Chapter 531 Primal True Dragon (12,000 words, thanks to sildrugtanni for the alliance leader!)

For Wang Haitian, there could be no worse situation than what had just occurred.

The remnants of Zhengyang, wielding the power of gods and demons, had launched an attack. Five Zhenren (True Persons) of sufficient strength to destroy cities and overturn mountains had arrived, determined to crush the Northern Ridge and clash with the divine bird Zhuzhou, who should have been at the peak of the Zhenren realm.

That was a disaster that could destroy the entire Northern Ridge area, and even the vast Linmo Prefecture, as well as hundreds of millions of residents of Qinglin Province, would be affected and suffer.

If it were only a few hours, then at most tens of millions of people in the mountainous area and around Northern Ridge City would be affected. But if it turned into a protracted war, with the battle lasting more than ten days, given the destructive power of Zhenren at the peak of the mortal realm, not only Qinglin Province, but even the nearby Northern Wilderness and the White Mountain Province on the side would suffer.

This was truly a catastrophe for Wang Haitian, who was wholeheartedly developing Northern Ridge as his 'hometown,' intending to completely eliminate poverty in the entire Northern Ridge mountain area, and lead the residents of Northern Ridge to prosperity.

He simply couldn't imagine how many people in Linmo Prefecture would lose their jobs, how many would be displaced, and how many children would be unable to receive education, delaying the 'New Language Popularization' plan that the New Kingdom was currently implementing, if Northern Ridge City, as the smelting center, and the surrounding raw material mines were lost.

At that time, Wang Haitian's heart was indeed ice-cold, and he even felt dizzy for a moment.

But the development of reality was unpredictable.

--Who could have imagined that the divine bird Zhuzhou was so powerful, that it could kill a Zhenren with one move, and then transform into the Four Symbols, fighting multiple opponents alone, and completely suppressing them in turn?

--Who could have imagined that His Majesty, who should have been sitting in the central part of Central Continent, would also descend here?

When the Five Virtues Divine Light lit up from the end of the sky, Wang Haitian, who was still shocked, angry, and worried about the thunder tribulation of punishing the Heavenly Demons, completely calmed down.

He knew that everything was over.

Because their Majesty had arrived.

Everything went as the man imagined. With the addition of Ming Zhengde, the remaining Zhengyang remnants were immediately suppressed.

He could see, above the clouds, the Holy Emperor and Zhuzhou looking at each other.

Wang Haitian was originally a little worried, worried that the two people who did not understand each other would have conflicts, and make the two powerful figures who could have joined forces feel estranged.

However, in that 'Nine Questions of Zhuzhou,' which seemed to contain everything, all worries were eliminated.

Just as real martial artists do not need any words to communicate, they can understand everything and explain all the reasons simply by exchanging punches--for two powerful figures who care about all living beings, as long as they can confirm the key principles with each other, everything else is trivial.

Zhuzhou and Ming Zhengde communicated in the high sky for a moment, but soon, they went to the ground together, to the cracks that had burst out due to the previous vibrations of the earth's veins.

"Haitian, I and Zhenren Zhuzhou are going to the earth's veins to discuss important matters, and I will explain to you later."

Before Ming Zhengde entered the ground, Wang Haitian heard his Majesty's steady divine sense transmission: "The Nine Nether Devil Gods have been severely damaged. Although I guess they won't take revenge, for safety's sake, quickly lead the surrounding residents to the Linmo capital to take refuge, and temporarily abandon this place."

"After all, the mines and armory can be rebuilt, but if people are gone, all things are empty."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

This was indeed Ming Zhengde's consistent choice. Wang Haitian naturally responded solemnly, but then, he said with some anxiety: "But Your Majesty, what should be done with the spiritual marrow sacrificial pillar in the ground...?"

"...I will personally destroy it later."

After hesitating for a moment, Ming Zhengde said, "This matter is of great importance and must not be known to outsiders. Haitian, be careful yourself."

Two divine lights flashed past and disappeared into the ground.

