Azure Dragon and God

For Qi Miaoxuan's question, Azure Dragon responded with silence.

Qi Miaoxuan sneered and said, "I understand. You must have been hit by a god, that's why you dare not mention it!"

"Nonsense, you bitch slave, what do you know? I was deceived by it!" Azure Dragon said furiously.

A smile tugged at the corner of Qi Miaoxuan's mouth. He had been Azure Dragon's pawn for over a thousand years and knew Azure Dragon's personality thoroughly. He was the type who would rather die than admit defeat.

"See, you're flustered. I hit a nerve, didn't I?" Qi Miaoxuan said proudly.

"You bitch slave, you don't know shit," Azure Dragon said. "That god, it couldn't beat me. If it hadn't deceived me back then, I would be the only god in this world today."

"Oh, really?" Qi Miaoxuan said sarcastically. "I believe the god deceived you to win!"

"Hmph,"

Azure Dragon snorted and said, "Gods are nothing special. They can't compare to us Five Directions Divine Beasts, born of heaven and earth. It was created by humans by accident.

A long, long time ago, humans were the lowest beings in this world. However, they possessed intelligence greater than beasts, gradually forming tribes, learning to use tools, and forming alliances to confront beasts.

But there were many things they couldn't understand. They didn't understand why people got sick, why there was thunder and lightning, why sometimes it rained and sometimes there was sun exposure. There were too many things they didn't understand.

So, one of the smartest people had a flash of inspiration and fabricated a god. In his narrative, it was the god who brought the great rain to nourish all things, and it was also the god who punished disrespectful mortals with great rain or drought. With a god, there would be favorable weather; with a god, there would be seasons turn. Illness could be cured by herbs because the god bestowed divine power.

Under the embellishment of that smart person, the distinction between gods and mortals appeared in the world for the first time. He became a Divine Envoy, and his words were the will of the ethereal god.

However, more and more smart people began to receive the Divine Will, so there were more and more Divine Envoys, and the portrayal of gods became more and more complete, and the abilities of gods became more and more detailed.

Some people became leaders by fabricating gods, and some people founded kingdoms by fabricating gods... In reality, there were no gods, but those smart people were tacitly in agreement. They spoke with one voice, and eventually, they convinced themselves that gods existed. If the smartest people believed, then the foolish people in the world would naturally believe even more firmly.

Thus, one day, God was truly born!"

Qi Miaoxuan looked bewildered and stunned. "God was born just like that? But the rules of the world already exist, don't they? The changing seasons, wind, rain, thunder, lightning... aren't these all natural phenomena? What is the meaning of God's existence?"

Azure Dragon mocked, "Look at you, look at you. Weren't you just shouting that you wanted to become the Heavenly Dao? You're shouting about becoming the Heavenly Dao without even understanding what it is. How ridiculous!"

Qi Miaoxuan remained silent.

Azure Dragon continued, "Wind, rain, thunder, lightning, changing seasons, life, old age, sickness, death – these are the rules by which the world operates. This is the Heavenly Dao. It is fixed and orderly.

The Heavenly Dao has no consciousness. It is unchanging and is the rule that maintains the existence of the world. If the Heavenly Dao had consciousness, the world would cease to exist. So, to put it simply, there is no Heavenly Dao in the first place; it's just a general concept.

The kind of conscious Heavenly Dao you understand is not called the Heavenly Dao; it's called a god.

And a god is a being that has been granted control over certain rules by human faith. It can change patterns and order within a certain scope and within the bounds of the rules.

For example, raining."

Rain falling is a rule in itself; even gods cannot change the fact that rain exists. They cannot change the concept of rain, but they can change the scope, timing, and intensity of rainfall.

Thus, after gods were born, they existed because of faith. They naturally possessed the rules granted by faith. For example, the sacrifice for rain. Humans, according to the tenets of their faith, would set up altars and burn imperial decrees, and the gods would then bestow rain upon them.

For example, plagues.

Plagues are also a rule of the world. Both humans and livestock can contract plagues. This is also a rule that gods cannot change. However, within human faith, gods were endowed with the ability to disperse plagues.

Therefore, according to the rules of gods granted by faith, humans would pray for blessings through a certain process, and the gods would help them disperse the plagues.

This is the meaning of a god's existence."

Qi Miaoxuan pondered for a moment and said, "In that case, isn't it quite good?"

Azure Dragon sneered, "But what if a god were to develop individual consciousness? For instance, you, this bitch slave. I granted you longevity and power, yet you possessed independent consciousness, and thus you betrayed me."

Qi Miaoxuan: "..."

