Deities and Prophecies

Chapter 31: Deity and Prophecy

In the dim, filthy sewers, an evil Lich interrogated a grotesque Hag for information about becoming a god.

This scene looked exactly like the prelude to a major villain's scheme.

But in reality, Amber Xiu didn't get anything useful from the Hag.

The Hag had heard the prophecy from other Hags.

"The experiment that desecrates deities has finally succeeded, but it's hidden in the sewers of Alchemy City. It's a treasure that materializes divine power. Whoever obtains it can become a true deity."

The Hag spoke with great conviction, but after hearing it, Amber Xiu only felt that mortals were truly foolish.

If Alchemy City had truly created a treasure for becoming a god, would it still be waiting until now? And hidden in the sewers?

If it were directly used by the mysterious Chairman, wouldn't Alchemy City have solved its economic crisis? Would it be in such dire straits now?

Besides, being a deity wasn't that easy; it was purely a mortal's delusion.

If you were to ask who on this Continent was closest to being a deity, it would undoubtedly be the Legendary.

The so-called Legendary were individuals who had transcended the mortal realm but had not yet become gods. Therefore, the Legendary were also known as demigods. They had already mastered a sliver of divine power and could, to a certain extent, disregard mortal rules.

The Legendary boon Amber Xiu possessed was the ability to break rules and directly create souls from nothing. This was the power of rules that only deities could wield.

But even for the Legendary, there was still a very long distance to true godhood.

This was somewhat like civil service rankings; there was a fixed number of positions, and being powerful wasn't enough to ascend.

Generally, there were only two possibilities for mortals to become gods.

The first was good luck: gaining the favor of the Primordial Creator. This supreme deity could appoint any living being, or even inanimate objects, to become a deity by bestowing a Divine Spark. There were no prerequisites or side effects; a single nod from them meant ascending to godhood.

However, Amber Xiu hadn't heard of anyone being so fortunate.

The second path was naturally to become Legendary first. This was equivalent to passing the first written exam for godhood, after which one would simply wait. If lucky, a deity might be willing to help you become a new god, for example, by sacrificing themselves and passing on their Divine Spark to you.

That's right, under normal circumstances, there were only these two ways to become a deity.

Without an elder stepping down, a new god could not ascend.

Otherwise, why would there be hundreds of Legendary on this Continent? Wouldn't they all have ascended to godhood long ago?

Of course, there was also the most outlandish possibility, whispered in legends: forging a new path oneself, creating an additional slot among the existing gods who occupied fixed positions.

It was rumored that the Alchemy God was a truly new god who had pioneered a new Divine Spark and gained the recognition of the Primordial Creator, thus becoming a new deity.

Did you notice? Even if you were so powerful that you could forge a new path, you still needed the Primordial God's approval to become a god.

If they didn't approve, no matter how powerful you were, you'd only be a Legendary.

Mortals had many unrealistic fantasies about deities, which led them to believe such rumors about obtaining a treasure to become a god.

But upon closer thought, Amber Xiu felt something was amiss.

It was understandable that small tribes' Druids and Hags wouldn't know better. However, the Lyne Empire had many Legendary powerhouses; they shouldn't believe such rumors. Yet, Paladins of the Lyne Empire had indeed appeared in Alchemy City and were preparing to explore the sewers. There must be something in this wretched place.

Seeing Amber Xiu fall silent, the Hag thought he was also interested in this prophecy and quickly said, "The prophecy has many details, such as the time, the location, and various omens. Swear by the name of a deity, and if you let me go, I will tell you all these details."

Amber Xiu listened and said coldly, "Prophecy? Prophecy is bullshit."

The Hag looked at Amber Xiu in astonishment, unable to comprehend how he could say such a thing. He was a Mage of the School of Prophecy! If Amber Xiu himself didn't believe in the power of prophecy, what was the difference between that and blaspheming his own faith?

Amber Xiu indeed didn't believe in prophecy. To be precise, he had abandoned the path of the School of Prophecy.

The reason was simple: his soul wasn't noble enough to achieve unity of knowledge and action.

When you mastered the ability of prophecy, you could only believe in everything the prophecy revealed. You couldn't just exclaim "Heaven's will!" when it benefited you, and then say "My fate is mine to control, not heaven's!" when it predicted misfortune.

The laws of the world wouldn't indulge such double standards.

And if one couldn't completely accept fate's arrangements, upon learning of impending misfortune, one would become restless, anxious, and constantly worried, trying every means to avoid the unfortunate future, ultimately hastening their demise through their own actions.

The fear of death was nothing compared to the fear of awaiting death; such torment could drive one mad.

Amber Xiu wasn't the type to calmly accept his fate in the first place; otherwise, he wouldn't have pursued eternal life so relentlessly. Perhaps it was precisely because of this internal double standard that his Legendary boon had nothing to do with the School of Prophecy when he advanced to the Legendary realm.

Because of this, Amber Xiu had accepted his own vulnerability and resolved to take a different path.

Becoming a Lich was partly due to this reason, in addition to the economic pressure it caused. However, after all, it was hundreds of years of effort. The power of the School of Prophecy hadn't completely disappeared; it had merely stalled at the moment just before advancing to the Legendary realm, unable to progress further.

This was also the main reason Amber Xiu had become a "watered-down" Legendary. Having abandoned the very thing he was best at, he needed to spend a vast amount of time to catch up to other Legendary individuals.

He reviewed the text, ensuring no errors.

But there was no need to explain these details to the Hag. Amber Xiu slowly raised his hand, a skinning knife appearing between his fingers, and said to the Hag, "It seems your usefulness has come to an end."

"No, wait!"

Seeing the skinning knife in Amber Xiu's hand, the Hag turned pale with fright and hastily begged for mercy.

But Amber Xiu paid no heed to whatever the Hag said. With a swift movement, he brought down his hand and expertly peeled the skin from the Hag's sparsely-haired scalp.

Foul-smelling blood splattered out. The entire skin of the Hag's head was removed, revealing its pale skull.

The Hag's scalp in Amber Xiu's hand writhed as if alive, its dense patterns resembling countless wriggling insects.

It was a disgusting thing, but it was the most valuable part of the Hag.

Peeling the Hag's scalp off would condense most of its power. With a few additional ingredients, it could be refined into an alchemical potion that permanently increases attributes. Perhaps it would enhance strength, boost intelligence, or improve agility, depending on the ingredients added.

Although such potions only worked on those below Legendary rank, they were still worth tens of thousands of Gold Coins. With prices soaring in Alchemy City, Amber Xiu was confident he could sell this particular potion for forty to fifty thousand Gold Coins.

When the Hag had only offered twenty thousand Gold Coins, Amber Xiu had already sentenced her to death. How could he possibly agree to let her go if she couldn't offer a price higher than the Hag's scalp?

The Hag, her scalp removed, immediately collapsed, utterly drained of all power. She was now weaker than an ordinary person. Amber Xiu didn't even need to act; the toxic stench permeating the air quickly invaded her body, causing her to convulse and die.

Without the protection of magical power, the sewer environment was fatal.

Amber Xiu cautiously extracted the Hag's soul and, as an afterthought, turned her corpse into a Skeleton Puppet. Then, he headed in another direction through the sewers.

Although this outing had been a great harvest, Amber Xiu hadn't forgotten his true objective.

He was here to catch Slimes, and he hoped the location Naomi had marked wouldn't be wrong.