Cosmic Sandbox

That was right. The Power of Faith was the path most suited to his current situation, derived from the endless information contained within the Divine Core.

As the name implied, so long as others believed in him as a deity, the Calamity Supreme God's Divine Core could capture those threads of faith energy, convert them into divine power, and then transform that power into something that could elevate his life form.

It sounded somewhat absurd. After all, throughout the boundless universe, there were simply too many silver-tongued creatures capable of deceiving others.

Even ordinary humans on Azure Star could fool quite a few people into becoming believers.

The Power of Faith did not seem all that rare or powerful.

But according to the rules of the Main Universe, only after becoming a deity and condensing a Divine Core did one possess the qualifications and ability to capture the strange power known as "faith."

In other words, if you had not become a deity and did not possess your own Divine Core, then even if the entire universe believed in you, it would be utterly useless!

You simply had no ability to capture that vast and wondrous force.

And even after the Power of Faith was converted through the Calamity Supreme God's Divine Core, its fullest possible development would at most grant Tang Chuan the power of a peak middle god or a low-tier upper god.

After all, the lofty supremacy of a Main God was not obtained through faith.

To deities, the Power of Faith was like an already wealthy landlord receiving an extra, dispensable tax payment. It could only add icing to the cake.

Those who needed it could not capture it, while those who could capture it did not need it.

It was utterly useless!

But fortunately, Tang Chuan possessed a Divine Core, allowing him to turn waste into treasure and make use of this power while he was still weak.

Though he was a Mortal, he was also one of the Supreme Main Gods!

So, as long as people believed in him, the stronger and more devout they were, the more immense their Power of Faith would be—and the Divine Core could convert it into divine power capable of realizing all fantasies?

This really was easy work. He could sit at home and elevate his life form...

But whether in the Main Universe or the countless Sub-Universes, there should have been quite a few believers in the God of Calamity and Terror and his myriad avatars, shouldn't there?

Why had he not felt any Power of Faith being transmitted into the Divine Core?

Could it be that his essence had changed, transforming from the original God of Calamity and Terror into Tang Chuan's personality?

So the believers who once worshipped the Calamity Supreme God would no longer provide Power of Faith to him as he was now?

Mm, that should be it. His subconscious told Tang Chuan so.

Then let me see what "stock" remains in the Divine Core...

When he closed his eyes, the black crystalline Divine Core appeared clearly before Tang Chuan.

Once he formed the thought of "examining" it, the Divine Core gradually became transparent, changing from solid black to translucent gray.

A thin layer of gray mist floated within the crystal. Was this the Power of Faith the Calamity Supreme God had stored away in the past?

The previous stock had already been converted into divine power and stored within the Divine Core. Then he should be able to use it, right?

Acting on the thought, Tang Chuan's consciousness began trying to draw upon the Divine Core's divine power.

But to his helplessness, even when his consciousness exerted itself so hard that he was seeing stars, the divine power within the Divine Core remained completely unmoved.

It felt like an ant trying to shake a planet.

Wasn't this like giving him a mountain of gold but forbidding him from using it?

But in the next instant, a thought in his mind gradually became clear, offering Tang Chuan another solution.

That was to dilute the level of divine power!

The Power of Faith was captured by the Divine Core and transformed into divine power.

He could not use the divine power himself, but he could have a Fantasy Weapon create a transfer hub that would dilute the divine power into strength he could use and withstand, thereby elevating his life form!

After all, Fantasy Weapons were of a very high level. Using a portion of divine power should not be difficult, right?

Then came the source of believers...

With the little flesh he had now, directly declaring in the Main Universe that he was the God of Calamity and Terror and asking others to believe in him...

Leaving aside whether anyone would believe him, merely drawing so much attention would be a hazard that could not be ignored.

Then he would set his sights on a Sub-Universe for the time being!

With that thought, Tang Chuan looked at Quintessa and said, "Quintessa, use the Fantasy Attribute to help me create a hub device capable of bearing part of the divine power. Then... create a sandbox capable of containing a Sub-Universe. We'll drag over a desolate universe and play creator for once!"

Since spreading his faith in the Main Universe was too difficult, he would start from scratch and make the intelligent civilizations of an entire Sub-Universe believe in him.

The Power of Faith would become divine power, divine power would elevate his life form, and whatever remained would be fed back into the Sub-Universe to create more powerful beings, increasing the devotion and quality of his believers...

He had to thank the precious memories left behind by the Calamity Supreme God. They had allowed him to quickly devise a strategy best suited to his current circumstances.

Quintessa received the concept Tang Chuan transmitted to her unilaterally. Her eyes gleamed as she said, "Alright! Master, inject divine power into the Divine Transformation Device! The Fantasy Attribute alone will have great difficulty breaking through the Main Universe's boundaries and dragging an entire Sub-Universe before us."

The ground surged like semi-fluid matter, and a metal pillar over a foot in diameter emerged inside the cabin. A translucent, dazzling crystal sphere was embedded atop it, its interior constantly shifting through countless brilliant colors.

This was the "Divine Transformation Device" Quintessa had mentioned, capable of converting divine power!

