Chapter 254: The Lord God

When the Human Saint of the Seven Gods Church spoke the name of that Forbidden Existence, the very air seemed to freeze for a moment.

Fear flickered across the eyes of the various top-tier version powerhouses. Their auras wavered uncontrollably, one after another turning pale, as if an invisible hand had gripped their throats.

“How could a Forbidden Existence appear within the Ruined Domain?”

Among the peak forces of the Ruined Domain—the Nine Heavens—except for Mech City, which relied on technological accumulation to ascend, every other version faction had profound foundations.

In the versions backing them, the shadow of a world’s sole existence could be found—many even possessed more than one.

From a certain perspective, it was precisely because of their connection to these beings that these version factions were able to become first-rate powers in the Ruined Domain.

Thus, those who stood at the top of these forces naturally knew something—more or less—about this world’s only ones.

So, the moment the Human Saint uttered that name, all the top factions understood the weight of the crisis they were facing.

“Impossible! Not even a Great Divine Power can interfere with the Ruined Domain. How could a Forbidden Existence emerge here?”

“That gaze that seemed to descend into reality through memory… that couldn’t be faked. Only a legendary Forbidden Existence could wield such authority.”

“There’s actually such a terrifying being hidden behind Eternal Heaven?”

“Even ascending to Nascent Soul takes hundreds of years. Any being whose lifespan exceeds a hundred years is naturally repelled by the Ruined Domain—let alone an Immortal.

“There must be something else going on behind Eternal Heaven. I suggest we investigate it immediately.”

“This situation is beyond what we can handle. If a Forbidden Existence is involved, then even if we unite every version faction, it won’t help.

“We should report this up the chain at once and await instructions from higher authorities.”

The various version powerhouses began voicing their opinions.

Some wanted to call a council. Others proposed investigating Eternal Heaven. Still more were eager to push the matter upwards, waiting for the upper echelon’s commands.

The sudden shift in atmosphere sent shivers down the spines of the thousands of psionics present. The shadow of disaster loomed over their heads.

None of the top version powerhouses paid them any attention.

Even those who occasionally glanced their way only showed faint astonishment and pity.

They marveled at how these psionics had survived an encounter with a Forbidden Existence—but also pitied them, knowing that they were now karmically entangled with it.

A Forbidden Existence was like a swirling vortex of information. These weak psionics had no defenses against such things. One wrong step, and they’d be dragged into an eternal doom.

The moment they retained that memory, their fate had already been sealed—this was a future that could not be altered.

Just as the debate reached a stalemate, a calm, low voice echoed out—like a stone dropped into boiling water, instantly quieting the chaos.

“Haven’t any of you realized something?”

A Reincarnator from the Lord God’s Space slowly stood up. His eyes were deep as a pool, his aura restrained but undeniably powerful.

Everyone turned toward him.

The Lord God’s Space was one of the most mysterious top-tier factions in the Ruined Domain. Fewer than a thousand Reincarnators had ever appeared here, and their cultivation systems were utterly diverse.

Some among them were as strong as late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators, others barely at the Qi Refining stage.

This particular Reincarnator was at mid-stage Nascent Soul, ranking among the strongest present.

Now that he spoke, everyone naturally took note.

“What problem are you referring to?” someone asked with a frown.

A glint of sharp light flickered through the Reincarnator’s eyes. His expression grew solemn.

“When Eternal Heaven devoured the Superpower Metropolis, there were many survivors present. Yet none of them reported any signs of a Forbidden Existence.”

He slowly stepped to the center of the group, extending his fingers into the air as if gathering lingering spatial traces. Golden light flickered at his fingertips, forming intangible threads of information.

“The Tower of the Universe is far weaker than the Superpower Metropolis. Why would devouring such a minor location trigger the appearance of a Forbidden Existence?

“And why would that being leave a gaze behind in the memories of these psionics?

“With the power of a Forbidden Existence, these people shouldn’t even be able to perceive its presence, let alone retain memories of it—unless it wanted them to.”

His voice lowered, becoming like a solemn bell in the night.

