The power of the Holy Emperor Venerable's Golden Sword Rainbow far exceeded the limit that a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator could withstand. After completely evaporating Hu Xuanjia's body, it continued to rush westward, slashing towards the Ghost Mysterious Fog that shrouded the Black Market all year round. As if parting clouds to see the sun, sunlight suddenly shone into the Ghost Mysterious Fog.

All the Ancient Method Practitioners who had refined the Ghost Mysterious Fog felt a pain in their chests. Those who were too greedy and refined deeply even spat blood on the spot.

Amidst the clash of the two swords, the sword strike formed by the Dao Heart Pure Yang Spell intersected with the Golden Sword Rainbow of the Holy Emperor Venerable. The spell power of the Heart Demon Curse completely erupted within this region, impacting the connections of the Human Dao System and making them blurry. For a moment, no one could possibly find Wang Qi through these connections.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Wang Qi took back his vestment robe, ring, and shoulder armor, then casually took Lian Xinjie and continued walking a few steps. When there was no one around, he finally seemed unable to suppress his injuries and vomited a mouthful of blood.

"Wang..."

"Senior Brother Lian, when there's no need to conceal identity, my name is Xia Li," Wang Qi coldly stated, appearing to resume his role-playing demeanor. Meanwhile, he took out healing elixirs from his storage bag and swallowed them in large gulps.

He was truly injured. The battle with the Holy Emperor Venerable was the result of him taking elixirs beyond his capacity. Additionally, he was also harmed by the Holy Emperor Venerable's counterattack at the end. Compared to that, the damage caused by the breaking of the Ghost Mysterious Fog was negligible!

Without being able to use the Life Flame, being injured was also troublesome. Wang Qi swallowed three bottles of different elixirs and then casually threw the empty bottles into the sea.

—No one noticed that Wang Qi consumed three small bottles of elixirs, but he threw off four empty bottles.

The last time at Luochen Sword Palace's main hall, he hadn't completely used up Mi's body, and a portion was still left.

The body of Mi, the leader of the Sea God Type, finally re-integrated into the sea.

In a few more days, Senior Sister Mi could regain some of her form in this sea area. By then, Wang Qi's assurance would be much greater.

After doing all this, Wang Qi then followed Lian Xinjie, slowly heading towards Luochen Sword Palace. Wang Qi glanced back at the Ghost Black Market with a bit of regret, feeling that many anticipated face-slapping plots couldn't unfold. Suddenly, his gaze fixed on the center of the breached Ghost Mysterious Fog.

Wang Qi pulled Lian Xinjie and pointed to the center of the Black Market, asking, "Senior Brother Lian, did you see that just now?"

Lian Xinjie turned back and found, surprisingly, a giant shrine standing in the Ghost Black Market, showing a slight expression of surprise: "Huh? The True God of the Ghost Mysterious Altar in legends?"

"True God of the Ghost Mysterious Altar?" Wang Qi didn't know such a god existed and hurriedly asked, "What kind of god is this?"

"If I have to say, it's probably the creator of the Ghost Black Market according to legend?" Lian Xinjie scratched his head and said, "The Ghost Mysterious Fog wasn't always naturally there but appeared suddenly one day. It's said to be released by this True God of the Ghost Mysterious Altar. All transactions within the Ghost Black Market are under its protection. Legend says only a very few who get lost in the Ghost Mysterious Fog will encounter its shrine... I didn't expect this legend to be true..."

Wang Qi asked mindlessly, "Do you have to worship the shrine to get back on the right path upon encountering it?"

Lian Xinjie nodded in confusion: "There's such a saying, but how did you know that?"

At this time, Wang Qi consulted Zhen Chan, who was maintaining contact through Secret Techniques: "Old man, what's your take?"

"A craft of the Holy Emperor Venerable." Zhen Chan's voice was weak, but Wang Qi could still sense the smirk in it, "A god matching Innate Yin Merit and Innate Merit, widely known even among cultivators under the Holy Emperor Venerable's rule. If there wasn't the Banished Immortal's manipulation in this, I'd be the first to not believe it."

"Indeed," Wang Qi nodded and said, "If I'm not wrong, among those mortals raised like livestock by cultivators, there would also be Divine Tao beliefs, and the deities they believe in, we might not have even heard of."

Zhen Chan immediately understood, "You mean... the Holy Emperor Venerable is 'creating gods'?"

"To him, a god is probably a Divine Skill," Wang Qi said, "In the end, I saw that dense colorful Divine Light on him and the three concentric circle emblem on his forehead—he even refined the Benevolent Father Holy Son Gentle Wind King."

Zhen Chan just realized, "No wonder I found those two fools so familiar... That Northern Barbarian is Longevity Heaven; that Southern Barbarian... I have an impression... Great Wilderness God! No wonder it's so familiar!"

"The Holy Emperor Venerable's secret isn't small!" Wang Qi chuckled, "He not only refined the Shenzhou Continent's age-old supreme Divine Tao's deity but also the Supreme Gods of the Southern Barbarians and Northern, refining countless small deities. Even with this, he isn't satisfied and still wants to create more gods, refining new deities."

Zhen Chan seemed puzzled, "But why create so many small gods? The True God of the Ghost Mysterious Altar doesn't seem weak, but... even if you make ten thousand of such small gods, wouldn't they be less valuable than a Benevolent Father Holy Son Gentle Wind King?"

