Chapter 706: Return

"You don't need a minute; I can give you the answer right now. I refuse!"

Li Mochen said with a hint of mockery: "But I suggest you think twice. The consequences of angering the Lord of Fate are something you cannot bear."

He flicked his sleeve, and in an instant, over four hundred sword artifacts shot out, swirling like a nebula in the void, reflecting and resonating with the stars of the heavens.

At this moment, it wasn't just the countless starlight shining upon him; his 'radiance' was also influencing countless worlds.

Yet among those present, except for two whose eyes grew solemn, the rest did not notice this slight anomaly Li Mochen displayed. Most found it both amusing and bewildered, thinking that this Lord of Fate from the Light World might have some issue with his divinity.

Such situations had occurred before. Some people, having been too exalted in the worlds they ruled, accumulated excessive arrogance in their divinity. When they came to the outer realms, they still believed themselves omnipotent and the center of the world, unable to change no matter how reality struck them down.

Cachino also found it amusing: "I really don't know whether to think you're foolish, arrogant, or ignorant."

He wondered how this baffling fellow had the courage to say such things in front of them.

If it were a problem with his divinity, that couldn't explain why Li Mochen had hidden in the Radwen Exchange for over a month and then tried to take a detour to avoid them.

Could it be a bluff to scare them off? But that was too foolish. Or perhaps, unable to save his own life, he was acting recklessly?

"It doesn't matter. You've wasted the chance I gave you!"

Cachino's gaze turned icy, his hostility fading slightly, as if he felt no need to argue with a fool whose mind was unclear: "Kill him! Remember to keep his eyes—I said I wanted them as trophies."

But in that instant, his face suddenly changed in shock, his eyes filled with disbelief. It came from one of Cachino's colleagues nearby, Rafal, a mercenary leader under the King of Nowhere.

This powerful combatant, with a divine rank of twenty, wielding earth and thunder, directly broke through the time rift and withdrew from this space.

"You are a true fool, a genuine fool. Cachino, you're going to get us all killed! All our king's arrangements here will be ruined by you."

He was not alone. Another dark-skinned man, whose entire arm had been modified into something resembling a Gatling cannon, followed suit and withdrew from the rift.

"Sorry, I'm out. This is not an enemy we can handle now. Good luck to you all—"

Their actions left not only Cachino bewildered but also most of those present, who looked confused and uncertain.

Yet at this moment, no one dared to underestimate or disdain the young Lord of Fate. On the contrary, they became more vigilant. They all observed carefully, trying to understand what was so unusual about their prey.

The two who had just left were no weaklings; their strength was considerable, and they possessed keen observational abilities.

But under the combined siege of eighteen Divine Kings, their choice was to withdraw directly—this could not help but alert the others.

Still, most of them found it hard to believe. No matter how powerful this man before them was, he was only at divine rank eighteen.

Estimating based on the Gluttony King's peak strength, they thought they were already giving the Lord of Fate plenty of face.

"It seems there are still some clever ones with good eyesight."

Li Mochen gave a light praise, then smiled sarcastically at the few across from him: "I'll give you two more seconds. Don't say I didn't give you a chance—"

Before his voice had even faded, he discovered that the chain fixing him in the distant sky had suddenly been dyed entirely green.

Li Mochen raised an eyebrow, then sighed: "It's a pity. You've made the wrong choice."

His figure flickered, and with almost no time interval, he arrived before the owner of the chain. The divine kings present did try to stop him—they even exerted their full strength, folding space, continuously distorting it, erecting walls of steel and iron, freezing matter, sealing dimensions—but none of this posed any obstacle to Li Mochen.

This was because the 'Starlight,' whose essence was the power of laws, was omnipresent, and the nature of light made him impossible to capture. So Li Mochen leaped, bypassing layer after layer of obstacles, and arrived before the divine king whose head, like a squid's, had numerous long tentacles. Then his 'Gungnir Holy Spear' pierced through the king's head in one thrust. Even his divine core was shattered by Li Mochen's spear.

After this person was instantly obliterated, the many divine kings of rank 19 and 20 present trembled with fear.

The one killed by Li Mochen was indeed not skilled in defense, but they believed that even the Gluttony King could not have eliminated him so easily. Especially under their siege, the possibility was even more remote.

