Chapter 1 The River Styx Bottom

The inverted "giant god face" slowly submerged into the black river water. A bizarre smile spilled from the traveler's vertical pupils… The two who were directly stared at felt a chill in their hearts, as if a powerful mental force had enveloped them.

This was simply a power that mortals could not resist.

"I… I can't move anymore…"

Mu Wanqiu's expression was pale as she spoke with extreme difficulty.

In fact, from the moment the traveler cast its gaze, she was gradually being deprived of even the right to speak.

The black river water within a ten-mile radius began to freeze.

Her thoughts also began to stagnate.

But Gu Shen's condition was slightly better. After three transcensions, his mental strength could still maintain the most basic operation… at least enough to analyze the current situation.

The traveler had already broken through the gate of the "Old World."

This was no longer a "dilemma" that he and Mu Wanqiu could solve. Even with the addition of Osmond and the hundred transcendents who restarted the mission… it would be meaningless.

Only a god could fight a god.

But why… hadn't the Empress descended yet?

Before his thoughts were completely frozen, Gu Shen squeezed out a wisp of spirit and entered the Ruler of Truth.

The flow of time slowed down.

…

…

In the space mottled with light and shadow, the towering Susu tree's reflection seemed to become more real, casting more shadows in the dark world. The devil remained hidden in the mist, unwilling to meet Gu Shen.

"A deal, I want a deal!"

This was the first time Gu Shen had been so proactive. He descended into this place and went straight to the point!

According to the ten-to-one conversion of time flow.

He probably only had a few dozen seconds… No one knew when the "traveler" outside would strike. With that big guy's power, shattering him would only be a matter of an instant!

"Heh…"

A playful chuckle sounded in the black mist.

"Now you know you want to make a deal?"

The devil slowly leaned forward, its body outlined from the mist.

Gu Shen narrowed his eyes slightly. Although the situation was very anxious at the moment, he still noticed some subtle changes. The devil's throne seemed to have been moved… The last time he met it, it didn't seem to be here.

However, the mental space of the Ruler of Truth was a large area of mottled reflections, without any reference objects.

Moreover, moving the throne was not a big deal.

Gu Shen put this discovery aside.

"You are more powerful than I imagined, able to break through the unprecedented 'three transcensions' and kill the blessed son across great realms." The devil tapped the long chair and smiled leisurely, "Gu Shen, you are indeed a genius. Continue to transcend."

Gu Shen was mentally prepared.

This guy in the Ruler of Truth had been rejected by him repeatedly.

This time, he was asking for a deal, so he would inevitably be teased… As for the constantly passing countdown in the real world, it was obvious that this time the devil didn't care.

"As you wish…" Gu Shen gritted his teeth and said, "I'm taking the initiative to beg you for a deal now, so just tell me, is it a deal or not."

The devil had warned him before.

Deep in the River Styx, there was a being countless times more terrifying than Meng Xiao!

From this, it could be seen that it had always known that on the other side of the River Styx "gate" was the Eighth God Seat—"the traveler"!

"…"

The devil was silent for a second, then returned to seriousness and asked, "What price are you willing to pay?"

"Huff…"

Gu Shen took a deep breath and said, "I can hand over the control of this body to you, but only for ten minutes…"

The devil seemed to have heard a great joke.

"Ten minutes, what can you do?"

"You're not thinking of beating him to death, are you? Do you take me for Gu Changzhi in his prime?!"

It slapped the long chair hard, then stretched out its slender fingers, pointing to the "traveler's" forehead through the mental black mist of the Ruler of Truth, mockingly scolding, "See that? That is a genuine 'Gospel Box Fragment'! Although this fragment fell into the Old World when it broke away from the Gospel Box six hundred years ago, and didn't have time to experience the baptism of orderly source matter, and cannot be considered a mature 'seed'… but this guy has at least fused the power of the seed. Even a casual punch can directly collapse a thousand-meter-high mountain."

It sighed and shook its head, "If you only give me ten minutes, the only thing I can do is dig a beautiful and exquisite coffin for you under the River Styx before he beats me to death!"

Gu Shen was silent.

"Then what do you want?"

He suddenly felt that this deal was not as simple as he had imagined.

The devil stared at him, its face in the black mist seemed to reveal a smile.

In the stalemate, the mental space of the Ruler of Truth was silent, and the time of the real world passed by little by little.

"Can't you see it yet?"

The devil sat on the throne, its voice was very soft, full of emotion, like a hunter who had finally waited for the hunting opportunity, looking at the prey in the trap, "I… don't want anything."

Gu Shen was stunned.

Didn't want… anything?

This sentence had two meanings. The first was that the devil paid unconditionally, providing help for free.

