"A little further to the left, right by that ruined shrine ahead."
Following the guidance of the God of Destruction, Su Chen took a winding path until he stood before a dilapidated shrine.
"Destruction Senior, the travel funds you mentioned are in this ruined shrine?"
The shrine suffered from severe disrepair and looked as though it could collapse at any moment.
"Indeed, they are right inside."
"Alright."
Since the God of Destruction had even considered the issue of travel funds, what else could Su Chen do? Naturally, he accepted.
Stepping inside the shrine, Su Chen felt even more strongly that the structure was about to cave in.
A gust of wind even carried the creaking sounds of the roof beams and a very noticeable swaying sensation.
"They are right beneath the third flagstone past the noise. Just pry it open."
The navigation skills of the God of Destruction were top-tier, far more accurate than any shoddy navigation tool.
Su Chen walked around to the back of the divine statue, which was now missing more than half its body, and found the flagstone the God of Destruction had mentioned.
The pantheon of the Douluo Continent differed from the one in Su Chen's previous life, and this statue gave no clue as to which deity it represented.
In any case, it was most likely not the Angel God.
If it were the Angel God, the established Spirit Hall would certainly not have left it abandoned and neglected.
As for other deities, they had very few worshippers, so it was only natural that this shrine was so dilapidated.
After prying open the flagstone, a pitch-black, large chest came into Su Chen's view.
The God of Destruction confirmed there was no danger, so Su Chen did not hesitate and directly opened the chest.
"Well? These are the standard currency currently used on the Douluo Continent, right?"
"Yes, and they are even Gold Soul Coins."
The chest was filled to the brim with Gold Soul Coins. Su Chen did not count them individually, but judging by the size of the chest, there were at least ten thousand Gold Soul Coins.
Although ten thousand Gold Soul Coins could not compare to the accumulated wealth of those large sects and prominent clans, to Su Chen, it was already a massive fortune.
"Such a huge sum of Gold Soul Coins, who on earth left them here?"
This ruined shrine looked as though no one had visited it in a very long time; who could bear to leave so much money here unattended?
"That I do not know."
The God of Destruction did not care about such minor details; it was enough to find Su Chen some travel funds.
This chest of Gold Soul Coins had actually been left behind by a former Soul Master thief.
He had died of severe injuries after being jointly hunted down by other Soul Masters, so naturally no one would ever come to retrieve the remaining Gold Soul Coins.
Had Su Chen not discovered it under the guidance of the God of Destruction, perhaps during some storm, this shrine would have completely collapsed, and someone else might have accidentally dug it up from the ruins.
Of course, it was also possible it would have remained deeply buried underground forever, but now it belonged to Su Chen.
Su Chen stowed both the chest and the Gold Soul Coins into his pendant, then walked out of the crumbling shrine with a satisfied expression.
With this many Gold Soul Coins, if he only used them for food, clothing, shelter, and transportation, Su Chen could spend them for a lifetime.
Yet the God of Destruction clearly felt it was still not quite enough.
How long could a mere chest of Gold Soul Coins last? He had to find Su Chen some more travel funds; how could a talent favored by him, the Destruction God King, be thwarted by mere wealth?
However, there were no other large amounts of ownerless money left in this city.
The God of Destruction could not possibly care about those scattered soul coins; did a mere dozens or hundreds of soul coins warrant wasting Su Chen's time to search for them?
As for taking wealth that belonged to others, that would be even more inappropriate.
Although the God of Destruction was already much more uninhibited than in his past life and repeatedly broke the rules of the Divine Realm,
he still valued his face. Otherwise, how would he be any different from that fellow Tang San?
On the way to the Star Dou Forest, the God of Destruction discovered several more burial sites containing large amounts of ownerless soul coins.
He figured that having these Gold Soul Coins along the way to supplement his funds should be enough for Su Chen's use.
If it still wasn't enough, it wouldn't be too late to look for more then.
With a bulging wallet, Su Chen officially began a shopping spree.
Since he was not short on money, he bought all the things he would need for a long journey.
Originally, he had intended to live a frugal and simple life, spending every single Copper Soul Coin to get its maximum value and saving as much as possible.
