Swallowed Star
Swallowed Star - Chapter 1392: Luo Feng and the Godly King of Jin

Following the ancient and solemn passage, Luo Feng advanced along the secluded path. It was composed of numerous huge, squared stone slabs. Every slab had a different carving. No two sculptures were the same. Each was carved to so-called perfection. Even Luo Feng himself could not help but admire these sculptures every time he lowered his head toward the slabs. What might have looked like normal roads and courtyard walls were, in fact, rich with hidden luxuries.

Turning the corner, he saw a door that had been left open.

“Huh?”

With a single glance, Luo Feng looked beyond the door and saw that inside the room, there were some automaton components and weapon parts placed about casually and in a messy manner. Luo Feng walked to the door and saw a man wearing a beautiful robe. He was looking intently at several different automaton components placed beside him.

The man in the beautiful robe turned and looked toward Luo Feng. Then he smiled. “Since you are here, do take a seat first.”

Up ahead, was an exquisite black throne.

Luo Feng did not say a word. Obediently, he went to the throne and sat down. Since it was His Majesty the Godly King who had created Wu Qi Tower—and had designed so many difficult obstacles that had caused countless elite warriors of the World of Jin to perish one after the other—he must have had a goal in mind.

“This man…” Luo Feng took a careful look. “Strange. Even the virtual consciousness of the previous Duan Dong River carried an air of oppressive force. How could he not have even the slightest bit of oppressive force?”

It was as though Luo Feng was still a child and had run into an elderly old grandfather from his neighborhood. He looked at the man before him and could not help but feel a sort of amicable nature toward him. He had no fear. Instead, he felt very much at home.

“Impressive.” Luo Feng was secretly shocked. “Even with the strength of my willpower, I am still unable to control myself. I have already developed good-natured feelings for him.”

The man wearing the beautiful robe looked toward Luo Feng. “You must be very curious. Why did Godly King create this Wu Qi Tower? Why design so many difficult obstacles…? Now, let me tell you why. First, I have to tell you my identity… I am the Godly King of this World of Jin.”

Luo Feng was astonished.

His Majesty the Godly King!

He might have guessed as much, but he had not dared to believe it. This common-looking man, who bore the look of an ordinary grandfather from Earth, was His Majesty the Godly King?

“Technically, I am the virtual consciousness left behind by His Majesty the Godly King after he was gone,” said the man in the beautiful robe as he looked at Luo Feng.

Virtual consciousness? In his heart, Luo Feng was secretly shocked. But things were just as he had guessed; His Majesty the Godly King had truly died.

“You don’t seem to be overly surprised,” said the man, still looking at Luo Feng. “Seems like everything is within your expectations. I may have observed you from afar, but there is nothing else I can tell about you… But now I know, you are not a life form from my World of Jin.”

Luo Feng was inwardly shocked. He almost wanted to self-destruct right away. But on the outside, Luo Feng maintained a calm composure. “I am not exactly indifferent,” he said. “I do still feel shocked, but everything you just said was simply unbelievable. That is why I still maintain a dubious attitude. You say you are His Majesty the Godly King. Then you say you are the virtual consciousness left behind by the Godly King after he died… The noble Godly King is very far from me, and how could it be possible for him to die? Also, you mentioned that I am not a life form from the World of Jin. What do you mean?”

“Haha…” The man wearing the beautiful robe laughed joyfully. “No need to put up your guard against me. There is no need for worries.” He laughed again and said, “I will tell you everything in detail. Then you will understand.”

Luo Feng listened carefully.

“Back then…” A hint of recollection flashed in the eyes of the man in the robe. “It was a long, long time ago. I chose a hopeless road that seemed to lead to nowhere but doom, so before I set off, I created this Wu Qi Tower in my World of Jin and left the mission to receive a title. Even if I failed, then perhaps I would still have a shot at reversing the situation. Then I left. But only after I left a virtual consciousness here. One that had all my memories and thoughts. It was almost my essence in its entirety. The only difference was that it was not a true life form. Of course, even though I am this virtual consciousness, in my subconscious mind, I still think of myself as the Godly King.”

Luo Feng nodded to indicate his understanding.

After all, this virtual consciousness did possess all the memories and thoughts of that His Majesty the Godly King of Jin.

“After the Godly King left, I truly have no idea what kind of dangers he encountered,” continued the man in the robe. “After all, I was unable to establish contact with him.” He sighed. “Through my understanding of the World of Jin, I eventually found out, on a particular day, that the Godly King had been annihilated.”

“Wu Qi Tower has a total of nine levels,” he continued. “The ninth level is where one can connect to the core of the universe origin of the entire World of Jin. I frequent the core of the origin of the World of Jin, and the annihilation of Godly King inevitably led to a major change to the core.” He looked at Luo Feng. “Besides, I have concluded that you are not a life form from my World of Jin, because the moment you entered the ninth level, the core of universe origin that the ninth level was connected to did not acknowledge your presence. If you were a life form from within the World of Jin, then you would be regarded as a child of the World of Jin. Being acknowledged as one is automatic. Furthermore, you would also be unquestionably loyal to His Majesty the Godly King—willing to die for him.”

Luo Feng understood. It was just like how the life forms Nine Remoteness Master created paid absolute loyalty to him.

The same theory applied here. Life forms within the World of Jin would be absolutely loyal to His Majesty the Godly King. The four great commanders were no exception;. just one order from the Godly King asking for them to sacrifice themselves, and they would comply without hesitation.

