Gu Hai and Jiang Lianshan looked at each other coldly. The sixty-four hexagrams and the Thirty-Four Line-Pair World Ritual Array readied their attacks. An intense battle threatened to break out at the slightest trigger.
The Supreme Ascendant and Heavenly Access stood between the two sides, trying to mediate between them while remaining neutral.
The Scarlet Emperor, the White Emperor, and the Flame Monarch stood behind Jiang Lianshan. Only Kong Xuan stood behind Gu Hai.
“Zombie One, if they attack again, kill them, no matter who it is!” The Supreme Wa glared as she pointed at Jiang Lianshan’s group.
“Yes!” the zombie leader answered.
At this moment, the Supreme Wa took Gu Hai’s side. If a fight broke out, then so be it.
“White Emperor, Scarlet Emperor, Flame Monarch, protect Murong Yan. I will hold you responsible if anything happens to Murong Yan!” Jiang Lianshan commanded coldly.
“Yes!” the three answered.
“Oh? You care so much about that beauty? Who was the one that wanted to disfigure me earlier? Zombie One, go disfigure her face!” The Supreme Wa pointed at Murong Yan while glaring.
“How dare you?!” Jiang Lianshan and the Flame Monarch roared simultaneously.
Boom! Zombie One left behind an afterimage as it charged Murong Yan.
“How audacious!” Jiang Lianshan’s expression turned cold as he threw a palm strike.
“Ritual array activate!” Gu Hai glared and waved his Life Trapper Saber.
Buzz!
The stars’ sparkle dimmed as they formed a Disintegration Beam.
Whoosh!
The Disintegration Beam shot at Jiang Lianshan.
“Be careful!” the Supreme Ascendant warned anxiously as he threw a palm strike at Zombie One.
Boom! A powerful ripple spread out in space along with a loud report as the two palm strikes maintained a stalemate.
“What?!” the Supreme Ascendant exclaimed, his face sinking.
While using only half his strength, the Supreme Ascendant had drawn a tie with Zombie One. However, this was only one island guard.
The Disintegration Beam approached Jiang Lianshan nearly instantaneously.
“Zombie One, come back!” the Supreme Wa shouted.
Whoosh!
Zombie One quickly retreated.
The Supreme Ascendant, Heavenly Access, and the Future Buddha quickly retreated too.
“Humph!” Jiang Lianshan let out a cold snort as he waved his hand. The sixty-four hexagrams soared up.
Zap!
The sixty-four hexagrams instantly melted away, turning into golden smoke and vanishing. This consumed most of the Disintegration Beam, but a portion continued toward Jiang Lianshan.
“What?” Jiang Lianshan’s face sank as he hastily dodged.
Sizzle! Sizzle! Sizzle!
The Disintegration Beam struck the sea and disintegrated boundless seawater as it shot to the core.
Buzz!
Gu Hai moved his Life Trapper Saber again, arranging another thousand-odd stars. An intense murderous intent pressed on Jiang Lianshan.
“The Thirty-Four Line-Pair World Ritual Array?” Jiang Lianshan’s face darkened.
“It destroyed the sixty-four hexagrams. That is something that can trap even the Six Paths Veritable Lord! How? How…!” the Scarlet Emperor exclaimed while goggling.
Whoosh!
Jiang Lianshan waved, and another set of sixty-four hexagrams appeared. However, it was no longer the golden color it was before but crimson.
“Hah! Gu Hai, you hid your skills even more deeply than Ji Dihong did!” Jiang Lianshan said with a frosty expression.
“We never hid anything. Your information is just not up to date,” Gu Hai said coldly.
The Supreme Ascendant returned, standing between the two sides once more. “We can’t keep fighting among ourselves. If we hurt each other, it will only allow the Six Paths Veritable Lord to take advantage.”
However, Gu Hai and Jiang Lianshan ignored the Supreme Ascendant.
Just at this moment, a strong gust blew in from a distance.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Four figures arrived amid the wind, kicking up overwhelming waves in the surroundings.
Jiang Lianshan and Gu Hai, who were facing off, immediately stopped. They kept their guard up as they turned to the four sudden new arrivals.
As the wind died down, the four figures stopped before everyone.
