"Why is something like this even possible?!" Qian Renxue's hollow mutter echoed endlessly through the space.
Before her eyes stood a tall, elegant goddess. Her features were breathtakingly beautiful, embodying the perfect image that people across the world could only dream of. She had long, snow-white hair that reached her waist and wore a majestic black dress that accentuated her stunning curves. Behind her sprouted three pairs of wings burning with black flames. On both sides of her head, a pair of horns emitted a cold metallic gleam, further enhancing her eerie appearance.
None of these details, however, were the reason Qian Renxue had lost her composure.
What truly shook her soul was that face!
It resembled her to an astonishing degree—roughly seventy percent similarity. No, to be precise, the face before her looked more mature and composed than Qian Renxue. While her beauty still carried the vitality and emotion of humanity, the face before her had completely shed all worldly charm, leaving only a divine indifference toward all living beings.
What instantly shattered Qian Renxue's defenses was the demon spirit that had appeared. Though its hair color, attire, wing color, and aura were entirely different, its facial features, physique, and unique charm were identical to the Angel statue enshrined in the deepest part of the Spirit Hall!
No! It wasn't just similar!
They… were the exact same person!
"God… God Ancestor?!" Qian Renxue's red lips parted slightly. Her dazed whisper quietly resonated in the silent space, filled with disbelief, confusion, and despair at the collapse of her faith.
The power she had inherited and the goal she had pursued her entire life had appeared before her in such a contradictory form!
"Holy Ancestor?" Upon hearing this title, the demon spirit's eyes flashed with a complex light, as if recalling something.
Her voice was hollow and cold, like it came from the depths of hell.
"She… died four or five hundred years ago. Betrayed by her companions and ignored by those in power."
The demon spirit raised her head and stared at Qian Renxue with eyes burning with black flames.
"What stands before you now is not the Angel God… but a spirit from the Demon Realm."
Those cold words pierced Qian Renxue's heart. Her slender body trembled violently, and her eyes turned vacant. She could not accept that the god she believed in had met such an end.
Seeing her suffering, Chen Yi reached out and gently held her cold hand, conveying warmth and support.
He gazed sharply at the demon spirit and asked in a low voice, "So, back then… did you escape? Or did you flee with a fragment of your soul, which eventually arrived here and took this form?"
The demon spirit shifted her gaze from Qian Renxue to Chen Yi. A strange light seemed to flash in her cold eyes.
"As expected of Thunder God's successor—your mind is truly sharp. When I first ascended to the God Realm, I heard the God of Light speak of Thunder God's legend. Unfortunately, by that time Thunder God had already fallen thousands of years earlier, so I never had the chance to witness his glory."
She paused. Her tone was unreadable—whether a sigh or another emotion, it was impossible to tell.
"Today, I have met his successor and caught a glimpse of the Thunder God's former majesty."
Chen Yi remained unmoved. He had no interest in these matters. What concerned him now was the truth of what had happened back then.
"I'm very interested in what exactly happened at that time. How did a god fall into such a state?"
Hearing this, Qian Renxue also regained some clarity from her shock. Her pale face was fixed on the demon spirit. What she wanted to know most was the cause of the God Ancestor's downfall… and the reason for his fall.
Seeing their puzzled gazes, the demon spirit suddenly laughed.
The smile started gentle but gradually grew louder, turning into a desolate, maniacal laughter.
The laughter echoed freely through the space, as if venting all the accumulated pain, resentment, and hatred of many years.
It continued for a long time, only stopping when he seemed out of breath from laughing too hard.
Then she raised her hand and gently wiped away the black light particles at the corners of her eyes. When she looked at Chen Yi and Qian Renxue again, her eyes had returned to cold indifference, but the undying flames of hatred still burned fiercely within them.
"You want to know? Fine… I'll tell you."
Her voice had regained composure, yet it felt even more eerie than the earlier maniacal laughter.
"Back then, when I ascended to the pinnacle of the God Realm, I was full of vitality and ambition. Filled with the four supreme powers of sanctity, light, purification, and judgment, I was immediately recognized as the leader of the thirty-six main gods upon ascension! My potential was limitless, and for a time, I enjoyed unparalleled glory."
"All the gods believed I would become the second Thunder God and the second quasi-king of the eighth ring after him. I myself… firmly believed it too."
