Chapter 657: Nothing More Than This (13)

"Hahaha, then Ren will take his leave."

Outside the Zuixian Small Pavilion, Ren Yidao dangled the wine pot he had swiped and waved at Di Zui, who was standing at the entrance.

"Go back, no need to see me off! Don't worry, I can make it back myself, haha!"

He then laughed heartily, turned around with a carefree air, and swayed into the bustling crowd like a drunken mortal.

In the past, due to his outstanding temperament and appearance, Ren Yidao could not easily blend into a crowd and would always be noticed at first glance.

But this time, as he merged into the crowd, he was no different from an ordinary mortal; in the vast sea of people, his aura vanished in an instant.

Even with a careful search by his Incarnation, Di Zui lost the trail of Ren Yidao and could no longer find a trace.

"..." After staring in the direction Ren Yidao had left for a long while, Di Zui shook his head, not taking such a small matter to heart.

"Heh."

A mere petty trick, not worth mentioning.

At their level, if one party wants to deliberately hide, it is very difficult for an opponent of the same rank to discover them.

He had stood at the entrance for so long just thinking about one thing.

He was more concerned about the deal he had just made with Ren Yidao.

In Di Zui's eyes, rather than a hypocritical "cooperation," he preferred to call this a "transaction."

Yes, a transaction.

Both sides harboring ulterior motives, compromising with each other, restraining each other, and supervising each other.

How could this not be called a transaction?

For someone like Ren Yidao, who did not understand traditional modes of communication and would talk about deals with familiar ease upon a second meeting, it was nothing.

But to others, the exceptionally presumptuous proposal in his mouth seemed highly unreliable... yet Di Zui accepted it.

Yes, the Butian Alliance Leader accepted Ren Yidao's proposal.

The two men's conversation ultimately reached a consensus.

To state the conclusion first, Di Zui generally agreed to the conditions proposed by Ren Yidao.

Earthly Realm affairs are managed by the Earthly Realm, Immortal God affairs are managed by the Immortal Gods; the two shall not interfere with each other.

Once, there was a barrier between immortals and mortals; Immortal Gods did not descend to the Earthly Realm, and the Earthly Realm did not see Immortal Gods.

But later, with the collective awakening of the ancient Immortal Gods, this barrier had been broken and was completely dead in all but name.

Immortal Gods revealed their traces in the Earthly Realm, recruiting believers, and mortals without the ability to discern them had no choice but to bow and kneel.

And what Ren Yidao wanted to do now was to separate the immortals and mortals once again!

Of course, he did not want to make the Immortal Gods completely extinct from the Earthly Realm—that was unrealistic and would provoke their backlash—but rather to draw a boundary for them.

Before this boundary, you may do as you please, I will not interfere.

Beyond this boundary, if you dare to act, then do not blame me for being ruthless.

Such a request was actually a matter of indifference to Di Zui; he himself had no need for mortals.

The Butian Alliance was a high-end alliance with a very high threshold for entry; they needed the most outstanding and powerful elite batch in the world.

Strength, status, and wealth all needed to be of the highest caliber to even be considered, and final entry required layer upon layer of screening.

One practiced education without discrimination, the other preferred quality over quantity.

From this perspective, the needs of the two did not conflict, and so they hit it off immediately.

If an Immortal God broke the rules, Di Zui would help Ren Yidao by standing on his side, letting the Butian Alliance come forward to persuade the Immortal God.

If a mortal broke the rules... heh, there would be no need for anyone to take action; the Immortal Gods would solve it themselves.

These two people, either one of whom could influence the power shifts of one or even two Shenzhou, could be said to be the two people sitting at the highest level of the Earthly Realm in the world.

The two of them were the chess players; their decisions could affect the billions of living beings in the world, and all living things were pieces in their hands—even the Immortal Gods could not escape the fate of becoming pieces.

I am afraid no one would have thought that a decision regarding such a major change in the world was settled and finalized in such a casual conversation, like chatting about household chores.

In addition, Di Zui also proposed a condition—time.

He clarified the duration of this "covenant."

To put it bluntly, he drafted the validity period of the contract...

Not a vague point in time like "before the Dao Fruit descends," but an accurate time node.

Thirty-five years later.

Di Zui and Ren Yidao made a Dao Oath: from this day forward, within thirty-five years, they would not interfere with each other.

This time point seemed unremarkable, but it was actually very clever.

It was not fifty years, nor forty years, and certainly not thirty years, but a precise thirty-five years.

To be more accurate, it was the time Di Zui determined he would need, at the latest, to complete the final step missing for seizing the Dao Fruit.

Yes, this transaction seemed to be a bit of a loss for the Butian Alliance, as it required effort and labor, and the need to confront other Immortal Gods head-on.

But the reason Di Zui ultimately agreed was to place a shackle on Ren Yidao, to add another layer of insurance to the world's greatest source of instability.

Di Zui was certain that within thirty-five years, Ren Yidao would be unable to complete the final step, and thus would be unable to seize the Dao Fruit ahead of time, meaning he could not pose a threat to him.

And this transaction was to ensure Ren Yidao would not disturb him before this time, eliminating the possibility of this guy breaking the pot and ruining everything to affect his progress once he felt he had failed.

And after thirty-five years, everything would be settled, and he would have already taken the Dao Fruit into his hands; by then, no matter what struggle Ren Yidao put up, it would be of no avail to the overall situation.

He was certain that Ren Yidao would not be able to reach Half-step Supreme within fifty years.

Di Zui acknowledged Ren Yidao's excellence, but even if he counted as the greatest variable in the Earthly Realm, he could not create miracles before the path to Supreme.

The path to Supreme was far, far more difficult than anyone imagined.

Fifty years was already a very high estimation of Ren Yidao's talent and hidden cards; according to Di Zui's deductions about him, the time had never been less than sixty years!

"... Heh."

Di Zui withdrew his gaze, chuckled twice, and turned to walk back into the Zuixian Small Pavilion.

"Talent in abundance, but lacking in temperament."

"Nothing more than this."

Thirty-five years... that will suffice!

By then, everything will be settled.

There will be no more variables!

"Presumably, he must be grinning from ear to ear by now, right?"

"He probably thinks Huhu is an arrogant idiot—no, that shouldn't be it yet; at most, he just thinks I am overly conceited... Hehe."

Ren Yidao sat atop the shrine of Xianhu Temple, grinning as he watched the divine sense depart from the Zuixian Small Pavilion.

"However, he isn't entirely wrong; according to the progress of the deductions in my mind, I do indeed need forty or fifty years..."

Since Di Zui could think of this point, Ren Yidao could naturally think of it as well.

Both were aware of the other's thoughts, but they both chose to trust their own judgments.

Di Zui was certain that Ren Yidao could not reach Half-step Supreme within thirty-five years.

Ren Yidao, meanwhile, firmly believed that he could find a way to break the deadlock.

"So, what should I do?"