The Heart of the Universe

Xuanhuang Hall.

The main hall of the Xuanhuang Heavenly Palace.

At this moment, twelve Star Lords, representing the highest ruling class of the Xuanhuang Immortal Dynasty, arrived in this palace. Except for two who were in the critical moment of seclusion and could not even send out their incarnations, all the Star Lords were present.

Each of the Star Lords examined the memory Jade Slip crafted by Wang Xuanjing, which had been provided by the Gu Jinlai, their expressions extremely solemn.

"Another evil god has escaped?"

"How is this possible... Has something gone wrong with the Heart of the Universe?"

"It's not time to jump to conclusions yet. We need to figure out whether this is an evil god that escaped from the heart of the universe, or... a deity that chose to fall..."

After a while, the star deities began to communicate.

At this moment, a burly star lord clad in armor suddenly said, "According to this ancient golden immortal, that evil god is currently in a deep sleep, indicating that he is in poor condition. Could we take advantage of his unhealed injuries and kill him?"

"Seven Killers, He is not asleep because of injury, but is advancing in rank. Otherwise, He would not have been unable to control His own power and unconsciously created a large number of evil spirits. The advancement can be interrupted, but that does not mean that we can take the opportunity to kill Him."

"We have to do something."

"But our power is not prepared to deal with this evil god, especially since... this evil god seems to be... much larger."

"I suggest we avoid that star system; we won't collide with it in the short term."

"They're all evil gods, there's no difference between them."

The star lords kept exchanging information, but this newly appeared evil god disrupted their original plans, and they obviously couldn't make a decision for the time being.

"So... where exactly does the evil god come from?"

At this moment, Gu Jinlai suddenly asked a question, interrupting the conversation among the star deities.

In an instant, everyone's attention fell back on Gu Jinlai.

Even though she was dressed in a white veil and adorned with many ornaments, and exuded a gentle and aloof aura, the Moon Goddess was still observing him.

After a long while, Tianxiang Xingjun finally spoke, "Let me explain to Gu Jinxian."

The other star deities did not reply, clearly acknowledging the matter.

Although they are both Golden Immortals, and their status is far superior to that of Gu Jinlai, they are not to be underestimated.

"The origin of evil gods lies in deities... and the history of deities... is countless times longer than the Xuanhuang Immortal Dynasty..."

As Tianxiang Xingjun spoke, he waved his hand, and a dazzling array of starlight shone down.

Every ray of starlight is dazzling and bright.

"Golden Immortals, who have condensed the Great Dao, are also known as Great Dao Golden Immortals. At the moment when their Great Dao is perfected, they can theoretically obtain an immortal life, and are also known as Immortal Golden Immortals. The reason why it is described as 'theoretically' is because those Dao Ancestors who reside at the end of the Three Thousand Great Daos are like a sword hanging over their heads, constantly threatening all immortal beings, making them live in constant fear and anxiety."

The Heavenly Star Lord said.

Gu Jinlai nodded. This knowledge was widely known in the world, and he was no exception.

"The ancient immortals were unwilling to live in such an unknown world, where life and death seemed to be in the hands of others. So, on an unknown day... the first god was born in the world, a special existence that could be called individual will or collective will."

"Gods."

Gu Jinlai, a thought has stirred within me.

He had seen this term in some ancient books on Blue Star.

"The gods forge their divine kingdoms using a method similar to 'assimilation,' interfering with the ordinary will of all living beings with their own higher-dimensional will, thereby achieving assimilation from high to low. The growth of ordinary beings is actually the nurturing of their will, or rather, the cultivation of their mental power. When ordinary beings die of old age, the mental will nurtured by those who are qualified will ascend into the specially crafted divine kingdom and become part of it..."

Tianxiang Xingjun paused slightly. "Even a part of themselves."

"Divine Kingdom?"

Gu Jinlai quickly thought of something, "A grotto-heaven?"

"You can understand it this way: the core of a grotto-heaven is spatial materials and spiritual energy, and the divine kingdom is similar to that in some ways."

The Celestial Star Lord's expression was solemn. "And the greatest function of the Divine Kingdom is to resist the Dao Ancestor's purge!"

Gu Jinlai's expression immediately changed.

