Chapter 1016: The Pillar God's Intervention (Two-in-One)

On the other side.

"What on earth is this... what kind of monster is it?"

In the vast, deep, and dark universe, an enlightened being, his face filled with terror, was constantly leaping and fleeing. "Infectious evil cosmic organisms, viruses... diseases—these are words I had almost forgotten after becoming a strong being. How can there be such a terrifyingly evil and tyrannical monster in this world?"

"This makes no sense at all!"

He was still running, but as he ran, a golden glow gradually appeared all over his body. His body was undergoing an unimaginable super mutation. His four genes seemed to have suffered a terrifying invasion, altering his life structure.

"Gene modification! It really is gene modification! A gene virus! Modifying the very root of a life form's existence. Aren't genes supposed to be forcibly solidified once integrated? In my tens of thousands of years, I've never seen such a bizarre sight. What kind of strange creature will this terrifying, evil entity turn me into?"

Light radiated from his entire body. Of his four genes, he had only cultivated two gene systems to their peak, using them to break through to the Ninth Order. And one of his genes, which he had only cultivated to the Fifth Order, was gradually twisting, transforming into some kind of mysterious, terrifying gene.

A dark crystal was gradually, forcibly growing in his mind. Intense pain was burgeoning.

"This, this is simply insane!" He ran wildly, becoming increasingly frantic. "What on earth is this thing..."

Suddenly, he stopped, completely infected.

Meanwhile, in the void on the other side, the Three Pillar Gods appeared faintly, stating calmly:

"So that's how it is? Indeed, we can only forcibly infect and twist the weakest gene, assimilating it into our Demon Core gene. If all four genes are perfected, with each gene and bloodline system strong enough, then we can't infect or infiltrate."

"Yes, it seems our Unified Virus can only assimilate enlightened beings who followed these incomplete paths, forcibly twisting one of their incomplete, filler genes into our Demon Core gene."

On the other side, the player forum.

"The Three Pillar Gods have become a Fallen Civilization?"

As soon as this was said, everyone was stunned. Emperor Qi's side was still discussing and researching the potential storms that would erupt from the upcoming family recognition. Yuan Qinghua, an insider in the Mother River Civilization, had brought terrifying internal intelligence. Yet, the information brought by Balloon Fish, the Three Pillar Gods' mole on the other side, directly left everyone in disbelief.

They hadn't even finished discussing here, and the other side had already directly defected?

"Weren't the Three Pillar Gods hunting the Mechanical Pillar God?"

"Could it be that they encountered the Fallen Civilization? And even joined them?"

"What on earth happened?"

"The Three Pillar Gods are the legitimate inheritors of our Chinese Buddhist and Daoist system, true Buddhist descendants! Past, Present, and Future Buddhas, the Three Ancestral Buddhas, calculating the world's destiny, bringing salvation to all beings... Emperor Qi, their enemy bloodline, hasn't even defected yet, and the Three Pillar Gods, in the blink of an eye, are out causing trouble (angry)!"

The entire forum exploded with noisy chatter, information bombarding wildly. The Three Pillar Gods are supposed to be pure, orthodox inheritors; this shock is too great.

Alchemist Emperor: "Everyone, please don't spam, don't get agitated. Let's hear the specific situation from Balloon Fish (Silence.jpg)."

Everyone gradually calmed down then.

Balloon Fish: "Ahem, actually, here's what happened: The Mechanical Pillar God was very troublesome, running all the way... but he was still beaten to death by the Three Pillar Gods, who then assimilated and divided his race."

Still died? Everyone paused slightly.

This is a very realistic world. How long had the Mechanical Pillar God been developing? Less than four hundred years, and he could already rival one of the Three Pillar Gods, and he could run for so long—that's already terrifying.

"He was already very formidable, but he couldn't surpass the Three Pillar Gods."

"To say nothing more, give him another two hundred years, and with the Mechanical Pillar God Civilization's development speed, he might not have been able to withstand them..."

At this point, someone else said:

"Ridiculous, the Three Pillar Gods were certainly going to deal with the Mechanical Pillar God. How could they allow others to share in the spoils? They've long been united against outsiders, refusing anyone the chance to grow to their level again!"

