Chapter 1 Somber Whispers

The somber, murmuring voice echoed eerily in the night, seemingly omnipresent, yet the black and white figures nearby wore blank expressions.

They clearly heard the voice, but couldn't grasp the information it contained.

They couldn't understand it...

The two felt a chilling dread mixed with disbelief.

The Impermanence Token was a secret treasure of the Impermanence Palace. With this token, they could contact the Palace even if separated by vast distances. In the past, they had relied on this token to connect with the current Impermanence.

But now, the entity in the void didn't seem to be the current Impermanence.

However, behind the Impermanence Token was surely a Divine Lord...

A glint flashed in the white-robed man's eyes as he respectfully spoke, "Divine Lord, as the Great Emperor predicted, we encountered an extraordinary individual before the Two Realm Mountain..."

The white-robed man dared not delay, recounting everything that had happened without concealment, and also voicing his various conjectures.

The black-robed man slightly raised his head, his peripheral vision catching the somber divine light. In the faint glow, one could vaguely discern a colossal, indescribable divine figure sitting cross-legged in the depths of the void.

The divine figure was colorless and formless, seemingly both existing and not existing. The space where it sat was crisscrossed by dense, inky black chains, and only its eyes could pierce the void.

'Is that the previous Impermanence Divine Lord?'

The black-robed man reported, lowering his head, inwardly horrified.

The Impermanence Palace had a longer history than the Great Zhou Imperial Court, but the Impermanence Divine Lord was passed down through generations. The current master of the Impermanence Palace was the seventh Impermanence Divine Lord.

In the past, there had been speculation that the change of Impermanence Divine Lords must be a case of a master dying and a disciple succeeding. Now it seemed that was not the case?

"The root of the Earth Deity... if He wants it, then..."

As thoughts raced through their minds, the somber, desolate voice slowly flowed out, carrying a complex meaning that the two couldn't comprehend:

"Return it all to Him!"

......

Huhu~

This was a dark, chaotic space, filled with interwoven resentment and baleful aura. Various impure spiritual energies constantly accumulated here, giving rise to endless bizarre phenomena.

Within it, there seemed to be ghosts and gods weeping, ferocious beasts roaring, eerie whispers, and mournful wails.

Only human figures and traces were rarely seen.

"Return it all to Him..."

The faint sigh echoed in this strange space, and as it spread, as the Yin energy roiled, it seemed that ghosts and gods were about to be born from the sound.

"Judge demanding life, Impermanence claiming souls! Who would have thought that a generation of ghost god giants would fall to this..."

At one moment, a voice that sounded like a sigh and a cold mockery flowed out from the void along with a wisp of faint light.

Within the faint light, a pair of deep eyes gazed at the enormous ghost god sealed within various chains.

Whirr~

The inky black chains trembled and vibrated, emitting a low sound: "This venerable one never imagined that the ants of yesteryear would dare to mock this venerable one to his face..."

Within the interwoven chains, the gaze was indifferent, seemingly capable of freezing all things.

"Ants? Hahaha... All are ants beneath a Saint, I am, and are you not?"

A faint laugh came from within the faint light, the laughter cold and filled with undisguised mockery:

"What about the one who swept the world with Five-Colored Divine Light? What about the one who wanted to usher in an era of eternal peace with the Grand Righteousness River? What about the one from the Celestial Master's Mansion who exhausted all the secrets of heaven? What about the seven Great Sages who laughed proudly at the four seas and eight wastes? What about the one who inherited the ancient and modern fortunes of the human race and established a unified imperial dynasty?

What about the Earth Immortal Ancestor who wields the Human Dao Tree?"

At this point, the voice in the faint light became indifferent and ruthless, yet with a strange desolation:

"Only by following the will of heaven can one exist forever!"

Whirr~

The inky black chains trembled violently, and the eyes of the colorless ghost god within flickered with earth-shattering flames: "Following the will of heaven? It's just being a dog to be slaughtered!"

"Hahaha!"

