156: Chapter 156 Huge Deal and the Hunter's Scent of the True God
City of Deities, East District, Black Market Exchange.
This is the largest, most chaotic, and wealthiest underground hub in the entire World of Gods. Countless blood-stained fortunes are laundered here, countless shady treasures change hands here; the fall and rebirth of deities sometimes depend solely on a single transaction here.
Su Chen's figure coalesced in a dark alleyway.
He wore a "Void Robe," a special piece of equipment tanned from the hide of a Void Walker. It could distort light and Divine Thought, completely blurring his form and aura, turning him into a walking shadow.
On his face was a pure white mask, devoid of any features or expression, leaving only a heart-palpitating blankness.
Without pausing for a moment, he walked straight into a shop named "Abyssal Echoes."
Passing through the noisy outer hall hung with demon skulls and dried angel wings, he was led by a waiter into an Advanced VIP room.
"Honored guest, how may I serve you?"
The one responsible for reception was a Succubus demigod.
She had the signature curled horns of a demon, and every curve of her body seemed meticulously sculpted by a deity, exuding a fragrance that tempted one into depravity.
However, when her Soul-stealing eyes swept over Su Chen, her heart suddenly constricted, followed by a violent pounding.
Something was wrong.
The air became thick and oppressive.
Beneath that robe, it felt as if an ancient behemoth from the Chaos Star Sea was lying in wait; its mere presence made her Soul instinctively tremble.
This was a powerhouse!
Definitely at the top of the God Rankings, a terrifying existence even qualified to touch the threshold of a True God!
The Succubus instantly retracted all her seductive techniques and respectfully lowered her head, her posture humble to the extreme.
Su Chen didn't make a sound; he just raised his hand and gave a casual wave.
"Clatter—"
A pitch-black rift was torn open in space.
In the next second, countless items poured out of the rift like a bursting flood.
It wasn't a display; it was a dumping.
Carrying a bone-deep contempt for these treasures.
Metal collided with bone, crystals rubbed against scales; the entire room was instantly filled with a small mountain piled high with spoils of war.
The thick scent of abyssal sulfur intertwined with violent lightning Divine Power, forming a suffocating energy storm.
The Succubus's breathing stalled.
Her gaze swept dully over that "trash heap."
Hideous, thick Demon Lord horns, still stained with undried Demon God's Blood.
An entire dragon hide stripped from an Abyssal Demon Dragon, every scale shimmering with a dark luster.
A semi-Divine Artifact greatsword engraved with vicious curse runes, its blade covered in cracks.
And at the very top of this pile of "trash," a palm-sized, crack-riddled metal fragment was "sizzling" with golden electric arcs.
The Divine Might remaining on it was pure and vast, carrying a hint of immortal quality!
The Succubus's eyes, which had seen countless rare treasures, contracted to the extreme, leaving only the reflection of that fragment in her pupils.
She reached out, her fingertips unable to close due to violent trembling, as she shakily touched the fragment.
Violent lightning power instantly surged up her fingertips, leaving half her body paralyzed.
A fragment of a lower divine artifact!
The value of this thing could no longer be measured by Divine Power!
To be able to produce such a thing meant that the mysterious guest before her had, not long ago, personally destroyed a powerful demigod who wielded a Divine Artifact!
The Succubus covered her mouth to keep the scream that was about to burst from her throat under control.
"Sell it all."
A voice sounded, disguised, raspy, cold, and devoid of any emotion.
"Exchange for Divine Power."
"Yes! Yes!"
The Succubus snapped out of it, her voice changing pitch due to excessive excitement.
"Please wait a moment! I will... I will immediately ask the manager to come and value it for you!"
She almost scrambled out of the VIP room.
Ten minutes later.
The transaction was complete.
On Su Chen's personal Divine Power account, a string of numbers jumped wildly before finally stopping.
Beneath the mask, the corners of his mouth curled up silently.
[Transaction successful! Obtained: Pure Divine Power x 860 drops!]
Eight hundred and sixty drops!
For the vast majority of demigods struggling beneath the divine throne, this was a massive sum capable of driving them mad.
One must know that many Lower True Gods who had just ignited their divine fire and had barren divine kingdoms would only earn this much in net income after a whole year of hard work, excluding all consumption.
Su Chen stood up, preparing to leave.
Just then, an obscure mental fluctuation barred his path, carrying an undisguised sense of scrutiny.
"Friend, please stay a moment."
The shadows in the room seemed to come alive, and a middle-aged woman stepped out from them.
She wore a well-tailored golden robe, and on her chest, a unique badge was embroidered with Divine Power threads—an arrow piercing a shattered divine crown.
Ninth-Turn Demigod Peak!
The aura she radiated was majestic and condensed, only one step away from attempting to ignite the divine fire, but those eyes revealed a greed that did not match her power.
"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Mela, the Vice Leader of the 'True God Hunters' organization."
A smile hung on the woman's face as she tried to project the goodwill of "one of our own."
"I noticed Your Excellency just sold a batch of high-quality spoils; the quality is truly astonishing. To be able to slay an opponent holding a Divine Artifact, Your Excellency's strength is truly admirable."
Her voice paused, intentionally lowered, filled with a seductive tone.
"Are you interested in... doing something big?"
"Something big?"
Su Chen's gaze pierced through the mask, falling coldly upon her.
"Yes."
Mela leaned forward slightly, her mental transmission echoing in the room.
"We are planning a hunt. The target is a newly ascended True God whose divine fire has just been ignited and whose godhead is not yet stable."
"As long as Your Excellency is willing to join, after the deed is done, we can give you ten percent of that nascent godhead fragment."
Hunting a True God!
This was the most insane, forbidden, and high-return "business" within the City of Deities.
However, in Su Chen's compound eyes hidden behind the mask, a flash of cold mockery appeared.
Ten percent?
This method of distribution wasn't looking for an equal partner, but recruiting front-line cannon fodder.
More importantly, his Zerg instinct—that cold instinct born from billions of years of evolution that transcended all sensory abilities—was sounding an alarm.
This person named Mela emitted an extremely subtle yet incredibly clear aura of a betrayer.
It was a cold and viscous killing intent directed at allies.
"Not interested."
Su Chen didn't even bother to say another word.
His figure began to become blurred and transparent on the spot, like a drop of ink falling into clear water.
In the next moment, he turned into a silent void ripple and vanished directly from the room, leaving no spatial trace behind.
"..."
The smile on Mela's face froze.
She watched where Su Chen had vanished, that gentle expression peeling away layer by layer, finally leaving only gloom and ruthlessness.
"Hmph, not knowing what's good for you."
She spoke coldly to the air.
"Check this person's background. That level of void fluctuation... is a bit like that recently rising God of the Zerg."
...
Back in the Divine Realm.
The cold, efficient energy circulation of the mother nest heart made Su Chen's spirit instantly calm down.
He didn't take Mela's threat to heart.
In the face of absolute power and the infinite Zerg Swarm, all conspiracies and schemes were merely fragile bubbles.
"Ding!"
Just then, a brilliant golden System notification popped up in the deepest part of his consciousness without warning.
[Congratulations! The God Ascension Tower season settlement is complete!]
[You have taken the top spot with an indisputable absolute advantage, obtaining a legendary reward: Gene Directional Induction x 1!]
Su Chen's thoughts stalled for a moment.
Immediately after, a mental fluctuation far stronger than obtaining over eight hundred drops of Divine Power erupted from his cold Soul core.
Compared to Divine Power used as fuel, this was what he craved most at this moment, and the most crucial thing!
This was the key to the path of "Genetic Ascension"!