Chapter 736 - 459: Whose Figure Shuttles Through Samsara

Chapter 736: Chapter 459: Whose Figure Shuttles Through Samsara

After being sent flying by Tang Ling, Zhou Chen immediately summoned the Sword of Ten Thousand Kings.

The Restricted Areas were unsealed, merging with reality. Gaia’s gamification was over. He was no longer a Player who could revive indefinitely and had to treat the current situation with extreme caution. The slightest carelessness could get him killed by the battle’s aftershocks.

Normally, this was when the Star Association would open an Any Door to let him retreat from the battlefield. But the unsealing of the Restricted Areas, the Abyssal Incarnation opening the Gate of Hell, and another Abyssal Demigod invading the present world—all of this had happened too suddenly. In less than half a minute, the Star Association clearly hadn’t had time to react.

So, he had to save himself.

The moment he gripped the Sword of Ten Thousand Kings, Zhou Chen’s vision began to rise infinitely, his perception spreading out in all directions as he ascended. Finally, his consciousness stood above the firmament, overlooking the entire World.

He saw a lonely blade of grass growing at the edge of the World, crystalline snowflakes falling on a distant, cold tundra, turbulent waves crashing in the Sword Bay Sea, scorching magma erupting from a volcano, battlefields strewn with corpses, cities scarred by devastation... he saw every wisp of wind, every speck of dust, every living being.

Soldiers fighting bloody battles, refugees weary from fleeing for their lives, the hopeless with dull, lifeless eyes, the masses cheering the unsealing of the Restricted Areas...

And more, countless other things.

The sky, the earth, everything.

——All of creation, now his to command.

This was a supreme Power that transcended all things on Gaia, ushering Zhou Chen into a magnificent new world. Endless new things presented themselves before his eyes, reshaping his understanding of the Extraordinary World. He was like a dry sponge, constantly absorbing water to fill himself.

He had already mastered several Rules during the game, and now the limitations of the gamified system were lifted.

Resonating with the Sword of Ten Thousand Kings, Zhou Chen ascended without any hindrance.

——Tier Four·Crowned King!

Pale flames ignited around him. The Sword of Ten Thousand Kings erupted with a brilliant light. The solemn crown above Zhou Chen’s head grew more solid as images of all things on Gaia flashed across its surface, and a terrifying aura rippled out between heaven and earth.

The reason the Abyssal Incarnation coveted the Sword of Ten Thousand Kings so much was that the King of Gaia had placed all of Gaia’s Authority into the blade. Whoever controlled the Sword of Ten Thousand Kings would, in essence, control all of Gaia.

Such Authority-granting weapons were not rare; many Restricted Areas and Hells had similar objects. Whoever could master one could become the ruler of that world.

However, not all Kings of the World were equal. If one ruled a barren and desolate world, becoming its King of the World would be useless. But if the world itself was powerful enough, it could bestow Power beyond imagination.

And Gaia just so happened to be an exceptionally powerful World.

Zhou Chen raised his eyes and called upon the World before him.

In response, endless lightning formed a sword of judgment that descended from the edge of the sky, casting a tyrannical radiance. A violent ocean of thunderbolts instantly engulfed the two Abyssal Demigods. Immediately after, the earth quaked violently. An incomparably terrifying Energy erupted from deep underground as a pillar of scorching magma burst forth, soaring into the sky and casting its own tyrannical radiance.

Deafening roars overlapped, and countless Rules came into play across the land, becoming a solemn chorus that shook the very Soul.

"Pathetic tricks."

The Ancient Priest coldly waved its Scepter. A torrent of Curses made of Darkness and pain surged out, swiftly corroding and annihilating the lightning and magma, turning them into wisps of pale, cotton-like matter that scattered through the sky.

’So what if he has become a King of the World? In the face of absolute Power, all else is meaningless.’

Worlds like Gaia were countless in the Abyss, and the Ancient Priest had long since lost count of how many such worlds it had destroyed with its own hands, let alone how many powerful enemies comparable to the Demigod Level it had killed.

