Our Treasure Is Here!

"Why don't we discuss the terms?"

Vishnu still wore that gentle smile, holding the divine tree in his hand as though the furious Golden-Eyed before him were his Lakshmi.

He looked harmlessly cheerful.

"Ha! Discuss terms?"

Golden-Eyed glared furiously, opening his mouth and exhaling like thunder, making heaven and earth change color. His back teeth ground with crackling sounds, like an earthquake deep underground.

His hands clenched tightly into fists.

He remembered it perfectly well!

The last person to discuss terms with him had been Indra, who had tricked him into throwing down Mandara Mountain.

And now they were trying this again!

Did they really think he was stupid?

Vishnu blinked and smiled.

"This Wish-Fulfilling Divine Tree is very important to the gods!"

"As long as this Wish-Fulfilling Divine Tree is given to the gods, I will, in the name of the Protector God, distribute things fairly between you. The next treasure churned from the Ocean of Milk will belong to the Asuras."

Vishnu spoke slowly.

At those words, Golden-Eyed's face darkened. He stared suspiciously at Vishnu before he could not help glancing down at the Ocean of Milk.

The Ocean of Milk churned like glue, incomparably thick and viscous.

This signaled that the churning of the Ocean of Milk had reached its final stage. Very little remained within it, and what emerged next might well be the legendary Amrita that could grant the gods immortality.

Should he take the gamble?

The divine tree before him was precious, but compared to immortal Amrita, it was nothing much.

Hadn't he and his brother Golden Bed endured such arduous ascetic cultivation for power and immortality?!

If he obtained the Amrita, he would be utterly invincible throughout these thousand divine ages. He could storm the Heavenly Realm, and every rare treasure and every beautiful Heavenly Maiden there would belong to him.

As for the Protector God before him...

Golden-Eyed would never admit that he was deeply wary of Vishnu.

He narrowed his eyes, his gaze grave, and raised a hand to point at Vishnu the Protector God.

"Hmph. I don't trust those gods. I want you to make a promise at once. None of the gods may defy your oath!"

Golden-Eyed said coldly.

"As you wish!"

Vishnu nodded lightly, raised his right hand toward Golden-Eyed, and smiled. "In the name of the Protector God, I will fairly distribute the treasures between the gods and the Asuras. This Wish-Fulfilling Divine Tree before us shall belong to the gods..."

At this point, Vishnu smiled and turned toward the gods.

"The next treasure churned from the Ocean of Milk shall belong to the Asuras!"

Vishnu's voice spread across the entire Ocean of Milk.

His voice echoed over the Ocean of Milk. Two spheres of light appeared above it, followed by the figures of Brahma and Shiva. They nodded slightly at Vishnu, serving as witnesses to his oath.

Seeing this, Golden-Eyed relaxed slightly and let out a breath. His tightly clenched fists slowly opened.

With Brahma and Shiva both here, could Vishnu still spout nonsense?

On the other side, the gods pressed their palms together.

"Praise Brahma the Lord! Praise Mahadeva Shiva!"

"Praise Brahma the Lord! Praise Mahadeva Shiva!"

After the gods had finished their praises, Surya took the lead as they all tilted their heads with miserable expressions, looking pitifully at Vishnu.

Teacher Vishnu, why were you helping the Asuras?!

What if the Amrita was gone?

Vishnu smiled faintly without explaining. When he released his palm, the Wish-Fulfilling Divine Tree slowly descended in golden light and landed before the gods.

"Indra, keep this Wish-Fulfilling Divine Tree safe!"

Vishnu said with a smile.

Indra smiled, cupped the divine tree protectively in both hands before him, then nodded slightly to Vishnu.

Vishnu gave a faint smile and vanished into golden light.

Whoosh!

Indra was filled with emotion.

Sure enough, Vishnu was still reliable!

If he remembered correctly, all that remained in the Ocean of Milk were Halahala and Amrita. One was the deadliest poison, while the other granted eternal life.

"Halahala is good stuff!"

After putting away the Wish-Fulfilling Divine Tree, Indra instinctively touched his divine armor.

The Golden Solar God Armor was exceptionally tough and radiated a faint warmth that warmed his fingertips.

He was already prepared to use the first layer of his armor to absorb the Halahala.

Indra grew increasingly expectant. When he turned around, he saw the troubled gods. Surya and the others were clearly deeply worried that the next treasure from the Ocean of Milk would belong to the Asuras.

"Don't worry!"

"Would the Lord ever harm you? You simply aren't devout enough!"

"Now comes the main event!"

Indra said.

Surya's eyes immediately lit up. Turning sideways, he whispered, "Indra, did the Lord tell you something?"

Indra shook his head with a soft smile and walked to Shesha's tail, wrapping both arms around it.

Seeing this, sunlight flickered in Surya's eyes, and realization dawned on him.

"The Lord must have told Indra something we don't know."

"Don't worry!"

Surya said.

At those words, the gods finally relaxed and returned to their positions.

In the distance, Garuda, who was helping the gods pull Shesha's tail, suddenly tilted his head. His eyes widened as confusion, unwillingness, grief, indignation, and hurt surfaced on his face.

"Did the Lord really tell Indra something?"

"I'm clearly the Lord's mount, so why didn't the Lord tell me?"

"How am I inferior to Indra?!"

Garuda's proud body involuntarily slumped, and his wings drooped as he failed to make sense of it.

But before Garuda could figure it out, the Gandharvas around him had already begun moving. They grabbed Shesha's tail and started pulling, forcing Garuda to turn his grief and indignation into strength and pull with all his might.

Rumble!

Supported by the divine turtle, the enormous body of Thousand-headed Serpent King Shesha began turning once more, grinding against Mandara Mountain.

Gulp! Gulp! Gulp!

Steam billowed over the Ocean of Milk as massive bubbles rose from its viscous waters, erupting like volcanoes.

"It's spinning so fast! Looks like everyone is really giving it their all!"

Indra gazed at Mandara Mountain spinning like a top and sighed.

He gripped Shesha's body tightly and exerted all his strength.

The Asuras' side was equally fired up.

Billowing Serpent Fire and venom spewed from Shesha's many heads, forcing the Asuras to use their divine power to resist. They pulled even harder as Golden-Eyed's voice echoed continuously among them.

"We've reached the final stage!"

"Vishnu the Protector God has already promised that the next treasure belongs to the Asuras. The Amrita will be ours, and Immortal Power is right before us!"

"Faster!"

"Pull faster!"

Golden-Eyed turned to issue commands to the Asuras behind him.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

As both sides continued churning, the tremors beneath Mandara Mountain grew louder and louder, as if countless planets were shattering in deafening explosions. Heaven and earth shook and split, while the Ocean of Milk surged into towering waves.

Boom!

A vast spray of water suddenly exploded from the Ocean of Milk, forming a vortex.

Golden-Eyed released the serpent head in his hand, stepped forward two paces, and stared excitedly at the Ocean of Milk. Raising both hands, he shouted.

"It's here!"

"Our treasure is coming out!"