Chapter Seventy-One: The Divine Realm

“In truth, I did not meet the deity itself; what I saw was merely its mount, the divine lion. It told me that the deity had heard my prayers and was pleased with my devotion…”

“Wait a moment,” Han Ze suddenly interjected. “Are you saying that nine-headed lion can speak?”

“Yes. The divine lion is the mount of the deity; naturally, it is capable of speech,” Bai Ziyu replied.

A look of utter shock flashed across Han Ze and his companions’ faces.

Gu Sha, however, seemed unsurprised.

He possessed twenty years of memories from his previous life and knew well that as undead beasts and zombies grew stronger, they would gradually gain intelligence. Once they reached the rank of King, both zombies and beasts could speak like humans, and their intellect would rival that of a normal person.

Ten years into the Great Cataclysm, there was an incident that stunned the world: a tribe of zombies actually formed an alliance with a human enclave to resist a beast tide. This caused a tremendous sensation and led to a deeply philosophical debate—many began to wonder: if zombies develop intelligence and can speak, are they truly any different from humans?

Of course, the eventual outcome dealt a harsh blow to those who dreamed of peaceful coexistence with zombies. Some tried to live alongside them and even founded a so-called Human-Zombie Mutual Assistance Society. A month later, not a single member survived; every one of them had been devoured by zombies.

Moreover, in addition to King-ranked undead beasts being able to speak, two ranks above that, those that surpassed the Emperor level—the Domain Lords—could even briefly assume human form, much like the legendary great demons of myth.

“Continue,” Gu Sha said in a low voice.

Bai Ziyu continued, “I stayed in the Divine Realm for two days. The deity instructed the divine lion to grant me the Divine Scepter and the Sacred Elixir. The scepter holds supreme divine power, and the elixir can mass-produce transcendents.

“After two days, the divine lion took me away from the Divine Realm. In the blink of an eye, as if waking from a dream, I found myself in the Taihang Mountains. Were it not for the scepter and elixir in my hands, I would have thought it all a dream. I stayed in the mountains for another two days but couldn’t return to the Divine Realm. Still, I knew the deity was watching me, observing my actions. When I left the mountains, none of the zombies or beasts dared harm me thanks to the scepter's power.

“However, before the divine lion sent me away, it warned me that the scepter’s power was limited and not to flaunt it. So instead, I used the sacred elixir to create dozens of transcendents to accompany me. Ha… The Meng family actually dreamed of deciphering the elixir… What fools…

“And… that Gu Sha… That idiot actually doesn’t believe in the deity’s existence. No… it’s not that he doesn’t believe; he must have seen the deity, he must have received its blessing. Otherwise, how could he break through my divine power… Gu Sha… Gu Sha, the deity will surely punish him…”

Bai Ziyu’s emotions grew increasingly agitated, and the psychic abilities users began to pale, sweat pouring from their bodies.

“Mr. Gu… we can’t hold on!” several psychics cried in anguish.

Gu Sha looked over at Han Ze and the others. “Any more questions?”

“One last thing,” Han Ze asked quickly. “Can you return to this so-called Divine Realm now?”

“The deity… the deity will summon me. When it wishes to see me, I can return to the Divine Realm… Ah!”

Suddenly, Bai Ziyu screamed in agony as blood poured from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.

The three psychics collapsed to the ground, faces ashen.

Bai Ziyu regained consciousness. Pale and slumped in his chair, he glanced around the laboratory and instantly realized what had happened. “You… you performed a psychic probe on me…”

Gu Sha said gravely, “We’ve learned all we needed to know.”

“The deity will punish you!” Bai Ziyu roared. “Gu Sha, you have seen the deity—how dare you blaspheme? How dare you show such disrespect…”

Gu Sha rolled his eyes and no longer paid him any attention. He turned to Han Ze. “President Han, let’s step outside to talk.”

Immediately, Han Ze left a few soldiers to guard Bai Ziyu and followed Gu Sha out of the lab.

Gu Sha smiled. “What do you make of Bai Ziyu’s story?”

Han Ze shook his head helplessly. “I’ll have to report this to the capital. If this were before, I would have sent someone to investigate the Taihang Mountains, but now, I simply don’t have the resources. Besides, there’s no way to verify the truth of Bai Ziyu’s account—his mental state is unstable, and much of it could be delusion. Even if it’s true, he doesn’t know how to return to the Divine Realm, either.”

Gu Sha nodded. He had always admired Han Ze. Even though the man’s era had passed, he was still regarded as a beacon of hope for City C’s stronghold—not without reason. Han Ze had the rare ability to remain rational and calm in all circumstances.

Han Ze asked, “Mr. Gu, are you thinking of going to the Taihang Mountains?”

Gu Sha grinned. “I was just wondering… If the Divine Realm really exists, would a nuclear bomb blast it into the open? Ha!”

He waved his hand. “Enough jokes. Two things: First, I’ve taken Bai Ziyu’s so-called Divine Scepter. It’s actually just a beast bone with powerful genetic energy. I’ll keep it as a weapon.

“Second, there are about thirty more vials of the sacred elixir. Do you want them?”

Han Ze’s eyes lit up. “Of course I do.”

Each vial meant a new transcendent, and like the Meng family before him, Han Ze was skeptical and wanted to try to uncover the formula himself.

Gu Sha said slowly, “President Han, don’t celebrate just yet. There are side effects. The elixir creates transcendents by overdrawing potential. Basically, after using it, whatever rank you reach is your limit for life—at most, you’ll reach third rank. The greater a person’s potential, the higher the rank they can force themselves to reach, but the more they lose in the process. So, whether you use it or not is up to you. It has no effect on those already transcendents. Don’t ask how I know—I’m just that strong.”

Han Ze fell silent for a moment, then said, “The stronghold is on the brink of survival. I can’t afford to worry about the consequences. Every new transcendent is another hope. I want them.”

Gu Sha responded eagerly, “Great! Only one thousand zombie cores per vial!”

Han Ze was speechless.

(End of chapter)