"Kolke, he's not after the Blood Ancestor? Then what is he after?"
Ye Feng followed Shen Botian's words and asked.
"I'm afraid... it's the King of Doom!"
"King of Doom, what is that?"
Ye Feng was somewhat speechless. The situation seemed to be getting more complicated.
"Kolke comes from an extremely dark and mysterious organization, the Dark Sacred Cult, and its leader is said to be the King of Doom, though no one has ever seen him!"
"I'm not entirely clear on the specifics, but the experiments Kolke conducted, including extracting angelic essence for the Blood Ancestor... the true purpose was for the King of Doom!"
Mentioning this, Shen Botian's expression became quite solemn. "Ye Feng, the world knows the seven strongest organizations are the Seven Great Powers. The Dark Sacred Cult is little known."
"But based on my deductions, the strength of the Dark Sacred Cult is likely not inferior to any of the Seven Great Powers!"
"Furthermore, those who know of the Dark Sacred Cult are mostly some old timers among the Seven Great Powers, and they all speak of it in hushed tones..."
"The reason I targeted Kolke is also because of the Dark Sacred Cult!"
"This organization was involved in the destruction of Tàxīng City. It's a pity that my position in Tàxīng City wasn't high enough at the time, and I didn't get much useful information..."
At the end of his words, Shen Botian's expression was tinged with loneliness.
"The Dark Sacred Cult... Lingxi mentioned it too... it sounds very dangerous..."
Ye Feng recalled the towering Ouroboros building he saw when he went to the City of Despair with Xiaoxiao and Lingxi.
He glanced at Lingxi and the others who were playing Truth or Dare around the bonfire in the distance, then looked back at Shen Botian and asked, "By the way, Senior Shen, do you know a guy named Mei You?"
"I was offered a sky-high bounty, and it seems to be because that guy came to the Brad Base and said I had a connection with angels!"
As he spoke, Ye Feng took out Mei You's portrait.
"Oh, and this guy is holding a kerosene lamp. He looks a bit sinister!"
After a pause, Ye Feng added.
"It's him?!"
Under the bright moonlight, Shen Botian's eyes widened in surprise after seeing the portrait in Ye Feng's hand.
"Is it really this guy!"
Seeing the expression on Shen Botian's face, Ye Feng muttered to himself.
"Uh... no!"
Shen Botian shook his head. "Ye Feng, I actually don't know why the Brad Base offered a bounty on you and Xiaoxiao."
"I previously thought it was because there were spies from the Brad Base in Mech City and they saw Miss Xiaoxiao fighting with the Angel's Blade... I asked Yun Yao to contact you with the Mirror Arcane Yuan Coin, but the message failed to send..."
"I was surprised just now because of this person, I've seen him before..."
As he spoke, Shen Botian took the portrait from Ye Feng and examined it carefully, as if making a final confirmation.
"Mirror Arcane Yuan Coin?"
A flash of light appeared in Ye Feng's hand, and he took out the Mirror Arcane Yuan Coin that Shen Yun Yao had given him earlier, only to find that the screen in the middle was empty.
"This person... it really is him..."
At this moment, Shen Botian's voice rang out, filled with disbelief.
"This person was also present when Tàxīng City was destroyed... Their name seemed to be... 'God Awakener'..."
"Although I was quite far away at the time... it's definitely him!"
Under Ye Feng's puzzled gaze, Shen Botian quickly explained.
"God Awakener?!"
Hearing this title, Ye Feng was very surprised because he had only recently heard this term from the intelligent AI Yingyue in the ancient ruins.
"Senior Shen, do you know about Mei You, this 'God Awakener'?"
Ye Feng pondered for a moment and asked.
"Very little... but back then..."
Mentioning this, Shen Botian hesitated, as if debating whether to tell Ye Feng.
"Never mind, Ye Feng, your strength is now enough to break through the spatial barrier. It's fine to tell you!"
Shen Botian let out a long sigh. "Ye Feng, you must have heard of the Twilight of the Gods and the Martial God, right?"
"Mhm!"
Ye Feng nodded seriously, pricking up his ears to listen.
"Hundreds of years ago, on Pillar Mountain... the legendary war between humans and gods... the twelve most powerful main gods, Ares the God of War, Apollo the Sun God, Poseidon the Sea God, Hades the Underworld God..."
"Countless human powerhouses were almost defenseless against these main gods, whose power could only be described as absurd..."
"Just as almost everyone fell into despair, one person stood up... the one later known as the Martial God... The Martial God ascended the divine palace alone and challenged the twelve main gods..."
"In the Battle of Pillar Mountain... all those main gods who were once invincible were killed by the Martial God..."
"This was the Twilight of the Gods!"
Shen Botian paused here, seemingly organizing his thoughts.
"However, there is a saying that... the gods are immortal and were not killed. They merely entered a state of hibernation... and one day, the gods will awaken and rule this world again..."
"And the God Awakener is a sign that the gods are beginning to awaken, or some say that the God Awakener is here to awaken the gods..."
"This is why I was so surprised when I saw Mei You's portrait!"
After finishing, Shen Botian stared at Mei You's portrait in his hand with a knitted brow.
"So that's how it is..."
After listening to Shen Botian's words, Ye Feng fell into deep thought.
"Ye... Ye Feng, you... you're not scared, are you?!"
As Ye Feng was thinking, Shen Botian's voice suddenly sounded, filled with concern.
"Scared? Scared of what?"
Ye Feng was completely bewildered by Shen Botian's abrupt question.
"The... the gods... immortal gods!"
"You just heard about the gods... aren't you... scared?"
Shen Botian looked at Ye Feng with surprise, his tone becoming quite cautious at the end, as if afraid of discouraging Ye Feng.
"No..."
Ye Feng shook his head, looking at Shen Botian with some confusion. "Should I be scared?"
"Uh... no... it's good that you're not scared!"
Shen Botian scratched his head and let out a long sigh, the worry on his face greatly diminished. "I was worried that if you knew the gods might not be dead, or even immortal, you would lose all your fighting spirit... and it would affect your future cultivation!"
"It seems I was overthinking it!"
Shen Botian said with a chuckle, clearly pleased that Ye Feng wasn't scared.
"Uh... okay~"
Although Ye Feng didn't quite understand why Shen Botian said that, he couldn't be bothered to ask.
"By the way, how is Yun Yao? We met by chance in the ancient ruins, and a lot happened. She said she would make plans after returning to Mech City!"
Ye Feng fiddled with the Mirror Arcane Yuan Coin in his hand and asked Shen Botian.