Chapter 409

A massive, eerie vertical pupil slowly emerged in the sky, surrounded by eight twisted tentacles that sent chills down the spine.

Immediately after, the pupil shrank slowly until it became the size of a human, then hovered in midair.

62, absorbed by the treasure box

"I have waited countless eons for this day, waiting for the arrival of these supreme beings. You are all trapped in the net I wove for you—Great Serpent, Hungry Wolf, Hungry Wolf, and even you, Explosion. Come, see the grand net I have prepared for you."

Explosion continued speaking calmly: "You say no true gods have ascended to the Ancestral God—true enough, since true gods lack the inheritance from Chaos. But if my power reaches a certain height, if I can create Chaos, then am I not surpassing the Ancestral God?"

"Ha ha ha! I guided Hungry Wolf step by step into madness, taught Great Serpent how to devour, spread prophecies to Hungry Wolf, and you, Explosion—your ability to freely traverse the universe—don't you find it strange that you gained powers only a true god should possess?" the eerie voice said triumphantly.

"Let you witness firsthand how magnificent the birth of a god is! Ha ha ha!" With that, the massive tentacles shot toward the crowd. Strangely, even Explosion, whose strength dwarfed all others, could not move, allowing the tentacles to seize him.

"Explosion, are you puzzled why you cannot move? Do you think my power obeys anyone? Ha ha ha! Cooperate and help me complete my ascension, and perhaps I'll spare your life."

The dying Hungry Wolf and others could only watch helplessly as the tentacles drained energy from their bodies.

Gradually, the vertical pupil grew brighter, radiating an eerie purple hue. With a blinding beam of violet light, the tentacles finally released everyone—yet Explosion had become an ordinary human, his entire power gone.

"It's done! Ha ha ha! All this century of waiting was worth it. Is this the power beyond the Ancestral God? Ha ha ha!"

The massive vertical pupil transformed into a human form, behind which countless evil, eerie vertical pupils flickered in and out of view.

He had successfully absorbed all the power of Hungry Wolf and the others.

Normally, a human could not withstand such immense power—but this man was no ordinary human; he was a god. Thus, no matter how great the power, it merely aided him.

His strength surged dramatically.

Immediately afterward, streams of black-purple rays erupted from each vertical pupil, shooting toward Luo En.

Luo En said calmly: "I am invincible." With that, he endured the terrifying assault without flinching. "Is this all a god can do?" Luo En waved his hand dismissively.

This mysterious man was a god—and yet he had been insulted by a mere mortal. Naturally, he was furious, but he could not win. So he could only temporarily withdraw.

He believed it was not because he was weak or Luo En strong, but because he had been careless.

Thus, he silently vowed in his heart to defeat this man next time. Once he had made peace with this thought, the mysterious power vanished around Luo En and the others.

Dragon Scroll looked at Luo En and could not help but envy: "Why am I so strong, yet no one dares challenge me? Why is this? When did Luo En become so strong that so many challengers come for him?"

Luo En himself did not know why he was so strong or so popular—he could only sigh and shake his head, admitting he had no idea.

After several days of playful brawling, they returned.

But Dragon Scroll was furious—she was so strong, yet everyone only sought out Luo En.

"Luo En, tell me—am I strong? Why does everyone only come to you?!" Dragon Scroll demanded, hands on her hips.

Snowflake immediately jumped forward to defend Luo En: "Sister, what are you doing? It's not Luo En who seeks them out—it's them who come to him. If he could help it, he wouldn't want this either."

"Snowflake is right. If you like, next time someone comes, you take them on—I won't get involved," Luo En added, clearly uninterested in being challenged.

"No! Today I must defeat you! You defeated the god of the universe—if I defeat you, doesn't that prove I'm the strongest?" Dragon Scroll thought this logic increasingly sound.

"Take this!" She launched a sudden punch at Luo En without warning.

Luo En refused to fight her—so she would force him to strike back! Only then could they determine a winner.

Luo En dodged Dragon Scroll's attack with lightning speed. He did not counterattack—only defended himself.

Seeing Luo En refused to give her a real fight, Dragon Scroll growled: "Luo En, I'm not joking—I want to fight you properly!"

"Young Lady, I am fighting you right now—how about I just surrender?" Luo En pleaded helplessly.

"No!" Dragon Scroll rejected outright.

She intensified her assault, believing that if she pressed harder, Luo En would finally reveal his true strength.

Dragon Scroll unleashed her ultimate technique: Mind Control.

She tried to use her mind to control Luo En—surely that would prove she was superior.

She silently willed her mind to command Luo En. But Luo En was utterly unaffected.

Previously, she had used Mind Control on Hungry Wolf—he had broken free, but only after being controlled for a while.

This time, Luo En showed not the slightest effect—he didn't even realize she had used Mind Control.

