67: Chapter 67 Transactions

Shock, ecstasy, and a burning emotion called 'future' surged in everyone's chest.

They were no longer merely looking up to [Outlaw Zhang San], but rather gazing at an entirely new world called 'Truth,' which he had personally torn open.

"Brother Zhang San! Can this 'module' be mass-produced? What's the contribution cost? I'm pre-ordering the first one!"

"Open source! It must be open source! I propose establishing a 'Rune Logic' guild, with Zhang San as the president!"

"This is fucking better than changing to a hidden class! Who would still use magic weapons for basic attacks in the future? When we meet someone, we'll just slap a 'function call' in their face!"

Amidst the excited clamor, only a few people remained highly vigilant.

[Holy Light Hunk]'s golden armor was still covered in cracks. He gripped his greatsword tightly, his gaze locked firmly onto that golden skeleton in the distance that had fallen into a "dead loop."

Although the opponent's attack had been interrupted, the divine might that had spanned eons had not dissipated, hanging like a Sword of Damocles above their heads.

[Plague Knight - Zero] was half-crouched on the ground, fingers dug into the dust stained by the aura of gods and demons, his writhing shadow greedily analyzing and absorbing the scattered law fragments.

His expression was half-pleasure, half-solemnity.

"Quiet."

A low roar from [Demolition Office Director] brought the feverish atmosphere to a halt.

At that very moment, the golden skeleton that had everyone on edge moved.

It did not raise its hand again, nor did it launch any attacks.

Instead, it began to weather away, inch by inch, starting from its fingertips.

Those bones, branded with immortal divinity, turned into golden specks of light like a program executing a "delete" command, slowly dissipating from the bottom up.

The soul fire violently jumping in its hollow eye sockets took one last deep look in the direction of [Outlaw Zhang San], seemingly containing a hint of relief, a hint of... approval?

Finally, as the skull turned into the last handful of light dust, the terrifying pressure that had weighed on everyone's hearts suddenly dispersed.

The crisis was truly resolved.

And as the golden skeleton completely vanished, the frozen, static space-time background behind the throne it had originally sat on melted like an ice wall, revealing a bottomless opening swirling with dim light.

From deep within that opening came not the aftereffects of a divine war, but a more ancient, purer... malice.

"Let's go and see what that 'programmer' was guarding." [Demolition Office Director] waved his hand and stepped into the center of the devastated battlefield first.

The players filed in, passed through the opening, and the scene before them suddenly cleared.

This was no longer a battlefield of gods and demons, but a huge, dilapidated hall.

The dome of the hall had long since collapsed; only countless thick chains engraved with golden runes extended from the void in all directions, converging in the center of the hall to lock something in place.

It was a ball of... black flame that was almost extinguished.

It was only the size of a fist, flickering weakly like a candle in the wind, exuding hatred and resentment that made one's soul tremble.

Although it was so weak, all the players present recognized its aura immediately.

That was the nightmare they had only barely managed to repel in the third stage after paying the price of tens of thousands of resurrections and sacrificing all their accumulations!

"Night Radiance!" [Holy Light Hunk] squeezed these words out through his teeth, and the holy light that had just receded exploded once again with a "boom," golden flames of rage soaring into the sky.

"It's the fucking Demon Lord!" [Charge to the End]'s eyes turned bloodshot instantly, veins bulging on his hand gripping his weapon.

"Kill him! This time, let his soul scatter so he doesn't even get a chance to resurrect!"

Seeing their enemy, their eyes burned with hatred.

The despair of being shrouded by the [Heavenly Demon Blood Sacrifice Grand Array], the tragic heroism of sacrificing everything to "invite the ancestor to ascend," flooded their hearts instantly.

Nearly a hundred players instinctively channeled their power, various lights lit up, and a saturation attack was about to completely wipe out that remnant soul.

"Heh... hehe..."

A weak but infinitely mocking laugh rang out from the black flame.

"A bunch of... 'antibodies' who are kept in captivity without even knowing it, and you dare talk about killing?"

The voice was not loud, but it was like a bucket of ice water poured over the heads of all the players.

"Antibodies?"

This word, they had only heard from one person—the Ancestor!

That was the Ancestor's final definition of their identity when the worldview was unlocked.

Why would this word, which should have been top secret, be spoken by their mortal enemy?

"You..." [Demolition Office Director]'s pupils constricted, and he raised his hand to stop the impending attack.

The remnant soul named Night Radiance saw the black flames slightly condense, forming a blurred but vaguely recognizable human face.

His gaze swept across the crowd, carrying the scrutiny of a mastermind who saw through everything.

"What? Surprised?" Night Radiance's voice carried a hint of mockery. "Do you really think that with this 'legion' of yours, where not even Foundation Establishment is popularized, you could defeat me?"

"You were able to win, not because you were 'grindy' enough, nor because you were 'crazy' enough."

His gaze finally landed on a player in the crowd who was slightly chubby, eyes flickering, and calmly evaluating the situation.

[All Realms Connector].

"But because someone wanted you to win. Someone... needed a blade sharp enough and stupid enough to do things for her that she found inconvenient to do herself."

[All Realms Connector]'s heart skipped a beat.

He thought of the "Fairy Yunshang" who was lurking behind the proxy war.

"It's you!" [Plague Knight - Zero] spoke hoarsely. Part of the power in his shadow domain originated from the "Heavenly Demon Strategy" he had analyzed. "You lost on purpose?"

"On purpose?" Night Radiance seemed to have heard a huge joke, his remnant soul fluctuating violently. "Would I lose to a bunch of ants on purpose? I just... lost to another more important chess piece."

