Chapter 169 (1/3): I Choose China, Heavenly Court · Nantianmen

The moment the God of Fate’s voice faded, quicker than words could tell—

“Whoosh!“

From the bottom of the well, tangled threads of fate violently burst forth, suddenly snatching around Chesia’s serpentine tail, dragging her toward the Well of the Abyss at a terrifying speed.

“Aaaah! My tail!”

Chesia’s voice pitched wildly as she felt an irresistible, horrifying force desperately trying to drag her back into the sunless depths.

In the blink of an eye, she had already been yanked a quarter of the way down!

“Su Fu! Save me!”

Chesia thrashed desperately upward, but the pull was so immense she couldn’t escape no matter what.

Su Fu reacted instantly, whipping out the Dragon-Binding Rope and latching onto Chesia tightly.

Fortunately, a bump had grown on Chesia’s head—though only a nascent dragon horn, it at least marked her as an entry-level flood dragon, so Zhaogongming’s Dragon-Binding Rope came in just the right time.

“Swoosh—!”

The rope pulled taut, finally halting Chesia’s downward slide, and Houchu rushed over to help tug as well.

But the pull from below was absurdly strong, stretching Chesia’s face into a grimace of pain.

“It hurts, it hurts, it hurts!”

“Damn God of Fate, you bastard! Why are they targeting me?!”

“You sneaky old rat! Cowering in a gutter, what kind of skill is that?!”

“Come out and fight me for three hundred rounds if you dare! Let me go! Let me go!”

The Dragon-Binding Rope was stretched to its absolute limit, taut as a bowstring, and faint traces of divine blood were already seeping from Chesia’s body.

Su Fu’s gaze darkened: “This won’t work at this rate.”

Who could have guessed the God of Fate wouldn’t play by the rules, striking at Chesia right from the start?

If not for the Dragon-Binding Rope, it might have actually succeeded.

“Houchu! Hold her steady!” Su Fu made the split-second decision. “I’ll deal with what’s down there.”

“Got it! Su Fu, be careful!” Houchu gritted his teeth and nodded heavily.

Su Fu didn’t hesitate another moment. She reversed her grip on the Golden Cudgel and leaped straight into the Well of the Abyss.

The very instant she jumped, the terrifying pulling force that had been wrestling with the Dragon-Binding Rope suddenly released.

Chesia shot out like a cannonball, tumbling across the ground several times before coming to a stop, dizzy and cursing:

“Ow—!”

“God of Fate, go to hell!”

Houchu staggered back a few steps, his face full of bewilderment—did it… flee?

The God of Fate didn’t even dare show its face, and just ran?

He quickly rushed over and peered down into the well:

“Su Fu! Are you okay?!”

He shouted down into the depths, but there was no response.

Clearly, Su Fu had chased after the God of Fate.

He was about to jump in but stopped himself—no, chasing after would only make him a blade the God of Fate could use against Su Fu.

Just then, a beam of Holy Light descended swiftly.

Pope Cecilia landed from above, her expression grave as she surveyed the scene of chaos:

“What happened?”

“I just sensed the God of Fate’s presence?!”

Houchu quickly explained what had just occurred.

“The God of Fate was in Eden?!” The Pope’s face filled with shock. “How is that possible?”

Eden was the heart of the Paradise Pantheon, and ever since the Tree of Life incident, she had been keeping a close watch over this place. There was absolutely no way the God of Fate could have infiltrated without being detected.

She turned to look at Chesia, who was grimacing and rubbing her tail, then stared at the Well of the Abyss, her eyes growing subtle.

If not after that moment…

Then it was before?

The God of Fate… had been inside all along?

Chesia felt uneasy under the Pope’s gaze and shrank back:

“What are you looking at me for?!”

“I was almost dragged off by that old rat!”

Houchu seemed to catch on: “Your Holiness, have you figured something out?”

Pope Cecilia pondered for a moment before slowly speaking:

“If I’m not mistaken, that wasn’t the God of Fate—or rather, not its true body.”

“Not its true body?!”

Houchu and Chesia both gasped in shock.

“Correct,” the Pope said, lifting her gaze. “It should be a puppet controlled by the God of Fate, or something like an avatar.”

Houchu’s mind clicked instantly:

“You mean, it’s been using puppets or avatars to lurk in Eden’s Well of the Abyss all this time?”

“That’s incredibly well hidden.”

“If Su Fu hadn’t tried to unseal Chesia, we might never have discovered its existence.”

“Then that means Su Fu…”

The Pope nodded, her expression solemn: “She must have followed that avatar, perhaps heading straight for the God of Fate’s lair.”