"Indeed, with their computational power, they naturally knew this precedent couldn't be set. Once a Fourth Pillar God appeared, perhaps a Fifth would follow... Their racial destiny rights would be completely diluted!"

A group of players discussed, analyzing frantically. The Three Pillar Gods are still super difficult monsters to deal with, absolutely rational, having likely calculated the future for countless years ahead.

"But this was the last chance."

"If he died this time, then a new Pillar God, a Fourth Pillar God, would have no chance of being born again!"

Some players gritted their teeth. Because before, the Three Pillar Gods were still weak Ninth Order, unable to sense such distant races in the ethereal realm. They had severed the Demon Core connection between the two sides, allowing the Demon Core race here to develop self-awareness and give birth to a new Pillar God. But upon breaking through to the complete Ninth Order, the racial will of any Demon Core race would be sensed in the ethereal realm.

Balloon Fish continued, saying, "Their great battle, the chase, spanned many galaxies, involving too long a frontline, and they encountered other enlightened beings."

"Then, the Three Pillar Gods assimilated the opponent alive!"

Everyone's scalp tingled. They assimilated one right off the bat? The strongest infection calamity, living up to its reputation. Other civilizations were cautious and reserved, while the Three Pillar Gods' civilization was audacious and unrestrained...

"The opponent must have been incredibly foolish. An ordinary complete Ninth Order, with incomplete four genes, encountering the Three Pillar Gods—why wouldn't they run?"

Everyone was speechless. Wasn't this just serving themselves up? If this continued, with the Three Pillar Gods assimilating more than ten complete Ninth Order enlightened beings, Emperor Qi and Caroline would likely be beaten to death by them.

Balloon Fish: "But there was no escaping either. The power gap was too immense. Could the Three Pillar Gods' terrifying computational power let you get away? They had already assimilated this Ninth Order being and obtained all information. They learned that this Ninth Order being came from the Fallen Civilization, and many like them had been summoned to prepare for an expedition to a ruin, to encircle and annihilate a certain mysterious and powerful civilization defying the heavens."

Ruin civilization, encirclement... Could it be!?

Calculating the location, the Three Pillar Gods' chase from the geographical position of the Tiel Empire and their encounter wasn't a coincidence, as they weren't too far apart. If the other party was making such a large-scale mobilization, and the Three Pillar Gods had been chasing all the way with such a huge commotion, there was indeed a significant chance of them meeting.

Balloon Fish continued: "Then... they followed the route, intercepting those enlightened beings who were coming for the encirclement, and by now, they have assimilated five ordinary Ninth Order enlightened beings..."

Everyone fell into complete silence. In this situation, the Three Pillar Gods' power has likely exploded. With five... Emperor Qi, Caroline, and the others, who were originally evenly matched, might now be unable to contend.

The Three Pillar Gods' combat power has likely reached its peak.

"What now?" someone asked.

Balloon Fish: "Now, the Three Pillar Gods have gathered a group of assimilated weak Ninth Orders, disguised themselves as part of the Fallen Civilization forces conducting the encirclement, and are heading to the ruins to continue their assimilation."

Everyone's scalps tingled completely. This isn't joining the Fallen Civilization; it's the Fallen Civilization joining them! The terrifying scene they had previously prophesied in the Tiel Empire—the Dark Pillar God Tathagata, destroying countless enlightened civilizations, a cosmic taboo—had actually come true!

At this moment, Qiu Ming Mountain Speed, who had been hidden, finally spoke: "It's over! It's truly over! Something big has happened. This day has still come. The Three Pillar Gods are about to leap and soar! Caroline and Emperor Qi, both of them, are going to be beaten to death by him!"

Everyone was puzzled.

Qiu Ming Mountain Speed: "You're too young. A new era is unfolding. Do you think the landscape of Ninth Order enlightened beings will be the same as before?"

"My Lords, times have changed!"

"The Heavenly Dao has drastically changed, and the era is turbulent. Otherwise, why would I try to create a small television to seize a sliver of Heavenly Dao vitality? Because the future era will be terrifying and difficult, so I'll conduct an assessment of Ninth Order enlightened beings!"

