"Arrogant fool." Lightning flickered across the Thunder Spear in the Golden Armored Deity's hand. His figure flashed, and the spear shot straight toward the Snow Empress.
Jiang Mian could not help but marvel. Even if he gave it everything he had, he could barely make out such speed. Sure enough, he still needed to work harder. Relying solely on the Snow Empress and the others to protect him was not a long-term solution.
The Snow Empress shifted slightly and easily dodged the Thunder Spear. She smiled disdainfully and said calmly, "Jiang Mian, watch carefully. This is the true... Emperor Palm, Great Cold Without Snow!"
The surrounding temperature instantly dropped to zero. Jiang Mian felt as though even the air was about to freeze. The Snow Empress's right hand became flawless and white. Her palm appeared slow, yet it was astonishingly fast as it struck the Golden Armored Deity directly in the abdomen.
The Golden Armored Deity froze where he stood. He did not even get to leave any final words. His expression remained so full of confidence, but he would be stuck with that expression forever.
Such a formidable expert had turned into an ice sculpture in the blink of an eye, yet his exterior bore no damage at all.
The Snow Empress withdrew the ice and snow, and only then could Jiang Mian and Kloss breathe freely again.
"He's dead?" Kloss crawled toward the god's corpse with a horrified expression. He stammered, "Th-this... was a chief god."
"What's so impressive about that?" Jiang Mian sneered. "Does trash like him deserve to be called a god?"
The Snow Empress did not respond. She bent down to examine the god's corpse, then extended her slender fingers and directly dug out his heart.
Since the Golden Armored Deity's body had already become an ice sculpture, no blood spilled out. His heart was strange—it was actually a round pearl. The pearl was transparent, with lightning flashing within it. It was likely the source of his power.
"Take it." The Snow Empress tossed the pearl to Jiang Mian. "It should be useful someday."
Jiang Mian nodded and put the pearl away. Just as he and the Snow Empress were about to leave, Kloss suddenly threw himself at Jiang Mian's feet, grabbed his ankle, and pleaded humbly, "My lord, for the sake of our brotherhood, can you save my master?"
"Get up." Jiang Mian frowned slightly and hurriedly helped Kloss to his feet. Smiling, he said, "I'll always be your brother. Why do you have to humble yourself like this?"
"You jest, my lord." Kloss rubbed his hands together, not daring to meet Jiang Mian's eyes. Jiang Mian was somewhat speechless. He looked at the Snow Empress and asked, "Snow Empress, how about helping him out while we're at it?"
"Fine. We can wait for Di Tian there." The Snow Empress nodded. "Little one, lead the way."
"Thank you, Senior." Kloss immediately kowtowed, but Jiang Mian yanked him back up. He was rather speechless, unable to understand why Kloss behaved this way.
Could friendship really be this laughable?
On Divine Mountain, an ancient god with snow-white hair, a crown upon his head, and seated in the highest position slowly opened his eyes. He seemed neither sorrowful nor joyful as he said coldly, "A mortal has slain a god."
"Was it those Divine Officials?" A woman beside him, dressed in revealing clothing and resembling an ancient Greek statue, slowly spoke. "The Divine Officials do not possess much divine power. It is nothing surprising."
"No, Eleven was killed." The ancient god's words were shocking. The many gods below him exchanged looks, unable to imagine who could have killed a chief god.
"Did the imprisoned one make a move?" The woman's jade-like face showed a rich array of emotions. She said in disbelief, "That shouldn't be possible. Without divine power, how could he escape?"
"Nothing is impossible." The ancient god shook his head and ordered, "Find the mortal who killed Eleven. I want to see him alive, or his corpse if he is dead."
"Yes." The other ten gods accepted the order and departed. The ancient god seated at the highest position rose to his feet, took the goddess's hand, and said calmly, "It has been a long time since any mortal dared offend the dignity of the gods."
"Should we bring down Divine Punishment?" The goddess was beautiful, yet her heart was so vicious. "We have gone too long without anger, to the point that mortals have forgotten that when gods rage, a million corpses will fall."
"No. I can sense that the one who killed Eleven is not a mortal of this world." The ancient god said, "There is no use explaining it to them. Still, it has been a long time since I felt this sensation. The last time was a hundred years ago. That person was powerful, but did not clash with us. This visitor is far too arrogant."
"With you here, even if visitors from another world are powerful, we have nothing to fear." The goddess knowingly pressed herself against the ancient god's chest, her hands stroking him as though she greatly enjoyed the sensation.
Kloss led Jiang Mian onward at full speed. He seemed extremely anxious, as if afraid the gods would catch up. Jiang Mian, on the other hand, remained calm. What gods? They had no strength.
An arrow suddenly shot down from the sky. Jiang Mian did not even turn around before the Snow Empress casually waved her hand and caught it.
"Interesting." A goddess with wings on her back appeared in the sky. She wore a flower crown, with only a piece of white silk covering the crucial parts of her body. Her attire was exceedingly bold.
