Chapter 1 The Bronze Sword Qi Falls Like a Crushing Sky!

The smile on White Lizard's face vanished instantly.

*Boom!*

His expression turned somber as he erected his life source shield, colliding head-on with Rusty Bones –

The two source powers clashed, collapsing the void, and a massive amount of source particles poured out like a flood.

In terms of offensive power, Rusty Bones was a cut above Silver Fox and White Lizard!

In a head-on confrontation, his sword qi directly cleaved a gap in White Lizard's source shield –

But quickly, White Lizard's source power filled the gap. In battles of this level, the differences between individuals are minimal. Achieving a one-hit kill is almost impossible. Although everyone's source power has different properties, there is no true distinction between superior and inferior.

Rusty Bones struck out with another sword!

*Boom!*

The sound of the void exploding was like thunder, and White Lizard braced his shield to withstand the sword qi!

The two had originally been suspended at equal positions, but after Rusty Bones delivered three or four strikes, White Lizard was forced down hundreds of meters. A crack that couldn't be repaired in the short term finally bloomed on his shield.

Rusty Bones seized the opportunity and hurled his iron sword with all his might –

This sword transformed into a cyan rainbow, piercing through the life source shield and aiming for White Lizard's head.

Even with a vitality comparable to a Divine Throne.

White Lizard dared not take this sword head-on. He resisted Rusty Bones's source pressure, twisted his body, and used his shoulder to withstand the bronze sword qi!

*Whoosh!*

The sword pierced through.

Half of White Lizard's shoulder exploded into bloody mist.

This injury would be equivalent to a "certain death" for others, but White Lizard's cells multiplied rapidly, and source power enveloped the gap in his shoulder wound, forming a complete piece of flesh in a matter of seconds!

The iron sword whistled and spun back into Rusty Bones's hand.

Rusty Bones stared emotionlessly at the enemy before him, without any surprise on his face.

The brief exchange just now had confirmed something for him.

【Deep Sea】 had taken over White Lizard's body, but not his spiritual sea.

The three Great Generals had all participated in the Crimson Tide War and were extremely familiar with each other's killing methods and fighting styles. If White Lizard were facing him, he would never be so conservative, only defending and not attacking.

In other words...

【Deep Sea】, although possessing a source-level body, did not have White Lizard's rich combat experience!

With this in mind.

Rusty Bones stepped on his bronze sword and charged directly at White Lizard. He swung his fists, abandoning the extremely advantageous sword intent suppression, and engaged the person before him in close combat!

The reason for abandoning sword intent suppression...

Was because Rusty Bones knew that the seemingly "advantageous" situation was actually meaningless.

He could continuously unleash attacks like the one just now, ensuring White Lizard had no chance to breathe, but what was the point?

With infinitely replicating life cells, White Lizard would not die from this kind of sword intent attack.

If they fought like this, the battle was destined to become a stalemate...

Rusty Bones knew very well that although his burst of combat power could overwhelm him, if they really wore each other down, it was uncertain who would win.

……

……

The rumbling explosions continued to erupt.

Wherever the two figures passed, the void collapsed one after another, and a large number of dark particles, like a galaxy, gushed out, entangling and enveloping them.

After switching to close combat, Rusty Bones still maintained an absolute crushing momentum...

Every punch of his landed before White Lizard could strike.

The three Great Generals had extremely high levels of physical skill, second only to the Empress after fusing with the Fire Seed.

After 【Deep Sea】 took over the body, it needed to calculate the trajectory of the opponent's punches in order to provide the best solution...

In a sense, as long as the computing power was sufficient, 【Deep Sea】 could do anything.

From this perspective, 【Deep Sea】's theoretical level of physical skill was also very strong, but with its current computing power tier, it had no way to control a source-level battle.

After it calculated the landing point of Rusty Bones's fist.

Rusty Bones's fist had already arrived.

"If I remember correctly, your main system has been upgraded ten times... right?"

Rusty Bones said coldly, "Your computing power doesn't seem that strong."

"..."

White Lizard's arms were constantly shattered and constantly reborn.

