Chapter 41: Chapter Thirty‑Nine: Venerated Deity

Unlike Luo Shan's imagination, this place called the Absolute Realm turned out to be a huge, spacious wooden house.

Although it could not compare to the splendid, golden splendor of the buildings in Luo Fu Gud Mountain Villa, this great house could still be called exquisitely decorated. Ming Guang walked at the front of the line, followed by Luo Shan and Viscount Luo Fu Gud, both of whom rested their hands on their sword hilts. Qin Yan walked beside Luo Shan, and behind them were Mei Kelun and Saxon, each holding a staff to form the vanguard. The other disciples of the Spirit God Temple had no right to enter. Though Viscount Luo Fu Gud wished to bring retainers, Rabik, Slak and others were all gravely wounded, and the rest were of no real use, so he had to forgo it.

The party walked forward along the corridor, with small rooms separated by wooden planks on either side, each door tightly locked. "What's inside?" Luo Shan felt an abrupt wave of evil aura around him and furrowed his brow slightly. "Inside are Angel race people captured by the Spirit God Temple," Ming Guang said, turning to glance at Luo Shan, his expression calm. "Your parents are at the very front of this corridor; please remain patient."

"Ming Guang, if you try any trick, I will not let you go," Luo Shan said coolly. "That, Ming Guang knows already," Ming Guang replied with a faint smile. "We're here now, everyone, please step back a little."

While speaking, they reached the end of the corridor. Ming Guang stepped forward, his staff flicking, and struck the massive wooden door several swift blows. In an instant, the door rose with a huge rumble, revealing two wooden beds and, lying on them, a middle‑aged man and woman. "Father, mother!" Luo Shan's heart raced; he grabbed Qin Yan's hand and, ignoring the many strong foes surrounding him, rushed forward instinctively.

However, just as he reached his parents' bed, he suddenly sensed an unusually strong magical aura filling the room, though he could no longer pay much attention to it. "Father." He knelt at Luo Jing's bedside, staring at the pallid face. Luo Jing's skin felt ice‑cold, almost not that of a living person. "Ming Guang!" Luo Shan shouted hoarsely, "What have you done to my parents?!"

"Them?" Ming Guang, leaning against the door, replied lazily. "They, of course, have long been dead."

"Bastard!" Luo Shan felt his heart ripped apart, not only from Ming Guang's blatant deceit but also from the sorrow of his parents' death. With a boom, a beam of light condensed in his hand and surged toward Ming Guang. Born of boundless fury, it carried supreme power; even Ming Guang would find it hard to withstand.

Yet Ming Guang remained lounging, not even raising a hand.

Just as Luo Shan's spell flew to within a few steps of Ming Guang, a new beam suddenly shot from behind, striking Luo Shan's spell and shattering its light. The beam still had enough force to continue toward Luo Shan! Startled, Luo Shan quickly pulled Qin Yan into his arms, swaying his body, and barely managed to dodge the attack, his heart filled with terror.

"Ming Guang, what trick are you playing now!"

"Me?" Ming Guang smiled faintly. "This time, the one striking isn't me."

"Luo Shan, you are truly extremely foolish. To absorb the pure Angelic power, I have laid extremely powerful sealing arrays throughout these wooden houses. For many days the Spirit God Temple has been intent on capturing you, precisely to throw you into these rooms so the arrays would siphon your power to revive the Venerated Deity. Yet now, with the advantage in your hands, you foolishly barged in yourself. Thus the Venerated Deity has already been revived. Boy Luo Shan, just wait to be crushed into dust by the Venerated Deity's divine might!"

When he finished speaking, both Viscount Luo Fu Gud and Luo Shan were taken aback. They had known the plan to revive the Venerated Deity, but had not realized that Luo Shan's simple act had already completed the final step. It turned out Ming Guang had led them into this cold‑mountain Absolute Realm precisely for this outcome. Although Viscount Luo Fu Gud had suspected Ming Guang of some scheme, he only imagined a trap at most. The Spirit God Temple's remaining masters were now only Mei Kelun and Saxon; even if there were a formidable ambush, he was unafraid. Yet, clever as he was, he never expected Ming Guang to take such a daring move.

"Ming Guang! Even if the Venerated Deity is revived, you cannot control him. Isn't that like raising a tiger to bite you?" Viscount Luo Fu Gud shouted fearfully. "Even if we cannot control him, even if the Venerated Deity again brings ruin, it's still better than our Spirit God Temple being destroyed by you." Ming Guang laughed up at the sky, looking mad. "Lord Venerated Deity! Please reveal your power and eradicate these ants!"

With his summons, a figure appeared at the far end and walked slowly forward. "Lord Venerated Deity!" Ming Guang exclaimed joyfully. "Please display your power and save my Spirit God Temple!"

"Spirit God Temple."

A deep, terrifying voice suddenly rang in everyone's ears.

"What is the Spirit God Temple?"

Luo Shan watched the silhouette walk slowly, his heart jolted. That face… that face… why does it look so much like that person?

But clearly… he had already dissolved into mist months ago.

"Grandpa Xiao Yushan!" Luo Shan blurted out, unable to hold back. The person's face was so similar to Grandpa Xiao Yushan's—no, not just similar, exactly identical. "Xiao Yushan?" the one Ming Guang called the Venerated Deity seemed stunned. "You, know my brother?"

"Xiao Tian!" Luo Shan suddenly realized; this was the man Xiao Yushan had asked him to rescue long ago—Xiao Yushan's younger brother, Xiao Tian, who had been captured by the Spirit God Temple for years!

"Correct." the man nodded slowly. "I am Xiao Tian. No…" he shook his hand. "I am the Venerated Deity, the sole sovereign of heaven and earth. The name Xiao Tian will no longer exist."

