Chapter 207: Ritual of Divine Descent

Wu Chang and the others dismounted when still some distance from the stone temple, creeping cautiously toward the small temple.

The fighting before the small temple was especially fierce.

The Bliss Cult had overwhelming numbers and local support; the locals wore combat exosuits and provided heavy firepower.

Coupled with the fact that many of the Bliss Cultists from outside were Depth Level Two players, three Depth Level Two priests had been deployed to stop the two of them—logically, they should have held the upper hand.

But in reality, not only did the Bliss Cult not hold the upper hand, they could barely maintain parity, completely overwhelmed by Meng Yawen and the helmeted man, barely holding on.

The helmeted man needed no explanation—Wu Chang strongly suspected he had entered by exploiting the upper limit of the World Pillar, for the pressure emanating from him was on an entirely different level from other Depth Level Two players, even inferior to Gu Feng.

At this moment, the helmeted man held off all three Depth Level Two priests single-handedly, while still monitoring Meng Yawen's battle and warning her of danger.

The helmeted man's advantage came from raw power; Meng Yawen's rampage through the crowd relied on sheer recklessness.

Every strike she delivered aimed to kill; often, she willingly took a hit just to ensure her opponent's death.

For anyone else, this suicidal tactic would have played right into the locals' hands—they didn't fear death, waking up again as brave warriors after each demise.

But Meng Yawen was different; she and the helmeted man belonged to the same faction and possessed the ability to permanently erase the locals.

Whether player or local, anyone she killed truly died.

Though the locals loved risking death—relieving stress by dying once in a while—that lifestyle only worked because they couldn't truly die.

When true death appeared before them without warning, they became afraid.

The first to break under Meng Yawen's assault was the local exosuit defense line.

Without local firepower support, the Bliss Cultists still trapped in the Wasteland Realm could not stop Meng Yawen's advance; at this rate, the two would soon breach the temple.

Seeing the battle so intense, Wu Chang naturally activated his skill to tip the scales.

He activated the second talent of the Knight of Discord: Chaotic Authority.

"Talent Name: Chaotic Authority"

"Manifest: You may convert energy into tangible chaos, broadcasting it outward. All targets affected by your authority will be marked. Marked targets will have a portion of their primary attributes siphoned according to the degree of chaos. When chaos exceeds a threshold, you may fully control or erase the marked target."

If any player present had activated Divinity, they would have seen a ring of black light spreading outward from Wu Chang.

All those enveloped in the black-purple glow developed a fainter shade of the same hue on their skin.

Anyone stained by this authority—local or player—suffered a drastic reduction in willpower and came under the control of Chaotic Authority.

Under Chaotic Permission, their thoughts grew chaotic, and they felt their inner power surging rapidly.

Each felt like a balloon, connected by a tube named Power, with vast amounts of energy continuously flooding into them.

They desperately needed to release this power—or they would explode.

How to release it, or whom to release it upon—this didn't matter.

Wu Chang drew from Zheng Ruiyuan's experience using this authority on the Star Leap; his own use was restrained, emphasizing subtlety and quiet infiltration.

Zheng Ruiyuan's full-power activation was instantly effective, pushing combat to its peak within minutes and rendering all affected utterly uncontrollable.

But that method was too conspicuous, too easily detected.

His gradual escalation, snowballing chaos, seemed slow and inefficient—but once the snowball grew large enough, it could not be stopped; by then, even if they realized what was happening, it would be too late.

When Wu Chang and the others had crept to within two or three hundred meters of the battlefield, every combatant present—including the three Bureau members behind them—were coated in a faint black-purple glow.

The initial full coverage of Chaotic Authority's glow meant all had been marked by Wu Chang.

With marking complete, Wu Chang began siphoning their attributes.

He saw each marked target form a connection to him, then watched a long string of prompts appear on his attribute panel.

"Target's current chaos level: Slight. Siphoning target's primary attribute: 1 Strength."

"Target's current chaos level: Light. Siphoning target's primary attribute: 2 Agility."

……

Each individual siphoning was small—ranging from 0.1 to 0.2 points, up to 2 or 3—yet the trickle was constant.

Moreover, the number of combatants here was still too few; if he could drag the entire underground shelter into the fray, even tiny gains would accumulate into something substantial.

If his authority could cover an entire realm, and he incited a world war…

Conservatively estimating sixty billion people per realm, a single attribute harvest could shatter the realm barrier's upper limit.

