Chapter 016: The Only Chance

The sensation of weightlessness made Du Fan’s head spin. For a moment, he even had the illusion that he would fall straight into that abyss. Fortunately, this feeling came and went quickly. By the time Du Fan felt his feet on the ground, the sense of weightlessness had completely vanished.
The light ahead wasn’t as dazzling as he had imagined. In front of him was a path paved with cobblestones, flanked by various flowers. Among the blooms, a few butterflies were fluttering slowly. The warm sunlight shone on the ground, and the air carried a hint of humidity. Some ancient walls and pillars came into view.
Du Fan’s jaw almost dropped to the ground…
If he hadn’t known exactly where he had entered just now, he would never have believed that this garden-like place could be the so-called Demon God Temple!
But when he looked up, it seemed as though he saw the endless sky inside the World Tree again, which seemed to tell him that this place was indeed the Demon God Temple.
Du Fan glanced around again and found that he seemed to have appeared out of thin air. In front of him was a cobblestone path, and behind him as well. In both directions, there was no end in sight. The gate through which he had entered earlier seemed to have disappeared completely.
But soon, Du Fan’s confusion was dispelled.
As he kept looking around, the space around him seemed to ripple as if something was moving. Gradually, several spatial ripples appeared, and then Ringo’s figure suddenly appeared in the air before landing quickly on the ground. Then Ganon appeared as well. But unlike Ringo, who seemed to be affected by the same weightlessness as Du Fan, Ganon remained calm, as if feeling nothing at all.
Seeing Ganon, Du Fan’s slightly worried heart settled down a bit…
It was a strange feeling. Although Du Fan wanted to twist Ganon’s head off, deep down he knew that without Ganon here, he would be unable to move an inch.
So, upon seeing Ganon, Du Fan curled his lips and asked in a low voice, “Is this place the Demon God Temple?”

Gannon said indifferently, “Yes… this place is the Demon God’s Palace… There’s no need for you to be surprised. The Demon God Lord prefers such places, that’s why the Demon God’s Palace has always been like this… I used to be uncomfortable too, but after seeing it often, I got used to it.”
“Well, we don’t have much time left. Follow me.” A rare odd expression appeared on Gannon’s face, but his tone remained calm. “The Demon God Lord’s palace is right in the center of this sea of flowers.”
“By the way,” Gannon said after taking a few steps, turning back to look at Du Fan and Ringo. With a strange smile, he added, “I know you both have other thoughts in mind, but in this place, I hope you’ll obediently follow my orders. If it weren’t because you two are still somewhat useful, would I have kept you here?”
Du Fan frowned and asked, “What do you mean?”
Gannon replied indifferently, “You’re really careless, Young Master Du Fan. It’s rare that you haven’t noticed. In this place, neither magic nor combat energy can be used…”
Du Fan’s expression changed, but he didn’t say anything.
However, Ringo’s face turned pale suddenly. She frowned and closed her eyes, seemingly trying hard to sense something. After a long while, she opened her eyes and said, “There… there are no magic elements in this place… What’s going on?”
Du Fan frowned slightly. He had no magic power or combat energy in his body at the moment, and he hadn’t paid attention to this when he first arrived here. Now, he couldn’t help but close his eyes and sense around for a while. His heart grew colder—there were no magic elements in this place, which meant that apart from slowly recovering on his own, he had no way to restore his strength. Even without any interference, it would take countless years for him to return to his peak strength!
But suddenly, Du Fan sneered inwardly and stared at Gannon, saying, “Lord Gannon… In this place, magic and combat energy can’t be used, but I guess you’re no different… Your powerful strength must also be completely sealed here!”