“And why did Eternal Heaven, after devouring the Tower, leave all these weak psionics behind? There are too many questions here. It’s as if… someone wanted us to discover this.”

His words sobered many of the top experts, who had panicked upon hearing of the Forbidden Existence.

Some fell into deep thought, others began calculating behind the scenes. Still others rubbed their chins, frowning hard.

“Then how do you explain the memories?” demanded an Archmage in starry robes. His voice was like spring water over stone—gentle, yet powerful.

The Reincarnator sneered. “Within the Ruined Domain, there are countless ways to manipulate souls and forge false memories. Forging the memories of a few weaklings is hardly difficult.”

“That… does make some sense.”

“Make sense? My ass!”

The Martial Saint from the Ten Directions Martial Dao swore without restraint.

“That gaze shown in the memories—even if it wasn’t from a Forbidden Existence, it was at least from a being far above avatar level.

“Who in the entire Ruined Domain has the ability to forge that kind of memory?

“And even if you argue the memories could be faked, how do you explain the destruction of the core territories in the Tower of the Universe, the Superpower Metropolis, and Mech City?

“What, some faction just happened to figure out how to destroy core territories and staged this elaborate drama?”

The barrage of questions left the Reincarnator momentarily speechless. The corner of his eye twitched, his expression dark.

Secretly, he glanced down at the electronic wristwatch on his arm. In his vision, a mission notification from the Lord God appeared—the blinding yellow glow nearly bursting from the screen.

[Side Mission: Uncover the Truth Behind the False Memories]
[Reward: 1 S-Rank Plot Point]

The reason he’d even suspected something was wrong in the first place… was because of this mission.

In the Lord God’s system, the Ruined Domain was considered a highly special world.

Normally, once a Reincarnator entered the Ruined Domain, the Lord God would sever contact—no missions, no interference.

But just now, after encountering the memory involving the Forbidden Existence, the Lord God had broken its silence for the first time and issued a mission within the Ruined Domain.

It was unprecedented.

And the first mission… involved an S-Rank Plot Point.

Naturally, this caught the Reincarnator’s full attention.

His fingers trembled slightly. A glint of greed and resolve appeared in his eyes.

Based on the information so far and the Lord God’s mission, the Reincarnator had guessed at several possibilities.

But without key intel, his theories weren’t persuasive enough to convince the other version factions.

He licked his lips and looked at the flashing yellow light in the corner of his vision. Then he took a deep breath, his expression firm.

“Investigate the memories of more people!”

His voice was firm and cutting.

“If someone really forged these memories, they couldn’t have done it perfectly. There must be flaws. If we go through enough people, we’ll find them!”

“You’re insane!” the Martial Saint roared.

“You know these memories involve a Forbidden Existence, and you still want to go snooping? If you want to die, don’t drag us down with you!”

The other powerhouses looked at the Reincarnator like he was mad.

To them, it didn’t matter whether the Forbidden Existence was real or not—they had no power to influence the outcome.

Their best option was to report to their factions and let the upper echelons decide. Whether that meant calling a summit or begging a world’s sole existence for aid… that wasn’t their problem.

But now this Reincarnator had not only pointed out the suspicious elements—he wanted to test them too.

Madness.

Still, the Reincarnator didn’t care.

He stormed into the crowd and grabbed a psionic by the head, forcefully peering into his memory.

Unlike the Saint’s gentle Memory Tome method, he used brute force—splitting off a sliver of his soul to read directly.

Scene after scene passed with no issues—until Eternal Heaven descended.

The moment that invisible gaze began to form, the Reincarnator immediately severed that soul fragment.

The psionic convulsed violently, foaming at the mouth. Even the Reincarnator paled, tossing the man aside like trash.

Then he grabbed another.

And another.

And another.

Ten… a hundred…

One after another, psionics collapsed under his grip. The backlash didn’t kill them, but left their souls in long-term weakness.

At first, the Reincarnator was confident. Then doubtful. Then completely disbelieving.

Thousands of psionics.

And every single memory was internally consistent, verifiable by others, utterly seamless.

Everything looked like it had really happened. No forgeries. No flaws.