The four types of Truth Divine Authority that Li Mochen had just displayed made their scalps tingle. They were either the supreme 'Time Sequence' and 'Fate,' or the top-tier 'Stars' and 'Eternity.' The deadly thing was that this guy's mythical armaments boosted over a dozen divine authorities, making his spear unstoppable wherever it pointed.

At this moment, everyone simultaneously strengthened their defenses, then frantically used over twenty divine authorities to try to restrict Li Mochen's movements.

But with just a single thought, the second victim appeared. This time, it was beside Cachino.

With a loud 'boom,' a divine king of rank 20 with two heads had his body forcibly blasted apart. Flesh and blood splattered everywhere, and his originally immensely powerful soul shattered into fragments, gradually annihilated by death, fire, thunder, and the power of fate.

"Truth Oscillation! What a pity. Your ability made me a bit wary."

So this one was also his second chosen target for certain death.

And just as this person's flesh and blood had scattered less than a centimeter, Li Mochen killed the third and fourth. This time he didn't use the Gungnir Holy Spear; he only condensed three sword energies less than three centimeters long from the 'Dutian Thunder Fire Star Core Sword Formation.'

Yet they were equally irresistible, breaking through all obstacles. The two divine kings of rank 19 at the edge were directly pierced and annihilated by the sword energies.

As for the divine king of rank 20 who had created this time fracture, he was forcibly blasted open by this sword, all his defenses shattered, and a huge bloody hole was torn in his chest.

Although this one avoided being instantly killed by Li Mochen, the power of 'Time Sequence' that had been restraining Li Mochen was greatly weakened.

With this shift, Li Mochen's Truth 'Time Sequence' began to cover the battlefield, gaining some control over time.

At this moment, aside from Duke Dark watching from the sidelines, everyone's hearts were cold, forcibly suppressing their panic and awe.

This was completely beyond their expectations. They thought the prey they were hunting was merely a slightly fierce and troublesome tiger or leopard, but what ultimately appeared before them was a being more terrifying and enormous than a star beast.

Now, this place had completely become his hunting ground.

"Let me see, who should I kill next?"

This light laugh from Li Mochen nearly shattered everyone's mental defenses.

The original alliance had already collapsed on its own. Everyone began to focus on their own defenses and tried their utmost to break free from this time slice.

But now, this cage prepared for Li Mochen had instead become their death trap. The Lord of Fate, who had initially controlled the time sequence, was now preventing them from escaping.

In the end, Li Mochen's target was Cachino.

Still overwhelmingly unstoppable, breaking through all resistance. Cachino's strength was even slightly inferior to Zeus in his prime; all his resistance was pale and laughable before Li Mochen.

His source energy armor was as thin as paper, and his powerful magic armor was as fragile as glass.

"I'm not interested in your eyes, but there's something intriguing in your soul—it seems restless, about to emerge—"

At this moment, Cachino's mind was empty of any other thoughts; his eyes were fixed only on the spear that had pierced before him, and his heart was filled with despair and confusion.

Before the Gungnir Holy Spear had even pierced his body, his divinity was already on the verge of collapse. This overwhelming power made him fully realize the disparity between the two sides.

Just as Cachino, utterly despondent, prepared to meet his death, a massive phantom appeared behind him.

This figure gazed coldly downward, initially aloof and superior, but when the 'Gungnir Holy Spear' still tore through Cachino's flesh with irresistible force, shredded his soul, and began to erase his mark from the根源, a hint of gravity finally appeared in the eyes of the enormous soul shadow.

It mobilized all the power of this incarnation into its index finger and tapped it on the tip of the 'Gungnir Holy Spear'.

"King John?"

Li Mochen intuitively identified the figure's identity, gave a faint cold smile, and infused the five core main swords of the 'Dutian Thunder Mars Core Sword Array' and the power of five truths of 'Stars' into the shaft of the 'Gungnir Holy Spear'.

"A creation-level 'transaction'—I'm very curious, what will you use to exchange for this spear of mine?"

Boom!

A tremendous destructive force surged forth, the aftermath of the clash of their laws, spreading across millions of miles of void. It also caused more than a dozen divine kings present to bleed from their mouths, their divine bodies suffering varying degrees of damage.

