God-Queen Langwo's eyes flickered as she smiled and said, "Shu Jun God-King died in battle during the Taikoo era, in the Blood-Rust Belt, and by then we had already migrated to the Grand Void Expanse. It was impossible for you to escape into Taixu, because back then, no one ever told you where Taixu was."
On the altar, Shu Jun God-King snorted, visibly displeased.
Still, what God-Queen Langwo said was not wrong.
Although they are all called Creators by later generations and regarded as a single race, there were actually different races among the Creators, belonging to different factions, with grudges and rivalries between them.
Wherever there are people, there will be strife; and wherever there are Creators, it is no different.
The Taikoo Three Kings were a powerful faction at the time, but the strongest was Supreme Emperor. Besides the Three Kings, there were many other groups vying for power and influence, making things quite lively.
The Three Kings were at odds with each other, and there was a wide gulf between them and Supreme Emperor. On top of that, some defected to the ancient gods. In the end, they were defeated and wiped out by the ancient gods, vanishing from the world—a result that was inevitable, not accidental.
Back then, Shu Jun's reputation among the Three Kings was notorious. Indeed, no one ever told him where the Grand Void Expanse was.
God-Queen Langwo pondered for a moment, then smiled and said, "So Shu Jun God-King must have encountered the Saint Baby in the outside world, hid within the Saint Baby's body, and used his divine sense and blood to revive himself. But since he didn't fully resurrect, his power remains weak."
Shu Jun God-King snorted again, even more displeased in his heart—this woman had guessed right yet again.
He had planned to use his status as a Taikoo God-King to suppress this woman, but she guessed his origins in just a few words, leaving him completely outmatched.
God-Queen Langwo continued, "Shu Jun God-King has come from afar as a guest, and has brought the Saint Baby with him. Naturally, we Creators of the Far-Shore must treat you with respect. Attend! Bring a seat for Shu Jun God-King—let him sit beside me."
Shaw Chung stepped forward, lifted Shu Jun God-King's head from the altar, and someone brought over a throne, placing it beside God-Queen Langwo. Shaw Chung set Shu Jun's head on the seat.
In the sockets of Shu Jun God-King's head, his two big eyeballs bounced and rolled, wanting to speak but not knowing what to say to salvage his dignity.
Quinn Shepherd thought to himself, "This woman is formidable. With just a few words, she has arranged everything for Shu Jun God-King, leaving him with no room to maneuver. No wonder she leads the remaining Creators and has held out against the Pioneer Emperor until now."
To be able to contend evenly with the Pioneer Emperor, and to have absorbed the God-Treasury Heaven-Palace cultivation system and kept pace with the times—this God-Queen Langwo is truly formidable in vision, mind, and cunning!
In the era of the Three Kings, the Creators ruled the universe, but at their core they were just primitive tribes. Yet under God-Queen Langwo, though the Creators' status is not what it once was, they have made great progress.
God-Queen Langwo gave Quinn Shepherd a deep look, and her voice sounded in his mind: "You are human, not a Creator."
Quinn Shepherd felt a chill down his spine and silently nodded.
It was only natural that God-Queen Langwo could deduce he was not a Creator; denial would be pointless.
Because Shu Jun had already admitted they came from the outside world to the Beyond-Shore World, and the Creators of the outside world are extinct, it was only natural for Quinn Shepherd not to be a Creator. With God-Queen Langwo's intellect, this was an easy deduction.
"No need to worry. The third prediction says a Saint Baby will descend, but it never said the child must be a Creator. Perhaps you really could be the Saint Baby."
The beads on God-Queen Langwo's forehead glowed with soft light, and her voice continued in Quinn Shepherd's mind: "However, if a human becomes the Saint Baby and enters the Ancestor-Spirit Realm to meet the ancestor-spirits of past generations, most likely the enraged ancestor-spirits will kill you. Even if they don't, if my people learn your true identity, they would not hesitate to do the same."
Quinn Shepherd blinked.
God-Queen Langwo went on: "But I can keep your secret. Even if your identity is exposed, my status is enough to protect you, and I can shield you even before the ancestor-spirits in the Ancestor-Spirit Realm. But before that, you must pass the trials set by me and the other clan chiefs."
Quinn Shepherd let out a muffled grunt.
He too had been thoroughly arranged by this woman.
After finishing her exchange with him, God-Queen Langwo smiled and said, "Everyone, since the Saint Baby has descended, the Saint Baby must possess extraordinary divine sense, extraordinary flesh, extraordinary combat ability, and extraordinary wisdom to lead our people out of the Beyond-Shore and return to the Ancestral Court. Therefore, I believe the trial should be divided into four parts. Considering the Saint Baby is not yet two years old, the first trial will test divine sense, comparing him to an adult Creator."
Shaw Chung said to Quinn Shepherd, "Didn't I tell you it wouldn't be dangerous?"
Quinn Shepherd breathed a sigh of relief and thanked him.
God-Queen Langwo said, "The second trial will test your physical body, also compared to an adult Creator. The third trial will test your combat methods, and likewise. The fourth trial will test your wisdom, which I will personally administer. Do any of you have objections?"
Shaw Chung smiled at Quinn Shepherd and said, "See? Four simple trials. With the Saint Baby's abilities, you'll pass them easily!"
Quinn Shepherd felt a bit uneasy. Testing flesh and combat methods sounded ordinary, but he actually knew very little about Creator-style flesh combat and divine sense visualization techniques!
