Chapter 506: Su Mu, I'll Be Relying on You from Now On

That was when I realized—if gods truly existed in this world, then humanity's existence would be utterly meaningless.

"The War of the Gods is the best example. This world wasn't always like this, but after the divine war, the heavens and earth overturned, mountains and rivers collapsed, and the void fell into chaos. Humanity could only survive by clinging to the domains established by the Saint Lords."

At this, a trace of sorrow surfaced in Wuming's eyes, as if he were recalling what he had once seen.

Although Su Mu had never witnessed such tragedies, he could imagine how disastrous that era had been. To humanity, gods were indeed the source of all chaos and disaster.

"What are gods? They are the incarnations of rules, the very bones that make up the world. They were never supposed to possess consciousness. The purpose behind the Temple of God Slaying is to erase the consciousness of the gods, returning them to the rules themselves to fulfill their duties.

"And to accomplish this, we can only rely on you, Su Mu," Wuming said firmly.

"Rely on me? To be honest, I haven't even decided whether to join the Temple of God Slaying yet." Su Mu shrugged.

"You will definitely help me, because our goals align."

"You know my goal?"

"I only know part of the reason you stand against the gods. The divine war shattered the fate and space-time of that era, so even when I peer into the past, I can only glimpse a fraction of history. However, I can still deduce a thing or two.

"The gods were likely fighting over something, and that item ultimately fell into the hands of the God of Nightmares. This was the cause of the God of Nightmares' death. Since you inherited the legacy of the God of Nightmares, you must have also inherited the treasure all the gods sought.

"If the gods awaken, the first thing they will do is deal with you."

"You're right. I am naturally opposed to the gods," Su Mu admitted directly. Since the other party could pry into the past and foresee the future, lying was pointless.

"However, with my current strength, dealing with the gods will be very difficult."

"Gods cannot be killed because they are the incarnations of rules. We don't need to kill them either; we merely need to erase their consciousness. And in all the world, you are the only one capable of doing that.

"You inherited the power of the God of Nightmares and possess ultimate Illusion Techniques. If we want to erase a god's consciousness, your illusions are the only way," Wuming stated with absolute certainty.

Su Mu raised an eyebrow. "If my illusions really could kill a god, you wouldn't have needed to intervene to seal the Primal Angel just now."

Wuming shook his head. "Just because you can't do it now doesn't mean you won't be able to after fusing with the Xuantian Origin. That eyeball is in your hands now, isn't it?"

"Did you foresee that I would be capable of God-Slaying after the fusion?"

"No. The power of foresight isn't as omnipotent as you might think. Premonitions regarding gods are always extremely vague, but... how will we know if we don't try?"

Su Mu smiled faintly. "God-Slaying? That sounds rather interesting."

He had never killed a True God before. Now that he had the chance to slay a slumbering god, he wouldn't mind giving it a try.

"Focus on fusing with the Xuantian Origin for now. As for the compensation I promised you earlier, I will go prepare it."

With that, Wuming left.

When he reached the doorway, Wuming suddenly stopped and turned his head slightly. "Su Mu, I'll be relying on you from now on. Please make sure to erase the gods' consciousness."

The moment his voice faded, his figure vanished through the door.

Watching Wuming's departing figure, Su Mu sank into deep thought. Relying on me from now on? Erasing the gods' consciousness? Just what are you hiding, Wuming?

He could sense that Wuming was hiding something. The man's motives were definitely not as pure as he claimed.

The most contradictory thing about Wuming was his earlier move to awaken the Primal Angel.

Su Mu didn't believe that Wuming—the master of the Temple of God Slaying and the person who understood gods best in this world—would make such an amateur mistake. He knew perfectly well that the battle might wake the Primal Angel, and despite possessing the overwhelming strength to easily take down the heavily injured Zero, he had held back.

Deliberately waking the Primal Angel, only to use his immense strength to force the Primal Angel back into slumber—what was it all for? Just to show off his power?

It was as if he were intentionally exposing his origins, revealing that the god he had fused with was the Heavenly Venerate of Myriad Laws.

Moreover, just how did the Heavenly Venerate of Myriad Laws die?

Xiao Yuan had once mentioned that the only god who truly died was Xuan Tian, who had been besieged by the other gods. This meant the Heavenly Venerate of Myriad Laws wasn't dead at that time; he had died after the divine war.

Coupled with the fact that all the gods had fallen into a deep slumber, the implications were even more problematic.

Could a single god like Xuan Tian really fight off all the other gods until they fell silent?

Could it be...

Su Mu formed a vague hypothesis in his mind, but he still needed time to verify it. Tossing aside these thoughts, he entered the Dream World and began fusing with the Xuantian Origin.

Looking at the Bronze Eyeball floating above his palm, Su Mu swallowed it in a single gulp.

The instant the eyeball entered his body, his soul felt as though it had been struck by lightning. Countless fine arcs of blue electricity rampaged wildly within his soul.

The power contained within this piece of the Xuantian Origin was actually no weaker than the combined total of the previous two fragments he had fused with.

No wonder Zero had been able to unleash such terrifying might, even when merely utilizing it as a divine taboo object.

It was fortunate that Zero couldn't fuse with the Xuantian Origin. Otherwise, the outcome of their great battle would have been entirely rewritten.

Su Mu sat cross-legged with his eyes tightly shut, continuously guiding and absorbing the Xuantian Origin. As its power rippled outward, it felt as though a door to a higher dimension had been blown wide open inside his mental world.

Like a carp leaping over the dragon gate, he stepped through that threshold. Boom!

A muffled detonation echoed through his spiritual realm. In that moment, like a prisoner finally shattering his chains, his spiritual energy instantly broke free from all restraints, expanding and spreading wantonly, multiplying exponentially like floodwaters bursting through a broken dam.

One month later.

Su Mu slowly roused from his secluded cultivation. He had successfully fused with the Xuantian Origin. If measured solely by the strength of his soul, he had already surpassed the Demigod Realm. However, since he lacked a specific point of reference, he wasn't entirely sure what level his actual combat strength had reached.

After all, the gulf between the Demigod Realm and a True God was simply too massive. Even if he had surpassed a Demigod, he would still be far weaker than a True God.

Right now, the only reference he could compare himself to was Wuming. Aside from the True Gods, Wuming was the strongest human he had ever seen.

At the time, Wuming had been able to mobilize the Three Thousand Laws to suppress the awakening Primal Angel. Now, Su Mu could do the exact same thing.

Su Mu exited the dream and returned to the headquarters of the Temple of God Slaying.

In the center of the spacious, empty hall sat a pitch-black wooden box. It was carved with a dense cluster of golden runes that glowed with a faint light.

Snap!

Su Mu snapped his fingers. The golden runes on the wooden box instantly dissipated. The box popped open, revealing a mechanical arm gleaming with a cold metallic luster.

"Wuming works pretty fast."

The payment he had demanded earlier was the Fallen Sin Maitreya's Divine Corpse Puzzle. He hadn't expected Wuming to track it down in just a short month.

This was the final piece of the Fallen Sin Maitreya Puzzle. As long as he 'pieced' this one in, his physical body would thoroughly ascend to the Demigod Realm.