Chapter 335: Father?

Over these three days, Chen Xiao had become quite famous in Fengdu City. It could be said that everyone outside the city knew of him.
Every day during these three days, tens of thousands of deities came to Chen Xiao to have divine artifacts crafted for them. Most of these deities were high-ranking Yuanling Gods.
But Chen Xiao had set a rule: aside from the first day, he would only craft three divine artifacts per day. Once those three slots were filled, no one—even the King of Gods—would be entertained.
It was precisely because of this rule that the divine artifacts crafted by Chen Xiao became even more precious. If he had crafted artifacts for everyone endlessly, they would have become common commodities, available to anyone who wanted them.
Outside the city, several factions had taken an interest in Chen Xiao, wanting to capture him and make him their exclusive artifact craftsman.
The outskirts of Fengdu City were on the verge of chaos due to Chen Xiao’s presence, with several major factions nearly coming into conflict. In the end, it was a Divine King who stepped in to calm things down.
During this time, Chen Xiao largely ignored the outside world. He accepted orders only three times a day, as he pleased, then shut his door and refused to see anyone.
Of course, Chen Xiao also noticed that the Supreme God was paying slight attention to this place. He himself didn’t take any action, simply continuing to do his job as usual.
On the fourth day, as soon as Chen Xiao opened his door, he found that only one person was waiting outside.
It was an old man in black, radiating a gloomy aura and appearing extremely cold. He was actually a True Spirit God, at the level of a Divine King. With him here, the Yuanling Gods who originally came to have artifacts crafted for them immediately stayed far away, not daring to approach.
Moreover, this old man in black possessed extremely high cultivation, far beyond that of ordinary peak True Spirit Gods. Clearly, he had also refined a second Yuanling within his body.
Such a person was by no means an ordinary deity.
Chen Xiao immediately became alert. Although this old man’s strength was not as great as that of the powerful Book Spirits in the world of books, it still far surpassed the True Spirit Gods of the Black Prison realm.
The presence of this old man in black served as a warning to Chen Xiao: the Netherworld was vast, and the true Supreme Gods could appear at any time—something incomparable to the Source Continent. In fact, if deities from the Netherworld entered the Source Continent, they could easily conquer it without the Supreme God intervening.
When the old man in black saw Chen Xiao, a hint of a smile flashed in his eyes. Then, he bowed and said to Chen Xiao, “I am Mu Yanlong, an envoy of the Supreme God of the Nether River. I am here to invite you to meet the Supreme God himself.”
Mu Yanlong’s expression was extremely respectful. Craftsmen as rare as Chen Xiao were exceedingly uncommon throughout the history of the entire Netherworld.
Even the Supreme God treated him with such respect. If his subordinates included more people like him, then the Supreme God’s army would be completely armed. After all, crafting divine artifacts was an extremely difficult task.
Now that someone like Chen Xiao had appeared, it had immediately caught the attention of the Supreme God.

Wars break out among the supreme gods as they compete for faith. Though the supreme gods themselves do not intervene directly, the gods under their command serve as a great strength to them. With someone like Chen Xiao by their side, they will gain a significant advantage in this struggle for faith.

In this Fengdu City, there is not just one supreme god of death—it also houses several other supreme gods belonging to the death lineage. The God of the River of Darkness is one of them, a high-ranking supreme god of the death lineage. The River of Darkness is the largest river in the netherworld, running through the entire netherworld and extending into the endless chaos, even more mysterious than the Sea of Darkness.

The fact that this God of the River of Darkness bears the name of the river itself speaks to his immense power.

Upon hearing that the God of the River of Darkness had summoned him, Chen Xiao felt a slight stir in his heart, not expecting to attract the attention of a supreme god so quickly. In fact, earlier on, the supreme gods of the death lineage had discovered an unparalleled genius and were nurturing him with all their efforts, hoping he would become a being on par with a supreme god. This news also reached the other supreme gods of the netherworld. Although they couldn’t openly seize that genius with the Thunder Body, it didn’t stop them from joining forces to attack the territory of the supreme gods of the death lineage and seize their faith. This had almost become an unspoken rule in the netherworld. The supreme gods of the death lineage had little choice but to mobilize all their gods to fight back fiercely.

Now, the supreme gods of the death lineage had lost large areas of their faith territories. The appearance of Chen Xiao seemed to bring them hope. Of course, Chen Xiao was unaware of all this. Even the true spirit gods of the netherworld were not fully aware of the competition for faith among supreme gods. Only their direct subordinates were qualified to participate in it.

A true spirit god who becomes a messenger of a supreme god would possess strength far surpassing that of an ordinary peak true spirit god. With the direct assistance of the supreme god, they could refine a second true spirit, just like Mu Yanlong.

Upon hearing that the God of the River of Darkness had summoned him, Chen Xiao hesitated for barely a moment before nodding. His current status was that of a master alchemist at the seventh level of the Yuanling God realm. He could be proud, even in front of true spirit gods, but it was better to be cautious when facing supreme gods.

