-The next day-

At dawn, a gong rang out from the center of the town.

​​

Immortal sects began their daily activities early, hence the cultivators all woke up at the loud ringing of the gong.

Alex and Hermes also woke up, and the former remembered that today was quite an important day.

He had to meet up with Zhen Hong and the black-robed sect leader to depart for their expedition westwards.

Of course, he first took care of his hygienic needs and dressed up.

Most of the clothes he brought with him were tattered or worn down, and he didn't have the time nor the experience to sew new clothes.

As a result, he borrowed the white robes of the sect disciples.

'These look nice,' Alex remarked when he saw himself in the mirror and fixed up the little crevices.

"Hermes, we'll be moving to defeat the ghost king," Alex bid his goodbyes to the lazy Hermes.

Ever since he received a vacation back in Olympus, Alex felt like the usually-diligent Hermes has been exceptionally lazy.

"Okay, Alexei-boy, don't die~~~" Hermes yawned.

A vein crept upon his forehead, but he put that aside and left their pagoda.

Then, he swiftly flew to the central pagoda, and freely entered and climbed to the top floor.

Like yesterday, there was a gathering of the grey-robed sect elders.

Zhen Hong, Zhen Liuxian, and the sect leader stood in the center of the crowd.

The elders made a pathway for him, and he greeted the three "Good morning."

The black-robed sect leader chuckled and inquired, "Are our facilities comfortable? Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, and the air feels really clean and fresh here," Alex made some small talk.

"Oh, Liuxian sets up air-purifying talismans all over the sect,"

_________________

"Are we going to the eastern mountains directly? Or shall we stop along the way?" Zhen Hong asked the sect leader.

"Are you slow? Why do you ask that?" The sect leader sneered mockingly.

"Actually...." Alex interjected.

He had borrowed the flying chariot from Hermes since it was simply the most practical and fastest tool available.

The minuscule chariot quickly grew in size and could ultimately comfortably fit the four of them.

"What a great tool, the western lands have some unexpectedly good forging skills," The sect leader placed his wide sleeve on his mouth.

'That felt like an insult,' Alex coughed and was somewhat surprised at his rising patriotic feelings for Olympus.

"Let's get a move, we should vanquish it before nighttime when the ghost matrice can make more ghost generals..."

The four of them got into the chariot, and after receiving blessings from the sect elders, they immediately burst into the sky.

The trip was mostly silent, except the whisperings of Liuxian and the sect leader in the backseats.

Alex turned to Zhen Hong, who was next to him, and tried to begin a conversation, "You're a resident of the Kingdom of Pure Felicity?"

'He should know something about the heavenly domain, right?'

"Yes, I just recently received citizenship when I reached the Soul Formation stage,"

Alex nodded and asked another question, "Would you happen to know where the heavenly domain's entrance is? We need to go there."

Zhen Hong rubbed his head in embarrassment and shook it.

"To be frank, although I live in the sacred kingdom, no one except the delegates and the heavenly citizens know of its location,"

He placed a finger on his glabella, and continued, "However, I think a delegate would gladly guide you if you have any form of authentication,"

Alex nodded, even though he already knew of the latter part.

Suddenly, Zhen Hong asked the sect leader, "Martial Grandfather, would you be able to decipher this crypt? I found it in one of my voyages and it seems to be written in an ancient language."

The young man took out a beige ceramic plate from his pockets.

There were esoteric symbols engraved on the plate.

The sect leader grabbed the plate and examined it.

Unfortunately, he shook his head, "This language seems to be a few hundred years old, I can't recognize any of the symbols here,"

Liuxian took the crypt and examined it with a monocle.

"However, the plate is clearly quite new, and at most, half a dozen decades old."

"Golden Immortals or Jade Immortals can decipher it with their linguistic abilities though,"

When Alex stared at the plate, he felt the urge to exclaim, 'You don't need Immortals for that, your boy, the god of humanity, is right here!'

"Can I see that?" Alex wished to see the plate for himself.

Liuxian gave him a strange, and incredulous look, but ultimately, delicately gave him the crypt.

Alex was a true god, and one of the skills all gods had were their universal linguistic abilities, hence he instantly understood and decoded the contents of the plate.

'Annals of a long life - Regret - The third testament'

Alex didn't understand a lot from the title, so he gave the rest a read.

'Mortal-minded is fickle, and egotistical, giving them power is not salvation, but the greatest of curses. I regret my gift to the mortal-minded, and this is the third testament to my regret before I leave the secular and immortal domains. They call me a wise man, but I think my actions make me the unwisest of men. To the rare bunch that can find and understand this, my plates are the annals to the life I held, and perhaps, to the place I have gone to.'

Alex frowned.

The person who wrote it was clearly in a state of distress, and they regretted 'their gift to mortals'.

"Young lad, are you pretending to read?" The sect leader took him out of his trance and laughed.

"Yes, this language is completely unfamiliar to me," Alex lied and gave Zhen Hong the plate.

As he didn't understand the importance and the context of this plate, he wouldn't easily explain the contents, and instead, keep them to himself.

Unbeknownst to Alex, he had stumbled on the greatest mystery of this great land.