"...These two days have really been full of ups and downs, which is really unsettling." Wang Haitian let out a long breath, staring at the deep cracks where the two had disappeared. He didn't know what to say at the moment.

In the past two days, the number of gods, demons, and Zhenren he had seen was second only to when he was on the battlefield of the Five Virtues Zhengyang War. This was obviously an unusual situation, which made the prefect smell a trace of unease.

In addition, some rumors about the 'Great Tribulation' that Wang Haitian had heard in the past made him even more imaginative.

--Zhuzhou was born, and there were such dramatic changes...Could it be that this is the so-called omen of 'responding to the tribulation'?

The rumors were indeed that some divine birds, as long as they were born, would have strange omens. Perhaps Zhuzhou was also one of them?

Thinking like this, in the end, he shook his head: "Leave these things alone for now."

Wang Haitian turned his head to look at the three great craftsmen: "Gentlemen, did the accident just now affect Zhenren Zhuzhou's divine blade?"

After seeing Su Zhou's true combat power, his emphasis on the reforging of the Miedu Blade (Blade of Annihilation) naturally increased--such a powerful divine bird, if it had a Dao weapon in its hands, it could be said to be invincible in the mortal realm, and could help His Majesty.

"No problem, the divine blade is very good!"

At this moment, the three great craftsmen were checking the condition of the Miedu Blade. Craftsman Chu quickly replied, then sighed softly, the wrinkles on his face shaking: "However, since Zhenren Zhuzhou is so powerful...it's no wonder he wants to strengthen the divine blade."

"Yes, no wonder...I thought this Miedu Blade was already extremely powerful and worthy of anyone, but now it seems that it is indeed a bit insufficient."

Craftsman Wu and Craftsman Mu also muttered to themselves--not to mention anything else, they were extremely familiar with that Liantian (Heaven Rending) swordsman, Yan Changfeng. Both the longsword 'Jiujie' (Nine Tribulations) in the other party's hand and that exquisite swordsmanship were among the best divine weapons and sword techniques in Zhengyang State.

That Jiujie Divine Sword had even slashed a Qingluan (Azure Luan) and been stained with the blood of many Zhenren. Even if it was not as good as the Miedu Blade, it was not far behind.

His full blow, not to mention cutting open mountains and sweeping away himself and others along with the armory, even directly destroying the foundation of the Northern Ridge mining area, causing the earth's veins to be disordered and producing a super earthquake would be easy.

But even such a powerful Yan Changfeng, with the help of the power of the Devil God, could not completely cut off the wings of the divine bird Zhuzhou.

The strength of Zhuzhou's wings had surpassed many divine weapons.

Thinking of this, the three weaponsmiths, after a moment of silence, made up their minds: "It seems that we must also do our best--we must not let the divine blade disgrace Zhenren Zhuzhou!"

"My Tianren (Heavenly Human) weaponsmithing school has a piece of Gengjin (Metal) essence at the bottom of the box."

Chu Wu pondered slightly: "With my old face, and for the sake of forging a Dao weapon, the sect master should allow me a small piece to forge the foundation for the divine blade!"

"My Divine Weapon Wu Clan also has an ancestral 'Taibai (Venus) Forging Stone', which can be used to sort out the sharp edge energy of the divine blade."

Craftsman Wu smiled slightly. Her position in the Wu Clan was higher than that of Chu Wu in the Tianren weaponsmithing school. In addition, sorting out the blade's energy did not consume much, so there was no need to think about it.

As for Mu Wu, because he was too young, the two did not force him to contribute anything.

But who knew that after frowning and thinking for a long time, this young weaponsmith gritted his teeth and said in a deep voice: "I...I can ask my master to take action!"

"Being both divine birds, and with Zhenren Zhuzhou's strength, if His Majesty the Holy Emperor also speaks, then my master will definitely be willing to come out of the mountain again!"

Immediately, not only the two great weaponsmiths, but even Wang Haitian on the side was slightly stunned.

Then, after remembering something, they all gasped: "Wait, Mu Wu, the master you are talking about, could it be the one who is registered in both the Qiaojin (Skillful Gold) and Zhenhuo (True Fire) sects..."

