461: Chapter 396: Exposing their whereabouts, the deceitful king is enraged and kills them.

The blue-gold light within the Void Rift burned quietly in the deepest part of Guixu.

Lin Zhou's consciousness had been immersed in the memory fragments of The Transcendent for twenty days. He had fused about seventy percent of the fragments, mastering the construction technology for the ark of civilization, combat experience against Guixu, and the complete geography of the Void Rift. However, the final thirty percent of the fragments remained impossible to fuse—they were enveloped in a dark red glow, which was the residual power of the Abyss Will.

[Memory Fragment · Fusion Obstacle]

- Unfused Fragments: Approximately 30%

- Obstacle Type: Residual Abyss Will (backlash from the heart of the abyss)

- Obstacle Strength: Medium

- Solution: Requires continuous burning with the Fire of Civilization for approximately ten days

Lin Zhou was in no hurry to force a breakthrough. He placed those fragments within the flames of the Fire of Civilization to be nurtured, allowing them to be slowly "purified." Every day, the dark red glow within the fragments would recede slightly.

However, he had overlooked one thing—after the heart of the abyss was taken, although the King of Deception had not discovered it was his doing, he had been tracking the aura of the heart of the abyss. That crystal had been purified in the New Universe for thirty days, and the dark red glow had completely vanished, but it had briefly exposed its location when it was first taken—right at the edge of the Void Rift.

The King of Deception spent twenty days following that faint aura, traversing the Abyss, the wreckage of the Chaos Star Domain, and the edge of Guixu, finally finding the Void Rift.

[King of Deception · Tracking Route]

- Starting Point: Endless Abyss 666th layer

- Via: Abyss 555th layer (Combat zone with Marbas), Chaos Star Domain wreckage, Guixu edge

- Distance: Approximately 150,000 kilometers

- Time Taken: Twenty days

- Cost: Loss of thirty thousand elites (swallowed by Guixu, intercepted and killed by Marbas)

He stood at the edge of the Void Rift, the gray-white void surging beneath his feet. His armor was covered in cracks, the gem on his scepter had dimmed, and his Divinehood integrity was down to only 60%. But in his eyes, a frantic rage was burning.

"The fire seed... the heart of the abyss... they are all here."

He raised his scepter, the tip pointing toward the depths of the rift.

"Come out! I know you are in there!"

[King of Deception · Status]

- Divinehood Rank: LV4800 (high-tier divine power Peak, but damaged)

- Divinehood Integrity: 60%

- Rage: 100%

- Behavior: Reclaim the heart of the abyss at all costs

Deep within the rift, Lin Zhou's consciousness withdrew from the memory fragments.

He felt the aura of the King of Deception—powerful, furious, and insane. There were also the remnants of the thirty thousand devil elites behind him; although most had been swallowed by Guixu, several hundred elites had still followed him to the edge of the rift.

"Exposed," Lin Zhou frowned.

He could not leave the rift's core—the Seal still needed ten days to fully stabilize. If he left, the Guixu energy outflow speed would rise back up and might even accelerate the collapse. But he also could not sit idly by and allow the King of Deception to break into the rift and destroy the Seal.

He raised his hand, and the Fire of Civilization condensed in his palm.

"ark of civilization — Projection."

A dark blue ship's shadow emerged within the rift, but it was not a physical entity; it was a projection of the ark of civilization core. The hull was three hundred meters long, capable of carrying ten people, and could also serve as a temporary combat platform.

Lin Zhou stepped into the ship's projection and sailed toward the edge of the rift.

The King of Deception stood at the edge of the rift, with the remaining five hundred devil elites behind him. Their armor was shattered, their weapons chipped, and their eyes were filled with fear. The energy of Guixu surged around them, constantly eroding their Divinehood.

[Devil Elite · Status]

- Numbers: Approximately 500

- Divinehood Integrity: Average 40%

- Morale: Low

- Combat Power: Less than 20% of Peak condition

"Your Majesty, the energy of Guixu is too strong; we cannot hold on..." The Black-Armored General knelt on one knee, his voice trembling.

"You must hold on even if you can't!" the King roared. "The heart of the abyss is inside! Reclaim it, and I can promote to great divine power! At that time, Marbas, Guixu, and everything else will be no match for me!"

"But..."

"There are no buts!"

The King of Deception raised his scepter, and a dark red pillar of light shot toward the depths of the rift.