It was the interference and destruction of their divine bodies by the truth divine powers of Li Mochen and the other. Even though this had slipped from their control, it was still too much for these powerful beings with divine ranks 19 and 20 to bear!

What followed was even more astonishing: first, Cachino's body and divinity dissipated like wind, losing all traces of existence. Then, the finger and body of 'King John' gradually crumbled, shattered by the 'Gungnir Holy Spear' into scattered soul particles.

In the end, only the head of 'King John''s massive body remained, and when this creation-level great being condensed his soul form again, it had shrunk to the size of an ordinary person, and the soul shadow had become much thinner.

This scene made the watching Duke Dak widen his eyes in disbelief. He knew Li Mochen was powerful, but he never imagined the guy could be this strong—

He thought that back at the Radwen Exchange, this man had indeed shown mercy. Relying solely on the ability of 'Mother of Stars' Radwen might not have been enough to help him stop Li Mochen's spear.

"King John couldn't even block his spear?"

At that moment, about three hundred thousand kilometers away, Divine King Ramur also widened his eyes, full of incredulity: "This Lord Wiltonshire is so powerful?"

When Ramur said the word 'Wiltonshire', he didn't notice the respect in his tone that hadn't been there before.

"He did block it, but he exchanged most of the soul power of this incarnation for most of the spear's lethality. Still, it makes no difference—"

Isabel frowned: "But I don't understand, how can he wield more than a dozen superior divine powers at once? Not to mention the conflicts and contradictions between them, the consumption of divine power alone is enormous! He's only a divine rank 18 ancient god."

Normally, after losing the support of faith in the outer realm, it's difficult for a divine rank 18 ancient god to maintain even one truth divine power.

This is also the main reason why many people have become interested in this Lord of Fate and his 'Divine Sky Luck Purple Gold Pagoda'.

But just now, Li Mochen not only used eleven powerful truth divine powers but also thirty-two 'pseudo-truths' and 'ultimates'. Such a scale of divine power loss would be unsustainable even for her mother.

"He uses fate and causality to grasp the key points, effect before cause—how could there be conflicts? As for mana—Truth Eternal is one reason, but there are other reasons besides. I sense within him an endless demonic furnace, inexhaustible and exceptionally powerful, but I don't know what ability this is?"

Divine King Ramur shook his head slightly, incredulous: "But it seems he has integrated the star source matter he purchased into his sword array."

"Even without that sword array, he is very powerful. In short, he is beyond the norm. I never imagined a divine rank 18 ancient god could be this strong. His boldness is also astonishing—killing Cachino right in front of King John."

Isabel sighed in disbelief: "Mother, in the outer realm, his strength may already be no less than yours. The power that Slaanesh and Khorne have invested in the Bright World may also exceed external estimates."

According to what she had learned, those two Chaos Lords had barely caused any waves in the Bright World and had not inflicted substantial losses on the Fate Pantheon led by Li Mochen.

Previously, outsiders speculated that Slaanesh and Khorne had not taken things seriously, but now it seemed that it wasn't that the two Chaos Lords hadn't been serious, but rather that the Lord of Fate before them was too powerful.

'Mother of Stars' Radwen's face darkened, and she said nothing more.

She understood her daughter's implication: Isabel believed that their previous strategy might need to change course.

Although Radwen was displeased, she had to seriously consider it now. Isabel was not wrong; Li Mochen's ability and combat power in the outer realm were indeed not inferior to hers.

"But he is also very unwise. This Lord of Fate killing someone in front of King John leaves no room for compromise."

Divine King Ramur could probably guess his lord's thoughts: "He won't let it go. That king will not allow his authority to be shaken."

But contrary to his expectations, Radwen shook her head slightly, not agreeing with his view.

"You're wrong, Ramur. Lord King John will endure it; he must endure."

This statement not only surprised Ramur but also left her daughter Isabel full of confusion.

※※※※

"You are very unwise!"

At this moment, King John was saying the same words as Ramur: "Offending a creation king is never advisable. You have left no room for negotiation between us."

"Provided that this creation divine king harbors no improper intentions toward me."

Li Mochen's voice was not very loud, but anyone could hear its firmness.

