Logan Cross's face was pale; he felt he'd just overheard something he absolutely shouldn't have.
Even though he'd always kept a cold, unsmiling face, looking perpetually burdened and grim, the revelations spilling out between Elaina Cloud and Liana Flowersoul were so shocking they left him utterly stunned.
"These two women—each backed by a Heavenly Venerable? And who are Hao and Qi? Hao can't possibly mean Vast‑Sky Venerable, can it? And Heaven‑Guide Venerable—she actually dares call him a pretty‑boy..."
Logan made a snap decision, ducking into the shadow of a nearby building and signaling Quinn Shepherd to follow, urging him to hide before the two women spotted them.
Quinn was just as bewildered. Logan rushed out, dragged him into the shadows, and hissed, "Are you trying to get yourself killed? Secrets like these—if we're caught listening, we're dead! I heard there was once an ancient god in Heavenly Court who learned too much, and got shot in the back on his way to battle!"
Quinn joined him in the shadows, heart pounding with shock.
He knew that back at the dawn of the Dragon‑Han Era, the Empress had supported Heaven‑Guide Venerable.
The Empress was furious because her younger sister, Madam Yuanmu, had secretly had an affair with the Ancient‑God Heavenly Emperor and given birth to Vast‑Sky Venerable. Yet Vast‑Sky turned out to be exceptionally gifted, opening the Five Luminaries Treasury and becoming a Heavenly Venerable, while her own son never attained such glory.
To protect her own status, the Empress backed Heaven‑Guide Venerable and suppressed Vast‑Sky Venerable.
But what Quinn hadn't expected was that the line he'd always thought came from Liana Flowersoul—about keeping Heaven‑Guide Venerable as her pretty‑boy—had actually been said by Elaina Cloud!
All this time, he'd assumed Elaina Cloud was the Empress—but reality had flipped the script!
Elaina Cloud was Madam Yuanmu; Liana Flowersoul was the Empress!
Quinn realized he'd been flirting and bickering with Vast‑Sky Venerable's own mother, Madam Yuanmu!
"Back at Jade Pool, when I fought Elaina Cloud, she was forced to use her ultimate techniques. But if she was just pretending to be the Empress, then those moves couldn't have been the real thing."
Cold sweat streamed down Quinn's forehead. It was all a setup—a massive trap!
Anyone who fell for it, believing those were her true techniques, would die a miserable death.
"And when she saw Madam Yuanmu's corpse in the crystal coffin and immediately helped me, it wasn't because she feared Yuanmu's resurrection—it was because she was afraid her own identity would be exposed!"
Sweat poured down Quinn's face. If he'd actually tried to summon Madam Yuanmu's soul back then, he might have dragged Elaina Cloud over instead—exposing her on the spot!
And the fact that Madam Yuanmu wasn't actually dead would have been revealed as well.
"That little vixen..." Quinn muttered through gritted teeth.
The two of them slipped quietly through the shadows. The Creator city’s vast architecture made it easy to move unseen, keeping them out of sight of the two women battling overhead.
Above them, Elaina Cloud and Liana Flowersoul fought with terrifying power. Towering buildings were cleaved apart by their divine arts, and boulders the size of hills rained down from the sky. Quinn and Logan’s scalps tingled—if any of that debris hit the Flame‑Venerable imprint or that drop of divine blood, the whole city, themselves included, would be obliterated!
Strangely, though, those fragments never reached the ground. Instead, they unraveled in midair, dissolving into streams of divine sense that shot skyward.
The ruined buildings instantly restored themselves, as if rebuilt by some invisible divine force!
Such was the marvel of the Creator city!
The debris couldn’t fall, but the aftershocks of the women’s divine arts could still reach the ground. Both were only at the Divine Bridge Realm on paper, but Quinn knew just how dangerous they really were.
Back on the ark, Liana Flowersoul had ambushed him and broken his four arms, while Elaina Cloud had fought Quinn to a brutal draw.
Their strength was at least equal to any True God—maybe even greater.
