Across all thirty-three heavens of Carefree Haven, everyone felt the surge of God-Queen Langwo's divine sense; her voice, shaped by that divine sense, exploded in their minds.
The Creators attacked in such overwhelming force, yet declared they came for peace, intending to negotiate with the Pioneer Emperor. The situation was far too bizarre.
These Creators had such an overwhelming presence and clearly held absolute advantage; to them, destroying Carefree Haven would be effortless. Why, then, would they seek peace talks under these circumstances?
"It's probably a trap, meant to lure the Pioneer Emperor out and eliminate him!" Many people speculated.
At this moment, the scene did indeed look like a trap.
Yet from the Creators' ranks, a breathtakingly beautiful goddess soared forth. With a gentle stroke in the void between Carefree Haven and the Creators, she conjured a floating platform, plainly visible to both sides.
The goddess shrank until she appeared as a normal human, then landed on the platform alongside a youth in brilliant red robes. Beside them waited a gigantic head, quietly observing.
Within the Kaihuang Heaven Court of Carefree Haven, the Pioneer Emperor pondered a moment and said to Prince Hansen and Elena Cloud, "You two come with me. Remember, do not call him by name—address him as Shepherd Heavenly Venerable or Saint Baby."
Prince Hansen and Elena Cloud agreed.
Elena Cloud laughed and said, "Prince Hansen is his birth father, so he shouldn't be too vicious."
God-Queen Langwo continued, "This is our Creators' previous generation God-King, Shu Jun."
The Pioneer Emperor nodded. "Your reputation precedes you."
God-King Shu Jun chuckled, "You've never heard my name—I died countless millennia ago."
The Pioneer Emperor smiled faintly. Elena Cloud, at his side, teased, "So the Creators' Saint Baby is none other than Shepherd Heavenly Venerable. Isn't he human?"
Quinn Shepherd only smiled. God-Queen Langwo, dazzling and poised, replied, "The Saint Baby possesses the power of creation—does it matter if he's human or Creator? Clinging to racial distinctions is petty."
Elena Cloud laughed, "You didn't say that back then. When we first came to the Beyond-Shore World to found Carefree Haven, you and the Creators saw us as alien invaders, and tried to wipe us out."
God-Queen Langwo glanced at her, the pearls on her phoenix crown swaying. Calmly, she said, "Every inch of land and sky in the Beyond-Shore World was forged by Creator divine sense and blood. After surviving near extinction, we fled here—this is our last refuge. When you arrived, we treated you with courtesy, never with deceit. Is that not so?"
The Pioneer Emperor nodded, "I followed the map here, and was honored by the God-Queen's hospitality. I am deeply grateful."
God-Queen Langwo said, "You claimed your people were in peril, and sought a place to survive. Out of sympathy, we let you borrow land. You asked for 'one sword's worth'—we agreed, did we not?"
The Pioneer Emperor nodded silently.
God-Queen Langwo said coldly, "We treated you sincerely, but you used a single sword to cut away half our world. Our people are generous, but not that generous. If someone came and took half of Carefree Haven, would you accept it?"
Elena Cloud replied, "Though the Emperor played a trick with the sword, the Creators also broke their promise by attacking, leading to mutual slaughter and heavy casualties—Carefree Haven suffered terribly..."
God-Queen Langwo sneered, "You have no clear judgment on right and wrong, do you, Celestial Teacher Zixi?"
Elena Cloud said, "The number of our people and gods killed by Creators was hundreds or thousands of times greater than the Creators' losses. Where is their justice? Carefree Haven never wanted to be your enemy—we only sought a place to survive. The Emperor said we'd leave once the person he waited for arrived. Why insist on exterminating us?"
God-King Shu Jun shouted angrily, "You invaded our clan, and now you won't allow us to resist? How is that fair?"
Elena Cloud was about to speak, but the Pioneer Emperor raised his hand to stop her. "Celestial Teacher, we were in the wrong first. The God-Queen cannot be blamed."
He turned to Quinn Shepherd and asked, "Saint Baby, do you have anything to say?"
Quinn Shepherd said, "We are all fellow sufferers in this world, yet you bully fellow sufferers. That is wrong."
Prince Hansen coughed and said, "As a human, Shepherd Heavenly Venerable should consider the Kaihuang Heaven Court's plight and put himself in their place."
Quinn Shepherd replied calmly, "I've tried to put myself in your place, but I can't recall you ever doing the same. When the Kaihuang Heaven Court fell, its people fled, dying by the thousands. Did you ever think of them? Did you treat those survivors and their descendants as people? I don't think so—they were the abandoned folk of the gods."
