Chapter 665: The Day of Godhood Arrives (Two-in-One)

Hearing the pen scratch against paper, Zheng Youlan gathered her courage and stood on tiptoes to peek at the record book in Yan Jing's hands.

She hurriedly said, "Two of these three options are very promising."

She pointed to the remarks next to the clues, which were marked with stars to indicate their high credibility.

[Endlands Traveler]

[Backpacker]

These were the names of those two deities.

Though neither was a deity at the end of their respective paths, they were still Divine Thrones. No matter how poor a Divine Throne was, it remained a Divine Throne.

Zheng Youlan said, "Both of these have an eighty percent credibility."

Yan Jing shook his head. "No, I don't need these two Pathways anymore."

Zheng Youlan was stunned. She looked at the Pathways the two belonged to.

[Endlands Traveler] was a subordinate deity under the Fear Pathway.

[Backpacker] was a subordinate deity under the Space Pathway.

Both were considered excellent Pathways.

To her knowledge, both Pathways seemed to possess entities at the very end of their roads.

She wanted to say something more, but Yan Jing was already looking at the names further down.

Yan Jing read quickly through the thick record book of several hundred pages.

Finally, he circled five names.

[Upward Kite]

[Eye of the Ocean Current]

[The Tower]

[Decayed Soul]

[The Immortal]

"We'll go after these," Yan Jing said softly.

Zheng Youlan looked at the names and frowned.

None of these fell into the category of high success rates.

More importantly, the Day of Godhood was about to begin.

Finding these five Divine Thrones within this timeframe was essentially a fantasy.

"That's practically impossible," Zheng Youlan finally voiced her concerns.

"The Day of Godhood is fast approaching. The moment the pantheon appears, all the prodigies of the First Echelon will immediately choose to step into the Demigod Realm."

"When that time comes, any action you take will face tremendous obstruction."

"Think about it—demigods, especially when it's those heavenly prodigies ascending to the Demigod Realm. They will instantly interfere with anyone else who hasn't advanced yet. They won't just sit back and watch their competitors multiply."

"I think we should stick to the ones with the highest success rates."

There was one more thing Zheng Youlan didn't say.

Yan Jing walked the Miscellaneous Path.

For someone on the Miscellaneous Path to reach the Demigod Realm was inherently difficult.

No deity would allow their Divine Throne to fall to an existence disloyal to their path.

Yan Jing's attitude, however, was resolute. "No, it doesn't matter. We're setting off now. First, we head to [Upward Kite]."

"It will take at least half a day just to get there," Zheng Youlan said in a final attempt to dissuade him.

Yan Jing's expression finally shifted. He lowered his head, seemingly peering right through the black veil covering Zheng Youlan's eyes to read her inner thoughts.

"If those people reach the Demigod Realm and come to stop me, you and Ning An will slaughter them all. Do you understand?"

His voice was soft, but his tone brooked no doubt.

Zheng Youlan suppressed her slightly trembling hands. "Understood."

"Then let's go." Yan Jing smiled. He opened his hand, and a door materialized before them.

He stepped through it first.

Zheng Youlan stared at the pitch-black doorway. Taking a deep breath, she stepped through, her figure gradually vanishing.

'Once I reach the Demigod Realm, maybe I can try to break free from his control.'

That was her last thought before entering the door.

But the moment she emerged on the other side, her pupils shrank.

Before her lay a boundless plain, flush with vibrant grasses and sprawling shrubs. At the far edge, the greenery met the horizon, creating a vast emptiness that gave off a sense of absolute freedom.

This was the Silent Plains, situated on the outskirts to the right of the Central Region.

It was also the location of [Upward Kite] mentioned in the clues.

'How is this possible?!'

A massive shock washed through Zheng Youlan's heart.

She never imagined Yan Jing could carry her across such an immense distance in a mere instant.

According to her calculations, even if they had traveled non-stop at their absolute top speed, it would have taken at least half a day.

'Spatial power...'

It suddenly dawned on her.

He was using spatial power, and not just ordinary spatial power.

The kind of teleportation that crossed a few hundred or even a few thousand meters couldn't achieve this. He had directly opened a spatial tunnel to bring her a million li away in a split second.

'So why didn't he want the [Backpacker] Divine Throne?'

In an instant, she connected the dots.

A drop of cold sweat slid down the tip of her nose.

Why had Yan Jing rejected the [Backpacker] Divine Throne earlier?

He had said he didn't need it.

The answer was obvious now.

He had a better option.

And it was likely not just a little bit better.

She gulped, instantly strangling the thought she had harbored right before entering the door.

