Transcending Godhood: I Extract Keywords and Crush the Gods

As Xingyun listened to Uncle Fu's words, her eyes gradually regained their clarity.

To endure.

He knew that word all too well.

For the past eighteen years, he has been enduring hardship every day.

However, when the word "endurance" came to mind, another image popped into his head uncontrollably.

On that eve.

The girl who followed him since childhood, looking at him with the purest eyes.

"Brother Starfall, don't you want me anymore?"

The girl cried her heart out, clutching his clothes tightly. Rain soaked her hair, and she looked so helpless.

In order to obtain core family resources and gain the support of that high-ranking direct descendant woman, he kicked the girl away.

He personally extinguished the last bit of warmth in his heart.

Looking into the girl's desperate eyes in the rain, he turned away abruptly and walked into the abyss of power.

He paid such a terrible price; he abandoned his basic human decency!

"No!"

Starfall roared, its eyes instantly becoming bloodshot.

Dark gold and eerie green light danced in his eyes, like a wild beast ready to devour its prey.

"I've abandoned everything! I don't even want her anymore! How could I possibly give up here!"

Xingyun grabbed Uncle Fu by the collar and lifted the old man up.

"Go find me men! Those powerful families won't dare to make a move, we'll do it ourselves!"

"Go to the black market! Go to the dark web! Find me those lunatics who are wanted by the federal government!"

"Find the alien god lurking in the Federation! I'll give you as many resources as you want, as long as you can kill Lin Yuan!"

Fu Bo, struggling to breathe, gripped Xingyun's wrists with both hands and spoke with difficulty:

"Young Master... think it over! Activating the Divine Realm War... is no joke!"

Xingyun loosened her grip slightly, but still held onto Uncle Fu tightly.

Uncle Fu, panting heavily, said quickly, "Those wanted criminals and alien gods are asking for extremely high prices."

"More importantly, what if they fail?"

"Lin Yuan is now a demigod at the sixth level, with a perfectly closed domain."

"If the opponent loses the fight, Lin Yuan can counterattack through the channel of the divine invasion and capture them alive."

"The military can easily trace it back to us by following the clues!"

"At that point, even your family won't be able to protect you!"

"Capture them alive?" Xingyun's lips curled into a twisted smile. "What is Lin Yuan? Could he possibly capture those old foxes alive?"

Xingyun loosened her grip on Fu Bo and pushed him to the ground.

"I didn't tell you to go find those cats and dogs."

Go find me a wanted criminal at the seventh or even eighth level of demigodhood!

"Which of those old monsters who have survived for hundreds or thousands of years under federal pursuit do not have a few trump cards to save their lives?"

"Lin Yuan is just a greenhorn who has only recently broken through to the sixth level of demigodship. No matter how strong his domain is, he couldn't possibly hold back an old guy of this level!"

Xingyun looked at Uncle Fu, her tone chilling.

"Even if the assassination fails, those old foxes will definitely find a way to sever the connection to the divine realm and escape unscathed."

"Lin Yuan has no leverage over us. Go ahead and do it; that's an order."

Uncle Fu sat on the ground, looking at Xingyun's face, which was twisted by jealousy and obsession, and sighed deeply in his heart.

He knew that the young master was completely infatuated.

The sunk costs were too high, forcing Starfall to go down a dead-end path.

"This old servant understands." Uncle Fu stood up, dusted himself off, bowed, and withdrew.

……

Uncle Fu returned to his underground chamber.

He sat cross-legged on the futon, closed his eyes, and his consciousness sank.

They descended into their own divine realm.

This is a gray and hazy world.

The sky is shrouded in black fog year-round, and gray cities dot the land.

Uncle Fu's retinue consisted of rat-people skilled in concealment and earth-遁 (earth-遁 is a type of acrobatic creature).

They are not very strong, but they have keen senses and are natural-born intelligence brokers.

Ignoring the rat-men traversing the underground, Fu Bo flew straight to the deepest part of the divine realm.

There stood a solitary black altar.

The altar was made of the bones of some unknown animal, and its surface was engraved with divine patterns for summoning spirits.