"No, I aimed even higher! With my talent and effort, I believed I could become the Supreme God King after the Dragon God!"
Her tone brimmed with the long-lost pride and confidence, as if he had returned to that glorious era.
"At that time, even the two God Kings—the God of Destruction and the Goddess of Life—favored me and expressed optimistic views about me in many public settings."
"The God of Destruction even proposed several times to the God Realm Committee that I take over part of the Law Enforcer's duties. Although it was ultimately not approved due to my lack of experience, I was confident that I would find my place in the God Realm in the future!"
At this moment, the nostalgia in her eyes suddenly turned into cold hatred, and her gaze locked onto Chen Yi.
"However… I never imagined that while honing my skills in the forbidden lands of the gods one day, I would unexpectedly discover a secret."
"A secret?" Chen Yi narrowed his eyes, his heart suddenly beating faster.
The weight of this secret capable of reducing a first-class god to such a state was probably far heavier than imagined.
"What secret?"
The demon spirit sneered, her laughter laced with mockery and sorrow.
"The secret is… that the Asura God had been possessed by a demon."
"Possessed by a demon?" Chen Yi was stunned and frowned slightly.
This answer was completely unexpected. Evil gods and wicked deities existed in the God Realm, and the Asura God governed slaughter—his divine weapon was called the Asura Sword.
Possessed by a demon did not sound like a world-shaking event capable of causing a god's downfall.
As if sensing Chen Yi's confusion, the demon spirit sneered again with even deeper mockery.
"It's not what you're thinking… It's not simple possession."
She paused for a moment and gently licked her pale lips with his bright red tongue.
"Thunder God's successor, you should know about the God of the Slaughter Domain, right?"
Chen Yi nodded. The Slaughter God Domain originated from Slaughter City and was one of the foundations of the Asura God trials.
The demon spirit continued, "'The Slaughter God Domain' is one path for humans to rapidly increase their power, but it also means it is extremely difficult to fully control the surging killing intent, making one easily become a puppet of slaughter. But did you know…"
Her voice suddenly sharpened, carrying a tone of ridicule toward Asura.
"Even that Asura God… could no longer control his killing intent!"
"What?!" Chen Yi's pupils contracted sharply. This time he was truly shocked.
It was absurd!
The supreme being who wielded the power of slaughter could no longer control his killing intent!
"Don't you find it unbelievable? Completely ridiculous?" The demon spirit's sarcasm deepened.
"At first, I reacted the same way as you. How could a god whose duty was slaughter and a God King who governed judgment lose control of his killing intent?"
Suddenly, the demon spirit changed the subject, her voice becoming low and deep.
"However, only after further investigation did I learn the truth."
"The stronger the power of existence, the stronger and more unbearable the killing intent that remains after destruction."
"During the Dragon God War that swept through the God Realm, the Asura God was the main force in slaying the Dragon God. The terrifying killing intent he endured in that battle had already reached the limit of what his divine status could bear!"
Chen Yi was shocked and vaguely understood something.
The demon spirit continued in a cold tone, "If Asura had stopped there, gone into seclusion, and slowly digested the Dragon God's killing intent over many years…"
"With that resource, his domain would undoubtedly have reached a higher level, and he might even have held hope of advancing further."
"But…" The demon spirit's voice suddenly rose, her face filled with irony. "He did not! Afterward, he… slaughtered multiple Dragon Kings and a vast number of beast god deities one after another. With each kill, even more powerful killing intent surged into his divine body."
"Quantitative change finally led to qualitative change. The total amount of killing intent he absorbed completely exceeded the limits his godhood and divine body could withstand! The killing intent began to rebound against its master, the Asura God, and fell into uncontrollable chaos!"
"A Law Enforcer God King who wielded the powers of slaughter and judgment could no longer control his killing intent!"
The demon spirit spoke slowly and deliberately. Each word struck Chen Yi and Qian Renxue's hearts like a heavy hammer.
Chen Yi gasped, shock evident in his eyes.
A demon god with uncontrollable killing intent, a divine official unable to suppress his slaughter instincts… Just imagining it sent chills down the spine and froze the body.
Peace would probably never return to the God Realm!
"Then… how did he manage to hide it for so many years?" Chen Yi couldn't help asking. "Why did that killing intent remain out of control for hundreds of thousands of years without anyone noticing?"
"It's actually quite simple," the demon spirit's voice became calm again, but colder than before.
