Chapter 941. Forbidden Village

"Oh? Why do you think so?" The elderly woman asked her partner.

"We might have been in hiding for a long time, but it doesn’t mean we are oblivious of the outside world," the elderly man said, more to Amon than to her partner. "You said you came from the surface world? I found that hard to believe. Your cultivation level is at the Intermediate King Stage. No surface world people have a cultivation level above the Martial Realm. You can’t deceive me by saying you just broke through into the Demigod Realm. If so, you will be at the Beginning King Stage instead of Intermediate. With the surface world’s aether condition, that will take centuries or maybe never. In other words, you lied."

Amon’s hypothesis had been correct. Though weak, these elders practiced the Divine Cultivation path. They only sensed his divine cultivation level under a normal state. Unless he released his infernal energy, they were unaware of his possessing Infernal Cultivation.

What puzzled Amon was that these two could accurately determine his divine cultivation level. Normally, if their cultivation gap were too far apart, the weaker cultivators would have trouble grasping the cultivation level of the stronger one, unless the stronger cultivator intentionally released his aura. Perhaps these two poked at his cultivation when he was unconscious.

"I didn’t lie," Amon replied. "I did come from the surface world. It is the only way to arrive here, but I never said I was in the surface world the entire time. I was originally born on the surface world but traveled to the lower world. I lived there for some time. I only returned to the surface world not long ago, where I participated in the research to enter this upper world."

The elderly man chuckled. "This is what happens when you lie. You must keep inventing one lie after another to cover for your previous one. Unfortunately, there is a hole in your story. If you have traveled to the lower world, you won’t have that King Stage cultivation. It is common knowledge that no divine cultivators can enter the lower world. You will have to convert to an infernal cultivator."

The elderly woman joined in. "Even if you retrain your divine cultivation to the King Stage in the lower world, which has a better aether condition, you won’t be able to travel back to the surface world in that condition. The lower portal rejects divine cultivators. Whether on the way to the lower world or back to the surface world, you won’t survive the crossing as a divine cultivator. You will have to retrain again in the surface world. In other words, there is no way for you to possess the Intermediate King Stage cultivation level if we are to believe your story."

"I didn’t lie," Amon repeated. "The reason I can travel to the lower world is that I also have infernal cultivation on top of my divine cultivation."

"Huh?" Both elders displayed skeptical expressions.

Amon smiled. "I have a special constitution that allows me to practice both cultivation paths." A dark aura seeped out of his body.

"Pe–Peak Mammoth Stage...?" The elderly woman stammered. Amon’s infernal cultivation was even higher than his divine cultivation.

"... I admit I’m truly amazed," The elderly man said. "You keep giving us first-time experience since you woke up. It has been a long time since we have had such excitement. You are truly fascinating. While you are at it, care to tell us what the deal is with your... appearance? We know that you are human, but you don’t look like one."

"In the lower world, there is a specialization called the Flesh Alterer," Amon answered. "They substitute people’s human parts with spirit beasts’ parts, or sometimes simply add them."

"Why?" The elderly woman asked.

Amon shrugged. "For power."

As if making his case, his tail swung around him. "My opponent will have more trouble fighting me if I have five limbs compared to having four."

"Hm... I certainly won’t give up looking like that for power," the elderly woman remarked.

Amon shrugged again. "Everyone has a different priority. So, do you still think I’m lying? Or may I now be the one to ask some questions?"

The two elders looked at each other before the elderly man said, "Ask away."

"Firstly, what can I address you two with?"

The elderly man chuckled. "You can call me Nao Dou. This hag is Nao Xin."

"Who are you calling a hag?!" Nao Xin slapped her partner’s arm.

Ignoring the slap, Nao Dou said, "By the way, we also haven’t gotten your name."

"I am Amon. My second question is, where are we in the upper world?"

"You are in our village," Nao Dou answered.

"We never really give this village a name," Nao Xin explained. "A few people outside who are vaguely aware of our village call it the secluded village or the forbidden village."

"Any reason for this title?" Amon asked.

"Simple," Nao Dou replied. "It is because everyone is forbidden from entering this village except for us, its inhabitants."

"How do you prevent that? Is it because you have someone in this village who possesses a high enough cultivation level to enforce this?"

Nao Dou chuckled. "The highest cultivation level the people who live in this village have is the Peak Lord Stage."

Amon raised his forehead upon hearing the answer.

"This village is protected by a powerful formation that makes people hallucinate and lose their way if they approach," Nao Xin explained. "It affects the minds directly. No one can resist its effects, even the Divine."

"In that case, you are not under the divine’s authority?" Amon asked.

"We are probably the only ones in the upper world that don’t. He can’t lord over us if he can’t find us, and it is not for a lack of trying."

"The Divine looks for you? For what?"

"For the power we practice," Nao Dou answered. "He doesn’t like it. He viewed it the same way he viewed infernal cultivation. He considers it heresy."

"Power...? Do you mean your ability to read minds and create hallucinations?"

Nao Dou chuckled. "We can do more than that with our power, at least those of us who possess a high enough tier of the Sea of Consciousness."

"Sea of Consciousness, you mentioned that before. What is it?" Amon asked.

"It is..."

Nao Xin stopped her partner before he spoke further. "Are you sure you want to tell a stranger about our practice? He might be telling the truth about his origin, but we still don’t know his motivation."

"Right... What is your motivation for coming into this world?" Nao Dou asked. "Considering you have infernal cultivation, you should know you are not welcome here. Any reason for your suicidal act?"

If these people were normal upper world inhabitants, Amon would have made up a cover story for his reason to come to the upper world. However, from what little information he had gathered from these two, and the fact they shut themselves off from the rest of the world, he had guessed they were not fans of the Divine. Thus, he had made the gamble and told them the truth regarding his infernal cultivation. He decided to go all the way.

"I am here to defeat the Divine."

Nao Dou and Nao Xin froze for a few seconds upon hearing Amon’s statement. They then burst into laughter.

"Hahaha! Here I am, expecting you to say something that will amuse me. Well, you don’t disappoint! Haha. That truly is something. Oh... How I wish I could listen to your thoughts."

"We may still be able to. We can bring Nao Thu back here. He should be able to dig up what this man is hiding if he uses full power."

"He is indeed the best in terms of mind reading, but..."

They suddenly went quiet. However, from their expressions, Amon was convinced that they were still communicating. Since they could read minds, they could communicate without speaking. This removed the risk of being eavesdropped, unless, of course, by another mind reader.

After some time, they returned their attention to Amon. Nao Dou said, "We have agreed to wait until our grand elder returns before deciding what to do with you."

Amon nodded. "During the wait, am I being confined? Or may I move around the village?"

"You are interesting," Nao Xin said. "We have already told you that those with the highest cultivation level in this village are only at the Peak Lord Stage. We expected you to think that you could overpower us easily to leave this village, but here you are, accepting the fact that you are our prisoner."

"Can I?" Amon asked.

"Can you what?" Nao Dou asked back.

"Can I overpower you easily?"

"You can try, but you will regret it."

"In that case, I won’t try. I will comply with your demands. I have but one request."

"What is it?"

"Let me be free to roam around. I won’t leave without permission."

Nao Xin laughed. "You won’t be able to even if you try to."

"I see."

Nao Dou chuckled. "You are pretty calm, all things considered."

"I try not to worry too much about things I can’t change," Amon responded.