Death Becomes Divinity

As the words fell, a vast, peerless power descended upon Wuhun Mountain.

Wrapped in the might of heaven and earth, Leian's true body involuntarily floated into the air. At the same time, dense death energy began to converge, slowly forming a black crystal emitting a hazy gray halo above him.

This was a Death Lower Godhead.

The moment the godhead formed, Leian felt its connection to his own soul. Immediately after, the Laws of Heaven and Earth transmitted the message to condense a divine body.

Without the slightest hesitation, Leian controlled the death godhead to hover outside his body, and he once again chose to split his soul.

"Ah!"

The familiar, excruciating pain arrived. Every muscle in Leian's body spasmed and twitched. He still couldn't hold back and let out a loud wail.

In just thirty years, his soul had undergone two splits. If not for the protection of the Laws of Heaven and Earth, no one could have endured it.

A moment later, a spherical soul flew out from Leian's body and merged with the hovering death godhead.

"Sizzle—"

A massive amount of death divine power flowed out from the Divine Power Ocean, rapidly condensing a divine body. Soon, a naked body, identical to Leian, appeared.

Looking at this death divine clone, Leian controlled the divine power to form a gray robe on its surface while sighing:

"Sixty years to become a god through the Death Rule; it seems my talent for the Death Rule isn't bad at all!"

Thinking of this, Leian couldn't help but feel a bit smug. At this moment, a familiar divine sense extended toward him.

"Jiadeliya, is it?" Leian raised an eyebrow, the image of the goddess flashing through his mind.

On the other side, Jiadeliya seemed quite shocked by the fact that Leian had become a god through death again. It took several breaths before she sent a message, though her tone no longer held her usual coldness.

"Leian, congratulations. I didn't expect your talent in the Death Rule to be this high!"

Feeling the change in Jiadeliya's tone, Leian smiled leisurely and replied: "Jiadeliya, you flatter me!"

Faced with such perfunctory modesty, even with Jiadeliya's cold and calm state of mind, she couldn't help but feel the urge to roll her eyes. She immediately withdrew her divine sense and said nothing more.

The fluctuations caused by the descent of the Laws of Heaven and Earth could not be hidden from god-level experts. At the same time, the five lower gods on the other four continents turned their gazes toward the direction of the law fluctuations.

When they realized the person who had become a god still belonged to the Youquan Continent, the figures of Margaret and other familiar Saint Realm peaks flashed through their minds. No one guessed that it was Leian who had become a god again.

Andrew and the Elven King couple didn't even think twice before setting off toward the Youquan Continent.

However, the Dark Pope Palmer and the Dark Pope Vittel both saw their expressions darken simultaneously, and a sharp, murderous intent flashed through their gloomy pupils.

In the Arctic Icecap, the plane guardian Wigan also woke up from his deep meditation. However, after glancing in the direction of the Youquan Continent, he closed his eyes again and returned to his cultivation, seemingly completely uninterested in these matters.

In the Dark Forest, Beirut stroked his beard, a smile playing on his face, though no one knew what he was thinking.

Back at Wuhun Mountain, Leian's Destruction divine clone had already returned. He stood with his hands behind his back in front of the Martial God Hall, as if waiting for something.

Based on Leian's understanding of Andrew and the others, he knew they would definitely come to investigate.

Sure enough, not long after, four figures descended upon Wuhun Mountain one after another. Besides Andrew and the others, Jiadeliya had also arrived, presumably invited by the Elven Goddess.

As soon as they met, Andrew said loudly:

"Brother Leian, I truly didn't expect that the one who became a god this time would still be you. In just a hundred years, you have become a god through both the Destruction and Death Rules. I, Andrew, have to say: I am impressed!"

"You flatter me. I didn't expect to have such talent in the Death Rule myself."

Leian laughed, no longer overly modest, and welcomed the four into the Martial God Hall as he spoke.

Inside the spacious hall, there were no extra furnishings besides a few cushions. The five of them sat down on the cushions one after another.

Then, the Elven King Kyle said:

"Leian, Andrew's words were conservative. In our plane over the last tens of millions of years, aside from divine beasts, there have been those who became gods within a hundred years, but they were all single-path gods. You are the first to become a god through two rules like this."

"Oh, it seems I've become the first person in tens of millions of years!"

