CHAPTER 420: CHAPTER 336: SUCCESSFUL GRAZING

"In the ’endless darkness of primordial origins’,"

"The ’King of Nature’ appeared calm, a barely perceptible smile tugging at the corner of his lips, as if gazing at an old friend he hadn’t seen in years."

"This reaction was far beyond what you had expected. Based on your assumptions, his plans meticulously laid since the early stage of the Fourth Epoch had been ruined. The scheme to surpass ’Above the Pillar’ had fallen apart, and he himself had now been relegated to a state of being ’herded’ once more. You had thought the ’King of Nature’s’ hatred would be as vast as galaxies collapsing—boundless and unrelenting, that he would want nothing more than to devour your flesh and drink your blood."

"And yet, he didn’t appear that way at all."

"You were struck by an incredible yet singularly logical realization. Voice heavy and deliberate, you spoke... ’You are not the King of Nature, are you?’"

"The ’King of Nature’ chuckled and responded... ’Oh, his hatred toward you burns so fiercely, it is rarely witnessed even from the beginnings of creation itself. To kill you, to shatter the ’Destiny’s shelter’ protecting you, to bury you entirely, he abandoned suppressing the ’Divine Curse’ at great cost, driving his last vestige of self to fully unleash the power of ’Above the Pillar’. But alas, ’that one’ exploited a loophole, intervening on the real-world layer, rendering all his surging hatred futile in the end.’"

"Your heart stirred, deeply aware of the wealth of information buried in those words."

"You didn’t follow that thread, instead pressing further... ’You still haven’t told me: who are you really?’"

"The ’King of Nature’ smiled even more gently... ’Haven’t you already formed a suspicion? Why don’t you say it aloud and see if you’re correct?’"

"Suppressing the unease that coursed through you, you offered a plausible guess first... ’You are... the remnant spirit of the Lord of Blasphemy that resides within the King of Nature?’"

"To your surprise..."

"The ’King of Nature’ before you, wearing a faint smile, shook his head slowly, dismissing the theory."

"Not the remnants of the Lord of Blasphemy? Could it be...?"

"An incredible, almost impossible suspicion came to mind, filling you with turmoil. Shocked, you exclaimed... ’You are... the Divine Curse?!’"

"It was no wonder you lost composure like this. After all, the ’Divine Curse’ was something even the ’Pillars’ could only suppress but never eradicate. It represented the ultimate fear of all deities. That the ’Divine Curse’ possessed self-awareness—it was simply too staggering a revelation. Were such news to spread, it would cause great upheaval across the ’Doomsday Land’, plunging all ’gods’ into incalculable terror."

"Perhaps the ’Pillars’ knew this secret. No, not perhaps. As beings standing at the apex of the ’cosmos’, they must know."

"In this moment, how you wished the ’King of Nature’ would, like before, shake his head with a gentle smile."

"But alas, "

"A soft voice reached your ears... ’All things bear divinity—it is gift and curse alike. It is one and myriad; it is the root of neither something nor everything. It is the genesis of fate, the resolution of destiny. None may advance it, and none may defer it.’

"Savoring these words carefully, you felt storms rage within your heart."

...

"In the real world,"

"Yang Qizhou’s hands trembled, goosebumps rising across his skin. This was the first time he had reacted so intensely since entering the ’Deceit World.’"

"’All things bear divinity... it is one, yet countless. Could it be...?’ In his heart, Yang Qizhou formed a bold conjecture. As that thought emerged in his mind, waves from an illusory tide seemed to ripple once more in the ocean of his consciousness, as if they would crash ashore, about to spill into the real-world layer."

"Startled, Yang Qizhou dared not dwell further on the matter. Channeling the strength of the ’Dragon of the Mind,’ he sealed away the relevant memories embedded in his spiritual sea, isolating the island that belonged to his thoughts. For now, he chose to forget."

"Once everything was done,"

"Yang Qizhou gasped for breath, realizing his back was drenched in cold sweat. Taking a deep breath, he finally managed to steady his turbulent emotions."

"’Lamp holder, are you all right?’ Mr. Death inquired with concern, his mind stirred by no small degree of unease. He could scarcely imagine what might have just transpired to rattle the ’lamp holder,’ a figure who had consistently played the dominant role even in events involving the ’Deception Lord.’"

"It must have been utterly horrifying..."

"Yang Qizhou waved dismissively, unwilling to share the experience. Casually, he brushed it off... ’It’s fine, nothing serious.’"

"Then he withdrew his gaze, turning his attention back to his phone. Just then, a line of text appeared on the screen and unexpectedly caught his notice."

"’The King of Nature’—oh, no, it should be ’Divine Curse.’ He actually refers to the ’Doomsday Land’ as ’that one’... Could it be there’s an unknown connection between the ’Divine Curse’ and the ’Unknown Lands?’"

"’Wait, what did I just guess? Why can’t I remember? Oh, right—it’s what I sealed personally. That guess itself must carry a significant risk,’"

"’Forget it. Until my game character ascends to the level of ’Ancient King,’ gaining resistance to the curse of gazing directly at the truth of the ’Nameless Land,’ I had better not delve too far into this.’"

"Yang Qizhou muttered inwardly, quickly reigning in his wandering thoughts, and focusing his attention once more on the phone screen."

"The game continued."

...

"You could sense that the truth behind those words harbored horror tainted with a corruption potent enough to destroy you. You invoked the power of the ’Dragon of the Mind’ to forcibly prevent yourself from delving any further."

"At this moment,"

"The range of the ’Doomsday Town’—no, even stretching from ’Asgard’ to the ’North Realm Abyss’—was undergoing devastation wrought by the aftermath of the ’King of Nature’ clashing with the ’Doomsday Land.’ Whether in the real-world layer, the conceptual level, the corresponding spirit ocean, the temporal flow, or the realms of death, violent upheavals swept through."