After that, Qi Yu and her companions continued their ascent.
Along the way, Qi Yu examined the ancient divine artifact repeatedly but couldn't discern its purpose. Instead, she managed to pry out a small blue pearl from within it.
She poured the pearl out and showed it to everyone, not quite understanding its use.
Lord Huai An took the blue pearl, examined it closely against the light, then returned it to Qi Yu, murmuring in admiration,
"This is a Merman's core, essentially the inner elixir of the Merman tribe. This item is likely extremely precious. I don't understand why it's here, but it might prove useful later. Qi Yu, this is your destiny. Keep it for now."
Qi Yu played with it for a moment before tucking the pearl into her embrace. "I've already dealt with the Lesser Heavenly Dao, and yet its father, the Greater Heavenly Dao, still bestows upon me a fortuitous encounter. How magnanimous."
"This child, what 'Greater Heavenly Dao' are you speaking of?" Lord Huai An was amused by Qi Yu's words. "The Divine Realm has thirteen heavens. Immortals reside in the ninth heaven, Gods in the tenth, Ancient Gods in the eleventh, and the Lord of All Gods in the twelfth. The Lesser Heavenly Dao and the Heavenly Dao Lord reside in the thirteenth heaven, along with the Laws."
Ming Lou turned back. "Why are Ancient Gods in the eleventh heaven, while the Lord of All Gods and the Lesser Heavenly Dao are in the twelfth? I thought they would be on the same level."
"Gods rely on faith, and this faith is passed down in layers," Lord Huai An said, looking at Ming Lou. "Ordinary Immortals, Gods, and Ancient Gods rely on the faith of humans, demons, and cultivators from all corners of the world."
"The faith of the Lord of All Gods and the Lesser Heavenly Dao, however, comes from the Ancient Gods, Gods, and Immortals – these three."
Yue Zhiyin's voice was calm. "In other words, the legend of the big fish eating the small fish, and the small fish eating the shrimp."
"Precisely. That's why the Lord of All Gods and the Lesser Heavenly Dao are above the Ancient Gods," Lord Huai An said, slowly ascending towards Mount Yao. "And while the Heavenly Dao Lord can rule, in reality, the Laws also oversee the Heavenly Dao Lord."
"Everything has its predetermined course. The Laws do not permit the Heavenly Dao Lord to intervene directly. The Heavenly Dao Lord cannot arbitrarily interfere. In this regard, the Heavenly Dao Lord might have less freedom than the Lesser Heavenly Dao."
Yu Zhen nodded, linking her arm with Li Yu's, her tone laced with disdain. "Common mortal storybooks claim Gods have no emotions, but in reality, how is that possible?"
"As long as one lives in this world, regardless of which heaven they reside in, they possess emotions."
"It's just that Gods and Immortals have attained eternity. They possess powers that humans do not, and thus must pay a corresponding price for this power. They cannot fall in love with mortals."
"We are bound, forced to abide by treaties. If we cannot ensure fairness, if we develop feelings for mortals and disrupt the established order, we will be cast down to the mortal realm."
Li Yu chimed in. "But over time, it's not just humans who become greedy; the Divine Realm and the Immortal Realm are no different."
"Because there are too many lesser Immortals who ascend from the mortal realm, and too many lesser Gods who ascend from the Immortal Realm, the Divine Realm and the Immortal Realm have become increasingly crowded. Too many Gods desire the positions of the Lord of All Gods and the Lesser Heavenly Dao."
"But the Lord of All Gods is selected by the Heavenly Dao Lord."
"And the position of the Heavenly Dao Lord requires the incumbent Heavenly Dao Lord, after completing their tenure of ten thousand million years, to personally choose their successor, which leads to a hereditary system."
"Most Heavenly Dao Lords, before reaching this position, were merely minor Immortals or Gods, or ascended to this position from being Ancient Gods."
"Although they cannot fall in love with mortals, they can form Daoist companion bonds with Immortals or Gods of equivalent status."
"The current Heavenly Dao Lord ascended from an unremarkable minor Immortal."
"Therefore, the successor he chose as the Lesser Heavenly Dao is his offspring, born from his union with his Daoist companion in the Immortal Realm."
"Of course, the current Lesser Heavenly Dao has fallen at Qi Yu's hands. As for the position of the Lord of All Gods, it remains vacant."
Qi Yu looked at Lord Huai An.
"Grandfather, you mean to say that after offending the Heavenly Dao Lord, I still received a fortuitous encounter not because the Heavenly Dao Lord doesn't hold a grudge, but due to the Laws?"
If she had allowed Ling Ruo to possess her back then, Ling Ruo would have used her body, successfully been chosen by the Lesser Heavenly Dao, and effortlessly entered the twelfth heaven to become the Lord of All Gods.
Lord Huai An nodded at Qi Yu. Qi Yu licked her lips, a cold glint in her eyes.