"Yes."

At this point, Mu Wu no longer had any doubts. He nodded heavily, and then respectfully bowed in the direction of the southern Central Continent: "It is indeed the divine craftsman who holds the Nanming (Southern Brightness) Li Fire."

"'The Contemporary Suzaku (Vermilion Bird) '!"

--Among the divine birds in the world, the phoenix is the most尊貴(honored/respected).

However, apart from the phoenix, the Suzaku vaguely takes the lead under the heavens, even the Five-Colored Peacock and the Golden-Winged Garuda, who are said to be direct descendants of the phoenix, cannot compare.

Even the position of an ordinary single-virtue phoenix is lower than that of Suzaku, this celestial spirit. Only the five-virtue phoenix, with all five virtues, can surpass it.

The Contemporary Suzaku refers to the strongest one among the divine bird clan, the pinnacle below the gods and demons.

"It's actually like this..."

Hearing this, everyone's faces were solemn. The leading craftsman, Chu Wu, looked serious, but his tone relaxed: "If this senior takes action, it can truly be said to be foolproof!"

At the same time.

Underground, deep in the Northern Ridge earth's veins.

"Am I...dead?"

When Yan Changfeng, who had fallen into a coma after being enveloped by the Five Virtues Divine Light, woke up leisurely, he found that he had not died and his soul had not returned to the legendary Nine Nethers. Instead, he was still enveloped by the Divine Light.

The mighty power locked his body and mind. Even thinking was extremely stagnant, and could only operate sluggishly like a rusted machine.

Five Virtues Divine Light...

--The Five Virtues of Heaven are Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth--

--The Five Virtues of the Heart are Virtue, Righteousness, Propriety, Benevolence, and Faith--

This is the great神通(divine power) that the Five Virtues Saint, said to be the reincarnation of the phoenix, and the New Dynasty Holy Emperor Ming Zhengde, relied on to become famous and invincible.

It can be used to sweep across the heavens and the earth, returning the world to purity and brightness; it can also be used to educate all living beings and correct people's moral hearts.

This is what the so-called phoenix is.

Bearing the 'Virtue of Heaven and Earth' and the 'Virtue of People's Hearts', representing perfection, enlightenment, and nirvana.

Whether it is all living beings or the creation of the world, everything is under the wings of the phoenix.

Therefore, even the Heavenly Devil Seed residing in people's hearts can be easily suppressed, or even shattered, by the Five Virtues Divine Light.

In the past, when Zhengyang State was still around, Yan Changfeng, who followed the Lord of Zhengyang, Nan Zhengkai, often heard the leader he was loyal to and the heads of other aristocratic families discuss this topic.

Something about the 'Spirit of the Phoenix' floating between heaven and earth, the 'God of the Phoenix' residing in the hearts of all people, and the power of the supreme gods and demons being rooted in this...That Five Virtues Sect Leader Ming Zhengde happened to be in accordance with this, so he awakened the Five Virtues great神通(divine power).

Such discussions were not uncommon.

However...

Yan Changfeng did not try to understand and analyze this information.

His life had always been just practicing swords, going to war, and then completing tasks.

What phoenix, what gods and demons, what Five Virtues Holy Emperor, he really didn't understand.

He was a member of a martial general family, following the court's orders to kill people and the gods' and demons' orders to complete tasks. What was strange about that?

Killing people was not strange, being killed was not strange either. Wasn't that the life of a martial general?

Since the troubled times were not pacified by Zhengyang State, it was normal for them to be pacified by the New Dynasty.

And it was normal for Zhengyang State to be unable to accept this, so they had to make trouble and sabotage.

There was no morality to speak of in the fighting between the two countries...

What was abnormal were those who insisted on defining their actions as good or evil.

Yan Changfeng, thought like this intermittently.

He was not afraid of death, and even yearned for it a little.

Anyway, his mission had failed. It was normal to die. He would not have any unwillingness or any burden. When a swordsman killed someone, he had already thought of the ending.

However...at this moment.

At this moment, the man heard a voice.

