Chapter 488: Heart of God (Two-in-One)

Inside the Café.

The atmosphere had become unbearably oppressive.

The three people sitting at the table shared a tacit understanding—

Yan Jing was definitely not dead.

If for no other reason than this: had Yan Jing died, the God Storage Land would have closed again.

But when they had their subordinates try using Dungeon Selection Vouchers, the God Storage Land remained an available option.

It was just impossible to enter.

According to the system, the God Storage Land was currently in a special period.

Since Yan Jing was alive, the most important matter for the three of them was pulling him over to their respective sides.

This would decide the gamble between them.

"Let's lay our cards on the table," Wang Yu said with a smile.

"If the Twelve Domains want to enter the Central Region and prepare for the Day of Godhood, they must eventually choose a leader and decide which three directional domains will serve as the core."

"As far as I know, Wanli, Qitian, and Dark Ghost have all produced candidates this generation. There are even rumors that among the other domain lords, someone has walked one's own path."

"If this continues, our three domains will rank dead last."

"Originally, none of us saw anyone suitable to be a candidate. As for walking one's own path, our talents only go so far."

"But none of us wants to remain subservient forever, so we planned to cultivate a few more summit climbers and win by sheer numbers."

"But given Yan Jing's recent performance, I think we can take a real shot at this."

"If necessary, let's all take a step back and call off the gamble. We can treat Yan Jing as shared between our three domains and pool our resources to push him toward becoming a candidate."

"If it works, we might still have a chance."

Long Quezhou was the first to answer, his tone unyielding.

"No."

"Unless Yan Jing uses Tianzi as his core, I will not give him our resources."

"Tianzi doesn't necessarily have to enter the Central Region. I'm satisfied enough with the current situation."

Beside him, Liu Xiaoyue was even more direct, saying coldly, "I will say it again. Xiao Yan belongs to Yueyin."

"According to the terms of the gamble, Yueyin has already won. You two had better go back to where you came from and deliver the resources you prepared within a few days."

"Hah, who are you trying to bluff?"

Wang Yu sneered.

"With your temperament, you just want to keep Yan Jing under your thumb so you can play the boss."

"Do you think you can be the boss for long? Your talent can't compare to his, and your age can't compare either. You being replaced is only a matter of time. Give it up, Liu Xiaoyue. The era that belonged to us is long over."

Wang Yu's words turned Liu Xiaoyue's face pale, the veins on the back of her hands bulging.

Striking a snake at its three-inch mark—Wang Yu's words had hit her exactly where it hurt.

In truth, the reality was far worse, because Yan Jing's relationship with her was terrible.

"Yan Jing's talent is indeed excellent, but he is still too young. Sometimes he needs guidance from those who came before him,"

Liu Xiaoyue finally said coldly.

This made Wang Yu laugh.

She was actually the most clear-eyed of the three.

For no other reason than having been thoroughly desensitized by Bai Ya.

After all, Bai Ya had never listened to her.

"You're exactly the same as always,"

Wang Yu sneered.

"I heard that back in the day, Yueyin had a highly promising youngster who was eventually taken to the Central Region and is now a candidate. Don't tell me they left because they couldn't stand you either?"

"Shut up!"

At the mention of that past incident, Liu Xiaoyue nearly went berserk. Throwing aside her last shred of dignity, she roared directly at Wang Yu. Wang Yu just smiled and shrugged, saying no more.

She knew some things were beyond saving.

Liu Xiaoyue simply had that kind of personality. If she couldn't have something, she would rather destroy it.

This was also the purpose of her repeated provocations. If she ultimately couldn't bring Yan Jing to her side, then even if he stayed with Liu Xiaoyue, she wanted him thoroughly ruined, trapped under Liu Xiaoyue's control for the rest of his life.

Thanks to her relentless provocations, the relationship between Liu Xiaoyue and Yan Jing was now like that of a paranoid emperor and a general holding all the military power.

Winning battles depended entirely on the general, but an incompetent emperor would never let that general live comfortably.

Of course, in her heart, she never believed Yan Jing could break free from Liu Xiaoyue's grasp.

The gap between someone who had reached the summit and someone who had not was an uncrossable chasm.

The three of them sat there, each harboring their own hidden agendas.

Waiting like this, another two days passed.

Until the third day.

Yan Jing slowly opened his eyes inside the God Storage Land.

He looked vastly different from just a few days ago. His well-proportioned, slender physique had been tempered even further, instantly bringing to mind the most perfect human proportions. His already sharply defined facial features now looked as though they had been carved by an axe and chiseled by a knife, exuding a faint, unapproachable aura. The stray hairs on his forehead swayed without wind, and a vast sea of stars seemed hidden within his eyes. Every movement carried a natural charm—the result of his physical body being polished to absolute perfection.

Two days ago, he had passed all the trials and obtained the true treasure of the God Storage Land.

First was the ownership of the God Storage Land.

