Splash—
The Pavilion of Time, like a koi, leaped from the river of time and returned to the present.
Fang You, who walked out of the pagoda, had a lingering fear and his face was pale.
"Evil God..."
"A power that transcends authority."
Fang You rolled up his sleeves, and clear bruises were visible on his arm, much like the marks left by an ordinary person falling. However, he was already a Root Existence of the Tenth Realm, his Law Divine Body had reached perfection, and he should not and would not bear such scars.
Once visible scars appeared on the Law Divine Body, it would be a long and arduous process to remove and heal them.
"However, clashes between opponents of the same rank can also leave difficult-to-remove law-inflicted wounds on each other, but it's not like this, from the inside out, appearing ordinary yet terrifying."
"This is not a wound of law, this is contamination, contamination from the source of the mysterious system."
"And not only that..."
Fang You raised his hand, and two brilliant halos appeared in his palm.
Within the halos were two Authority Gems representing the rules of the universe.
One was the Authority of Destruction, and the other was the Authority of the Root of Thunder.
However, both of these Authority Gems were entwined with faint gray-black mist threads that refused to dissipate. The gray-black mist on the Authority of Destruction was thicker, while the gray-black mist on the Authority of the Root of Thunder was much sparser, but still clearly visible.
"Even the authority representing the source of power can be contaminated. I must say, he is worthy of being an Evil God."
In the early days of the mysterious descent, when the Kandela Empire had not yet risen and the environment of the Grim World was far from being defiled, he had a confrontation with Twisted Black River, one of the Evil Gods.
Indeed, it was Twisted Black River again.
He had a fated connection with Twisted Black River and was quite familiar with it.
"At that time, there was no such thing as the Evil God faction, no tribes and empires that wholeheartedly believed in Evil Gods and had their minds twisted. There were only indescribable Evil Gods."
"However, the notoriety of the Evil Gods was not yet well-known, as it was an era of gods coexisting, and Ancient Gods and Gods of Faith were the rulers of the world."
"The gods standing at the pinnacle of the world confidently launched a war against the visitors from beyond the heavens."
Then, they were all screwed.
Some died at first sight, some fled. If those Evil Gods had not been in a 'dormant' state, only attacking and not pursuing, no god would have escaped.
Fang You was then in the army of gods, borrowing their power to probe the Evil Gods.
That way, it was safe.
If something unexpected happened and the power of the Evil Gods exceeded his estimates, at least these gods could act as 'shields' for him. He didn't need to run faster than the Evil Gods, he just needed to be able to run faster than most gods.
In the early days of the mysterious descent, the power of the world's top experts might have been slightly inferior to the Great Sun Divine Venerable and Moon Lord of this era, but their numbers far surpassed them.
Sun Gods, Radiant Moon Goddesses, and Gods of the Starry Sky were merely relatively famous Ancient Gods at that time.
The more numerous were the Gods of Faith, whose individual strength was slightly weaker, but relying on their sheer numbers and their extremely united divine systems, they occupied more than half of the world.
That battle was incredibly grand, even causing the Evil Gods to stir from their slumber and unleash even more terrifying power.
Countless gods fell from the sky, and the world wailed. Golden blood rained for half a year without stopping.
Even more Ancient Gods were corroded by the defiled power and lost control on the spot, becoming vassals of the indescribable Evil Gods.
That battle was also known as the Twilight of the Gods, but later records of it were scarce, like unreliable legends.
Fang You, who traveled through time and space back to that era, despite adhering to the idea of keeping a low profile and obeying fate, was still remarkably brilliant.
After all, he was one of the very few powerful beings who survived direct confrontation and contamination by a large amount of filth.
He also took action, saving several gods who should have perished.
This was an experiment.
And it did not defy fate.
"However, one of the gods I saved seemed familiar."
The situation was dangerous at the time, and he didn't have time to think much about it. He just felt that the face was familiar and he felt an affinity, so he saved her. But now, looking back...
"Isn't that the Moon Lord when she was young!"
Her appearance hadn't changed much, only her aura was different.
The Moon Lord, who followed the path of an Ancient God and the path of the mysterious system, had a significantly different outward divine aura and power.
Fang You stroked his chin, "So, the Moon Lord had already fought Twisted Black River back then. Then why did she initiate the action of probing the Evil Gods a few years ago?"
"Could she think that by switching to the mysterious system and slightly increasing her power, she could contend with the Evil Gods?"
