Chapter 117
Lu Chuan felt instinctively that something was off.
He hadn’t cleared that many instances, but he’d encountered plenty of gods.
The chance of strolling through a divine-descent ritual without being noticed was as absurd as setting a lavish feast in front of someone starving for days and expecting them not to eat a single grain.
In past divine challenge instances, both he and Shen Li had been immediately targeted after just a brief appearance before a god. And poor Messiah had even ended up so entangled with one that marriage was on the table.
So why was Xi Jiangyuan an exception?
Unless Xi Jiangyuan was the kind of person gods actively shunned.
But if that were true, Lu Chuan himself wouldn’t still be inside this instance.
“System, could Cang Jiu’s mark swallow up other gods’ marks?” Lu Chuan asked. “I remember his mark once blocked the [Omniscience] god’s intrusion on me.”
[Normally, no.] #888 sounded puzzled. [Unless the powers share the same root, they can’t truly devour each other—they just cancel out. Only higher gods can consume the power of lower ones. For example, the Dream God can fully absorb the Beautiful Dream God’s strength. But Executors, though on par with gods, aren’t actually gods.]
They weren’t gods—and even fed on them.
How could prey and hunter ever merge?
“I see.” Lu Chuan nodded. “Then I know what to do. Fighting alone limits me too much. I’ll need teammates. If they’ve entered this instance, I’ll make another push. If not, System, we’ll pretend nothing happened. As for Xi Jiangyuan, there’s no need to pursue this further.”
#888 only half understood, but sensed his host had just made a major decision.
After finishing with the system, Lu Chuan turned to the still-shaken Xi Jiangyuan and reassured him briefly.
“I’ll find a way to get you out. Staying here will only get you caught. But you’ll need to do something for me,” Lu Chuan said. “Once you get through tomorrow’s Hundred Gods’ Birthday, you should be able to leave this instance and return to reality.”
“All right, what do you need me to do?” Xi Jiangyuan agreed at once—he knew there was no one else to rely on.
In conflicts at the level of gods, a rookie like him had no power to resist. The best thing for him was to escape this copy and return to reality as soon as possible.
“Come closer—I’ll tell you.”
Lu Chuan’s method for summoning his teammates was simple and rather crude. Xi Jiangyuan didn’t think it too difficult and agreed immediately.
Lu Chuan also kept his promise.
He disguised Xi Jiangyuan as a corpse and had him sent out with other prisoners. He even tied Xi Jiangyuan’s clothes and a pouch of his blood to two different dogs to confuse the church’s gods.
If Xi Jiangyuan had a divine mark, Lu Chuan would have had to be more careful—but since there wasn’t one, a few tricks would suffice.
Xi Jiangyuan hadn’t expected to be freed so easily and was momentarily stunned.
How had this “Mr. Jin” gathered so many loyal followers in the church after being here such a short time?
But now wasn’t the time to dwell on it. He quickly followed Lu Chuan’s instructions, buying golden paint and scrawling the words “GOLD” on the backs of statues in various plazas.
Xi Jiangyuan suspected it was some kind of secret code.
By dawn on the Hundred Gods’ Birthday, many people had already seen the bold characters on their gods’ statues and were furious.
On their sacred holiday, who dared defile the idols like this?
And what were those words supposed to mean?
Gold?
Their gods could hardly be compared to such vulgar stuff!
During offerings they presented gems, beauties, livestock—all sorts of treasures. Gold was just a minor part of the tribute.
It had to be the work of a rival church trying to disgust them!
On that day, every church prayed to their respective gods. So when they discovered the graffiti behind their statues, they took it as blasphemy, vowing to find the culprit.
But when the news reached certain people, it meant something entirely different.
“‘Gold’? That brat Lu Chuan must be stirring up trouble here again,” Shen Li immediately thought when he heard the word.
No one but Lu Chuan could throw an Infinite World into such chaos.
“Writing on statues again—can’t he change his tricks?” Shen Li sighed. “Looks like he’s run into trouble and is calling us to gather. From the reports, the biggest, messiest church nearby is the Church of Fertility—must be there.”
