109: With the help of the four gods, we welcome the human emperor back to the top!

Human Realm, Sin Ranch, Blackrock City Lord's Mansion, Blood Sacrifice Great Array.

Dead silence.

A dead silence capable of freezing the soul.

The 'corpse' that should have been lifeless, lying in a pool of blood...

Under the horrified gaze of the God of Theft and Survival, slowly stood up.

Inch by inch.

As if billions of invisible mountains were being propped up once more by his unyielding spine!

"No... this is impossible!"

The God of Theft and Survival let out a sharp shriek, his inhuman compound eyes...

For the first time, were completely filled with an emotion called 'fear'!

He could clearly feel it!

The life force of the man before him had not only not dissipated, but was instead surging wildly at an inconceivable speed!

The Divine Demon Oath, jointly laid by all the gods and devils, was emitting a wail of unbearable strain!

The holy sword, which had been on the verge of shattering, was once again radiating a brilliance more dazzling and heart-stopping than ever before!

"You... what exactly did you do?!"

His voice, due to extreme fear, became shrill and piercing.

"I did nothing."

Chen Yuan slowly raised his head.

His blood-red eyes were as calm as a sea of blood without a single ripple.

Deep within that sea of blood lay an endless killing intent, enough to drag the entire world into hell!

"I merely..."

He raised the holy sword in his hand, its tip pointing distantly at the 'heart' still clinging to life in the center of the altar.

"—I'm back."

Three simple words.

Yet they were like a supreme power where words became law!

Boom—!!!

A terrifying Emperor's might, indescribable in words, erupted from his body!

That was not the pressure belonging to 'gods', nor the tyranny belonging to 'devils'!

But the supreme will belonging to 'humans', transcending both gods and devils!

It was the Human Emperor, Chen Yuan, who once led the human race to carve out a bloody path in the dark primordial era!

It was he who once ascended to the nine heavens, pointed his sword at the divine court, and silenced all the immortals and buddhas in the sky!

"No! You are not Chen Yuan! Who exactly are you?!"

The God of Theft and Survival was utterly panicked!

He felt a deadly threat from this man, one capable of completely erasing him even from the 'conceptual' level!

"Who am I?"

A chillingly cold smile curved Chen Yuan's lips.

"You coward who can betray even 'death'."

"You trash who, like the most despicable parasite, stole ten thousand years of my disciple's life and degraded himself to live."

"—Do you, even deserve, to call my name?"

Boom!

Before his words finished, Chen Yuan's figure had already vanished from his original spot!

The next second, he appeared like a ghost, as if having crossed the boundaries of space and time, right before the God of Theft and Survival!

Too fast!

So fast that even his thoughts couldn't grasp it!

"Sword of Joy: Mirror Flower, Water Moon!"

A seven-colored sword light, filled with 'happiness' and 'hope', suddenly blazed!

This time, it was no longer a void 'illusion'!

Instead, it had transformed into the most lethal 'killing intent'!

The God of Theft and Survival only felt a blur before his eyes, as if he saw his 'beautiful dream' of ruling the human realm and enjoying the worship of all beings.

However, this 'beautiful dream' lasted for less than one ten-thousandth of a second!

Pfft—!

A cold sword edge had already pierced through his chest!

"Ugh ah!"

He let out a painful shriek, his eight segmented limbs frantically swatting at Chen Yuan's body!

However, Chen Yuan's figure, like a ghost merged into the shadows, silently disappeared from his spot.

Leaving behind only a bone-chilling sentence.

"—In my shadow, what can you hit?"

That was a 'gift' from the God of Silent Backstabs!

"You... you damned bastard!"

The God of Theft and Survival was both shocked and enraged!

He couldn't understand why a mortal could simultaneously wield the authority of several gods!

"Die for me!"

He completely went mad!

He no longer cared about his own injuries, mobilizing all his divine power, transforming it into a colossal blood-red net that covered the sky and earth, indiscriminately sweeping in all directions!

"Sword of Sorrow: Tears of the Departed!"

Chen Yuan's figure reappeared!

The holy sword in his hand let out a mournful cry!

Waves of gray 'sorrow' rippled outwards!

The blood-red net, the moment it came into contact with this power of 'sorrow'...