Lord of All Gods...
Heavenly Dao Lord...
After the recent battle with the Lesser Heavenly Dao, although the Lesser Heavenly Dao was defeated and fell into her hands, the Heavenly Dao would not simply let it go.
The Heavenly Dao would undoubtedly find ways to exploit loopholes where the Laws could not reach.
Therefore, instead of passively waiting for justice, why not, as suggested, take another step forward and forge her own justice!
With this thought, Qi Yu's divine power began to surge restlessly.
She came back to herself, subtly suppressed her divine power, and continued forward with everyone.
As they walked, the noise ahead suddenly grew chaotic.
Qi Yu looked up.
She saw that several branching paths had appeared ahead, and each path could only accommodate groups of three.
The group exchanged glances, and after some debate, decided to draw lots for the fairest method of selection.
Yu Zhen and Li Yu formed a group, accompanied by Grandfather Huai An.
Ming Lou, Qi Yan, and Chi Ming formed a group.
Yue Zhiyin, Qi Nian, and Sui You formed a group.
As for Qi Yu, she partnered with Feng Mingqi and Si Qing, heading towards the middle path.
Along the way.
Feng Mingqi, being tall, walked on either side of Qi Yu like left and right guardians.
As Si Qing walked, he frowned deeply. Feeling a cold breeze, he couldn't help but hug Qi Yu.
"Sister, it's so windy and dark here, I'm scared~"
Feng Mingqi couldn't help but make a gagging sound beside him. "Si Qing, your disguise is blown. Stop pretending, okay? The dignified God of War of the Heavenly Realm is afraid of this kind of place?"
Who would believe that!
Si Qing shot him a glance, saying nothing, and continued to hide behind Qi Yu, looking weak, pitiful, and helpless.
Feng Mingqi rolled his eyes in disdain.
But soon, he noticed that Qi Yu was completely taken in by Si Qing's act.
She knew very well that as the God of War of the Heavenly Realm, Si Qing wouldn't be afraid of the dark, yet Qi Yu often held Si Qing's hand and shielded him.
Si Qing clung to Qi Yu's sleeve like a shadow. Not only did Qi Yu let him cling, but she also frequently took out candies from her storage pouch to give him.
Feng Mingqi pursed his lips. He had to admit he was a little unhappy.
"Qi Yu, you're my sister too," he said, looking at Qi Yu with imbalance, protesting. "But you only protect Si Qing and ignore me. Don't you think that's unfair?"
Qi Yu looked at Feng Mingqi with mixed emotions. "I thought you were always charging forward... I assumed you wouldn't be afraid of the dark."
Feng Mingqi was momentarily speechless. "Who said that!? I'm terrified!"
Qi Yu opened her palm. "Is that so? Then... would you like some candy? You won't be afraid if you have candy."
Feng Mingqi looked at the candy wrapped in oiled paper in Qi Yu's hand. After a moment's thought, he finally nodded and even reached out to take one.
Qi Yu was speechless and simply took out more small snacks for the two of them to share.
With snacks, the two of them quieted down.
Qi Yu walked forward, feeling bored. "Why can only three people pass through such ordinary small岔道 (chàdào - diverging paths)?"
She never considered that she had scared away the ghosts herself.
"Is this the second trial of Mount Yao?" Feng Mingqi, who also hadn't considered that he had scared away demons and monsters, asked with suspicion.
Si Qing yawned. "Do we have to walk all the way to the front to pass? Ugh... I'm so tired. Is there anywhere we can rest?"
As soon as he spoke, a wooden stake appeared not far away. A flag was tied to the stake, bearing the character for 'wine'.
And not far behind this flag was a very dilapidated-looking small inn.
Feng Mingqi, sensing a strong aura of malevolence, gave Si Qing a thumbs-up. "Amazing, Divine Venerable Si Qing's mouth is truly blessed. Whatever he says, appears."
Saying this, he strode in first.
Si Qing snorted.
He had initially thought, following the tropes of mortal horror stories, that this inn filled with malevolence would be completely empty upon entry, or teeming with guests, a full house, all of whom would actually be evil spirits and vengeful ghosts.
However, to his surprise, the inn felt quite normal. There were only a few scattered tables of guests, and they were all cultivators who had entered the Mount Yao barrier with them.
The innkeeper was an elder who looked like an immortal, holding a whisk. In front of him was a sign.
It read:
Wine, three coins.
Vegetarian meal, four coins.
Roast chicken, ten coins.
Tea, free of charge.
Most of the cultivators who came to rest chose a pot of tea and a roast chicken, then sat at tables of three to share.
Qi Yu stared at the menu, ignoring the faint malevolent aura around them, and like the other cultivators, ordered a roast chicken and a pot of tea.
As a result, Si Qing, upon seeing the roast chicken, immediately clamored for the chicken leg.