He checked the map. Not too far.
Although props and abilities were disabled in this instance, items imbued with divine power inside the churches—and people blessed by gods—still worked.
For Shen Li, getting to Lu Chuan wasn’t hard.
He only hoped he could arrive quickly, before anyone else.
As a Master Rank player, Shen Li understood better than anyone how dangerous this instance was. With so many gods involved, the stakes were huge. If Lu Chuan was already asking for help, he must be in real trouble.
Sigh. Hopefully, by the time he arrived, Lu Chuan hadn’t caused an even bigger mess.
Meanwhile, Starry Shasha and Messiah reached the same conclusion after hearing the news.
Starry Shasha was lucky—she’d joined a church and earned a decent position thanks to her physical skills, letting her use its resources to hurry over.
Edith had been in the instance the longest and was about to be promoted to the church’s upper ranks, but after hearing the news, she had no choice but to seek Lu Chuan.
At last, there was word from her companions—she wouldn’t have to struggle alone inside the church anymore.
Messiah, however, was in a tougher spot.
Even without his abilities, his constitution alone was enough to draw constant trouble in this instance.
He’d only been here a few days, yet already had several divine marks imprinted on him.
Thankfully, Messiah knew how to balance things out, hopping back and forth between different churches until the divine marks on his body reached a fragile equilibrium—none of the gods could suppress the others. Even if Lu Chuan hadn’t stepped in to help, Messiah would’ve been desperate enough to seek help himself.
This dungeon really was far too unfriendly to him.
Still, sometimes absolute disadvantage, if used well, could turn into an opportunity.
Lilus was the fastest to move. In fact, before the news had even spread, he was already rushing toward the Church of Fertility.
After all, the Mother of Fertility had once been deeply tied to his own mother. He would never allow this god’s power to be gifted to others—what if more children like him and his sister were born? Since his mother had once joined forces with master-ranked players of the Resurrection Guild to kill this god, then here in this dungeon, he too could do it!
Vivian, not having a close relationship with Lu Chuan, didn’t care much about the news. She simply cast it aside. What mattered more to her was finding the ocean-related god in this dungeon, seeking a way to strengthen her own powers.
The Church of Fertility, meanwhile, failed to capture Xi Jiangyuan or the Holy Son. Naturally, the archbishop’s attitude toward Lu Chuan was anything but good.
Lu Chuan also got a good look at the so-called “white-robed elder” Xi Jiangyuan had mentioned.
Tch, Xi Jiangyuan had actually put it mildly.
This wasn’t some elder at all—it was a walking skeleton.
Lu Chuan figured the archbishop was already half-drained by his god. Any moment he might fall apart into a pile of bones. Who knew what use following the Mother of Fertility even had? Other people believed in gods for blessings—promotion, wealth, health. These guys poured everything into her, even their lives, for… what exactly?
Such a losing bargain—Lu Chuan would never do it.
“The Holy Son and that escaped sacrifice are tied to you. You must be an infiltrator sent by another church. Since we can’t find them, we’ll use you as the sacrifice!” the archbishop declared coldly. “If it weren’t Mother’s birthday today, someone of your poor quality wouldn’t even be qualified to be an offering. Be grateful.”
Lu Chuan hadn’t even spoken yet when the surrounding high-ranking members immediately objected.
“Archbishop, this… this man is still useful. His quality is poor—he’s unfit as a sacrifice.”
“Yes, Archbishop, I have other suitable sacrifices. I believe this one isn’t right. We still need him to catch the Holy Son. Next year there’ll be another birthday; we still have plenty of time.”
“Yes, Archbishop, please reconsider.”
…
The archbishop’s pronouncement was met with unanimous opposition. Even he was stunned, almost wondering if his long-time subordinates had been bewitched.
But this was their stronghold, on Mother’s day. Unless gods themselves had invaded, how could their senior believers be enchanted?
Lu Chuan lowered his head and smiled.
