Chapter 325: Today

Amidst the resentment, Dagang, upon receiving the message, wore an expression of wild joy—such genuine, inner-to-outer delight rivaled that of the Briver Islanders upon seeing Eileen's return.

Dagang volunteered:

"For my Lord's return, I am willing to go and eliminate the foreign deity; with only a projection, He cannot win against me at sea."

The other side of the rift fell silent for a moment, then sent another message.

"The Lord says the foreign deity has just used a special method to channel vast divine power into this plane; press too hard, and you will die."

"You must live to better clear obstacles for the Lord. Do nothing futile—only contain the foreign deity until the Lord awakens; the Lord will act then."

The other side of the rift fell utterly silent, no more words coming.

Dagang knelt and bowed toward the rift; then the resentment shattered, and Wu Chang's consciousness returned to reality.

At the end of the resentment, Dagang's bloodstained final words surfaced.

【Prevent the foreign deity from seizing Briver Island, so the Deep Sea Lord may awaken when the Stars Return.】

From Dagang's resentment, his deepest fixation remained the awakening of the Deep Sea Lord, fearing the Grand Mother's presence would disrupt the Deep Sea Lord's plan.

Dagang's resentment was brief, yet it revealed considerable information.

The most notable detail was that the Stars Return was imminent, and the Deep Sea Lord would awaken soon.

Dagang had instructed Ernst that before today ended, he must stop the Grand Mother beyond Briver Island at any cost.

If all went as expected, tonight would be the moment of the Stars Return.

Who would've thought the evil god's remains hidden beneath the sea were truly kin to Kthulu?

Next, the critical point was that the Grand Mother had smuggled vast divine power into the Quiet Town plane.

In Dagang's resentment, the messenger on the other side of the rift showed clear wariness toward the Grand Mother's power.

But it was only wariness, not fear.

After all, according to the rift's side, only if pressed too hard would Dagang die.

It seemed the Grand Mother's use of that power demanded a great cost, or could not be reused within a short time.

While Wu Chang examined Dagang's resentment, the Grand Mother had risen over a hundred meters; her halo above her head had solidified to nearly eighty percent, spinning and causing a pure white battle armor to manifest across her body.

The armor was inscribed with complex runes—neither Wu Chang's occult knowledge nor his Lawbreaking Gaze could decipher them, indicating the knowledge involved reached at least Abyss Layer Three.

To wield power tied to Abyss Layer Three, she must be serious now.

Earlier, the Grand Mother had mentioned she lacked only a Pillar of a Divine Realm to awaken her authority and ascend to a higher deity.

That meant she was still at the mid-tier deity level.

Wu Chang had elbow-strike the projections of Lyman and the Mother of Desire more than once; he found a mid-tier deity's projection no real trouble.

But the problem was: the Stars Return was near, and beneath the nearby sea, the Deep Sea Lord stirred; at such a moment, having a strong ally—no, a strong pawn—was better than a strong enemy.

Better her power be used against the Deep Sea Lord than against him.

He sensed the fragility of the Grand Mother's current body; once she entered her divine true form, she might no longer be able to stop.

She must be stopped.

The Grand Mother now hovered above Briver Town, over a hundred meters from the ground; the Mamba Iron Elbow could not lock on—she had to be approached first.

Wu Chang considered using space magic directly, but found that beneath her halo, a fifty-meter radius around her had formed a divine space; his space magic lacked sufficient power to pierce divinity and could not teleport directly before her.

But the Grand Mother was in transformation, her body immobile; if he increased the range of his teleportation, he could still close the distance.

Wu Chang vanished from the ground, then reappeared fifty meters above the Grand Mother, falling freely toward her.

Facing Wu Chang's descent, the Grand Mother's eyes showed contempt.

Mortals are mortals—foolishness is the base color stamped upon their souls; do they truly believe a mere mortal can harm a prepared deity?

She gazed down at Wu Chang's leap, flicked a finger, and a cluster of divine white flame split from her halo, rushing toward him.