Judging by the Moon Lord's demeanor, she wasn't that foolish.
She seemed to have lost her memories of that time.
"Did she instinctively erase her memories to prevent the contamination from spreading?"
He pondered.
In his mind, the battle of the Twilight of the Gods flashed by, the scene where he clashed with the boundless Black River.
Boundless terror erupted from his heart.
Simultaneously, wisps of materialized filth, born from the depths of his memory, began to spread throughout his body.
"This filth is truly exhilarating!"
He opened his panel and saw that his contamination level had increased by another 0.06%. No wonder other powerful beings had to sever their memories. The filth from the Evil Gods transcended time and space.
And this kind of filth was constantly emerging, attempting to defile him.
"Visualize!"
In the depths of his mind, a golden figure sat in meditation, surrounded by blooming lotuses.
This was his soul.
On his soul appeared an ancient, hardcover book with clear patterns. Its pages slowly turned, and each page seemed to contain a world, immensely vast and profound.
As the pages turned, the wisps of filth continuously emerging from the depths of his memory were transferred onto the pages of the Myriad Ages Book.
On one of the pages, filth was visibly seeping in, like ink seeping into paper.
But it wasn't a big problem. This was just one page of the Scarlet Skill Myriad Ages Book. Even if this page were completely contaminated, he could tear it out and discard it without affecting himself.
He could resist the contamination originating from his memories.
"Phase one of the probing plan, accomplished."
Fang You returned to the Apostle dormitory and used the power of the special building, which had been upgraded to Lv10, to suppress the frenzied thoughts in his mind and cleanse the deep-rooted filth within his body.
He felt much more relaxed. Only now did he have more energy to review the details of the entire instance.
The 'Twilight of the Gods' instance lasted for a very short time, only three days.
Therefore, the deeds he left behind were also few, besides clashing with Twisted Black River, he only saved six gods.
He meticulously recalled, but apart from the Moon Lord, he couldn't identify the other gods.
However, in the great battle of the gods, some figures seemed familiar.
"Have the other gods already perished?"
"If I saved a God of Faith, they would inevitably perish under the great changes in the Grim World. If I saved an Ancient God... the probability of them perishing later is also not low."
After all, most Ancient Gods had perished.
Only a few were able to be reborn.
"But was it because I saved the Moon Lord, allowing this ancient being to survive until this era, or was it... because the Moon Lord was alive and had established a great reputation, that I met her in that era and saved her out of affinity?"
"Did the cause come first, or the effect?"
He vaguely grasped the key to the Path of Destiny.
The third Root Authority he cultivated, the Authority of Destiny, slowly manifested.
Fang You gazed at this most unfathomable authority, recalling all the instances he had experienced, and a gradual understanding dawned in his mind.
It was as if countless grains of sand lifted and adhered together.
The fragments of gems manifested by the Authority of Destiny were gradually growing, and he was seizing them.
...
Swish—
In the middle Grim World, in an unnamed place, an endless gray-black river flowed turbulently, traversing time and space.
From this great river, countless large and small tributaries branched out, spreading like capillaries throughout all regions of the Grim World, passing through empires and tribes.
The end of the great river was the most mysterious and sacred place for the Black River faction, where countless servants and attendants came to offer their most devout faith.
But only beings at the level of attendants had the qualification to enter the deepest hall and kiss the waters of the great Black River.
Swish—
The rhythm of the river water suddenly intensified.
An honored Black River vassal in the hall suddenly opened his eyes. He knelt down with immense excitement and devotion, bowing to the Black River not far away.
After a while, this Black River vassal, 'Lord of the Underworld River,' slowly rose. He turned to face everyone, his face filled with fanaticism and majesty.
"The Master has issued a divine oracle, ordering us to eliminate a target."
"Please, Esteemed Envoy, give your command!"
Each vassal and attendant showed fervent expressions.
In history, the Master had issued divine oracles very rarely, and they all yearned for the opportunity to eliminate enemies and gain the Master's favor.
Was it a powerful being who believed in other Evil Gods, a valuable ancient being, or...
"This is the target."
The Lord of the Underworld River conjured a scene, in which divine thunder raged, surrounding a figure in a white robe.
"The supreme being among humans, the Beacon of Hope Mentor."
"Another valuable powerful being has appeared among humans?"
