Everyone looked up to see the Wisdom Priest slowly descending from the cosmic void.
This Wisdom Priest never wore battle armor. Instead, he was draped in a simple robe. If it weren't for the emblem of Heaven printed on it, one's first impression would never be that of a clerical robe.
Upon landing, the Wisdom Priest walked straight toward the Hunyuan Dao Lord.
At this moment, the Hunyuan Dao Lord's face was still filled with confusion and bewilderment.
He had never seen this Wisdom Priest before, but the tone of his voice stirred a faint memory deep in the Hunyuan Dao Lord's mind.
Seeing the confusion on the Hunyuan Dao Lord's face, the "Wisdom Priest" switched to another voice and spoke again.
“Ah, I forgot. The voice you heard should be this one.”
With this, the Hunyuan Dao Lord reacted instantly. He stared intently at the "Wisdom Priest" and uttered two words with a slight tremble.
“It's... you!”
Sensing the atmosphere growing tense, Li Taiji flickered and appeared beside the Hunyuan Dao Lord, asking in a low voice.
“Daoist Brother Hunyuan, what happened?”
Without waiting for the Hunyuan Dao Lord's reply, the "Wisdom Priest" raised a hand and took off his robe, revealing his true form.
“Indeed, it is I.”
Without the robe concealing him, everyone realized that this angelic priest was actually a human. He had no wings on his back, and his face lacked the ethereal beauty of an angel.
Just as the young Dao Lords were wondering how a human could become a priest of Heaven, the Black Tortoise descended from the sky, his eyes filled with gravity.
“Great Sage, I did not expect you to still be alive. Moreover, you have joined the camp of Heaven.”
These words immediately caused a wave of gasps.
“What? Fellow Daoist Black Tortoise, is he the very Sage who was revered as the Grand Teacher of the World by transcendents across the myriad worlds?”
“Yes.”
The Hunyuan Dao Lord also composed himself and took over the conversation.
“He is indeed the Great Sage whose fame once echoed through the myriad worlds. The transcendent systems you all cultivate—be it Immortal, Martial, or even your Yokai paths—were all optimized by him. Even the Wondrous Brush technique I used earlier was developed under his guidance.”
“Haha, Hunyuan Immortal, you possess extraordinary talent. I would not dare call it guidance; it was merely a standard academic exchange between us.”
The Great Sage seemed to be in an excellent mood. His relaxed, easygoing posture and his arrogance that disregarded everyone present were completely undisguised, fully on display.
The Hunyuan Dao Lord recalled what Chen Xu had once told him: that the Great Sage was pulling the strings behind both Heaven and Hell.
From the looks of it now, Chen Xu's words were entirely true.
Why had this Sage, who had been missing for so many years, appeared now and exposed his identity? Was he an enemy or an ally? The Hunyuan Dao Lord could not find an answer.
Thus, the Hunyuan Dao Lord secretly swept his soul across the area, attempting to search for Chen Xu's trace.
However, he found nothing. The Lord of the Undead had only shown his face at the very beginning and had been hiding ever since, his designs unknown.
On the other side, the Great Sage walked step by step toward the armor transformed from the Mother of Hell's demonic body.
But as he drew near the Lord of Heaven, his path was blocked by the Holy Light Greatsword.
The Great Sage tilted his head and looked at the Lord of Heaven.
“Why is the outcome you promised me different from what is happening now?”
“Oh? How is it different? The Mother of Hell is dead, and Hell is gone. Only Heaven remains in the myriad worlds, and you are the sole God-King. Is that not exactly the same?”
“But you never said Hell would turn into this—a meticulously crafted suit of armor!”
The Lord of Heaven's tone grew increasingly stern. It seemed the Great Sage's actions had also made him feel uneasy.
The state of the Mother of Hell after her death gave him a sense of discomfort—an instinctive aversion.
Especially those unfilled holes on the armor; whenever he looked directly at them, the Lord of Heaven had the illusion of being swallowed by an abyss.
“Hehe, I only said the Mother of Hell would die. As for whether she turns into armor, a greatsword, or even a pile of dung after death, what does it matter? It doesn't change the fact of her death, does it?”
The Great Sage stared straight at the Lord of Heaven, replying with utter indifference.
