Wandering Gods of Day and Night

"Sweeping Star, this calamity for Mingjiang Prefecture seems to have passed, and I took the chance to make a trip to Buddha Country."

"What is Buddha Country like?" the God of Suffering inquired.

"On the surface, it's no different from Jing Country, just that the baldy temples are much more numerous than Jing Country's."

"You mean they have a space beyond the surface?"

"Does Jing Country not have one?" the incense fire Taoist retorted.

The God of Suffering was rendered speechless and added, "Zhou Xuan has done too much for Mingjiang Prefecture; I'll definitely repay him someday."

"A person forever groggy with sleep, what repayment can you talk about? Say that again when you fully wake up."

The incense fire Taoist seized upon the pain points of the God of Suffering to ridicule him.

"Give me half a year, and I'll be able to awaken part of my consciousness."

"You don't have half a year. The secrets of the Kongming Mirror have been unraveled and spread by Peng Sheng, Zhou Xuan, and Yun Ziliang. I have glimpsed the future—the people of the Ao Huo Sect will inevitably come to Mingjiang Prefecture."

"Another mess stirred up by the Kongming Mirror."

The God of Suffering seemed agitated by the "Zoroastrianism" mentioned by the incense fire Taoist, and said fiercely, "If Zoroastrianism hunts Zhou Xuan, I'll slaughter every one of them."

"Blow less hot air, or we won't even have anything to chat about. Why does Zoroastrianism exist? To foster the descent of new Heavenly Gods. If they enter Mingjiang Prefecture and kill Zhou Xuan, do you think your dim flame can escape?"

The God of Suffering fell silent once again. He lacked the fierce war intent of the Nuo God, and his reason for slumber was worlds apart from the Nuo God's.

"The Nuo God is only under the supervision of the restrictions of heaven and earth because his skills are excessively overwhelming, resulting in his slumber. You, however, are different—you're nothing but a lamb waiting to be slaughtered, donning the title of Heavenly God. Ordinary riff-raff wouldn't dare touch you, but if hunters are too strong, who cares about the Heavenly God title or not..."

The incense fire Taoist's words pierced like cold knives, each stab aimed at the heart of the God of Suffering, dimming his flames ever further.

With a deep sigh, the God of Suffering asked the incense fire Taoist, "Who exactly are the people of Ao Huo Sect? They haven't shown their true faces even now?"

"I can't see them. From Jing Country's past timeline, I can only catch glimpses of the small fry from Ao Huo Sect, but the real big fish—I haven't seen a single one."

The incense fire Taoist said, "Perhaps that young man might be able to see."

"His incense fire isn't high."

"Is Peng Hou's incense fire high? Is the Heavenly Official's? Is Ghost Hand's? Is Yunwu Venerable's incense fire high? Yet Zhou Xuan rallied the Bone Elder Association and the Witch to kill them all.

Some people aren't judged by incense fire—they're judged by this."

The incense fire Taoist's horsetail whisk lightly brushed against his temple.

"Do you think Zhou Xuan might already be targeted by the Ao Huo Sect?"

"Not yet."

The incense fire Taoist blew out a puff of mist before him.

Shrouded in that mist, the Heavenly God's flames appeared blurred and opaque.

"It's thanks to that mist today that it severed Peng Hou's Divine Power and shielded us from Ao Huo Sect's gaze. Even when this mist dissipates, it still gathers into a transparent layer above the Heavenly Dome. This mist feels familiar, yet I just can't recall whose handiwork it is."

The incense fire Taoist was the Guardian of Jing Country's timeline.

And the timeline of Jing Country reconstructed itself into a new world every five years.

He had encountered far too many people, akin to the grains of sand along the Ganges, densely packed and endless. To pinpoint that single grain in this vast and boundless memory was an almost impossible feat, even for someone as divine as him.

"It seems the crisis in Mingjiang Prefecture has not been thoroughly resolved."

"The crisis in Mingjiang Prefecture has only just begun," the incense fire Taoist lamented while holding his horsetail whisk, then added, "But Mingjiang Prefecture has Zhou Xuan, so there is still hope."

...

"Miss Qiang, playing Monopoly, are we?"

Zhou Xuan entered the Secret Realm with a carefree smile.

Miss Qiang was engrossed in playing with the Blood Well Human Brain and casually responded, "Mm, it's quite fun."

"Stop playing for now. I... uh, I need a favor from you."

Zhou Xuan seemed hesitant, unsure how to bring up the topic.

The Buddha Country Main Brain would touch upon the sorrowful memories of Miss Qiang's Blood Flesh Divine Dynasty's destruction.

"Ah Xuan, we're this close already. If you need help, just say it—no need to hem and haw."

"Mo Tingsheng previously mentioned that there are two Buddha Country Main Brains. One is in Yunwu Venerable's hands, and the other is hidden somewhere in Mingjiang Prefecture. I've found one of the Main Brains today."

"Let me see."

Miss Qiang extended her hand toward Zhou Xuan, and Zhou Xuan controlled his body to send the Main Brain into the Secret Realm.

Upon seeing the hovering Main Brain, Miss Qiang reached out and grabbed it. Her powerful consciousness split off a thread and entered the Main Brain to investigate it carefully before saying to Zhou Xuan,

"It is indeed a technology from our Blood Flesh Divine Dynasty, but… they've only grasped some surface-level knowledge."

She began explaining to Zhou Xuan, "I've told you before—everyone from our Blood Flesh Divine Dynasty is a consciousness. Only once consciousness is established can blood and flesh sprout from the earth."

"But the Main Brain is not a consciousness. It is a meat embryo formed from countless consciousnesses separated out from the Blood Flesh Grounds."

"The Blood Flesh Grounds endowed it with an exceptionally intricate nerve network. The countless separated consciousnesses merged into it, granting it the most powerful consciousness."

"The Main Brain's power originates from its complex nerves and potent consciousness. While the people of Buddha Country have indeed mastered the operational mechanics of the Main Brain, they cannot reconstruct the nerve network or consciousness—they can only create this misfit of a contraption."

Miss Qiang's overall narration was extremely calm. It appears she had fully come to terms with the devastation of the Blood Flesh Divine Dynasty. Now, faced with the Buddha Country Main Brain, she no longer exhibited sorrow.