Chapter 184
“Huh? What are you talking about? I don’t quite understand.” Lu Chuan deliberately played dumb.
“Pretending won’t help you. The aura of the God of Desire on you is practically overflowing.” Number 6 sneered. “That god was never popular among the pantheon, yet somehow He managed to find a human like you to act as His priest.”
He mistook me for Cang Jiu’s priest?
Well, it made sense.
I carried the Seed of Desire and bore Cang Jiu’s mark—being misunderstood was natural.
With that in mind, Lu Chuan immediately adjusted his mindset and deliberately said, “Our gods are still in the process of revival. Escaping the Main God’s control isn’t easy. At the end of the day, our enemies are the same. Weren’t you also forced to devour many gods in this world, where the Main God can’t interfere, just to regain your memories?”
Lu Chuan judged that Number 6’s apparent recovery of his memories didn’t seem fake.
However, it didn’t look completely stable either, and whenever Number 6 mentioned the God of Desire, there was always a hint of disdain in his tone.
Come on, brother—Cang Jiu is almost fully revived, already disguised as an Executor right behind you, and you still haven’t noticed. You’ve made a mess of yourself, yet you dare look down on Cang Jiu?
Lu Chuan had always stood by his own people, logic be damned.
“In the God of Time’s domain, I can recover quickly,” Number 6 said after a pause, “but only here. If I could devour all the gods in this world, I should be able to regain about eighty percent of my strength.”
Lu Chuan chuckled dryly, saying nothing.
Honestly, they weren’t even that close—why should he care if Number 6 lived or died?
“The God of Time never interferes in other matters. Its authority ensures it won’t meddle,” Number 6 continued, unfazed by Lu Chuan’s indifference. “To It, the rise and fall of worlds is routine. Many other righteous gods rarely intervene in our universe either, due to their authorities. At present, the only righteous god capable of opposing the Main God System is your own lord.”
“Well, that’s a pity,” Lu Chuan said sarcastically. “My god is still in the middle of revival—He probably can’t bear such a heavy burden.”
What a joke, trying to get Cang Jiu to fight the Main God single-handedly? As if it were that simple.
“You don’t need to be so hostile toward me,” Number 6 sighed. “Back then, the gods ostracized your master only because His authority was too broad. Who among gods or men doesn’t have desires? But once one has desires, one risks falling under His sway. Naturally, they distanced themselves. Ironically, it was precisely because He is the God of Desire that He escaped the Main God System’s suppression.”
Lu Chuan was startled to hear this.
What, Cang Jiu had actually been excluded? He never would’ve guessed.
These gods were truly shameless. They’d ostracized him in the past, and now they expected Cang Jiu to rise up and fight on their behalf. If shamelessness were an art, these gods were masters.
“Do you have any other business? If not, I’ll be on my way,” Lu Chuan said with a faint smile. “I’m running out of time.”
If he didn’t leave soon, once the temporal ripple stopped, he’d have to fight Number 6 again to pry open the fissure.
“We’ll meet again,” Number 6 said quietly, watching Lu Chuan. He wasn’t in a hurry—so long as Lu Chuan remained in this instance, there would be plenty of chances to meet, and through this priest he could also find the God of Desire.
Under Number 6’s gaze, Lu Chuan stepped into the rift in the temporal currents.
[Host, I’m back!]
Even before Lu Chuan could take in the new point in time, #888’s voice rang out.
[Host, I just reviewed everything that happened while the backup program was running. You mustn’t believe a word Number 6 says. I suspect he’s the God of War or something similar. Typically, only gods with certain authorities can regain strength by devouring others—otherwise, swallowing so many would just drive them mad.]
If devouring gods alone could restore one’s memories, why would Cang Jiu have gone through all that trouble to search for the Seed of Desire? He could’ve just used his Executor identity to kill gods.
The reason Number 6 could seemingly regain his memories was, first, because the Main God couldn’t interfere here in the God of Time’s domain, and second, because the gods he devoured aligned with his own authority.
So, his desire to find the God of Desire clearly wasn’t out of goodwill.
“Relax—I’ve been deceiving people for years. You think I’d fall for someone else’s tricks?” Lu Chuan grinned. “Little System, you’ve got to have more faith in me.”
[Of course I trust you, Host. I’m just worried some scheming god might fool you.] #888 explained. [These gods have lived too long—they’re all sly old foxes.]
“Well, I’m not exactly a saint myself,” Lu Chuan nodded. “Let’s see which point in time we’ve landed in now—wait, what the hell?
Lu Chuan’s eyes widened. He looked around at the almost desert-like scene and nearly thought he’d traveled through space rather than time.