The light pillar sank into the void without causing any ripples. However, after a few breaths, a blurred ship's projection appeared deep within the rift. Its dark blue glow was exceptionally striking amidst the gray-white void.

"What is that?" The Black-Armored General was surprised.

"The ark of civilization," the King's eyes narrowed. "The Transcendent's relic. So it was here."

He took a step forward, about to enter the rift.

From within the ship's projection, a voice spoke.

"King of Deception, this is not a place you should be."

Lin Zhou stood at the bow, zhan nian sword in hand and green lotus sword at his waist. He was surrounded by an interweaving blue-gold and dark blue light that resonated with the Seal in the rift.

[Lin Zhou · Rift Combat Status]

- Form: Between light and physical form (can switch freely within the rift)

- Divinehood Rank: LV6500 (great divine power mid-tier)

- Rift Buff: All attributes +100% (Seal resonance)

- Time Limit: Can continue combat indefinitely without needing to leave

The King of Deception looked up and saw Lin Zhou. He was stunned for a moment, then laughed maniacally.

"It's you! The one who stole the fire seed and the heart of the abyss is you!"

"It's me," Lin Zhou said calmly.

"Do you know how many troops I lost chasing you? Thirty thousand elites! And the War with Marbas—I lost! I've lost half my territory!"

"You brought that on yourself."

"You're courting death!"

The King of Deception leaped up, smashing his scepter toward Lin Zhou.

[King of Deception · Attack — Abyssal Judgment]

- Attack Power: high-tier divine power Peak full-strength strike × 2 (Rage bonus)

- Effect: Causes target's Divinehood integrity -30%

- Range: Single target

Lin Zhou did not meet it head-on. He dodged the blow and slashed out with his sword simultaneously.

[zhan nian sword · Civilization Judgment]

- Attack Power: great divine power mid-tier full-strength strike

- Effect: Damage to Abyss faction +1000%

- Additional: Instant death check success rate 10%

The sword light slashed into the King's shoulder plate, shattering it as dark red blood erupted.

[King of Deception · Status]

- Divinehood Integrity: 60% → 55%

- Wound: Left shoulder slashed open, Abyss Devilish Qi leaking out

The King let out a miserable scream and retreated several steps.

"You... your strength..." He stared wide-eyed in disbelief. "Last time in the treasury, you were only LV2000. How are you now..."

"Last time was then," Lin Zhou raised his sword. "Now, I am on my own home turf."

He raised his hand, and the blue-gold light within the rift converged toward him, transforming into countless light swords suspended behind him.

[Rift Home Field · Skill — Ten Thousand Swords Return to Origin · Rift Version]

- Sword Shadows: Approximately 50,000

- Attack Power: great divine power mid-tier full-strength strike × 5

- Consumption: None (Rift provides energy)

- Effect: Automatically tracks targets

The King of Deception's expression changed drastically. He raised his scepter, channeling the last of his power.

"Lie Becomes Truth!"

[King of Deception · Ultimate Skill — Lie Becomes Truth]

- Effect: Speak a lie and it becomes reality for a short time

- Duration: Approximately 3 minutes

- Consumption: Divinehood Integrity -20%

- Side Effect: After the skill ends, the King suffers "Truth Backlash," all attributes -50%

"Your sword is fake! It cannot hurt me!"

The moment the lie was spoken, the rules were distorted.

The fifty thousand light swords behind Lin Zhou simultaneously became transparent and then vanished.

[Lie Becomes Truth · Effect]

- Target: Sword of Civilization

- Lie Content: "Your sword is fake"

- Reality Distortion: The sword's "existence" is temporarily negated

- Duration: 3 minutes

The zhan nian sword in Lin Zhou's hand also turned into a transparent phantom, unable to attack.

He frowned.

"An interesting ability." He did not panic; instead, he put away his sword and raised his hand, condensing the Fire of Civilization in his palm.

"The sword is fake, but the fire is real."

The flames transformed into a blue-gold Dragon and pounced toward the King.

[Fire of Civilization · Attack]

- Attack Power: great divine power mid-tier full-strength strike

- Effect: Damage to Abyss faction +1000%

- Cannot be negated by "Lie Becomes Truth" (because fire is an Origin, not a concept)

The King of Deception could not dodge in time and was swallowed by the Dragon.

His armor burned and his skin charred as his Divinehood integrity plummeted from 55% to 30%.

"Ah—!"

With a miserable scream, he fell from the edge of the rift.

The Black-Armored General rushed over and caught him.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"

"Re... retreat..." the King's voice was faint.

