In the tavern, light songs and graceful dances swirled amidst the shadows, with celestial light twining around the curtains in every corner.

At the railings of the second and third floors, numerous middle-aged men and women drank and laughed, deliberately avoiding glances at the scene below.

In reality;

The streets were crowded with immortal soldiers, and the inn was filled with experts.

Strands of divine consciousness landed on that particular table, ready to unleash thousands of streaks of light directly at the plump innate deity should any anomaly arise.

However, this was not arranged by Wu Wang; the one pulling the strings behind the scenes was Liu Bairen, the Pavilion Master.

Among the few high-ranking individuals in the Human Realm, there was an inevitable divergence of opinions on how to deal with the Sleep God.

Looking back at the table, it was a picture of harmonious joy.

The Sleep God's chubby face was plastered with the words 'seeking survival.' Even if there wasn't much to talk about, he could quickly warm up the atmosphere.

Which innate deity favored beauty, which delighted in slaughter, which was stubborn, and which was careless—the Sleep God spoke with authority on each.

It all seemed quite plausible.

Wu Wang set up this situation to probe the Sleep God's secrets.

He held back the three great weapons for now, watching to see what useful information the Sleep God might reveal on his own.

"Fellow Daoist," Wu Wang tapped the table and whispered, "I must confess, I am particularly interested in several powerful deities of the Heavenly Palace and have always been puzzled.

Why does the Star God have exclusive dominion over the North Wilderness, while the Deputy Deity of Lifespan and Junior Deity of Lifespan don't even have a piece of fiefdom?"

"It was an agreement between the Star God and the Heavenly Emperor," the Sleep God chuckled, "As for what was agreed upon, that's not something we minor deities would know.

Speaking of the Deputy Deity of Lifespan and Junior Deity of Lifespan, this time, I was tricked by the Deputy Deity of Lifespan."

"Oh? How so?" Wu Wang continued.

"Fellow Daoist Wu Wang, you may not be aware..."

The Sleep God sighed, then began to mutter, revealing the ins and outs of the recent enfeoffment.

Initially, it was the Junior Deity of Lifespan who approached the Heavenly Emperor with a strategy to seek reconciliation with the Human Realm before the great battle. The Heavenly Emperor listened to this strategy and convened several major aides.

Wu Wang interjected with a smile, "The Heavenly Emperor's true will has always been in slumber. The one that appears in the Heavenly Palace now is actually the will that the Heavenly Emperor entrusted to the Great Dao of Order."

The Sleep God was visibly stunned and muttered, "Goodness, how do you know such a secret?"

"Ah, I've encountered the Heavenly Emperor, and he told me."

Wu Wang picked up his cup and took a gentle sip.

Celestial Sword Taoist, the Great Elder, and the other cultivators present naturally took Wu Wang's words as a joke.

But the Sleep God murmured to himself, "The Great Dao of Order sought you out? Are you a key element in maintaining the current order of heaven and earth? My apologies to the Spring God."

Wu Wang replied with a smile, "It's just something His Majesty mentioned.

However, you did not deny it, which means that the one in charge of the Heavenly Palace right now is indeed the Great Dao of Order itself.

This is quite important news."

[This was a psychological tactic, making the Sleep God believe he had inadvertently revealed an important secret, thereby lowering his guard.]

Unexpectedly, the Sleep God showed a simple smile, "I'm just a god of sleep and dreams, my greatest use is to help some of the more restless innate deities sleep. How would I know these things?

Let's drink, let's continue discussing this matter."

"Please do tell, Fellow Daoist."

Wu Wang said with a smile, ordering another round of drinks and dishes.

The Sleep God picked up his cup and took a sip of the immortal brew, letting out a long "ha" before continuing to pour out his grievances.

The Junior Deity of Lifespan offered a strategy, and the Heavenly Emperor convened several major aides to discuss reconciliation with the Human Realm, to enshrine Shen Nong as the Fire God, granting him eternal life and making him a true Fire God, on the condition that the Great Dao of Fire be returned to order.

At first, the Junior Deity of Lifespan suggested that the Great Dao of Fire could remain relatively independent, like the Great Dao of Stars and the Great Dao of Heavenly Punishment, not bound by the Heavenly Palace, to reassure the Human Realm.

