Sunset Forest, the Goddess of Life's Grievance

Early the next morning, Su Chen left Heaven Dou City and set out for Sunset Forest.

Come to think of it, this was Su Chen's first time entering Sunset Forest.

Back in Star Dou Forest, he had only skimmed its outskirts and had not truly entered it.

God of Destruction had mapped out a specific route for Su Chen to reach the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, allowing him to avoid powerful soul beasts that his current strength could not handle.

"You must be careful. There are quite a few soul beasts below a thousand years along this route, and several areas have even seen thousand-year soul beasts."

After all, this was a soul beast forest. No matter how carefully God of Destruction planned the route, he could not avoid every soul beast.

Besides, God of Destruction trusted that none of the soul beasts along the way would be a match for Su Chen.

"Alright, I understand."

So far, the only land soul beast Su Chen had encountered was the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm.

A million-year Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was obviously not an ordinary soul beast and was hardly representative.

After entering Sunset Forest, Su Chen's nerves tensed slightly, but he quickly relaxed again.

Within the forest, his perception of life aura suddenly became far sharper.

Even small animals underground gave off life energy that he could sense with perfect clarity.

"Is this also an ability granted to me by the Blessing of the Goddess of Life?"

No matter what, this was a good thing for Su Chen.

With this ability, even soul beasts skilled at concealing themselves would find it difficult to ambush him.

Su Chen quickened his pace and headed toward the destination marked by God of Destruction.

Meanwhile, outside the Castle of Destruction in the God Realm, an unwelcome guest arrived, at least as far as God of Destruction was concerned.

"My lord, the Goddess of Life has arrived. We shall take our leave first."

Besides the Seven Original Sin Gods and the God of Ruin, some deities who had once kept their distance from God of Destruction out of reverence occasionally came to seek his guidance and join the Seven Original Sin Gods' discussions.

The Castle of Destruction, once deathly silent year-round, now brimmed with vitality, as though all things were flourishing within it.

The arrival of the Goddess of Life made the Seven Original Sin Gods feel somewhat ashamed.

They were entirely receiving God of Destruction's guidance, yet had nothing to offer him in return. They were only adding to his troubles.

In the past, God of Destruction had spent most of his time in the Goddess of Life's Forest of Life, yet he had not gone there even once during this period.

"There is no need. Just focus on your cultivation and do not overthink things."

As he spoke, the Goddess of Life walked in.

Though she still wore her usual gentle smile, God of Destruction clearly sensed a trace of resentment beneath it.

"Goddess of Life."

The deities in the castle rose and bowed one after another.

"Carry on. Little Purple and I have some things to discuss."

The Goddess of Life carried herself entirely like the mistress of the place. Given her status as God of Destruction's wife, no one found that inappropriate.

Many of the deities stared at their noses and examined their hearts, pretending they had heard nothing.

Their lord's private conversation with the Goddess of Life was not something they could listen to.

"Why have you come?"

"Am I not allowed to come?"

The resentment in the Goddess of Life's eyes deepened.

God of Destruction, however, seemed not to notice. He merely said,

"You never liked coming here before. You had not visited in many years."

The Goddess of Life greatly resisted the Destruction Intent permeating every corner of the Castle of Destruction. In the past, mindful of her feelings, God of Destruction had gone to the Forest of Life whenever he was not cultivating.

"Since you refused to come see me, I could only come here, even if I still dislike this place."

"If you dislike it, there is no need to force yourself. The Forest of Life suits you better."

God of Destruction paid no heed to the reproach and dissatisfaction in the Goddess of Life's tone.

He had always been the one accommodating the Goddess of Life and staying in the Forest of Life.

When the Goddess of Life came over occasionally, she acted as though she had suffered some terrible hardship.

Now that he was no longer going to the Forest of Life, the Goddess of Life had eagerly come running to him herself.

Upon hearing God of Destruction's words, the smile on the Goddess of Life's face froze for a moment.

God of Destruction had never said such things to her before.

He was clearly the one who had ignored her feelings and had not come to see her for a long time, so why did he not feel guilty? Why was he instead acting so self-righteous?

He had not even called her "Xiao Lu."

An intensely unpleasant emotion rose within the Goddess of Life. Everyone said Destruction's temperament had improved, but he had clearly only become better toward others.

Toward her, his wife, he had grown far more indifferent.

Could it be that Destruction's love and concern were finite? If he gave more to others, did that mean there was less left for her?

If that was truly the case,

then the Goddess of Life would rather God of Destruction had not changed at all. She would rather he remained as cold and solitary as before, giving all his love and care to her alone.

The Goddess of Life suppressed all the dissatisfaction in her heart and decided to give God of Destruction another chance.

She believed that perhaps his deeper comprehension of the Path of Destruction had affected his emotions. If he went to the Forest of Life to soothe his spirit, he would return to his former self.

"Then how much longer will you cultivate in the Castle of Destruction?"

"Perhaps... a long time."

The Goddess of Life felt a tightness in her chest.

When had Destruction become so infuriating?

"Then continue cultivating. I'll return to the Forest of Life first."

She had disregarded her discomfort with the Castle of Destruction and taken the initiative to come see Destruction, yet this was his attitude.

This time, the Goddess of Life was truly angry.

Destruction had changed.

But he had not changed for the better. He had changed for the worse.

At least, that was how it felt to her.

The Goddess of Life turned and left, yet she still hoped God of Destruction would chase after her. At the very least, she expected him to ask her to stay.

Yet until she walked out of the Castle of Destruction, God of Destruction never called out to stop her. Instead, the castle gates closed behind her.

Standing outside the Castle of Destruction, the Goddess of Life felt utterly wronged.

She and Destruction had depended on each other through countless ages, and their bond ran incomparably deep.

She could not understand why God of Destruction had become like this.

Could the feelings between them truly be worth less than the subordinate deities inside the castle?

He could be so patient with those subordinates, yet he was so stingy when it came to spending even a little more time with her.

Angry and aggrieved, the Goddess of Life left. She refused to believe that God of Destruction could remain like this forever.

When Destruction regretted it, she would not be so easy to appease.

"My lord, could the Goddess of Life be angry?"

The God of Wrath was most sensitive to anger. Although the Goddess of Life still appeared calm and gentle as always, he had faintly sensed that something was wrong.

That made him somewhat uneasy.

If their presence had affected the relationship between their lord and the Goddess of Life, their sin would be enormous.

Before God of Destruction could speak, the God of Desire opened his mouth.

"The Goddess of Life is famously mild-tempered. How could she possibly be angry? Are you confused?"

God of Destruction waved his hand for everyone to continue, while he resumed observing Su Chen's progress.

In his previous life, he had accommodated the Goddess of Life far too many times. Yet on the matter of Tang San, she had never once been willing to stand on his side.

God of Destruction was tired, and he was sick of it.

Endless concessions gained him nothing. Since that was the case, why should he continue accommodating her without end?