In its eyes, Zhou Chen was no different from an ant that had accidentally obtained a destructive weapon. Even if he could mobilize the Power of the World and reach a rank nearing that of a Demigod, it was ultimately an external Power that did not belong to him.

So weak, it was laughable.

But with Zhou Chen’s interference, there was no longer enough time.

Fifteen seconds was far too short; killing the Godslaying Weapon was impossible. And the Ancient Priest knew full well what would happen if an Abyssal Demigod like itself stepped into the mortal world. The slightest misstep could mean its end right here.

So, the moment time was up, it retreated into the Gate of Hell without hesitation, its movements decisive and swift.

The Abyssal Incarnation stared greedily at the Sword of Ten Thousand Kings in Zhou Chen’s hand. This was something it had coveted for centuries. Now that the genuine article was right before its eyes, how could it not be thrilled?

But it quickly suppressed its turbulent emotions. There was no need to obsess over the Sword of Ten Thousand Kings anymore. After entering the Abyss, far vaster worlds awaited its corruption. The Black Sun in the sky shrank rapidly, turning into a fist-sized black sphere that orbited around it as it followed the Ancient Priest back into the Abyss.

’Trying to escape?’

CLANG!

The Heavy Sword was planted into the ground, and ancient runes lit up.

With a single thought, the world itself was upended.

The Gate of Hell, which had been just a step away from the two Abyssal Demigods, instantly appeared a hundred kilometers away and was still rapidly receding. Zhou Chen had infinitely stretched the spatial distance between the Abyssal Demigods and the Gate of Hell while twisting the surrounding space, preventing them from using any Instant Movement-type Skills for the moment.

At the same time, Tang Ling appeared behind them, a blade formed from the Authorities of slaughter, war, death, and the End sweeping out.

CLANG!

Sparks flew. The Ancient Priest swung its Scepter to block the blow. A sharp hum from the friction of metal rolled out, and space shattered layer by layer like a mirror. Tang Ling was sent flying, her armor exploding and scattering into pieces.

The two Abyssal Demigods dove into the void, appearing a second later right next to the Gate of Hell. But within Gaia’s borders, Zhou Chen possessed the administrator-level Authority to change all phenomena at will.

’If I can’t close the Gate of Hell, can’t I just move it away?’

The Gate of Hell suddenly vanished, relocated to the border of Gaia. Such a vast distance was clearly not one they could cross in a short time.

"Kill him!"

The Ancient Priest’s expression finally changed. A wave of regret washed over it, followed by a hair-raising sense of crisis.

Something had locked onto it.

In the boundless Cosmos, a satellite Railgun completed its lock-on. Fire.

A beam of light, like a Long Spear of judgment, descended from the sky, instantly piercing the Ancient Priest’s body and tearing open a deep wound. Blood splattered.

Its thoughts raced. It immediately called to the world on the other side of the Gate of Hell. In response, the Abyssal Calamity erupted. Countless crazed figures charged out of the Gate of Hell, ancient war drums sounded, and an expeditionary army became a tide that devoured all, their savage faces filled with madness and greed.

It had to create chaos to have a chance of escaping. An invasion from the Abyss would be more than enough to turn this place upside down.

But before that, they had to kill the King of this World. Otherwise, they would never reach the Gate of Hell.

The Abyssal Incarnation also understood this. The Black Sun orbiting beside it suddenly expanded, once again becoming an immense Black Sun that floated above Zhou Chen’s head. It slowly rotated, releasing a terrifying Gravity that could crush anything.

Zhou Chen and Tang Ling reacted in unison, twisting this region’s Rule of Gravity to shield themselves from the black hole’s pull.

"Reinforcements will be here soon. Hold on," Tang Ling’s cold, mechanical voice sounded in Zhou Chen’s mind.

