车生活

Spirit Realm, July hung high in the sky.

Laine leaned against the backrest of his chair inside the Temple of Lops, casting his gaze outside.

Three days had passed since the fall of the stars, and just as he expected, the two guests had entered the gates of the Underworld.

Along the way, they casually slaughtered numerous wraiths; after all, not only were the creatures weak, but they also seemed to fall short of the gods’ aesthetic standards.

“Liana.”

“I’m here, Your Highness.”

Black hair cascading like a waterfall, the response was as always. Hundreds of years had gone by, and with the expansion of the Underworld, the Nether Moon had also grown increasingly powerful.

“Cronus and Helios have entered the Underworld, go welcome them on my behalf.”

He took a sip of tea and indifferently gave the order.

Bringing along the new God of Sun, their purpose for coming was obvious without asking.

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Liana responded softly and then exited the great hall. After a short while, Cronus was the first to walk into the temple.

Helios followed behind. The new God of Sun moved cautiously, acting like nothing more than an attendant.

Apart from the Goddess of Law, they were the only two True Gods who had entered the Spirit Realm.

“An incarnation, it seems His Divine Majesty the Divine King has somewhat misunderstood me.”

Laine nodded with a smile, welcoming Cronus’s arrival. However, he could sense that the other was not here in his true form.

Not every god could create an incarnation, but Cronus certainly could.

“The Spirit Realm grows stronger, and here, the power of the mortal realm is almost completely blocked. I don’t feel very safe.”

Cronus found a chair to sit down and said with a smile.

“Moreover, like Mother Earth’s Life Vase, nobody knows what they might encounter on a visit here.”

Laine remained unconcerned with the Divine King’s implied meanings.

“Since we’re on the subject of the Life Vase, heh, have you ever wondered about something? If I am the lord of spirituality and was the first life to exist, then why wasn’t the authority of [Life] from the spiritual side born into my hands, but instead came to rest in a Divine Artifact?”

In the original trajectory, Gaia was the first Primordial God to be born, and having [Life] was only natural, but now it was not so.

“I didn’t understand before, but now I’m beginning to. Just as almost all gods don’t like Him, compared to what I have brought to Him, what He has left me is just the part He couldn’t take away.”

“Everything acts on instinct, the greatest good is Him, and the greatest evil is also Him, or perhaps, it is not appropriate to describe Him in terms of good and evil.”

Laine casually pointed to the long table in front of him, gesturing for Helios to take a seat.

The young God of Sun tried his best to minimize his presence, this god, who was concealed from birth and had endured a long imprisonment, lacked the presence a God of Sun should have.

The Divine King, Mother Earth, the world—stories about these powerful beings were things he had no interest in hearing.

But today, the Divine King came for the very matter concerning him, so he had no choice but to follow.

“Perhaps, but if it’s the laws of the mortal world we’re talking about, I wouldn’t find anything He does surprising.”

“If it were possible, among Chaos’s gods, there wouldn’t be a few who didn’t want to free themselves from Him,” Cronus said.

Curious himself, the Divine King nevertheless first addressed the matter at hand. As one of the most ancient deities, he was born with only weak divine power. Whatever the story behind that, aside from himself and the will of the world, no one knew what had happened.

“Although I don’t know what past you have with Mother Earth and me, my visit today is for his sake,” he said, turning to the God of Sun beside him.

“I need a way to allow Helios to operate the Sun freely. In exchange, I will grant the stellar region along the Sun’s trajectory to your subordinate, the God of Stars; it is one of the most essence-rich domains in the starry sky.”

Cronus was direct and didn’t want to wait a moment longer. The Sun was supposed to move daily, but at the moment, it was wildly releasing energy into various parts of the starry sky.

The Queen of Gods, Rhea, alongside the God of Meteorology, was making great efforts to contain it, but still many celestial bodies were destroyed. Every moment delayed meant an increase in difficulty for the Divine King in governing the starry sky in the future.

“The most essence-rich domain of the starry sky, but also the one most ravaged by destruction,” Laine observed.

Directly pointing out the problem in the Divine King’s words, Laine said indifferently, “The first thing Hyperion destroyed was the celestial bodies on the solar orbit. By now, that place is probably empty.”

“But this is exactly what you wanted, isn’t it?” Cronus also refused to give in, “Without those obstructive celestial bodies, you can refill them yourself. Owning a world, you could grant territories to gods. Don’t tell me you can’t do it.”