Before the white flame touched Wu Chang, a pale golden flame shot in from the side and collided with it.

The two flames met and rapidly canceled each other out; in the blink of an eye, the white flame vanished entirely, while the golden flame still retained half its strength.

The remaining golden flame did not strike the Grand Mother; instead, it transformed into eight golden light-swords, forming a circular array that descended vertically, piercing through the large spell Gilman was assembling on the ground, then becoming a cage that trapped Gilman at its center.

The Grand Mother glared hatefully at Eileen—damned puppet, using divine power drawn from her own holy scar to cast spells she taught, against her.

Worse still, her current body's performance was inferior to the puppet's; she was even being outmatched in light magic by the puppet.

It was utter humiliation!

Without this damned human, she should have controlled not this inferior vessel, but the perfect puppet.

Even more insulting: the puppet only blocked her attack, yet never struck her directly.

Was she not worth the puppet's effort?

Wait—when I enter my divine true form, you'll learn what it means that even among gods, there are differences; no matter how much divine power you have, if you can't wield it properly, it's useless.

As the Grand Mother indulged in her inner monologue, Wu Chang had already passed through the zone where the flames canceled, and now stood within ten meters of her.

Why did he know it was exactly ten meters?

Because the upgraded Mamba Iron Elbow's lock-on range had become ten meters—and now, his skill lit up.

"Man!"

Hearing the thunderous bellow above, the Grand Mother turned her gaze back to Wu Chang, who was elbowing toward her.

Again this move? Does he truly believe the same technique can work twice on a deity?

Especially a deity about to reveal her true form.

The Grand Mother looked up at Wu Chang; her white battle armor blazed with light, making her presence flicker between existence and nonexistence.

The Pure Armor was painstakingly smuggled into this plane by tricking the Wasteland Realm's barrier.

Forged from her mid-tier deity's power, its effect rivaled the Holy Scar; though it could not fully manifest its strength before her divine true form emerged, it could still activate its basic effects.

By activating the energy within the Pure Armor, she would enter Absolute Purity.

In Absolute Purity, she would become immune to most attacks and negative states—even her existence would become imperceptible to others.

Imperceptible, untouchable, inviolable.

Even a mid-tier deity of comparable power could hardly break through her absolute purity state.

Mortal, today you shall learn that as an ant, you cannot even gaze upon a god.

Tremble and panic beneath divine power.

Watching the Grand Mother confidently expect victory, her face already glowing with the medal-winning smile, Wu Chang slowly raised a question mark on his face.

Why is this woman standing there like an idiot?

Does she think acting cute will stop me from hitting her? Besides, she's not even as cute as Erin.

The distance between them shrank rapidly—three meters, two meters, one meter.

They were so close that the Grand Mother could feel the wind stirred by Wu Chang's iron elbow.

Wu Chang had never shown a trace of confusion or panic throughout, and this made the Grand Mother panic.

It made no sense—a Wasteland Realm mortal could never break through her absolute purity.

She sensed danger and wanted to flee, but the dignity of a high-plane deity forbade her from fearing a mortal.

She forced her face to remain stiff, chin raised in pride, not an inch backward.

The next instant, Wu Chang's elbow passed through her absolute purity as if it were nothing, piercing the faint, ethereal armor around her body and striking her face with perfect precision.

The Grand Mother groaned in pain, falling from the sky like a cut kite; multiple abnormal states, reaching straight to her essence, not only shattered her absolute purity state but forcibly interrupted her divine true form.

Boom!

The Grand Mother crashed hard onto the ground, shattering the town's sturdy stone pavement and kicking up a cloud of dust.

Wu Chang, who had struck the Grand Mother with his elbow, was caught by Erin; this time, before outsiders, Erin did not scoop him up in a princess carry, but took his hand and used magic to gently lower both of them to the ground.

Back on the ground, Wu Chang saw the Grand Mother sitting in a deep crater, her eyes vacant, her face filled with disbelief, as if her long-held worldview had begun to crumble.