Seeing Luo En remain completely still, Dragon Scroll rarely grew angry—but now she had no desire to continue.

How could she defeat someone immune to Mind Control? Better to save face.

Dragon Scroll stopped on her own and said: "Enough. This is pointless."

Seeing Dragon Scroll finally stop, Snowflake rushed over to support Luo En: "That's better! Sister, why were you even fighting? It was pointless!"

"Good. I'm not someone who likes fighting, you know!"

Luo En smiled faintly, looking innocent.

For these days, everyone either healed or trained, living in quiet comfort.

But one morning, a sudden shout rang out.

"Luo En! Luo En! Come see the courtyard—there's a glowing treasure box! It sucked Snowflake in!" Banggu shouted loudly.

59, another world

Fortunately, Luo En was jolted awake by the shout in his sleep—but he still didn't fully understand what was happening.

As soon as Dragon Scroll heard Snowflake's name, she was the first to rush out.

"What? What happened to Snowflake?!" Dragon Scroll urgently questioned Banggu.

At that moment, Luo En stepped out, yawning, utterly confused.

Banggu stammered frantically: "S-S-Snowflake! There's a treasure box—right up ahead!"

Banggu, too panicked, spoke incoherently, unable to form a clear sentence.

Dragon Scroll roared: "Calm down and speak properly!" Her loud voice instantly snapped Banggu back to his senses.

Banggu took a deep breath and spoke slowly: "Snowflake was sucked into a treasure box up ahead! The power there is too strong—I couldn't pull her back."

"What? A treasure box?!" Dragon Scroll stared in disbelief. How could a treasure box possibly suck someone in?

Luo En was now fully awake—he finally understood: Snowflake was gone.

"Lead the way!" Luo En didn't waste a word—he immediately told Banggu to show him where the treasure box was.

Soon, the three arrived in the backyard. There indeed was a treasure box, but at this moment, it was completely still—how could it possibly have sucked someone in?

Luo En stared at Banggu with a puzzled expression.

Banggu guessed Luo En didn't believe him and hurriedly explained: "It's true, it's really true! I'm not lying! When Chu Xue ran over, the box opened, emitted a blinding light, and sucked her in!"

Banggu described everything he saw with great seriousness, adding many detailed specifics.

Luo En saw his expression and the tension in his demeanor—he knew Banggu wasn't lying. Chu Xue had truly been sucked in.

"This box doesn't look special at all—how could it possibly suck people in?" Long Juan turned the box over and over, finding nothing unusual.

The box was actually a time tunnel—any accidental touch to its mechanism would activate it and suck a person inside.

Chu Xue had been examining it closely, and that's why she'd been accidentally sucked in.

Luo En was also curious and stepped forward to take a closer look. Unfortunately, since Long Juan saw nothing unusual, she was still observing—and when Luo En reached out, she immediately pulled away.

"I haven't finished looking yet—what's the rush?" Long Juan was annoyed by Luo En's action.

Luo En was too tired to argue with a woman—women were irrational creatures. But after waiting a long while, Long Juan still stared intently, showing no intention to hand it over.

As she examined it, Long Juan muttered to herself: "No mechanism at all—what a piece of junk."

Luo En, having grown tired of waiting, simply reached out to grab it. But Long Juan clung to it and refused to let go.

The two began fighting over it, neither willing to release their grip. Banggu stood by, anxious but unable to speak up or stop them.

As the two struggled fiercely, the treasure box changed—it shifted from its plain, ordinary appearance to glowing with a faint sheen, then slowly brightened.

Now that they'd noticed something unusual, neither wanted to let go even more.

Banggu shouted: "Let go! Stop fighting! Look at what's happening!"

Even though Banggu was shouting for them to let go, the two acted as if they hadn't heard—still gripping the box tightly.

Suddenly, the box emitted a beam of light—straight up into the sky, its end invisible.

Long Juan and Luo En had just locked eyes when the beam shot out—like being pulled in by the light, the two vanished from the courtyard.

Banggu watched as the two disappeared again. Just as he rushed forward to grab them, the beam instantly ceased, and the box returned to its ordinary, unremarkable form.

Banggu rushed over, picked up the box, and began pondering it himself. He realized now that all three of them had been sucked in—he couldn't let himself be pulled in too, or no one would be left to respond.

For safety's sake, Banggu stopped touching the box and carried it to a secure location.

He figured that if they returned, they'd need the box to come back—so he had to protect it. But everything inside the box was now up to them.

Later, Banggu gathered several others to study the box, but none found anything.

The box no longer emitted any light. Banggu began to think it had all been an illusion—but the disappearance of the three people told him it wasn't a dream—it was real.

Inside the box, Chu Xue, Long Juan, and Luo En had been pulled into another dimension.

And entry into the box was random—so the three were scattered in different locations, possibly very far apart.