Book 7, Chapter 91: Negotiations

At Redstone Basin.

By this point, none of the Demonic Beasts would try to do anything to Su Chen.

Without any guards present, Su Chen easily walked up and sent a droplet of blood essence into the pit.

That single drop contained far more energy than what countless Demonic Beasts could provide.

Very soon, a voice emerged from the depths. “Why have you returned so soon? Has your plan failed?”

“Quite the opposite. Up till now, everything has gone smoothly.”

“Hm?” A bat rose up from the depths. “What did you say?”

“Exactly what you just heard. The plan is unfolding quite smoothly.”

“What step are you currently at?”

“Destroying the Barrier.”

Upon hearing this, the Blood Ancestor fell silent.

After a long pause, the small bat flapped its wings and said, “This is the most crucial moment of the plan. You cannot afford to be careless. The gods will not be easily deceived, and their divine power allows them to see through disguises. They will not be tricked so easily.”

“Actually, I think that the opposite is true. They are very easy to deceive,” Su Chen replied.

“Hm? Why is that?”

“Because they lack experience in being deceived.”

They lacked experience in being deceived!

This was part of why Su Chen dared to lie to them at all.

Unlike pure strength, wisdom required both intelligence and experience to properly foster. The broader one’s experience was, the more their wisdom would blossom and grow.

The gods had quite a bit of experience in other subjects, but they had very little experience in lies and deceit.

Because no one dared to do so.

The gods were powerful.

Too powerful!

And this power meant that their pride ran bone-deep. This was why they said such things like, “You dare to gaze directly at a god’s glory,” “You dare to call a god directly by their name,” and “The mercy of a god is as deep as the sea, and their might is as terrifying as hell itself!”

The timeless exaggeration of their might had elevated the statuses of the gods to extraordinary heights.

This had been the norm for tens of thousands of years.

Even though the gods had existed for a very long time, their experiences were one-dimensional.

Hence, the power of trickery.

Their prideful and arrogant demeanor was deeply ingrained into their psyche. As a result, the gods refused to believe that they could be deceived despite the fact that they knew that liars existed. It was true that their divine power allowed them to see through many such disguises. However, if the other party had divine power, even if just a little bit, then the gods would have to use their brains to see through the deceit.

This was why the Blood Ancestor believed that the gods would not be easy to deceive, while Su Chen conversely believed that they would be.

Upon hearing Su Chen’s words, the Blood Ancestor fell silent again before asking, “How much longer?”

“Very soon.”

Within the Shadowless Sky Church.

The gods’ discussion was still ongoing.

The voices of the gods echoed throughout the main hall like resonant bells, booming into Frost’s ear.

“So Shadowless is actually hiding in the Barrier? In other words, he is in control of it?”

“Yes!” Frost answered with a lowered head.

“Then can he open the Barrier?”

“Yes.”

The gods instantly burst into a frenzied clamor.

If what Frost was saying was true, then wasn’t that equivalent to consigning all of their work to oblivion? Why had they spent so much effort to wear down the Barrier? If they had just introduced themselves to Shadowless, then couldn’t he have just opened the door for them?

Of course, there was still time.

The gods immediately demanded, “Then have him open the Barrier!”

The intensity of their words was difficult for Frost to bear, and he groaned in pain as blood spurted out from his body. And since he couldn’t use immortal energy to heal his wounds, he could only forcefully endure the crushing pressure.

Thankfully, the gods immediately realized what had happened and fell silent.

A halo of golden light descended onto Frost’s body, filling his body with a warm feeling.

The Mother Goddess had intervened in a timely manner.

Frost took a moment to catch his breath before saying, “The Barrier is my Lord’s body, and there is no door, so one cannot open it partially. Additionally, opening the Barrier is equivalent to destroying his body, and if the Barrier is shattered, then my Lord will die.”

Upon hearing this, everyone felt their enthusiasm dim a little.

So that’s how it was. No wonder the Shadowless Sky God hadn’t immediately opened the Barrier.

If the Barrier shattered, then he would be finished.

“What a pity. Does that mean that he is fated to become our enemy and not our friend?” the Moon Goddess asked this in a tactful tone, but behind her cordial words was a venomous killing intent.

No matter who it was, anyone that impeded the gods’ return would be killed.

Frost hurriedly said, “My Lord would prefer to not be enemies, which is why he has been thinking of a way to circumvent this issue.”

“Hm?”

“My Lord needs a god’s body. As long as he has a body, he will be able to extricate himself from the Barrier. And then, without my Lord supporting it, the Barrier will lose its backbone and will automatically collapse.”

“It should be pretty easy to give him a body, no? There are tons of them left over from the Twilight of the Gods. Any one of them should do.”

“That’s not enough,” Frost immediately said. He didn’t refuse their offer outright, but he was planning on qualifying his statement more.

“Oh?”

Frost forged on fearlessly as he sighed before explaining, “A god’s corpse will not be enough to properly contain my Lord’s power and might. Not even a thousand would be enough, which means that he needs an even more powerful body. After all, he is the Lord of the Barrier.”

The Moon Goddess grew angry at Frost’s words. “Where does he want us to find such a body? There is no body that can meet these requirements.”

“Actually, there is!” Frost replied.

All of the gods were momentarily taken aback.

At that moment, however, the Lord of the Dreamrealm calmly sighed. “He’s talking about an Origin Beast.”

An Origin Beast?

The gods were stunned by this epiphany.

Yes, an Origin Beast.

