Chapter 466: I Have Roamed the Divine Ruins for Many Years

Yan Ming's expression shifted. "My lord, if the Lord of Primal Desolation obtains another Divine Puzzle, he will surpass the Lord of Illusory Ashes and become an even greater threat. We absolutely cannot allow this. In my humble opinion, the matter of Fallen Sin Maitreya should be kept hidden, and anyone who knows about it must be eliminated."

The Lord of Dawn shot him an indifferent glance. "A humble opinion indeed. What do you think Illusion Ash will do once he learns Yuanhuang is about to obtain another Divine Puzzle?"

Yan Ming froze, but realization quickly dawned on him. "He will try to stop him at all costs!"

"Exactly. I will sell the news of Fallen Sin Maitreya to Yuanhuang. It will look like cooperation, but I will simultaneously leak the information to Illusion Ash. When those two go to war, one is bound to be crippled. I can just sit back and reap the spoils."

"Brilliant, my lord!"

"Enough. Leave the divine taboo object and go," the Lord of Dawn said, waving him away.

Yan Ming looked troubled. "My lord, this divine taboo object was brought back by Dawn's Blade. Their leader, Captain Zhou Qiong, is reluctant to hand it over. Furthermore, his team suffered heavy casualties exploring the Divine Ruins this time; only two of them survived. He just demanded greater compensation from me. What do you think..."

"No one in the Dawn Domain dares to say no to me. Double their pay to purchase the divine taboo object. As for their heavy casualties? Heh, does he expect this Saint Lord to foot the bill for their failure?"

"Yes, my lord!" Yan Ming secretly rejoiced, seemingly eager to see Zhou Qiong suffer a setback. He respectfully handed over the Bronze Incense Burner and prepared to leave.

Through Yan Ming's eyes, Su Mu took in their every move. He smiled faintly. "Good advice can't save a doomed man."

Chu Ying blinked in surprise. "Captain, what did you just say?"

Su Mu shook his head. "Nothing."

Just as he was about to withdraw his gaze, the situation on the Lord of Dawn's side took a sudden turn.

The Lord of Dawn was examining the Bronze Incense Burner when his expression abruptly changed. "Wait!"

Yan Ming hastily stopped in his tracks and jogged back over. "My lord, do you have any other orders?"

Smack!

A vicious slap struck Yan Ming's face. The tremendous impact sent him flying instantly, tracing a pathetic arc through the air before he slammed heavily onto the ground.

Dark red blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, but Yan Ming couldn't even bother to wipe it away. Instead, he scrambled up from the dirt and fell to his knees at the Lord of Dawn's feet.

"I deserve death!" he babbled, trembling. "I deserve death!"

Although he had no idea why he had just been struck, apologizing first was definitely the right move.

"You do indeed deserve death!" The Lord of Dawn's face clouded over. "This is what you call having checked it? If this Saint Lord hadn't just probed it again, I would have nearly missed the opportunity to obtain a Divine Puzzle of the Merciful Holy Mother of Myriad Blossoms!"

Yan Ming froze. He stared blankly at the Bronze Incense Burner, thoroughly bewildered. "My lord, do you mean the aura on it doesn't belong to Fallen Sin Maitreya?"

"The aura on this divine taboo object does indeed belong to Fallen Sin Maitreya. However, the incense ash contains a trace of the Merciful Holy Mother of Myriad Blossoms' aura!

"This incense burner absorbs the flesh and blood of living creatures and converts it into sandalwood incense. Igniting it activates the residual power of Fallen Sin Maitreya within the burner. Since the ash contains the aura of the Merciful Holy Mother of Myriad Blossoms, it means someone must have come into contact with the Holy Mother while they were alive. Only after they died and were reduced to ash would this lingering aura be left behind."

"Then, does that mean the Holy Mother might actually be inside those Divine Ruins?"

