“Now that the overall situation is set, I wonder if you two could spare some time from your fight to answer a few questions for me?” Feng Bujue said leisurely.

“What's with that tone of yours, like you've already won…” Dian He Wang replied unhappily.

“Heh… it means I have already won, of course.” Feng Bujue shrugged and replied with a smile.

Since that answer sounded like a load of nonsense, he immediately added, “Right now, you don't have the spare energy to interfere with my five companions' actions. Once they complete the main quest, I can join the battle. With the combined assault of Zun-ge and me, your defeat is certain.” He paused for a moment, then continued, “If you want to avoid that scenario, you only have one way: defeat Zun-ge before my teammates complete their mission, but you know very well… that's absolutely impossible. Don't even mention a few minutes; even if I gave you a few hours, you might not be able to do it.”

“Oh? You can see that much?” Zhuan Xie Zun replied with a smile while dodging the other's elbow strike.

“What's so difficult about that? It's just observing and analyzing your fighting styles and data strength.” Feng Bujue calmly replied, “Since the three of us can see the 'Sequence of Truth,' I'll just be blunt… Dian He Wang, I don't know how strong your true form is, but your current strength… is only slightly stronger than Zun-ge.”

“Hmph… that's because the host body is limiting my power.” Dian He Wang replied gloomily, “If I could use my full strength… the two of you wouldn't last ten seconds…”

“Don't spout nonsense.” Feng Bujue interrupted, “Zun-ge isn't in his best condition right now either, is he?” He smiled, “Taking a step back, if what you said is true, why would you bother with 'brain invasion' and 'body snatching' tricks? Just beat Zun-ge directly, wouldn't that be enough?”

“Tch…” Upon hearing that he had been exposed, Dian He Wang could only spit unhappily and grit his teeth, continuing his attack.

However, Zhuan Xie Zun, who had resolved to prioritize defense and stalling, was not so easily defeated… Jue-ge's previous words, while seemingly provocative, were actually hinting at what strategy Zun-ge should use.

As of now, just as Feng Bujue had said—the overall situation was set.

“Oh, right.” After a minute, Feng Bujue seemed to have suddenly thought of something and spoke again, “I have a suggestion, you might want to hear it…”

“Another conspiracy, is it…” That was Zhuan Xie Zun's first reaction upon hearing those words.

“Dian He Wang, your struggle is meaningless in the face of an inevitable outcome. How about this…” Feng Bujue continued, “You two stop fighting for now, and the three of us can discuss things and talk about a deal…”

As soon as he said that, Dian He Wang's expression immediately changed. Originally trapped in a desperate situation, it was as if he had seen a life-saving straw, and he felt incredibly excited.

“What are you talking about?” Zhuan Xie Zun scolded, “I'm already sure to win, why should I negotiate with him?”

“Are you misunderstanding something?” An evil smile appeared on Feng Bujue's face, “Whether you or it wins or loses, the power to decide is in my hands.” He straightened his collar and tilted his head, “I can help you, and I can also help it.”

“You…” At that moment, Zhuan Xie Zun felt a chill run down his spine. He realized that the one truly controlling the situation was Feng Bujue.

“Dian He Wang, continuing to fight will only waste everyone's time.” Jue-ge looked at Dian He Wang, “Only by making a deal with us… do you have a chance of survival.”

After saying that, he paused for half a second and then looked at Zhuan Xie Zun, “Zun-ge, the current situation is a very typical 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms' relationship. I'm the lord, you're the loyal subject, and it's the traitor. To sum it up… if I die, you die too; if I help you, you win; if I help it, you still die, but I'm fine. So… I hope you'll listen to my suggestion.”

“Heh…” Zun-ge gave a wry smile and replied, “It seems I have no choice.”

“Then let's stop fighting…” Seeing that the other party had agreed, Dian He Wang stopped attacking and, with a quick flash, retreated several zhang.

“That's right.” Feng Bujue continued, “We're all cultured people; let's talk calmly and try to solve the problem… that's the right way to do things.”

“What kind of trick do you have up your sleeve? Just say it.” Dian He Wang replied in an unfriendly tone.

“Before I say my idea…” Feng Bujue replied slowly, “You'd better tell me first…”

“Alright, alright, I know what you want to ask.” Dian He Wang interrupted, “Hmph… you've asked the right person (god), no one is more qualified than me to answer this question.” It said quickly, “【Nan Zhi Ru Yin】, is the 'Fighting Demon's' third eye.”

“Oh…” Feng Bujue responded very calmly and continued, “Actually… I wasn't going to ask you that. I just wanted to know, who are you? What do you do? How did you get into Zun-ge's head, and so on… so I could formulate the content of the deal.” He shrugged, “Of course, I'll have to ask about the true nature of that item sooner or later… it's good that you can say it in advance.”

