From behind She Gu Yu, a multitude of god statues, vast beyond measure, arose. This spectacular scene reflected her figure, making her appear as an immortal Buddha. All the demons present were stunned. What kind of power was this? What sacred entity lay behind this She Gu Yu?

She Gu Yu herself, however, was clearly bewildered. She understood the Bitter Cage Sect’s ideology deeply, sharing their hatred of the world, but she did not endorse their actions. For those seemingly lofty existences, whose thoughts and deeds were entirely contrary to the Bitter Cage Sect, she lacked awe, yet harbored no hostility. The reason she had voiced those questions was born of genuine doubt, and unease regarding the “silent disappearance of the great existences.” No matter how detached she was from the outside world, she was still a participant in this Divine Firmament Bureau. The dangers faced by others were hers to confront as well. Who would willingly die in ignorance?

She, of course, possessed her own unique abilities. Having stumbled into this Divine Firmament realm by chance, experiencing one thrilling scene after another, and witnessing the peculiarities of this world, she had her own desires. But they absolutely did not include the spectacle of a forest of god statues rising and falling in a sea of clouds. She had no idea what was happening! Yet, the moment the god statues surfaced from the cloud sea, she instinctively shifted her body, already concealed within the divine light. Her long boots turned again, stepping onto the Heavenly Demon Altar. She stood in a corner far from the other demon kings, maintaining a watchful stance against all her companions. She positioned herself relatively close to the Taiping Ghost Messenger, yet left ample space for a counterattack.

She deeply doubted this world and did not expect to be trusted. “These god statues have nothing to do with me! I don’t know what’s happening!” she exclaimed, gripping her twin knives defensively, her tone sharp with vigilance. She addressed the core issue directly, clarifying her position immediately to avoid disaster by being surrounded and attacked.

Rat Jialan glanced over, half-believing and half-doubting.

Deer Seven Lang’s hand had already moved away from the bronze tripod, his gaze no longer fixated on the spark of fire. He pressed a slender sword at his waist, his brow furrowed in silent contemplation, seemingly deep in thought.

The Taiping Ghost Messenger’s hand tightened on his long knife. His “occupational habit” of slaying gods made him somewhat eager to try.

Spider Lanruo’s beautiful eyes swept over the scene, taking in the expressions of everyone present. She retreated a step, moving to another corner of the Heavenly Demon Altar. She had already won the Immortal Spring; of course, she had the opportunity to gain more by using it, but she had no intention of acting in an unclear situation. She would rather observe and let opportunities pass than lose what she had already gained. Knowing when to collect one’s gains was not without great wisdom.

Sheep Yu clasped his palms together, silently chanting a Buddhist mantra, his face the picture of innocence. However, within his heart, he had a partial understanding of this scene of gods floating in the cloud sea. Great Bodhisattva Cicada Fayuan’s first gambit was to leverage the power of the Knowing Bell, allowing him to fully occupy and gain within the Divine Firmament world, winning everything for Ancient Nan Mountain. That gambit had now clearly failed, ending in a miserable defeat with nothing gained and the Knowing Bell lost. If this game were to end so abruptly and without conclusion, then both Great Bodhisattva Cicada Fayuan and he, the true inheritor of the Buddha Sect and the new king of the Heavenly List, might as well have died long ago. Great Bodhisattva Cicada Fayuan had recalled him in time and laid a new piece, this time aiming specifically at the Knowing Bell. Only at the Knowing Bell!

Ancient Nan Mountain, as a contemporary orthodox religion, had inherited how many years of history, its hidden strength beneath the surface immeasurably deep. To save suffering and rescue those in distress, one naturally needed sharp ears and keen eyes. Especially having mastered the Knowing Bell for so many years, they could be said to know everything above the sun and moon, and everything ancient and modern below. They naturally knew that the Sealing God Platform in Taigu Imperial City had always been secretly transmitting power to the Divine Firmament world. They were not sure how long this transmission had been going on, but it had been at least three thousand years. They were also unclear about the purpose of transmitting power to the Divine Firmament world; this was the highest secret of Taigu Imperial City. But this did not prevent Cicada Fayuan from using this to his advantage.

The Knowing Bell was the supreme treasure of Ancient Nan Mountain, and of course, it was also the supreme treasure of the demon world’s Buddha Sect, and even more so, the supreme treasure of the demon world itself. The Sealing God Platform absorbed so much power from the world; even Ancient Nan Mountain regularly contributed massive amounts of faith power. A significant portion of this power was transported to the Divine Firmament world. Using these powers to retrieve the Knowing Bell was a very reasonable course of action. As the saying goes, “take from the world, use in the world.”

