"Everything here is yours, take it if you need it."

This was the first time the devil had shown such generosity.

But Gu Shen knew exactly what it was after.

In this world, free things are the most expensive.

The war between the two had already begun.

The moment the devil failed to kill Gu Shen at the bottom of the River Styx, their conflict was destined to be endless.

However, not every war is filled with smoke and fire.

As the master of the ruler's real world, Gu Shen held absolute control over everything about this ruler. Whether it was "sealing" or "unsealing," it was up to him.

So, the devil's purpose in doing this was only one thing.

To make Gu Shen more dependent on [Truth].

There was no transaction.

Because this was precisely part of the transaction.

Gu Shen looked at the devil with sympathy, then smiled.

"I will."

He shook his head and said slowly, "Because everything here is already mine."

Perhaps it was because of this sentence.

Or perhaps it was because the devil had released some authority.

The light in this mental world suddenly increased.

Large patches of blazing light were cast upon the earth.

"Heh."

The devil retreated.

It did not refute, nor did it say much, but its eyes held a smile of approval.

The light before Gu Shen advanced slowly like a tide.

And the devil kept retreating, retreating into the distant darkness.

Vast spiritual power poured continuously into the ruler.

Those who wield [Truth] need not pray to the gods.

Those who wield [Truth] can become gods themselves.

Five hundred meters beneath the frozen lake.

A burst of silver light suddenly erupted, and it exploded directly the moment Han Dang reached out to grab it!

What can contend with [Truth] is only [Truth] itself.

Gu Shen drew out the ruler, and the silver light surged like a drawn sword.

The devil had released its authority.

At this moment, the ruler seemed to have become a part of Gu Shen's body. A thought flashed through his mind, and this strand of silver light truly transformed into a long sword.

"Chichi chichi!"

A large amount of steam burst out between the two.

"[Truth]? You also have [Truth]?!"

Han Dang's expression was painfully twisted, and he looked at Gu Shen in utter astonishment.

Gu Shen gripped the hilt of the sword and began to kill directly.

"Buzz buzz buzz!"

In the next moment, a circle of black light rippled from the sword, and the two's [Truth] domains collided without reservation!

The collision of top-tier domains caused violent anomalies.

In an instant.

The frozen ice shards were erased!

The evaporated lake water was also erased!

After the two collided, they immediately separated. In the place where they had clashed, only a pitch-black "spherical vacuum" remained. It was the result of the collision of [Truth]. Everything had been erased, leaving only nothingness.

Gu Shen retreated dozens of meters.

Han Dang, on the other hand, retreated hundreds of meters. He looked at his left hand in disbelief. In the exchange of [Truth] domains, he had actually been at a disadvantage. The losing side naturally had to pay the price.

Han Dang's previously intact hand had now been erased by the ruler.

"Impossible."

Han Dang looked at Gu Shen and murmured, "How could you possess [Truth]?"

Gu Shen did not waste words with Han Dang.

He quickly adjusted his breathing.

He raised his hand again, and the long sword transformed into a large bow. After creating some distance, he began to snipe Han Dang from afar!

The current Gu Shen was completely different from when he had fought Meng Xiao.

His vast spiritual sea was enough to support him in firing three consecutive arrows of full power!

He raised his hand and drew back the imitation [Extinguished Candle] to its fullest extent!

"Boom!"

This shot was faster than any sniper rifle in the world.

With the devil releasing all the authority of the [Ruler of Truth], Gu Shen's combat experience was amplified like never before. This ruler was like a "top-tier AI" with independent consciousness. Not only was it incredibly obedient to his commands, but it could also predict his next thought on its own.

For example, this step.

Gu Shen only slightly raised his hand, and the ruler made a "transformation," directly mimicking [Extinguished Candle] to make it convenient for him to fire directly.

Han Dang did not give Gu Shen a chance to draw his bow continuously.

The moment Gu Shen raised his hand, he charged madly towards Gu Shen.

However, the first arrow of [Extinguished Candle] was still fired!

There was no arrow nocked, but the destructive power was terrifying. This arrow directly pierced and shattered his right shoulder. Han Dang, who was desperately charging forward, only showed a slight hint of pain, which vanished in an instant. He dragged his tattered body with a shattered shoulder and once again closed in on Gu Shen, reaching out his hands as if to strangle a child...