The system had marked him, a human, as the Lord of the Domain for this territory, giving him complete control over all living creatures within it.

Although after everything that had happened, only a horde of mindless divine monstrous progeny remained, having them was better than nothing.

He actually felt there was still a lot of room for development here.

Next was the divinity.

All the divinity in the God Storage Land now belonged to him, but since he hadn't yet reached the summit, he couldn't use it.

After that came the physical tempering.

Yes, not just once.

But twice.

Because two Deities had been buried here.

Both had left behind their own tempering methods and used their residual divine power to complete the vast majority of the physical polishing for Yan Jing. As for the rest, as long as Yan Jing followed the steps and ate normally every day, he would finish it.

Yan Jing calculated that if he just ate normal food every day, it would take about one to two years.

If he took medicinal supplements daily, that time could be cut in half.

If he also found items specifically beneficial to the flesh, the time could be shortened even further.

Once fully tempered, his physical body should be able to step into the Ninth Tier.

But the final highlight far surpassed everything before it.

"Divine Seed."

According to the inheritance, he had gained the qualification to inherit this deceased Deity's position.

[Physique], which was the name of this god.

"Heart of reaching the summit—one's own path—completion of one's own path." Beyond this point, the only way forward was becoming a Deity.

The Eleventh Tier was the tier of the gods.

But not just anyone could reach this tier.

It depended on qualifications.

Either you were so terrifyingly strong that you carved out the qualification yourself.

Or you defied the heavens and snatched one from an existing god using a mortal body.

Or, you inherited someone else's.

And right now, Yan Jing had effectively unlocked this qualification ahead of time.

As long as he reached the Eleventh Tier, he would be a Deity.

He was a solid century ahead of everyone else.

The only question was how to actually reach the Eleventh Tier.

That was a problem.

"A Deity."

Yan Jing felt it was all somewhat unreal. He didn't feel the slightest connection to gods.

Beside him, Fei Yu, who was cracking sunflower seeds, looked at her young master and felt that he now looked no different from the divine descendants she had seen before—perhaps even handsomer.

"Let's go, Xiao Yu. It's time to head out."

Yan Jing had Fei Yu retreat back into his body, then chose to exit the dungeon.

{God Storage Land Ranking Dungeon completed}

{Dungeon settling...}

{Task "Ranking & (This task has mutated)" settled. You seized the top rank and killed all the powerful enemies you faced, claiming victory with an almost completely tyrannical posture. The task rating is: S++ (Highest is S++ grade)}

{Task "God Storage & (This task has mutated)" settled. You successfully explored all the secrets of the God Storage Land (Surface Secret: Trial Grounds of Deities; First Secret: Slumbering Ground of the Era-Severing Entities; Second Secret: Sacrificial Grounds of the God-Stealers; Third Secret: Inheritance Site for Godhood). The task rating is: S++ (Highest is S++ grade)}

{Task "Divine Soul & (This task has mutated)" settled. You successfully seized more than half of the divine souls in the God Storage Land. The task rating is: S+ (Highest is S++)}

{Overall Dungeon Rating: S++}

{Rewards settling...}

{Base Rewards: 3% Experience, 40,000 Eerie Coins}

{S++ Rating Extra Rewards: 70% Experience, 40,000 Eerie Coins, Ritual Blessing Coupon (Bound Item) * 5, Inner World Divine Envoy Box, Divine Source (Bound Item), Double Experience Scroll (Bound Item), Heart of Comprehension (Bound Item)}

{Chaos Mode Extra Rewards: 20% Experience, 20,000 Eerie Coins, Lucky Scratch Ticket * 5}

{Your rank on the Player Leaderboard has risen, ranking first in the Southeast Sector}

{Ding! You have entered the Central Sector Leaderboard, ranking 181st in the Central Sector}

Yan Jing looked at the rich rewards he had reaped this time, his gaze fixing on his experience bar.

{Player Name: Yan Jing}

{Marquis: Yi}

{Player Level: Sixth Tier, Experience (95.75%/100%)}

Just a little bit short.

Without any hesitation, he used a Double Experience Voucher.

He had two of them on hand right now, so he didn't feel bad about using one.

A fight was about to break out soon, and a Sixth Tier fighting an Eighth Tier was completely unreasonable no matter how you looked at it.

{Ding! You have used a Double Experience Voucher. The experience gained this time will be doubled}

{You have advanced to the Seventh Tier. Excess experience is converted into experience for the next tier at a 50% ratio}

{Player Name: Yan Jing}

{Marquis: Yi}

{Player Level: Seventh Tier, Experience (42.87%/100%)}

{Rites:

Day Selection Rite: Fear Sapling (Black-Orange)

Calming Rite: Lord of Execution's Silk Thread (Orange)

Incense Burning Rite: Wings of Praying for Death; Chongming (Orange-Red)

Rite of Summer and Winter Sacrifices: Stone Immortal (Semi-Corpus) (Red)

Shaolao Rite: Moonlight (Mutated) (Silver)

Tailao Rite: Peerless; Crown (Sublimated) (Silver; Gold Marks)

Four Seasons Rite: To be selected}

Yan Jing gave a slight nod. His vision darkened, and in the next instant, he appeared inside his room in the First Ring Domain.

