Chapter 886: Appearance

The Haotian Priest ultimately did not board the ship.

Although this was merely an ordinary invitation, and Qian Jian and the others might not have had any deep ulterior motives, nor would they necessarily discuss realistic issues while traveling together, Haotian's intent to refuse was very clear—no matter what happened afterward, the people of Lingjie and the Earth Barbarians, Humans and Tianmo, could ultimately never walk the same path.

As a faction of Tianmo that was not so fanatical, Haotian made this choice quickly, firmly, and even sensitively, which shows that there is no possibility of the Tianmo Jie turning around.

Qian Jian and Zhen Jian did not press him, simply boarding the boat with composed expressions. Perhaps they had never held any hope; even if inviting Haotian to join forces was still a delaying tactic, it was nothing more than an extended version of this three-year truce.

With Haotian resolutely parting ways, there was no need for "three years after three years, and three years after three years" anymore.

War will never cease.

Right now, Qian Jian and Zhen Jian did not particularly care about Haotian; their attention was focused on other matters.

The small boat drifted along, sailing in the sea of Lingjie. After it had a certain distance from Tian Jiang Dao and the shore, and only vast seawater remained around them, someone was heard asking: "Is it safe now?"

Qian Jian laughed: "As far as I can see, it is safe. Why don't you take a look?"

Then, a person appeared out of thin air in the Void and landed on the small boat. This was a young man with a handsome appearance like Sunlight, his hair having returned to black; it was exactly Tang Zhao in his normal state.

His appearance was said to be similar to the Taixiong God, and indeed there was a subtle resemblance, with the degree of handsomeness being on par; however, if one were to overlap the two faces, not a single facial feature would match. And as for temperament, the Taixiong God was filled with a sacred and solemn divinity, looking like a god at first glance, while Tang Zhao was much more grounded. In his current state, there would be no problem calling him an ordinary young scholar.

Zhen Jian clapped and said: "Good, the switching is so fast. People all say that Mortals cannot enter the Shenjie, and once they enter, they can never return, yet you are able to come and go as you please. Are you a Human or a God now?"

Tang Zhao smiled and bowed to the two Sword Saints, saying: "How could I be a God? And what is so amazing about the Shenjie? It is just bullying outsiders who don't know their tricks. If you two find the feeling, you can stroll through the Shenjie as you please."

Qian Jian flicked his sleeve, and several seats appeared on the boat—wide wooden stools with cushions, not luxurious, but quite comfortable—and he said: "Let's sit and talk."

Now that the small boat was surrounded by seawater, it was indeed very suitable for discussing confidential topics, and talking about the secrets of the Tianmo Jie in the central territory of the Tianmo Jie gave a unique sense of satisfaction.

Tang Zhao sat down after the two Sword Saints were seated, casually taking out refreshments and pouring some for both of them.

Zhen Jian looked him up and down and laughed: "Good fellow, Taixiong God, you really had the look of a god. I said I hadn't seen you for these few years, and among Jianshan and the Sword Court, you were the most mysterious; so you went off to be a god. Has it been enjoyable being a god these past few years?"

Tang Zhao laughed: "Actually, it's not bad. Just as you said, I have indeed stayed in the Shenjie of the Tianmo Jie these past few years, on one hand to cultivate with a calm heart, and on the other to study their whole set of things—gods, believers, and so on. This is what they call 'know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated.' I studied it here, and the more I studied, the more ridiculous it seemed. It's also strange that their choice of words is too good; 'God'—doesn't that sound majestic? But if it were called 'Sword Deity', would it lose its style?"

Zhen Jian and Qian Jian looked at each other, and Qian Jian said: "Actually, we have always suspected that gods and Sword Deities are similar existences, yet we have never had evidence. The Tianmo charge at the front, and gods never descend to the Human World or the Suiyu; we have never seen them with our own eyes, so we couldn't confirm it. So you can confirm it now? Are they really the same thing?"

Tang Zhao said: "I can confirm it. The essence of a god is a Sword Deity. Or rather, a Sword Deity and a god are essentially the same thing—a carrier of rules that has birthed intelligence."

He touched the sword at his waist and said: "Our swords can be said to be carriers of rules; this is something everyone knows. We control the sword, and ultimately, we control the rules. If we do not control the sword, the rules still have a probability of birthing intelligence, condensing energy to form a body, and forming a god or a Sword Deity. But actually, because we practice Sword Casting, the term 'Sword' is attached to 'Deity'. Over here, there has never been such a special supreme treasure as a sword, so there is no way to call them Sword Deities. Calling them gods is also quite accurate. If we don't nitpick, a god is the embodiment of a rule. If we shatter the body and spirituality of a god, a very pure core will remain. They call it a divine spark; we call it a Sword Seed. It can be used for Sword Casting just the same."

If these words were said to others, they might be earth-shattering, but for Qian Jian and the others, it was merely organizing a viewpoint that had always existed and making it clearer. Qian Jian nodded and said: "So it is also a fact that we Humans have held the authority that the Tianmo dare not covet from the very beginning, placing us a level above them."

Tang Zhao nodded: "That is exactly so. In terms of strength, some of those newly born Lesser Gods only have the strength of a Sword Hero. However, those little fellows dare not go out to collect believers and only exist as mountain spirits and wild monsters. And the gods of ordinary small tribes, Lesser Gods with a level similar to the Taixiong God, are only at the level of a Sword Immortal. But they also have areas where they are stronger than us, such as the application of rules. Look at this Shenjie; it is an extra-dimensional world they opened up using rules, completely acting as the obverse and reverse of the Waijie, and it is one of the cornerstones supporting their belief culture."

