Chapter 389 - 383: Overall Planning, a Perfect Conclusion
[Pseudo-God Repelled. Pastor of the Sea EXP +53421]
Su Ye died and came back to life, slaying Nether Mirror?!
The one who had the last laugh in this grand drama was actually Su Ye—the very person Nether Mirror had personally slain and confirmed to be out of the game?!
Was this a coincidence? Or just luck?
Admittedly, Su Ye’s luck was quite good.
But it was absolutely impossible to achieve this through luck alone!
Behind it all was meticulous planning, detailed intelligence, and resolute courage. Of course... a little bit of luck was indispensable, too!
For some time now, Su Ye had been pondering one question: how was he going to break this deadlock?
’Temporarily cooperate with the Withered Wood Elder, play along while amassing Providence Points, and then wait for an opportunity to strike back?’
Such was Su Ye’s initial plan.
But this plan had a problem.
The odds of success were low.
Su Ye knew perfectly well what kind of existence he was up against!
An ancient god who had lived for several thousand years, with cultivation and Magical Power so immense they were comparable to a Divinity Transformation Daoist Monarch!
Even though this god was in decline, a starved camel is still bigger than a horse. To Su Ye, the Withered Wood Elder was still a terrifying old demon!
Even relying on his miraculous panel to barely forge a cooperative agreement with the Withered Wood Elder, Su Ye remained deeply apprehensive and worried!
According to his estimates, his initial plan having a twenty percent chance of success was already quite good.
It couldn’t be helped; the difference in strength between them was simply too vast!
’Therefore, if I want to win, I have to approach this from two angles: strengthen myself and, at the same time... weaken the enemy!’
...
And as it happened, strengthening himself within this Divine Kingdom was not difficult, especially as a descendant of an Old God under the indulgent eye of the Withered Wood Elder.
He could hunt Divine Incarnations to collect Providence Points. At the same time, there was the Old God Heart Core that the Withered Wood Elder had given Su Ye, as well as the Old God’s legacy—the Annihilation Secret Scripture!
No matter how many hidden dangers the Annihilation Secret Scripture possessed, its enhancement to Su Ye’s combat power was immediate and drastic!
After summoning the Erosion Stream Battle Armor, Su Ye could easily hunt Divine Incarnations using just his normal combat power.
And besides allowing him to gather Providence Points, this level of combat power also earned Su Ye a crucial advantage that would help him break the deadlock!
That’s right. The Wisdom Goddess Metis!
By relying on his own strength and revealing the whereabouts of the Divine Artifact, the Aquis Shield, Su Ye made a deal with the Wisdom Goddess Metis.
This deal allowed Su Ye to obtain a great deal of intelligence.
For example: intelligence on Nether Mirror, on the God of Mist Forest, and on the Divine Kingdom’s Orbit!
And... most importantly, intelligence about the Old God and the Annihilation Secret Scripture!
"The Annihilation Secret Scripture, as a top-tier legacy of the Old God, has the ability to erode the mind."
"If you acquire too much of the Annihilation Secret Scripture at once, it will grant you immense combat power, but it will also drive your mind to madness!"
"Now that Nether Mirror has entered the Divine Kingdom, Fog Forest will very likely try to induce you to go berserk in order to counter him!"
"However, I have a way to suppress this madness!"
This was the message Metis had sent to Su Ye back then—with the power of a god’s divine sense, a single instant was enough to transmit an information stream equivalent to dozens of research papers.
And the method she spoke of was the golden olive branch sigil she had imprinted on the back of Su Ye’s left hand using the last of her Divine Power!
—[Mark of Wisdom]!
Finally, Metis swore on her divinity that there were no lies in the intelligence she provided, nor in the effectiveness of the Mark of Wisdom.
This made the information she provided largely credible.
Thus, relying on Metis’s intelligence, especially after learning of Nether Mirror’s existence and strength, he adjusted his plan accordingly!
The plan was to fade into the background and let the two ancient gods, Nether Mirror and the Withered Wood Elder, fight like the snipe and the clam, allowing him, the fisherman, to reap the benefits!
...
Easier said than done.
In Su Ye’s situation, constantly monitored by the Withered Wood Elder, how could he possibly fade into the background?
Moreover, even if he succeeded, according to Metis’s intelligence, Nether Mirror’s strength could only be described as ’unfathomable’...
In Su Ye’s estimation, this Four Pillar God, who had willingly stepped into the Mist Forest Divine Kingdom, had a very high probability of suppressing the Withered Wood Elder and emerging as the final victor!
And when that time came, Su Ye didn’t think his opponent, a member of the Southern Deities, would let him off the hook.
So...
So, when the Withered Wood Elder tried to tempt him with the Annihilation Secret Scripture, Su Ye decided to play along, using the opportunity to weaken Nether Mirror while also designing a spectacular exit for himself!
—an exit by way of ’death’!
That’s right, death!
When Su Ye fought Nether Mirror, it wasn’t a feigned death—he truly died once!
With Nether Mirror’s insight, how could he possibly fail to see through a faked death?
But as for why he was able to live again?
That was naturally because of...
[The Sixth Divine Seed]
[Reversing Destiny and Returning to Life]
[After activating this Divine Technique, if the Caster dies within a certain period, they will be resurrected and all abnormal statuses will be removed.]
[If the Caster does not die, all injuries will be healed, and all abnormal statuses will be removed.]
Resurrection!
The ability of this Divine Technique was simple and brutally effective!
To reverse life and death!
’You only live once?’
’You’re right. But I’m the exception!’
With the [Reversing Destiny and Returning to Life] Divine Technique, it was as if Su Ye had his own built-in Resurrection Armor, allowing him to reverse life and death and fight on for another lifetime!
Of course...
Such an overpowered Divine Technique also came with restrictions!
[This Divine Technique can only be used on oneself.]
[Each use of this Divine Technique consumes one-third of the Caster’s maximum life span.]
The sacrifice to activate Reversing Destiny and Returning to Life was, shockingly, one’s own life span!
And... it was the maximum life span, not the remaining life span!
The difference between the two is huge.
Take Su Ye for example. He was currently fifty-seven years old, with a theoretical life span of six hundred years.
Activating the Quasi-Technique once would consume a full two hundred years of his life span—this was also the reason why Su Ye aged so rapidly right before his death!
He had used the [Mark of Wisdom] and his own willpower to suppress the madness and restore his clarity.
Then, he activated the Quasi-Technique, [Reversing Destiny and Returning to Life]!
In one go, he burned through two hundred years of his life span!
"Hmph..."
Su Ye sighed inwardly.
’This really is... paying with my own life force...’
However, he wasn’t dissatisfied with this arrangement.
A heaven-defying skill like reversing life and death was bound to have a steep price; that was only normal.
Besides, if one could die and be reborn just by sacrificing a third of their maximum life span, countless desperate cultivators in the world would agree without a moment’s hesitation!
’I’m still young, anyway. There’s no rush.’
’I’ll find some life-extending treasures afterward to make up for the deficit.’
’And now...’
’It’s time to reap my rewards!’
Su Ye’s eyes burned with fervor as he looked ahead.
The corpse of Nether Mirror was beginning to precipitate divinity, and at the same time... in the center of the Rotting Tree Dragon’s head, the golden fruit shone with a dazzling brilliance!