Chapter 369: 368: The Backup of the Five Supremes! (New Book Uploaded, Please Add to Favorites!)
At the beginning, Du Gang intended to stick together, expecting others to assist him.
But in the end, the gap in strength among the four of them widened to such an extent that they had no choice but to split up.
This time, their parting ways was due to the substantially different dangers they were about to face.
He chose the most challenging and dangerous path, while the other two took a more secure route.
If they were under the Celestial God level, they could still walk together despite their different ways. But now at the Celestial God Level, things were different.
At this stage, the division of the task world put Celestial Gods and God Kings in the same stratum.
This meant that some exceptional Celestial Gods would face threats of the God King level, which was beyond what ordinary individuals could handle.
Therefore, splitting up was beneficial for both parties.
The three of them, following Du Gang all the way, progressed rapidly. They effortlessly crossed from God Spirit Level to True God and finally advanced to Celestial God, which could be considered a two-step jump.
“Swipe!”
Du Gang and Zhang Xinyi almost appeared simultaneously in reality.
God King Zhang Youwei had been waiting for a long time, and with him was an old man with white hair who was also waiting.
Seeing them come out, Zhang Youwei couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief and smiled, “Xinyi, congratulations, you have advanced to the Celestial God level!”
Zhang Xinyi however, was not overly excited, because today, she was about to part ways with Du Gang…
“Ancestor!”
Upon seeing the white-bearded old man, Du Gang paid his respects.
This man was the Elder of the Yao Family. Previously, he had accepted a favor from Yao Zixuan on behalf of the Yao Family.
The Elder of Yao Family nodded and smiled, “So you chose that path?”
“Yes!” Du Gang responded with a steady expression.
“Very good!”
The Elder of Yao Family greeted Zhang Youwei with a smile and then took Du Gang away.
Core area of the Ancient City.
All the God Kings of the eighteen clans were gathered, looking Du Gang up and down.
“Du Gang, there’s something we need to discuss with you!”
The Elder of Yao Family became the spokesperson for everyone. After all, among the eighteen people, it was he who shared the most intimate connection with Du Gang.
“After your entry into the Heavenly Court, a major event occurred on the Primordial Continent…”
Du Gang was somewhat curious and asked, “What event?”
“A saint has awakened!”
The Elder of Yao Family’s expression grew somewhat grave.
He sighed, “Originally, it wasn’t supposed to awaken at this time…”
It was clear he knew something but didn’t say. Instead, he continued, “The time hasn’t come yet, but the saint has awakened in advance, and the plan has been moved up!”
Plan?
Du Gang became more confused with a furrowed brow, asking, “What plan? Does it involve me?!”
The Elder of Yao Family nodded, “Yes, it involves you!”
He confirmed, “The so-called plan was actually devised billions of years before the Big Bang!”
“At that time, a group of Supremes collectively designed a potentially successful plan, among which five people were key!”
The Elder of Yao Family looked at Du Gang, “You are one of them. You are what Pangu left behind, representing the Southern Wilderness…”
“Apart from you, there is one similar existence in each of the other four domains.”
As expected!
Although Du Gang had early on deduced and ascertained his special mission, the confirmation came from these people.
He asked seriously, “Are the other four also blood vessels?”
“Close enough!”
The Elder of Yao Family nodded, “At that time, the whole world was divided into five domains, each domain had one supreme ruler, and these five supremes each left a contingency…”
“In addition to this, in order to ensure the smooth progress of the plan, a large number of second-ranking saints fell into slumber, sealing themselves off and preserving their strength, quietly waiting for the future. But now, they are beginning to awaken prematurely…”
Du Gang frowned, “You mean, I and the other four, need to save the world? The other saints are auxiliary? But now, the saints are awakening prematurely for unknown reasons, and our strength is not enough?”
“Yes!”
The Elder of Yao Family sighed, “The five major supremes each left a contingency. Currently, we have basically determined that the contingency in the Southern Wilderness is you. However, your strength is far behind…”
What exactly did Pangu Supreme leave behind, actually they didn’t know either. After all, the cosmic human race was born after Pangu opened up the world.
The reason they knew this was due to the other gods on the Primordial Continent informing them.
This was also why the Southern Wilderness, one of the five domains, had all eighteen god clans allied with the Ancient City.
Du Gang concentrated and curiously asked, “Who were the five supremes at the time?!”
He knew about the reflection of all the heavens, so he wanted to see if these people were legendary characters he was familiar with.
