The legend of the Crimson Demon clan started from Suqing

#459 - The God of Disobedience Will Retire

Cold, shivering.

When Zun-zun awoke, he found himself hanging from a large tree before jumping down.

"Where is this?"

Zun-zun looked around and found himself in a lush, green mountain, thick with the scent of soil and trees, and a babbling brook nearby.

On a clear day, a stroll here would be quite pleasant, but alas, it was raining, with large droplets pelting down.

A fierce wind swept through the air, mercilessly stealing away his soaked body heat.

Furthermore, Zun-zun's physical condition was far from ideal.

A strong sense of nausea, chills, and headache, a powerful dizziness akin to carsickness or seasickness—despite his powerful physique as a Godslayer, he shouldn't be experiencing such strange symptoms.

"Is it truly the Otherworld?"

Zun-zun had recently crammed on information about the Otherworld; everyone who entered invariably mentioned feeling unwell, as if poisoned. This must be the Otherworld's toxic fumes. No, perhaps 'miasma' would be a better term.

He followed the stream towards the mountaintop.

Wandering aimlessly in the mountains would only lead to getting lost; without a landmark, he could only head for higher ground to get a view.

At the same time, he noticed that the stream flowing beside him was quite muddy and flowing at an exaggeratedly fast pace, likely due to the increased flow from the rain. Judging from the stream's course, this must be a rather remote and deep mountain.

After about ten minutes of walking.

"Is that... a thatched hut?"

Zun-zun saw a small hut ahead, like a rustic wooden cabin from a period drama, with the entrance's sliding door open as if awaiting a guest.

With a feeling in his heart, he walked towards it.

Arriving at the doorway.

He found an old man inside, seemingly the hut's owner, sitting cross-legged in front of an old-fashioned sunken hearth.

His height was at least 180 centimeters, and he was very tall, wearing only a rough kimono, revealing a strong physique that belied his age, with muscles that would put most strong men to shame.

The old man's expression was also stubborn, matching his robust body perfectly.

The divine power flowing through his limbs allowed Zun-zun to guess his identity, leading him to complain helplessly.

"Could you use a better way to greet me next time?"

"Hahaha—, sorry, sorry, my shrine maiden caused you trouble. Come, come inside to take shelter from the rain."

"Excuse me."

Zun-zun took off his shoes and sat cross-legged opposite the old man.

The two of them silently warmed themselves by the fire.

"...Aren't you going to attack?"

"There's no need, is there? You haven't attacked either."

He casually answered the old man's question.

The old man sighed, "If it were in the past, I certainly would have, but I grew tired of that game a long time ago."

"Same here."

"Hahaha—, to think someone who only recently became a Demon King would say they're tired of it... Looks like you're different from that youngster who chases after prey!"

This answer seemed to intrigue him, prompting hearty laughter.

He must be talking about Voban.

But there must be Godslayers who aren't good at fighting, like Lady Aisha and Kusanagi Godou; not everyone is a battle maniac.

"You know, I used to be a rebellious god."

For some reason, he suddenly entered a reminiscing mode, the old man saying this with a sigh.

But Zun-zun didn't interrupt.

After all, he was here to ask for a favor; listening to the old man vent was only proper.

"I wandered the earth for over a thousand years, and eventually grew weary, so I decided to retire. I used to be quite a reckless and violent fellow, but as I got older, my personality mellowed out."

Indeed, his words sounded just like an old gangster recounting his past in the underworld.

"Speaking of which, I've been curious about something for a while now: what is the ultimate fate of the rebellious gods? Seeing you appear here, you couldn't possibly have been killed by a Godslayer, and the gods haven't been rampaging across the land again. Where did they go?"

"They retired."

Suddenly, he heard a very modern term. The person before him was clearly an ancient rebellious god, yet he used such modern language.

"Hahaha, your expression is quite amusing, young man."

The old man burst into laughter.

After a brief moment of astonishment, he suddenly remembered that the old man before him wasn't truly hidden in the Otherworld; he had also been in contact with Kiyomi Erika, so he must have learned about the affairs of the modern world from her.

"Tch, that kid's quick to catch on."

He didn't seem to like people who were quick-witted.

"I'm currently in a state of seclusion. Because rebellious gods don't die without a major reason, they don't return to mythology either. In unavoidable situations, they have no choice but to slumber or seclude themselves in the Otherworld like me."

"I see."

Speaking of which, the old man before him seemed to be Susanoo-no-Mikoto, not a war god but a god of trickery and schemes.

In addition, his own steel attribute had been divided into the Kusanagi Sword, so compared to other rebellious gods, he wasn't adept at destruction, which was why he had survived for thousands of years?