Leian's smile remained unchanged, his tone carrying a hint of jest.

He couldn't refute the Elven King's praise. In the entire plane, the Elven race was the only one whose god-level experts had never had a gap in generations. Although there had been divine wars and many texts had been lost, his words were generally reliable.

The Elven Goddess Lia also chimed in from the side:

"Leian, don't be embarrassed. Although it's impossible to determine if there were any predecessors in history who surpassed you in talent, I believe your talent would be among the very best even if placed in the Supreme Plane."

Leian laughed and waved his hand:

"That is an overstatement. I have heard that the Supreme Plane is vast and boundless, with countless living beings. There must be many whose talent surpasses mine; I wouldn't dare compare myself to them."

He wasn't being modest this time. Compared to the true geniuses Beirut spoke of—those who became gods in ten years, mid-level gods in a hundred, and high-level gods in a thousand—his talent was truly not worth mentioning.

However, he had no intention of settling for less. Cultivation was like walking; speed was not the deciding factor. Ultimately, it depended on who could walk the furthest.

With this thought, he decisively changed the subject and took the initiative to ask the Elven Goddess about the cultivation of the Life Rule:

"Lia, although the Death and Life Rules are opposites, there must be intersections between them. If you and I discuss them, perhaps we will find some inspiration."

"That sounds good!"

Upon hearing this, the Elven Goddess agreed immediately. In fact, after learning that Leian had become a god through the Death Rule, she had the same idea.

Immediately, the two began to discuss their cultivation of the rules.

Not long after, Leian took the initiative to bring up the Laws of Darkness, mentioning that he had received inspiration from Demos when cultivating the Destruction Rule. With that, Jiadeliya also joined the discussion.

The three of them chatted for a while, and Andrew and Kyle, seemingly inspired, joined in as well.

Time slipped away bit by bit. Setting aside the lively atmosphere at the Martial God Hall, the two Popes, having each learned through their own means that it was still Leian who had achieved godhood, saw their expressions turn incredibly grim.

Almost at the same time, both Popes vanished from their respective Pope Palaces.

In the sea between the Chiyan Continent and the Nansen Continent, on that same nameless island, Vittel and Palmer stood with their hands behind their backs, gazing out at the ocean.

After a short while, Vittel said with a cold expression:

"I told you long ago that this Leian was a threat. If you had listened to me back then, we would have far less trouble when we take action in the future."

Palmer remained expressionless and replied indifferently:

"And what if I had listened? For the past thirty years, that Leian hasn't even stepped foot outside of Wuhun Mountain. It's not like you and I could just run over to the Youquan Continent to kill him, could we?"

Hearing this, Vittel let out a cold snort without refuting him. After a moment of silence, he suddenly said:

"You and I both know the terror of the God Plane. With our talent and strength, if we didn't have that reward and protection, we would likely find it impossible to move an inch once we entered the God Plane. At that point, let alone cultivation, even surviving would be a problem."

As Popes, both men had connections to the God Plane, so they naturally understood its horrors.

Fortunately, the Light Sovereign and the Dark Sovereign required pure souls, so the two Sovereigns would grant rewards based on the size of the contribution to believers from all material planes who provided such souls.

Beyond resources to assist in cultivation, these rewards also included divine artifacts and godheads. One can only imagine how great the temptation of these items was for Vittel and his peer.

In order to gather the required souls more quickly, the two had long since set their sights on the other continents.

Two thousand years ago, they used their connections to guide several lower gods to leave the plane, which resulted in a significant reduction in the number of god-level powerhouses today. Just as they saw the hope of seizing the other continents, they never expected a variable like Leian to emerge.

Palmer seemed to realize that they could no longer allow Leian to continue cultivating, so he took the initiative to ask: "What do you intend to do?"

Vittel glanced at him and said coldly:

"Once Andrew and the others leave this time, you and I will head to Wuhun Mountain together in secret. Before Jiadeliya can react, we will directly destroy Leian's two divine clones. We shall each take one of the resulting godheads.

"Afterward, we will find someone to refine the godheads. That way, in twenty years, how could Andrew and the other four possibly be our match?"

Palmer had already harbored such thoughts before coming, so upon hearing this, he immediately nodded and said, "Fine, we shall do as you say!"