Lin Feng found a place to sit down cross-legged and go to his own world.
He opened his hands and looked at the broken jade talisman. He felt so sad. He had actually attacked the Fortune Shrine Leader once. Instead of being angry, the Fortune Shrine Leader had given something to him: his jade talisman! He had said to Lin Feng. "If I die, it means that the one who's always been deceiving you was the one who killed me. After my death, don't forget to refine the Scepter of Destiny!"
Back then, Lin Feng had kind of stopped having doubts about the Fortune Shrine Leader. However, the one person he had decided to trust was the Diviner. Therefore, this time, he had decided to have Hou Qing Lin come, purely to see if the Diviner would cheat him or not.
He had also done that to see whether Saintly Emperor Xi the Demon was really his image or not. If he was, he would know everything about him, and apparently, he did. Lin Feng had already obtained some answers.
The Scepter of Destiny appeared in Lin Feng's hands, and he scanned it with his powerful godly awareness. Something was broken inside. Lin Feng established a connection to the Scepter of Destiny and started refining it. After he managed to control it, some fluttering sounds spread in the air, and picture appeared in front of him.
It was a Shrine, towering aloft. Within the Shrine were two people: an old man, and a young man.
The old man's Qi was weak. His figure was transparent, as if he was about to disappear. The young man was crying.
"My son, it's my disaster technique, don't be sad. This time, during the battle against the Demon King, both sides suffered losses. I have one foot in the grave after I sealed the Demon King. He won't recover for a countless number of years."
"But I still have some ominous premonitions. I will check the secrets of the gods, it's the best time," whispered the weak old man. He could disappear at any time.
"Teacher, the members of the Fortune Shrine all believe in divination, and they all have premonitions. If you use the celestial premonition technique, your soul will disperse!" protested the young man. He wanted to prevent the old man from doing so, but a curtain of light stopped him.
The old man said, "I'm doomed. I can still use the premonition technique once. It doesn't matter."
He closed his eyes and used the strength of the gods to peer into the future. Celestial strength condensed and turned into words.
"Celestial Dao Destiny Technique!" Lin Feng observed with a shiver. Was this a coincidence?
Celestial Dao words floated around the old man. Lin Feng was stared at them.
The Sky Palace, what's the date tonight?
Mountain of Flowers and Fruit, a cave with a waterfall at its mouth!
Secret world, cultivation strength.
When the Forbidden Person appears, a god will appear.
Nobody knows what awaits them, but who can't recognize a monarch?
Lin Feng's heart was pounding violently. Those were the words Lin Feng had read in the Jade Emperor's palace, the exact same words!
Lin Feng couldn't calm down. How incredible! Celestial Dao Destiny Technique… Was it really the Celestial Dao Destiny Technique? Was it a prophecy?
"Teacher, I don't understand what those words mean," the young man said softly, looking at the words floating around.
"Never mind. I didn't think that I wouldn't understand them myself. However, remember them. No matter what they mean, they have something to do with the Forbidden Person. Maybe in the future, a Forbidden Person will appear. Remember this, you might meet the Forbidden Person someday. Remember…" sighed the old man, as he became even more transparent.
"Teacher!" cried out the young man, his eyes red.
"This Scepter is now yours. It contains destiny strength. You can use it to protect yourself, it has the strength of a half-god. The mysteries of Heaven must not be revealed. If they are revealed, you will die. You're the only one who knows, and you must protect the Forbidden Person. The Forbidden Person is the dusk of all gods. This time, the Forbidden Person might become a god, and I will go to a god's grave, I have the impression that I have to go there for a reason."
The old man turned into light, and vanished. The young man was alone, staring blankly at the empty space.
"Teacher, I promise that if I face a disaster, I will sacrifice myself for the Forbidden Body!" whispered the young man. When Lin Feng heard that, he felt himself tearing up.
The young man was the Fortune Shrine Leader! He had done what he had promised. The Scepter of Destiny contained a half-god's attack, but he had never used it, even to fight against the other Shrines. He had given it to Lin Feng!
However, Lin Feng had had doubts about the Fortune Shrine Leader, and had even attacked him. Lin Feng remembered how devastated and sad the Fortune Shrine Leader looked. He hadn't even said anything. He had proved, with his life, that nobody else would learn the secrets of Heaven.
"Leader, you should know that some people already know the secrets of Heaven though…," Lin Feng sighed. Who was Saintly Emperor Xi the Demon? How could he know the secrets of Heaven?
"Demon King!" said Lin Feng. A hundred years before, it was said that the Demon Shrine Leader had a new teacher. Icefire had gone there, and had come back home with his tail between his legs. There was a mysterious being in the Demon Shrine. They had become one of the three influential groups of the Continent of the Nine Clouds.
But Lin Feng still didn't understand. Even if the Demon King had reincarnated and understood the secrets of Heaven, why could he find him so easily? Why had Lin Feng met Yan Di? What did "Limitless Sky Palace, what's the date tonight?" mean? Why had he obtained the Jade Emperor's palace and read those words inside? Did the Demon King have the same powers as the Fortune Shrine Leader? Did he also have premonitions?
