CHAPTER 309: CHAPTER 307: THAT GHOST!

This insignificant god...

Hmph!

I almost didn’t win!

In the valley, Wu Wang was covered in blood, standing before the battered corpse of the Scorpion-tailed minor god, his face pale and his legs trembling. Forcing back the urge to "roll his eyes and disregard everything," he immediately sat down cross-legged to quickly recover from his injuries.

If it hadn’t been for that year in the Human Emperor Pavilion—back then, it was still the Benevolent Emperor Pavilion. If not for the relentless sparring with Liu Baiyi and Xiao Jian Daoist in the Main Hall of the Benevolent Emperor Pavilion that year, which had given him a good foundation in Dueling, his own techniques honed in the Northern Wilderness would have been utterly insufficient to cope with today’s battle!

Naturally, the reason this victory was so difficult was also that Wu Wang had been holding back, not using the Divine Skills of the Stars and the Yin and Yang Path. The fierce battle here had already alarmed many Innate Gods of the Western Wilderness. Even with the protection of Yun Zhongjun’s Divine Skills, there was still no guarantee that his whereabouts would not be discovered by the Innate Gods.

Reaching out with a hand clad in a black iron armored glove, Wu Wang, his eyes filled with a fierce intensity, tore open the remains of the corpse and grasped a slick, hard, rhomboid object within. This item was the Divine Core formed inside the body of an Innate God, known by different names in different divine eras. In the Second Divine Era, this object was called Divinity. In the Third Divine Era, it was referred to as the Divine Core. By the Fourth Divine Era, as living beings began to rise, this object became taboo, something even Innate Gods would not speak of.

—Maintaining mystery and distance was also an important tactic for the Innate Gods to rule over living beings.

With Yun Zhongjun by his side and his mother watching through the necklace, Wu Wang already knew how to dissect the corpse. Seizing the god’s Divine Core was the first priority. A burst of icy blue Divine Light flashed from the necklace on his chest, and within it, a gaping mouth seemed to open, swallowing the Divine Core whole. Surging Divine Power churned within the necklace, and purified strands of Divine Power seeped into Wu Wang’s chest...

At this moment, Wu Wang’s body was riddled with hundreds of injuries, both large and small, the most terrifying being the piercing wound at his waist. This human-faced, scorpion-tailed Innate God, though not strong in Divine Power nor possessing a solid divine body, was extremely vicious in attack.

In the initial battle, Wu Wang was confident, wielding his long spear with great vigor. He aimed for the ’chrysanthemum’ first, and then his spear thrust out like a dragon. But after several clashing encounters, he decisively switched to defense, seeking the enemy’s weaknesses and counterattacking whenever opportunities arose. From then on, the situation teetered on the brink of disaster. Wu Wang was almost hit in vital areas several times, gradually being beaten until he was covered in wounds.

This was completely unlike the times he had faced the Whistling Snake. Against the Whistling Snake, both encounters were desperate fights for a chance at life, relying solely on his own momentum. Today’s battle was a test of his combat strength, with an emphasis on "technique." He was without the external support of the Star God’s divine body, was concealing his Divine Skills of the Yin and Yang Path and the Star God’s Dao, and knew nothing of this god’s abilities. He had to admit that the fatal blow he dealt at the end contained an element of gamble.

Fortunately, the Yin and Yang Path still provided him with considerable support. The dual forces of Yin and Yang surrounding his Primordial Spirit allowed him to grow stronger as the battle wore on. The continuous replenishment of his Primordial Spirit’s Divine Thought also enabled him to endure the intense pain of being stung and maintain a clear strategy.

This Scorpion Goddess died quite unjustly. She had sensed the immense danger lurking around and, while fighting fiercely against Wu Wang, still tried to find an escape route and contact her friends. Even at the moment Wu Wang seized the opportunity to launch a fierce attack, the Scorpion Goddess had not yet used her strongest Divine Skill and was already penetrated by Wu Wang at a critical point.

What Wu Wang did not expect was... The Sleep God, that ’brother’ of his, truly watched with cold detachment, without showing the slightest intent to intervene!

