Chapter 275: Emperor and Emperor

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“What did you think of it? Entertaining, was it not?”

Lord Feng Gui cuts his roasted lamb with a smile. It is only he and Liu Jin in the room, but a full banquet has been served for them. There is pork, venison, duck, and other meats, all seasoned with enough spices to make one’s mouth water and accompanied with vegetables, rice, and copious amounts of wine.

It is a far more expensive meal than the one Lord Feng Shang shared with Liu Jin, and not just because of its flavor. Every single item used to prepare this feast is a high-quality ingredient intended for cultivation. Even some of the Inner Disciples would have trouble handling more than one bite.

“At the very least, it was certainly surprising, Lord Feng Gui,” Liu Jin replies.

Lord Feng Gui looks at him over his cup of wine. “Truly? Elder Xue did not warn you of Elder Fa’s fate beforehand?”

“It seems she thought it best to surprise me,” Liu Jin says dryly.

“Women enjoy testing men, so men must be ready to be tested,” Lord Feng Gui says, smiling as he serves himself more meat. “It is safe to say you were.”

“Patriarch Feng Zhang once told me that he allowed Elder Fa to exist as a traitor because he did not want to invite the Death Fashioning Scripture to grow subtle,” Liu Jin says. “I see Lord Feng Gui has different ideas.”

Liu Jin does not ask, “Are you sure that is wise?” but they both hear the implication. It is more brusque than Liu Jin would typically be, but anything related to those on the other side of the Dead Plains has to be treated with a great sense of urgency.

“We no longer live in my father’s time,” Lord Feng Gui says after a tense moment of silence. His fork skewers the meat and lets its juice flow into the plate. “His ascension has caused him to become detached from the rest of the world. You, of all people, should understand that. After all, you have experienced what it is to be a Divinity.”

The roar of thunder.

The flash of lightning.

The howl of wind.

Liu Jin looks away.

“I prefer not to think about that.”

“Nevertheless, I ask you to,” Lord Feng Gui says, and Liu Jin feels as his eyes are brought back to Lord Feng Gui’s face. The man leans forward. His eyes burn with an intensity that wasn’t there a few seconds ago. “When I reached the Emperor Realm, I became like a god to those beneath me, yet even I do not know what your eyes have seen. What did it feel like to be a Divinity? Tell me.”

It is not a request. The sheer hunger emanating from Lord Feng Gui has complete hold of the room, and the feast cannot hope to sate it.

Liu Jin sighs.

“I am afraid you will find yourself disappointed, Lord Fen Gui,” Liu Jin says. “My eyes saw. My ears heard. My soul experienced. And yet, my mind still struggles to comprehend. All I can say with certainty is that it felt like the world around me was a lie.”

Lord Feng Gui leans back. His brow is furrowed. “A lie?”

“Not real,” Liu Jin clarifies. “How can reality be anything but a lie when I could change it with a single word? Everything around me existed only because I allowed it to. That is how it felt, Lord Feng Gui. It was terrifying.”

“I see,” Lord Feng Gui says, looking graver than Liu Jin has ever seen him. “If so, that explains why those in the Divine Realms need to seclude themselves for so long. It certainly explains a few things about my father.”

He begins eating again, his curiosity sated for now.

Liu Jin’s is not.

“What exactly are the Divine Realms, Lord Feng Gui?” Liu Jin asks. “I might have experienced it, but it seems you might know more about Divinity than I.”

And that cannot remain that way. Not with the Wandering Wind and those on the other side of the Dead Plains in his path.

“The first thing you must understand,” Lord Feng Gui says after taking a moment to consider how to best answer, “is that the Divine Realms aren’t.”

Liu Jin blinks. “What?”

“We are used to thinking of cultivation as a straightforward, structured process,” Lord Feng Gui says. “Foundational Realm. Inner Realm. Nascent Realm. Spirit Realm. True Realm. Earth Realm. Heaven Realm. Renegade Realm. Emperor Realm. Nine cultivation realms divided into nine levels. However, the Divine Realm has no such divisions. At least, none that I know of.”

“Yet, we call them Divine Realms,” Liu Jin points out. “That implies there are stages.”

“In a sense,” Lord Feng Gui says. “You, more than I, must understand the differences in power between Divinities. However, while a man in the Inner Realm will never believe himself to be in the Nascent Realm, Divinity has no convenient markers to identify one’s progress. From my own observations and research, I prefer to think of the stages of the Divine Realms as Depths of Divinity.”

“Depths?” Liu Jin blinks. “Most people would use words related to elevation or ascension.”

“Would you?”

Liu Jin thinks back to his experiences and shivers.

“No,” he says. “Depth works surprisingly well.”

“I have been in contact with a fragment of Divine power for most of my life,” Lord Feng Gui says, letting wisps of gold appear between his fingers. “The Eternal Flame is a great power, but I have seen what happens to those who lose control. They drown in flames. Those in the Divine Realms seek to go even beyond that. In the shallowest depths, they seclude themselves. Once they have discerned the difference between themselves and the world, they begin their journey. If there is more after that, I do not know. Perhaps those on the other side of the Dead Plains do.”

“And yet, you intend to challenge those on the other side of the Dead Plains.”

“It is they who challenge us,” Lord Feng Gui counters. “Those on the other side of the Dead Plains are no longer some ill omen in the night’s sky. They are here, and they must be dealt with accordingly. I would think what happened to your country would make you inclined to agree with me, Emperor Qing Jin.”

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Liu Jin looks down at his food, unable to deny Lord Feng Gui’s words. The Death Fashioning Scripture and Peerless Heavenly Sword Peak collaborated in secret to the detriment of the Storm Dragon Empire. It was they who helped turn the country into the utter mess it was before the end of the civil war.

Who knows what else they will do if they keep ignoring them?

“There is no reason to look so disheartened,” Lord Feng Gui says. “Remember that we are not without leverage. You are aware of our lineage, are you not?”

“The blood of the 108,” Liu Jin says.

“Correct,” Lord Feng Gui says. “The preservation of the barrier is of utmost importance, which means our existence is of utmost importance. There is only so much those on the other side of the Dead Plains can risk because of that, especially with the ceremony so close at hand.”

“They tried to kidnap Feng Hao,” Liu Jin points out.