In a world where time lost all meaning, Yao Jun died and was born again in a loop without end. He melted and put himself back together at the last second, a practically limitless flow of lifeforce flooding into him at every second to just barely keep him intact. But his God Gate was already entwined with his soul so this strange process didn't just wreak havoc upon his body, it also assaulted his soul. And while enduring this assault, Yao Jun finally saw the effect of something that had previously been only quietly flowing into him, faith.

Yao Jun had two different lines of faith sinking into him, one type was the golden lines of heartfelt faith and devotion while the other type was the black lines of fear so strong it was like the belief in the grim reaper. In his case, the black lines vastly outnumbered his golden lines, that was simply the type of life he had led, the type of existence he had become to most people.

But right now, that fact came to haunt him, as if chastising him for how he had lived his life. The black lines joined up with the invisible waves of energy unleashed by the two God Gates and attacked his soul, attempting to ruin it while he was weakened. But Yao Jun luckily had an endless supply of lifeforce, which coupled with the resplendent lines of golden faith were enough to resist the combined attack against his soul, repairing it each time just before it was destroyed.

This cycle synched up with the cycle of his body being destroyed and rebuilt, repeating without pause while Yao Jun was encircled by the pulsating roots of Yama, energy ceaselessly pouring into him. And then, after an unknown amount of time passed, Yao Jun's body and soul survived that which should have been certain death. The invisible waves of energy stopped radiating out from the two God Gates, only a single black gate with a slight tint of silver remaining in its place.

The final process of Yao Jun's soul and body repairing themselves started and quickly finished, his body and being reborn stronger than before. Yao Jun could finally stop struggling to maintain his consciousness, his eyes opening for what felt like the first time in centuries. The area around him was pitch black, he wouldn't even be able to see his hand if he held it up to his face. But while he couldn't see, he could feel Yama's roots all around him, vast quantities of lifeforce still flowing into him.

But strangely enough, the energy wasn't flowing into him through his God Gate as it did at the start, it was now flowing into him through very thin vines that had burrowed into his body. His brows furrowed slightly and he immediately checked the inside of his God Gate, his heart immediately clenching slightly.

The inside of his God Gate hadn't changed too much, the only real change being that the leaves of the ancient tree that served as the centre of his God Gate had taken on different shapes, as if they were trying to emulate different types of swords. The inside had also grown much much smaller than it was in the past, it was at best about 1000 kilometres in each direction, the various environments shrinking drastically. The Time-Altering Spire and the Demon's Gate sect were still here, everything he had chucked into his God Gate for safekeeping was also still there.

But his companions weren't. He couldn't sense Du Xiao or Jun Tuan who should be here, nor could he sense Little Gray and the others, it felt like his God Gate had once again been chained up by that massive array. He couldn't even sense the laws that he should be able to use after absorbing them, making it even worse than when his God Gate as sealed up by the array.

Fear and worry instantly assaulted Yao Jun, who gave a wave of his arm pushed aside all the roots around him and left the cocoon of roots. The blazing light of the sun struck him the moment he lept out of the roots, his feet touching the dusty earth of a barren wasteland that only contained a few dried bones and fossilized remains of trees.

He was completely nude, his toned and muscular body laid bare for all to see while his purple hair cascaded down to just beneath his shoulders, a few wayward strands falling over his grey eyes. Even his interspatial ring was gone, reduced to nothing but a puddle of whatever materials it was forged from.

Yao Jun was currently so worried about what might have happened to Little Gray and the others that he didn't even bother checking the state of his own body, much less the state of his clothing. But he could luckily let out a soft breath of relief shortly after leaping out from the roots, his gaze landing on five familiar figures. The human-formed Siwang, Yong Bo, Xuhuan Huo, Yama, and Jun Tuan were all kneeling a short distance away from him, their heads lowered while their bodies faced him as they spoke in unison.

"My Lord, we congratulate you on your rebirth! Please punish us for being unable to aid you in your time of need!"

The words of the five beasts were heartfelt and sincere, not being able to help their deity in his time of need was their greatest shame. They had been forced to remain within the God Gate while he struggled for his life, but the worst part was that they didn't even know what had gone down until he escaped from the array and his immense anger and sorrow hit them all at once. Not only had they been unable to help, they hadn't even known that he was in danger. How pathetic wasn't that? How worthless weren't they as companions? But while Siwang and the others asked to be punished, Yao Jun simply walked up to them and pulled them all as close as he could.

"Thank the gods... You're still here..."

Yong Bo and the others wanted to say something about how they had failed him, but feeling the slight tremble of his arms was enough to inform them that it was best to remain silent. Their lord had just lost a dear companion and was still in the midst of his sorrow, what he needed now was companionship, not to punish his companions.

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Yao Jun quietly embraced the five beasts for a few minutes before pulling back, now quite a bit calmer than before. His anger, his sorrow, his burning desire, all of it had been buried deep within so that he wouldn't lose control of himself, so that he wouldn't act recklessly and risk losing more people. But one day, just like a dragon had to burst out from the deepsea, his emotions would explode forth and burn all they touched.

