Chapter 17: The Final Protocol of the Mythic Layer

As soon as the God of Shadows uttered those words, Li Mingxing was directly startled. Being targeted by such a deity was by no means a good thing for him.

Li Mingxing had no desire to be suddenly stabbed in the back by someone while going about his business in the future, without even being able to find out who the assailant was. Therefore, he had to eliminate this God of Shadows. However, given Li Mingxing's current strength, even though the God of Shadows was severely wounded, there was simply no way for him to handle the deity himself. For this reason, Li Mingxing could only look toward Xingtian, hoping that Xingtian would make a move.

Li Mingxing's gaze was instantly caught by the God of Shadows, who laughed maniacally, "You shall forever live under the shroud of conspiracy, and you will never be able to rid yourselves of my existence."

The moment these words were spoken, the God of Shadows violently exploded. Black smoke swiftly enveloped everything in the vicinity, leaving even Li Mingxing unable to see the surroundings clearly.

He could only sense people running back and forth nearby. Along with the sound of rushing wind, there came the death shrieks of various individuals. Soon, the voices of several deities rang out, "Everyone, do not run around blindly. Stay where you are; we will handle all of this."

However, in the darkness, the commands of the deities did not carry much weight. Loud screams still erupted from time to time, and even Li Mingxing's group encountered one or two attacks. Had Li Mingxing and Zheng not tightly guarded their perimeter, casualties might have befallen them as well.

After a full three hours had passed, the black fog finally dissipated. When the mist cleared, Li Mingxing was startled by the state of the entire battlefield. The Goddess of the Forest and the others wore grim expressions, bearing minor injuries, whereas the emperor known as Shaokang was completely unscathed, standing far off at the edge of the battlefield.

Furthermore, that other deity who had been gravely wounded at the outset had also perished here. This meant that aside from the God of Shadows, whose life or death remained unknown, exactly five deities survived within this inner world.

These five deities maintained a relatively good relationship with Li Mingxing. Leaving aside Xingtian and the Goddess of the Forest, even the imperial deity known as Shaokang would not spark any major conflicts with Li Mingxing. It could be said that Li Mingxing's mission was now largely accomplished.

Yet, the continued existence of the God of Shadows felt like a thorn in Li Mingxing's back, leaving him completely unable to relax. He believed he needed to stay here at least until he figured out the situation regarding the God of Shadows before leaving this place.

Yet, just as Li Mingxing made this decision, he found that his body could no longer hold out. Earlier, he had forcibly utilized the Dark Banner and summoned the power of Di Jun. That formidable energy not only shattered the newly summoned Dark Banner into dust, but also drained most of the power from the borrowed vessel Li Mingxing was currently inhabiting. This body could no longer sustain Li Mingxing for much longer; he had only one day left remaining in this realm.

Realizing this, though Li Mingxing felt a lingering sense of unwillingness, he had no choice but to walk before the remaining deities and once again bring up the matter of allying with the Dark Alliance.

Only five deities remained now. Xingtian had already agreed to Li Mingxing's proposal from the beginning, and while the Goddess of the Forest and the others maintained neutrality, they would not obstruct Li Mingxing's endeavors. The only one left to persuade was the imperial deity known as Shaokang.

Seeing Li Mingxing walk toward him, Shaokang, who had long since been aware of the whole story, immediately spoke up, "Do not come to me with these matters; I care very little about them. I only wish for no one to bother me."

This statement effectively made Shaokang's stance clear: as long as his interests were not encroached upon, he had no objections whether it was the Dark Alliance or the Light Alliance.

Seeing that Shaokang was so reasonable, Li Mingxing's suspended heart finally settled. Aside from the God of Shadows, whose whereabouts remained uncertain, Li Mingxing had successfully persuaded every deity in this inner world. From now on, members of the Light Alliance would be barred from entering this inner world.

Even if they forced their way in, they would become enemies to all the deities of this inner world and would be attacked the moment they were discovered.

Unless they possessed the strength of true deities, they stood no chance against these deities even if they managed to enter. Thus, coming here would be nothing short of a pointless suicide mission for members of the Light Alliance.