The Reincarnator, though strong, had to sacrifice a sliver of soul for each reading. After so many, even a mid-Nascent Soul powerhouse like him could no longer bear the cost.

His face turned paper white. His aura had weakened to the limit.

He looked up and saw that he had only checked half the people.

If he continued, his soul would collapse and he’d die on the spot.

He glanced again at the mission interface. The S-Rank mission still flashed yellow—but he no longer felt any joy.

For the first time… he doubted the supposedly omniscient and omnipotent Lord God.

“Could… the Lord God… be wrong?”

But the very next second, he shook his head and banished the thought.

“No. Impossible!”

“The Lord God could never issue a false mission. These memories must be fake!”

His gaze turned vicious. He scanned the crowd—and locked onto the acting leader: Sharke.

As the leader of the Tower of the Universe, Sharke’s status was different. That’s why the Reincarnator hadn’t touched him earlier.

But now? The mission had reached its breaking point. The Reincarnator no longer cared.

“Someone with your strength—barely an advanced Reincarnator—yet you were the first to detect the danger and flee the core territory? You must be hiding something!”

He raised his hand and lunged toward Sharke. The high-level psionic couldn’t even resist.

Just as the Reincarnator was about to insert his soul…

Streams of multicolored light streaked across the sky.

The top powerhouses, who had been watching coldly, suddenly turned to the incoming beams.

It was a wave of messenger signals from each of their factions. Everyone retrieved their communication artifacts and read the contents.

A heartbeat later, their faces changed.

The Martial Saint of the Ten Directions shouted:

“Stop! It’s over!”

“The Hunter Mercenaries’ core territory has also been destroyed. Our scouts found survivors—and in their memories, traces of the Forbidden Existence were also discovered.”

“The Three True Sovereigns of the Immortal Alliance are summoning all version factions… to convene for a joint discussion.”

The Reincarnator’s eyes widened in disbelief.

At the same moment, a new message popped up on his watch:

[Mission Failed!]

No one knew…

Far above the Nine Heavens, the moonlight shone like the eye of Heaven, recording everything that had transpired at the ruins of the Tower of the Universe.

Silver light swirled, forming the Earth Fiend Radiant Art, tearing through the void and silently transmitting everything thousands of miles away… to Lu Yan.

Within the moonlit mirror, the images played clearly—every debate among the factions, every terrified face among the psionics.

Lu Yan murmured to himself, a tinge of emotion in his voice.

“When I had the Ruined Heavens Dao grant memory editing privileges, I deliberately imprinted the image of that one into their minds, reinforced with the aura of the Supreme Divine Art seed… to simulate a false Forbidden Existence.”

“The goal was to make every major version faction sense the crisis behind Eternal Heaven… and force them to unite.”

He sighed.

“The plan was a bit rushed. There were flaws. But with the name of a Forbidden Existence, it should’ve been enough.”

“But I didn’t expect a Reincarnator from the Lord God’s Space to jump in and try to unravel everything—digging through every memory in search of a flaw.”

A thoughtful look crossed Lu Yan’s face. His brows furrowed.

“If I had forged those memories by my own hand, and not through the power of the Dao… he probably would’ve exposed them.”

Lu Yan tapped a finger lightly. The moonlight paused, freezing on the Reincarnator’s face.

Beside Lu Yan, within the Underworld’s internal world sealed by the Human Emperor Banner, the Probability Cloud spun the heavenly stars—calculating against the world itself.

Streams of data flowed through Lu Yan’s eyes. He tracked every possibility.

“This Reincarnator was so certain the memories were false… He must’ve gotten that idea from somewhere.”

With a wave of his hand, the moonlight replayed the moment when the Reincarnator glanced at his wristwatch.

Though brief, the moment had been captured perfectly by the moonlight.

In the void, a roar echoed—the voice of the Dao—as the stars in the Underworld trembled, then fell from the heavens… transforming into an apocalyptic vision.

The Probability Cloud had touched something it couldn’t calculate.

There was no result.

But even that was a result in itself.

“…Another one of this world’s only ones?”

A glint of interest rose in Lu Yan’s gaze.

“Lord God?”

(End of Chapter)