The Demon Gods dispersed one after another, and the Hall of Gods gradually fell silent.
Pangu hefted his axe onto his shoulder and stretched, then turned to Shichen.
"Shichen, what are we doing next? Don't tell me we're going back to meditate again."
Shichen turned his fingers, and a point of light marking a world's coordinates bobbed above his palm.
"Let's go. We've spent too long in the Chaos World. Let's see what other worlds are like."
Pangu's eyes lit up, and he perked up at once.
"Just what I wanted! Come on, come on. I've wanted to see what's outside the Chaos World for ages!"
The two walked out of the Council Hall side by side. Their figures soon vanished.
Not long after they left, a voice transmission silently crossed layer upon layer of empty space and reached Yang Mei, who was busy moving the Space Domain to the Hall of Gods.
"Pangu and I are heading out. Sorry for the trouble, but please keep an eye on the Primordial World."
Yang Mei paused briefly when he received the message, then shook his head with a rueful smile.
"You two really aren't worried I'll stab you in the back..."
He looked toward the Primordial World, his gaze complicated.
"But with you two gone, you've left me a tiring job. The other Demon Gods will probably start making moves."
As it turned out, his guess was right.
The moment Shichen and Pangu crossed the boundary of the Chaos World,
the Dao of Time and the Dao of Strength throughout the Chaos World suddenly grew sluggish.
The three thousand Demon Gods sensed it almost at once. They stopped and looked toward the boundary.
All manner of emotions churned in their eyes.
The First Demon God was gone, and Pangu had left too.
The two mountains pressing down on the Demon Gods had been lifted at the same time.
Inside the Temple of Fate, the Fate Demon God sat alone with his eyes closed, gently plucking an invisible thread of fate with his fingertips.
After a long while, he spoke to the empty hall in an even voice.
"Yin the Fifth, I know you're here."
As soon as he finished speaking, a figure emerged from empty space with a cheeky grin and plopped down opposite him.
"Fate the Fourth, do you have to know me that well?"
The Fate Demon God did not trade barbs with him as usual. He merely looked up. "What do you want from me?"
The Karma Demon God's smile faded a little, and he leaned forward. "Shichen and Pangu have left the Chaos World."
"So?"
"This is our chance. The Primordial World!"
"Yin the Fifth." The Fate Demon God cut him off and pointed at his own face without expression. "Look at my face."
The Karma Demon God froze, then instinctively studied it. "What about your face? It's still as ugly as ever."
The Fate Demon God drew a deep breath and fought down the urge to hit him. "I'm asking whether I look like a fool."
Karma rubbed his chin and shook his head with perfect seriousness. "Hmm... no. You don't just look like one. You are one."
The Fate Demon God clenched his fists, then released them. He did it twice before he managed to suppress his anger.
"If Shichen and Pangu felt safe enough to leave the Chaos World, they must have something in reserve. Besides, even if we made a grand show of attacking the Primordial World, the Great Dao has merely been appearing less often. It isn't dead."
Far from backing down, the Karma Demon God laughed. "You're not thinking of giving up an opportunity like this, are you?"
The Karma Demon God rose, walked to the window, and looked toward the Primordial World.
"We don't need to attack the Primordial World. We only need to replace the imprints of its Great Dao laws with our own."
The Fate Demon God frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Fate and karma—two supreme Daos." The Karma Demon God turned around, his eyes gleaming. "If the Primordial World bears the imprints of our Daos, wouldn't that put it in our hands?"
The Fate Demon God was silent for a moment before speaking slowly.
"The Primordial World currently bears the imprint of the Dao of Immortality. The Immortal Dao is well suited to its inhabitants' cultivation. You and I both know that.
"Our Daos are too profound for those beings. If we force the change, advancing their cultivation will take thousands of Chaos Eras."
"Wouldn't doing that... be rather immoral toward the Primordial World?"
The Karma Demon God stared at him for several seconds, then burst into exaggerated laughter.
"Hahahaha! Fate the Fourth, when did you develop such a conscience?"
His laughter abruptly vanished, and he stared straight at the Fate Demon God. "Do we Demon Gods have morals?"
The Fate Demon God opened his mouth but said nothing.
"The Great Dao is all that matters."
"Besides, we're only changing the Primordial World's Dao imprints. We aren't doing it any harm. Fate and karma are both supreme Daos. Those beings ought to thank us for the chance to cultivate our Daos."
The Fate Demon God still hesitated, his brows tightly knit.
The Karma Demon God walked up to him, his tone turning coaxing.
"What's left to hesitate over? An opportunity like this comes once in a thousand years. After the Primordial World's next Tribulation, the Heavenly Dao will take its final form, and its imprints of the Dao's laws will be impossible to change."
"And once we control the Primordial World, we'll control that thing called the system. The Chaos Origin will no longer be incomplete, and we'll have a chance to reach that supreme realm. Don't you want to sit on the throne of the first?"
At that, the Karma Demon God sneered and added, "Or... are you afraid of Shichen?"
The Fate Demon God jerked his head up. "Hmph! Why would I be afraid of Shichen?"
He fell silent for several breaths, then finally gritted his teeth. "Fine. Let's do it!"
The Karma Demon God's cheeky grin returned at once.
"That's more like it! Fate governs the course of things, and karma decides how they begin and end. With the two of us working together, the Primordial World will be ours for the taking. Wait here. I'll find a few more allies. More hands will make the job easier."
With that, he vanished into empty space.
The Fate Demon God stood alone in the hall, looking toward where the Karma Demon God had disappeared. The hesitation on his face gradually faded.
In its place came a calm he had never shown before.
"Yin the Fifth... even the Demon God of Deception isn't as rotten as you."
He walked to the window and gazed into the depths of the Chaos World, his eyes unreadable.
"The throne of the first... don't tell me you have no designs on it."
He raised his right hand slightly. The River of Fate surged toward him, and he reached into it, stirring its waters a few times.
He watched the ripples splashing across the River of Fate in silence for a long time. At last, he turned, swept his sleeve, and walked into the depths of the temple.
"Since you've schemed against me, let's see which of us is better at it."
Before you continue