“Her battle with the God of Fate has begun.”

The black mist from the Well of the Abyss continued to churn, and both of them felt the weight of the moment.

They hadn’t expected things to escalate so abruptly.

“Your Holiness,” Houchu said quietly, “Su Fu… she’ll definitely win, right?”

Before the Pope could answer, Chesia butted in:

“Of course she will!”

“She’s definitely winning!”

“Hehe, I’m so amazing, I discovered the God of Fate in one go!”

“When Su Fu gets back, she’d better thank me properly!”

The Pope turned her gaze to Chesia, her expression deep and thoughtful.

“Why would the God of Fate place an avatar in the Well of the Abyss?”

“And why did it try to forcibly take Chesia just now?”

Was it because of her identity as the Goddess of Temptation?

Or because of what stood behind her…

Satan.

Chesia felt unnerved by the Pope’s stare and warned:

“Hey! You wicked woman! Why… why are you staring at me like that?”

“I’m telling you, I’m really strong now!”

Suddenly, the Pope reached out—and plucked—

A broken thread of fate drifted out from Chesia’s body, landing in her palm.

The thread shimmered crystalline, coiling around her fingertips, flickering in and out of existence.

She gazed at it for a moment, then Holy Light ignited in her hand, burning the thread to ashes completely.

Meanwhile, after diving into the Well of the Abyss, Su Fu gave chase to the fleeing divine aura.

Golden Cudgel in hand, surrounded by the radiant glow of the Qingyun Golden Lantern, she was impervious to all arts, and her speed only increased.

But the longer she chased, the more something felt off.

This God of Fate ran the moment it saw her? That cowardly?

And its divine nature was so faint—barely even comparable to the Sun God she’d shot out of the sky.

So… this was something like a puppet or avatar?

Just as she was about to catch up to the blurry figure, it tore through space again and fled at breakneck speed.

Su Fu swept the Golden Cudgel in a wide arc, forcibly ripping open a Space Rift to follow.

“So desperate to live?”

A decision formed in her mind—then it might not be a mere puppet, but more likely an avatar with a deeper connection.

She’d been looking for its lair anyway!

If she kept chasing, she might just come face to face with the true God of Fate.

If she did face it… Her eyes sharpened, and her caution heightened.

The God of Fate had devoured and fused an enormous amount of fate authority—its strength needed no elaboration.

According to the Pope, the ability [Causal Spinning Wheel · Fate Thread Convergence] was likely only the tip of the iceberg.

Who knew how many other cards it had hidden up its sleeve?

But so what?

She wasn’t alone.

Behind her stood all the Chinese Deities.

Nuwa had blessed her and taken her as a disciple.

The Sanqing had bestowed upon her the power of the Dao to protect her path.

And in the Torch Dungeon and Kunlun Disaster Instance, countless deities had granted her wave after wave of divine abilities.

When it came to divine powers, she feared nothing.

The only real problem was that the God of Fate’s trump cards remained unknown.

It was so secretive that its methods were bound to be treacherous and unpredictable.

But she had the [Nirvana Rebirth] ability granted by Yuan Feng. In theory, as long as she had enough revivals, she could test out whatever trump cards the God of Fate had.

If one kill didn’t work, kill it twice.

If two didn’t work, kill it three times—kill it until the end of time.

Once she understood the God of Fate’s authority and knew its skills, with the vast sea of Chinese Deities behind her, she would surely find a way to counter it.

Then the game was won.

She had already arranged for Tao Tao and the others to be safe, so there was nothing left to worry about.

So then—forward, without hesitation.

The avatar fled in a frenzy, darting through different dungeon spaces, with Su Fu hot on its heels.

There was a towering, perilous snow mountain that pierced the clouds—when suddenly an avalanche struck—

Su Fu split it apart with a single swing of her staff.

In the lush, dark forest, an ancient tree suddenly transformed into a giant python, coiling around—

Su Fu activated the Six Ding Divine Fire and incinerated it in an instant.

This was clearly a clone of the God of Fate, using its authority to create various “accidents” for Su Fu.

A sea of thunder and lightning? The Heavenly Court’s Thunder Department hears the command—scatter!

Towering waves? 

The Golden Cudgel—suppress!

Karmic fire burning the body? 

Rebirth from Nirvana—burn!

Extreme cold to absolute zero? 

The spark of Zhurong—melt!

The God of Fate’s methods were broken one by one, unable to halt Su Fu even for a moment.

She gripped the Golden Cudgel, feeling utterly at ease.