Records of Mysterious Things in the Southern Dynasties

Chapter 565 No Gods Under Heaven
A black beam of light pierced through his body, and Wu Yang's divine core, which was about to explode, stopped expanding and returned to calm.

"You are so cruel..." Wu Yang's eyes were filled with blood and tears. He knew that he was powerless now and had become a lamb to the slaughter.

"You deserve it." Ren Yuan sneered, showing no pity for this source of all evil.

Wu Xian was even more ruthless, cleaving Wu Yang's back open with a single slash, and then reaching in to pull out the divine core.

"Hahaha!" Seeing that the divine core was still intact, Wu Xian laughed wildly and mocked Wu Yang: "I'm the one who'll have the last laugh!"

"Not necessarily..." Wu Yang squeezed out the last two words through gritted teeth, and his thousand-foot-tall divine body turned into dust.

Ren Yuan also transformed back into human form, exhaling a weary breath and saying, "Go out."

“No rush,” Wu Xian said in a deep voice. “We should each rely on our own abilities to compete for Wu Yang’s divine core.”

"I won't fight you for it anymore, the Divine Core is yours." Ren Yuan shook his head, brandished the Yin-Yang Blade, sliced ​​open the Prison Heaven Diagram, and spread his wings to fly away.

"Why?" Wu Xian frowned, completely baffled.

“Regardless of your original intentions, you genuinely helped me resurrect and became a god.” Ren Yuan said matter-of-factly, “I, Ren Yuan, will repay both my enemies and my kindness.”

“Boy, do you know how rare the core of an ancient god is?” Wu Xian said as he flew alongside him, “and it’s from the same origin as ours. There will never be another one like it in the world.”

"If it's not there, it's not there." Ren Yuanfei stepped out of the Prison Heaven Diagram and said calmly, "How can things always go as planned?"

"You're quite interesting," Wu Xian said, flying out after you. "No wonder so many people value you and are willing to sacrifice for you."

“So I can’t do anything that would disappoint them,” Ren Yuan said in a deep voice.

“If possible, I would really like to be your friend.” Wu Xian sighed deeply again, then changed the subject, “Unfortunately, I need your divine core.”

Ren Yuan stopped and turned to look at Wu Xian: "So?"

"So, since you're being a good person, hand over your divine core as well," Wu Xian said in a deep voice. "Don't blame me. Only one of us three can survive. That's fate."

"I refuse." Ren Yuan shook his head without hesitation and said, "Giving you Wu Yang's divine core is enough to repay your kindness. If you still want mine, then we'll have to settle for another matter."

“Alas, I’m not discussing this with you, I’m ordering you around.” Wu Xian said with an air of complete control over him, “Let me be frank with you—when you were able to become a god, in addition to offering you the eighteen levels of hell to create miracles, I also gave you the other half of the divine fire.”

"Yes, I guessed it." Ren Yuan nodded.

“But I planted a killing curse within that divine fire. With just a thought, you will lie dead on the spot… Of course, your divine core might be damaged, but it's not a big problem.” Wu Xian looked at Ren Yuan leisurely and said, “So…”

“So I never owed you anything from the beginning,” Ren Yuan interrupted him. “Then I won’t give you the divine core.”

"Then let's see who has the best skills." Wu Xian sneered as he chanted the Killing God Curse!

As the incantation was chanted, the surrounding air twisted into a vortex, and a cloud of black mist condensed in the air into a hideous ghost face, rushing towards Ren Yuan.

Ren Yuan felt as if he were facing a formidable enemy. The twelfth-grade world-destroying black lotus rose up and formed a black light barrier in front of him.

“It’s no use, the spell can’t stop it,” Wu Xian said calmly.

Before the words were finished, a bizarre scene unfolded—just as the ghostly mask was about to touch the darkness, it suddenly changed direction and rushed towards Wu Xian like a torrent flowing backward.

"Ah!" Wu Xian's piercing scream tore through the air. Black mist, like living things, burrowed into his skin, and the veins on his neck bulged like earthworms. He staggered backward, collapsing to his knees, paralyzed, black blood continuously spilling from the corners of his mouth. "Impossible, this is a spell I learned eight thousand years ago, it can't possibly be wrong..."

