Chapter 665 - 664: Divine Domain’s ’Unspoken Rules’, Farewell to Heavenly Saint’s Heavenly Dao

The night was growing darker.

A small town on the west coast of the East Continent.

Li Jing brought Jiang Yini on their flight, and they landed in the suburbs outside the town.

Gazing at a seaside town that, at first glance under nightfall, bore the resemblance of a modern city, Jiang Yini commented.

"Xia Qianqian does have some ability. Using limited resources and Blue Star technology, she managed to popularize some basic infrastructure within more than a hundred years. Although she did not make much progress, it is not easy for her to have reached this stage relying on the worthless metal provided by various forces from Blue Star."

"Indeed, she is not without ability, but I think more than anything, it’s the people’s support for her that matters."

Li Jing laughed, responding.

"Her inability to practice the Sky Demon Great Method back then was both her luck and her advantage. Regardless of the latent danger behind the Sky Demon Great Method, had she dabbled in Cultivation when she was part of the royal family, she would not have achieved what she has today. How many of those in the Da Xia royal family truly understood the hardships of the common people, let alone possessed a heart of benevolence?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yini blinked and nodded in agreement.

"By your reasoning, it does make sense. Because she was excluded from cultivation and thus marginalized previously, Xia Qianqian grew closer to the common folk, and easily won their hearts. At the same time, she understood what the foundation of a country truly is. If the reign of the country was still in the hands of those from the previous Da Xia royal family, the basic infrastructure in this small town might be exclusive to the Da Xia Imperial City only."

Having shared her thoughts, Jiang Yini did not let the topic linger and asked curiously.

"So what are we doing in this seaside town? Why not go directly to the West Continent?"

"There’s no need to go west, we’ll just wait here."

Li Jing shook his head, replying.

"I have the Supreme Godhood, and you possess the God Pattern. Going there will not only risk arousing the Ancestor Gods’ suspicion, but those who truly know the scheme are probably only the Ancestor Gods. We cannot hope to learn anything from interacting with them. Moreover, as a man from the East, I might bring huge trouble by taking the Supreme Godhood."

With that, he continued to explain.

"Regardless of other concerns, I’m not even a deity born in the Supreme Divine Domain. Not to mention these Ancestor Gods--if the Supreme Beings in the Supreme Divine Domain learned that I hold the Supreme Godhood, they would probably ’revolt’ on the spot. The authority brought by the Supreme Godhood could silence most of the Supreme Divine Clan, but the foreseeable situation will not change because of this."

Upon hearing Li Jing’s words, Jiang Yini slightly furrowed her brows.

"I understand your reasoning, but it seems that staying here as if waiting for a lucky catch will not help in keeping your Godhood hidden?"

"Indeed, it cannot be avoided, but the situation isn’t exactly the same."

Li Jing smiled faintly.

?

Jiang Yini questioned with a ’?’.

"We, as Easterners, impersonating as citizens of Da Xia and taking a swing at defending the homeland. There’s nothing wrong about that, right?"

Li Jing grinned mysteriously.

Dumbstruck, Jiang Yini chuckled and asked.

"So?"

"When facing a powerful enemy, with Da Xia behind us, who cares about God Pattern and Godhood? Let’s first give them a beating and talk later."

Li Jing playfully cocked his head.

"..."

Jiang Yini.

Li Jing’s words are rather unreasonable.

Yet, thinking further,

She felt there was nothing wrong with his words.

If they went directly to the West Continent to confront the Ancestor Gods, they certainly wouldn’t get any answers, and might even stir up unwanted troubles.

Now, as a Supreme God, Li Jing needs a reason to act.

As a Supreme God, Li Jing cannot simply beat up the Ancestor Gods, who are on a ’legitimate course of action’, without justification. That would stir up unnecessary trouble, wouldn’t it?

This here involves the interests of the entire Supreme Divine Domain.

A doorway to another Plane Space sought by the Ancestor Gods for their selfish desires still aligns with the overall interest of the Supreme Divine Domain.

Let’s put aside the benefits that may land into the hands of individual Ancestor Gods from this Plane Space.

A Plane Space which the Supreme Faith had never reached before.

