Chapter 158: The Bargain

With these words, he drew a scroll from his bosom. It looked utterly ordinary, appearing to be made of nothing more than white cloth. When unfurled, there were no patterns whatsoever on its surface, achieving the utmost simplicity. Yet, an abstruse undulation echoed from it, seemingly communicating with some unknown realm.

The scroll floated upward, emitting a radiant glow. Then, a gateway of light tore open in the void. The Lord of the Holy Spirit stepped through, closely followed by the God of Death and the Lord of Thunder. The light gateway closed, leaving only a single sentence echoing in that space:

"When we return once more, we shall surely overturn the heavens and the earth!"

The holy spirits of the divine realms below also dissipated, and the portal connecting to the divine realm slammed shut.

Yan Mo was somewhat stunned, unable to understand why the Lord of the Holy Spirit and the others had departed in such haste. If the stalemate had continued, with the divine realm as their backing, the final outcome remained very much uncertain.

Moreover, the method of their departure was exceedingly bizarre; they had not left through the divine realm, but rather by employing some secret technique.

Rumble!

A moment later, a deafening sound echoed from the heavens. Everyone raised their heads to look, only to see a corner of a colossal city squeezing out from the void. Its mottled stone walls and bloodstains shimmering with golden radiance displayed an incomparable magnificence and grandeur.

"This is... the Heavenly Barrier."

Yan Mo's furrowed brow smoothed out. So that was it. Although he did not know what had been blocking the Heavenly Barrier during this period, the Lord of the Holy Spirit and the others had clearly just received news that the barrier had broken through its restrictions, which was why they had retreated in such unseemly haste.

His mind relaxing, the vital energy and blood that Yan Mo had been holding back surged violently. Darkness clouded his vision, and he collapsed unconscious.

...

One day later, a bare-bottomed figure suddenly materialized in the void—it was none other than Zhou Tian, who had just been resurrected.

"I knew it!"

Before he could even react, a colossal hand radiating brilliant luminescence instantly grabbed him. Space warped, and when he reappeared, he was already in an unknown location.

Down below, the people left behind to clean up the battlefield looked up in bewilderment, catching only the faint trace of spatial storms lingering in the void. The spatial barrier in this region had become exceptionally fragile.

This place was surrounded by forests, with thick trees towering dozens of zhang high and the air fresh. It appeared they were now far away from the apocalyptic battlefield of the Myriad Gods Mountain.

When Zhou Tian clearly saw the person standing before him, the corners of his eyes twitched involuntarily.

"Senior Holy Demon, what is the meaning of this?"

Standing right before him was none other than the Holy Demon. At this moment, he was in his Saint state, clad in white robes, possessing an ethereal and jade-like elegance, a faint smile playing on his lips. "A supreme physique? Celestial Venerable means? Impressive, truly impressive. To think that I, the Holy Demon, have roamed the world for tens of thousands of years, only to be tricked by a mere wet-behind-the-ears brat."

"Senior Holy Demon, what are you talking about?"

Zhou Tian had a bad premonition; it seemed his ruse had been exposed.

"Stop putting on an act, kid. You've caught the eye of a Celestial Venerable—do you really think Zhou Changsheng wouldn't know?"

"That is because—"

Zhou Tian's brain worked at lightning speed, trying to see if he could patch up this lie.

"Don't bother looking for excuses. No Celestial Venerable can directly forge a half-step Celestial Venerable."

The Holy Demon interrupted whatever Zhou Tian was about to say. At that realm of existence, every life form was utterly unique. Perhaps a Celestial Venerable could directly forge a Heavenly King or even a Dao Lord, but anything touching upon the level of a Celestial Venerable was absolute taboo. This was the biggest flaw in Zhou Tian's facade.

"Since you know I have a way to attain the strength of a half-step Celestial Venerable, yet you still dare to seek me out, aren't you afraid I'll crush you to death?"

Zhou Tian sneered, making a motion to roll up his sleeves, only to realize he was still stark naked with no sleeves to roll up, forcing him to awkwardly rub his own arm instead.

