Chapter 385: Ascend to Godhood, or Fall into Devilhood?

“Brother Zhonggu Lu.” Nangong Cheng’s voice was solemn. Looking at Zhonggu Lu whose aura was growing weaker by the second, his hands tightly clenched.

Zhu Yao’s heart tensed up as well. Though Zhonggu Lu had avoided the core of the Cob Cannons’ attack and was not struck directly, the combined force of five explosions held incredible power in them. It was already a miracle that Zhonggu Lu was holding onto his last breath.

However, his Dantian had already shattered and his primordial spirit had already scattered. There were even traces of his soul leaving his body. His injuries were incredibly severe, and even if everyone expended their divine energy, they wouldn’t be able to save him, let alone in a situation where they could not use any divine energy at all.

“Yue Ying…” Zhu Yao looked at the expressionless Yue Ying. Though after looking closely, his brows were actually a little creased. “Can you save him?” He was the only one who they could rely on right now.

Yue Ying raised his head and looked at her. Then, he once again looked at the gasping, disfigured Zhonggu Lu who merely had his upper body left. After a moment, he solemnly said. “There’s only a single way.”

“What is it?” Nangong Cheng immediately looked at him, his eyes instantly shone as he agitatedly reach out to pull Yue Ying’s hand. “Daoist Yue, you have a way to save him? Is that true?”

Frowning, Yue Ying immediately dodged. After throwing Nangong Cheng a glare, he then continued to look at Zhu Yao and said. “Flower Deities have frail bodies in the first place. Now that his primordial spirit has scattered and his inner core is destroyed, his soul will leave his body in less than fifteen minutes. Unless…”

“Unless?” Zhu Yao pushed for his answer.

A hint of hesitation flashed across his face as he showed a slightly uneasy look. After a moment, he gritted his teeth as if he had made a decision, and said. “Unless he falls into Devilhood like me.”

“Fall into Devilhood!” Everyone was stunned, and even Nangong Cheng had a shocked look on his face. Almost out of reflex, he said. “No way! He’s a Deity… How can he possibly…”

“Then I can’t help him either.” Yue Ying immediately stood up and stood behind Zhu Yao once more, looking as if he had washed his hands off this matter.

Nangong Cheng looked at Zhonggu Lu who was holding onto his last breath as he clenched his fists even tighter. That’s right. If he were to fall into Devilhood, Zhonggu Lu could indeed recover immediately with the aid of devillic energy. However, Devils were often associated with slaughter, heartlessness and evil. In the first place, conducting evil acts was in nature of Devils, and they were the common enemies of the Three Realms. No matter if it’s demons or humans, they did not harbour any favourable impressions towards Devils. Though not many had actually seen once, it was a sense of disgust that seemed to have been ingrained in their blood, something they were born with.

Though Yue Ying was a Devil, and that they had indeed saw him unleash devillic energy as well, he had always been helping them throughout this journey. That was why they basically did not treat him as an unscrupulous, evil Devil from the depths of their hearts. However, the moment he heard that his good friend had to fall into Devilhood, he finally realized the difference between he and Yue Ying. Falling to Devilhood! Then Zhonggu Lu would be standing on his opposing side. Furthermore, devillic energy was the darkest form of energy in the world, he could not imagine if Zhonggu Lu would remain the same after falling into Devilhood.

“There’s not much time left.” Yue Ying reminded. Zhonggu Lu’s aura continued to grow a lot weaker.

Nangong Cheng’s hands were already beginning to bleed from the clenching, and his heart was in an utter mess. “Maybe… Maybe he can be like Mei Xue…”

His eyes instantly shone and he said with an excited look. “Right, that’s right! He can ascend into Godhood, just like Mei Xue earlier. Even though she only had her soul remaining, she was able to pass through the Light of Guidance. Brother Zhonggu Lu will definitely be able to as well. I shall bring him over now.” As he said that, he immediately lowered his body and carried Zhonggu Lu up.

“Wait a minute!” Zhu Yao took a step to the side and blocked him.

“Dongfang girly!” Nangong Cheng grew anxious and solemnly said. “If you have anything to discuss, we can talk about it after Brother Zhonggu Lu become a God.”

“If I’m you, I won’t do such a thing. It’s best that we don’t get close to this Light of Guidance.” Zhu Yao raised her head and looked at the pillar of light. “Ascending to Godhood… might not be a good thing.”

“What do you mean?” Not just Nangong Cheng, everyone else looked towards Zhu Yao as well. Wasn’t their goal here to ascend to Godhood?

“Yu Yao…” Yu Yan took a step forward and looked at his own disciple. “Did you discover something?”

Zhu Yao was silent for a moment, then, she solemnly said. “I think… we might not be able to enter the Realm of Gods from here. Rather, I suspect that… the Realm of Gods… might not exist in this world.”

Nangong Cheng was stunned. “Dongfang girly, what are you talking about? Isn’t this the Light of Guidance towards the Realm of Gods?”

“This is a Light of Guidance alright. But who can be sure that it will guide Deities to the Realm of Gods?”

“……”

“…”

“I wish to ask you guys a question.” Zhu Yao pointed at their surroundings. “Just what in the world is this Realm of Gods? And what do Gods look like? Has anyone seen one? Deities carry the same lifespan as the heaven and earth, and which one of them hadn’t lived several tens of thousands of years before entering this tower? However, even after so many years, why haven’t anyone seen these so-called Gods? Everything regarding Gods had been merely legends of their origin.”

“This is one of the laws of the Heavenly Dao.” Nangong Cheng guessed. “It’s just like how people of the Divine Realm are unable to easily head down to the Lower Realm. Most likely, there’s no access from the Realm of Gods to the Divine Realm?”

