Those time travelers that year

633. A Monkey's One-Day Trip to the Pantheon (2)

“I didn’t think much of it before, but now that I think about it, it seems quite absurd.” The speaker was a radiant woman, dressed in a loose, milky-white dress that flowed gently, holding a nearly translucent, pure gold scale.

This is Amannata, the Radiant One, and also Losanda's true form after she retracted her disguise. Of course, this appearance already caused the Earth Goddess and the Lord of Nature to widen their eyes in disbelief, as did the other deities, especially Suren and Shar.

Looking at the changing expressions of the other gods, the Radiant Lord Amannata shook her head and continued, "I used to sit here with them, discussing the development of the mortal realm. But after reading the books and knowledge left by you, my mentor, I realized that this place has served no purpose at all."

"If it has any single function, it is only to maintain the so-called immortal glory of these bloodsuckers of faith."

“No one is born superior, not even a god,” Yilmat stepped forward and took over the conversation. “...So now, the era of gods being superior must come to an end, all immortality must fall, and the authority that came from mortals must return to mortals.”

“Let myths remain just myths. All future and hope should belong to the millions of mortals,” Hall said. “The age of the gods should end.”

'Outrageous...outrageous! Utter nonsense!'

'You, you three traitors!'

Clearly, this statement touched a nerve with all the gods, who began to curse and glare at the three 'traitors' and the monkey with the hairy face and thunderous mouth.

"Are you sure?" The monkey ignored the clamoring fellows and instead looked at the three gods who were talking about the collapse of divine authority with an extremely serious gaze.

“It’s certain. Mortals are not incapable of leaving the gods. Only when divine authority falls can an era belonging to all living beings begin.” The monkey was met with three resolute expressions. Even knowing that this would cause their divine thrones to crumble and their glory to fade, the monkey read only unwavering determination in their eyes.

"Comrades, thank you for your sacrifice." The monkey solemnly bowed to the three gods and said, "I, Old Sun, have no right to represent all living beings, but I offer my respect with this body."

"Enough!" roared the Guardian God. "Get out! Leave this place! The intruders, Amannata, Ilmat, and Hall—all of you, get out of the temple of the gods!" Heim shouted. "In the name of the Guardian God, I propose the expulsion of Amannata, Ilmat, and Hall. They are unworthy to be gods. The glory of the gods cannot be desecrated. This intruder, whoever he may be, will pay the price for his arrogant words."

'Seconded...'

'I second that.'

'The glory of the gods should not be questioned, seconded, or cast into the dust.'

……

One after another, the gods roared, their anger and naked hatred blazing as they glared at Amannata, Yilmat, Hall, and the monkey. However, Amannata, Yilmat, and Hall remained completely unfazed by the rage and curses of all the gods in the pantheon. On the contrary, seeing these gods, for the first time ever, united in this moment regardless of good or evil, they felt only a deep sense of their own foolishness.

He was even less concerned about the monkey.

Putting aside whether these guys actually have the ability to make him 'pay the price', what he really cares about is not these guys who have been completely corrupted by the power of faith.

The concepts of good and evil never truly existed from the beginning. Just as two opposing deities, good and evil, could unite at this moment, it reveals that everything in this world is nothing more than self-interest. Because of self-interest, they used to fight each other endlessly; because of self-interest, even mortal enemies would not choose to tear off their masks and kill each other; and because of self-interest, in this situation, mortal enemies would rather set aside all conflicts to uphold the established rules.

"Alright, all of you shut up, you old Sun!" The golden cudgel slammed heavily onto the hall, the resounding crash silencing the voices of the gods in the Pantheon. The monkey sneered, looking at the gods with disdain. In any world, one's position determines one's perspective—it was true then, and it is true now. "Enough with the babbling! If you have the guts, come and fight!" Laughing loudly, the monkey mocked the gods, who were now furious at his words. "Come on, all of you, attack! Don't say I, Old Sun, am bullying you..."

"Arrogant!" roared the Goddess of Night, Shar. Having previously had one of her avatars shattered by the monkey, she held a deep grudge and glared at it, screaming, "In the name of the Goddess of Creation, I declare to the world, on behalf of the dark side of this world, that these arrogant and insolent beings be banished!"

'I, Sylvanas, as the primordial god of the world, propose the expulsion of those who defy the glory of the gods, including even the ancient gods of the Force.'

'In the name of the goddess of love, I propose that they be cast into the dust.'

'In the name of Suren, one of the creator goddesses and the moon goddess, I request that these madmen be banished.'

One after another, powerful or highly renowned deities spoke, their divine radiance merging together. The cries of the gods echoed throughout the Pantheon and across countless planes.