"First, haven't you noticed something by now? Caroline and Emperor Qi are indeed powerful in combat, no less than the Three Pillar Gods, but why don't they dare to go out in their true forms? And why do the Three Pillar Gods dare to wander around conspicuously in their true forms?"

Everyone was taken aback. They truly hadn't seriously analyzed the logic behind such behavior. These big shots, it seems, all have some very deep calculations.

"There are two reasons: First, life is singular; they fear encountering terrifying forbidden existences and being beaten to death. For example, the combat power of the Abyssal Blue Divine Domain, which is currently rushing here, is extremely formidable, and killing them would be perfectly normal. Therefore, they dare not manifest in their true forms. Second, they fear being killed, or even critically wounded to the point of near death, and having their race's genetic bloodline plundered. Because if the opponent sees their genetic bloodline and the powerful combat ability it brings, the opponent will frantically encircle and annihilate them!"

Everyone realized. That was indeed the case. The combat power of Emperor Qi, Caroline, and others is strong, extremely strong, and defies the heavens! However, powerful bloodlines and cultivation methods will instead attract more encirclement and covetousness! The moment they appear and expose their immensely powerful, heaven-defying combat abilities, it becomes extremely dangerous for them. After all, two fists can't contend with four hands! Being powerful might precisely be the reason for their demise!

Qiu Ming Mountain Speed: "They have just entered the Ninth Order. Although they've been furiously increasing their combat power and will soon enter the High Ninth Order... that's all inflated combat power! Because their Nine Revolutions Profound Cultivation can't keep up! Upon breaking through to a Ninth Order enlightened being, becoming a new dimensional creature, the scope of the Nine Revolutions Profound Cultivation has expanded hundreds of times! And the deities within only inhabit a few hundredths of the land. How sparse and vast is that? They need their Nine Revolutions Profound Cultivation to expand to its limit, reaching perfection at this realm, before they can truly regain invincibility and show their faces... Or, they would need to enter the Weak Tenth Order before they dare reveal their true forms."

Everyone thought about this wave of analysis and indeed found it very reasonable. They had only just entered the Ninth Order, their foundations were too shallow, so they needed to hide and accumulate strength. After all, everyone is a keyboard saint on average, so where does their insight come from? It comes from this kind of analysis! The Nine Revolutions Profound Cultivation is a slow-burn cultivation method, requiring gradual accumulation rather than instantly keeping up with the realm. And Caroline, she would likely need to accumulate for even longer! Because her mental universe is also accumulative. She's essentially cultivating two Nine Revolutions Profound Cultivations!

But Caroline, with double the Nine Revolutions Profound Cultivation, can still only match Emperor Qi. Why? Because the Alchemist Factory created a "tycoon gold" Demon Core for Emperor Qi. Although Emperor Qi's mental universe only has 4 layers, it's equivalent to 1.4 Nine Revolutions Profound Cultivations. Coupled with his vast knowledge and numerous cultivation methods, he compensated for the gap.

Qiu Ming Mountain Speed: "Analyzing to this point, everyone must already know that although they are quickly approaching the High Ninth Order in terms of realm... that's an inflated realm, and insufficient foundation after just breaking through is unavoidable; they need to accumulate slowly! At that time, their energy levels will be at least several hundred, possibly even over a thousand! That's the Nine Revolutions Profound Cultivation!"

"What about the Three Pillar Gods? Their method is different. The Three Pillar Gods don't need to accumulate at all. They just need to madly devour, assimilate races, and expand their own populace!"

"Someone might say, can't Caroline do that too? But Caroline has limitations. To be honest, Caroline's 'Grim Reaper Eternal Life' cannot affect Ninth Order beings because they have already merged their souls and bodies. If you kill them, there's no soul left, so they cannot be assimilated into her entire race."

Everyone nodded. The strength of their entire race's cells, combined with the mental universe, is their inherent characteristic. Infection is merely an ancillary ability, not their primary nature.

Qiu Ming Mountain Speed said: "So, now we can answer a question: Aren't the Three Pillar Gods afraid of Emperor Qi and Caroline's two concerns? First, they dare to descend in their true forms, and second, they aren't afraid of having their genes stolen. Let's analyze them one by one."