The Whistling Snake didn’t intervene because Wu Wang had previously ordered it not to unless he was about to be utterly destroyed—otherwise, the Whistling Snake could only secretly watch the battle. If Yun Zhongjun didn’t make a move, it was likely simply because he was too laid-back!

At that moment, a voice transmission entered Wu Wang’s ears,

"Hurry and finish up, an Innate God is coming."

Wu Wang bit hard on the tip of his tongue, shuddering three times, his drained body bursting forth with Divine Power once again. He leaped up, driving his long spear into the corpse in front of him. The Innate God’s corpse appeared even more miserable, with ruptured blood vessels and meridians surfacing on its body; most of the essence, qi, and spirit that remained within the corpse was swiftly absorbed by the divine spear.

Without the luxury of time, Wu Wang chopped off the scorpion tail with a vertical slash from his long spear, took out an empty Storage Magic Treasure to store the tail, and leaped into the air.

He immediately transmitted his voice, "Whistling Snake, support me with your Divine Power!"

"Don’t help!" Yun Zhongjun transmitted his voice in a shout, "Just pretend we don’t exist."

The look on Whistling Snake’s face at that moment could be summarized in three simple words: Who even are you?

She was about to reveal herself and help Wu Wang, but Wu Wang had already understood Yun Zhongjun’s intention and gestured to stop Whistling Snake, managing to land and barely stabilize his stance.

Standing on the mountaintop and overlooking the surroundings, Wu Wang faintly sensed several fluctuations of Divine Power. He immediately flew close to the ground at high speed, swiftly concealing his figure.

That Yun Zhongjun, honestly!

Either he was deliberately making things difficult for me, or he truly wanted to temper me!

Oh well, I always have to try and challenge my own limits.

There are many formidable enemies ahead, and today is just the beginning.

Wu Wang suddenly saw Divine Light flickering in the sky and, without much thought, darted toward the nearest dense forest. His figure blurred several times as he dove into a stream and, using the current, fled into the distance.

「A moment later.」

In the valley that had turned to scorched earth and was filled with ravines, several figures dropped down from all sides, looking around the battlefield with vigilance. The sight was startling. They each revealed their own Great Dao, and their gazes converged on the corpse of the Scorpion God.

"Who! Who did this!"

"A god killed her, plundering her Divine Power."

"This breaks the rules, the rules set by the Heaven Palace! It must be those ruthless ones from our Western Wilderness!"

"Quickly report to the Heaven Palace; this matter has nothing to do with us anymore."

"The opponent’s strength shouldn’t be that terrifying; the Spring Earth God who died was one of the weaker ones among us..."

These figures communicated with one another through Divine Thought for a while and then quickly hid their forms, leaving carefully and tentatively.

「Half a day later.」

A troop of Divine Guards arrived from the east, quickly encircling the valley. Accompanied by a pale green column of light falling from the sky, the Goddess wearing a black gauze dress slowly descended. Today, she had her hair done in a cloud bun and wore a jade belt around her waist, which, against the backdrop of the three-zhang-tall Divine Guards, made her appear even more slender and spirited. It was actually the Young Master.

She extended her toes downward, hovering three zhang above the bottom of the valley, gazing down at the corpse of the Scorpion God.

"My lord!" a Gold Armor Divine Guard stepped forward to report, "The Spring Earth God has fallen, her Divine Power taken, her body bearing multiple injuries, her vital essence largely drained. The Innate God who made the move was extremely cruel! Fortunately, the Great Dao she controlled has been reclaimed by the Heaven Palace!"

The Young Master nodded slightly, raised her hand, and pointed towards the corpse in front of her. In the next instant, countless afterimages appeared throughout the valley, causing the Divine Guards to widen their eyes and look back and forth.

Several strong Gold Armor Divine Guards exclaimed in succession, "It was a humanoid being wearing Black Armor, possibly from the Human race!"

"No, the Human race has no way to plunder Divine Power, and the methods used by this person have no similarities to those of Human Domain cultivators."

"Look, all four sides of the valley were protected by a strong Divine Power, preventing the aftermath of the battle from spreading. There must have been other Innate Gods around. It’s very likely that this was a hunt targeting the Spring Earth God, involving several Innate Gods."

The Young Master sighed lightly, and the discussions around her immediately ceased. The Divine Guards bowed their heads in salute, waiting for the Young Master to give orders.