Feng Mingqi, who had previously treated him as a senior brother, now knowing Si Qing was his biological brother, naturally refused to concede and also demanded a chicken leg.
Qi Yu had been carrying troublesome children all the way.
She was utterly exhausted.
With a raise of her hand, she cleaved the entire roast chicken, plate and all, in half.
Then, she gave each of them half, even distributing the chicken comb evenly.
After ordering for them, Qi Yu, feeling sorry for herself, ordered another roast chicken just for herself.
Feng Mingqi, seeing that all three had roast chicken, and Qi Yu's portion was even larger, was quite satisfied. Just as he was about to take his first bite of the chicken leg, he saw Si Qing tearing the chicken meat into strips and placing them in a bowl, then feeding them to Qi Yu one bite at a time with chopsticks.
While feeding her, he asked obediently,
"Sister, are you thirsty? Do you want some water? I'll pour you some hot tea."
Qi Yu remembered that she had initially found Si Qing's coquettish behavior towards her a bit unaccustomed.
But...
Over time...
Having a well-behaved and sensible younger brother who busied himself around you, occasionally acted cute and charming to make you happy, always catered to you and put you first... this situation was truly wonderful!
Alas.
Thus, Qi Yu was served comfortably by Si Qing, her hands remaining clean throughout. Fearing it wouldn't be enough, she even ordered another roast chicken, urging Si Qing to eat more.
Feng Mingqi, standing beside them: "..."
Si Qing, that little scoundrel.
He fought for the chicken leg just to act cute and solicitous towards Qi Yu!?
His personality was completely unsuitable for a God of War. He belonged in the emperor's harem in the mortal realm, participating in palace intrigue!
The women there were his kind!
Feng Mingqi resentfully bit into his chicken leg. After Si Qing went to get clean water to wash his hands, he couldn't help but say to Qi Yu, "Sister, don't tell me you can't see that Si Qing is deliberately acting cute and solicitous towards you! You're spoiling him, and that's not right."
"Ah, well, of course, I can see it," Qi Yu said, swirling her teacup. "But... don't you think he's very cute like this?"
Si Qing walked over with a basin, and upon hearing Qi Yu's words, immediately placed the wooden basin on the table and struck a very cute pose.
Feng Mingqi was so angry he wanted to throw the chicken bones on the table onto Si Qing's head.
Si Qing gave him a provocative look.
Feng Mingqi almost exploded.
Qi Yu watched them glare at each other, then slowly wiped her hands. Just as she was about to go pay, the elder, who had initially looked like an immortal, suddenly became sinister. He raised his whisk and swept it around to coil around Feng Mingqi's and Si Qing's wrists. In a sinister voice, he asked Qi Yu,
"You don't have enough money. One of you must stay to pay the debt! Tell me, who do you want to leave behind!"
The surrounding cultivators were terrified and turned to flee, but their hands and feet were ensnared by the elder's whisk.
The elder, holding everyone in the inn, repeatedly asked the same question, demanding that one person from each group stay behind.
The cultivators initially resisted, but when they realized they truly couldn't leave without leaving someone behind, they began to turn on each other. Their discussions turned into red-faced arguments, and they even started fighting.
The goal was to leave one person behind.
The ugliness within their hearts was fully exposed.
The elder, with his immortal demeanor, let out a series of chuckles. He then turned to Qi Yu's group and repeatedly asked, "Who are you leaving behind?! If you don't, you can't leave!"
Qi Yu's initial intention was to absorb the evil energy of this demon and leave.
But to her surprise, as soon as she extended her hand, she heard Feng Mingqi and Si Qing arguing behind her.
Qi Yu paused.
She turned back in confusion.
She saw Feng Mingqi and Si Qing arguing fiercely over who would stay.
"Sister will definitely leave you behind! I am a twin with Sister, we are the closest!" Si Qing pulled the whisk away and wrapped it around Feng Mingqi's hand.
"Heh, Sister hasn't spoken yet, how can you be so sure?" Feng Mingqi removed the whisk from his wrist and re-wrapped it around Si Qing's hand.
Si Qing gritted his teeth.
Feng Mingqi glared at him.
The two of them pulled at a strand of the whisk, immortal energy and demonic energy clashing, the battle about to erupt.
The elder, intimidated by their demonic and immortal energies, trembled and hid by the door, shaking all over.
Qi Yu couldn't hold back any longer. "Wait a moment, you two... is there any possibility that the three of us can leave together?"
They could each defeat several of these minor demons with one hand.
Why would they need to stay behind?
To stay for a feast?
Qi Yu was utterly perplexed by their rivalry.
"There is no such possibility!"
"One must stay, it's the rule!"
Si Qing and Feng Mingqi shouted in unison, then turned back to glare at each other.
Qi Yu: "..."
Why is there no such possibility?
Haven't you noticed that the elder is about to be scared to death by your auras?!