There were three men and one woman with anxious expressions.
Sect Master Supreme Ascendant’s eyes suddenly lit up. “Supreme Ascendant greets the four divine envoys!”
“Future Buddha greets the four divine envoys!” The Future Buddha bowed immediately.
“Divine envoys?” Jiang Lianshan raised his eyebrows.
However, Gu Hai felt startled as he recognized the three men among the four divine envoys.
“Ensnaring Performance? Purple Subtlety? Longevity?” Gu Hai said in shock.
“Huh?” The three men frowned at Gu Hai dubiously.
The three looked like Ensnaring Performance, Purple Subtlety, and Longevity, the heaven-grade zither and brushes. However, they had burly figures, somewhat different from before.
“Who are you?” the man who looked like Ensnaring Performance asked coldly.
“You don’t recognize me?” Gu Hai frowned slightly.
Ensnaring Performance, Purple Subtlety, and Longevity exchanged glances, suspicion flashing in their eyes.
“Humph! Brat, you know me?” Purple Subtlety asked.
“We previously captured a few people and interrogated them. However, they made nonsensical claims. Do you really come from eight hundred thousand years in the future?” Longevity asked gravely.
Gu Hai felt slightly startled. It looked like these were not the three that he knew. However, as they looked very similar, there had to be a connection.
“This is the painting you gave me in the future. See if it is familiar?” Gu Hai handed over a beast-skin parchment to Longevity.
Longevity felt slightly startled as he received the proffered painting. The others turned their heads to look.
“Everyone, this painting is not a good thing to look at. Do not peek. Otherwise, suffer the consequences yourself.” Gu Hai immediately warned them.
“Humph! Who would believe you?” Hetu glared skeptically, then turned his head to look.
He saw a painting of an egg.
“An egg?” Hetu felt slightly startled.
Whoosh!
The egg in the painting suddenly rushed into Longevity’s body, making him tremble.
“This is my lifeforce law?” Divine Envoy Longevity said in shock.
“Argh! Argh! My belly! What’s wrong with my belly?!” Hetu suddenly cried out.
Hetu’s abdomen slowly enlarged.
The expressions of Kong Xuan, Jiang Lianshan, Heavenly Access, the Scarlet Emperor, the White Emperor, and the Flame Monarch congealed. They had guessed what had happened. After all, Gu Hai had used a painting to make all the cultural sages pregnant. Everyone in the world knew that.
“Argh! Milady, save me! There’s something in my belly! Save me!” Hetu exhorted with horror on his face.
“Gu Hai, what’s happening to him?” the Supreme Wa asked worriedly.
“I warned him earlier not to look. However, he refused to listen, so he is pregnant now,” Gu Hai explained.
Sect Master Supreme Ascendant: “…”
Hetu: “…”
The Future Buddha: “…”
Everyone suddenly stiffened. Did I hear wrong?
Only Divine Envoy Longevity frowned slightly. “The workings of lifeforce, endless and never ceasing?”
Hetu sent his consciousness into his body and verified this fact. What the heck! It’s true! There really is a little Hetu in my belly?
“I-I’m genderless! How can I be pregnant? Divine Envoy Longevity, save me! Save me!” Hetu rushed agitatedly towards Divine Envoy Longevity.
Longevity extended his hand and waved.
Buzz!
Longevity pulled out lush-green energy and brought it into his body.
“This is the law that I control. Are you truly people from eight hundred thousand years in the future?” Longevity frowned.
Purple Subtlety and Ensnaring Performance gave Gu Hai strange looks. Only the face of the fourth person, the woman, sank. “Longevity, don’t jump to absurd conclusions.”
“Huh?” Longevity frowned slightly.
“Greetings, Lady Supreme Wa!” the female divine envoy greeted with a bow.
“Divine Envoy Houtu? Why are you all here at my All Magnificent Island?” the Supreme Wa asked.
“We came to ask Mister Fuxi for help with something. Who are these people?” Houtu asked.
“They want to meet my elder brother, too, and are trying to barge in. You came at a good time. My elder brother is in closed-door cultivation. Can I trouble you all to help me chase them away?” The Supreme Wa pointed to Jiang Lianshan and the others.