“Oh… Well, since you are aware of this, how do you wish to proceed?”

Luo Feng was growing increasingly wary. Killing him would be far too easy, given his opponent’s ability. There was no questioning this. But for a high and mighty Godly King to spend so much time telling him all these details, he must have had an agenda.

“You only need to take an oath,” said the man in the beautiful robe, laughing lightheartedly as he spoke. “In the future, when you become a great being at the level of a godly king, you must do your utmost best to kill the other three pinnacle existences.”

“Huh?” Luo Feng was taken aback. An oath?

The ancient civilization certainly had many oaths that reached deep within the soul. If an oath was broken, total destruction of body and soul would be the only outcome. It was absolute annihilation.

“When I become a great being at the level of a godly king?” Luo Feng was shocked into a flustered state. “I… I am merely a law master now.”

“Which is why you have no cause for concern,” said the robed man, shaking his head. “At the moment, all this is still far beyond your reach. You are unable to render any help to my World of Jin. This will just be a promise you give to me. A promise to be realized when you become a godly king. Fret not… Once you have given your promise, there are only good things awaiting you. If you choose to reject it, and choose to self-destruct, the moment you do so, I will have to annihilate your soul. I know that most life forms from outside my World of Jin have the ability to divide bodies.”

Luo Feng was dumbstruck. It seemed His Majesty the Godly King here had a great understanding of many things.

“I know more than you might expect,” said the man as he gazed at Luo Feng. “Make your choice then. To promise or to reject?”

Luo Feng laughed in a resigned manner, then said, “Do I even have a choice?”

What a joke. This had been left behind by a godly king. Luo Feng had to believe it was true. Even if he chose to self-destruct, the moment it happened, his soul would probably be annihilated, and his various other bodies would be annihilated at the same time. That meant absolute death. Moreover, the promise in question would only have to be fulfilled after he became a godly king.

A godly king, indeed! How distant that was! It would mean rising above an eternal true god. Luo Feng himself was not even sure he could cultivate to that level. After all, based on all the bits of information he had gathered, he had hypothesized that a godly king was likely comparable to the three generations of ancestors.

******

“I must verify that you mean everything you promised,” said the man in the robe, “and that your oath is true. After all, I am only a virtual consciousness. If I am cheated by you…”

He laughed, then pointed to the surroundings far in the distance. Instantly, up in midair, many strands of law engravings started appearing. In a short moment, the surroundings were encapsulated by a giant cage composed of countless law engravings.

Hong!

Misty cyan-colored light moved over to enshroud Luo Feng.

“This way, I will be able to track any trace of change in your soul,” the robed man said with a smile. “If you are not truthful, I will also—ah!”

The man in the beautiful robe suddenly stood up wearing a look of surprise.

Luo Feng was taken aback.

The man appeared awestruck as looked at Luo Feng and said, “You, you…”

“What about me?” Luo Feng was filled with doubts.

“Hahaha… Haha! Haha…!”

The man in the beautiful robe laughed loudly and without any inhibitions. With an incomparable satisfaction, he laughed.

Luo Feng felt all the more uncertain. What was the matter?

“Disperse.” The man wearing the beautiful robe pointed in midair, and the countless law engravings that were originally suspended in the void space completely dispersed.

“Your Majesty, Godly King, didn’t you want me to swear an oath?” Luo Feng said, at a loss.

“There’s no need to,” said the man in the beautiful robe. He smiled at Luo Feng. “Since you have already finished the cultivation of the Nine Volume Manual, there is no need for you to take an oath.”

“The Nine Volume Manual?” Luo Feng was greatly taken aback—so stunned that he lost all composure.

The Nine Volume Manual?

This… This was the manual that had truly changed his destiny. It was all thanks to the Nine Volume Manual that he was able to make it this far along his path as a great being. If not for the Nine Volume Manual, perhaps he would still have become a great being, but not to the extent of his current achievement.

The Nine Volume Manual, according to Teacher Sitting Mountain Guest, was a creation he had created, and it could only be imparted to a single cultivator. This chosen one had to be a life form from the pulse of the earthlings in order to be able to cultivate it.

“What—what is the…?” Luo Feng’s mind seemed about to burst with an overwhelming surge of thoughts gushing in endlessly.

Only an earthling could cultivate the Nine Volume Manual. And only one cultivator was allowed to cultivate it. If Sitting Mountain Guest had created this Manual. How… did His Majesty the Godly King know about it?

Yes. Luo Feng had been suspicious, even long ago, that the Nine Volume Manual was simply too formidable. Its creation was something that other true gods could never have achieved. Even Purple Moon Ancestor and East Emperor Ancestor—as well-informed as they were—had never conceived of the creation of such a formidable manual. And yet, Sitting Mountain Guest had created it without ceremony.

“What is it about the Nine Volume Manual?” Luo Feng pressed on.

“Haha! This Nine Volume Manual…” the man in the beautiful robe said with a laugh, “was a set of lost knowledge from my World of Jin that should never have been revealed. Upon cultivating it, not only will one’s godly body undergo a rapid change, but it will also be a great deal of help to the soul. It is a super set of knowledge that will bring about an absolute change in one’s talent in the area of comprehension. So long as one has cultivated the Nine Volume Manual, he would be the true core of my Jin nation. You have cultivated the Nine Volume Manual, so naturally, you belong to the pulse of my Jin… When you rise in the future, if you do not kill the other three, they will come after your life instead. So, most certainly, there is no longer a need for you to take an oath.”