# 1873
Chapter 1866: Rivets
Sensing that something was wrong with the scepter's feel, An Qingyu immediately tried to pull it from the dark mire, but in that instant, a blade of light slashed down toward the top of his head!
An Qingyu dodged to the side, but the hand that had been gripping the scepter was a moment too slow, severed by the blade. He frowned, sweeping the [King's Treasure Sword] in his other hand behind him. A burst of cold instantly froze half the sky into chunks!
Within the extreme cold ice and snow, a dark humanoid silhouette swooped out, quickly forming into Lin Qiye's figure. One hand reached for the [Royal Scepter]!
The [Royal Scepter]'s ability was extremely troublesome—whichever side could use it to first extract the opponent's divine power would effectively have locked in victory.
An Qingyu was equally aware of this. A burst of blood light exploded beneath his ribs, and a grotesque blood-soaked hand crawled out from within his body, also reaching toward the end of the scepter.
Two hands simultaneously gripped either side of the scepter!
As An Qingyu activated the [Royal Scepter]'s power, a faint golden glow bloomed from the scepter's base. At the same time, a magical radiance flickered across Lin Qiye's body, transforming him back to his original form. strands of karma thread wound around him tightly!
For a moment, the light on the [Royal Scepter]'s surface rapidly alternated between bright and dim, like a broken lightbulb.
Lin Qiye's eyes narrowed. The karma threads bypassed the [Royal Scepter] entirely, extending toward An Qingyu's body. The latter's gray eyes narrowed. His other palm erupted with a mass of deep purple thunder, striking the scepter's surface!
BOOM—!!
A massive spherical lightning bolt exploded in mid-air. The [Royal Scepter] was sent flying by the shockwave, embedding itself point-first into the shattered earth.
Lin Qiye's figure emerged from the darkness, landing steadily on the ground. An Qingyu, having lost one arm and with only one arm and one blood hand remaining, landed somewhat disheveled on the opposite side of the battlefield.
"I was wondering before—since this labyrinth is so huge, even over a thousand people entering would be scattered immediately... Why didn't we encounter any of the dozen or so from [Divine Desire Paradise]? And why did 22 just happen to bump into Vishnu?" Lin Qiye said slowly. "Now I see—it was all your arrangement."
"Yes." An Qingyu nodded.
"You engineered 22's encounter with Vishnu. That way, Vishnu would inevitably delay me, and you could steal the [Royal Scepter] while also turning Vishnu against you, diverting the divine power sealed behind the Gate for your own use... But there's one thing I still don't understand."
Lin Qiye stared into his eyes.
"Since when did you start tailing him? Or have you been hiding in this labyrinth all along?"
"The remnants of the [Gate of Truth] are crucial to me. Of course I had to leave some precautions to prevent someone from getting there first." An Qingyu said calmly.
"What do you want to do with His remains?"
An Qingyu paused for a moment. "Awaken the [Key to the Gate] and summon the true Gate of Truth."
Hearing this, the coldness in Lin Qiye's eyes intensified. He reached out his palm and pressed against the empty darkness.
The next moment, An Qingyu felt intense pain from every part of his body, as if thick, sturdy rivets had been driven forcefully into his body!
He looked down to find that his shoulders, knees, ankles, and palms had all been pierced by darkness. He was pinned like a man on a cross, an icy chill seeping from the wounds into his body. An unprecedented weakness washed over him.
Lin Qiye gripped Ame-no-Murakumo. A profound and scorching aura emanated separately from his black and gold pupils. Near-Supreme God-level divine power surged forth!
An Qingyu's expression grew grave. He tried to activate his divine power, only to find that most of it was being continuously devoured by the dark rivets driven into his body. The divine power he could gather was pathetically small.
Frost spread across An Qingyu's body. He forcefully twisted himself, ripping his frozen left shoulder free from the rivet that had pinned him.
Just as he was about to continue, those golden and black eyes had already arrived before him.
"The [Key to the Gate] cannot be resurrected. This body of yours... I'll take it."
A blade of light flashed before An Qingyu's eyes. In the endless darkness, golden radiance descended from the sky. Light and shadow seemed to be divided by an extremely fine boundary, slicing through An Qingyu's pinned body.
The light and shadow fell upon the black cross. An Qingyu's struggling form froze. A blood line appeared at the boundary between light and shadow. In silence, he was cleaved in two.
Dark flames ignited from the blood line, mercilessly devouring the surrounding flesh.
An Qingyu's eyes gradually glazed over. The gray hue vanished, replaced by the crimson "One" pupil. The black robe turned gray—his soul had long since transferred elsewhere.
The dark tide receded to Lin Qiye's feet. Golden radiance folded back like wings, returning to the six pristine white wings.
Lin Qiye gazed at the body consumed by darkness, his expression unruffled. He had long known that An Qingyu would not die with this body. To truly kill him, he would have to eliminate all these artificial god avatars first.
Lin Qiye sheathed Ame-no-Murakumo and walked toward Nyx nearby.
When Nyx saw that familiar face, her eyes brightened. She lifted her skirts and hurried forward, wrapping her arms around Lin Qiye's shoulders, asking with concern:
"Are you alright? Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine, Mother." Lin Qiye smiled. "I'm not who I used to be anymore... Now even if a Supreme God makes a move, they may not necessarily be able to do anything to me."
After confirming Lin Qiye was unharmed, Nyx let out a long sigh. "Unfortunately, I couldn't stop Vishnu. He got away."
"You had your divine power drained. There's no need to take that risk. We'll kill him face-to-face next time."
Lin Qiye seemed to recall something. He picked up the [Royal Scepter] and [King's Treasure Sword] from the ground. Since the person wearing Fish One had been cut down, these divine artifacts couldn't be taken away. They had naturally returned to his hands.
Athena and Artemis walked over from a distance. Both bore injuries and their divine power was similarly depleted. Upon seeing Nyx return unharmed, they breathed sighs of relief.
While the three were talking, Lin Qiye's gaze fell upon the battlefield strewn with corpses. His eyes narrowed slightly...
He walked forward. There, trapped within thick ice, was the disemboweled 22, struggling with all his might.
As Lin Qiye approached, terror flickered in 22's eyes.
"Looks like your dear adoptive father doesn't care much about you after all." Lin Qiye said unhurriedly. "He slipped away in the chaos and left you here... Truly heartless."