154: Chapter 154 To catch the thief, first catch the king; a direct attack on the Temple of Gods

Opening Climax:

Outside the God-Eroding Beasts nest, the sky fell.

It wasn't a metaphor—the entire sky of the Divine Realm's Seventh Ring was completely torn apart by three enormous black fissures. The edges of the fissures oozed a thick, black-gold pus-like blood, the 'blood' that flowed after the Divine Realm's laws were forcibly corroded.

The God-Eroding Beastss pouring out from the fissures were so numerous they blotted out all light.

These were not low-level cannon fodder; each was at least the size of a small hill, with twisted light-wings growing from their backs. The drool dripping from their mouths corroded the ground, emitting terrifying sizzling sounds. Crimson compound eyes lit up in the darkness, like countless searchlights, locking onto the newly formed nest below in unison.

"ROAR—!!!"

Amidst the earth-shaking roars, the beast tide began its dive!

First wave: three thousand.

They cascaded down like a black waterfall, corrupting even holy light into a viscous ink-black wherever they passed!

Inside the nest, Nightingale's face was deathly pale: "This... this scale... Cassio has mobilized the 'Imperial Guard Corps'!"

Michael stared intently at the projection screen: "No... that's not the Imperial Guard Corps. This is... the remnants of the 'Abyss Expeditionary Force'!"

He pulled up comparative data:

"Three years ago, the Divine Realm dispatched an expeditionary force of three hundred thousand God-Eroding Beastss deep into the seventh layer of the Abyss to subdue Gramer. The result was total annihilation."

"The official announcement at the time was 'the entire army died for the realm,' but in reality..."

Michael's voice trembled:

"They were captured, then transformed and corrupted by Gramer, becoming its private army!"

"Cassio, that lunatic—he actually secretly transferred this monster legion back to the Divine Realm?!"

Before he could finish—

The first wave of diving God-Eroding Beastss had already slammed into the nest's outer defensive layer!

It wasn't a physical impact; all the God-Eroding Beastss simultaneously opened their mouths, spewing forth black-gold corrosive torrents! Three thousand torrents converged into a colossal pillar of light over a hundred meters in diameter, smashing violently towards the top of the nest!

The power of this strike was enough to instantly vaporize a main god-level temple!

"We're finished..." Someone from the Reformist Faction closed their eyes.

But just as the pillar of light was about to hit the nest—

The nest suddenly disappeared.

No, not disappeared.

It... shifted upwards by three hundred meters.

BOOM—!!!

The pillar of light struck empty air, corroding a bottomless giant crater into the ground, the edges of which continued to melt and expand.

And the nest was now suspended in mid-air.

Atop the nest, Lin Chen's figure slowly rose.

He stood at the highest point, looking down at the army of three hundred thousand God-Eroding Beastss below, his face expressionless.

"Cassio," he spoke, his voice not loud, yet it suppressed all the beast roars, "is this all the capital you have?"

"Using Gramer's discarded junk to scare me?"

As his words fell.

Lin Chen raised his hand and snapped his fingers.

*Snap*.

A very soft sound.

But the next second—

All three hundred thousand God-Eroding Beastss froze simultaneously.

Dense, golden text suddenly appeared on the surface of their bodies:

[Detected Unregistered Assets Illegally Crossing Borders]

[Asset Name: Abyss-Corrupted Modified Organisms (God-Eroding Beastss)]

[Ownership: Abyssal Lord Gramer (Taxpayer Identification Number: D-77491-666)]

[Purpose of Entry: Undeclared, Un-taxed, No Divine Realm Environmental Safety Assessment Permit Obtained]

[In accordance with Article 881 of the Divine Realm Foreign Organism Management Regulations, these assets are hereby placed under 'Temporary Seizure' until back taxes are paid, quarantine completed, and fines paid.]

The moment the text finished appearing—

A golden character for 'Seal' was branded onto the foreheads of every God-Eroding Beasts!

Then, they all turned around in unison—not to attack, but to... line up.

Forming neat, square formations like soldiers awaiting inspection, all facing the nest, lowering their heads.

Motionless.

Dead silence fell over the scene.

Even Michael forgot to breathe.

Dramatic Reversal:

"No... impossible..."

In the sky, a figure slowly descended from a fissure.

It was Cassio.

But his appearance now had completely changed—the kindly elder image was gone, replaced by a monster whose body was covered in black crystal, with twelve rotting light-wings spread behind him. Those wings were no longer pure holy light, but pieced together from countless twisted, wailing soul fragments.

