Chapter 2211: The Divergence Between the Dragon God and the Ancient God

"To bypass the restrictions of the barrier between the two realms, they had to abandon the divine bodies they had painstakingly refined over the years," Zhong Shengguang said, taking a sip of water to moisten his throat. "Fortunately, the gods can only descend to the mortal realm through divine descent; otherwise, even if they could defeat Lady Lady Lady Mitian, they might not be able to stop him from escaping."

He Lingchuan nodded: "Even the Holy Lord of the Void Spirit couldn't catch him."

"How much more?" Zhong Shengguang sighed. "I've heard that Lady Lady Lady Mitian has deep ties with the Death Ancient God, one of the Three Holy Gods of the Demon Realm. To this day, many demons in the Demon Realm still believe the Death Ancient God never perished. Looking at Lady Lady Lady Mitian, who inherited its death divinity, anyone trying to destroy his physical form would face immense difficulty—unless he himself relinquishes it..."

He Lingchuan immediately said: "If we're dealing with divine descent, we wouldn't have so many troubles, would we?"

"Lady Lady Lady Mitian needs divine descent, so he must enter my son's sea of consciousness. You stay nearby; his comings and goings should not escape your notice." Zhong Shengguang's gaze grew deep and solemn. "He cannot bring his physical body down to the lower realm, so he lacks those myriad transformations. The scope where the death divinity can manifest is also limited. If we can destroy his divine soul, he would truly be dead."

He Lingchuan pondered: "My lord Zhong, what use is the death divinity, exactly? Could it be used to custom-design a manner of death for someone?"

"Custom-design a manner of death? No, no—I've heard that is the power of the Fate Divinity."

Upon hearing this, He Lingchuan raised his eyebrows.

"This question, I actually asked the Dragon God about it." Zhong Shengguang continued, "He told me that divinity is the manifestation of the demons' understanding of the essence of power and law. If different demons have different interpretations of the same law, they might condense into vastly different divinities."

He Lingchuan understood: "Divinity is the demons' understanding of the 'Dao,' not the Dao itself."

The answer is not unique.

As He Lingchuan once heard in another world put it: truth can only be approached infinitely.

"Exactly." Zhong Shengguang continued explaining, "It's just that because the ancient gods' understanding of the law is profound, their divinity is stronger and closer to the Dao."

"And the Dragon God, in ancient times, clashed with the Holy Lord of the Void Spirit and with Lady Lady Lady Mitian, and his old understanding of 'death' diverged from that of the ancient god who condensed the death divinity."

"From the characteristics of the death divinity, the Death Ancient God believed that 'death' is the ultimate defeat of order by chaos, and extinction ultimately devouring vitality. All conditioned things, from the moment of birth, steadily move toward destruction. Thus, all things must have an end. In the end, time will prove that the strongest and most unwavering force in the world is 'destruction' itself."

"So the power contained in the death divinity is the supreme power of consumption and destruction?" He Lingchuan felt a sudden twofold insight in his heart. "Then, how does the Dragon God define 'death'?"

"He believes that so-called life and death are nothing but the process of energy transfer."

"Energy... transfer?" The Dragon God was once the first under the Heavenly Dao; his understanding of regularity and law can be said to surpass all ages.

"Exactly. Energy constantly enters the body, making it flourish, black hair healthy—this is the force of life; energy leaves the body, and it gradually ages and weakens, hair whitening, teeth loosening, until it vanishes—this is the force of death. Energy always transfers from the aging individual to the newborn—this is the cycle of life and death. Thus, all things have birth and decay, but energy flows endlessly."

"One believes that all things must have an end." He Lingchuan pondered deeply. "Another believes that all things have their own birth and decay."

The Dragon God and the Death Ancient God share both similarities and differences in their understanding of 'death.'

"The Dragon God says life and death are merely the retention and departure of energy. Not only birds, beasts, insects, and fish, but all things in the world—such as mountains, rivers, and streams; even things beyond the world, such as stars and the cosmos—follow this principle." Zhong Shengguang spoke softly, "Thus, life and death are merely appearances; the forces of life and death should not be viewed in isolation, for the boundary between them is actually quite blurred."

He Lingchuan nodded. Yes, from infancy to strength, from aging to conclusion, it is the process of energy coming and going. From the Dragon God's perspective, birth is not necessarily the beginning, nor death necessarily the end, because the cycle of energy has no beginning and no end.

So perhaps that is why he is so composed?

"Legend says the Death Ancient God can create his own 'Land of the Dead,' abbreviated as 'Forgetting Land,' to receive the fallen demons." Zhong Shengguang stood up, stretched, "I don't know if Lady Lady Lady Mitian has such an ability."

He Lingchuan hesitated before asking: "The Dragon God hidden in the Red General's sea of consciousness is not in his prime state. How confident is he, old man, in defeating Lady Lady Lady Mitian?"

"No need to worry." Zhong Shengguang expressed great confidence, "In the ancient war, the Dragon God clashed with the Holy Lord of the Void Spirit and Lady Lady Lady Mitian, so he understands them well. He told me that battles at that level are not just about spiritual or divine power, but more importantly, about understanding the origin and law."

Hearing this, He Lingchuan exhaled in relief: "It would be best if the Dragon God could give us a reassurance."

"Unless Lady Lady Lady Mitian's understanding surpasses that of the Death Ancient God—that is, unless he becomes the first holder of the death divinity." Zhong Shengguang rarely smiled, "But the Dragon God does not believe such a thing will happen."

"How can we know the outcome of this world-shaking battle?" Unfortunately, the Haoyuan Golden Mirror cannot be brought over.

"Go to Longlong City first and borrow the Great Expansion Heavenly Pearl from the city gate beast." Zhong Shengguang walked to the table, bit his finger to draw a talisman, and handed it to He Lingchuan, "Whether it's the Dragon God, Wuhuan, or Lady Lady Lady Mitian, they all have countless connections with the Great Square Vessel, and the Great Expansion Heavenly Pearl is no different. Perhaps through it, you can see what you wish to see."

He Lingchuan received it and carefully stored it away.

Zhong Shengguang was very generous today: "Anything else you want to ask? Ask it all at once."

He has already handed over the deepest secrets of Longlong City; answering one or two more questions makes no difference.

He Lingchuan thought carefully: "Dragon God and you—why did you originally choose Lady Lady Lady Mitian as the target?"

This plan was set over twenty years ago, just that the target is somewhat... extremely difficult.

Wouldn't it be better to set an easier target?

"Lady Lady Lady Mitian harbors extreme hatred toward other demons; back then, he was easier for me to win over. Otherwise, other demons would be two-faced, and likely betray Longlong City at the first chance. Besides, the death divinity he controls is not only a weapon against the chief demon, the Holy Lord of the Void Spirit, but also the supreme treasure sought by the Great Square Vessel."

That's right—the Great Square Vessel's demand for devouring treasures has always been strong.

"Where is the Red General?"

"Go to Lu Family Fortress to select a horse, and pick a mount for yourself along the way. Calculate the time—she should be returning to Stone Spring City soon."

Upon hearing this, He Lingchuan knew he had deliberately sent the Red General away, so she would not attend today's military council.