Fruit at the Meeting
"I don't want to cooperate with it anymore."
Ming Yuanwu felt nauseous. He placed his finger on the modifier. The blatant scene, which used death as decoration and creatures similar to himself as food, still made his stomach churn.
"If this is disgusting, how can you become the new Demon King?"
Heavenly Soul felt nothing; wars between civilizations, massacres between races, and the devouring of worlds were far more brutal.
Flesh and bones, food and use—in His eyes, there is no difference. They are merely a form of the material Cycle.
Just as Ming Yuanwu hesitated, he and Heavenly Soul witnessed a truly horrifying scene.
A massive shadow slowly emerged from behind the main seat.
Silent and imposing, yet carrying an oppressive aura that instinctively makes one want to flee, it was so enormous that after half of its body emerged, the Crimson Demon King and the seats below seemed rather small and insignificant.
As the light and shadow shifted, the glow of the illuminating fireball flowed across the surface of the shadows, like lubricant dripping onto 200D black silk stockings.
Ming Yuanwu saw the shadow clearly.
A... giant insect?!
He wasn't sure if the word "insect" was accurate, but the shape of the thing immediately reminded him of insects. However, its body structure was very strange, completely outside of Ming Yuanwu's understanding of living things.
The insect lowered its head. Its mouthparts opened like a blooming flower, the petals were inward-curving bony spurs, and the stamens were wriggling, mucus-secreting soft flesh. It easily swallowed the Demon King's head, all the way to the heart of the flower, and then closed its mouthparts.
"Snap!"
The once-arrogant Demon King is dead; his body and head are about to become food for unknown insects.
Ming Yuanwu instinctively took a step back.
At the same time, the information prompt on Ming Yuanwu's panel regarding the Demon King's location changed instantly. The coordinates became a set of incomprehensible but wildly fluctuating data, and the direction also reversed instantly!
The Divine Court, with its omnipresent golden light, permeated the entire world, dispelling all darkness and making the world appear sparkling with starlight.
Darkness was everywhere, devouring light. No matter the intensity of the light, it would be swallowed up Spread a certain distance. Even the brightness of Fixed Star could only Spread a hundred meters at most. So the Gods chose to spread strong light sources throughout the entire Divine Court to ensure light.
The one who carried out this method was the newly awakened Fourth-Generation Fire God, who brought light back to the Divine Court, which had been shrouded in darkness for many days.
The Eternal Flame condensed by the Fire God, each ball resembling a miniature Sun, floats in the Divine Court, like golden silk covering all things.
The Divine Court Council convened, with a total of twenty-six Chief Gods present. In addition to the seventeen Chief Gods who originally ruled the world, there were also nine previous gods who had awakened from their slumber.
They sat around a huge round table, each with a different form and a distinct aura. Some were as tall as mountains, some as slender as shadows, some Burn in flames, and some were shrouded in Mist. But regardless of their form, each of them exuded an oppressive aura that made people afraid to look directly at them.
As a seasoned veteran, Fire God naturally held a prominent position in the meeting. His palms were covered with calluses and burn scars, his skin was dark red, and his hair and beard were like Burn flames. He held an iron hammer in his hand, with traces of molten metal still remaining on the hammerhead.
His gaze swept over every Chief God present, finally settling on an empty seat at the end of the round table.
"Where is the God of Magic in your year? Where did He go?"
The gods' gaze fell upon the Goddess of Light at the end, who was usually closest to the God of Magic.
"I don't know." The Goddess of Light shook her head indifferently.
The Order Chief God's eyes turned dangerous, and the other Chief Gods understood what was happening.
"Alright, if that's the case, then don't come if you don't want to. The main purpose of this meeting is to address the issues arising from the global upheaval. Who can come up with the specific issues?" Fire God said lazily.
A Chief God with a trident pattern branded on its head spoke, accompanied by the white noise of waves crashing against rocks:
"The most important problem is the inexplicable darkness that is swallowing everything, accompanied by a strange increase in gravity and some unknown changes in space. We have lost our spatial abilities."
"The second problem is the anomalies in the Mortal Realm caused by darkness and gravity, which have drastically reduced the supply of Power of Faith. We must consider the situation in the Mortal Realm."
"There are also some related issues. For example, the world barrier seems to have broken open, and foreign matter is seeping into our world. Furthermore, the world's Mana concentration is constantly rising, which could lead to the Mortal Realm slipping out of our control—when mortals can use powerful magic without gods, faith will waver. At the same time, some things that don't belong to the universe have appeared, and we cannot yet determine what they are..."
The Sea God described in detail the problems currently facing the Divine Court and offered some of his own analysis. Each problem cannot be solved in isolation; they are likely interconnected and mutually causal.
After listening quietly, Fire God looked at all the gods present:
What are your thoughts?
The gods remained silent; none of these matters were something they could solve or understand.
"Since no one has any ideas, I'll just make the arrangements."
The Fire God pointed his hammer at the gods.
"The Order Chief God and the Command Chief God, along with the Seventh-Generation Wine God... you are responsible for investigating and resolving the cause of the drastic changes in the spatial structure; the Fate Chief God of Spring God, the God of Fate, the Hearth Chief God... you are to maintain Order in the Mortal Realm."
"Light Chief God, Wisdom Main God, Moon Chief God, go and explore the newly discovered unknown lands beyond the universe."
"As for me, I will personally investigate the cause of the darkness in the universe."
Fire God put away his hammer and his gaze swept across the entire area once more.
"Is this arrangement acceptable to everyone?"
Silence remained; the gods did not speak.
After all, the Fourth-Generation Fire God's strength is unfathomable. It seems that he has been asleep for tens of thousands of years, and he alone can sweep through the current Divine Court.
"Since no one has any objections, let's adjourn the meeting."
Fire God took the lead, wanting to leave this place, but as he was about to leave the meeting hall, he remembered something, turned around, and said:
"By the way, I noticed that the [Celestial Rail] is quite different from what it was tens of thousands of years ago. It's been greatly improved, and there are also strange structures and pipes on the Mortal Realm ground. What have you been doing?"
The Command Chief God stood up to answer. He was tall and slender, wearing dark gold armor, and had an extremely handsome face, like a meticulously sculpted statue.
"The Eighth-Generation God of Magic inherited the divine grace of his predecessor, establishing a [Demon Network] that spans the universe and connects with the [Celestial Rail]. There have also been improvements to the Career Panel, making it easier for us to govern the Mortal Realm."