The figure kneeling under the tree slowly raised its head.
His long, dry, gray hair slid down his shoulders, revealing a calm, emotionless face.
His eyes were perfectly clear.
There was neither madness nor tyranny.
It also lacked the kind of madness and terrifying killing intent that Odin repeatedly emphasized, the kind that would annihilate Nine Realms.
Chen Mo stared at him, confirming the information repeatedly for a few seconds.
" Odin, are you sure you haven't mistaken someone else for someone else? This is the world boss I came all this way to fight? He looks like a middle-aged man who's been working too long overtime!"
Inside the New York Sanctum, Odin gripped the Gungnir, his brow furrowed.
" Chen Mo, I would never mistake my own brother."
"But this guy seems pretty normal."
Chen Mo stroked his chin.
"At least he's more normal than your two sons, oh, and your daughter too."
Odin did not refute.
Based on their current performance, Cul is indeed much more stable than Thor and Loki, and as for Hela, that goes without saying.
The Ancient One gazed at the figure in the light screen, a faint golden light flickering in her eyes.
"His soul is intact, and his mind has not fallen into chaos. God King, when you sealed him away, was he truly insane?"
Odin fell into deep thought.
That was thousands of years ago, when Cul had just ascended the throne of Asgard, and everything was thriving.
Although he was ruthless at that time, he was a qualified king who led by example and loved his people like his own children, and the Asgardians loved that.
Everything changed after he left Asgard alone and ventured deep into the World Tree.
No one knows what Cul saw there.
After returning to Asgard, he became tyrannical and waged wars not even for the purpose of conquest and rule.
He just wanted to kill.
Cities were destroyed one after another, and countless Asgardians did not die at the hands of the enemy, but from the Fear God-Force he indiscriminately unleashed. Cul drew strength from the fear of all beings in the Nine Realms, growing ever stronger.
Until the entire Asgard could no longer tolerate it and chose to rebel against its god-king.
Odin said in a low voice, " Cul back then had lost his mind. He killed his subjects, destroyed his land, and even prepared to spread the war beyond the Nine Realms, and even to other universes."
"I can't defeat him, so I can only go to the World Tree to seek greater power."
Chen Mo raised an eyebrow.
This sounds a bit off.
"Then what?"
"I hung myself upside down in front of the World Tree for nine days and nine nights without food or drink, obtaining the Runes, and then sacrificing one of my eyes to acquire the method to seal it."
Odin raised his hand and touched his blindfold.
"With the help of Runes, I successfully defeated Cul and sealed him in a separate dimension."
Chen Mo nodded and turned to look at Cul.
Judging from Cul's location, he had been kneeling under the giant tree for a long time.
There was no food around.
There was no water either.
As for the eyes...
Cul's eyes were both intact.
"Uh, wait a minute."
Chen Mo pointed to the figure.
"You mean you obtained the Runes by hanging upside down for nine days? And then he stayed in that position in the core area of World Tree for thousands of years?"
The Sanctum suddenly fell silent.
The Ancient One put down her teacup and turned to look at Odin.
Odin's expression gradually turned grim.
He certainly understood what this meant.
That abandoned dimension from back then had long been moved to the core of the World Tree. Instead of continuing his madness, Cul used the seal to carry out a ritual that lasted for thousands of years.
Odin nodded slowly.
"Perhaps he's imitating the ritual I performed back then."
"Imitate?"
The Ancient One looked at the light screen and shook her head.
"The difference between nine heavens and several thousand years seems rather large."
Chen Mo couldn't hold back any longer.
"Old God King, you handled this matter beautifully."
"First, they locked up his older brother, who was stronger than him, and then sent him to the core of the World Tree. Fearing the environment wouldn't be good for his seclusion, they even sealed him in a private room using Uru metal."
Odin gripped the Gungnir tightly.
The seal has been tampered with.
That's your problem too.
But this wasn't my plan.
"I know."
"Then why are you still staring at me?"
Chen Mo spread his hands.
"Because that doesn't affect whether you're reliable or not."
The Ancient One nodded in deep agreement.
The Odin he remembered, though arrogant, was also quite shrewd. Now it seemed that his long slumber had indeed had some effect on the god-king's mind.
Oh, maybe it was because he was angered by his two silly sons.
Beneath the golden tree, Cul finally stood up.
With just a simple action, the entire dimension changed.
The dust covering Cul's body vanished silently. Beneath the tattered black armor, ancient runes gradually lit up.
At first, it was just a faint Blacklight.
The next moment, the Fear God-Force, dormant for thousands of years, was fully awakened.
Boom!
The ground beneath Cul's feet shattered instantly.
An immense aura spread outwards, forcibly pushing aside the light cascading from the golden tree. Entire spaces could not withstand this power and crumbled one after another.
The smile on Chen Mo's face gradually disappeared.
Black and red carapace covered his body, and crimson-gold patterns spread rapidly from his chest to his limbs. The world within him was stimulated, and the starry sky and endless void began to flow.
The two forces collided head-on.
The space behind Cul was constantly dying.
A large area of black and red substance appeared beneath Chen Mo's feet, with countless crimson-gold light spots flashing within it. The two rules tore at each other, dividing the area beneath the golden giant tree into two regions.
Inside the New York Sanctum, the golden light curtain shook violently.
Odin suddenly stood up.
"This power..."
The Ancient One raised his hand to reinforce the light barrier, and his expression became serious.
"It's clear he's no longer the Cul you sealed away."
The rituals, passed down for thousands of years, have granted Cul immeasurable power.
Now, he is ready to face Chen Mo, who has just made a huge improvement.
Chen Mo felt the pressure coming at him, and his eyes grew brighter and brighter.
Although things didn't go as planned, the food was definitely an upgrade.
This is not a bad thing.
Odin.
"What?"
I take back what I just said.
Chen Mo grinned, revealing a row of sharp, black teeth.
You handled this matter quite reliably.
Cul raised his right hand.
An ominous black flame rose from his palm and quickly stretched to both sides. After the flame solidified, it transformed into a grotesque black scimitar.
He gripped the hilt of the knife, the Blade swirling, pointing at Chen Mo.
The divine light emanating from the golden tree rapidly dimmed, the entire dimension began to recede, and everything centered on the Blade began to lose its color. The ground, the air, the energy, and even the dimensional rules were all heading towards death.
Cul looked at Chen Mo calmly.
"I have seen your end. No matter where you came from, no matter how many worlds you have devoured, you cannot leave today."
Black flames covered the scimitar.
Cul took a step forward.
"This is my Destined Death."