Nobody knows how to be a villain better than me.

Samael's pupils contracted, his mind churning with thoughts.

Not just what's in front of us! Isn't the universe itself a dark forest?

Now, this fruit tree named "Earth" is laden with delicious fruit thanks to its own nurturing.

The birds and beasts of the forest—wandering stars, predatory wandering stars, alien gods, outer gods, and Great Old Ones—are drawn by the fragrance emanating from the fruit.

At that moment, an answer that had been troubling Samael for a long time emerged in his mind.

Perhaps, this is the true source of the "Steel Land" phenomenon!

Chapter Seventeen: I shed blood for Kunlun, I risked my life for Qingqiu!

The grass is lush and green, and the shade is like a waterfall.

Accompanied by the babbling of flowing water and the melodious chirping of birds and insects all around, a feast begins.

Taigong Wang did not choose a magnificent palace on the mountaintop, but rather a fishing spot he frequented.

Looking out, the majestic main peak is behind you, and the misty Jade Pool is in front of you, creating a unique and wild landscape.

No one seemed to have any objections to this.

Soon, fruits such as crabapple and peach, and medicinal herbs such as lingzhi and magnolia were served one after another, their surfaces still covered with dew from when they were picked, making them crisp, tender and fresh.

There were occasional pieces of meat on the table, such as red-scaled fish and colorful pigeons, but they were mostly simply roasted or boiled, and the overall dish looked rather bland.

Samael took a bite and then put down his chopsticks without leaving a trace.

A more emotionally intelligent way to put it is that you can taste the original flavor of most of the food.

Hinako and Tamamo-no-Mae were quite used to this, sometimes picking up fruits to taste, and sometimes holding immortal herbs to eat raw.

Even the carnivorous fox spirit, while chewing on a piece of Ganoderma lucidum, seemed to be savoring the taste.

Although the scene was somewhat incongruous, Samael could understand it.

The legendary "celestial beings" were indeed depicted as living on dew and wind, not eating grains, and their diet always pursued blandness and naturalness.

The ancient snake shook its head and casually placed a plate of crabapple blossoms in front of the eagerly waiting Yang Yuhuan.

The easily satisfied little girl couldn't help but feel overjoyed.

While stroking Yang Yuhuan's little head that was leaning towards him, Samael looked up at Jiang Ziya opposite him and took the initiative to steer the conversation back on track.

"I was fortunate enough to see those things in the Yin-Shang ruins, and they don't seem to be from the ground?"

"That's right, such exquisite craftsmanship does indeed come from beyond the heavens."

Taigong Wang nodded slightly, then put down his chopsticks, a hint of reminiscence in his eyes.

"As far as I know, in ancient times, a malevolent star descended upon the earth, causing the pillars of heaven to collapse, the earth's curtain to break, the four poles to crumble, and the nine provinces to crack. Nuwa led her people to chase away the evil star, eliminate the wicked god, and refine five-colored stones to mend the heavens, ultimately averting disaster and stabilizing the four realms. After this battle, the gods obtained some extraordinary extraterrestrial techniques from the remnants of that malevolent star and incorporated them into their immortal arts..."

Taigong Wang paused, then looked at the First Emperor to the side with a half-smile.

"Your Majesty should be more familiar with the uses of these things."

"Indeed, such ingeniously crafted machines far surpass human capabilities, and they are quite easy to use."

Ying Zheng nodded, praising it highly.

Samael raised his hand and stroked his chin, his eyes thoughtful.

Just as predicted back then, China did indeed encounter the asteroid vanguard deployed by Wilpa.

However, at that time, the Celestials of Kunlun and the Primordial People of Kyushu were in a honeymoon period, working together to cope with various natural disasters and tribulations.

The elite asteroids deployed to China were wiped out before they could even develop their strength, becoming experience packs for the Chinese divine era's upgrade, thus creating the brilliant ancient immortal technology and the advanced civilization of the Shang Dynasty.

The so-called "Nuwa Mending the Sky" is history recorded in another form.