This magnitude goes beyond heavy.

An entire Plane Space!

If the Supreme Faith could enter the space, the Supreme Divine Clan would immediately take flight.

As a Supreme God, Li Jing absolutely cannot openly obstruct the Ancestor Gods from seeking ’well-being’ for the entire Supreme Divine Domain.

If it’s judged from within the Supreme Divine Domain, it can’t be justified and might even be considered a rebellion.

When such a situation arises, the Supreme Divine Clan would have a sufficient excuse to force him to give up the Supreme Godhood.

In such circumstances,

Merely having powerful fists might not be useful.

The issue boils down to a matter of popular sentiment.

When all members of the Supreme Divine Clan believe you are not fit to be a Supreme God, you can’t win over the ’hearts of Gods’ with sheer force, not to mention, you will not gain any support for any internal plans you might have for the Supreme Divine Clan in the future.

So, in essence,

Currently, as Li Jing hasn’t yet figured out how to effectively handle the Supreme Divine Clan, he cannot behave too recklessly as a Supreme God.

At the very least, he cannot give the Ancestor Gods any excuses to rally other deities to ’revolt’ against non-orthodox powers.

But what should be done next then?

Jiang Yini furrowed her brows.

In the end, by incubating his eggs here, Li Jing was waiting to beat up the Ancestor Gods who would soon cross the ocean with the Eastern Expeditionary Force.

He must confront them in the end.

Wouldn’t the Ancestor Gods be unhappy?

Li Jing inferred what was on Jiang Yini’s mind and replied with profound meaning.

"As a Supreme God and also as a Da Xia citizen, it would be perfectly justifiable and in line with the ’unwritten rules’ of the Supreme Divine Domain for me to incorporate any Plane Spaces appearing in Da Xia’s territory under my control as my personal domain, excluding other deities from interfering."

?

Jiang Yini questioned with a ’?’.

"You haven’t acquired Godhood, so you don’t have this ’insight’. But you can understand it by referring to the Supreme Church of Blue Star. The structure of the Supreme Faith has never extended benefits to all gods."

Jiang Yini furrowed her brows slightly at his words.

Initially, she hadn’t paid much attention to it.

Upon Li Jing’s reminder, however, she recalled it.

The Main Gods they worship are only three in number.

The Supreme God is one of them.

The Goddess of Light is the second.

The third is the Goddess of Harvest.

Other main gods are not on the belief "list" of the Supreme Church of Blue Star.

Not to mention middle and lower gods.

Thinking about this, Jiang Yini smacked her lips a bit.

"Don’t beat around the bush, just say it clearly."

"This involves the internal distribution of interests in the Supreme God Domain, and an extremely important issue. Personal belief is finite."

Li Jing smiled and spoke.

"A person cannot believe in more than one god. Thus, the Supreme God Clan will not usually allow other gods to interfere in their own rooted beliefs unless it’s absolutely necessary."

With that, he continued.

"Before this, there was a hierarchical relationship between Supreme, Superior, Middle, and Lower gods. The places where lower gods are worshipped cannot escape the interference of middle, superior, and supreme gods, and it increases accordingly from middle to superior."

"At the Supreme level, aside from some special Supreme gods, theoretically, no other Supremes have a reason to intervene. There’s a subtle balance among the Supremes, and they won’t offend other Supremes for just a little bit of faith."

"Like the situation of the Supreme Church of Blue Star, it’s estimated that either the Goddess of Light or the Goddess of Harvest must owe a favor to someone, which is why both of their beliefs exist simultaneously."

After laying out these three strands of logic, Li Jing spoke again.

"The specifics aren’t worth delving into too much. You just need to understand that among the entire Supreme God Domain, Supreme belief is most unique, and it is bound to appear in all the gods’ territories."

Having said that, he continued.

"I don’t know if past Supreme gods ever had their own independent regions of worship, but in terms of places personally taken down by a Supreme god, having only one Supreme god belief fully abides the ’unspoken rule’ of the Divine Domain."

Hearing his explanations, Jiang Yini nodded.

This time, Li Jing gave her a comprehensive explanation even though she had no godhood.

