Living in the deep palace

"Old man, your pie-in-the-sky promises are too big, so big that they're choking people."

"Inherit your physical body? Then what about my soul?"

"I'm afraid I'll be assimilated by your remaining will and become a new 'you'?"

Su Chen pointed to the square beneath his feet, his voice revealing a profound understanding that saw through everything.

"Chen Sheng left a note outside saying that this place is a scam."

"He's right."

"The so-called ancient gods and resurrection are nothing more than parasites seeking a new host and then taking over its nest!"

"You want me to be your shell?"

"Feel sorry."

The chaotic energy around Su Chen suddenly erupted, transforming into a hideous demonic face.

"I don't want to be a shell, I just want to be a person who eats rice."

"I want your body."

"But this meat... I have to chew it up and eat it piece by piece!!"

"Stubborn!!"

"Your little fifth realm is only equivalent to the Divine Bone Realm. Even if I have already perished, crushing you would still be as easy as turning my hand!"

That gentle voice changed instantly.

Compassion vanished, replaced by endless rage and majesty.

"Since you're unwilling to actively merge, then... you'll passively become my nourishment!!"

Rumble——! ! !
The entire Imperial Palace trembled violently.

The starry sky surrounding the plaza suddenly distorted, transforming into countless black chains that coiled around Su Chen.

These chains are not physical objects, but are formed from pure "rules".

That's the "Law of Assimilation"!
Once entangled, Su Chen's self-awareness would be forcibly erased, and his body would be instantly taken over by this ancient god's body.

"Rule suppression?"

Su Chen snorted coldly.

“I might be somewhat wary in the outer realms, but here…”

Su Chen stomped his foot suddenly.

"Origin Domain - Open!!"

hum!
A blue Dao Fruit flew out from his chest and hovered above his head.

A small, yet completely independent projection of the "Origin World" instantly broke through the surrounding chains of rules.

This is the heart of the ancient gods, the place with the most concentrated energy, but also the place with the weakest will (because there is no true soul here).

Using the "creation" authority of the [Origin Branch], Su Chen forcibly defined himself as the "master of a local area" here.

"Break it...!"

Holding a divine weapon spear, Su Chen moved like a dragon through the chain formation.

Each swing of the gun severs several chains of rules.

He didn't linger in battle, but charged straight towards the gates of the Imperial Palace.

Because he sensed it.

Deep within that palace, besides the hateful will of the ancient god, there was also an extremely faint yet extremely familiar soul fluctuation.

That's... the Skeleton Lord!
……

[Inside the Imperial Palace, Main Hall]

Bang!
Su Chen kicked open the heavy palace door.

The scene inside the hall startled him slightly.

It's not as glittering as it looks from the outside.

The main hall was spacious and gloomy, with twelve huge black pillars standing around it.

In the very center of the hall, a black crystal floated. Within the crystal, a faint flame of soul fire, like a candle flickering in the wind, was sealed.

The soul fire was a pale white, weak yet exuding an unyielding spirit.

"Yo."

Su Chen put away his spear, walked over, and looked at the ball of soul fire.

"Is this the same guy who shouted 'The Skeleton Emperor has arrived' back then?"

"How did you end up in this state?"

Upon hearing Su Chen's voice, the ball of soul fire flickered violently.

A weak yet still arrogant thought emanated from the mind.

"Where did this brat come from? How dare he laugh at me, the great master?"

"Huh? This aura... the scent of origin?"

"You're... the reinforcements that Chen guy sent?!"

Su Chen smiled.

It really is the Skeleton Lord. His tone is exactly the same as the inscription on the stone tablet outside.

"That's it."

Su Chen walked up to the sealing crystal and tapped it lightly with his fingers.

"Chen Sheng didn't come, but I did."

"How about a deal?"

“I rescued you, so tell me how to get that damned token, and... how to kill that ancient god’s will.”

"trade?"

The remnant soul of the Skeleton Lord was silent for a moment, then let out a strange laugh.

"Hehehe...Good lad, you're pretty arrogant!"

"Even more arrogant than that Chen who only knew how to study back then!"

"Fine! As long as you can break this damned 'Divine Refining Crystal,' I'll tell you all the weaknesses I've figured out over the past few thousand years!"

"Although this ancient god's will looks terrifying, it's actually just a paper tiger!"

"He has no soul core and can only cling to life thanks to this great formation. If only you could find it..."

boom! ! !
The Skeleton Lord hadn't finished speaking.

Deep within the great hall, the raging will of the ancient god descended once more.

