Zu An was taken aback. Despite having guessed as much, he was still surprised to learn that Lady Houtu really was the Deity of Love and Beauty. Her disguise had been too convincing.

“Wait, that doesn’t make sense. You had already fallen then, and you were speaking to me through a fragment of your soul. How do you know all these things?” Zu An sensed that something was amiss.

“Don’t attempt to comprehend us universal deities using your mortal mind. Time may be linear for beings like you, but it isn’t for us. I knew what happened at the Order Ceremony right away,” the Deity of Love and Beauty replied with a ravishing smile that felt as if spring had come and flowers were blossoming. Even the surroundings became dreamlike.

Zu An was momentarily dazed. She really lived up to her reputation as the Deity of Love and Beauty. However, he quickly pulled himself together and asked, “What are you after?”

“I’m after what I'm after.” The Deity of Love and Beauty drifted over to Zu An’s side. Her opulent robe gently tickled his face, making his heart waver. “I am the one asking the questions here. Are you going to choose me or them?”

Zu An sighed. “Do you know the greatest weakness of a man?”

“Lust?” the Deity of Love and Beauty replied.

“No, it’s greed.” Zu An opened his arms wide. “I don’t want to choose. I want it all!”

A second passed before the Deity of Love and Beauty burst into laughter. “You are the most brazen person I have ever met. You dare utter such words in the presence of a universal deity.”

Then, her expression turned cold. “What do you take me as?”

“I take you as the most beautiful woman in the world,” Zu An replied with a smile.

The Deity of Love and Beauty shook her head. “Such crude compliments won’t work on me. Make your choice.”

“Will you turn around and accuse me of being heartless if I choose you?” Zu An reined in his smile as well. “They are your sisters. Do you really intend to kill them?”

The Deity of Love and Beauty narrowed her eyes. “Did someone tell you something?”

“Are you able to seal off this space to ward off eavesdroppers?” Zu An asked.

“I can, but my patience is limited.”

Zu An stared at her beautiful face and remarked, “So, should I be calling you the Deity of Love and Beauty... or the Deity of Earth?”

The Deity of Love and Beauty’s expression warped. “How do you know that? Did Mi Li or Meng tell you about me? No, that’s not like them.”

“It doesn’t matter how I know. The question is what you’re scheming,” Zu An replied. “You pretended to join the second-generation universal deities to secretly put the first-generation universal deities through reincarnation. Were you trying to protect them, or were you intending to stage a comeback in the future?”

“You know quite a bit.” The Deity of Love and Beauty snapped out of her initial shock and regained her composure. “What else do you know?”

Zu An frowned. “I think I have already shown my sincerity, but you refuse to speak. How can I trust you like that?”

“You are the one who wants something from me, not vice versa.” The Deity of Love and Beauty laughed. “I advise you to hurry up. Those two outside won’t last long. They don’t have memories of their awakening, so they won’t be a match for me.”

Zu An’s expression darkened. “I know that the Myriad Worlds are facing impending doom, and it’s a crisis that not even the universal deities have the power to stop.”

The Deity of Love and Beauty’s eyes flickered. “Continue.”

“Tell me which universal deities they correspond to first.” Zu An refused to let her dominate the flow of the conversation.

“Xihe is the reincarnation of the Deity of Light, whereas Princess Liuli is the reincarnation of the Deity of Lightning,” the Deity of Love and Beauty replied casually. She thought that there was no need for her to withhold such trivial information.

Xihe, as the Sun Goddess, embodies light and warmth. Princess Liuli is the princess of the warlike Asuras, whereas lightning also has a warlike trait as well. It looks like their elements correspond to their nature in one way or another.

Zu An replied, “The universal deities are dealing with the impending doom in their own ways, and I reckon that’s what you're doing now as well.”

The Deity of Love and Beauty didn’t respond to that remark.

Zu An continued, “But many years have passed since. You should have realized that you won’t be able to pull it off on your own.”

“Hmph.” The Deity of Love and Beauty finally grasped the situation. “You’re here as their envoy. We suffered so much under their oppression back then, yet you think that you can get us to help them with mere words?”

“It seems like you feel a greater sense of belonging to the first-generation universal deities,” Zu An remarked.

“Of course. I might have joined their ranks, but they still viewed me with skepticism and scorned me for betraying my comrades. In the end, they even banded together to kill me. Why should I help them?” the Deity of Love and Beauty sneered.

“You aren’t helping them but the people you care about,” Zu An replied. “Isn’t that what you're doing now? You should have realized by now that there is only so much that you can do alone.”

“Enough. You don’t have to speak up for them.” The Deity of Love and Beauty wouldn’t change her mind over a couple of remarks from Zu An. “I won’t help them, but it’s time for you to make your decision. Are you going to help them or help me?”

“I don’t even know what you’re doing. Why should I help you?” Zu An replied bitterly.

The Deity of Love and Beauty chuckled. “I wasn’t able to tell you anything before because it would put you at risk of heavenly retribution. Now that you know about the situation, it saves me some hassle. It won’t hurt for me to tell you a bit more.

“I have been trying to create the Six Paths of Reincarnation so there will be a place for souls to go after their bodies die. Of course, the law of nature still dictates that those who have undergone reincarnation must have their memories wiped,” the Deity of Love and Beauty said. “That will allow the dead to have a new lease on life.”

Zu An frowned. “What if the Six Paths of Reincarnation are destroyed in the impending calamity?”

The Deity of Love and Beauty fell silent. She had considered this possibility as well. “The Six Paths of Reincarnation are a fundamental law of the Myriad Worlds. As long as even a speck of the Myriad Worlds exist, the Six Paths of Reincarnation will surely reappear. No one can be absolutely certain in the face of the end, but I believe that my plan has the highest chance of success.”

Zu An finally replied, “I’ll help you with the Six Paths of Reincarnation. In return, I want you to tell me who the reincarnations of the first-generation universal deities are, and how I can restore their powers and memories.”