Chapter 1245: The Fools Are Unexpectedly Smart

In the vast starry sea between the Fourth and Fifth Star Rings, the void rippled as a huge rift cracked open. Two figures flew out from inside. They appeared to be a man and a woman.

The one who looked like a woman was pale in the face, and wore a wrinkled garment that had once been blue, but was now pale. It was as if it had contained a great sea that had dried up. Atop the head of the woman was a phoenix crown, except that phoenix had long since perished, and the pearls made of eyes that had decorated it were as gray as ash.

As for the man, he was a decrepit old god whose cultivation level seemed unstable, and who was covered with an assortment of wounds that were in the middle of healing.

After emerging from the rift, both the man and the woman coughed up huge mouthfuls of blood. It was golden blood that shed bits of mutagen. The old man looked around with eyes that shone with golden light. Seeing the spreading mutagen, the man lifted a hand and clenched it down hard. The mutagen was erased from existence. The same happened to thēir aura and all other evidence of thēir passage.

Having accomplished that, the old god turned to the woman and spoke in a hoarse voice. “Your Grace Starryeyes... this wasn’t your fault. Clearly the cultivators had planned everything out!”

The woman was none other than that only child of the God Lord, Starryeyes, and the man was hēr dao protector. Back when Spirit Jade launched his attack on the battlefield, Starryeyes’ three dao protectors had been killed.

As for Starryeyes, it was only by using the life-saving magic hēr father had given hēr, the God Lamp Life Substitution, that shē managed to escape catastrophe. Unfortunately, shē had drained hērself in the effort to bring back the dead commander-in-chief, so hēr cultivation base had dropped. And so, despite having escaped certain death, shē was still badly hurt.

If it weren’t for the fact that shē had a fourth True God dao protector keeping watch from hiding, who had helped hēr at the last minute, then even hēr God Lamp Life Substitution wouldn’t have been enough to save hēr.

For hēr to escape to this location was really a fluke. But... though shē could accept the drop to hēr life force and cultivation base, shē couldn’t stop thinking about that unforgettable scene.

𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

It was the moment Spirit Jade’s eyes had opened!

“But why was it a cultivator that came back and not the commander-in-chief...?” It was a devastating blow to hēr. Even now, being so far from the battlefield, hēr eyes were blank because of it. “And the war in the eastern theater....”

The old god said, “Your Grace, that immortal was once a peak Lower Immortal, and is now using the body of a True God in the great circle. With battle prowess as terrifying as that, he’s basically as strong as you can get without being a God Lord!

“With an expert as powerful as that to suddenly show up on the battlefield, well, it’s a foregone conclusion how things will end in the eastern theater. You really have to stop worrying about it.

“My injuries are so severe that I could die soon. It’s a struggle simply to stay in the True God level. I won’t be able to keep you safe for much longer, Your Grace.

“Right now... we’re not in the Fourth Star Ring anymore. We’re somewhere between the two star rings. Given the immortal energy here, we’re obviously closer to the cultivators. That’s going to make it even more difficult for us to recover. What’s more, it’s highly likely that the cultivators will be looking for us.

“Your Grace, we’re going to be facing danger from all sides. We need to stay under cover and be very careful as we travel. Until we get back to the Fourth Star Ring, we cannot reveal our true identities! Your safety is of concern to the God Lord hīmself, Your Grace, so... please, pull yourself together!”

Starryeyes said nothing for a moment, but the blankness in hēr eyes faded, to be replaced by coldness. “I hereby promise that if you perish, then after I recover and get help from my father, I’ll personally bring you back!”

The old god nodded in response to hēr words. Then hē closed his eyes, causing hīs body to flash briefly with golden light before turning completely transparent. That will of transparency then expanded to cover the goddess.

The two gods vanished.

***

Days passed.

When Immortal Monarch Spirit Jade returned to the eastern theater in the Fourth Star Ring, the war shifted into high gear. It was like a huge, swelling wave.

Cultivator morale had never been higher. At the same time... the gods were stunned beyond belief. In the past... the gods’ ability to awaken from death was a grace shown by the higher star rings. It was one of the main foundations for the power and strength of the gods. True Gods never really died. As long as the true name of such a god was remembered, then that god could come back.

But what happened in the Fourth Star Ring’s eastern theater completely upended the gods’ perception of reality. There was no doubt... that thēir goddess had been waking up thēir commander-in-chief, only for a cultivator to be the one that woke up!

That indicated that the natural law that was their very foundation had been tampered with by the cultivators! If it happened once, then it could happen twice.... And if the cultivators had that ability, then it meant that they had developed providence, which had once been the reserve power of only the gods! This could change everything!

It also meant that whenever a True God was woken up in the future, this same type of thing could potentially happen. It was a case of

the turtledove occupying the magpie’s nest

and completely taking over! The gods in the eastern theater were shaken in the most unprecedented way possible.

