An invasion from the Abyss? I, a demonic cultivator, laughed.

Chapter 393 Seed of Rules
"This"

Xie Xuanzhao's answer left Chu Xiu with nothing but a helpless, bitter smile.

Although he had made ample preparations, it seems he underestimated the difficulty of the tribulation. If things really don't work out, he can only use the [Freedom Dive Scroll] to escape, and wait a while to settle down before taking the challenge again.

However, after thinking for a long time, he still said with some resentment, "Is the difference between a god and a demigod really that big? In the end, isn't it just a corpse?"

Before Xie Xuanzhao could answer, Zhu Jiu interjected, "Brother Chen, you asked me about the path to godhood before. Don't you really know?"

Chu Xiu shrugged: "There's no need to act anymore, I really do come from a Level 6 civilization."

After he finished speaking, everyone fell silent, looking at him as if he were a monster. This was especially true of Xie Xuanzhao and the other two civilization envoys from a level ten civilization. No one knew better than them what kind of gap existed between civilizations.

After a long while, Zhu Jiu finally let out a long breath and said, "It's truly unbelievable. I'm really curious about what kind of fortuitous opportunity Brother Chen has. If there's an opportunity in the future, would Brother Chen mind telling me?"

Chu Xiu said frankly, "If I can pass the trial, I can tell Brother Zhu without hesitation, but for now, the trial is the priority."

Zhu Jiu nodded: "Okay."

Having said that, he pointed and a beam of light floated toward Chu Xiu: "This is all the information I have compiled about gods and rules. I hope it will be of some help to you, Brother Chen."

"If we can find a way to pass the level from this, that would be wonderful."

Xie Xuanzhao also pointed out a ray of light: "I also have some information, which I will use as a supplement to Brother Zhu."

Chu Xiu cupped his hands in thanks, a thank you that came from the bottom of his heart, and then immediately began to look through the book without wasting any time.

But within seconds, his brows furrowed and his expression turned extremely grim.

"Isn't this a bit too outrageous?"

Even though all the superior beings he had encountered had told him how vast the gap was between gods and mortals, the information given by Xie Xuanzhao and Zhu Jiu still shocked him once again!

According to Zhu Jiu's information, after entering the Heroic Spirit realm, one gains the qualification to refine and comprehend the rules.

After reaching level nine, one can become a demigod through the final advancement trial. Once a demigod becomes a god, there are no more trials; it all depends on one's mastery and refinement of the rules.

Ultimately, through different paths, one can cultivate into one of three types of secondary gods: true god, false god, servant god, and star god.

The simplest path is to cultivate along the [Ascension Sequence].

The so-called "Ascension Sequence" is actually a tool for gods to dedicate their own rules to cultivating their power. By cultivating along the "Ascension Sequence," one can eventually reach the "Pseudo-God" realm. Of course, it must be an "Ascension Sequence" dedicated by a "Main God." The rules contained in the "Ascension Sequence" of ordinary gods are not complete enough to cultivate into a "Pseudo-God."

Records show that although the title of "False God" contains the word "false," it is extremely difficult to achieve. Most main gods, even after accumulating power for tens or even hundreds of thousands of years, will not have more than a hundred "False Gods" under their command. The number of "Peak Demigods" who are close to being False Gods is countless, with millions being considered a small number. As for ordinary demigods, they are even more innumerable.

Even a peak demigod, standing at the pinnacle of demigodhood, is utterly vulnerable before a false god. A false god's total energy is nearly equal to that of a normal god, at least ten thousand times greater! They possess the power to destroy small planets!
This made Chu Xiu secretly alarmed. Although he did not know the exact strength of this [Peak Demigod], to be called the peak, he must be no weaker than the Heavenly King in terms of basic attributes, and the total energy of a god is more than ten thousand times that of a Heavenly King!
This is the insurmountable gap between demigods and gods!
And this is merely a false god!

Although such a deity is powerful, it cannot grasp the essence of the rules and can only use the rules in the [Sequence]. Therefore, it is the weakest of the three types of demigods and is fundamentally different from the other two types of gods.

As for the relative strength of the Star Gods and their servants, it is difficult to determine. Star Gods possess fundamental and comprehensive rules, but these rules only apply to their own planets. Therefore, on their own planets, Star Gods have the power to contend with normal gods, but once they leave their planets, they are even weaker than false gods. False gods, at least, can borrow rules from the main gods in the sequence.