It was the conversation between 'Zhuzhou' and 'Ming Zhengde'.

"...What you want to know is about the Ancient Phoenix-Dragon Great Tribulation!"

Northern Ridge mountain area.

Underground spiritual vein node.

In the natural earth's vein formation like blood vessels, in the dark underground cavity, Yan Changfeng blankly listened to the two powerful figures who had defeated him.

--The Tribulation of Immortality?

--The Ancient Phoenix-Dragon Great Tribulation?

Ming Zhengde and Su Zhou's conversation seemed to skip over countless probes and mutual understandings that should have been there. The two people seemed to have already communicated in another field, and now they were directly discussing these 'tribulations' that Yan Changfeng had never even heard of in the depths of the earth's veins.

And what surprised Yan Changfeng the most was that the next topic shifted to himself.

"Before talking about such important matters, shouldn't we kill him?"

Su Zhou turned his head and looked at the Five Virtues Divine Light surrounding Ming Zhengde.

Deep inside, he could vaguely see a small figure, which was Yan Changfeng's suppressed body: "There's no need for him to hear these things. He's just a poor fellow who single-mindedly practiced the sword, even turning himself into a sword, instead of being a swordsman."

For the youth, Yan Changfeng was just a simple Zhengyang remnant, an evildoer who intended to destroy Northern Ridge and kill hundreds of thousands of people.

Even the Devouring Evil Demon Lord Divine Power could clearly see the scarlet and fiery killing and evil energy on this person's body.

But even Yan Changfeng, who thought he would be completely crushed soon, did not expect that Ming Zhengde would shake his head with a complex expression.

"He will submit...or rather, there is no need to kill him now."

--In the many lifetimes of repeated rebirth, even Yan Changfeng had many times when he did not pledge allegiance to Nan Zhengkai, or was moved by him midway.

Therefore, Ming Zhengde knew very well that Yan Changfeng simply did not have the ability to distinguish between good and evil, and simply completed any task.

And this loyal fool was even more loyal when he belonged to him.

In one lifetime, Yan Changfeng even realized his mistakes and confusion, and began to wield his sword for himself and for the peaceful future of all living beings in this world, instead of simply wielding his sword according to the orders of his master--and in that lifetime, his strength greatly increased, and his cultivation even touched the edge of gods and demons.

It was a pity that the gods and demons of that lifetime learned of his plan through the Heavenly Devil Seed that eroded people's hearts...Then all the gods and demons took action in anger, wiping out the capital of the New Kingdom, killing all the Zhenren of the New Kingdom, and returning the world to the era of warring states.

Even Ming Zhengde, under the Heavenly Emperor's blow, which was like the vast sun in the sky, melted away along with the entire surface of Central Continent.

In that battle, Yan Changfeng died to protect Ming Zhengde. Ming Zhengde also learned from that lifetime that although the Five Virtues Divine Light could shield ordinary gods and demons' thoughts, it might not be able to block the thoughts of the God Emperors and Devil Kings.

--Yan Changfeng is not an incurable evildoer...It's just that I didn't invite him in this lifetime.

So, is the karma he created in this lifetime related to me?

With such complex emotions, Ming Zhengde did not kill Yan Changfeng in the first place, but merely suppressed him.

In response, Su Zhou nodded slightly in his heart.

"Sure enough, this Ming Zhengde is obviously a reborn person, and has been reborn countless times...This Yan Changfeng must have had a good relationship with him in the past."

According to Su Zhou when he extracted the perfect aura, he knew that even Bai Yingxue had at least a dozen or dozens of chances to be reborn.

Although Ming Zhengde is not yet a '眷族(Subordinate/Family)', judging from the achievements he has made, he should have experienced hundreds of rebirths, at least more than a hundred times is certain.

"Although, theoretically speaking, one lifetime is independent of another. If you are cold-blooded and smart, you should focus on the relationship in the current lifetime and act, without worrying about the old feelings of past partners."

"But if there is not even this point of empathy, Ming Zhengde should not have become the Holy Emperor he is today."