"The lifespan of an Immortal Golden Immortal is immortal. Even though breaking through to the Immortal Golden Immortal realm is extremely difficult, with only one in ten thousand... Just as it is difficult for a perfect circle to appear in the world, once one breaks through, an Immortal Golden Immortal can obtain a lifespan of millions, even tens of millions or hundreds of millions of years. Over time, a large number of Immortal Golden Immortals have attached themselves to each Great Dao. So much so that when the Dao Ancestors who reside at the end of the Great Dao cleanse the Great Dao, they do not clean them one by one. Instead, they do it like ordinary people cleaning the dust in their homes, sweeping it until it is almost clean, rather than cleaning every corner of the home in detail."

Tianxiang Xingjun took a deep breath. "Therefore, as long as those immortal golden immortals can rely on their divine kingdoms to withstand the cleanup, they can survive."

Gu Jinlai listening to this, I had a vague feeling that something was wrong.

If everyone chooses the path of the gods, then...

Sure enough, the Celestial Star Lord spoke again, "The Path of the Gods has emerged, and countless Immortal Golden Immortals are vying to imitate it. In a very short time, the Path of the Gods has filled the starry sky. However, as I just said, the Dao Ancestor's purging of the Immortal Golden Immortals who rely on the Great Dao is like ordinary people cleaning the dust in their houses. Once it's almost clean, they'll let the dust in the corners go. But if they can't clean the house properly when they clean it carelessly, then..."

The star deity said solemnly, "They will put in the effort and clean with care."

Gu Jinlai, it has inspired awe in my heart.

"There are only two ways to avoid being purged: one is to make one's own divine kingdom stronger, and the other is..."

"To stop others from building a kingdom."

From Gu Jinlai, they have murmured to themselves.

"Right."

Tianxiang Xingjun nodded. "As I said, for gods to forge their divine kingdoms, they need to interfere with the wills of all living beings using their own higher-dimensional will. Once these beings have grown to a certain level, their wills are then brought into the divine kingdom, becoming the materials for forging it. In other words, living beings are the divine kingdom! The more living beings a god has, the more powerful the divine kingdom can be forged, but the number of living beings that meet the criteria is limited... Thus, in order to compete for living beings..."

"War."

It's obvious from Gu Jinlai present.

A war in which one side must survive at the expense of the other.

"Yes, a war that continues to this day and is still not completely over! A war between gods! A war between immortals and gods!"

The Celestial Star Lord said, "Deities assimilate living beings. To some extent, those beings are already equivalent to the incarnations of that deity. They will almost certainly never possess their own 'Dao' again. In other words, they will never be able to attain immortality. This is not necessarily a bad thing for those Immortal Golden Immortals, but it is not necessarily a good thing either. Regardless of the Immortal Golden Immortals, Great Dao Golden Immortals will eventually have descendants and close relatives. When they want to guide these people onto the Dao Path and help them attain immortality, they will find that the other party has already worshipped a certain deity and has lost the qualification to 'enter' the Dao..."

At this point, he paused slightly. "Moreover, immortals are actually the beginning of 'Spirit Refining.' Although they possess their own 'Dao' and have considerable resistance through it, their minds and spirits are equally powerful. Transforming such an immortal into an existence similar to one's own incarnation and then merging it into the divine kingdom is the best nourishment."

Those who have heard this Gu Jinlai have felt a chill in their hearts.

In that case, there would be an irreconcilable conflict between immortals and gods.

But...

"What is the relationship between gods and evil gods?"

"It's too slow for ordinary beings to evolve into qualified 'materials' for a divine kingdom. But one day, some gods suddenly realized, why don't they just 'assemble' these materials themselves? They only need to decompose the things they need from the beings into the most primitive particles, extract the most essential parts, and then they won't need to spend time 'assimil' those beings and waiting for them to grow..."

Tianxiang Xingjun said in a deep voice, "Therefore, some gods completely integrated themselves into the divine kingdom, and even transformed themselves into a form that specializes in 'degrading' living beings, becoming such a super factory. Because their degradation level is extremely low, so low that matter and energy can hardly interfere with them, and because they are essentially still immortal golden immortals with inexhaustible power, they are almost impossible to kill, and in the end... they became fallen gods."