Similarly, another elite aerospace unit that probably didn't make a splash in India likely suffered the same fate.

After all, not every age of gods can produce a traitor like Poseidon, who thought he could control the whole situation and almost raised his star soldiers to the maximum level, causing the entire Greek age of gods to be wiped out.

After reflecting on the past, Samael composed himself and narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Did they use space travel technology when they left here?"

Jiang Ziya hesitated for a moment, then slowly nodded.

Through the analysis of the [Wandering Star], the gods created the [Starship], and the original object was hidden inside the entire Kunlun Mountains.

really……

Samael's face darkened, and he sighed inwardly.

These celestial beings of China are not only not on Earth, but not even in the solar system.

What they had planned was an unprecedented interstellar journey.

Facing the vast and boundless sea of ​​stars, trying to make contact with these celestial beings of China is essentially like finding a needle in a haystack.

At this moment, the First Emperor and Tamamo-no-Mae, who had deduced an answer from a few words, were also slightly taken aback, their gazes freezing.

It turns out that as early as the Age of Gods, those celestial beings had deciphered the technology of interstellar travel from the Star Vanguard and had been preparing for it ever since.

"Ha, great, I didn't even know about this!"

Tamamo-no-Mae gritted her teeth, her gaze shifting between light and shadow, a cold smile creeping across her pretty face.

Although she did all the dirty work, as the "Imperial Tutor" who assisted King Zhou of Shang, her status as a celestial maiden was basically on par with that of her predecessors in the workplace, such as the Mysterious Maiden and the Plain Maiden.

But now, this fox spirit finally understands that not only she, but the entire Kyushu, is a pawn abandoned by this group of "celestial beings".

"In the universe, there are probably many dangerous beings like wandering stars. The fewer people who know the secrets of this journey, the safer it is."

Jiang Ziya sighed and pondered for a moment.

"By the way, the Shang Dynasty was punished by the gods back then. One of the reasons was the abuse of forbidden arts."

In an instant, Tamamo-no-Mae's smile froze. She abruptly stood up, the six fox tail patterns behind her exploding with light, and angrily slammed the table while cursing.

"Damn it, do you think I'm a disposable white glove? Used and then thrown away?!"

"Xiaoyu, calm down! Calm down!"

Samael hugged the distraught fox spirit tightly and tried to soothe her.

"They wanted to establish the Shang dynasty and overthrow the Xia dynasty, replacing the Shang with the Zhou. I did everything they said, and in the end, just because they were about to flee and didn't need their gloves, they sold me off to avoid getting their hands dirty?!"

Tamamo-no-Mae's face turned pale for a moment, and her movements became more intense as she raised her arms in grief and indignation to protest.

"I shed blood for Kunlun, I risked my life for Qingqiu! I did all the dirty and hard work! How could they treat me like this? Is there no justice? Is there no fairness?!"

In an instant, cups and plates were scattered everywhere, and dishes were strewn about.

Xiao Yang Yuhuan and Jie Chuzi quickly picked up several plates of their favorite fruits and left.

As for the First Emperor, he managed to salvage a pot of fine wine.

"I'm here, I'm still here..."

Finally, whether it was the affectionate address or the warm embrace that worked, the grumbling Tamamo-no-Mae came to her senses, gave up on flipping the table, and gradually quieted down.

Even so, her complexion was still not good, and her fox ears drooped down, losing their usual liveliness.

Samael patted Tamamo-no-Mae's pink back while sighing helplessly.

Although the methods used by this group of "celestial beings" are unethical, they are indeed the safest approach.

In the dark forest of the universe, arbitrarily revealing one's location and existence is a rather foolish and dangerous act.

It must be said that their secrecy measures were absolutely perfect.

Even Samael, the representative who oversees the nine great divine eras, has just learned the truth about the Chinese immortals' journey from Taigong Wang.

Even though it wasn't directly related to him, he was still somewhat displeased with the Kunlun Celestials' choice to protect themselves.