But perhaps because Chaotic Authority was too overpowered in large-scale battles, the realm barrier severely reduced the attributes it allowed him to absorb.

For any attribute gain exceeding 200 points, Wu Chang received only 30%—again a seven-to-three split, except now the seven belonged to the barrier.

Due to Chaotic Authority's influence, the combatants' perception plummeted; Wu Chang seized the chance to lead He Yun and Gu Feng past the battlefield, heading straight for the small temple.

As they passed the battlefield, Gu Feng remained composed, but the two Bureau members following him had bloodshot eyes and trembling arms, barely restraining their urge to fight.

Through attribute siphoning, Wu Chang discovered one follower specialized in Strength, the other in Energy, while Gu Feng himself was a rare Stamina specialist.

A tank leading a warrior and a mage—quite balanced.

Wu Chang stared blankly at the two followers and asked Gu Feng: "What's wrong with them?"

Gu Feng replied: "Didn't you notice something strange nearby? Being close makes you irritable and mentally unsettled?"

"No," Wu Chang shook his head, then asked He Yun: "Do you feel it?"

He Yun also shook his head blankly: "No feeling."

This left Gu Feng baffled—a local and a Wasteland Realm player felt nothing, yet all three of them, as Realm players, were affected. He'd never seen such a case.

Wu Chang said casually: "Could the Bliss Cult have set up something here specifically targeting your Bureau?"

Gu Feng: "Possible. But whether this is true requires further verification."

Gu Feng spoke reasonably, yet the sudden pop-up—"Target's current chaos level: Light. Siphoning target's primary attribute: 3 Stamina"—revealed he already suspected the Bliss Cult and was now brimming with battle lust.

Most of the defense force guarding the small temple had been dispatched to fight Meng Yawen and the helmeted man; few remained nearby.

Combined with Chaotic Authority's effect, some local guards had already started brawling over "What are you looking at?"; even those who hadn't fought had drastically reduced awareness, making their infiltration effortless.

Upon entering the small temple, Wu Chang sensed immense mystical energy—here, a ritual of equal rank to the Celestial Realm was underway.

He activated his Law-Dispelling Gaze, deciphering the dense mystical inscriptions scattered throughout the temple, then followed the script to lead the group toward the ritual's core node.

The central node of the esoteric ritual was a vast platform, its surface and the surrounding pillars inscribed with golden ink spells, making the ritual site both opulent and eerie. Fang Hui, whom Wu Chang had been searching for, stood at the center of the platform.

But his condition was terrible—severe diarrhea had kept him glued to the toilet for hours, with no pause in his emissions.

Even now, as the esoteric ritual unfolded, he remained seated on the toilet.

To complete this ritual, Kong Lin and the others had hastily built him a toilet right on the ritual platform.

Fang Hui had now collapsed completely, his body limp against the tank, appearing half-unconscious; only when he emitted did his body jerk involuntarily, proving he was still alive.

The half-dead Holy Son, the toilet installed at the ritual's core, and the stench-laden ceremony made everything in the room feel more absurd and bizarre than any ordinary esoteric ritual.

The Grand Archbishop Kong Lin and his assistant, the Grand Nun, stood blocking the front of the ritual platform.

Kong Lin looked at He Yun and smiled. "I knew you'd come."

He Yun frowned slightly, as if she had no intention of even acknowledging Kong Lin—someone else, however, did.

Gu Feng, who had restrained himself throughout the journey, now exploded into action, pointing at the ritual on the platform and bellowing:

!

"Kong Lin, what are you doing?!"

Kong Lin turned to Gu Feng, snorted coldly, and said: "When did the Bureau ever have the right to interfere in the affairs of our Bliss Sect?"

Under the influence of the Chaos Power, the two stood locked in hostility, ready to clash at the slightest provocation.

Wu Chang had just finished deciphering the esoteric ritual on the platform. He could hardly believe what he'd read, double-checking twice before asking hesitantly:

"You're preparing a Descent Ritual?"

Kong Lin paused, then looked at Wu Chang—the man he'd ignored earlier—and praised: "Sharp eyes. You actually recognized it as a Descent Ritual."

A Descent Ritual differs from an Earthly Divine Realm: though both allow a deity to descend to the lower realm, the requirements for a Descent Ritual are far higher.

Usually, to perform the ritual, one must first find a suitable vessel for the descending deity—this vessel cannot be inanimate; it must be alive, preferably human.

