Chapter 684: Do You Know the Great Daoist Brush Master?

Ye Guan met Shen Qi's gaze without flinching and smiled. "You're welcome to do so anytime."

Shen Qi nodded slightly and said, "We will be watching."

With that, he turned and waved his sleeve.

Boom!

The independent space shattered, and the fight between Zhen Tian and Shen Wu abruptly came to a halt.

Shen Wu retreated to stand beside Shen Qi.

Shen Qi looked at Zhen Tian and declared, "My God Clan declares war on the Zhen Clan, and this war will not end until one side is annihilated."

Shen Qi, Shen Wu, and the supreme elites of the God Clan disappeared into the vortex.

A war of annihilation. The Zhen Clan cultivators were silent.

The three major powers had coexisted peacefully until today, and everyone still couldn't quite believe it

"Young Master Ye, please follow me!" Zhen Tian exclaimed and turned around to leave.

Ye Guan nodded slightly and followed closely behind him.

Everyone else followed suit.

A direct confrontation between two superpowers was no small matter.

In the council hall, Zhen Tian looked at Ye Guan and said, "Young Master Ye, you cannot leave the Zhen Clan's territory."

Ye Guan was about to speak, but Zhen Tian beat him to the chase, saying, "I know you have an unparalleled expert by your side, but I'm sure you know that even a top-tier supreme elite cannot fend off so many enemies by themselves. Once that fierce beast is restrained, you'll find yourself in danger."

Ye Guan nodded slightly and said, "I understand."

Ye Guan's swordsmanship could be considered a bit "divine," but he still couldn't contend with powerful opponents like Shen Qi and Shen Wu.

Zhen Tian added, "Our current priority is to stabilize the Ancient Wilderness."

Ye Guan shook his head with a smile, "I also have enmity with them."

Zhen Tian nodded. "I know, and I also know that you have enmity with the Northern Demon King."

"That's right."

Zhen Tian smiled and said, "However, the Ancient Wilderness has four demon kings."

Ye Guan was a bit astonished. "Are you saying that they're independent from each other?"

Zhen Tian nodded and explained, "Yes, those demon kings cannot represent the entire Ancient Wilderness, but it's a different story with the Demon God."

"Are you saying that we should make contact with the other demon kings, Senior?" Ye Guan asked.

Zhen Tian solemnly said, "The stance of the Ancient Wilderness is very important to us, especially since we've made an enemy out of the entire God Clan. If they were to support us, the God Clan would surely fall. If they ended up supporting the God Clan, we wouldn't be their match. Thus, we must secure the support of the Ancient Wilderness. At the very least, we need them to remain neutral."

Ye Guan said, "If I were the Demon God, I would choose to stand by and reap profits from both sides."

"Indeed, that's the best choice," Zhen Tian said, "But what if the God Clan approaches them with olive branches?"

Ye Guan fell silent.

Zhen Tian looked at Ye Guan and said, "Little friend, we need to visit the Ancient Wilderness and meet the Demon God."

"All right," Ye Guan said with a nod.

"We have to go there now," Zhen Tian said, "The three of us will go."

Ye Guan was a bit surprised. "Three?"

Zhen Tian smiled. "Nanxue will go with us."

Zhen Nanxue was astonished, and she cast a bewildered gaze at Zhen Tian.

Zhen Tian didn't explain and simply whisked the two away along with himself.

Soon, they found themselves standing in front of a teleportation array. The teleportation array whisked them away, sending them right in front of a vast mountain range.

Zhen Tian stared deeply at the seemingly endless mountain range and muttered, "The Ancient Wilderness Mountains..."

Ye Guan was curious, "Senior, are you familiar with the Demon God?"

"No," said Zhen Tian with a shake of his head.

Ye Guan was taken aback. "No?"

"Yes," Zhen Tian nodded once again, "but my ancestor is familiar with the Demon God."

Ye Guan's expression shifted.

Just how old is this Demon God?

"The Demon Clan that I know will not get involved in this conflict, but I'm worried that the God Clan may entice them with rewards too tempting to refuse. And that is why we decided to come here and talk to them," Zhen Tian said. Then, he chuckled and added, "I must say, the Demon Clan must be enjoying this turn of events, as they have the right to demand the rewards they wish."

Ye Guan felt a bit guilty and said, "Senior, I implicated the Zhen Clan in—"

Zhen Tian shook his head, interrupting Ye Guan. "This is not your fault. It was our own decision to get involved."

Ye Guan fell silent. He knew that the Zhen Clan's actions weren't solely for the sake of the journal; there had to be something more to it. In addition, he had no familial ties with the Zhen Clan, so why would they help him out of sheer goodwill?

Swoosh!

Just then, a shadowy figure appeared in front of the three of them.

The shadowy figure stared at the three of them and asked, "Who are you people?"

Zhen Tian replied, "My name is Zhen Tian, and I'm the Clan Leader of the Zhen Clan. I've come here to seek an audience with the Demon God."

The Zhen Clan?!

The shadowy figure solidified into an old man. The old man cupped his hands and said, "Clan Leader Zhen, the Demon God is not in this realm."

Zhen Tian's brows furrowed. "Not in this realm?"

The old man nodded. "Yes."

Zhen Tian solemnly asked, "Is it possible to contact the Demon God?"

"Unfortunately, only Lady Demon Moon can contact him."

Demon Moon...

Zhen Tian asked, "Can you inform Lady Demon Moon of our presence?"

