Chapter 609: Mid-stage Nascent Soul

But now…

Might was not on his side.

The God of Knowledge glanced warily at Su Ye, who stood aboard the Ghostly Flood Dragon, and at the Cangyuan Dragon Monarch.

The former, a Sea Abyssal of fearsome and notorious power, had stirred up a storm in the Far South Continent and brought great calamity upon the gods of the Northern Territory!

Legend had it that even a mysterious and ancient deity like the Nether God Master had suffered a silent loss at his hands!

Now, this Sea Abyssal, who had vanished for so long, had advanced to the fifth-tier. The strength of his Magical Power and aura far surpassed others of the same rank, making him extremely wary.

As for the latter, he had never heard of the famous Cangyuan Dragon Monarch, but the sense of threat he projected was in no way inferior to Su Ye’s, sounding alarms in his mind.

“It’s nothing much. We’d just like to borrow your land’s Spiritual Spring.”

“That’s all.”

Su Ye said with a gentle smile.

“Impossible!”

The God of Knowledge refused flatly, his expression turning grim.

If it were any other matter, there might be room for negotiation, but the Spiritual Spring was this city’s very lifeblood.

A large portion of this city’s food and supplies depended on the fifth-tier Spiritual Spring. Otherwise, with the productivity of a feudal society, how could it possibly sustain a city of ten million people?

If he opened the Spiritual Spring to them and they harbored malicious intent, the slightest bit of sabotage would leave the nearly ten million people in this city without food and shelter, and the streets would be littered with the bodies of the starved.

If he lost that population and the faith that supported him, his divine rank would very likely fall!

“What a shame…”

Su Ye shrugged and said nothing more.

He hadn’t held out much hope for negotiations in the first place.

He still had to rely on ‘reason’.

End of Tracing Origin!

Su Ye pointed a finger. Black and white light emerged, coalescing into a long spear that pierced the void.

He didn’t use his Immortalized Dharma Body. This city had a population of ten million; if he were to activate it, the resulting slaughter would be too immense. The world’s rejection of him would likely go off the charts.

In his eyes, the God of Knowledge’s Divine Incarnation was only at the level of a Mid-stage Nascent Soul.

And that was only thanks to the High Wall Magical Net. Without it, his incarnation’s power would probably drop by an entire major tier.

‘I can easily kill something of this strength without using my Immortalized Dharma Body!’

PFFT!

The black and white spear shot forward.

The Life and Death Skill endowed this Divine Technique with terrifyingly destructive power. Furthermore, after he unified all his techniques, each of Su Ye’s Divine Techniques could share the characteristics of the others.

For example, this End of Tracing Origin now possessed the life-stealing properties of Soul Suppressing, as well as the Netherworld Boat’s ability to project a historical phantom.

WHOOSH!

Affected by Soul Suppressing, the God of Knowledge’s gaze turned vacant for an instant.

Immediately after, one real and one phantom—a historical projection summoned from the previous instant—augmented the attack. A double-powered End of Tracing Origin slammed into his body!

BANG!

The God of Knowledge’s Divine Incarnation exploded into countless motes of purple spiritual light that scattered in all directions.

A moment later, miles away, the God of Knowledge’s body reappeared, his eyes filled with terror.

“Damn it!”

He never would have imagined that in a single moment, this Divine Incarnation of his would be nearly destroyed on the spot!

If not for the teleportation Magic permanently enchanted on his robes, he would have been killed instantly in that exchange!

The God of Knowledge’s face was ashen. He waved his Magic Staff, and a magical glow unfurled as a torrent of spells—each with different effects covering all manner of aspects—surged forth.

Multiple Mirror Images, Divine Power Magical Shield, Divine Power Death Ward, Divine Power Mechanized Mind…

High-Level Great Splitting Skill, High-Level Arcane Torrent, High-Level Flame Burst…

“Oh my…”

“A Mage who ascends to godhood really is hard to kill…”

Su Ye’s long hair billowed around him, a mocking glint in his eyes.

“In that case…”

“I’ll get a little more serious!”

Su Ye raised his arm and gave a casual wave. Behind him, more than ten spears of End of Tracing Origin materialized.

“Go!”

“This…” The God of Knowledge’s eyelids twitched violently.

The black and white spears howled as they surged toward him. He struggled to block a few, but ultimately couldn’t hold on, and his Mind Protection Barrier failed.

His spirit was stunned, and his shields disintegrated.

Immediately after, the Life and Death Skill took effect. Its instant-death ability was triggered, killing him.

BANG!

The God of Knowledge’s Divine Incarnation exploded into purple light and did not reform again.

With a flicker of his Divine Sense, Su Ye gathered the motes of purple spiritual light and fed them to Jiaojiao as a spiritual ingredient.

“Divine Incarnation is delicious.”

Jiaojiao was very satisfied. The nourishment from a Divine Incarnation was no less than that of a Nascent Soul!

