Chapter 357: Chapter 209: The Center of the World

Gu Zheng had condensed seven Divine Seeds, opening seven Seas of Consciousness.

Three of these Seas of Consciousness had evolved into Domains.

Giant Wood, Hurricane, and Liaoyuan.

The remaining four were temporarily maintained in their opened state.

For anyone else, maintaining this state would be extremely draining and unstable.

Just like Xiao Xing, who was a ticking time bomb.

But Gu Zheng possessed the Human Emperor’s Seal Artifact Embryo. This treasure easily suppressed... or rather, stabilized the opened Seas of Consciousness without any other side effects.

At this moment, the Evil God’s soul fragment was annihilated. It left behind a sliver of Anomalous Power that bored into his Sea of Consciousness. Gu Zheng instantly locked it down, sealing it tight.

During this process, however, his mind was assaulted. It was as if countless people were murmuring in his ear, a clamor that threatened to drive him mad. A bone-eroding power spread out, attempting to contaminate him.

The Sea of Consciousness had no power to resist.

Gu Zheng decisively initiated its evolution, giving birth to a new Domain.

The direction he chose was thunder.

And what was thunder?

It is the ultimate in hardness and yang, domineering and incandescent, capable of destroying heaven and earth!

This gave Gu Zheng a clear direction for his comprehension.

Destruction!

He would unleash the destructive, annihilating Thunder Power right within his Sea of Consciousness.

The Evil Divine Power sealed within his Sea of Consciousness would serve as the perfect whetstone for this trial.

CRACKLE~

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Gu Zheng stood motionless as arcs of electricity began to appear all over his body.

Immediately after, a purple, semi-transparent sphere materialized with Gu Zheng at its center. It extended in all directions, rapidly spreading and expanding.

Within the sphere, streaks of black-and-gold lightning were born, darting and weaving through the space.

Only three streaks of this lightning were needed to destroy the Evil Divine Power, annihilating it completely.

The semi-transparent sphere continued to expand.

It only stopped when it reached a hundred meters in diameter.

CRACKLE~

RUMBLE!

A deafening thunderclap exploded, echoing high in the sky and reverberating across the entire square.

The Silent Extinction Domain!

His fourth Domain was born with ease.

"Ah~!"

"I... Where am I? What is this place?"

"Husband, where are you?"

"Kill! Kill! All of you, die! Go to... Who are you people? Where’s that son of a bitch Wang Laosi? I’m going to kill him!"

"..."

Shouts suddenly erupted one after another across the square.

The crowd, which had been driven mad and lost all sense of self, began to regain their senses one by one. Some clamored, some roared, some were terrified, and some were just bewildered.

The once-silent square instantly erupted into a clamor.

Gu Zheng’s figure flickered and vanished.

Deep down, he relaxed slightly.

With the Evil God’s soul fragment dead, the people it controlled had regained their senses. It was a good outcome.

...

’The Middle Celestial Tripod is mine.’

’Next target: the Ten Thousand Dragon Tripod!’

He took out the Human Emperor’s Seal Artifact Embryo, letting it hover over his palm as he sensed the location of the Ten Thousand Dragon Tripod.

Soon, Gu Zheng had pinpointed its direction.

He flew straight toward the central regions.

This time, he chose not to fly low, but soared high in the sky.

The lands of the Central Celestial Dao were desolate for a thousand miles.

There was nothing worth seeing.

Gu Zheng stayed high in the sky, following the bearing of the Ten Thousand Dragon Tripod and flying directly toward it.

When he arrived at the location of the Ten Thousand Dragon Tripod, he was slightly taken aback.

On the ground below stood an ancient, time-worn city, exuding an air of solemn dignity.

Taiping City!

It had also served as the Capital City for various dynasties throughout history.

It was founded by the first Human Emperor of the very first dynasty, Emperor Yu.

Over the past ten thousand years, it had been renovated, rebuilt, and expanded.

This was the center of power, the heart of the world.

Under the setting sun, the ancient city exuded an aura of decline, but this couldn’t conceal its sanctity or its former glory.

Gu Zheng hovered in the air, looking down upon the city.

He saw that the city was full of pedestrians, and there was no trace of Demon Fiends outside its walls.

He took out his Demon-Seeking Pot to sense for Demon Fiends.

There wasn’t a single one for miles around.

’Are there no Demon Fiends nearby? Or... do they not dare approach?’

Gu Zheng was intrigued.

Even the name of this city, Taiping, had been bestowed by Emperor Yu.

Its meaning was simple: peace throughout the world.

But how could there be peace during the great upheaval that occurred once every thousand years?

Demon Fiends invading, Noble Families engaging in the Dragon Struggle.

Every upheaval, every change of dynasty, was accompanied by endless bloodshed.

Gu Zheng had assumed Taiping City would be besieged by Demon Fiends, or perhaps had already fallen.

Only by coming here himself did he realize this city was anything but simple.

No Array was in operation, nor was it protected by any Divine Weapon or Marvels.

’How should I put it...’

’It’s as if the will of all people has gathered here, giving rise to an unseen power that covers, grows, and permeates this place...’

’...Human Dao Fortune?’

Gu Zheng’s heart jolted as a sharp glint flashed in his eyes.

Not the fortune of a dynasty, but the higher-level Human Dao Fortune.

The Great Zhou was already in decline, its power about to dissipate completely.

A dynasty’s fortune lacked the power to invisibly protect Taiping City and its surrounding territories, let alone drive away Demon Fiends...

’Well, to be precise, it’s more likely that Demon Fiends are repelled by this power and subconsciously avoid it.’

This alone was enough to shelter Taiping City and the people both inside and outside its walls.

However, the people within the city were not living in peace.

THUD~!

With a muffled thud, a family’s door was kicked open. Several brutish, bare-armed men stormed into the house and began snatching the family’s food.

They ignored the woman’s desperate cries and pleas for mercy, as well as the child’s terrified screams, and swaggered off with what little food the family had left.

None of the neighbors intervened, nor did anyone even cry out.

Their own clothes hung loosely on their gaunt frames.

"We can’t go on living like this."

"Sigh, it’s the same for everyone. No family has enough food. And no one who’s left the city to find more has ever come back."

"Have you heard? In South City, people have started... eating each other..."

"What’s so surprising about that? If I can’t find anything to eat in a few more days, I’ll have to start eating people too!"