Zu An had been wondering what had happened in the Netherworld to cause it to be emptied overnight. The Netherworld had been protected by the Shaman races, ghost deities, and the Six Paths of Reincarnation. It could even stand its ground against an invasion from the Celestial Court.
But the inscription on the Reincarnation Platform was so brief that it appeared that the Netherworld had been destroyed in a very short time, such that even Ox Head and Horse Face didn’t have time to leave complete information.
So, he asked Employee 9527 about it. He thought that it was worth a question.
“The Netherworld?” Employee 9527 frowned. “It sounds like it could be related to the Deity of Death, but my apologies, the Universal Conglomerate has no information about that. Perhaps you might have better luck with the Deity of Memory’s worshipers. Since I’m unable to answer this question, I’ll let you ask another one.”
Zu An was intrigued. “Have you memorized all the Universal Conglomerate’s information?”
It was amazing how Employee 9527 could answer his questions right away each time.
“Of course not.” Employee 9527 smiled. “Who knows how many civilizations there are in the Myriad Worlds? I can’t possibly remember everything. We’re implanted with a chip that grants us restricted access to the conglomerate’s database, depending on our access rights, so that we can strike deals.”
“Could your access rights be insufficient to access that piece of information?” Zu An asked, refusing to give up.
“That’s not the case here.” Employee 9527 shook his head. “The database will notify us as such if our access rights are too low to access a piece of information. In such cases, we can contact a colleague with higher access rights to handle the exchange. However, the database indicated that it doesn’t have the information you’re looking for.”
“I see.” Zu An was disappointed. At the same time, he was amazed by how the Universal Conglomerate had access to not only cultivation treasures but also sci-fi technology. No wonder their business got this big.
Employee 9527 continued, “All beings fear death. Some overcome it by pursuing longevity, maximizing their individual potential. Others go a different route, pursuing quantity over quality. They frantically reproduce to ensure the continuation of their race and bloodline.
“Naturally, there is also the Deity of Reproduction. As long as a single member of their race survives, they will be able to make a comeback. Such swiftly reproducing races are a huge headache for countless civilizations.”
Zu An was reminded of sunfishes and Antarctica krill from his previous life—those were animals who relied on mass reproduction to ensure the survival of their species. To think there would be such races in the Myriad Worlds too!
“Reproduction isn’t just limited to biological reproduction. For instance, the Deity of Reproduction’s worshipers from technological civilizations may also engage in actions such as cloning,” Employee 9527 explained.
Zu An was reminded of a famous anti-fan of a gaming company in his previous life. The gaming company had kept reporting the anti-fan’s social media account to stop him from spreading negative information, but a new one would just pop out right after. The gaming company couldn’t stop the anti-fan no matter what it tried.
I guess that anti-fan should count as a Deity of Reproduction worshiper.
“Next is the Deity of Love and Beauty. Her worshipers believe the meaning of life is beauty. They pursue everything beautiful, be it in appearance, buildings, sceneries, or the universe. In technological civilizations, it can even be applied to physics and mathematical equations. Often, they judge an equation by its aesthetics before it is proven to be true.”
Zu An was baffled. Huh? That works too?
“Unlike other universal deities, the Deity of Love and Beauty is the only confirmed female deity. It is also recorded in our database that she is the most beautiful woman in the Myriad Worlds. However, it has been a long time since anyone has seen her.” Employee 9527’s eyes shone as he spoke about the Deity of Love and Beauty. It seemed as if his greatest regret was having yet to see her.
“Are the other deities genderless?” Zu An asked out of curiosity.
“Of course. Universal deities can’t be judged in the same way as normal beings. Gender holds no meaning to them,” Employee 9527 replied.
I guess the Deity of Love and Beauty must be truly narcissistic to insist on existing as a woman.
“If you obtain news about the Deity of Love and Beauty, make sure to sell it to me. Such information will land me consecutive promotions in the Universal Conglomerate. You can trust me to compensate you handsomely for that,” Employee 9527 said with beaming eyes.
Zu An smiled. “You’re overestimating me. I doubt someone from a remote world like me will stumble upon the Deity of Love and Beauty when no one else in the vast Myriad Worlds knows about her whereabouts.”
“That’s hard to say. You are blessed with tremendous fortune.” Despite his words, Employee 9527 didn’t think Zu An would be lucky enough to stumble upon the Deity of Love and Beauty either. He continued his introduction, “Up next is the Deity of Knowledge. All civilized races hold knowledge in high regard and seek to understand the universes’ fundamental laws. The Deity of Knowledge’s worshipers are more common in technological civilizations.
“The Universal Conglomerate hires the Deity of Knowledge’s worshipers to resolve our problems. The chips in our heads that allow us to access the database were developed by them.”
Zu An figured the world he'd lived in prior to his transmigration could be considered a technological civilization too. In fact, most cultivators devoted their lives to comprehending dao. That was pursuit of knowledge, too.
“There’s also the Deity of Protection. From ants to higher entities, all beings have things they seek to protect. Naturally, there is bound to be a Deity of Protection as well.”
Zu An guessed that Mohism’s believers from his previous life would worship the Deity of Protection if they knew about his existence. Curious, he asked, “Then what does the Deity of Protection himself seek to protect?”
Employee 9527 was taken aback. “I don’t know. Some say he has devoted himself to protecting the Myriad Worlds to keep them from being destroyed, but who would have the ability to destroy the Myriad Worlds?”
Zu An nodded in agreement. Even if the sky collapsed, there were universal deities to shoulder the burden. These were problems for them to worry about, not him.
“I have already answered one of your questions. What else do you want to ask?” Employee 9527 felt as if he was taking a huge loss. The information he had just revealed far surpassed the value of a single question.
“I’d like information about Dreamland.” There was a lot of things Zu An wanted to know about, but his priority at hand was still learning about Dreamland. Qi Yaoguang’s prophecy had piqued his vigilance. This trip was likely to be fraught with danger. He should first overcome the crisis at hand before thinking about other matters.
Employee 9527 frowned. “The scope of your question is too big. I feel like I’m taking a huge loss here.”