"..." Ren Yuan was about to mock Him, 'You've fallen before I even made a move.' But a glance at the crowd below revealed that Wu Gu was also bleeding from all seven orifices, collapsed in A Yao's arms...

When Wu Xian saw that Wu Gu was behaving the same way as him, he immediately understood—it must be that Wu Gu, who was also proficient in this spell, had transferred the God-Slaying Curse from Ren Yuan's body to her own body, and at the same time cursed the person who cast the curse.

"Why would you do something so harmful to yourself and others?!" Wu Xian angrily questioned.

“Because I have come to regard myself as a human being, not a witch, much less a god.” The witch spat out a mouthful of black blood and laughed, “Gods and witches alike only ever think of themselves, while we humans can sacrifice ourselves for others.”

Ren Yuan was also stunned, and flew to Wu Gu's side with Wu Xian in his arms.

"How could this be?!" He knew the witch had lifted the curse on him, but that was thirty-two years later, when the two of them went hunting Gao Cheng. He never expected it to have such consequences. Ren Yuan looked at the witch with red eyes: "Why did the curse transfer to you?!"

"The Killing God Curse is too powerful. I, thirty-two years later, cannot withstand such strong damage on my own." Wu Gu gave a bitter laugh and said, "So I, in my present state, have to share the burden."

"Why did you do this?" Ren Yuan asked, tears streaming down his face.

“Just like your master, we all wanted to end this era of gods and demons.” The witch spat out another mouthful of black blood and slowly said, “Back then, we ten witches tore a hole in the sky in order to summon the demon god, which is why gods and demons keep descending into the world.”

“So if you want to end this three-hundred-year dark age, you have to go up and plug the hole.” The witch looked at Ren Yuan and said, “But those demons up there will definitely not let you have your way, so you still have to take the ‘True Spirit Position Map’ to heaven to confer the gods and restrain all those demons.”

"Of course, those infamous ancient gods and trolls will certainly not be willing to submit to you, so you must first become a chief god before you are qualified to challenge for the position of God King. But the path to God King is fraught with danger, you may encounter misfortune, or you may even return to the Heavenly Dao like Taiyi... So if you refuse, I will not blame you."

"Don't worry, I won't refuse." Ren Yuan said without hesitation, "What you said is exactly what I want to do. If it can make the world without gods, I am willing to sacrifice myself like you!"

"Your master was right about you..." The witch passed away peacefully with a sense of relief.

~~
A year after the Battle of Dreamland, Ren Yuan merged the divine cores of Wu Yang and Wu Xian, attained the status of the Primordial God, and then embarked on the path of conquering the heavens without hesitation.

But he was not alone. A Yao, Chen Qingzhi, Zu Chongzhi, and three thousand white-robed soldiers who had become the God of Destruction all resolutely accompanied him.

The first three were all from the Shangqing School, upholding their master's wishes, so there's not much to say about them. The White-Robed Army, however, put Ren Yuan in a very difficult position.

"Are you really not going to reconsider?" Ren Yuan asked Ma Fonian and the others one last time.

“I’ve said it so many times, you need brothers under your command to become a king and a tyrant. The same principle applies even in heaven.” Ma Fonian and the others laughed. “Besides, once you become a god-king, we will have contributed to your rise to power, and maybe we can even become gods ourselves.”

“That’s right, that’s right. We’re doing this for our own future. Don’t feel indebted to us.” The white-robed soldiers laughed together.

"Alright." Ren Yuan nodded emphatically and said in a deep voice, "Then let's set off!"

"Yes, sir!" the soldiers responded in unison.

The Chinese spacecraft spread its wings and soared into the sky, carrying Ren Yuan and his companions away from the mortal realm and straight to the heavens!
【End of text】

P.S. I know that many characters' fates and endings weren't explained, so there will be side stories. Explaining everyone's ending in the main text would be too fragmented and glossed over, which would be rather bland. I personally think it's better to present it in side stories.

Furthermore, the bonus content is being given away for free as a way of thanking everyone for their unwavering support.

If you'd like to see a spin-off for a particular character, or what kind of spin-off you'd like to see, please leave a comment here, and I'll try my best to accommodate your request.

(End of this chapter)