# 1755
Chapter 1748: Slumber
Lin Qiye suppressed the emotions in his heart, looked up at the scene before him, and frowned deeply.
"Fate, was this within your calculations as well?" he asked hoarsely.
"I'm not omniscient or omnipotent, nor can I foresee the future. How could I possibly calculate every step?" The Fate Monk shook his head. "I had Chloe give him a piece. If he had joined us and stabbed the Three Pillars from behind, our advantage would have expanded tremendously...
But I didn't expect him to crush the piece directly. He refused to join us entirely. Even I can't figure out what he's thinking."
In one breath, An Qingyu had taken away nine Cthulhu Faction gods. It seemed he didn't want to linger any longer either.
He pulled his hood back on, cast one final glance at Lin Qiye, turned around, and walked into the Gate of Truth. The portal's outline gradually faded and eventually vanished without a trace...
Everything happened too fast. By the time the gods came to their senses, the chaotic battlefield of slaughter had fallen into dead silence.
"So we really let them go..." Jiang Ziya squinted, unable to resist letting out a yawn.
"How strange, why do I feel so drowsy?"
"Me too, it seems to be getting worse..."
Without the stimulation of the divine war, an overwhelming drowsiness washed over the hearts of the Gods of Great Xia. They could sense their divine personas were changing, and all looked toward the moon that had almost disappeared in the distance, their eyes full of confusion.
"Are you done venting? If you're done, let's go." The Fate Monk said.
"Go? Where to?"
"Heavenly Court." The Fate Monk said calmly, "The benefits the Eternal Pill brings to Heavenly Court far outweighs suppressing the Moon's seal... Wipe away your tears, straighten your spine. You should go see them off, on behalf of humanity."
In the Eternal Heavenly Court.
"My divine power is still growing... What's happening?" The Lord of Dao watched his own hands, confusion evident between his brows.
"The Eternal Pill has merged with Heavenly Court's origin, bringing qualitative changes to both it and this divine realm itself. The divine personas of us Gods of Great Xia are closely connected to the origin, so naturally we receive the nourishment of eternity." The Lingbao Tianzun's expression was somewhat complicated,
"Simply put, our entire Great Xia divine system is ascending to a higher plane... This ascension isn't as simple as just an increase in divine power. Our upper limit will also be raised simultaneously. Some beings who were already standing at the peak of a certain realm might take this opportunity to break through the barrier."
"Are you saying that the top few Chief Gods could potentially step into the Supreme realm?" The Lord of Dao asked in astonishment, then seemed to think of something. "What about you?"
"I have traversed the cycle of true self, and my realm has reached perfection. Taking this opportunity... I want to try to冲击 that realm."
Upon hearing these words, both Yuanshi Tianzun and the Lord of Dao were shocked.
"If you step into that realm, plus more Chief Gods breaking through to the Supreme, then even without massive amounts of faith, Heavenly Court will stand shoulder to shoulder with Heaven's Kingdom... even higher!" Yuanshi Tianzun's eyes shone brightly.
"That's right. This is an unprecedented opportunity for the entire Heavenly Court." The Lingbao Tianzun paused. "But the ascension of an entire divine system cannot be achieved overnight. We may have to fall into slumber..."
"Slumber?" The Lord of Dao frowned slightly. "Come to think of it, I do feel a bit drowsy now..."
"How long would this slumber last?"
"Hard to say. At least three to five years, at most... several centuries. This kind of opportunity has never existed before. I can't give a definitive answer."
Yuanshi Tianzun frowned deeply. After some contemplation, he still shook his head. "No, this point in time is far too special. An Qingyu took away nine Cthulhu Faction gods. Those nine Cthulhu Faction gods possess combat power sufficient to sweep any single divine kingdom that ever existed on Earth. They've gone from visible to hidden, and no one knows when they might return.
If we fall into slumber, what happens to Earth?"
The three Tianzuns fell silent simultaneously.
"In that case... we can only forcibly interrupt the ascension." The Lingbao Tianzun sighed. "Though it's a bit regrettable, there's no other way..."
"We cannot interrupt the ascension."
Just then, a voice came from the distance.
The three Tianzuns turned to look, only to see three identical "Lin Qiye" slowly descending onto the center of the Eternal Heavenly Court.
The Lin Qiye on the left bore six pure white wings, his aura scorching and holy; the Lin Qiye on the right wore a mud-stained kasaya, his expression cold and indifferent; the Lin Qiye in the center draped in a deep crimson cloak, his eyes still somewhat red.
"You..." The Lord of Dao looked at the three Lin Qiyes before him, momentarily bewildered.
"The ascension of the Eternal Heavenly Court is a crucial decisive move on the chessboard of the future. If we interrupt it now, while it reduces risk in the short term, it will be harder than climbing the heavens to completely win this game in the future." The Fate Monk said calmly.
The Lingbao Tianzun glanced at the Fate Monk, then turned his gaze back to the central Lin Qiye, worried:
"But if Heavenly Court falls into slumber, what happens to Great Xia?"
"Great Xia has long since changed beyond recognition." Lin Qiye pointed toward the distant Earth. "Starting from Commander Ye's era, Great Xia has been persistently cultivating strong humans. Now the seeds have all matured. Even without Heavenly Court's protection, humanity can stand alone."
The three Tianzuns exchanged glances, still seemingly hesitant.
Humanity's current combat power wasn't weak. If placed in earlier times, they would have been capable of challenging any divine kingdom on Earth alone. But now they had to face nine Cthulhu Faction gods hiding in the shadows, along with the【Key to the Gate】and the【Black Goat】. The risk was enormous.
This was a gamble—a huge gamble. If they won, Earth would possess a superpower divine kingdom surpassing Heaven's Kingdom; if they lost, everything would be in vain.
Could they bet the fate of this universe on humanity... that was the three Tianzuns' concern.
"Gods have protected all beings for far too long. From now on, we shall fight for our own destiny." The three Lin Qiyes simultaneously clasped their fists and bowed deeply to the three Tianzuns,
"Please, Gods of Great Xia, fall into slumber."
The Lingbao Tianzun upon seeing this, finally sighed: "You dared to make this request proactively, so you must already have countermeasures... Since that's the case, we'll bet on you. I hope that two thousand years of accumulation has allowed you to lead all of humanity to unprecedented heights."
The Lord of Dao looked at the Lingbao Tianzun in surprise. He hadn't expected that Lingbao would truly dare to bet something this important on Lin Qiye and humanity... He was just a young man in his early twenties.
And Yuanshi Tianzun wore an expression of "just as I expected." His gaze swept between Lingbao and Lin Qiye.
"So it turns out, the person who had a secret meeting with me two thousand years ago and borrowed the Eastern Emperor Bell... was Lin Qiye..."
"What?" The Lord of Dao upon hearing this was immediately startled.
"Since that's the case, this贫道 has no objections either... Lin Qiye, the future of humanity and this chess game is now in your hands." Yuanshi Tianzun relaxed and said slowly.