Chapter 949. To be Allies or Enemies?

The surrounding crowd began to chant. Amon observed the crowd before returning his attention to the three people inside the glowing formation. He concluded that the chants were simply ceremonial. It was only for the vibe. It was unnecessary and did not affect the process currently occurring between the three individuals.

"Hm..." He felt the Sea of Consciousness within him tingling. It was unseen, but a powerful mental energy churned within the formation. If he hadn’t awakened his Sea of Consciousness, he wouldn’t have sensed this energy.

After some time, the mental energy subsided. Nao Zuanyi removed his hands from the two men beside her. Her robe was drenched with sweat, and she looked exhausted.

The young man opened his eyes. Unlike before, his eyes showed awareness. He first looked at the old man on the stretcher. The old man had closed his eyes and no longer moved. He then turned to Nao Zuanyi. His voice was filled with appreciation when he said, "Thank you, grand elder. I have another chance to experience life again thanks to you."

Nao Zuanyi nodded. "Don’t perform taxing chores these first few days. You must let your mind get used to your new body first."

"Yes, grand elder," the young man bowed.

"Everyone, dismissed," Nao Zuanyi told the crowd. She took a step toward the village hall and almost tripped. Nao Thu caught her before that happened.

She gave Nao Thu a silent thank you and let him support her toward the village hall.

"Follow us back inside," Nao Dongli told Amon.

Like before, only Amon and the five elders were allowed inside. Amon began the conversation first. "That just now was mind transfer, wasn’t it?"

The elders turned to him with surprised expressions.

"How do you know?" Nao Dongli asked.

"Who informed you of our powers?" Nao Xin added.

Nao Zuanyi was calmer than her peers. He gestured for the others to calm down before saying, "I received reports that you have been friendly to the villagers, especially Nao Pei and Nao Mei. Were they the ones who gave you information regarding our mental powers?"

Amon grinned. Nao Zuanyi felt his grin was weird. This prompted her to reach out to Amon’s mind. She sensed it then: an awakened Sea of Consciousness inside Amon’s mind.

"You... Who helped you awaken your Sea of Consciousness?" She asked. Her query caused the others’ eyes to widen.

"Why are your faces so ugly?" Amon asked while remaining grinning. "I heard that most of the time you went out of this village, you came back with potential mind practitioners to add to the population of your declining village. After I saw that mind transfer out there, I know you also went out to look for suitable captives to give the dying villagers new bodies. Is that your way to achieve immortality? Your cultivation is limited, after all, which means your age is limited, too. How old are the five of you, exactly?"

The elders didn’t respond. They stared at Amon with a scowl. Amon felt all five probing his mind. He didn’t mind. He still had Lin Li’s mental shield protecting him. They would have to exert more power to pierce his mind, but Amon didn’t think they were willing to go that far yet. At least not when they were still unsure whether he was an enemy.

Hence, his next words. "I’m not your enemy. I’m not the one who hunted you down and forced you to hide in this village. It’s the opposite. I came to the upper world to defeat your enemy. You know the saying, right? The enemy of my enemy is my friend. That makes you my friends. Don’t you say? How about it? Let’s join forces and defeat the Divine together. Then, you don’t have to live in hiding like this anymore."

"Don’t be ridiculous," Nao Dongli said. "Do you expect us to risk exposing ourselves and join a delusional lunatic on a suicide mission?"

"Now, that’s not a nice thing to say to your potential ally," Amon uttered.

Nao Zuanyi gestured for everyone to calm down. She told Amon, "Amon, it is a folly for you to learn our way. You are a cultivator. Your Sea of Consciousness won’t develop past the second tier, so you will never be one of us. By learning our technique without permission, you have instead violated our rules. Under normal circumstances, we would have punished you."

"Hearing you say that encourages me. Not punishing me means there is an exception for me to your rules?"

