“Brother Crimsonwaters, it might be a controversial opinion, but don’t you think the plane’s never been the same again after Celestial Emperor Taiyuan’s unseating?” suddenly offered the blue-clad godking, breaking the silence.

The fat godking chuckled. “Hehe, here I thought I was the only one who thought that way. Honestly, I rather miss Celestial Emperor Taiyuan right now.”

Righteous snorted coldly. “Was there anything wrong with him to begin with? I’ve supported him from start to finish. Sadly, his opposition was too strong back then. Everyone thought he’d transgressed against the supreme dao and brought down the heavenly cataclysm upon us. They all cried out for his deposition.

“Gossip is a terrible thing. With all the godkings united against him and those with a hidden agenda fanning the flames of discord, how could he have kept his crown? It’s unfortunate. Those people have ruined Taiyuan Plane’s future.”

Brimming with justice, he spoke with an incisive viewpoint.

The last godking, a skinny man who’d kept his mouth shut and his eyes closed thus far, suddenly opened his eyes wide. “This kind of talk is only permissible in private between us. I fear misfortune will visit us if others are to hear.”

Righteous smiled faintly. “What’s a little misfortune at this stage? There used to be a hundred and eight godkings back in the day, but only sixty are left nowadays. What will happen in another five hundred thousand years? Unless we find a way to redo the Taiyuan Plane’s fortunes, it’ll soon perish, and all of us with it.”

Godking Crimsonwaters was familiar with Righteous’ temperament, so he dropped this topic with a wave of the hand and changed the subject.

“Rumor is that someone will propose we change our plane’s appellation in the next conference. They want us to remove the word Taiyuan entirely and erase all traces of his rule.”

The fat godking scowled. “Can… can I call this idea blasphemous?”

“You absolutely can!” Righteous’ indignation boiled over. “The only reason our plane hasn’t crumbled yet is because of the continued existence of its creation token. To alter the name would be to severe the ties between this world and it! We’d be deprived of the universe’s blessing. Do they want to expedite our world’s demise? Who is so deranged??”

Celestial Emperor Taiyuan had been pulled down from his post many moons ago and imprisoned in the Divine Prison of Eternity. But who was the chief instigator of the coup d’état? Who’d caused the upheaval? No one on Taiyuan had the answer.

The people had witnessed the endless musical chairs of celestial emperors succeeding each other in the past hundred thousand years. Not a single one had lasted for more than thirty thousand years before abdicating or perishing.

Clearly, none of those fakes could be the real mastermind. Perhaps the culprit was still hidden at large, waiting for his moment to this day, never exposing himself.

Why?

Because he or she didn’t have the creation token. Without it, a godking had no real edge over his peers. Once his identity was exposed, he’d be targeted by many.

So, the secret plotter bided their time in the shadows until they could seize the token and rule legitimately. As the one ordained by the heavens, no godkings would be able to stop them even if they were so inclined.

It was Taiyuan’s greatest mystery. The plane had become a right mess, but who was the real instigator, the most ambitious of them all? No one knew for certain. The most likely candidates had already tried their hand at ruling, and were ultimately overthrown.

Most people saw the current celestial emperor as another puppet, a temporary fill-in to be replaced in probably less than ten thousand years.

A real celestial emperor enjoyed a million years of blessing at the very least. Less than that would make them an object of derision.

The five godkings were plainly appalled by the idea of changing the world’s name. That would be altering fortune itself!

The people would be deprived of what little fortunes the Taiyuan Plane had left. Facing outright destruction overnight wouldn’t be out of the question by then, turning all of them into homeless vagrants.

That was no joking matter.

Without its remaining fortunes, without its creation token, without the supreme dao’s acknowledgement, the fate of a plane would be extremely dire.

“It’s only a rumor. It might not actually happen.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure. The situation’s very delicate right now. Whatever we fear the most is always what actually happens.” The fat godking’s chubby cheeks quivered.

“No matter what, we have to oppose the name change, or we’re all done for!” Righteous insisted resolutely.

Godking Crimsonwaters nodded. “I invited the four of you for that very reason. We’re close friends and can make plans beforehand. We don’t aspire to the throne, but still need to oppose those who seek to harm our world. This has to do with our very survival. We can’t just lie down and wait for death.”’

“That’s right, we need to draw a line in the sand,” concurred the blue-robbed godking.

The skinny godking murmured, “Of course we’ll oppose this idea. My worry now is whether the secret mastermind will stake everything on a last desperate throw of the dice. Perhaps he thinks he can refine a brand new plane. Great for him if so, but if not, that arrogant lunatic will drag us into the pit of hell with him.”

Certainly, it was the most alarming possibility.

Godking Crimsonwaters gloomily commented, “Regrettably, no one knows the identity of our nemesis. Everything would be easier if we did.”

“You don’t say. There’s been noise in the past about releasing Celestial Emperor Taiyuan to re-enthrone him. But everyone who’s suggested it ended up dying in mysterious circumstances. It’s plain to see the chief criminal is as determined as ever to make the plane his. He’s never let go of this ambition!” exclaimed the blue-robed godking.

Righteous mused, “Releasing the celestial emperor is an option we ought to seriously consider. Rather than to live with this strange, permanent fear, why not simply go back to a better time? Surely, an imprisonment this long is punishment enough for his past sins?”

“Hush! Brother Righteous, I pray you never mention this idea again. It’s a matter of life and death. Take care never to utter these words outside these doors!” warned the blue-robed godking with extreme caution.