Memories of her previous defeat at Yan Jing's hands flashed relentlessly through her mind, crystallizing into a single thought:

'I absolutely must not act rashly.'

The man before her was no ordinary person. Any foolish move could plunge her into eternal damnation.

"What are you doing?"

Yan Jing's voice drifted back from ahead. Zheng Youlan jolted and hurriedly stepped forward, pretending nothing was wrong.

"Coming. Apologies, I was just a little distracted."

Yan Jing nodded. "Come on."

The two scoured the plain and soon found the clue recorded in the book.

{On the Silent Plains, there is a constantly moving cord. Find that cord and follow it upwards. At the very end of the cord lies the clue to [Upward Kite]}

Yan Jing looked at the thin black cord in front of him with a calm expression.

Set against this vast, boundless plain, the black thread was barely visible even when held in hand.

Following the line upward, he raised his head and saw a cloud.

The upper end of the cord vanished into it.

Surprisingly, as the cord moved continuously, the cloud moved along with it.

It wasn't a large cloud. It looked somewhat scattered and formless, its movement in the sky barely perceptible, but whenever the line shifted, the cloud followed suit.

The corners of Yan Jing's mouth curled up slightly. "Now this is somewhat interesting."

Zheng Youlan took a deep breath. "The altitude of the Silent Plains is already the highest in the entire Central Region. Please be careful."

Yan Jing nodded but didn't speak.

Although the two were standing on a plain, this was actually the absolute highest point of the Central Region.

One could even say it was hundreds of times higher in altitude than the second-highest location in the Central Region.

It was like a tower reaching into the heavens, completely isolating it from the other regions.

And precisely because of this extreme elevation, the oxygen levels here were frightfully low.

As for why so much flora could thrive at such staggering heights...

That was a subject many scholars of the Central Region were immensely curious about.

Yan Jing gave the cord a tug. It basically didn't budge.

He considered it "basically" unmoving rather than completely fixed because when he exerted his absolute maximum strength, the cord did show faint signs of moving.

However, he vaguely sensed a pained intent transmitting from the far end of the line, so he stopped pulling.

"Even more interesting."

Yan Jing's figure levitated into the air. He followed the cord upward until he touched that cloud.

"Whoosh—"

The sky seemed to shudder. Down on the ground, Zheng Youlan's pupils widened as she stared at that "cloud."

As the cloud unfurled its body, a gigantic white beast materialized in the air. Its crimson eyes were as large as windmills, and its sharp fangs resembled jagged mountains. Yet, its form seemed incredibly weightless, allowing it to float effortlessly in the sky.

"Roar!!!"

The cloud beast roared furiously at Yan Jing. In the next second, it thrust a giant claw toward him.

Yan Jing chuckled and reached out a hand of his own.

"..."

Just a split second before Yan Jing's hand could make contact, the cloud beast seemed to sense something. Its eyes narrowed, and without a moment's hesitation, it dodged sideways.

It seemed to receive a unique power boost while in the air. Despite its massive size, it moved blazingly fast, tearing away like a gale to escape several li away in an instant.

But...

Yan Jing materialized right in front of it, reaching out to grip its neck.

"Bang!!!"

Blood blossomed like a vivid flower. Half of its neck—a neck as massive as a sheer cliff—was completely pulverized.

Chunks of flesh flew in all directions as blood poured freely.

"Roar—"

The cloud beast bellowed in pain, fresh blood weeping from its crimson eyes.

Its colossal body plummeted straight from the high sky and smashed heavily onto the ground, sprawled across the plain like a fallen mountain.

Zheng Youlan watched this unfold in utter shock.

Aside from Yan Jing, she was likely the only one present who could truly feel the cloud beast's power. It was an entity that undeniably surpassed the ordinary Tenth Tier, yet in Yan Jing's hands, it was being handled like a dead dog.

Yan Jing ignored the cloud beast. Instead, he lifted his head and followed the black cord further up.

"There it is."

Yan Jing spoke softly, spotting a scroll floating in the air, tethered to the very end of the cord.

A few minutes later, a pillar of light erupted from the Silent Plains, shocking the people of the Central Region once again.

Countless existences stared at the Silent Plains—a place that had never shown any activity—now bursting with ascending light and illusions of luminous rain. They were struck utterly speechless.

In a garden, a man with flowers growing in his eyes gazed at the suddenly surging pillar of light. His eyes narrowed.

"Who is it? Has the successor of that hidden sect already lost their patience?"

"The Space Pathway... How interesting."

In a village, a man who had been racing against the light also noticed the pillar.