Jiang Mian grinned and could not help taking a few extra looks. Seeing his expression, the Snow Empress seemed somewhat displeased.
"The Huntress Goddess, the Ninth Chief God." Kloss was in no mood to admire the goddess's naked body. He quickened his pace and said, "Legend says the Huntress Goddess never misses a shot. She never lets prey she has set her sights on escape, and she is much stronger than that god just now."
"Is she?" The Snow Empress threw away the arrow. "She feels about the same."
"The Huntress Goddess appearing means the gods have already set their sights on us. She is merely the advance force." Kloss had already lost hope. "My master is sealed nearby. Perhaps he has a way."
Jiang Mian stopped walking. He felt that Kloss was practically a different person from usual. The young man who had not feared the Crystal Emperor Lion at all was now panicking like a mouse that had seen a cat at the sight of these gods. It was simply ridiculous.
It seemed that the people of this world had been poisoned for too long, to the point where they considered submission to the gods only natural.
"Are we done fighting yet?" The Snow Empress said wearily. "It would be better to gather them together and kill them all at once."
"The Divine Eagle will judge you." The Huntress Goddess raised her arm and lightly ran a finger across her body. She suddenly braced her bow with her foot and fired an arrow in an extremely seductive pose.
This arrow split stone and pierced the air, far more powerful than the previous one.
"Tricks." The Snow Empress chuckled and formed an arrow from ice and snow as well. The two arrows collided. The ice arrow pierced straight through the feathered arrow and continued onward until it impaled the Huntress Goddess before vanishing.
The Huntress Goddess's face was filled with terror. Her body froze at a visible speed. Before long, her entire body stiffened, and she fell from the sky and shattered into pieces.
"What a waste of good food." Recalling the Huntress Goddess's seductive figure and face, Jiang Mian could not help sighing. "A top-tier beauty like that is hard to find even with a lantern."
"What did you say?" The Snow Empress suddenly pinched Jiang Mian's ear and smiled. "Jiang Mian, that is not pleasant to hear. Don't say such things again."
"Yes, yes, understood." Jiang Mian covered his ear and repeatedly agreed. He could not help complaining inwardly, Who is the master here? Why do I feel like the Snow Empress's concubine instead?
"This is where my master was sealed."
After traveling for nearly another day, the group finally arrived at the edge of a bottomless sinkhole.
The sinkhole covered an enormous area. Looking down, all they could see was a hazy gray expanse, with no bottom in sight. Jiang Mian guessed that it was a taboo set by those gods, meant to prevent anyone from discovering Kloss's master. Yet by a twist of fate, Kloss had found him—and by another twist of fate, had brought Jiang Mian here.
"Let's go." Kloss was the first to leap down. He seemed unafraid of being smashed to pieces. Jiang Mian had no concerns either. After all, his number one wife, the Snow Empress, was beside him. If there really was danger, they could just die for love.
The Snow Empress held Jiang Mian as she turned into wind and snow, speeding downward. Only after passing through that hazy taboo did Jiang Mian's view open up. Beneath the sinkhole was actually an underground city.
The city stretched in every direction, with glowing spirit stones placed throughout every corner. Those spirit stones might well have been the energy source for the taboo above.
An old man dressed in tattered rags, with disheveled hair and a filthy face, had his limbs bound by chains. He could only move within a small area.
Kloss landed beside the old man first. He kowtowed three times before daring to rise and say, "Teacher, I brought help. They may be able to help you escape this endless hell."
"Mm." The old man revealed a pair of profound eyes. In them, Jiang Mian saw the passage of countless years and endless wisdom.
"Senior, this junior is Jiang Mian. Sorry for disturbing you." Jiang Mian clasped his fists and spoke respectfully.
"No matter." The old man dragged his body forward. Every time he moved, the chains binding him clattered loudly. "Friend from another world, I have finally waited for you."
"You were waiting for me?" Jiang Mian's heart skipped a beat. He instinctively looked toward the Snow Empress and found her expression equally grave. This meant the old man before them was definitely concealing extraordinary abilities—his strength might even surpass the Snow Empress's.
"I was too bored, so I had those gods imprison me here." The old man chuckled. With a casual tug, the chains snapped apart. The taboo abruptly vanished like smoke. A bunch of children's tricks—did they really think they could control him?
"After living too long, I always feel like trying something new." The old man patted Kloss on the head, then suddenly exerted force with his hand. A fierce wind swept forth, and Kloss was sucked into his body.
"Where did you send Kloss?" Jiang Mian demanded. "Did you kill him?"
"He was originally part of my body. How could I have killed him?" The old man sat down on the ground and beckoned for Jiang Mian and the Snow Empress to sit as well. "You two little ones coming here was fate, so I followed fate and created a Kloss to guide you here."
The Snow Empress said nothing, as though acknowledging that she was indeed a child before this old man. The Snow Empress already possessed nearly seven hundred thousand years of cultivation. That could only mean this old man was even more ancient.