"I never say I will not punish you. I simply haven’t decided it yet. You said you come to defeat the Divine. Tell me your plan."

"I’m glad you asked. Nevertheless, I can’t tell you much yet. My purpose of coming to the upper world is to get a lay of the land. I need to know this world before I devise a strategy to bring the Divine down."

Nao Dongli scoffed. "See? He doesn’t have a plan. He is just spouting nonsense!"

Nao Zuanyi shook her head. "Amon, that doesn’t sound convincing. We can’t be your ally if that is all you can come up with."

Amon grinned. "Then, let me tell you what I have backing me. I have the whole force of the lower world under my command. All I have to do is call upon them, and they will invade this world. I, however, won’t do that before I better understand this world."

"What proof do you have for your claim?" Nao Dou asked.

"No proof," Amon stated. "What alternative do you have? Remain hiding in this hellhole till the end of days?"

"Better that than to charge out there and face extinction."

"Not all your followers agree to that."

Amon’s statement caused Nao Zuanyi’s eyebrow to rise slightly.

"How about this? You open your mind and let me read it," Nao Thu said. "I can verify your words if you do that. We will know then if you are telling the truth."

"No," Amon said. "My mind is off-limits."

"Why do we waste time like this?" Nao Dongli asked. He sounded frustrated. "If we want to know the truth, let’s just force ourselves into his memory. Between the five of us, it is doable even against someone at the Sovereign God Stage, much less someone at the Peak Mammoth Stage like him."

"I agree," Nao Xin said.

"If you try to force your way into my mind, then all deals are off," Amon warned. "I will treat you as enemies and act accordingly."

"A threat only works when you are at an advantageous position," Nao Dou said. "You are our captive. Your life is in our hands."

Amon sneered. "That’s what you think. I never consider myself your captive. I can leave this place anytime I want. I haven’t done that because I thought I’ve found an opportunity to gain allies in my quest to topple the Divine. Whether you five are included among my allies, we will find out soon."

Nao Zuanyi was quiet for a beat before she said, "Amon, since you are being uncooperative, you leave us with no choice. Dongli!"

Upon the command, Nao Dongli acted. His telekinesis operated at the speed of thought. So no matter how quick Amon was, it was not enough unless he already moved before Nao Dongli acted. An indescribable pressure bore down on him at the same time he sensed the danger. He couldn’t dodge. The pressure was strong enough to keep him from moving.

"Good. Dongli, keep holding him down," Nao Zuanyi said. "Nao Thu, dig his memory. Break his mind if you must."

Nao Thu stepped toward Amon, who sighed.

"It is too late to regret now. You should have just cooperated with us."

Amon smiled. "I sighed not because of regret. I feel sorry because I must take you down instead of making you five my allies."

Amon used all his strength to stand. The floor cracked from his exertion.

"Hey, can you keep him down?" Nao Thu asked. He didn’t want to get attacked while trying to enter Amon’s mind.

Nao Dongli was flabbergasted. The telekinetic strength he exerted could easily hold down an Ancestor Stage cultivator, but it seemed unable to hold Amon down. He channeled his thoughts, strengthening his telekinesis. He was using full power now, one that could even slow a Sovereign God cultivator.

Amon stopped moving.

"Do it!" Nao Dongli yelled. He never thought he would have to use full power against a Mammoth Stage cultivator like Amon. He couldn’t maintain this power for long.

Only after Amon stopped moving did Nao Thu make his move. He sent his mental power to intrude on Amon’s mind. Amon felt a prick in his head. The pricking hurt more with each second.

"Give it in already," Nao Thu said, gritting his teeth.

Amon could feel Lin Li’s mental defense begin to waver. She was still no match against someone with a fourth-tier Sea of Consciousness.

Despite the situation, Amon remained smiling. "Hehe. Enough experimentation. I have experienced your power. It is time for you to experience mine."

A shadow suit covered Amon’s body. At the same time, five battle puppets materialized behind him.