But faced with this suppression and rejection, which was tantamount to the world itself, the monkey remained completely calm. He was even slightly dazed at this moment; this scene reminded him of the mythical era, when ten thousand heavenly soldiers and generals surrounded him, and all the gods and Buddhas were hostile towards him. How similar this scene was to that time!

He grinned wildly, his laughter drowning out the shouts of the gods in the Pantheon, drowning out their anger and curses.

His fiery red cloak billowed without wind, and Sun Wukong raised his golden cudgel, facing the gods of this world with the same strength he had once used to fight against 100,000 heavenly soldiers and generals, and against all the gods and Buddhas.

The Victorious Fighting Buddha remains in mythology, while the Great Sage Equaling Heaven is in the present.

With unwavering momentum and a spirit of conquering heaven and earth, the monkey coldly swept its gaze once more over these gods, over these rotten 'ghouls' that leeched over civilization and all living beings, sucking their blood and marrow, suppressing them, and exchanging ignorance and fear for glory.

Ahead of him stood Heim, the guardian god. Seeing the golden cudgel held upright before him, Heim, who had never retreated, was also forced to take a half step back by the monkey's increasingly strong fighting spirit.

The shouts and curses of the gods fell silent at this moment, as the fighting spirit unique to the Great Sage Equaling Heaven pressed down on them, forcibly silencing all their words.

"Come on, let's see who's really skilled... Let's have a good fight!"

634. A Monkey's One-Day Trip to the Pantheon (3)

Since the prophecy of the Dark Lord, the entire Material World has been in turmoil. While most people might not perceive anything amiss, those with a keen eye find the changes increasingly difficult to discern.

Among those truly powerful individuals, including the chosen ones of various gods and legendary spellcasters, the entire world has begun to undergo terrifying changes. A cataclysmic event has occurred in the Endless Abyss; the terrifying being who calls himself the God of Twilight and the Abyss has sealed off the entire Abyss, unleashing a desperate battle for survival among the demons, and beginning to breed venomous creatures.

Immediately afterwards, the Lord of the Nine Hells shattered the boundary between the Endless Abyss and the Hell of Bathor, personally ending the bloody war that had lasted for countless years. He then dragged the Hell of Bathor into the rift in spacetime, disappearing without a trace. Later, the River Styx swept in, concealing all traces of the Lord of the Nine Hells, leading one to suspect whether the ancient God of Death had made some unspeakable deal with the Lord of the Nine Hells.

If that wasn't enough, then the destruction of the Wall of the Believers in the Misty Realm truly caused a great upheaval. As the ultimate authority and tyranny of the gods, the Wall of the Believers had always been a manifestation of their glory and power. Whether they liked it or not, mortals who didn't want their souls to be plastered on this wall after death only had two choices:

First, try your best not to die, whether by using spells to prolong life or by transforming yourself into a 'non-human' being, as long as your soul doesn't go to the realm of obscurity.

Second, find a target to believe in! Whether it's a god, a demon, or a devil, as long as your soul isn't plastered on the wall after you kick the bucket, that's fine.

This meant that, apart from the legendary spellcasters, everyone else was completely screwed over. Regardless of your abilities or status, if you don't choose a faith, posthumous reckoning is nothing new in this world.

In comparison, the underworld in the world of Eastern fantasy is simply the best it could be. Anyway, I've never heard of people without faith having their walls plastered with paper.

This led many capable individuals to initially wonder if they had misheard or misread the destruction of the Wall of the Believers. However, after exhausting all available means and confirming that it was not a deceptive trick, various undercurrents began to flow in the material world.

Frankly speaking, if it weren't for that damned Wall of No Faith, a large portion of the population wouldn't even bother to believe in any gods. This is especially true for ambitious individuals. For example, it's impossible for anyone aspiring to world dominion to worship Bane. Unless every ruler with such ambitions is constantly suppressed and forced to live in the shadows by various divine forces, they wouldn't choose to worship those who are at odds with their oppressors.

Of course, given the current situation, the destruction of the Wall of the Believers spread to every corner of the entire Material World in a very short time. It's obvious that this was intentional; otherwise, how could such a major event have spread so widely and become known to everyone?

Whether intentional or not, the ambition that has arisen after the destruction of the Wall of No Believers is completely uncontrollable. In particular, those ambitious people who were never willing to believe in any god in the first place, without the coercion of the Wall of No Believers, now look at the priests with a different eye.

However, that's not all...

Just as the destruction of the Wall of the Believers was gaining momentum, one night, as a star began to fall from the sky, all the dragons in the Prime Material Plane could sense that the divine power of Tiamat, one of the Dragon Gods, had been extinguished.

