Quinn was suddenly enlightened, but then frowned and asked, "But in the darkness of the Great Ruins, two worlds overlap without any world barrier—how do you explain that?"
The Nethervault Demon King chuckled, "What if the energy forced through exceeds the limits this world can bear?"
Quinn was shaken. "You mean...?"
"A massive blood sacrifice, building tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of bridges—tens of thousands of gods and demons all smuggling their energies at once into that world!"
The Nethervault Demon King smiled darkly. "That would blow open the world barrier! Once the barrier is burst, there's no more obstacle—they can invade freely!"
Quinn shuddered violently, disbelief written all over his face. "You mean, the world inside the Great Ruins' darkness is a world whose barrier has been shattered?"
"The world that's been shattered might not be the one inside the darkness."
The Nethervault Demon King smiled slyly. "Don't you think your own world could be the one that's been shattered?"
Quinn shook his head. "If this world's barrier had been shattered, you could descend here freely already. What I saw in the darkness was countless demon gods opening portals and leading their hordes to attack—so it must be that the world inside the darkness is the one whose barrier was blown apart."
The Nethervault Demon King sat atop the box, swinging his legs and chuckling, "From your description, the world in the darkness and this treacherous world overlap. That reminds me of a truly terrifying possibility: World Sacrifice!"
All four puppet faces twisted into a sinister, eerie grin, and the Demon King nearly leapt up in excitement. "World Sacrifice means sacrificing an entire world, using that terrifying power to descend into another world—millions of gods and demons descend at once, destroying that world! It's an even grander scheme!"
Quinn asked in surprise, "They want to destroy that world?"
The puppet idol's head creaked and turned, all four faces fixing their gaze on him.
Quinn's hair stood on end. "You mean, tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of demon gods shattered the world barrier of that dark world, and now they plan to blood-sacrifice it, descending into ours?"
The Demon King's head spun around several times, and he clapped his hands in praise. "Smart! The Great Ruins and that world overlap, so they'll sacrifice that world. The energy from sacrificing a world is so vast and terrifying, it could let the demon-god world descend into the Great Ruins in one blow! Then, the collision of two worlds would be a horrifying sight—billions would perish! Just thinking about it is thrilling!"
Quinn's expression went blank, then he shook his head. "Impossible! It can't be! The darkness has existed for twenty thousand years—does that mean the war in that world has lasted twenty thousand years? How could a war last that long? Impossible!"
The Demon King jumped off the box. "If I were you, I'd have emigrated to another world long ago. A wise man doesn't stand under a dangerous wall, nor does an egg survive under a toppled nest. This world is too dangerous—I'm heading back! Also, don't bother me so often; you scare me!"
He leapt into the darkness, his consciousness leaving the body and returning to the Nethervault Realm. "When the world in the darkness is destroyed, that's when your world and the demon-god world will collide—and when you'll be annihilated!"
He jumped into the darkness and was instantly devoured; Quinn rushed after him, only to see the puppet idol shattered all over the ground.
Quinn bowed respectfully and asked, "May I request your guidance, Nethervault Demon King?"
The Nethervault Demon King shivered, quickly waving his hands. "Don't be so polite! When you're this polite, I always suspect you're planning something against me! What you're asking about actually touches on the issue of world energy. In any world, the total constitutive energy is fixed. The birth, cultivation, and death of a person doesn't change the world's total energy. That's the most basic law!"
Quinn pondered, then suddenly asked, "If birth, cultivation, and death don't change the world's energy, what if someone becomes a god or demon—immortal and undying?"
"Even if someone becomes a god or demon, it won't alter the world's fixed energy. The world doesn't gain or lose energy because of that."
The Nethervault Demon King said, "World energy is constant, and only a limited amount can be changed. When a person crosses from this world to another, the origin world loses that person's energy, while the destination world gains it. This breaks the original balance, and the traveler suffers twice the force of both worlds acting on them. That's why crossing worlds is so difficult—it requires blood and flesh sacrifice."
Quinn suddenly felt a flash of insight. "So the principle of blood sacrifice is to offer up the flesh and blood of living beings from this world, sacrificing them to another world and converting them into energy for that world!"
The Nethervault Demon King nodded. "And as an exchange, the sacrificed gods and demons descend from the other world to this one, filling the energy lost by the blood sacrifice and keeping the balance between worlds. For example, the energy in the bones on your altar was just sacrificed to my Nethervault Realm. In exchange, I descended as a sliver of power into your treacherous world."
Quinn's eyes lit up. "I see. But what did you mean by 'only a limited amount of energy can be changed'?"
"Blood sacrifice builds bridges, connecting two realms. If my power is strong enough, I can smuggle extra energy through the bridge, ignoring the usual balance."
The Nethervault Demon King laughed. "Last time you summoned me, the sacrificed energy was tiny, but I forced a much greater power to descend into your world. That's like cramming my energy through by force, but the excess has to bear the pressure of both worlds. So the amount I can smuggle in is limited and quickly reaches my limit. How much energy can be smuggled depends on the strength of the descending god or demon."