Gu Shen frowned.

He discovered that Han Dang's attack patterns had become simpler after losing control.

From a combat perspective, although Han Dang possessed [Truth], he had become duller and "weaker."

Gu Shen held the great bow horizontally, and the arc of truth flashed past, already transformed into a backhanded grip on a knife, a blocking stance with the blade facing outwards.

"Wait...both hands?"

In a flash of lightning, Gu Shen realized that something was wrong.

His previous sword should have erased Han Dang's left hand...

No, that's not right.

The damage of [Truth] is all at the causal level.

His sword had indeed caused damage to Han Dang, but this extremely crazed fellow used the illusion of [True Speech] to deceive himself, overdrawing on [Truth] and using the same causal level to correct and revert the damage!

[Truth] plus [True Speech], plus a steadfastly convinced madman, is that equal to "immortality"?

Gu Shen slashed out with his backhand, cutting Han Dang in half at the waist!

In the next moment.

This madman repaired his body and pounced again.

At this point, this life-or-death duel began to lose its meaning, leaving only the monotonous repetition of being knocked away and colliding...An out-of-control person with only the [Truth] domain and no combat awareness, no matter how crazy he became, could not defeat a rational person who also possessed [Truth].

Gu Shen chopped at Han Dang again and again with his knife.

He looked at the flesh that he had cut away, and the fresh "Heavenly Sheath Fragments" mixed within, realizing that this battle was more like a "beginner's training ground."

The reason the devil had released all authority was because there was no more suitable "practice battle" than this one.

If he were to ascend to the throne of the Underworld in the future.

Then what awaited him would be the god-seats who controlled various kindling-level "forbidden powers"...[Truth] was a "weapon" belonging to that level of combat, so no matter how it was used in lower-level duels, it would definitely be crushing.

Likewise.

If it was not him standing here today, but someone else.

Any one of the enforcers from the Two Continents would not be like this now.

Their ending would most likely be a tragedy.

The moment Han Dang comprehended [Truth], the "threat" to non-kindling faction transcendent individuals reached its peak. In the harsh environment after the explosion of the [Child], the only ones who had a chance to kill Han Dang without injury were the Apostles of God who wielded [Relics].

No one but Gu Shen could do this.

Bai Xiu probably couldn't either.

Under the restrictions of several special conditions, the only one who could fight Han Dang "back and forth" at this moment was Gu Shen.

Similarly.

The only one who could fight Gu Shen "back and forth" was Han Dang.

An opponent with just the right strength, a battle with a predetermined ending.

For Gu Shen, this was completely an experiential battle to feel the strength of [Truth].

The devil was showing him the power of [Truth].

This supreme, enticing authority.

In the frozen lake, two figures clashed and separated repeatedly.

They just collided again and again like this.

The crazed Han Dang was tireless.

Gu Shen, who was passively defending, had no choice...Every time he struck, he would cut down Han Dang's body, but the battle would not end because of this. This madman was completely insane, constantly deceiving himself, and in an instant, the severed torso would grow back again.

For Gu Shen.

The meaning of this duel was no longer to kill Han Dang.

He began to gradually familiarize himself with and master [Truth]. When this ruler completely submitted to one person, then the power of every strike it unleashed was enough to intoxicate people...The master of the ruler could easily complete "cross-tier" battles, and could also use the power of [Truth] to erase everything he didn't like.

But destiny had already marked the price on the back.

Every time the ruler was used, it was a descent into the "abyss." What would he become in the end?

Probably, like Han Dang.

So Gu Shen's spirit was always very concentrated.

His purpose, from beginning to end, was only one thing...To quickly kill Han Dang, and then reseal the ruler. [Truth] and [True Speech] also needed to consume power. When the source power stored by Han Dang was exhausted, that would be the end of everything!

After nearly a thousand domain collisions.

Finally, Gu Shen got his chance. Han Dang's source power was close to exhaustion, and his spirit was also rare "sober."

"Ssslah!"

A flash of blade light split Han Dang's body in half. This time, the repair of [Truth] became slow, no longer as fast as before. Gu Shen added another strike, and [Truth] was still repairing.

The blade light was dense.

At this moment, Han Dang no longer possessed the power to clash head-on...His entire person was completely suppressed by the blade light, and the power of [True Speech] also began to fade. The two of them, one above and one below, continued to fall deeper into the frozen lake, eventually crashing into a huge reef.

