Chapter 159: The Tomb of the Heavenly Sovereign

"I will not keep secrets from you. The item I want is of vital importance to me. A mere fragment of the Buddha Wutian’s mortal remains would be enough for me to make a move against your Zhou family. But that item is his relic, and I must have it!"

"I know you possess special means, but I also know that everything comes with a price. You surely wouldn’t want me to spend the rest of my days figuring out how to deal with you—unless, of course, you can kill me right here and now!"

Seeing Zhou Tian fall silent, the Saint-Devil spoke straightforwardly. A flash of madness crossed his previously gentle face, his eyes blazing like the midday sun.

Zhou Tian furrowed his brows slightly. It was obvious that the Saint-Devil was issuing a blatant threat, yet the Saint-Devil was right. If the latter truly devoted his future solely to finding a way to deal with Zhou Tian, there was no guarantee he wouldn’t actually succeed. Moreover, if the Saint-Devil targeted Tianling, she would truly be unable to withstand it.

Tianling had not grown up in the Zhou family from a young age and lacked the various protective measures laid down by the family for their descendants. Although she would receive corresponding protection after becoming Zhou Tian's fiancée, there had been no time to set those up for her. Crucially, the safeguard of a soul lamp was something that could not be retroactively added.

"Didn't we talk about a trade? What do I get out of this?"

Zhou Tian did not mention the fact that the Saint-Devil had already become a retainer of the Zhou family. Although regulations forbade the Saint-Devil from moving against the family, he had reached a desperate stage in his quest to resolve his own problems, willing to go to any lengths—even sacrificing his own life.

"Aside from that relic, everything else in that place belongs to you."

The Saint-Devil returned to his normal state, the madness vanishing from his expression.

"How am I supposed to know what's even in that place?"

Zhou Tian frowned slightly. What if the place contained nothing except that so-called relic? Wouldn't he be taking a massive loss?

A mysterious smile appeared on the Saint-Devil's lips as he uttered a single sentence:

"That place is the tomb of a Heavenly Sovereign."

"The tomb of a Heavenly Sovereign?!"

Zhou Tian was utterly astonished. Heavens above, he never expected the Saint-Devil to hold such a massive piece of intelligence. That was a Heavenly Sovereign's tomb! There was no telling how many treasures it contained.

"Is it the tomb of the one called the Buddha Wutian?" Zhou Tian asked.

"It is not his tomb. He rose to fame during the era of the Nine Realms, an age before there were so many Heavenly Sovereigns. According to records, the strongest back then was at most a half-step Heavenly Sovereign. Whose tomb it actually is, I do not know," the Saint-Devil explained. Although special methods allowed him to confirm that Wutian's relic was indeed inside that tomb—having even witnessed it with his own eyes—he had no idea which world it belonged to or which Heavenly Sovereign it commemorated.

"So that tomb is located in the Starry Realm, then?"

"Correct."

The Saint-Devil nodded. How could any unknown Heavenly Sovereign's tomb possibly still exist within the Nine Provinces?

"Can we wait until the turmoil in the God-Forsaken Land blows over before going?" Zhou Tian asked. Recently, the God-Forsaken Land had been churning with winds and clouds, and the day of the Heavenly Mandate's descent was fast approaching. Zhou Changsheng had already told him that numerous external Starry Realm factions were eyeing the place like tigers watching their prey. No matter what, he could still serve as a high-tier combat asset for at least thirty-two seconds.

"You needn't worry about that."

The Saint-Devil's hair fluttered, every single strand crystal-clear and radiant, his eyes like crimson suns as he stretched out a hand to point into the void.

"The Heavenly Pass has already descended. Besides, for the near future, the Heavenly Mandate in the God-Forsaken Land is unlikely to manifest."

Only then did Zhou Tian realize that in the direction of the Nine Provinces' encampment, a colossal giant city was suspended in the air. Its stone walls were mottled, carved with soaring dragons and dancing phoenixes, and it had fully entered a war footing. Across the surrounding wilderness, knights riding crimson flood-dragons and violet thunder-lions patrolled, while arrays after arrays extended deep into the void.

