. After a moment, he gritted his teeth as if he had made a decision, and said. "Unless he falls into Devilhood like me."
"Fall into Devilhood!" Everyone was stunned, and even Nangong Cheng had a shocked look on his face. Almost out of reflex, he said. "No way! He's a Deity… How can he possibly…"
"Then I can't help him either." Yue Ying immediately stood up and stood behind Zhu Yao once more, looking as if he had washed his hands off this matter.
Nangong Cheng looked at Zhonggu Lu who was holding onto his last breath as he clenched his fists even tighter. That's right. If he were to fall into Devilhood, Zhonggu Lu could indeed recover immediately with the aid of devillic energy. However, Devils were often associated with slaughter, heartlessness and evil. In the first place, conducting evil acts was in nature of Devils, and they were the common enemies of the Three Realms. No matter if it's demons or humans, they did not harbour any favourable impressions towards Devils. Though not many had actually seen once, it was a sense of disgust that seemed to have been ingrained in their blood, something they were born with.
Though Yue Ying was a Devil, and that they had indeed saw him unleash devillic energy as well, he had always been helping them throughout this journey. That was why they basically did not treat him as an unscrupulous, evil Devil from the depths of their hearts. However, the moment he heard that his good friend had to fall into Devilhood, he finally realized the difference between he and Yue Ying. Falling to Devilhood! Then Zhonggu Lu would be standing on his opposing side. Furthermore, devillic energy was the darkest form of energy in the world, he could not imagine if Zhonggu Lu would remain the same after falling into Devilhood.
"There's not much time left." Yue Ying reminded. Zhonggu Lu's aura continued to grow a lot weaker.
Nangong Cheng's hands were already beginning to bleed from the clenching, and his heart was in an utter mess. "Maybe… Maybe he can be like Mei Xue…"
His eyes instantly shone and he said with an excited look. "Right, that's right! He can ascend into Godhood, just like Mei Xue earlier. Even though she only had her soul remaining, she was able to pass through the Light of Guidance. Brother Zhonggu Lu will definitely be able to as well. I shall bring him over now." As he said that, he immediately lowered his body and carried Zhonggu Lu up.
"Wait a minute!" Zhu Yao took a step to the side and blocked him.
"Dongfang girly!" Nangong Cheng grew anxious and solemnly said. "If you have anything to discuss, we can talk about it after Brother Zhonggu Lu become a God."
"If I'm you, I won't do such a thing. It's best that we don't get close to this Light of Guidance." Zhu Yao raised her head and looked at the pillar of light. "Ascending to Godhood… might not be a good thing."
"What do you mean?" Not just Nangong Cheng, everyone else looked towards Zhu Yao as well. Wasn't their goal here to ascend to Godhood?
"Yu Yao…" Yu Yan took a step forward and looked at his own disciple. "Did you discover something?"
Zhu Yao was silent for a moment, then, she solemnly said. "I think… we might not be able to enter the Realm of Gods from here. Rather, I suspect that… the Realm of Gods… might not exist in this world."
Nangong Cheng was stunned. "Dongfang girly, what are you talking about? Isn't this the Light of Guidance towards the Realm of Gods?"
"This is a Light of Guidance alright. But who can be sure that it will guide Deities to the Realm of Gods?"
"…"
"I wish to ask you guys a question." Zhu Yao pointed at their surroundings. "Just what in the world is this Realm of Gods? And what do Gods look like? Has anyone seen one? Deities carry the same lifespan as the heaven and earth, and which one of them hadn't lived several tens of thousands of years before entering this tower? However, even after so many years, why haven't anyone seen these so-called Gods? Everything regarding Gods had been merely legends of their origin."
"This is one of the laws of the Heavenly Dao." Nangong Cheng guessed. "It's just like how people of the Divine Realm are unable to easily head down to the Lower Realm. Most likely, there's no access from the Realm of Gods to the Divine Realm?"
"Even if that's the case, the Lightning Divine Tower has existed for so many years, and this Light of Guidance has always been here and has never been closed. Is there really not a single curious God who wanted to come back down here for a look?"
"The laws of the Heavenly Dao cannot be broken so easily." Nangong Cheng said.
"You're saying Gods are not able to override the Heavenly Dao? And they are still given restrictions?"
"Y… Yes."
"Fine, if that's the case…" Zhu Yao looked at the group seriously. "Then why do we still wish to ascend to Godhood?"
"…"
"We are Deities. We possess eternal life and boundless mystic powers. Other than the Heavenly Dao, is there anything else a Deity can't do? If the Realm of Gods is still a place governed by the Heavenly Dao, then what difference is there between the Realm of Gods and the Divine Realm?" Zhu Yao continued her analysis. "I've always had this doubt. If we become Deities in order to obtain eternal life, then why do we strive to become Gods? Why do all Gods treat entering the Lightning Divine Tower as an honour? Why do all Deities wish to become Gods? What's the meaning in becoming Gods? Have you all thought about it?"