Moreover, Li Mingxing had already discussed with Xingtian that if they slew members of the Light Alliance and obtained items such as the Wheel of Light or Incandescent Stones, Li Mingxing would trade faith for them. This was welcome news to the deities, and consequently, they all signed individual supply contracts with Li Mingxing.

With these contracts finalized, Li Mingxing utilized a quest item he had brought along to establish a dedicated passage allowing heroes of the Dark Alliance to freely enter and exit. Having accomplished all this, Li Mingxing's mission could be considered a complete success.

Upon finishing his mission, Li Mingxing did not rush to leave the mythological tier of the inner world, which was so difficult to visit. He made full use of his final day to negotiate for a while with the deities who were preparing to carve up the territory, securing some fine treasures from them.

These included tree seeds from the Goddess of the Forest, nature's breath from the Goddess of Nature capable of enhancing Druids' power, architectural blueprints for a winery from Shaokang, and a damaged dragon communication device from the sacred little female dragon.

These four items were generous windfalls for Li Mingxing. If not for the lingering uncertainty regarding the life or death of the God of Shadows, Li Mingxing would have deemed this trip to the mythological tier absolute perfection.

Little did Li Mingxing know that as he departed from this inner world of the mythological tier, in a certain place where sunlight could never reach, a wisp of shadow was gently wandering along with a speck of light.

"Apollo, are you ready? We are about to leave this world for other realms. We have both lost a vast amount of power this time; perhaps we shall head to the lower world where I once resided." As the shadow drifted, the voice of the God of Shadows slowly echoed.

"The lower world? Do you truly believe fleeing there will do us any good?" Apollo's voice emanated from the speck of light.

"Of course it is useful. I achieved godhood in that world long ago. Although we have lost our physical bodies, our divine sparks and divine powers remain. As long as we find a suitable vessel in the lower world, we can ascend to godhood once more. When that time comes, we can slaughter our way back, or migrate to survive in other divine realms," the God of Shadows stated with absolute certainty.

"Go to other divine realms? No, I will never go to other divine realms. Where I lost my possessions is where I shall take them back. One day, I shall lead a mighty army and sweep across this entire divine realm," the speck of light declared loudly. As his voice grew louder, the brightness of the light flickered unstable.

"Keep your voice down. Those deities are still searching for us," hearing Apollo's outcry, the God of Shadows hurriedly wrapped Apollo's radiance within the shadow. "Are you trying to get us killed? We have already exhausted our power; if they attack us again, we shall lose everything."

Though Apollo understood this point, he remained somewhat resentful, uttering a cold snort before falling silent once more.

At that moment, the God of Shadows seemed to have located their destination. Guiding Apollo into a place resembling a magic array, the God of Shadows finally heaved a sigh of relief, "This is it. A passage I left behind when I came here, though I preserved it using divine arts. Now, simply by passing through this tunnel, we can reach the lower world where I formerly stayed. My church still exists there, and our power will recover swiftly."

Gazing at the tunnel resembling a black hole within the magic array, Apollo could not help hesitating for a moment before asking, "Are you certain this is truly safe?"

This question deeply displeased the God of Shadows, who roared at Apollo, "How can our great Lord Sun God be so cowardly? It is merely a small passage; what is so terrible about it? Stepping through it leads to a brand new world."

Chided thus, Apollo grew somewhat irritated as well. "You claimed your plan was airtight earlier, but what happened in the end? Because you failed to show up, my feigned death was exposed, the pawn you bribed was uncovered, and the two of us were forced to run for our lives. What reason do you give me to trust you again?"

"That was merely an accident; who could have foreseen such events unfolding? Besides, if not for me, you would have completely perished long ago. I saved you—am I to be suspected of wanting to harm you?" The God of Shadows retorted just as loudly. "If you do not trust me, then so be it. However, I must warn you: once I step into this passage, it will automatically close within seven seconds, and your fate will no longer concern me."

With that, the God of Shadows leaped without hesitation into the tunnel within the magic array. Seeing this, Apollo hesitated for merely a single second before following in the footsteps of the God of Shadows. Immediately afterward, the magic array and the passage vanished entirely, leaving no trace for anyone to deduce what had transpired here.