Azure Dragon continued, "Even you, this bitch slave, would betray your master after gaining power. How much more so for a god, a god who has been superior to humans since its birth. How could it be willing to serve humans forever?

Of course, it's not just the gods' problem; humans also have many issues. Gods were created by them and exist through their faith, yet they gradually began to disbelieve in gods.

This gradually formed an irreconcilable contradiction.

Gods, after developing consciousness, would become increasingly greedy for faith. Thus, they would use various means to continuously increase the faith required for humans to receive their help, leading to humans finding it increasingly difficult to satisfy the gods' demands.

Meanwhile, humans, over those years, with the help of the gods, grew stronger and stronger. They gradually began to rely less on gods. For example, with plagues, they no longer thought of seeking divine protection first but instead considered treating them with medical skills.

For example, with droughts, humans would think of diverting water; with floods, they would think of water management. For example, with beasts, as martial arts grew more powerful and tools became more sophisticated, beasts instead became prey for humans.

Gods are ruthless. They exist because of humans, yet they are naturally superior to humans. For the sake of faith, they can cause countless humans to die. Humans are also ruthless. They seek gods when they need them, but kick them aside when they don't, even slandering them.

Therefore, the ultimate outcome is that gods will try everything possible to destroy civilization when human civilization reaches a certain level. For example, within the rules, physical body ascension is not allowed, restricting humans from ever possessing power beyond that of gods. No matter how great humanity's innate advantages are, the path of cultivation is forever limited to the Nascent Soul Realm.

As for other civilizations, they ensure that the world can never achieve true peace. Once a Unified Dynasty emerges, they will find ways to cause the dynasty to split and fall into endless war.

Doing this serves two purposes: First, it restricts the development of human thought, preventing too many people from questioning the gods. Second, in a war-torn era, there will always be people who continuously propagate the Divine Right of Kings, ensuring that faith in gods persists and even gradually deepens."

Qi Miaoxuan asked doubtfully, "But, if that's the case, gods are still constrained by humans. If a person with Great Talent and Strategy were to appear in the world and try every means to break faith, the gods would weaken, and then they could be killed."

Azure Dragon said, "Therefore, gods cannot sit idly by. On one hand, they arranged for Inner Demons and the Heavenly Gate to act as their two eyes. Inner Demons investigate in the human world, and the Heavenly Gate observes from the heavens, monitoring every move in the mortal realm. Meanwhile, they continuously disrupt the succession of dynasties in the human world, causing the world to be divided for a long time and then united, and then divided again.

In this process of division and unification, human fortune will continuously be generated. They then absorb this human fortune and create a place called Beyond the Heavens.

This Beyond the Heavens is a place of pure faith, a place where only gods who believe in themselves can exist. Once Beyond the Heavens is formed, gods can completely shed their dependence on the human world, and they will become truly flawless gods."

Qi Miaoxuan asked again, "Then, what does this have to do with you? Why do you say that the gods deceived you?"

Azure Dragon was silent for a while and said, "The rules of the world are immutable. The birth of gods must also be within the rules. And within these rules, gods are not allowed to develop consciousness."

Once consciousness is born, the corresponding rules will react. From the moment a god is born, the Great Sun Demonic Art and the Seven Sages also came into being in the world. The Seven Sages of the world are: one with Double Pupils, two with Fused Ribs, three with Dragon Face and Sun Horn, four with Sunken Crown River Eyes, five with Heaven and Earth Anomaly, six with Six Ears with Three Leaks, and seven who are One Who Knows From Birth!

These seven types of people represent seven kinds of destinies.

The Great Sun Demonic Art will wander the world, searching for these seven people, helping them develop their destinies.

Once the Seven Sages join forces, they can slay gods.

This doesn't mean that these seven types of Sages are necessarily powerful, but the rules are such that the Seven Sages can slay gods when they join forces.

More than two thousand years ago, there was a successful union of the Seven Sages."

Qi Miaoxuan hurriedly asked, "Then why do gods still exist?"

The Azure Dragon roared, "Because the Seven Sages joined forces and slew the wrong god. They killed me!"

Qi Miaoxuan: "That was so hasty?"

The Azure Dragon angrily said, "At that time, I was the most powerful being in the world. Even the White Tiger, the only one who could rival me, had been defeated by me. I was incredibly bored, and by chance, I learned of the gods' existence. So, I attacked Beyond the Heavens, and in the end, I defeated the god.

It gave Beyond the Heavens to me, but I had no interest in Beyond the Heavens. I simply wanted to fight. That Dog Thing deceived me, saying that controlling Beyond the Heavens would grant me greater power and allow me to master the rules. So, I believed it and actually accepted the Divine Seal representing the god.