"Because in that great war, it wasn't only the beast gods who died—many Law Enforcer gods from the God Realm also threw themselves into battle."
Chen Yi's heart skipped a beat as if he had grasped something.
"Exactly," the demon spirit confirmed her guess with a sneer.
"The fallen gods of the Law Enforcement all held a portion of the power of judgment. In a sense, the power of judgment has the effect of suppressing and purifying killing intent."
"To balance the uncontrollable killing intent raging within his body, prevent it from exploding completely, and maintain the stability of his own divine status… after the war, the Asura God secretly seized all the remaining judgment authorities left by the fallen Law Enforcer gods under his command."
Chen Yi suddenly realized!
Of course!
Under the Asura God's command, apart from the God-Slaying Xiu Purosi at the peak of the second tier, the other gods naturally only possessed ordinary power.
Compared to the Seven Deadly Sins serving the God of Destruction, this was a pitifully weak combination, even though it could easily form a God King-level battle formation.
The true Law Enforcer gods with the potential to wield the power of judgment had already been secretly absorbed by him.
"This is the real reason why the Asura God only has a handful of cats and dogs under his command," the demon spirit said sarcastically.
He continued, "At that time, when I learned this heaven-shaking secret, I was not only shocked but also filled with great fear and a sense of responsibility. I knew that if this matter were exposed, it would deal a devastating blow to the stability of the God Realm."
"However, I understood even more clearly how terrifying a catastrophe a Law Enforcer God King harboring uncontrollable killing intent would be for the God Realm and countless worlds below!"
"I immediately went secretly to the God Realm Committee and reported everything I had discovered to the Evil God who held central power in the God Realm at the time!"
Chen Yi and Qian Renxue held their breath, waiting for what would happen next.
The Evil God's reaction was extremely important.
Deep disappointment—and even deeper hatred—appeared on the demon spirit's face.
"However… after hearing my report, the Evil God did not take immediate action. He only said he would consult the Asura God himself to understand the situation and told me to return first, keep the secret, and not cause any disturbance."
She took a deep breath to suppress the turmoil in her heart.
"At the time, although I felt some unease, I still chose to believe in the dignity of this ancient God King and returned to the temple. With anxiety in my heart, I told this matter to the friend I trusted at the time—the Sea God Poseidon!"
"He and I both came from Douluo Continent, and our ascension times were not far apart. We had always supported each other in the God Realm. Our relationship… had always been good."
When she uttered the word "friend," her voice carried gritted-teeth hatred.
"But… I never expected this!" Her voice suddenly sharpened, and black flames flickered violently in her eyes.
"I never thought it would turn out like this! That beast Poseidon, that despicable and shameless villain… actually informed the Asura God and conspired with him to set a trap!"
"He lured me to the edge of the God Realm under the pretext of discussing important matters, and there… the Asura God himself ambushed and attacked me!"
The demon spirit's body began to tremble faintly, as if returning to that moment of despair.
"At that instant… I truly understood that the Asura God's killing intent had long since become uncontrollable. From the moment I ascended to the God Realm, he… had already been targeting me!"
"Poseidon attacked me from behind, taking advantage of the situation… severely injuring my divine body and soul." The demon spirit's voice was filled with pain and humiliation.
"Afterward… the two of them joined forces and forcibly stripped away the three core powers of sanctity, purification, and judgment from my body."
A god's status was tied to their life, and authority was the core of their power.
Chen Yi could fully imagine the inhuman torture the Angel God had suffered at the time. It was not only physical pain but also a slow torment of the soul and divinity!
"What was even more terrifying was this!" The demon spirit suddenly raised her head, her eyes filled with unprecedented hatred.
"At that time, realizing there was no hope of escape, I exploded the light power within me to avoid being completely dominated by them!"
"The energy fluctuation caused by the self-destruction of a god's core authority was enough to alert the Evil God who dominated the center of the God Realm and oversaw all worlds!"
"Even though the Asura clan had sealed the area at the time."
After her hope was shattered, her voice trembled with despair and madness.
"But… my divine body completely collapsed, my divinity shattered into pieces, and my remaining soul was about to vanish… yet that bastard still did not appear!"
"From beginning to end, he ignored everything! He tacitly allowed it!"
"Hahaha!" Her let out another shrill, maniacal laugh, openly revealing her mockery and hatred toward the so-called King of the Gods.
