Chapter 423
by fanqienovelChapter 423: Just as It Prepared to Ward Off Outsiders, It Ended Up Having to Secure the Interior
“Provocation!”
“This is utter provocation!”
The Will of the Abyss raged.
Truthfully, the defeat of its expeditionary army wasn’t catastrophic.
After all, “Endless Ether” centered on “endless”—a realm of boundless abundance!
And this abundance spanned three dimensions.
The unfathomable depths of the Ether Sea held inexhaustible “Ancient God Fragments” and “Primal Mud.” Nascent Souls took shape wrapped in these materials, forging Divine Bodies.
In the deep ocean floor, beyond even the Abyss’s reach, “columnar star rooms” ceaselessly spewed matter and minor divine sparks. Swept into shallow ether by scorching chaotic ether currents, these collided violently, coalesced, and reacted to form primal Souls.
Hovering above “Endless Ether” lay the “Fire Domain”—primary energy source for multiple universes.
The colossal fireball in the sky shifted: gentle to scorching, vast to diminutive.
It dispersed immense energy into the void, which then channeled it to every deity and world across universes.
Each “Bubble World” manifested its “sun” as a projection of “Fire Domain energy.”
Thus, defeat meant little to “Endless Ether.”
They could simply drown foes in numbers!
Currently, the “Ether Abyss” had only deployed partial “standing armies” and non-combat “Tax Collectors.”
This barely qualified as a flesh wound.
At worst…
A scratch, and not even a painful one.
By rights, this shouldn’t enrage the Ether Mother.
What truly ignited its fury was “power”!
Another deity had illicitly seized authority over “Endless Ether.”
And this time, it wasn’t regional like “Powers of Shallow Ether”—it was dominion spanning the entire “Endless Ether”!
Tyrants once subservient to the Abyss now worshipped this “new king” under the power’s compulsion.
While “powers” manifested naturally without the Ether Abyss’s consent, they symbolized supreme sovereignty!
Before embracing such power, the least one could do was kneel before the “Abyssal Carpet”—letting the Abyss savor its role as sovereign.
With the Abyss’s blessing, one could then stride unchallenged through Endless Ether.
But seizing power without paying homage? That was defiance—open rebellion!
It resembled securing imperial approval before raising armies—a lawful act for governors or generals. But hoarding thirteen armor sets in secret?
What intent lay there!?
Such challenges to imperial authority, however benevolent the emperor, always ended in divine armies crushing rebels and erasing their bloodlines.
And the Ether Abyss? Far from benevolent—it was sinister, volatile, and unforgiving.
He felt a burning sensation on his face.
It was as if someone had slapped him.
As for who delivered that slap, it was definitely…
“The Ether Mother!”
Magic power vibrated as the Abyss, filled with hatred, shouted the name of the deity who had crossed the red lines again and again!
“Right…”
The Will of the Abyss swept across above him and stopped before a deity with a slender divine body.
He looked a bit worn, as if he had just rushed back from afar.
And indeed, that was true.
“I remember sending you to deliver a message to the ‘Ether Mother,’ to demand an explanation, right?”
“I want to hear what excuses the Ether Mother has now!?”
The “Messenger God” trembled in front of the enraged “Abyss,” and after much hesitation, finally spoke the truth.
“That…
The Ether Mother said she knew nothing about this matter, and the powers weren’t related to her; all those powers came from that so-called ‘Giant God,’ so don’t misunderstand…”
“Ah—!”
Before the Messenger God could finish, he was swept away by a raging flood of ether that surged from the “Abyssal Carpet.”
That was a burst of wild magic power released by the Abyss due to a sudden emotional shift.
His anger and fury became a massive force, stirring the Sea of Ether and knocking over the unlucky Chaos Demon God.
So, he rolled about in misery, wailing in pain, and ended up flipping onto his belly, slowly floating up to the “surface” of the Endless Ether.
Perhaps the Abyss didn’t mean to attack the innocent messenger bringing bad news, but he couldn’t control his rage. Even this small outburst badly hurt a real ether deity.
If the poor messenger was lucky, he might still survive.
But given the size and intensity of the Abyss’s anger just then…
The messenger’s chances looked grim.
“Phew…”
Though he vented for a bit, that rage kept burning inside the vast soul of the Abyss like a fire.
“Are you trying to trick me!?”
“Do you think I’m a fool!?”
“Barbatos already sent me the traits of that ‘Giant God’!”
“I can confirm again—that guy doesn’t look anything like a deity living in the ‘Endless Ether’!”
“According to Barbatos’s report, he only went to the border between the ‘Chaos Swamp’ and the ‘Endless Ether’!”
“He seems to want to stop the ‘Endless Ether’ from eating away at the Chaos Swamp!”
“It’s a hopeless effort, like trying to stop a cart with a mantis, but it proves one thing—he hates the Endless Ether!”
“A deity who had never set foot in the Endless Ether, even if they had the capability to modify their Divine Body, how could they create a Divine Body that adapted so well to the Endless Ether’s environment!?”
To gain the “recognition” of a universe, a deity had to use their “Divine Body” as a language to speak to the vast “Endless Ether,” proving they could become an unmatched ruler!
This sounded simple, but doing it was incredibly hard!
Changes to the Divine Body affected everything; often, they seemed to make it stronger, but actually made it more awkward.
The most common mistake was trying to enlarge the Divine Body and just naively scaling it up…
Then it ended badly—any hard movement could break bones. Forget becoming an “unmatched ruler,” it was just a big piece of meat that wouldn’t last a day!
Sometimes changes seemed okay, but something always felt off; modifying the Divine Body was like a black box, only possible for a deity with great smarts, the guts to keep trying, and deep knowledge of life in the universe!
And to change the Divine Body enough to have “Powers”…
That took a deity who had tested things themselves and had tons of experience.
“Where did this so-called Giant God get such ability!?”
“How did he learn the lessons of Divine Body evolution!?”
“The only one who could do it was the ‘Ether Mother,’ who had been in the Endless Ether a long time and could make copies of herself!”
“But this fellow was now using such a weak excuse to fool me!”
“She didn’t even want to pretend!”
“Was it time to show all cards!?”
“Boom—!”
With the Abyss’s roar, a wild surge erupted in the Endless Ether again!
But this time, all the deities stayed far away, and no one got hurt.
“I meant to be kind, calm things down, and give you an out!”
“But now it seems I tried to help you, but you gave me no mercy at all!”
“Fine!”
“Die!”
“Barbatos’s help could wait!”
“After all, what happens inside the ‘Endless Ether’ matters more!”
“The ‘Ether Mother’ who angered me must get the worst punishment!”
“Her forces!”
“And she herself must be wiped out completely, with nothing left!”
This time, the Abyss was truly enraged, roaring like mad.
Normally, deities near the “Abyssal Carpet” would have reminded him to at least tell Barbatos the plan changed before acting.
But now…
The “Abyss” earlier rage had scared off every deity!
Again, the order for a “full turn” went out.
“Change course!”
“All Tyrants and other ether deities bound for the borders, turn around and head to the ‘Ether Mother’s land!”
“Destroy everything! Leave no scrap behind!”