Chapter 260 – Fall of the True God, Collapse of the Divine Nation

Grus glared at Lu Yan, his gaze like a blade, as though trying to pierce the soul of the Underworld emissary.

Yet just as he opened his mouth to speak, an invisible force seemed to seal his throat, rendering him completely speechless.

All he could hear were the wails and cries of countless lives within the Nation of Gods—voices that pierced the soul like a thousand blades, shaking the very foundations of his faith.

This half-god of the Nation of Gods could only feel the slow descent into ruin of his homeland—utterly powerless to resist.

The expressions of all the powerhouses present shifted, their eyes flashing with complex emotions. Though they hadn’t personally witnessed the cataclysm within the Nation of Gods, they could sense something from Grus’s sudden change in demeanor.

That once-proud half-god now wore a pale face and eyes full of unconcealed fear and shock. Such an abnormal reaction made the other top-tier experts feel a chill in their hearts.

“It must be the Nation of Gods! Something has gone terribly wrong there—that’s why Grus’s attitude changed so drastically!”

“But the Nation of Gods houses dozens of half-gods and an entire divine kingdom that shields their core territories. Rumor has it even Nascent Soul cultivators would be suppressed there—how could it fall so easily?”

“Could what Lu Yan said be true? That he truly doesn’t care about the other version factions’ opinions… because he has the power to destroy them all?”

“If the Underworld emissary can really annihilate the Nation of Gods, then perhaps he truly holds a trump card that can contend against the Will of the Taboo Existence.”

“This is a conflict involving taboos across countless worlds—a game played by all living beings. It’s far beyond our ability to interfere.”

“If this is how it ends, then we’ll just have to accept our fate.”

Murmurs echoed throughout the great hall, and even the other factions of the Nine Heavens showed shocked expressions.

As top-tier version forces equal to the Nation of Gods, they were far more aware than smaller factions of just how deep the Nation of Gods’ foundations ran.

From Lu Yan’s appearance to Grus’s surrender had taken only a few short minutes—yet in that brief time, the Nation of Gods had been shaken. Lu Yan’s power clearly exceeded the limits of the Broken Cataclysm Realm.

Some even began to wonder—could the Underworld behind Lu Yan, like the Eternal Heaven, also be backed by a Will from a Taboo Existence?

As thoughts churned across the hall, Grus’s expression changed again—this time to one of surprise.

He could clearly sense the collapse within the Nation of Gods had temporarily halted. The believers were hanging on by a thread, and even the half-gods had managed to narrowly escape destruction.

But in the next instant, the surprise on his face twisted into utter horror.

“You can’t do this!” he howled.

“I haven’t done anything wrong! You can’t take it all back!”

“You’re violating the Divine Decree!”

But his protests were meaningless.

The divine light of faith surrounding Grus dimmed rapidly, like a fallen star swallowed by the night. His once-mighty aura as a peak half-god collapsed.

High-ranked half-god… mid-ranked… low-ranked… Saint-level…

In the span of a single breath, Grus fell from one of the strongest present to the weakest of all.

The divine light that once clung to him streaked through the sky like a meteor, returning to the collapsing Divine Nation.

And it wasn’t just Grus.

All remaining emissaries of the Nation of Gods on the ruins of the Machine City, all defenders within its borders, even the half-gods who had barely survived the Destruction Rule—every single supernatural being within the faith system felt the same pull.

The divine light surrounding them receded like a tide, dispersing into countless specks of radiance that pierced through the void and converged on the shattered temple at the Nation’s core.

Within that broken temple, Lu Yan gazed regretfully at the sea of divine light returning like a wave.

The specks of light flickered, laws flowed, and the shattered remnants of faith began to reassemble under an invisible force. Lu Yan’s brow furrowed, a rare trace of concern flashing in his eyes.

“In the end… I was a step too late.”

He let out a soft sigh, his voice like a breeze drifting through time and space, leaving faint echoes in the void.

High above, the two colossal Destruction Grinders spun like silent, ancient gods, grinding through vast swaths of space. Every rotation shook the laws of heaven and earth, every ounce of force capable of erasing an entire world.

But just as the Grinders were about to shatter the Divine Nation completely, they slowed to a halt—as if caught by some unseen force.

