Chapter 659: Planning and Arrangements (Two in One)

The man stared at Yan Jing's raised fist, an intense wave of familiarity washing over him.

It was the weird energy fluctuation he knew best, stemming from the very Pathway he had mastered.

The aura of death rushed at his face like a howling gale.

Ordinarily, he would have rejoiced at the sight of such thick, pure death.

But right now, he felt nothing of the sort.

Because that aura of death wasn't coming from an outside source—it was coming from him.

He had a sinking premonition—if that punch landed, his own Divine Throne would swallow him whole, turning him into nourishment for death itself.

Knowing this, the weird energy around him erupted with desperate abandon. Streaks of gray light burst from his chest, blossoming like a flower as they surged forward to swallow Yan Jing's incoming fist.

Those streams of light represented death at its most essential. They carried an aura of destruction and decay, instantly withering the surrounding space the moment they appeared.

The three-dimensional space became incredibly fragile, folding in on itself like paper before instantly collapsing.

Everything plunged into distortion.

But when those streams of light finally clashed with the fist, the man's expression twisted.

An instant later, the streams of light shattered into countless fragments, exploding and scattering in all directions.

A gray haze spread through the area. Gritting his teeth, the man pushed the weird energy in his body to its absolute limit, desperately trying to hold back that tremendous force for just a moment longer.

If he could just buy a tiny window of time, he could still draw his trump card.

But...

With a deafening boom, his body was sent flying backward. His black robes flared like a withered dahlia as he slammed heavily into the towering wall of gray mist behind him.

"Pfft, cough, cough..."

He hacked up a mouthful of blood, his already pale face turning ghastly white.

Surprisingly, he didn't seem critically injured. He raised his eyes, shot Yan Jing a single glance, and turned, fleeing into the distance.

Watching the man's retreating figure, Yan Jing's eyes gleamed with interest.

Truthfully, the man had just died once.

But those streams of light erupting from his chest had saved his life.

Even though the light had been shattered, it had transformed into thick death energy. The moment the man stepped into the abyss of death, that energy took his place, dissipating into the world while he lived on.

The abilities of the Death Pathway were far more versatile than expected. It didn't just push people toward death; it could also be inverted to help its user evade it.

In that regard, it was surprisingly similar to the Life Pathway.

"Interesting."

Yan Jing watched the man for another moment before slowly pulling his gaze away.

He didn't bother giving chase.

He had already left something on the man.

It would help him investigate the Central Region thoroughly.

"You two."

Without warning, Yan Jing appeared right in front of Ning An and Zheng Youlan.

"Follow me."

With that said, Yan Jing slowly drifted off in the direction of Yueyin.

Ning An and Zheng Youlan exchanged a glance, a silent understanding passing between them as they hurried after him.

Right now, neither of them could find the words to describe how they felt.

Was it shock? Was it terror? It felt like both, yet somehow neither.

If forced to put a name to it, they were simply numb.

The moment that man had lost and fled, their hearts had practically stopped beating.

Even the Ten Monsters had lost.

And it felt like Yan Jing hadn't even broken a sweat.

Their entire worldview felt like it was crumbling.

Some unknown figure who had popped out of a remote Domain had just effortlessly crushed the supremely mysterious and terrifying existence they had always feared.

It was... like a fever dream.

"Whatever. Let it be,"

Ning An muttered under his breath.

"Better to live a dog's life than die a hero's death."

"..."

Zheng Youlan nodded helplessly.

Under these circumstances, there really wasn't anything else they could do.

Soon, the two followed Yan Jing as he landed in the center of the First Ring Domain.

Seeing him descend, the residents of the First Ring Domain quickly began to greet him.

"Domain Lord!"

"Hello, Domain Lord!"

"Domain Lord, who are the handsome guy and pretty girl next to you?"

"What are you talking about? Isn't our Domain Lord a handsome guy too?"

Facing the crowd's teasing, Yan Jing smiled and acknowledged them one by one.

"These two are envoys from the Central Region. They're both young geniuses of their generation, here to represent their respective Domains and hopefully establish diplomatic ties with our Yueyin."

Yan Jing gestured to Ning An and Zheng Youlan.

Hearing the words 'Central Region,' the crowd's expressions shifted. Guarded looks crept into many people's eyes.

After all, that maid's previous visit had left a terrible impression on everyone.

If Yan Jing hadn't intervened in time, Yueyin would likely be covered in dead bodies right now.

Sensing the open disgust from the crowd, Ning An and Zheng Youlan felt completely humiliated and awkward.

As heavenly prodigies from the Central Region, when had they ever been treated like this?