The moment I took over the Divine Seal, the Seven Sages attacked Beyond the Heavens. I couldn't even explain that I wasn't the god. And by taking over the Divine Seal, I had accepted the karma. I was truly suppressed by the destinies of the Seven Sages and was eventually killed.

Fortunately, I was not a god after all. After my physical body was killed and I lost the Divine Seal, the suppression lessened considerably. My divine soul then hid in my Reverse Scale, allowing me to escape from Beyond the Heavens to the mortal world. Finally, after sleeping for hundreds of years, my Reverse Scale was forged into the Reverse Scale Blade."

Qi Miaoxuan asked suspiciously, "Can you really defeat a god?"

"Hmph," the Azure Dragon roared, "Do you want to ask that Dog Thing? I just couldn't kill it, but defeating it was easy!"

Qi Miaoxuan asked, "Why wouldn't you say anything before, but now you're willing to talk?"

The Azure Dragon was silent for a while and said, "There was no point in telling you before. With the Heavenly Gate and the Inner Demon present, the Seven Sages could never gather. But before, when I learned that there were two who knew from birth existing simultaneously, I knew the rules had been triggered. A new era of god-slaying had begun.

And now, with both the Inner Demon and the Heavenly Gate in trouble, it further proves that the time has come. Although I want to skin you alive, you Bitch Slave, I hate the god more. Being schemed against by you, I lost after a thousand years of open scheming against each other. But that god was too despicable back then!"

"So petty, still holding a grudge after two thousand years!"

Qi Miaoxuan complained. Even though he had sealed the Azure Dragon and was continuously refining its divine soul, he still feared the Azure Dragon's pettiness.

"The Seven Sages slay gods. I am Dragon Face and Sun Horn. Gu Mo is One Who Knows From Birth. Xiao Zhaolin of the Chu Kingdom is Double Pupils. Ye Chen is Heaven and Earth Anomaly. We are still missing Fused Ribs, Sunken Crown River Eyes, and Six Ears with Three Leaks – these three Innate Sages!"

Qi Miaoxuan muttered and asked, "Can only the Seven Sages join forces to kill a god?"

The Azure Dragon said, "Yes, there is no other way."

Yunzhou, Dongli Sect.

When Gu Mo and Others returned with Tie Tou, Wang Dongli hurried out to meet them.

Wang Dongli had woken up not long after Gu Mo and Others had left. In a daze, he remembered his muddled experience of attacking Gu Chundong and Red Clothes, and he rushed forward to apologize.

"Great Hero Gu... I really don't know what was wrong with me back then. It felt like my body was Uncontrolled. I'm so sorry..."

Gu Mo waved his hand and said, "This isn't your fault. You were Manipulated."

Wang Dongli was shocked and asked, "What do you mean?"

Gu Mo said, "The curse on your Wang family doesn't come from the Spiritual Energy within your bodies, but from your ancestral line's ancestor, Wang Qingping. It's him in your Wang family's ancestral Three Flowers Gathering Spirit Art... which should be called Nurturing Spirit Art now. Only people from your Wang family can cultivate it, and slowly, they will be possessed by him and become his nourishment..."

Immediately, Gu Mo simply explained the Existence of Wang Qingping to Wang Dongli.

"You don't need to worry anymore. Wang Qingping has been dealt with by me. You don't need to extract the Spiritual Energy from your body either. However, your Dongli Sect will have to put in a great effort to help clear the river channels and prevent floods. Your ancestor is truly ruthless, ruthless to his descendants and ruthless to the common people!"

After listening to Gu Mo's explanation, Wang Dongli was completely stunned and took a long time to recover.

These matters were too earth-shattering for an ordinary Jianghu person like him.

"Does that mean... my Father, my grandfather, they... were all possessed by our ancestor?" Wang Dongli stammered.

"That's right," Gu Mo said. "If it hadn't been discovered in time today, you would have been possessed, and even your son might have been possessed. For Wang Qingping, who was preparing to Ascend, even a mosquito is still meat."

With a "plop,"

Wang Dongli knelt directly before Gu Mo and kowtowed, "Thank you, Great Hero Gu, for saving me and my son. Your great kindness will never be forgotten by the Wang family. From now on, if you say the word, Great Hero Gu, the Wang family will never refuse to go through fire and water!"

Although Wang Dongli found Gu Mo's words to be earth-shattering, he did not doubt them.

Firstly, although shocking, there were traces to follow. Secondly, Gu Mo had no reason to lie to him. Thirdly, the most direct proof of whether it was true or false was his own reaction.