Although it was only a short sentence, Su Zhou also understood Ming Zhengde's thoughts in his heart even more.

So he didn't bother to care about Yan Changfeng, who was confused and incomprehensible in the divine light, and said straightforwardly: "Since you don't care, then let's continue."

"Naturally."

Nodding slightly, Ming Zhengde's expression was solemn.

Then, he told Su Zhou a corner of the truth about this world.

At the beginning, he spoke about the part that Su Zhou was most interested in.

"In folk myths, it was the Primordial Five Virtues Phoenix who opened up the heavens and the earth and created all things, but in fact, according to the most primitive records in the genealogies of many divine bird clans, everything is not like this."

"In the beginning of all things, there was a struggle between the phoenix and the dragon, and the chaotic catastrophe affected the heavens. The Genesis Phoenix defeated the Primal True Dragon before opening up the heavens and the earth and creating all living beings."

"No one knows how powerful the Primal True Dragon is, but since it is an existence that can compete with the Genesis Phoenix, its imprint must be left in our world today--it is also rumored that it is precisely because the Primal True Dragon cast a curse on this world that the heavens and the earth are flawed, and all living beings have an end and cannot attain perfect transcendence."

"That is the so-called Tribulation of Immortality."

Perhaps because the creation was too tiring, or because it was seriously injured by the Primal True Dragon, the Genesis Phoenix underwent nirvana, and countless innate spirits and divine bird descendants were born... that is, the first 'gods and demons' were born.

The so-called gods and demons are the first batch of naturally extraordinary creatures in this 'Tian Yuan World'.

It may be a flame that has opened its spirit, a lump of soil that has opened its spirit, any thing that has opened its spirit... Of course, the many divine birds born with the phoenix's feathers are one of them.

And the most powerful one created the Immortal God Heavenly Court, ruled almost all the innate spirits, established the God-Demon calendar as the common master of all things in the world, and established the 'Primordial Heavenly Emperor' of the current 'All Stars Heavenly Dao'.

"Although even I am not very clear about the origins of the Primordial Heavenly Emperor, and what exactly is the All Stars Heavenly Dao...but Zhenren Zhuzhou."

Saying this, Ming Zhengde raised his head, his gaze seemed to be able to penetrate hundreds of thousands of meters of deep rock and soil, directly seeing the stars: "Originally, there were no stars in this world."

"Can you understand this point?"

"Primal True Dragon...and the All Stars Heavenly Dao."

Hearing this, Su Zhou frowned slightly. He first lowered his head and looked at the deep earth's veins under his feet, and then raised his head, his eyes flashing and penetrating all things, looking at the stars in the sky: "It's actually like this... Then it seems that the moving stars before were obviously a bit of a problem. That's the Immortals' and Gods' movements."

"Yes, those stars, each one represents an Immortal Heaven Immortal God. The movement of the stars proves that they are taking action."

Ming Zhengde said leisurely: "In short, the Primordial Heavenly Emperor was extremely strict and set down divine laws and celestial rules that almost annihilated all personal will, intending to turn all Immortal Gods into spokespersons for certain rules or even phenomena--it is also because of this that some Immortal Gods in the original Heavenly Court rejected this life. They rebelled against the Heavenly Court and created various organizations with themselves as the core."

"That is the prototype of the demons--the source of the first Devil Gods."

Under the rule of the Primordial Heavenly Emperor, the Heavenly Court was located at the top of the world. Even many Devil Gods were just some weak and verbose objectors.

However, as more and more acquired spirits comprehended the method of cultivation and began to cultivate with spiritual light.

The original innate spirits began to worry.

They worried whether these fragile flesh and blood species could cultivate to the same level as them, or even surpass them.

Therefore, the gods and demons joined forces to collect all the 'immortal materials' in the world,归于己身(attributed to oneself), and then split the original world, opening up the two great realms of 'Immortal Heaven Divine Realm' and 'Nine Nether Devil Land'.

"If the original Tribulation of Immortality was just a mythological explanation of 'lifespan', then the real Tribulation of Immortality began from this point."

