车生活

After all, losing this opportunity, it would never be so easy to draw upon the power of Tartarus again.

“Arrogant? So, in your eyes, that’s how I’ve always appeared to you?”

Outside the Nine Realms, Laine’s incarnation could feel that three-tenths of his Origin power had turned into the foundation of the third, fifth, and seventh layers of the new world.

As for Cronus, he divided his seventy percent of power into six parts, using two parts for the construction of the ninth layer, with the other five layers not differing much from each other.

After all, the newly born Nine Realms were unlike the Spirit Realm, which had a central axis running through it. Therefore, to maintain stability, Cronus decided to make the ninth layer a bit ‘heavier.’

“Arrogant people are often unaware of it themselves, Laine. You might not realize it, but I always feel that sense of condescendence in your heart when you look at other deities. Even Mother Earth did not seem to impress you.”

Outside the realms, first a white serpent shadow emerged from the Nine Realms, looking very much like an enlarged version of the previous Order Source Power. The next moment, the serpent’s shadow condensed into a human form, and once again, Cronus appeared in the world as a deity.

But the present him was entirely different from the past, virtually unrecognizable. Had Laine not witnessed everything that happened, he would have found it difficult to associate the thin figure with black hair and blood-red eyes before him with the former Divine King.

No matter how one looked at it, there was no trace of similarity between their temperaments or powers.

“Is that so, perhaps. But if I can’t feel it, then it’s also hard to talk about correcting it.”

After sizing up Cronus’s new form, Laine spoke indifferently:

“It’s almost time, the new realm has taken shape, and what remains is, like my Spirit Realm, something that must be slowly built over time.”

“What about the Divine Artifact?” Cronus asked, “I remember you have more than one Divine Artifact, right?”

The former Divine King had a fresh memory of Laine’s artifacts, especially the Codex of Creation, which aligned perfectly with him when he was Divine King. Now as the World Master, he was reminded of how important an artifact centered around [Order][Law] could be.

If possible, he also planned to create one, even if it were weaker than Laine’s.

“As for a Divine Artifact, I’m afraid there’s not much we can do now. The [Order] from within the Abyss, like my [Spirituality], has become the foundation of the world and will not take the form of a Divine Artifact. Unlike me, you did not have additional Origin invested when opening the realm, so unless you’re just planning to make something of little use, there is no need at all.”

“By contrast, the new world does still need some life.”

Laine shook his head slightly, clearly noticing a slight movement in Cronus’s mouth.

After all, the so-called additional Origin included Cronus’s former power of time and space, one of which was still gestating, while the other had transformed into a special mirror.

Turning his gaze toward the newly born world, at this moment, it was no longer directly observable. Only a conceptual entrance in space-time was temporarily opened above the body of the Mother of Demons, Moya, swallowing the power converging from the Abyss.

Bits of Origin power were being absorbed by the Nine Realms, although at different rates. The ninth layer, into which Cronus poured more power, was clearly absorbing much faster than the other eight layers, and Laine’s three layers were faster than the remaining five.

This was the difference in practical application, after all, in absorbing and digesting Source Power, Laine had an eon of experience.

Theoretically, creation had now ended, but the formation of the new world still required a crucial final step. Just as the great earth needed life, this place also ought to have its own.

Life was not essential for the world, but it was an indispensable part of the world’s refinement. Moreover, since the souls of Silver Humanity had been brought here, there was obviously no need to take them back.

They were originally to be used in the Abyss. Laine could observe their reaction when combining with the power of the Abyss, which would aid Cronus in his transformation, and even after the transformation was complete, the life that these souls turned into could serve as a contribution to his becoming the ‘Dark Overlord’ of Tartarus.

But now, let them become inhabitants of the new world. Perhaps some of them will be lucky enough to be promoted by Cronus to the status of quasi-gods. As for Laine’s three-tiered world, he had other plans.

“Cronus, these souls, consider them my congratulatory gift to you for your success,”

With a slight smile, feeling the vague longing emanating from the world before him, Laine mixed the souls of the Silver Humanity with water from the Well of Eternity and cast them into the new realm.

In the newly born world, these souls were instantly accepted, broken down, transformed, remolded, and then granted bodies by the world to become life in another form.

Maybe it was because of their connection to the Abyss, but they bore no resemblance to their former selves. They looked ferocious and evil, varying in power and strength.

“Hmm—?!”

“Hmm?”

All of a sudden, Laine seemed to discover something and Cronus did likewise. During the process of soul transformation, a strange force was revealed. It caused only a slight disturbance before being almost effortlessly swallowed and digested by the newborn realm.

Because of this, the newborn nine realms acquired a sliver of authority belonging to Darkness. It seemed to be a good thing, but both sensed that in that moment, a message traveled along an invisible connection. It was the link between the Origin and its master, which could be delayed by the Abyss but could not be blocked.

After all, its master, though not on par with the Abyss, was not suppressed in terms of status.

“What is this situation? Darkness, is it that Primordial God?”

There was no anger. Or rather, Cronus didn’t really care if the method of opening his world was leaked or not. The Abyss couldn’t contain a second world; even if the secret got out, there would be no space for others to use it.

But the event was interesting. After all, it seemed that Laine hadn’t noticed it beforehand either.

“…Yes, it’s Erebus and Gaia.”

Laine paused for a moment before slowly speaking.

“Heh, I had been wondering why The Dark Overlord was so quiet. Now I see. You’re right, Cronus, I was a bit arrogant.”

Almost the instant he saw the Darkness Source Power, Laine understood the cause and effect. Gaia had created life, and Darkness itself symbolized secrecy, so even though Laine had brought these souls with him all the way, he had never actively checked them and hadn’t noticed any issues.

Initially, the target must have been the Spirit Realm, but it ended up falling into Cronus’s new realm instead.

“It was aimed at me… I actually knew that he might not believe what I said, but I never thought he would secretly undermine me in this manner.”

“Smuggling in with souls is indeed a good method.”

Gradually calming down, Laine wasn’t really angry, as what the other party obtained didn’t significantly harm him. On the contrary, Erebus had indeed taught him a lesson.

“The Dark Overlord, I can’t really do anything about him now. This rarely seen Primordial God truly doesn’t have any flaws.”

Meeting Cronus’s gaze, Laine shook his head: “But Gaia is different.”

“She once gave me a branch from the Golden Apple Tree as a gift, but now I see, that gift was only superficial, these within the souls, these are the real ‘gifts.’”

“If that’s the case, then this previous gift, I must return it just as it was given.”