All he could see was a barren wasteland. Hot winds stung his face; the air was painfully dry.
Naturally, there wasn’t a hint of greenery or a single living creature.
The air itself carried a strange odor that made him uneasy, as if it provoked a destructive urge.
Fortunately, when Lu Chuan checked his inventory, though he didn’t have many items, at least it wasn’t empty—something that gave him some comfort.
After experiencing a timeline where he’d been dirt poor, Lu Chuan had learned to be easily satisfied.
[Host… a god-level annihilation war took place here.] #888 stammered for once. [No mistake about it—only a god-annihilation-level war could cause such devastation. And the god who died here likely perished beyond hope of revival, and at a rather high rank.]
“Could it be that Beautiful Dream of Nothingness and the Omniscience God perished together? Tsk, I wouldn’t dare hope for such good luck,” Lu Chuan said. “Little System, start scanning—we can’t stay in this wasteland forever.”
[Understood, Host. I’m charting a course now.] #888 replied.
After quite a while, #888 finally plotted a route, but it required Lu Chuan to restart his flying tool and travel nonstop for two days and nights. Staying too long here risked being affected by the lingering divine power of the battlefield.
After flying for two full days and nights, the man and system finally spotted some greenery. Several more days of flight brought them to a group of investigators examining the area. With a few Eye ingots, Lu Chuan learned the current timeline.
It was a hundred years after the trial instance.
The investigators said that over a century ago, the last mayor of Star City, Lu Chuan, disappeared after fighting the Four Great Evil Gods alone. Unexpectedly, a few years later, Mayor Lu returned, bringing back the former mayor Wen Renxu as well.
At that time, another legendary investigator, Starry Ming, had joined forces with them, pushing Star City to its peak. Under their leadership, humanity reclaimed vast territories, and the four evil gods were nearly unable to revive.
Everyone believed they were on the brink of victory—evil gods vanquished, humanity triumphant.
But then, another incredibly powerful evil god appeared.
He was so strong that he devoured the other four evil gods in one go, becoming, without rival, the most powerful god in the world.
The desert where Lu Chuan now stood was the very battlefield where that great evil god had devoured the others. The investigators were there to study the remains, hoping to find clues to help humanity confront this being.
Back then, when the great evil god charged toward Star City, it was Mayor Lu Chuan and Mayor Wen Renxu who stood in his way. Yet the two were swept into a chaotic temporal stream and vanished, leaving Starry Ming to hold the line.
Still, Starry Ming firmly believed Lu Chuan and Wen Renxu would find the right moment and return, so he remained.
“What’s the name of this great evil god?” Lu Chuan asked, though he already had a guess.
“The God of Devouring,” the investigator replied honestly. “The more He eats, the stronger He grows. Everyone’s troubled over how to deal with Him.”
“Little System, you got it wrong,” Lu Chuan teased #888. “He’s no God of War.”
[…The God of Devouring is the worst-case scenario. I didn’t mention it because I didn’t want to jinx us.] #888 looked crestfallen. [Host, our luck really is awful.]
“What’s the rush?” Lu Chuan didn’t seem concerned. “At least Starry Ming is still alive. I kept jumping to timelines before the trial instance. Finally, I’ve landed in one after it—we should be celebrating.”
Seeing #888 still gloomy, Lu Chuan tried to comfort it. “Don’t you think time has started to close in on itself?”
[What? Host, I don’t quite get it.] #888 blinked, puzzled.
“Cang Jiu said Number 6 chased Wen Renxu because, with the Main God System’s help, Wen Renxu killed Number 6—who had become a god. So Number 6 kept pursuing him. If you straighten out the temporal confusion, the situation now matches what Cang Jiu said. Number 6 is already a god, but Wen Renxu didn’t kill him in the past—he’ll kill him in the future.”
Lu Chuan’s lips curved into a faint smile.
“Although I don’t want to admit it, the Main God System really is capable. To be able to suppress so many gods until they’re either dead or crippled—that takes some skill. Now that Number 6 has devoured other gods and completed his revival, the Main God System must be scheming to invade this world. It’s probably planning to use Wen Renxu and me to kill Number 6.”
[And that’s supposed to be a good thing?] #888 still didn’t get it.
“You blockhead system, think about it. If the Main God System can actually enter this world, don’t you think we’ll have a way back?” Lu Chuan scolded, frustrated at its slowness.
Sure enough, the next second, Lu Chuan received a system prompt he hadn’t seen in a long time.
[Congratulations, Player “Arrival of the God of Wealth,” on entering the final chapter of the “Human Forbidden Zone” dungeon. Please cooperate with Wen Renxu to eliminate Number 6.]
