# 562
Chapter 563: Zhou Ping and Nyx
Outside.
Nyx gazed at the black cocoon wrapped around Lin Qiye, satisfaction flickering in her eyes. Then, as though sensing something, she lifted her head toward the sky.
Cling—!!
A sword-light streaked in from the distance. Zhou Ping, still in the midst of his Dao-ification, paled as this new divine pressure arrived.
It was far more terrifying than the combined might of De and Set he had faced earlier. Though only a soul fragment, the law-power within it already neared the level of a Creator God.
In his current state he stood no chance—no, even if he had not begun to dissolve into the Dao, he still could not win.
Her aura was too overwhelming.
Zhou Ping’s gaze fell on the black-gowned woman on the ground. He could clearly feel the Night laws surging around her, and inside the black cocoon opposite her still pulsed Lin Qiye’s presence.
He frowned, hesitated not at all, and charged toward Lin Qiye with sword in hand.
His body became a beam of sword-light that landed before the cocoon. Facing Nyx, his long sword thrummed, radiating fierce, terrible Sword Law.
He stared at her, eyes clear with blade intent.
A warning.
Though he knew he probably could not defeat this woman, he still had to bare his blade.
He would let Nyx understand: even if he lost, he could wound her. Like a dying beast driven to the cliff’s edge, he would still bare savage fangs at the stronger foe…
Because behind him were cubs he must protect.
Nyx watched quietly, a gentle gleam in her eyes, the corners of her mouth lifting.
When her treatment progress reached 95%, she had glimpsed this black-robed, sword-bearing youth through the Asylum of the Gods. She knew he was Lin Qiye’s teacher, knew he had cared for the boy many times…
The teacher of her child was one of her own.
"You needn’t be so tense. I am his mother; I will not harm him." Nyx pointed at the cocoon and spoke softly.
Zhou Ping, sword intent already rising, froze.
M… mother?
He studied Nyx, expression odd.
Lin Qiye’s mother… is a Greek goddess?
"He does not carry my blood, yet he is my child." Nyx read the doubt in his heart and explained.
So not by birth… no wonder.
Zhou Ping glanced back at the black cocoon, confirmed Lin Qiye’s aura was stable and in no danger, hesitated, then slowly lowered his sword.
"Is he your agent?" he asked.
He had long felt the familiar power of Night from Lin Qiye; coupled with the boy’s status as dual-god agent, the identity of the noblewoman before him was easy to guess.
Divine Serial No. 043, Goddess of Night, Nyx.
That basically confirmed the woman meant no harm.
Nyx shook her head. "He is my child—nothing more."
"Why are you here?"
"I am leaving. I wished to say goodbye and give him a gift."
"Oh."
Zhou Ping nodded slightly.
The air suddenly turned silent.
Pop—!
A blossom of blood mist burst from Zhou Ping’s body, turning into white threads that faded into the sky…
Dao-ification continued.
He frowned, looked at Nyx, then turned to walk away.
"Where are you going?" Nyx spoke suddenly.
He stopped. "A rat still hides in this city. I’m going to drag him out."
"You mean the god secretly off to the side, working a national-luck curse?" Nyx smiled. "You needn’t bother."
"It concerns Great Xia’s fate. I can’t ignore it," Zhou Ping said, brows knit.
Nyx shook her head, turned toward Great Xia, star-tracks flashing across her eyes, and said slowly:
"You misunderstand. I mean, even if you leave him be, he cannot shake Great Xia’s fortune… Some things you cannot see—but I can."
Zhou Ping stood frozen.
"Professional matters should be left to professionals. In your state, even if you fought that god, you might not kill him." Nyx went on, "If you trust me, stay and make a trade."
"A trade?"
Zhou Ping hesitated, then halted.
He did not trust Nyx; he trusted the Lin Qiye inside the cocoon. Since the boy believed in this goddess of night, he would too.
Besides, what she said was true: with less than a quarter of his body left, even if he hunted the god, he could not slay him.
"What trade?"
"You are the child’s teacher, and the first human in the world to possess your own Law. I admire that." Nyx spoke calmly. "To let you vanish entirely through Dao-ification would be a pity."
She glanced back at the cocoon, gentleness surfacing in her eyes, and continued:
"Moreover, the child will grieve…"
Zhou Ping’s pupils tightened. "You can stop Dao-ification?"
"No." Nyx shook her head. "Dao-ification happens because your mortal body cannot bear the weight of Law. No one can halt it. In other words, your death is self-destruction born of your own limits—inescapable."
Zhou Ping fell silent, disappointment flashing across his gaze.
Nyx went on, "During the process, your flesh will perish under Sword Law. Once the body is gone, your soul will be uncontrollably drawn into the Sword Law you created, merging completely—also part of Dao-ification. Thus everything of you disappears; you become a piece of the world’s operating Law, never again able to separate from it.
What I can do is spend soul-power to weave a patch of night, preventing your consciousness from being absorbed, leaving it in this world in another form—eternal slumber."
"Eternal slumber?" Zhou Ping frowned. "How is that different from Dao-ification?"
"The difference is: after Dao-ification you can never return, not even enter Great Xia’s reincarnation. By leaving awareness here, you may still enter the cycle—there remains a possibility of return…
That is all I can give you: a ‘possibility.’"