Not to mention Tamamo-no-Mae, who once did the dirty work for Kunlun but ultimately didn't even get a ticket on a boat.

"I want all the information on [Starship]!"

Samael looked up at Taigong Wang opposite him, his face cold and stern.

Since he could no longer rely on those celestial beings, he couldn't leave empty-handed; at least he should retrieve the data on Kunlun's starship forging.

Perhaps we'll be able to use it soon.

Taigong Wang wiped the wine from his face and the orchid ornament on his forehead, shook his head and smiled bitterly: "How could I have such a thing?"

Just now, whether intentionally or unintentionally, Tamamo-no-Mae, in her rage, threw all the plates she had picked up at Jiang Taigong.

Upon hearing the answer, Samael frowned, his dissatisfaction with those celestial beings accumulating further.

Taigong Wang, on the other side, also understood the implied meaning in Samael's words, and his expression immediately hardened.

"Your Excellency requests the secrets of the Starship; could it be that a great calamity is about to befall the world?"

"more or less."

Samael snapped out of his daze, nodded slightly, and relayed the information he had received from Gaia and Alaya to the others.

"really……"

Jiang Ziya's expression darkened. He looked up at the crowd and began to ponder.

“I have been feeling uneasy lately, so I cast a divination. The result is that the mountain is above and the earth is below, which is the 23rd hexagram in the Book of Changes, the ‘Stripping’ hexagram, which is the sign of yin stripping away yang.”

The First Emperor swirled his wine cup, his narrow eyes slightly narrowed.

"With one yang as the head and five yin encroaching upon each other, the yin flourishes while the yang withers, which implies that all things may decline from their peak and decay from this point onward."

After a moment of silence, the First Emperor spoke again, downing the fine wine in his hand in one gulp, raising an eyebrow and chuckling.

"It seems our good days... are numbered."

"Rise and fall are the natural order of things, and even the worst times can turn into a good one."

Taigong Wang shook his head, and a firm and pure light burst forth from his eyes, which had opened at some unknown time.

"Fate may be predetermined, but human effort can make all the difference!"

This is Jiang Taigong's consistent attitude towards divination and fate.

Before the Investiture of the Gods, King Wu of Zhou launched a campaign against King Zhou of Shang. Unsettled, he ordered a diviner to interpret the divination, which indicated great misfortune.

Upon hearing the news, Jiang Ziya rushed over, reinterpreted the divination, and said, "Great misfortune is brewing great fortune; the mandate of heaven returns to Zhou."

Ultimately, with the strong support of Jiang Ziya, King Wu of Zhou led the feudal lords in an uprising, overcoming numerous obstacles, and won the war to invest the gods.

However, simply shouting slogans is obviously meaningless to these heavyweight figures who have seen it all.

Taigong Wang paused for a moment, then spoke leisurely.

"Although I do not possess the secrets of the Starship, the celestial beings of Kunlun left behind something before their journey, which may be of use to you all."

"what?"

Upon hearing this, Samael perked up and quickly pressed for details.

"do not know……"

Taigong Wang shook his head helplessly. Seeing the murderous aura faintly emanating from the snake-like vertical pupils, his heart skipped a beat, and he quickly coughed to explain.

"This item is not in Kunlun; it is being held in trust by another powerful being. Moreover, to obtain it, one needs the seal of Emperor Shun as proof..."

As he spoke, Taigong Wang's resentful gaze swept over the First Emperor and Jie Chuzi.

This thing originally belonged to Kunlun and was kept by the last Heavenly Maiden.

As a result of a series of unforeseen events, not only Emperor Shun's seal, but also the celestial maiden disappeared.

However, now that all three parties have gathered, Emperor Shun's seal and the celestial maiden have returned to their original places, which is truly a cruel twist of fate.

Samael was concise and continued to press for answers.

"where?"

"The celestial tomb, the land of returning to nothingness!"

Having learned from past mistakes, Taigong Wang dared not keep anyone in suspense any longer.

Return to the Ruins...

Samael chewed on the words in his mouth, searching his mind for related records.