This is the Soul Summoning Platform, which was built by Uncle Fu using a special architectural blueprint that he obtained by chance during a black market transaction in his early years.

This thing has no offensive capabilities and cannot produce resources.

Its sole function is to establish a secret spiritual connection with a specific person across distant star systems via the frequency of the soul.

This connection cannot be tracked by the regular StarNet and is one of the safest communication methods in the underground world.

Uncle Fu stood in front of the Soul Summoning Platform and took out a Soul Stone from his pocket.

He pressed the soul stone into the groove in the center of the altar.

He clasped his hands together and channeled his divine power into the altar.

The divine symbols on the altar lit up one by one, shining with a red light.

A minute passed.

Ten minutes passed.

Half an hour passed.

Apart from the flashing red light, there was no other reaction at the center of the altar.

Fine beads of sweat appeared on Uncle Fu's forehead.

His divine power was only at the fourth level of demigod, and maintaining the operation of the Soul Summoning Platform was a huge drain on him.

But he didn't stop.

He knew how cautious the person he was supposed to contact was.

Time passed by, second by second.

Uncle Fu's soul began to become ethereal and transparent.

Just as Uncle Fu was about to give up and swallow the elixir to restore his divine power, the red light in the center of the altar disappeared.

A phantom that seemed about to vanish at any moment slowly coalesced above the altar.

The figure's face was indistinct; only the outline of a tall, slender man could be vaguely discerned.

"Old man, you're still alive."

Uncle Fu breathed a sigh of relief, stopped channeling his divine power, and plopped down on the edge of the altar.

"Thanks to you, I'm still alive." Uncle Fu gasped for breath, looking at the illusory figure.

The phantom hovered above the altar, seemingly observing Uncle Fu's condition.

"I thought you were long dead in some ditch."

"If it weren't for you, old dog, relentlessly activating the Soul Summoning Platform, making it impossible for me to concentrate on deduce divine arts, I wouldn't have bothered to separate this traceless divine soul."

The illusory figure sneered, "Tell me, which young master from a powerful family are you serving as his lackey now? How did you manage to acquire so much divine power to come to me?"

Uncle Fu's expression remained unchanged.

Having lived for nearly a thousand years, he was long accustomed to the cynicism and ridicule of the underworld.

He ignored the other person's words and went straight to the point.

"There's a big deal out there, are you in?"

"A big deal?" the illusory figure scoffed. "What big deal could a piece of trash like you, a fourth-stage demigod, possibly have?"

"Should we kill a few foolish space pirates, or go mine on some abandoned resource planet?"

"Kill someone." Uncle Fu stared at the illusory figure. "Starry Sky University, freshman. Demigod level six."

The phantom remained silent for two seconds.

Then, the space around the altar distorted.

A terrifying pressure, connected to the Soul Summoning Platform, traversed the endless starry sky and pressed heavily on Uncle Fu's soul.

Uncle Fu let out a muffled groan, his soul fluctuating violently, almost collapsing completely.

"Old dog, are you kidding me?" The phantom's voice turned icy cold. "A freshman at Starry Sky University? A demigod at the sixth level?"

"Do you think I'm an idiot?!"

"A genius of this caliber must have a military deity secretly protecting him."

"You want me to kill him? You want me to go and die so you can collect the bounty from the Federation with my head, right?!"

Despite the excruciating pain of his soul being torn apart, Uncle Fu gritted his teeth and said, "His name is Lin Yuan. He is the designated leader of the human race's vanguard in the Blood Pact War of Ten Thousand Races."

The phantom fell silent once more.

This time, the silence lasted even longer.

The oppressive force pressing down on Uncle Fu gradually subsided.

The phantom hovered above the altar twice, its tone tinged with surprise.

"Lin Yuan... I've heard of that name before. So it was you who laid out the bait."

"Since you know this, you should understand the value of this deal," Uncle Fu said calmly after recovering his composure.

He knew who he was facing.

Codename "Blood Raven".

He was once a rising star at Xingkong University.

