Chapter 180: Scattered Stars [Two-in-One]

In the Underworld · Glazed Mountain, the hall of the Underworld God, where the eternal soul fire burns, the Underworld God paced irritably down from his throne.

At this moment, the hall was empty and silent.

The siege by the Four Main Gods forced the Underworld God to mobilize almost all his available strength.

Fortunately, he created the Dark Web, otherwise, with his long preaching area frontline, even just communication would be a significant problem.

Nonetheless, his situation remained precarious.

The Fifth Calamity was massive, but when divided across the long frontline, it seemed insignificant, even stretched thin.

He was even forced to abandon less valuable preaching areas.

When it rains, it pours!

The front line was under pressure, and the struggle in the network at the rear faced heavy attacks.

The Internet began by launching a soul login mode to level out disadvantages;

then introduced a faction system to secure the Fourth Calamity’s advantage and prevent player loss;

now it updated with photo, video features, and even large e-commerce against the Dark Web!

This strike on the Dark Web was deadly!

Ordinary people might not notice, but the Underworld God intuitively felt a drastic decline in source essence extraction efficiency.

Damn it!

The Underworld God paced angrily in the hall; whatever the Internet had, the Dark Web must also have, and quickly! Photos and videos were easy; souls inherently had recording capabilities. The core principle of the Magic ‘Mage’s Eye’ is precisely soul recording ability.

Special divine magic could simulate the effect of the Mage’s Eye.

Of course, limited by user soul power, this Mage’s Eye isn’t that Mage’s Eye, unable to monitor across distances, but this coincided with the Internet’s photography capabilities.

Moreover, the Internet had an external functionality, and so must the Dark Web, which could also be simulated through soul projection.

The problem was how to copy this large e-commerce?

This isn’t virtual information; it can’t just be copied.

The main products in Internet’s e-commerce: bicycles, guns, seeds, floating airships, could almost solely be produced by the Kewell Empire.

These physical industries, he simply couldn’t replicate quickly.

Of course, he had what the Internet God didn’t—undead! He could completely sell undead as goods, equivalent to alternative slaves, endless in supply and use.

Moreover, the Underworld also had unique resources that other planes didn’t.

While it might not rival Internet’s large e-commerce, as long as there was a ‘what I have that you don’t’ advantage, the Internet couldn’t fully replace the Dark Web.

Furthermore, the Internet’s continuous updates made the Underworld God realize the Dark Web had limitless potential.

It’s all about content.

If he could think up content that the Internet God couldn’t replicate, he might capture the Internet’s market.

Thinking of this, the Underworld God grew more furious! Why could the Internet God focus on development while he was trapped in endless warfare?

This damn war must end quickly!

If not, drag the Internet God down as well.

Thousands of years of experience gave the Underworld God rich wisdom. Although the Internet era’s rules were different, he sharply sensed his wrong decision and decided to find a way to stop it.

After deep thought, he sat back on his throne and closed his eyes.

The next moment, his main consciousness descended in that lonely stone palace in the Cordillera Mountains.

As the Underworld God’s statue came to life and opened its eyes, the other four gods almost simultaneously sensed something and all descended into their statue bodies, opening their eyes.

In an instant, the eyes of the four gods focused on the Underworld God.

Although both sides were currently at war, a matter of life and death, they strangely restrained themselves, all expressionless.

The Underworld God coldly glanced at his former allies, now enemies:

“I’ve always been curious, what did the Internet God use to convince you to attack me? Wouldn’t attacking after we both suffer be better?”

The four gods exchanged glances, the armored God of War raised his chin and said, “Speak quickly; do you think we’d tell you?”

The Underworld God coldly stared at the God of War, speaking solemnly: “I’m not surprised you joined hands to attack me. I just don’t understand, are you really watching the Internet God grow strong?”

“Pfft…” The elder-like God of Life chuckled mockingly, “What a clumsy attempt to sow discord!”

“Don’t worry, once we break through the Underworld, we’ll naturally deal with the Internet God!”

The God of War’s expression was triumphant; the Underworld God’s words clearly showed he couldn’t handle their attack, making him proud. “Hmph, by then, the Internet God might be strong enough to swallow you!” the Underworld God sneered.

“That’s why the Internet God’s smarter. He never expanded his preaching area during all this. Quever’s tiny land, even with the Dofi Sub-Dimension, and magic towers everywhere, we can easily deal with him once we’re free!”

The mature, charming Earth Mother laughed.

Large territories have their huge advantages.

Not to mention resource and population advantages, strategic depth alone provides a strong risk resistance.

Of course, large territories also have huge disadvantages.

A long border means consuming a lot of resources; without a solid foundation, you can’t withstand it.

Obviously, the Internet God’s narrow territory means his strategic depth is very limited, plus the Fourth Calamity’s limited numbers, naturally making his threat index much lower than the Underworld God’s.

