The second fish was done.
It truly must be said, Gu Qing Shanâs cooking skills were exceptional.
In the past, it was because his cooking skills were so good that he was able to open a street stall and earn money for his daily life.
The entire fish was perfectly golden brown, giving off a strong fragrance in the wind that stimulated oneâs palate.
âSo, is it done yet?â Atley impatiently asked.
âItâs doneâ Gu Qing Shan handed the skewer to him.
Atley was about to accept it when he heard another voice:
âSo the two of you were here grilling fishâ
As they turned around, they saw Reneedol standing on top of a faraway tree, staring down at them.
She lightly leapt down and landed in front of them.
Looking at Gu Qing Shan who was grilling fish on the ground, then at Atley who held a bottle of alcohol in his hand, Reneedolâs beautiful eyes narrowed.
âEveryone was both worried for you while staying hungry, and the two of you were here grilling fish?â she questioned.
Atley said in a panic: âIt was because Rhode said he wanted to test his grilling skillsâ
Gu Qing Shan immediately jumped up and shouted: âThatâs not it! It was because Atley wanted to try eating the first one!â
Atley stared at him: âYou clearly said you wanted to try grillingâ
Gu Qing Shan replied without backing down: âI wanted to take the fish back to camp, wasnât it you who wanted to eat it no matter what?â
âIâm eating, but thatâs only because you grilled itâ
âThen why did you tell me to grill the second one?â
Atley was unable to refute.
Reneedol glared at Atley, then looked at the fish in his hand.
This grilled fish...
Is truly great.
Rhodeâs talents were supposed to be on the side of Death, so why was he so good at cooking as well?
After thinking for a short moment, Reneedol recalled something.
Thatâs right.
He cooked a lot.
It was because he liked cooking that he had to prepare a lot of ingredients by killing living beings, to the point that he became close to the Law of Death.
...Although that sounds a bit ridiculous, how many people could actually cook so much that they became closer to the Law of Death?
Thatâs why he was such an expert at it.
As for Atley... Wind Deity...
He had only just returned to the Realm of Life; it was natural for him to lose control a bit.
After thinking it through, Reneedol couldnât be bothered to say anything else about this.
She turned around: âCome, letâs head backâ
âYesâ
âYesâ
Both of the boys answered at once.
Gu Qing Shan glanced at Atley and saw how he was meticulously following Reneedol, almost running to maintain pace with her.
ââthis person, or rather, this individual who had taken over Atleyâs body seems to be a bit fearful of Reneedol.
It seems that the soul who had taken over Reneedolâs body held quite a considerable position within the Pantheon.
Gu Qing Shan silently thought as he swiftly chased after them.
Dinner that night was naturally grilled fish.
The food they found in the horse carriage yesterday was already gone, but they still had quite a bit of spices left.
Since there was enough to cook, Gu Qing Shan didnât hold his cooking skills back and made enough for everyone to have their fill.
Reneedol, Atley, Epta, and Scarlet all ate several fish before they were full.
However, Shroud only ate a single fish before sitting blankly without touching anything else.
Even an idiot would realize that something was wrong with his reaction.
Gu Qing Shan asked directly: âShroud, donât you like grilled fish?â
âThatâs not it, Iâm just hearing things againâ Shroud tried to force a smile.
Gu Qing Shan told him: âDidnât we already talk about this? The more you hear, the more danger you would draw to usâ
Shroud shook his head, a bit unwilling to leave things there.
Reneedol softly asked: âShroud, what did you hear earlier? Tell us, if itâs meaningless noises again, just try and not listen againâ
Shroud sighed and said: âIn the past, I was only ever able to hear desperate cries of living beings, but this time it was completely different. I heard countless voices saying the same thingâ
âWhat did they say?â Reneedol asked.
âThe gate wonât openâ Shroud replied.
âDid they really say that?â Gu Qing Shan couldnât help but ask.
âIâm sure of itâ Shroud confirmed.
Everyone fell silent, all of them thinking of different matters.
