69: Chapter 69: Willow God and Nine Nether Hound have a candlelit talk at night, together comprehending the original true meaning.

"Hoo!"

Willow Deity stood there quietly under the willow tree, though her true face could not be clearly seen.

But that transcendent, ethereal, and sacred aura made Wang Teng, who was in the Zhanwo Realm and had seen countless beauties, stare in a daze at this moment.

Saintess Yue Chan's beauty was that of a cold and arrogant immortal;

The Witch's beauty was that of a charming and lively demon;

The Ruthless Empress's (paper boat aura) beauty was that of an obsession with talent through the ages.

And the beauty of this Willow Deity before him... was tolerance, was nirvana, was sacred.

It was the endurance after surviving ten thousand calamities, the composure after witnessing the vicissitudes of life.

"Too beautiful..."

Wang Teng muttered subconsciously.

He stood up, even forgetting to circulate his divine power to protect his body, and walked down the flying ship step by step.

As if having received some sacred calling, he arrived at the village entrance.

At this moment, that peerless goddess also slowly turned around.

Although her face was still obscured by that layer of faint immortal mist, Wang Teng could clearly feel it.

There was a pair of eyes full of wisdom and peace, gazing at him.

"You have come."

Her voice was no longer the Dao sound from the daytime that could not distinguish between male and female.

Instead, it had turned into an extremely pleasant, ethereal female voice, like a clear spring flowing through the heart, like a breeze brushing over a hillside.

There was no pressure in this voice, only a sense of intimacy that made one want to pour out everything.

"Junior Wang Teng greets... big sister Willow Deity."

Wang Teng took a deep breath, calming the agitation in his heart.

He was a daring person; this "big sister" came out extremely naturally and was also extremely bold.

If anyone else dared to call an Immortal King Titan that, they would likely have been beaten to dust long ago.

But Willow Deity was not angry.

The immortal mist covering her face fluctuated slightly, as if she were... smiling?

"Big sister, is it..."

"This form of address has not been heard for a long time.

The last time someone called me that, it seems it was back in that... era that has already been buried."

Willow Deity raised her hand gently.

Following her movement, the surrounding light clusters of the three thousand divine kingdoms pulsed, scattering light rain across the sky.

Turning this small world into a fairyland on earth.

She was barefoot, her feet crystal clear like jade, stepping lightly on the void, walking step by step to Wang Teng.

Closer.

Closer still.

Wang Teng could even smell the faint fragrance of grass and trees on her, the most original scent of life; taking a breath of it could extend one's life.

"I have taken this form because I wanted to take a good look at you."

Willow Deity extended a jade finger, slender like a scallion, and tapped gently on Wang Teng's brow—exactly where the World-Destroying Mark was located.

"Sss..."

The grey vertical mark on Wang Teng's brow lit up instantly, and a tyrannical aura of annihilation tried to counterattack.

But under Willow Deity's gentle fingertip, it instantly became like a docile kitten, suppressed back into the depths.

"The ancestor of the Nine-Nether Ao... that old man."

Willow Deity's voice carried a hint of reminiscence and solemnity:

"Back then, I once exchanged a gaze with him across the Boundary Sea.

"He is very strong, strong enough to make the Immortal Domain despair.

"But I did not expect that in this lower realm, someone could awaken his bloodline and still maintain their original heart without being extinguished."

Willow Deity withdrew her finger, her eyes hidden behind the mist, carefully examining Wang Teng's face:

"Wang Teng, do you know that you are currently walking a tightrope over a ten-thousand-foot abyss?"

"Although this power is strong, it is also a poison.

"It will slowly erode your soul, turning you into a dark creature that only knows how to kill, eventually becoming a puppet of that old man."

Wang Teng looked at the goddess within arm's reach, feeling the concern in her words.

He smiled.

He smiled arrogantly, yet openly.

"Big sister Willow Deity, you underestimate me too much."

Wang Teng pointed to his own heart:

"Power is dead, but people are alive.

"If I cannot even suppress a mere bloodline, how can I talk about overturning this chessboard?"

"And..."

Wang Teng looked at Willow Deity's hazy, peerless figure, a burning light flashing in his eyes:

"Seeing big sister looking so peerless today.

"I suddenly feel that, in order not to become that kind of ugly monster, in order to be able to continue admiring such beautiful scenery..."

