Chapter 152

The leaders who had been assigned to come and assist alongside Ke Xingzhou more or less understood the temperament of the Xiaoyao Sect. So when they heard something like this, they weren’t surprised—just a little speechless.

But the local leaders in the southern city weren’t as calm.

One second they were inwardly criticizing the mainland leaders for being feudal and superstitious, and the next they were staring at the surveillance screen in shock, unable to utter a word: “Wait, wha—what is this? What’s talking?!”

Only then did the mainland leaders remember there were others present at the scene.

At the time, because communication had been cut off and they were worried that leaked information might cause unnecessary panic, they didn’t tell the southern city leaders the full truth—only mentioned matters related to emergency rescue.

After arriving on site, they hadn’t had time to explain before this situation happened, and now the mainland leaders had no idea where to even begin.

Only the senior disciple of the Xiaoyao Sect was overwhelmed with emotion, gasping in disbelief: “No way... No way! Feng Bo! It’s really Feng Bo! A deer’s body, leopard spots, peacock head... looks exactly like the legends!”

When Feng Bo heard the southern leaders’ reaction, he was still a bit annoyed. But upon hearing the disciple’s words, he couldn’t help but raise his bird beak proudly, basking in the praise from this human.

Just like the demon tribe, he hadn’t appeared in the mortal world for nearly ten thousand years.

Though he hadn’t been sealed like the demons, for other reasons his life over the past ten thousand years had also been extremely isolated, with almost no access to information.

When he first returned to the human world, he had been stunned by the rapid advancement of human technology, and also realized that people nowadays barely believed in gods and deities anymore.

Even the most renowned figures of the Heavenly Court—the Jade Emperor and Queen Mother—were hardly worshipped, let alone star spirits like himself.

He had thought that humanity had long forgotten the gods who had once toiled for their sake. But to think... some still remembered them?

Feng Bo felt a bit consoled and was preparing to accept a devotee’s kneeling tribute—only to see this so-called devotee take out a square-shaped object and flash light at him.

Zhu Chu, after taking the photo, uploaded it to the Xiaoyao Sect’s science bulletin board. Looking at the image—four completely unrelated animal traits somehow fused into one living creature—he couldn’t help but marvel: “This is insane. What kind of animal hybrid is this? Were ancient mythical beasts all just thrown together like this?”

Feng Bo was nearly blinded by the flash and almost fell from the sky.

He didn’t fully understand Zhu Chu’s words, but he got the general idea—especially the word “hybrid.”

He immediately erupted in fury: “You insolent fool! What nonsense are you spouting? This divine form of mine is natural!”

Unfortunately, such an explanation didn’t convince Zhu Chu at all.

Zhu Chu said “Ah”—“So it’s kind of like a platypus, huh? That’s rough. Now modern biologists are going to have a headache.”

Feng Bo: “?????”

What’s wrong with this stupid human? He’s a god!Even after the great war between gods and demons, when the divinity of the gods was erased by the Heavenly Dao, and even though he had not absorbed any faith power in ten thousand years, Feng Bo still firmly believed he was the lofty deity he once was, capable of ruling over everything in the human world at will.

A mere ordinary human actually dared to be so disrespectful to him!

His expression darkened instantly, his sinister eyes locked on Zhu Chu: “Heh… You little thing. If you were trying to get my attention, then you’ve certainly succeeded. But the consequences—can you bear them?”

As soon as Feng Bo finished speaking, he moved to intensify the wind disaster, making it even fiercer. Just as he began to mobilize his divine power, Zhu Chu’s expression changed several times—then he suddenly turned pale and lunged toward a nearby trash can—

“Ugh! God, it’s so greasy! My eyes, my ears! I’ll pay big money for a pair of eyes that haven’t seen a hybrid-CEO abomination!”

Feng Bo: “……”

What was even more insulting to the god was that Ke Xingzhou had clearly seen this human insult him from start to finish, and yet he stood firmly on that puny human’s side, sternly demanding, “Apologize to my disciple.”

Feng Bo: “………………”

Feng Bo was beyond furious.

His expression flickered, and he stared daggers at Ke Xingzhou and the others in the crowd, who showed no fear. Only then did he realize—Ke Xingzhou was no longer the genius cultivator from ten thousand years ago.

He was now just an ordinary human.

Feng Bo lowered his head and let out a mocking laugh. Suddenly, he felt that all the caution he’d shown before, all the effort to deal with Ke Xingzhou tactfully, had been incredibly foolish—what was there to be concerned about?

They and Ke Xingzhou were no longer on the same path.