“Even if that’s the case, the Lightning Divine Tower has existed for so many years, and this Light of Guidance has always been here and has never been closed. Is there really not a single curious God who wanted to come back down here for a look?”

“The laws of the Heavenly Dao cannot be broken so easily.” Nangong Cheng said.

“You’re saying Gods are not able to override the Heavenly Dao? And they are still given restrictions?”

“Y… Yes.”

“Fine, if that’s the case…” Zhu Yao looked at the group seriously. “Then why do we still wish to ascend to Godhood?”

“……”

“…”

“We are Deities. We possess eternal life and boundless mystic powers. Other than the Heavenly Dao, is there anything else a Deity can’t do? If the Realm of Gods is still a place governed by the Heavenly Dao, then what difference is there between the Realm of Gods and the Divine Realm?” Zhu Yao continued her analysis. “I’ve always had this doubt. If we become Deities in order to obtain eternal life, then why do we strive to become Gods? Why do all Gods treat entering the Lightning Divine Tower as an honour? Why do all Deities wish to become Gods? What’s the meaning in becoming Gods? Have you all thought about it?”

For a moment, the three of them were stunned, Yu Yan as well had a confused expression.

“Nangong Huang, tell me. Why did you enter the tower?”

“Back then, I did it to…” Halfway through his answer, he paused, and suddenly, cold sweat trickled down his body. At that moment, he realized that he really did not have any reason to become a God. It was as if ascending to Godhood was an instinct engraved in him. After obtaining a high cultivation, he naturally wanted to become a God. Not just him, this was the same for the rest of the people in the Divine Realm as well. No one had truly thought about the reason behind it. Why was this so?

If becoming Deities was for eternal life, then what’s the purpose in becoming Gods? Could increasing one’s cultivation simply be the reason? However, ever since they entered the tower, there wasn’t any significant improvement to their cultivation. Especially when they arrived in this final floor, all of their divine energy could not be used at all, let alone their cultivation. Legends mentioned that in the Realm of Gods lived people that could wield the laws of the Heavenly Dao, and that they could control fate. However, even after such a long time, not a single person had seen a true God. If they could really wield the Heavenly Dao, why hadn’t a single one of them returned?

After thinking about it carefully, cold sweat began to drip down the three’s bodies.

Zhu Yao was a little shocked as well. She merely had a faint guess before, but the more she thought about it, the more afraid she became. It was as if this so-called Lightning Divine Tower, and this so-called ‘ascension to Godhood’, were part of an incredibly large fraud. It was as if this setting had been implanted in all of the Deities. As long as their cultivation were to reach a certain point, they would enter this tower.

Recalling the countless stages and difficult tests to get here, they could all lose their lives at the moment of carelessness. Everyone knew that they could become Gods by passing these tests, but no one knew about the actual benefits of becoming a God were. Deities had limitless lifespan in the first place, so what if they couldn’t become Gods? Even the God races did not seem like they could manage the Divine Realm, so why would everyone come here to seek death for no reason?

It seemed as if there had always been a hidden hand pushing everyone forward, a hand called the “Heavenly Dao”.

For some reason, after Zhu Yao’s speech, the fiery will to ascend into Godhood in the depths of Nangong Cheng’s heart was suddenly extinguished. However…

“What do we do about Zhonggu Lu?”

“Nangong Huang…” Zhu Yao solemnly said. “No matter if it’s becoming a Devil or a God, I won’t reject your decision. I just want you to think carefully before making that decision. No one exactly knows what the Realm of Gods is like, but when it comes to Devils…” She turned to look at Yue Ying. “At the very least, you’ve witnessed one for yourself.”

Nangong Cheng lowered his head and looked at his good friend in his arms. Zhonggu Lu’s breath could no longer be heard. Gritting his teeth, he raised his head. As he looked at the Light of Guidance that was as white as snow, he said in a soft voice. “Dongfang girly, I know you said that for our own good. However, our goal here is to ascend into Godhood, and no matter what lies behind, the both of us wish to try stepping in.” He took a deep breath. “Since this is what the Heavenly Dao dictates, then I don’t wish to deny it.”

The hell! Zhu Yao really wanted to cuss out now! Just how was this any different from choosing death?

“You saw Mei Xue’s expression earlier yourself.” Zhu Yao took a step forward. “She clearly did not look like she had become a God. No one knows just what’s the purpose and consequence of entering this Light of Guidance. Even whether it truly brings one to the Realm of Gods, is something no one knows. Are you truly going to take this risk?”

“Dongfang girly…” Nangong Cheng turned around and looked at her. The clown-like look he usually carried had completely disappeared, and it was replaced with incomparable seriousness. Though, his eyes carried a hint of guilt. “If I was alone, I would have definitely trusted you, without a shred of hesitation. I also believe in Daoist Yue Ying, that it would be nothing much even if one turns into a Devil. However brother Zhonggu Lu… I know his personality very well. He is a Flower Deity birthed from the spiritual energy of nature. He has a simple personality, but isn’t tough enough. If he falls into Devilhood, he definitely won’t turn out like Yue Ying who has kept his sanity. He might not even be able to recognise me, and he might even do something irreparable. If that’s the case… Why not follow the will of the Heavenly Dao?”

“…” Zhu Yao turned silent. Indeed. Falling into Devilhood meant igniting all of the evil intentions in the depths of one’s heart, and expanding them boundlessly. Because Yue Ying was born a God race, he was able to suppressed the instincts of a Devil and was willing to change. However, this did not mean that Zhonggu Lu could do the same.

Nangong Cheng did not explain any further as he slowly walked towards the Light of Guidance with Zhonggu Lu in his arms.

“Nangong Huang…” Zhu Yao still wanted to try dissuading him.