However, Chen Xiao had already achieved half of his goal. If he could successfully infiltrate the camp of the supreme gods of the death lineage, it would be extremely helpful in his investigation into Hu Zi Xuan’s whereabouts.

“I still don’t know this master’s name…”

By now, the two of them were riding in an extremely luxurious dragon carriage, pulled by twoMing dragons at the seventh level of the Yuanling God realm. During his four days in Fengdu City, Chen Xiao had never revealed his name. Now, everyone knew that a highly extraordinary master alchemist had arrived in Fengdu City.

“I am but a humble one—my name is Feng Ruyu,” Chen Xiao said with a smile, stroking his beard with one hand. His face was glowing red, seemingly from joy at being summoned by a supreme god.

And now, Mu Yanlong was certain that the bearded old man before him set up a stall to craft weapons in Fengdu City in order to attract the attention of a supreme god and seize the opportunity to join his ranks.

But this is only human nature. A mere Yuanling God is, in the eyes of a Zhenling God, nothing but an ant-like existence. To suddenly gain the favor of the Supreme God is like leaping to heaven in one step. It makes sense for Chen Xiao to use such tactics to draw the Supreme God’s attention. After all, if a Seventh-Level Yuanling God rashly rushed to the Supreme God’s palace, claiming to have the ability to craft divine weapons and asking for shelter, he would likely be beaten to death by the guards even before meeting the Supreme God. Moreover, by pretending to act aloof and making the Supreme God come to invite him, Chen Xiao inadvertently elevated his status significantly—higher even than if he had gone on his own. This is someone the Supreme God himself would invite. “So you’re Master Feng. I’ve long heard of you,” Mu Yanlong said with a laugh. Meanwhile, his mind was racing as he thought about Feng Ruyu. Logically, such a talent, a master craftsman, should have been famous across the continent long ago. “Hmm, I’ve just finished learning from my mentor and am here in the Netherworld for the first time. I haven’t even introduced myself yet. I wonder how Senior Mu Yanlong has heard of me?” Chen Xiao blinked and muttered. His behavior clearly showed he was not good at socializing, appearing somewhat awkward. Hearing Chen Xiao’s words, Mu Yanlong’s face turned embarrassed, and he wisely chose to stay silent. Yet, his heart stirred upon hearing Chen Xiao’s words. Having always followed his mentor, could there be an even more powerful master craftsman behind him? Moreover, looking at the way he spoke and his aloof demeanor these past few days in the city, it seemed as if he came from another world. “Hey, Senior Mu Yanlong, this is a small trinket I made last night. Please take it.” Immediately afterward, Chen Xiao seemed to realize he had said something wrong and hurriedly took out a divine weapon that resembled a crossbow. There were no divine laws within it, but it contained a strange power that could replicate divine laws and integrate them into the entire weapon. Mu Yanlong’s eyes lit up as he took it and inputted a bit of his own Zhenling God laws into it. In an instant, a faint black glow emanated from the small crossbow. The Zhenling God laws inputted were instantly replicated by the strange power at its core, turning into a complete set of laws that spread throughout the weapon. The laws Mu Yanlong had inputted were then reflected back. Boom! In the void, with a slight ripple, the black crossbow instantly transformed into an extremely powerful Zhenling divine weapon. The powerful fluctuations of this divine weapon caused the surrounding space to tremble. “Amazing! The power of this Zhenling divine weapon is even greater than my own life-bound Zhenling divine weapon, which I carefully crafted over hundreds of millions of years!” Mu Yanlong was shocked. He stared at Chen Xiao in disbelief, suddenly having a terrifying thought in mind.