"I must also live well, living more clearly and more brilliantly than anyone else.

"After all, if I became a madman who only knows how to kill, wouldn't that be rude to a beauty?"

These words carried Wang Teng's characteristic teasing and lack of seriousness, yet they also revealed an extremely firm Dao heart.

Willow Deity was stunned for a moment.

Over the long years, the number of people who have seen her true form could be counted on one hand; Wang Teng was definitely the first to dare to speak to her like this.

"You little fellow, you are quite glib."

The next moment, Willow Deity slowly extended her jade hand, and a divine object flew out from her soft hands.

A piece of lustrous, white, and warm primitive precious bone.

It was the supreme treasure recording the "Primitive True Records · Divine Guidance Chapter".

This precious bone, driven by Willow Deity's divine power, was slowly rotating.

Countless ancient, simple, and even somewhat rough primitive runes flew out from the bone piece.

Like golden butterflies, dancing gracefully around the two of them.

"All laws are void; only the Dao is eternal."

Willow Deity's ethereal and pleasant voice echoed in this small space:

"Wang Teng, although you have now entered the Zhanwo Realm and possess the two Ten Fiends precious techniques of the Nine-Nether Ao and the Kunpeng, your combat power is unparalleled.

"But in my opinion, your Dao is too 'complex'."

Willow Deity extended a hand as white as jade and tapped lightly in the void.

The simplest golden rune lit up, turning into an extremely ordinary small axe, which drifted lightly towards Wang Teng.

"Complex?"

Wang Teng raised an eyebrow. His unyielding spirit flared up.

"My method is to devour the heavens, to attack with extreme speed; it is complex because it encompasses everything!"

Wang Teng raised his hand, the grey light of annihilation flowing at his fingertips, instantly evolving into nine shrunken Nine-Nether Ao dragon tails.

Carrying an earth-shattering momentum, they met that small golden axe.

However, a shocking scene occurred.

Those Nine-Nether Ao dragon tails that seemed capable of shattering mountains.

When they touched that simple, unadorned small axe, it was as if a complex knot had met a sharp blade.

"Pfft!"

The dragon tails instantly disintegrated, turning into scattered runes.

And the small axe, its momentum undiminished, stopped steadily three inches in front of Wang Teng's brow.

"This..."

Wang Teng's pupils constricted sharply.

He saw it clearly.

The small axe did not have much power; it was just... precise.

It precisely cut into the weakest node of the Nine-Nether Ao precious technique, using the most effortless way to deconstruct the most complex attack.

"This is the profound meaning of the 'Primitive True Records'—turning decay into magic, returning to simplicity."

Willow Deity withdrew her hand, and the small axe turned back into a rune, returning to dance at her fingertips:

"The Ten Fiends precious techniques are certainly powerful, but that is the extreme of 'technique', not the source of 'Dao'.

"If you rely too much on bloodline talent, it is like a child holding a peerless divine weapon; although you can cut people, you do not understand the principles of the sword.

"Once you encounter a powerhouse who truly understands the 'principles', or if your bloodline power is exhausted, you will be vulnerable."

Wang Teng fell silent.

He sat cross-legged there, staring at that primitive precious bone, the dark golden double pupils in his eyes spinning frantically.

He began to re-deduce the seemingly simple combat diagrams on it.

Before, when looking at the "Primitive True Records", he only thought it was a basic textbook and dismissed it.

Now, under Willow Deity's guidance, and combining it with his own Zhanwo Realm cultivation to look back...

Boom! His sea of consciousness seemed to explode.

How could that be a basic textbook?

That was clearly an anatomical diagram of the Dao!

Those rocs, suanni, and even unknown ferocious beasts, every time they lunged, every time they bit.

They all contained the most original trajectory of power in heaven and earth.

"I understand..."

A flash of realization crossed Wang Teng's eyes; he raised his head, looking at the pair of wise eyes opposite him:

"What I need to do is not addition, but subtraction.

"Dismantle the devouring of the Nine-Nether Ao and the extreme speed of the Kunpeng, and integrate them into these simplest runes.

"When I can also use a single blade of grass to slay the sun, moon, and stars, that is when I will be truly... strong!"

"You are teachable."

Willow Deity nodded slightly, a satisfied arc curving at the corners of her mouth beneath the veil.