Alas, the God of Destruction was thorough and considerate, instantly switching Su Chen from the careful budgeting mode to the rolling in wealth mode.
By the time he finished buying everything from pots and pans to oil, salt, sauce, and vinegar, the day was already quite late.
Su Chen simply decided to stay the night in the city and set off the next day.
In the Divine Realm, just as the God of Destruction withdrew his attention from the Douluo Continent, visitors arrived outside the Castle of Destruction.
The visitors were the entirety of the Seven Original Sin Gods.
They all stood guard outside the castle, not daring to cross the Thunder Pool by even a single step.
They did this not entirely out of awe for the God of Destruction, but because the Castle of Destruction was permeated with Destruction Intent.
Aside from the God of Destruction, any other deity would feel overwhelmingly oppressed here and had to guard against being infected by the Destruction Intent, so they would not easily set foot inside.
"What brings you all here?"
The voice of the God of Destruction rang out, causing all the Seven Original Sin Gods to stir.
The God of Greed, the God of Pride, and the others all stared at the God of Wrath.
They had all heard the God of Wrath say that the personality of the Destruction God King had become much kinder, and that he did not skimp on care and pointers for subordinates like them, which was why they had come together to pay respects to the God of Destruction.
Yet judging by this tone from the God of Destruction, it didn't sound like he had become kinder at all, did it?
The God of Wrath wore an expression of pure innocence.
I did say that Lord Destruction God King was very kind to me, but I didn't say Lord God King would always be this kind, nor did I say he would be this kind to everyone!
You yourselves insisted on coming, surely you aren't going to blame me?
Fortunately, the others were also well aware of the personality of the God of Destruction. Aside from feeling a slight regret that they hadn't witnessed the kind side of the Destruction God King with their own eyes, they didn't harbor any other thoughts.
"Come in."
The voice of the God of Destruction sounded once more, and the castle gates swung open.
"Yes."
Several of them couldn't help but swallow hard.
Even though they were First-Level Gods, and deities who mastered negative emotions like the seven original sins at that, they still felt lingering fear when it came to entering the Castle of Destruction.
That pervasive, tyrannical Destruction Intent made them feel under immense pressure whenever they were inside the Castle of Destruction.
Yet they had come of their own accord, and the God of Destruction had already opened the doors; could they possibly refuse to go in?
"Oh?"
After mustering up their courage and entering the Castle of Destruction, all seven of them were startled.
The Destruction Intent that was usually ubiquitous was actually restrained around the perimeter, not approaching them at all.
The other six turned their gazes back toward the God of Wrath.
What you fellow said was indeed correct; the Destruction God King really has become a lot kinder.
No!
This was no longer just being kind; it was considerate of subordinates and boundlessly benevolent.
The former God of Destruction would never have cared whether they felt under immense pressure or walked on eggshells inside the Castle of Destruction.
Feeling pressured?
Just endure it!
"Greetings, Lord!"
Inside the Castle of Destruction, the Seven Original Sin Gods directly addressed the God of Destruction as "Lord".
"Mhm, sit."
"Thank you, Lord."
The God of Destruction looked toward the God of Wrath and said:
"Are those methods of controlling the Wrath Power that I taught you previously still effective?"
The God of Wrath hurriedly stood up and said:
"Your guidance, Lord, has had extraordinary effects. This subordinate has benefited immensely, and has specially come to thank you, Lord."
The God of Wrath was not speaking falsely; he truly felt that his control over the Wrath Power had become somewhat more handy.
Although the progress wasn't massive, for First-Level Gods like them, achieving even a sliver or two of improvement was already exceedingly difficult.
"That is good."
The God of Destruction looked toward the others.
"Since you are all here, speak up about any confusion you have in your cultivation, and what obstacles you find difficult to overcome. Pooling everyone's wisdom is always better than working in isolation behind closed doors."
"Thank you, Lord."
What pooling of wisdom-everyone understood that this was purely receiving personal guidance from the God of Destruction.
Such good fortune was something they never dared to hope for in the past, so each of them raised their concentration to the utmost, unwilling to miss a single detail.
Before you continue