Phanes' Ultimate Layout: Demon Gods Are All Puppets, Self-Imprisoned in Sky Town Abyss! Huo Yuhao Stunned

"How tragic, and how... fair," Ye Yinzhu closed his eyes again. He seemed to hear the crisp sound of hundreds of shackles locking into place simultaneously, forming the first note of a grand symphony. "No precedence, no special treatment. Under this musical theory, all notes are born equal."

Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Eyes activated to their limit at this moment. He stared intently at the Demon Gods who had just stepped onto the historical stage in the image. In his perception, an intangible yet omnipresent "network" tightly connected these hundreds of Demon Gods.

"I 'see' it..." Huo Yuhao's voice was a little hoarse. "It's not energy, nor is it mental power. It's a thread of 'Law'. Each Demon God is a node, and 'love humanity' is the core directive running through all the threads. When a Demon God develops the thought to 'harm humanity', even for just an instant, their node will... 'change color'!"

"And then?" Bei Bei asked nervously.

"Then, the other nodes connected to it, the other Demon Gods, will immediately receive a 'warning'," Huo Yuhao said, word by word. "Just as San Shi said before, they will transform into 'antivirus programs' to 'repair' this 'erroneous' node."

The meaning of "repair" was clear to everyone: it would inevitably be a bloody purge.

"A... perfect closed loop," Tang San exhaled a long breath, his tone filled with reverence and a hint of imperceptible fear. "Creator, maintainer, supervisor, cleanser... all roles are played by these Demon Gods themselves. Phanes only needed to set the initial rules, and this system could operate on its own for eternity. What a grand undertaking, truly a grand undertaking!"

Ning Rongrong exchanged a glance with Ning Tian beside her, seeing the shock in each other's eyes. The Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect was renowned for its support, focusing on resource allocation and winning people over. But Phanes's method bypassed all processes, directly dictating the outcome from the root.

"Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely," Dai Hao chuckled wryly, shaking his head. "Phanes used absolute 'love' to counter absolute power. He succeeded, but the price was that these so-called 'gods' never truly possessed power from the very beginning."

For the first time, a hint of "understanding" appeared in the Dragon God's massive golden pupils. A low dragon roar echoed, "This is not a layout of power, it's a layout of 'Law'. In his world, Law is above all power."

Beside him, the Dragon Prince was already too stunned by this unimaginably grand concept to speak.

Niu Tian and Titan, two hulking figures, simply stood silently. They were worshippers of strength, but today, they had witnessed something more awe-inspiring than pure power—wisdom, an ultimate wisdom capable of charting the destiny of the world.

"So, that era began," Tian Hen said softly, breaking the heavy silence.

"Yes," Hai Long continued. "An era without a Creator God, ruled by a pantheon of gods like puppets on strings. I'm curious, where will such a world go?"

A'Dai, or rather Mandun, the former Underworld King, simply watched. He understood the pain of losing freedom better than anyone, and he knew better than anyone the price that must be paid to protect something. He couldn't judge Phanes's actions, but he could feel the immense weight spanning across millennia.

Lei Xiang and Chang Gongwei looked at each other speechlessly. They had both been peak powerhouses in their respective worlds, both having fought to protect their worlds. But compared to Phanes, their protection seemed... too insignificant.

Tang Ya supported Bei Bei, her face pale. "If, I mean if... a Demon God disagreed with this Law? Would they resist?"

"They cannot resist," Gu Yuena provided the answer. "Because the very thought of 'resistance' would be judged as 'erroneous', thus inviting the extermination by all other Demon Gods. This is a prison of thought; they would be executed before they even thought of resisting."

Just as everyone held their breath, waiting for the light screen to reveal this heavy answer, the image on the screen suddenly changed.

No name, no face.

Instead, a breathtakingly magnificent scroll unfolded.

In the image, the great Existence they called Phanes, his Divine Body, was slowly ascending. He was no longer the majestic war god battling giant dragons as before. Though his radiance was still brilliant, it carried an indescribable weariness and a sense of fragmentation. His gaze swept one last time over the land below, which had just experienced creation and destruction, and over the humans struggling to survive in the ruins, tiny yet full of life force.

That glance contained too many complex emotions. There was relief, reluctance, resolve, and an unutterable loneliness buried deep within.

"He... is leaving," Lie Yan's voice was very soft. As a former enforcer of the God Realm, she understood the loneliness of reaching the pinnacle better than anyone.

Ji Dong silently held her hand. In Phanes, he saw a familiar shadow. It was the determination to burn oneself and bear everything for a certain belief.

The next moment, Phanes's figure transformed into a stream of light that pierced through heaven and earth. Without a hint of lingering, he shot directly towards the already dilapidated floating island suspended high in the sky.

[Phanes has completed his final arrangement for the mortal world.]

[His Divine Body has returned to the broken Sky Throne. He will spend the vast expanse of time to come, licking the wounds left by his fierce battle with the Seven Dragon Kings, and using himself as a cage to eternally suppress the curse from the Abyss.]

Cold text appeared, each word like a heavy hammer smashing into everyone's hearts.

"Suppress... the curse from the Abyss?" Tang San's pupils contracted. "His enemy wasn't just those seven Dragon Kings? He was still fighting a deeper threat?"

"So, this isn't a triumphant retirement, but a... strategic retreat!" Dai Hao's voice was hoarse. The keen insight of a ruler allowed him to instantly grasp the truth. "He has made himself the first, and the last, line of defense for this world! He has imprisoned himself in the sky!"

Emperor Xueye's body trembled slightly. The old emperor murmured, "What we see is only what he wants us to see. Beneath that glorious creation myth lies endless solitude and battle... Is this the... destiny of gods?"

The image on the light screen did not stop there.

As Phanes's figure disappeared into Sky Island, a noun slowly enlarged in the center of the screen.