Chapter 2341: Meeting the Enlightened One(2) "An Eternal...? A God who lives beyond our world?" Patriarch Sun repeated Yuan’s words with a dumbfounded look on his face. "That’s—" Just as Patriarch Sun opened his mouth to speak again, he abruptly froze, a look of excruciating pain twisting across his face. "Agh!" Patriarch Sun collapsed to the ground, groaning as veins bulged across his face while he struggled to endure the pain. Seeing this, Yuan reaffirmed that learning about the Eternals required sacrifice. However, this only made him more confused. ’Why didn’t Sun Rouxi and Ren Xia experience this?’ he wondered inwardly. The pain disappeared a few moments later, and Patriarch Sun glared at Yuan with killing intent afterward. "What the hell was that?! What did you do to me?!" he exclaimed as he jumped to his feet and grabbed Yuan by his collar. "That was the feeling of your longevity being forcefully sacrificed—the price for forbidden knowledge," Yuan calmly replied. "Most people die just learning about their existence." "Are you insane?! Why would you reveal such information to me then?! What if I had died?!" Patriarch Sun roared. Yuan smiled and said, "I told you because you asked. But don’t worry, there was pretty much zero chance that you’d die from it. After all, as a God Ascension cultivator, you have plenty of longevity." "God Ascension...? What is that?" Patriarch Sun frowned. "Oh, right. You guys still call it the God Realm." Yuan muttered after realizing his mistake. He proceeded to explain, "You may know it as the God Realm, but you’re nowhere near becoming a real ’God’. There are nine levels you must ascend before you reach true godhood, hence why we call it God Ascension Realm instead of God Realm." Patriarch Sun stared at Yuan with a look of disbelief. "Just...Just who the hell are you, and where did you acquire such profound knowledge?" he asked in a trembling voice as his understanding of Tian Yang quickly shattered. "I’m from the future," Yuan casually joked. "What the hell are you—" Yuan suddenly interrupted, "Let’s get moving. The Enlightened One is waiting for us, right? We shouldn’t make him wait too long." Patriarch Sun could only silently nod his head and continued guiding Yuan to the Celestial Hall. A few minutes later, they arrived at the massive manor known as the Celestial Hall. ’This place... It’s the Celestial Palace.’ Even though it was smaller and a little different, Yuan immediately recognized the place since he had gone on a slaughtering spree not too long ago in the very same place. When they stepped inside, Yuan confirmed that the place was the Celestial Palace because it had the same design. Soon, they arrived at the majestic double door at the end of the hall. However, Patriarch Sun didn’t knock on the door and merely stood there in silence. This continued for a whole minute before Yuan asked out loud, "Aren’t you going to tell him that we have arrived?" Patriarch Sun turned to look him in the eyes and responded with a serious face, "We cannot disturb the Enlightened One, as he could be receiving a divination at any moment." "Are you telling me that we will have to wait here for him to come out at god-knows-when?" Patriarch Sun calmly nodded. ’This crazy bastard...’ Yuan sighed inwardly. Suddenly, Patriarch Sun reached into his pocket and retrieved a communication jade slip. After listening to the message that he’d just received, he said to Yuan, "I have to leave for now. Do not, under any circumstances, disturb the Enlightened One while I am away." "Okay." Yuan obediently nodded. After Patriarch Sun left, Yuan waited for another two whole minutes before he approached the door and, without hesitation, knocked on it. After a few moments of stillness, the double doors abruptly opened just enough for a person to walk out, and a clear and displeased voice resounded. "Didn’t Patriarch Sun just tell you not to disturb me? What an impatient and rude bastard." A moment later, a silhouette emerged from the divine radiance pouring through the open space, and Yuan’s eyes narrowed as he focused on its face that was completely blocked by a veil and hood. "I can have you executed for disturbing me, you know?" said the Enlightened One. Yuan shrugged and asked, "How long did you intend on making me wait?" "A few decades." The Enlightened One responded without hesitation. Yuan chuckled, "Then I made the right choice. Are you really going to execute me for it?" "..." The Enlightened One remained silent for a moment before responding, "No... at least not right now." He turned around and disappeared inside the Celestial Chamber. "Follow me. We have a lot to talk about." Yuan followed him into the room. Upon entering the Celestial Chamber, Yuan found himself surrounded by flickering stars in a pitch-black background. "Do you know what kind of place this is?" The Enlightened One suddenly questioned as he gazed at the void. "The starry sky, the world beyond our sky." The Enlightened One turned to face Yuan and said, "True, it’s a world beyond ours, but I call it the Celestial Domain, as it is owned and ruled by the Gods." He continued, "Not only does the Celestial Domain belong to them, so does this world that we live in. We are nothing more than insects in their eyes." "What are you trying to get at?" Yuan asked with a raised eyebrow. "That it’s only normal for us to obey and serve them. So, I have a proposal for you. Join me and serve my God—Bahrah!" Yuan sighed out loud, "I was wondering what nonsense you were going to say, and it’s more pathetic than I anticipated." "Nonsense? Pathetic?" The Enlightened One frowned. "Aren’t you serving a God as well? Otherwise, how else would you have defeated the Giant Emperor, who was supported by Zaaran?" he asked. Yuan pondered for a moment before responding, "While I have a connection with an Eternal, I wouldn’t say that I am serving him." The Enlightened One fell silent at his words.