This was perhaps the only creature whose physical body was even stronger than a god’s.

And this was true despite the fact that the Origin Beasts had lost the war against the gods.

After all, even though the Origin Beasts lost, that didn’t necessarily mean that they were weaker than the gods in every aspect. In terms of pure physical strength, no creature could compare to the Origin Beasts.

Humans could defeat and kill a tiger, for instance, but that didn’t mean that a human’s strength or vitality was greater than a tiger’s. In fact, the opposite was true. If it weren’t for the inherent adaptability and intelligence that humans possessed, a tiger would be able to easily finish off one or more humans by itself.

The difference between the gods and the Origin Beasts was similar.

The gods were actually weaker than the Origin Beasts when it came to vitality and strength. It wasn’t their raw power but rather their innate control over Method Power and adaptability that had allowed them to triumph.

These techniques of the gods were like the Origin Skills and weapons that humans used to hunt Desolate Beasts.

Frost’s request surprised the gods.

Did that mean that the Shadowless Sky God wanted to take over the corpse of an Origin Beast?

In theory, it was possible.

And living in the body of a dog would be better than living inside of a wall.

“Fine. If that’s what he wants, then we will give it to him. But we need him to first open the Barrier before we can cross over and catch some of those slumbering creatures for him. He will be able to pick freely from a wide selection when the time comes,” the Moon Goddess immediately said. Since they would only provide him with an Origin Beast corpse after the Barrier fell, it didn’t really matter whether or not they kept their word. Naturally, the Moon Goddess was willing to make any kind of empty promise necessary to collapse the Barrier quicker.

Frost smiled slightly. “That would be difficult to do. Once the Barrier is destroyed, my Lord will die. As such, he must immediately transfer himself to his new body the moment the Barrier disintegrates.”

Longue the Barbarian God was beginning to grow impatient. “We are on the other side of the Barrier. How can we find an Origin Beast for him here?”

“That is your problem to solve,” Frost calmly replied.

“How arrogant!” Longue was infuriated. This Barbarian God, as befitting of his name, sounded like he wanted to forcibly descend into the Shadowless Sky Church and teach Frost a lesson.

Thankfully, the Lord of the Dreamrealm intervened. “Don’t be in such a hurry to act. If you kill him, then the Shadowless Sky God will end all negotiations with us.”

“What else is there to negotiate? We cannot meet his requests, but regardless, all we need to do is wait a few more years for the Barrier to be destroyed.”

Frost calmly said, “That is just because my Lord has never actively resisted. He needed all of you to first weaken the Barrier to the point where he can converse with you. But now that my Lord has spoken his piece, he can......”

As Frost spoke, the entire space around the church suddenly seemed to freeze.

Something miraculous was unfolding on a level invisible to the naked eye.

Occasionally, golden streaks of light would flash through the air.

The Lord of the Dreamrealm, the Mother Goddess, and the others all cried out in shock, “The Barrier has been strengthened once more!”

Yes — at that moment, they could sense that the Barrier was re-solidifying. A powerful wave of energy had encompassed the Barrier and was preventing it from deteriorating any further. Additionally, it was exceptionally strong — so much so that parts of the Barrier that had been destroyed were beginning to recover.

The other gods immediately started panicking.

If this were to continue, then how would they escape?

“Let’s talk things over peacefully!” the gods urgently cried out.

Frost lowered his head and muttered a few sentences under his breath. The power disappeared, and the Barrier returned to its original state, as if nothing had happened in the first place.

The Moon Goddess was still in a state of disbelief. “This...... is this real? This isn’t an illusion technique, right?”

The Lord of the Dreamrealm sighed. “You should know that no illusion technique can trick me. For just a moment, I clearly sensed that a powerful will was affecting the entire Barrier and causing it to recover. And now, it has disappeared. That must have been the Shadowless Sky God. He does exist, and he is in fact in control of the Barrier.”

Upon hearing this, everyone felt despair creep up their hearts.

The Mother Goddess said, “We can always come up with a different way to procure an Origin Beast.”

Drawing over an Origin Beast before the Barrier was fully destroyed would not be an easy task.

But as long as they were willing to pay a price, a way could always be found.

All of the gods turned to face the Lord of the Dreamrealm.

None of them understood the Origin Realm as deeply as he did, and he had the greatest influence over the Origin Realm through the Barrier. Furthermore, he was also the one with the most worshippers in the Origin Realm.

Upon seeing everyone gaze at him expectantly, the Lord of the Dreamrealm thought for a moment before replying, “I can have my disciples awaken an Origin Beast and lead it to the Barrier. Whether or not that will be enough, however, I don’t know.”

Frost replied, “It will take some time for my Lord to enter his new body. The Origin Beast will likely die soon after it is awakened, so we must send it over to this side first. Only Kun’s territory has enough Origin Energy to sustain the Origin Beast.”

“Then your Lord will have to allow passage,” Yormak said.

Because of the divine power shrouding him, Yormak did not recognize Frost in the slightest.

“My Lord has already said that the Barrier has no door and that a passageway cannot be opened. Otherwise, he would have let you all through a long time ago,” Frost said.

“Then how can we get an Origin Beast through the Barrier if not even we can pass through?” the gods asked in a somewhat dissatisfied tone.

Wasn’t that exactly what they wanted to do themselves?

If they could transport an Origin Beast through the Barrier, then why didn’t they just send themselves through to the other side? Why would they even need to destroy the Barrier in the first place if that were possible?

“There is one method that could work.”

“What?”

“Spatial transmission.”

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