Having lived for so many years, Zhu Pan was no fool.
The price of crossing a realm barrier was still too high.
It was far beyond what he could currently bear.
Furthermore, Chen Zhou's recent display of Manifesting Speech into Law had truly shaken him.
That power was far too bizarre.
He could feel a divine venom constantly eroding his divine sense, even causing a sharp sting to this sliver of his consciousness.
This was absolutely no ordinary ability.
"A venom..." Zhu Pan thought, his expression growing more solemn as he felt the traces of corrosion at the edges of the vermilion light.
To be able to forcibly penetrate his divine power protection with toxins meant that the opponent's status was definitely not inferior to his own!
How could this be possible?
Heaven and earth had long since changed; the divine path had collapsed.
Aside from those few supreme existences in the Central Province who clung to life through remnant fortune, it was impossible for new deities to be born in this world.
It was even more impossible for someone to receive the recognition of heaven and earth to condense a new godhead.
All methods regarding the condensation and use of a godhead had long been sealed by the Central Province and classified as the highest taboo.
Where on earth did this boy come from?
"What exactly are you?"
Zhu Pan's voice was cold as ice, filled with scrutiny.
"You understand how to utilize the power of a godhead and possess such high-level mastery over death qi."
"Are you some old ghost who crawled out of an ancient tomb?"
"Or did you steal the inheritance of some fallen deity?"
Hearing this, Chen Zhou laughed.
He laughed loudly and wantonly.
The Ghost Domain behind him expanded once more, the thick death qi resembling boiling asphalt as it reclaimed territory in the sky inch by inch.
"What am I?"
Chen Zhou stopped laughing, his gaze suddenly becoming as sharp as a blade.
"I have to thank you for that, Lord Zhu Pan."
"If you hadn't specifically sent this godhead to me, I might have had to go through a lot more trouble."
Zhu Pan was stunned for a moment before realizing he was referring to the godhead left behind after the Judge's death.
"You devoured the Judge's godhead?!" Zhu Pan cried out in shock.
"Impossible!"
A godhead was not something an ordinary person could merge with just because they wanted to.
Unless they were of the same origin, an external godhead would only cause a rejection reaction with the host's body, ranging from a massive loss of strength to the total annihilation of the divine soul.
The godhead within the Judge carried the imprint of its original master and was part of the laws of heaven and earth.
If it were not so, he would never have entrusted such a precious item to a creation like the Judge.
Chen Zhou stood with his hands behind his back, his robes fluttering, looking like an enigmatic master.
"I am a true god. A true god is omniscient and omnipotent, understanding Yin and Yang while seeing through causality; naturally, I know the methods of using a godhead."
"As for you, you don't even understand such common knowledge, yet you dare call yourself a god?"
"In my eyes, you are nothing more than a false god who has usurped a divine position."
"You..."
"You do not know of me?" Chen Zhou interrupted him, his tone carrying a hint of perfectly timed surprise.
"It seems your rank is still too low; you don't even have the qualifications to know my name."
This series of arrogant remarks, combined with Chen Zhou's nonchalant expression, dealt a massive blow to the other's pride.
When had Zhu Pan ever endured such an insult?
He was a high and mighty Sky-Monitoring envoy, a deity who patrolled the world on behalf of heaven!
Since when did he need a brat from an outer province to teach him what a god was?
"Arrogant!"
"Ignorant child, how dare you try to disturb my dao heart!"
Zhu Pan roared, and the vermilion light flared intensely.
"Fine, since you won't speak, I will see for myself!"
"I want to see what kind of unsightly thing is hidden beneath this skin of yours!"
Before his voice had even faded, Chen Zhou felt a vast power descending from the high void.
He was being peered into by something.
Chen Zhou's expression remained unchanged as he faced it calmly.
The opponent called himself Sky-Monitoring Zhu Pan; since his duty was to monitor the heavens, he must possess divination techniques.
He had 【Cloud Sea Resplendence】 to shroud the heavenly secrets, the empowerment of the Cloud-Hiding Silk, and he was now a ranked god.
Under this triple protection, he was not afraid of being peered into at all.
On the contrary, he had deliberately provoked Zhu Pan just to wait for this exact moment.
Zhu Pan's divine sense fell upon Chen Zhou without any resistance.
Initially, he only saw a chaotic mist.
"Hmph, a mere parlor trick to think you can block my Law-Evaluating Eye?"
Zhu Pan let out a cold laugh and increased the output of his divine sense, wanting to tear through this layer of mist.
He wanted to forcibly deduce Chen Zhou's origins and see through his past and future.
However, the moment his divine sense touched the core of that mist...
An indescribable, colossal force suddenly lashed back from the depths of the fog.
"What is this—?!"
A few breaths passed.
Chen Zhou felt the prying power around him suddenly halt.
Then, with a "poof" sound...
A clear sound of vomiting blood echoed from the void.
Immediately afterward, the vermilion light in the sky trembled violently as if it had suffered a heavy blow.
Chen Zhou smiled.
Plan successful.
The 【Heavenly Calculation Backlash】 of 【Cloud Sea Resplendence】 had taken effect.
Those who forcibly divined would suffer a backlash.
"Oh? What's wrong, Lord Zhu Pan?" Chen Zhou asked with mock surprise, though his tone was full of schadenfreude.
"Weren't you going to look into my background?"
"Did you see clearly?"
"Oh, I forgot to tell you, I am the chosen of destiny, carrying immense fortune."
"Anyone who pries into me will surely suffer heavenly punishment."
"It seems Lord Zhu Pan's body... isn't quite up to the task."
Seizing the moment when Zhu Pan's divine soul was injured and his divine sense was unstable...
The smile in Chen Zhou's eyes vanished, replaced by a chilling killing intent.
"Since you are here, don't bother leaving."
Chen Zhou increased the flow of death qi.
The Ghost Domain, which already held the advantage, spread toward the horizon at an even faster speed, completely enveloping the remaining vermilion light.
By the time Zhu Pan regained his senses, he was already completely shrouded by Chen Zhou's Domain of Defiled Earth.
The grey-white death qi coiled around the vermilion light, and the filthy aura constantly eroded his divine sense, making Zhu Pan feel a suffocating pressure.
"This boy... has something strange about him!"
Zhu Pan calmed himself down.
He felt quite humiliated.
A dignified Sky-Monitoring Four-Direction Envoy had actually been tricked by an outer province junior, falling for a simple provocation.
Furthermore, that backlash power was extremely bizarre, actually causing a slight tremor in his main body.
"Good methods, good scheme."
Zhu Pan's voice returned to its cold indifference, but this time there was an added layer of wariness.
"I concede this round."
Zhu Pan snorted coldly. "The loss of a creation that could help me collect merit and sinful karma in the outer province... I will remember this debt."
"Don't be too proud, boy."
"In a hundred years at most, the Sky-Monitoring Office will be able to break the realm barriers between provinces."
"When that time comes, I will personally descend in my true body!"
"Then, I'll see if you can still be as sharp-tongued as you are today!"
With that, Zhu Pan prepared to cut his losses and abandon this portion of power, withdrawing the divine sense attached to the vermilion light.
As long as the divine sense returned, all he would lose was some divine power, which he could recover after a few years of rest.
If the other three Sky-Monitoring envoys found out he had been beaten to the point of vomiting blood by a native in the outer province, he would truly have nowhere to hide his face.
Rate on N.U.