Even so, neither had revealed her true techniques; each was trying to force the other to expose real skills, hoping to guess which Heavenly Venerable she really was.
Whoever slipped up first—died first.
After all, both the Empress and Madam Yuanmu were ancient gods, infamous in the Heavenly Alliance—just like the Ancient‑God Heavenly Emperor. If their true identities were exposed, the other Heavenly Venerables would destroy them.
The Heavenly Alliance was founded to give people the right to survive. But by the mid‑Dragon‑Han Era, after Cloud Venerable recruited Vast‑Sky Venerable and others, its goal shifted to overthrowing the ancient gods and seizing power.
So the ancient gods hiding within the Alliance could never afford to be discovered.
Quinn and Logan raced through the empty city, nerves on edge. Elaina Cloud and Liana Flowersoul’s divine arts were too powerful—no one could predict when their aftershocks would trigger the Flame‑Venerable imprint or that drop of divine blood.
It was like having a blade pressed to their throats, never knowing when death would come.
And they couldn’t afford to reveal themselves—if the women found them, they’d die too.
Those two would never tolerate anyone discovering their secret!
Even Quinn would have to die—even if he was useful to them, nothing was more important than their own lives.
Now Quinn finally understood the saying: the more you know, the faster you die.
"Maha—"
Suddenly, the huge head of a divine dragon appeared before them. The dragon grinned, opened its jaws, and used its crimson tongue to slobber all over Quinn’s stunned face, exclaiming excitedly, "Maha! Maha!"
Quinn’s face turned ashen, and Logan’s hands and feet went cold.
This was the very same divine dragon Quinn had created atop the mountain as a mount. Unfortunately, his skills weren’t up to par—the dragon took shape but couldn’t fly, so he’d abandoned it.
He never expected the dragon would track them here by scent!
Above, the clash of divine arts abruptly ceased. The waves of power vanished, and the city grew eerily quiet once more.
Sweat broke out on both Quinn and Logan’s foreheads. Quinn motioned for the dragon to keep quiet. Dumb as it was, the dragon understood.
The two men and the dragon tiptoed forward, trying to sneak out of this deadly city.
"So it’s Shepherd Venerable and Blade Logan."
Suddenly, a woman’s laughter rang out from a palace ahead. The two men and the dragon looked up to see Elaina Cloud sitting on the eaves, hands propping her up, legs dangling and swinging idly.
Her legs were fair and shapely, quite alluring.
Elaina Cloud giggled, "Venerable and Blade, sneaking around—where are you off to?"
Quinn coughed, but before he could reply, Liana Flowersoul’s icy voice came from behind: "How long have Shepherd Venerable and Blade Logan been here?"
Elaina Cloud smiled slyly, "Does it really matter how long?"
Quinn coughed again. "We just arrived, about to pay respects to Flame‑Venerable. He’s here in the city..."
Elaina Cloud and Liana Flowersoul’s faces changed. Liana shot into the air, scanning the surroundings. Just then, beams of divine light streaked in from afar, descending into the city.
"Disciple Xue Yuqing, under Ancestor Venerable, greets Shepherd Venerable!"
"Disciple Huai Yu, under Lang Venerable, greets Shepherd Venerable!"
"Disciple Pan Chunjin, under Vast‑Sky Venerable, greets Shepherd Venerable!"
"Disciple Luo Fengqing, under East‑Heaven Azure Emperor, greets Shepherd Venerable!"
(End of chapter message skipped as irrelevant to the novel translation.)
...
One after another, booming voices rang out. Light descended, transforming into True Gods who perched atop the ancient buildings surrounding Quinn, looking down at him with excitement.
"Shepherd Venerable nearly got us killed. Bet he never imagined we’d make it here alive!"
Xiu Youfang chuckled, "Once Shepherd Venerable is dead, we’ll return to the Heavenly Court and tell the world he died saving us in the Void, earning eternal glory as a Venerable. Only, it’ll be glory after death."