Lu Yan had used the Version Update to twist the core faith rules, rendering the Divine Nation incapable of suppressing the Destruction Rule.

He had seized that brief window to unleash destruction upon the Nation of Gods.

But after all, the Version Update was an exploit—a bug—and even with the Cataclysmic Heavenly Dao’s help, it couldn’t be maintained for long.

Only a few seconds… and that was already the limit.

Just as the Divine Nation was about to be torn apart, the distortion from the Version Update was undone. The faith rules reasserted themselves.

Though most of the version fragment had been shattered, millions of spirit believers and numerous half-gods destroyed, and the faith system’s foundation crippled—

The Nation of Gods was still a special divine kingdom.

It forcibly drew on all the remaining faith across the Cataclysm version to restore its core rules, just in time to suppress the incoming destruction.

That it could survive was due to its immense reserves—but also, Lu Yan vaguely sensed an influence from beyond the mortal world.

He looked to the shattered sky, where it felt as if several gazes were piercing through endless worlds, seeking to descend upon the Cataclysm version.

Great Divine Powers.

The source of the Nation of Gods—their world’s sole existences, the “this world’s only ones” of the Gods’ Version.

The Cataclysmic Heavenly Dao had revived just enough to prevent their full descent.

But as “this world’s only ones,” even a mere thought—delivered through the medium of faith—was enough to perform a miracle and halt annihilation.

“As expected, trying to destroy a version faction backed by multiple this world’s sole existences… the variables are too many. I cannot gamble on probabilities.”

Lu Yan’s heart grew resolute.

Still, he didn’t panic.

That sliver of divine thought capable of miraculously saving the Nation of Gods—was already the limit of what even those almighty beings could do.

If they dared interfere further, the Cataclysmic Heavenly Dao wouldn’t sit idle.

That meant Lu Yan only needed to face the final trump card of the Divine Nation.

Ripples spread across the void, the Dao laws trembling—changes far beyond mundane comprehension, as though the very fabric of reality was being rewritten.

Streams of faith flowed like tributaries merging into a vast ocean.

Beneath the ruined temple, a great consciousness born of the Nation of Gods’ entire faith was beginning to awaken.

It was something beyond a half-god—a manifestation of the Divine Nation’s very essence.

In the original faith system, every divine nation had a corresponding True God. The Nation of Gods could naturally elevate a half-god to that state.

But in the Cataclysm version, the special rule that limited all beings to a lifespan of one hundred years made forcibly creating a True God a losing gamble.

So the Gods’ Version chose instead to grant the Divine Nation its own will.

When necessary, the Nation could use this trace of consciousness as a medium—to forcibly manifest a True God.

And now… the time had come.

From beneath the ancient ruins of the temple, a slumbering being opened its eyes.

The void trembled, laws unraveled, and a pressure that transcended all mortal existence swept out from the depths.

Due to the Nation of Gods’ nearly shattered state, this True God was weak.

Its divine form flickered in and out of clarity, like an incomplete painting missing its final brushstroke.

Yet even in this state, the power it displayed far surpassed that of any half-god.

This was the power formed from the fusion of faith and rule—the embodiment of all mortal reverence and awe.

In the sky above, a massive divine hand materialized, falling from the heavens with unfathomable might.

It spanned the shattered heavens of the Nation of Gods, its palm lines flowing like rivers of faith, with millions of lives suspended within, chanting sacred hymns.

It was as if the ruined divine kingdom had fused into this hand—now crashing down upon Lu Yan.

The void froze under that hand. Time halted beneath that divine might. None within the Divine Nation could resist.

Faced with this terrifying sight—Lu Yan finally moved.

He activated the Divine Ability Seed within his body, unleashing every spell bolstered by the Celestial Authority.

But his target was not the divine hand itself.

It was the suspended Destruction Grinders in the sky.

“Merge!”

As if in response to a grand decree, the two Grinders shuddered, then began to turn again.

They drifted closer, their edges overlapping. Born of one source, the Destruction Rules began to fuse—forming a more condensed and terrifyingly complete Destruction Grinder.

This new Grinder emanated an aura of annihilation far more dreadful than before. Even the divine power of faith could no longer suppress it.

With each rotation, the heavens trembled. The spread of the Destruction Rule resumed. The destructive tide once again threatened to destroy the Divine Nation entirely.