The logic contained within was actually quite easy to understand.

In a way, the Supreme God Clan seemed much like a large-scale gang.

Each main god capable of receiving belief represented a faction.

Each faction could have its own territory.

But regardless of the size of the territory, lower-ranked factions always had to give the lion’s share of benefits to the next level.

At this point, Li Jing said again.

"The only regretful part of these ’unspoken rules’ is that Supreme god belief is only targeted at Supreme godhood, not at a specific person sitting at the pinnacle of godhood. However, it’s not a big problem since no one can take the godhood away from me when it’s in my hands."

Jiang Yini was dumbfounded and paid a heartfelt silent tribute to the entire Supreme God Clan.

Just as she was about to say something, Li Jing pulled her in.

"Let’s go, the eastern expedition won’t start so soon. The Heavenly Saint Land itself is an upright and serious domain, the strongest people on its native soil are merely in the Eighth or Ninth Realm. Even if their personnel are ready, it will take some time for them to cross the ocean to the east. Seizing this opportunity, we can experience a world of just the two of us."

Hearing him say this, Jiang Yini was a little startled and then her face turned red.

"What kind of world for just the two of us?"

Li Jing paused his step, looked strangely at her, and then grinned mischievously.

"Rest assured, I’m not in a hurry to have you, so don’t anticipate too much."

Jiang Yini’s face immediately turned red.

They are both adults.

Seeing her feelings, Li Jing said there was no need for her to hide.

She’s technically over a hundred years old, but she’s actually lived for tens of thousands of years.

After all, for nearly the whole one hundred years that she lived, she spent almost all of them inside the Zhenyuan Tower, where time flowed differently.

Strictly speaking, being over ten thousand years old, she shouldn’t be as shy as a little girl, getting embarrassed over casual words.

The problem was how could Li Jing say such things!?

How was it that she was expecting it?

Wasn’t she just casually asking?

It’s not a matter of being shy or not.

Having no prior experience, it’s okay for her to be a bit timid, right?

Unfortunately.

She couldn’t confront this matter directly by being open and straightforward about it.

After giving him a glare to show her displeasure, Jiang Yini suddenly spoke up.

"Since it will be a while before we set off, why don’t we try living like ordinary people?"

At her words, Li Jing paused.

"Living like ordinary people?"

"Having lived for so many years in cultivation, haven’t you often inevitably felt that you’re no longer a human, that you’ve lost your humanity?"

Jiang Yini softly voiced her thoughts.

Li Jing nodded.

He had that feeling, of course.

But it was not as strong as Jiang Yini’s.

It couldn’t be helped.

She had spent the past hundred years almost entirely in the Zhenyuan Tower, where she had really experienced nearly ten thousand years.

This really wasn’t the same as being on the outside.

At the end of the day.

The diminishing of humanity wasn’t solely due to the increase in cultivation level, but more so due to the fact that they had lived for too long.

Meanwhile, Jiang Yini continued.

"Given the rare opportunity, let’s suppress our cultivation levels and live as an ordinary couple for a while. Let’s see if we can awaken that dormant part of our humanity. What do you think?"

"Sure, if it makes you happy, I’ll accompany you."

Li Jing smiled, stood still, and said.

"In that case, there’s no need for us to enter the city. Let’s just go to the seaside and be fishermen for a while. We can be self-sufficient and experience what it’s like to lead a simple life."

Hearing his suggestion, Jiang Yini’s eyes lit up.

"Great! I’ve wanted to go fishing for a long time, but I never had the chance on Blue Star."

"To be honest, I’ve wanted to try it for a long time too."

Li Jing laughed and spoke, then, with a move, he led her towards the seaside.

...

In the blink of an eye.

Two days later.

A wooden hut appeared on a beach not far from a coastal town.

Just as agreed.

Li Jing and Jiang Yini chose to seal their cultivation level, surviving by fishing and collecting seafood for two days.

The process.

Wasn’t as difficult as they had imagined.

Mainly because the Holy Land was not like Blue Star, where people are everywhere.

Not only are cultivation resources scarce, everything is in short supply.

