Chapter 134: The Bad News Keeps Coming

It seems that those who targeted Zhou Tian’s mother back then were indeed from a major power in the Astral Realm.

Before Zhou Tian could speak, Zhou Changsheng continued, “This story is a long one, and it is hard to say who was right or wrong in many aspects. I will let Zhou Yi tell you the details later; this old man won’t meddle further.”

Zhou Tian swallowed the question he was about to ask. Since Zhou Changsheng did not wish to speak, there was nothing he could do.

“The recent chaos has all been stirred up by those ancient deities from the God Realm. It is unclear why they are so fixated on this land that has already been devastated, but after brewing for so many years, they are determined to take it back.”

Zhou Tian’s heart stirred, and he spoke up, “Is it because of the emergence of the ‘Heavenly Mandate’? I once learned from the leader of a divine cult that the condition for becoming the King of Gods is to obtain the ‘Heavenly Mandate’.”

Zhou Changsheng did not look surprised. “We had our suspicions about this as well. In ancient times, the complete Heavenly Mandate of the Nine Realms possessed unfathomable power and was a necessary condition for becoming the supreme authority of a realm. As the world shattered, the Heavenly Mandate lost much of its power, but I never expected that the Heavenly Mandate of the God-Forsaken Land would still possess such miraculous functions.”

“By the way,” Zhou Tian continued, “she also said that the faith of the King of Gods is the gods themselves. The reopening of the Pantheon is meant to release enough divine seats. One of the goals of those ancient deities might be to become the King of Gods.”

These major powers were always well-informed, and it was hard for them to be ignorant of anything, but Zhou Tian did not want to overlook a single detail.

“Oh?” Zhou Changsheng’s eyes shimmered with a golden light; this was something he indeed had not known. “So that’s it. I wondered why those deities would pay such a high price to harness the power of the Pantheon. I thought they were truly naive enough to believe we would just let them spread their faith.”

“We have studied this path too little; many things remain unclear.”

Having said that, Zhou Changsheng turned his gaze to Zhou Tian. “You cannot absorb spiritual energy, can you? Have you ever thought about trying this path? I know you have your own destiny, but having more paths is always a good thing.”

This suggestion left Zhou Tian slightly stunned. To be honest, he had never considered it. Although he had traveled to the Pantheon with Musu and had thoughts of competing for a divine seat, he had never truly considered walking the path of faith—it was simply too troublesome.

Spreading faith, responding to the prayers of believers, and maintaining one’s status—it was incredibly tedious. Moreover, due to his past life, he was not accustomed to a crowd kneeling before him and chanting, “My Lord.” It always gave him the strange feeling of being in a community welfare program.

“I think I’ll pass,” Zhou Tian declined.

“We’ll see. In any case, we have to go to the Pantheon eventually, and we will certainly seize quite a few divine seats. These are authentic divine seats from the God Realm. I want to see how they differ from the ones we’ve cobbled together ourselves and those wandering ancient holy spirits.”

Zhou Changsheng noted that they had experimented by imitating the path of the God Realm, but the results were far inferior to the genuine articles. When the Pantheon opened, they would definitely have to go and join the fray.

Zhou Tian nodded without saying more. Having resolved many doubts with Zhou Changsheng, he couldn't think of anything else for the moment. After pondering for a while, he said, “Grandfather, if there is nothing else, I will take my leave.”

Zhou Changsheng waved his hand. “I didn’t call you here for anything else, just to keep you informed. You may go now; I need to meet with a few fellow daoists to discuss matters.”

Zhou Tian bowed and prepared to leave. Just as he reached the door, he suddenly recalled one more thing. He turned back and said, “Grandfather, Zhang Yi is still missing. I’m afraid he…”

Zhou Changsheng recognized the name Zhang Yi and said calmly, “It doesn’t matter. We never intended to send anyone to rescue him anyway. Since we have his soul-fire, we can just have the Ancestor resurrect him later. Going to that place would likely just lead to an ambush.”

“The God-Forsaken Land is currently shrouded in something unspeakable; we cannot contact the outside world. The Heavenly Pass has also been blocked by something and has remained silent. I cannot determine whether he is dead or alive.”

Zhou Tian was stunned. How did a casual remark lead to so much bad news? It meant they were now an isolated island.

“Do not worry too much. My Nine Provinces have survived greater catastrophes than this. Even several Heavenly Sovereigns have fallen in the past, yet we still pulled through. Those Heavenly Sovereigns will surely have their own contingency plans.” It was unclear whether Zhou Changsheng was truly confident or just incredibly carefree.

“I’m actually not worried,” Zhou Tian answered honestly. He was only concerned about the Zhou family; for himself, he truly felt no anxiety.

“That’s good.” Zhou Changsheng laughed heartily, not taking the situation before him to heart at all.

Zhou Tian said nothing more, fearing that Zhou Changsheng might blurt out, “Child, the truth is that the Nine Provinces are already gone, and now there’s only us old, weak, and disabled left.”

As for Zhang Yi, he would just have to pray for his own luck.

After leaving, Zhou Tian went to find Tian Ling. He hadn’t been able to say much to her before being summoned by Zhou Changsheng, and he hadn't had a proper moment with her yet.

This was the main base of the Zhou family. There were no outsiders here; it resembled a military base more than anything, with all the trading hubs located in the surrounding satellite cities.

…

Tian Ling and Zhou Tian walked side by side. The roads here were paved with blue-gray stone bricks—simple, ancient, and wide enough to accommodate the massive exotic beasts that sometimes traveled through.

“I’ve already reached the Dharma Image Realm,” Tian Ling said, her eyes crystalline and her dark hair fluttering gently. A faint, refreshing fragrance wafted into Zhou Tian’s senses.

“Our Tian Ling is the most amazing,” Zhou Tian exclaimed with a touch of exaggeration. Even though he had held his own against the old monster Saint Demon for thirty seconds, there was always room for a little flattery.

Tian Ling’s pretty face flushed slightly, and she rolled her eyes at him. “You’re just glib!”

“Glib? Tian Ling, how did you learn such slang? You know whether my tongue is glib or not.” Zhou Tian keenly grasped the keyword and launched a decisive counterattack.

Tian Ling glared at him in shy annoyance. “Nonsense!”

“Don’t hang out with that madwoman Liu Yan anymore. You didn’t use to glare at people.” Zhou Tian spoke ill of Liu Yan, convinced she was the one corrupting his Tian Ling.

“If Sister Liu heard you speaking ill of her, she would be so angry she’d burst into flames,” Tian Ling said with a smile. Her eyes curved into crescents, bright as the moon, with two dimples appearing on her exquisite face. Her laughter was as melodic as a silver bell in a quiet valley.

“I’ll let Zhou Zui handle her sooner or later,” Zhou Tian pouted.

“Zhou Zui wouldn’t dare,” Tian Ling retorted. She had learned a great deal during this time.