"Insects! How dare you plot against my divine throne!!"

This time, it's not a chain of rules.

From the shadows deep within the main hall, a figure slowly emerged.

It was a "shadow" that looked exactly like Su Chen, but was completely black and had red ghost fire burning in its eyes.

The Shadow of the Ancient Gods!

It is the last fighting instinct left behind by the ancient god before his death, possessing a trace of the ancient god's true fighting power!
"Half-step...sixth realm?"

Su Chen felt the terrifying aura emanating from the shadow, and his expression finally turned serious.

These are not the heroic spirits who can only take a beating, nor are they the clumsy giants.

This is a projection of a true powerhouse who possesses combat intelligence and whose power level is half a notch higher than his!
"Kid! Watch out!!"

The skeleton inside the crystal cried out.

"This thing is the shadow of that old ghost; it can mimic all your supernatural abilities! And its energy is limitless!"

"Imitate me?"

Su Chen looked at his black self, then suddenly grinned, revealing his gleaming white teeth.

He slowly raised his hand, making a gesture as if he were eating.

"That's just right."

"I haven't tasted... what I taste like yet."

"bring it on!"

"Let's see if your imitation is stronger, or mine... gluttony is more ruthless!!"

boom!
Su Chen and the shadow of the ancient god collided instantly.

This life-or-death battle of possession and counter-possession has officially begun within the Emperor God Palace!

.........

【Ancient God Ruins - Main Hall of the Imperial God Palace】

"boom--!!!"

The two fists collided in mid-air without any fancy moves.

One was cyan-gold, swirling with chaotic energy and the light of nascent origin; the other was pitch black, burning with eerie red will-o'-the-wisps, exuding an aura of despair and decadence.

The collision did not produce a deafening explosion, because the surrounding spatial rules were instantly compressed into a vacuum by two diametrically opposed forces.

Only a single, visible black ripple swept across the entire hall, centered on the two individuals.

Click!Click!
The twelve primordial pillars that supported the main hall and had remained imperishable for hundreds of millions of years were all cracked by the impact of this ripple.

"Kick! Kick! Kick!"

Su Chen retreated three steps, each step leaving a deep footprint in the hard divine stone ground. His right arm trembled slightly, and the skin on his fist cracked, revealing the golden-red bones underneath.

Opposite him, the "Shadow of the Ancient God" merely swayed before regaining its balance. A red crack appeared on its featureless face, seemingly mocking him.

"Is this your power?" The grand voice of the ancient god's will spoke through the shadow's mouth.

"too weak."

"The physical body you rely on is nothing more than a remnant of my body; the supernatural powers you cultivate are as crude as a child's scribbles in the eyes of the sixth realm."

"Let me show you... what true power is."

hum!
The shadow of the ancient god raised his hands and made an extremely strange hand seal.

In an instant, the void behind it twisted, and a gigantic, pitch-black maw appeared out of thin air.

That wasn't Su Chen's "Gluttony," but rather... "Ancient God - Devouring Heaven"!
"That's my move?!"

Su Chen's pupils contracted slightly.

Although the names are different, the trajectory of that Devouring Law is exactly the same as his Gluttony Divine Power, and even... more exquisite and more domineering!

"suck!!"

The shadow of the ancient god inhaled sharply.

Su Chen felt his blood, energy, and even his soul overflowing uncontrollably, as if he were being forcibly pulled out of that black hole.

"He's imitating you! And he's imitating you using the power of the Sixth Realm!"

The remnant soul of the Skeleton Lord, sealed within the crystal, roared, "Kid! Don't fight him head-on! This thing is connected to the energy reservoir of the entire Ancient God World; its energy is limitless! You can't outlast it!!"

"Unlimited energy? A high-end copy?"

Su Chen steadied himself, and the Chaos Branch within his body operated wildly, locking in his own essence to prevent it from being lost.

"interesting."

"My favorite thing in this life is playing high-level games."

"Since you can suck, let's see... whose teeth are better!!"

Su Chen stopped retreating.

He roared, and the phantom of the Longevity Tree behind him materialized, its nine branches emerging as nine raging dragons, charging towards the shadow of the ancient god against the immense suction force.

"Divine Weapon - Sky-Splittering!"

"Flourishing and Declining!"

"Chaos - Collapse!!"

Su Chen unleashed over a hundred divine abilities in an instant. Each strike contained insights gained from his journey, enough to instantly kill an ordinary Great Luo Golden Immortal at the peak of cultivation.

However, a desperate scene happened.

Faced with Su Chen's storm-like attacks, the Ancient God's Shadow simply made a single move—mirror image.