“Humph! We will leave immediately after meeting Fuxi!” the Scarlet Emperor shouted.
Hetu had just suffered and felt incredible hatred towards Gu Hai and the others.
“Divine Envoy Houtu, they are all demons. They killed three Six Paths Veritable Lords! You have to capture them!” Hetu said anxiously.
“Oh?” The four Divine Envoys’ faces sank as they raised their guard.
Despite how strong the Six Paths Veritable Lord is, they killed three?
“Everyone, if I guess right, your four esteemed selves should be Heaven’s envoys who maintain peace in the world, four of the five divine beasts that monitor the world?” Gu Hai said seriously.
“Little fellow, you are quite knowledgable?” Ensnaring Performance smiled suddenly.
“However, that is just for the present. According to the history that we know, Heaven died one year later. Aside from the black cat, the four of you fell. Oh? No, I think Houtu did not fall,” Gu Hai said with a startled expression. He suddenly recalled there seemed to be a Lady Houtu in the nether realm eight hundred thousand years in the future.
“How audacious!” The four immediately glared at Gu Hai. However, worry flashed in their eyes.
“Divine Envoys, these people are just spewing lies and misleading others. Don’t listen to him!” Hetu yelled.
The divine envoys were furious, but Houtu raised her hand and said, “Alright. We have proper matters to attend to.”
The expressions of Ensnaring Performance, Purple Subtlety, and Longevity calmed down as they nodded.
“Supreme Wa, we came here with an urgent matter to ask Fuxi. Why is he in closed-door cultivation?” Houtu frowned.
“Elder Brother said that this session in closed-door cultivation was critical. Even if the sky falls, no one is to interrupt him.” The Supreme Wa shook her head.
“What should we do, then?” Ensnaring Performance asked anxiously.
“Why are you looking for my elder brother?” the Supreme Wa asked.
“Tianyun is missing,” Houtu replied after a deep breath.
“Oh?”
“Tianyun suddenly said some strange things ten days ago. Then, we could no longer contact it. We failed to find it after searching for ten days. We are worried that something happened to it.” Houtu frowned.
“Oh? Tianyun? That cat?” Gu Hai’s expression changed.
“What strange things did it say?” the Supreme Wa asked.
“It said that someone was trying to kill Heaven, that the Six Paths Veritable Lord tricked everyone, and that creating a world was a trap,” Houtu replied gravely.
“Divine Envoy Tianyun said that?” the Supreme Wa exclaimed in shock.
“That’s impossible. Why would Envoy Tianyun say such things?” Hetu said skeptically.
“We have searched everywhere these past days and found some strange people. However, their words were too preposterous. Nevertheless, we can’t ignore Tianyun’s disappearance. That’s why we came to ask Fuxi to help divine Tianyun’s whereabouts,” Houtu said.
“He probably got silenced by the Six Paths Veritable Lord.” Kong Xuan frowned.
“Huh?” The four divine envoys glared at Kong Xuan.
“Humph! More likely killed by you demons!” Hetu also glared.
The Supreme Wa’s expression changed. “I can’t help with Divine Envoy Tianyun’s matter, but locating it might be possible.”
“Oh?”
“Hetu can divine the future. By using my Universe Cauldron, perhaps he can divine Divine Envoy Tianyun’s location. Furthermore, we can also attempt to divine the future to see if the Six Paths Veritable Lord kills Heaven one year later,” the Supreme Wa said.
“That’s right! I can make divinations. Rest assured. With the Universe Cauldron giving me a boost, I can reveal the truth to you!” Hetu said, his face lighting up in excitement.
Hey everyone, it saddens me to say that I'm going to have to reduce the release rate of EIF further as I'm finding keeping up quite difficult. However, lowering EIF to 5 chapters a week has been part of the plans anyway, and in exchange I will increase the release rates to 7 chapters a week. So what difference does that make? Toolate is easier to translate and slightly shorter, making it easier to keep up with. Anyway, I'm feeling slightly burned out too, and the lack of an income has also been demoralizing. So I'll be sticking to 5 chapters a week for both EIF and TOOLATE for a month or two, then I will bump TOOLATE to 7 chapters/week after some rest.
