World version update

Chapter 289 Devouring the River Styx, the Road to the Underworld

"The Undying King has been suppressed?"

The deathly silence was broken by an incredulous whisper; the voice of the Judgment Knight was dry, as if his throat had been sanded.

"How is this possible? The Undead King coexists with the River Styx, and He Himself is one of the sources of the concept of the pathway to the dead."

In this world, apart from the seven supreme true gods, even the other evil gods who also secretly control other sources can at most defeat or expel them; they can never completely suppress them!

Another cardinal shook his head violently, trying to deny the reality that was defying his understanding.

"But the facts are right before our eyes." Someone pointed to the void vision that still retained a terrifying aura, their voice trembling, "Moreover, that last hand of heaven that appeared, although powerful beyond comprehension, did not seem to emanate an aura from any true god we know."

What exactly does the rift that the Undying King forcibly broke open lead to?
Is it the kingdom of some unknown god?

"First, the being who called himself the Ten Kings of Hell issued a decree to summon the Yellow Springs, and then an even more terrifying hand of heaven appeared, capturing the Styx River and the Undying King together."

Could it be that the hand of heaven is the true power of the Ten Kings of Hell?

Various speculations surged like a tide within the courtroom, each one sending shivers down the spines of these seasoned church leaders.

"The depth of this mysterious force called the Underworld is probably far beyond any of our previous imagination and assessment."

The inquisitor, who had remained relatively calm throughout, let out a long sigh, a rare look of lingering fear and relief on his face. "If it weren't for the Undying King's reckless charge that happened to attract the full attention of the Ten Kings of Hell, we, the spyers, would probably be the ones being suppressed today."

He glanced around at his subordinates, whose expressions varied, and his tone became extremely serious:
"Everything that happened here today, in every detail, is strictly forbidden. Not a single word may be revealed to non-core members of the church."

He paused, a complex glint in his eyes, and continued:

"Regarding the union that is quietly expanding within the Kingdom of Victoria, and the underworld that vaguely exists behind it, some restrictions can be appropriately relaxed."

It can even provide certain conveniences in some inconspicuous aspects.

This decision surprised many people present.

The presiding judge noticed their confusion and explained, "The level of power displayed by this underworld has far exceeded our initial estimates."

Its future development will certainly not be limited to just the Kingdom of Victoria.

Rather than engaging in irreconcilable conflict with it now, it is better to observe for the time being and allow it to grow stronger.

After all, if something truly goes wrong in the future, it will not be just a matter for our Steam God Church, but a problem that all orthodox churches need to face together.

At that time, the responsibility and pressure should naturally be shared by the seven major churches, shouldn't they?

The profound meaning behind these words made the powerful figures present thoughtful, and they all nodded in understanding.

Cleverly distributing the potentially huge risks across the entire righteous god faction is undoubtedly a wise choice.

Lu Yan had no time to care about how the Steam Cult adjusted its strategies or assessed the risks.

His entire attention was now focused on the Undying King, who had just been forcibly dragged into the Netherworld by the hand of Heaven and completely suppressed by the divine order, as well as the illusory and majestic River Styx.

With the Immortal King and the Styx River, two great spoils of war, suppressed beneath Fengdu City in the Underworld, a torrent of information instantly surged into this realm.

The Path of the Dead, the River Styx, Sequence Two Earth Angels, and Hidden Evil Gods.
Above the sky of the Underworld's miniature world, the countless stars formed from probability clouds suddenly burst forth with unprecedented brilliance.

They were operating at breakneck speed, frantically receiving, analyzing, and digesting this sudden surge of massive amounts of information.

Previously vague or completely unknown concepts and information gradually became clear in Lu Yan's consciousness, like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.

This gave him a clearer understanding of this mysterious version of the world shrouded in mist.

The Path of the Dead is an extremely ancient and extraordinary path, deeply bound to the rules of life and death in this world.

However, there seems to be no corresponding true god at the highest point of this path, which makes the path of the dead inherently an incomplete one, with its power's endpoint locked at the second sequence level.

The second sequence of the Dead Path is honored as the Undying King.

As for the Undying King who was just suppressed by Lu Yan using the order of the Divine Court and the Underworld, He was a powerful transcendent being who walked the path of the dead thousands of years ago.

With his unparalleled talent and perseverance, he overcame all obstacles and successfully advanced to the level of a Sequence Three Ferryman, only one step away from Sequence Two.

However, any extraordinary path that wishes to ascend from Sequence 3 to Sequence 2 earthly angels must rely on the root symbol of the extraordinary path and complete the ascension ritual.

