In the Yang Kingdom, within the Dragon Department's base, in the Soul Reaping Domain.
Space tore open, and Ye Ling slowly emerged from the rift, taking a deep breath.
Although many events had transpired in the River of Time, and Ye Ling's horizons had expanded dramatically, in reality, less than ten minutes had passed.
The Soul Reaping Domain remained peaceful, souls drifting about.
The outside world appeared as if nothing had happened!
Ye Ling scanned the surroundings of the Soul Reaping Domain and murmured to himself, "I didn't expect so much to have happened here… but so far, the pseudo-gods that Takamagahara secretly contacted have not been dealt with."
"Right… Susanoo knows the list of gods, I need to find him."
The mention of gods reminded Ye Ling of Susanoo, who had been swept into the River of Time. He once again invoked the Law of Time, beginning to search the River of Time for the whereabouts of Susanoo's head.
Previously, Ye Ling's entire attention had been focused on that extraterrestrial Dao Venerable, and he hadn't been able to spare any for Susanoo. He only vaguely recalled Susanoo rolling into the River of Time and being swept into some unknown era.
He wasn't sure of the exact location.
"Susanoo himself is of low strength, and only has his head left. Now, trying to find him in the vast River of Time is like searching for a needle in a haystack. Must I give up?"
Ye Ling searched for a while in the River of Time but still couldn't find Susanoo's head. His brow furrowed slightly, unwilling to accept this.
If those gods were to perfectly conceal their identities and escape justice, then his operation to destroy Takamagahara would be a complete failure.
In that case, even if he went back to the past and recaptured Susanoo alive, it would completely alter the timeline. A new spacetime would split off from the River of Time, and irreversible changes would occur in his current main timeline, carrying immense risks.
He could not accept this outcome.
Just as Ye Ling was at a loss, a flash of inspiration struck him – runes.
Ye Ling clapped his hands in surprise, exclaiming, "That's right… I remember the 'Ancient Spirit Tome' records methods for strengthening Great Dao laws using runes. Perhaps I can retrieve Susanoo with that divine ability."
With an idea in mind, Ye Ling no longer hesitated. He sat cross-legged in the Soul Reaping Domain, flipping through the 'Ancient Spirit Tome' in his mind.
Although Ye Ling's mind now contained all the knowledge of the 'Ancient Spirit Tome,' he could only be considered to have memorized it by rote; he had not yet grasped its profound mysteries.
It was akin to an ordinary student encountering a foreign language for the first time. While they recognized all the letters, they didn't understand the meaning when strung together.
Ye Ling needed to learn on the spot whenever he wanted to use a divine ability from the 'Ancient Spirit Tome.'
The Law of Time permeated the surroundings, and the flow of time within the Soul Reaping Domain began to slow down drastically.
The Soul Reaping Domain was completely severed from the outside world.
The souls here drifted aimlessly, while Ye Ling sat quietly in mid-air, as if he had merged with time itself.
After an unknown period, Ye Ling slowly opened his eyes and condensed a segment of runes filled with infinite profound meaning before him.
Upon manifesting, those runes merged entirely with the surrounding flowing River of Great Dao, strengthening the Law of Time.
Ye Ling's perception of time was greatly enhanced in an instant!
"Runes can indeed be used this way!"
Seeing that he had truly strengthened the Great Dao laws, Ye Ling's eyes filled with surprise and joy.
If runes could strengthen the Law of Time, it meant they could strengthen everything else!
With this, Ye Ling's combat power would increase severalfold by mastering runes!
Infinite methods of using runes to enhance his combat power surged into Ye Ling's mind, making him feel as if he had entered a new world!
After a moment of excitement, Ye Ling quickly stabilized his emotions and attempted to use the strengthened Great Dao laws to find Susanoo, who was lost in the River of Time.
This time, Ye Ling's perception within the River of Time was greatly enhanced. His divine soul could even capture the residual aura of Susanoo in the River of Time!
Soon, Ye Ling found Susanoo's head floating in a void of space.
By this time, Susanoo had been drifting in space for an unknown duration. His head had even frozen over, and his consciousness was almost extinguished.
When Ye Ling grabbed Susanoo's head, he almost thought he had picked up a block of ice!
After bringing Susanoo's head back to the Soul Reaping Domain and melting the ice around it, Ye Ling injected a bit of spiritual energy into Susanoo's head, barely managing to save him.
His consciousness restored, Susanoo slowly opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was Ye Ling before him, and he immediately broke down in tears, quickly saying, "Your Majesty! You finally found me!"
"Those places were too terrifying. I don't know how long I drifted in the darkness. Endless darkness and despair consumed me. I was almost driven mad!"
"Just kill me!"
Susanoo spoke incoherently to Ye Ling, his eyes filled with emotion.
When he was swept into the River of Time, he only had his head and could do nothing.
Although saints were almost immortal, there was no spiritual energy in space for him to absorb, and he couldn't control his head. He could only let his consciousness fall dormant to avoid enduring endless suffering in boundless solitude.
