Zu An felt extreme bliss before he could even respond.

A fountain of bliss erupted not just from his body, but his very soul. The thought that the other party was a universal deity only made him more excited. For a brief moment, he even thought that he had lived his life in vain.

His previous lovers—Chu Chuyan, Manman, and the sort—flashed through his mind, but even the sum of them couldn't compete with the bliss he was currently experiencing.

However, his willpower had been forged by the many difficulties he had been through. His relationship with his lovers also transcended mere physical pleasure; they had braved through many life and death situations together.

It didn't take long for Zu An to notice an anomaly. As expected of the Deity of Bliss and Desire. I didn't expect her to be able to affect me so much without me knowing.

The Deity of Bliss and Desire remarked in surprise, "You're able to maintain your clarity? Is it because of Death's authority, or did Mi Li and Meng leave a mark on you..."

Zu An thought her words made sense. It would take a universal deity's power to counteract another universal deity's power.

"Shall I pull out?" He thought it would be awkward to continue like this.

The Deity of Bliss and Desire laughed softly. She wrapped her arm around his neck and said, "I never intended to control you through this. That was merely my power leaking out."

Zu An shuddered. The feeling of incomparable bliss suddenly assaulted him once more. He quickly pulled himself together and asked, "You mentioned that the Heavenly Devil Empress was one of your clones, right?"

"Indeed~" Even the deity's sigh pulled at the heartstrings.

"What's the situation with Daji?" Zu An voiced his doubt. Considering their identical appearances, Daji had to be related to the Heavenly Devil Empress. Could that mean that she was related to the Deity of Bliss and Desire as well?'

The Deity of Bliss and Desire flicked her finger, and Daji flew to their side. She gently touched Daji's face and said, "How beautiful. As expected of me."

Zu An asked in surprise, "That's you as well?"

"It'd be more apt to call that the future of this clone," the Deity of Bliss and Desire replied. "If not for this existing connection, do you think I'd have done this with you?"

It suddenly occurred to Zu An that his soul contract with Daji might have been the reason he was so compatible with the Deity of Bliss and Desire.

"But where did her soul go?" Zu An asked.

"She's my clone. Naturally, her soul is with me..." The Deity of Bliss and Desire started sounding less confident at this point. "Something might have happened, prompting her to take precautions."

Zu An was surprised. "You don't know?"

"Universal deities aren't omnipotent. We have our troubles too. Do you know why I had to send the Heavenly Devil Empress down to this world?" the Deity of Bliss and Desire asked.

Zu An shook his head. Before he met the Deity of Bliss and Desire, he had also been perplexed as to why the universal deities' influence didn't seem to extend into this world.

He asked, "Are you trying to avoid something?" But what could a universal deity be avoiding?

The Deity of Bliss and Desire didn't answer the question directly. Instead, she changed her pose and sat in his embrace. "Have you heard about the World Gate?"

Zu An widened his eyes. "I heard that this world's Emperor Jun went into the World Gate and went missing."

The Deity of Bliss and Desire scoffed, "He had to be killed because he stumbled upon the truth." She spoke so casually, as if killing a supreme deity was no different from squashing an ant.

"What truth?" Zu An asked. He knew that this world was fraught with danger, so he expected that the deity would beat around the bush.

To his surprise, however, the Deity of Bliss and Desire gave a proper reply, "Do you know what lies behind the World Gate?"

"Is it an entity that even universal deities fear?" Zu An thought about how even the Deity of Bliss and Desire had to hide inside her clone in this world.

"Not exactly. The Deity of Knowledge lies behind the World Gate."

Zu An felt a jolt in his mind. He had never expected this answer. He had never interacted with the Deity of Knowledge; he only knew that the other party was the manifestation of all knowledge in this world, the smartest being in the Myriad Worlds. He couldn't understand why the Deity of Knowledge was behind the World Gate, and he couldn't comprehend why the Deity of Bliss and Desire was fearful of them, too.

Seemingly reading his thoughts, the Deity of Bliss and Desire said, "This world was created by the Deity of Knowledge. Isn't it normal for me to tread carefully on their turf?"

"What?!" Zu An was shocked beyond words. Many things suddenly made sense to him.

This wasn't his first time arriving at the Celestial World, but each time, there were some anomalies that didn't make sense. He had always attributed it to him arriving at different times, but who could have known that the Celestial World was an illusion all along?

"Stop getting distracted," the Deity of Bliss and Desire grumbled in dissatisfaction. "I won't share any more secrets with you if you refuse to focus."

Mi Li and Meng had always refrained from answering Zu An's questions directly. The Deity of Bliss and Desire was the only one who answered his questions properly. He knew that this golden opportunity might not present itself again, so he quickly pulled himself together and focused on presenting bliss and desire to her.

The Deity of Bliss and Desire smiled in approval. "We universal deities have long noticed a terrible crisis encroaching on us. Each of us is using our own method to resolve that crisis, and the Celestial Court is the solution devised by the Deity of Knowledge."

Zu An asked, "What exactly is that crisis?"

"Dear, it's still too dangerous for your current self to learn about it," the Deity of Bliss and Desire replied. "The Deity of Knowledge created the Celestial Court and allowed it to develop freely like a simulation. They were hoping to find a solution across countless parallel worlds, but it looks like their efforts are doomed to fail.

"Each time they failed, they would restart the world, alter the parameters, and begin another round of simulation. That was what gave rise to the countless parallel worlds."

She added, "You have come into contact with technological worlds, so you should be familiar with civilization-style games. It's the same idea. Different choices lead to different outcomes."

Zu An was shocked. Are you saying that the dungeons I've entered thus far are all artificial worlds created by the Deity of Knowledge?

"Does that mean that the people I met are fake as well?" Are the Goddess of Wu Mountain, the Mermaid Queen, and the current Xihe all fake?