“Wanted for capture?” The Lord of Baisha City held a wine pot, slowly pouring wine for Dongbo Xueying before filling his own cup. After setting the pot down, he remarked, “Brother Dongbo, what exactly have you done? To compel the Divine Court to dispatch an entire legion to apprehend Venomous Ying? You must know, the Divine Court only mobilizes legions when there is irrefutable evidence and unanimous approval from the overseeing officials.”
Dongbo Xueying smirked mysteriously. “Of course, there was irrefutable evidence. I visited the Spacetime Temple and conducted a temporal investigation into the recent faith-gathering scenes across all life-bearing stars in the Yangbai Starfield.”
“Ruthless. How many divine crystals did that cost?” the Lord of Baisha City pressed.
“Thirty million,” Dongbo Xueying replied, wincing slightly at the expense.
“Only you could afford such extravagance!” The Lord of Baisha City sighed. “The Ten Thousand Demons Abyss oversees faith collection across thirty-two starfields, spanning countless ages. Your evidence only covers one starfield and a mere ten-thousand-year span. Normally, such a minor embezzlement wouldn’t warrant dispatching a first-class legion. Venomous Ying has her elder brother’s influence—officials usually wouldn’t be too harsh. They’d likely issue a reprimand first. She’d quickly find a scapegoat, blame some underling, and pay a multiple of the embezzled amount as a fine. That’s usually enough to sweep it under the rug.”
“Unfortunately for her, this time it was you, Lord Dongbo, who acted. The officials didn’t hesitate to side with you, swiftly approving the legion’s deployment.” The Lord of Baisha City chuckled, shaking his head. “Venomous Ying was so terrified she fled without even daring to face the Divine Court.”
Dongbo Xueying said coolly, “She knew she was guilty.”
“Tell me, which faction is truly clean? If they were, how could they sustain so many followers?” the Lord of Baisha City countered.
“I’m aware. But few embezzle as brazenly as Venomous Ying,” Dongbo Xueying replied. “The faith collection in my Anhai Prefecture’s eastern domain is relatively fair. Yet the thirty-two starfields under the Ten Thousand Demons Abyss’s jurisdiction yield shockingly low returns.”
The Lord of Baisha City nodded. “That much is true. Other factions lack the backing to act so blatantly in the Divine Court’s eyes. Most skim modestly—say, embezzling twenty percent of ten. But Venomous Ying was far greedier.”
“She left the flaws in her scheme, and I acted within my authority as an inspector. No one can fault me for this. If anyone’s to blame, it’s her for her own recklessness.” Dongbo Xueying shrugged. “This time, it was only Emperor Wuchen’s protection that saved her. Otherwise, with her own strength, she’d never have escaped the legion’s grasp.”
“Still, she’s no longer a concern,” the Lord of Baisha City said, sipping his wine. “Now that she’s wanted by the Bloodblade Divine Court, she’ll be constantly on the run, too afraid to step foot within its borders. Stripped of her rank, anyone can kill her on sight.”
Dongbo Xueying nodded.
Venomous Ying was now a fugitive, her whereabouts elusive. But she was no longer a threat. His own strength was growing rapidly, though progress would slow with time. Advancing from a third-tier to a fourth-tier World God would take considerable effort, and the leap from fourth-tier to a Paramount Being was an insurmountable chasm for many prodigies. Yet once he reached third-tier and mastered his supreme techniques, he’d be formidable enough to dominate a region. Then, with minimal effort, he could track Venomous Ying and eliminate her at the first opportunity.
Truthfully, Dongbo Xueying had already put her out of his mind. His thoughts were now consumed by the memory of ‘Windrider Knight Chi Qiu Bai,’ the man who had guided him into the transcendent path. Chi Qiu Bai had always looked out for him, and their bond had been deep. His death had left Dongbo Xueying heartbroken.
But entering the Dark Abyss to rescue him required strength he still lacked.
The Divine Realm and the Dark Abyss were opposing forces. Only Paramount Beings might forge some connections across the divide. At the World God level, endless slaughter defined their relationship. The Great Demonic Gods wouldn’t spare Dongbo Xueying just because of his status—any divine visitor would be hunted down, captured, and subjected to gruesome experiments. After all, the Abyss’s will rewarded its denizens for slaughtering outsiders.
