A mini explosion seemed to happen in Zu An’s mindd, warning him about the danger he was in. He felt as if he could disintegrate at the other party’s mere thought. He had never felt so shaken before, even when he was standing against a Celestial Emperor. Never had he felt so overpowered that he couldn’t even summon the willpower to retaliate.
This entity was even stronger than the mysterious being Qiu Honglei had summoned through the Dance Offering to the Universe. Judging from the other party’s strength and tone, they must be the Deity of Chaos and Enigma, Mi Li.
He finally understood why so many people had warned him not to carelessly mention a deity’s name. He hadn’t expected that a mere joke he cracked would catch the other party’s attention.
He quickly snapped out of his daze and replied, “I just heard what the Mirror Scribe said, and I have to say that I strongly disagree with his view of chaos and enigma. The world is born amid chaos and enigma, and that is bound to be its ultimate state as well. There is no need for events to be recorded so clearly. An overly defined history will only make everything boring. Only vague information shrouded in mystery can bring endless entertaining possibilities.”
His brain was furiously churning to rake up all of the knowledge he had accrued over his several lifetimes to bootlick the other party. He knew that he only had one shot, and if he failed to secure enough goodwill, destruction would be his plight.
“You seem to believe that I am the Deity of Chaos and Enigma, Mi Li?” The other party’s ethereal voice was tinged with mischief. It sounded feminine, but Zu An didn’t know if it would be right to gender stereotype a deity. She didn’t speak in the Cultivation World’s tongue, but Zu An could still comprehend her, as her voice seemed to directly reach his soul.
Her words left Zu An with goosebumps. Hold on, did I bootlick the wrong person?
If the other party was the Deity of Memories, Meng, his earlier words would have been incredibly disrespectful. The entire Cultivation World could be destroyed because of what he'd just said!
“Your heartbeat and your profuse sweat show that you’re very nervous, but why don’t you try explaining yourself? Is Mi Li the only one worth fawning over?” the voice spoke coldly.
“My mortal wits are nothing in the face of a true deity. I’m sure that, with your divine splendor, you can sense the utmost respect I have for you,” Zu An respectfully replied.
“I only feel your cunning.” She had no corporeal body. All Zu An saw were white lights reminiscent of starlight, moving around and pulsating with different degrees of brightness. That seemed to represent her expression.
Sweat rained down Zu An’s face. He didn’t dare to think too much, fearing that the other party could peer into his mind.
“Forget it. You’re in luck. I am Mi Li,” the voice replied.
I would be luckier if I hadn't caught your attention. Zu An shuddered as soon as the thought popped into his head, and he quickly dispelled it. “I am honored to be in the presence of a revered entity like yourself. May I know if there is anything I can do for you?”
The starlight flickered, as if angered by his disrespectful thought. “Can’t I look for you if I have nothing else to do?”
Zu An sensed that the other party wasn’t as inflexible as he had thought. Rather, she seems a bit...
Not daring to dwell too much on that, he quickly replied, “Revered deities like you must be extremely busy. It is beneath a mortal like me to take up your time for no reason.”
“Don’t use your shallowness to comprehend beings like us.” That voice harrumphed. “In this world, you are a deity, but don’t you still frolic around with those females?”
Zu An was horrified. It felt like the other party had been observing him for a long time. “With my minor accomplishments in my narrow domain, compared to your exalted self, I am no deity.”
He was being so subservient that it even disgusted himself, but the omnipresent terrifying aura vanquished such thoughts right away.
“At least you still have some self-awareness.” The voice chuckled. “I'm here to settle the score with you. That Time Scribe was my worshiper. Tell me, how should I deal with this?”
Zu An trembled. “That Time Scribe’s death has nothing to do with...”
He bit his tongue before he could finish speaking. What if the other party goes after Xihe and Shang Hongyu if I shirk responsibility here?𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖
So, he quickly changed his tune, saying, “It’s a misunderstanding. We didn’t know he was your worshiper.”
“You’re a loyal one. It’s good that you’re willing to bear this karma.” The starlight shimmered dazzlingly. “I don’t want any excuses. You killed my worshiper. If I don’t avenge him today, anyone would dare to hurt my worshipers.”
Beneath the beautiful starlight lurked nearly tangible murderous intent. Zu An racked his brain and replied, “That Time Scribe was one of your countless worshipers. You are the master, whereas he’s your servant. It doesn’t make sense for the master to avenge the servant’s death. It should be the servant avenging the master’s...”
“Hm?”
Zu An nearly choked. “What I’m saying is that this goes against the way of things. Others will wonder who is the master and who is the servant.”
“Are you teaching me how to do things now?” It was impossible to read Mi Li’s emotions from her words.
“I don’t dare to, but I have an idea in mind.” Zu An’s mind had never churned that quickly before.
“Speak!”
“It’s just a Time Scribe. You can find someone to fill his place.”
“It sounds as if you want to be a Time Scribe. It’s not that easy.”
“What I previously did, in a way, fulfills the essence of a Time Scribe,” Zu An hesitantly replied. He chose not to fully divulge what had happened in the spacetime fragment and the Celestial Court world to see if the other party was truly omniscient.
The starlight flickered. A while later, she said, “Indeed, you are a talent in this field. You made a mess of history without changing major events. You’re more outstanding than that buffoon.”
Zu An slowly regained his nerves. His willpower had been sharpened from the countless dangerous encounters he had. By now, he'd already made sense of the situation. She wouldn’t have wasted her breath on me if she was truly here to punish me. This might have been her intention from the start.
“You think I was laying a trap for you?” the voice coldly asked.
Cold sweat rained from Zu An.