Apotheosis

"I also didn't believe it when I first heard it, but it is true," said Zen, shaking his head.

Emily knew that Zen was no liar. But she still struggled to believe him.

"The method used to grant a Rebirth Land is not that complicated," she said thoughtfully, turning to look at a woman of the Snake Goddess race aboard the ship. "Betty, write one and give it to Zen."

Betty nodded. With a flick of her slender hand, a long and narrow jade slip appeared.

Her spiritual sense poured continuously into the jade slip, and after a while, it emerged, covered in her spindly writing. Smiling, she pushed the slip towards Zen.

Zen opened the jade slip and glanced over its contents.

Essentially, it reported that the number of Rebirth Lands granted in the inner world was limited, possibly no more than three.

The divine land, however, was an exception. Over fifty Holy Beings' universes currently resided there. Even though it contained many Rebirth Lands, the Holy Beings' cultivation base was much lower than Chiyou's.

Zen quickly made a mental note of all the main points in the jade slip. Then, he proceeded to condense an avatar.

To the north of his inner world lay a deserted land. Even though some creatures appeared there from time to time, they were few and far between.

Legend said that the Thunder God and the Lightning Goddess lived in this deserted land. It was said that the destructive thunder and lightning storms that regularly swept the land were triggered when they were angry.

The Evil God sat on a bald rock in the center of the deserted land.

Throughout his life, he had never encountered a single impediment to his practice. He had cultivated effortlessly for years. The martial arts and the Godly Ways came to him with an ease that was almost laughable.

However, now, he had encountered a problem for the first time in his life. The problem was to merge all the Godly Ways. How could one do that?

The Evil God could read Zen's expression, and knew that he had surpassed Zen in this aspect. But the puppet beside him seemed to think nothing of what he had obtained.

Yet, he was always ready to accept a challenge. Since he had decided to merge the three thousand Godly Ways, there was no turning back.

It was not easy, unlike everything that had come before. Naturally, it had turned into his obsession, so much so that he did not care whether he could leave Zen's inner world.

"Crack!"

A crash resonated through the Evil Go

for so many years. If the Evil God left, she would be consumed by worry for his safety.

If Zen could help them in this way, however, she would feel safer.

The Evil God, however, was not as happy to hear this as his wife. His eyebrows furrowed and his face turned gloomy and brooding. After a few seconds, he looked up from his thoughts. "Do I have a choice?" he asked pensively.

Zen shook his head. "No, you don't. If you agree, come to the floating island to see me tomorrow."

Without further ado, Zen left the thatched hut, not uttering another word.

Her face etched with confusion, Edna turned to look at the Evil God. "Why are you acting like becoming a Holy Being is a bad thing?" she asked.

As she spoke, the Evil God punched the blue stone table that stood in the middle of the room.

That table looked rough and unrefined, with jagged edges, but it was in fact made from the most expensive stone in the world. A piece that size could buy a small country.

With one punch, the entire stone table dissipated into powder.

"Look, I don't know what it means to become a Holy Being, so I cannot say it is a bad thing, can I? But what I do know is that if my inner world merges with this one, he will have power and control over me forever."

The Evil God didn't know what the Rebirth Land meant, but a man of his talent did not have to think long to figure out the costs and benefits of becoming a Holy Being.

The only real reason why he wanted to leave this world was to experience something new, and be free. He didn't want to go from one prison to another. He knew Zen, but he hadn't expected him to use such a dirty trick.