The Plumed Serpent God’s eyes narrowed slightly upon hearing this, and only after a long while did he shake his head with furrowed brows. “I’m afraid I don’t know, and I can’t search for an answer, either. If the Heavenly Dao discovers that I’ve retained autonomy, then even you could be implicated,” he said in a cunning manner. “The Heavenly Dao is paying very close attention to the subject that you want to know about. I have a feeling that if I actively try to investigate this matter, or even think about prying into it, They would immediately find out.”
Then what use do I have for you?
Qin Ye cast a disapproving glance toward him, then said, “In that case, let’s talk about the treasure vault.”
Wait, didn’t you just say we’ll talk about the treasure vault later? I guess I should’ve known better…
The Plumed Serpent God didn’t dare to voice any of these complaints, and instead, he said, “At the center of the Caribbean Sea is an island that’ll only rise up from the sea during a full moon, and the locals refer to it as the Dream Island. You need three men and a woman to represent the four main gods of the four suns, and at the center of the island is an abandoned divine altar. Get the for people to stand around the altar and utter the names of the four gods of wind, water, rain, and fire, while you stand at the very center to represent the sun god, and the gates of the treasure vault will be opened up to you.”
“It’s that simple?” Qin Ye asked with furrowed brows.
The Plumed Serpent God shook his head in response. “No, the fifth person has to fulfill a very specific set of criteria. They can’t be dead, nor alive, and they have to belong to the local religion, possessing traits similar to the fifth sun god. That person will be the key to opening the gate.”
That sounds like an impossible role to fill… Hold on!
Qin Ye’s eyes abruptly lit up as he thought of his own alternate identity as Dax.
That was a complete match for all of the traits that the Plumed Serpent God had just described!
“Looks like you really did learn some things during your time as one with the Heavenly Dao.”
The Plumed Serpent God smiled and replied, “The new continent is the place of my origin, so I’ll naturally pay extra attention to it.”
“So what do you want?” Qin Ye asked. “Surely you didn’t perform this divine descent just to present this gift.”
Silence.
Several seconds later, the Plumed Serpent God sighed, “I do have something to ask of you. Truth be told, even if you hadn’t said anything, I would’ve offered up the treasure vault anyway. All that I ask is that once you gain control over the treasure vault, you give me one of the swords stored within it.”
Qin Ye didn’t say anything. Instead, he merely stared directly at the Plumed Serpent God in silence. It was clear that this proposal wouldn’t be enough to tempt Qin Ye unless all of the details were revealed.
The Plumed Serpent God fell silent again, and only after a long while did he make up his mind as he gritted his teeth and said, “Seeing as you’ve met Tezcatlipoca, you must be aware of our plan to kill Cipactli. As a result of that, you may have developed some misunderstandings toward me. In reality, the legends aren’t entirely accurate…”
“I have no interest in hearing about your personal differences,” Qin Ye said. “Continue.”
The Plumed Serpent God hesitated momentarily, then continued, “The fifth sun god possessed the power of all of the gods of the Aztec religion. With that power, we were able to propel the body of Cipactli up into the heavens so that it could act as the sun. The sword that I want is the sword that our parent god forged for the fifth sun god. In other words, it’s a sword that contains the power of all of the gods of the Aztec religion! If I can obtain the sword, I’ll be able to completely free myself from the Heavenly Dao, becoming a religion representative that the Heavenly Dao is unable to restrict!”
His voice had already become extremely excited, and Qin Ye suddenly asked, “Why didn’t you ask our Cathayan Underworld to help you secure that sword from the very beginning?”
The Plumed Serpent God sighed in response. “That’s because my body wasn’t able to handle the sword back then. After consuming the blood of a divinity, it took me 10 years of hibernation to fully digest it, and only now do I even dare to consider this option.”
“I see.” Qin Ye nodded in response. “I can help you here.”
“Trust me, the treasures in that vault definitely won’t disappoint you! Tezcatlipoca is also frantically trying to get into the vault, and he also wants that sword. As long as you give the sword to me, you can have everything else in the vault!”
“Alright, is there anything else you need to speak to me about?” Qin Ye asked.
“That’s all. I look forward to your success.” The Plumed Serpent God extended a deep bow before vanishing from the room as countless specks of white light.
Thus, the cabin fell silent again.
Qin Ye held his teacup and took a small sip, then gave a faint chuckle.
There was no way that he was going to give that sword to the Plumed Serpent God.
If the Plumed Serpent God were telling the truth, then that sword represented a religion, and the Heavenly Dao was unable to imprison representatives of religions, so They would be forced to release him. In that case, if he were to present that sword to the Plumed Serpent God, wouldn’t he become the main god of the Aztec religion, the true fifth sun god?
This wasn’t just a sword, it was a symbol of power over an entire religion, and it was a perfect toy for Dax!
At this moment, he didn’t necessarily need the Plumed Serpent God as he could invest in Tezcatlipoca as well. However, truth be told, he didn’t want to invest in either of them.
With the identity of Dax at his disposal, why would he invest in someone else?
However, there was no hurry to complete this task.
13 days later, the international trade conference was going to resume on the island of Formosa, and that was by far his main priority right now.
He had to decide whether to advance toward the sea or to rise up to explore the heavens, and in order to determine that, he needed the second King Yanluo to provide him with an answer.
