Chapter Sixty-Six: Unbearable to Behold

The so-called "unseeable" nature of deities doesn’t mean that glancing at them would instantly provoke their thunderous wrath, resulting in your corruption or death without so much as a warning. If that were the case, then the entire material world could not function at all. The sun and the moon hang in the sky without rest all year round; sooner or later someone would inadvertently glance at them. If a single look meant blasphemy and a capital crime, then all sentient beings would have long since perished.

The unseeable aspect of deities primarily refers to consciously gazing upon their true forms for an extended period. Just as now, the black dragon’s pupils shifted and refocused endlessly, concentrating its will, determined to glare back at the dishonorable Sun God who had mounted a sneak attack.

The black dragon’s long-range vision far surpassed that of humans, and its eyes could endure light far better; on Earth, it could easily spot solar flares and sunspots, or see the mountain rings and craters on the moon’s surface. Yet in this world, the sun had none of these features. In the dragon’s vision, there was only a blinding, pure radiance—its energy signature was much less volatile than a true star.

Strangely, the sun here didn’t seem much larger than the moon.

The black dragon scrutinized the sun’s size, an odd sense of discrepancy rising within. It already knew that the moon in this world didn’t depend on the sun to shine; instead, she was her own queen, radiating with confidence.

“So in this world, it’s likely not the material realm orbiting the sun, but rather the sun that circles the material world…”

Lost in such thoughts, the black dragon continued to search carefully across the sun’s surface.

Yet, after staring for quite some time, it still could not locate the Sun God’s divine kingdom, nor sense any obvious will or malice from Him.

Had the god lost his nerve? Or become shy?

Look at me, you cowardly whelp!

A strange sense of pride swelled in the black dragon’s heart. Perhaps the Sun God was simply off duty, or busy elsewhere, for He ignored the reckless dragon and soon slipped down behind the mountains of His own accord.

“Dius! Dius!”

The black dragon returned to itself, hearing someone calling its name. Glancing down, it saw Ding Xuewen and the others.

A moment earlier, its breath had snatched Yu Xiaomin back from the hands of the Sun God, but the rescue had left Yu Xiaomin with severe burns and destroyed his protective suit, leaving him exposed to the magic-saturated environment—a disaster on top of a calamity.

Such a dramatic turn unsettled the research team monitoring the live feed. Ding Xuewen hastily led a group to carry Yu Xiaomin away for emergency treatment, all the while shouting at the black dragon to stop its reckless behavior.

Provoking the Sun God… The black dragon was lucky indeed!

The Sun God was among the world’s few truly great deities; though His will slumbered deeply and His divinity was, for now, faint, that didn’t mean the black dragon was immune to inciting His enmity.

And if the black dragon truly succeeded in earning His wrath… That would be trouble beyond imagining. It would have no choice but to flee to the Abyss or the depths of Hell.

“Dius! Don’t be impulsive! Don’t be impulsive!” Seeing the black dragon glance over, Ding Xuewen shouted, “We were careless. In the outer world, certain knowledge is cursed—only gold can safely carry it. Otherwise, it’s easy to draw a ‘dimensional strike’ from the sun or moon!”

What? There was such a rule?

The black dragon was startled. Knowledge required gold for containment… No wonder the outside world was so benighted and backward!

“How is Yu Xiaomin?”

Seeing that Wang Xiaobing had already been brought back inside, visibly shaken by the recent events, and that all surrounding cameras had been removed, the black dragon finally asked with concern.

“Not very optimistic,” Ding Xuewen sighed, his mood heavy.

The black dragon’s breath was far more than mere heat; it contained intense radiation and corrosive energy. Though the dragon had instinctively held back, the crisis was too sudden and urgent to avoid collateral harm while snatching Yu Xiaomin away from the Sun God.

“Is there any hope of saving him?” The black dragon’s heart weighed heavy as well, silent for a few seconds before asking.

“There is,” Ding Xuewen answered, his expression conflicted, sighing repeatedly before giving this unexpected reply.

“If there’s hope, what are you hesitating for? Get someone to save him!”

Ding Xuewen did not immediately answer, instead instructing staff to set up several devices nearby. Once activated, he sighed again. “Ah, Mr. Huang, there’s something you don’t know…”

“What are these devices for?” This time, the black dragon interrupted, unable to contain its curiosity.

When the machines started up, it clearly felt uncomfortable—its bio-magnetic field, its draconic aura, all seemed disrupted and weakened.

“They’re custom-built high-powered signal jammers,” Ding Xuewen replied.

“Signal jammers?” The black dragon was surprised, then its eyes widened. “You mean… these can block deities from spying on or eavesdropping on us?”

“That remains to be seen,” Ding Xuewen said, shaking his head. “No deity has ever provided us with feedback, so we don’t know if they’re truly effective.”

“But we suspect that, in countering deific influence, they have at least some effect.”

“I feel the same; at the very least, I can sense my body is affected…” the black dragon mused. If even a dragon, so reliant on its bloodline, was impacted, then surely pure energy beings or soul entities would be even more disrupted by electromagnetic interference!

If one were to launch a massive EMP into the sky, perhaps the heavens would be thrown into chaos.

“Now can you tell me what you’re hesitating over? If there’s a way to save him, what’s the dilemma?”

“There is a way, but the cost is great, and the controversy even greater,” Ding Xuewen sighed. “Mr. Huang, you must have heard—our people, the Xia, do have a way to survive in the outer world.”

“As long as one finds a native deity of the outer world, offers their faith and a pound of gold, the deity will use divine power to transform their body, granting them the ability to live outside.”

“Yes, I’ve heard of that.” The black dragon nodded slightly. “But I’ve always wondered—why haven’t you used this method?”

“Though our nation’s gold reserves can’t support transforming every citizen, it would be perfectly possible to perform the ritual for border guards and special agents working abroad. Why haven’t you done so?”