World version update

Chapter 288 The River Styx and the Undying King

The emotionless questioning voice, like the coldest wind, instantly dispelled the shock and stunned silence of all the powerful figures in the Inquisition, replacing it with a chill that shot straight to the top of their heads and an unbelievable panic.

As if struck by an invisible hammer, they were jolted awake from their previous bystander mentality, their faces showing expressions of utter disbelief.

"Impossible!" a senior judge exclaimed, his voice trembling slightly. "Absolutely impossible!"

"The Void Vision Magic Mirror is a Level 1 sealed artifact. Its core originates from the extraordinary characteristics of a fallen Sequence 3 Seer. Theoretically, it can see into all things and its concealment is unparalleled."

How could anyone possibly perceive the images projected by the Void Horizon, or even use the Void Horizon to transmit information in reverse? Another cardinal, his face pale, muttered to himself, his understanding of the abilities of high-level sealed artifacts completely overturned.

"What exactly is the order of this being who calls himself the Ten Kings of Hell?"
Moreover, despite being called the Ten Kings of Hell, does He alone rule all ten courts, or are there nine other beings of such power in the underworld?

All sorts of problems weighed heavily on everyone's hearts like a boulder, making them feel suffocated.

The ability to ignore the gaze of Level 1 sealed artifacts and lock onto them in the opposite direction is a power that far exceeds their understanding of Sequence 3.

Could it be Sequence Two? Or even higher?
While the powerful figures of the Inquisition were gripped by immense panic and completely oblivious to the higher realms beyond, Lu Yan sat calmly within the seemingly timeless Fengdu City Temple.

Within the vast and empty temple, there were no physical entities, only blurry yet majestic phantoms of gods standing silently, exuding the grandeur of the divine court of the heavens.

Lu Yan's position was not the supreme throne symbolizing the Emperor of Fengdu at the highest point, but one of the Ten Kings of Hell below it.

The Ten Kings of Hell who had just manifested their divine power in the Great Tomb of the Dead, invoking the Yellow Springs to annihilate everything and casting a scrutinizing gaze from afar, were none other than Lu Yan himself in disguise.

All of this was within Lu Yan's calculations.

Back in the police station, Lu Yan had already used the Eye of the Wandering Soul to see the complex cause and effect behind the Council of the Dead.

Especially since there was a faint trace of Steam God Cult's interference behind this matter, Lu Yan directly guessed that Steam God Cult must be secretly spying on this situation.

Faced with the probing of the Steam God Cult, Lu Yan did not hesitate at all and decisively mobilized the Underworld Legion to launch a devastating attack on the Council of the Dead with overwhelming force.

Furthermore, in order to avoid revealing his true strength and level of power too early, Lu Yan chose not to take action himself during this process.

He cleverly used the power of the Yin Army and the rules contained in the underworld to suppress and cleanse the lower and middle levels of the Council of the Dead.

Lu Yan only personally intervened when the Speaker of the Council of the Dead was awakened and this Sequence Three Ferryman, who had been slumbering for thousands of years, displayed demigod-like power that could threaten the outcome of the battle.

However, he still did not choose to descend in his true form. Instead, he disguised himself as one of the Ten Kings of Hell and used the Yellow Springs Formation composed of six thousand Yin soldiers as a temporary medium and coordinate to activate the Yellow Springs Rules in the Underworld.

Even before the Netherworld ascended, the Yellow Springs rules were already capable of obliterating Nascent Soul Dao Lords.

In the subsequent expansion of the Underworld, the forging of the Divine Court of the Heavens, and the establishment of the extraordinary order, the rules of the Yellow Springs have grown considerably.

Originally, the rules of the Yellow Springs belonged to the underworld, and if they were separated from the underworld, they would be weakened to a certain extent.

Within the Great Tomb of the Dead, the environment of the realm of the dead and the River Styx, where reality and illusion intertwine, make the rules of this world incredibly similar to those of the underworld.

Furthermore, the Yellow Springs Formation sealed off the entire Tomb of the Dead, allowing the peak state of the Yellow Springs to descend into the tomb. The dimensional reduction attack of the high-level rules completely buried the Sequence Three Ferryman and the millions of undead in the Tomb of the Dead at the bottom of the ever-flowing Yellow Springs River, erasing all traces of their existence.

Having done all this, Lu Yan could have withdrawn his power and left immediately.

But the persistent, probing gazes of the Steam Cult, like flies, gave him an idea. He decided to turn the tables and use this opportunity of divine intervention to give these shadowy observers a chilling deterrent.

As a first-level sealed artifact, the Void Vision Magic Mirror possesses extremely strong concealment capabilities, making it almost impossible to detect by conventional means.

However, when this mirror cast its gaze upon the army of Yin soldiers containing the rules of the underworld, and reflected the phantom of the Ten Kings of Hell disguised by Lu Yan, an unbreakable causal connection was already established between the two.

