Chapter 401

You once indeed did many great deeds, ruining many people's plans.

Nüwa's gaze was playful.

Di Jun merely smiled, gave a perfunctory reply, "Overpraised, overpraised."

Hmph.

Nüwa snorted coldly, "You bastard, collecting all kinds of dirt, surveilling officials, secretly watching the three thousand deities, who knows how many petty reports you've filed."

Who knows how many Great Luo fear you immensely.

If one's virtue is flawless and heart harbors no guile, how could they fear or dread me?" Di Jun chuckled and retorted, "Those who hate and resent me ought to feel fortunate.

It's fortunate that the Pangu of old still needed me to run errands, gather evidence… otherwise, with his strength, slaughtering those with ulterior motives would be no great feat.

Di Jun's gaze was deep, bearing an indescribable brilliance.

Many deities feel the Heavenly Emperor too strict, having instituted various heavenly laws and edicts that curb their high-handedness.

But they don't realize that this is actually protecting them.

It is precisely because the August Emperor set the rules and himself observed them, being strict with himself and endlessly patient, that they can frolic without being arbitrarily charged with false crimes and slaughtered, saving trouble.

Strictly following the prearranged game rules, they move against each other.

To still observe the rules amid such chaos… is no easy feat.

Di Jun's tone held admiration, "After all, with the Dragon-Phoenix War just ended, myriad karmic grudges piled up, ideological clashes, conflicting interests…"

Not cutting the knot with a swift blade, but having the patience to unravel it bit by bit, adjusting within balance—I am truly impressed.

Thus, I am glad to contribute some trifling strength within it.

Pulling strings behind the scenes, as a Censor, I inspect officials to see which deities neglect their duties, or advocate deviant paths for personal gain, disregarding the collective, covertly running transgressive businesses.

Then I covertly guide them to find suitable opponents, mutually wearing each other down, dispelling turmoil unseen, preventing them from gaining strength, so that humanity's myriad beings may steadfastly follow the values promoted by the Heavenly Court toward a radiant tomorrow…

No need to explain all that…" Nüwa said with a half-smile, "Actually, you just dislike the spotlight and prefer to cooperate with the Heavenly Court's actions in secrecy."

However, compared to an upright Censor, this invites far too much hatred…

To call it a Censor is to flatter.

Perhaps it's more like the Embroidered Uniform Guard? Hunting hounds?

Although the authority is not small, the rank is not high, and it readily draws resentment; among the gods, can its prestige reach the passing grade of a sovereign?

Nüwa asked with a smile.

So what?" Di Jun replied with a smile, "In fact, it was precisely because my prestige was insufficient back then that I could take the seat of the Demon Sovereign.

Those who won more hearts than I were, from the start, eliminated by Hunyuan from the sovereign candidates.

Although Hunyuan does not want a puppet, he also does not wish for someone too beyond control. A person whose charisma is maxed, whose virtue and character are revered and beloved by the gods, whose abilities are extraordinarily exceptional…

Has Hunyuan gone mad?

Only then would he support such an entity ascending to the throne.

Can you sleep soundly?

I am just about right.

Prestige may be low, but ability is sufficient to fulfill the role.

I want to ascend the Demon Sovereign's throne, establish the Heavenly Court, and must apply to him—equivalent to surrendering the righteous pretext… What if we tried someone like the August Emperor?" Di Jun shook his head, "Never mind the August Emperor; even a figure like you, Empress Nüwa, would not heed his opinion, regardless of whether the Heavenly Dao consents.

If they agree, they exchange courtesies; if not, they outright raise the banner of rebellion and pull off a major move.

Upon hearing this, Nüwa's face fell long.

Although Di Jun's words were not wrong.

But it hit too close to home.

What does 'even if' mean?

It made her feel as if she were a whole rank below Fuxi.

Let's set aside discussion of whether this is true.

To say it to her face truly stimulated Nüwa's nerves.

Thus, the Empress Nüwa remained silent, yet the force in her hands surged by a third; she wielded the Cauldron of Heaven and Earth with all her might, aiming to smash this prison battlefield to pieces and, incidentally, rip the mouth off that hateful wretch opposite.

No way, no way?" Di Jun clapped and laughed loudly, left and right blocking, wielding the power of the world's home field to counter; beyond, Taiyi exerted himself evolving Chaos, the two brothers united in heart, defusing the assault, while his mouth kept going, "You're panicking, you're panicking?"

What I say are facts; why get worked up?

Amid the violent onslaught, Di Jun maneuvered, "At least I'm praising you, not fearing Hunyuan's might—why such violence?"