Everyone saw Feng Bo’s eyes turn bloodshot, his originally black irises now dark red from the blood surge. Black mist rose around him, making him look nearly demonic.

But Nie Chen, standing nearby, recognized that this state was quite different from true demonic possession.

The clearest indicator—was the sky.

In the past, whenever a god committed a wrong and harmed other living beings, the Heavenly Dao would immediately issue punishment, forcing them to reflect and restrain themselves from bullying the weak.

Yet at this moment, the strong wind in Nancheng had been raging for several days, and still there was no response from the Heavenly Dao.

The sky remained overcast, but no thunder had fallen.

Nie Chen wasn’t someone who had lived through the cultivation era and was initially puzzled by the situation—until Lian Cheng appeared out of nowhere, gazing at the sky and saying in a deep voice, “The stars… have truly been forsaken by the Heavenly Dao.”

Nie Chen froze.

Then he realized—this wasn’t the first time such a situation had occurred.

In the ancient times even before ten thousand years ago, the demon race was originally just an ordinary race under the Heavenly Dao. But because their nature was wild and unrestrained, valuing absolute freedom, they often clashed with the other races. Eventually, they were abandoned by the Heavenly Dao—stripped of their souls and the right to reincarnate, turning them into a feared and hated species.

But the demons were forsaken, it was said, for committing unforgivable sins—so why had the gods been cast aside now too?

--

Lian Cheng looked at the deranged figure of Feng Bo in midair and could almost recall how, in the great war ten thousand years ago, the latter had fought with all his strength against the demons. Yet now, he couldn’t help but question—was what he had seen back then really the truth?

If the gods were truly as noble and compassionate as they were believed to be, then why had they been abandoned by the Heavenly Dao after the war?

What Lian Cheng could never reconcile—was Ke Xingzhou’s sacrifice in their previous life.If all of this is false, then what was the point of the death of his creator, his lover from his previous life—Ke Xingzhou—ten thousand years ago?

Liancheng’s mind was in chaos, but none of it showed on his face. The eyes behind the white cloth slowly lowered, and he turned and leapt out of the window.

“I’ll go hold him off.”

Leaving behind just that sentence, he didn’t even glance at Ke Xingzhou before vanishing from everyone’s sight.

Ke Xingzhou was completely unaware of Liancheng’s shift. Holding the bow that Liancheng had given him, he opened his mouth: “Hey, wait…”

You’re going without any weapons at a time like this?

Turning to look at Nie Chen, the latter was also staring at the place where Liancheng had disappeared, his expression complicated and the light in his eyes flickering.

After a moment of silence, Nie Chen suddenly spoke: “Since the constellations have been abandoned by the Heavenly Dao, it means Feng Bo is now almost entirely free from its constraints. Following the original plan to passively assist and wait for the Heavenly Dao to punish him probably won’t work.”

Everyone’s heart sank at those words. A local leader of Nancheng couldn’t help but ask, “Th-then what do we do now?”

They had received some intel and made early preparations for wartime conditions, but Nancheng’s resources were still limited.

And with the opponent being a god, could their technology really stand a chance?

Then they heard the second disciple of the Xiaoyao Sect—who was also a major taxpayer and the head of the country’s largest conglomerate, Wanli Group—Nie Chen pause briefly before instructing his senior: “Call the sect.”

Everyone’s spirits lifted immediately.

Although they hadn’t yet seen what role Xiaoyao Sect’s senior disciple Zhu Chu would play, just Ke Xingzhou and Nie Chen alone—one with overwhelming metaphysical strength, the other with overwhelming financial power—were anything but ordinary.

Any reinforcements from their sect at this time must surely be incredibly powerful cultivators capable of going toe-to-toe with Feng Bo!

Sure enough, as soon as Nie Chen finished speaking, Zhu Chu perked up and responded confidently. He pulled out his phone and made the call.

After a round of intense communication, Zhu Chu righteously slammed his phone down on the table!

Everyone: “……”

Director Wen: “……”

Director Wen suddenly had a bad feeling.

The local leaders of Nancheng were still confused, worried that it might be too late to make the call: “Will mobilizing from the capital be fast enough? Is there anyone we can use locally? If not, maybe send in some nearby personnel first…”

Zhu Chu actually gave it some thought and replied with some difficulty, “Locally? Not really in time.”

Local leaders: “?”

Seeing their puzzled expressions, Zhu Chu slapped his forehead: “Oh right, I forgot—party members are protected by faith. You can’t see it.”

Local leaders: “???”

Can’t see what?