"There's no need to be so polite," Gu Mo said, helping Wang Dongli up. "At Tiansheng Lake, a super flood could erupt anytime. I've blocked it for now, but it won't last long. My sister has already gone to notify the Government. You should use the Reputation of the Dongli Sect to rally the Jianghu people of Qingyang County to help and resolve this matter as soon as possible."

"Okay, I'll do it now."

Wang Dongli agreed readily and left in a hurry. Afterward, he arranged for the weapon smiths rescued by Gu Mo to rest.

Tie Tou was taken to Gu Mo's Courtyard.

"Dragon Scale!"

When Tie Tou learned that Gu Mo had a piece of Dragon Scale for him to forge a weapon with, he became extremely excited. The psychological shadow from Tiansheng Lake instantly disappeared. He rushed to the Dragon Scale and gently caressed it, exclaiming, "There really are Dragon Scales in this world, tsk tsk tsk... Great Hero Gu, this saber will definitely become the number one divine saber of this era. I'm willing to use my life..."

"Absolutely not necessary, absolutely not necessary!" Gu Mo quickly said. "You just need to forge the saber and make full use of the Dragon Scale's sharpness. As for the weapon spirit, don't mess around. Even the best weapon smith's sacrifice is no match for a Nascent Soul in the Ascension Realm. Don't act recklessly. You don't want your work to have flaws, do you?"

Gu Mo knew Tie Tou was a man so devoted to forging weapons that he could truly sacrifice himself for a blade if things went poorly.

He didn't want to harm Tie Tou for the sake of a single sword.

The reason he said that wasn't because Nascent Soul in the Ascension Realm was better and he didn't want Tie Tou to sacrifice himself for the blade. It was a deliberate statement to plant a seed of will in Tie Tou's heart, to prevent Tie Tou from becoming possessed and sacrificing himself during the forging process.

"Right, right, right," Tie Tou said, his face practically pressed against the Dragon Scale Blade. "This Dragon Scale is truly amazing. Are there any better materials in this world? Great Hero Gu, just hand it over to me, there will definitely be no problem..."

Seeing Tie Tou's infatuated expression, Gu Mo couldn't help but chuckle.

A Lustful Hungry Ghost looking at a peerless beauty was the same as Tie Tou looking at the Dragon Scale right now.

"Ge!"

Just then, Gu Chundong and Hongyi returned.

"I just met Chief Constable Du, and he's already immediately notified the Prefecture Government Office of Qingyang County to make emergency preparations. There shouldn't be any major issues," Gu Chundong said.

Gu Mo nodded and said, "The Dongli Sect will also assemble the Martial Arts Sects for assistance."

Gu Chundong said, "Ge, based on the current situation, the clue for the Seven-Colored Peacock is broken, and the Heavenly Craft Exquisite borrowed from Old Master Su seems useless now."

Gu Mo chuckled, "The clue for the Seven-Colored Peacock isn't broken, and the Heavenly Craft Exquisite wasn't borrowed in vain. Although the Wang family doesn't need to extract spiritual energy anymore, I can use the Heavenly Craft Exquisite to study the characteristics of the Seven-Colored Peacock. Knowing yourself and your enemy means you will win a hundred battles.

As for the clue for the Seven-Colored Peacock, another person should have specific clues."

"Who?"

"Xiao Ziyin!" Gu Mo said. "When I first saw Wang Dongli display that peculiar Ice Power on Azure Wave Mountain, I felt it was somewhat familiar. After more contact these days, it became even more familiar, and then I finally remembered why.

Do you remember that battle in the Jiang Kingdom Imperial Palace? Xiao Ziyin displayed an ice technique that could resist Ye Jinglan's Kirin Flames. I found it strange at the time but couldn't inquire further. Now that I think about it, if that was Peacock Spiritual Power, it seems reasonable!"

Gu Chundong thought for a moment and said, "Yes, the Princess's Ice Power is indeed very powerful. Then, Ge, are we going to the Chu Kingdom?"

Gu Mo said, "Not yet. Don't you still need to return to Linjiang City to repair our manor? When the time comes at the end of the year, as agreed with Dharma Master Liansheng, after going to Bright Light Temple, I'll pay Xiao Ziyin a visit along the way."

"Okay."

That day, The Grand Void Flying Sword returned, bringing Su Qianqiu's Heavenly Craft Exquisite.

Afterward, Gu Mo stayed in Qingyang County for a few days until the flood at Tiansheng Lake was completely resolved. He also took the opportunity to clear out the Heavenly God Society before leaving with Gu Chundong and Hongyi, returning to Linjiang City.

As for the Dragon Scale Blade, Gu Mo directly handed it over to Tie Tou. Tie Tou left that very day under the escort of the Six Doors, returning to Yun City to enter seclusion and forge the Dragon Scale Blade.