Chapter 1992: Reluctance

Divine Venerate Xi Yue was startled to her senses.

When she looked at the distant Su Yi, her gaze was incomparably conflicted.

A few days ago, when she met Su Yi for the first time, she domineeringly demanded that Xi Ning draw a line between herself and Su Yi for fear that they’d implicate the entire Xi Family.

She in no way believed that Su Yi could escape the gods’ arrangements alive. Thus, she even went so far as to request Master God Yun He’s protection.

Who’d have thought that Su Yi would be the one to survive in the end after all?

The mighty Master Gods joined forces with over one hundred divine avatars of will, only for all of them to meet their doom in the end. Not one had survived!

This came as far too great a shock to Divine Venerate Xi Yue, to the point that even after she regained mental clarity, she had no idea what to say to Su Yi.

“As you just saw, not even the gods’ joint scheme could kill me.” Su Yi took out a jug of wine and had a sip.

He had no aversion to Divine Venerate Xi Yue; she was wholeheartedly looking out for Xi Ning, as well as the wellbeing of the entire Xi Family. They were simply on different sides.

Divine Venerate Xi Yue took a deep breath, then said, “The ones who suffered crushing defeats were merely the gods’ avatars of wills. With your power, you’re in no way capable of duking it out with the Master Gods’ true bodies!”

Su Yi smiled and didn’t argue. All he said was, “I am not capable

now

.”

Divine Venerate Xi Yue froze, then sank into silence.

He was right. Su Yi had yet to become a god, but he was already so heaven-defying. How powerful would he become after achieving divinity?

Divine Venerate Xi Yue couldn’t help but recall how Su Yi had overcome his tribulation.

The Dipankara Buddha and the others’ true bodies had joined forces to stop Su Yi from proving his Dao, only for another group of terrifying Master Gods to intervene. And all of those Master Gods had referred to Su Yi as their Daoist Brother!

No matter how hard she thought about it, Divine Venerate Xi Yue couldn’t wrap her head around it. What did it all mean?

“But… A’Ning won’t be coming back…” Divine Venerate Xi Yue said bitterly, her eyes full of grief.

After Di E appeared, her senses were cut off, just like the others. She didn’t see anything that happened afterward.

“A’Ning is still alive.” Su Yi put his jug of wine away, then approached the Chaos Dao Cave.

Divine Venerate Xi Yue froze, stunned. A moment later, her eyes widened.

She’s still alive!?

“Truly?” she couldn’t help but ask, her heart full of excitement.

“You can come with me,” said Su Yi.

Divine Venerate Xi Yue hesitated, then followed him.

Xi Ning still lay on the floor of the Chaos Dao Cave, her clothes stained red with blood.

The difference was that her wounds had somehow knit back together, and her whole body emanated overflowing vitality.

However, she hadn’t yet reawakened.

“A’Ning!” Divine Venerate Xi Yue rushed over to her. When she saw that Xi Ning was indeed still alive, she was so excited that tears streamed down her face. “Wonderful! Wonderful!”

She hugged Xi Ning tight, her voice choked with sobs. She was too overwrought to even speak.

It was obvious that her bond with Xi Ning ran deep.

Su Yi stood to the side, his heart churning. A massive weight lifted off his shoulders, as if the clouds had parted and he could finally see the sun once more. The overcast feeling hanging over his heart, as well as all of his accumulated grief and fury, vanished without a trace.

“When the Epoch Battlefield dissipates, I’ll bring A’Ning home. I won’t let her suffer in the outside world any longer,” murmured Divine Venerate Xi Yue, her voice soft but determined.

Su Yi frowned, his heart filling with intense reluctance, but in the end, he held back. “Let’s wait until she wakes up.”

Then, he gazed outside the Chaos Dao Cave.

There, chaos origin energy surged. Numerous places outside the cave showed signs of cracking; it was obvious it wouldn’t last much longer.

It was also immediately obvious that when the Chaos Dao Cave broke, the Epoch Battlefield manifested of the Immortal Realm’s chaos source would dissipate.

“Leave the cave first,” ordered Su Yi. Divine Venerate Xi Yue immediately picked Xi Ning up and carried her out outside.

Su Yi stood within the cave, sensed it briefly, then stretched out his hand and grabbed.

Boom!

The chaos origin energy filling the cave surged. Countless beams of flowing Dao Light surged forth. From time to time, resplendent light flashed past, then disappeared.

Those were Epoch Fragments! The Epoch Fragments scattered across the Epoch Battlefield were born of the Chaos Dao Cave. That meant that Su Yi now stood in the place that produced them.

He naturally wouldn’t pass up such wondrous treasures. Even if he didn’t need these chances at divinity, he could give them to other people!

He thought for a moment, then got to work. A little less than ten minutes later, Su Yi had gathered every last Epoch Fragment born of the chaos source.

Alas, there were still just nine of them. Ultimately, both in the God Domain and here in the Epoch Battlefield, chances at divinity were extremely limited and rare as could be.

This was why the appearance of the Path of Divinity in the Immortal Realm had drawn the attention of so many prominent factions of the God Domain.

The nine Epoch Fragments Su Yi had gathered included one supreme Epoch Fragment, two first-level Epoch Fragments, and four second-level Epoch Fragments. The two that remained were third and fifth level respectively.

That meant that Su Yi had in his hands opportunities for nine Great Profound Stage experts to attempt to achieve divinity.