The laughter rose again from within the faint light: "Eighth Master, chained as you are, you look even more like a dog than I do! A stray dog, you are nothing but a defeated dog now!"

Whoosh~

The chains suddenly fell silent, and the eyes filled with flames slowly closed, seemingly suppressing all emotions into the depths of his heart: "In accordance with the heavenly Dao, on the day this seal is broken, this venerable one will kill you ten thousand times!"

An invisible yet chilling aura filled the void, and all the ghosts and monsters in this void space fell silent. The laughter in the faint light gradually disappeared:

"Immortals and gods live for sixty thousand years. Even if Da Yu sealed the Hungry Ghost Realm and severed the connection between the two realms, he could not sever the imperishable spiritual roots of immortals and gods. Those who should return will still return! Perhaps at this very moment, your great enemy from that year is about to return from reincarnation!"

The faint light flickered, then transformed into a white-robed, white-haired, white-eyed youth. He gazed at the Dao chains interwoven into a sphere, his eyes filled with indifference:

"What five colors collapse the sky, in the past you occupied the right time, place, and people but still failed, how can you succeed now? Want to kill me, Eighth Master, you have no chance..."

There was no response.

Within the interwoven Dao chains, the colorless ghost god seemed to have fallen into deep meditation.

"Forget it, I shouldn't have wasted my breath. In that case, after the sacrificial ceremony, let's see if you can still be so tough!"

Having said this, the white-robed Ying Tiandao waved his sleeve and left this sealed space in an instant.

The void returned to silence once more.

Only after a long, long time did a murmuring voice flash and disappear: "Soon, soon..."

.......

The sky was high, the clouds were light, the wind was clear for ten thousand miles, and six great suns hung high in the sky, scattering thousands of rays of light, shining on the earth and bringing endless vitality.

One day of clear wind brings spring back to the world.

The harsh winter had passed, the heavy snow had melted, and although the cold air remained between heaven and earth, a touch of green had sprouted from the ground, embellishing the gray and white world.

On the wide official road made of bluestone, pedestrians and merchants came and went in an endless stream, stretching for hundreds or even thousands of miles.

Unlike the bitterly cold lands of the Northwest Province, although there were ghosts and monsters under the night of Central Province, with the Jing Yesi (Purification Night Agency) cleansing for many years, it was much safer than other provinces in the world.

There were not many traveling merchants in other provinces, but there were quite a few in Central Province. However, they mostly traveled in groups, rarely traveling alone.

However, a traveling merchant team of this scale, stretching for thousands or even thousands of miles, was rare, and such a spectacular traveling merchant team could only be seen every year in early spring.

Not for anything else, but for the eight hundred million *li* of spiritual fields in Panlong Prefecture, Lingquan Province, Central Province.

In a luxuriously decorated carriage, Lin Bai raised his eyebrows in amazement: "Such a spectacular sight can only be seen in Central Province... It truly is the central hub of Great Zhou."

Don't go out at night.

This was what most people in this world were warned repeatedly from the time they could remember, but this seemed to not exist in Central Province.

With Lin Bai's vision, seeing this seemingly endless traveling merchant team, he was also touched.

He also somewhat understood why so many sects yearned for Central Province.

"Wu~"

A palm-sized Yuan Xiang (Primal Elephant) squatted on his shoulder, snorting loudly, its face full of contempt: "A country bumpkin!"

However, it also looked a little suspicious:

"After not seeing each other for several hundred years, could it be that the Jing Yesi has undergone some major changes? This place is still several provinces away from Panlong Prefecture, where did these mortals get such courage?"

The Jing Yesi had the responsibility of cleansing ghosts and monsters, but the ghosts and monsters in the world were almost infinite. Even in the Great Zhou central hub where the Jing Yesi was located, it was impossible to eliminate all ghosts and monsters.

The only places where ghosts could not be seen at night were Panlong Prefecture and the dozens of surrounding prefectures. This place was not within that range.