At this point, Ming Zhengde paused for a moment, and then shook his head slightly: "...These were all told to me by those divine birds. After all, the oldest beings in this world are not the gods and demons, but the divine birds who were born at the same time as heaven and earth and settled in the major continents. Some of them became gods and demons, and others still remained in the ancestral lands of the earth. It was through various means that I obtained the support of these divine birds, so I was able to get to where I am today."

"Undoubtedly, they obviously concealed something, such as how a group of scattered Devil Gods joined forces to create the Nine Nethers, who the first Devil Lord was... But in general, the situation is roughly like this."

"According to my research, I can also know that something should be missing in the heavens and the earth today, and before that thing was missing, even if the earth's veins absorbed lifespan, all living beings could naturally resist the power of the earth's veins to absorb lifespan. And we don't know what that thing is, so we simply call it immortal material, a longevity material."

"So that's it." Su Zhou, who had been listening patiently, nodded slightly: "After the Dragon-Phoenix Great Tribulation, the world was born, and the gods and demons collected the immortal materials and created the Tribulation of Immortality to suppress the acquired beings, causing the lifespan of all living beings to be lost and suppressing the mortal world?"

He thought to himself: "This immortal material doesn't seem to be spirituality...Or rather, it's not just spirituality?"

"Listening to Ming Zhengde's words, for the people of this world, the earth's veins absorbing lifespan seems to be a matter of course, without any impropriety, and even has a kind of 'all living beings are born of the earth and return to the earth' meaning. On the contrary, that so-called 'immortal material' sounds like something that was deliberately created to hinder the earth from absorbing the energy of all living beings."

Thinking of the Primal True Dragon that contended with the Phoenix of Genesis in the beginning, combined with the huge will fragments I sensed in the depths of the earth's veins... and Ming Zhengde's forged 'Dragon-Snake Sacrificial Pillars', as well as this world's attitude towards the Dragon and Snake as taboos.

Su Zhou had some vague guesses in his heart--and Ming Zhengde was implying this in his words.

"Could it be that the Tian Yuan mortal realm itself is... like the Primordial Dragon world, like the Ancestral Dragon that surrounds the world?"

Speaking to himself in his heart, he couldn't be completely sure yet.

"Yes."

At this time, Ming Zhengde also responded to Su Zhou's previous summary. The young emperor closed his eyes, feeling the majestic power in the depths of the earth's veins. He said softly: "No matter what the truth is, the fact is that the gods and demons oppress all living beings, and without the immortal material and the opportunity to attain the Dao, it is difficult for all living beings to give birth to gods and demons again."

"After the Immortal Heaven Nine Nethers were opened up, the peak of cultivation in the Tian Yuan mortal realm was the 'Zhenren (True Person)'. No matter how many amazing and talented people have emerged in the middle, or even those who can slightly contend with gods and demons with the body of a Zhenren, their final result is to turn into yellow earth."

"And the aggravation of the Tribulation of Immortality began tens of thousands of years ago, when a Great Freely Heavenly Devil Lord appeared in the Nine Nether Devil Realm. This Heavenly Devil Lord was ambitious and united the originally chaotic Nine Nethers, creating an order belonging to the Heavenly Devils."

"He competed with the second Heavenly Emperor, Tai Hao, after the Primordial Heavenly Emperor, and eventually disappeared together three thousand years ago, causing the Immortal Heaven Nine Nethers, which had already been turbulent for various reasons, to be wrapped in spacetime turbulence, and even broke through spacetime, releasing the 'Scale', 'Feather', and 'Kun' three major 'Wild Demon Races' from unknown places, invading the Immortal Heaven and the mortal realm."

"Although the Wild Demons have now been suppressed and eliminated, since the battle between the Heavenly Emperor and the Devil Lord and the birth of all demons, the Tribulation of Immortality has been further aggravated, and the lifespan of almost all realms has been reduced by nearly one-third. The Tribulation of Immortality has intensified again--and the Nine Nethers have taken advantage of the situation to rise up, and for a time can confront the Immortal Heaven, which had been in an advantageous position in the past."

