Looking back, it was all like a fairyland.

While the behemoth was merely a fleeting image, its true strength was far beyond the reach of Lin Yuan and his companions. Aside from the defective item, the others were essentially sufficient to meet his needs. These acquired creatures were particularly representative, and he had gone to great lengths to capture and study them. After all, he had truly suffered a loss.

He had never imagined such a powerful figure could emerge in this era. Kunlun hadn't yet returned, and the Celestial Emperor hadn't yet awakened. He looked back at the nine doors on the giant bronze tree. Behind each door led to a cave heaven. With the nourishment of these nine cave heavens, the Celestial Emperor could breathe.

The Heavenly Emperor is the most unique among the primordial deities. Unlike the other beings at the pinnacle, who can traverse the void, the Heavenly Emperor could do the same, but... there's a fundamental difference between being able to and wanting to do so. The Heavenly Emperor's power stems from the primordial beliefs and desires of all living beings. Similarly, as a primordial deity, Di Jun is also unique—an ancestral god. His concept of deities predates the heavens; he is the source of all divine concepts and the creator of the system of faith.

However, to put it another way, the beginning didn't necessarily represent perfection, nor did the subsequent existence signify imperfection. The concept implied by the word "ancestor" goes beyond that. Moreover, those primordial deities, though given the name of gods, were actually embodiments of faith and manifestations of rules. This puts the ancestral god in an awkward position—as the source of all divine concepts, he has no control over the primordial deities. Furthermore, he wasn't the strongest; in that era, there were countless beings more powerful than him. In a state of limbo, neither here nor there, that's his defining characteristic.

But... this is based on those at the top. To those not at the top, this Heavenly Emperor truly lived up to his name. So, when the catastrophe struck, he glimpsed a glimpse into time—the end of destruction, the beginning of hope. That was his era. His path would surely blossom in the future, and this was one of the reasons his followers held such an unwavering hope.

However, the world is unpredictable. All of this presupposes that he remains the Celestial Emperor, and that faith remains in his grasp. Hope is beautiful, but reality is brutally cruel. Not long after Heaven and Earth slashed itself, a newly created being, relying on the foundation and soil of faith, blossomed a flower of a different form and the same location—meaning that a significant portion of the source of faith had been "stolen." Actually, it wasn't theft, but rather a shared path. That being is the current Celestial Emperor.

Lu Wu felt something different once he'd recovered. A while ago, the world's recovery had boosted his strength, and he sensed it—and so had the new Heavenly Emperor, who traveled through time. So, just as Lu Wu had regained some strength, he was struck dead by a blow from beyond time. Unable to even resist, he left behind only a shadow, barely surviving.

This also explains Lu Wu's suicidal intent—he dared to directly pry into the source of faith, otherwise he wouldn't have attracted attention from beyond that time. This being was no less powerful than the Celestial Emperor in his prime, even surpassing him. As one of the trendsetters of this era, this nation, its mountains, rivers, and lakes, supported by trillions of living beings, he used history to recruit talent and time to compose the pantheon. As Zhulong had said, this being was an absolutely brilliant talent, so how could he tolerate prying eyes? Furthermore, this prying was not done with good intentions, so it was only natural that he would be put down. This also fueled Lu Wu's immense curiosity about these newly created beings, leading him to stage such a grand feast.

Lu Wu later realized he'd been too hasty, too impulsive. But in that moment, he was truly furious, and subconsciously cursed him, "Thief." The price of this momentary pleasure was simply too high. But what weighed even more heavily on him was the fact that he had to admit this "thief" had gone further in faith than the Heavenly Emperor. How could this person be? How could this be possible? But the facts before him told him that nothing was impossible.

This had sparked a curiosity in Lu Wu about the beings of this generation. Seeing this, he realized it was indeed true—while the individuals who had arrived at the palace weren't particularly strong, they possessed unfathomable potential, and were rapidly realizing it. He was referring to Yun Yue. This even gave Lu Wu a rare tinge of fear—how many beings like him were there?

Lu Wu was self-aware; he was far more clear-headed and composed than many innate deities. As the god of justice, fairness was ingrained in his very being, even if he was unwilling to admit it. This entire current situation was solely for the purpose of studying these acquired beings.

Each has its own path. The afterimage looked back at the nine gates on the giant bronze tree—these nine caves were the worlds kept captive by the Celestial Emperor, his nine descendants. Inscribed upon the gates were the Golden Crow, nine suns, representing nine worlds. The moment the world truly recovered would also be the moment when Di Jun returned to his peak. He couldn't let his plan fail. He desperately wanted to understand, to control, hoping it wasn't too late. It should be too late.

Thinking of this, he once again turned his gaze towards the intruders. Among them, Lin Yuan and Bai Xing's methods were the most impressive. After all, these methods were completely beyond their capabilities and were not created by their own hands, but by their masters. This gave Lu Wu a headache - if his original body had not yet been forever extinguished, these methods would be nothing in his eyes. But now it was just an afterimage, and the cost of maintaining this afterimage was still borne by this land-based divine kingdom. It would take time for him to completely break these methods. However, he did one thing right, which was to block the connection between this place and the outside world and completely isolate this space. Otherwise, judging by these methods, the people behind them were probably not easy to deal with, and he would hit a wall if he was not careful.

Thinking of this, Lu Wu applauded his own caution and foresight. The next step was to analyze and decipher these methods. He was more interested in the "immortals" of this era than in the demons. Within the hall, faith transformed into arms, enveloping Lin Yuan's painted world and Bai Xing's fragmented world. Then, using Lu Wu's phantom manipulation, he began to decipher these dimensions. His experience would significantly reduce the time and difficulty of deciphering them.