"Even this Saint Lord cannot be certain if the creature that turned into ash encountered the Holy Mother within these Divine Ruins, or if it encountered her elsewhere and later died here. But regardless, this is a crucial clue!"

Smack!

The Lord of Dawn delivered another vicious slap to Yan Ming, directly knocking out two of his teeth.

"Trash! How many times has this Saint Lord told you? Be meticulous in your work! Check every single detail! You examined the incense burner, yet you didn't know to check the ash?"

Terrified, Yan Ming kowtowed repeatedly. "I deserve death! I will definitely keep your teachings in mind!"

Even as he said those words, he was cursing inwardly.

He had served for years; how could he make such a rookie mistake? In truth, he had already checked the incense ash. He had carefully examined it inside and out, but the residual aura of the Merciful Holy Mother of Myriad Blossoms was simply far too faint.

It was so faint that aside from the Lord of Dawn, who possessed parts of a Divine Corpse, it was nearly impossible for anyone else to detect it.

Therefore, even if he had been told to check it a hundred more times, he wouldn't have found a thing.

But he didn't dare say that out loud. This was the reality of being a subordinate. When facing a short-tempered superior, the most important thing to do while being yelled at was to simply listen. Even if you weren't at fault, you could never talk back. Superiors didn't want explanations; they wanted to see a respectful attitude while you took the reprimand.

If you argued back, wouldn't that just prove the superior was wrong? Could a superior ever be wrong? No, which meant the fault had to be yours.

The Lord of Dawn ignored the endlessly kowtowing Yan Ming. With a profound gaze, he stared intently at the Bronze Incense Burner in his hand, seemingly lost in thought.

"If a portion of the Merciful Holy Mother of Myriad Blossoms' Divine Corpse is truly within those Divine Ruins, then it is highly likely a dual Divine Ruins. Such situations are rare, but not unheard of.

"With two different Gods occupying a single Divine Ruins, things will get troublesome. The difficulty of acquiring a Divine Corpse will increase exponentially. I cannot proceed with the original plan."

The Lord of Dawn had originally intended to use Fallen Sin Maitreya to spark a war between the Lord of Primal Desolation and the Lord of Illusory Ashes. But now that this involved the very Divine Puzzle he himself needed, that original plan could only be scrapped.

After mulling it over, he slowly said, "Go and bring Zhou Qiong here."

"Yes, my lord." Yan Ming scrambled up from the ground while clutching his cheek, an intense bitterness welling up inside him. He knew he probably wouldn't get to see Zhou Qiong suffer a setback anymore. Even worse, he had suffered two heavy slaps for absolutely nothing.

A moment later.

Su Mu was brought to the rear gardens.

The Lord of Dawn was sitting in a garden pavilion, sipping tea. Upon seeing Su Mu arrive, a warm, amiable smile graced his face. "Captain Zhou, isn't it? Please, sit."

Su Mu smiled faintly and sat down directly across from the Lord of Dawn.

"I've long heard that Captain Zhou of Dawn's Blade is an experienced God Hunter. Seeing you today, it seems your reputation is well-deserved. Only a God Hunter like you could repeatedly make it out of the Divine Ruins in one piece."

Seeing the Lord of Dawn laying on the flattery, Su Mu accepted it all without hesitation. "The Lord of Dawn certainly has a keen eye for heroes. I have roamed the Divine Ruins for many years. There aren't many God Hunters stronger than me, though they do exist. However, I might just be the only one who has managed to live to my age.

"Do you know why?"

The Lord of Dawn paused. He hadn't expected this old geezer Zhou Qiong to actually take the compliment and run with it.

"Why?"

Su Mu lightly stroked his grizzled beard and replied with the self-important air of an elder, "Meticulousness."

The Lord of Dawn blinked again. Meticulousness? He had expected to hear something like caution or vast experience.

"When I explore the Divine Ruins, I ensure no detail is overlooked and handle everything personally. I even inspect the water we bring myself, never daring to leave a single thing to chance."