Its body suddenly split into nine black tentacles, each of which precisely corresponded to one of Su Chen's branches.

Divine weapons against divine weapons! Withering and flourishing against withering and flourishing!
Even the most mysterious laws of chaos were neutralized by a more obscure law of "nothingness".

Bang bang bang bang bang-! ! !
A series of rapid explosions rang out between the two men.

All of Su Chen's attacks were perfectly intercepted, and the rebounding force even caused his blood and qi to surge, with a trace of golden divine blood spilling from the corner of his mouth.

"it's useless."

The ancient god said coldly.

"I am the master of this body, and the rule-maker of this place."

"All your methods, as long as they are used in this world, will be analyzed, copied, and then... returned to me tenfold."

"Desperate?"

"Then give up the resistance and become a part of me!"

call--

The shadow of the ancient god flashed and instantly appeared in front of Su Chen.

One of its hands transformed into a sharp black blade, piercing straight into Su Chen's heart—where the [Origin Dao Fruit] resided!
It's coming for the origin!

"Kid! Get out of the way!!" the Skeleton Lord cried out in alarm.

But Su Chen did not dodge.

At this distance, within this divine abode where gravity is a hundred times stronger, there's no way to escape.

A ruthless glint flashed in Su Chen's eyes.

"Since there's no way to avoid it..."

"Then let's exchange wounds!!"

Instead of retreating, Su Chen advanced, actually straightening his chest to meet the blade head-on.

At the same time, his hands suddenly reached out and gripped the shoulders of the Ancient God's Shadow tightly.

"Eternal Life - Origin - Forced Lock-in!!"

puff!

The black blade pierced Su Chen's chest without any resistance, and scalding divine blood gushed out.

But Su Chen laughed.

Because his hand also grabbed the other person.

"caught you."

Su Chen's mouth was full of blood, yet he laughed like a madman.

You said you could copy everything about me?

"Then could you copy...this?!"

Om-! ! !
The Origin Mark between Su Chen's eyebrows suddenly erupted with an unprecedentedly brilliant blue light.

That was neither an offensive spell nor a defensive shield.

That was a... memory.

A memory of "hunger".

A story about starting from humble beginnings as an ordinary person, devouring and plundering along the way, a story of extreme greed and madness where people would do anything to survive, even daring to bite a piece off the sky!

This is Su Chen's "Dao Heart".

It is also his unique and irreplaceable "self".

"Eat it...!"

Su Chen forcefully channeled this frenzied intent through his hands into the body of the Ancient God's Shadow.

“Ahhhh——!!!”

The once indifferent and ruthless shadow of the ancient god suddenly let out a shrill scream.

Its body began to tremble violently, and its face, devoid of features, twisted into expressions of pain, struggle, and confusion.

It did indeed replicate Su Chen's supernatural abilities and power.

But it is a dead program, a shadow without a soul.

When Su Chen's vibrant, scalding, and even somewhat hysterical "will to live" rushed into its body, it was like pouring a basin of boiling magma into a sophisticated computer.

Logical conflict! System overload!
"What is this... this lowly... filthy... desire..."

The ancient god's will roared, unable to comprehend why something called "survival instinct" could possess such terrifying destructive power.

"Low-level?"

Su Chen pulled the black knife out of his chest, and the wound healed rapidly under the effect of the [Withered and Flourishing Branch].

He looked at the chaotic figure and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.

"To you high and mighty gods, fighting desperately just to survive is perhaps a very lowly thing."

"But for us weeds..."

Su Chen walked step by step toward the shadow of the ancient god.

"This is the only weapon that can shake the heavens..."

"You are just a shadow of the past."

"You have no future, and you have no hunger."

"so……"

Su Chen opened his arms, and the Longevity Tree behind him completely transformed into a gigantic maw of chaos.

"You are destined... to be my food!!"

"Gluttony - Devouring World!!"

boom! ! !
Su Chen took a bite.

This time, the shadow of the ancient god could not dodge, nor could it dodge. It was being overwhelmed by the "mad will" instilled by Su Chen, rendering it unable to move.

Click!

Su Chen bit off half of the shadow's head.

"Do not!!!"

The ancient god's will roared in defiance, "How could you possibly devour me?! I am a projection of the Sixth Realm! I am..."

"You are... a fart."

Su Chen mumbled a curse and bit down hard again.

"I am the reality I am now."

"You are the illusion of the past."

"The first law of origin: The new is always stronger than the old!!"

"Give me...digestion!!"

...(End of chapter)