The atmosphere seemed a bit tense, but Laine actually had no intention of asking for more. The starry sky is vast, yet the truly valuable places are indeed few.

“Let’s leave it at that, Cronus,” he said with a smile, “Just being a Divine King, perhaps you are quite suitable.”

Lacking excessive personal desires, aside from some pursuit of power and authority, he seldom acted capriciously. Among the gods of Chaos, Cronus was actually considered a high-quality deity.

“I appreciate your praise, but I’d be happier if you hadn’t made that prophecy,” the Divine King’s expression softened with the sense of goodwill from Laine.

But coming from Laine, such words felt somewhat ironic.

“I’ve said before, prophecy can only observe fate, not determine it. There’s always someone who hears what they don’t want to and thinks it’s the prophet’s mistake.”

“Let’s not dwell on idle chatter, let’s talk about the sun. Cronus, how much do you know about divine artifacts?”

Tapping on the table, Laine picked up the cup that appeared and took a slight sip.

“I only know that there are two kinds of divine artifacts. Those that are innate often resemble godhood, containing corresponding divine authority and source power. Artifacts that are acquired afterward, while likewise powerful, often lack the absolute nature of divine authority and are simply strong in certain aspects.”

Laine’s mention of divine artifacts puzzled Cronus, but he shared what he knew nonetheless.

The sickle forged by Mother Earth was such, a powerful high-grade artifact that possessed no authority by itself but was remarkably formidable against specific targets.

The scepter of the Divine King and the Ocean Deity Sovereign were the same. Their symbolic significance outweighed their practical meaning. In contrast, artifacts that emerged naturally from the world were different.

Not only did they have fewer restrictions, but in intricate applications, they often held an advantage.

“That’s true, but it’s not entirely so. In fact, you just haven’t mastered the true method of smithing. Artifacts forged afterward can indeed possess divine authority, but they require very special materials.”

“Moreover, the most crucial point is that through the process of ‘smithing,’ it can emphasize the power of certain aspects of authority at the expense of losing power in other areas.”

“So what are you suggesting?” asked Cronus, glancing at Helios beside him with a contemplative look.

“Using half of him as a material, I can personally fashion a divine artifact for him,” Laine said.

“I will suppress the parts of his godhood related to ‘light and heat,’ and enhance the power of ‘operating the sun.’ With this, he will be able to effortlessly drive celestial bodies and fulfill his godhood with only a tiny fraction of divine power,” Laine explained.

In the end, Laine looked at the somewhat distressed God of Sun and the Divine King beside him and said with a smile:

“If you’re afraid of the same thing happening to you, I’ll allow you to observe my smithing process. All the Solar Source Force will be used by me as material.”

“What about his power?” Cronus asked, with some interest, “Will his divine power decrease with the loss of half his godhood?”

“A little, but not substantially. As long as the new artifact remains under his control, his limit of divine power won’t differ much from before. However, his destructive power afforded by his godhood will certainly decrease significantly.”

“But then again,” Laine asked with a smile, “do you need Helios to possess such formidable combat strength?”

The Divine King nodded, looking towards the Sun God who clenched his fists.

“I guess not, right, Helios?”

Confronted with the Divine King’s coercive gaze, the God of Sun inexplicably remembered his father’s final words.

Perion would only imprison him, but the Divine King, he only needed a powerless sun that he could control without resistance.

He wanted to refuse, for his godhood was at stake, and as long as he was unwilling, not even the Divine King could deprive him of his authority. Without a third God of Sun in this world apart from him, the opponent had no other choice.

But then he thought of his father, sealed away; Helios did not know whether, once the Divine King calmed down, he might swear upon the Styx River and come to an agreement with the Divine King.

Although this possibility was slight, he did not wish to gamble. After all, if he could gain a strong ally in divine power, Cronus might be willing to bury the hatchet. At that point, Helios’s situation would become awkward.

Of course, things might not develop to that stage. Perhaps there were other, better solutions, but for the moment, Helios couldn’t think of any other options.

“…Yes, Your Majesty, the Divine King, I do not need such formidable combat strength. Being able to operate the sun for you is already sufficient,”

Bowing his head slightly and pondering unknown thoughts, the God of Sun ultimately chose to comply.