“Master, this is the Godfiend Abyss Heaven,” Paimon said directly.
“It has sothing to do with the demons?” Xu Zimo asked.
“They don’t deserve to be called demons at all,” said Red-Blade Bull Demon, before Paimon could answer, his voice full of fury. “They’re nothing but cowards who cling to life, false demons in na only.”
“How so?” Xu Zimo asked, puzzled.
“In the beginning, when we followed you into the Nine Heavens, you, my lord, created a new era in a very short ti, the Demon Descent Era,” the Bull Demon explained.
“We ruled that era. You were the first to initiate the Ultimate Battle, to challenge the Heavens themselves. Of the Eighteen Infernal Archons, a few were scattered or lost, but the remaining twelve each commanded their own legions, standing against the rebellious forces of the Nine Heavens. Later, the Heavenly Dao proclaid that you and those who fought against the heavens had all perished in battle. The demons were struck with catastrophe. Many of us fought to the bitter end and were sealed within the Primordial Demon Caves. But two of the Infernal Archons betrayed us, they surrendered to Heaven’s dogs in exchange for their lives.”
As he spoke, Red-Blade clutched his head, groaning in pain and shaking violently.
Ever since Xu Zimo had rescued him from Zhurong’s inheritance, he had realized that soone had tampered with the Bull Demon’s mories.
He could recall many things vaguely, but if he tried to think deeply, searing pain would strike, just as it did now.
“Who were those two Infernal Archons?” Xu Zimo asked again.
“Celestial Devourer and Hellfire Asura,” Red-Blade said slowly, each word strained.
“The Heavenly Dao didn’t hesitate to pay a price. After their surrender, they were granted dominion over this Godfiend Abyss Heaven, ruling as kings over an entire world. Compared to our suffering, their lives must be paradise.”
“Heaven rely used them,” Seven-Face sneered. “If one heaven could be traded for the fall of our Ancient Ancient Demon Race, why wouldn’t Heaven do it?”
Everyone could see the sche clearly, it wasn’t even hidden. It was an open conspiracy. But so hearts are too weak to resist temptation.
“The demons here are no longer true demons,” Paimon warned. “You must be cautious, my lord.”
“I understand,” Xu Zimo said with a faint smile. “Perhaps it’s ti to clean house.”
“Why aren’t you saying anything?” Wu Zhaodi waved her hand in front of Xu Zimo’s face. “Can you hear or not? Or did you lose your voice?”
“Where exactly in the Godfiend Abyss Heaven is this place?” Xu Zimo asked calmly as he withdrew his awareness from the God World.
“You scared ! I thought you couldn’t talk,” Wu Zhaodi said, letting out a sigh of relief. “This is the Ocean-Faring Fishing Village, part of the Dragon God Imperium.”
“Dragon God Imperium…” Xu Zimo repeated softly.
“And who are you? How did you end up floating here from the open sea?” Wu Zhaodi asked.
“I don’t rember,” Xu Zimo replied, shaking his head.
“Fine, fine, don’t tell then. Playing the amnesia card, huh?” Wu Zhaodi muttered. She handed him a freshly grilled boneless fish. “Here, eat.”
Xu Zimo accepted it without ceremony. After a few bites, he nodded slightly; the taste was surprisingly good.
“Lucky you t ,” Wu Zhaodi said as she poked at the fire. “Otherwise, if you’d kept drifting across the ocean, you’d have been swallowed by the whirlpools long ago, not even bones left behind.”
Xu Zimo was silent for a mont, then asked, “Does your world have any legends about gods?”
“What do you an ‘your world’? Don’t tell you’re from another heaven,” Wu Zhaodi said, laughing. Clearly, she didn’t take his words seriously.
Still, she answered, “There are plenty of legends about gods. Which one are you asking about?”
“The Nine Ancient Gods,” Xu Zimo said. “Have you heard of them?”
“Never,” she replied, shaking her head.
Xu Zimo didn’t press further. The two quietly finished their al by the fire.
Then Wu Zhaodi stood up and said, “I’m heading ho. You, wherever you ca from, you should go back.”
“I’d like to stay in this fishing village for a while,” Xu Zimo said.
He wanted a period of calm, sowhere to avoid attention and recover, and it was also a good opportunity to learn more about the Godfiend Abyss Heaven.
“This isn’t your ho,” Wu Zhaodi said flatly. “I don’t know who you are, but this village is peaceful. Let it stay that way.”
She had sensed that Xu Zimo was not an ordinary man, and that his presence could bring chaos to their tranquil lives.
“I have no ho,” Xu Zimo said quietly.
His true ho was in the True Martial Sacred Ground, but in these Nine Heavens, nowhere could be called ho.
“Then where will you stay?” Wu Zhaodi asked.
“The sky is my roof, the earth my bed. The world is vast, where can’t I stay?” Xu Zimo replied calmly.
“Suit yourself,” she said, waving him off as she walked down the slope.
When she was gone, Xu Zimo sat cross-legged once more. In his right palm, the faint outline of an oval-shaped leaf shimred into view.
Normally, it remained hidden, but when he willed it, it erged from beneath his skin.
“The God Tree’s Blessing,” Xu Zimo murmured.
To die and live again, Jumang’s inheritance was indeed miraculous. Yet forming that leaf ca at a trendous cost.
The leaf that had revived him had been condensed by the last remnants of the Tree Spirit’s power.
Now, to recreate another would take a very long ti.
However, Xu Zimo had also discovered that his own Tree of Life made cultivating this inheritance far easier, almost effortless in comparison.
Still, he wasn’t in a hurry to cultivate. Instead, he returned once more to the God World within his inner world.
The Death Flower and World Tree he had once recovered were now entangled together inside.
When Xu Zimo looked again, he found that sothing unbelievable had happened, the Death Flower had rged with the World Tree.
In truth, it was beyond comprehension. Life and death were opposites, when they t, one was ant to perish.
Yet now, they had fused into a single being, a phenonon unheard of since the dawn of creation.
The tree’s trunk was that of the World Tree, but unlike the fragile sapling it had once been, it had grown into a tall, powerful tree in a very short ti.
And the blossoms it bore, were Death Flowers.
A tree of life blooming with death, both forces intertwined, coexisting in impossible harmony.
Xu Zimo stared at the tree in silence for a long while.
As for the five stages of a Grand Emperor, he had been in the God-Unity Stage for quite so ti.
Now, it was finally ti to step into the Life-Death Stage, the fourth of those five stages.
When he perished alongside the Abyssal Tyrant, he had already glimpsed the mysteries of life and death.
And now, seeing this tree before him, he felt that he was only one step away, just a single thought from crossing that threshold.
He sat beneath the tree, cross-legged once more.
The aura of life and death radiated from its trunk, enveloping him completely.
All through the night, there was silence.
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