Longevity: Starting from Refining Gu

Chen Qing nodded and walked into the grand hall, looking at the two thrones that had been vacant for countless ages.

On the left was the purple throne of the Void Master, and on the right was the throne of the Void Sword Master.

Chen Qing stepped forward and sat boldly on the purple throne, "I want to see Yu Qingshuang become the next Void Sword Master. Only by becoming the Void Sword Master will it satisfy me. Do any of you have objections?"

Lu Chen and the Sword Master of Reincarnation both bowed respectfully, "We shall obey the sect hierarch's divine oracle!"

Chen Qing continued, "My return to divine authority cannot be leaked to anyone."

"Assist Yu Qingshuang well, and I will make sure you do not lose your position as True Monarch."

"Lu Chen, prepare to open the Sword Tomb. I need the obsessions of past Sword Masters."

"Give this person a dream of the mortal world. I have other matters to discuss with the Miao God."

The Sword Master of Reincarnation and Lu Chen bowed in agreement, and in the next instant, Chen Qing had already disappeared from the spot.

A full quarter-hour after Chen Qing left, the two dared to rise, the Sword Master of Reincarnation sighing, "We finally have a new god to oversee us!"

Lu Chen said, "But in the future, we will have to live under the majesty of this god."

The Sword Master of Reincarnation said, "At least it's better than surviving outside the world. With a god, we at least know what to do!"

Lu Chen said, "The sect hierarch has just returned. We should quickly awaken the Palace Master and let him hear the divine oracle. Otherwise, if we offend the sect hierarch from the start, it will be difficult for the Palace Master."

...

Beneath the Water Country, Chen Qing walked among the white masses of flesh, looking at the giant white heart beating ahead, Tai Sui's information coming into view.

"Tai Sui, will you come with me to see the Miao God, or should I take action myself?"

The giant white heart seemed to ponder, and after half a quarter-hour, it detached from the mass of flesh, transforming to the size of a peach, and landed in Chen Qing's hand.

An eerie voice echoed from within, "My lord, why must you offer me to the Miao God? You are just a step away from a true divine position."

Chen Qing's voice grew cold, "That's not something for you to worry about."

With that, Chen Qing immediately appeared in the Miao God's divine temple in the next moment.

And at this moment, before Chen Qing was not the expressionless Warlord Divine Image, but a blue-clad woman riding a Qiongqi.

This blue-clad woman had extraordinarily long jade legs, wore a cyan long dress, and her eyes bore divine power, with black hair trailing on the ground.

The blue-clad woman toyed with a curved Ruyi in her hand, "It seems my newly forged True One Slash is very effective."

Chen Qing stepped forward, taking out Tai Sui and presenting it to the Miao God, who reached out to accept it, "With this, I can recreate the Ancient Myriad Beasts and enhance their power."

Chen Qing asked, "What exactly is my strength now?"

The Miao God's hand rested on Chen Qing's shoulder, "You have abundant divinity, considered a demigod, above all True Monarchs, but still not as powerful as that old wolf from the Jiguang Sect."

"That old wolf could already ascend to a divine position, but he fears that becoming a god will cost him his humanity, so he's reluctant to ascend."

"Therefore, he needs the Jiguang Sect to become the orthodox sect and gain the faith of the people."

Chen Qing looked closely at the Miao God, "And what about you?"

The Miao God laughed, "You and I are born gods, so we needn't worry about humanity. We were born with divinity; when have we ever had humanity?"

"It's not to belittle humanity; we are merely reclaiming what is inherently ours, rather than forcibly suppressing and fusing a path, so there's no need to worry about this."

"Or rather, our humanity and divinity are the same."

Chen Qing said, "So, I can directly ascend?"

The Miao God shook her head, "Not that either; you still need to consolidate to ensure you won't be polluted by the consciousness of the Void Master."

"It's best that you ascend, then fully absorb the Void Gate he left behind."

"Only thus can you avoid becoming him."