If you won't speak, then don't speak." Nüwa's tone was deep; with a flip of her hand she flung down a splendid landscape painting.

That picture fell amid heaven and earth, continually stretching and expanding, bearing the momentum to exhaust heaven and earth, to cover the Myriad Heavens!

As it expanded, the world that Di Jun had opened and governed was also having its rights usurped bit by bit, gradually transformed to be influenced by Nüwa's will.

Usurping the home field!

Altering heaven and earth!

Empress Nüwa, your cultivation is truly formidable." Di Jun praised, "Unfortunately, the Saint's position binds your immense mental strength; now facing my two brothers, you ultimately suffer loss.

Moreover, this place still has the Chaos Bell suppressing it.

Having said that, he slightly stirred his thought; Taiyi, standing within Chaos, received the message, and with a smiling fingertip pointed, a great bell withdrew from its state of suppressing the world and floated in the midst of heaven and earth.

Then… a tremor!

In a hazy instant, it seemed to reach the moment near the end when the supreme Pangu split heaven and earth; a great deity tore the vast Chaos with the Pangu banner, fixed the earth, water, fire, and wind with the Taiji diagram, and before him lay an expansive heaven and earth.

But this heaven and earth was deathly still, motionless.

Until the Chaos Bell was struck, emitting a world-shaking toll, resonating with Honghuang, guiding heaven and earth to inaugurate a new epoch.

The sound—where does it come from?

Naturally, it is because of vibration.

The Chaos Bell vibrated, and it also made Honghuang vibrate.

The Great Dao was vibrated, causing the rules between heaven and earth to become active; all phenomena, the Dao's birth and death, plucked the strings of fate.

Primordial matter vibrated; as it moved, time and space gained a defined foundation, allowing Honghuang's wheel to begin turning and advance toward the future.

This bell may not match the supreme divinity of beings like Zhulong and Dijiang in subtle spacetime manipulation, but its significance in Honghuang's heaven and earth is extraordinarily great—it is the source of spacetime!

The bell rang, all things turned, vitality surged, and a brilliant river of time thus evolved, merging with the whole world.

Dang!

Dang!

Dang!

Bell after bell rang, causing the river to shift from a gentle flow to a raging torrent; countless waves splashed, each wave a myth, embodying all possibilities of this world, reasonable or not, unfolding at this moment.

The waves sparkled, their projections shining upon the highest reaches of heaven and earth, like stars… the countless waves became countless stars, their light intertwining, causing Di Jun's power to suddenly become infinitely complex and profound, ultimately forming an indescribable brilliant light that turned into a flood, sweeping toward Nüwa and the Map of Mountains and Rivers.

This was a combined strike by Di Jun, Taiyi, and the Chaos Bell—a marvelous fusion of heaven and earth, chaos, and spacetime!

Hum!

The ripples of the Great Dao spread, seeming gentle and mild, yet bearing an unstoppable will, causing the Map of Mountains and Rivers to contract, the Qiankun Ding to tremble, and Nüwa's expression to grow solemn, as if facing a great foe.

In a solemn expression, Nüwa pressed her fingers together like a sword, a dim light attaching to them, and then she thrust forward point by point.

She seemed to bear an unimaginable pressure, expending immeasurable mental energy, only then managing to point this finger.

And this finger was destined to be stunning.

It redefined concepts, even in the heaven and earth opened by Di Jun, where all rules revolve around the premise of his will turning; from nothing it forged the most targeted rules, twisted in logic, overwhelming in essence, suppressive in attribute…

That indescribable brilliant light condensed the Dao essence of three mighty existences, possessing the most complex combination of rules, paired with infinite mana output, having already reached a certain extreme.

But under this finger, everything began to disintegrate!

The disintegration seemed as natural as could be, perfectly normal.

As concepts inverted, the fewer people, the stronger; the fewer changes, the stronger—one after another concept born and deduced, stacked and combined, power increasing unreasonably, using the most dominant posture to shatter that seemingly irresistible flood!

Finally, the flood collapsed.

Di Jun's face turned slightly pale as he stepped back heavily; Taiyi lowered his head, arms hanging, a faint sound of bone cracking rang out; the Chaos Bell was worst of all—the whole bell was blown away, its body collapsed in a large chunk, pitted and uneven, hideously ugly.

Boom!

The residual finger-light burst forth, piercing this battlefield, splitting the entire world in two, nearly completely torn apart.