It turned out that Xiao Yushan and Xiao Tian had both been renowned masters on this continent. Years ago, to resist the growing Spirit God Temple, they fought a great war; Xiao Yushan was gravely injured and fled, while Xiao Tian was captured. After the Temple seized him, they could not bring themselves to kill him because of the powerful magical energy within his body, so they imprisoned him for decades. In recent years, Ming Guang discovered a method to revive the Venerated Deity using the pure Angelic power, but the Deity's body had rotted for centuries. Lacking a vessel, Ming Guang could only use Xiao Tian's body as a host, attaching the Deity's power to him. Thus, after gathering Angelic power, Ming Guang intends to erase Xiao Tian's consciousness and replace it with his own spirit to control the dangerously potent power.

However, this technique of controlling divine consciousness is extremely difficult and has never succeeded. At this moment the Spirit God Temple faces a great enemy, on the brink of total defeat, so Ming Guang gambles everything, luring Luo Shan into the cell, using his power to instantly revive the Venerated Deity's power and bind it to Xiao Tian's body. Though Xiao Tian still retains part of his own divine awareness, the Deity's power is so overwhelming that it instantly entered his body, crushing much of his consciousness. Moreover, Ming Guang's prolonged casting had already replaced part of Xiao Tian's consciousness, so Xiao Tian cannot act entirely at will. The recent blocking of Luo Shan's attack was Xiao Tian's subconscious act to protect Ming Guang.

"Ming Guang, can you control the Venerated Deity's power?" Mei Kelun shivered at the sight of such incomparable power. "No." Ming Guang glanced at him and said softly. "Then why revive the Venerated Deity?" Mei Kelun gasped. "His power is already…"

"Boom!" A earth‑shaking roar erupted; before Mei Kelun could react, a blood‑filled wound opened in his chest and he fell backward. The Venerated Deity glanced at his dying body, his tone dripping with contempt. "Incompetent ones dare to pass judgment."

Everyone was stunned. Mei Kelun was a top practitioner of the Spirit God Temple, with a cultivation level comparable to a sovereign, yet the Venerated Deity's casual strike—though it seemed a surprise attack—left him unable to dodge and killed him instantly. Such power was unheard of, beyond imagination!

Even the mighty Viscount Luo Fu Gud showed a hint of fear on his face. Luo Shan stared at Mei Kelun's corpse, his heart uneasy. He knew his own power might not far exceed Mei Kelun's. If the Venerated Deity could end Mei Kelun's life with a casual strike, he too would struggle to resist. Losing his own life would be one thing, but Qin Yan was still beside him and would likely meet the same fate. Luo Shan suddenly regretted bringing Qin Yan to the cold mountain.

Now, Luo Shan, apart from the thought of protecting Qin Yan, was nearly despondent. The forces that had driven him forward for so many days—defeating the Spirit God Temple, rescuing his parents and Xiao Tian—were now gone. His parents were already dead, and Xiao Tian had been infused with the Venerated Deity's power, becoming a demonic being. He was utterly powerless.

"All of you, you will all die."

After killing Mei Kelun, the Venerated Deity's expression seemed to blur for a moment. He already possessed a blood‑thirsty soul; now, smelling blood, his murderous nature reawakened. "Lord Venerated Deity!" Ming Guang's face turned pale. "We revived you; we are friends, not enemies!" "So, should I thank you then?" the Venerated Deity glanced at Ming Guang, sneering. "Venerated Deity… Lord Venerated Deity!" Ming Guang's heart raced with terror as the Venerated Deity's right hand swept, unleashing an extremely strong beam straight at him. Ming Guang could only brace with all his strength, but the opponent's spell surged inexorably; his counter‑beam lasted only a moment before being vaporized by the Deity's attack. He hurriedly dodged, barely evading the thunderous strike, but felt his legs go weak, completely drained of power.

"You all, you will die."

The Venerated Deity repeated the words, and black light spheres gathered between his palms. Suddenly a cold flash appeared, and a sword beam slashed fiercely toward his back! The Venerated Deity frowned, and a shield instantly formed beside him, deflecting the sword beam. When the others turned, they saw Viscount Luo Fu Gud.

Viscount Luo Fu Gud's attack failed, and he drifted back several steps. From that earlier strike he already sensed the Venerated Deity's power was far beyond him, truly as the legends described—able to traverse heaven and earth, omnipotent. For the first time in years he felt a chill, watching the trembling Ming Guang and Saxon, and Luo Shan standing with sword not far away. Viscount Luo Fu Gud gritted his teeth and shouted loudly, "Venerated Deity! If you intend to kill us, we know we are no match, but we will not be slaughtered. Ming Guang! Luo Shan! Today the Venerated Deity will not forgive; even if you beg for mercy, you'll only die a little later. Then why not rise and fight?"

"Boom!" A beam surged at his face at that moment. Viscount Luo Fu Gud was already prepared; his body flickered and he evaded. He knew that confronting the Venerated Deity head‑on was hopeless against its overwhelming power, and only by using agile footwork and striking with his sword while dodging could he hope for a chance. Yet, alone, if he did not call Ming Guang and Luo Shan to act together, he could not possibly defeat the Venerated Deity.

"Fine…" Ming Guang gripped his staff, staring at the Venerated Deity who towered over all, feeling he had made a terribly wrong choice. "Then let's fight to the death!" He swung his staff, carving a passage. "This Absolute Realm is saturated with the Venerated Deity's power; battling here puts us at a disadvantage. Quickly, follow me back to the mortal world, gather the forces of the Spirit God Temple and Luo Fu Gud Mountain Villa, and together we will reseal the Venerated Deity!"