It’s broad daylight. Sure, it’s cloudy outside, but aren’t the indoor lights bright enough?Just as everyone was confused, Zhu Chu had already fluently finished reciting an Eye-Opening Spell. He quickly handed out Eye-Opening Talismans to each of the local leaders and then shouted toward his phone, “Come quickly.”

The leaders watched in astonishment as a semi-transparent figure suddenly emerged from the phone screen, muttering in an old, grumbling voice: “Ay, ay, Mr. Zhu, this new phone screen of yours is way too small. This old man can barely squeeze through! Domestic big screens really are better! Oh dear...”

The leaders: “………………”

--

In midair, the Wind Lord had completely descended into madness.

With a gentle blow, the small fan in his hand swelled rapidly, transforming into a massive feather fan even taller than himself, standing behind him like a pair of enormous wings.

He gripped the handle of the fan with both hands, threw his entire body weight onto it, and slammed it down toward the city of South City.

The citizens of South City felt the violent wind pause for a moment—only for an even more terrifying gale to suddenly descend—rumble, rumble! The high-rise city seemed as if it was about to lift off the ground, swept into the sky by the storm.

Many residents had just received emergency supplies and were preparing to finally get some rest during the work stoppage. The sudden attack caught them completely off guard.

Even more terrifying—within view, the floor-to-ceiling windows of one apartment in a high-rise were ripped off entirely by the wind. The people inside didn’t even have time to scream before being blown into the sky.

Everyone who saw this felt their scalp go numb and instinctively screamed: “Aaaaaaaah?! AAAAAH!”

“Help! Somebody help!! Someone got blown away!!”

“Help!!!”

The rescue teams could only briefly calm the crowd, but they couldn’t ease the deep-seated fear in their hearts.

Faced with such terrifying destruction, humanity’s instinctive fear of nature surged. The brain couldn’t process such intense emotions. Many residents collapsed on the spot, their legs giving out beneath them.

“Hea… Heaven! What is happening?!”

Even many people who normally didn’t believe in anything found themselves silently praying to every god they could think of for safety.

Above them, the Wind Lord watched mockingly.

Look at them—he’d merely stirred up some wind and clouds, and these humans were already wailing and begging for mercy.

He coldly watched the human who had just been blown out of their apartment, debating whether to smash him to death or slam him into a building—so the rest could witness what happens when a god is angered.

The storm followed his whim, tossing the person up and down like a lifeless toy.

The poor soul, who had never experienced anything like this, was terrified to the point of almost losing control of his bladder. After screaming until his voice was hoarse, his eyes rolled back, and he fainted.

Just before he passed out, he felt a chill on his back, like something had stuck to him.

But his overloaded brain couldn’t comprehend what it was. He sank into darkness, still twitching slightly even after hitting the ground.

Lian Cheng frowned and unceremoniously dropped the man to the ground, then flew back up into the sky.

“Wind Lord, stop. Don’t keep making mistake after mistake.”

The Wind Lord looked clearly at who it was and sneered coldly: “Oh, it's you. What, Ke Xingzhou is dead, and now even one of his tool spirits dares to swagger in and tell me what to do?”

Lian Cheng ignored the taunt. But when the Wind Lord mentioned Ke Xingzhou’s death, a sharp twitch crossed between his brows.He took a deep breath. "I don’t know exactly what happened ten thousand years ago, but if you persist in your delusions, the Heavenly Dao will not spare you."

“Heavenly Dao? Heh, the Heavenly Dao!”

It would have been better if he hadn’t mentioned it. At the mention of the Heavenly Dao, Feng Bo’s expression became even more manic. His words were filled with hatred and grief deeper than even that of the demons: “The Heavenly Dao indeed won’t spare us. But so what? No matter how cruel it is, can it really make my life worse than the past ten thousand years?”

Liancheng frowned deeply. “What exactly happened ten thousand years ago?”

“Hmph!” Feng Bo snorted coldly, refusing to answer.

Liancheng was silent for a moment, then finally asked the question most critical to him: “So the great war between gods and demons ten thousand years ago… was it truly instigated by your divine race?”

Although it was phrased as a question, when it came from Liancheng’s mouth, his tone was nearly declarative.

He stared tensely at Feng Bo, ready to give him a chance if there was even a hint of denial.

However, Feng Bo remained silent, showing clear resistance to discussing the topic.

When he heard Liancheng mention the god-demon war, a trace of mockery even flashed across Feng Bo’s face.

Liancheng’s heart sank heavily.