A distinct red ring circled her nose; blood flowed uncontrollably from it, making her look both ragged and pitiful.

Under the pressure of the Lord of the Deep Sea, the two sides were likely to become allies; such a brutal strike against a teammate seemed unjustifiable.

To ease the tension between them, Wu Chang said:

"I didn't expect you wouldn't dodge."

The Grand Mother: …

A sharp sting radiated from her nose, and tears instantly spilled uncontrollably.

This is too much—no one interrupts an opponent's transformation mid-cast in battle! Even villains aren't this cruel!

The Grand Mother clutched her nose and raged helplessly: "Mortal, you have harmed a god once again! I swear, next time we meet, I will make you pay!"

The threat sounded fierce, but her words unconsciously included "next time."

Unable to enter her divine true form or activate the Pure Armor, in her mortal state her power was no stronger than that of Gilman Mandazhu Sect.

Victory today was impossible—she could only find a way to retreat, return, regroup, and figure out how to deal with this damned mortal.

Hearing the Grand Mother's signal, Gilman Mandazhu Sect, who had been trapped and immobilized within the light-sword array, suddenly moved; his form flashed, instantly piercing through the light-sword barrier and arriving beside the Grand Mother.

Gilman swept his cloak, shielding the Grand Mother.

The next instant, a spatial array appeared beneath their feet; with a flash of light, they vanished from Briver Island.

After the spatial transfer, before Gilman could recover his bearings, he heard applause above him.

Wu Chang's voice, relentless as a ghost, came from above him.

"I didn't expect, I didn't expect—Gilman Mandazhu Sect not only masters light magic, but is also a master of spatial magic."

"Using two spatial teleports in succession—your skill is so profound, you're nearly a Grandmaster. If it had been anyone else, you might have escaped."

Hearing Wu Chang's words, Gilman looked around and realized they had been teleported not to a warship equipped with a spatial array, but to a desolate sea.

He and the Grand Mother stood on a small boat, while Wu Chang sat upon a golden Wang Zuo, floating in midair, applauding and praising them.

Wu Chang was not being sarcastic—Gilman Mandazhu Sect's spatial magic surpassed his own; had it been a native of this plane or a Deep Sea follower, they might truly have escaped.

But unluckily for them, Wu Chang was also a master of spatial magic—though inferior to Gilman, he could still stop them.

All he needed to do was use mystic control to alter Gilman's array, delay its activation, then, while Gilman was unable to launch another spatial teleport, open the Golden Realm and hurl them inside.

Gilman, being a master of spatial magic, quickly realized the surroundings were Wu Chang's piece inner world, and understood what had happened.

He raised his staff, gathering light magic; the power concentrated at its tip was immense, rivaling a single strike Erin could unleash in her normal state.

"As long as I am here, you will not lay a hand on the Grand Mother."

Both were spatial mages; the moment Gilman moved, Wu Chang knew exactly what he intended.

He simply wanted to buy time with magic, waiting for the spatial teleport's cooldown, then flee with the Grand Mother.

This time, Gilman was prepared; it would be far harder for Wu Chang to alter his teleport array.

Good plan—if only he could survive until the teleport's cooldown ended.

Wu Chang shrugged and said: "Gilman, you're too agitated. Calm down a bit."

He snapped his fingers; the wooden boat beneath Gilman and the Grand Mother vanished. The instant Gilman fell into the water, he disappeared entirely.

Gilman had used rapid incantation; his gathered magic had reached its final stage—just two more seconds, and he would unleash the spell he had been charging since the battle began.

But at the most critical moment, someone turned off the lights.

No—not lights. He felt the heavy presence of a piece inner world—he had been cast into another piece inner world.

A piece inner world nested within another piece inner world—how did he do that?

Gilman was bewildered, but he soon realized the shocking part was yet to come.