Matter also surged to the side, forming a rectangular sandbox over half a person's height. It was silver and dark metallic in tone, built from something that resembled both metal and stone, with a chaotic void within.

This was the... Cosmic Sandbox Tang Chuan had mentioned, capable of containing a universe!

Tang Chuan tentatively placed his palm on the dazzling crystal sphere of the Divine Transformation Device and channeled the divine power from the Divine Core into it.

Suddenly, a feeling of lofty supremacy, omniscience, complete understanding, and omnipotence rose within Tang Chuan's heart.

It seemed that his grandeur at this moment had transcended all things in the universe. Everything distant, obscure, and unfathomable could be effortlessly grasped by him.

In an instant, his thoughts manifested billions of clear ideas and carried out billions of calculations.

How could he possibly describe this state of omniscience?

It was like placing billions of mathematical and physics problems beyond humanity's ability to solve before Tang Chuan. In a single instant, he could divide his mind billions of ways and solve every one of them.

And that was merely an insignificant drop in the ocean beneath this omnipotent state.

This was an abstract existence that could not be displayed through writing or explained through language, so majestic that even the boundless starry sky would have to bow in worship.

Yet Tang Chuan, who should have been overwhelmed with excitement, was inexplicably calm and indifferent. It seemed this was how he was meant to be.

In but an instant.

The vision of his mind stretched beyond the galaxy, piercing through the planar boundaries of the Main Universe. Beyond the Main Universe River, he saw the infinite, endless ocean of Sub-Universes, like grains of sand orbiting the Main Universe in orderly motion.

His heart stirred as he tried to search for Azure Star. However, the diluted divine power seemed unable to analyze his aura. As a Main God, his Divine Core blocked the divine power's detection from outside...

He temporarily abandoned that thought and extended his awareness outward. With ease, he captured a moderately vast Sub-Universe that was about to give birth to life but still remained utterly desolate.

It took only an instant, but the divine power was draining frantically. Only after more than half of the stock had been consumed did this desolate universe, under Tang Chuan's control, leap steadily from another dimension across infinite distance in an indescribable manner.

He controlled the dazzling universe, drew it into the cabin, and gently placed it within the Cosmic Sandbox prepared for it.

The entire Quin Shuttle shook, though it quickly settled down. Tang Chuan also abruptly broke free from that omnipotent state.

Yet after returning to his Mortal body, the incomparably vast gap between life forms left him in a dazed, crashed state. For a time, even his pupils could not focus on their own.

Quintessa seemed not to notice his strange state. Stabilizing a universe also consumed her Fantasy Attribute at an astonishing rate. In some moments, even the projection of her body became distorted and warped.

After quite a while, Quintessa's body finally stopped "dropping frames." Her gaze fixed upon the desolate universe in the sandbox as she analyzed seriously, "The Divine Transformation Device, the Cosmic Sandbox, and my existence—the three combined continuously consume 99.4396% of the Fantasy Attribute."

Only after hearing her words did Tang Chuan's eyes refocus, and he suddenly snapped back to himself.

But after experiencing divine power, an indescribably complicated emotion began lingering in his heart, impossible to dispel.

It was as though he had returned from an incomparably beautiful and powerful illusion to an utterly humble, ugly reality, leaving him full of gains and losses, burdened by endless sorrow.

All kinds of uncontrollable negative thoughts surged from the depths of his consciousness like a dark tide, threatening to swallow his mind whole.

Even the desire for self-destruction began to arise naturally, growing increasingly intense.

Fortunately, before Tang Chuan could act on it, the Divine Core in his mind released a cool aura in time.

Before he was swallowed and drowned by the dark tide within his heart, it allowed him to grasp a ray of dawn. The darkness gradually dispersed, his consciousness cleared, and he escaped the negative emotions of extreme pessimism toward reality, profound inner emptiness, and doubt over whether reality was false.

But...

The negative emotions in my thoughts are only defined as such by humans.

After witnessing the majesty of a god, why could this not be a genuine understanding and objective assessment of my own weakness, ignorance, emptiness, and insignificance?

At that thought, Tang Chuan suddenly woke with a start and gritted his teeth as he slapped his own head.

Restrain yourself. Don't think anymore!

If he kept thinking, his mind and consciousness might collapse again!

Only then did Quintessa turn around. Looking at Tang Chuan in surprise, she asked, "What's wrong, Master?"

Tang Chuan shook his head, clung to the cool aura of the Divine Core, and tried his best to throw those strange thoughts aside. "Nothing. I just think it's a bit wasteful. The Fantasy Attribute and divine power consumed so much."

Quintessa gave a bitter smile. "There's no helping it. It's a trade-off. If Master wants to grow stronger quickly, some initial investment is necessary."

Tang Chuan gradually calmed down and reined in his emotions. "Fortunately, the Fantasy Attribute can continuously absorb replenishment from the Main Universe.

Otherwise, the energy continuously consumed to stably contain a universe could destroy several Sub-Universes of the same level."

Quintessa consoled him, "Look on the bright side, Master. Investments will bring returns... Now, bestow a name upon your 'private universe'!"

Tang Chuan stared blankly at the magnificent, vast universe within the sandbox and said, "Origin. This universe shall be called the Origin Universe."