Chapter 73: Return
Su Xiao returned to the white town, most of which had already been reduced to ruins. He came here to investigate the final secrets of this world, hoping to obtain some rewards.
Entering the pale palace, Su Xiao sat on the throne of the Light King. He hadn't used his Devourer talent to extract the soul memories of the Plume God earlier. Such opportunities were already rare; enemies at the eighth rank were too dangerous. Attempting to extract soul memories without certainty would bring unknown risks.
Only Bubu Wang and Baha followed beside Su Xiao. Amu was recuperating in a residence within the town. As for Moon Spirit, after Su Xiao crushed the King's Command Token, she remained in a daze for a long time. In the end, Baha suggested she go train under the Divine Maiden·Shataiye.
Shataiye, who had nothing left, neither refused nor agreed. In truth, for someone as destitute as her, having Moon Spirit accompany her made for a rather good journey.
In a certain sense, Moon Spirit was invincible within this world. After Su Xiao left, she would be the sole member of the white town. Anyone with even a shred of rationality wouldn't seek trouble with her.
The Kodo School wouldn't allow such a thing to happen. With the situation just stabilizing, anyone who dared provoke the white town would find them the first to bristle. Ambitious as they were, they feared the white town becoming active again. If something happened to Moon Spirit and some calamity-level powerhouse came knocking, their grand rise would be over.
Moreover, after Su Xiao left the Dark Star World, the Divine Maiden·Shataiye would be the undisputed strongest.
These were only the visible factors. Behind the scenes, there were also the soul phantoms within the white town. Not to mention, if anyone killed Moon Spirit, a certain blacksmith would return to this world. Moon Spirit had grown up under that blacksmith's watch; as a child, she was mischievous enough to tug at his beard. If Moon Spirit were killed, no one knew what an enraged blacksmith would do.
Su Xiao sat on the throne, took out a soul crystal (small), tossed it into his mouth, and chewed.
"Light King, before you dissipate, I have a question."
As soon as Su Xiao spoke, a faint phantom appeared before him, blurry, with only the sight of many chains trailing behind it.
"The one who summoned the Plume God·Hegra was the Mother Goddess, wasn't it?"
Clink.
The sound of chains colliding echoed, and the phantom before him faded away.
[Tip: You have uncovered the mystery of the descent. You gain 3% World Source.]
Seeing this prompt, Su Xiao knew his deduction was correct. Many years ago, the Mother Goddess was the only deity in this world. Everyone worshipped her, believing unwaveringly in her will.
After the appearance of the Light King, the Great Sage, and the Wolf Spider Queen, the number of believers in the Mother Goddess dwindled sharply. The Mother Goddess had two choices: gradually fade away, eventually perishing from the exhaustion of faith, or eliminate the Light King, the Great Sage, and the Wolf Spider Queen.
In truth, the Light King, the Great Sage, and the Wolf Spider Queen of that era were no saints. They were the new generation of powerhouses. Without ambition and resolve, they wouldn't have reached that tier. They too sought to become deities, so they set their sights on the Mother Goddess. But due to multiple factors, they all held back.
The Mother Goddess was unwilling to accept her fate. She chose the latter: eliminate the Light King, the Great Sage, and the Wolf Spider Queen. The awkward part was that she could at best tie with the Wolf Spider Queen and was no match for the Light King or the Great Sage.
Since she couldn't defeat them, she sought outside help. She would create a crisis for the Light King, the Great Sage, and the Wolf Spider Queen to resolve. Even if the three kings were unwilling, they would have to step up. When both sides were exhausted, the Mother Goddess would make her move and restore the era of divine rule.
The problem was where to find outside help. The Mother Goddess searched for a long time and set her sights on the Ancient Gods. Don't laugh; the Mother Goddess had her reasons.
At that time, the only "Ancient God" in this world was the fake Ancient God, the Tree God. After beating the Tree God half to death, the Mother Goddess was disappointed. This was the extent of it? An Ancient God? Too weak.
The Tree God, inexplicably beaten up, was naturally full of malice. It told the Mother Goddess that there were Ancient Gods stronger than it, but they needed to be summoned.
After multiple confirmations, the Mother Goddess concluded that as long as she controlled the summoning intensity, using the Tree God's Ancient God power, the summoned Ancient God would be strong enough but not to the point of losing control.