It was as if poisoned, beginning to rapidly disintegrate and collapse from within!

"—The strongest fortress is often breached from within."

That was a 'whisper' from the God of Mysterious Lies and Betrayal!

"No! This is impossible! My divine power! Why would it betray me?!"

The God of Theft and Survival let out an incredulous roar!

The essence of his divine power was 'theft' and 'parasitism'!

It was the most extreme form of 'betrayal'!

And now, this 'betrayal', in the face of an even purer 'betrayal' law, was being turned against him!

"Nothing is impossible."

Chen Yuan's voice, like a cold wind from the nine netherworlds, blew past his ear.

"Because, from the moment you chose to 'live in degradation', you had already betrayed the dignity of being a 'god'."

"A coward who can betray himself, what is there that cannot betray you?"

As his words fell.

Chen Yuan's sword stance changed again!

From 'sorrow' to 'rage'!

"Sword of Rage: Burning Heaven's Fire!"

The blazing flames of Humanity ignited once more!

But this time, within the flames, there was a trace of terrifying power capable of tearing apart all 'oaths' and 'laws'!

"Stop! You can't kill me!"

The God of Theft and Survival finally felt a fear emanating from his soul!

He shrieked, "My divine soul is already completely bound to your disciple and this Blood Sacrifice Great Array!"

"If you kill me, she won't live either! This city will also instantly be drained of all its vitality, turning into a dead city!"

"This is an unbreakable 'contract' between you and me!"

He thought these words would be Chen Yuan's 'weakness'.

However, what he received was a cold sneer filled with endless mockery.

"Contract?"

A trace of the madness and playfulness belonging to the God of Broken Oaths flashed in Chen Yuan's eyes.

"—Are you referring to this?"

He stretched out his left hand and fiercely clenched it at the void!

Crack—!!!

It was as if something invisible, yet incredibly important, was forcibly crushed in the ethereal realm!

The God of Theft and Survival's body trembled violently!

He could clearly feel that the unbreakable 'soul link' between himself, Ye Ningxue, and the Blood Sacrifice Great Array...

Was forcibly severed by an even more unreasonable 'law'!

"No... no!!!"

He let out a wail more desperate than any before!

This was his 'trump card for survival' that he had prepared for ten thousand years!

And it was torn apart so easily?!

"Now..."

Chen Yuan slowly raised the holy sword in his hand.

On the sword's body, the three lights of sorrow, rage, and joy had completely disappeared.

Replaced by...

A deep, chaotic, primordial color, as if containing all the possibilities of 'Humanity'.

"Do you have any last words?"

"No! Spare me! Human Emperor! I was wrong! I was truly wrong!"

The God of Theft and Survival completely collapsed!

He knelt on the ground, his city lord's face filled with humble pleading.

"I am willing to submit! I am willing to be your dog! I am willing to tell you all the secrets about the Lord of the End, about the Temple of All Evils!"

"Please, don't kill me! I don't want to die! I really don't want to die!"

He truly lived up to his name as the God of Theft and Survival.

Even at the last moment, all he thought about was how to 'survive'.

However, there was no trace of pity left in Chen Yuan's eyes.

He merely gazed quietly at the culprit who had killed countless of his compatriots and tormented his beloved disciple for ten thousand years.

Then, in a tone stating a fact, he calmly pronounced his death sentence.

"I refuse."

"Because, from now on..."

"I don't want to see any 'victory' that requires 'sacrifice' appearing in the history books of my human race."

"And I certainly don't want to see any child like Ningxue suffer undeserved pain because of my 'incompetence'."

"So..."

In Chen Yuan's eyes, a raging inferno ignited, capable of incinerating the nine heavens!

"—You, must die!"

"Sword of Humanity: Ten Thousand Years into One!"

The holy sword in his hand slowly descended!

There was no earth-shattering momentum.

No world-destroying power.

Only a sword light that seemed to condense the human race's ten thousand years of unyielding struggle, Chen Yuan's ten thousand years of regret and anger, and Ye Ningxue's ten thousand years of endless waiting!

That sword light was so unadorned.

Yet so irresistible!

All the defenses, all the divine power, all the laws of the God of Theft and Survival...