"This matter may not have been done by the gods of the Western Wilderness," the Young Master said indifferently, "Heaven Palace rules state that anyone who kills a god and plunders Divine Power for no reason is to be struck down by all gods. Send orders down: let the gods of the Western Wilderness investigate themselves. If anyone provides clues, the Heaven Palace will surely reward them greatly."

"Yes!"

The Divine Guards responded with a resounding "Yes!" and immediately spread the command in all directions.

The Young Master gently flicked her finger, and the figure of the Scorpion God below silently melted away, turning into wisps of Divine Light and blending into the chaotic battlefield around them.

Tender shoots sprouted from the scorched earth. From the depths of the seemingly bottomless gorges, loose soil rich with endless vitality gushed forth...

「At the same time.」

A thousand miles away, at the bottom of a vast marshland, Wu Wang sat quietly in a cloud of mist. Through the gaps in his damaged Battle Armor, one could see that his wounds had mostly healed. Gazing at the scene in the valley depicted in the Cloud Mirror before him, a strange thought began to surface in his mind.

This Young Master...

Her abilities in Duel aren’t outstanding, but these bizarre ’skills’ she possesses are each more troublesome than the last.

Yun Zhongjun quietly dispersed the Cloud Mirror and transmitted his voice, "What are your thoughts on this battle?"

Wu Wang slowly exhaled four words, "A narrow escape from death."

"Purely speaking of Dueling, you are still lacking quite a bit," Yun Zhongjun did not mince words and said indifferently, "While mastering higher levels of power is important, the ability to wield that power is the foundation upon which you secure your existence. In this battle, you missed six hundred and twenty-one opportunities to strike your opponent hard. It is evident that you have a solid foundation in close-quarter combat, but if you were to face the Ancient Gods, even with equal strength, little brother, your chances of winning are slim."

Wu Wang fell silent.

Yun Zhongjun laughed and said, "Don’t be discouraged. Since you managed to overcome your adversary, it means your strength exceeds theirs. Well, luck is also a form of strength, isn’t it?"

Wu Wang: ...

My blood pressure is starting to rise!

"Hurry up and find me the next target," Wu Wang’s mouth twitched slightly. "Since the Heaven Palace values the lives of the Innate Gods so much that they even sent the Young Master, stirring the waters in the Western Wilderness will make it easier for me to act when I later enter Central Mountain."

Yun Zhongjun laughed and replied, "You can trust me with the task. Not to mention the next target, I have already prepared the next twelve Innate Gods you can hunt. But you must be aware: the first battle was the easiest because your opponent didn’t know of your existence. Now that the gods in the Western Wilderness are all aware of a divinity-slaying presence stealing Divine Power, they will be more vigilant than that scorpion and fight more desperately when they encounter you."

"Hmm." Wu Wang responded softly and fell silent for a while before adding, "I appreciate the effort, big brother."

Hidden under the lakebed rock layer, in a small ’room’ carved into the crevices and currently enjoying hotpot, Yun Zhongjun’s mouth curved into a slight smile.

"We’re just getting started, no need to rush," he transmitted his voice back. "Since the Young Master has come here, let’s play along with her. You should focus more on how to strike a fatal blow, shorten the Duel duration as much as possible, and leave the rest to me."

Off to the side, Whistling Snake stood quietly, her gaze never leaving her master.

How could Master be as worthless as that gluttonous and lazy Sleep God described?

He’s already so valiant! Rounded up, he’s practically one of the Strong Gods!

The incident of an Innate God being ambushed in the Western Wilderness spread rapidly through the Nine Wildernesses of the Great Wilderness. Even the weakest Innate Gods seldom perished, let alone suffering the dire fate of ’Divine Power being plundered’ and ’divine body being severed.’ This event struck a nerve with many Innate Gods. Even though the Human Domain and Heaven Palace were engaged in a fierce battle at Central Mountain, many eyes turned towards the Western Wilderness.

