“Blow it up?”
Thor’s words gave Chen Xu a start.
Blow it up? How? This was a special world, not an ordinary world like Akhan.
Just as the gap between individuals can be wider than the gap between a human and a dog, the same was true for worlds. The Dao principles of a special world, pushed to their absolute limit, not only transformed the world itself but also granted it extraordinary stability.
Consider the time the Dao Lords hunted Hell. So many Dao Lords had attacked together; normally, the Great Dao would have been ground down countless times over.
Yet Hell had endured it all without a scratch. This spoke volumes about the resilience of a special world.
Furthermore, the Sea of Spirit did not belong to Chen Xu alone; it was the Sea of Spirit for all transcendent beings across the myriad worlds.
From apprentices who had just stepped through the gates of magic to the progeny of Dao Lord-tier factions, all entered the Sea of Spirit to temper their souls or seek rare resources.
If Chen Xu blew up the Sea of Spirit, then from that day forward, another name would join Hell on the blacklist of the myriad worlds: the Land of the Undead.
“Leaving aside how difficult it is to detonate a special world due to its sheer durability, think of the transcendents from the myriad worlds currently within the Sea of Spirit. If you blow it up, do you have any idea how massive the repercussions would be?”
“Heh, the fact that those ants could enter the Sea of Spirit in the first place was caused by an error. A small mistake occurred in Fantasy’s evolution, leading to its current state.
“Her own origin constantly split into various soul creatures, and a massive loophole happened to appear in the world membrane’s shielding, allowing the ants from the myriad worlds to steal her origin.
“Otherwise, Fantasy had a hope of returning.”
“Fantasy?”
“Oh, my mistake. I forgot again that you aren't him. Fantasy is that massive soul creature before you. She is the mother of all soul creatures in the Sea of Spirit and the master of this realm—or at least, she once was.”
This unimaginably colossal, whale-like creature was actually the former master of the Sea of Spirit, an existence similar to himself.
But how could such an existence perish so silently? And why was there not a single mention of it in the inherited records of the successive Lords of the Undead?
This contradicted the general consensus of the myriad worlds. Was the theory of the myriad worlds flawed, or was this mysterious Thor lying?
“Wait.”
Chen Xu suddenly realized something.
“If this isn't your body, then where are you?”
“Heh, why focus so much on appearances? Isn't the priority to deal with the contamination left by Hell?”
As it spoke, a slender, snake-like creature crawled out from a hole in the whale’s carcass and appeared before Chen Xu.
Its skin was smooth, without a single wrinkle or scale, and it was entirely golden, looking like a statue made of pure gold.
Its head looked exactly like a snake's, except for a single sharp horn that curved backward from the top of its head.
Now that the barrier of Fantasy's remains was gone, Chen Xu could clearly sense the aura of this so-called Astral Behemoth, Thor.
Eternal-rank. He was only at the Eternal-rank!
He boasted so loudly about being the pioneer of the Sea of Spirit and the creator of the six special worlds, yet he himself was merely at the Eternal-rank?
In Chen Xu's view, either Thor was bragging and fabricating an exaggerated identity to win his trust and achieve his goal of blowing up the Sea of Spirit, or Thor had some secret technique to interfere with Chen Xu’s perception, just as Fantasy’s corpse had blocked his senses.
He was more inclined to believe the latter.
Otherwise, it made no sense for an Eternal-rank being to actively call out to a Unique-tier; no normal creature would do such a thing.
“If you're going to keep hiding things like this, there’s no point in us continuing this conversation.”
After Chen Xu spoke, Thor clearly froze for a moment.
“Hiding what?”
Thor was genuinely confused. He had clearly come out of Fantasy's body; what was there to hide?
Surely he didn't have to show off the special organs beneath his skin as well? Had the meeting etiquette popular in the universe become so bizarre?
Suddenly, Thor realized that Chen Xu was doubting his cultivation realm.
“Please, I am not a creature born within a world. In the vacuum of the cosmic void, there are no Dao principles for me to comprehend.
“Why do you think I spent so much effort guiding the birth of special worlds? It was precisely to raise my realm.”