He scanned his surroundings and saw that the barren wasteland continued on for as far as the eye could see, every single direction showing nothing more than dusty earth. He vaguely remembered there being a verdant forest filled with tall trees here, but it seemed like that forest had already died, probably to supply him with the needed lifeforce. He turned his head and glanced upwards, looking at the several kilometre tall rose stretching up behind him.

He could clearly remember that Yama was supposed to be a crimson rose, but the one stretching up behind him was pitch black in colour, only a few faint red veins running along the leaves. He looked down at his own body and touched upon his God Gate to create his armour, a black robe with a few faint silver lines running up the sleeves quickly draping his body. He then turned his head to look at Xuhuan and the others, speaking to them while the black rose shrank down and sank into Yama's body, another ability Yao Jun was certain he didn't use to have.

"It's probably just best if you tell me everything."

Yao Jun didn't know how much time had passed or everything that had happened, especially with his God Gate, so it was important that he gathered whatever information he could. The others had been ready for his question, the short and stout Siwang swiftly responding.

"You need not worry, we have made sure that Mistress Luo and Young Miss Xuelian are safe. About a year and a half have passed since you went to the Lin clan, and we could feel ourself lose our connection with you about half a year after... the battle. We quickly realized that something big was happening and sent Du Xiao over to Mistress Guo and the others, she could control the spiders within the Pan clan people to ensure their safety, hence the last message we sent them was that they should stay there, lest the Lin clan discover them should they come for you."

Siwang and the others knew exactly what Yao Jun was the most worried about so they didn't beat around the bush and straightaway told him where he could find Guo Luo and the others. When sending the last message through the God Gate, Sirius and the others had ensured Yama and the others that they would do everything to protect Guo Luo and the others in their absence. After all, they had already failed to protect and help their lord once before, how could they possibly face him if they allowed his family and friends to be harmed further in is absence?

"After we sent the last message, our connection with you was completely severed and we were thrown out here, which we aren't quite certain where is. We sadly do not know the exact cause, but we believe that the supposedly impossible fusion between your own God Gate and Mister Yantian's God Gate has turned your own God Gate into something new, resulting in what might be called a soft reset where only a few things were kept intact. But we can still feel the presence of the God Gate within you, so we believe that if you so desire, you can absorb Demonic beasts again."

Siwang and the others told Yao Jun everything they knew and everything they had guessed at, sadly not having too many concrete answers about what exactly happened to his God Gate. Yao Jun took in everything and digested the information, closing his eyes for a short second while giving his new God Gate a swift inspection.

He couldn't feel the laws he was used to, those of his beast companions, but he could feel the presence of several new laws. These were laws that he knew didn't belong to him, or at least shouldn't belong to him if he had taken care of things properly, laws of attack. Slicing, crushing, piercing, the three laws that Yun Yantian had been the most proficient with, he could feel all three of them clearly, a simple wave of his hand could unleash them like a furious wave filled with his sword intent.

Sword Intent, it was something Yao Jun had acquired long ago, all the way back when he was still on his home planet and had only been with Yun Yantian for a short while. He acquired it back then and did indeed gain the ability to unleash it along with a slash of his sword, sending out sharp blades to attack his enemies. But he had rarely ever used it, he struggled to remember even a single time he actually used it in a fight.

The reason behind it was simple, his sword intent alone was weaker than when he used his own laws. He could have used his sword intent to slice people, but his law of space was simply better suited to it. He could pierce with his sword intent, but his law of lightning was simply better at it. But that was no longer the case, using his sword intent along with the power of his new God Gate would allow him to unleash power just as great as if he was using his elements, if not greater in some cases.

Yao Jun gazed at the sword-shaped leaves hanging on the ancient tree, observed their rustling in the slight breeze within his God Gate. This was the final gift given to him by Yun Yantian, one that he did not feel he deserved, one he would gladly abandon just to get his friend back. But he knew that life wasn't that simple, nor was it that kind. He removed his mind from his God Gate and opened his eyes again, his gaze rising to the sky as a soft mutter escaped his lips.

"The throne of godhood, huh? I'll carve a path straight to it, but I'm not content with just using your sword for it. You should know that I'm far too greedy for that, so I'll force you to come around to watch me."

Yao Jun closed his eyes again when he finished his mutter, drawing in a deep breath before opening them again and turning his gaze onto the still kneeling Demonic beasts. His gaze softened as he looked at them, stretching out an arm towards them.

"You've already gained your freedom, and I've already lost twice, losing two dear friends in the process. But I swear, no more loss, no matter who demands it. So, will you still follow me?"

All his Demonic beasts had gotten far stronger than when he first picked them up, to the point where it would be easy for them to become overlords back in their own universe, they could possibly even rule over a small section of land in this universe. They could rule as kings and live great lives in decadence with everything they could ever desire. But even so, not a single one of the five hesitated with placing their fists on the ground and speaking out as one.

"From the start to the end, all the way until the throne of God!"

Living as kings in decadence? Getting everything they desired? How could any of those things ever compare to the joy they got from serving as the path that led their deity to the throne of God? They could be tempted a thousand times and he could ask them a thousand times, but their answer would always be the same, from the start to the end. Yao Jun couldn't help but smile softly and gratified when he received their response. He had lost and failed several times, but they still didn't abandon him, they still didn't give up and lose faith in him, he had truly been blessed with great companions.