Suddenly, the back of Zun-zun's hand emitted a bright light.

"Ha! As expected of the guy who obtained the Sword of Wisdom. Just by hearing my past stories, you can immediately create a weapon, even though I haven't even introduced myself."

The old man, no, Susanoo-no-Mikoto, shook his head helplessly.

"It's not too late now. I am the god known as Susanoo-no-Mikoto. You can call me old man or geezer, but don't call me grandpa. Erika's enough with that silly nickname."

"Got it, old man. Besides, you should know why I'm here."

Zun-zun didn't stand on ceremony with him.

"The Otherworld?"

The old man nodded.

"Indeed, this place is different from the real world you live in. It is a place where all the events that have occurred since the birth of the universe, and all the possibilities of what will happen in the future, are recorded. Those who possess the ability can obtain that power from here."

"So, the fact that I haven't obtained the power to traverse worlds means I don't have that ability?"

"Indeed."

The old geezer even used some archaic language.

But Zun-zun had anticipated this situation. After all, if he could traverse worlds on his own, why would he go to the trouble of coming here?

"Then..."

"I don't have that ability either, or why would I be staying here? If you don't want to get involved in battles, you have to give up something, right?"

What he said made so much sense that Zun-zun was speechless.

Susanoo-no-Mikoto said with a slight bitterness, "This Otherworld is a place where those who are neither human nor god gather, especially now, gathering those half-hearted individuals who can't let go of their attachment to the real world. We've been interacting with that side for a long time, and there are quite a few things involved."

In short, he didn't want to remain secluded like this.

"However, I did ask someone else for you."

"Someone else?"

"—Please come in."

Just as Zun-zun was curious, Susanoo-no-Mikoto called out towards the door, and then the sliding door opened again, revealing an old man with white hair and a white beard.

"Let me introduce you, this is Plutarch."

"...Who is that?"

Zun-zun had to admit that he didn't know. After all, the gods and dragons of this world were too diverse, and he couldn't possibly know them all.

But since he was a god in the Otherworld, he should be quite famous...

"Hahaha, you're mistaken. Plutarch is not a god; he is merely an immortal. Of course, he is also someone not bound by fate, a guardian of time, a manager of the memory stele, and a compiler of righteous history. From a human perspective, he is a transcendent, not bound by fate."

—Didn't recognize him.

Seeming to understand Zun-zun's blank expression, the old man curled his lips and said, "In any case, he can answer your questions."

He seemed a little annoyed that his attempt to show off had failed.

"A motormouth."

The old man named Plutarch had a very poor attitude towards Susanoo-no-Mikoto; the two seemed to have a bad relationship.

"Let me introduce myself, person from another world. I am the curator of the Plutarch Mansion, managing the memory stele, compiling righteous history, and also knowing about the affairs of other worlds."

"Hello...?"

Zun-zun didn't know if it was his imagination, but he seemed to have a good attitude towards Zun-zun.

"That..."

"The God of Lies just said that the Otherworld records the past and the future, and you and I are those who break fate."

Was he implying they were kindred spirits?

"I see. I thought that after you found out, you would be ashamed and angry and kick me out of this world."

"We wouldn't do such a barbaric act."

"No, I would be more than happy if you did that."

"...Actually, we can't."

Plutarch shook his head.

He was the curator, the manager, and the recorder, but that was all. He couldn't break the boundaries; knowing and being able to do were two different things.

"...Is that so? Could it be that I really have to go find Lady Aisha? Or should I just find someone in the Otherworld who can traverse...? Never mind, forget I said anything."

Lady Aisha's whereabouts were uncertain; she might not appear for several years, and even if he found her, it would be too late.

Hunting down a god in the Otherworld who could traverse worlds was even more wishful thinking; any god with that ability had already retired and slipped away.

"Actually, there is another person."

Seeing Zun-zun troubled, Plutarch suddenly said this.

"Who?"

"The White Lotus King."

The name he uttered surprised Zun-zun. The White Lotus King was a Godslayer; perhaps this name was not widely known, but mentioning another name would definitely make people realize.

—Martial Arts King, Luo Hao.

Because her courtesy name was Cuilian and she wore white Hanfu, she was a grandmaster of the White Lotus Dao Sect, hence the name White Lotus King.

"I once saw that overlord in the Otherworld Corridor. She has the ability to break worlds, and she does it with her own martial arts, but in the end, she didn't do so and instead returned to the real world. If it's her, she should be able to help you."

"Hmm..."

Zun-zun hadn't expected that she could traverse worlds with just her martial arts. Could this be the legendary shattering of the void and ascending to immortality?