Unfortunately, the culprit had vanished without a trace. The Heaven Palace conducted searches everywhere, and experts from the Hundred Races were frequently mobilized. Almost all forces believed the act was carried out by several Innate Gods from the Western Wilderness, with at least three to four masterminds behind the scenes. Furthermore, the Human Domain was currently clashing with the Heaven Palace on the southern border of Central Mountain. Both sides had coincidentally entered a defensive stance, all while brewing a thunderous strike from within their defenses. Consequently, the turmoil in the Western Wilderness soon calmed down.

The Heaven Palace symbolically stationed some Divine Guards in the homes of several minor gods and recalled the masters of the Hundred Races back to the battlefront in the southern territory of Central Mountain.

Thus, barely half a month after the fall of the Scorpion Innate God—on a stormy night laced with thunder and rain—a dark figure silently rushed into a dense mountain forest. Layers of clouds and mist immediately rose around it.

「The next morning.」

A second incident of an Innate God being murdered occurred in the Western Wilderness. This time, the victim was the "God of Hunting and Herding" from a certain area in the Western Wilderness, who had been personally granted investiture by the Heavenly Emperor and was barely ranked among the Main Gods of the Heaven Palace. All factions within the Western Wilderness were in an uproar. The gods of the Heaven Palace were enraged. Consequently, the upper echelons of the Human Domain also began to pay attention to the sudden change of events in the Western Wilderness.

The second Innate God was likewise stripped of Divine Power, and his body was drained of vitality by some ferocious weapon. The multitude of Innate Gods in the Western Wilderness became fearful and anxious, and the Heaven Palace immediately ordered all Innate Gods to group together in threes or fives and to avoid being alone. The Head Manager and the Earth God both inquired into the matter one after another. The Young Master made another appearance in the Western Wilderness, personally leading a large number of Divine Guards to interrogate all the suspect Innate Gods. After several days of such turmoil, naturally, nothing was uncovered.

Just as the minor gods were anxiously preparing to put aside their grievances and jointly ferret out the true mastermind behind the scenes, news of the third Innate God being killed suddenly came. The third attack didn’t take place in the Western Wilderness, but rather on a piece of land in the Great Wilderness that was extremely desolate and rarely drew anyone’s attention: the Northwestern Region.

"Who exactly is plundering the Divine Power?"

When the Young Master arrived at the desert in the Northwestern Region, her expression was indescribably solemn. The body of the third Innate God lay in the huge pit created by the Duel. A crater over a hundred miles in diameter; waves of sand expanding evenly in all directions for hundreds of miles; and the remnants of Divine Power still lingering in the air... All these signs indicated that a fierce battle had just occurred here.

Like the previous two slain Innate Gods, the Innate God of this place was not well-known, and their power ranked among the lowest of the lesser gods, yet they were nominally a subordinate of the Heaven Palace. The Young Master was somewhat puzzled.

If the perpetrator were an Innate God, why would they need to plunder Divine Power in this manner?

Couldn’t they just ask for an official position in the Heaven Palace?

Didn’t they know that plundering Divine Power was a major taboo among the Innate Gods, and that once exposed, they would be utterly destroyed, with no place for burial?

This was an agreement among the gods and was also the fundamental reason why the Candle Dragon angered all the gods back then.

Could it be that the culprit is not an Innate God...?

The Young Master gazed at the shattered body of the Divine Spirit below, which lay torn apart like a ragged cloth. She swept her hand again, causing multiple afterimages to emerge from the deep pit. Soon, the Young Master noticed a slight anomaly. The number of afterimages was reduced by thirty percent compared to the site where the second Innate God’s body was found, and by sixty percent compared to the afterimages that appeared in the valley.

In other words, the perpetrator eradicated this lesser god even more swiftly in their third attack. And they had the upper hand throughout the entire process. This murderous figure, shrouded in tattered Black Armor and wrapped in black smoke—their strength must be growing at a rapid pace.

"Hmm?" The Young Master uttered a soft exclamation, a gleam of Divine Light flitting across her eyes as a Stele rose from the sand and soared into the air, suspending in front of her. She couldn’t help but be somewhat astonished.

The Divine Literature of the Third Divine Era? And this Stele was just carved; the inscriptions on it are very clear, likely written not long ago.

The Young Master effortlessly read the content the Divine Literature carried:

*In the Great Wilderness, that Ghost has returned.*

The Young Master: ...

A Ghost?

Who?

She was indeed somewhat bewildered.