He wasn’t the type to interrogate relentlessly. Seeing that Feng Bo refused to speak, he turned his wrist, summoning a phantom of the Liancheng Bow, and his brows furrowed further.

“So you have nothing to say.”

Feng Bo sneered and finally spoke—but what he said was: “You really are becoming more and more like a human.”

Liancheng paused. His expression didn’t change, but his eyes grew even gentler. “Is that so? That’s good.”

“Good?” Feng Bo seemed to have heard something ridiculous. “Humans are stupid and cowardly, selfish and despicable. And yet you, a naturally born and raised spiritual artifact, are willing to become such a fool?”

“Quite the opposite,” Liancheng said calmly. “Humans may be small, but they’re not stupid, and certainly not cowardly. As for selfishness and baseness—why don’t you look down and see for yourself what the humans you’re trampling underfoot are doing right now?”

“Them? What could they possibly be doing? Just begging for mercy and doing useless things, nothing more.”

Feng Bo scoffed disdainfully, but still, almost instinctively, looked down in the direction Liancheng had indicated.

And when he did, he was stunned.

The ordinary human he had previously blown out of the building—after being placed back on the rooftop by Liancheng—had been startled awake by the howling wind and had scrambled back into the building.

Feng Bo had noticed this earlier but hadn’t paid it any mind, simply mocking the human’s fear of death in his heart.

But now, looking again, he saw that the same human had come rushing back out of the building.

He wasn’t even holding a weapon. Rushing out just to die?

Just as Feng Bo was wondering, he saw the ordinary human crawling on the ground, using rocks to anchor himself in place, and searching for something.

Very quickly, he found what he was looking for—

A litter of kittens.Such strong wind—who knows how these kittens even managed to stay on the rooftop. Four or five of them were huddled together in the corner of the roof’s drainage gutter, letting out sharp and continuous meows.

What baffled Ke Xingzhou even more was that this person, upon hearing the meows in the middle of the storm, had rushed out again without any hesitation.

He stared in a daze as the human took off his own jacket, gently placed the kittens inside, and, even when scratched by them, showed no complaint. Soon, he was clutching the large rock again and inching his way back into the building.

Liancheng spoke mildly: “These past ten thousand years, it’s precisely the small, insignificant human race that you looked down upon who have climbed step by step to the top of the world. The heavens have always favored them—for a reason.”

Ke Xingzhou: “……”

As a god, he naturally heard that human mutter under his breath, “Good thing you ran into me. If it had been someone else, they might not even have heard your cries.”

No.

Ke Xingzhou instinctively objected in his heart.

If it had been someone else, even if they did hear it, they wouldn't have come out.

Humans are a selfish and despicable race. Even if one or two among them happen to have a trace of kindness, it doesn’t change the fact that their survival to this day has been built upon mountains of corpses and seas of blood from other races!

Ke Xingzhou’s expression turned crazed once more. Black energy surged around him, nearly swallowing his entire face: “Enough talk! Since you love humans so much, then go die with them!”

As the words fell, the feather fan behind him swung heavily again. A fiercer gust of wind formed out of thin air, like an invisible giant hand, ruthlessly battering the surrounding buildings.

Screams from humans rang out one after another. Everyone was gripped by unprecedented panic.

The newborn kittens that had just been rescued also began crying more shrilly.

Liancheng’s jaw tightened. He finally lost his patience for reason: “Stubborn fool!”

He growled lowly, decisively pulling back the bowstring of his conjured bow.

Just as the two sides were about to clash, a sudden noisy voice broke in beside them: “Don’t fight! We live in a civilized society now—jumping straight to fighting and killing is terrifying! Why not talk a little more?”

Zhu Chu?

Liancheng’s heart jumped. He turned with Ke Xingzhou to look—and spotted a benevolent ghost floating nearby, carrying a camera in a very professional manner.

Zhu Chu’s voice was coming from that camera.

Seeing he had their attention, Zhu Chu signaled the ghost to float closer and grinned: “Ke Xingzhou, right? Hello, hello. I’m the HR manager and also the deputy general manager of Xiaoyao Sect. You can also call me Daoist Zhu.”

Ke Xingzhou: “……?”

Ke Xingzhou gave Liancheng a strange look, as if to say, “This is that wise human you spoke of?”

“……” Liancheng, for once, was at a loss for words. After a moment of silence, he couldn't help but scold Zhu Chu, “What are you doing here?”

“What else? Didn’t I just say it? I’m the HR manager,” Zhu Chu replied with high spirits, even raising his voice a little, motioning the ghost to get closer, and enunciating clearly: “—Of course I’m here to recruit!”