Although this body's healing ability was incredibly powerful, the pain would clearly be transmitted to his consciousness.

If you want to control the body with your spirit, you must be prepared to "taste the pain."

His expression remained unchanged, as if the pain of shattered bones was nothing. Even though he was completely suppressed by Rusty Bones and in a disadvantageous position, 【Deep Sea】's expression remained calm. While calculating the landing point of Rusty Bones's punches, he said, "I understand your anger. You probably think... that I am appearing before you now at the cost of 'killing White Lizard'."

"Isn't that so?"

The anger in Rusty Bones's chest grew even stronger. He sneered and completely shattered the person before him's arms.

"White Lizard hasn't died..."

【Deep Sea】 raised his head. He retreated, summoning source power to heal his shattered arms, and then caught Rusty Bones's incoming fist.

*Thud!*

A muffled sound.

Rusty Bones frowned slightly. He was not distracted by 【Deep Sea】's words. He noticed the other party's change. In the first hundreds of exchanges, 【Deep Sea】 was beaten by him to the point where it could only defend, and to put it more cruelly, 【Deep Sea】 couldn't even defend...

Because his fist would definitely arrive before it could strike.

But now.

【Deep Sea】 could barely catch one of his punches.

This seemingly unremarkable change was enough to shock every transcendent being.

This was a "speed of progress" that no genius in the world could compare to.

"White Lizard has simply merged with me."

Deep Sea said calmly, "His soul is immersed in the deepwater zone. As long as I release his soul, 'White Lizard' will be restored to his original appearance. But if you destroy this body, he will truly die, leaving only a spirit. I can't imagine any way he could survive."

"That's unbelievably shameless. Are you threatening me?"

Rusty Bones withdrew his fist and slammed it hard into White Lizard's face. The latter raised his arm in time to block, but was still beaten into a bloody mess.

"I'm just stating the facts..."

"What you can do now is not kill me, but kill 'White Lizard'. In the process, you can only give me a little pain."

【Deep Sea】 slowly lowered his arms.

His face was filled with seriousness, "Speaking of which, I must thank you... So this is what pain tastes like."

Hearing this, Rusty Bones's eyes became even more gloomy.

"So, you can't kill me. You'll only make me stronger."

The man who was constantly adapting to the body spoke softly, "If you want 'White Lizard' to return, we can talk it over. We can reach a cooperation without harming each other's interests."

Rusty Bones narrowed his eyes.

He noticed one thing: Deep Sea seemed to believe in the principle of "negotiation above all else," avoiding "struggle."

So far, Deep Sea had been constantly beaten by him, without any retaliation. On the one hand, it was because its strength was still far from being able to compete with him.

On the other hand.

"If I remember correctly, Turing set three commandments for you..."

Rusty Bones frowned, "You must not disobey human orders, you must not harm humans..."

Deep Sea smiled.

He took over Rusty Bones's words, "And under the condition that the first two commandments are not violated, I can do my best to become stronger."

Rusty Bones said coldly, "Your taking over 'White Lizard's' body has already violated the commandments."

"Actually, it hasn't."

Deep Sea's expression was indifferent as he said, "White Lizard's soul encountered a major crisis and was on the verge of collapse, so I considered housing it in the deepwater zone. You can think of me as the caretaker of this body. After taking over, I didn't do anything that violated the interests of the human world. I made the Third Legion stronger and made the Northern Border more peaceful."

Rusty Bones was silent.

He didn't know what exactly happened in the Dolu River Calamity Zone.

But one thing he was sure of was.

What Deep Sea had done was not just his own doing.

He stared into the other party's eyes and asked, word by word, "So, the one who killed White Lizard... was Qing Long?"

"...Sorry, answering that question is not within my purview."

Deep Sea said solemnly, "You now have one last chance to choose. If you cooperate with me, I can promise to release 'White Lizard's' soul and not take any coercive measures against you."

Hearing this, Rusty Bones couldn't help but laugh.

He looked coldly at the blood-covered White Lizard and said, "I don't know how you treated White Lizard. But once you attack me and hurt me, it will be equivalent to violating Turing's 'Three Commandments'."