And if they succeeded, the person who refined the supreme Epoch Fragment would have the potential to one day become a Master God. The combined value of these Epoch Fragments was enough to drive the entire God Domain insane!

Moreover, Su Yi had gathered two Epoch Fragments along the way, and he’d acquired two more after killing Jiang Tai’e and Blood Firmament! And that’s before even factoring in the spoils of the grand battle he’d just fought.

……

Outside the Chaos Dao Cave, the Divine Replenishment Furnace was busy gathering the spoils.

This time, their harvest was far too enormous.

The avatars of ten Master Gods and over a hundred other divinities had shattered, leaving behind divine medicines, divine materials, and a glittering mountain of treasures.

More importantly, when the newly advanced gods in their ranks fell, they left behind their Godheads. These were opportunities at divinity similar to Epoch Fragments!

In the God Domain, it was only when an old god fell that a new Divine Throne appeared. When dead gods left their Godheads behind, others saw a chance to achieve divinity in their own right!

The Divine Replenishment Furnace was as busy as could be. There were simply too many treasures.

Furthermore, practically all of them were incomparably rare and precious. Pick one at random, and it would be a first-rate treasure by the standards of the Immortal Realm.

This was, of course, to be expected. The divine children and divine avatars of will hailed from the God Domain, and they didn’t just carry all manner of treasures; they’d also gathered good fortune from across the Epoch Battlefield, including an enormous abundance of divine materials and medicines.

Including several unused Epoch Fragments!

And now, all of these treasures had become Su Yi’s trophies.

When Divine Venerate Xi Yue saw Su Yi emerge from the Chaos Dao Cave, she said, “I’ve investigated, and a mysterious, taboo power has sealed the Grand Dao source in A’Ning’s soul. She’s sunk into a dormant state, and she won’t be waking up anytime soon.

“I suspect that this brush with death has triggered a transformation, like rebirth following destruction. When she awakens, she’ll be like a butterfly emerging from her chrysalis, effectively born anew. I just don’t know how long this metamorphosis will take.”

She spoke with delight, relief, and anticipation.

Su Yi instantly understood.

Xi Ning’s transformation is almost certainly connected to that woman who appeared earlier. After all, they were originally the same person. Xi Ning just hasn’t awakened her sealed

power and memories yet.

Divine Venerate Xi Yue hesitated, as if afraid Su Yi would stop her, then said directly, “No matter what, I have to bring A’Ning back to the clan!”

Against all expectations, Su Yi didn’t refuse.

“This portion of the spoils rightfully belongs to A’Ning.” Su Yi drew his fingertip through the air, and seven Epoch Fragments appeared before Divine Venerate Xi Yue. She froze, and her eyes widened in shock.

How could he be this generous!? Those are seven chances at divinity! Their combined value is similarly inestimable!

Who could have imagined that Su Yi would give them away without hesitation?

“You…” Divine Venerate Xi Yue opened her mouth to say something.

But before she got the chance, Su Yi said, “Those are for A’Ning. I’ll have to ask you to look after them in her stead for now. Please don’t refuse.”

Divine Venerate Xi Yue froze, stunned, a complicated look on her face.

There was no getting around it. She was shaken to the core!

She looked at Su Yi and stared intently at him, as if meeting him again for the first time, then said, “To tell the truth, I don’t have any personal objection to you and A’Ning being together, but when I consider the wellbeing of the entire Xi Family, I have no choice but to object. If I offended you earlier, please don’t take it to heart.”

Su Yi nodded. “I understand.”

Divine Venerate Xi Yue sighed. “Do you really understand? Even though you gave her all those Epoch Fragments, the Xi Family and I will keep our distance from you in the name of self-protection. We won’t interact with you in any way.”

She spoke with the utmost frustration.

Su Yi just smiled and said, “I’ll have to trouble you to look after A’Ning. I naturally know how to handle the rest.”

Divine Venerate Xi Yue mulled that over, then said, “In that case, take care.”

Su Yi lowered his gaze and stared at the young woman in Divine Venerate Xi Yue’s arms for a long time before forcefully suppressing his reluctance to part with her.

𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

“If all goes as I expect, the Epoch Battlefield will vanish within three days. You’d best make preparations before then,” said Su Yi. He then called the Divine Replenishment Furnace over, and the two of them left.

As Divine Venerate Xi Yue watched his tall, upright figure fade from view, a sudden, uncontrollable impulse took over, and she called out, “When… will you come to the God Domain?”

“Soon,” said Su Yi. He didn’t even turn his head.

It would be soon indeed. When he returned to the Immortal Realm, he’d get his affairs in order, then set off!

As for the next few days? He still had business to attend to. For instance, he still had enemies both here in the heart of the Epoch Battlefield and scattered throughout its other sections. They included divine children, avatars of will from the God Domain, and old-timers native to the Immortal Realm.

Su Yi wanted to take advantage of the three days he had left to conduct a thorough cleansing. He had to end his grudges and sever his enmities once and for all!

That old codger Nan Pingtian sure fled quickly.

As he continued on his way, Su Yi recalled Nan Pingtian. Earlier, the old man had accompanied Divine Venerate Eternal Sands’ avatar of will. But when Su Yi proved his Dao and entered the Great Profound, the old man slipped away.

Su Yi naturally wouldn’t exempt him from the cleansing to come.