Almost instantly, he felt probing gazes swarming toward him from all directions.

Clearly, people had been stationed nearby ahead of time, waiting for him to exit the dungeon.

The next moment, three streams of weird energy surged up from the distance. Their powerful fluctuations caused the winds and clouds above the First Ring Domain to shift in the blink of an eye. The originally clear sky instantly transformed into a sheet of pitch black, and three beams of completely different colors shot out, streaking across the firmament like three meteors.

Seeing the three heading his way, Yan Jing closed his eyes without a second thought. Ripples spread out in his heart.

When he opened his eyes again, before him was the familiar pitch-black space.

The same murky darkness of the great curtain, the same incense burner, and the same straw mat.

As a grand bell chimed, nine massive stars lit up, and several figures emerged on the other side of the great curtain.

Compared to the last time, they had indeed become much clearer. The lower halves of the vast majority were already fully revealed, leaving only their upper bodies shrouded in a faint black light. Yan Jing looked at those long, slender legs and felt that there were far more people this time than before.

"He's here, he's here!"

"Oh my, he's so handsome."

"Indeed. I'd only heard the rumors before; I didn't expect him to be this handsome. Why does it look to me like he's glowing?"

"It's not just a feeling—he is glowing."

"This guy's physical body has stepped into the Celestial Immortal realm!"

Someone noticed the crucial detail, and the originally clamoring crowd on the other side of the great curtain fell dead silent.

Even during the severed eras or earlier periods, achieving immortality through the physical body was a rarity seen only once in a millennium.

Once one took this step, they essentially had half a foot into the ranks of the few peak experts in their region, destined to leave a bold stroke in history.

Yet Yan Jing had clearly entered this space again, which meant... Yan Jing was dual-cultivating!

A dual-cultivator achieving physical immortality?!

Many were so shocked they swallowed hard.

"Motherfucker, he's going to become a Heavenly Emperor."

"A Heavenly Emperor? He's a genuine Divine Seed!"

Faced with the crowd's chatter, Yan Jing kept a calm expression and paid them little mind.

He took out the few items he had been considering for a while and placed them in front of him.

"I don't know what to choose," he said.

He spoke very bluntly.

Nowadays, he no longer beat around the bush like he had in the beginning.

For one, they were all so familiar with each other now that pretending otherwise would seem a bit too deliberate.

Furthermore, he now understood the relationship between himself and the people within the great curtain. It wasn't necessarily that he was begging them for a favor; it was more akin to an exchange. A matter of mutual benefit.

So, he was more than happy to ask for their advice.

Didn't know what to choose?

The crowd exchanged blank glances.

Was it because there was nothing good this time, or because there were too many good things?

Yan Jing first took out a handful of densely packed soil.

The moment that handful of soil appeared in the space, a murky yellow earthy aura permeated the air, spreading an incomparably heavy sensation. The pupils of everyone who saw it shrank.

"Earth Soil? There's still surviving Earth Soil in this era?"

"Yeah, I remember that Deity perished during the severed eras, right?"

"No, this has been polluted and has undergone a partial mutation, so it makes sense."

"But it's still absolutely rare!"

"This kid wouldn't happen to have something even better than this, would he? Don't mess with me."

Yan Jing said nothing, merely conjuring a block of solid ice from his palm.

"Ten-Thousand-Year Solid Ice!!!"

"Stop messing around, don't mess around bro... holy shit, it really is!"

"We couldn't even get our hands on this stuff back in our day!"

"It's just a bit small... it might still be slightly inferior to the Earth Soil."

Someone spoke up, only for Yan Jing to "mutter to himself:"

"There's another piece a few hundred times bigger than this one. I wonder if that's enough."

A brief silence fell within the great curtain, and then the crowd erupted:

"This guy is definitely doing it on purpose!"

"Yeah, he's here to show off his wealth! Damn it, I spit on him! Filthy rich bastard! I fucking hate rich people the most!"

"Are you going to withdraw then?"

"I've decided to stay, leech off him hard, and narrow the wealth gap."

After the passionate roasting subsided, the crowd began a rational discussion.

"If we're talking about rarity, the Earth Soil is a bit rarer, but he did say he has a massive piece of Ten-Thousand-Year Solid Ice."

"It's just too big. Sometimes quantity is more important..."

"Yeah, it's a tough choice."

Unexpectedly, just then, Yan Jing spoke again:

"There's one more."

Immediately, an object tightly wrapped in cloth materialized in his palm.

He unwrapped it under the watchful eyes of the crowd.

It was a black gemstone.

But unlike ordinary gemstones, this gem seemed to be expanding and contracting.

It was clearly beating.

[Item Name: Heart of a Certain God (Incomplete)]