The awakened True God finally sensed danger.

He had no choice but to divert most of his strength to suppress the Grinder.

The massive divine hand above paused, then shifted direction—grasping toward the Destruction Grinder instead.

Divine power and Destruction Rule clashed in the void, erupting in soul-shaking shockwaves.

The world changed color. Stars fell to the earth. The already-collapsing Nation of Gods began to crumble further, exposing the bottomless void beneath.

Yet ultimately, the Grinder remained too incomplete.

Just three threads of Destruction Rule—still far from a complete force. It could not shake the foundation of a deeply rooted version fragment like the Divine Nation.

Even with the Divine Ability Seed’s full support, the fused Grinder ground to a halt beneath the True God’s overwhelming power—as if time itself had frozen.

Its light faded. Its movement slowed. And at last… it stopped.

The True God caught it in his hand, as if it were no more than a speck of dust.

Victory gleamed in his eyes.

He stepped from the ruins of the temple—each stride trembling the void, each breath causing the stars to waver.

Raising his left hand, the immense yet phantom divine body pointed down—like a pillar descending from the heavens.

That finger carried the prayers and faith of millions over countless years. It contained the divine power to rewrite the essence of life itself. It sought to crush Lu Yan like an insect beneath the ruins of the Divine Nation.

Yet in the face of such a devastating blow—Lu Yan suddenly smiled.

A deep and mysterious smile.

“I’ve been waiting for this moment.”

His voice was soft—yet it echoed in every corner of the Divine Nation.

In the next instant—an invisible thunderclap resounded through heaven and earth.

Outside the shattered void of the Nation of Gods, a new domain appeared, unnoticed until now.

Smaller than the Nation of Gods, but whole.

Endless mountain ranges and surging rivers shimmered across its skies—reflected above the Divine Nation.

It was the Underworld’s Small Heaven.

Lu Yan’s true trump card!

He had kept wielding the Destruction Rule—pushing the Divine Nation into collapse, exhausting the True God’s power.

And now, when the Nation of Gods could no longer resist—

The moment of reckoning had come.

An endless torrent of Human Emperor Qi surged from the Underworld’s Small Heaven—black-gold rivers piercing through the void, pouring into the Nation of Gods.

The divine kingdom shook violently. The void rippled like shattered glass. Reality itself began to peel away.

The True God’s finger wavered under the weight of the Human Emperor Qi—forced off course and landing into empty space, releasing a pulse of law.

Then the tide surged in.

Countless currents of Human Emperor Qi wrapped tightly around the crumbling divine kingdom—dragging it forcefully into the Underworld’s Small Heaven.

Divine Nation and Underworld intertwined.

Faith collided with death.

The resulting shockwave shook the soul.

In the Small Heaven, stars born from the Probability Cloud fell like a majestic rain of starlight.

Each star held a possibility. Each fall marked the end of a destiny.

Upon the land below, Human Emperor Qi gathered into primeval divine mountains, suppressing all life and bending it beneath the Underworld’s law.

The True God staggered back, his divine body growing more indistinct—like a candle flickering in the wind, on the verge of extinction.

He tried to resist—but found his faith-based system weakening rapidly in the Underworld’s domain.

The vast River of the Yellow Springs surged backward—carrying the concept of Oblivion into the void, flowing into the Destruction Grinder.

Oblivion and Destruction intertwined—like yin and yang, enhancing one another.

Bathed in Yellow Springs water, the Grinder began to turn again.

Each spin stronger than the last.

Each motion more absolute.

The True God sensed death approaching.

He unleashed his full power in a last-ditch effort.

But under the Underworld’s laws—and the crushing pressure of both Destruction and Oblivion—

Even this divine manifestation could not hold out.

The divine body was pulled into the Grinder, which shattered it inch by inch.

Even the divine soul that had ascended within the Nation of Gods was scoured away by the Yellow Springs—forever silenced.

Like an ancient tree felled by a storm, the immense godly form broke apart into countless motes of light—falling into the Underworld’s Small Heaven.

And with the fall of the True God—

The already shattered Nation of Gods collapsed completely, dissolving into nourishment for the Underworld’s Small Heaven.

The borders of the Underworld began to expand—spreading deeper into the endless void.

(End of Chapter)