Time passed by very quickly, and half an hour later, the ship finally drew to a halt.
Qin Ye cast his gaze forward with a grim expression. On the previous occasion he had visited the world’s gate, he hadn’t even gotten to see what it looked like. On this occasion, he was able to witness it in its full glory, but he still couldn’t see it clearly.
An inky-black light barrier was stretching up into the heavens, and its surface was riddled with countless crimson runes. Even for him, just seeing the light barrier from afar was making his eyes throb with pain.
Outside the light barrier were countless small warships, and as soon as their ship emerged, around a dozen of those small warships had already surrounded it.
However, the warships didn’t try to impede them, and that was most likely because Napoleon had already recorded his Yin energy during his last visit. Despite this, he still wasn’t granted passage through the world’s gate, so Qin Ye had no choice but to wait while his arrival was reported to those inside the gate. Meanwhile, the ship arrived in a city that he had never visited, and one that hadn’t ever been included on any map before, either.
“So this is the city of Makran.” Around half an hour later, Qin Ye was seated on the top floor of the most luxurious hotel of this city that he hadn’t ever heard of before, and he was inspecting the cityscape around down below.
This was a prosperous city that wasn’t any less impressive than Ashmound.
It had clearly already been developing for many years, and buildings representative of western cultures were littered throughout the city. It was like taking a stroll through Sydney in the mortal realm, except the plants were different.
“Are you sure this city can’t be found on any maps?” he asked.
“I’ve double-checked, and that is indeed the case,” Qian Duolai replied from behind Qin Ye.
Qin Ye nodded in response before sweeping his gaze across all of the netherworldly citizens down below. Every single one of them was giving off a pronounced sense of killing intent.
He was certain that these were all Yin soldiers who had fought on actual battlefields in the past. It seemed that all of the netherworldly citizens of this city were either Yin soldiers or retired Yin soldiers!
Furthermore, this city was clearly an important military stronghold, and every single street had been carefully designed. The city had three sets of city walls, dividing the city up into an outer, middle, and inner section, and many Yin soldiers were patrolling along the top of each city wall.
However, the city had everything that one would find in a normal city, and even this hotel had been constructed in an extremely luxurious style.
There was a mural of an angel and a demon drawn on the roof overhead, and several resplendent chandeliers were also hanging down from above. Every single stone pillar and door in the surrounding area had been constructed with clear renaissance-era influences, giving them an elegant yet solemn appearance.
The carpet was red, and the Bohemian designs embroidered onto it were very beautiful to behold. There were even violinists for hire, and they only cost one Yin jade per performance.
There were no national currencies here, Yin jade was the only currency in use. It was as if this place were completely detached from the rest of the world and didn’t follow any of the world’s rules.
Right at this moment, a shadow was cast in front of Qin Ye, and he turned around to find that the second King Yanluo had already taken a seat across from him. Following along behind him was a server that was holding a menu with a fawning look on his face.
“You can order.” The second King Yanluo was looking a little frail, and there were even dark rings around his eyes, giving him an exhausted appearance. The server immediately handed the menu over to Qin Ye.
Qin Ye took a look at the menu to find that he didn’t recognize even a single dish on it!
“I’ll let you do the honors.” He cleared his throat in a slightly awkward manner as he handed the menu over to the second King Yanluo.
The second King Yanluo’s brows furrowed slightly as he took the menu from Qin Ye, then glanced at it before quickly rattling off a total of seven dishes, while the server took notes.
Qin Ye was very pleased to see the second King Yanluo ordering so few dishes, but he put on a fake display of generosity as he said, “Is that all? Surely that’s not enough for the two of us! How about we order some more? Let’s add a bottle of juice!”
The second King Yanluo handed the menu back to the server as he said, “Ignore him, that’s all we’ll order.”
The server extended a respectful bow, then asked with a smile, “Are we following the usual rules?”
“That’s right.”
“Don’t be like that! it’s not every day that I get to treat you to a meal, so feel free to order away! I’ll foot the bill,” Qin Ye insisted.
The server glanced at the menu before departing. “Alright, so I’ll bring on one of every dish beside these seven.”
What the fuck?!
Qin Ye almost fell out of his chair as he stared at the second King Yanluo as if he had seen a ghost.
You can do that?! How could you be so cruel?! I’m never treating you to another meal ever again!
As Qin Ye was staring at the second King Yanluo with an appalled expression, the second King Yanluo was also looking right back at him, and Qin Ye was starting to grow a little uncomfortable from the prolonged eye contact. “Don’t look at me like that, I don’t swing that way!”
“Shut up!” The second King Yanluo aimed a vicious glare at him before asking, “Did you encounter anything strange on the way here?”
Qin Ye’s smile immediately faded, and he nodded in response before providing a recount of what had just happened.
“I see.” The second King Yanluo sighed as he swiped a finger across Qin Ye’s glabella. “It even managed to leave a mark on you… Has another opening appeared on the defensive circle?”
In that instant, Qin Ye felt something that he hadn’t detected before drifting out of his body.
There was clearly no sensation at all, but after that thing exited his body, he suddenly felt more refreshed and relaxed.
“Did something just plant its seed in me without my consent?”
“… That is essentially what’s happened, but why does your wording feel so awkward?”
“That’s not the point!” Qin Ye activated his “that’s not the point” interjection skill as he asked, “What exactly is that thing? Is it an alien?”