And at this moment, it was obviously the second…

It refused the deal.

"Ten minutes, a hundred minutes… it makes no difference to me." The devil said lightly, "You are not a qualified host. I want to see… you die in the River Styx, die here."

Gu Shen's mind boomed, like enlightenment.

"From the moment of the Black Silver Seal, we actually had no chance of negotiation." The throne's shadow said faintly, "A person like you will never make a deal with the 'devil', will you? But there are others who are willing. There are many others in this world."

Others… Gu Shen knew that there was someone beside him who met the devil's wishes.

Also an S-class, also exceptionally talented, Mu Wanqiu had previously failed to resist the bewitchment of the River Styx Dream… Her mental strength was certainly strong, but if she really came into contact with the Ruler of Truth, she would likely fall under the devil's temptation.

"I see."

Gu Shen lowered his eyes and smiled, "So, no matter what conditions I offer, you will refuse."

From the beginning, he had stepped into a closing trap.

The deals that the devil had thrown out were not important.

What it valued was not the "small favors" he gave…

It wanted to overturn the chessboard.

To find the next host!

As long as he came to the River Styx, stepped into the gate, touched the idol, he would definitely reach this step, and at that time, as long as he had the idea of "trading" in his heart, and desired to reach an agreement at a critical moment, he would fall into the abyss of death.

"Not bad."

The devil was expressionless. It had no emotions such as pity, benevolence, or sympathy. There were no other mental fluctuations at this moment, but its voice had a calmness of being in control of the situation: "I refuse this deal. You can enjoy the last 'countdown' of your life in the Ruler of Truth, but everything will come to an end. You will be like that foolish 'Hades'… broken down into countless broken source matter wandering in the void, leaving only the spiritual legacy that cannot be broken down. I will take good care of it for you. After today, everything you have will be mine."

The last sentence had a lot of information.

But Gu Shen had no time to care.

He stood in the light and shadow of the Ruler of Truth, silently watching the arrogant shadow sitting on the throne.

"From today on, there will be no more negotiations between us."

Gu Shen said calmly.

The devil just smiled, looking at the young man in front of him with the eyes of a dead man.

"I will drive you out of the Ruler at any cost. I will imprison you in eternal darkness, let you suffer the pain of hell, the torment of soul refining, and never be able to escape or be detached for generations to come."

This ethereal oath floated in the sky above the Ruler of Truth.

The devil raised an eyebrow and asked, "What is this, a last will?"

Gu Shen no longer spoke.

He raised his head.

The outside world became infinitely dark.

The black clouds in the dome were fragmented and slowly collapsing… That was because the traveler had raised its palm. Its big hand stirred the already dark world of the River Styx even darker.

This slap fell "slowly."

Because of the excessive force, the edges of its palm even burned with fiery light, coating the shattered black clouds in all directions with a layer of dim gold.

There was no doubt… that if this slap landed, all living beings within a mile radius would be crushed into powder.

Gu Shen closed his eyes.

He did not want to resign himself to fate. At the final moment of his life, he no longer placed his hope on anyone, but concentrated his mind, wanting to summon "Pure Land" again… Perhaps the miracle left by Hades could allow him to escape this calamity.

The violent friction sound shattered the dome and was like thunder.

The next moment.

Gu Shen felt a familiar mental wave in his brow.

He gave up the idea of summoning "Pure Land."

"Boom!!!"

An unprecedented explosion erupted in the sky above the River Styx. Gu Shen obeyed the incredibly reassuring mental induction in his heart, and at this moment, he suddenly raised his head, opening his eyes as wide as possible. He watched the giant palm wielded by the traveler, accompanied by hundreds of meters of raging wind and waves, slamming down, rapidly enlarging, and after a second, it had already slammed in front of his face!

Gu Shen endured the impact that seemed to break his spine. At this moment, he could even see the grooves and cracks in the palm of the hand clearly. He and Mu Wanqiu were like pebbles embedded in the grooves and cracks.

At the final moment—

The traveler's palm hovered ten meters above Gu Shen.

"Rumble—"

The wind pressed down, and the River Styx was beaten into an inverted roll, leaving a huge handprint.

A female figure wearing the North Continent imperial robe, surrounded by wind and snow, stretched out a snow-white and slender palm, and "lightly" resisted the traveler's chiseling strike.

She pressed down on the traveler's palm.

A slightly apologetic voice slowly echoed above the River Styx like a great bell.

"Sorry… I'm a little late."

Her Majesty the Empress paused slightly.

She turned her head to look at Gu Shen and spoke again.

"However, I should have said… If you encounter a desperate situation, I will definitely appear."