“You little…” Dian He Wang was already flushed with anger upon hearing this, because it felt like it had been tricked by Jue-ge again…

“Hehe… don't get angry.” Zhuan Xie Zun, who was on the side, smiled and tried to smooth things over, “It was you who spoke before finishing hearing the person's question.” He waved his hand, “At times like this… you have to take a deep breath and calm down…”

“How the hell am I supposed to breathe?” Dian He Wang blurted out in frustration, “Can't you see that my host body is an undead creature?”

“Oh… a jiangshi.” Feng Bujue said, stroking his chin.

“What kind of slang is that again?” Dian He Wang stared wide-eyed, looking at Jue-ge with a puzzled expression.

“Don't mind the details…” Feng Bujue replied with a smile, and brought the topic back to the right track, “In any case, you have to tell us about yourself first, so that we can formulate a plan that all three parties can accept, right?”

“I am Dian He Wang, an ancient god, haven't you already known that?” After calming down a bit, Dian He Wang replied in a gentler tone (in fact, his angry tone wasn't that scary either, after all, it was a child's voice).

“What else?” Feng Bujue continued to ask, “Why did Zun-ge say that you two are both 'keepers,' and why did he say that you betrayed your mission?”

“Mission? Haha! Hahahaha…” Dian He Wang laughed loudly, but that laughter was full of sorrow, “Do you know what exactly I'm guarding? You ignorant human…”

“Let me guess…” Combining what the other party had just said, Feng Bujue instantly came up with a hypothesis, “The Fighting Demon?”

“Then do you know what those two words mean?” Dian He Wang continued.

“I'd like to hear the details.” Feng Bujue politely raised his right hand again at this moment, signaling the other party to continue.

“In the 'previous era,' there were no Four Pillar Gods at all, nor was there this Zhuan Xie Zun in front of us, nor were there any transmigrators or derivative beings…” Dian He Wang replied, “That was a pure world with clear distinctions between black and white…” A few traces of nostalgia seemed to flash in its eyes, “The entire universe only contained two supreme beings that far surpassed other life forms…”

“Namely… the 'Du Shen' representing light and order, and the 'Fighting Demon' representing darkness and chaos.” Zhuan Xie Zun recited following the other party's words.

“You really know a lot…” Dian He Wang glanced at Zun-ge.

“Among the 'knowledge' I guard, there is a portion about the records of the 'ancient' times.” Zhuan Xie Zun said, “Your name… is also among them.”

“Then you might as well explain it.” Dian He Wang said, “I'll supplement and explain any inaccuracies.”

“Alright…” Zhuan Xie Zun responded, and then turned to look at Feng Bujue and said, “In ancient times, Du Shen and the Fighting Demon were like the yin and yang sides in Taiji, maintaining the balance of the entire universe. As time went on, as the universe expanded, they naturally needed some subordinates to help them manage it. So, they each used their own power to create some life forms, which were later… the 'God Race' and the 'Demon Race'.”

Speaking up to this point, Zhuan Xie Zun waved his hand and pointed at Dian He Wang, “Dian He Wang is a survivor of the God Race. In ancient books, it is called—Ancient Demon Warden.”

“Wait…” Even Feng Bujue heard the problem, “Why is a God Race being called a demon?”

“Because I betrayed my race.” Dian He Wang answered the question himself.

“Oh? What's the situation?” Feng Bujue stroked his chin, “Hmm… let me guess… this must be related to some girl, sure enough, it's because the Demon Race girls are more righteous…”

“I didn't say that I defected to the Demon Race.” Dian He Wang immediately overturned Jue-ge's delusion and said in a deep voice, “I just raised objections to certain practices of my race, and as a result, I was put on trial. But I didn't sit still and wait for death. I killed the executioner and escaped from the God Race's territory… Since then, my compatriots have called me a demon. Over time… even the Demon Race regarded me as a demon.”

“So that's how it is…” Feng Bujue nodded, “May I ask… what is the 'objection' in your words?”

“I forgot.” Dian He Wang replied without thinking.

“Huh?” Even Feng Bujue suspected that he had misheard.

“There's nothing strange about it, who would remember such a thing after so long?” Dian He Wang replied, “It's like you committed a crime and were sentenced to thousands of years in prison. When you are released… you will at most remember the charge, how is it possible to remember the details of the case.”

“Okay… I understand.” Feng Bujue continued, “Then what is your 'charge'?”