The Black-Armored General picked him up and ran toward the outside of the rift.

The five hundred devil elites fled along with him.

Lin Zhou did not pursue them.

He stood at the bow, watching them recede into the distance.

"Three minutes are up," he said softly.

The zhan nian sword in his hand solidified once more.

The fifty thousand light swords behind him also reappeared.

[Lie Becomes Truth · End]

- Duration: 3 minutes

- Effect disappears

- King of Deception Status: Suffers "Truth Backlash," all attributes -50%

Lin Zhou put away his sword and turned to return to the depths of the rift.

Behind him, the aura of the King of Deception grew further and further away.

He knew that this person would not return.

At least, not in the short term.

The rift core.

Lin Zhou sat cross-legged again by the Fire of Civilization, continuing to fuse the memory fragments of The Transcendent.

The dark blue and blue-gold lights interwove, illuminating the void.

"Ten days left," he muttered.

In ten days, once the Seal was completely stabilized, he could leave briefly to return to the New Universe.

By then, the threat of the King of Deception would no longer exist—he would lack the ability to traverse Guixu again.

Lin Zhou closed his eyes, and his consciousness sank into the fragments.

The memories of The Transcendent flowed through his mind.

He saw the full appearance of the ark of civilization—a three-thousand-meter-long hull, reliefs of three thousand civilizations, and eighteen thousand volumes of ancient books.

He saw those eighty warriors in their final moments within the Void Rift—they were singing songs as they piloted the ship, charging toward the entrance of the New Universe.

He saw Lin—that young female warrior, clutching the core of the Fire of Civilization as she fell into the Abyss and was imprisoned by the King of Deception.

How long had she lived in imprisonment? Lin Zhou did not know. But her fire seed was eventually reclaimed by The Transcendent and passed into his hands through three thousand legacies.

"Lin..." Lin Zhou called out softly.

In the memory fragments, that female phantom seemed to look back at him for a moment.

Then, it dissipated.

Ten days in the ocean of memories felt like ten years.

The tenth day.

Lin Zhou opened his eyes.

The Seal was completely stabilized.

[Void Rift · Seal Status]

- Seal Integrity: 100%

- Guixu Energy Outflow Speed: 0

- Lin Zhou's Status: Can leave briefly (one hour per visit)

He stood up and looked toward the direction of the New Universe.

"It is time to go back."

He summoned the ark of civilization projection and sailed toward the outside of the rift.

In the New Universe, upon the Watchtower.

Su Yueyao was looking at the blue-gold light trails in the sky.

It had been a month, and the light trails were growing brighter.

"He's coming back soon," she said softly.

Just as she finished speaking, a dark blue light tore through the Void Realm in the sky.

The ark's projection emerged, with Lin Zhou standing at the bow.

He leaped down and landed on the Watchtower.

Su Yueyao rushed over and hugged him.

"You're back."

"I'm back," Lin Zhou smiled.

He looked toward the town, at the people who were busy at work.

"The Seal has stabilized. From now on, I can return once a month."

"For how long each time?"

"One hour."

"That's enough," Su Yueyao said. "As long as you return, I will wait no matter how long it takes."

Lin Zhou nodded.

He walked down from the Watchtower to the town square.

In the center of the square, the Super civilization furnace was burning.

The Fire of Civilization at the top of the furnace illuminated the entire town.

Lin Zhou stood before the fire and was silent for a moment.

"Brothers, the Void Rift Seal has stabilized."

"The source of Guixu's energy has been cut off."

"The Old Universe's residual Guixu will slowly dissipate."

"The New Universe is safe."

The crowd cheered.

Lin Zhou raised his hand, gesturing for silence.

"But Guixu is still there. It has not disappeared; it has only been sealed."

"We need to continue developing our civilization, continue studying Guixu, and continue to protect the New Universe."

"This is our mission."

"It is also the last wish of The Transcendent."

"And it is also my wish."

He turned and looked toward the Void Realm.

"I should head back now."

"Captain!" Wang Meng shouted. "So soon?"

"The hour is up."

Lin Zhou smiled.

"Next month, I will return again."

He transformed into blue-gold light and disappeared into the starry sky.

The dark blue ship's projection carried him as it sailed into the Void Rift.

Su Yueyao stood on the Watchtower, watching the receding light.

"Next month, I'll be waiting for you."

The Fire of Civilization was burning.

It illuminated the New Universe and those who were waiting.