"First, they truly aren't afraid of being beaten to death. The Three Pillar Gods are Pillar Gods of Destiny, an ethereal consciousness. As long as a portion of their race is hidden somewhere, and the race isn't annihilated, they won't be annihilated. At most, they'll suffer a significant loss of power."

"Second, gene theft? Isn't that laughable? The Pillar Gods' Demon Core virus gene has already updated thousands of virus versions. This is definitely an anomaly among genes, utterly unafraid of being stolen. In fact, if you don't come to integrate, I'll forcibly make you integrate his Demon Core gene, infect you, and turn you into his subordinate computer. This heaven-defying gene is very special; it's probably the first super-powerful genetic bloodline talent that makes people not want to integrate with it, and even makes them desperately flee..."

Everyone listened to the analysis, feeling enthralled. It was indeed true. This is reality. Big shots of this caliber... Their foresight is too profound! Their calculations are too terrifying! They truly couldn't compare to the calculations of Emperor Qi, the Three Pillar Gods, and others; they couldn't even discern the logic behind their actions or why they did what they did! Even a Ninth Order being, once assimilated and possessing the Demon Core gene, cannot resist the entire Three Pillar Gods. Because the computational power of one person cannot contend with the computational power of the entire Demon Core race; resistance is impossible.

Of course, if your combat power is heaven-defying to the extreme, and one person can resist the destiny of an entire race, then you *could* kill the Three Pillar Gods and replace them. But is that possible? One person resisting the destiny of an entire race—that's not just the Three Pillar Gods, but also the Ninth Order beings infected by them...

Everyone instantly broke out in a cold sweat. The Three Pillar Gods would even be eager for you to integrate with their Demon Core gene and become their subject.

Qiu Ming Mountain Speed: "In summary, the Three Pillar Gods dare to descend in their true forms, and at the same time, they aren't afraid of others plagiarizing their genes. Therefore, their development is extremely rapid. For a not insignificant period, Caroline and Emperor Qi's development speed won't be able to keep up with theirs. Although, upon reaching their peak, stuffing a small sun into their Nine Revolutions Profound Cultivation, they would still possess combat power at the same level as the Three Pillar Gods, as before. However... for now, those two can only hide to avoid being beaten to death by the Three Pillar Gods!"

This entire analysis was very clear and simple. After all, the development and growth methods of different systems vary. Although the Nine Revolutions Profound Cultivation is not weak, the time required for accumulation is far too long. During their accumulation and growth hiatus, the Three Pillar Gods will definitely be the fastest; there's nothing to be done about it due to system limitations.

"If this continues, won't the Three Pillar Gods be invincible?"

"Who knows? With the Pillar Gods' computational power, their worldlines, and secretly converting a few more Ninth Orders, they might truly become invincible. Now, he's heading towards the Elemental Ancient Ruins."

"The Fallen Civilization and the Abyssal Blue Divine Domain are at war, and the Three Pillar Gods are just fishing in troubled waters among them? That's too dirty, isn't it?"

"Indeed, Emperor Qi and Caroline don't dare to manifest in their true forms. They can only use quantum battle body clones to join the fray... It's too tragic!"

"Wait, speaking of which, aren't they still doing the family recognition over here?"

"Wait, this is still the first time they'll meet Moon God Season, the first time they'll see a true enemy, right? Caroline, Emperor Qi, seeing the enemy's true face... and knowing their true identity, they'll be startled!"

"Wait, the Three Pillar Gods still don't know what's happening here. They're going to blissfully come over to exploit the situation and spread their Buddhist doctrine, probably not expecting Moon God Season to see them, and be moved by the sight, thinking: 'Ares's tragedy back then was caused exactly this way...' And then just directly..."

"Ah! The Three Pillar Gods are so miserable!"

"To the one above: The Three Pillar Gods are doing so well now, how little faith do you have in them?"

Everyone organized the situation in their minds and were instantly dumbfounded. What on earth was this going to develop into? All they knew was that this world was about to plunge into great chaos.