He found himself submerged in water; the suffocation and pressure he could endure, and with his strong will and devout faith in the Grand Mother, he maintained his awareness without sinking.

He could bear all that—but why, in this dark water, was there a voice constantly whispering in his mind?

That damned voice kept interrupting his incantation and tried to force him to recall unpleasant memories.

Even with the protective talisman granted by the Grand Mother, he could not block that voice.

What kind of place is this?!

"Where did you take him?"

"It's the Blind Abyss. I threw him into the Blind Abyss." Wu Chang answered frankly, facing the Grand Matriarch's interrogation.

Moreover, he kindly explained:

"It is a sea filled with deathly stillness. Those within lose their senses gradually, their wills eroded. When the will drops low enough, faint whispers begin to sound in the ears."

"You are an entity of the Third Abyss Layer—you should know those whispers are rarely anything good."

For the first time, the Grand Matriarch was truly alarmed. Her face no longer showed anger or panic, but an unnerving calm.

"Mortal, do you truly intend to exterminate him completely?"

Wu Chang did not further provoke the Grand Matriarch. He knew well: if he so much as said "yes," she would explode right before him.

"Relax. Gilman's will is strong—he can probably hold out for five minutes. That's long enough for us to discuss cooperation."

The Grand Matriarch took a deep breath. She had never encountered anyone who spoke of cooperation like this.

"What do you want to discuss?"

Wu Chang said: "How much do you know about the entities in the deep sea?"

The Grand Matriarch suppressed her impatience and said:

"Just a native deity of this plane—a frog at the bottom of a well. He thinks his mastery of water makes him untouchable, that I can't touch him because of the ocean."

"Especially that fishman who keeps provoking me—he's the most presumptuous. If not for other matters I'm occupied with, I'd reveal my divine true form, split the sea open, drag him out, and kill him even if he fled into the depths."

Wu Chang nodded after listening, then asked: "And then?"

The Grand Matriarch frowned slightly. "Aside from that fishman, what in the sea is worth noting? What 'then'?"

Wu Chang's eyes showed disappointment. The Grand Matriarch's level was still too low—she couldn't even sense the Heretic God's remains.

But that was normal. From the history of the Quiet Town Plane, the founding of the Orgre Church came far later than the Heretic God's remains descended.

When the Grand Matriarch preached, the Heretic God's remains had already hidden in the seabed and fallen asleep.

The Heretic God's remains are fragments of flesh; the Grand Matriarch is at most a projection. Not noticing them is understandable.

For the sake of cooperation, he had to synchronize his knowledge with hers.

He said: "The fishman you see is named Dagang. Though he is a native deity, he is not the true threat beneath the sea. Beneath the deep ocean lies another—he who Dagang worships as his master."

"If you examine this plane's history, you'll find scattered fragments of myth, telling how long ago this land suffered divine punishment—a cataclysmic tsunami that drowned an entire continent."

"The entity that provoked the divine punishment is Dagang's deity—the Lord of the Deep Sea."

Hearing this, the Grand Matriarch's heart jolted. She felt Wu Chang was not lying.

What manner of being could make a native deity worship it, possess power capable of submerging continents, and remain undetected by her all this time?

Never mind how powerful it might be—how could it still wield such strength within the Wasteland Realm?

More importantly, why did its servant appear on Briver Island, and why has it consistently blocked her entry?

Could it be…

The Grand Matriarch kept her face expressionless and asked: "What are you trying to say?"

Wu Chang said:

"What I'm saying is, besides you, the Lord of the Deep Sea is also watching Briver Island. I obtained intelligence from Dagang: the Lord of the Deep Sea will awaken when the Stars Return to Their Places."

"The first thing He will do upon awakening is come to Briver Island and take complete control of it."

The Grand Matriarch's face twisted in irritation. "Damn it—no wonder that fishman kept blocking me. So He's set his sights on this place too."

She took a deep breath and asked: "When is the Stars Return to Their Places?"

Wu Chang answered: "Today."

(End of Chapter)