Huai Yu, gentle as jade, smiled serenely. "You slaughtered my fellow disciples while my master Lang Venerable was away. Had I been there, they wouldn’t have died so miserably. Today is the day you pay for it, and I avenge my brothers. Any last words, Venerable?"
Pan Chunjin laughed, "No last words will help you. There’s no Youdu or Mingdu in the Void—no Heaven’s Lord to intervene, no Lady of Shadows to save you. Die here, and your soul is truly gone—dead beyond dead!"
Quinn glanced around—there were over a dozen True Gods now. Disciples of the Emperor’s Seat were nothing to worry about, but disciples of the Heavenly Venerables were another matter entirely.
These True Gods could smash him to dust without leaving a trace!
Here in the Void, they had no need to hide their intentions. The knives were out—they’d kill Quinn, then report back.
Of course, first they had to survive crossing the Void.
Quinn glanced at Logan and whispered, "How’s Blade Logan’s injury?"
Logan hesitated—Quinn was clearly trying to drag him into the fight, to help take out the Venerable and Emperor’s Seat disciples.
Now that he knew the Empress and Madam Yuanmu’s secret, survival was impossible—he had no choice but to rebel.
But his wounds were too severe; his Heavenly Palace hadn’t recovered. If he forced out the Yuanmu core, his palace might collapse for good.
His divine blade was destroyed too—against these True Gods, he was helpless.
Liana Flowersoul flew back, landing on the palace eaves ahead. “The one in the city isn’t Flame‑Venerable, but his imprint. He fought a terrible enemy here—his Dao was branded into the space itself.”
Elaina Cloud was shocked that anyone in the Void could match Flame‑Venerable. She giggled, "Looks like Shepherd Venerable is truly out of options—Flame‑Venerable’s gone, and no one can stop you all from killing him."
She sighed, "Forgive me, Venerable. In this situation, I’m powerless to help."
By now, the sun had set behind the western mountains, and dusk crept across the sky. Suddenly, lantern towers blazed to life, illuminating the city.
From afar came the sound of roaring.
Quinn’s heart stirred; he cried out, "I’ve got it!"
No one moved. Each raised their divine weapon, channeling power, ready to kill him.
Elaina Cloud smiled, "And what is it you’ve figured out, Venerable?"
Quinn steadied himself. "I finally understand why the Creators built such high city walls in the Void—what they were defending against."
Everyone froze for a moment. Some glanced around, while Liana Flowersoul frowned, leapt to a watchtower, and scanned the city’s perimeter.
Roars echoed from the darkness outside the city, growing closer.
"Pan Chunjin, you said there’s no Youdu, no Mingdu, no Earth Lord or Lady of Shadows here. So, when someone dies here, where does their soul go?"
Quinn’s eyes gleamed. "Those who die here remain in the Void!"
Elaina Cloud couldn’t help herself. "And you think saying all this will spare your life, Shepherd Venerable?"
Quinn shook his head. "I’m not begging for mercy—I’m trying to save your lives. This is the Void!"
No one understood.
Quinn said coldly, "This place is saturated with the Creators’ powerful divine sense. Those who die in the Void, their souls linger here. Their resentment explodes; their spirits are transformed by the Creators’ divine sense. In Youdu, the dead’s resentment forms demons, sometimes even Demon Gods and Heavenly Demons—creatures of pure negativity, burning, killing, looting, committing every evil. But Youdu has the Earth Lord to keep them in check, so the havoc is limited."
Everyone’s hearts skipped a beat. Elaina Cloud hurried to a watchtower, scanning the city’s perimeter—her body stiff with fear.
"There’s no Earth Lord here. What’s born in the Void is even stronger, even more evil! That’s what the Creators were defending against!"
Quinn sighed. "I’m trying to save you, but you’re all set on killing me. I doubt any of us can get out now."
Pan Chunjin, Huai Yu, and the others, half-believing, flew to the watchtower. When they saw the huge, monstrous shapes emerging from the darkness, their faces turned deathly pale.