“Could it be that, Lord God, by infusing the laws of the Supreme God into this artifact he crafted, it can also become a supreme artifact?!”
In an instant, the look in his eyes toward Chen Xiao turned intensely fervent. Even if it couldn’t become a supreme artifact, crafting a thousand or eight hundred True Spirit Artifacts would still be terrifying.
Just imagine—equipping all the Yuanling Gods under him with True Spirit Artifacts—what kind of scene would that be?
Although only those with direct bloodline from True Spirit Gods and the innate talent to become them could use True Spirit Artifacts, this place was the Netherworld, a realm on par with the Divine Realm, and Fengdu City was the core of the Death Sovereign’s rule!
Existences that had become True Spirit Gods were not uncommon here.
Under one True Spirit God, there were at least eight thousand such beings—compared to this, the Land of Origins was quite poor.
“No, this news must not be revealed!”
After some thought, Mu Yanlong reached out and immediately brought Chen Xiao into his divine realm. Then, with a leap, he broke through space and headed back to his base.
The massive fluctuations emitted when that True Spirit Artifact was created had already drawn the attention of those around them. This was the inner city, filled with many skilled warriors.
But Mu Yanlong acted swiftly, without delay, and took Chen Xiao back to the River of Darkness Temple.
“Lord!”
In the main hall of the River of Darkness Temple stood a man in white. He had white hair and even white eyebrows, appearing utterly pure.
“Very good. I never expected Feng Ruyu to be such a talent. Mu Yanlong, you have accomplished great feats this time.”
The man with white hair and clothes spoke in an extremely gentle voice. He raised his hand, and a force of the laws of the Supreme God flowed into Mu Yanlong’s body, condensing his original two True Spirits into a third.
“Thank you, Lord, for your grace!” Mu Yanlong knelt down immediately and said.
“Alright, you may go now,” the man in white, the Lord of the River of Darkness, said to Mu Yanlong.
Mu Yanlong stood up and bowed before retreating.
At that moment, Chen Xiao stared at the white-haired man in awe, his whole body trembling slightly. This wasn’t an act—he was truly shaking with fear.
This man gave him a sense of extreme familiarity, as if he were someone inherently closest to him by nature.
“Xiaoer, it’s good to see you,” the man in white smiled slightly and said to Chen Xiao.
“You… you are…” Chen Xiao’s eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at the man, his body trembling violently. Two words echoed in his mind, but he couldn’t bring himself to speak them.
“Sigh… You and your grandfather have suffered so much over the years.” The Lord of the River of Darkness shook his head slightly. He looked up at the palace, tears glistening in his eyes.

Chen Xiao said in a dazed tone; he simply couldn’t accept this fact. The father he had been searching for all along was now standing right in front of him—moreover, as the supreme god of the Netherworld!
Chen Xiao took a deep breath. He had no doubts—the sense of closeness that stemmed from the depths of his soul could not be deceived in any way.
“I don’t know why I became the god of the Netherworld,” the River of the Netherworld said with a bitter smile, shaking his head. “It seems like a dream. When I woke up, I was already the god, and I was the true god of the River of the Netherworld. That Chen Yuntian from my past life seems like just a dream to me. Yet I clearly remember everything—being hunted by the Dragon family, being swept away by the Heart of the Heavenly Map. When I opened my eyes again, I was already the god of the Netherworld. To this day, I still don’t understand how it happened.”
“The Heart of the Heavenly Map…” Hearing the River of the Netherworld’s words, Chen Xiao was slightly stunned. “What about my mother? Is my mother here too?”
Chen Xiao’s tone was eager. If both of his parents were here, then he wouldn’t need to pursue his other plans—finding Hu Zi Xuan, taking care of his grandfather, and reuniting with his parents were his greatest dreams at the moment. Now, it seemed those dreams were within reach.
“I don’t know,” the River of the Netherworld replied, shaking his head. “Over the years, I’ve used all my forces to search for your mother, but I still haven’t found any trace of her. Your mother isn’t in the Netherworld.”
Hearing this, memories flashed in Chen Xiao’s eyes. Inside his mental sea, the Diagram of Yin and Yang spun rapidly as he tried to figure out everything.
According to the books in the World of Books that recorded the history of the god of the Netherworld, the god was said to have emerged from the River of the Netherworld. In other words, he was an ancient being who existed from the very beginning of the Netherworld, and his power was even on par with that of ordinary rulers—effectively, the strongest among them.
But now, Chen Xiao couldn’t understand why this god, who had existed since the birth of the Netherworld, had inexplicably become his father. As for the legend of reincarnation through possession, it was pure nonsense. The god of the River of the Netherworld was the most powerful force in the Netherworld. If Chen Yuntian could possess this god, one could only imagine how powerful he would become.
Thus, both Chen Xiao and the River of the Netherworld believed that the god of the River of the Netherworld and Chen Tianyun were actually the same person.
Moreover, Chen Xiao had seen a photo of his father. Apart from his white eyebrows and hair, every feature of this man in front of him matched Chen Yuntian’s.
“Initially, the divine essence chose you because there was a trace of divine bloodline in your body, which drew the divine essence into your body,” came Shui Miao’s voice in Chen Xiao’s mind. “But the moment the divine essence merged with you, that trace of divine bloodline disappeared, as if it had never existed at all.”
Hearing Shui Miao’s explanation, Chen Xiao nodded. This god of the River of the Netherworld must indeed be his father.

But in Chen Xiao’s heart, there was immense unease. After all, the River of Darkness God had existed for hundreds of millions of years, while his memories of Chen Yuntian spanned only a few decades. Hadn’t these memories been drowned out in his vast sea of memories?
Moreover, a supreme god had countless descendants—so many that perhaps not even an entire world could hold them all. Would the River of Darkness God still care about father-son bonds?
The River of Darkness God was the supreme god of death! He was closely connected to the Lord of Death.
“Xiaoer, don’t worry. I am both Chen Yuntian and the River of Darkness. You are my only son, and my only wife is Xueye Lianxing,” said the River of Darkness God, seemingly sensing Chen Xiao’s concerns.
……