Chapter 2546: Chapter 2546: A Secret Agreement

Lorena had always presented a strong front, and she seldom appeared sad in front of her husband and her son.

However, in front of her father, all of her grievances over the years came rushing to the surface.

She sobbingly related to Chiyou what had happened in the divine land, from the divine land setting out to the fact that Zen inherited the original will.

When she had finished narrating the story, a hint of grief colored Chiyou's usually indifferent voice. “Back then, I released the divine land to fly without anyone's knowledge. I didn't think that it would bring you such suffering...”

Lorena shook her head. “Father, it is not your fault... but why didn't you use your soul fragment to control the divine land? If you had done so, it would have given our Nine Li race an advantage.”

This question had been bothering Lorena, and even Mike was puzzled when she told him about it.

It would not have been difficult for Chiyou to split his soul. Besides, he could train a soul fragment to guard the divine land so that the ordinary masters at the Other Shore Realm could not attack it.

Chiyou gave a faint smile. “That's because they have the means to track down all of my soul fragments. Therefore, if I placed my soul fragment in the divine land, then I would have exposed its location. In that case, I'm afraid that the divine land couldn't have remained hidden up to this point...”

“But Father, are you perhaps... right now...” A certain suspicion filled Lorena.

Chiyou shook his head. “No, I am not a soul remnant; this presence is a trace of my will created through a special method. I can only last for a short time, so I'll disappear soon. That's why I was so eager to see you.”

“Is this our last chance to meet?” The thought made Lorena even sadder.

For a powerful being like Chiyou, a strand of soul remnant meant a chance for resurrection. Lorena did not expect that her father was not even a soul remnant right now.

“Perhaps, perhaps not,” Chiyou replied sagely and shook his head again.

At his ambiguous answer, Lorena was filled with determination. “What should we do, then? I will never give up as long as there's hope, no matter how small it is!”

Chiyou went silent again.

That glimmer of hope was too slim. Even if he was revived, it would be difficult for him to change the fate of the Nine Li race.

After that long, pregnant pause, Chiyou said, “Lorena, I hope that you can hide among the chaos and survive in the divine land.”

Lorena frowned and stared at her father, saying, “But...”

Chiyou stilled her words. “The Source World is no longer suitable for the Nine Li race. I released this ship to fly in order to provide a means of escape for our race. Now that I have known how you survived, I'm content.”

Evidently, Chiyou didn't want Lorena to lead the Nine Li race back to the Source World.

It did occur to Lorena to lead her race back to the Source World. She wanted to return the divine land back to the days when the Sacred race flourished and the Nine Li people scattered all throughout the divine land. She also hoped that there would be more masters at the Other Shore Realm in the divine land. ɽåＮộꞖĚ𝒮

Standing on the top of the world, Chiyou had witnessed something more profound. He clearly saw that the divine land could not save the Nine Li race.

However, Lorena firmly shook her head and said, “Father, I can promise you anything else, but I cannot stand by and watch the Nine Li race always hide like hunted animals in the divine land!”

“Haha!”

For the first time, Chiyou burst into laughter.

He then said, “I've given you that glimmer of hope the night before I released the divine land to fly. Neither you nor anyone of the Nine Li race can go back to the Source World.”

“Do you mean Zen and Yan, Father?” Lorena immediately asked, eyes flashing.

Chiyou had not met Yan, but he knew that she was another Six-pattern Blood-storing Seed.

He nodded and said, “Yes, I want them to go to the Source World. One of them should go to the Pear Hill, and the other should go back to...”

“I'm going with them!” Lorena stubbornly interrupted her father.

Chiyou shook his head in disagreement and said, “You should stay in the divine land.”

“But why?” Lorena almost mutinously asked.

“There are things that you can't do, and that even I can't decide. So you must listen to me!” While speaking, Chiyou glanced at Mike.

Even as a Holy Being, Mike felt unusually nervous, as it was his first time to meet his father-in-law.

Chiyou turned to him. “I want you to be kind to my daughter.” Then, he addressed the rest. “All of you, leave the bridge. I have something to tell Zen.”

“I promise I will take good care of Lorena,” Mike replied and bowed to Chiyou.

Lorena was reluctant to leave, but she was ushered away by Mike.

At this time, Chiyou lifted his right hand again, and the golden cage that had been imprisoning No. 9527 disappeared. He stared at No. 9527 and said, “If Gerald really wants Zen to be the Finale Hero, then we do share the same goals in some ways.”

“That's what I thought from the very beginning,” No. 9527 replied calmly.

“How much can Gerald help Zen?” asked Chiyou.

After thinking for a while, No. 9527 replied, “Master has fallen into a deep sleep. What I can give Zen now is only a part of his blood, as well as the theurgy to use the blood.”

“That's not enough,” argued Chiyou.

“It's useless for you to bargain with me,” No. 9527 adamantly replied. “Master did not give me permission to offer anything. Besides, Zen is now only a True God who hasn't entered the Other Shore Realm yet, so let us just hope that nothing untoward happens before that.”

Zen, who was standing a little to the side, felt like an idiot while listening to their conversation. He didn't expect Chiyou and No. 9527 to bargain in front of him, and that Chiyou was obviously trying to use him to benefit from Gerald.

In the end, Chiyou gently waved his hand and started to converse with No. 9527 alone, not letting Zen overhear any of it.

Less than three minutes later, Chiyou shot a meaningful look at Zen and suddenly let out a sigh.

This sigh reverberated in the air. In an instant, the entire Chiyou statue and the weapons held in his five hands eroded, disintegrated into sand, and collapsed. Only the Soaring Snake Sword remained.

As expected, Chiyou's will disappeared completely.

Just like he told his daughter, his apparition was not a soul remnant, so it only lasted for a short time. This was his final arrangement.

After the statue collapsed, the Soaring Snake Sword had no owner once again, and the Wooden Puppet Soldiers under the small bridge were reactivated.

Zen's reaction was instantaneous. He snapped up the Soaring Snake Sword in his hand to avoid the Wooden Puppet Soldiers' riot.

“Buzz...”

No. 9527 swung a green track through the air and entered Zen's chest.

“What did my grandfather tell you?” Zen demanded.

He was dying of curiosity to find out about the agreement between Chiyou and No. 9527.

Unexpectedly, No. 9527 just grinned and refused to say a word to Zen. “Anyway, your fate is in my hands. From now on, you need to listen to my orders!”

Zen rolled his eyes and retreated from the bridge.

At this point, Lorena was leaning against Mike's shoulder, her eyes red with grief. When she saw Chiyou's statue crumble, she knew that her father had finally left. Even so, she was content to see him for the last time.