After all, what the Heavenly Palace wanted was only for the Great Dao of Fire to complete the seal of heaven and earth, eliminating the possibility of the Candling Dragon divine lineage's return.

But as they discussed, the tone changed.

"It was the Deputy Deity of Lifespan who stirred up trouble," the Sleep God sighed, "This is what I heard.

The Deputy Deity of Lifespan said that the harm of the Human Realm was greater than that of the Candling Dragon, and that the challenge of living beings to divine authority would completely destroy the current order of heaven and earth.

Once the Heavenly Palace loses its suppression over living beings, they will gradually perish in internal strife, and the world will welcome deathly silence."

Celestial Sword Taoist frowned and said, "This Deputy Deity of Lifespan really..."

"And then?" Wu Wang urged.

The Sleep God's eyes were somewhat hazy as he sighed:

"Then, the Junior Deity of Lifespan and the Deputy Deity of Lifespan had a big argument in front of the Heavenly Emperor, and half of the Heavenly Palace felt the confrontation between the two Great Daos.

The Great Dao of Order suppressed them, and the Heavenly Emperor decided to decree the enfeoffment of the Human Emperor.

Then the Deputy Deity of Lifespan got crafty, insisting on sending a true deity to proclaim the decree, to show the Heavenly Palace's importance to the matter.

The Junior Deity of Lifespan argued that if an innate deity came to the Human Realm, they would be torn apart, causing unnecessary losses to the Heavenly Palace, and the enfeoffment and negotiations would come to nothing.

The two deities were at an impasse, and the siblings had never argued like this before."

Wu Wang smiled and said, "Then the Heavenly Emperor adopted the Deputy Deity of Lifespan's suggestion on this point."

"Right," the Sleep God smiled, though it was a bit stiff, "Then the fifteen true deities with the lowest merits in the Heavenly Palace drew lots, and I, with great fortune, haha..."

"Drew lots?"

The Great Elder was full of astonishment, "Such an important matter, and they actually!"

The Sleep God let out a deep sigh and continued:

"I've said so much, really just to tell everyone that I'm one of the least useful deities in the Heavenly Palace, even less so than the Spring God, who was enshrined as a deity later.

Something like putting a large group of experts to sleep, I really can't do that.

The strength of an innate deity lies in how close their Great Dao is to the source of heaven and earth, the purer the Great Dao, the stronger the deity born from it.

My Great Dao of Sleep and Dreams is one of the hundred minor paths that emerged after the Great Dao of Living Beings, serving the living beings.

My Great Dao's mystery is very simple.

[When tired, one must rest.]

I... sigh! It's all in this cup of wine!"

The Sleep God tilted his head back and drained the cup, his eyes shimmering with tears as he whispered:

"This is too hard for me."

Wu Wang: ...

The performance was a bit too obvious.

Since that was the case, he wouldn't feel guilty for being ruthless."Please kill the weapon!"

"Friend, you are really suffering. I never thought that being a god in the Heavenly Palace would be so suffocating. Today, let's put everything else aside... Brother Xiao, ask all the experts to step back."

The Sleep God said this, "If we force him again, do we still have any empathy?"

With a light thud, Wu Wang took out a pale yellow gourd, from which the sound of flowing water could be heard.

"Friend... no, Brother Sleep, today I will accompany you for a good drink."

Seeing this, the Sleep God hurriedly said, "I'm embarrassed, I'm embarrassed. I spoke too emotionally just now, and made Brother Feng Chun laugh."

"Try this."

Wu Wang opened the gourd, and a unique fragrance filled the air. With a flick of his finger, a clear liquid flew into the cup in front of the Sleep God.

Wu Wang smiled and said, "This wine is unique to the Human Realm. I have never shared it with anyone before. It was given to me by His Majesty after I broke the case of the Poverty-stricken infiltrating the Ren Emperor's Pavilion and subsequently brought down the Fourth Main Hall of the Ten Calamities Palace. It's wine brewed by the Emperor himself, the wine of the Great Dao! Ask Brother Xiao and the Great Elder if they have tasted it?"

Both of them shook their heads, then looked eagerly at the cup in front of the Sleep God.

"Wine brewed by the Emperor?"

The Sleep God's eyes lit up, and he picked up the cup to take a sniff. His fair face gradually turned red.

He murmured, "Good wine, really good wine. It's rare to see such Dao wine in the Heavenly Palace."