Gu Shen stood with his blade, the silver light did not rush to transform into a ruler, but still maintained the "knife form," propped up against the frozen lake rock.

And Han Dang, who was slowly lying on the "ground," was blooming with thousands of slender bloodlines all over his body.

Each one was where Gu Shen's blade energy had reached.

Gu Shen no longer attacked, because he felt that Han Dang's spirit seemed to have recovered.

The man lying on the reef, his body overflowed with slender and dense blood threads.

"Uh."

From his throat came a low groan, like a roar, more like a wail.

But the sound did not spread out.

Not because the water in the frozen lake was too cold.

But because Gu Shen's last strike had just wiped past here.

A neat bloodline emerged from his neck. This strike had completely separated his head from his neck. The reason why it looked "complete" now was only because he was still lying down.

The pitch-black color in Han Dang's eyes gradually dissipated, and his consciousness was returning.

The reason why this was happening was not because his will was strong enough to overcome "loss of control."

It was just because he was about to die.

Han Dang's [True Speech] collapsed first. At this moment, he could not afford the price of [Truth], so he returned to the cruel real world. That collapsing spirit, by chance, returned to a brief moment of clarity.

A long life flashed through his mind like a fleeting glimpse.

But.

Those who have lost control are not qualified to remember.

In [Snow Cage], he had already gone mad...All memories, no matter how he tried to recall them, could only continue to this point...The subsequent scenes were intermittent, thunder, blizzard, frozen lake, sinking.

In his mind, there were only incomplete, broken images left.

Han Dang widened his eyes, wanting to look up. He subconsciously wanted to find the figure of his teacher.

But this frozen lake was too desolate.

He couldn't see anything.

He raised his separated head, and in the end, he only saw a young man standing with his knife.

"Gu Shen."

Han Dang miraculously squeezed out a vague syllable from his throat.

He whimpered and opened his mouth.

In the next moment.

Gu Shen shattered this head with a single strike. He withdrew the [Ruler of Truth], exhaled a long breath, and in the darkness of the frozen lake, he circulated the "Breath of Winter," feeling the silence of this desolate place, and calming the side effects brought about by using [Truth].

[Truth] was something that consumed a huge amount of energy every second.

His spirit was already on the verge of being overdrawn.

Fortunately, Han Dang couldn't hold on any longer, otherwise, this battle would have ended, and he would definitely not look as "relaxed" as he did now. The side effects of overdrawing would require at least half a month of rest to recover.

Sitting cross-legged on the cold reef, Gu Shen paused for a moment. The first thing he did after regaining his strength was to take out the "Miracle Silver" and reseal the "Devil."

He had already witnessed the terrifying nature of this weapon.

Even if he had given himself the suggestion not to overuse it...Every time he held it, he would still be shaken by the pleasure.

He even had a secret expectation during the duel just now.

He hoped that Han Dang could hold on a little longer.

So that he could wield [Truth] for a longer time.

"Being addicted to this damn thing will kill you."

While he was still maintaining his rationality, Gu Shen quickly resealed the ruler.

Then, he raised his head and looked towards the frozen lake above.

According to the previous agreement, he needed to return to the surface within five minutes after the explosion of the [Child] to give a safe signal.

But Gu Lao Yezi and the others must not have imagined.

After the explosion of the [Child], Han Dang did not die.

He needed to deal with Han Dang first.

Now that this fight was over, who knows how many five minutes had passed, the people above must be worried to death, right?

"It's been a long time, they probably don't mind if it's a little longer."

Gu Shen was not in a hurry to float up.

He sat in front of Han Dang's corpse and began to extract the "Heavenly Sheath Fragments."

A large number of fragments still remained in Han Dang's body!

Now the most rational approach was to seize the time to extract these fragments while they were still active...With these fragments, the harvest of this battle would be worth the results of the Two Continents' enforcers fighting hard in the tundra region for a month.

Just as Gu Shen was about to extract the fragments.

A very strange feeling suddenly emerged in his heart.

Gu Shen subconsciously raised his head, looking at the initial position of the [Child] explosion, which was the submersion area of the [Azure King Authority Realm].

A hoarse, weak voice.

Emanated from there, and then came to Gu Shen's mind.

"You are."

"The key?"