Wang Qi leisurely followed behind Lian Xinjie, thinking carefully. At this point, how could Lian Xinjie dare to speak with someone who poked the Holy Emperor Venerable's beard? He neither dared to urge, just letting him walk slowly.

Suddenly, Wang Qi's eyes lit up. He recalled the thought of Mei Gemu.

—The Modern Heretics and the Holy Emperor Venerable are birds of a feather...

"I see!" Inspiration flashed in Wang Qi's mind, "I got it! Mei Gemu misunderstood the Heart Demon Curse!"

The Heart Demon Curse is the most poisonous part that was separated from the Divine Tao System. Any Divine Spirit contains the Heart Demon Algorithm, it's just a matter of its strength.

And the completely isolated Heart Demon Curse has an infectiousness far beyond what a normal Divine Spirit could ever hope to achieve.

If a Heart Demon Curse fully erodes a Mortal World, then from an outcome perspective, there's not much difference from a Divine Tao ruling the world.

And, Divine Spirits are the hubs of the Divine Tao System, which can be regarded as the "AI" of the Human Dao; controlling a Divine Spirit is equivalent to gaining part of the Human Dao's authority.

"The Holy Emperor Venerable's goal is probably to refine the entire Human Dao through these Divine Spirits!"

This thought left even Zhen Chan dumbfounded: "This... this... is an unprecedented monumental achievement! The Holy Emperor Venerable could become an extraordinary Immortal just by cultivating this Dao!"

Wang Qi then let out a long breath: "I finally understand..."

"Understand what?"

"Several unsolved mysteries in history." Wang Qi sighed and said: "With the banished immortal abilities of the Holy Emperor Venerable, how could his Emperor's Extreme Split Sky Dao be suppressed by the Holy Infant Sect, to the point of being confined to Shenzhou's West Continent? Also, several hundred years ago, an unknown Demon Emperor Xi Clan caused an internal conflict in the Modern Immortal Path, which almost led to its destruction when joined by Intermediate Skill Cultivators. Demon Emperor Xi Clan was merely a few hundred years old at that time and was able to achieve such a level. What he could accomplish, the Holy Emperor Venerable has no reason not to be able to... Several hundred years ago, when the Immortal Alliance had not yet been established, the Holy Emperor Venerable could completely change his identity and create havoc..."

Zhen Chan chuckled twice, evidently having thought of something: "Perhaps... the Holy Emperor Venerable didn't care about the Emperor's Extreme Split Sky Dao at all, nor did he care about the Ancient Method Immortal Path. He deliberately abandoned the Shenzhou Continent, allowing the Holy Infant Sect to prosper, nurturing this eternal ultimate Divine Tao to provide for his refinement. With this thought in mind, the incident where the descending Holy Infant was killed by his own witchcraft practitioners, and his Divine Spirit body divided into three to become Compassionate Father, Holy Child, and Pure Wind King, seems suspicious..."

Divine Spirit Cultivators can see through every thought of their witchcraft practitioners. If they can't see through, it means that the witchcraft practitioner has developed betrayal intentions and can be killed. Under these circumstances, it's almost impossible for a witchcraft practitioner to betray and harm a Divine Spirit.

However, back then, the Holy Infant Great Master accomplished it.

This event might have been manipulated by the Holy Emperor Venerable behind the scenes!

He allowed the growth of the Modern Heretics, probably with this mindset.

Then later...

"Pff hahaha..." Zhen Chan suddenly let out a gloating laugh: "So that's it, that Holy Emperor Venerable guy, to use your words, he played too much! Back then, he thought that the Modern Immortal Path, though a heterodox path, could also become a nutrient for the Human Dao. Yet, within just a few hundred years, Carefree Practitioners with fighting power on par with him appeared like dumplings. Then, with the push of the Modern Cultivator, the reform of the Shenzhou Human Dao accelerated, and the Holy Emperor Venerable's analytical speed probably couldn't keep up, unable to create a god in Shenzhou..."

"The end result was that he completely overreached, and eight thousand years of effort went down the drain! Ahahaha!"

"Moreover, he and the Demon Emperor are different; he is in the open, and the Demon Emperor is in the shadows. What the Demon Emperor can achieve, the Holy Emperor Venerable might not be able to!"

Yet, Wang Qi remained silent.

Is it really... really like this?

He had an even more terrifying thought.

Millennia ago, the Holy Emperor Venerable had the opportunity to destroy the Modern Immortal Path.

Shenzhou and Earth have been deliberately opposed by some unknowable Great Divine Power User within destiny. Are these banished immortals also part of that unknown being's plan? A plan of "history"?

The Holy Emperor Venerable watched as the nascent Modern Cultivator grew, and that unknown banished Immortal became a projection of some great sinner on Earth.

Undoubtedly, the Holy Emperor is a banished immortal, and so is the Demon Emperor. Even as exalted immortals, they cannot escape the influence of that Great Divine Power User, nor even realize such influence?

Where exactly is the ceiling of power in this universe...

This terrifying thought spun in Wang Qi's mind before being suppressed. At this stage, this question is as irrelevant as "a brain in a vat," utterly meaningless.

What's necessary for Wang Qi now is to improve himself.

And so, Wang Qi followed Lian Xinjie to the entrance of the Luochen Sword Palace. Then, both stopped in their tracks, displaying puzzled expressions.

At this moment, above the Luochen Sword Palace, auspicious light shone from thousands of paths, and Sword Qi from every direction. Those intricate arcs of Sword Qi twisting and turning in the air surprisingly formed layers of drapery.

"What's going on here?"