Chen Qing said, "Actually, what I'm more curious about is why you're helping me."

The Miao God sneered, "Even Haoran True Monarch could sense it; do you think I couldn't?"

"The Ancient War God was the most powerful among all gods, and even if I had ascended to the War God's divine position, possessing three divine positions—as Warlord, God of Ten Thousand Beasts, and War God—I still wouldn't match the War God's strength."

"These are enough for me to deduce."

"It's not my cultivation that's insufficient; the entire world has weakened, so even though I became the War God, I couldn't obtain the strength of the first War God!"

"That old wolf would rather bear the infamy of killing the Jiguang Sect's first sect leader than reveal this secret."

"But in the realms above all beings, how could we not detect it?"

"Chen Qing, the Battle of the Gods is imminent; we must unite the forces of all gods, rebuild Kunlun, and then have the qualification to battle the mysterious being above the heavens!"

"Otherwise, we will ultimately become its food!"

"Recall the unparalleled brilliance of the fisherman back then, slaughtering gods as if they were dogs!"

"At that time, I was just a little girl."

"The closer you get to godhood, the more you realize how powerful the fisherman became."

"And you, you are the hope he chose, the only one uncontaminated by Gu, you are the final hope."

"As for now, you have begun to sow the King Seeds. When they grow and you succeed in the Da Yan struggle for heirship, it will be our time to advance on the Demon Country!"

"Though the world weakens, at least the fisherman bought us time."

Chen Qing gradually began to understand everything, "Why is Da Yan so important?"

The Miao God said, "Da Yan has the Spring and Autumn Cicada, a Divine Gu that can reverse time!"

"If the contract succeeds, you can become a True Monarch, and the strongest among True Monarchs!"

"The most important thing is, they can produce an Emperor Donghua about every hundred years."

"You should understand what that means."

Chen Qing immediately realized, "So Emperor Donghua isn't afraid of dying in battle; every hundred years, they produce an Emperor Donghua who can fearlessly battle other True Monarchs!"

"Even if he dies, a new Emperor Donghua will soon emerge!"

"No wonder fighting for heirship is so crucial!"

The Miao God said seriously, "Precisely because of this, the old and dying Emperor Donghua has initiated the downfall of the Dragon Clan!"

"He wants to subdue the Dragon Clan for his use in his final time!"

"We have already gained enough from this; the rest is up to that Emperor Donghua."

"Let's see how much strength he can unleash in his final moments."

Chen Qing said, "I understand now. I need to hunt down the Thousand-faced Buddha next. Under the Void, there is no room for anyone who does not believe in me."

The Miao God said, "Although the Thousand-faced Buddha is very powerful, he is not critical for you. The authority you hold suppresses his completely."

Chen Qing suddenly grew curious, "Could I behold your Divine Gu?"

The Miao God pondered, "Actually, I'm afraid; I'm afraid of what you might say after seeing it."

"I know my path; I've reached its end. To become stronger, I would need to reincarnate, but sadly, we don't have time."

"What I can tell you is that I cannot become something above a god; I understand this myself."

"Forget it, let me keep some hope."

"In this world, the only ones with potential to become something above a god are you and the Netherworld King. Your paths are still long, as you have not ascended yet, offering more choices."

"This is why I don't recommend you ascend immediately."

Chen Qing asked, "Can Divine Gu combine to form stronger Gu?"

The Miao God said, "Immortal Gu, a unique Immortal Gu, which even legend does not confirm, but I am convinced it exists; otherwise, it cannot explain why the fisherman failed."

"The unfortunate part is, no one has seen an immortal, nor an Immortal Gu."

"According to my deduction, the only person who might corroborate the Dao with an Immortal Gu should be the one who severely injured the fisherman."

"He acquired the Immortal Gu and then departed from the entire world, intending to absorb the entire world's power!"

Chen Qing said, "In that case, I shall take my leave. I have many matters to attend to."