As a fake Ancient God, the Tree God could manage this, since the Ancient God energy within it was genuine. The Tree God also had its own plans: it wanted to become a true Ancient God, and devouring an Ancient God's divine body was the most feasible method.
After some discussion, the Mother Goddess and the Tree God reached an agreement. They decided that after the deed was done, the corpse of the slain Ancient God would go to the Tree God, while the Mother Goddess would monopolize the faith of this world.
They prepared for a long time and set up the ritual to summon the Ancient God. The Mother Goddess dared to do this entirely because she was misled by the Tree God's existence. She always believed that Ancient Gods were only strong in combat and lacked in other aspects. Look at the Tree God—it had been in this world for a long time, and nothing had happened.
The ritual was activated. Under normal circumstances, the Mother Goddess had over a fifty percent chance of success. Although this world would suffer severe damage, she could emerge as the ultimate victor.
The crux of the problem was that after the Mother Goddess and the Tree God activated the ritual, the Plume God outside this world was evading the search of the Underworld God's hounds and followers. The Plume God had no fear of these hounds and followers, but if it faced the Underworld God directly, it would surely die.
At this critical moment, the Plume God sensed a call—a world yet to be drained. In the past, the Plume God wouldn't have gone, but its current situation was dire. Going to that world to take shelter for a while was a good choice.
And so it was. The Mother Goddess summoned the Plume God·Hegra. It was then that she learned what a true Ancient God was: the world withered, the sky darkened, and living beings were corrupted into madness.
Not to mention the Mother Goddess, even the Tree God regretted it at that point. They hadn't summoned an enemy; they had invited a supreme daddy-level existence, one that could look down on them.
The Mother Goddess always believed this was her world, so she tentatively fought the Plume God. When she couldn't win, she tried to flee.
The result was that the Plume God, perhaps finding the taste of the Mother Goddess's divine energy pleasant, defeated her and locked her away, slowly devouring her when idle.
The Light King, the Great Sage, and the Wolf Spider Queen all learned of this and decided to rescue the Mother Goddess. Although they had been semi-hostile before, they were from the same world. In such a situation, uniting against a common enemy was the wise choice. The Ancient God was simply too terrifying.
Then the Mother Goddess + Light King + Great Sage + Wolf Spider Queen were thoroughly taught a lesson. During the battle, the Great Sage's sealing abilities gave the Plume God an idea: if it were sealed, it could better avoid the Underworld God's detection.
The Plume God also didn't want to go too far. There was a blacksmith in this world. If things got out of hand, the blacksmith coming after it would be troublesome.
The container cultivation plan began. In the end, the Mother Goddess, the Light King, the Great Sage, and the Wolf Spider Queen never fully sealed the Plume God. If the Plume God wanted, it could break the seal at any time.
After Su Xiao used various methods, the Plume God was severely wounded. Only then was it truly unable to escape the seal. The Plume God hadn't expected to be so unlucky—successfully avoiding the Underworld God only to encounter a Law Destroyer.
The Mother Goddess was the origin of all evil. Initially, all living beings believed in her and had faith in her.
From beginning to end, the Light King and the Wolf Spider Queen said they were reaping what they sowed. And indeed, if they hadn't been so ambitious back then, coveting the Mother Goddess's divine power, they wouldn't have driven her to summon an Ancient God. Every effect has its cause.
In other words, the Mother Goddess, the Light King, the Great Sage, and the Wolf Spider Queen were all the origins of evil.
Just like the world introduction prompted upon entering: "Do not be deceived by appearances. What you firmly believe may be the origin of evil."
Su Xiao chewed the soul crystal in his mouth. This world's affairs were no longer his concern. Compared to these secrets, the benefits he gained from this world were a massive harvest. He alone had 28,730 Soul Coins! Plus treasure chests and various items. After digesting these resources, his strength would undoubtedly increase significantly.
Even for an eighth-rank world, such exaggerated gains shouldn't be possible. But this was a resource world of the Apocalypse Paradise, hence the astonishing rewards.
Su Xiao chose to complete the main mission. His body began to turn translucent, and the same happened to Bubu Wang and Baha beside him.
This time, returning to the Reincarnation Paradise, Su Xiao had many things to do. He needed to fulfill his earlier promise to the Toad and the Violent Rat along the way, though he wasn't sure about the saber-haired king's pain tolerance.