His gaze turned to the golden chains extending from the void, the malice almost becoming tangible.

"That skeleton was one of the 'Inspectors' of the God Prison during his lifetime, whose duty was to guard me. And my [Heavenly Demon Blood Sacrifice Grand Array] happened to be able to corrupt his divinity, waking him from his slumber, and subsequently attracting the attention of those hypocrites in the Sacred Land... I calculated everything, except that I didn't calculate that the evolution speed of you 'antibodies' would be so fast that even 'she' would feel it was time to wield the knife early."

The amount of information was too large, and most players were lost in confusion.

But a few people like [All Realms Connector], [Outlaw Zhang San], and [Zero] felt a chill run down their spines.

They seemed to see an invisible web covering the entire world, and their so-called "victory" was nothing more than two spiders biting each other on the web, while the true weaver sneered in the clouds.

"Your goal is not the Ancestor's ashes." [All Realms Connector] spoke slowly, his voice terrifyingly calm. "Or rather, the [key of the divine prison] is just a tool for you."

"Smart." Night Radiance nodded approvingly, and on that blurred face, there was actually a hint of appreciation belonging to a powerhouse.

"What I want has never been control of the key. What I want is to use the 'God Prison authority' of the key to completely destroy one place—"

He enunciated word by word, his voice filled with endless hatred and madness.

"—Gui! Xu! Spirit! Eye!"

As soon as this name came out, all the players present felt a chill from the depths of their souls.

Because this coordinate was the one that the Chief Examiner, who had been humiliated by them to the point of an unstable Dao heart, had "gifted" them before leaving!

Two seemingly unrelated clues were perfectly connected at this moment by the mouth of their number one enemy!

"It seems that the idiot Chief Examiner has already pointed the way for you." Night Radiance sneered. "You want to go? Very well. I can tell you that it is one of the most core forbidden areas of the Central Sacred Land, suppressing my... true nemesis."

"With your current strength and intelligence, stepping in there will only have one outcome—being treated as intruders by the Sacred Land, and together with that old ghost's nemesis, being purified, with not even a scrap of data remaining."

"We can choose not to make this deal." [All Realms Connector] replied calmly. "We can go back, develop slowly, and wait until our strength is sufficient..."

"Naive." Night Radiance interrupted him mercilessly. "Do you think you still have time? 'Her' knife has already been sharpened, just waiting for you, the whetstone, to bump into it. If you turn back now, you will only face a more direct and irresistible 'formatting' from the Sacred Land. Because a blade that has lost its utility is only an obstacle if kept."

Inside the hall, there was dead silence.

Even the most impulsive [Charge to the End] fell silent.

Night Radiance's words were like a sharp blade, dissecting the appearance of all their "victories" and exposing the bloody reality called "chess piece."

[All Realms Connector] took a deep breath; he knew that the moment for negotiation had arrived.

"What do you want?"

"Cooperation." Night Radiance was concise.

"Us, with you? A demon lord who just almost wiped out our entire server?" [Holy Light Hunk] couldn't help but rebuke angrily.

"You have no choice." Night Radiance said indifferently. "My remnant soul is suppressed by these 'God Prison chains' and cannot leave this place. And you need a guide who understands the Sacred Land, understands your 'behind-the-scenes manipulator,' and understands everything about the 'Gui Xu Spirit Eye'."

"I can analyze all the factional struggles within the Sacred Land, the character weaknesses of all the high-ranking officials, and the array layouts of all the forbidden areas... for you, using my thousand-year hatred for them, and make it crystal clear."

"And you," his gaze became burning, "need to act on my behalf to send the 'Gui Xu Spirit Eye', along with what is suppressed inside, into annihilation!"

This was a deal with the devil.

Using a bigger conspiracy to fight another conspiracy.

[All Realms Connector] did not answer immediately; he turned around and looked at the player representatives behind him.

"I object!" [Holy Light Hunk] was the first to state his position. "Siding with a demon is absolutely impossible! This is a matter of principle!"

"I agree." [Plague Knight - Zero]'s voice followed immediately, diametrically opposed. "Principles can't be eaten. We are currently the blade; if we don't find the hand that wields the blade, we won't even know how we were shattered."

"I also agree." [Outlaw Zhang San] pushed his non-existent glasses, his eyes fervent. "His soul body is bound by the rules chains of the 'God Prison' and is itself a top-level 'source code library'! Studying him is more useful than studying ten thousand ancient ruins!"

"Fuck it!" [Demolition Office Director] spat. "I don't care about any conspiracies or plots. Whoever wants us dead, we'll make sure their whole family suffers first! Sacred Land, right? Just wait, when I install the 'rune compiler' onto a Flying Sword, let's see if I can't blast open your front door!"

Opinions diverged, but the balance clearly tipped towards "cooperation."

[All Realms Connector] had made up his mind.

He turned back and faced Night Radiance's remnant soul again, a smile that was the kindest and most dangerous for a merchant appearing on his face.

"Cooperation is possible. But we need... an advance deposit."

Night Radiance laughed, the remnant soul's laughter sounding exceptionally sinister.

"Of course."

"Then let me tell you the first thing... about your mysterious ally, Fairy Yunshang."

"The reason she chose an idiot like the Chief Examiner to be the first 'Chief Examiner' was because she calculated that he would definitely fail, so that she would have a reason to take over the handling of your permissions in a legitimate way."

"And her revealing information to let you win the 'proxy war' was not out of goodwill towards you."

Night Radiance's voice was like a poisonous thorn, stabbing into the hearts of all the players.

"She was testing... which of the two forms of your blade, 'purification' or 'pollution', would be more useful when dismantling the Sacred Land in the future."