Chapter 141: The Invitation of the Gods

Salinger wore a deep black divine robe, adorned with luxurious gold ornaments, and the contours of his facial features were typical of a person from the Southern Continent.

"Long time no see, Dream." Salinger waved his hand to dismiss the Death Consul and sat opposite Chumen.

"First, congratulations to you for finally becoming a god. It seems Grejary was thoroughly suppressed by you."

This was an inference Chumen made based on the Death pathway; when Salinger became a god, the interference of the previous generation's Death was inevitable.

"I have also waited a long time for this day." Salinger's voice no longer held that characteristic chill, and he sounded slightly emotional.

They had known each other since the end of the Second Epoch and had even once cooperated tacitly to press the Phoenix Ancestor into the River of Eternal Darkness.

"I am here representing Them to invite you." After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Salinger went straight to the point.

"What?!" Chumen blinked, almost doubting he had heard correctly.

"I represent all the True Gods in inviting 'Sun' to join the Gods Alliance," Salinger repeated earnestly.

"Herabogen and Leodero have also reached a consensus with us; we will not hold any prejudice against 'Sun'."

"..." Chumen blinked, doubting his own ears for a moment.

"Inviting 'Sun' to join the Gods Alliance?" Chumen repeated, unable to help but clap his hands in approval.

This move was truly unexpected.

The invitation was for "Sun" and not "Dream"; this was the most important point.

This was equivalent to the Gods Alliance proactively allowing Chumen to have a foot in both camps, yielding certain benefits to let "Sun" join the Gods Alliance.

In this way, for Chumen, this was hedging his bets; even if he encountered the worst-case scenario, he would not be a loser.

"Wonderful!" Chumen exclaimed.

"Originally, it should have been 'Night' who came to talk to you," Salinger reminded him, "but since you have come here, I can do it on her behalf."

Chumen had once been the Night Pontiff, and even now he was still the Dream Angel under the Evernight Goddess; from any perspective, the Evernight Goddess was the best choice.

However...

You are afraid that I will win 'Night' over to my side... Chumen did not expose Salinger's thoughts and watched Him with great interest.

"We do not need you to stand clearly on our side; we only need you to be able to abandon Solomon when the outcome becomes clear."

Ha! So this is fear that I might flip the table...

"Always standing on the correct historical trend—this is my understanding of you, and this time, it is an opportunity we are gifting to you."

"No matter who wins in the end, you will not lose."

Salinger looked at Chumen and stated his own perspective on him.

"We have summarized all your information and have a sufficiently profound understanding of you; you will agree."

Salinger analyzed calmly.

"Your earliest appearance should have been under 'Night', becoming Her Pontiff; at that time, you were still an Angel."

"Afterward, 'Night' killed the Destruction Demon Wolf and seized the greatest fruits of victory of the Age of First Fire Flare."

"In the Age of Twins, you went to the Creator Kingdom and became the Creator's Dream Angel."

"Afterward, the Creator reclaimed the Authority and ruled the entire world."

"In the Third Epoch, you disappeared for a period, but after returning, you joined Rose Redemption and delivered the final blow when assassinating the Creator."

"You seem to possess an unknown ability to foresee Fate, always standing on the correct historical trend, and now we are exchanging this opportunity for a promise that is not harsh."

"..." Chumen fell into a long silence.

Clap, clap, clap!

Chumen could not help but applaud Salinger, "It is truly a waste of talent for you to be 'Death'; you should have been the 'Black Emperor'."

The Sequence 7 and Sequence 6 of the Black Emperor pathway are Briber and Corrupt Baron, respectively, both skilled at persuasion and corruption.

"So," Salinger stared fixedly at Chumen, "your choice is..."

"But there is one point you should also be confused or even terrified about: how do you know that the camp I am currently in is not the correct one?"

Chumen looked at Salinger and asked this question.

"..." Salinger gently closed his eyes, the power of deathly silence surging around him, and only opened them after a few seconds.

"That is indeed a question," Salinger answered candidly, "but we also have the power to create trends and define what is correct."

"And for you, being able to have more choices is certainly not a bad thing."

That is also true... Chumen was speechless.

"Then we shall consider it your agreement," Salinger suddenly said, and then, to Chumen's astonishment, He dissipated directly, returning to the Underworld as the concept of death.

Uh... Chumen was covered in black lines, feeling as if he had been forcibly dragged onto a pirate ship.

But soon Chumen laughed again; such an unconstrained invitation had already achieved its purpose just by being issued.

And on a deeper level, Salinger did not even mention it; even when He realized that Chumen was about to refuse, He simply ran away, not giving Chumen a chance to decline.

Chumen did not enter the Underworld to force Salinger out, but instead walked out of the palace and found the Death Consul.

"Your Grace the Duke, the banquet is still ongoing; do you wish to return to the venue?" The Death Consul still had that dead and indifferent tone.

"No need, I would actually like to ask you to take me around this imperial palace." Chumen had a very prominent trait: he held grudges, and they basically never lasted past the night.

Salinger had set a small trap for him, so he would get it back from His son.

"..." The Death Consul subconsciously wanted to resist, but upon thinking of the order from "Death", he had to abandon his official duties and lead this Dream Duke to tour the Balam Imperial Palace.

"Azik, do you have any understanding of Godhood and humanity?" Chumen asked.

"Godhood? Humanity?" Under Chumen's guidance, the Death Consul thought about this profound question for the first time in the identity of Azik Eggers.

It was not a good thing for a resurrection vessel to develop profound humanity.

"Yes," Chumen prepared to use the method he used to inspire Lilith in the Second Epoch to help Azik cultivate some humanity.

"The two are opposites in the occult sense, but they also share many commonalities; your current indifference is merely the external manifestation of your Godhood."

"And to gain humanity and achieve Balance, you need a large number of believers; you must not only approach them but also understand them and become them."

Chumen's voice was like holy light turning into sweet rain, falling into the depths of Azik's heart.

This is the Authority of Empty Imagination, silently and imperceptibly merging into the deepest part of Azik's spirit, transforming into His instinct, which will sprout into stable humanity at the appropriate time.

Salinger could have discovered such a method, but who told Him to run away?