He was also observing this powerful Terra lord, a human male in his thirties. His body was robust, with bulging muscles and many traces of physical modification—typical features of Terra humans, who pride themselves on strong bodies and the number of surgical modifications they undergo.

"As for you, have you prepared how to settle this? Lord King John? To be honest, this provocation of yours is truly foolish."

King John's expression was cold and unchanging, as it had been since his appearance.

"I can see that you don't want to fight me."

"Of course I don't. No one would be foolish enough to make an enemy of a creation divine king. But now, I have no room to back down either."

Li Mochen's lips curled slightly: "Make your choice. Today, either pay a ransom for these subordinates of yours and their mythic armaments, and sign a treaty that satisfies me, or go to war with me."

King John was silent for a full minute before speaking again: "Four hundred billion soul gold coins. I'll have them delivered to the Bright World in three days. You can take everything else here."

"Too little!" Li Mochen shook his head: "Six hundred billion! In your eyes, they can't be worth so little, can they?"

"Five hundred billion! Of course they are worth more than that. But the problem is, you are not qualified to take everything."

King John gave him a deep look: "I will only sign a pact not to directly attack you, with a term of five years."

"Then deal!"

Li Mochen chuckled and put away his Gungnir holy spear. Five years would give him plenty of time to do many things.

He naturally understood the implication of the King of Nowhere; the latter had only agreed not to strike at him directly, but did not guarantee that he would not oppose him in other ways.

Li Mochen was indifferent to this. Even without the encirclement orchestrated by Cachino, the King of Nowhere would still have made moves against the Bright World. The man clearly intended to participate in this game of chess; he was merely forced from the shadows into the open.

"You should be glad you chose the right moment!"

At that moment, the King of Nowhere waved his hand again, manifesting a scroll bearing an imperial seal. He gazed deeply at Li Mochen: "I truly hope that a year from now, your smile can still be so radiant."

At this moment, the god-kings Ramur and Isabel, thirty thousand kilometers away, were both struck speechless.

Though they could not hear what the two were saying, from the posture of both sides, it was clear they were about to cease hostilities and sign a peace treaty.

The Mother of Stars had guessed correctly: the King of Nowhere had not chosen war but was forced to make peace with that Lord of Fate.

Yet it was such a pity. With the power the King of Nowhere commanded, there was no reason for him to compromise with a native god-king of a great world, even if that great world was somewhat special.

"It's speed!"

The Mother of Stars, Radwen, gave a bitter laugh: "The King of Nowhere has the power to crush and sweep away the pantheon under His Majesty Wiltonstein, but correspondingly, his vast trade network cannot withstand His Majesty Wiltonstein's attacks. This man's attack range clearly extends across the entire domain and can reach every corner of the myriad worlds within an hour. The divine authority and endurance he displayed today all attest to this—"

"Therefore, His Majesty Wiltonstein's terror lies in his own person. Before there is certainty of dealing with him personally, any hostility is foolish. Of course, the chaotic evil gods who care nothing for the lives of their believers are not included."

Isabel's eyes glimmered: "So naturally, he is more respected by the God of Creation than you, Mother?"

Radwen cast a cold sidelong glance at her daughter, then gave a light snort, tacitly acknowledging Isabel's words.

She even changed her attitude: "Isa, I need you to become more deeply involved in the conflicts of the Bright World from now on, even if it means accepting considerable losses."

The Mother of Stars fixed her gaze on the young man in the distance: "Now we have confirmed two things: one, that this Lord of Fate is very powerful, capable of putting up resistance even before the Emperor; two, that the conflict in that dual-faced world will inevitably reach unexpected intensity. And the investments of these Gods of Creation will far exceed our imagination."

Isabel smiled bitterly. She knew her mother still held the same thoughts as before. The command for deeper involvement was merely to gain more leverage to sway the situation.

This future Lord of Fate might make the bargaining chips in their hands more valuable.

※※※※

Li Mochen could sense the presence of Radwen and her daughter but was unaware of the discussion taking place among them, nor did he care much.

After the King of Nowhere's avatar dissipated and the many god-kings trapped here hastily fled the time rift, Li Mochen began to clean up the battlefield.

