Some Gods could no longer sit still, and some even cast divine silk amidst the clouds and mist, seeking to borrow the Daoist's path to escape into the human world and avoid the slaughter ahead.

"Three minutes, Gong Zheng. If you're so set on playing dead, then I'll make sure you truly die here."

Zhou Xuan then directed his words toward all the other Gods: "Those of you hoping to rely on the Daoist to flee the Heavenly Kingdom and escape this calamity, take a moment to ponder how Peng Hou, Ghost Hand, and the Heavenly Official fell."

These words carried the weight of Zhou Xuan's past victories. They weren't baseless threats but carried the gravitas of prophecy, leaving no room for doubt.

The other Gods, unable to flee nor capable of contending with the imminent resurrection from the Blood Well, began reaching out via divine communication, summoning Gong Zheng.

Truthfully, Gong Zheng needed no summoning. From the moment Zhou Xuan began his countdown, the two were separated by only a few dozen meters, obscured by the divinely enchanted clouds and mist of the Heavenly Kingdom.

Zhou Xuan simply couldn't see him.

Finally, when there was almost no time left, and Zhou Xuan had entered the Secret Realm, activating the Blood Well to set the stage for "resurrection,"

Gong Zheng could no longer hold back.

A spectral Divine Bow shot out from the clouds, hovering not far from Zhou Xuan.

"Zhou Xuan, my young friend, what brings you to the Heavenly Kingdom to seek me?"

"If a person won't come out and sends forth a bow instead, I'll say this: I converse with people, not with bows. Gong Zheng, step out yourself."

"I can't come out."

Gong Zheng spoke: "You are the Blood Well High Priest. If you die here in the Heavenly Kingdom, the wills of the Blood Well Venerable and the Nuo God within your body will remain in the Heavenly Kingdom,

Their wills would then permeate the Heavenly Kingdom, rendering its clouds and mist unable to shield us from their sight.

At that point, none of the twenty-four Divine Countries beneath the Heavenly Dome would be able to stop them,

So, we dare not kill you,

Yet you dare to kill us.

This, from the start, was never a fair exchange."

There was a faint trace of "honesty" in Gong Zheng's words, even if that honesty was feigned.

Zhou Xuan spoke indifferently: "If you won't come out, at least send forth an avatar. I have no interest in negotiating with a bow."

His presence exerted an even greater pressure, thick and suffocating. After a long moment of silent contemplation, Gong Zheng finally let out a sigh.

An elderly figure clad in black appeared before the Divine Bow.

The old man's spirit was frail, his head drooping like an aged pine. His white beard drifted in the wind, lifeless and forlorn. It seemed as if, with the slightest misstep, he might truly succumb to old age and die.

"Gong Zheng, your appearance still holds a bit of gravitas, but alas, your heart is vile. You've taken what is mine. It's best you return it."

"I cannot give you the Heavenly Official's divine status—not out of depravity, but because I uphold the righteous path."

Gong Zheng raised his face; from his clouded old eyes shone a glimmer of compassion as he said, "If we wish to make Jing Country better, the chosen deity must be someone possessing great divinity. And you, Zhou Xuan, wish to use a Divine Status to select the God of your choosing…

This is irresponsible."

"You want to talk to me about responsibility and morality? Then let's have a proper discussion."

Zhou Xuan, unafraid of verbal skirmishes, replied: "I wish to choose the Music Master as the new deity, the new 'Heavenly Official.' I've come to you for guidance—tell me, how is the Music Master not a person of divinity?"

"One who obsesses over cultivation day and night lacks much care for the mortal lives of the world."

"Are not all your heavenly deities exceptionally gifted in cultivation? When you walked the human world, was there one among you who did not obsess day and night over cultivation?

And while cultivating, did you spare any thought for the plight of mortal lives?"

Gong Zheng, for a moment, found himself at a loss for words… He truly couldn't comprehend Zhou Xuan's disposition.

Just as one thought Zhou Xuan aimed to reason, he would suddenly resort to violence.

Just as one assumed he would fully embrace the role of a terrorist, he would shift back to reason.

And, oddly enough, his reasoning was irrefutable.

"The Music Master… The Music Master…"

"If you cannot explain it, then let me carry on. During the Mingjiang floods, the Music Master stepped forward without hesitation, facing the catastrophe with only a cultivation level of seven incense sticks—this was compassion for the mortal plight.

When Qunxing descended upon the Mingjiang Prefecture God Traveling Department, armed with nine incense sticks, the Music Master stood in their way with but his mortal body, blocking Qunxing's cauldron-breaking blow—this was courage and valor.

When the Saint Heir and Saintess became lackeys of the Buddha Country and the Heavenly Official unleashed floods, the Music Master not only cut ties with them but fought them to the end—this was selflessness.

A compassionate soul, a courageous yet discerning person, a selfless being—

Why does the Music Master lack the qualities of divinity?

He is a person who has transcended base desires, a noble soul. Why is he unfit to inherit the Divine Status?"

Growing passionate as he spoke, Zhou Xuan swung his arms in wide gestures, his words brimming with vitality.

Even the artists drawing this scene couldn't help but give Zhou Xuan a thumbs up.

"The Young Master truly deserves his reputation as a storyteller. What skill in narration!"

Zhou Xuan abruptly stood up, hands clasped behind his back, staring directly at Gong Zheng as he spoke: "You, this so-called deity—if you had simply pocketed the Divine Status for your own greed and admitted outright to being selfish and shameless, I might have respected you a little more.

The vile man, though despicable, at least shows honesty.

But now, with your baseless pretexts and your insinuations that I fail to recognize a person's worth, you have insulted not only my character but also my intelligence."

Gong Zheng lowered his head, his brow clouded with embarrassment. A trace of disgrace had already appeared between his furrowed brows.

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