Shroud thought briefly before continuing: âThese voices are also fading away; I suspect that some of those who spoke these words have already diedâ
Epta had always been clueless and timid, so when she heard that, her body shrunk a bit and covered her mouth with her hand.
Scarlet consoled her: âDonât be afraid, weâre all safe for nowâ
âYeahâ Epta replied.
Gu Qing Shan displayed a confused expression, but his mind was also confused.
If the Gate really wonât open, then how did the Awaitings enter?
In the future, countless Apocalypses would strike from outside the Reality Gate, causing the Lord of Infinite Originsâ death and his body to be divided in half.
...in the end, the Gate was still open.
But from a timing perspective, it was most likely not time yet.
The Law Behemoths had sensed the approaching Apocalypse, which was why they were madly searching for a solution, leading to the Calamity of Law yesterday as well as the Overlord of Radianceâs death.
Then, what would happen next?
Gu Qing Shan couldnât be sure, so he snuck at glance towards Reneedol.
Reneedol didnât show anything on her face.
Shroudâs expression suddenly changed as he took the Book of Prophesized Destinies from the void of space and flipped through it.
âEveryone, stay cautious, an Overlord had appeared a few hundred miles away from usâ he quickly said.
The atmosphere became tense.
Shroud consoled everyone: âItâs ok, my [Hidden Light] will block out all tracking techniques, as long as we donât leave this place, they shouldnât be able to find usâ
Reneedol stood up and said: âLet me take a lookâ
Shroudâs expression changed: âItâs too dangerousâ
Gu Qing Shan also tried stopping her: âYou canât, you would be no match for a Law Behemothâ
Reneedol smiled and replied: âDonât worry, Iâm definitely no match for a Law Behemoth, but my spatial abilities allow me to hide from the Law Behemothsâ clairvoyance, I just want to go take a lookâ
âIâll come with youâ Shroud stood up.
âNo need, nothing in this world will be able to discover me as long as I hide within my Subspace, you coming with me would only put a burden on meâ Reneedol strictly told him off.
Shroud couldnât find the words to refute her, so he awkwardly sat back down.
Reneedol exchanged glances with Atley before disappearing from their sights.
She had left.
Gu Qing Shan turned to Atley.
Only to see Atleyâs eyes darting around, occasionally sneaking a glance at Epta.
Gu Qing Shanâs heart trembled a bit.
Atley has been replaced.
Wouldnât the next person to be replaced be Epta?
After all, in this group, Shroud must remain no matter what, âRhodeâ and Scarlet are both covenant bearers of the Law of Death, so they couldnât be easily replaced.
The only one remaining was the weakest member Epta, and she hasnât formed a covenant with any Law Behemoth either.
If Reneedol could devour another Law Behemoth, wouldnât that mean Epta would also sense some sort of Law and be replaced as well?
Atley was replaced without any warnings, so I couldnât stop it.
Now that I know the truth, I need to think of a solution to save Epta...
Gu Qing Shan lowered his head while his eyes grew sharp.
At this point, Epta and Scarlet had both begun to clean up, Atley had sat near a nearby tree to rest, while Shroud was looking through his Book of Prophesized Destinies to attempt to see any changes.
Gu Qing Shanâs gaze was focused on Epta.
Noticing his gaze, Epta said: âRhode, your grilled fish was very goodâ
âYou know, alcohol tastes the best after you eat grilled fish, do you want to try?â
Gu Qing Shan took out a bottle of alcohol and asked.
Epta shook her head like a rattle drum and said: âI wonât drink alcohol, everâ
âWhy not?â Gu Qing Shan asked in surprise.
âIâm afraid of forming a connection to the Law of Deathâââ you know me, my lifeâs dream is to save people, Iâm afraid of killingâ Epta embarrassedly told him.
Atley also chimed in: âDonât force people to try alcohol Rhode, give it to me insteadâ
âDream on, I gave you a single bottle and you already sold me outâ Gu Qing Shan glared at him.
Atley froze, then laughed.
As expected of a brat.
âFine then, when we reach the next city, Iâll drink my heart outâ he grinned and said.