Gannon glanced at Du Fan and couldn’t help but laugh. “Young Master Du Fan, you really overthink things… Of course, human magic and combat energy will be sealed in the Divine Realm, but I’m different. I’m an archangel under the Demon God. The Divine Realm has no effect on me. Or rather, thanks to the Demon God’s mercy, we angels can still retain most of our original strength… Though these powers mean nothing in front of the Demon God, they are still many times stronger than yours, mortals. Don’t you think so, Young Master Du Fan?”
Du Fan snorted. He wasn’t sure whether Gannon was telling the truth or not, but given Gannon’s scheming nature, there was a 99% chance it was true. Du Fan had no intention of testing it with his currently fragile body and decided to take it at face value, staying silent.
Rinne also didn’t dare say anything more. Perhaps in her heart, this place was truly an abyss!
Seeing the expressions on both of them, Gannon gave them a half-smiling look before turning and walking in a certain direction.
Du Fan and Rinne exchanged a glance and had no choice but to hurry after him.
After walking for a while through the sea of flowers, they came to an intersection. At the cobblestone crossroads stood a marble fountain, its water long dried up but still magnificent.
Seeing this, Du Fan suddenly remembered one of Gannon’s words.
“The pond in the Demon God’s Palace isn’t for bathing. What’s stored there is the holy water from the Heavenly Sacred River. Different from the so-called holy water in your human world, this Heavenly Sacred Water is made from the purest divine energy. Although it’s useless for gods and angels, for humans, if you can bathe in it, even if you can never reach the sacred realm, your body will already be at that level.”
The Heavenly Sacred Water… Perhaps that was his only chance.
Du Fan sighed inwardly. He only hoped Gannon wasn’t lying to him, otherwise all his cards would be useless.
Or maybe he could use that faint connection deep in his soul to call Chenchen?

But Du Fan also had no confidence that Chenchen could be a match for Gannon. And even if they managed to defeat this angel named Gannon, there was still a true god in this place. Though sealed away for a thousand years and despite never having truly believed in gods, Du Fan had to admit that the endless power of a true god was absolutely beyond mortal resistance. No matter how mysterious Chenchen’s origins might be, she could certainly not be a match for a god… Standing at this crossroads, Gannon’s face showed a hint of nostalgia, but that expression vanished after a moment. He smiled faintly and suddenly whispered, “This place is the fork in the path leading to the Palace of the Demon God. On both sides are gardens inhabited by angels, and ahead lies the Palace of the Demon God… Young Master Du Fan, you must remain devout in front of the Demon God. Perhaps by then, the Demon God might even make you a pope. You should know that not everyone gets the chance to meet a true god.” Du Fan replied calmly, “Nor does everyone get the chance to kill an angel!” “Has it been done?” Gannon glanced at Spalitis, still in his hand. “Spalitis isn’t dead, but only the Demon God can judge his blasphemy. I hope Young Master Du Fan understands this… Well then… we don’t have time to waste. Young Master Du Fan, please go ahead.” Du Fan naturally understood what Gannon meant. He snorted but once again walked ahead of Gannon. Fortunately, there was no danger along the way. Du Fan treated this mysterious Palace of the Demon God as just a garden for an afternoon stroll, enjoying the walk comfortably. Finally, a palace entirely made of white jade appeared before their eyes. At the entrance of this magnificent hall, cobblestones formed a small square. Up close, it could be seen that vines of some kind covered the Palace of the Demon God. If it weren’t for this, who would believe it was the Palace of the Demon God? Gannon was filled with excitement. He quickened his pace, rushed to the entrance of the palace, and dashed in like an enraged beast! Du Fan and Ringtone were stunned. Gannon’s attitude at this moment resembled that of Spalitis somewhat. Both of them were secretly afraid, but by now they had no choice left. Du Fan gritted his teeth and quickly stepped inside.

Looking around, one finds pillars everywhere in the palace. In the very center of the palace, there is a high platform, and in front of the platform, there is a small pool. From the center of the pool, a thin stream of water sprays out, yet this stream seems to possess some kind of magic, lifting an crystal coffin above it… But the coffin inside is empty!?