"The leader of all gods? The foremost god of the Law Enforcement?"
"Hmph… he is nothing but a hypocrite. His indifference gave those two beasts, Asura and Poseidon, the courage to openly harm a true god!"
"What completely shattered my heart was none other than him! He made me utterly despair of the so-called God Realm and the so-called laws!"
This final accusation rang through the space like the most vicious curse, carrying a soul-piercing, hair-raising power. The weight of the Justice God's accusation against the highest ruler of the God Realm was enough to overturn all understanding.
"Immediately after Asura left," the demon spirit's voice suddenly became eerily calm.
"That beast Poseidon… actually committed an improper act on my remaining, wounded divine body."
Qian Renxue instantly clenched her fists, killing intent surging in her eyes.
"So… I gathered my last remaining strength and tried to destroy the already empty shell of the Angel God's sacred status," the demon spirit said expressionlessly.
"At that time, although the core authority of the god position had been taken, the essence residing in the god position itself, even if it did not pose a fatal threat to Poseidon when self-destructing, was enough to alarm him and inflict some injuries. Most importantly… it saved me from the final humiliation."
Chen Yi frowned. If the Angel God had destroyed her own god position, then what was the current status of the Angel God position?
"So… why are you here?" Qian Renxue asked in a hoarse voice, gazing at the person before her—who had once been the source of her faith—with a heart-wrenching feeling.
The demon spirit let out a cold laugh. It was even more painful to look at than an expression of agony.
"At that time… only faint remnants of my will remained, on the verge of disappearing. I was thrown out of the God Realm by the spatial turbulence caused by the explosion and drifted through the endless void."
"I don't know how long I drifted. One year? A hundred years? A thousand years? Finally… I sensed a familiar aura from another dimension."
"Douluo Continent, my homeland."
A brief light flashed in her eyes before being swallowed by deep darkness. "I thought I had finally found my place and could slowly recover through the remaining connection. I was filled with joy."
"However… upon approaching, I discovered that the sea of the Douluo dimension was actually emitting Poseidon's nauseating divinity. He had permeated the entire dimensional sea with his divine power! If I had set foot there, he would have noticed me immediately, and my fate would have been even more miserable than in the God Realm!"
"Therefore, I had no choice but to abandon my return to Douluo Continent and continue drifting through the nearby void… until I finally arrived in this still-unknown dimension."
"The spirit of this dimension had only just sprouted and was extremely weak." She gazed at the contradictory space around her and spoke indifferently, as if talking about something unrelated to herself.
"By stepping into this place, I was forcibly fused with the budding spirit of this dimension. Only by drawing nourishment from the dimension's origin could I barely sustain my life and survive."
"However, because my divinity had long been distorted and filled with darkness, this world—which originally gave birth to normal life forms—gradually became eroded and distorted under my influence, eventually turning into the appearance you see now and giving birth to these filthy demons."
Her gaze remained indifferent. It was as if even if her actions had turned the inhabitants of an entire dimension into evil and ugly beings, it could not stir even the slightest ripple in her heart.
Perhaps, after experiencing the betrayal of the gods and extreme suffering, her heart had already frozen solid or shattered into pieces.
"However… my god core and divine weapon ultimately remained on Douluo Continent."
The demon spirit's gaze sharpened again as she looked at Qian Renxue, as if staring through space toward her distant homeland.
"That is why, for many years, I have longed to return to Douluo Continent and reclaim everything that belongs to me!"
"Then… return to the God Realm and, before all the gods, directly ask that venerable God King—"
Her voice suddenly rose, filled with endless anger and doubt.
"Why did you turn a blind eye to everything back then?!"
The final question thundered through the space, leaving a long echo.
The story ended.
The space fell into a deathly silence. Only holy light and darkness quietly battled and fused.
Chen Yi remained silent, organizing the truth in his mind. The Asura God's loss of control, the Sea God's despicable nature, the Evil God's indifference… all these factors had combined to cause the Angel God's tragedy.
Qian Renxue was already shedding tears. Looking at the resentment-filled demon spirit before her, she was overwhelmed by indescribable sorrow.
The demon spirit slowly shifted her inquiring gaze away and returned to an indifferent demeanor. Then she looked again at the silent Chen Yi and the complex-faced Qian Renxue.
"Alright… the story is over."
"Then… shall we begin?"
…