Accord with Heaven, Flow with Earth

Yin Wudao noticed that wisps of black smoke would occasionally drift from Chen Zhou’s body. Under the illumination of the purity-cleansing golden light, Chen Zhou showed not a trace of pain from being burned, remaining exceptionally composed.

A strange glint flickered in Yin Wudao's eyes, and the smile on his lips deepened.

"Is the Exalted One satisfied with my previous gift?"

Yin Wudao asked with a smile, his voice clear and carrying a perfectly measured familiarity, as if he were merely exchanging pleasantries with an old friend.

Chen Zhou knew he was referring to the steel fork that had been saturated with unowned sinful karma.

Observing the admiring look in Yin Wudao’s eyes, Chen Zhou could roughly guess what the man was thinking.

This fellow likely took him for one of his own kind.

Under the golden light, those who could walk wantonly without the need for concealment were either evil spirits that had completely transcended the biological realm, or individuals burdened with heavy sinful karma and deep-seated wickedness.

The deeper the sinful karma, the more impossible it was for the golden light to penetrate.

Chen Zhou arched an eyebrow. He didn't explain that his black smoke was different from the prince's, but simply played along. "Indeed, it is quite useful."

After all, Wu Gou had already plunged that thing into the corpse dragon. When it eventually detonated, the corpse dragon would surely find it quite 'refreshing.'

"It is good that the Exalted One is satisfied."

Yin Wudao was clearly pleased. He made a welcoming gesture and had his attendants set up a luxurious table draped with leather cushions right next to his own primary seat.

"Attendants, serve the meal!"

Yin Wudao swept his sleeve and shouted loudly.

At his command, rows of pale-faced, graceful palace maids carrying exquisite jade trays filed onto the Star-Picking Platform like a flowing stream.

The jade trays were filled with rare delicacies.

Yin Wudao raised his wine cup, offering a distant toast to Chen Zhou.

"The Golden Buddha’s descent into the world should happen within these few days."

"I have hosted this banquet today specifically so that I may share a drink with the Exalted One before its arrival."

Chen Zhou picked up his wine cup and looked at the crystal-clear liquid inside. He did not drink, merely swirling it in his hand.

"The Prince certainly has an elegant interest," Chen Zhou said indifferently. "However, with this golden light filling the city, I fear many guests will find it difficult to swallow their food."

He cast a pointed glance toward the nearby Cangming.

Yin Wudao followed Chen Zhou's gaze. "The Eastern Region..."

He shook his head, still harboring a grudge from when Cangming had lost control and attacked him. He spoke coldly.

"Although Prince Cangming possesses a noble bloodline, he is, in the end, too clean."

"He possesses the natural defenses of mountains and rivers, yet lacks the heart of a hegemon."

"Needing a water screen to block the light just to travel—protecting himself to such a weak extent, in my mind, he has already fallen short."

"To have a woman's mercy in one's heart leads only to chaos when one cannot be decisive. Without thunderous methods, one only invites blame upon oneself."

Cangming did not argue upon hearing this. He merely snorted and then stole a glance at Chen Zhou.

Being praised as 'clean' in front of the Dragon Ancestor—that was a good thing.

Seeing no reaction from Cangming, Yin Wudao looked down on him even more. He turned back, staring intently at Chen Zhou as his voice dropped to a low pitch.

"But you are different, Exalted One. We are both men who understand the truth."

"This world is essentially one giant dinner table."

Yin Wudao reached out, gesturing toward the sky full of golden light, then to the pitch-black palace beneath their feet, and finally toward the endless firmament.

"The strong are the butchers, and the weak are the meat."

"If you do not become the person holding the knife, you can only be the meat on the plate, left to the mercy of others to be carved and eaten."

"Even the gods are nothing more than slightly higher-level diners."

At this point, Yin Wudao’s eyes grew somewhat fanatical.

"I have invited the Exalted One for no other reason than to ask you to join me as one who holds the knife."

"Accord with Heaven, flow with Earth."

"As long as we seize the Golden Buddha and devour its flesh and blood, we will be the ones moving the pieces on this chessboard. Why should we care about the life or death of mere ants?"

Yin Wudao was no longer bothered to maintain the lie of the previous alliance.

Having undergone a transformation, he had long since looked down on the collection of misfits and dregs he had originally recruited.

At present, the only person who could make him wary was this Lord of Two Domains, whose depth he could not see through.

The demons and monsters below the platform simply listened, not daring to show anger or speak out.

After all, several corpses that hadn't even grown cold yet were still lying on the ground—idiots who had been brainless and impulsive earlier.

Yin Wudao’s methods had truly struck terror into their hearts. How could a human be even more like a demon than the demons themselves?

Chen Zhou remained silent, neither responding nor refusing.

Seeing Chen Zhou’s silence, Yin Wudao thought he was hesitating and continued to raise the stakes.

"A general’s success is built on ten thousand bleached bones; a moment of mercy leads to a total loss."

"Those who achieve great things must be decisive and willing to sacrifice. Their hearts must be like iron, regarding no one else as their peer."

"The black smoke on your body, Exalted One, surely wasn't formed just from that bit of unowned sinful karma I sent you."

Yin Wudao wore an 'I understand you' expression.

"Presumably, the path to unifying your two domains was also paved with blood and built with stairs of bone."

It made sense when he thought about it. The Northern Region was frozen for a thousand miles, and the Southern Region was full of poisonous miasma—both were the most sinister of places.

To be revered in such places without iron-blooded methods or the accumulation of a sea of blood and mountains of corpses—how could that be possible?

Yin Wudao believed his judgment of people was very accurate.

He felt that Chen Zhou and he were the same kind of person.

High-ranking individuals who would stop at nothing to achieve their goals and viewed all living beings as pawns.

The other's current silence was nothing more than caution and weighing the options.

The other party certainly didn't trust him, and he didn't trust the other party either.

But it didn't matter.

They didn't actually need to be confidants; it was just a union of interests.

Between the strong, it wasn't a few empty words that could bind them into an unbreakable monolith.

It was best not to have a conflict; a pyrrhic victory benefited no one, and any intelligent person knew how to choose.

First, they would team up to eat the Golden Buddha, and then it would be up to their own abilities to see who could digest it.

Chen Zhou set down his wine cup and suddenly asked, "The steel fork you specifically prepared—did you know beforehand that there would be golden light here?"

Yin Wudao gave a mysterious smile. "Naturally."

"I might as well speak plainly to the Exalted One. Behind me stands a True God."

"A True God?" Chen Zhou remained impassive. "In this world where immortals and Buddhas have vanished and demons run rampant, where could a True God come from?"

"They are likely just 'mortals' like us with slightly higher cultivation."

"There is one."

Yin Wudao’s smile was meaningful.

"The gods have never left; they have simply changed their appearance, to the point that the people of the world do not recognize them."

"We only need to act in accord with Heaven and wait for our opportunity."

"When the True God ascends to the throne and re-establishes order, what we do today will be the merit of following the dragon."

"In the future, beside the divine throne, there might very well be a seat for us."

He did not explicitly state the True God’s origin or purpose.

However, that certainty and the faint sense of superiority were clearly visible in Yin Wudao’s eyes.

It was as if he already held the key to a higher level, and the current cooperation was merely giving Chen Zhou a chance to board the same ship.

"How has the Exalted One considered this?"

"Opportunities are only for those who are prepared. The Golden Buddha is about to descend, and the trial is about to arrive."

"Only those like us, who carry sinful karma yet can harness it, are qualified to enter the next round."