According to Ye Yu’s perfect plan, the Divine Clan forces from Extreme Moon Pavilion and Drunken Heart Valley would arrive here at the same time.
When the greatest number of Divines had gathered, he would unleash his special effect, harvesting a massive wave of submission points in one fell swoop.
Of course, imagining was easy—whether it would actually happen was another matter.
Xie Buyu watched Ye Yu’s back in silence. Just as she was about to speak again, a Magic Clan Divine of the Celestial God Realm approached.
“Pardon me, Supreme Divine,” he said respectfully. “I know it may be presumptuous of me to come like this, but I truly admire you. May I ask if there is any secret to the Way of Cultivation? If you’d rather not answer, I understand entirely—no pressure.”
The Celestial God–level Magic Divine was visibly constrained.
Ye Yu glanced at him, then looked around. He noticed the Lieyang Sect Divines were all listening intently to his answer.
“How interesting,” he thought. “Perhaps I can earn even more submission points.”
He raised a hand and pointed at the Magic Divine’s chest. “Maintaining an inspired spirit of constant advancement is crucial,” he said. “At the same time, you must open your heart to perceive all changes around you—heaven and earth’s grand Dao, the flow of divine power, the growth of all things. The Way is hidden in the heart.”
Those four simple words left everyone scratching their heads.
“The Way... hidden in the heart?”
“What does that mean?”
“I’ve never heard of it before. Is the Supreme Divine’s realm so high that even a live demonstration has no effect?”
Just when everyone was utterly bewildered, the Celestial God–level Magic Divine before them suddenly radiated black light. In an instant, it enveloped the entire divine stone mine—then vanished.
In that brief moment, he had broken through, advancing to the late Celestial God Realm.
No one had foreseen this. Xie Buyu’s eyes went wide in disbelief. How could a single phrase enable a Celestial God–level expert to breakthrough?
“Are you sure this isn’t an act?” someone muttered.
The Magic Divine knelt on one knee, tears streaming down his face as he looked at Ye Yu. “Supreme Divine, your words were the greatest guidance to my troubled mind. I, Wang Yin, will never forget this grace!”
Ye Yu remained calm, merely waving his hand as if it were a trivial matter. Yet he, too, felt astonished. A random sentence had enabled a breakthrough? Was it beginner’s luck—or did he truly possess unparalleled teaching talent?
In truth, it was the former. In the Divine Realm, Damo and Bloodmo cultivators—who mastered raw power—were most respected. Mind Demons and Fallen Demons, who relied on illusionary support, ranked at the bottom. Every Divine who succeeded possessed immense willpower—they could not be easily swayed.
Wang Yin stood at a critical turning point. He had long sought to break free of the Mind Demon path and find another way, but after centuries of failure, he was stuck. One misstep led to endless missteps.
Today, Ye Yu’s words—“The Way is hidden in the heart”—had prompted him to let go of his obsession and return to his true self. Naturally, he broke through.
It was mere coincidence—hence the “miracle” in everyone’s eyes.
But that didn’t matter now. Numbers fluttered above everyone’s heads, and Ye Yu gladly harvested the points.
Soon, he encountered a problem. When his realm had been lower than everyone else’s, each submission point was huge. But now, those below his realm contributed almost nothing.
Apparently the system was raising the difficulty—no more picking on easy targets.
“Hmph, that’s harsh,” he muttered. “From now on, I’ll have to target high–level Divines—only they yield a big first–time bonus.”
Just then, a surge of divine power rippled toward them. Ye Yu spun around and saw hundreds of Divines materializing before him, surrounding his group.
At their front stood a short elder and a tall middle–aged man.
Ye Yu frowned. According to Zhu Xincheng’s plan and Xie Buyu’s calculations, Extreme Moon Pavilion should arrive in the late afternoon. Why were they here this morning?
Xie Buyu’s expression grew grave as she scanned the perimeter, as if searching for something.
An Extreme Moon Pavilion Divine stepped forward and proclaimed, “Seventh Elder Chen Guangju and Eighth Elder Du Yu, on behalf of the Divine Alliance, have come to claim this site. Where is Lieyang Sect’s leader, Zhu Xincheng?”
All eyes turned to Ye Yu. He exhaled slowly—this was the true test. Bluffing them would require skill; life and death hung in the balance, so he could not show weakness.
Steeling himself, he stepped forward and said quietly, “Sect Leader Zhu ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) Xincheng is absent. If you have business, speak to me. I am Ye Yu.”
Seventh Elder Chen Guangju sneered. “Ye Yu? I’ve never heard of you. Did Zhu Xincheng send you to die in her stead?”
Before Ye Yu could respond, a calm voice interjected. “Seventh Elder, this Ye Yu is no nobody. He’s said to be the strongest Divine of the Wuliang Hall—rumored to be a God Sovereign Realm expert who nearly slew the Crimson Spider Queen Sang Qimeng with a single thought. He is truly formidable.”
As the voice fell, an elder in white robes appeared, hovering in midair. His drooping eyelids and sagging posture made him look like an ancient hound.