Before Zhou Chen could respond, a seemingly endless Blood River suddenly appeared before him. The crimson torrent roared as it swallowed him and Tang Ling. In a fleeting glance, he saw the Ancient Priest raising its Scepter high, its already gaunt figure growing even thinner, like a skeleton.

The Blood River, formed from countless deaths, was a pure and immense calamity. The moment it appeared, all of Gaia began to Twist amidst a grand upheaval, slowly starting to fall toward Hell.

A pure, crimson tide covered everything, flowing wantonly.

Zhou Chen was swept into it. A demonic Power kept pulling him toward the depths of the Blood River. The Sword of Ten Thousand Kings lit up, but there was no room to struggle at all. He was like a drowning man who couldn’t swim, able only to let the Blood River batter him. Torrents of crimson liquid were sucked into his nasal passages and surged into his body. The Abyssal Calamity began to take root and sprout within him.

The bloody water churned, and Zhou Chen and Tang Ling collided violently. He hurriedly grabbed onto Tang Ling as if she were a lifeline, but he was startled by what he saw. Her mechanical body was covered in crimson spots and had even sprouted deformed flesh and blood.

"I am contaminated. This is a source of corruption sufficient to erode all of America. My damaged systems cannot effectively resist or perform Purification. When the contamination exceeds the red line, I will initiate the self-destruct protocol," Tang Ling said calmly. Her entire body was broken and her chassis severely damaged, half of her face shattered.

An enemy of the Demigod Level was simply too powerful. No intelligence, no pre-battle preparation, no Godslaying Blade... she was no match.

’Damn it, I still don’t have enough wish value...’ Zhou Chen cursed inwardly. ’If I could just give Tang Ling a Soul right now, she could ascend to Demigod and get us out of this. But I’m nowhere near having enough.’

’I have to let the Gaia People know it was me who cleared the Restricted Area.’

"Don’t self-destruct. I have a way."

Zhou Chen forced himself to calm down and sensed the entire World through the Sword of Ten Thousand Kings. He needed to send out a psychic call.

His consciousness delved deeper and deeper into the Sword of Ten Thousand Kings. Finally, he touched something hidden in its very depths. Something had been activated.

"Query: what did you do? The game system has reappeared," Tang Ling asked in her cold, calm voice.

Zhou Chen’s eyes widened in disbelief as a mission prompt suddenly popped up before him.

[You have triggered the main quest: King of Gaia: Continuation!]

[Mission Briefing: After you cleared the game, the BOSS "Abyssal Incarnation" did not truly die. It opened the Gate of Hell and summoned another terrifying Abyssal Demigod, leaving Gaia in peril once more.

At this critical moment, you have awakened a certain Power hidden within the Sword of Ten Thousand Kings, and in doing so, you have also awakened a confused consciousness.

Use this Power to defeat the enemy.]

BOOM!

Like Moses parting the sea, the surging water of the Blood River was slowly parted, revealing the desolate land beneath.

Zhou Chen, holding the broken and mutated Tang Ling, slowly landed.

With the world gamified once more, he used the Ability of the Sword of Ten Thousand Kings to push all the blood-water away. Under the Authority of a God, the strange, demonic Blood River was suppressed.

Now, the Sword of Ten Thousand Kings not only possessed Gaia’s Authority, but also the Authority to control the game.

With a simple application of his Power, a bonfire appeared out of thin air before him, lighting itself automatically.

Then, a scorching light flared from his body. He pulled Tang Ling close and self-destructed, their bodies exploding into nothingness.

A few seconds later, the two of them revived on the spot, completely unharmed.

They had returned to the saved state from when they entered the Final Holy Hall.

"An incredible Ability," Tang Ling, having recovered her self-awareness, exclaimed in amazement.

’The game’s save and load ability is just ridiculous.’

"Indeed."

Zhou Chen agreed, but all his attention was now focused on the Divine Fog rising not far away.

Just a moment ago, a large mass of Divine Fog had appeared without any warning. Within it, a towering golden figure was slowly taking shape.