Destiny strength is enigmatic and unfathomable, groused Lin Feng. He gradually refined the Scepter of Destiny, easy to do since it had no master anymore. Very quickly, Lin Feng took control over it. A mysterious and special strength emerged. Lin Feng felt even sadder, and held the Scepter of Destiny firmly.
The Demon King, I need to go and see him, thought Lin Feng, and he left his own world.
—
"Are you done?" Saintly Emperor Xi the Demon asked.
"Yes, let's go," he replied. The two of them rose up in the air.
——
Saintly Emperor Xi the Demon didn't take Lin Feng to the Supreme Ancient Pit of Hell. He took him to the Demon Shrine.
Saintly Emperor Xi the Demon took Lin Feng into the depths of the Demon Shrine. There were many demons there, standing guard. They eventually arrived in front of a Demon King's palace.
The Demon King was in the main hall, looking like an ancient king.
"Before I wake up, I want to ask some questions, may I?"
"Go ahead," said Saintly Emperor Xi the Demon.
"Who is Mara-Deva?" asked Lin Feng, staring at Saintly Emperor Xi the Demon. His eyes looked sharp.
"He's me," Saintly Emperor Xi the Demon answered.
Lin Feng didn't really understand, but continued. "Why didn't you immediately absorb me? Why did you waste so much time?" asked Lin Feng.
"The Demon King was sound asleep, and he hoped the Forbidden Person would take the initiative to wake him up. That would have been perfect. The Forbidden Demon King would have awoken. That would have been the best."
"Therefore, you pretended to be me, then you stirred up chaos in the Continent of the Nine Clouds, then you tried to put me in dead ends the whole time, and then you showed up and you hoped I'd take the initiative to wake the Demon King up," Lin Feng conjectured.
"Unfortunately, you're progressing too quickly. It was unexpected. We had to cause lots of troubles. The Demon King didn't even have a proper absorbing skill until Chu Chun Qiu showed up," Saintly Emperor Xi the Demon replied emotionlessly.
Chu Chun Qiu appeared in the hall. Chu Chun Qiu's Qi was incredible; he was a peerless Saint long ago, and he had absorbed many strong cultivators' power already.
"Chu Chun Qiu is King Chu's descendant. Back then, King Chu was a tiny little insect, but at least he created a Sky Absorbing technique that wasn't bad. The Demon King used him and his knowledge to create a Sky Absorbing technique," said Saintly Emperor Xi the Demon calmly. "Alright, you can die content now. If you take the initiative to wake him up, we won't kill your family members. If the Demon King has to use force, I guarantee you that after you die, all your family members and friends will die."
"One last thing. Didn't a Forbidden Body appear last time? If there wasn't one, why did the Destiny Wheel rotate? And how did you know all my movements?" said Lin Feng.
"You will know all those things when you wake up as the Demon King," replied Saintly Emperor Xi the Demon calmly. Lin Feng nodded. He turned to look at the Demon King on the throne.
Saintly Emperor Xi the Demon turned into light and disappeared into the throne. His voice spoke to the two of them. "Chu Chun Qiu, the Demon King granted you a demon imprint, it must return to the Demon King now. Lin Feng, come and wake the Demon King up. Your friends and family members will always be safe."
Lin Feng and Chu Chun Qiu glanced at each other. Chu Chun Qiu looked expressionless, his eyes filled with demon strength.
"Are you happy?" Lin Feng didn't talk, and he didn't use telepathy either. He just stared at Chu Chun Qiu and tried to communicate using his eyes.
"No." They managed to communicate with their eyes.
The two cultivators walked up to the Demon King and stopped in front of him.
The Demon King suddenly stretched out his hands and put them on their bodies. Suddenly, they both had the impression they were puppets under his control.
"Lin Feng, you still want to resist?! You'll become one with the Demon King!" said a voice which reverberated in Lin Feng's mind. Its purpose was to make Lin Feng give up, to absorb him into the Demon King's will.
The turn of events greatly pleased Saintly Emperor Xi the Demon. Gradually, their wills were fusing together, and the same was happening to Chu Chun Qiu. He was also being absorbed!
"Can the Demon King resist the attack of a half-god?" asked Lin Feng. A terrifying amount of demon Qi filled the air. At the same time, Lin Feng suddenly took out the Scepter of Destiny. Millions of destiny beam of lights appeared and attacked the Demon King's body.
He tried to continue fusing together with Lin Feng, a mighty destructive strength emerged, but was destroyed by the destiny strength!
"Argh!" the Demon King shouted furiously. Lin Feng had the impression his body was going to explode.
"Absorb!" shouted Chu Chun Qiu furiously. An incredible absorbing strength surged out and swept everything away into itself. The Demon King's will was being absorbed!
"Chu Chun Qiu, you dare betray the Demon King!"
"That's part of my nature, I stand alone!" retorted Chu Chun Qiu, releasing a terrifying Qi which absorbed everything in his way.
"You created such a terrifying Sky Absorbing technique for yourself!?" The Demon King couldn't be attacked by surprise by Chu Chun Qiu, but he had just been attacked by Lin Feng, and then Chu Chun Qiu had attacked him while he was in a position of weakness! It was an opportunity for Chu Chun Qiu to exploit!