Ten years ago, during an exploration of historical sites, for reasons unknown, he slaughtered all of the dozen or so young members of prominent families who were traveling with him.

After his scheme was exposed, he defected from the Federation and wandered the chaotic star system.

Over the past decade, the federal military has dispatched several pursuit teams, some even led by generals at the ninth level of the demigod realm.

But Blood Raven, with his cunning nature and uncanny divine abilities, escaped death time and time again.

He has now reached the seventh level of demigod.

The reason why Uncle Fu didn't seek out the demigods at the eighth or ninth level was because...

Firstly, beings of that level simply don't care about the resources in Starfall's possession; they are only interested in the complete divine realm habitat.

Secondly, people like Blood Raven, who have been stuck at the seventh level of demigod for many years and are in dire need of a breakthrough opportunity, are more easily swayed by interests.

"Merit?" Blood Raven sneered. "Killing a pre-selected leader is tantamount to openly challenging the Federation. What makes you think you can impress me?"

"A complete life-bearing planet, plus a copy of the [Void Stealth] divine technique." Uncle Fu threw out his chips.

The illusory figure paused noticeably for a moment.

A planet teeming with life is hard currency.

The [Void Stealth] divine skill inheritance is precisely the life-saving divine skill that Blood Raven, a wanted criminal who is constantly hunted, most desires.

"Not enough," Blood Raven bargained. "The risk is too great. Since that kid was chosen as the leader, he must have some trump card to save his life."

"If he stalls for time and military reinforcements arrive, I won't even have a chance to escape."

"He's a demigod at level six. You're a demigod at level seven." Uncle Fu said calmly, beginning to provoke the other party with words.

"You were once a top student at Starry Sky University. Do you really think you can't even handle a newly enrolled freshman in a short time?"

"Or has this decade of fleeing terrified you?"

"Provocation won't work on me, you old dog." Blood Raven's voice remained unchanged. "I've survived this long because of my caution."

"Add another million cubic meters of pure divine power crystals." Uncle Fu laid out his final bottom line. "This is all my master can offer."

"If you don't answer, I'll have no choice but to seek out the gods of other races."

"I believe those demons will be very interested in the head of the human leader."

The phantom flickered a few times above the altar.

One million cubic meters of pure divine power crystals would be enough to double the size of his divine realm.

With the previous resources, this amount is enough for him to reach the eighth level of the demigod realm.

Once he breaks through to the eighth level of the demigod realm, he will have the real capital to establish himself in the chaotic star field, and he will no longer have to hide like a stray dog.

"Send me all the detailed information about Lin Yuan, the coordinates of the Divine Realm, and the retreat route you have planned," Blood Raven finally relented.

"I can give you the intelligence. But you'll have to figure out the escape route yourself."

Uncle Fu remained unyielding, stating, "We are only responsible for providing resources and objectives."

"Once we take action, whether you live or die is none of our business. We will not leave any substantial evidence of our contact with you."

"Old fox," Blood Raven cursed.

He knew what Uncle Fu was thinking.

This was to prevent him from being captured alive and then traced back to his employer.

"Half of the deposit must be paid upfront, and the divine scroll must be included in the deposit," Blood Raven demanded.

"Sure. Transfer it through a black market, untraceable account." Uncle Fu nodded.

"Three days later, I will show him just how fragile the prodigies of Starry Sky University are in the face of a real life-or-death battle."

The phantom left behind a murderous utterance before vanishing instantly.

The red light on the soul-summoning platform went out completely.

Uncle Fu let out a long breath of stale air; the extreme weakness of his soul made him feel dizzy.

He exited the divine realm, and his consciousness returned to his body in the underground chamber.

Opening his eyes, Uncle Fu wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

The deal is done.

But the unease he felt grew stronger and stronger.

Blood Raven is indeed very strong. With the strength of a seventh-level demigod and ten years of combat experience, he absolutely crushes the vast majority of gods of the same level.

But is Lin Yuan really that easy to kill?

"I hope that this time, young master... is the right thing to do."

Uncle Fu muttered to himself, stood up, and walked to the communication station in the secret room to begin processing the deposit transfer.