With doubts in its heart, it looked at the old Confucian scholar who was resting with his eyes closed in the center of the carriage: "Master, something is not right..."

"Why guess wildly? Asking someone a question or two won't cost you anything."

Zeng San slowly opened his eyes, glanced at the crowd outside the window, and a touch of solemnity appeared in the depths of his eyes: "Changes never happen without a reason..."

[Reading books to receive cash rewards] Follow the official account of the book friend base camp and read books to draw up to 888 cash red envelopes!

"Yes, Master."

Seeing Zeng San open his eyes, Lin Bai respectfully saluted, then lifted the car curtain, jumped out of the carriage, took a few quick steps, reached out, and grabbed a tall, saber-wielding guard:

"This brother, I have some things I want to ask."

"You... Master, you, what do you want to ask, just say it..."

The guard was originally a little impatient when he heard Lin Bai's foreign accent, but when he was suddenly grabbed, his expression changed and he plastered on a smile.

"There are many ghosts and monsters at night, you have quite the courage, daring to imitate people and escort goods?"

Lin Bai glanced at the guard and asked lightly.

"No, no..."

How could the guard withstand Lin Bai's gaze? One glance made half of his bones soften, and he stammered in response: "Master, Master, don't you know? We, we all worship the 'Road God' before we go out..."

"Road God?"

Lin Bai was stunned, released his hand, and looked back at the carriage, just in time to see Zeng San's thoughtful gaze.

"Road God... what kind of god is this?"

In the carriage, Yuan Xiang kept swinging its nose, with a rather horrified tone: "I've never heard of a Road God in the world? Where did it pop out from?"

The word "god" was a taboo for cultivators.

Because according to ancient legends, before the ancient times, the true rulers of heaven and earth were gods.

Zeng San frowned, without saying a word.

"Master."

Lin Bai returned to the carriage and was also a little curious: "I have seen similar records in ancient books, saying that before the Great Zhou Dynasty, all places in the world had gods stationed to protect the land and the people. Could these gods be..."

"You are talking about the Land Gods of the Great Xia Dynasty, but this dynasty does not have such gods. This Road God..."

Zeng San slowly exhaled a mouthful of turbid air, a bright light flashed in the depths of his eyes, and he looked far into the void, already using the 'Heavenly Human Qi Observation Technique'.

Buzz~

In the next instant, Zeng San's divine will had already risen to the high heavens. Looking down suddenly, he saw that the land of Central Province was full of vigorous Qi and luck. The Qi and luck from all provinces in the world rolled in like dragons.

"Road God above, please bless my husband's journey to be safe and his return to be unharmed..."

"Old Stove God, your surname is Zhang, you ascend to heaven on the twenty-third day, and return to the kitchen in the early morning of the first day of the new year, bringing good luck and auspiciousness..."

"If you bring the Well God, the family will prosper..."

"Worship the Land God, and you will have more peace and health in the coming year..."

"Mountain God above, bless us to enter the mountain safely this time and return with many harvests..."

"Giant Spirit God above, protect me to return victorious this time..."

......

Countless voices of sincere prayer followed.

"So many?!"

Zeng San's heart skipped a beat. Even though he was always calm, he was startled by the endless voices of prayer.

Great Zhou worshiped not a few gods and Buddhas, but he had never heard of these gods. More importantly, these gods seemed to really have divine power, with divine miracles appearing!

But he knew that after a heavenly change in ancient times, gods and Buddhas in the world no longer showed divine miracles in the human world.

The reason behind this...

Zeng San's mind sank, and with a resolute heart, the nascent soul that had not yet recovered in his body also opened its eyes, using the Heavenly Human Qi Observation Technique to the extreme, wanting to peek behind these various gods.

Buzz!

In the next instant, a loud roar erupted from the carriage.

Caught off guard, Yuan Xiang and Lin Bai were all startled, looking at Zeng San in horror.

They saw that the old scholar Zeng San's long hair was raised, his seven orifices were stained with blood, and his eyes were filled with purple.

It was as if he had seen something extremely incredible.