"Relax,"

Yan Jing said softly, looking at the crowd.

"These two are different. They're going to be a great help to Yueyin in the future. Disperse now; I have some matters to discuss with them."

Hearing Yan Jing's assurance, the crowd scattered, though their gazes remained doubtful.

"Alright, now let's talk about something else, you two."

Yan Jing looked at Ning An and Zheng Youlan, a smile playing on his lips.

Seeing that smile, Ning An and Zheng Youlan exchanged alarmed looks. They had no idea what he was planning.

"Two choices."

Yan Jing held up two fingers.

"Either join the others in an independent space and serve as my nourishment."

"Or, work for me."

Hearing these options, the terror in their eyes deepened.

Earlier, they had seen Yan Jing toss all those people into the Screen behind him, but they hadn't realized that those people were being turned into his "nourishment."

The implications of that word were simply too horrific.

They couldn't even begin to imagine what had happened to those experts of the same tier.

"The second one."

Ning An answered without a second of hesitation.

"We choose the second option."

No matter what happened next, staying alive was the priority.

Before he even finished speaking, two small red bottles fell into his and Zheng Youlan's arms.

"Drink this."

Yan Jing's voice was calm and flat.

Staring at the small glass bottle in his hand, Ning An took a deep breath.

In the sunlight, the blood-red liquid sloshing inside gave off a bizarre, demonic aura. The rippling surface looked like the outline of a crimson moon, and hidden beneath that blood-red color was a hint of dark gold.

He gripped the bottle, his body stiffening.

Drinking something of unknown origin like this would definitely lead to terrible consequences, right?

With that thought, he glanced sideways at Zheng Youlan, only to find her expression mirroring his own.

"Drink it, or die."

Yan Jing said softly.

Ning An swallowed hard. Steeling his resolve, he pulled the cork and downed the liquid in a single gulp.

His reasoning was simple: if something went horribly wrong with him, Zheng Youlan would at least know what to do.

If the consequences of drinking it were a fate worse than death, she could watch what happened to him and choose to end her own life instead.

The ice-cold liquid slid down his throat. Ning An's expression was tense, his grip on the empty bottle trembling faintly.

But none of his horrifying imaginations came to pass. He stood frozen for a few seconds, then smacked his lips.

It was sweet. Actually, it tasted pretty good.

The very next second, Ning An let out a sudden, violent roar and doubled over.

Zheng Youlan flinched in fright and hurried forward, grabbing his arm to steady him.

"Ning An! Ning An, what's happening?!"

But before she could finish, a terrifying wave of weird energy burst from his chest, violently knocking her away.

Dark green gas billowed behind Ning An, manifesting into massive white bones. Finally, the sky full of bones assembled themselves into a colossal Ship, surrounded by an endless sea of blood and mountains of corpses.

Ning An stood at the very prow of the Ship. As the weird energy surged around his body, the sea of blood and mountains of corpses behind him churned into towering waves.

He opened his eyes, his deep pupils seemingly swirling with illusionary souls.

Zheng Youlan stared blankly at the scene before her.

The power radiating from Ning An was on a level she had never witnessed before.

What exactly was inside that bottle?

Before she could process it, a beam of dark green light shot down from the sky, sinking into Ning An's brow and forming the mark of a sailing ship.

Zheng Youlan's pupils contracted violently.

A Divine Throne.

A Deity had just cast down their gaze and given Ning An their acknowledgment.

Now, once the Day of Godhood arrived and his Tier caught up, Ning An would be able to directly step into the Demigod Realm.

"I have a question."

Yan Jing's voice echoed in front of her.

Dazed, she raised her head to meet Yan Jing's indifferent face.

"Under these circumstances, is that bone he gave me still of any use?"

...

...

As it turned out, the bone was still useful.

In the end, Yan Jing used it to attract a Deity's gaze as well.

The only difference was that the mark the Deity bestowed on him was a skull.

Even though the skull was a bit uglier than the sailing ship mark, Yan Jing grudgingly accepted it.

He didn't plan on actually using any of these Divine Thrones anyway.

He was a little more ambitious. He wanted to use the Divine Thrones in his possession to condense an entirely new Divine Throne.

A Divine Throne that belonged solely to him.

Right now, he held the Divine Thrones of [Physique], [Folly], and [Life], and now he had another one associated with the [corpse] Pathway.

He just needed to collect a few more before he could attempt it.

Nodding in satisfaction, Yan Jing turned his attention back to Zheng Youlan, who was still adapting to her newly gained power.

"You said the faction behind you operates as an intelligence network, right?"

Intelligence network...