Di Jun looked back at the terrifying scene, his mouth twitching, hand pressed to his chest, as if trying to calm his racing heart.

Turning around to look again, Nüwa had sweat on her forehead, her eyes slightly weary—evidently that grand move was impressive, but the mental pressure it brought was also immense.

But at this moment, the Empress Nüwa held her chest high, confident and proud, looking down on her opponents.

Still dare to look down on her?

Who gave her the gall!

She, the Empress Nüwa, is not to be provoked!

She loves to reason with people the most!

"Her Highness Nüwa, in the realm of the Great Simplicity, has indeed gone far beyond us."

Di Jun sighed, his eyes inscrutable, "I apologize for my earlier words; you are in no way inferior to your brother."

"Whatever Fuxi can do, you can do; whatever Fuxi cannot do, you can do as well."

"Nüwa's fingertip light flashed again, 'but your strength really surprises me.'"

"Your cultivation progress is considerably higher than I calculated…… perhaps this also exceeds Hongjun's expectations."

In genuine combat, at the peak strike, as the opponent Nüwa instantly caught a deep hidden flaw, sensing something amiss.

"Calculating the support of the Human Dao for you, weighing the Heavenly Court deities' recognition of you, exchanging interests across the board…… your strength should not be this great."

Nüwa gazed deeply at Di Jun, "Hongjun's investment in you I know well; the survey of public opinion among the Human Dao's populace, I also know your share."

"Any blind spots are just the remaining part…… at the Grand Luo level, how high is the cohesion, how much foundation and energy are they willing to expend, wholeheartedly supporting your work."

Progress in strength can basically be calculated.

After all, as a Grand Luo, inner qualities have already peaked.

What can create a difference is merely external conditions.

The weak looking at the strong may not see clearly; but the strong evaluating the weak tends to be roughly equal.

But today, Nüwa wondered if she had miscalculated.

"I think there must be some problem here." The Empress Nüwa stared at Di Jun, sizing him up, her eyes narrowing, "Are you allied with which giants? Or is it that your personal charm and authority have become so strong that some Grand Luo strongly approve, willing to sacrifice part of their interests to achieve your endeavors?"

"I said so." Di Jun remained calm, "As this god, my ability is still sufficient."

"With ability, many things can be obtained."

"Such as prestige and charm…… I formerly was indeed lacking, far short."

"But the me of now is no longer what I once was."

"Ability sufficient, not harsh on subordinates, using ideals to unite hearts, using a beautiful future to paint pies…… naturally, prestige begins to coalesce, achievements build, some fervent demon gods support and defend me—what's strange about that?"

"But I too have long mingled in the Heavenly Court, yet found nothing." Nüwa's eyes deep, "Which Grand Luo, with such a big heart, upholds you, this demon emperor full of evil schemes?"

"You guess?" Di Jun smiled, uttering these two words, throwing them back unchanged, leaving the Empress speechless.

"Empress Nüwa, you needn't guess…… you'd guess and still not guess." Di Jun smiled, "Expertise lies in specialization."

"I admit, you are a first-rate figure in Honghuang's logistical construction, with hardly anyone able to match you."

"But if it involves establishing a covert organization, secretly uniting hearts, gathering a core…… you fall far short of me."

"What a pity."

"I started too late, the opening was bad."

Di Jun shook his head.

"In that case, Hongjun missed the mark, made a wrong choice." Nüwa said in a strange tone.

"Perhaps he did miss the mark, but a mistake? That's not the case." Di Jun sighed, "If we replaced him with another who meets the ability standard, the hearts of the entire Heavenly Court would already have been united, and we could launch an assault on Heaven."

"I was ultimately slow, letting you grow big. We must first pass this Wu Clan hurdle before we are qualified to face Hongjun."

"Even if we then defeated the Wu Clan, the losses would be too great; facing the leisurely Dao Ancestor, our chances of victory would be low."

"Then why not let the Heavenly Court surrender, and together we behead Hongjun?" Nüwa suggested.

"However, I'd rather give it a try." Di Jun said leisurely, "Perhaps then we could win."

"What a pity." Nüwa sighed, and the radiance at her fingertips suddenly brightened, "Between the Wu and Yao, one will ultimately fall."

"Indeed… but before we go all‑out in a life‑and‑death showdown, shouldn't we first eliminate some unstable hidden dangers?" Di Jun said meaningfully.

"Oh? What do you mean?" Empress Wa halted the burst of radiance.

"Perhaps we need to coordinate… put on a show together to lure some fish."

PS: Fell asleep, embarrassing.

(End of chapter)