The harvest was very good, mainly because the few who had died had brought all their belongings with them. They probably never imagined that after gathering so many powerful god-kings, they would still face the danger of death and destruction.

Even without counting the five hundred billion soul gold coins promised by the King of Nowhere, Li Mochen had already recouped the soul gold coins he had spent at the Radwen Exchange, with plenty left over.

As Zhuanxu had said, if he wanted to make money now, nothing was faster than killing and robbing.

"It seems Your Majesty can now pay off the loan."

Duke Dak approached Li Mochen: "You should have snatched that 'Hourglass of Time' as well. That is the truth 'Time Sequence.' With the dual truth of time sequence, that King of Nowhere might not even dare to look you in the eye."

"I wanted to, but there was no chance."

In fact, when Li Mochen gravely wounded the one wielding the 'Hourglass of Time,' he had wanted to seize the treasure and kill him at all costs.

Though it was only a single-truth mythical artifact, if he had obtained it, then as Dak said, even a god above gods like the King of Nowhere might not dare to meet his gaze.

The 'Divine Fortune Purple Gold Tower' also possessed truth-level 'Fate' and 'Time Sequence,' but because this artifact had not yet fully recovered, it could only be used to a limited extent.

Unfortunately, at that time, the King of Nowhere, hidden deep within Cachino's soul, was already preparing to manifest his divine body, leaving him no opportunity.

"I'll help you look for it."

Dak fell into deep thought. He increasingly felt that this investment might be worthwhile: "I know of a few mythical artifacts with truth time sequence. I'll see if I can find one for you. But the price will be high; it may require military action."

"That would be great. Actually, truth fate would also work. As long as I can get it, I'm willing to pay any price. And I'm willing to form an eternal alliance with your people."

Li Mochen was happy to offer pie in the sky. If he could actually get his hands on such an item, he would be willing to pay one or two trillion soul gold coins.

This would be especially significant for him. Whether it was the triple truth 'Fate' or the triple truth 'Time Sequence,' it would allow him to have the strength to face those gods above gods, even the Emperor and the Chaos Lords.

After the 'Divine Fortune Purple Gold Tower' recovered, wouldn't he still have the main body and the secondary body? The secondary body still lacked an artifact to suppress fortune.

"Straightforward!" Dak's eyes flickered: "I'll help you arrange it. Wait for my good news."

When it came to finding an opponent for that Emperor, the Asura were always happy to help, especially with money to be made.

"Tsk, it seems you've made another fortune, Junior Brother."

At that moment, Zhuanxu also stepped into this time rift. He glanced around and then laughed: "I told you, you're best suited for killing and robbing."

Li Mochen also smiled, but there was still some gravity in his eyes: "The good news now is that I finally have some capital for the Myriad Worlds Trade Fair three years from now. The bad news is that over these three years, the Bright World will certainly be plagued with troubles. My enemies will no longer underestimate me."

He then looked at Dak: "Duke, can you help me deliver those research materials on 'Nurgle' to the Bright World as soon as possible? Also, I want to hire another mercenary force through your channels, roughly the same size as the Blue Blood Legion, and able to be in position within a short time."

He knew that a large army could not be assembled overnight. If it were just him alone, he could travel across the entire domain using the divine authority of time sequence, but if he brought the entire Fate Pantheon and all the armies of Heaven's Will, they would have to rely on starships to crawl through the void at a snail's pace. In a year, they might not even cover a hundred thousand star distances.

Even for god-kings, unless they had special abilities like Li Mochen or possessed divine artifacts that could move swiftly through the void like Cachino's group, it would take three to five months to cross a million star distances.

That was why the Radiant Lord, Odin, Zeus, and others had been so slow to return to the Bright World back then.

This was also the reason the King of Nowhere had been willing to compromise with him.

So even if he had to hire external forces, they had to be able to reach the Bright World within a month or two.

Li Mochen had a premonition that more troubles would arise within the Bright World in the future. Before dealing with internal threats, he had to ensure external security first.

※※※※

The first thing Li Mochen did upon returning to the Bright World was to go to the top floor of the Fate Manor's magic tower, find his secondary body, and perform a 'synchronization update' between the two.