This archbishop really was stupid.
The Church of Fertility was, at its core, about having children. The more children born, the happier the Mother of Fertility. These elders each had dozens of offspring—dozens of mouths to feed. Even if they had no affection and only raised them fat and healthy to offer as sacrifices, that still cost a fortune.
Fortunes!
All Lu Chuan had to do was nudge things a little, and these elders would side with him.
Nothing stirred people more than profit.
Even the truly devout could be swayed. Lu Chuan had already been seeding the idea of his “importance” to the Holy Son’s capture. If he died, finding the boy would be even harder.
In the end, this was just the archbishop trying to save face for failing to find anyone—pinning blame on Lu Chuan as a convenient scapegoat. It wasn’t truly necessary to kill him.
And not even the archbishop could execute him against such strong opposition.
If he tried, Lu Chuan would simply escape.
“…Very well. If he’s ensorcelled you all, then we won’t kill him. Lock him up. No one is allowed to see him. Once the holy day is over, we’ll decide what to do with him.” The archbishop had no choice but to compromise.
“Archbishop is wise.”
“Yes, lock him away first.”
“Thank you, Archbishop.”
…
And so Lu Chuan was imprisoned.
By coincidence, it was in the same cell Xi Jiangyuan had once been held.
The wheel of fortune turns.
From his system space, Lu Chuan pulled out a blanket, laid it on the floor, then set down his golden pillow and embroidered quilt. He settled in for a comfortable sleep.
By the time he woke, his teammates should have already found him.
Lu Chuan slept soundly.
Unaware that the Birthday of the Hundred Gods had already devolved into utter chaos.
His teammates were not the type to sit quietly.
Lilus, for example, knew more about the Mother of Fertility than anyone in her own church.
He knew her weaknesses.
Back when the Resurrection Guild’s top players hunted gods, they’d discovered an evil method: a ritual array that let unborn fetuses devour their parents’ blood and essence to be born.
Used against the Mother of Fertility, it was devastating.
She needed endless reproduction. She birthed countless children who grew by devouring the offspring of her followers, then returned to her body, strengthening her. In a way, her children were fragments of herself.
But once those offspring were branded with the ghost-breeding array, everything reversed.
And the Resurrection Guild had modified the array further, tying it to the powers of other gods, allowing her children’s stolen energy to be redirected to rival deities.
Would those gods ever return free power? Of course not.
By this method, the Mother of Fertility had once been drained to death. Part of her power became Lilus’s mother’s strength, enabling Lilus and Cynthia to be born.
Thus, both siblings carried the array with them, always ready to battle her again.
Gods were hard to kill. Even when destroyed, remnants of their power or fanatical believers might bring them back. Lilus and Cynthia were always prepared.
Lilus hadn’t expected to encounter the Mother of Fertility here, in a dungeon of old memories.
But since she was here, he wouldn’t hold back.
On the Mother’s birthday, he boldly set up the Resurrection Guild’s perfected array nearby, channeling her power into other churches’ gods.
When had the Mother of Fertility ever suffered such humiliation?
Furious, she immediately declared war on her rivals.
And those rivals, having gained free power, had no reason to hesitate—they joined battle at once.
For gods to announce “Godwar” on the Day of Hundred Births—such a chain reaction was catastrophic.
“…Incredible. Who’s behind this? This doesn’t feel like Lu Chuan’s style. The Mother of Fertility—ah, it must be Lilus,” Messiah muttered in awe.
This dungeon was Xi Jiangyuan’s memory. He had died thirty years ago. Back when he was still a novice, the timeline had to be pushed back another ten or twenty years.
Meaning this was at least forty or fifty years in the past.
And the gods of forty-five years ago were far easier to deal with than the ones now.
The great guilds kept secret methods for countering gods—precious knowledge compiled at the cost of countless lives. For ordinary players, these secrets might cost everything. For guild-trained geniuses like Messiah, they were part of their arsenal.
Messiah activated the divine marks on his body, drifting from one god-descension ritual to another.