"Here," Wu Wang poured himself a cup and invited, "Let's drink this cup together."

The corners of the Sleep God's mouth twitched slightly, and he muttered, "Do you really want to drink?"

"I really want to drink."

"Is it necessary to drink?"

Wu Wang smiled and said, "Today, we drink to get drunk. Don't live too tired!"

"You people from the Human Realm really have a set way of persuading others to drink."

The Sleep God closed his eyes, drank the wine in front of him, and a sense of Dao spread from his body, completely genuine.

Wu Wang poured another cup, and the Sleep God burped, already starting to fidget with his hair, feeling restless.

After three or five cups of Dao wine, the Sleep God's eyes became... bright!

Wu Wang also kept raising his hand to support his forehead.

But having drunk this Dao wine with Senior Shen Nong before, he still managed to keep his wits about him.

Although his head was starting to ache.

Unknowingly, the second 'weapon' had already appeared.

An old woman sat behind a screen, gently stroking the strings of a zither, and strands of Dao surrounded the people at the table.

The Mysterious Female Sect's Elder.

With these two 'weapons', combined with the third 'weapon' - the True Heart, the Original Heart, and the First Heart Great Dao;

Wu Wang didn't believe that he couldn't get the Sleep God to talk today.

He didn't rush to ask sensitive questions. At this moment, the Sleep God was still relatively clear-headed, waiting for the aftereffects of the Dao wine to spread.

Wu Wang took a bite of pickled fish and asked quietly, "Brother Sleep, do you think Junior Deity of Lifespan is really innocent, or is she just pretending?"

"She, she's just a foolish girl, being used by her own brother without even realizing it."

The Sleep God sneered, picked up a handful of spirit fruits and melon seeds, and spoke in a much more forceful tone than before.

He said, "The Great Dao of living beings was originally too powerful, so it split into two, giving rise to the Dao of Lifespan and the Dao of Reproduction. After that, two gods were born.

The Heavenly Emperor had long predicted that the Great Dao of living beings would merge again. The current problem is that the Dao of Death has not yet reached a level comparable to the Great Dao of living beings.

The God of Death has been replaced several times, each time ending in self-destruction, unable to bear the pain of living beings' deaths. This god, who should have been a trump card for the Heavenly Palace, has always been of little use.

In fact, gods related to living beings are prone to self-destruction.

The Deputy Deity of Lifespan and the Junior Deity of Lifespan have long shown signs of this.

It's just that the Deputy Deity of Lifespan has been messing around since ancient times, and has suffered a backlash from it;

As for the Junior Deity of Lifespan, she has also been affected, but the backlash she received from the Dao of Reproduction is all good and sweet, so her personality has become increasingly gentle.

The first Sky God is soft-hearted, and that's referring to the Junior Deity of Lifespan.

She is really innocent.

This time, when she came to offer advice, she was simply feeling heartbroken at the thought of countless casualties in a great battle.

Junior Deity of Lifespan loves living beings because she genuinely loves them."

"So that's how it is."

Wu Wang rubbed his reddened nose and chuckled, "You know, Junior Deity of Lifespan is quite... attractive."

"Elegant, right? Beautiful, right? Haha! You haven't seen her true appearance yet. Her true appearance is with long silver-white hair, that appearance, that temperament!"

The Sleep God cracked melon seeds and winked at Wu Wang, then said, "But you don't have a chance."

Hissing Snake frowned and said, "How do you know?"

Wu Wang scolded, "Shut up, how dare you speak to Brother Sleep?"

It almost caused a big problem!

Hissing Snake immediately fell silent.

The Sleep God, who had previously shown great fear of Hissing Snake, now looked her up and down, his gaze unreserved, and even showed a hint of mockery.

"Controlled by a divine curse? The Evil God is really useless, what's the use of having divine power? There's no foundation in the Great Dao."

Hissing Snake was naturally filled with anger at these words, but after being scolded by Wu Wang, she could only lower her head and suppress her anger.

Unknowingly, she was also affected by the sound of the zither, and her emotions were very unstable.

The Sleep God muttered to himself, "Yes, yes, that's how you should discipline her. Where did you get this divine curse from?"

"It was given to us by His Majesty."

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Wu Wang grinned and muttered, "Speaking of disrespectful words, our Majesty really knows how to take advantage of me. I'm just like a brick, I'll be moved wherever he needs me. Come, drink!"