"Haha, that's right. This is how it should be. We need someone to apply a little pressure at a time like this."

Laughing heartily as he spoke, the man didn't seem the least bit worried that the seizure of this Divine Throne would make things more difficult for him.

In a corner of the Silent Plains, a figure sitting cross-legged in the grass stared at the suddenly rising light pillar, his eyes instantly narrowing.

'Who is it?'

Who had snatched away the Divine Throne that rightfully belonged to him?

But by the time he rushed over, the area was completely empty.

Forget the Divine Throne; there wasn't even a shadow of a person to be seen.

"Damn it..."

The man retracted the wings on his back, his mouth twitching in sheer anger.

He never expected that the prize he had been waiting for would be usurped so easily. If he wanted to seize the initiative on the Day of Godhood now, he was left with only the Divine Thrones of lower deities.

"Fuck!!!"

The more he thought about it, the angrier he got, until he fiercely kicked the white mountain range in front of him.

Suddenly, he froze.

Since when was there a mountain on the Silent Plains?

In the next second, the mountain moved.

...

...

"Hum—"

"Hum—"

"Hum—"

Even though night had fallen, one light pillar after another could still be seen rising into the night sky.

Yan Jing picked up his teacup, wearing a relaxed expression as he watched the pillars of light shoot up like fireworks.

Beside him, Zheng Youlan looked utterly speechless.

Ever since Yan Jing triggered that first Divine Throne's pillar of light this morning, it was as if he had prematurely pulled back the curtain on this Day of Godhood.

Those successive pillars of light acted as signals for heavenly prodigies of all factions to announce their forceful returns ahead of schedule.

And yet, the very instigator of this chain reaction was currently sitting here, leisurely sipping tea.

Aside from [Upward Kite], [Eye of the Ocean Current] had also been successfully pocketed by Yan Jing.

The process had been even easier than the first.

Yan Jing's mastery over the elements had reached an incomprehensible level.

Zheng Youlan truly couldn't fathom it. This man was clearly walking the Miscellaneous Path, yet he seemed to be a master of everything.

"How much longer?"

Yan Jing's voice pulled Zheng Youlan from her thoughts. She immediately replied,

"About half an hour left."

"Alright, you can go,"

Yan Jing said.

Zheng Youlan was taken aback.

Yan Jing sighed.

"Didn't you say it yourself? Once the Day of Godhood descends, all the prodigies will immediately ascend to godhood. Although you've built up quite a reputation in the Central Region recently, you can't exactly expect them to hand a Divine Throne to you on a silver platter, right?"

"Understood."

Zheng Youlan bowed slightly.

Truthfully, the most dazzling figures in the Central Region lately weren't the Ten Monsters, nor was it the supposedly "low-profile" Yan Jing.

It was her and Ning An.

After receiving a fraction of Yan Jing's power, the two of them had rapidly risen in the public eye, becoming existences capable of standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the Ten Monsters.

She turned around and tapped her foot lightly, transforming into a streak of rainbow light that shot off into the distance, quickly disappearing over the horizon.

Yan Jing unhurriedly sipped his tea, waiting for midnight to arrive.

About half an hour later, he raised his arm to check his watch.

"Tick—"

"Tick—"

"Tick—"

The watch's second hand moved tick by tick, finally striking the twelve o'clock position.

Yan Jing looked up at the sky.

Unexpectedly, nothing happened.

There were no anomalies in the sky, no tremors in the earth, and no awe-inspiring, multicolored figures making a shocking entrance.

Everything was terrifyingly quiet.

No, rather, this very silence was the anomaly.

It was simply too quiet.

It was as if the wind, the clouds, the air currents, and the vegetation had all frozen in an instant.

The only things left in this world capable of moving were those true heavenly prodigies.

Then.

Yan Jing looked straight ahead.

"Riiip—"

"Riiip—"

"Riiip—"

It sounded like someone tearing wallpaper.

One Space Rift after another materialized densely in the air.

A thick aura of Weird Energy surged out from the rifts, carrying a potent, oppressive pressure.

"Riiip—"

A Space Rift appeared directly in front of Yan Jing.

Then, a hand reached out from within the rift.

It was a hand bearing hundreds of fingers.

The moment it emerged, it gripped the edge of the Space Rift, veins bulging on its back as if trying to brutally tear itself out of the dimensional fissure.

In Yan Jing's eyes, a look of understanding dawned.

Each of these rifts signaled an entity from the Inner World trying to break out.

'Then I should lend a hand.'

With that thought, he reached out and grabbed the hand extending from the Space Rift.