Mystery Paradise: Wishing Power Demon

"Impersonating? Why would you say that?" Chaoyang replied calmly. Even though his avatar’s The Divine Country was small, it was enough to prevent direct influence from the other party, "I indeed represent the Paradise Sect, and I am also the one in charge of Thistlefort. Or are divinities not allowed to serve as envoys?"

Kokomoqi didn’t expect him to respond this way and was momentarily at a loss for words, "You... should maintain distance from your believers."

"I feel my personal presence here better demonstrates sincerity. As for you... I can alone decide the policies of the Paradise Sect and Thistlefort. Can you represent this resistance army? As far as I know... it’s not just the lord of Zhaixing City who calls the shots."

"How can you... speak like this?" Kokomoqi’s expression revealed her dissatisfaction.

"How so?" A question mark formed in Chaoyang’s mind.

He genuinely didn’t understand the meaning behind her words.

"You should address Yu as a senior."

"Huh?"

"How long have you been born? Ten years? Five years? No... it’s probably only about a year, right?" Kokomoqi rose from her seat and floated in front of him, "You should be utterly ignorant, in a state of confusion, driven only by instinct, with countless questions in your heart needing answers. Why are you... not the slightest bit afraid?"

Chaoyang was stupefied.

Could this individual really have lived for over nine hundred years?

"Do not measure divinities by the standards of humans," the voice of Shi Yin suddenly resounded, "She appears human because that is what the humans pray for her to be like. But essentially she is not human; she is a conglomeration of wills, just like me... Although, of course, she is not on my level."

"Got it, got it, got it. I’m the lowest level one, right?" Chaoyang sighed, "You haven’t answered my question yet."

"Yu... can of course decide with a single word!"

He looked at her skeptically for a moment, "If that’s the case, then we can negotiate."

"Not so fast. Before that, you need to explain how you came into existence and what the doctrines of the Paradise Sect are." She floated back to her seat and sat down once again with a serious demeanor. "This is important. If Yu doesn’t understand you, Yu cannot make further judgments."

After she finished speaking, she stretched out her hand, and a magic hourglass materialized and was tossed in front of Chaoyang, "Hold it and then speak."

"What is this?" Chaoyang didn’t reach out to take it immediately, letting it hang in the air.

"Your wariness is just like that of humans." Her brow furrowed again, seemingly expressing dissatisfaction, "Your The Divine Country is protecting you, so Yu wishes to use the Magic Hourglass to judge the credibility of your statements. When you lie, the sand in the hourglass will flow faster."

Well, well, well... a magic lie detector, huh.

Chaoyang gently grasped it in his hand.

Not bad, now this thing was his.

"I have no idea how I was born a divinity, maybe it was due to the hopes of the people. As for the doctrine of Paradise, it’s easy to understand, that is to make the world as Paradise itself."

He had not become a divinity, so naturally, he didn’t know how he had come into existence as a divinity.

Maybe it was due to hope—being wrong in a guess didn’t equate to lying.

The purpose of Paradise is indeed truthful, as it has always been promoted based on this concept.

He glanced at the hourglass, and as expected, the flow of sand remained unchanged.

"Hmm... A fine ideal," Kokomoqi nodded slightly, "Then why seize Thistlefort and slaughter its defenders?"

"Slaughter? You got it backwards," Chaoyang leaned forward, extending his right hand, "Grasp it, and you will see everything I have seen."

The Magic Goddess, driven by curiosity, floated up and took his hand.

「Connect」.

In an instant, memory fragments of Thistlefort’s capture flooded into her consciousness like snowflakes. Chaoyang had thought she would show disgust, fright, or rejection, but after calmly perusing the memories, she spoke softly, "I see, Yu understand your motives now."

Now it was Chaoyang’s turn to frown, "You knew what they were doing all along?"

"Yu never inquired into their specifics, nor did I often interfere with the affairs of humans, so I was unaware. However, I’ve witnessed scenes like this many times before. Hasn’t humanity always been this way since ancient times?"

Chaoyang was speechless...

Only at times like this could he feel the depth of her nine-hundred-year experience.

"The purpose of your negotiation this time is to prevent war between the two sides, right?" Kokomoqi spoke again, "Hmm... That is not difficult to achieve. The reason you dispersed the border army could be seen as a misunderstanding, and given that, I think the Dukes will understand. The conditions for reconciliation should be fairly lenient, Yu guess mainly threefold: relocate your Paradise Sect to Zhaixing City, and join the United Army in resisting the God of All Machines; return Thistlefort to Duke Rosha; and exempt all parties involved in this matter from prosecution."

At this point, she looked at Chaoyang with a smile, "By doing so, the Paradise Sect will also become a member of this collective, naturally, there will be no war anymore. Yu, on behalf of Snow Country, welcome you—"

"Wait," Chaoyang interrupted her, "I haven’t agreed, have I?"

"Why not?" A flicker of puzzlement crossed Kokomoqi’s eyes, "Your followers won’t suffer any losses and can develop more believers in the land of mountains. You have no reason to refuse. And... aren’t you afraid of being destroyed by the God of All Machines while you are out on your own?"

He was struck by the thought, "Be... destroyed?"

"So you haven’t sensed it, the great danger is already at your doorstep." The girl realized, "Divinities may decay, but they don’t perish spontaneously. Every divinity’s demise comes from an external cause, and Kosmos, the God of All Machines, is currently the greatest threat to all divinities!"

For the first time, Chaoyang felt the rationale behind the United Army’s hostility toward Duke Longjiu from a divine perspective. "Has it been successful?"

"As I thought... You are too young, you know nothing," Kokomoqi nodded to herself, "In the past decade alone, there have been five or six divine disappearances. Even I, who have been in seclusion for many years, have sensed the vanishing of my kin more than once. Conversely, the power of the God of All Machines has expanded rapidly, even surpassing the growth of its followers, which is clearly abnormal. Since you have been born, you too will become a target for Kosmos, so moving to Zhaixing City is the only option—only there do we stand a chance against the forces of the God of All Machines."

「No wonder several divinities suddenly emerged in the mountains; so that’s what’s happening.」 Chaoyang murmured to himself, 「But can killing other divinities really strengthen one’s power? It sounds like the Kun that devours everything...」

「You’re the Kun!’ Shi Yin sneezed, ’I’ve never heard such a thing before. The forces of divinities are distinct in their concepts and cores; how could they possibly be interchangeable? By that logic, wouldn’t the flesh of the Rot God be transferrable into the seeds of cause and effect? The world would have fallen into chaos long ago!’

In my eyes, this world is already chaotic enough... Chaoyang smirked, "From what you say, it seems I have no choice but to go?"

"Indeed so," Kokomoqi admitted honestly, "If you are killed by the God of All Machines, it will only serve to strengthen his power further."

"And if I refuse?"

Her demeanor remained unchanged... as if she had seen this response many times before, "Then Yu will have to force you to go by means of war. This has always been the way to settle any dispute since ancient times... trust Yu, you stand no chance whatsoever."