The will of the Material Realm nurtured and protected. Within its bounds, even the Bloodblade God Emperor’s long-range attacks were drastically weakened—without an oath, he could at most kill a second-tier World God with a thought. But in the Divine Realm or the Abyss, his power was incomparably greater.
The Abyss’s will, however, thrived on slaughter, devouring, bloodshed, and darkness. The more its denizens killed—especially beings from the Divine Realm or Material World—the greater the rewards bestowed by the Abyss’s will.
Thus, entering without sufficient strength meant facing relentless onslaught.
“Once I reach the pinnacle of fourth-tier World God strength, I’ll dare to venture in. At least then, no random Abyssal Monarch could easily slay me,” Dongbo Xueying mused. The rulers of the Dark Abyss’s layers were all at least fourth-tier World Gods. “Hold on a little longer, Windrider. Given the Great Demonic Gods’ methods, they’ll likely torment you for ages yet.”
The thought pained him. It was bitterly ironic that, to save Chi Qiu Bai, he now hoped his friend’s torment would be prolonged.
—
In a sprawling complex of black palaces, countless beauties roamed. In a secluded courtyard, Venomous Ying resided, gazing at the distant starry expanse—toward the Bloodblade Divine Court’s domain.
“Damn it all,” she seethed.
“If only I’d forced Dongbo Xueying to self-destruct back then, preventing him from attending the Ten Thousand Flowers Feast. Even if I’d been blamed for driving him to suicide, it wouldn’t have been my direct hand!” Venomous Ying’s heart writhed as if gnawed by countless insects. “Had he missed the Feast, he wouldn’t have become the God Emperor’s disciple. He wouldn’t have risen so swiftly, mastering supreme techniques that let a mere second-tier World God crush me.” Envy, jealousy, and resentment churned within her.
Had her serendipitously acquired *Ten Thousand Toxins Tome* been complete, it might have qualified as a supreme technique. But fragments paled in comparison. Even a single secret art from the Lockworld Tower was but a fraction of a true supreme technique.
“Regret is useless now. Useless!” Venomous Ying glared toward the Divine Court’s domain, her usual venom and malice drowned in helplessness.
She knew the truth.
The boy she’d once dismissed now stood beyond her reach. And he would only grow more terrifyingly powerful, inevitably becoming a hegemon of the Divine Realm—an existence she could never challenge.
With time, the gap between them would only widen.
“If only I could reach fourth-tier World God,” she muttered through gritted teeth, her pride clinging to that sliver of hope.
—
Time was merciless.
In the Xia Clan’s world, mountains crumbled into seas, and new generations of transcendent beings emerged. Venturing into the ‘Red Rock Mountain World’ for training had become commonplace—Dongbo Xueying’s control over it was no longer a secret. As the God Emperor’s disciple, who would question his authority over it?
In the Divine Realm and the Abyss, thirty thousand years passed like a blink. To even an ordinary deity, it was but a brief span.
Yet in those years, Dongbo Xueying’s influence in Anhai Prefecture grew exponentially. Figures like the ‘Lord of Baisha City,’ ‘Commander Wu,’ and ‘Corpse King Cong’ sought him out, some even sparring with him. All knew he’d soon ascend to third-tier World God, his power then becoming truly fearsome. His stature was undeniable.
Even his children, Dongbo Yu and Dongbo Qingyao, became prominent figures among Anhai Prefecture’s elite. The Second Prince under the Prefect himself treated them with deference. As for Dongbo Xueying? He’d long since transcended their level.
Exposed to broader horizons, Dongbo Yu and Qingyao realized how rare it was for scions of great houses to reach deityhood—most died young, and only World Gods endured. Both trained diligently, inheriting their parents’ talents. They reached peak deityhood early, but ascending to World God proved far harder.
There was another reason.
Neither Dongbo Xueying nor Yu Jingqiu allowed their children to use faith stones. They’d agreed: for ten million years, their children would rely on their own cultivation. Only if they failed to break through by then would faith stones be permitted.
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