Looking at Chen Xu’s shocked expression, the Lord of Heaven continued.
“‘Martial’ refers to the Martial Dao. The fate of those martial artists has already fallen into Hell’s hands. Given her deep study of the Path of Rituals, it would be effortless for her to manipulate them.”
“‘Immortal’ refers to the Path of Immortals, the lineage of the Hunyuan Dao Lord. Though Immortal and Martial paths are similar, there are significant differences in their systems and structures.”
“‘Divine’ corresponds to the Divine Path—for instance, my Heavenly Pantheon, the path of faith and divinity. While my faction is the dominant one in the myriad worlds, there are still a few other minor players; I simply don’t know if Hell has targeted them as well.”
“‘Yokai’ refers to the bloodline paths of heaven-and-earth spirits and monsters. Take your Ginseng Fruit Tree, for example—a creation of nature itself. If left to grow without outside interference, it would eventually awaken its own bloodline path upon reaching a certain level.”
“As for ‘Shamanic,’ that is a catch-all term. Mages are Shamanic, warlocks are Shamanic, and even things like dou qi or knight breathing methods are all lumped into the Shamanic category.”
“Actually, even I don’t understand why the classification of Shamanic is so broad, but since it was a concept proposed by that Great Sage, the myriad worlds have simply used it by default.”
“So, these five words encompass all the supernatural systems in the myriad worlds?”
The Lord of Heaven shook his head. “I can only say they cover a little less than half, not everything. The myriad worlds are vast; there will always be strange and unusual systems that exist. They simply aren’t very famous because not many people practice them.”
“Then why did the Mother of Hell choose these five systems?”
Chen Xu was somewhat puzzled. If the Mother of Hell wanted to use the providence of other supernatural systems to patch her own flaws, wouldn't it be better to choose some obscure, minor systems?
Why pick these famous and powerful systems? Once her goal was discovered, wouldn't word spread quickly from one to all?
“It’s simple. The Dao Lords who once charged into Hell with the intent to destroy it all came from these five systems.”
“So the Mother of Hell wants to save herself while simultaneously taking revenge for what happened back then?”
The Lord of Heaven couldn't provide an answer to Chen Xu’s question and simply shook his head.
“I don’t know. Everything I’ve told you is just my speculation—speculation based on my experience confronting Hell for so many years.”
“Perhaps those five holes correspond to something else. Who knows.”
Suddenly, the Lord of Heaven seemed to remember something. He looked at Chen Xu and spoke meaningfully.
“Oh, wait. Besides Hell, that loathsome astral behemoth might also know.”
“Thor? Probably not. I’ve scoured that fellow’s memories completely and couldn’t find anything useful.”
“Is that so? Then perhaps Hell has surpassed her teacher. Not long after she achieved her special status back then, she told me a few things.”
“She said the ritual was incomplete; the ritual that was supposed to continue was suddenly interrupted.”
“She said the situation for the six of us was extremely dangerous. We had to make arrangements as soon as possible to continue the ritual and complete our foundations.”
“But at that time, I felt nothing but loathing for Thor and didn’t want to touch anything related to it, including the supernatural system of rituals. So, I rejected Hell’s invitation.”
“The others seemed to feel the same as I did; none of them accepted Hell’s invitation. Consequently, she went off to tinker with it on her own.”
Hearing the Lord of Heaven’s words, a thought struck Chen Xu.
“Wait, the Mother of Hell said the ritual was interrupted?”
Hearing the word ‘ritual’ from someone else’s mouth made the Lord of Heaven’s brow twitch with a hint of displeasure, but seeing that Chen Xu seemed to know something, he answered him.
“Yes, I still remember her exact words.”
“‘Thor is a brainless fool. That long worm’s understanding of rituals was merely at an introductory level. It was fundamentally incapable of designing a ritual on the scale of ascending to a special world, let alone six at once.’”
“‘Unsurprisingly, the ritual was forcibly interrupted. We only received half of the gift. The remaining half must be completed by continuing to set up the ritual, extending it, and then finishing it.’”
Chen Xu didn’t focus on the first half of the Lord of Heaven’s words; those complaints about Thor were likely colored by too much personal emotion.
In Chen Xu’s eyes, the second half was the key to seeing through the Mother of Hell’s ritual.
“Extending!”
By extending the ritual, the Mother of Hell wanted to continue the ritual that had been interrupted all those years ago. By doing so, she could obtain the full gift of the ritual to cure her own madness.
Since she was extending the ritual, the Mother of Hell’s current arrangements must be inextricably linked to that original ascension ritual.
Perhaps he could infer the current situation by looking at the big picture through the lens of those past arrangements.
Naturally, the Lord of Heaven also heard Chen Xu say the word ‘extending,’ but he held the opposite view.
“Lord Chen Xu, I must remind you that there is a reason why the supernatural system of rituals was phased out by the era.”
“Thor is not to be trusted, and the same goes for Hell.”