Following the previous day of divine fall, a god who should have been immortal plummeted from the sky. But before Tiamat's demise could cause any chaos, new stars disintegrated and shattered in the cosmos, falling as meteors. Another god had fallen; the immortal radiance of the divine now seemed like a cruel joke, falling one after another.

……

In a certain unobservable spacetime dimension, within the temple representing the ruling power of the gods of this world, in this immortal and glorious land known as the Pantheon, battles and carnage are about to erupt.

Logically, this should be impossible. This is the Pantheon, a place where all the gods discuss and deliberate on their rule. The gods who come here are all avatars, not their true selves. But now, this place is truly stained with blood.

When the guardian god Heim was sent flying backward, coughing up blood, by a single blow from the monkey wielding the golden cudgel, all the gods present were horrified to discover that a certain rule within the Pantheon had changed. Here, there was no longer any distinction between avatars and the original body.

"This is impossible..." The first deity to recover was the guardian god who had been sent flying backward, coughing up blood, by the monkey's staff. As he scrambled to his feet, he cried out in terror, "How could you possibly change the rules of the Pantheon? Only the highest god could do this..."

"Enough with the nonsense!" the monkey retorted, then swung his golden cudgel once more, this time targeting the lich god Veshalon. Facing the monkey's blow, Veshalon's weak divine power made his counterattack utterly futile; the monkey easily shattered his entire skeletal frame with a single blow. "Another skeleton demon, but so weak!" the monkey scoffed, then with a powerful jerk, Veshalon's skeletal body turned to dust. Simultaneously, Veshalon's throne in the Pantheon suddenly cracked and shattered.

This scene brought the entire Pantheon to complete silence.

In the Pantheon, the appearance of a throne signifies the birth of a new god, and once that god falls, his seat in the Pantheon is destroyed. However, what the gods present in the Pantheon is merely an avatar; as long as their original selves do not perish, their avatars in the Pantheon will not disappear, just as their seats in the Pantheon will remain.

But what's going on now? The Lich God Veshalon's true form is still in his divine realm, so why was his divine throne shattered along with his avatar after it was killed by the monkey?

Soon, the other gods realized what had happened and recalled the words that the guardian god Heim had just shouted.

It changed the rules of the Pantheon...

The voice of some deity shrieked, "Veshalun, Veshalun has fallen... You, you are the god above gods!!!!"

635. A Monkey's One-Day Trip to the Pantheon (4)

Vesalon has fallen. This lich god, who was only recently deified, was utterly powerless to resist and simply perished.

In the plane of the Heart of Fury, under the horrified gazes of the raging gods, the divine kingdom of Vesalon began to collapse. At the core of the kingdom, the Lich God's divine body crumbled, his divine fire went out, and amidst desperate howls, he was gradually dragged into a suddenly appearing silver starry sky.

Finally, the entire divine realm was swept into the spatial rift and disintegrated, while Vesalon herself fell completely, transforming into a floating island in the astral plane. This scene was naturally witnessed by the gods in the Pantheon, and Vesalon's fall was like a bucket of icy water poured into the hearts of all the gods in the Pantheon.

This scene, coupled with the sudden appearance of the supreme god from who-knows-which deity, caused all the gods in the Pantheon who had just chosen to be hostile to turn ashen-faced as if they had been covered in frost.

Within the Pantheon, all the gods, regardless of their faction or whether they are mortal enemies, can only engage in verbal sparring. No god has the power to physically attack or kill another, nor can they possibly influence anything here.

However, there are exceptions. During the Calamity of the Saints, right there in the Pantheon, the Supreme God himself swept all the gods from the temple and cast them into the dust. From that moment on, all the gods understood one thing: the Pantheon was not an absolutely neutral zone. At least, with enough power, it was possible to break the principle of non-interference within the Pantheon.

But even the most powerful gods cannot do this; the only one capable of it is the god above gods.

And what did they just see? The guardian god Heim was sent flying backward, coughing up blood. The lich god Veshalon was knocked to the ground with a single blow and turned to ashes. Then, his main body at the core of his divine kingdom collapsed, his divine fire went out, and the entire divine kingdom disintegrated. A trip to the astral plane to lie dead completely ruined this newly appointed god.

The rules of the Pantheon have been broken, which means...

Facing the horrified, fearful, and incredulous gazes of the large group of gods, the monkey calmly watched these disgraceful fellows. Bathed in the monkey's 'kind' gaze, those gods who had been so arrogant before all looked ashen-faced as if they had swallowed poison.