After all, this entire development meant... that the supposedly eternal laws governing undying True Gods had changed! Considering a cultivator had returned, then... what had happened to the original owner of that god body, the commander-in-chief of the gods’ eastern theater? Hīs return had been tampered with? Therefore, where was hē?

It was completely unknown. And the gods... hated unknowns. Although the event would only specifically affect what happened in the fighting in the eastern theater, it had profound implications for the war in general.

It was easy to imagine what would happen as the news spread. It would certainly cause a storm through the war regions, and beyond that, the Fourth Star Ring as a whole! And that storm was no less significant than the arrival of a new God Lord!

Any spectator would come to the conclusion that this entire thing was a plan hatched by Immortal Lord Deepgloom!

First was the ‘lantern’ in the cultivator’s staging areas. After that was the assassination. Third in line was getting the goddess to come. And then, the goddess was used to awaken the True God, all while a major offensive was launched to distract from what was really going on. From the look of it, everything had been done to make sure that final awakening occurred!

“Now I get it!”

On the front lines in the eastern theater of the Fifth Star Ring, Xu Qing and the ascendees had just finished some Corpsedrainer work, and were stunned to hear the news in a war report. The war report about the events a few days earlier had been spreading far and wide in the eastern theater. It explained everything clearly, and was really improving morale among the cultivators. It also dispelled a lot of the confusion felt by Xu Qing and the ascendees.

“Just what I would expect of Immortal Lord Deepgloom,” Li Mengtu sighed. “He’s not someone known to be constantly hatching plots and schemes, but he’s obviously clever. And then there’s Immortal Monarch Spirit Jade.... I wonder why I’ve never heard of him before.”

The eyes of Sir Star Ring and the other ascendees glittered thoughtfully. What Spirit Jade had accomplished was unimaginably shocking to them.

As for Xu Qing, he just kept thinking about Immortal Monarch Spirit Jade’s epitaph written on his gravestone back at the Heroic Immortal Tombs.

He did it.

Xu Qing was understandably taken aback. However, given what he knew of the gods, he had already reached his own conclusions about the matter. He wasn’t convinced that this was something that would happen a lot. It was the result of some very special plans and circumstances.

Meanwhile, Zhou Zhengli said, “If there’s someone in the Fifth Star Ring known for plots and schemes, it’s Immortal Lord Nineshores.... I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s the one that’s actually behind it all. What’s more, the success of a plan like this... surely involved overcoming many obstacles. I’m afraid it’s not likely to happen again.

“Otherwise, why would Immortal Monarch Spirit Jade be the only one to come back? If it was easily repeatable, then why not bring back a whole bunch of cultivators, have them stay under cover, and then launch a one-time surprise attack?

“But they didn’t do that. They only brought back one cultivator. Though we won a victory, the gods are on guard now. And I’m sure they’ll try to figure out how it happened.”

Everyone clearly took Zhou Zhengli’s assessment seriously.

As for Xu Qing, he looked up at Zhou Zhengli. The two of them were obviously on the same page. However, the success of the operation also caused Xu Qing to think of something else that was very important.

That goddess....

Xu Qing’s pupils constricted.

At almost the exact same moment, Zhou Zhengli said, “And why did they want the goddess there?”

Sir Star Ring and everyone else just considered the question thoughtfully. In contrast, Hordeslayer and Rampart didn’t hesitate to offer their opinion.

“You guys are making this way too complicated. Enough with all the jibber jabber. We two brothers can explain everything. It’s simple. Immortal Lord Deepgloom and the other bigshots were just trying to get the attention of the Fourth Star Ring.”

“You all were talking about the eastern theater being turned into a lantern, right? Well, they just wanted the lantern to shine more brightly.”

Hordeslayer and Rampart weren’t known for being intellectual powerhouses. But their assessment caused Xu Qing to look over at them. Zhou Zhengli and everyone else did the same.

Hordeslayer and Rampart seemed taken aback. They had just been speaking off the cuff....

“If that’s the case,” Zhou Zhengli said, “then... then the ultimate plan for this war must be mind-blowing!”

Zhou Zhengli instinctively looked at Xu Qing. Eyes shining, Xu Qing was about to speak, when out of nowhere, their mission jade slips vibrated. Orders were being sent to everyone on the front lines of the eastern theater.

“All forces will break into small groups and begin a full search of the front lines. Go into all areas, regardless of whether they are full of immortal energy or mutagen.... You will search for... Goddess Starryeyes, the daughter and only child of God Emperor Death Departure! Do not use lethal force!

“Anyone who provides clues leading to hēr capture will be rewarded with 1,000,000 military credits and 10 portions of ringsource!

“Anyone who captures hēr will be rewarded with 10,000,000 military credits and 100 portions of ringsource, will be given the daoist title true monarch, and will also be given... a dao weapon forged by an Immortal Lord!”