The main and secondary bodies cultivated through the Dual Element Mystic Transformation Method were actually very stable. The possibility of the secondary body developing self-awareness and eventually going its separate way was extremely slim. Eastern immortal arts were quite reliable in this regard.

But Li Mochen believed he still had to take daily precautions to ensure that even the last possibility would not occur.

After all, his main and secondary bodies had been separated by a million star distances, unable to communicate. The two consciousnesses, due to their different experiences, would inevitably develop some slight differences in divinity.

"The power of fate has progressed to this extent?"

After receiving the memories from his secondary body, a hint of joy flashed in Li Mochen's eyes.

In terms of the divine authority of fate, he had not expected his secondary body to make such great progress.

He had indeed gained some insights during his battle with the Gluttony King, deepening his understanding of fate closer to the essence of the world. But his secondary body had advanced even further on this basis, all within just two months.

This was probably due to acquiring the seventh and eighth strands of merit purple qi, allowing him to cultivate the merit golden body and further increase his soul. Wish magic alone could not have achieved such an effect.

Judging by this efficiency, at most five years, at least three, he would soon be able to push the divine authority of fate into the truth level.

Originally, Li Mochen had estimated it would take a hundred years.

"How was your harvest in the outer domains?"

Angela's figure suddenly appeared at the top of the magic tower, and then she smiled: "You look in a good mood, so you got it?"

Since Li Mochen's secondary body needed to go into seclusion to focus on breaking through to truth fate, after his main body left, Angela, as the divine queen, took over control of the Fate Pantheon and temporarily sat at the core of this divine kingdom.

She knew that Li Mochen's departure was to seek a way to counter Nurgle, Slaanesh, and Tzeentch, and that this matter concerned the fate of the Fate Pantheon and the entire Bright World. She had been worried all along.

So when she saw Li Mochen's relaxed expression, she also felt a slight relief and was very happy.

"Got it! And with chips beyond imagination."

Li Mochen smiled and handed over two gift boxes, one large and one small: "These are gifts I bought for you. The small one is a necklace made of tearstone, which is rare even in the outer domains. The large one is the spine of a divine-god-level 19 'Dark Chiquinora.'"

Angela was delighted at the mention of 'tearstone,' and when she heard 'spine of Dark Chiquinora,' she was slightly stunned, then exclaimed with joy: "Is it for Lina?"

"You decide." Li Mochen replied with a smile: "If you decide to give it to Lina, I'll have someone arrange a magical ritual for her. She has been busy for you in the underworld, and it has indeed been hard work."

So Li Mochen had bought this item with some ulterior motives. If Angela had a capable right hand, she wouldn't have to spend most of her time in the underworld.

Angela frowned slightly: "What about Eliza? Her merits surpass Lina's."

"Don't worry about that. I have another path prepared for her. She is a dragonblood; this item wouldn't suit her."

Li Mochen did have some plans for Eliza, his assistant and friend through hardships. But for now, there was no suitable opportunity, nor had he found a target suitable for her.

"Alright, but what about your grandfather—"

"You need not worry about that either. I have something more suitable for him. His abilities don't require such things."

Next came the summoning of the gods for a council to understand the progress of various matters after Li Mochen's departure.

However, after issuing the notice through Eliza, Li Mochen deliberately took the time before the gods gathered to visit Conshuri's magic tower.

The latter was studying forbidden spells and looked quite surprised when he saw Li Mochen.

Then a hint of mockery appeared in his eyes: "This is rare! No, it's unprecedented. You've never come to my magic tower before."

"You're not a lonely old man without children. Now, countless people in the Wiltonstein family want to honor you."

Li Mochen gave a light snort and placed a gift box in front of Conshuri: "This is a gift I brought you, costing three hundred and seventy billion soul gold coins. Don't say later that I never kept you in mind."

He had inflated the price a bit, but Conshuri would never know how much he actually spent.

"What is it?"

Conshuri's expression shifted, showing surprise. He knew the value of soul gold coins. If he gave up all research and crafting, and devoted all his energy to minting soul gold coins without eating or drinking, he could only harvest two to three hundred thousand a year.

Three hundred and seventy billion soul gold coins—he didn't know how many tens of thousands of years it would take to earn that much.

Without waiting for Li Mochen's explanation, he took action directly and opened the gift box.