Faced with the high priest's questioning, Ye Tianxuan simply smiled and calmly said, "I am a god, but not a god of your world. I come from another world."
The high priestess, who appeared to be a young girl, raised an eyebrow, not so easily convinced. "In all my years, I have never seen anyone from another world. On the contrary, you exude the aura of an ordinary person. How can you prove that you are a god from another world?"
Ye Tianxuan smiled calmly, "Would you like to hear my story?"
The high priest pursed his lips. "I'd like to know how you're going to make this up."
Ye Tianxuan gracefully pulled up a chair and sat down. "Then sit down and listen to my story."
The high priest's face showed a fleeting look of speechlessness, but he still pulled over the pink cushion next to him and sat down on it.
"You should have known about my unlimited lifespan before I came, right?" Ye Tianxuan asked.
The high priest nodded.
"But lifespan is merely the foundation of my being a god, not my ability," Ye Tianxuan said in a clear and calm voice, "I don't know what the gods of your world are like, but the gods of our world are immortal."
"We have endless lifespans, and our mission is to travel to different worlds and quell the disasters that occur there. The world you are in is just one of the thousands of worlds I have experienced. I came here with my companions to resolve the disasters in various cities, but I will not stay here."
The high priest listened in silence, then murmured, "So your detection of infinite lifespan is not because you are a god of the City of Immortality, but because you, as a god, inherently possess infinite lifespan?"
"Yes."
"Then what are your abilities as a god?"
Ye Tianxuan took out a cigarette from his pocket and smiled, "Mind if I have a cigarette?"
The high priest crossed his arms, looking speechless. "I only look like a child. I don't even know how many years I've lived."
"That's good." Ye Tianxuan took out a lighter and lit a cigarette.
The high priest sat there calmly, watching the unfamiliar man in front of him take a drag of his cigarette and slowly exhale a hazy cloud of smoke.
He raised his eyes, his blue pupils blurring through the smoke, like a veiled gem, carrying a deep and mysterious color that made the high priest momentarily dazed.
Then she heard the man chuckle and say, "High Priest, when you stripped the lives of the lower-class people of Longevity City, did you truly transfer them to those of greater value within the city?"
The high priest frowned, about to retort, but for some reason, his mind went blank, and his mouth seemed to be out of control, blurting out without hesitation, "Of course not, most people in the City of Longevity have no value in living; they are just wasting their lifespans."
Ye Tianxuan narrowed his eyes meaningfully, "Then where did all the lifespans you silently stole go?"
The high priest frowned, gritted his teeth, and stubbornly tried to shut up, but his brain still couldn't help but blurt out, "Of course, of course it's for me... I am the most valuable person in the City of Immortality. Only if I live can the entire City of Immortality function, maintain my appearance and life, and hold on until the gods return."
"Hmm, I see. He really is a selfish person." Ye Tianxuan nodded casually, then stubbed out his cigarette and looked at the high priest with a smile. "Well? Have you witnessed my abilities as a god?"
The high priest frowned, becoming wary of Ye Tianxuan. "Your ability is to manipulate other people's minds?"
Ye Tianxuan smiled faintly and shook his head. "I am a god, an omnipotent and omniscient god, who can easily see through the thoughts hidden in people's hearts. I just saw through you and induced you to reveal the secret you were hiding."
"Nonsense!" The high priest stood up abruptly, staring intently at Ye Tianxuan. "Those were clearly words you manipulated me to say using your abilities!"
Ye Tianxuan smiled without changing his expression, "If you really didn't have even the slightest thought like that, how could I let you say such a thing? There's only the two of us here, so there's no need to pretend. Why don't we be more honest?"
The high priest stared at Ye Tianxuan with a cold expression.
Ye Tianxuan smiled and stared at her, without saying anything more.
There was a moment of silence between the two. Seeing that Ye Tianxuan maintained the same attitude, the high priest slowly took a deep breath and said, "Alright, I admit that you are indeed not an ordinary person."
She raised her head, her once innocent and lovely face now devoid of any childishness, filled with coldness. "You possess an infinite lifespan and some minor abilities, but I don't care whether you are truly a god or not. I'm telling you clearly, the City of Immortality doesn't need a new god, nor does it need you."
"Why?" Ye Tianxuan stared straight at her. "The crisis in Changsheng City is imminent. As the High Priest, you can't possibly be unaware of it. Lifespan is insufficient, and the people are gradually approaching death. The panic and fear suppressed at the bottom are real. You can't solve it by suppressing them and keeping them silent."
"There's no reason why," the high priest said decisively. "We simply don't need a new god. We will await the return of our true, immortal god! We don't need a god of unknown origin like you to replace ours!"
Her meaning was also very clear: because she would not abandon the old gods who had disappeared, she would not accept the emergence of new gods.
"How can you be so sure that your god will return? What if the god never comes back? Are you going to watch everyone in Changsheng City die?" Ye Tianxuan couldn't help but find it amusing that this high priest, who had lived for so many years, was so narrow-minded and stubborn. He was hoping for some unknown salvation but had given up all hope in front of him.
The high priest casually looked up at the window, standing atop the high city and overlooking the entire Changsheng City. "Since you tricked me into saying those things before, I won't pretend with you anymore."
"After God is gone, these believers are just a burden to the City of Immortality. Their value in living is that they are merely commodities to sustain my life."
"I am the true believer of God. I possess the power of God. I can maintain my lifespan. I can hold on until the true God returns. As long as I live, the City of Immortality will not disappear."
Her gaze into the distance was filled with an unwavering conviction.
"When God returns, there will be new believers, and the City of Immortality will start operating again. But I don't know when that day will come. Until then, I must live. Their lives are my lives. Whether they live or not is none of my business."
"And you," the high priest turned his gaze to Ye Tianxuan, "a new god should not appear here. You will divert the faith of the believers, and you will make the god of immortality truly disappear."
After the high priest spoke at length, Ye Tianxuan finally understood.
The person in front of me is extreme. She only has faith in the God of Immortality, who has disappeared, and in order to wait for the god's return, she is willing to sacrifice the lifespan of all the residents of Immortality City.
She believed that as long as she lived, she would wait for the return of the God of Immortality, and everything would return to normal.
The lives of those people outside are utterly insignificant.
Looking at the young girl with her innocent face, Ye Tianxuan's smile slowly disappeared.
"Are the lives of those people outside so cheap in your hands?"