Once, I wanted to be a good person

After all, leaving one's hometown, leaving the Real World; venturing into the desolate Outer Realm, hidden for countless years; to slay one's bloodline offspring for immortality; none of these are choices the demigods are willing to accept at such a moment.

If given a choice, they would prefer to maintain the status quo, staying in the Real World until the Human Race achieves victory or suffers defeat, forced to make the choice at that crucial moment.

But at this time, He Weidao seemed to see through the demigods' thoughts. He covered his mouth, coughed violently twice, and then added, "There is no third choice."

Upon hearing his words, the demigods fell into collective silence once more.

A minute later, seeing no demigod make their decision, He Weidao coughed twice again and took out several slips of paper marked [One] and [Two].

He distributed them to the demigods present, saying slowly, "I know you all are prominent figures with very good relationships."

"Making a choice openly may lead to some misunderstandings or put pressure on others. So, I have prepared this arrangement in advance."

"In a moment, each of you can enter the neighboring room one at a time. That room has no monitoring devices or personnel, only a fire basin."

"You only need to cast your choice into the fire basin, and I will know the choice you've made."

"This way, you can all make the choice that truly aligns with your own hearts."

Hearing He Weidao's words, the demigods exchanged glances once again.

Thus, very quickly, the eight demigods entered the room one after another, then came out. They silently left the Parliament Building...

After the eight remaining demigods of the Eastern Administrative Region departed, only the federal side remained in the meeting room.

Without "outsiders," several chairpersons from other states and the military base commanders all turned their gaze to He Weidao, waiting for him to announce the choices of the demigods.

At this moment, facing everyone's gaze, He Weidao quietly sat for a while, then picked up his cup of water in front of him and silently took a sip.

After a moment, he set down the cup and slowly said eight words, "They all chose to stay."

At that instant, the entire meeting room was plunged into silence once more...

After a moment, who knows how long had passed, the chief chairperson slowly stood up, gently patted He Weidao's shoulder, then walked out of the meeting room with his hands behind his back, stooping slightly.

Behind him, He Weidao raised his head and let out a long, faint sigh...

....

Half a day later.

Baiyu City, Bai Family residence.

Fang Ze, accompanied by Bai Zhi's Clone in the Real World, arrived at the Garden of Time.

The reason it took only half a day to reach Baiyu City wasn't because Fang Ze was fast, but because Bai Zhi cooperated well.

Long before leaving the Outer Realm, Fang Ze had discussed with Bai Zhi: he intended to run all the way back to Xida State from Spirit Realm Mountain, but the journey was too far, taking too much time. Therefore, the simplest way to Transfer location in the same world was to use an Extraordinary Ability: Imperial Expedition.

Thus, the two roughly calculated the time, setting it for the third morning after separation, when Bai Zhi would summon Fang Ze in Baiyu City. At that time, Fang Ze could directly rely on this ability to teleport back to Xida State.

This arrangement saved Fang Ze approximately three to four days of travel.

As for why he came to the Garden of Time first upon returning to the Real World, it was mainly because Fang Ze's trip to the Outer Realm was suggested by Old Mr. Bai, so upon his return, Fang Ze rightfully should "report" to Old Mr. Bai.

Of course, even more importantly... Fang Ze hadn't forgotten that during his first conversation with Old Mr. Bai, the elder had mentioned that after Fang Ze returned from the Outer Realm, he would tell Fang Ze the direction and secrets to becoming a True God.

Although... Fang Ze still suspected that Old Mr. Bai might have drawn a false picture to lure him away, it didn't prevent him from testing it when he arrived at Baiyu City.

In any case, the gains he had made in the Outer Realm were already substantial. If he obtained the picture, it would be a bonus, and even without it, he wouldn't be disappointed.

So thinking, having arrived at the Garden of Time, Fang Ze resolutely stripped off his clothes and stepped into the small pool, walking all the way into the Time Waterfall.

The cold water quietly washed over Fang Ze's body, as if time had carried away all the dirt. Gradually, Fang Ze soon felt, just like last time, his body becoming lighter and his soul increasingly relaxed.

Who knows how long had passed; when Fang Ze opened his eyes, he had once again entered that pure white space.

Compared to last time, this space seemed to have shrunk a bit, and Old Mr. Bai seemed to have aged somewhat.

Seeing Old Mr. Bai, Fang Ze hurriedly stepped forward, respectfully saluted, and said, "Elder, I have returned from the Outer Realm."

Hearing Fang Ze's words, Old Mr. Bai glanced up and down at Fang Ze's body, nodded, and said, "Not bad, not bad. Indeed, after a round of training in the outside world, your vigor is different."

As with last time, because Old Mr. Bai's expressions were too animated and the conversation was too smooth, Fang Ze couldn't discern whether the person before him was a memory projection or a wisp of soul.

So he tentatively asked, "Elder, can you guess how much my strength has increased during my trip to the Outer Realm?"

His idea was straightforward: to test the consciousness of Old Mr. Bai by posing a sudden question.

But unexpectedly, Old Mr. Bai didn't take Fang Ze's test at all and simply changed the topic, "When I met you last time, I promised that after you returned from the Outer Realm, I would tell you some directions and secrets to becoming a True God."

This topic successfully piqued Fang Ze's interest. Thus, he didn't bother to test further and urgently focused himself, bowing and saying, "Yes. This is the purpose of my visit this time. So... please, elder, bestow your teachings."

Old Mr. Bai seemed very satisfied with Fang Ze's demeanor; he nodded slightly, then paced with his hands behind his back, speaking as he walked, "Since I promised you, I must keep my word. So, rest assured. Just listen to me slowly."

Saying this, he collected the expression on his face, and his gaze seemed to contain much cotton, "Actually, my assumptions about the True God's path relate to the demigods' situation."

"This time, when you ventured into the Outer Realm, if you didn't slack off, you must have contacted many demigods' clones and true bodies. You should also have found that demigods are actually defective."

"Although they are immortal, their immortality is only material. They themselves have life span limits, and with time slowly eroding them, their souls will become increasingly dilapidated; their memory increasingly chaotic and sparse; their personality increasingly extreme and violent."

"They have to rely on constant hibernation or the Destruction of one world after another to barely maintain their Spiritual Wisdom. Ensuring they don't turn into monsters."

"This, in itself, is a pathological cycle."

Fang Ze nodded in agreement upon hearing this.

Old Mr. Bai continued, "And from the demigods' state and drawbacks, we can roughly deduce the life form of the True God: perpetually at peak strength, time will no longer affect his soul, memory, or character. He won't need to worry about life continuity anymore."

"And this... actually, using our ancestors' words, is: immortality."

Upon hearing Old Mr. Bai's words, Fang Ze froze for a moment, then a look of contemplation appeared on his face, as if realizing something.

At this time, Old Mr. Bai also slowly said, "The ancients said: The highest virtue is establishing virtue, next is establishing merit, next is establishing word, though long-lasting, it does not perish; this is called immortality."

"Although I don't know if this is merely a coincidence, or if ancients indeed reached the True God Realm. But this coincidentally fits my observations of demigods and the Venerable."

Saying this, Old Mr. Bai turned around, looked at Fang Ze, and said, "This time, when you ventured into the Outer Realm, having seen demigods and Venerables, you should also have understood the Power of Faith and its wondrous applications."