Chapter 121: The Apostle of Death

Carefully reviewing all his skills in his mind, he realized it would be difficult to kill anyone. With a helpless smile, his figure flashed and he vanished directly from the center of the formation. Nowadays, Zhou Tian's one-time teleportation distance reached a remarkable 2,900 meters, enough to completely shake off those men in black robes.

The black-robed men stared at the sudden scene in stunned silence. Zhou Tian's reappearance was not entirely unexpected; after all, he had managed to injure one of them, so it was reasonable to assume he possessed certain divine abilities. Yet, how he escaped the formation was beyond their expectations. This was no ordinary formation made of chains—those chains were crafted from fragments of a divine artifact. Moreover, this formation had just been bestowed upon them by a deity they had recently contacted. Even the leader of the Holy Divine Sect, trapped within it, faced uncertain survival. Yet Zhou Tian had simply left, leaving them incredulous.

Ignoring the black-robed men, Zhou Tian returned to where Mu Su and Ling Yu were waiting behind an ancient tree.

“Why were you gone so long today?” Mu Su asked as soon as he appeared. After spending many days together, he had a good grasp of Zhou Tian’s usual “naked sprint” duration, but today was noticeably longer.

“Something came up. I ran into seven old black-robed guys,” Zhou Tian said as he put on his clothes and called toward Ling Yu behind the tree. “Ling Yu, do you know who would use pitch-black chains?”

Ling Yu stepped out from behind the tree, her brow furrowed slightly. “Chains made of pitch-black material? Chains are common in the dark-aligned divine systems—used for punishment, soul binding—many sects use them. I can too.” She demonstrated by conjuring a black chain shimmering with light in her hand.

“Any other information?”

Ling Yu asked, realizing Zhou Tian must have encountered someone unusual to inquire about this.

“Their chains aren’t energy illusions,” Zhou Tian recalled carefully. “They can form a formation, drain vitality, and produce an intense sensation of pleasure.” A mysterious smile appeared on his face.

Ling Yu shivered at his smile and displayed a look of disdain but still spoke. “Based on what you just said, I think I know. They must be followers of the Reaper—the seven apostles of the Death God sect. Their chains are made from fragments of objects once touched by the Death God, possessing extremely mysterious powers. On this land, their sect is on par with the Holy Divine Sect.”

“The Death God is a powerful deity aligned with darkness, or more precisely, a neutral deity. His doctrine holds that death is humanity’s ultimate pursuit. The intense pleasure that accompanies the draining of vitality until death is their hallmark,” Ling Yu explained in detail.

“You met them?”

“By your description, I must have.”

“What were they doing?”

Ling Yu asked cautiously. At this critical moment of the reopening of the Pantheon, everyone eyed the divine seats greedily. Every small move might implicate a huge conspiracy, especially ancient and powerful sects like the Death God’s. They were likely plotting something.

“They were extracting the life force from some powerful creatures and storing it in some kind of container,” Zhou Tian recalled. During the ambush, those black-robed men who trapped the Amethyst Winged Tiger had pulled out some device. Now it made sense—it must have been for storing life energy.

“Absorbing vitality?” Ling Yu frowned deeply, thoughtful. Absorbing vitality was not strange, considering they were apostles of the Death God sect who saw bringing death as their innate duty. The key issue was they were doing this in the perilous Myriad Gods Mountain Range, and at such a critical juncture.

“I’ve had contact with them through my Spider Sect. Their doctrine is peculiar—in the countless years without divine miracles, they never believed the Death God abandoned them. They firmly believe he will return from oblivion. Most likely, they are preparing for his return,” Ling Yu speculated, drawing on information gained from her sect.

Zhou Tian nodded. Approaching the Pantheon, all sorts of monsters and demons emerged. Thankfully, to protect Mu Su and Ling Yu, he had chosen to camp in a distant ferocious beast territory. For now, those apostles of the Death God could not find them.

While Zhou Tian was unconcerned, Mu Su and Ling Yu were worried they might be doomed.

“Let’s go. Looks like we can cross this branch of the mountain today,” Zhou Tian said after a moment’s thought and a deep breath. They were currently on a branch of the Myriad Gods Mountain Range; after crossing it, they still had some distance to the main Myriad Gods Mountain.

The three set off again. Pushing aside the last branch, a vast, boundless plain unfolded before them.

The crimson-yellow earth was ravaged with gullies and cracks, a sky filled with swirling yellow sand. Amid the drifting dust appeared enormous skeletal remains and shattered buildings. Massive pillars, nearly a hundred meters tall, jutted diagonally into the ground. Nearby stood a half-body statue, split in two by some unknown force. Though eroded by countless years, the original material was no ordinary substance; one could still make out its strange, non-human features.

This was just a small fragment. The entire plain was littered with ruins and crumbled walls.

Mu Su was stunned, never having witnessed such a breathtaking scene.

Zhou Tian was less affected; after all, he had seen even more awe-inspiring sights back in Tian Qin.

“This is the Myriad Gods Plain,” Ling Yu whispered with longing in her gaze.

“In ancient times, every deity had a temple here, arranged from weakest to strongest, culminating at the Myriad Gods Mountain and the Pantheon—the seat of the King of Gods!” Ling Yu pointed toward the end of the plain where the towering Myriad Gods Mountain rose. Its pillar of light still pierced heaven and earth, unchanged in brilliance.

Although now all was ruins, in ancient times this had been the gathering place of myriad gods—holy, evil, chaotic—all manifested here. Gods walked the mortal world; it was the most glorious era of the divine realm.

“Such knowledge is rarely passed down. Ordinary people don’t know because these scenes tarnish the gods’ image. These are the gods in decline,” Ling Yu explained softly.

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Thank you to the reader “20170805233732446” for the generous support.

I usually take things slow and rarely check comments, but reading novels should be a pastime. If my story ever brings you unhappiness, feel free to close it—no need to dwell too much on the content. Focus more on life. Thank you.

These past days have been busy. I managed to write two chapters today. Also, I’ll take a day off tomorrow to accompany a lady on a mountain climb. Honestly, I find women troublesome, but for the sake of continuation, I have no choice. Hope you understand.