Faced with that sword light, they were torn apart as easily as paper!

He didn't even have time to let out a scream.

His body, his divine soul, his authority representing 'stealing life and living in degradation'...

Under that sword light, were completely erased from this world, from the level of 'causality'!

As if he had never existed... With the fall of the God of Theft and Survival.

The Blood Sacrifice Great Array also lost its final support and collapsed with a roar!

The gate of ending, which had already opened halfway, let out an unwilling wail and slowly disappeared into the air.

The blood-red nebula shrouding Blackrock City began to rapidly dissipate.

The first long-awaited ray of sunlight pierced through the clouds, showering upon this city that had endured endless suffering.

Chen Yuan paid no attention to any of this.

He merely staggered, like a madman, rushing towards the center of the altar.

He saw the petite figure, her body riddled with countless energy conduits.

He tremblingly reached out and gently pulled those cold conduits, one by one, from her body.

He carried her out from that cold 'heart'.

Her body was so light, so cold.

"Ningxue..."

Chen Yuan's voice was hoarse, as if abraded by sandpaper.

He frantically poured his own power, which had just slightly recovered, into her body.

However, her life force had been severed for far too long.

The life essence accumulated over ten thousand years had long been squandered by that damned god.

Everything Chen Yuan did was in vain.

"Mas... ter..."

Just as Chen Yuan was about to fall into despair again.

The long eyelashes of the girl in his arms suddenly trembled slightly.

She slowly opened her eyes.

Those eyes, which should have been as brilliant as stars, were now dim, like a flickering candle about to go out.

She looked at the man before her, disheveled, tear-streaked, yet incredibly familiar.

Her lips struggled to form a smile, one uglier than crying.

"You... finally... came..."

"I... waited for you for so long..."

"Ningxue!"

Chen Yuan's heart felt as if it was fiercely clutched by an invisible hand!

"Don't talk! I'll save you! I will definitely save you!"

"It's no use... Master..."

Ye Ningxue shook her head, her voice as faint as a candle in the wind.

"My time... is running out..."

"Master... you, you've lost weight..."

She reached out, wanting to caress Chen Yuan's cheek as she had ten thousand years ago.

But her hand lacked even the strength to lift.

"Don't cry... Master..."

"Ningxue... being able to see you again... I'm already... very happy..."

"Promise me... to live well..."

"For... for the human race..."

"And... for... me..."

Her voice grew softer and softer.

Her eyes, which she had struggled to keep open, slowly closed.

The small hand suspended in mid-air, weakly fell... At the same time.

Heavenly Realm, Ten Thousand Demons Council Hall.

Upon the supreme throne.

Gu Yanci, who had been resting with closed eyes, fighting against the erosion of the 'ending', suddenly trembled violently!

An immense, unimaginable 'power of Humanity' transformed from the 'master-disciple affection' between Chen Yuan and Ye Ningxue, spanning ten thousand years, and from that extreme 'sorrow' and 'regret'...

Poured into his body like a breached river of stars!

This should have been a great blessing!

Enough to allow him to completely suppress, or even reverse-devour, the godhead of the Lord of the End!

However... extremes meet!

When this power of 'Humanity' became so strong that even the vessel of the Humanity God Lord could not contain it...

It ceased to be a 'tonic'.

Instead, it became the most lethal 'poison'!

Crack, crack!

Something deep within Gu Yanci's soul cracked.

His eyes, which had originally shone with the light of reason and Humanity, were at this moment completely replaced by a pure 'dead silence' capable of freezing all ages!

A divine might of the Ending, more terrifying and purer than ever before, erupted from his body!

The entire Ten Thousand Demons Council Hall trembled violently and wailed under this divine might!

Space was frozen!

Time was still!

Everything was heading towards 'the end'!

"Hmph..."

A low murmur, not human, filled with endless majesty and indifference, slowly emanated from the throne.

"A... rather decent... after-show entertainment."

"Only, it's a pity..."

The 'Gu Yanci' on the throne slowly raised his head.

His eyes, now completely turned to 'dead silence', pierced through endless space and time, coldly looking down at the city in the human realm, bathing in sunlight.

And the man, holding the corpse of his disciple, consumed by grief.

"—The show, is over."