The marine resources of the Holy Land are so rich that you can casually pick up enough seafood that you couldn’t finish in a month.

Perhaps because they have lived for a long time, the two enjoyed the process.

During this period, there was no awakening of lost humanity, but rather it was the enjoyment of their two-person world free of burdens.

In the evening.

The endless ocean receded with the tide.

Li Jing and Jiang Yini casually picked some seafood they liked, and started preparing for a barbecue on the beach.

Just as they began, both froze in their movements.

They looked to the side.

A young man in white robes stood there, hands on his back, scrutinizing them with curiosity.

Seeing him, Jiang Yini’s expression slightly changed.

This young man.

His strength was unfathomably deep.

However, this wasn’t the point.

The point was that he seemed to carry a strange meaning, as if he were the master of this world, everything under his control.

Upon seeing the newcomer, Li Jing greeted him with a carefree smile.

"Long time no see, Lord Heavenly Dao."

Jiang Yini’s eyes widened at his words.

Lord Heavenly Dao?

This young man is the Heavenly Dao of the Holy Land?

What does Li Jing mean by a long time no see?

Did they meet when they came to the Holy Land before?

On the other side.

The Heavenly Dao of the Holy Land responded to Li Jing’s casual greeting by first opening his mouth soundlessly, then laughing with his fists in salute.

"Indeed, it has been a long time. I never thought you would return to this world one day. What is even more surprising is that in just over a hundred years, you have already come this far."

"Simply a matter of luck."

Li Jing shrugged and picked up a skewer.

"Sit down and join us?"

"..."

The Heavenly Dao of the Holy Land.

He is the Heavenly Dao.

Normally, he shouldn’t appear before people.

But Li Jing.

He really is special.

In fact, as soon as someone entered the Holy Land, he had already noticed it.

This person had directly torn the space to get in. A pure "illegal invasion".

Furthermore, he carries the label of a Deceiver of Heavens.

He simply cannot afford to ignore it.

Since they were old acquaintances, Li Jing hadn’t done anything for the time being, and the Heavenly Dao of the Holy Land had turned a blind eye to it.

In a blink of an eye, two days had passed, and he was getting a bit impatient.

For the Holy Land.

The current Li Jing, without a doubt, poses a top-level threat.

Apart from the label of Deceiver of the Heavens, even his pure strength was approaching a level beyond the Heavenly Dao of the Holy Land. Moreover, the biggest reliance of the Heavenly Dao, the Heavenly Punishment, couldn’t be used against him.

Given Li Jing’s current strength.

If he were to act recklessly, the Holy Land, which is limited to the Ninth Realm, wouldn’t be able to withstand his torment.

At this moment, the Heavenly Dao of the Holy Land showed up, wanting to ask Li Jing what he intended to do here.

For one, he couldn’t possibly keep an eye on Li Jing all the time.

Secondly, if something did happen, it would be too late by the time he intervened.

Facing Li Jing, who obliviously invited him to join them for seafood, the Heavenly Dao of the Holy Land was flabbergasted.

However, he couldn’t afford to provoke him right now...

Silent, he sat opposite Li Jing and Jiang Yini. The Heavenly Dao of the Holy Land nodded towards the latter in acknowledgment.

"My apologies for the interruption."

Jiang Yini was taken aback by this.

Sitting opposite.

Was the will of the Heavenly Dao, an inherent part of this natural world.

And he was politely telling her he was sorry for interrupting...

Damn it!

What level has Li Jing achieved now?

Why was he given this much face?

Glancing at the man next to her who was busying himself with the barbecue, Jiang Yini responded with a nod.

"We are outsiders, and our presence here may have violated some of the rules of the Holy Land. Please extend us some leniency, Lord Heavenly Dao."

Upon hearing this, the Heavenly Dao of the Holy Land felt tears welling up in his eyes.

Look!

How aware was she?

Understanding that coming to the Heavenly Saint Land was against the rules.

A request for leniency upon meeting.

Is it so hard to carry a conversation?

Turning to the person by her side.

Currently, all attention is focused on the scallops on the grill!

A hand raises to massage the brow as Heavenly Saint’s Heavenly Dao opts to chat with Jiang Yini.