Quinn frowned, returned to the box, and saw that the altar's energy was spent and the bones had crumbled.
"Can I really trust what the Nethervault Demon King says? He's always seemed unreliable, and now he's trying to scare me…"
He steadied himself; the Demon King's words were truly frightening—but how much of it was believable?
Still, knowing the Demon King's love of chaos, he probably wouldn't bother trying to scare him for no reason.
"Everpeace is still too weak."
Quinn exhaled, thinking, "But the world inside the darkness and the demon race have fought for twenty thousand years and are still holding out. They won't collapse and be sacrificed just yet. So the collision of Everpeace and the demon-god world should be a long way off—no need to worry too much… Ha, that Demon King nearly scared me to death! I'm just being paranoid, that's all!"
A few days later, Quinn finally left the Great Ruins and returned to Everpeace. He immediately took an airship through Mishui Pass to the capital, presented the Black Tortoise Pearl offered by Master Bear Rain of True Heaven Palace to Emperor Evan, and discussed the matter of building roads.
Emperor Evan convened his ministers for a meeting; the Imperial Preceptor was among them. The officials argued fiercely, many opposing the road project, but the Preceptor debated them all, winning the argument. Emperor Evan joked about beheading people in court, and only then was the road project approved.
Emperor Evan put the Ministry of Works in charge, with the Imperial Preceptor overseeing the project. Quinn immediately found the Preceptor. "The divine arts in the Western Lands are perfect for our cult. Have the Heavenly King take our elders and hall masters there and recruit more talent into the cult."
The Imperial Preceptor was puzzled. "Cult Master Quinn, is it really appropriate for me to handle this?"
"You're one of the cult's Four Heavenly Kings, so of course you're in charge."
The Preceptor's forehead pulsed with veins. "And what about you, Cult Master?"
Quinn smiled. "I'll go visit friends and family, do some business, and make some money."
The puppet idol's head creaked and turned, all four faces fixing their gaze on him.
Quinn's hair stood on end. "You mean, tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of demon gods shattered the world barrier of that dark world, and now they plan to blood-sacrifice it, descending into ours?"
The Demon King's head spun around several times, and he clapped his hands in praise. "Smart! The Great Ruins and that world overlap, so they'll sacrifice that world. The energy from sacrificing a world is so vast and terrifying, it could let the demon-god world descend into the Great Ruins in one blow! Then, the collision of two worlds would be a horrifying sight—billions would perish! Just thinking about it is thrilling!"
Quinn's expression went blank, then he shook his head. "Impossible! It can't be! The darkness has existed for twenty thousand years—does that mean the war in that world has lasted twenty thousand years? How could a war last that long? Impossible!"
The Demon King jumped off the box. "If I were you, I'd have emigrated to another world long ago. A wise man doesn't stand under a dangerous wall, nor does an egg survive under a toppled nest. This world is too dangerous—I'm heading back! Also, don't bother me so often; you scare me!"
He leapt into the darkness, his consciousness leaving the body and returning to the Nethervault Realm. "When the world in the darkness is destroyed, that's when your world and the demon-god world will collide—and when you'll be annihilated!"
He jumped into the darkness and was instantly devoured; Quinn rushed after him, only to see the puppet idol shattered all over the ground.
Quinn frowned, returned to the box, and saw that the altar's energy was spent and the bones had crumbled.
"Can I really trust what the Nethervault Demon King says? He's always seemed unreliable, and now he's trying to scare me…"
He steadied himself; the Demon King's words were truly frightening—but how much of it was believable?
Still, knowing the Demon King's love of chaos, he probably wouldn't bother trying to scare him for no reason.
"Everpeace is still too weak."
Quinn exhaled, thinking, "But the world inside the darkness and the demon race have fought for twenty thousand years and are still holding out. They won't collapse and be sacrificed just yet. So the collision of Everpeace and the demon-god world should be a long way off—no need to worry too much… Ha, that Demon King nearly scared me to death! I'm just being paranoid, that's all!"
A few days later, Quinn finally left the Great Ruins and returned to Everpeace. He immediately took an airship through Mishui Pass to the capital, presented the Black Tortoise Pearl offered by Master Bear Rain of True Heaven Palace to Emperor Evan, and discussed the matter of building roads.
Emperor Evan convened his ministers for a meeting; the Imperial Preceptor was among them. The officials argued fiercely, many opposing the road project, but the Preceptor debated them all, winning the argument. Emperor Evan joked about beheading people in court, and only then was the road project approved.
Emperor Evan put the Ministry of Works in charge, with the Imperial Preceptor overseeing the project. Quinn immediately found the Preceptor. "The divine arts in the Western Lands are perfect for our cult. Have the Heavenly King take our elders and hall masters there and recruit more talent into the cult."
The Imperial Preceptor was puzzled. "Cult Master Quinn, is it really appropriate for me to handle this?"
"You're one of the cult's Four Heavenly Kings, so of course you're in charge."
The Preceptor's forehead pulsed with veins. "And what about you, Cult Master?"
Quinn smiled. "I'll go visit friends and family, do some business, and make some money."