The old man hesitated briefly before nodding slightly and turning around to leave. If he weren't dealing with Zhen Tian, he wouldn't have agreed to pass on such a message. Lady Demon Moon was deputized by the Demon God to handle the affairs of the Ancient Wilderness in his absence. In other words, Lady Demon Moon had an extremely high status in the Demon Clan. Her status was so high that even the four demon kings would have to show her respect.

Zhen Tian suddenly asked, "Little friend, have you ever met the First God?"

Ye Guan nodded. "We met once."

Zhen Tian smiled and said, "Back then, his disciples and followers fought fiercely for his inheritance, even shattering the First God Universe. However, his inheritance actually ended up in your hands. I'm sure the pseudo-gods of the Temple of the Gods won't let you go so easily."

"I've fought them a few times, but they’ve been really quiet recently," Ye Guan remarked.

Zhen Tian shook his head and said, "It's not that they’re quiet; they’re waiting. Waiting for you to clash with the Ancient Wilderness and the God Clan."

"You're familiar with the Temple of the Gods, Senior?" Ye Guan asked.

"Of course. When The First God rose to power, the Daoist Temple that he had founded was incredibly strong, no less powerful than our major clans. Back then, the universe had four major superpowers. Unfortunately, when the First God fell, the universe he had established crumbled as well..." Zhen Tian shook his head and muttered, "It’s like the saying—tea turns cold when people move away."

Ye Guan sighed inwardly. The First God had probably never even imagined that his death would make his followers betray him in a flash.

"Everyone wanted to become the next First God, declaring themselves gods. But none could match the First God, so they ended up fighting over his inheritance..." Zhen Tian trailed off. He then looked at Ye Guan and asked, "Has Xuanzong contacted you?"

Xuanzong...

Ye Guan shook his head. Mu Yuan had told him that Xuanzong was the most formidable god in the Temple of the Gods[1], second only to the First God.

"It's great that he hasn't contacted you yet. His strength is not to be underestimated," Zhen Tian said.

Ye Guan asked, "Senior, are you worried that the God Clan will contact the Temple of the Gods?"

"Yes," Zhen Tian said with a nod, "but they're definitely going to do that, so what's important here is the Temple of the Gods' decision."

Ye Guan glanced at Zhen Tian in astonishment. Zhen Tian was always looking at the bigger picture, and he had even taken into account his potential enemies.

What a judicious man!

Just then, the old man from earlier finally reappeared before the three of them.

"Please follow me," said the old man.

Zhen Tian nodded. "Lead the way, please."

Under the old man's lead, the three ventured deep into the Ancient Wilderness. After traversing countless mountains, they soon found themselves inside a dense forest.

The trees in the forest towered tens of thousands of meters high, blotting out the sky. The forest was dense, but the trees were arranged in a way that would allow ample sunlight to come through, making the forest appear bright rather than dim and gloomy.

Zhen Tian looked around with curious eyes.

Ye Guan noticed that and smiled. "Senior, is this your first time here?"

Zhen Tian nodded. "We have had little contact with the Ancient Wilderness, so I've never set foot here until now."

"Senior, how strong is the Demon God? Is he at ninety percent divinity?"

Zhen Tian shook his head. "I don't know."

"How powerful were your clan's ancestors?"

Zhen Tian spoke in a deep voice, "They almost reached ninety percent divinity."

"Almost ninety percent divinity?"

"Yes," Zhen Tian said, nodding. "Reaching ninety percent divinity is an incredibly difficult feat. From what I've heard, only the First God and a few extraordinary figures from the Primordial Spirit Land managed to reach that level of divinity."

"Senior, have you ever heard of the Past Clan's Clan Leader?"

Zhen Tian frowned slightly, "The Past Clan's Clan Leader?"

Ye Guan nodded, "Yes."

Zhen Tian shook his head and said, "I've never heard of them."

Ye Guan was puzzled. The Past Clan's Clan Leader was a peerless expert with ninety percent divinity, but to think that she was actually unknown to the world.

Just then, Zhen Nanxue standing nearby chimed in, "Young Master Ye, you're from the Time River, right? Is the so-called Clan Leader of the Past Clan from the Time River as well?"

Ye Guan nodded. "Yes."

Zhen Nanxue nodded slightly and said, "That makes sense. We don't know much about the forces within the Time River."

Zhen Tian glanced at Ye Guan and was about to ask something when the old man ahead of them stopped walking.

Ye Guan and the others looked ahead and saw a woman sitting by a divine tree and in front of a small pond.

The woman was wearing a light green dress, and her feet stirred the water gently.

Lady Demon Moon!

Ye Guan stared deeply at the woman. She appeared very much like a human, and she was an otherworldly beauty. There was no sign of her being a demonic beast, which puzzled Ye Guan.

Even the fierce Erya, who often interacted with humans, had features that spoke volumes about her true identity.

Zhen Tian said, "Greetings, Lady Demon Moon."

Lady Demon Moon glanced at Zhen Tian and smiled, "Clan Leader Zhen, you sure are playing a grand game... to think you'd use your entire clan to make such a great move. Impressive."

Lady Demon Moon's voice sounded light and clear—pure and pristine.

Zhen Tian smiled. "I assume Lady Demon Moon knows why I am here."

"I do." Lady Demon Moon nodded and looked at Ye Guan. "Do you know the Great Daoist Brush Master?"

Ye Guan was immediately stunned.

1. Divine Temple and the Temple of the Gods are the same, but different in Chinese characters ☜