After finishing his words in one breath, Ming Zhengde sighed: "Regardless of whether those divine birds have concealed anything, in any case, the gods and demons are indeed a malignant tumor entrenched on the bodies of all living beings in this world."

"As long as they exist, it is absolutely impossible for the people of this Tian Yuan mortal realm to usher in happiness."

"Therefore, I want to seek survival for all living beings and open up a path to isolate the gods and demons and cut off the Tribulation of Immortality... but the night is long and I can't see the dawn."

At this point, Ming Zhengde turned his head and looked at Su Zhou. He said solemnly: "Zhenren Zhuzhou, you must have sensed the 'Primal True Dragon Earth's Vein Sacrificial Pillars' that I set up in the depths of the earth's veins? You seemed to have attracted it before, so I don't need to hide it from you."

"This Earth's Vein Sacrificial Pillar is a key part of my plan to use the earth's veins to 절지천통(Sever the connection between heaven and earth)... The details of which I can't elaborate on now, but if you go to the New Dynasty capital and sign a contract with me, I will definitely tell you everything truthfully!"

"Naturally, you and I have known each other for less than half an hour, how can we say much?"

In this regard, Su Zhou didn't care. He looked at Ming Zhengde and said with a smile: "And you have said enough, I can fully feel your sincerity."

"That's very good."

Sighing softly, Ming Zhengde nodded with a complex expression.

Indeed, there were still many things he had not explained in detail. Even though he knew that Zhuzhou was not an enemy, some information was of great importance and could not be told casually.

And even if Su Zhou peered with the Mind of No Thought, he couldn't analyze the complex emotions flowing in his eyes clearly.

Afterwards, Ming Zhengde bowed slightly to Su Zhou and performed a salute: "Zhenren Zhuzhou, you have protected the people of Northern Ridge, and killed the remnants of Zhengyang and even the incarnations possessed by gods and demons. Here, I would like to thank you on their behalf."

After Su Zhou accepted this frankly, he also returned the salute, which immediately made Ming Zhengde wonder: "Why is that? I respect Zhenren for protecting all living beings, why are you saluting me?"

"Because you plan to continue the lifespan for all living beings and defy the gods and demons."

The youth replied straightforwardly: "It sounds very refreshing to go against the world like this and fight those guys, so why not salute?"

"Do whatever you want? That sounds like a bit of the Great Freely Heart Technique..."

Hearing this, Ming Zhengde frowned slightly, but soon shook his head: "No, there is no aura of gods and demons on Zhenren Zhuzhou's body, I'm thinking too much."

"Huh?"

On the contrary, Su Zhou couldn't help but be slightly stunned after hearing this.

Because Ming Zhengde didn't think too much--his natal divine power, the Devouring Evil Devil Lord, if cultivated to the highest realm, is indeed a realm called 'Great Freedom'.

--Do whatever you want, good and evil are up to you, that is the foundation of Great Freedom.

When he said that the second Devil Lord was the Great Freely Heavenly Devil Lord before, he had muttered a homonym in his heart. He didn't expect that there would actually be a corresponding cultivation method?

Therefore, Su Zhou directly asked: "Then what is that?"

Probably because this was a well-known thing, Ming Zhengde sighed softly and then said: "A god-demon cultivation method that the Nine Nethers intend to promote in the human world. Similarly, the Immortal Heaven also intends to promote the 'Way of the Saint' cultivation method in the human world."

"Gods and demons can't descend to the mortal world, it's just that they don't want to because the price is too high, so they would rather support human forces to use for them--originally that force was Zhengyang State, and I defeated Zhengyang, so they found me."

"Through...various attempts. I have explored the bottom line of the gods and demons, and rejected most of the privilege treaties of the gods and demons, but letting the New Dynasty promote their cultivation method is the bottom line. If they are unwilling, they will definitely send gods to the world, causing the people to suffer."

"In order to gain time for stable development, I signed a contract with the gods and demons on this basis. They can't personally interfere with the development of the New Dynasty, but I also have to let these two major cultivation methods be popularized in the world."