For a moment, the three of them were stunned, Yu Yan as well had a confused expression.
"Nangong Huang, tell me. Why did you enter the tower?"
"Back then, I did it to…" Halfway through his answer, he paused, and suddenly, cold sweat trickled down his body. At that moment, he realized that he really did not have any reason to become a God. It was as if ascending to Godhood was an instinct engraved in him. After obtaining a high cultivation, he naturally wanted to become a God. Not just him, this was the same for the rest of the people in the Divine Realm as well. No one had truly thought about the reason behind it. Why was this so?
If becoming Deities was for eternal life, then what's the purpose in becoming Gods? Could increasing one's cultivation simply be the reason? However, ever since they entered the tower, there wasn't any significant improvement to their cultivation. Especially when they arrived in this final floor, all of their divine energy could not be used at all, let alone their cultivation. Legends mentioned that in the Realm of Gods lived people that could wield the laws of the Heavenly Dao, and that they could control fate. However, even after such a long time, not a single person had seen a true God. If they could really wield the Heavenly Dao, why hadn't a single one of them returned?
After thinking about it carefully, cold sweat began to drip down the three's bodies.
Zhu Yao was a little shocked as well. She merely had a faint guess before, but the more she thought about it, the more afraid she became. It was as if this so-called Lightning Divine Tower, and this so-called 'ascension to Godhood', were part of an incredibly large fraud. It was as if this setting had been implanted in all of the Deities. As long as their cultivation were to reach a certain point, they would enter this tower.
Recalling the countless stages and difficult tests to get here, they could all lose their lives at the moment of carelessness. Everyone knew that they could become Gods by passing these tests, but no one knew about the actual benefits of becoming a God were. Deities had limitless lifespan in the first place, so what if they couldn't become Gods? Even the God races did not seem like they could manage the Divine Realm, so why would everyone come here to seek death for no reason?
It seemed as if there had always been a hidden hand pushing everyone forward, a hand called the "Heavenly Dao".
For some reason, after Zhu Yao's speech, the fiery will to ascend into Godhood in the depths of Nangong Cheng's heart was suddenly extinguished. However…
"What do we do about Zhonggu Lu?"
"Nangong Huang…" Zhu Yao solemnly said. "No matter if it's becoming a Devil or a God, I won't reject your decision. I just want you to think carefully before making that decision. No one exactly knows what the Realm of Gods is like, but when it comes to Devils…" She turned to look at Yue Ying. "At the very least, you've witnessed one for yourself."
Nangong Cheng lowered his head and looked at his good friend in his arms. Zhonggu Lu's breath could no longer be heard. Gritting his teeth, he raised his head. As he looked at the Light of Guidance that was as white as snow, he said in a soft voice. "Dongfang girly, I know you said that for our own good. However, our goal here is to ascend into Godhood, and no matter what lies behind, the both of us wish to try stepping in." He took a deep breath. "Since this is what the Heavenly Dao dictates, then I don't wish to deny it."
The hell! Zhu Yao really wanted to cuss out now! Just how was this any different from choosing death?
"You saw Mei Xue's expression earlier yourself." Zhu Yao took a step forward. "She clearly did not look like she had become a God. No one knows just what's the purpose and consequence of entering this Light of Guidance. Even whether it truly brings one to the Realm of Gods, is something no one knows. Are you truly going to take this risk?"
"Dongfang girly…" Nangong Cheng turned around and looked at her. The clown-like look he usually carried had completely disappeared, and it was replaced with incomparable seriousness. Though, his eyes carried a hint of guilt. "If I was alone, I would have definitely trusted you, without a shred of hesitation. I also believe in Daoist Yue Ying, that it would be nothing much even if one turns into a Devil. However brother Zhonggu Lu… I know his personality very well. He is a Flower Deity birthed from the spiritual energy of nature. He has a simple personality, but isn't tough enough. If he falls into Devilhood, he definitely won't turn out like Yue Ying who has kept his sanity. He might not even be able to recognise me, and he might even do something irreparable. If that's the case… Why not follow the will of the Heavenly Dao?"
"…" Zhu Yao turned silent. Indeed. Falling into Devilhood meant igniting all of the evil intentions in the depths of one's heart, and expanding them boundlessly. Because Yue Ying was born a God race, he was able to suppressed the instincts of a Devil and was willing to change. However, this did not mean that Zhonggu Lu could do the same.
Nangong Cheng did not explain any further as he slowly walked towards the Light of Guidance with Zhonggu Lu in his arms.
"Nangong Huang…" Zhu Yao still wanted to try dissuading him.