Chapter 2930: The Power of Fate

Zu An was stunned. He had already guessed the other party’s identity before coming here; after all, Zhulong was already one of the most powerful entities in this world. Who else could be worthy of being his master other than the creator of this world, the Deity of Knowledge?

But he hadn’t expected the voice to sound so familiar. He had heard it before. In the past, to resolve Ji Xiaoxi’s poison constitution, he had visited the Firecloud Cave to inquire about the whereabouts of some medicine. The voice that had answered him then was identical to the voice he was hearing right now.

This gave him the chills. It suddenly dawned on him that he was under the Deity of Knowledge’s surveillance all this time.

And I told them about the Six Paths of Reincarnation back then. Doesn’t that mean that they knew about the Deity of Love and Beauty’s plan the whole time?

Qiu Honglei and Princess Liuli looked at Zu An with worried eyes. They were prepared for battle. Zu An gently grabbed their hands to console them before leading them in.

What awaited them inside was not a cave but a starry sky. The stars converged to form an old man with a white beard. He had a kind face, and he emanated a sacred white light.

“Paying respects to the revered Deity of Knowledge.” Zu An bowed to the old man. Qiu Honglei and Princess Liuli quickly followed suit, having somewhat guessed what was going on.

The Deity of Knowledge replied tenderly, “Are you curious why I manifested not as a supercomputer, but a human?” He then looked at Qiu Honglei and Princess Liuli with a complicated expression.

Noting the Deity of Knowledge’s amicable tone, both women heaved a sigh of relief.

Zu An smiled. “I am indeed surprised. I was honored to have met some of the other universal deities, but their majestic forms remain an enigma to me.”

“I have to manifest in a form that is coherent to the world lest I plunge it into chaos,” the Deity of Knowledge replied. “I have been observing you in recent years. There is wisdom in your actions. You are suited for the path of knowledge.”

Zu An’s heart shuddered. Being constantly observed by a universal deity was definitely not anything good. “I am already serving other universal deities. It would be inappropriate for me to switch to other paths. I seek your pardon for that.”

“Is that so? You seem to be on good terms with the Deity of Love and Beauty, and you had some interactions with the Deity of Bliss and Desire not long ago. Do your two masters know that?” The Deity of Knowledge stared at Zu An.

Zu An’s heart skipped a beat. It was fortunate that he had the Heaven Plunderer title, so the Deity of Knowledge couldn’t see through his thoughts.

Based on the Deity of Knowledge’s words, he had known that the Deity of Love and Beauty was Houtu all this time, though he didn’t seem to know how deep Zu An's interactions with the Deity of Bliss and Desire went.

“Now that I think about it, I met you the earliest of all the universal deities. We encountered each other outside the Firecloud Cave,” Zu An remarked. “May I ask what you are planning, and how I can be of service to you?”

“What a cunning fellow,” the Deity of Knowledge remarked. “It’s not much of a plan. It was merely a piece I placed on a whim, though your growth far surpassed what I have expected. You are qualified to discuss a partnership with me.”

As he waited for the Deity of Knowledge to continue, Zu An’s expression turned grim.

“I created this world to simulate countless possibilities, but I couldn’t resolve the impending doom. The Deity of Bliss and Desire is right. We need to work with the first-generation universal deities,” the Deity of Knowledge slowly said. “I noticed the Deity of Love and Beauty’s infiltration a long time ago, but instead of stopping her, I gave her a push to see if her intervention would induce new possibilities. And indeed, there were surprises, but they were far from enough. We need a proper alliance with the first-generation universal deities to have any chance of overcoming the impending doom.”

Zu An sighed. “But the first-generation universal deities have become a thing of the past. There’s no way of knowing where they have gone, and the Deity of Love and Beauty doesn’t trust you all.”

“Universal deities have unique divinities that are preserved even across reincarnations. The Deity of Love and Beauty feared that we might track the first-generation deities, so she sent them through several generations of reincarnation. The only way to restore their memories and divinity is to gather their soul fragments.” The Deity of Knowledge looked at Princess Liuli, knowing that she was one of the incarnations.

Zu An had thought about this as well. “But those soul fragments have been scattered across worlds over a long time. It would be nigh impossible to gather all of them aimlessly.”

“That might be true for others, but you are the exception. You are the only one in the Myriad Worlds capable of pulling it off.” As he spoke, the Deity of Knowledge looked deeply into Zu An’s eyes.

“Why?” Zu An frowned. This wasn't necessarily good news.

“You’ll know soon in the future.” The Deity of Knowledge seemed reluctant to divulge too much on this matter. “While the incarnations of the first-generation universal deities have been scattered across spacetime, over countless years of calculation, I found that they have been gathering in a certain realm. This might be the only time all of them intersect all of known spacetime. This chance may not surface once more. You have to grasp it.”

Zu An was confused. “The Deity of Love and Beauty intentionally scattered the first-generation universal deities to prevent all of them from being captured in a single swoop. It doesn’t make sense for all of them to be gathered at the same point in spacetime.”

“You should know of the phenomenon of planetary alignment before, right? Different civilizations have different explanations for it. Some believe that it’s the work of gravity. Some claim that it is the natural law of cause and effect.” The Deity of Knowledge paused. “In my view, it is fate that granted them a chance to reunite.”

Zu An pondered those words before asking, “Why isn’t there a Deity of Fate?”

The Deity of Knowledge looked at the universe and remarked, “Entities like us can dictate the fate of countless lives, but who can dictate our fate? If a Deity of Fate exists, they are bound to be far stronger than the rest of us. Maybe such an entity simply cannot exist, or we are unable to sense their existence.”

“How can I find the first-generation universal deities’ soul fragments after going to that world?” Zu An asked.

“You’ll know once you see them.”

Zu An wanted to complain about the ambiguous answer, but a thought suddenly occurred to him. Most of the first-generation universal deities were incarnations of his lovers, and that in itself was already a distinctive trait.

“What kind of world is it?” Zu An asked.

The Deity of Knowledge waved his hand, and the surrounding space turned into an immersive projection that displayed a vast world.

Reading the introduction and hearing the rampaging armies clash, Zu An asked in astonishment, “Isn't this the final years of Eastern Han, the era of the Three Kingdoms?”

The Deity of Knowledge smiled. “That’s why no one else in this world is more suited for this mission than you. However, you can’t drop your guard. It isn’t a normal world. Everyone there is a powerful entity. The world is overflowing with transcendent powers. You will be susceptible to danger, even with your current strength.”