"I want this opportunity, I have fought with the human Martial God Pillar before and have rich experience in dealing with human powerhouses."
"You mean your experience of being killed by the Martial God Pillar?"
"This human powerhouse is likely no less than the Martial God Pillar or that Human Emperor. Only I can have a chance to deal with him."
"Hmph, a powerful being of the human beacon of hope, I have coveted him for a long time!"
In the hall, demons danced wildly. The massive and terrifying attendants could only shrink into the corners of the hall, trembling like children weighing billions of tons.
Countless powerful beings vied to fulfill the divine oracle. The Lord of the Underworld River was very pleased, but he still said.
"You are not the opponent of the target."
"Even if you combine your strength, you will have no chance of killing this person."
"Don't disbelieve, don't underestimate this human, otherwise, the great Master would not have specifically issued a divine oracle."
This was also part of the divine oracle.
The indignant vassals fell silent, and the scene of demons dancing wildly in the hall instantly ceased.
They could disbelieve the Lord of the Underworld River, but they would never harbor even a shred of doubt towards the divine oracle. Absolute faith is the only true faith.
"But the Master will lend you power to help you traverse time and space, trace back to when this human was weak, and eliminate him."
This tactic was not effective against indigenous ancient beings.
Because these ancient beings did not have a weak phase; they were born with considerable strength. Traversers, however, would be repelled by time and space, making this method costly and of little effect.
But for humans, it was perfectly suited!
Merely one traversal, and the vassal who entered the river of time would become a disposable item, with no return.
The vassals continued to scramble, none shrinking back, but becoming even more fanatical.
But in the end, the Lord of the Underworld River chose one candidate.
A vassal shrouded in dazzling white light.
—Lord of Billions of Radiance.
He was once an ancient being, and later converted to the Master. In terms of strength, he was absolutely among the top tier of the vassals.
The Lord of Billions of Radiance showed a pleased expression, "In my past ignorance, I could not see the world clearly. Only after believing in my Master did I find the meaning of life. This time, I will surely kill the target and spread my Master's glory!"
"Go, the Master will protect you."
The Lord of the Underworld River spoke.
Divine sounds echoed in the hall, black winds howled, and black mist surged.
The Lord of Billions of Radiance leaped into the great Black River alone, embarking on a journey through time.
Swish! Swish!
The river of time was everywhere. A drop of water was a node, a world.
The Lord of Billions of Radiance, with the Master's power, traversed through it like a small fish.
He was searching.
His gaze swept over the historical traces of this human powerhouse.
Using the power of time freeze, he killed the Lord of the Nine Seas;
He hoisted the Holy Court Continent, crossing thousands of domains;
With great power, he reshaped the Holy Court;
...
The Lord of Billions of Radiance had to admit that this human powerhouse was extremely strong. Even with the Master's power, he might not be his opponent.
In the river of time, time had lost its meaning.
Thousands of years, tens of thousands of years, millions of years, all passed within the waves.
The Lord of Billions of Radiance was patient, constantly searching for traces left by the figure in white robes.
When the Northern Grim World's Winter Empire was established, this figure was present!
During the rise of the Kandela Empire, this figure was present!
In the early mysterious era, this figure seemed to be present!
...
This human was also very ancient?
But it would be soon. He would soon trace back to the origin, to the weakest period of this human.
Heh heh heh heh—
The Lord of Billions of Radiance let out a laugh.
He saw it!
He saw this human gradually weaken, saw him in the Demi-God realm, the Mythical realm, the mortal realm.
In the Demi-God realm, the figure in white robes participated in the central trial of the Kandela Empire;
In the Mythical realm, the figure in white robes ventured deep into the sea of filth to eradicate the source of disaster;
In the mortal realm, the figure in white robes stood at the pinnacle of Blue Star, fighting against myths with a mortal body;
...
The Lord of Billions of Radiance frowned. Was something wrong?
Everything was wrong!
He had clearly glimpsed the early mysterious era before, but why was he getting closer and closer to the present as he traced back?
Could it be that the Master's great power was mistaken? Such a thought was impossible; it was blasphemous.
The Lord of Billions of Radiance suppressed the doubts in his heart and continued to trace back.
He finally found the origin point of the Beacon of Hope Mentor's power, the period when this person had not yet awakened and was most vulnerable.
—A struggling author in a world called Blue Star!
The current timeline was...
More than ten years ago!
Lord of Billions of Radiance: "???"