The Heavenly Dao was born from the laws of the world.
The existence of the Heavenly Dao was to ensure the normal operation of the world.
However, the malevolent thoughts created by humans, no, it should be humans after death. Only a few could complete reincarnation. Souls unable to let go of their obsessions would eventually condense into irrational and bizarre beings, expelled by the Heavenly Dao beyond the origin world.
To return to one's homeland was the greatest wish of every human after death, thus causing the bizarre beings to devour each other in order to become stronger and return to the origin world.
As time passed, the Heavenly Dao might not be able to expel all of them. Someone was needed to help the Heavenly Dao clear the bizarre beings from the origin world, and the divine Lu Zhi was thus born.
However, such a method was like trying to scoop up the sea with a shell. Only by finding the root cause could the collapse of the world be prevented. For thousands of years, Lu Zhi had never given up on finding a solution to the root cause, until Shen Qi appeared, and until he saw the karmic entanglement of Jun Ninghe's soul.
What kind of existence was Shen Qi? He was neither god nor human nor bizarre, but was created by the Heavenly Dao, an insulator of all evil. Shen Qi had no divinity; the more deaths in the world and the more malevolent thoughts, the stronger he became.
But from some point onwards, Shen Qi resisted devouring malevolent thoughts and gradually weakened.
Lu Zhi's feelings towards Shen Qi were complex. He brought the young Shen Qi back purely out of pity, a sense of shared helplessness. They were both tools driven by the Heavenly Dao.
After being kissed by Shen Qi that day, Lu Zhi avoided him. When they met again, Shen Qi was on the verge of disappearing.
It was then that Lu Zhi realized that after spending so much time together, he had developed feelings for Shen Qi, but it was only a shallow liking, unable to reciprocate Shen Qi's sudden and surging emotions. However, upon learning that Shen Qi was about to disappear, Lu Zhi truly became scared, terrified.
Thus, he conceived an extremely selfish idea, setting himself up as a gamble, a chess piece. Even if he lost, what he cared about would still exist in the world.
"Do you know what color my soul is?" Lu Zhi pulled out his Silver Dragon Spear. Jun Ninghe's wound did not bleed; instead, a visible golden power of faith instantly healed his injury.
Shen Qi, watching from below, his expression slightly moved.
The Tiger God yawned lazily, "The color of the Lord's soul? Do you know?"
Shen Qi hummed, "He asked me."
It was from that moment that Shen Qi understood. Lu Zhi knew everything, knew the mission and task Shen Qi was born to shoulder, yet he still treated him with all his heart. It was this that made Shen Qi slowly fall for him, unable to control the desire to make Lu Zhi his everything.
"My soul's color is the same as yours, red." Lu Zhi wiped the tip of his spear, then tilted his head in self-mockery, "This is probably why I was summoned by the Heavenly Dao to become a god."
The rise of one general was built on the bones of ten thousand. A young general who commanded armies on the battlefield, bearing the mission to guard the borderlands, had countless souls beneath his spear.
He, alas, was not the purest god as Shen Qi described. The blood and lives on his hands piled up like mountains.
"Jun Ninghe, how many souls have died by your hand?" The reflection in Lu Zhi's golden eyes was not of Jun Ninghe, but of a soul blackening into crimson.
Jun Ninghe chuckled lowly, disbelief and mad fervor in his eyes. "You did it deliberately so I could hear. Hear the path to godhood, see you in your prime, high and mighty, looking down on all beings! Leading me step by step into your game."
Jun Ninghe covered his face with one hand, his laughter contorting his features into a terrifying grimace. "So, I was the chess piece. What a plan, my divine Lord."
Lu Zhi's expression was cold. "Jun Ninghe, I told you, you are too greedy. You want everything, the best of everything. If you can't have it, you destroy it. What if I plotted it? If you weren't greedy, how would you have destroyed the foundations of the dynasty, slaughtered millions, to become a pseudo-god? And how many schemes did you employ to gain faith for yourself, to become a rightful god of a foreign land, to create a world of your own?"
"Jun Ninghe, I admire you," Lu Zhi sighed. "In this world, perhaps only you could complete this path to godhood and create a piece of heaven and earth."
Jun Ninghe glared at Lu Zhi darkly and scoffed, "Ah, even if you plotted it, I must still thank you for granting me this unparalleled power. Hahahaha..."
Suddenly, Jun Ninghe stopped laughing, his scarlet pupils overflowing with killing intent. "Can you kill me? This is the world I created, not governed by the Heavenly Dao. Here, I am the god who rules all things."
Lu Zhi's expression stiffened.
Jun Ninghe sneered, "Word of Power: Imprison."
A blood-red cage suddenly confined Lu Zhi, turning him into a bird in a cage.
As Shen Qi was about to intervene, Lu Zhi stopped him, "This is a battle between him and me. Do not interfere."
With that, Lu Zhi's Silver Dragon Spear shimmered with golden light. A single sweep of the spear shattered the blood-red cage.
Jun Ninghe unleashed his Word of Power: Blood Rain again. Arrows flew from all directions towards Lu Zhi, an attack Lu Zhi easily dodged with a feint.
Lu Zhi looked at Jun Ninghe, his expression suddenly shifting. He said, "Shen Qi, do me a favor."
Shen Qi looked at him.
Lu Zhi, with his back to him, turned and smiled, "I really like the origin world. Will you guard it for me?"
What Jun Ninghe was doing now was to stall or trap Lu Zhi in this world. Meanwhile, in the origin world, loopholes had appeared in the Heavenly Dao's barrier, and bizarre beings were invading from all corners of the world. The zodiac spirits were stretched thin, and there was even a ticking time bomb, a prophesied god that only Shen Qi could resolve.
"Don't worry, I quite cherish this life," Lu Zhi finished. His silver hair flew, his golden eyes suddenly brightened. He reached out his left hand into the void and said dominantly, "In the name of a rightful god, I request the Dragon God's power..."
A terrifying dragon's roar echoed through heaven and earth. The void twisted into a black hole. Lu Zhi reached into the black hole and, as if performing a magic trick, retrieved a golden dragon-patterned mask that resembled flowing sand. It contained the immense power of the Dragon God, causing the entire world to tremble.
Jun Ninghe's expression changed slightly.
The moment Lu Zhi put on the mask, a golden dragon phantom appeared behind him. The golden, gossamer half-mask outlined his already handsome and refined face with a touch of devilish charm and dominance. His lips curled as he said, "Dragon's Word: Severance--"
Jun Ninghe was frozen in place.
Whoosh--
Lu Zhi's figure moved like a shooting star. A golden blade sliced through the sky, and Jun Ninghe was instantly cut in half. He said, "Word of Power, I know that too."