Mad God Evolution
Chapter 1566: 1456: God's City

Chapter 1566: Chapter 1456: God’s City

“Greetings to the Chaos Silkworm Venerable Sage!” Lv Zhong calmly cupped his fists in a salute to the other party, though he was inwardly exasperated to the extreme.

Without a doubt, Chaos Silkworm Ancestor’s words had exposed Lv Zhong to the scrutiny of all the Venerable Sages and Sages present.

“Haha, good lad, outwardly respectful, but inside you seem not too pleased, hmm?” Though he was laughing, Chaos Silkworm Ancestor’s smile sent chills down Lv Zhong’s spine.

“I wouldn’t dare!” Lv Zhong’s mouth twitched as he cupped his fists again.

Beside him, Master Hongjun couldn’t stand it anymore. He glared at Chaos Silkworm Ancestor with irritation, “You old bandit, if you keep bullying my disciple, don’t blame me for airing your embarrassing affairs from the past to the whole world…”

Old bandit?

Lv Zhong blinked, then inwardly chuckled.

The nickname was surprisingly fitting.

Chaos Silkworm Ancestor cultivated the [Devouring Saint Path], always domineering and ruthless, with a penchant for devouring the universes controlled by other Venerable Sages. If he wasn’t a bandit, who could claim the title?

At the same time, Lv Zhong couldn’t help feeling curious. Apparently Chaos Silkworm Ancestor had some sort of dirt held by Master Hongjun?

“Damn—” Chaos Silkworm Ancestor’s expression flickered slightly as he roared, “Old sly fox, there’s no way I have any embarrassing affairs in my past!”

Despite the volume of his voice, many people could sense his lack of confidence.

Master Hongjun’s face hardened as he tilted his head, squinting at the ancestor, and lazily remarked, “Did I remember wrong? Back then, that one incident involving the ‘gathering’…”

“Damn it, old sly fox, you must have remembered wrong… I have things to attend to, not staying to bicker with you. However, if you dare spread any rumors, I won’t mind devouring your Pangu Universe…” Chaos Silkworm Ancestor cursed, threatening Master Hongjun, before promptly retreating.

Huh?

Lv Zhong raised his eyebrows in intrigue.

Clearly, Chaos Silkworm Ancestor really had some dirt held by Master Hongjun. His earlier guess, it turned out, was accurate.

But just what was the dirt, exactly?

Lv Zhong’s curiosity was piqued, leaving him feeling an itch to know.

In truth, it wasn’t just him—many of those present wore expressions of equal curiosity. Yet, no one dared audibly ask Master Hongjun.

If anyone were foolish enough to ask, it would mean immediately offending both Master Hongjun and the reckless Chaos Silkworm Ancestor.

“Haha. That guy’s gone. Let’s hurry along ourselves…” Master Hongjun chuckled slightly, speaking to his disciples.

He naturally had no intention of revealing Chaos Silkworm Ancestor’s embarrassing affairs, as doing so would thoroughly offend the man. It must be understood that Chaos Silkworm Ancestor’s strength was in no way inferior to his own—perhaps even slightly stronger at times. Nonetheless, Master Hongjun also had nothing to fear from him. If the two were ever to clash, it would undoubtedly end in mutual destruction, with no other outcome possible.

With the reckless Chaos Silkworm Ancestor gone, the atmosphere among the crowd quieted again. This left Lv Zhong feeling a slight sense of nostalgia for the chaotic presence of the ancestor.

A bit bored, Lv Zhong suppress the irritation in his heart and quietly followed his senior brothers toward the gigantic ancient fortress in the distance.

However, it seemed that many people were trying to enter the fortress. Moreover, guarding the massive gate of the fortress were extraordinarily powerful sages.

“Junior Brother, do you see that? That is the core of the Mystery Star. To reach the Ascension Platform, you must first enter this God’s City!” Sensing Lv Zhong’s gloominess, the nearby Tongtian Sage sent him a voice transmission.

