Star Realm.
Red returned here with Ying Ge but immediately started coughing repeatedly. Blood also began seeping out of the stab wound Zuo Zuo inflicted earlier.
"How are you?" Ying Ge hurriedly held her anxiously. "Gu Nan… is already strong enough to fight you? Has he already found an astral world?"
Red shook her head. "I don't know if he has an astral world, but it's true that I can't do anything about his Heavenly Demon true body without the support of Star Realm… I underestimated him."
When Star Realm wasn't supplying her with power, she was nothing more than a slightly powerful Star Ruler. She wanted to suppress Gu Nan with just her own power, but she didn't expect to be suppressed by the other side instead.
"He fought very smartly." Red added, "He should've seen through my cards, which is why he adopted this fighting style."
Ying Ge stared blankly. She really couldn't associate Gu Nan's crazy appearance earlier with the phrase "clever tactics."
However, she nonetheless realized that Gu Nan defeated Red by taking advantage of the present situation in Star Realm.
"Next time…"
"Next time, the situation may not necessarily be like this anymore." Red sighed lightly.
...
In Nirvana Heaven, Qian Han's face was full of sincerity. No trace of reluctance could be seen.
It wasn't due to how brilliant his acting skills were. Rather, he sincerely wanted to join Gu Nan's side, at least for now.
It was far from the first time he'd done such a thing. After betraying Red by acting as a double agent for Zuo Zuo, Qian Han no longer had a place in Star Realm. Taking refuge with Gu Nan was indeed his only choice.
"What's your use?" Gu Nan asked thus. This question sounded mocking, but Gu Nan was genuinely curious.
Red wasn't willing to offer a price, so whether Qian Han could save his own life depended on himself right now.
Qian Han didn't even have to think about it and quickly responded, "My Lord, I'm a top Void Cutter cultivator, and I'm very familiar with Star Realm. I also know about the entire Myriad Heavens Universe."
After a pause, he added, "I basically managed Star Realm for a thousand years. I have the experience of managing an entire astral world… My Lord, with your strength, I think it won't be long before you need a manager."
Qian Han wasn't sure whether Gu Nan already possessed an astral world, so he very wisely changed his wording.
"Why should I ask you to help manage my astral world? To make it convenient for you to turn traitor again?" Gu Nan gave him a meaningful stare and asked with a faint smile.
Qian Han wasn't surprised at all. He knew that with his "criminal record," the other party was bound to be suspicious.
So he bowed deeply. "This old man was only given a chance to defect because that one delegated power for too long. With My Lord's vigilance, don't tell me he'll also give this old man a chance to turn traitor?"
He actually advised Gu Nan to guard against him… and also threw in some flattery in passing.
Gu Nan laughed silently, casually grabbed him, and stepped into his Divine Kingdom. "I hope you won't regret it."
...
In an obscure small plane deep in the starry sky, the two halves of Zuo Zuo's body were facing each other.
"What do you want?!" Zuo Zuo glared resentfully. The half of his body that originally belonged to him was calmly returning his gaze.
He was constantly on the move after escaping from Star Realm and had already switched dozens of small planes already. He confirmed that Red didn't chase after him, but instead, this woman was always following him.
She neither attacked nor said a word. She just followed him. But whenever Zuo Zuo wanted to turn around, she would immediately avoid him.
Zuo Zuo's eyes turned slightly cold. He knew that he had to take back his body as soon as possible, or else both of them would die from possessing incomplete souls.
But the other party didn't seem to be in a hurry at all and played guerrilla warfare with him just like this.
Zuo Zuo knew better than anyone else that the enemy wanted to engage in a battle of patience with him. Perhaps the other party was even more anxious than he was. As long as he steadied his mind and calmed down…
But how could he calm down?!
The scheme he plotted for many years failed due to some random, inexplicable reasons, causing his astral world to fall into other people's control, and he was even forced to give half his body to someone else.
No matter how rational he was, it was still hard to control his anger at this time!
"You're starting to feel anxious," unhurried words came from the front. Gu Nian's voice began to resemble her original one. This was the beginning of her soul influencing the body.
Zuo Zuo took a deep breath and said in a heavy voice, "You and I will join hands to get Nirvana Heaven back first. I can share half of the astral world's power with you."
As long as they could put down their prejudices, they could combine into a temporary whole. Both of them would benefit from recapturing the astral world.
Gu Nian was silent for a while. Just when Zuo Zuo began to get impatient, she asked, "How can I trust you?"
Zuo Zuo's heart relaxed slightly. Sure enough, no one could resist the temptation of a complete astral world. "To show my sincerity, control of the new body can be given to you."
Hearing this, Gu Nian's single eye seemed to light up and she replied quickly, "Okay!"
Zuo Zuo didn't waste time and flew directly to the opposite side, but he was sneering in his heart.
He didn't lie. He did intend to give control of the body to Gu Nian, but once he recaptured Nirvana Heaven…
Thunk!
Under Zuo Zuo's incredulous gaze, Gu Nian formed a knife with her hand and viciously chopped down on Zuo Zuo's neck.
This hand chop was obviously premeditated, causing Zuo Zuo to stumble and tearing a hole in his neck.
"What is this?" Zuo Zuo's voice grew colder.
Gu Nian smiled. "I'd rather kill you than trust you."
...
Inside the Divine Kingdom.
Gu Nan casually threw Qian Han into the Evil God Temple and had him begin the process of becoming an apostle, while Gu Nan himself had already run to the construction interface.
Regarding the problem of Qian Han's loyalty or lack thereof, Gu Nan wasn't actually very worried.
It wasn't that he had any confidence in Qian Han, but rather, the characteristics of an apostle meant that Gu Nan didn't fear betrayal.
The Evil God Temple judged apostles by quite a strict standard. As long as the apostles harbored any disloyal intentions, Gu Nan would immediately receive a warning. If it was slightly serious, the apostle would even be directly kicked out of the ranks of apostles.
Therefore, Gu Nan wasn't worried about the kind of person who finally defected after lurking for many years. Instead, fellows who'd rather die than surrender or people who would turn traitor in the blink of an eye gave Gu Nan more of a headache.
What's more, Gu Nan had an even better way to restrict Qian Han.
The transformation into an apostle was quite convenient. Not long after, Qian Han stood in front of Gu Nan again with an even more respectful expression.
"My Lord…"
"Mm, go in and try it," Gu Nan said to him and pointed to the building ahead.
Qian Han turned his head and saw a delicate little house. Words he didn't recognize were written on the plaque, but he somehow understood their meaning.
Apostle Hall.
Qian Han cast a glance at Gu Nan but dared not ask further questions, so he walked in while feeling like he'd "ventured deeper into the tiger's den."
After Qian Han walked into the Apostle Hall, he saw one projection after another floating in front of him, and the last one was actually himself!
"This is…"
Gu Nan stood outside the Apostle Hall. A series of data appeared on the page.
｢Name: Qian Han
Combat Power: 128
Administration: 105
Strategy: 99
...
Loyalty: 60 ｣
Gu Nan's mouth revealed a small smile when he saw that loyalty was only at 60 points, and he clicked on an option on the page—Tier Restriction.
｢Tier Restriction: Tier 3!｣
Thus Qian Han, who was inside the Apostle Hall, ushered in a horrifying experience that he would never forget for the rest of his life. He only felt that his whole body's strength was being drained away, and his realm fell wildly until it was only at Prodigious Realm…