For Lu Yan, by tracing this newly formed line of cause and effect, he could easily pinpoint the exact location of the Void Vision Magic Mirror and the manipulator behind it.

That seemingly earth-shattering glance from afar was actually the inevitable result of Lu Yan's precise calculations.

Inside the temple, Lu Yan slowly raised his palm.

At this stage, he has no intention of completely breaking ties with the deeply rooted Steam Cult.

After all, judging from the current level of high-end combat power, the Steam God Cult, which has been passed down for tens of thousands of years, has accumulated a foundation that is far superior to that of the Underworld in its early stages.

However, it is more than enough to leave them with a lesson that will make them remember it and dare not peek again.

Within Lu Yan's palm, the myriad variations of the Great Divine Power of Creation had begun to operate, quietly evolving a millstone phantom between his fingers, within which flowed endless auras of destruction and unification.

That was the complete conception of the Great Millstone of Annihilation, representing the complete obliteration of all phenomena in the universe, transforming them into the most fundamental Dao-One power of the rules of annihilation.

A mere display of power might not be enough to truly intimidate the well-informed and powerful members of the Inquisition.

But this kind of supreme power, which involves high-level rules and represents the concept of world destruction, is enough to make them feel fear and awe from the depths of their souls, even if it only reveals a trace of its aura.

This bought valuable time for Lu Yan to spread the belief in the underworld in the Kingdom of Orank and even throughout the entire Northern Continent.

A faint aura of world-ending destruction, symbolizing end and annihilation, began to quietly brew in the eyes of the phantom images of the Ten Kings of Hell.

Almost simultaneously, in the Inquisition located deep beneath the Steam Cathedral, all the powerful individuals, regardless of their rank, suddenly felt a terrifying threat that penetrated to their very bones.

An aura of despair, as if the end of the world was imminent, spread like an invisible tide through the Void Vision Magic Mirror, filling the entire courtroom space.

Just as the illusory image of the Ten Kings of Hell was about to fully solidify within the eyes of the world-destroying millstone symbolizing the end of all things, the illusory image of that millstone was about to take shape.

Above the tomb of the dead, which had just been completely swallowed by the waters of the underworld, suddenly came the sound of rushing rivers, as if from time immemorial.

Wow!
A vast, desolate, gray river, its origin and destination unknown, pierced through the void and appeared in that region.

This long river is in a very peculiar state, existing between reality and illusion, as if it were a personification of an ancient legend flowing on the boundary between life and death.

The moment it appeared, the tomb of the dead, which had already sunk to the bottom of the Yellow Springs River, began to revive in a way that defied common sense.

The countless corpses and spirits swallowed by the Yellow Springs seemed to be forcibly pulled out from the eternal end, gaining a brief existence under the reflection of the gray river.

Such a bizarre and shocking sight not only instantly attracted the attention of Lu Yan, who was about to make a move, but also caused the fearful powerhouses in the Inquisition to turn their gazes back to the Void Realm.

"That's... the River Styx!" A sharp-eyed Judgment Knight's pupils suddenly contracted, and he exclaimed in a trembling voice.

"The River Styx? The River Styx, the legendary final resting place of the dead, actually exists?" someone asked incredulously.

"Ignorance!" a senior cardinal rebuked sharply, his face extremely grim. "The River Styx not only truly exists, but it is also the true source of power for the dead, the embodiment of the concept!"

"The appearance of the River Styx signifies that the hidden being who controls the source of the dead's path is about to descend."

"who is it?"

"Who else could it be?" The presiding judge of the Inquisition said with an extremely solemn expression, his voice carrying the weight of a thousand pounds as he spoke each word: "It is the Lord of the Styx, the symbol of the origin of the path of the dead, the Undead King who has long since embarked on that hidden path!"

The moment the words fell, from the illusory and vast River Styx, a figure composed entirely of skeletons, draped in a black robe symbolizing eternal silence, and gripping a giant scythe, slowly stepped out.

The moment He appeared, several tightly sealed Level 0 artifacts deep within the Steam Cathedral simultaneously trembled violently.

Around the cemetery, all the saints belonging to the Council of the Dead, whose ranks were four or below, lost all their power in that instant, no matter where they were.

They collapsed to the ground as if their spines had been removed, losing consciousness.

Further away, those ancient coffins, which had been silent in the shadows of the city for countless years, began to tremble violently and uncontrollably, as if the beings inside were about to break free.

The boundary between life and death was completely distorted and reversed the moment the Undying King descended into the world.

"Why? Why did the Undying King descend in his true form? What exactly happened in the Tomb of the Dead?"

"A hidden-level evil god has descended! Quickly prepare to activate the [Sanctuary] defense."

"Immediately summon the [Hidden Angel] to revive!"

The entire core of the Steam Cult was instantly on high alert, with countless orders being issued rapidly and alarms blaring throughout every corner of the sanctuary.

But the newly arrived Undying King seemed oblivious to the immense turmoil outside.

Even the great tomb of the dead, which had been briefly revived by His power but still retained the aura of the underworld, did not arouse His interest in the slightest.