"There are many such similar applications of rules, reflected in every aspect. All gods are proficient in using the miracles created by those applications. And we generally develop swords with an eye toward developing a certain sword or a certain rule; for example, the Jingxing Sword has always been researched with a focus on Sunlight and the sun, while there is insufficient general research on the concepts of swords and rules."

Qian Jian nodded: "Makes sense. Actually, we old fellows have also been pondering the application of rules for many years. The results we might achieve have similarities to the methods of those gods, but the starting point is completely different—all starting from our own base and then promoting it to the whole. If we could look from a higher perspective and recognize the essence from the beginning, we could avoid many detours."

Zhen Jian also pondered and said: "This is indeed the gap. When we Sword Guests reach the Sword Heart realm of a Sword Immortal, it is 'Human and Sword as One', but those gods are truly one with the sword. For us, the application of rules is exploration; for them, it is instinct. If we could learn their experience, it would be a leap for fellow practitioners above the Sword Immortal level."

Speaking of this, he smiled at Tang Zhao and said: "Xiao Tang has already made a leap now, right?"

Tang Zhao gave a chuckle, clearly carrying a bit of pride, and said: "It's alright, it's alright, it is indeed different compared to three years ago. Actually, if you understand one law, you understand a hundred; it's just a matter of poking through a layer of window paper. Once you figure it out, not to mention the accumulation of power, it is indeed of great benefit to the Sword Heart. My Sword Heart has made some progress now. Hehe."

With that laugh of his, it seems this progress is not small.

"Those gods can instinctively use rules, but they don't actually think. They rely on faith to accumulate power, and they aren't that closely aligned with the rules. If we learn their strengths and combine them with our own thinking and summaries to create a system, it will definitely be stronger than theirs. This is called 'learning from the enemy's superior techniques to control the enemy'."

Qian Jian laughed: "Well said. Compared to the Tianmo, what we are originally strong at is learning and comprehension, drawing inferences from one instance. Who among those who can cultivate to a Sword Immortal does not have astonishing aptitude? We only lack someone to provide guidance. Xiao Tang, go back and hold a Dharma assembly, preach a bit, and open the eyes of us country bumpkins."

Zhen Jian added: "This Dharma assembly cannot be held for free. You must collect at least three to five dou of Sword Pills as an entrance fee, enough to collect all the power to push Xiao Tang to the level of a Sword Saint."

Tang Zhao hurriedly said: "There is no need for this entrance fee; for the sake of the Human World..."

Zhen Jian said: "I will collect it. If you think it's too much, I don't. If you are embarrassed, I'll just take a larger cut." He smiled at Qian Jian, "It's fortunate that Kun Sword didn't come; otherwise, given the friendship between the two of them, where would it be my turn to take a cut?"

Tang Zhao had no choice but to agree half-heartedly, and Qian Jian then asked seriously: "What happened just now? What happened to that so-called Holy God?"

Tang Zhao said: "Oh, that is a long story. I stayed here for a long time and saw with my own eyes how that Holy God eroded everything step by step, making the entire Tianmo Jie a mess, with signs of an apocalypse. I originally intended to just watch the show, but before I knew it, its strength had expanded to the point where I felt something was very wrong. Therefore, I took the opportunity of it finally revealing its ambition and holding the Ten Thousand Gods Assembly to plan to cause it some trouble."

Thus, he began from how he went to incite the Liujin God, all the way to how he organized the Lesser Gods to urge it to advance, while simultaneously inciting the resistance organization of the Upper Right God camp, repeatedly jumping back and forth, acting as a go-between, and finally brewing the current situation.

Zhen Jian listened and clicked his tongue in wonder, saying: "It is still the young who dare to think and act, and the methods are also remarkable. Our generation, including these so-called powerhouses of the next generation, none of them could perform these operations. This is what you call 'one mouth being worth a million heroic troops'."

Tang Zhao said: "The junior was just lucky. Actually, there are many wise men in the Human World who are resourceful and can devise strategies; there are many who are better than me. It's just that they didn't have my luck to luckily cultivate to this point, so they had no way to step onto this stage. If they came, they would know that these gods are not worth mentioning in terms of wisdom; a fifth-rank official of the Human World Imperial Court could slaughter them. This is called 'Tian Ji's Horse Racing'."

Zhen Jian laughed: "Among Sword Immortals, you are the best at scheming; among strategists, you are the best at fighting?"

After they laughed for a while, Tang Zhao spoke of the subsequent developments, including the Upper Right God personally taking them to the main god's tomb to carve off a piece of divine body as a weapon.

Qian Jian sighed and said: "Back then, I also confronted the main god... although I was following the Sovereign. Now that he has been subjected to such desecration after his death, it is truly the unfilial nature of the descendants."

Zhen Jian said thoughtfully: "The Tianmo don't care about being filial or unfilial, but the divine body still has such power now; a single finger can suppress an evil god. Now that this great weapon is still in their hands! We must be on guard."

Tang Zhao nodded and thought: Could it be that in the future they will dismember the main god and bring him to the battlefield?

Tianmo... it is not impossible.

At this moment, Tang Zhao finished speaking about the assembly, and Zhen Jian still had questions, saying: "What happened at the end? What is the state of that evil god now?"

Tang Zhao deliberated and said: "The evil god is now... considered to be under control."