At this point, Ming Zhengde looked at Su Zhou, his gaze burning, as if waiting for Su Zhou's response and views.

After all, this behavior of his is no different from cooperating with gods and demons in essence... This behavior, which seems to be inconsistent with the previous great wish, may indeed confuse people, and even doubt his determination.

--If you don't resist absolutely, it's absolutely not resistance. There will always be people in this world who say that.

In fact, Ming Zhengde didn't need to say these words at all, but for some reason, facing this Zhuzhou, the 'anomaly' that he hadn't seen in three thousand worlds, he couldn't help but say a little more, wanting to observe the other party's reaction.

And Su Zhou's reaction was indeed beyond his expectations.

"Awesome, can you let me see these god-demon cultivation methods?"

There was no rejection as imagined.

Su Zhou even started asking for it with great interest: "I want to see what these gods and demons want to do, who previously hindered all living beings from cultivating, and now want to promote their cultivation methods!"

"This..."

Startled in his heart, Ming Zhengde didn't expect Su Zhou to be so straightforward. He blinked his eyes, and even a hint of confusion appeared in his phoenix eyes.

--Aren't divine birds supposed to be knowledgeable in etiquette, possess virtue, be reserved and euphemistic in their words and deeds, and extremely proud?

He was a little puzzled before. This Zhuzhou doesn't look like a divine bird at all, even the Chongming bird is not as strong as him. Now it seems that the characteristics of the divine bird, which is 'not speaking human language' and 'twisting ten sentences in one sentence', are not there at all, and it is incredibly straightforward.

But no matter how confused he was, Ming Zhengde still stretched out his hand and condensed two inheritance imprints out of thin air with his divine sense, and pushed them to Su Zhou: "This is it--I have studied these two cultivation methods in detail, and I remember them fairly completely, but if you really want to perceive the original meaning of this god-demon cultivation method, you still have to go back to the Central Continent capital and directly sense the God-Demon Tablet."

"Also, I heard that Zhenren, you need divine iron to sublimate your divine weapon? Although my New Dynasty treasury is not abundant, a few pieces of divine iron, and even the clues to the god-demon level spiritual materials that you must be interested in, Zhenren, can still be taken out."

"Thank you, you've helped me a lot."

Thanking him straightforwardly and taking the two great inheritance imprints, Su Zhou of course understood Ming Zhengde's hidden meaning--to put it bluntly, the other party just wanted him to go to the capital to sign a cooperation contract, the sooner the better.

There was nothing strange about this. After all, only when both parties showed sincerity could the next cooperation continue to unfold.

So he simply replied: "Later, I will go to the capital with you to take a look."

At this point, it was roughly over.

Ming Zhengde's trip was precisely to meet Zhuzhou and see what kind of existence this anomaly that hadn't appeared in three thousand worlds was, whether it was good or evil, strong or weak.

And now the result has been revealed, making him extremely happy--although the divine bird Zhuzhou seems to have a tribulation when it is born, it cares about the common people. Even the most friendly of the many divine birds is far inferior to him. Its strength can even contend with the descent of gods and demons, and if they cooperate, it can truly be a great help.

"Perhaps...is this the change I have always wanted?"

Thinking secretly in his heart, Ming Zhengde found it difficult to explain the complex emotions in his heart, which was a collection of countless contradictory emotions such as joy, doubt, curiosity, vigilance, worry, and relaxation.

As a reborn person, he longed for everything to be extremely stable, and every world to maintain its original state before he made changes, so that he could recover from regrets. But in reality, every time he implemented it, he felt pain because of the difficult and涩(harsh/rough) reality, and longed for a change that could break the deadlock.

Of course, what made him unable to grasp the most was whether 'Zhuzhou' would appear in the 'next world'.

--If Zhuzhou appears every time after this, then that would be great.

--If it is a 'miracle' that only happens once in three thousand worlds, then after this failure, he can just come again for three thousand worlds and see if he can break the situation.

--But what if it's only this once, and there is no future opportunity?

The various possibilities made Ming Zheng