His eyes had also turned into crimson compound eyes like those of the God-Eroding Beastss.

"How could you possibly... control Gramer's mark..." Cassio's voice was hoarse and grating, "The soul contracts of these God-Eroding Beastss are all held by Gramer! Even I can only borrow them, not control them!"

"Because Gramer's contracts are commercial contracts," Lin Chen said calmly. "And I happen to be good at that."

He raised his hand, unfurling a virtual document in the air:

[Asset Transfer Agreement]

[Transferor: Abyssal Lord Gramer (Confirmed to have received 300 billion nether talismans as 'Redemption Fee')]

[Recipient: Underworld Group (Full payment made)]

[Assets Transferred: God-Eroding Beasts Legion (Total: 307,543 units, including three-year soul contracts)]

[Note: This transaction is notarized by the Scales of Truth, legally valid.]

Cassio's compound eyes flickered wildly:

"You... when did you..."

"From the first time you used God-Eroding Beastss to test me," Lin Chen put away the document. "The 'Corruption Seeds' inside those disguised monsters were the best proof of transaction—I extracted the core codes of the seeds, reverse-locked onto Gramer's contract database, and sent a purchase offer."

He paused:

"Gramer asked for 300 billion, I bargained down to 150. The final price was 220 billion."

"It urgently needed money to buy the next batch of 'Divinity Ingredients,' so it sold readily."

Lin Chen looked at Cassio:

"Now, this legion is mine."

"And you—"

He pointed behind Cassio, at the largest spatial fissure:

"It's time to repay the money you owe me."

From within the fissure, a massive hand—composed of pure holy light—suddenly extended.

It was the Divine Realm's guardian, the 'Radiant Colossus.'

A legendary ancient being said to serve the Supreme God, standing ten thousand zhang tall, capable of shattering stars with a single blow.

The Radiant Colossus had no face, only a mouth made of light. It emitted a voice as heavy as thunder:

"Cassio... you privately colluded with the Abyss... violated the Divine Realm's iron laws..."

"By decree of the Supreme God... you are to be... executed on the spot!"

The hand slowly pressed down towards Cassio!

Cassio laughed maniacally:

"Execute me?! With just you, a watchdog sealed away for a hundred thousand years?!"

He violently tore open the robe over his chest—

There was no heart there.

Only a constantly pulsating, black-veined surface... fragment of a Divinity.

The shape of the fragment was unmistakably—half of the Supreme God's divine emblem!

"See clearly!" Cassio roared. "What is this?!"

The Radiant Colossus's hand stopped mid-air.

Its light-formed mouth began to tremble:

"The... the Supreme God's..."

"Correct!" Cassio sneered. "Three hundred years ago, when that old thing failed to break through to a higher realm, his Divinity shattered! The largest piece was secretly hidden by me!"

"Now, what flows within me is the authority of the Supreme God!"

"You, a mere watchdog, dare to kill me?!"

He turned, pointing at Lin Chen:

"And you—bastard of the Underworld!"

"You think buying this legion means you've won?"

"I'll show you what true—"

Before he could finish.

Lin Chen suddenly appeared before him.

So close their noses almost touched.

"Finished talking?" Lin Chen asked.

Cassio was stunned.

Then—

Lin Chen raised his hand and pressed it against the Divinity fragment in Cassio's chest.

"This thing," Lin Chen said, "looks quite valuable."

Thrilling Satisfaction:

Cassio wanted to resist, to retreat, to unleash all his divine power—

But he found he couldn't move.

Not suppressed, but... all the power within him, including that Divinity fragment, was madly rushing towards Lin Chen's palm!

"You... what are you doing?!" Cassio shrieked.

"Asset appraisal," Lin Chen said calmly. "I'm calculating how much residual value this shattered Supreme God Divinity still has."

A miniature samsara seal appeared in his palm. From the surface of the seal, countless fine golden threads extended, drilling into the Divinity fragment, beginning a frantic scan, analysis, and valuation.

Three seconds later.

The samsara seal spat out a report:

[Subject: Supreme God Divinity Fragment (Corrupted State)]

[Integrity: 37.2%]

[Corruption Level: 89% (Abyssal Corrosion + Void Residue)]

[Recoverable Value: Approximately 480 billion nether talismans (Pure state valuation: 13 trillion)]

[Recommendation: Immediate extraction, send to Underworld Purification Workshop for deep processing.]

Seeing this report, Cassio went completely mad:

"You dare—!! This is mine!! My power—!!!"

"Now it's mine," Lin Chen said. "Because you illegally possessed another's property and failed to pay the 'storage fee.'"