"Fallen gods are evil gods; their essence... is still that of immortal golden immortals?"

"Fallen gods are the most primitive form of evil gods."

Tianxiang Xingjun nodded. "This is a life form that doesn't significantly affect immortal golden immortals."

Gu Jinlai, this has been associated with the Devouring Dao, which sustains the entire Immortal Xuanhuang Realm...

"The purpose of the Devouring Dao's constant operation is to make the evil god mistake this for an immortal golden immortal, thus causing it to avoid him?"

This Gu Jinlai.

"Let me finish."

With a flick of his hand, the Celestial Star Lord unleashed a dazzling display of starlight before him, which eventually coalesced into a vast expanse of...

A colossal entity, similar to the Milky Way.

Tianxiang Xingjun pointed to the most central location and said, "This is the heart of the universe!"

"Silver Heart?"

His expression Gu Jinlai.

This starry sky doesn't even reach the scale of the "universe," does it?

"The true heart of the universe."

Tianxiang Xingjun seemed to have guessed what the Gu Jinlai were thinking, and said, "This is the origin of the universe. The Three Thousand Great Daos spread out from the heart of the universe. It is said that the mysterious and unpredictable Dao Ancestor is located in the heart of the universe. Because this area is the starting point of the entire universe and the source of the Three Thousand Great Daos, the Great Daos intersect, and it has not even been able to develop a complete universe and starry sky. Naturally, there are no ordinary substances and living beings in this area. Only those beings who have come into contact with the Heavenly Dao can survive in this area..."

"The origin of the universe..."

"Compared to gods, fallen gods fundamentally degrade all living beings, which is a short-sighted act. In the past, not only cultivators were angered by the actions of fallen gods, but gods could not tolerate them either. In a certain ancient era, gods and Golden Immortals cooperated to seal the evil god here. With the help of the powerful binding force of the Heart of the Universe on the Three Thousand Great Daos, they sealed him in this area where the Great Daos intersect and there is no matter or living beings."

Tianxiang Xingjun paused slightly at this point, then continued, "Also sealed were a large number of gods at that time."

Gu Jinlai.

"Within the Heart of the Universe, the three thousand Great Daos converge in chaos and disorder. Unless one can unravel these three thousand Great Daos, any living being that enters will perish. Furthermore, as time goes by, the gods and evil spirits that have lost their source of life will gradually perish with each purge by the Dao Ancestor, but..."

Tianxiang Xingjun took a deep breath. "Countless years of erosion have not caused the gods and fallen gods to perish; instead, they have evolved into a completely new kind of life..."

"A true evil god!?"

"The true evil god."

The Celestial Star Lord said solemnly, "Having lived for billions of years in the chaotic heart of the universe where the three thousand Great Daos converge, they have even gradually acquired the power to 'degrade' the Great Dao..."

"Degradation Avenue!?"

The Three Thousand Great Daos are the cornerstones that form the entire universe.

Even those who have never come into contact with the Great Dao Gu Jinlai understand what it would mean if even the Great Dao could be degraded.

Mean...

Evil God...

It possesses the power to destroy the entire universe.

"Although the evil gods have obtained the power to 'degrade' a portion of the Great Dao, there are three thousand Great Daos, and they are entangled endlessly. The evil gods trapped in them cannot escape the heart of the universe. The powerful beings who understand the harm of the evil gods have called on the Golden Immortals of all realms to storm into the heart of the universe. Before the evil gods mutate into an even more terrifying existence, they will concentrate all the power they can to eliminate the evil gods."

The Heavenly Star Lord said.

Gu Jinlai, anyone who has heard this knows without guessing that those great figures have failed.

"The environment of the Heart of the Universe was far worse than those powerful beings had anticipated. The three thousand Great Daos intersected and were in complete disarray. Even an immortal Golden Immortal would have his power severely interfered with and affected if he entered it. In the end, the expeditionary force suffered a crushing defeat and even allowed some evil gods to take the opportunity to project their power out of the Heart of the Universe, causing chaos in various places."