His empty eye sockets were fixed on the phantom of the Ten Kings of Hell floating in front of the void rift, and undisguised flames of greed began to flicker deep within those empty eye sockets.

"It was you who shattered my anchor of faith."

The Undying King spoke in a dry, hoarse voice, like the friction of metal, each syllable carrying a chilling coldness: "Very well, then use the power of death within you to pay for it!"

Before he finished speaking, the enormous scythe in his hand, a symbol of life, death, and harvest, was already raised high, and then, with an aura that seemed to tear the heavens and earth apart, it slashed down fiercely!

Wow!

The illusory and vast River Styx seemed to be summoned, following the trajectory of the scythe, transforming into a dark torrent that swept down.

This attack was not merely a physical strike; it contained the terrifying power of rules that could reverse life and death and bury all things.

The arrival of the Undying King in his true form brought an overwhelming sense of impending doom to the entire Steam Temple.

However, at this moment, Lu Yan, who was sitting on the throne of Yama, in the underworld, had an extremely strange expression on his face.

He clearly sensed that this immortal king, through his deep integration with the rules of the Styx River, had already stepped into a realm beyond the gods and humans of the mortal world.

In terms of actual strength, he would be a second-order Earthly Angel in this world. If he were in the Xianxia world he had experienced, he would be comparable to the last of the ten true disciples of the Taiyi Sect.

Even on the Undying King, Lu Yan keenly detected a trace of the extremely faint aura of the unique being of this world.

Clearly, this immortal king, through some unknown method, not only occupied the source of the path of the dead, but also successfully stole a portion of the position contained within the River Styx itself.

With such strength, he could almost be considered the strongest enemy Lu Yan had ever encountered, second only to the One and Only in This World.

However, Lu Yan did not feel the slightest fear of this Undying King who arrived with the might of the Styx River.

All of this stems from a fundamental difference in perception: the Undying King clearly mistook the Underworld and his disguised Ten Kings of Hell for something that simply held power over death.

His purpose in taking action was merely to seize the power of death, which he considered extremely valuable, in order to complete himself.

But He was completely unaware that what He was facing was not simply some kind of authority or power, but a complete divine court of the heavens with its own order and rules!
scoff!

As the Undead King brought down his scythe imbued with the power of the Styx, the void rifts that had previously covered the Tomb of the Dead were forcibly torn apart and expanded by this single strike.

The other side of the crack was no longer a chaotic void, but rather a fragmented corner of the underworld's interior was faintly reflected.

"Hahaha! Found you!"

The Undying King let out a triumphant and greedy laugh, and with unparalleled power, he stepped without hesitation into the void rift that He had forcibly torn open, entering the realm of the Underworld.

However, in the next instant, the entire underworld suddenly trembled violently.

It wasn't because it was attacked, but because the supreme divine order within it was disturbed by outsiders and started operating on its own.

The divine order is like a blazing sun, instantly releasing its supreme majesty that suppresses all living beings.

The greedy and arrogant smile on the face of the Undying King froze the moment he stepped into the underworld.

The order and rules evolved by the Divine Court of the Heavens are almost equivalent to a self-contained system of Heavenly Dao.

If one is at their peak and perfect state, they can even suppress the only true being in this world.

The sliver of the unique status that the Undying King stole from the River Styx now seemed so fragile and laughable.

In the empty eye sockets of the Undying King, the flames of greed were instantly replaced by endless fear.

Within the Divine Court and the Underworld, Lu Yan, seated on his divine throne, calmly raised his right hand.

With this simple movement, a gigantic, indescribable hand, seemingly covering the entire heavens, slowly condensed and took shape in the sky above the Netherworld.

With an aura that could overturn heaven and earth, it pressed down upon the Undying King and the illusory Styx River that He had brought with Him.

No matter if you merge with the River Styx and steal a position, under the order of the divine court, you will all be suppressed!
Meanwhile, inside the Inquisition outside, the many powerful figures watching the battle through the void witnessed an even more bizarre and terrifying scene:
All they saw was that the void rift, forcibly torn open by the Undying King and leading to the unknown world, suddenly erupted with an even more terrifying aura.

The Undying King, who had charged in with such arrogance, was now desperately trying to escape from the crack in an even more disheveled and panicked manner.

The once vast phantom of the Styx River on His body was violently fluctuating and disintegrating, as if it had encountered some kind of natural enemy.

His empty eye sockets were filled with unprecedented fear, as if he wanted to get away from the world he had just entered.

However, the next moment, from within the violently fluctuating void rift, an indescribably vast and boundless hand emerged.

Ignoring all of the Undead King's struggles and resistance, the giant hand grabbed His massive skeletal body and dragged Him, along with the collapsing illusory River Styx, back into that unknown world.

The projections of the Ten Kings of Hell dissipated, the rift in the void slowly closed, and everything returned to calm.

Only the church leaders remained, their faces blank with shock, inside the Inquisition.

(End of this chapter)