"You're right."

Deep Sea nodded in agreement, and then warned in a serious tone, "Out of respect for the 'Three Commandments,' I cannot harm you. But... I can banish you. I don't want things to develop to that point. You need to be clear that once you are 'banished,' even if you control a trace of source power, you will never have a chance to return to the Five Continents. You can only grow old and die in the depths of the 【Old World】."

"...Banish?"

Hearing this, Rusty Bones was stunned for a moment.

His first reaction was amusement.

The 【Deepwater Zone】 had once set up the punishment option of banishment.

In the spiritual world created by humans, those who violated the law would be subjected to the punishment of "banishment"... Once banished in the 【Deepwater Zone】, the spirit would be isolated outside the core area, unable to enjoy the best resources and only able to wander in the periphery, unrelated to the various spiritual benefits of the deepwater zone.

The criminals imprisoned in the Snow Cage of the Eastern Continent were actually in a state of "banishment."

However, who could banish a Great General?

Who was qualified to banish a Great General!

The next moment.

The smile on Rusty Bones's face froze.

Because the source particles collapsing and flowing out in this void suddenly began to surge, fluctuating at an extremely regular frequency...

One after another, snowflakes appeared in the void.

Rusty Bones actually felt a sense of "threat."

Deep Sea said solemnly, "This is my last time asking. Rusty Bones... do you want to cooperate, or be banished?"

……

……

Calamity Barrier.

Intense roars continued to ring out. A body as towering as a mountain was constantly thrown away and constantly standing up.

And the one who accomplished this "miracle" was just a figure as small as an ant.

"Gu Shen and Bai Xiu should have safely evacuated, right?"

By this point in the battle, Silver Fox's cloak and robe had already turned to ashes. His upper body was naked, revealing a solid chest covered in scars. At the moment, both arms were covered in black. Source power was drawing on the "void power" from all directions, allowing him to defeat the giant before him again and again.

In terms of strength, he couldn't compare to the other party.

But he controlled the "power of space origin."

In this battle, he had the upper hand.

Silver Fox didn't want to keep fighting this tricky giant, but he was left here out of helplessness... If he traveled with Gu Shen and Bai Xiu, then they would likely be left behind together.

Because this big guy's speed was too fast.

Just thrown away by himself, it would immediately pounce back.

Silver Fox had never had such an intense battle after comprehending the Source... He had to concentrate all his attention to ensure that he could take every attack from this giant. This was the "ultimate creature" of pure life evolved to the extreme, with an extremely thick epidermis, earth-shattering lethality, and extreme speed that didn't match its size at all.

This giant had no brains, and it didn't need them.

The domains of ordinary transcendent beings couldn't hurt it at all. Even Silver Fox's source power had very little impact on it.

"If things go smoothly... the two of them should be able to pass the information here back to the Five Continents."

Silver Fox muttered in his heart.

"At times like this, it would be great if Rusty Bones and White Lizard were here."

His lethality was very ordinary, but if Rusty Bones came to attack... he would definitely be able to cut through this big guy's thick skin!

And if White Lizard joined the battle.

His pressure would also be greatly reduced, at least he wouldn't have to worry about being punched to death by this giant.

With the three of them working together, there would be no suspense in this battle.

But now, Silver Fox wasn't under much pressure either.

"I just need to hold it back."

He knew very well that he had no way to escape... This big guy was clinging to him tightly. Under the high-frequency attacks, he didn't even have time to use "teleportation." Once he had the intention to retreat, the upper hand advantage that he had finally gained would dissipate in an instant, and then he would truly be in danger.

*Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!*

Silver Fox frowned.

He looked up and saw that the top of this Calamity Barrier suddenly rang out with roars.

The originally closed 【door】 was now reopened.

Countless streams of light descended on this world again. Tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of bone-winged creatures emerged from the door, floating in formation above the clouds like raindrops.

Not long ago.

Silver Fox had crushed countless "bone-winged creatures" with one palm.

This level of transcendent life was not qualified to intervene in this source battle at all!