The corner of Zheng Youlan's mouth twitched imperceptibly.

"Something like that."

She nodded, deciding against contradicting her new "boss."

"Perfect. When you go back, I want you to take absolute control over that organization. Then, use it to gather intelligence regarding Divine Thrones. The more, the better."

Zheng Youlan practically stumbled.

She looked at Yan Jing, her face filled with distress.

"Lord Yan... First of all, I'm not even the strongest of my generation in Yongle. Secondly, even if I were, Yongle still has its senior generation."

"Then kill the strongest one," Yan Jing said. His tone was casual, but the sheer ruthlessness of his words was staggering.

"Actually, forget it. Just kidnap them and send them over."

Yan Jing paused to consider it, deciding that kidnapping offered a better return on investment.

"The Day of Godhood is fast approaching. Once you become your organization's sole remaining hope, the organization will naturally fall into your hands."

"But regarding Divine Thrones... that intel might be a bit tricky..." Zheng Youlan smiled bitterly.

"Our organization excels at gathering intelligence, yes, but anything related to Divine Thrones is guarded as the ultimate secret by the major factions. Even if we catch wind of some clues, verifying them is near impossible."

"Clues are enough. I'll figure out a way to verify them."

Yan Jing brushed it off lightly.

Zheng Youlan fell silent for a moment before nodding heavily.

"Understood."

"And you. You remember your task?"

Yan Jing turned to Ning An.

Ning An nodded.

"I remember."

His mission was different from hers. If Zheng Youlan's objective was to operate from the shadows, his was to be as loud and high-profile as possible.

"Good," Yan Jing nodded.

"You can go now. We'll meet again on the Day of Godhood."

The two exchanged a look, bowed respectfully to Yan Jing, and turned to leave.

Taking a step forward, Yan Jing used blink several times, quickly appearing in front of a villa.

Knock, knock, knock!

He rapped on the door.

"Who is it?!"

A voice rang out from inside.

A moment later, the front door swung open.

A head poked out from the doorway.

Short hair, with half-chewed potato chip crumbs still clinging to the corner of her mouth.

"Reporter Lin."

Yan Jing smiled in greeting.

"Yan... Yan... Domain Lord Yan! Ouch—"

Staring at Yan Jing, Lin Xiaoran stammered out a few syllables before losing her footing and tumbling straight onto the floor.

"Domain Lord Yan is here?!"

Hearing her shout, everyone else in the house immediately shot to their feet and rushed to the door.

Zhao Dongchuan reached down and pulled Lin Xiaoran up.

"Domain Lord."

He looked at Yan Jing and offered a polite bow.

Beside him, Zhou Xian, Qi Ming, Wang Gang, Ren Tongtong, and even Xu Weizhou—the whole group—bowed respectfully to him.

They had clearly been in the middle of a get-together; quite a few of them were still holding playing cards.

Seeing their flustered expressions, Yan Jing chuckled. Truthfully, the peaceful lives they led were what he envied most.

Unfortunately, ever since he had stepped into the River of Time, some things were already past the point of no return.

Still, seeing them achieve the ideal life he had once envisioned for himself was a comfort in its own way.

"I actually had something I wanted to discuss with you all, but since you're busy with a party, I won't intrude."

He smiled again.

"You're not intruding at all!"

Qi Ming laughed, throwing the door wide open and welcoming Yan Jing inside.

"We're absolutely honored to have the Domain Lord visit."

"Exactly!" Lin Xiaoran chimed in.

"Where's Big Sister Shen? Why didn't she come along?"

"I intentionally didn't bring her."

Yan Jing stepped into the room. A moment later, weird energy surged from his palm, and a figure materialized on the floor.

The crowd stared at the figure, almost all of them falling completely silent.

To most of the people in the room, that familiar face was something they would likely never forget for the rest of their lives.

Yan Jing explained the ins and outs of exactly why Yin Tianhuang had appeared here.

Then he swept his gaze across the room.

"As far as I'm concerned, Mr. Yin only has two paths left to take. Either he enters the great curtain and works for me, or he dies."

"I came here to ask for your opinions. Many of you understand him better than anyone else. I want to hear your thoughts."

Hearing Yan Jing's words, the group fell back into a heavy silence.

On the floor, Yin Tianhuang stared wide-eyed at the surrounding figures—people he had practically forgotten.

Hearing Yan Jing's ultimatum, his heart clenched violently.

"..."

After a few seconds of dead silence, he raised his head and looked at Qi Ming.

"Little Qi... Little Qi, it's me. Your Brother Yin."

A smile uglier than crying forced its way onto his face.

"You know how close we used to be..."