“Raising an 'objection' is a crime in itself; the content of the objection is not important.” Dian He Wang replied, “The God Race's so-called 'order' is the strangulation of all free will. They use a meticulous, unchanging system to manage everything under their rule.” He explained, “For example… the God Race is like a group of people who control a large amount of water during a drought. Even if others are dying of thirst in front of them, they will not share a drop of water because that is the 'rule.' Their hands have never been stained with a drop of blood, but they are dirtier and more efficient than any executioner. And they firmly believe that what they are doing is correct and noble, at least much better than those liberalists who preach human nature.”

“I understand…” Feng Bujue replied, “From your remarks, I think you should defect to the great commu…”

“Whatever about that.” Dian He Wang interrupted Jue-ge, “Don't stray too far.”

Zhuan Xie Zun also said, “Yes, I was only halfway through…” He paused slightly, then continued from where he left off, “After many years, a catastrophe suddenly descended. No one knows why this happened, perhaps… just because some higher-dimensional creature suddenly felt like it, our world ushered in its doomsday…”

“Hmph… it's just Woody's doing, right…” Feng Bujue thought in his heart. Hearing this, he was basically certain… that the so-called “Ancient Era” was actually the “original version of Thriller Paradise that had been destroyed” that Zero spoke of.

“After the catastrophe, our universe was reborn.” Zhuan Xie Zun's narration continued, “The Four Pillar Gods were the first four beings born in the new universe. After them, I and some other high-level beings appeared…” He raised his head and looked at the ceiling thoughtfully, “I don't know who my creator is. I only know that from the moment I was born, I possessed almost infinite knowledge and an indelible sense of mission. My 'task' is to guard the 'knowledge' in the Deduction Club until I or this universe is destroyed again.”

Zhuan Xie Zun took a few steps and then lowered his head to stare at Jue-ge, “If… I am the guardian of 'knowledge,' then Dian He Wang is the guardian of 'power'.” He gave the latter a complicated look, “According to the literature, just before the destruction of the Ancient Era, Du Shen launched a challenge to the Fighting Demon… In the end, he exhausted all of his divine power to seal the Fighting Demon into the 【Gate of Emptiness】. And he made a special life form with both divine and demonic characteristics into a hub of the seal. From then on, that life form was called the 'Ancient Demon Warden'.”

“Heh… I'm afraid Du Shen would never have dreamed that his action would have allowed the Fighting Demon to survive.” Dian He Wang continued with a sneer, “And he himself died in the cataclysm not long after due to extreme depletion of his divine power.”

“Then… next, please explain how you sneaked into my brain.” Zhuan Xie Zun looked at Dian He Wang, and his tone changed slightly.

“Isn't that obvious…” At this time, Dian He Wang had put on a look of not being afraid of boiling water, “Relying on the few wisps of demonic energy that seeped out of the Gate of Emptiness, I constantly accumulated my strength and finally escaped after a long time.” He paused for a moment, then continued, “Du Shen's seal is indeed remarkable. It is almost impossible to break it with external force. Fortunately, I myself am part of the seal, and the power I have obtained from the Fighting Demon over the years is also very large, so…”

“Wait a minute…” Feng Bujue stretched out a hand, putting on an Er Kang face, “…According to what you mean, the seal has been broken now, so… isn't the Fighting Demon…”

“No, not yet.” Zhuan Xie Zun continued, “That seal will not be destroyed so easily. Even if the Demon Warden leaves, there is a way to remedy it.” He pointed at Dian He Wang again, “As long as you catch it back before the seal collapses completely, you can restore it.”

“Don't dream! Even if I die… I won't go back!” At this moment, Dian He Wang revealed a look of terror mixed with frenzy, “Over the years… what has seeped out of the Gate of Emptiness is not only demonic energy…” Speaking of this, countless terrifying experiences flashed through its mind involuntarily, “And… 'nothingness'.”

“What the hell is that?” Feng Bujue asked casually.

“It is difficult to explain it clearly in words.” Zhuan Xie Zun replied, “You can regard it as a 'substance' with a physical body, or you can regard it as an ethereal 'force,' or even say… it's just a 'concept'.”

“With your human mental strength, as long as you come into contact with 'nothingness,' your spiritual consciousness will collapse and you will be wiped out.” Dian He Wang continued, “Even me… after coming into contact with a small amount of 'nothingness' that seeped out of the gate, I felt excruciating pain. That terrifying feeling… is unforgettable forever…”

“Oh… I seem to know what you're talking about.” Feng Bujue replied calmly, “It's roughly the kind of thing… where you lose all your senses, as if you are in eternal darkness, and make you question your own existence, right?” He shrugged, “I also experienced it when I was in the Gate of Emptiness, it's quite uncomfortable.”