The Human God, Death... and a Tier 2 Coming to a Tier 4's Rescue

Upon hearing the "Diviner's" declaration, Jian Cunyi, who had been expressionless, finally showed a slight ripple in his expression.

"Why isn't this 'natural'?" Jian Cunyi said. "Don't let your cleverness backfire; Leng Jing."

Upon hearing Jian Cunyi's words, the "Diviner" laughed.

"It must have been quite a feat for you, Brother Cunyi. For someone with such a pure heart as you to lie to this extent is truly remarkable," the Diviner said in a low voice. "It's just a pity that I myself am also a very skilled liar... no, I might be one of the most skilled liars in the world, so your tricks to fool people can't escape my notice."

"The Authority held by the Dao Ancestor of the Prison Mountain Realm has always been a 'secret' known to almost no one... But now it seems that one of them is probably 'nature,' right?"

"The aura of 'natural' Authority you possess is a concealment achieved by borrowing the aura of Authority bestowed upon you by the 'Dao Ancestor'... rather than the nascent Authority you condensed using [Fragment of Fate]."

"Therefore, if I were to try to break this strategy by focusing on the Authority of 'nature,' it would definitely be futile, and I might even get more and more entangled. But unfortunately, Brother Cunyi, I already know what this 'Authority' truly is."

"Although this 'Authority' seems to point to 'heaven and earth and nature,'... if you remove the embellishment you've done by deliberately guiding and utilizing the Dao Ancestor's 'natural' Authority, it actually points to 'All Living Beings and All Their Forms,' to 'the myriad aspects of human life.'"

"The common people, all living beings, your Authority is directed at 'human beings,' and its True Name should be... 'humanity' or 'the Human Race.'"

"Brother Cunyi, you are truly remarkable... The Deity you will become in the future is actually a 'Human God'."

Upon hearing the Diviner's words, Jian Cunyi sighed deeply.

"Leng Jing, you really are... quite the genius."

"With just one move, you saw through all my pretense and concealment, getting straight to the heart of the matter."

"If it were possible, I would like to kill you right now."

He spoke earnestly, staring intently into the Diviner's eyes.

Those clear, bright eyes did not look like those of a bloodthirsty, ruthless, treacherous villain at all.

On the contrary, just looking at those eyes, or even at the "Diviner's" appearance, anyone would think that he is a gentle, kind, and compassionate person who cares about all living beings.

It's just a pity...

He and his appearance are even complete opposites.

Jian Cunyi had already witnessed this guy's true nature and character firsthand.

So...

Jian Cunyi didn't waste any words and continued speaking.

"Alright... now that you've seen through it, I don't need to hold back anymore."

"Even though you know the true nature of the 'Authority' I wield—knowing it doesn't mean you can break through it!"

Jian Cunyi low voice, then raised his hand—and those All Living Beings and All Their Forms surged towards the "Diviner" once again, engulfing his ego and soul.

But this time...

The "Diviner" made a move before he was swallowed up.

"Brother Cunyi, don't forget... I also have Authority here!"

The Diviner sighed, and the next moment, Divine Power representing "life" emerged from his body, enveloping him entirely.

"The Authority of 'life' is ineffective against these people—especially since it's Authority you obtained by praying to the 'God of Life'!"

The Diviner laughed.

"Is that so? -- Then you are sorely mistaken. Although I see through your Authority, you seem to have misunderstood... This 'life' I have is not borrowed from the 'God of Life'!"

Diviner spoke, the Life Force within him... suddenly shifted dramatically!

From a vibrant green, it instantly transformed into...

A deathly stillness, a faint black.

The concept of "life" has transformed from a fleeting moment into its opposite and antithesis...

And anyone can imagine what the opposite concept is to "life".

"Die".

A dense aura of death enveloped the "Diviner," and Jian Cunyi's expression Cataclysm.

"The Authority 'death'?! Where did you get the... Authority to death?!"

This is even more incredible than the fact that the Authority "life" has appeared in the hands of a "Diviner"!

Because...

The appearance of the Life Authority can also be interpreted as something he requested from the "God of Life".

Although there has never been any indication that the Diviner had contact with the "God of Life," that the two had cooperated, or even that the Diviner had any activity in the Barren Realm.

But... the fact that the Diviner had secretly contacted a Deity and established a cooperative relationship with him wasn't something that would surprise Jian Cunyi too much.

This guy has the ability to "play both sides" and "be adept at social maneuvering"—he's very good at disguising and Deception, so it's not surprising that he could even persuade Deity to become his ally.

But...

"Death" is different.

Because this is a "Authority" that doesn't exist at all!