As he spoke, Thor disdainfully curled his tail and scratched the horn on his head.
“If I could comprehend the Dao principles within a world, the great Thor would have achieved the Unique-tier and lived a life of leisure long ago!”
Chen Xu scoffed at Thor’s explanation.
“Who says you can't comprehend Dao principles in the cosmic void? Though they are faint, they aren't non-existent.”
Hearing this, Thor seemed to have heard something terrifying. He instantly curled up into a ball and hissed with his mouth wide open.
“You... you haven't comprehended that damned Void... No, that stuff is incompatible with world Dao principles. Since you are the Lord of the Undead, it's impossible for you to cultivate that.”
“The Void? What is that?”
Chen Xu voiced his confusion. It had been a long time since he’d felt this way—the same feeling he’d had in the Akhan library or when he first unlocked the knowledge of the Lord of the Undead.
“You, a Lord of the Undead, a Unique-tier ultimate creature, are actually asking me what the Void is?”
Thor was utterly bewildered, unable to tell if Chen Xu was truly ignorant or just testing him.
“The Void is...”
Before he could finish, a violent surge of energy came from outside—corrupt and blazing. It was the scent of Hellfire.
Thor instantly dove back into the hole, leaving only the tip of his head visible.
Chen Xu turned to look toward the source of the disturbance. Within the aftershocks, he sensed a trace of Yin-Yang Dao rhyme.
It seemed Li Taiji had encountered the Hellfire.
Chen Xu glanced back at Thor. Although this mysterious Astral Behemoth certainly possessed a wealth of knowledge, Li Taiji's side was equally important.
After a moment of thought, Chen Xu decided to go support Li Taiji first.
Just as Chen Xu was about to leave, Thor poked his head out and shouted urgently.
“Hey, hey! Take me with you! If you're leaving, take me with you first!”
“Take you with me?”
Chen Xu felt a flicker of suspicion.
“Can't you leave this domain on your own? Aren't you a great Astral Behemoth? Why do you need me to take you?”
“I already told you, I was nearly killed by Hell! Right now, all my energy is being used to sustain my injuries. How could I have the strength to break out of this Origin Realm?”
Seeing that Chen Xu still doubted him and didn't want to take him along, Thor seemed to get anxious. Gritting his teeth, he said helplessly,
“If you still don't trust me, we can sign a contract. Use the power of the contract to restrict my actions. How about that?”
“A contract?”
Chen Xu murmured softly. He seemed to have thought of something, and a sharp glint flashed in his eyes.
“Fine. We'll sign a contract. I'll take you out, and in exchange, you must stay by my side for... let's say, a thousand years. I don't need you to do much; just answer my questions.”
“A thousand years is a bit...”
Thor wanted to haggle, but another violent surge of energy hit them, and he swallowed the rest of his words.
“Fine, a thousand years it is. Hurry up and manifest the contract; I have no energy left.”
Seeing this, Chen Xu used his own mana to manifest a contract. He wrote down many trivial matters to make it look professional.
In reality, hidden within this contract was a grand gift he had meticulously prepared.
Thor took the contract with his tail and glanced over it. Finding no issues, he activated it with his soul.
In the next instant, the contract flared with ash-white netherfire, revealing its true face.
A link suddenly appeared upon Thor's soul, with the other end connected to Chen Xu. Through this link, Chen Xu could decide everything about Thor, including his life or death.
This was because the true name of this contract was the Soul Contract—the same kind that Zhenyuan had once suffered under.
“You! You! You!”
Thor’s tail pointed straight at Chen Xu, his voice failing him due to sheer rage.
Chen Xu gave him a single look, and Thor felt as if he were facing a mortal enemy. His life felt like a candle in the wind, liable to be extinguished at any moment.
Once he recognized reality, Thor’s body went limp. He slumped onto Fantasy's carcass and let out a wail.
“Young people have no martial ethics... coming here to trick and sneak-attack an old Astral Behemoth like me.
“To think that my, Thor's, glorious reputation would end like this!”
Rate on N.U.