It was clear from his demeanor that the Great Sage did not fear the Lord of Heaven in the slightest.
In other words, this Great Sage also possessed strength at the Dao Lord level.
Highly dissatisfied with the Great Sage's reply, the Lord of Heaven sheathed his greatsword at his waist and stepped forward, his armor practically pressing against the Great Sage.
“But I do not believe Hell's current state counts as being dead. Shouldn't you offer a proper explanation, Sage?”
“Heh.”
The Great Sage let out a highly contemptuous laugh.
“The principles involved are incredibly complex. Without tens of thousands of years of dedicated research, it would be difficult to grasp. Sigh, forget it. What is the use of explaining so much to world rulers like you? You are merely lucky fools who happened to stumble into your positions.”
With that, the Great Sage retracted his disdain, took a step back, and turned to look at the Hunyuan Dao Lord, his smile returning.
“Isn't that right, Hunyuan Immortal? There is a saying like that in your Eastern civilization, is there not?”
“Uh, yes.”
The Great Sage seemed to share a deep history with the Hunyuan Dao Lord, but the latter's expression made it clear that he was highly on guard.
“But Sage, do you not think you really ought to explain? The current Lord of the Undead once told me that Heaven, Hell, and several other special worlds were all listed as your research projects. Furthermore, your handiwork has appeared behind both Heaven and Hell.”
The Hunyuan Dao Lord's words struck the Lord of Heaven like a physical blow. The former world ruler gripped his greatsword tightly with his right hand, his mind racing in shock.
He continuously cast his mind back, recalling his first meeting with the Great Sage and everything that had transpired since.
“Ha, the current Lord of the Undead? That unexpected anomaly? What was his name again... Chen? Chen Xu?”
Hearing Chen Xu's name from the Hunyuan Dao Lord's mouth, the Great Sage actually grew interested.
This living Lord of the Undead—a rarity among rarities and a historical first—had indeed caused him quite a bit of trouble.
Even though the Great Sage was exceptionally learned, and the knowledge stored in his mind encompassed, if not all things in existence, then at least seventy to eighty percent of them, he was still baffled.
But even a genius like him could not fathom how a single person—a human, no less—could possess such heaven-defying talent.
Not long ago, that unique ability to trace history and verify his true identity had truly given him a fright.
Fortunately, the Great Sage had later used a secret method to confirm that the memories Chen Xu obtained were limited to the period before his disappearance. The memories of his disappearance, his change of identity, and his time as a priest of Heaven had not been acquired.
Still, this bizarre and unpredictable ability had seriously rattled the Great Sage's nerves.
With a project he had spent years setting up finally on the verge of harvest, he could not accept his life's work going to waste.
Thus, he had induced the Mother of Hell to take over the Blank Zone.
However, that idiot in the Elemental Spirit Realm had ended up playing himself to death. Before the Sage could even design a plan for the Mother of Hell to seize the Elemental Spirit Realm, Chen Xu, having caught wind of the situation, had swept in and taken it for himself.
Left with no choice, he could only drive the Mother of Hell into madness once more, spreading corruption and instigating the Heavenly Great Expedition to force the final act to begin ahead of schedule.
The actors were in place, and the stage was set. Though the curtain had risen slightly early, it was of little consequence.
The Great Sage believed his subsequent maneuvers would easily make up for this minor flaw.
Before that, however, the Great Sage wanted to meet Chen Xu in person—to see this Lord of the Undead who had disrupted his plans, this unexpected anomaly.
The Great Sage lowered his head, a faint glimmer of Dao principles reflecting in his eyes. Those miraculous eyes of his seemed capable of seeing through all things in existence.
Yet, before the Great Sage could pinpoint Chen Xu's location, a spatial gate manifested beside the armor transformed from the Mother of Hell.
Chen Xu stepped through and looked at the Great Sage.
The Great Sage withdrew the Dao principles from his eyes and looked back at Chen Xu with a faint smile.
“We finally meet, Your Excellency, the current Lord of the Undead.”
However, Chen Xu completely ignored the Great Sage. Instead, he tilted his head slightly, looked at the Lord of Heaven standing behind the Sage, and demanded:
“What the hell! Pick a better partner next time, will you? Do you have any idea there's a traitor in your own house?!”
Rate on N.U.