“God’s City?” Lv Zhong blinked.

“Do you find the people of the Kongming Universe ridiculously full of themselves?” Tongtian Sage glanced at Lv Zhong with a smiling face.

Indeed, this place was not the Sacred God Realm, but merely the Immortal Realm.

Even if someone from the Kongming Universe had passed through Divine Tribulation and ascended to the Sacred God Realm, they were merely Divine Persons at best.

And yet, their successors didn’t stop at commemorating the building of a city.

They even dared to name the fortress they constructed “God’s Castle.” Calling them arrogant would be putting it mildly—it was outright sacrilege!

In the Sacred God Realm, ‘God’ was simply the title for Third Order Divine Generals!

Divine Persons, on the other hand, were the absolute lowest rank among gods!

“Indeed, ridiculously arrogant!” Lv Zhong nodded seriously, noting that he had encountered Divine Persons before—and even Divine Generals.

Tongtian Sage seemed to grow even more animated by the conversation, continuing to transmit his thoughts, “A Divine Person’s ascension is certainly a matter for celebration. However, this God’s City was established under the directive of the Kongming Venerable Sage himself. This particular Venerable Sage is wildly ambitious, wishing to seal off the [Ascension Platform] entirely to prevent others from spying, while devoting all resources to cultivate his own disciples. He even actively colonized external realms, which angered countless other Venerable Sages. After several large battles between the factions, the Kongming Venerable Sage was forced to relent somewhat, begrudgingly agreeing to open [Mystery Star’s] Ascension Platform—but only once every million years.”

“I see!” Lv Zhong nodded, finally understanding how the Kongming Universe’s Tao Discussion Conference came about.

Tongtian Sage knew Lv Zhong’s time cultivating had been relatively short, so he was naturally unfamiliar with many things. Thus, the sage patiently explained further via voice transmission: “Inside the Ascension Platform, traces of the first-generation Kongming Venerable Sage’s ascension to the Sacred God Realm still linger, along with key opportunities and insights. In fact, at the site of the ascension, there lies an Enlightenment God Stele as well! This God Stele, more than anything else, is the most critical feature of the Ascension Platform.”

“Enlightenment God Stele? Could it be a Tao Artifact?” Lv Zhong asked in confusion.

Tongtian Sage immediately shook his head, “It’s not a Tao Artifact! Merely a pseudo-divine artifact imbued with divinity!”

In the Sacred God Realm, Tao Artifacts could be referred to as divine artifacts, but divine artifacts could not be called Tao Artifacts.

Divine artifacts carried the aura of gods, while Tao Artifacts were superior-grade divine artifacts.

“Pseudo-divine artifact?” Instantly, Lv Zhong lost interest.

Such treasures or weapons might surpass ordinary Chaos Spirit Treasures in quality, but compared to top-quality Chaos Treasures, they fell short. Let alone true divine artifacts or Tao Artifacts.

A true divine artifact far exceeded the power of top-quality Chaos Treasures. Lv Zhong had encountered such items before inside Exile Space under the Divine Emperor’s punishment—and had even battled the owners of these artifacts.

Of course, during these conflicts, the real fighters weren’t Lv Zhong himself but rather his Hongmeng Dragon Pearl, Gu Long Knife, Nine Xuan Cold Dragon Ice Coffin, and Great Annihilation Pearl.

“Hmm, it’s indeed a pseudo-divine artifact, and not even one designed for offense or defense. But within this artifact lies the insights and principles of a God’s ascension, along with a connection to the entire Ascension Platform. No one could possibly take it away, nor could any Venerable Sage refine it. It’s a pseudo-divine artifact of inheritance!”

“Interesting!” Lv Zhong understood now.

Strictly speaking, this Enlightenment God Stele couldn’t even properly be considered a pseudo-divine artifact.