"We’re familiar with each other so it’s all good."

With a smile, he speaks.

"May I ask, why have the two of you come to Heavenly Saint Land?"

"This..."

Jiang Yini hesitates and turns to look at Li Jing.

Seeing this, Li Jing hands her a perfectly cooked scallop and tosses one to Heavenly Saint’s Heavenly Dao.

"It’s a long story. The main thing is, we went to the Supreme God Domain and found a group of Ancestor Gods had come over."

"Supreme God Domain, Ancestor Gods!?"

Heavenly Saint is wide-eyed.

Apparently.

The descended Ancestor Gods managed rather well, unlike Li Jing who blatantly tore through space upon arrival that he didn’t quite register yet on the Heavenly Saint’s Heavenly Dao’s radar.

Seeing the surprise written all over Heavenly Saint’s Heavenly Dao’s face, Li Jing does not find it strange.

This being is a Heavenly Dao, all right.

But unquestionably, one of the weaker ones.

In the past, he certainly wasn’t qualified to make this statement, but now, this being before him is somewhat underwhelming.

At least among the three Heavenly Daos Li Jing has encountered.

This one is the only one who visibly exhibits an Essence Source.

Of course.

If it really comes to a fight.

The Heavenly Saint’s Heavenly Dao can still pose a formidable challenge.

After all, the Heavenly Saint Land is his home turf.

Its inherent rules for all things under heaven and earth is certainly more robust than that of an independent personal world.

"I will handle the matter regarding the Ancestor Gods, Heavenly Dao, you need not worry."

Li Jing starts speaking with a smile, then unseals the energy within him, revealing a hint of Supreme Godhood aura.

Heavenly Saint’s Heavenly Dao could sense something and his eyes bulged open.

The fact that Li Jing has reached a level that invokes his wariness already came as a surprise, but the Supreme God Pattern in front of him was downright shocking!

This is...the Godhood of that bastard who deceived the heavens, isn’t it?

Damnit...

He could understand if the Godhood had changed hands, but why was it in Li Jing’s ?

The man before him isn’t even a god, he’s supposed to be of the Orthodox Immortality Path, right?

These two things don’t add up!

Under no circumstances should the Godhood have ended up in his hands.

And yet...

The Godhood was there in his hands.

Heavenly Saint’s Heavenly Dao was in a full-blown mess, he managed to utter in a startled tone.

"How... did you manage this?"

"Does it matter?"

Li Jing tilts his head.

Heavenly Saint’s Heavenly Dao opened and closed his mouth in silence, then spoke with a serious tone.

"Are you sure you can handle that group of Ancestor Gods who came from the Supreme God Domain? Just possessing Godhood might not be enough to make them behave."

"It’s fine, I have this."

Li Jing shows off his fist the size of a sandbag, saying.

"When the time comes, just pretend you didn’t see anything, Heavenly Dao. It’ll save us all the discomfort."

Heavenly Saint’s Heavenly Dao was silent, then spoke.

"Don’t overdo it."

"Understood."

Li Jing nodded, then spoke.

"Since you’ve shown yourself, Heavenly Dao, I just happen to have a question I need your clarification on."

At his words, Heavenly Saint’s Heavenly Dao’s brow furrowed a bit, saying.

"As you should know, I cannot possibly answer your question..."

Before he could finish, Li Jing cut him off.

"There’s an entrance to the unknown plane space appearing in the Eastern Continent, are you aware of this, Heavenly Dao?"

Faced with this query, Heavenly Saint’s Heavenly Dao paused, shook his head, saying.

"I had no idea."

After responding, he added.

"This is beyond the jurisdiction of the Will of Heaven, unless something invaded from that plane space."

Getting this response didn’t surprise Li Jing.

If this guy knew of the existence of the entrance to the plane space, he would have been able to guess why Li Jing came.

The reason he asked this.

Was to confirm, second, was to hope that this guy could help find it.

However, Heavenly Saint’s Heavenly Dao seemed to know what Li Jing was thinking. Before Li Jing could ask, his figure smoothly vanished, leaving behind a faint voice saying.

"Give my regards to the one in the Big World."