He closed his fingers.

*Crack*—

The Divinity fragment was forcibly ripped from Cassio's chest!

"AAAAAHHHH—!!!"

Cassio let out an inhuman scream, his body beginning to disintegrate wildly—all his power came from this fragment; losing it, he couldn't even maintain his form!

His black crystal skin flaked off piece by piece, his rotting light-wings turned to ash, his crimson compound eyes exploded one after another.

Finally, only a vaguely human-shaped, writhing mass of black sludge remained.

"Radiant Colossus," Lin Chen played with the still-pulsating, now samsara seal-sealed Divinity fragment. "Do you want to reclaim this?"

The Radiant Colossus remained silent for a long time:

"...The Supreme God has fallen. This object... is ownerless."

"By the rules, whoever extracts it, owns it."

"Good," Lin Chen put away the fragment, looking at the sludge mass. "As for him—"

"According to the Divine Realm Regulations on Punishment for Official Crimes, what is the penalty for privately stealing, embezzling, and corrupting the relics of the Supreme God?"

The Radiant Colossus said gravely:

"Soul and spirit extinguished, never to be reborn for eternity."

"Then carry it out."

Lin Chen turned and walked towards the nest.

Behind him, the Radiant Colossus raised its hand, gathering a sphere of purest holy light in its palm—

That was the 'Purifying Flame' capable of completely annihilating even Divinity.

"No... no..." Cassio's sludge emitted a final wail. "Lord Gramer... save me..."

The holy light descended.

The sludge vanished without a sound.

Not even a speck of ash remained.

The Radiant Colossus retracted its hand, looking at Lin Chen:

"You... still intend to proceed?"

"Of course," Lin Chen didn't look back. "The show's over. Time to attend to proper business."

"What proper business?"

Lin Chen stopped, turned his head, and looked towards the magnificent temple shrouded by nine rings of light in the deepest part of the Divine Realm.

His voice clearly spread throughout the entire Seventh Ring:

"To the Pantheon—"

"To issue a purchase offer."

Hook:

The Radiant Colossus's massive body suddenly shifted sideways, blocking the path towards the Pantheon.

Its light-formed mouth issued an uncompromising voice:

"The Supreme God has fallen. The Pantheon is sealed. All deities are currently holding the 'New God Election Conference.'"

"No one is permitted entry at this moment."

Lin Chen looked at it.

For three seconds.

Then smiled.

"So that means—"

He stepped towards the Radiant Colossus, his voice calm yet causing the very heavens and earth to tremble:

"Right now, that bunch of old fossils inside are discussing how to divide up the Supreme God's legacy?"

"And I, an investor coming with real capital to discuss business..."

Lin Chen walked to the foot of the Colossus and looked up:

"...am being blocked at the door—"

"by a watchdog?"

Holy light surged in the Radiant Colossus's eyes:

"Blasphemer... halt!"

Its hand rose once more!

But this time, Lin Chen didn't wait for it to fall.

He simply stepped forward—

And walked past the Colossus's feet.

Not detouring, not flying.

But... the Colossus's ten-thousand-zhang-tall body automatically parted, creating a passage before him.

As if some higher-level rule commanded it: Move aside.

The Radiant Colossus froze in place. It wanted to block, to attack, to fulfill its guardian duty—

But its body wouldn't obey.

"Forgot to tell you."

Lin Chen's voice came from the other end of the passage:

"While extracting Cassio's Divinity just now, I happened to check something..."

"You 'Radiant Colossi' signed a 'Non-Aggression Pact' with the First Generation Underworld Lord back in the day."

"Clause 77 stipulates: When a bearer of the Nether Lord Bloodline comes to the Divine Realm for 'lawful commercial activities,' you shall not obstruct."

He looked back at the Colossus:

"And I..."

"am now the Lord of the Underworld."

As his words fell.

Lin Chen's figure had already vanished onto the light bridge leading to the Pantheon.

Behind him, the three hundred thousand sealed God-Eroding Beasts legion turned in unison and followed with orderly steps.

Michael and the Reformist Faction members flew out from the nest, watching this scene, speechless.

After a long while, Nightingale murmured:

"He... he's really going to..."

"To the Pantheon," Michael took a deep breath, a complex light flashing in his eyes. "To issue a purchase offer..."

"in front of all the deities."

He looked towards the glorious temple, his voice dry:

"In the hundred-thousand-year history of the Divine Realm..."

"nothing like this has ever happened."

"Today—"

"the heavens will change."