“When she proposed the idea of extending the ritual, not much time had passed since the birth of the special worlds. I don’t believe her comprehension could have surpassed Thor’s in such a short time.”
“Furthermore, although I stand in opposition to Hell, we are quite aligned in our view of that beast Thor.”
“Even if Hell were to extend the ritual, I don’t believe she would follow Thor’s style in her arrangements.”
Under Chen Xu’s soul perception, the Lord of Heaven spoke truthfully without a hint of hypocrisy. He seemed genuinely unwilling to let Chen Xu spend too much energy on the ritual.
“Then I wonder what high opinion you have, Lord of Heaven?”
The Lord of Heaven pointed a finger at Chen Xu, then at himself, and finally at the ground beneath them.
Seeing this, Chen Xu still didn’t quite understand and looked puzzled.
Left with no choice, the Lord of Heaven spoke plainly.
“The reason Hell is so difficult to deal with is because of the augmentation from a special world. Within that world, let alone ten Dao Lords, even a hundred wouldn’t dare say they could definitively suppress her.”
“The Ultimate Dao is just that overbearing.”
“But outside that world, with a little preparation, those Martial Dao Lords from earlier alone could take down Hell.”
“Therefore, the key to breaking this deadlock lies with you and me.”
“When Heaven and the Land of the Undead invade Hell simultaneously, the three sets of ultimate special world Dao rhymes will interfere with each other. At that point, Hell’s home-field advantage will vanish into thin air.”
Actively invading Hell? Chen Xu was startled by the Lord of Heaven’s crazy idea.
He had thought only the Mother of Hell was insane, but it seemed the Lord of Heaven wasn't much better.
“Wait, Lord of Heaven. It might not be hard to have Heaven and the Land of the Undead invade Hell at the same time, but how do we separate them afterward?”
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?!”
Chen Xu couldn't wrap his head around how such a vital matter could be left unknown.
Logically, a high-level figure like the Lord of Heaven should consider things thoroughly, thinking ten steps ahead for every step taken.
World invasion was no small matter. It was like eating from a split pot; once the divider in the middle was removed and the spicy broth mixed with the clear soup, there was no going back.
You couldn't just stick the divider back in and expect them to be separate again.
A world invasion had only one outcome: assimilation. It was just like the world fragments on Blue Star—the dungeons.
Once a dungeon was cleared by job-holders, it was assimilated by Blue Star.
If the Lord of Heaven didn't have a way to solve the problem of assimilation, then after Heaven and the Land of the Undead invaded Hell and eliminated the Mother of Hell, three special worlds would vanish from the myriad worlds.
In their place would be a single, unknown type of world composed of the Land of the Undead, Heaven, and Hell.
Chen Xu didn't know why the Lord of Heaven would have such a thought, and the Lord of Heaven quickly provided his own answer.
“Lord Chen Xu, I know your concern is how to separate Heaven and the Land of the Undead after the invasion and turn them back into three intact worlds.”
“But I don’t care. After managing it for so many years, what sustains me is no longer the special world of Heaven, but that vast Heavenly Pantheon.”
“As long as faith remains, as long as the pantheon remains, and as long as my followers remain, I am still the Lord of Heaven—an existence standing at the peak of the myriad worlds.”
“Therefore, I don’t care whether Heaven is preserved.”
The Lord of Heaven raised his hand and pointed toward the angels flying in the distance and the followers walking and praying in the cities below, slowly uttering a sentence.
“With them here, I can create another Heaven at any time.”
Suddenly, the Lord of Heaven turned his head sharply toward Chen Xu.
“The Elemental Spirit Realm and the Blank Zone are both locked away, governed by two fools. As for the Sea of Spirit, it has become the dust of history. Its remains might still be useful; we can throw them into Hell as well when the time comes.”
“Only you, Lord Chen Xu. You and I are the same kind of person. The stations of the Lord of the Undead and the Land of the Undead are merely the icing on the cake for you.”
“I’ve looked into the small world you came from and know the history of your rise. It was too fast—so fast it’s almost inconceivable.”
“Even without the station of the Lord of the Undead, even without the authority of the Land of the Undead, I believe you would still have ascended to the Unique Realm and achieved the status of a Dao Lord.”
“That’s why I have high hopes for you. Sacrificing a single Land of the Undead won’t have much impact on your path, because you rely on your own talent, not the gift of the undead.”
Hearing this, Chen Xu thought to himself that things were looking bad. This man was terrifyingly perceptive—he had actually seen through everything and discovered that Chen Xu was a peerless genius.
Gold will always shine, and it was even harder for a piece of uranium like himself to hide his own radiance.
The corners of Chen Xu’s mouth curled up slightly, but he didn't lose himself in the Lord of Heaven’s flattery. Instead, he made an adult’s decision.
“Thank you for your recognition. I will consider the suggestion to invade Hell.”
“However, I won’t give up on using the ritual as an entry point to stop Hell.”
“Oh? Does that mean...?”
“That’s right. I want it all!”
Rate on N.U.