Compared to reliving what had happened before, Susanoo now preferred to die!
Ye Ling looked at Susanoo's tear-streaked face and was taken aback.
After stealing Izanagi's cultivation, Susanoo was at least a saint, with a considerably strong spirit that wouldn't easily collapse.
Ye Ling truly hadn't expected Susanoo to be driven to such a state by the River of Time!
However, Ye Ling quickly regained his composure and smiled at Susanoo, saying, "It seems you only wish for death now…"
Susanoo quickly replied, "I only wish for death! As long as Your Majesty doesn't throw me into the River of Time again, I will do anything!"
"Very good!"
Hearing Susanoo's words, a smile flickered in Ye Ling's eyes. He immediately moved to repair Susanoo's body, restoring his freedom.
After repairing Susanoo's body, Ye Ling said, "I need you to do something for me. If you can do it well, I will only destroy your cultivation and divinity, allowing you the chance to enter reincarnation."
Susanoo's eyes lit up, and he became extremely excited, quickly asking, "What do you want me to do, Your Majesty? I promise to accomplish it!"
Susanoo had thought his best outcome would be to have his soul scattered, but now he had a chance at reincarnation. How could he not be excited?
It was like pie falling from the sky!
Ye Ling looked at Susanoo's excited demeanor, narrowed his eyes, and smiled, saying, "It's very simple… lure all the gods who cooperated with Izanagi here, and I will spare you."
Although Ye Ling could obtain the list of gods from Susanoo's mind, those gods were distributed across the various divine kingdoms of the Immortal Realm and spanned the Three Realms. It would be quite troublesome for Ye Ling to find and hunt them down one by one.
If he could have Susanoo gather all those gods, it would be much easier to resolve this matter.
Originally, Ye Ling had planned to deal with Izanagi and the gods behind him all at once. However, due to Susanoo's betrayal, none of those gods appeared, disrupting all of Ye Ling's plans.
Now, if Ye Ling wanted to thoroughly resolve the matter of Takamagahara, he had to find another way.
"Lure all the other gods here?"
Susanoo's eyes flickered with difficulty upon hearing Ye Ling's words. "Your Majesty… you don't know, before Izanagi descended to the mortal realm, the gods had already decided to abandon Izanagi and all concealed their whereabouts. Now, to gather them all here, I'm afraid…"
Ye Ling said, "I don't want to know how difficult it is to accomplish this, nor do I want to know how you will do it. I only need to see all those gods appear here, without a single one missing."
"I'll give you three days. If you fail to do so after three days, you will be thrown back into that void of space to drift endlessly."
Hearing Ye Ling's warning, Susanoo trembled and quickly bowed deeply to Ye Ling, respectfully saying, "I, I understand! I promise to complete the mission!"
Although it was extremely difficult to reassemble the gods, if he went all out, it wasn't impossible.
He absolutely did not want to experience what had happened before again!
After making Susanoo give his word, Ye Ling began to extract the list of gods from Susanoo's mind and simultaneously planted a restriction within Susanoo's body.
Having done all this, Ye Ling removed the Soul Reaping Domain and waved to Susanoo, saying, "Time is short, prepare this matter quickly. I'll be waiting here for you."
"Yes…"
Susanoo dared not question Ye Ling further. He bowed respectfully to Ye Ling and was about to leave when he remembered something and stopped, asking Ye Ling, "May I ask, Your Majesty, the extraterrestrial expert who descended to Earth earlier, he…"
Ye Ling: "Is dead."
"Dead?" Susanoo's pupils contracted slightly, and he froze on the spot!
Although he had speculated about the extraterrestrial expert's fate upon seeing Ye Ling, he was still immensely shocked to hear the casual words "is dead" from Ye Ling's mouth.
The pressure emanating from that extraterrestrial expert was unlike anything he had ever encountered. His cultivation was definitely above the Emperor realm!
Such a powerful being was capable of crushing all life in the Three Realms!
Yet, even such a powerful being could be slain by Ye Ling?
Susanoo couldn't fathom how strong Ye Ling truly was, his breathing gradually becoming rapid.
He stared blankly at Ye Ling, uncontrollably swallowing.
Emperor Ye Ling… what kind of monster was he?
Seeing Susanoo staring intently at him instead of getting to work, Ye Ling frowned slightly and said impatiently, "What, are you waiting for me to give you a little red flower?"
Hearing Ye Ling's words, Susanoo jolted awake, shaking his head repeatedly, "I dare not! I absolutely dare not!"
"Then why aren't you leaving?"
"Yes, yes, yes!"
Scolded by Ye Ling, Susanoo was startled and dared not linger. He bowed several times to Ye Ling, then fled in a panic, ascending to the Immortal Realm!
Seeing Susanoo leave, Ye Ling descended to the Dragon Department's base and sat down, meditating on the 'Ancient Spirit Tome' while awaiting the arrival of the gods.