"No, he's not the God of Gods!" At this moment, Heim, the guardian god who had been beaten and coughed up blood, suddenly shouted, "Absolutely impossible!" These resolute words instantly brought the panicked gods back to their senses. Yes, that's right. If this person were truly the God of Gods, there would be no need for them to waste words, much less for him to show himself. During the Calamity of the Saints, the God of Gods didn't even show his face; almost all the gods in the entire kingdom were captured, beaten, and thrown into the Pantheon.

At that time, let alone resist, they couldn't even move an inch.

In comparison, the monkey is not the god above gods. At least when the monkey made its move, the guardian god Heim was only beaten until he vomited blood, while Vesalius, who only had a weak divine power, was reduced to dust by the monkey.

"Ah! I, Old Sun, am certainly not that kind of guy..." Twisting his neck, the monkey maintained his 'friendly' smile towards the gods, weighed the golden cudgel in his hand, and said, "But beating you all up is still more than enough." As soon as he said this, the gods, whose morale had just been boosted by the fact that the monkey was not the supreme god, suddenly had their morale plummet back to its previous level.

Yes, that's right, the monkey isn't the supreme god who holds the power of life and death over all these deities. But the problem is, even if the monkey isn't the supreme god, he is someone who can break the rules of the Pantheon, directly killing the original deity from among the divine avatars of the Pantheon. This is almost indistinguishable from the supreme god.

Of course, if these gods knew that the terrifying upright ape before them was merely a single monkey hair transformed...

However, it seems that some people also know about it; at least for Jaeger and Cranver, they are the type to observe from the sidelines.

"Of course, everyone, don't worry. I, Old Sun, am not someone who can't distinguish right from wrong. That White Bone Demon we just killed... well! Terrorists and all that, they'd better go die..."

"Well then, I'll tell you the truth..." The monkey took a deep breath and slammed his golden cudgel into the hall's floor with a loud bang. The rules and regulations here, which made the place unbreakable and indestructible, were clearly useless to the monkey. The floor and stone bricks here, which even powerful divine forces couldn't shake, were no different from ceramics to the monkey.

"From this day forward... gods may exist, but they cannot interfere with mortals. All glory and rights shall be returned to mortals. No means or excuse shall be allowed to deliberately interfere with or suppress the development of civilization. No one shall be allowed to use so-called justice to adorn themselves and stifle the birth of a unified nation."

"The future of mortals will be decided by mortals. From now on, the gods will withdraw from the stage of history, and you will no longer be the rulers of this world. You have been in the position of rulers for too long, and it is time for you to step down."

"What do you mean, sir?" the Storm Lord demanded in a voice laced with suppressed rage. "What do you intend to do?"

Glancing at the Lord of Storms, the monkey said resolutely, "What I mean is, all of you guys who either engage in policies to keep the people ignorant, or engage in terrorism, or pretend to be very noble on the surface but are actually incredibly wicked in secret, you'd all be kept in your dens by me, Old Sun."

"If anyone interferes or meddles in the affairs below in any way, I, Old Sun, can only..." The monkey clenched his fist, raised his thumb and drew it across his neck, making a blatant threat to these gods, "I will use a large amount of 'conversion' to send you to lie dead in the astral plane."

"What right do you have?" the Lord of Storms roared, but before he could finish speaking, a blur appeared before his eyes, and a monkey engulfed in golden-red flames instantly appeared in front of him, raising its tightly clenched furry fist and grinning at him.

"With that fist that's as big as a sandbag!!!!"

"Hey! You stubborn feudal bandit leader, why don't you lay down your butcher's knife and become a Buddha on the spot, so that I, Old Sun, can give you a chance to be saved!" The monkey roared suddenly, and his clenched fist instantly shone with a dazzling light. This light was far more dazzling and eye-catching than the sun's rays, carrying immeasurable light (light radiation), immeasurable power (nuclear radiation), and a heavy punch filled with incomparably profound Buddhist teachings (physics) slammed down on the Lord of Storms.

"Take this from me, Old Sun! Military Way Killing Fist - Modified? WCJ J Nuclear Peace Iron Fist - and then go and get the hell out of here, you idiot!!!!!!!!!"

636. A Monkey's One-Day Trip to the Pantheon (5)

As it turns out, even gods must kneel before the power of nuclear peace. However, given their limited knowledge and theories, the gods of this world would be unable to comprehend the power of nuclear peace, especially when such destructive power is unleashed by bare hands—it's utterly mind-blowing.

Although there are absolute rules in the Pantheon that restrict the gods from fighting each other, these rules not only have no effect on the monkey, but have even become 'shackles' that restrict these gods from retaliating.