Chapter 1118: The Rank of the Lord of Hell, Arrival at the Divine Regions (II)

Being his first time in such a war, he hadn’t realized that these Hell Apostles, though matched against Abyssal Great Demons, mainly targeted the ancient demon gods instead simply because they were easier to kill.

One of the other Hell Apostles, over two hundred meters tall, clad in black scales, and named Mbolak, said, "I have slain three Abyssal Demons on the battlefield. Each reward varied. One at the beginning stage of true spirit granted eight hundred strands of world origin. The other two, both at the middle stage, gave nine hundred strands each."

"I see." Chen Chu nodded, though inwardly he was surprised.

His own rewards had been far greater. Every Abyssal Demon he killed yielded over 1,300 strands, the highest over 1,600. This was at least forty percent more than the others. With a ten-to-one conversion, the origin points he had now accumulated totaled 265,180, already well past halfway toward the four hundred thousand required to condense the First Primordial Heaven.

Just then, a voice resounded in his ears, solemn and majestic. It was Alvaron. "Chu Batian, you are not like them. You hold the rank of a Lord of Hell. On the battlefield of planes, and in every invasion where Hell’s power descends, the rewards you obtain are whole and undiminished. These rewards come directly from the beings you kill, their lingering marks, their principles, even fragments of their supreme planar power. Remember, do not expose your rank. It would bring danger."

Chen Chu’s eyes narrowed slightly as he thought of the Hell Seed within his Hell’s Eye. So that was what it truly was, and it came from the Hell’s Wheel. It seemed that, at first, he had only been a Hell Apostle possessing coordinates. It was only after Alvaron’s projection descended again that everything changed.

"Do not worry, Chu Batian. I bear you no malice. My concern comes only because I once received you, which means you fall under my Scarlet Hell’s jurisdiction. As for the rank, it is granted by the will of the Supreme Hell. Even we Lords have no authority in the matter. Of course, if you one day grow strong enough to truly become a Lord of Hell, it will benefit me as well. There are rivalries even among the layers of Hell."

Alvaron’s words sent a faint tremor through Chen Chu’s heart. Not only for what was revealed, but also because the other could perceive his very thoughts through spiritual fluctuations. In an instant, Chen Chu severed the connection, cutting off their exchange of will.

Alvaron didn’t mind his caution. After the link ended, its majestic voice still echoed across heaven and earth, shaking time and space. "In one star-quarter, the Scarlet Hell will disperse and withdraw from this time-space."

Boom!

The giant’s body shook. Its colossal form visibly shrank until it was only several thousand meters tall. Looking at Chen Chu, its tone was sincere. "Councilor Chu, this is my Hell Sign. I hope we will have the chance to cooperate again in the future."

It extended its hand, and a blood-red slab dozens of meters wide appeared, covered in complex runes filled with Hell Power.

"Alright." Chen Chu swept his will across the slab, sensing the information within before stowing it away.

This item could be set into the Hell’s Wheel, allowing for communication and active display of spatial coordinates. For example, if the giant discovered a world ripe for invasion, it could contact Chen Chu through the Hell Sign, guiding Hell’s power to descend.

Clearly, this Hell Apostle had taken a liking to Chen Chu’s strength. After all, not every world discovered was formidable. Some weak worlds held only one or two true spirits. For such worlds, a lone Hell Apostle potentially risked death trying to conquer it, but if the coordinates were handed over to a Lord of Hell, the Supreme Hell’s descent would leave little for them to reap.

Chen Chu was different. His strength was enough to sweep entire worlds lacking a primordial being’s presence. In fact, when Labio collapsed, his peak form had already brushed against the threshold of the primordial level, able to clash head-on with a primordial star for several blows. Thus, the giant decisively offered him its Hell Sign. Although revealing its own world to Chen Chu could bring unknown risks, compared with the greater benefits it could gain in the future, that risk was worth it.

As Chen Chu put away the Hell Sign, the eyes of the surrounding Hell Apostles flickered slightly, but in the end they made no other move. All of these Hell Apostles behaved with extreme caution. They had no choice; the infinite worlds were too dangerous. The danger came not only from enemies, but also from other worlds, other civilizations, and even other Hell Apostles.

Such caution was praiseworthy. Even Chen Chu was the same. He didn’t fully believe Alvaron’s words just now.

Under the gaze of the Hell Apostles, one star-quarter quickly passed, and then the entire Hell Plane trembled.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The blood-colored currents filling the world roared and surged, almost tangible, as an immense power above all descended and twisted space-time. The void before Chen Chu collapsed. Streams of light retreated as the towering figures of the Hell Apostles, even the Scarlet Hell itself, grew more distant in his vision and finally vanished.

When the surrounding space calmed again, he was already back aboard the black battleship, within the compression chamber carved into the mountain peak. Suspended in the pitch-black void floated the Hell’s Wheel, a hundred meters across, its surface bristling with countless bloody spikes. Strange blood light flickered across it, exuding an ominous aura.

Chen Chu gazed at the Hell’s Wheel, deep in thought. This planar battle had been of average intensity. There hadn’t even been resistance from a primordial being, yet his harvest had been enormous. Not only had he gained over two hundred thousand origin points, he had also learned much about the infinite worlds, about the other supreme planes, about Hell and its Apostles.

𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

His vision had been greatly broadened, and he now had a clearer understanding of what lay beyond the mythical world. Outside the mythical world were not only the chaotic void and the Sea of Chaos, but also countless worlds, uncountable living beings, powerful civilizations, and mysterious races.

Chen Chu released his will to check the outside situation. Only two days had passed since his departure. It would still take a little more than a week to reach the divine regions.

Phew!

Chen Chu exhaled softly. "It seems I must accelerate my cultivation speed."

He stretched out his hand and retrieved the Hell’s Wheel, which shrank to palm-size. He then summoned his attribute page with a thought. His gaze fell on the origin points displayed below. World origin was immensely important to all beings above the mythical level. Containing pure World Force, it could strengthen any kind of world.

This didn’t only mean Great Thousand Worlds and powerful planes. It also included law-domain worlds, principle-domain worlds, even primordial beings who had opened the Primordial Heavens, and the conceptual supreme planes themselves.

However, if world origin was used only to increase cultivation, it would be somewhat wasteful. Cultivation could be advanced with other natural treasures, but world origin was finite. Once consumed, it was gone. Especially in its converted form, this energy could help Chen Chu ascend through the Second and Third Primordial Heavens much faster.

Thinking it over, Chen Chu realized his earlier thoughts had been greedy. At only the beginning stage of the true spirit level, he was already setting his sights on the primordial level. If he had nothing now, what future could he talk about?

Therefore, raising his current cultivation was most important. With greater strength, he would naturally be able to acquire more world origin. At worst, he could simply participate in more planar battles and slay more Abyssal Great Demons or ancient gods of other worlds.

Thinking of this, Chen Chu suddenly realized how similar he was to his colossal beast avatar. Both devoured to grow. The beast devoured worlds to hasten its evolution, while he slaughtered abyssal demon ancestors and invading ancient gods to convert their origin and elevate his cultivation.

"In the end, it is all about eating." With that, Chen Chu focused his mind. His inner voice sounded in his head.

Burn one million attribute points. Enter the epiphany state. Consume ten thousand origin points, convert them into creation power...

No one aboard the battleship’s expedition knew any of this. As Chen Chu’s cultivation once again soared at breakneck speed, the battleship sliced across the heavens, drawing ever closer to one of the six divine regions of the human race, the Flamewheel Divine Region. In that vast divine region, many were already waiting for the arrival of the Federation’s contingent.