The Elder of Yao Family nodded and slowly reported the names of the five.
“They are: God Emperor Jiuli of Central State, Primordial Heavenly Venerable of Eastern Ridge, Tathagata Buddha of the Western Desert, Roho Demon Ancestor of the Northern Plains, and Pangu Supreme of the Southern Wilderness.”
Jiuli, Primordial, Tathagata, Roho, Pangu.
Du Gang was amazed. Indeed, these five supremes were names he was familiar with, and each of them had been passed down in the myths on Earth.
“So, what should I do now?!”
He knew that these people summoned him back for a reason. Otherwise, there was no need for all of this.
The Elder of Yao Family began to speak, “Originally, according to the natural progression, you would probably have to wait until you become a God King in the Heavenly Court before gradually getting in touch with a stronger world…”
“However, now, the saints are gradually awakening. It’s said that the plan will be launched as soon as the last saint fully awakens. At that time, if your strength isn’t enough, the plan will collapse. Therefore, the eighteen major god clans of the Southern Wilderness, that is, the top hundred god tribes, have agreed to mobilize all the resources of the Southern Wilderness to help you advance!”
“The entire Southern Wilderness?”
Du Gang was taken aback, thinking that these old-heads were too big-mouthed.
The ones who really governed the Southern Wilderness were those forty-five major forces.
“Hehe!”
Yao Ancestor guessed what Du Gang was thinking, chuckled and said, “Do you think we’re arrogant? If it were before, naturally, we wouldn’t make such a statement. But now, think about it…”
Du Gang instantly realized and blurted out, “Saints!”
The saints have awakened!
In terms of foundation, the foundation of the ancient and desolate family was stronger. They had saints, supremes, and Dao soldiers.
However, over the years, as saints and sages remained inconspicuous, they have had to adopt a low-profile approach.
Nonetheless, even with such a change in disposition, the hundred mighty god clans remained intact. No matter how pressured by the Forty-five Big Clans, they endured, their ranks not decreasing by even a single member!
The Yao Ancestor grimaced in dissatisfaction, “Young man, do you think too little of our noble household?!”
“I suspect you’ve been fed an inflated narrative by the disciples of those martial sects!”
Seeing Du Gang’s indifference, the old man gave a snort of derision: “Among the Forty-five Big Powers, one is the strongest and nine the weakest. The only one refers to the Jiuli Dynasty in Central State — does Jiuli ring a bell?”
Du Gang startled, and then enlightenment dawned. “The Jiuli Dynasty, could it be the legacy of the Jiuli God Emperor?!”
“Correct!”
The Yao Ancestor laughed heartily. “Do you really believe noble families fall that easily?!”
“Each of them, after all, is the continuation of Supreme beings. Within their clans, there are sleeping saints and sages to protect them. Do you really think any sect, despite its power and array of God Kings, could possibly squash them?!”
Du Gang began to understand.
In an era where saints and sages remain hidden, sects hold the balance of power. This is because sects have versatility; they brought forth a surge of strong warriors during which the peak strength was that of a God King. In this period, the number of God Kings in sects was more than those in all god and royal clans combined.
But even so, the hundred mighty god clans and the thousand strong royal clans still managed to survive. The main reason was the sleeping saints and sages within these clans, who, if they woke during a possible annihilation, would cause a catastrophe no one could bear.
He muttered to himself, “Thus, it’s like an inversion of the times, a return to the era of noble households dominating.”
“Noble households dominating?!”
The Yao Ancestor gave a chortle, pulling out a clearly higher-grade newspaper and passing it to Du Gang.
Accepting the paper, Du Gang started reading.
The first headline caught his attention: “The Shaolin Monastery of the Western Desert announces a return to acknowledging Tathagata as the world’s First Buddha.”
This followed…
He remembered hearing people in his past say the Buddha worshipped by the Shaolin Monastery was Bodhi.
He continued reading.
“Eastern Ridge’s True Martial Sect announces return to the Primordial Heavenly Venerable…”
One statement after the next, he came across several uncanny declarations.
This all seemed like a stunt from the Forty-five Big Powers, declaring or turning to one of the Five Supreme beings.
Yao Ancestor chuckled: “You probably didn’t know. Some of the saints have been revived and they’ve given guidance on future matters to these Forty-Five Big Powers. So these people are prudent and farsighted ones.”
“Of course, there were some martial sects whose founders, the saints, have revived and directly announced the news.”
Du Gang was left agape, astonished at the spectacle.