This was one of the main reasons the four gods spared the Internet God and attacked the Underworld God.

“Aren’t you afraid he’s pretending to be weak? Don’t forget the Azure Star!” the Underworld God said sharply. “Look at bicycles, guns, floating airships, which of these things exist in the multiverse?”

With these words, the stone palace instantly became silent.

The “Azure Star” mentioned in the Internet God’s prayer had always been a mysterious place for the gods in the multiverse.

In fact, as the Internet God displayed more and more ‘industrial creations,’ they increasingly believed he came from an undiscovered world.

This was entirely understandable.

The multiverse is vast!

Each plane is like a bubble, floating in the vast dimensional void; the known multiverse is only the bubbles discovered.

Outside the multiverse, are there other planes?

The answer is yes.

In the multiverse, some gods, after losing competition, have to venture far afield.

Like the Goddess of Music discovering the Dofi Sub-Dimension.

So the gods have reason to believe the Internet God came from an undiscovered plane.

Perhaps it was a small plane, not able to nurture high-level power, hence the Internet God never deployed forces.

Of course, the Azure Star could also be a large main plane; only a main plane’s vast resources and population could nurture such an extraordinary industrial power.

The Internet God didn’t deploy forces, either showing weakness for deception or to prevent subordinates from being caught and revealing coordinates.

If the Azure Star was a small to mid-sized plane, it might be fine, but if it’s a large main plane, that’s bad news for the Four Main Gods.

The Four Main Gods considered this possibility.

But the Underworld God’s power, coupled with the Internet God’s strategic deception, forced them to target him first and eliminate him.

Now, reminded by the Underworld God, suspicion grew again among them.

While the four gods speculated, the Underworld God tempted: “How about we join forces to take down the Internet God and then settle things between us?”

…

…

Who else but the Five Prime Gods doubted the Azure Star? Velia · Deep Sea Island.

Coconut trees, white sand, sun umbrellas, palm rooftops, white walls.

In the seaside courtyard where laziness should abound, tension was evident.

“Hmph, with new abilities developed over thousands of years, your damn ambitions are stirring again? Don’t forget, we’re one entity! Without one of us, Velia ceases to exist! Do you think you can protect Velia without drawing from its power? No! This will only lead to exposure!”

The hot-tempered Lord of Storms slapped the table, shouting, eyeing the others meaningfully.

“Hmph, I think you’re the Internet God! Azure Star indeed! Such a cover-up!”

The ethereal, handsome God of Space, who seemed just past twenty, sneered coldly.

The Lord of Storms controls the sea; a prayer of Azure Star aligns perfectly!

“You bastard!”

The Lord of Storms cursed, dark clouds brewing as if to strike the God of Space with lightning.

At the table sat the four Primordial Gods of Velia!

Like the Five Prime Gods, they discussed the Internet God and the Azure Star.

Though reclusive in Velia’s main plane, they still observed the multiverse.

The Internet God’s rise and his industrial power shocked and angered them!

They thought the Internet God likely was one of them.

Or possibly! From the Azure Star, mastering industrial power, but never drawing the Azure Star’s strength, these points said much.

“Enough!” the God of Mechanical Steam shouted. “Maybe the Internet God is an outsider here. Until things are clear, vigilance is fine, but don’t overreact!”

The only female among the Primordial Gods, the Goddess of Night, dressed in black, worried:

“For thousands of years, secrecy shrouded Velia; outsiders couldn’t find it! Unless randomly teleported, which is unlikely, though possible. If the Internet God is an outsider, Velia’s in trouble.”

“Did Velia find any trace of him?” asked the God of Space.

“No, I marked most machines, and no outflow was found. The Internet God probably transferred them before, or he knows machines well.” The God of Mechanical Steam shook his head.

“The Infir Empire is restless; could the Internet God be causing it?” The Lord of Storms squinted.

“I’ve been searching for Akide without results, so Akide’s highly suspicious!” spoke the God of Mechanical Steam.

“The Strike and Raise Movement showed no outside force, perhaps a coincidence! But Atlantis seeks independence, with a sea monster lineage appearing, worthy of a look; maybe this lineage’s a cover!”

“This reminds me, a Sea God religion worshiping sea monsters appeared on the West Continent’s south coast, possibly the Internet God’s plot!”

The more the Primordial Gods discussed, the worse they felt.

Doubt creeped in, making familiar Velia seem shrouded in fog.

The multiverse, stirred by the Internet, faced unprecedented unrest.

Who’d expect reclusive Velia to face a crisis because of the Internet?

“Now we must rely on steadiness amidst change!”

“Only this way!”

The Primordial Gods sighed, their eyes still full of suspicion.

…

…

Yu Sheng’an didn’t see a Dark Web update, but the Four Main Gods arrived.

