Once upon a time there was a greedy snake.

Chapter 220 The Handover of Death

The moment Du Yi's consciousness chose to accept it, the entire underworld began to revolve according to his will.

The earth, which had begun to gradually become ethereal, solidified once more. The light that had gradually turned into pitch black returned to a soft white. Endless black mist was exhaled from Du Yi's mouth and returned to the sky, giving the entire underworld a sky again. However, lightning occasionally flashed within the black mist, just like the golden patterns on the giant snake's body.

As for the eternal cycle that had nailed everything to the same spot, it was also broken by Du Yi's will. The Chosen Champion Elias, who was still stuck in place and twitching, fell to the ground, panting heavily like a drowning person coming ashore. Even though they, as souls, did not breathe at this moment, it was clear that such a movement at least gave them a subconscious sense of security.

Three other phantom figures were making similar movements: a giant lion, a giant elephant, and a rather large golden-winged roc.

Du Yi, who was receiving everything, watched as the three giant beasts fell out of the gentle light that healed all things.

That familiar figure reminded Du Yi of something that happened a long time ago.

"It's you guys?"

Du Yi, who should have gradually become as serene as a true god, suddenly flew into a rage.

It was precisely because he personally received everything in this underworld that Du Yi was able to clearly sense what had happened before—no wonder the entire underworld did not collapse when he collected those dark clouds, but after he entered the depths of this underworld, it suddenly began to attack him.

So it turns out that from the beginning, it was these three giant beasts who secretly activated the defense.

As Du Yi gradually took over the Underworld, he even saw the past of these three giant beasts—unlike him, who unintentionally received the power of death, these three giant beasts had been consciously stealing the power of life. In order to obtain this power, these three giant beasts even lived deep in the Underworld for a long time, just to feel this power more and try to seize it.

This kind of thing was inherently impossible to succeed at, since the power of life, which is intangible and formless, is undoubtedly much harder to obtain than the power of death, which is tangible and real.

But these three giant beasts also had their own extraordinary adventures.

That was Ujat, the sun god who had broken into the underworld. After obtaining the power, this falcon-headed, human-bodied sun god simply came to test his skills on these three giant beasts. It was at this moment that the three giant beasts suddenly realized something. As a result, throughout the entire process, the three giant beasts offered almost no resistance, which led Ujat to believe that he had obtained everything.

From the perspective of these three giant beasts, they had already obtained everything.

After experiencing death, they successfully merged their souls and consciousness into the white light that permeated the depths of the underworld. They had indeed died, but they had also become one with this underworld—in a sense, this could be called immortality. As long as the underworld itself did not perish, they could continue to exist forever with this underworld.

In fact, if they had only achieved this much, the three giant beasts would have already achieved a complete victory. They had indeed obtained everything they wanted, and even gained power far exceeding their original expectations.

Unfortunately, these three giant beasts ultimately did things they shouldn't have done.

When Du Yi arrived at the depths of the Netherworld, the three giant beasts still chose to attack him.

It's hard to say whether Du Yi was greedy for the power of death within him, or to avenge past grudges, or perhaps both—but whatever the reason, the three giant beasts activated the most dangerous authority they could use, attempting to restart the entire cycle of reincarnation in the underworld.

If that were possible, everything would be perfect. Du Yi and Elias, the intruders, would be obliterated, and the power of death they had swallowed would be released again. The three giant beasts would then seize this opportunity to control the entire cycle of reincarnation, and even the Netherworld itself. But now…

"To inherit the position of the god of death, one must ultimately face death itself."

Thinking of this, Du Yi couldn't help but shake his head.

Indeed, after such a long time apart, these three giant beasts have made considerable progress, but this progress is ultimately limited. If these three giant beasts had not clung to life, but instead faced the dark clouds in the sky with the determination to die, perhaps they would have truly had the opportunity to inherit the God of Death.

But in retrospect, the moment those three giant beasts chose the power of life, their defeat and demise were already sealed.

Even though these three giant beasts already possess the power of life and even control what can be considered the core authority of the underworld, the more they do, the more mistakes they will make—especially when they want to attack the holder of the power of death, it is as if they are actively pushing the holder of the power of death to the position of the god of death.

"……etc?"

Du Yi suddenly sensed that something was wrong.

Yes, something really doesn't seem right. These things, taken individually, may all seem like coincidences, but when put together, each part seems perfectly fitting.

It's almost as if this underworld itself is some kind of large-scale selection mechanism.

"First, use the power of life to attract the strong, since no one would want to die. Then wait for someone to obtain the power of death... The one who possesses the power of death will almost certainly venture deep into the underworld, and conflict between the two sides will almost certainly occur. As the possessor of the power of life, whoever it is, will definitely activate the strongest killing move in their eyes to try to gain victory..."

The more you think about it, the clearer this line of thought becomes. All the coincidences are not coincidences. It is clear that this was designed by someone from the very beginning!
"Could it be that……"

Just as Du Yi had already figured out the answer...

A colossal phantom appeared before him.

The enormous phantom held a long staff in its right hand and a scale in its left. Its towering figure was as robust and powerful as a giant—but on the neck of this giant, there was not a human face, but the head of a jackal.

This is the phantom that was in charge of judging the souls of sinners when we were outside.

This time, however, the phantom smiled upon seeing Du Yi.

"Welcome, my successor."

"By the time you hear me say this, I should already be dead."

(End of this chapter)