The clan chiefs all whispered among themselves for a moment, but none raised objections.
"I object!"
On the throne, Shu Jun's giant head bounced, and he chuckled, "These four trials are much too easy. The Saint Baby is my disciple—such little tests are nothing to him!"
Quinn Shepherd flared up: "This old rascal is trying to make things hard for me!"
God-Queen Langwo smiled, "Shu Jun God-King, you may not realize—the four trials seem simple, but are actually difficult. The first trial tests divine sense, through visualization. And it's not just against one adult Creator, but nine. Nine Creators will attack with their divine sense to disrupt his visualization. If he can suppress all nine and successfully visualize the artifact, he passes."
Shaw Chung's expression shifted, and the other clan chiefs also looked uneasy.
Shu Jun chuckled, "Nine adult Creators disrupting his visualization—now that's divine sense combat. If the Saint Baby slips up, he'll end up blasted into an idiot. This trial is much better, more interesting. Disciple, are you afraid?"
"I'm not afraid, Master." Quinn Shepherd put on a guileless smile, glancing at the giant head of Shu Jun.
Shu Jun shuddered under his gaze, thinking, "If I go back into the Primal Stone now, this brat definitely won't let me off. But who would lend me their blood and divine sense to rebuild my body? I still have to go back..."
God-Queen Langwo gave a few instructions, and soon each clan selected nine robust adult Creators.
"The Saint Baby will be visualizing the Shaw Clan Saint-Relic."
God-Queen Langwo looked to Shaw Chung. After a moment's hesitation, he gently raised his hand and a treasure slowly floated up—a bead hovering before Quinn Shepherd.
Shaw Chung said, "Saint Baby, watch closely."
He unleashed his divine sense, activating the bead. Instantly, it expanded into a spherical heavenly world floating above the altar!
Within the round heavens, lands lined the bead's inner shell, mountains and rivers carved like fine jade. The terrain and waterways formed dazzling runes, countless peaks rising and falling, with intricate, complex detail!
Even the rivers, streams, and waterfalls created distinct rune patterns, all interwoven in a web of astonishing complexity!
At the center of the bead was a god-city, modeled after Heavenly Court's Jade Capital City, complete with ancient-god-shaped divine demons!
A closer look revealed that even the ancient-god-shaped divine demons were packed with endless minute detail!
Shu Jun began to sweat, muttering inwardly, "God-Queen Langwo is trying to kill the Saint Baby... no, trying to kill Quinn Shepherd, that brat. Such a complicated visualization—never mind him, even I'd be pushed to my limits. Their divine sense control is too refined! These Creators have abandoned tradition; even a single bead is this complex..."
Quinn Shepherd opened his vertical brow eye, sending out a curtain of light from his divine eye, as fine as a rake, sweeping over every corner of the Shaw Clan Saint-Relic—mountains, rivers, even the Jade Capital City—scanning it completely.
He closed his eyes, sitting motionless on the altar. Below, over a hundred thousand Creators watched in tense silence.
Suddenly, Quinn Shepherd opened his eyes and said, "I'm ready."
God-Queen Langwo said, "Nine Creators will attack with their divine sense to disrupt your visualization. Do not take them lightly."
Quinn Shepherd nodded.
God-Queen Langwo signaled to the nine Creators, who instantly unleashed their divine sense. From the vertical third eyes in their brows, torrents of divine sense surged forth, stirring up invisible storms and thunder, roaring toward Quinn Shepherd on the altar!
The moment the nine Creators unleashed their divine sense, Quinn Shepherd's divine sense surged out as well—but instead of visualizing the bead, he sent the full force of his divine sense crashing toward the nine Creators!
BOOM—
The altar trembled violently as ten torrents of divine sense collided. Quinn Shepherd's divine sense instantly expanded into a Grand-Luo-Heaven domain, crushing the nine adult Creators' divine sense, shattering them and forcing them back into their third eyes!
"Seal!"
He barked the word, and each of the nine Creators shuddered as the diamond-shaped vertical eyes on their brows suddenly grew dim, sealed layer by layer by Quinn Shepherd's divine sense so they could no longer mobilize it!
After sealing all nine, Quinn Shepherd finally withdrew his divine sense and began visualizing the artifact.
"Now this is a Saint Baby."
Chief Dongming couldn't help but exclaim, laughing, "If he'd focused only on visualizing the Shaw Clan Saint-Relic, those nine would have taken advantage and maybe blasted him into an idiot. But by sealing their divine sense, he can visualize calmly without interference."
The other clan chiefs all nodded. Can-Lady said, "Now we'll see if he can truly visualize the Jade Citadel Orb."
Before they finished speaking, mountains and rivers erupted around Quinn Shepherd as if from the void. The terrain, celestial phenomena, and geography all matched the world inside the Jade Citadel Orb almost exactly, appearing one after another!
Not only that, but even the phantom of Jade Capital City emerged—its gates, walls, pavilions, palaces, and treasure halls all corresponding to the Jade Citadel Orb, while the ancient-god-shaped divine demons were visualized in even greater complexity!
"As if heaven-assisted, truly heaven-assisted!"
The Creators all gasped in admiration, saying, "It's even more intricate than the Jade Citadel Orb! So many details—he truly is the Saint Baby born of the Primal Stone, come to guide us!"
Shu Jun rolled his eyes and thought, "If it were me, I'd probably have been blasted into an idiot... No, I wouldn't! I don't even have a brain..."