Facing an Ancient God for a Year

Chapter 2555: Chapter 2550: Sea of Sin · Crystal · Blade

Inverted Lake, Engraving Wisdom, Depth Three.

Ah Fei held a knife, stepping over the gray feathers on the ground.

His movements were slow, fortunately, the latter remained completely still, with not a single feather touching him.

It’s not that he intended to describe it that way, but Fu Qian remarked that the scene at that moment truly evoked the feeling of a distant moonlit horizon.

Although they were actually deep under the sea at that moment, only a flickering light resembling a candle’s flame was visible.

Upon discovering that the logistics were so impeccable, with the arsenal directly following them, Hunter Ah Fei was visibly affected.

Yet after the initial shock, his overly earnest mental state still afforded him a genuine sense of security, causing him to stride steadfastly toward the distance.

Fu Qian followed along at a leisurely pace.

This was already the third instance of Engraving Wisdom this time, and the place was undoubtedly becoming increasingly familiar, yet not necessarily clearer.

The more dilapidated it became, the more bizarre phenomena emerged one after another.

Even though, in Fu Qian’s view, there wasn’t necessarily a clear distinction in depths among the Engraving Wisdom, there was indeed a feeling of sinking deeper into a dream.

So, why was such a development occurring?

The core certainly was the Inverted Lake.

Engraving Wisdom had never been triggered so frequently in one place, let alone with such seamless transitions in between.

Additionally, regardless of the explanation, there was an undeniable connection to himself as the source of this manifestation.

Whether the effects were positive or negative, Engraving Wisdom was theoretically his own ability.

Acquired through Insight into the flesh tainted by this place.

In sum, it was a bidirectional endeavor.

The realm of Chaos combined with the sin-seeking vessel brought about this never-ending fallacy.

Even other Superior Beings were drawn in by this curiosity, entangled in various forms endlessly.

So, why is this place one of Chaos?

No matter how it seemed, the situation wasn’t very optimistic, yet in that moment, all Fu Qian cared about was this ultimate question.

...

The exploration accident at the Academy those years back had, in theory, some leads.

A much older Stargazer Academy had relocated an observation point to the Inverted Lake within the Sea of Ashes, in an attempt to study the world’s beginning and end.

However, due to certain incidents, it eventually met its demise here.

By chance, the Academy discovered related clues, thus organizing a powerful team.

Unbeknownst to them, shadows loomed over their actions, with entities like the ancient Great Power Prism of Radiant Transformation playing special roles.

In the end, the team nearly perished entirely, and the Inverted Lake once again faded into obscurity.

Smooth yet tragic, but what was the cause of all this?

The location of the crash site was a forbidden knowledge; not only did he lose a massive amount of SAN Points there, but he also witnessed the price the stargazers paid when forcibly nearing that point.

But is it the world’s beginning or the Transcendent’s end?

Or perhaps both?

The strangest thing about the stargazers was that when mentioning their calculations, they never clearly distinguished between the two.

Both beginning and answer?

That’s quite abstract, although it really can’t be dismissed just yet.

Moreover, even if this question is set aside for now, what connection could there possibly be between the crash site and the Inverted Lake?

The latter seems linked to the Divine Road Su Gao walked, meaning it almost certainly involves a Superior Being—was it His fall that caused it? Or some returning strategy of His?

Let’s not forget, during previous explorations, many large Miracles were discovered in the Sea of Ashes, and they seemingly do not originate from a single Superior Being, making them truly appear like the traces following the fall of multiple Gods.

The Gods and that entity of the Inverted Lake, what is their relationship?

The missing information is too much; it’s hard to form a complete picture with all these threads, yet fortunately, there seems to be something currently graspable—the likelihood of that entity not being the Sun, or Prism of Radiant Transformation, Judgment Chief.

In other words, up until now, it hasn’t appeared.

And in this increasingly chaotic scenario, the probability of finding Him seems somewhat higher.

Additionally, let’s not forget there’s another thing that hasn’t appeared—the Crystal.

That which is likely the root cause of the Academy team’s demise—and yet so far, there’s still no trace of it...

As he contemplated in silence, the tendrils around the false eye quickly extended into a small hand, directly lifting it out of the eye socket, shaking it a few times in front of him.

Pity, it didn’t trigger any particular reaction.

Fu Qian even suspected that even if he discarded it, all before him would most likely remain unchanged.

Because, as mentioned earlier, he himself is essentially the core of Engraving Wisdom; this item, at best, acts as a trigger.

"Heading outside?"

While Fu Qian was performing some startling maneuvers, Ah Fei stopped, turned back, and inquired.

Though their pace was seemingly slow yet actually swift, they had already retraced their steps to the position near the exit’s hall.

Ah Fei seemed to want to confirm whether their upcoming focus would be within the building or the lake outside.

"No need, there’s still a lot inside that needs your clearing."

Fu Qian shook his head decisively, without even retracting the false eye.

...

It had indeed caused some impact, but given the previous arsenal display, Ah Fei was able to withstand it temporarily.

Without uttering a word or showing hesitation, in the next moment, he truly proceeded according to the instruction.

And Fu Qian followed suit.

Of course, it wasn’t out of boredom and idleness; engaging in such a hassle of talent cultivation naturally had a purpose.

Previous reflection revealed that the top priority was attempting to find the Crystal and the possible master of the Inverted Lake.

However, how to search specifically, given that the intelligence was sorely lacking, didn’t seem to have much of a direction—just seemingly so.

True professionals always learn to grasp things amidst Chaos, beyond mere data processing into plans—a level even machines can achieve.

Previous attempts on role-playing and violent pressure had already been made.

Some results were achieved, but the overall feeling was akin to blind-box gaming, accepting whatever comes.

So, in Fu Qian’s view, there’s room for improvement based on this—such as through role-playing and violent pressure via agent roles.

...

Yes, it still involved knocking and killing.

Drawing elaborate plans with a severe lack of intelligence is pure overconfidence.

The ensuing plan was actually quite simple: continue the sweep, but with the semblance of an Evil God.

Corruption and decay, enacting one’s will through other individuals.

For instance, beyond verbal indoctrination, when touching Ah Fei’s knife, he had already bestowed a Catastrophe Blessing and urged him to pass it on to others.

At first glance, it seemed redundant; how could this differ from directly killing oneself?

Not so; believers are both the primary battleground in the Evil God power struggle and a buffer zone.

An Abandonment King as colossal as this rolling through isn’t straightforward for the opponent to maneuver, while weaker will practitioners along the paths might unexpectedly gather more karma barriers.

Seemingly minor improvements may become critical to success or failure.

As for how specifically to proceed?

"This way."

Fu Qian recalled a few of the locations they had visited earlier and, comparing with the relatively intact parts, indicated toward an upward staircase.