He sneered, "I used to think the Great Ruins were the gods' abandoned children, but I was wrong. It's Everpeace that's truly abandoned. Back then, I foolishly thought Everpeace was Heavenly Court's cast-off; turns out, I was mistaken. Everpeace isn't Heaven's orphan, it's Kaihuang's orphan."
Prince Hansen frowned and couldn't help but say, "At the time, the entire Kaihuang Heaven Court was on the brink of extinction. We could only preserve our main strength, our vital forces—we couldn't protect the common folk. Only by doing that could we hope to counterattack in the future! Shepherd Heavenly Venerable, put yourself in our place—you'd have done the same..."
"Put myself in your place?"
Quinn Shepherd said coolly, "The Everpeace catastrophe was nearly identical to what happened to Kaihuang Heaven Court. Did the Everpeace Imperial Preceptor flee to Carefree Haven? Did Emperor Evan flee to Carefree Haven? No—they both stayed, together with the people they swore to protect. I stayed too. Could they have left? Could I have left?"
He fixed his gaze on the Pioneer Emperor. "That's where you're inferior to me, to Emperor Evan, to the Everpeace Imperial Preceptor. Back then, you left—you led the strongest away, founded Carefree Haven, and for twenty thousand years accomplished nothing. The Kaihuang Era ended with your retreat. We stayed, so the Everpeace Era still exists. So, 'put myself in your place'..."
He said proudly, "If I put myself in your place, I did better than you! Emperor Evan and the Imperial Preceptor did better than you! Everpeace's ministers did better than yours!"
Prince Hansen fell silent.
The Pioneer Emperor nodded. "You did better than I ever did. Even back in the Dragon-Han Era, I admired you—I thought you were a true hero, while I was not. I could never act with such heroism."
"Your Majesty!"
Elena Cloud frowned. "There's no need to belittle yourself. Even if war broke out now, Carefree Haven wouldn't fear them at all. Quinn's so-called Creator formations, Heaven Palaces, and divine weapons are riddled with flaws—it's all just to scare us!"
Quinn Shepherd glanced at her, smiling. "Celestial Teacher Zixi, you're seeing exactly what I want you to see. If I truly wanted to destroy Carefree Haven, you couldn't stop me."
Elena Cloud was so furious she ground her teeth.
Quinn Shepherd said calmly, "You've been hiding in Carefree Haven so long, you've lost touch with the world outside and your fighting spirit. I trained the Creators for just a month to reach this level—give me more time, and their divine arts will soar. If I leave now and return again, the Heaven Palaces and armors you see won't just be visualizations."
Elena Cloud snorted, turned away, and muttered, "Should've let Luther the Donkey kick you to death back then!"
Quinn Shepherd looked at the Pioneer Emperor. "You're too cautious, always weighing every side, while I'm reckless. I did bring the Creators to scare you, but both sides truly need peace. So, while I came to intimidate you, I'm also here to negotiate."
The Pioneer Emperor said, "I'd like to hear the details."
Quinn glanced at God-Queen Langwo, who nodded gently.
"Carefree Haven will be yours to rule—the Creators won't invade again. In exchange, the Netherworld Divine Son, Fenix Greenwood Keane, must open a new Netherworld in both the Beyond-Shore World and Taixu, to gather wandering souls and pacify the chaos."
Quinn Shepherd added, "Taixu will belong to the Creators—Carefree Haven must not interfere. The Netherworld Divine Son will act as Earth Sovereign for Taixu's Netherworld, establishing just reincarnation and forbidden to devour souls by whim. If Carefree Haven accepts, our races can coexist and face external threats together."
He looked at God-Queen Langwo. "Sister, anything to add?"
God-Queen Langwo's eyes sparkled. "Carefree Haven may set up academies in Creator territory to teach divine arts and Dao methods; in exchange, the Creators may establish divine-sense academies in Carefree Haven to transmit our own techniques."
Quinn Shepherd leaned back in his chair, smiling. "What do you think, Heavenly Venerable Qin?"
The Pioneer Emperor said, "Your terms are excellent, Shepherd Heavenly Venerable. This trip was worthwhile. Do we need to formalize the pact with a contract?"
"No need."
Quinn Shepherd reached across the table. "Just a handshake between us will suffice."
The Pioneer Emperor extended his hand, and the two gripped each other's tightly.
The Pioneer Emperor broke into a smile, looking Quinn up and down. "Still wearing that red robe, Shepherd Heavenly Venerable? Is there a bright red bellyband underneath?"
Quinn Shepherd withdrew his hand and leaned back, raising an eyebrow. "Of course. I'm not even wearing underwear. What, you want to beat me up?"
"I do!" The Pioneer Emperor nodded emphatically.
—Thanks to Beiming Youyu Wuyou, Niuhuitou, Shunqingsheng Xiyue, and Wo Nai Daluo Jinxian for their generous rewards yesterday!