While the Flying Light Treasure Ship was shuttling, Cicada Fayuan had already made arrangements and, at the same time as recalling Sheep Yu, informed him of the method. This involved having him act at a crucial moment, linking the faith of ten thousand gods to the Knowing Bell. Using the multitude of gods within this sea of ten thousand gods, they would collectively and exhaustively search for the secrets of the Divine Firmament world. In an increasingly complete and reconstructed Divine Firmament world, Cicada Fayuan could no longer directly interfere or personally search for secrets. Relying on his own power to search for secrets one by one would be no different from searching for a needle in a haystack. By leveraging the power of the ten thousand gods sea and having millions of gods search together, the probability of success was undoubtedly much higher.

No matter how one rationalized it, acting rashly by borrowing Taigu Imperial City’s layout was not a rational decision. But in order to retrieve the Knowing Bell, Cicada Fayuan did not care about such matters. Sheep Yu was fully aware of all this in his heart and admitted that he might have to go to Taigu Imperial City to bear responsibility afterward. As long as the Knowing Bell could be retrieved, what regrets would a hundred deaths bring?

But… there was still a “but.” Why had the sea of ten thousand gods appeared so quickly? It did not match Great Bodhisattva’s calculated timing at all. He had been entangled by Rat Jialan all this time, and fundamentally had no time to make extensive arrangements. He had absolutely no expectation for the timing of the ten thousand gods sea’s appearance. Now, rashly beginning the pursuit of the Knowing Bell would likely result in insufficient power. After experiencing so many thrilling events, his ranking as the fifth new king of the Heavenly List was no longer enough to give him overwhelming confidence. He clearly recognized that in this Divine Firmament Bureau, where heavenly pride gathered and various means were abundant, opportunities were likely to come only once! This was true for him, and also true for Cicada Fayuan!

Regardless of what the demons were thinking, the multitude of ten thousand god statues floated and sank in the cloud sea, each guarding its own power. Those who needed to wait were still waiting; those who needed to act had already acted. The god sculptures of various shapes emitted their own divine radiance. As the light illuminated the cloud sea, a kind of resonance occurred. At first, it was a murmur, like someone talking to themselves, then fluctuating, sometimes mournful, sometimes joyful, finally gradually converging into one… that was the voices of thousands, tens of thousands, millions, billions of believers praying! Vaguely, they were being collected by a power, gradually turning into a single call.

It was grand, vast, and it said—

“No Face God, appear with me!”

As this voice echoed, the demons present showed no reaction. No one cared about “No Face God”; that was just a few words Feather Xin had spoken earlier in that Divine Firmament secret room. Jiang Wang, observing silently from the mirror world, was suddenly shocked! He knew he was being targeted. And instantly, he associated it with Tiger Taisui! He already knew Tiger Taisui was one of the Three Evil Tribulations Lords, and one of the chess players in this Divine Firmament Bureau, with a grand plan. Tiger Taisui had casually killed Ape Xiaoqing and Ape Laoxi and obtained all the clues related to the No Face God Teach, knowing that he, this “No Face God,” had already entered the Divine Firmament world. Hence, he had deployed means to search for him at this time and eliminate the hidden danger! After Master Row Chan’s self-immolation, the Divine Firmament world was free of external evils. At this time, many chess players could not directly interfere with this game. Whose means was Tiger Taisui using to deploy? Bear Sansi? Bear Sansi and Tiger Taisui were already irreconcilable; he should not be helping him right now. So, among the demons present, who else was a piece of Tiger Taisui? Or perhaps Bear Sansi had only been acting earlier; his irreconcilability with Tiger Taisui was merely to better execute Tiger Taisui’s plan? What he had said within the Ask Evil Bureau of Crane Hua Pavilion was naturally true, but what he said after leaving the Ask Evil Bureau might not necessarily be verifiable.

Of course, these issues were not the key considerations at this moment. What Jiang Wang needed to consider most right now was how to proceed after being pulled out! On site were Sheep Yu, Rat Jialan, Deer Seven Lang, She Gu Yu, Spider Lanruo, and Bear Sansi, six strong individuals at the level of new kings on the Heavenly List. And each of their strengths had been verified, only to be stronger than their rankings on the list. He was alone, with one person and one sword. As for Chai A Si and Pig Dali, their strength was insufficient, not to mention that once they discovered this great ancient god and supreme Dao Lord was a human, they would only be happier to chop him than anyone else.

At this moment, the As In A Dream Order in his sea of consciousness shifted endlessly, all the paths since entering the Divine Firmament world rolling within it. Jiang Wang’s hand gripped Long Xiang Si, already prepared for a grand escape and a fight. The Divine Firmament world was very large! As long as he ran fast, he wouldn’t have to face all six at once. If he ran well, he could divide it into six times, in six different places, conducting six one-on-one fights. If he ran to his peak state, perhaps he wouldn’t even need to fight; he could just disappear without a trace, leaving them to eat dust.

The entire sea of ten thousand gods was calling out one god. Such an enormous god path power was absolutely not something a small furry god could resist, no matter where he hid. Tiger Taisui’s gambit of borrowing the sea of ten thousand gods to search for a small furry god, using a world-shaking divine skill to blast it away, seemed quite wasteful. But as long as the hidden danger could be eliminated and his grand plan absolutely secured, it was worth it.