After devouring a single Divine Incarnation, the Ghostly Flood Dragon’s Divine Kingdom Space expanded by several thousand square kilometers.

‘Not bad…’

‘If the opportunity arises, I should kill a few more Divine Incarnations to feed Jiaojiao!’

…

Having slain the God of Knowledge’s Divine Incarnation, the bustling native city was left with no power to resist.

The elite cultivators Su Ye brought with him killed a batch of the native powerhouses, destroyed the temple, and toppled the god’s statue. Anyone who dared to object during this process was publicly executed.

After this purge, the native city fell into Su Ye’s hands.

“I have brought civilization to the natives of the Far South Continent.”

Su Ye stood with his hands clasped behind his back, looking down upon the native city-state with a self-satisfied expression.

The details weren’t important. He was simply indulging in some self-admiration, enjoying the moment.

The fact that these natives were still alive was already a testament to his, Su Ye’s, civilized nature and tolerance.

‘Next…’

‘Time to cultivate…’

Su Ye headed for the depths beneath the temple.

The fifth-tier Spiritual Spring was here.

By Refining the Spiritual Spring Origin and accumulating enough Magical Power, he could advance to the Mid-stage Nascent Soul realm!

…

While Su Ye was Refining the Spiritual Spring Origin, the Cangyuan Dragon Monarch and Li Jinhua stood guard for him.

At the same time, they garrisoned the City of Knowledge, using it as a core to drive a firm stake into the Southern Territory and continuously exert their influence.

The colonial interests in the Southern Territory were precisely what Su Ye had promised to win over the Cangyuan Dragon Palace.

He promised that the Cangyuan Dragon Palace would receive a huge share of the colonial profits from the development of the Southern Territory.

This included a portion of the Spiritual Spring Origin. Even though the others lacked a panel and couldn’t maximize the spring’s effects to ignore bottlenecks and advance like Su Ye, simply using it to accumulate Magical Power was still an excellent benefit.

Beyond that, the exotic knowledge within the Southern Territory was also quite valuable to the Cangyuan Dragon Palace.

The Cangyuan Dragon Palace was very satisfied with this arrangement.

Su Ye didn’t feel like he was getting a bad deal, either.

‘How many years would it take to see a return on investment from colonial development?’

‘Relying on myself, investing bit by bit to develop the Southern Territory, would probably take hundreds of years.’

‘I can pull back, act as a hands-off Shopkeeper, and let private capital like the Cangyuan Dragon Palace take the risks and handle the construction. Then I can just sit back and reap the rewards. Isn’t that perfect?’

‘Besides…’

‘I have my Immortalized Dharma Body.’

‘If I ever become dissatisfied, I can just throw up my hands and declare, “Historical documents have no bearing on current reality.” ‘

…

Several months passed in the blink of an eye.

Everything went smoothly, and the fifth-tier Spiritual Spring Origin was nearly depleted.

In turn, Su Ye accumulated enough Magical Power to advance to the Mid-stage Nascent Soul realm. The terrifying foundation of his Immortalized Dharma Body made his combat prowess skyrocket once more.

Afterward, Su Ye continued his advance and found a second city-state with a fifth-tier Spiritual Spring.

To his surprise, the deity ruling this place was an acquaintance of his.

“Wisdom Goddess Metis greets you.”

The elegant goddess, her figure graceful and draped in white silk, a floral crown upon her head, bowed to Su Ye with a bitter smile in her eyes.

“Long time no see.”

Su Ye gave a slight nod.

He had cooperated with this Wisdom Goddess in the Mist Forest Divine Kingdom.

Their collaboration had been reasonably pleasant, and her Mark of Wisdom had been a great help to Su Ye… Without Metis, his chances of coming out on top would have been less than twenty percent.

“I presume you already know why I’ve come?” Su Ye asked.

“The fifth-tier Spiritual Spring… there’s no problem. I’m willing to open it to you,” Metis said with a soft sigh, nodding.

Su Ye found her quick capitulation almost unbelievable.

“I have no desire to end up like the God of Knowledge, falling into eternal slumber… Even the Nether God Master doesn’t dare descend as an incarnation to oppose you, so what hope do I have?”

Metis lowered her voice. “I can also act as your inside agent, providing you with internal information about the Divine Court… Or, perhaps, you could enjoy me as well?”

Hearing this, Li Jinhua’s vertical golden pupils narrowed, and her expression turned hostile as she stared at Metis.

Metis feigned ignorance and continued.

“However, if I lose the fifth-tier Spiritual Spring, I won’t be able to provide for so many followers. In a little over a decade, at most, I’ll be forced into hibernation…”

“Unless… you can do me a favor?”

Su Ye’s reply was succinct. “Speak.”

“Help me slay the Eternal Hunting God, seize the Aquis Shield, and forge the divinity of War!”

“That condition… is acceptable.” Su Ye pondered for a moment before agreeing.