Almost instantly, many gods were drawn to him.
Such a perfect vessel for descent—perhaps once in a hundred, a thousand years.
This was the true Holy Son.
The waters only grew murkier.
Starry Shasha and Edith were much more low-key, quietly lurking in their assigned churches. When conflicts broke out, they subtly aided the weaker side, making sure the wars dragged on longer.
By the time Shen Li arrived, the sky was already dark.
But everywhere he looked, believers were slaughtering each other. Ordinary citizens hid in their basements, not daring to step outside.
…
They had known things would spiral. But this?
Shen Li tilted his head back to stare at the heavens.
He could see gods themselves descending power to forcibly transform their believers.
Was this normal?!
This dungeon had been peaceful before.
If Xi Jiangyuan had encountered this version, he’d have died hundreds of times over. How could he have possibly survived until the very end?
“You can’t just make a mess here just because the game system is putting out unregulated junk, you know?”
Shen Li felt a headache coming on.
He even wondered if the god he was supposed to hunt might also be in this instance. If he found it and took the opportunity to kill it, would the game system count his mission as complete?
“Captain Shen, so it was you. Shasha’s nose is really sharp — she said she caught your scent and dragged me straight here.” Edith stowed away her bloodstained spear, looking at Shen Li in surprise.
“…Shasha’s mutation leans toward the animal side. Just look at her ears — her sense of smell is sharper than most dogs’. Before, her abilities were restricted, so this one never really showed.” Seeing Edith and Shasha, Shen Li couldn’t help smiling more broadly. “It’s great to see you safe. I was worried Xi Jiangyuan might have killed you.”
“He’s actually not bad — didn’t kill me.” Edith knew she’d been the first in their team to disappear, which must have caused a lot of trouble for Lu Chuan and Shen Li.
At the time she’d been afraid she would die, but Xi Jiangyuan had spared her, throwing her here instead.
Unfortunately, before Edith could get her footing in this world, a divine war inexplicably broke out in the instance.
All she could do was meet up with Starry Shasha.
“By the way, Captain Shen,” Edith continued, “Shasha says she also caught the scent of Messiah and Lilus. They should be nearby. She said she’ll go find Messiah first.”
“Alright, we’ll wait here and compare notes,” Shen Li nodded. They needed to understand what was going on — and how they could get out of this instance.
Edith nodded.
Meanwhile, Lilus had already slipped into the headquarters of the [Mother of Fertility] Church.
Since the Mother of Fertility had ordered war on the other churches, almost no believers were left at headquarters — all had gone out to fight for their god against the heretics.
Lilus thought this was a perfect chance to loot the place.
The church might be hiding something important inside. If he could snatch a bit and get out, all the better.
The Mother of Fertility deserved death, but her power was real.
There were still plenty of low- to mid-tier players in the Resurrection Guild who wanted children. Taking some of the Church’s items back could help fetuses develop better.
Divine power — it’s all about how you use it.
Starting from the council hall, Lilus rummaged through the base, collecting a fair amount of useful stuff in his system space.
Then he trailed a pair of sneaky believers all the way to the prison.
From their whispers, they were acting under orders from higher-ups to secretly release someone important locked up in the dungeon.
Could some big shot be imprisoned here?
Lilus thought it was worth following to find out.
He prepared carefully, then crept after them into the cell block.
And there he saw someone sleeping soundly.
…What a ridiculous world.
He’d been fighting bloody battles outside, running himself ragged — probably killing several horses just to get here.
But this guy? After sending out a message, he stayed here napping? And the Church of Fertility people were even planning to sneak him out?
Comparisons are infuriating!
Anger surged. Lilus knocked the two believers unconscious, then kicked Lu Chuan’s golden pillow. “Bastard, sleeping so sweetly, huh? Using a golden pillow, living the good life, aren’t you?”
Lu Chuan reflexively reached out and caught the pillow Lilus had kicked.
“Lil, is this really how you greet a teammate you haven’t seen in ages? Keep that up and I’ll go to Cynthia for compensation next time.”