Before this, Yu Sheng’an was organizing ‘infinite energy storage’ data.

Such fantasies, like infinite energy storage, often appeared in magic history, with theories and designs abundant.

Unfortunately, to date, no one succeeded.

Still, Yu Sheng’an decided to collect these wild ideas, intending to simulate them with the Prophecy Divine Spark.

Some crazy thoughts might be truth, after all—science! Bold assumptions, careful verification.

While sorting through these, the four gods all appeared outside Willis City.

Now, with ample source essence, Yu Sheng’an scanned Willis mechanically every few seconds, guarding against intrusion.

—Too important were the things stored here.

Frankly, if he trusted no subordinate, he’d move them to the Dofi Sub-Dimension, using its small plane traits to block high-end intrusion.

But putting them on a small plane limited both enemy and himself.

In this multiverse, no one can claim to understand all forces.

What if a rogue adept at ‘opening doors’ appears, reaching his stronghold and taking everything? Keeping things close kept him assured.

At least before source essence ran out, he was confident in protecting Willis assets!

Now, outside Willis City, due to the Underworld God’s attack, though acres were ruined, liquefied land turned the area into a small plain.

Under a magician’s strong transformations, it had become eye-pleasing, neatly divided farmland.

At this boundless farmland’s edge, four figures stood at a magical crossroads, silently observing the surroundings.

And the bicycles on the magically petrified road; their shock was their own.

No wonder the Kewell Empire’s food was not only self-sufficient but also exported; it told much! “Are the four of you here to investigate agriculture? If you’re interested in agriculture, I can supply seeds and even professional agricultural consultants.”

A sudden laugh arrived, Yu Sheng’an smiling as he stepped from a teleportation array.

“Grains and source essence, I don’t believe you’d be so kind.” The God of Life deliberately taunted.

“Believe it or not, I’ve always been open and free, but alas, this world’s people are so accustomed to fighting they can’t grasp win-win.”

Yu Sheng’an spread his hands, looking helpless.

“Is that so? If I wanted seeds, would you sell them?” the God of Life asked again.

“Why ask me? You bought a lot on Internet e-commerce.”

Yu Sheng’an’s words startled the God of Life, “The seeds, are they… the same?”

Yu Sheng’an shook his head helplessly, unwilling to explain more.

The Magic Forest seeds on Internet e-commerce weren’t old-generation seeds.

On the contrary, many seeds performed better than Kewell’s.

Of course, they were extreme, requiring high soil fertility, severely depleting soil fertility…

That said, does the cheap grain strategy still continue? Definitely!

However, selling seeds and a cheap grain strategy don’t conflict.

Seeds would also destroy the opponent’s self-sufficiency system. Once they got used to high yields, they’d rely on his seeds.

This aligns with the cheap grain strategy.

Besides, the cheap grain strategy involves mechanized planting compressing costs.

And most critically, the Empire’s unified high buying price and low selling.

The Empire ‘selflessly’ subsidizing agriculture with other incomes; few multiverse nobles would do this.

Only Yu Sheng’an understood the logic.

Pushing labor into factories, using factory efficiency for quick profits, spending a small portion on agriculture subsidy ensured self-sufficiency while gradually destroying other nations’ self-sufficiency; this logic was sound.

“Now isn’t the time to discuss seeds. Guests come from afar, won’t you invite us in?” The Earth Mother smiled.

“It seems you have business with me? Well, I’ll take you someplace nice.”

Yu Sheng’an spoke, a teleportation array glowing beneath his feet, spreading to the feet of the four gods.

In a blink, the five disappeared into the vast fields.

In the next moment, they appeared in a bright, elegant cabin.

With a sofa and table, white clouds rolled outside.

They were in a floating airship’s cabin, overlooking the cubical Willis City.

“I saw over three thousand applying to buy floating airships, many of your people, right?”

Yu Sheng’an crossed his legs, sitting by the couch. With a wave, a wine bottle and glass flew from a cupboard.

“Don’t worry, I’m genuinely selling floating airships, but production can’t keep up, so you’ll have to enter a lottery, sorry.”

Yu Sheng’an poured wine, explaining.

The God of War, seeing Yu Sheng’an so composed, felt sudden anger flare! “Bang!”

Slapping the table, he leaned over, glaring at Yu Sheng’an: “Seems life treats you well? You know, the Underworld God asked us to join forces against Kewell, what do you think?”

Yu Sheng’an paused his wine pouring, then continued.

After pouring five glasses, he sipped one, unconcerned: “I think it’s a good idea! After taking Kewell, you can focus on your duel! I’ll generously spread Dragon Factories worldwide. Then everyone can make guns, floating airships, exchanging them around. I think it’s great.”

“To me, united as a fireball, scattered as stars! No big deal! What do you think?”

With these words, the God of War’s expression froze.