Chapter 451: Master

"I suggest you hold off on breaking through to the Saint Grade," Xiao Yuan said. "You're planning to head to Heaven next, and no one knows what the situation up there is like right now. The stronger you get, the more conspicuous you'll be to the Gods.

"Once you ascend to Heaven and make sure there's no risk of the Gods discovering you, you can advance there. Furthermore, advancing in Heaven will be much easier. After all, Hell is sealed, which obstructs the Law to some extent."

Su Mu understood Xiao Yuan's meaning. No one knew what Heaven was like. Perhaps the Gods had carved it up into territories, or perhaps they had suffered heavy injuries during the divine war and fallen into a deep slumber. What he needed to do now wasn't to grow stronger, but to become weaker.

Only by being weak enough—indistinguishable from an ordinary ant—could he avoid drawing the Gods' attention. Growing stronger would only get him killed faster. Strength was meaningless anyway; before a God, he would still just be a slightly larger ant.

The Saint Grade was the absolute peak of the mortal realm, making anyone at that level the biggest ant of them all.

At that thought, a question occurred to him. "What exactly is the Law? If the Gods are the incarnations of the world's rules, doesn't that make them living Divine Laws?"

This question clearly touched on Xiao Yuan's blind spot. She looked a little bewildered.

"I don't know what the Law is either. I only learned about it from the Transcendents in the Dream World. Perhaps it was in Xuan Tian's memories, but he dissipated long ago. His remaining memories are fragmented and don't contain anything about the Law.

"Maybe you'll find the answer once you reach Heaven. After all, that's the place closest to the Law.

"Oh, and you can't take the Artifacts of the Seven Kings with you. They are a product of the Creator's Authority combined with Xuan Tian's power. During the Nightmare Invasion, I worried that humanity wouldn't be able to hold their own, so I created the Artifacts of the Seven Kings to help them.

"I also made them act as the keys to the Land of Origin, meant to select the most suitable candidate to enter it and inherit Xuan Tian's legacy.

"Because of that, the Artifacts of the Seven Kings carry the aura of the Creator's Authority. If you take them into Heaven, you'll definitely be discovered."

Su Mu nodded. He didn't consider it a loss; with his current level of strength, he didn't need the Artifacts of the Seven Kings anyway.

Out of all the Artifacts of the Seven Kings, the most useful was Supreme Heaven. Now that he had become a nightmare, he could serve as a living Supreme Heaven himself.

The essence of Supreme Heaven was the conversion of illusion into reality—sacrificing massive amounts of resources to manifest a hollow wish into the real world.

The core ability of a nightmare was exactly the same.

As long as he had enough resources, anything Supreme Heaven could do, he could do as well.

...

...

The Chiyan Empire. Star City. Longevity Daoist Temple.

Within the tranquil Daoist temple, Jun Wushang sat alone in quiet meditation, dressed in a Daoist robe with a longsword slung diagonally across his back.

A bleak autumn breeze scattered the fallen leaves, carrying the afterglow of the setting sun to bathe the earth.

Looking as if he had entered a deep trance, he listened quietly to the wind, completely isolating himself from the mortal world's trivial worries.

Suddenly, a withered yellow leaf drifted down onto his shoulder.

Jun Wushang snapped back to reality. He looked at the fallen leaves littering the temple courtyard and muttered to himself, "I need to sweep this up quickly, or Master is going to scold me again."

He was just about to stand when his body suddenly froze. A bitter smile crept onto his lips. "I almost forgot... I don't have a Master anymore."

He sat back down.

He had been waiting all this time, waiting for the Leader to fulfill his promise.

Back then, the Leader had declared that whoever killed the most Nightmare Creatures would be granted a single wish. For that wish, Jun Wushang had slaughtered enemies day and night. He had ventured deep into the ocean all by himself, butchering until his Daoist robe was soaked in blood and the edge of his sword chipped and dulled.

Even so, he had almost missed out on first place. If Nangong Mengli, Duanmu Qing, and the others hadn't helped him later on, Greed (Lin Canyang) would have undoubtedly snatched the top spot away from him.

He didn't blame Greed. After all, who didn't harbor a wish they would sacrifice their own life to fulfill?

Perhaps Greed also had someone deeply important to him waiting to be resurrected.

Leader... I took first place. When will my wish be...

"You unfilial disciple! Is this how you look after the place while your Master is away?" an elderly yet robust voice rang out from the entrance of the Daoist temple.

Jun Wushang startled, looking up in utter disbelief.

Standing amid the swirling withered leaves was a gray-haired old man wearing an oil-stained Daoist robe, a look of faint anger on his face.

"Master!" Jun Wushang shot to his feet, unable to believe his own eyes.

"Don't call me Master! I don't have a gluttonous, lazy, idle disciple like you! Look at this courtyard—it's practically buried in leaves and you haven't even bothered to sweep!" Daoist Priest Xuanqing barked angrily, though his eyes crinkled with a hidden smile.

"I'll sweep... I'll sweep right now." His eyes turning red, Jun Wushang grabbed a broom and began sweeping the fallen leaves across the courtyard.

He kept stealing glances at Xuanqing, terrified that the old man was nothing more than an illusion.

"Master, is it really you?" This was the first time Jun Wushang had ever seen the dead return to life, and even now, he couldn't quite believe it.

Xuanqing blew out his beard and glared. "I'm not your Master, you're my Master, how about that? Now hurry up and sweep! When you're done, fetch your Master a Roast Chicken and a jug of good wine."

Those familiar demands immediately brought a wide, beaming smile to Jun Wushang's face. "It really is you, Master."

"Hey! By the Celestial Sovereign of Longevity, what is that supposed to mean? I haven't beaten you in a while and your skin is itching for a thrashing, is that it?" Xuanqing raised a hand as if to strike him, and Jun Wushang hastily ducked his head to dodge.

"You dare dodge? You're rebelling!"

Jun Wushang dodged frantically. This terrifying member of the Seven Deadly Sins—Lust—who was enough to strike fear into the hearts of the entire world, currently looked exactly like a bratty child dodging a beating from a parent.

"Master, I'm going to make you that Roast Chicken first!"

Much later, the master and disciple sat together in the courtyard, eating Roast Chicken and drinking wine.

Jun Wushang didn't eat a single bite. He simply stared, his eyes sizing Xuanqing up from head to toe, even reaching out at one point to tug on the old man's white beard.

Infuriated, Xuanqing slapped him across the shoulder, leaving behind a greasy handprint.

"Look at you acting like a fool. What? Do you think I'm a ghost? If I were a ghost, I would have dragged you down to the underworld with me by now!"

Jun Wushang grinned and shook his head. "Even if you were a ghost, you'd still be my Master. You'd never hurt me.

"By the way, Master, how did you resurrect? Do you remember anything? What does it feel like to be dead? Did you get to try out those paper concubines I burned for you?"

"Shut up!" Xuanqing slapped him again. "Are you going to let me eat in peace or not?" he demanded angrily.

"I'm just curious," Jun Wushang said, looking aggrieved. "Come on, Master, tell me."

Xuanqing scoffed. "What could death possibly feel like? It felt like nothing, obviously! And to hell with your paper concubines! If you really want to show some filial piety, take me out for a foot wash later to scrub off this bad luck.

"As for how I was resurrected, I have no idea. All I know is that I opened my eyes, and I was back here at the Longevity Daoist Temple."

"Aren't you even a little bit curious about how you came back to life?"

"What's there to be curious about? The Celestial Sovereign of Longevity must have seen my devotion and brought me back."