As Tianxiang Xingjun spoke, he glanced at Gu Jinlai and said, "The evil god that attacked our Xuanhuang Alliance ten thousand years ago was like this, and the evil god in the Changsheng Realm... is probably the same."

Gu Jinlai, people have involuntarily narrowed their eyes upon hearing the words of the Celestial Star Lord.

That evil god in the true spirit world actually...

"You asked me for methods to fight against evil gods, but in reality, these so-called methods are not very meaningful."

Tianxiang Xingjun said, "When our world coordinates are targeted, the evil gods will descend again and again until they completely destroy our world. Since their true forms are in the heart of the universe, it is not very meaningful for us to spend a lot of effort to defeat one of their avatars, unless we can completely seal the heart of the universe so that their power cannot be projected out."

Those who have heard this Gu Jinlai finally understand why the Xuanhuang Realm chose to forge the Immortal Xuanhuang Realm.

When fighting head-on is not very meaningful, defense is obviously more cost-effective.

Moreover, they chose to devour the surrounding worlds because even if they didn't, these worlds would eventually be destroyed by those evil gods.

"That Devouring Dao..."

"The evil gods can degrade most of the Great Daos, but there are a few Great Daos that are beyond their degradation scope. The Devouring Great Dao is one of them. Therefore, when you really go to war with the evil gods, the Devouring Great Dao is one of the most basic applications of the Great Daos."

Tianxiang Xingjun continued, "Also, because the evil gods can degrade most of the power of the Great Dao, even those immortal golden immortals that can be degraded are food to them. The existence of cultivators is meaningless. Therefore, the most correct tactic is to forge the body with matter and then use the power of the mind to fight against the power of the evil gods."

He paused, then continued, "The pilots have fought against the Devouring Dao time and time again. In addition to the battlefield being built on the foundation of the Devouring Dao, they will also have a stronger resistance to the chaotic Three Thousand Daos when they want to break into the Heart of the Universe in the future."

From the descriptions given by the Celestial Star Lord Gu Jinlai, one can more or less guess how severe the battlefield on the other side of the Heart of the Universe must be.

Only...

"Are ordinary pilots even useful?"

This Gu Jinlai.

"Now that you have come into contact with the evil god, you should know that along with the evil god there are also a large number of evil spirits. The immortal golden immortals are fighting against the evil god, but eventually someone has to take over the task of fighting against the evil spirits."

The Celestial Star Lord sighed, "This is a war that has been going on for hundreds of thousands of years. Our Xuanhuang Immortal Dynasty thought that we would be spared because we were in the rear, but we never expected that... the power of the evil god has broken through the defensive circle built by the immortals and infiltrated the rear."

"Hundreds of thousands of years..."

At this moment, Gu Jinlai seemed to have thought of something and suddenly said, "The founders of the Xuanhuang Immortal Dynasty, the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, were the Immortal Golden Immortals who were summoned to the Heart of the Universe back then?"

"Right."

Tianxiang Xingjun smiled slightly, "Our Xuanhuang Immortal Dynasty was one of the Daoist temples of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. All of us can be called descendants of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, and each of these emperors has cultivated to the level of Immortal Venerable."

"Immortal Venerable?"

"Immortal Golden Immortals are also known as Dao Venerables, and the most esteemed among Dao Venerables are Immortal Venerables."

The Taiyin Star Lord stepped forward and gave a brief explanation. Then he said to Gu Jinlai, "We already know your main purpose in coming to the Xuanhuang Immortal Dynasty. Is it to save your world and fight against the evil god? But I don't recommend you do that. It's meaningless. You don't even have a single immortal golden immortal. Even if it's just an incarnation of the evil god, you are powerless to fight against it. Even if you fight with all your might, it will only be a waste of manpower and resources. I suggest you rent warships and relocate the beings of your Changsheng Realm here."

"Are we just going to let that evil god roam freely in the surrounding world without any regard for its power?"

This Gu Jinlai.

"Everything is meaningless. The key is to win the war for the Heart of the Universe! You would be better off spending this time studying how to optimize the mechs when they are in the Devouring Dao operating state."

Taiyin Xingjun said.

From Gu Jinlai the present, I have always felt that the technology tree of the Xuanhuang Immortal Dynasty is very strange, like a science fiction civilization with a retro style.