“No Face God, appear with me!”

That grand voice echoed in the sea of ten thousand gods and resounded throughout the entire Divine Firmament world. It pursued heaven and earth, calling out that god with no place to hide.

But…

No reaction.

The vast multitude of gods in the sea of ten thousand gods, driven by a shared will, called out to another god, but could not summon it at all. Not even the most basic connection was established. The demons on the Heavenly Demon Altar were all silent, not understanding what the gods within this sea of ten thousand gods were trying to do. Or perhaps, what was the meaning of this move by the chess player behind this gambit? It couldn’t just be a chorus, right!

Jiang Wang in the mirror world suddenly stood still again. A false alarm… perhaps. It turned out that he cultivated not the god path, and that power of faith was not borrowed at all! The god path could not interfere with him in the slightest. You there called out “No Face God,” what did that have to do with him?

Tiger Taisui in Mo Yun City was also silent. He had activated his backhand, leading out the sea of ten thousand gods, for two purposes. One was to first consume the power of the sea of ten thousand gods, leaving other potential chess players who might use this layout without soldiers to command at that time. The second was to eliminate the hidden danger. He had thought that the No Face furry god, though cunning and skilled at hiding, was just that. As the lord of Purple Wu Hills, a complete and recognized feudal lord under Taigu Imperial City, he naturally had a Sealing God Platform in his territory and could use some special means to detect the flow direction of the power within the Sealing God Platform—for example, sealing a self-shaped god and embedding a dark hook within the faith power. After cleaning up, he could naturally sense where the faith power flowed.

He had been preparing for this Divine Firmament game for a long time. The means he employed were also not simple. This time, borrowing the power of the sea of ten thousand gods was essentially mobilizing the authority of the Sealing God Platform. Demon world gods, even evil gods, could not possibly not be deterred by the Sealing God Platform. But unexpectedly, he could not capture that No Face God?

There were only three possibilities—either this No Face God’s strength far exceeded the sea of ten thousand gods, allowing it to easily suppress this summon; or this No Face God was not a demon world god and was not affected by the Sealing God Platform; or this No Face God fundamentally did not exist. The first possibility did not exist, and the second possibility was almost negligible, leaving only the last one. At that time, when he eliminated Ape Laoxi and traced its god, he had initially thought that the furry god was just cunning and had cut off contact with its believers early. This would allow him to deploy supreme means, catch a glimpse of the hidden trace, and find the true body’s location. Now it seemed that furry god fundamentally did not contact its believers!

What was the purpose of that? Founding a sect, diligently developing believers, not receiving blood food, not demanding offerings, not even receiving faith power! Could it be truly as the No Face Teach propagated, “only do good deeds, not ask about the future”? Tiger Taisui did not find it absurd; he could understand such idealists, he just found it troublesome. If the No Face God was not originally a god, then how could it be pulled out? That No Face God, who was not a god, sneaking into the Divine Firmament world—whose piece was it exactly?

How difficult was the advance and retreat in this Divine Firmament game!

Jiang Wang in the mirror world still did not know that he had caused a heavenly demon great confusion. After escaping from a life-and-death crisis, he began to focus on pursuing Tiger Taisui’s piece. As long as the source of the disaster was not extinguished, the disaster would not end. Who had activated the means of the ten thousand gods floating in the cloud sea? This was not just Jiang Wang’s problem. It was also the doubt of all the demons present. After all, no one wished to have an uncertain factor hidden beside them during a journey full of dangers.

Spider Lanruo’s eyes flickered with light; she possessed the Lan Yin Xu Guo divine ability, which could trace cause from effect, and she ought to be the first to find the answer. But at this moment, a wave of angry roars suddenly erupted.

“Uh… ah! Roar, roar!”

Only then did the demons realize that Ape Mengji, who had retreated early to the edge of the mountain platform, had undergone a drastic change in appearance. In the magnificent background of the ten thousand gods floating and sinking in the cloud sea, having lost the protective means of the Ape Immortal Court and not competing with anyone, wanting only to return home early, he had initially been completely unnoticed. At this moment, he emitted a completely inexplicable angry roar. Some things could not be solved by burying one’s head. Some things could not be calmed by taking a step back. Weakness was the original sin. Insufficient preparation was the path to death!

At the moment when all the demons were not paying attention, he had been quietly and silently invaded. A pair of eyes were dyed completely the color of the gold powder on the god sculptures. In the next moment, his fangs protruded, his face turned red. His clothes instantly burst! Blue veins like dragons and snakes writhed on his body. His entire body expanded infinitely, growing taller. In an instant, he transformed into a hundred-zhang-tall giant ape, standing on the edge of the cloud platform, indifferently overlooking all the demons, closer to the gods than the gods in the cloud sea behind him!