The Sleep God clinked his cup with Wu Wang's, and then frowned, "Drink... not finishing it, are you looking down on me?"

As they spoke, another two or three cups of Dao wine were consumed.

Wu Wang continued to complain about his hardships, fighting with the Ten Calamities Palace, the Evil God, and the Deputy Deity of Lifespan, and having to work as a carpenter to trim the great tree of the Human Realm.

The Sleep God burped and laughed, "Being used by others, right?"

"You can't say that," Wu Wang smiled subtly.

"What are you hesitating for, just say it," the Sleep God waved his hand, "We are all working for these extremely powerful gods. Who cares about our feelings? Look, the Heavenly Emperor, the Candling Dragon from outside the heavens, and the Ren Emperor of the Human Realm, they're all the same at heart.

They are rulers, and we are just working for them.""Little brother, it's not that I don't want to give you some advice... but all these things are useless, you know?

If you want to live a long and distant life, there's one thing you must learn."

Wu Wang muttered, "To cling to life?"

"No, no, no, it's to slack off."

The Sleep God chuckled with a sly grin, his plump and disorderly fair face full of smugness, leaning forward and whispering to Wu Wang, "Do you know when and where I started slacking off?"

"Right from the beginning of the Heavenly Palace," Wu Wang replied nonchalantly.

"The Heavenly Palace, that's nothing! Hahahaha!"

The Sleep God laughed heartily, whispering, "Count back, three divine eras ago, when the innate gods first appeared in this world, that's when I came into being!"

He gestured a two with his round hand.

"Bragging, you were the second innate god to be born?"

The Sleep God replied discontentedly, "How is that bragging? I was born in the second batch! In terms of seniority, I'm of the same generation as Emperor Di Shun!"

The Celestial Sword Taoist's eyes widened, almost drawing his sword in response.

The Sleep God had previously claimed that he was born after the creation of living beings; and before the birth of living beings, there had been several changes of divine eras, with innate gods being replaced continuously.

If what he said was true!

The Sleep God chuckled, seeing Wu Wang's disbelief, and continued:

"I'm only telling you this, really, what's the use of serving them?

Take the first supreme god I followed, his ultimate Dao was to return the heavens and earth to chaos, then create a void from which to establish a new Dao.

And then, he was defeated by the will of order.

Actually, looking back from that time, most divine wars... *burp*! It was order ultimately triumphing over chaos, otherwise, we wouldn't have the flourishing life we see today.

The second supreme god I followed, his ultimate Dao was to leave this realm, to completely sever ties with this world, and then he killed himself.

From then on, I realized something.

It's all an illusion!

Those who go before you, those who are stronger than you, they want you to serve them, they draw you in with promises, give you some hope, and then when we're no longer of value, they kick us aside.

What's the point?

Starting from the third divine era, I've hidden myself, in a place where no one can find me.

But I can't completely hide away, if you don't interact with other deities for too long, your consciousness will fall into dormancy, and as you rise in rank, you'll understand that the Dao has an assimilating force on innate gods.

So I found this little path, and anchored my consciousness here.

Hehehe, I endured for three divine eras, a full three divine eras, without telling any other deities this secret.

It almost killed me!

Come, drink!

Today, I met you, little brother, we hit it off, otherwise, would I tell you all this?

I... I..."

The Sleep God paused mid-sentence, opened his mouth, looked up, and saw Wu Wang's half-smiling face.

In the next instant, he stood up abruptly, and immediately, numerous experts appeared around him.

The god hastily said:

"I... I was just drunk and joking, don't take it seriously...

No, are we really playing this deep? Master Wuwang, Spring God! You!

Stop playing that zither! You, this wine, it's problematic!"

Wu Wang calmly placed the memory-preserving pearl in the Great Elder's palm, then looked at the Sleep God with a serious expression and smiled, "After all this, let's continue drinking."

"How could I just!"

The god of sleep covered his eyes with his hand, slowly crouched down, then quickly stood up and returned to his original seat.

He poured himself a cup of Dao wine, gritted his teeth and said, "Drink! Anyway, I don't want to stay in the Heavenly Palace anymore, there's something wrong with the Deputy Deity of Lifespan, and the Candling Dragon is about to return, the sooner I leave, the sooner I'm free!"