(MC POV)
As much as I would like to wait for all my disciples to wake before I head out, I had a premonition that I would be stuck here for the rest of the day if they were to see me around.
Considering the fact that I don't intend to stay in that World any longer than I need to anymore, I decided to head there myself instead.
Iris would also stay behind with Cai Hong this time and Akari wasn't coming with me either.
In case you were wondering, I wasn't the one who sent Akari away. Somehow, Shiori knew her sister had returned and appeared out of nowhere to drag her back to the Sanctuary.
The white fox even apologised for her sister's rudeness before dragging the crying fox away with her.
I wasn't sure if Shiori was holding it in or if she really wasn't affected by the mating season with how nonchalant she was acting.
I didn't get a chance to ask about the Qilin before she left either.
Thus, I was preparing to teleport back to that World again when I felt a nudge on my back.
Turning back, I found the Qilin looking up at me with its usual look that meant it wanted me to ride its back.
Hmm… Maybe it sensed my desire and wanted to lead me to the resistance Gods?
Well, worst case scenario, I can just use my own omniscience to find where they are anyway.
I climbed on the Qilin's back and it gave a happy snort before leaping in the air.
Eh? Where is it going?
At first I thought the Qilin was just going to fly through the air to bring me somewhere within this World, but my expectations were overturned literally when it did a loop in the sky. It flew upside down for a moment before plummeting towards the back of the mountain, heading straight for the river where we had first met it.
With me still on its back, it plunged into the water, breaking through its surface without even causing a splash like the water was an illusion.
I blinked once and in the very next moment, the Qilin was leaping out of the water, appearing in a cavern that was unfamiliar to me.
The first thing I noticed was the fact that we were not the only ones inside the cavern.
The next thing I realised was that this 'cavern' was in fact a bathroom of sorts with the steam all around the cave and the fact that there were multiple girls standing around wrapped up in towels or sitting naked in the water that the Qilin just leapt out of.
I was fully expecting all the girls to start screaming but surprisingly, all of them got on a knee and bowed their heads.
"We greet the All Creator!"
Oh… So the Qilin really did lead me to the resistance.
Though was it really necessary to have us appear in what I appear to be their bathroom?
Honestly though, I almost thought that it had brought me to a different World instead when this group of goddesses were behaving so differently as compared to Aesi's group.
I even had to resort to omniscience to double check that we were indeed in the same World before realising these were the gods that made up the resistance.
Getting down from the Qilin I quickly waved my hand at the group of ten or so kneeling goddesses, "Arise."
What? They look so serious so I thought they would be expecting a serious response too! How else was I supposed to say it?
Everyone obeyed, none of them even showing concern at their lack of clothing.
One of them stepped forward and I recognised her as the girl I had met on the streets, the one who had decapitated that old man who tried to attack us.
If I remember correctly, she introduced herself as the dragon goddess Tianya.
"We meet again, All Creator," She bowed her head in greeting. "I must apologise for the poor reception as we were unaware of your visit… I hope you can forgive us."
"It's no big deal. Is there somewhere I can wait for all of you to finish your… Business?"
"Yes, if All Creator would follow me, I can show you to our common room."
She led the way out of the cavern while robes started to appear out of thin air to wrap around her body, clothing her in less than a second.
The other goddesses bowed their heads on our way out, none of them behaving like Aesi and those goddesses with her.
Moving out of the cavern, she started leading the Qilin and me through a tunnel that had no sources of light, something that wasn't a problem to beings like us.
Deciding to strike up a conversation, I asked, "Are you the leader of this resistance?"
"Yes, All Creator. I was one of the Administrators of this World before the mortals overthrew us. Thus I lead the resistance to attempt to claim it back from them."
"I take it things have not been going well?"
"Truth be told… It was not until only recently. We are few in number while the mortals are able to steal the divinity of the Gods they have captured and grow their own number of Divines. Every God we lose to the mortals only makes them stronger while our own numbers dwindle."
"I guess that's why you're restricted to using guerilla tactics against them?"
"Yes. We target high profile targets like that ancestor All Creator had helped us draw out the other day. With his elimination, that family could also be targeted by other mortals seeking to increase their own power and create chaos, allowing us to strike at even more targets at lower risk to us."
"And how has that been working out?"
"The Gou family that we hit is now under pressure from the other Divine Families. The loss of an ancestor is a really big blow and they have been trying to hide it. But since we did it in public, the other families are aware of this and would definitely take advantage of that. Coincidentally, there will be a competition today amongst the Divine Families taking place and everyone is expected to attend. We are intending to strike there when the families are busy attacking each other."
Err… What perfect timing? I guess I'll be joining in to watch the show then.
"Are you not going to question why I am here?" I asked.
She paused in her step to tilt her head at me, "Why would I question All Creator's intentions? There is nothing that All Creator cannot do… Is there?"
Err… I dunno but if someone were to suddenly appear in my bath out of nowhere, I would have a lot of questions for them at least?
You know what… Let's just roll with it… At least they aren't jumping on me like Aesi did, which I consider to be a big plus already.
Still… I never thought that I would find this group actually living in a cave while hiding from the mortals.