Overnight, everything had massively changed and the previous circumstances had rapidly turned around.
“This…”
He found it hard to believe. Why would those sects announce their positions so hastily when they themselves had saints who were revived too?
Yao Ancestor noticed Du Gang’s bewilderment and with laughter, shared, “It’s the lingering prestige of the Five Supremes.”
“Those God Kings, most of whom hadn’t experienced the era of the Supremes, revered them to a lesser extent.”
“However, saints and founders of the martial sects who had lived through such an era held deep respect and fear for ‘Supremes’. These people knew that going against the Supremes’ wishes was courting disaster. Also, with each of the five regions having a powerhouse left by a Supreme, it added another layer to their fears.”
“Are they afraid of me?”
Du Gang gave a start. He hadn’t imagined a day like this was possible.
“Hehe!”
The Yao Ancestor laughed. “Don’t underestimate yourself. Even though you are at the Celestial God level now, I estimate that once you consolidate the powers from the Southern Wilderness, you’d be able to break through to the God King level…”
He didn’t dare complete the sentence.
Even though he was aware that the saints and wise men held Du Gang in high esteem — blindly so, in fact — they had personally experienced the pain of not being able to advance to the level of a saint, despite struggling for billions of years. Therefore, they didn’t dare take Du Gang’s chances of advancing to the level of a saint lightly.
However, Du Gang felt a bit elated inside.
To him, strength was the root of all. With the Southern Wilderness offering him the power from the entire continent, he felt invincible.
“When do we start?!”
He was eager to seize the moment.
The Yao Ancestor shrugged, “Normally right after you exited Heavenly Court, you would straightaway go to a place prepared for you to absorb energy and improve your cultivation level. However, there are still some people in the world who dissent, raising objections.”
Objection?
Du Gang narrowed his eyes, “What objection?”
He wanted to know who dared to act in this way under the watch of saints and sages.
The Yao Ancestor laughed, “It’s actually quite funny. It’s not that they’re exploiting the weak with their strength, but rather just a few individuals at the same Celestial God Level as you who want to compete with you to see if you’re really worthy of receiving the support of the entire region.”
Upon hearing that it was a group of Celestial God Level opponents, Du Gang relaxed instantly. If the saints and sages didn’t dare to cause trouble, the Celestial Gods stood no chance.”
At that point, Yao Ancestor laughed again, “Don’t celebrate just yet. The saints in our Southern Wilderness have agreed to their challenge!”
“These saints have even greater confidence in you than you do in yourself!”
“They are absolutely certain that you will win. They not only accepted their challenge but also declared that any Celestial God who can defeat you can replace you and enjoy the benefits of the resources that were meant for you!”
What?!
Du Gang was stunned, finding this hard to believe. “Isn’t this too childish? After all, I’m the backup plan of Supreme Pangu, and they…”
The Yao Ancestor just shrugged, spreading his hands, “Can’t do anything about it, who made the saints have so much faith in you?”
Du Gang’s mouth twitched. We haven’t even met face to face and you guys decided everything on my behalf?!
How about faith in me?!
He could only respond with resignation: “How large is the entirety of Southern Wilderness, and how many powerful beings are at the Celestial God level? Can I really take them all on?!”
“Hahaha!”
Yao Ancestor let out a hearty laugh. “You don’t need to worry about that, the saints already started planning a competition to select only the strongest contenders since you entered Heavenly Court. They’ve handpicked formidable opponents for you in order to settle on your final challengers!”
“Rest assured, in the end, only the three strongest will have a chance to defeat you. These three are acknowledged by all other Celestial Gods as the strongest!”
Yao Ancestor said all this with an air of gloating, “In that case, once you’ve defeated the three of them, you can silence any doubts in everyone’s minds.”
“You will then be guiltless in appropriating the resources of the Southern Wilderness!”
Du Gang found himself at a loss for words. He had only just advanced to the level of a Celestial God!
“Are those guys all at the peak of the Celestial God level?!”
He felt like he had asked a stupid question, but couldn’t help it due to the suddenness of events.
“Yes!”
Du Gang felt resigned. By the looks of it, he had to fight, whether he wanted to or not.
He shook his head, “Fine, let’s do this. Once I stabilize my state of cultivation and reach the peak of the Celestial God level, I won’t be afraid of them…”
As he finished, he turned to ask, “By the way, did the saints mention when I’m supposed to fight them?”
The Yao Ancestor smiled mischievously, “Now!”