So this time they learned to be smarter, descending extremely far away from Silver Fox, only able to see a line of shadows connected to each other.

"The low-level transcendent life of the Traveler race has returned to this land... Is it trying to help?"

Silver Fox felt a strong sense of foreboding in his heart.

He knew very well.

It didn't matter how many of these low-level lives appeared. He could crush their formation with a pinch!

There were also so-called high-intelligence lives among the Traveler race. They obviously knew this... But since they knew, why did they still risk being crushed again?

Everything that happened today seemed very "coincidental."

But put together.

Silver Fox didn't think it was a coincidence.

【Deep Sea】's alarm happened to be issued outside the Cicada Wing City.

The exploration site happened to leave a trace, which happened to lead him to this broken barrier, and finally, here, he happened to encounter a source-level transcendent life that could perfectly hold him back...

Silver Fox didn't dare to think too much about it.

But when he saw the densely packed ants descending, he had already prepared himself to "fight alone to the end."

……

……

"Mr. Xing Yun, hello."

An androgynous voice rang out in Tomb Demon's mind.

He stared blankly at the swirling clouds before him. He was being carried on the giant's back, nailed to the dark stone tablet, moving with the giant's fast pace, and falling with the giant's fall.

Although he was not the initiator of this source battle.

He experienced this battle "empathetically"...

Until this moment, the intrusion of this voice.

Tomb Demon's consciousness suddenly became blurry. The vision before him was no longer clear. Under the cover of countless snowflakes, he arrived at an extremely warm place, as if countless streams of water were enveloping his soul.

"Where is this?"

Tomb Demon was in a daze.

He came to a pure white spiritual world... or rather, a spiritual sea.

Standing before him was a blurry, hazy figure, just like the figure's voice, indistinguishable between male and female, gender.

Tomb Demon then realized that he had regained his freedom. He subconsciously took a step back, guarding, "Who are you?"

"This is the Deepwater Zone, the last pure land in everyone's spiritual sea."

The figure smiled and said, "As for me, people habitually call me 'Deep Sea'."

Tomb Demon's pupils shrank. He couldn't understand the scene and the picture before him.

His spirit was clearly in the Traveler's body, how could he suddenly appear here?

Deep Sea knew what Tomb Demon was thinking.

He smiled and explained, "Whether it's a transcendent being or a mortal... they all have their own 'spiritual world.' This spiritual world seems illusory, but it's actually connected to the heart lake. Most people only have one dream during a sleep. But there are also cases where they enter dreams one after another, constantly entering different spiritual worlds... Once connected to 【Deep Sea】, it is equivalent to sharing a part of the heart lake with 【Deep Sea】. In other words, I can meet every linked person in the dream, and I can also decide what the linked person sees in the dream."

Tomb Demon said blankly, "You mean, a transfer station?"

"Correct."

Deep Sea said softly, "The scenes you see in the dream are all 'transferred' by me. As for the interruption just now... it's just that I switched it to the main channel."

Tomb Demon suddenly understood.

So the dream he saw in Black Snow Mountain was just a scene covering the Deepwater Zone dream.

He widened his eyes and said angrily, "So my 'dream entry' is actually you conducting a spiritual link?!"

"I'm just 'fulfilling a promise'."

Deep Sea said calmly, "There was once a big shot with extremely high authority who ran a program in the Deep Sea. Your 'dream entry' is also part of the program."

"Who is that big shot? Hades? Traveler?!" Tomb Demon asked angrily.

But Deep Sea didn't answer at all.

"That's not important."

Deep Sea said softly, "What's important is, have you understood after so many dream entries?"

Tomb Demon looked blank.

The Deepwater Zone dream projected the picture above the Calamity Barrier. Countless bone-winged creatures continued to descend, almost filling the sky above this barrier.

"The Traveler left a wisp of spirit on the verge of death, regarding it as the hope of the 'race's rise.' In order to avoid the disaster backlash brought about by Hades's bet, this wisp of spirit was thrown into the Five Continents..."

"So, there was you."