The root symbol of the path of the dead is the River Styx, which flows in legends and concepts.

After years of fruitless attempts to contact the River Styx through normal means, this later immortal king devised an extremely crazy and audacious plan.

He began to establish the Council of the Dead, and with the power of the Council, he spread the belief and legends about the River Styx in the mortal world over the long years, thereby strengthening the existence and anchor of the concept of the River Styx in the real world.

Ultimately, after hundreds of years of accumulation, He deeply bound the concept of the River Styx to His own spirituality.

In the end, He succeeded!

He forcefully brought the River Styx, which should have existed only in the realm of illusory rules, from the realm of legend to the boundary between reality and illusion.

He then took a risky gamble, forcibly merging his own soul and will with the Styx River that had been led out, successfully stealing a portion of the Styx River's unique identity in this world.

With this stolen power, He finally broke through the barriers of the sequence, ascended to sequence two, became the new Undead King, and thus entered the ranks of the hidden evil gods.

The concept of the Hidden God does not refer to a specific deity, but rather to a collective term for powerful beings in the Mysterious version who have successfully ascended to Sequence Two or higher, occupied a certain extraordinary path of origin symbolism, and possess a uniqueness or the status of the only one in this world.

The power gap between the hidden evil gods is enormous. The truly powerful among them are already infinitely close to true gods, and may even have already mastered the complete uniqueness, only one step away from ascending to godhood.

The weak, like the recently suppressed Undead King, have only reached the threshold of Sequence Two, and the uniqueness of what they possess and steal is negligible, almost nonexistent.

Even so, thanks to that faint uniqueness and partial control over the source of the path, the Undying King still possesses overwhelming power when facing other second-tier powerhouses of the same rank who do not possess uniqueness.

This is also why He dared to be so arrogant before, directly attacking the underworld.

Unfortunately, he encountered Lu Yan, and the Divine Court of the Heavens, which was completely outside the rules of this world.

After digesting the massive flood of information, Lu Yan's deep eyes revealed an even more obvious joy. The Undying King, as a genuine Sequence Two Earth Angel, possessed undeniable strength.

If they were to meet in the vast real world outside the Netherworld, given Lu Yan's current resources, he certainly wouldn't be able to suppress him.

Therefore, in the short term, this once-hidden evil god will likely remain firmly suppressed under Fengdu City, making it difficult to fully extract and utilize its value.

However, compared to the Undying King, who was difficult to deal with at the moment, the River Styx, which accompanied Him into the underworld, had irreplaceable value to Lu Yan!
The River Styx is not only one of the fundamental symbols of the dead's journey along this ancient and extraordinary path, but also the source of all the death legends in the mysterious world.

According to legend, when all things in the world reach the end of their lives, their remains or imprints will involuntarily sink into the River Styx. Only by relying on the ferryman's boat can one cross this river that separates life and death and reach the so-called other shore.

These legends and concepts, deeply rooted in the underlying rules of the world and the subconscious of countless beings, endow the Styx with special abilities that are almost at the level of laws.

One of the most notable aspects is that He can freely manifest His projection or a portion of His power in any corner of the mysterious world, just as He did above the Tomb of the Dead before.

"If only we could completely integrate the River Styx into the underworld..."

Lu Yan's gaze fell upon the illusory river, and a bold idea gradually took shape in his mind.

Let the Yellow Springs of the Underworld completely swallow and assimilate this River Styx, taking over the concepts of death's destination and the boundary between life and death that it represents.

If successful, the benefits will be immeasurable.

First, this allows the concepts of death and end represented by the Yellow Springs of the Underworld to be completed and elevated in an unprecedented way.

The information and rules about death accumulated over countless eras by the River Styx will become the richest resources for the Underworld.

Secondly, and most importantly, once Huangquan successfully takes over the concept and status of the Styx River, then Huangquan will no longer be merely a manifestation of the rules within the small world of the underworld.

Even if it flows in the real world, Huangquan will be able to retain its Huangquan rules, which contain the power of end and annihilation, to a large extent, without having to rely on a specific environment or medium to descend briefly as before.

Furthermore, integrating the River Styx, which represents the final destination of death, into the underworld system is itself a major improvement to the structure of the divine court and the underworld, making the authority of the underworld more complete.

Once this thought was made, Lu Yan no longer hesitated.

With a thought, the vast Yellow Springs water that ran through the entire underworld instantly stirred up countless towering waves.