Epta smiled at Gu Qing Shan, then looked back down and continued to clean up their utensils.
Gu Qing Shan was feeling a bit regrettable.
What a pity.
The Law of Death has extreme exclusivity, so as long as she formed a covenant with the Law of Death, Epta would be safe.
Unfortunately, while the little girl Epta was a bit timid and afraid of trouble, she had an extreme level of obsession with healing.
She refused to accept the Law of Death.
Since Iâve lost this chance, I canât continue to convince her.
That would only cause Atley to feel cautious.
ââthis is going to be hard.
Gu Qing Shanâs mind was quickly moving when lines of glowing text suddenly appeared in front of his eyes:
[Attention! Attention!]
[Inconsideration of the current unique situation, the System had extracted a crucial piece of information from War God Intelligence (the colorful rooster)]
[This information had been paid for by deducting 100,000 Soul Points from you]
[Please pay attention to the following news:]
[War God Intelligence has noticed abnormal fluctuations]
[An Apocalypse is descending]
[The detail of this Apocalypse is unknown]
[In three minutes and seventeen seconds, that Apocalypse will descend]
Three minutes and seventeen seconds!
Gu Qing Shanâs heart became heavy as he rapidly tried to think of a solution.
The Awaitings were still being trapped outside the Reality Gate, but an Apocalypse had already managed to slip inside.
ââif this was an Apocalypse that not even the giant corpse was able to get rid of, then this world would also be helpless to escape.
Gu Qing Shan swiftly glanced around.
This was a suitable place to take refuge, but if the Apocalypse is too destructive, the few of us wouldnât be able to flee.
The Law Behemoths are currently rallying all mortals in search of Shroud, so our entire group is essentially public enemy number one.
Reneedol is most likely attempting to devour that Law Behemoth.
After not too long, she will substitute Epta for someone on her side.
Three minutes later, the Apocalypse will descend.
Gu Qing Shan sighed.
There are too many variables in our current circumstances.
He opened the bottle and took a sip, then proceeded to drink the entire thing at once.
âRhode, you drank too muchâ Shroud said worriedly.
Gu Qing Shan grinned and replied: âDonât worry, drinking more lets me sleep betterâ
Scarlet asked very seriously: âWill sleeping help with improving the Law of Death?â
Atley laughed from a bit away and shook his head: âHow naĂŻve, I heard that the Law of Death would only be affected by the things you kill, so the more you kill, the stronger youâd become, got it?â
Scarletâs complexion turned a bit pale.
Atley felt that to be interesting, so he continued: âTaking on the Law of Death also means taking on the curse of Death. Other than killing, there wouldnât be anything else in your lifeâ
âThatâs not necessarily the case, we can also use alcohol to strengthen ourselves nowâ Gu Qing Shan smiled and said.
âThatâs only temporaryâ Atley shook his head, âThe Overlord of Death requires sustenance through your acts of killing in order to continuously grant you powerââ anyone can see that clearly, so your future had already been decided: itâll consist of only killing, or to be killed while youâre killingâ
Gu Qing Shanâs expression changed as he turned to Scarlet.
Scarletâs body swayed a bit before she ran behind a tree.
A few moments later, her crying could be heard coming from behind the tree.
âAtleyâ Shroud scowled.
âSorry about that, it seems like Iâm a bit drunk, sorry, sorry!â Atley smiled to gloss it over.
His eyes didnât seem apologetic at all.
But no one could say anything else about that.
Gu Qing Shan sighed.
While Atley appeared a bit strange, these young people wouldnât be able to discern anything from that.
Something like soul substitution is completely unimaginable to these young people, even in their wildest dreams.
Never mind them, even I almost got deceived despite knowing about it before.
Troublesome...
Too troublesome...
A certain thought slowly appeared in Gu Qing Shanâs mind.
If thereâs really no other solutions, Iâll just ignore everything else and consider only a single answer.
ââto kill the Myriads Deities.
Everyone will rely on their own strengths to survive, if they win, I die, if not, they die.
The Pantheon.
As long as the Myriad Deities are dead, there would no longer be a Pantheon.