Not just anyone can serve as a divine vessel. First, the person must be compatible with the deity's essence; second, they must be extraordinary by birth—either like Fang Hui, carrying the Source Light within them, or a half-god child of human descent, inherently divine from birth.

Simply selecting a divine vessel makes the ritual's difficulty far greater than that of an Earthly Divine Realm.

After all, in the lower realm, how many prodigies exist—undiscovered, encountered by chance, and perfectly aligned with your deity's nature?

Often, to complete a Descent Ritual, the deity itself must work hard behind the scenes.

For example, in the Quiet Town dimension, the Great Holy Mother and Ailin: Ailin, as an artificial human, bore the Sacred Scar within her, granting her inherent divinity and divine power—the Sacred Scar had been bestowed upon her by the Great Holy Mother's efforts.

Had Ebett and the Church's experiment succeeded, Ailin would have fully fused with the Sacred Scar in childhood, unleashing its power—and then, the Descent Ritual would have awaited her.

High costs naturally yield powerful results.

Unlike ordinary Earthly Divine Realms, a deity descending via a Descent Ritual does not manifest as a mere projection, but as a true avatar, capable of partially transcending dimensional barriers.

Like the original Ailin, even before her ascension, she could briefly wield Archangel-level power within the Wasteland Realm.

The Descent Ritual is easy to understand—but there's one problem: Fang Hui is male, while the Bliss Sect's Mother Goddess is clearly female.

Are they planning a male mother?

Wu Chang pointed at Fang Hui on the toilet and asked: "If this is a Descent Ritual, why choose a man as the vessel?"

Kong Lin spread his hands and said:

"It's simple: where there is a Mother Goddess, there must be a Divine Son. The Mother Goddess's descent requires the Divine Son as a medium. Before descending, she unites her soul with the Divine Son's, merging completely."

"Once the Divine Son's soul merges into the Mother Goddess's embrace, she descends into this body and transforms it into her own."

Wu Chang asked: "So right now he's a man, but after the descent, he'll become a woman?"

Kong Lin nodded. "Precisely."

Wu Chang clicked his tongue. Dammit—he suddenly became curious what feminized Fang Hui would look like.

Could he negotiate with the Mother Goddess to avoid permanent descent—just transform him, then leave?

While they spoke, Gu Feng and his companions had already retrieved their gear and assumed combat stances.

Gu Feng's weapon was a shield-sword: his left hand held a shaped shield, his right gripped a lengthened, broadened heavy blade, and he roared:

"No more words, Kong Lin! Out of respect for our pact, I turned a blind eye when you entered—but you repaid my leniency with treachery. Whether as guardian of this world's pillar or as an agent of the Bureau, I will not allow a demon god to descend!"

Without another word, Gu Feng charged forward, shield raised, as if to bulldoze the toilet itself.

Fang Hui on the toilet looked terrified—he wanted to flee, but his body was weak, his legs numb and unresponsive, leaving him helpless as Gu Feng rushed toward him.

In that moment, he felt utter despair.

Boom!

When Gu Feng reached three meters from Fang Hui, he slammed hard into a barrier and came to a sudden stop.

Behind Gu Feng, Kong Lin slowly lowered his staff.

"Divine Son, do not fear—as long as I am here, they cannot harm you!"

Seeing this, Gu Feng's two subordinates immediately joined the fray, engaging Kong Lin's Grand Nun in combat.

In a room of less than a hundred square meters, excluding Fang Hui seated on the toilet, five Level-2 Abyss players were now fighting simultaneously—both the intensity and danger of this battle surpassed anything outside.

Afraid of being caught in crossfire, Wu Chang and He Yun pressed themselves against the wall.

He Yun whispered: "Should we go help Gu Feng and the others?"

Wu Chang frowned: "Why help them?"

He Yun frowned—wasn't the reason obvious?

"What if they lose? What if the demon god descends?"

Wu Chang said: "They are indeed preparing for the demon god's descent—but the Descent Ritual is far from complete. There's still time."

The ritual's delay is naturally tied to Fang Hui's current condition.

If the soul had physical form, Fang Hui would have already expelled his soul entirely—under this state, even the Mother Goddess herself could only stare helplessly.

He Yun asked: "So what do we do now? Just watch?"

Wu Chang whispered: "Of course not. Let them fight out front—we go straight to the true stone temple behind, cut off the source of the descent channel, and they'll have no reason to fight at all."

Go ahead and fight, the louder the better. Once he breaks through this Pillar of the Present World, this whole lot will fall in line.

(End of chapter)