It merely contained traces of divinity due to the godly aura and ultimate truths left behind by a Divine Person.

Although technically unusable as a treasure, it sufficed to transmit the will, insights, and knowledge of gods.

The odd thing was that in the All Heavens and Myriad Realms of the Immortal World, while Tao Artifacts or Divine Artifacts might still remain as relics, no new Divine Persons ever appeared. Without the inheritance of Divine Persons, countless Venerable Sages remained forever unable to take the final step—to achieve godhood through enlightenment and ascension.

In such circumstances, the Enlightenment God Stele became of unparalleled importance to all Venerable Sages.

Strengthened by a Divine Person’s aura, this God Stele remained impervious to any Venerable Sage’s attempts to refine it, allowing its insights to be accessible to all.

“Heh, everyone has their own path. Forcefully sensing or understanding another God’s path—could it truly lead one to affirm one’s own path?” Lv Zhong chuckled inwardly, shaking his head in secret.

While external inspiration might enhance one’s comprehension, excessive reliance on another’s insights could tarnish one’s Tao Heart, leading only further astray on the path to enlightenment.

These notions weren’t just Lv Zhong’s own understanding.

Rather, they were snippets of wisdom gleaned from discussions between his own Tao Artifacts—[Great Annihilation Pearl], [Nine Xuan Cold Dragon Ice Coffin], Gu Long Knife, among others.

Lv Zhong valued these exchanges greatly.

To achieve rapid advancement, he had to tread a path unique to himself.

Although [Yin Yang Harmony Path] was a cultivation method created by Master Hongjun, the master himself never practiced it completely. Even the method’s later stages remained beyond his full derivation.

In truth, Yin Yang Harmony Path was the most suitable path for Lv Zhong. Its lack of precedent meant it couldn’t wholly rely on imitation.

Still, Master Hongjun’s derivation of Yin Yang Harmony Path up to the Venerable Sage Realm was fairly comprehensive. It carried significant logic and merit!

Yet beyond the Venerable Sage Realm, Lv Zhong had to rely on his own opportunities and unique insights to cross the divine tribulation and achieve godhood. Otherwise, he would forever remain trapped in the Venerable Sage Realm, destined for eternal stagnation.

“We’re about to enter God’s City. Let’s postpone our discussions!” Noticing Lv Zhong’s increasingly frequent waves of mental distraction, Tongtian Sage assumed his words were causing too much mental turbulence and ended the conversation abruptly.

Following the flow of the crowd, they arrived at the city gates.

Master Hongjun produced seven dark green crystal stones and handed them to the sages guarding the gates, encountering no obstacles as they entered God’s City.

Upon entering, a unique aura permeated the atmosphere, causing the Yuanshen of all the sages to faintly tremble.

Divine Aura!

This was the exclusive aura of Divine Persons!

Clearly, God’s City wasn’t solely constructed to prevent external prying eyes. One major purpose was to seal the spread of this Divine Aura!

“Divinity… Divine Aura! So this… this is the aura of a god…”

“Majestic, powerful, vast…”

“Under this aura, I can’t even summon the courage to fight! My heavens, I… I’m supposedly the most talented of the newly ascended sages…”

“Uh… I… I feel an uncontrollable urge to kneel and… and worship…”

“Don’t… don’t kneel! If you kneel now, it’s all over… You’ll never qualify for divine enlightenment again…”

…

Though many sages had been forewarned by their guiding masters before entering [God’s City], the oppressive aura still overwhelmed a handful instantly, leaving them no choice but to prostrate themselves in worship!

“What a pity!” Several seasoned sages shook their heads faintly, their expressions tinged with regret.

Those sages who caved under the pressure and knelt would have limited potential in the future. Beyond that, their act of worship would forever bar them from entering [God’s City] again!

(To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please visit Starting Point (qidian.com) to vote, buy monthly tickets, and show your support. Mobile users, visit m.qidian.com to read.)