Now I hear him mention the battlefield of the Heart of the Universe...

I've already vaguely guessed what's going on. The technology used by the Xuanhuang Immortal Dynasty probably comes from the support of a certain technological civilization in the Battlefield of the Heart of the Universe. It's just that the Xuanhuang Immortal Dynasty doesn't have many areas of interest, which makes the technological development seem very strange.

Moreover, it's not that their mechs can't be made more advanced, but rather that they need to be able to exert sufficiently powerful output under different interferences from the Great Dao.

For example, the Xuanhuang Immortal Dynasty mainly focuses on mechs operating under the Devouring Dao state, while other civilizations probably mainly focus on mechs operating under the Destruction Dao, Life Dao, and Creation Dao states.

Of course, this is on the premise that these great paths have not yet been degraded by the evil gods.

Different evil gods degrade the Great Dao in different ways.

No one knows what kind of opponent they will encounter.

But...

This is not the reason he abandoned the Immortal Realm.

"I still hope to get help from the Xuanhuang Immortal Dynasty, after all, there seems to be quite a bit of time..."

This Gu Jinlai.

"No, you don't have much time left. He might even wake up suddenly at any moment."

Tianji Xingjun suddenly spoke.

The gaze directed at people from Gu Jinlai seems to carry a hint of pity.

"The next moment!?"

Gu Jinlai: "You mean..."

"Yes, I estimate that there may only be one or two hundred years left."

Tianji Xingjun said.

"..."

Gu Jinlai gave Tianji Xingjun a strange look.

One or two hundred years?

"What kind of look is that? One or two hundred years is just my estimate. You might only have fifty years left, no, maybe even only thirty years left, let me tell you..."

Tianji Xingjun frowned and said, "In such a short time, if you don't organize the evacuation of people as soon as possible, you might not even be able to ensure the safe retreat of all the beings in your Changsheng Realm."

"I see."

Gu Jinlai nodded.

There are still decades to go; it's not an imminent crisis.

After Tianxiang Xingjun's previous introduction, he had a clear understanding of the various evil gods and deities.

There is absolutely nothing unknown about this kind of life form.

Having unveiled the mysterious veil surrounding the evil god, Gu Jinlai have felt a significant reduction in the psychological pressure they have been under.

Tianji Xingjun and the others seemed to sense the change in his emotions from Gu Jinlai. They exchanged glances and couldn't understand why he felt relaxed.

"I still hope to obtain from you the method to combat the evil god."

Gu Jinlai, he paused slightly, saying, "If possible, I hope to wait for the Spirit Refining Method, which is above the Immortal Golden Immortal level."

Tianxiang Xingjun shook his head.

I feel that time has been wasted throughout Gu Jinlai.

In a few decades, or at most a hundred or two hundred years, there simply isn't enough time to do anything more.

However, he didn't say anything, but instead turned his gaze to the second most important figure in the Xuanhuang Immortal Dynasty, second only to the Human Emperor Zhou Huang—the Taiyin Star Lord.

The star lord was quite straightforward. "Sure! But the Secret Method of my Xuanhuang Immortal Dynasty don't come from nowhere. If you want them, you'll need to make sufficient contributions and merits."

As she spoke, the Star Lord, whose body was veiled in a light veil and whose voice was soft, said again, "Perhaps you can go directly to the battlefield of the Heart of the Universe. There are many ways to obtain Cultivation Method and resources from the evil spirits, believers, and the evil god incarnations and gods that you should be unable to fight now."

"I will offer you all a reward that will satisfy you."

This Gu Jinlai.

The Moon Goddess nodded and turned to the Heavenly Minister Goddess: "You, my brother, will continue to coordinate with this ancient scholar."

"Good."

Tianxiang Xingjun smiled slightly.

"Next, let's discuss whether the Xuanhuang Realm should deviate from its original trajectory..."

The Moon Goddess turned her gaze to the other Goddesses, while over here, an avatar of the Heavenly Manifestation Goddess separated and, along with Gu Jinlai, left the Xuanhuang Palace directly.

With the pandemic situation eased, it seems someone in my family has been infected. We didn't have a test kit prepared, and we don't know the results yet.