156: Chapter 156 The Ten Ancient Gods

"Forget it... if it's an arrangement, it saves me a lot of trouble." Mu Cheng didn't overthink it and continued to head deeper.

After about an hour, he finally reached the deepest part. At the very center was a massive black-gold iron pillar, roughly a hundred meters tall.

Beside it, dense iron chains bound the black-gold pillar. Below was a sea of fire, where magma could clearly be seen bubbling and boiling.

"This place... the temperature has actually reached 1,080 degrees. It seems this really was pre-arranged." Mu Cheng had no choice but to believe it now.

With such high temperatures, he was completely unharmed. This was definitive proof—someone must be arranging everything behind the scenes.

"Xiao Yao also thinks so. After all, Master's journey has been far too smooth. To be more accurate, all of humanity's has been," Xiao Yao's voice suddenly chimed in.

Hearing this, Mu Cheng was a bit dazed and asked, "Wait... I'm not the only one who's had it smooth?"

Xiao Yao: "Of course not just Master. The opening of the secret realms in the Ancient Battlefield means that the number of humans breaking through to the Ninth Rank is very high."

"Wait, are you saying that all the secret realms here allow people to break through to the Ninth Rank?" Mu Cheng asked again.

There were over several thousand people, and the map showed no less than five thousand secret realms. If they could all break through to the Ninth Rank...

Wouldn't that be insane?

"Mm-hmm, pretty much!" Xiao Yao confirmed with certainty that this was the case.

"Alright! More people breaking through to the Ninth Rank... doesn't seem like a bad thing," Mu Cheng said after thinking for a moment.

Xiao Yao: "Master isn't wrong to think that, but those who are truly determined to protect the common people will likely be very few."

"Regardless, I'll get the source of fire first. By the way, if I take it, will it affect the Ancient Battlefield?" Mu Cheng felt it necessary to clarify the situation first.

Xiao Yao: "The five Great Sources are like the keys to the Ancient Battlefield. If Master takes them all, the Ancient Battlefield will descend upon Blue-White Star."

"However... even if Master doesn't take them, the Ancient Battlefield is estimated to descend upon Blue-White Star in less than three months anyway."

"Fine then! The source of fire should be atop this iron pillar. Let's take a look first." Mu Cheng's heart was filled with doubts.

But the most important thing right now was to get the source of fire first.

Mu Cheng leaped onto the iron chains and kept walking upward.

As expected, there were no accidents. Mu Cheng reached the top of the iron pillar very smoothly.

The space on top wasn't very large; the most notable feature was the ground covered in dense Talisman Arrays.

At the Central Area was the source of fire. Though it was only about the size of a fist...

...the fire-attribute energy it released caused the surrounding temperature to reach a staggering 130,000 degrees.

"Am I seeing things? Tens, hundreds, thousands, ten thousands... it really is 130,000 degrees. Why am I perfectly fine?" Mu Cheng looked at the temperature displayed on his high-tech bracelet.

He couldn't help but be deeply suspicious...

Xiao Yao: "Master, don't be so surprised. At such a high temperature, that black iron pillar and the chains shouldn't be ordinary objects either."

At a temperature of 130,000 degrees, any normal iron would have melted long ago, yet the black iron pillar and chains were completely unaffected.

"Forget it, I'll take the source of fire first." Mu Cheng was clearly confused, but there was no point in overthinking it now.

After all, if he was fine in 130,000-degree heat, what could it be if not someone's deliberate arrangement?

Everything went smoothly. After Mu Cheng obtained the source of fire, a Teleportation Talisman Array appeared out of thin air. It was all so sudden.

"Wow... they even arranged a Teleportation Talisman Array for me?" Mu Cheng was very conflicted.

Indeed, anyone else would likely hesitate to make a decision. If they were teleported to another world and couldn't come back, it would be game over.

Xiao Yao: "Master, there are only three days left. This Teleportation Talisman Array should lead to the other Source Powers."

"Three days? Tell me what's going on," Mu Cheng naturally had to ask for clarification.

Xiao Yao: "It is said that the locations of the Source Powers are the array cores of the Ancient Battlefield. These array cores are very special and only appear when the secret realms are opened."

"Xiao Yao thinks... someone must be helping Master in secret. Otherwise, who would go to such great lengths to open the secret realms here?"

"This... you mean to say that opening these secret realms requires a massive price? Just how great is that price?" Mu Cheng asked again.

Xiao Yao: "Xiao Yao really doesn't know the price, but Xiao Yao can be very certain that to open all the secret realms, one's strength must at least reach the Great High Priest level."

"Remember that girl Master met? Xiao Yao thinks she might be a god from the ancient period. If that's the case, she definitely isn't the only god; there might be quite a few others."

"What you're saying does make sense. That would explain how Blue-White Star has six billion years of history," Mu Cheng had to admit.

With six billion years of history, who could say for sure... that humanity hadn't flourished during that time?

Furthermore, having successfully survived various disasters over six billion years was enough proof that there were gods protecting Blue-White Star.

"Whatever. Maybe this Global Survival event will provide the answers to all these questions." After careful consideration, Mu Cheng...

...finally made up his mind and walked toward the Teleportation Talisman Array...

As expected, it was all arranged. Mu Cheng saw a familiar iron pillar, though the surrounding environment had changed.

He was in the center of a massive green lake, and at the middle was the Source of Water...

"It really is a deliberate arrangement. But what... is their goal?" Mu Cheng fell into deep thought once more.

While he was hesitating, Xiao Yao's voice spoke up again.

"Master, stop thinking and just get all the Source Powers first. The Demon Boss also said there's a secret realm called Creation that suits you."

"Creation Secret Realm? Alright, let's handle the business at hand first." Mu Cheng's interest was instantly piqued.

In less than half an hour, he successfully pocketed all the Source Powers. He looked at the Creation Secret Realm not far away.

Mu Cheng mounted Dun Dun and galloped straight toward it...

One hour later.

"Is this the Creation Secret Realm? Quite a few people have their eyes on it. Why don't they go in?" After Mu Cheng arrived...

...he immediately had Dun Dun return to the consciousness space and then observed the situation in secret.

Xiao Yao: "Master, the God of Creation is one of the Ten Ancient Gods. To enter, one naturally needs his recognition."

"These ancient gods... why have I never even heard of them?" Mu Cheng suddenly asked out of curiosity.

Xiao Yao: "The matter of the Ten Ancient Gods is known by very, very few people. Even Xiao Yao doesn't know much."

"Tell me, who exactly are the Ten Ancient Gods?" Mu Cheng asked, his interest immediately piqued.

Xiao Yao: "Creation, Death, Ice Lord, Fire Lord, Goddess of Life, Double-Faced Demon God, Absolute Zero, Human Emperor, Lord of Time and Space, and Lord of Space."