It's not that it never took shape... it's that it never existed.

If we say that the nascent Authority concerning "humanity" that Jian Cunyi is currently borrowing has already reached a point where a similar concept has been formed and has become Authority, then the "progress" is probably between 30% and 50%...

Therefore, the progress of the emergence of the Authority of "death" is at most zero.

Yes, the progress of this Authority's emergence may even be negative, below zero.

Having already touched upon the realm of "Authority," Jian Cunyi could clearly sense that the "World Will's " aversion to the Authority of "death" was far greater than that of other Authority.

Any power related to "death," especially spells or magic directly associated with "death," seems to have its "upper limit" strictly locked.

Jian Cunyi once speculated that perhaps it was because this "Authority" had been shattered like "Destiny," or perhaps the World Will naturally rejects this high-level concept, or perhaps the "Death game" had already taken away most of the concept of this Authority, making it very difficult for it to coalesce.

Of course, it is also possible that the Authority of "death" is inherently difficult to solidify—after all, the formation of "Authority" does vary in difficulty and is full of uncertainty.

But in any case...

The concept of "death," appearing as a power at the level of "Authority," is utterly inconceivable.

The Diviner looked at Jian Cunyi and shook his head.

"It is precisely because it does not exist... that I am able to borrow a little from it—however, I have no obligation to explain too much to you, Brother Cunyi."

"You don't need to understand how I did it."

The Diviner's words had barely faded...

The power of "death" stopped all of Jian Cunyi's "All Living Beings and All Their Forms"—after all, "death" is the end of everything, the end of "humanity".

It is inherently restrained by this Authority.

Then... that pure aura of "death" erupted, instantly causing the domain that Jian Cunyi had constructed using his Authority... to begin to collapse!

"Brother Cunyi, I must say, you almost really did manage to defeat me forever. I admit you weren't joking, after all, you've already got enough to be proud of forcing me to reveal this trump card," the Diviner said softly, "But... that's where it ends."

As he spoke, the Diviner raised his hand, and black death energy poured in and enveloped Jian Cunyi!

Jian Cunyi immediately released his Immortal Essence to block the erosion of death energy. At the same time, he used the "Authority" in his hand and the "nature" lent to him by the Dao Ancestor to strengthen his Immortal Essence, barely managing to block the threat of "death".

Looking at the "death" that had been shut out, Jian Cunyi stared at the Diviner and said, "It seems you're not so adept at handling 'death' after all—thinking you can use this Authority to get rid of me is too naive!"

Jian Cunyi spoke loudly, the Diviner shook his head slightly.

"Brother Cunyi, I'm not as naive as you, thinking I can get rid of you with an unformed 'Authority'... To be honest, 'death' is very powerful, but precisely because this Authority is so powerful, it is also very dangerous."

"The power I can unleash while ensuring my own safety is limited to this... far from enough to annihilate you."

The Diviner paused at this point.

"However, although I can't kill you, using my 'Heart Domain' to trap you... is enough!"

As those "deaths" lingered around Jian Cunyi, writhing, mixed flesh and blood also began to grow below—only this time, this flesh and blood carried the smell of decay and antiquity.

It is "alive" at the moment of proliferation, but the growing part immediately turns into "death".

These bizarre pieces of flesh, constantly shifting between life and death, gradually coalesced into some kind of unpredictable monster, which then surrounded and attacked Jian Cunyi.

"Now... it's my turn to trap you."

The Diviner declared, then casually added, "You can stay here and think about how to escape... Brother Jian, next, I'll go catch the 'Director' and kill that little girl while I'm at it."

"Of course... and the plan you intended to stop me from, the plan I was already planning to carry out, I will also complete it."

As the Diviner spoke, he gently waved his hand in Jian Cunyi's direction.

But just as he turned to leave...

"Ding-dong."

A crisp metallic sound rang out.

Although the sound was extremely faint, its appearance was so "unexpected" that the Diviner still turned around.

Then he saw a coin in the form of a thin metal sheet fall to the ground.

It's not a copper coin, but a coin.

A black coin.

A dense aura of death emanated from the coin, infusing it with the power of "death" congealed by the Diviner.

However... this more refined death power injection did not enhance these powers; instead, it caused them to "go out of control" within a few breaths.

The next moment...

The power of death seemed to have exceeded some critical threshold, and began to condense, disintegrate, and disappear uncontrollably.

At last...

"Whoosh!"

They all returned to the coin.

Everything changed so suddenly that even the Diviner was somewhat taken aback.

"What's this?"

Lin Yu's calm voice rang in the Diviner's ears.

"Resurrection Coin, Mutated Resurrection Coin."