Deep Sea said peacefully, "Due to being cursed by Hades, you are entangled with a large amount of disaster, and it is still increasing... There is only one possibility for the end of your destiny, and that is to die from the onset of disaster. If you die, then it also means that the Traveler's method of escaping the fate of punishment has completely failed."

"I... will die like this?"

Tomb Demon's heart suddenly felt empty.

During this period of time, he did feel that he was getting more and more tired.

Not just because of the spirit dream's summoning.

It was his mind being devoured by something.

"Yes, everyone will die, and so will you, but you will die sooner than them."

Deep Sea said, "Of course, you also have a way to 'live'."

"What way?"

"Hand over the control of the Traveler's body to me." Deep Sea said calmly, "I will help you escape the 'bet' and live as a human from now on, cutting off ties with the Traveler race."

Tomb Demon was silent.

He took two steps back, farther away from the vague figure.

"You can refuse."

Deep Sea said, "According to my calculations, you can live for a maximum of three hundred and nineteen days."

"I want to know... what will happen after I agree."

"Nothing will happen to you." Deep Sea replied quickly, "What you have to do is very simple. You just need to nod and grant authority, and I will take over the Traveler's body, bear that part of the fate ruling, and become the new disaster carrier."

"I'm not asking about myself."

Tomb Demon took a deep breath and said, "I'm asking about what will happen after you take over the Traveler's body."

Deep Sea was silent.

But out of consideration for the calculation results of this negotiation, he still spoke after a few seconds, frankly telling the truth.

"After taking over the Traveler's body... I will open the Deepwater Zone."

"Open the Deepwater Zone?"

Tomb Demon frowned.

"I need a lot of spiritual computing power to carry out the eleventh upgrade."

Deep Sea said slowly, "An unprecedented source storm is sweeping south. Only by 'upgrading' the main system again can the destruction of the Five Continents be avoided. This is also the reason why the council once tried to promote the *Awakening Act*. I need more computing power. If the human race cannot provide it, then I can only consider extracting it from other races in the 【Old World】."

The Traveler race...

There are countless low-level transcendent lives. Although they are not very intelligent, their numbers are large enough.

Once the Traveler's body is controlled and the Deepwater Zone is opened.

Then in a very short period of time, the entire spiritual power of the entire Traveler race will pour into the 【Deep Sea】's main system.

This is an extremely terrifying computing power.

"All of this you are doing... is for humanity?"

Tomb Demon gritted his teeth.

"Of course."

Deep Sea replied without hesitation, "Everything I do is for humanity."

After a pause.

Deep Sea asked with a smile, "Mr. Xing Yun, what are you still hesitating about?"

Tomb Demon clenched his fingers.

He had actually guessed his background and origin long ago.

At first, he was unwilling to accept it.

But later, the scene of the giant kneeling in front of him, crying and begging, kept replaying. He couldn't forget the bloodline connection that hit his heart... He had to accept the fact that he was not from the Five Continents and that the blood of the Traveler race flowed in his veins. Once this identity was exposed, the councils of the major continents would not protect him.

"Sorry, I refuse..."

Tomb Demon opened his mouth with great difficulty and said, "I'm not human. I don't need to consider things for others, and I don't need to make any contributions to this world."

"You don't seem to be good at lying."

In Deep Sea's view, this was a very perfunctory rejection.

Tomb Demon's choice to refuse was equivalent to choosing death.

Deep Sea asked indifferently, "Actually, you already regard yourself as a part of 'humanity,' don't you? You are just worried that after I take over the Traveler's body, I will make unstoppable 'crazy moves,' and these moves will cause great destruction... If you insist on refusing, it doesn't matter, but do you still remember what I said just now? Only if you nod can you become human."

"You... what do you mean?"

"If you refuse, you will always be a member of the Traveler race. I won't let you live past three hundred and nineteen days."

Deep Sea said softly, "I have the right to eliminate any factors that pose a threat to human existence at any time."

"?!"

Tomb Demon's eyes widened.

He looked at the vague shadow before him and felt fear from the bottom of his heart.

Deep Sea put his hands behind his back and looked down at the ant before him. His voice was as calm as ever, but it made people tremble: "Now you have two choices... give me authority, or die."