The murky river water surged with endless deathly silence and an aura of the end, emitting a roar that shook the heavens and the earth, like an ancient behemoth awakening and opening its gaping maw to devour everything, rushing towards that illusory River Styx.

Almost at the same instant that Huang Quan launched his attack, the illusory River Styx suddenly trembled violently.

At the same time, within the Mysterious Version, all the extraordinary beings walking on the Path of the Dead suddenly felt a tremor and unease emanating from the deepest part of their souls.

It was as if the source of their power, the foundation upon which they believed and relied, was being shaken and eroded like never before.

This turmoil, originating from the source of the extraordinary path, was clearly reflected in every extraordinary individual of the Death Path, causing them to be unsettled and even experiencing a brief disruption in their power.

Within the small world of the underworld, the Styx River roared madly and struggled violently. Countless traces of the dead, broken souls, and even the remnants of the concept of extinction that had sunk into its illusory waters over countless years were now driven by the Styx River's instincts, transforming into towering waves that attempted to overturn this world that dared to desecrate its existence.

The somber river water and the murky waters of the Yellow Springs collided violently, unleashing a silent yet breathtaking confrontation at the level of rules.

However, this is the underworld, a place shrouded in the order of the divine court of all heavens!
No matter how the River Styx struggled, no matter how the billions of corpses roared, under the absolute majesty of the divine order, which was as radiant as the sun, all resistance seemed so futile.

The waters of the underworld relentlessly wash over, seep into, and devour every inch of the River Styx, erasing the will to resist and the marks of the dead contained within.

Gradually, the once turbulent River Styx began to struggle less and less.

Ultimately, under the relentless devouring of the Yellow Springs and the absolute suppression of the divine order, this illusory river that had flowed for countless years gradually fell silent.

Within the small world of the underworld, the turbid Yellow Springs, representing the end and twilight, and the dark River Styx, symbolizing the destination and boundary of death, began to truly converge and merge.

The two long rivers, each embodying a different concept of death, are like two intertwined dragons, permeating and merging with each other.

The interplay of yellow and dark hues created a profound and indescribable color for the long river that traversed the underworld, as if it contained the mystery of the end and death of everything in the universe.

The rules of the end times, represented by the waters of the underworld, became even more profound and imposing after swallowing the River Styx, as if even time itself could decay and wither before it.

As the Yellow Springs completely swallowed and assimilated the River Styx, an inevitable result occurred: the foundation of the path of the dead, which originally depended on the River Styx, was completely shaken and disintegrated.

In the real world, all extraordinary individuals who have passed through the Death Path, regardless of their location or rank, clearly felt at this moment that the extraordinary characteristics within them were becoming unstable at an unprecedented rate, and were even beginning to dissipate.

Their connection to the source of their power is being forcibly severed, as if the invisible pillar supporting their power system is collapsing.

Panic! Despair!
A sense of apocalyptic terror instantly gripped the hearts of every deceased person who had passed through the supernatural realm.

The power they were so proud of was slipping away from them, the very foundation of their existence was being erased—an end more terrifying than death itself.

However, just as this path of the dead was about to completely collapse, and all the related superhumans were about to face the desperate situation of losing control of their power or even dying on the spot, Lu Yan, who had been quietly watching all of this, finally made his move.

He seized the opportunity perfectly.

At this moment, all the high-level powerhouses of Sequence Four Styx Walker and above in the Path of the Dead, including the Sequence Three Ferryman, the Speaker of the Council of the Dead, have been completely wiped out in the previous battle of the Tomb of the Dead.

This means that throughout the entire path of the dead, no one has reached the rank of a saint in the human realm, let alone a higher sequence of beings who can reach the root of the path.

This left the entire Dead Pathway in an unprecedented state of leaderlessness, reducing its resistance to changes in the source to its lowest point.

The golden core of the Great Dao within his body radiated divine light, and he fully activated the supreme divine power that manipulated creation.

The invisible force transcends the limitations of space and time, directly impacting the unseen rules of this mysterious world.

The mark of that extraordinary path, originally engraved on the rules of the world and representing the path of the dead, began to become blurred and distorted under the influence of the workings of creation.

Then, it was as if gently wiped away by an invisible hand.

But this is not complete destruction.

As the mark of the deceased's path disappeared, a brand new mark of the extraordinary path was forcibly engraved in its original position by the workings of fate.

Furthermore, this entirely new path perfectly inherits all the characteristics and power systems of Sequence 9 to Sequence 5 of the original Path of the Dead, as if the two were originally one.

This entirely new and extraordinary path is called: the Underworld!
(End of this chapter)