It was just that the city was far smaller than the one he had seen in the void that day, and because he had been engrossed in conversation with the Saint-Devil, he hadn't noticed it until now.

To think the Heavenly Pass had already descended! That made many things much easier to handle, Zhou Tian pondered inwardly. Yet, recalling the latter half of the Saint-Devil's words, he felt a strange sensation and asked, "What do you mean by saying the Heavenly Mandate shouldn't manifest anytime soon?"

The Saint-Devil smiled faintly, a profound light flickering in his deep eyes as he stared at Zhou Tian and said, "Originally, as an entity that once bore the Heavenly Mandate of the Divine Realm, the King of Gods still retained a sliver of influence over it. He intended to use this sliver of influence to force the Heavenly Mandate to manifest prematurely, disrupting many of your Nine Provinces' plans."

Zhou Tian felt a tingling sensation on his scalp under the Saint-Devil's gaze. Having a split personality was one thing, but this bastard didn't happen to have any peculiar fetishes, did he?

"Their plan was likely to use the remnant soul of the King of Gods to instantly trigger the descent of the Heavenly Mandate right after the emergence of the Divine Hall, and then choose a certain deity to bear it. But they never expected you to appear out of nowhere and shatter him completely. Now the Heavenly Mandate has returned to a dormant state and will likely find it difficult to manifest for some time. I only deduced this afterward by piecing together various clues. The King of Gods was once an ancient titan, yet I never imagined all his schemes would be completely shattered by your hands."

"Oh?"

Zhou Tian raised an eyebrow. So there was that underlying reason as well. Waving his hand indifferently, he said, "I didn't expect it either. I just made a casual move, I suppose. It only goes to show how unpredictable the ways of the world are."

Seeing Zhou Tian's mildly smug expression, the Saint-Devil continued, "It was precisely for this reason that my transaction with the leader of a certain mysterious organization was delayed. I couldn't obtain Wutian's mortal remains in time, and having reached a critical juncture myself, I had no choice but to take a risk and set my sights on the relic. That is why I came to find you."

Zhou Tian's expression stiffened. What kind of logic was that?

"Very well, now that I've explained it to you, come with me."

The Saint-Devil told Zhou Tian that the only reason he had bothered to explain so much was to prevent Zhou Tian from resorting to that strange trump card to fight him to the bitter end.

"You must at least let me go back and report that I'm safe, lest they all assume I've been reduced to dust."

"Doesn't your Zhou family have those soul lamps or whatever? They certainly know you're not dead."

The Saint-Devil had no wish for any more twists and turns. Now that the Heavenly Pass had descended, he no longer possessed the leverage to negotiate. He had zero desire to test himself against that terrifying fortress of war.

"Fair enough."

Zhou Tian's eyes flickered. He didn't mention the fact that his soul lamp had long since been consumed, meaning the Zhou family no longer possessed any means to monitor whether he was dead or alive.

Since the Saint-Devil was unwilling to let him return, he didn't press the matter. Over this period, he had already displayed several of his miraculous traits. Coupled with Zhou Zui, who had witnessed his resurrection firsthand, although the scene of his self-detonation had looked intensely grand at the time, it essentially amounted to nothing more than dying once.

"Let's go."

With a wave of the Saint-Devil's massive hand, space shifted, and the two of them found themselves in the void of the God-Forsaken Land. Pitch-black void tempests raged, yet all of them placated themselves the moment they drew near the two men.

The Saint-Devil produced several stones glowing with black-and-gold brilliance. They varied in shape and size, though none were larger than a fist, and their surfaces were densely engraved with symbols that rippled with golden radiance.

Swish!

Two beams of golden light shot from the Saint-Devil's eyes. His pupils turned completely golden, mysterious symbols floating and sinking in their depths.