"I know you are special, possessing your own trump cards, but you shouldn't be able to use them casually, right? During this period, you have used that method a total of three times: once against me, once against that kid from the Daluo Academy, and once against the God King. And coincidentally, the strength you displayed each time was the strongest among everyone present. How fascinating. What kind of method is this, exactly?"

The Holy Demon waved his hand, and a simple plain robe draped over Zhou Tian's body as he spoke with utter nonchalance.

*Old pervert, bah, spying on me,* Zhou Tian silently slandered in his heart, feeling a headache coming on over the scheming minds of these ancient monsters. This Holy Demon had probably harbored suspicions about him since that very day, which was why he had been secretly observing him all this time.

Before Zhou Tian could speak, the Holy Demon flicked a finger, and a streak of colorful light drifted out. Zhou Tian instantly transformed into a tiny sprite, the wings on his back fluttering rhythmically. A moment later, the Holy Demon made another gesture, and Zhou Tian reverted to his original form.

"As I thought, you truly cannot use that method right now. Fascinating. What exactly is the price?"

Although the Holy Demon's tone sounded like a question, he was essentially talking to himself, knowing full well that Zhou Tian would never answer him.

"Did you just turn me into that little creature?"

Zhou Tian pointed at the tiny sprites fluttering around the Holy Demon. Just now, he had felt his consciousness plunge into an unfathomable space, bound by chains, and then observed everything in the outside world through a bizarre and peculiar perspective.

"Indeed."

The Holy Demon nodded.

"Can you turn me ba—bah! A scholar may be killed, but not humiliated!"

Zhou Tian let out a furious roar, then vanished on the spot, using teleportation to flee.

The Holy Demon shook his head with a smile, took a single step, and instantly caught up with Zhou Tian.

"I can traverse ten thousand miles in a single step. Do you really intend to race me in speed?"

The Holy Demon walked alongside Zhou Tian with an air of calm detachment, taking only a gentle step each time, yet effortlessly keeping pace with him.

"What on earth do you want with me?"

Zhou Tian came to a halt, abandoning his flight. He had already guessed that he probably couldn't outrun the Holy Demon, but he had to at least try. Now, seeing this situation, escape was indeed impossible.

His resurrection count for the day had already been exhausted, leaving him unable to use his cultivation replication skill. However, as long as he could survive the rest of the day, everything would be negotiable; he would finally have the capital to bargain. Moreover, judging by the Holy Demon's intentions, he was not planning to settle accounts after the fact.

"I wish to strike a deal with you."

The Holy Demon stopped as well, his hair radiant, his body glowing with a lustrous sheen as he spoke.

"A deal? What kind of deal?"

Zhou Tian was slightly taken aback, never expecting the Holy Demon to use such a refined term.

"You will accompany me to a certain place and help me retrieve an item."

The Holy Demon kept it brief and concise.

"Senior, an item that even you cannot obtain—how could I possibly get it?"

Zhou Tian asked with a bitter expression.

"No, you are special, possessing unique methods. I am quite confident that you can retrieve it."

The Holy Demon shook his head, his gaze fixed on Zhou Tian with an unreadable radiance flickering within his eyes.

"What if I refuse? What will you do?"

Zhou Tian decided to test the waters.

The Holy Demon smiled faintly, and two words slipped from his lips:

"Take a guess."

*Guess your ancestors,* Zhou Tian silently cursed. After pondering for a long time, he realized this old fellow was no simple entity and currently understood him quite well. He wasn't particularly afraid of the Holy Demon turning him into one of those tiny sprites; after all, in that form, he retained an external perspective, and when the time came, he could still activate the [Cultivation Replication] skill by targeting the Holy Demon to restore his true form. Since the Holy Demon had no way of knowing the activation conditions for his skill, there was no need to worry about this path being completely blocked.

*(Special thanks to Yu Fengya, whose nickname is so handsome, for the tip. Thank you, Boss.)*