"Kloss's memories were fake too?" Jiang Mian sat down carelessly, resting his chin on his hand as he smiled. "What fate? Old man, isn't fate simply your will?"
"You have some brains after all." The old man laughed heartily. A jug of wine appeared out of thin air before Jiang Mian. "Please enjoy."
Jiang Mian thanked him, picked up the wine jug, and drank deeply. The wine was not spicy when it entered his mouth, but its lingering flavor was smooth and mellow, with a faint sweetness.
"Now that is satisfying. Would this beautiful young lady like some too?" The old man snapped his fingers, and a jug of wine likewise appeared before the Snow Empress.
The Snow Empress smiled slightly and did not refuse the old man's wine. However, she was more elegant. She condensed a wine cup with the power of ice and snow, then carefully savored the wine.
"Young lady, you have seen grand occasions." The old man gave her a thumbs-up and praised her without reservation.
"Senior has drawn a boundary around himself and made it his prison. You must be quite troubled." Jiang Mian chuckled. "But I do not know how Senior became the heavens of this world."
"Brat, are you insulting me in circles?" The old man pointed at Jiang Mian and laughed in irritation. "You already know my identity. Why ask such a redundant question?"
"I simply do not understand why so many gods fell and formed this God Tomb." Jiang Mian asked curiously. "By all reason, shouldn't gods live forever?"
"That involves an old story from the past. Better left unmentioned." The old man conjured a jug of wine for himself as well, as though he intended to drown his sorrows. He smiled. "In any case, life here is quite carefree. If I want wind, there is wind. If I want rain, there is rain. But it is all fake, so it is hard to feel interested."
"If everything outside is formed from your thoughts, why not create something more entertaining?" Jiang Mian asked.
"What could be entertaining?" The old man burst out laughing. He shook his head and mocked himself. "Young man, when you have stayed here for hundreds of thousands of years, you will understand. Nothing is new. Everything, every object, repeats in cycles."
There was a saying that history rolled forward like a wheel. Yet no matter how it rolled, it still repeated itself, because the wheel was only so large. It also proved another saying: there was nothing new under the sun.
"Will those gods still come after us?" Jiang Mian asked. "They are very strong. That shows this old senior's strength must be unfathomable as well."
"When you become a god and then die, you will become like me too." The old man chuckled. "In theory, they could grow infinitely strong. But I do not dare let them surpass me. Otherwise, I would no longer be the heavens."
"Old man, how does time pass here compared to the outside world?" Jiang Mian asked the question that had long concerned him.
"About the same, I suppose." The old man scratched his messy hair and said unconcernedly, "I'm not too sure."
Jiang Mian fell into thought. The old man suddenly pointed above the sinkhole and asked with a smile, "That little fellow up there came looking for you as well, didn't he?"
Jiang Mian and the Snow Empress exchanged glances. "That's right. He came looking for us."
"No wonder." The old man suddenly understood. "I was wondering why I had no control over him. Another visitor from another world. What is going on these past few days? It has become so lively."
"Sorry for disturbing your quiet cultivation, Senior." Jiang Mian said. "Please forgive us."
"Forget the pleasantries." Stroking his beard, the old man called out loudly, "Little fellow above, if you have time, why not come down for a drink?"
The sound vanished in an instant, and Di Tian abruptly appeared before the three of them. He said calmly, "Senior, sorry for the disturbance."
"Sit." The old man pointed beside Jiang Mian, then gave Di Tian a jug of wine as well. "You little fellow, your strength truly is remarkable."
"You flatter me, Senior." Di Tian lifted the wine jug and drained it in one gulp. When he finished the wine, Jiang Mian suddenly discovered that his Soul Power had surged forward, breaking through three levels in a row. Even the Snow Empress and Di Tian had strengthened to varying degrees.
"Thank you, Senior."
The old man waved his hand, then suddenly rose to his feet and smiled at Jiang Mian. "You little fellow are gifted and intelligent. You will surely ascend to the immortal realm someday. If I do not do you this favor now, wouldn't I be losing out terribly?"
"Fine, I will give you something else good. Then you can leave. It is enough for this old man's place to be lively for a while. If it stays lively for too long, the contrast with the loneliness afterward will only become sharper."
Jiang Mian had just wanted to thank him when the old man raised a hand to interrupt him. The old man's entire body began glowing. He gathered all the light at the tip of his right index finger. A drop of golden blood rich with divinity fell from his finger, and Di Tian swiftly caught it and carefully stored it away.
"Go." The old man waved his hand, and the winds and clouds between heaven and earth shifted. Jiang Mian took the Snow Empress's hand, and the three of them were directly expelled from the small space.
Wind and snow rushed into his face. Jiang Mian slowly opened his eyes to an endless expanse of snow, with Di Tian and the Snow Empress standing behind him.
The Snow Empress looked as calm as ever, while Di Tian was overjoyed. He murmured:
"With this drop of Divine Blood, my lord can awaken."
Before you continue