The extraterrestrial demon that Pengcheng appeared before was only at the same level as the Heavenly King. Of course, this is because the extraterrestrial demon was not a true Star God. No matter how much a true god is weakened, it is impossible for him to fall to the same level as a demigod.

The final servant god can be considered a special kind of "false god".

Its strength depends on how much authority it serves, whether it is willing to lend to the supreme god or god-king.

Here, Zhu Jiu also explained in detail the source of the power of the rules among the crowd.

It turns out that powerful gods can separate "seeds of rules" from their own rules. Life forms that possess "seeds of rules" can "borrow" the power of rules from the gods, just like "connecting to the internet".

The deeper one's understanding of the rules and the greater the power of the "Seed of Rules" within one's body, the stronger the rule authority one can borrow. Specifically, it is divided into nine sequences, with smaller numbers indicating higher authority.

The deity himself possesses the supreme authority of [Sequence Zero].

Before sequence six, authority can be enhanced through understanding of the rules. From sequence four to six, it is necessary to refine rule fragments to increase the strength of the [Seed of Rules]. And in the first three sequences, authority must be bestowed by the gods themselves.

[False God] usually possesses the highest level of authority that ordinary demigods can achieve through cultivation, which is also known as Sequence Four.

Don't be fooled by the fact that there are still three levels ahead. Sequence four already possesses incredible power. The power of the rules is vast and boundless. Even the seemingly simplest rules contain infinite fundamental mysteries.

Even if an ordinary demigod is lucky enough to obtain a [Seed of Rules], they may not be able to raise their sequence from nine to eight in their entire life. Even the most peak demigods will stop at sequence eight. Those who can enter sequence seven are top geniuses who are qualified to become divine messengers.

However, if a deity is willing to expend their primordial power to upgrade the [Seed of Rules] into a [Fruit of Rules], then even an ordinary heroic spirit could instantly possess the authority of Sequence Three! And through continuous comprehension and cultivation, they could eventually elevate their authority to Sequence One!

False gods who possess the [Rule Dao Fruit] are called servant gods.

“Original power. It must be very precious even to gods, right?” Chu Xiu shared this information and asked the others.

“Of course,” Zhu Jiu nodded. “Normally, only those false gods who make significant contributions or have truly astonishing talent will receive divine favor and be promoted to servant gods. Their number will generally not exceed one-fifth of the total number of false gods, and their strength is not comparable to that of the star gods on the planets.”

"But there are exceptions. Some chief gods are even willing to share some of their authority with their most favored servant gods. These servant gods are called subordinate gods. They possess power no less than that of star gods, but without the various restrictions imposed by star gods. They can almost be considered half-gods."

"These kinds of gods are extremely rare. Many main gods don't even have a single subordinate god. After all, a god's strength comes from the authority he wields, and every god is particularly stingy with this."

These words brought a wry smile to Chu Xiu's face.

When he rejected Astrid, he never imagined that becoming a god would be so difficult!

From this perspective, Blood Pool has been extremely kind to him, offering him conditions that surpass those of the three demigods and are virtually on par with those of a true god!

"No wonder Astrid said I didn't understand the value of this proposal at all; it turns out the path to godhood is so difficult."

All of this made Chu Xiu somewhat regretful. Was it a better choice to choose the safer path back then? Although he had a top-level inheritance, was it a bit of a pipe dream for him to contend with the abyss on his own?
Just as Chu Xiu was pondering this, Zhu Jiu shook his head and laughed, "Of course, the lack of restrictions is relative. Although their physical bodies are not bound, how can the authority of a god be so easily inherited? Hmph, those gods are willing to share authority not out of kindness, but because there are some dirty and tiring jobs that they themselves are unwilling to take risks on, and someone needs to do them."

These words instantly extinguished any lingering regret Chu Xiu might have felt.

Yes, Blood Pool's willingness to grant him a position under a god was not out of some kind of "mentoring a junior," but rather an "investment" made in recognition of his potential combat power. The "returns" a god expects from such an investment are unimaginable.

Becoming a subordinate means that one's life and death are in the control of the other party.

Without dwelling on it any longer, Chu Xiu continued flipping through the pages.

Then comes the most crucial and valuable step: how to become a god. Even the energy level of a "pseudo-god" is more than ten thousand times that of a demigod. What could possibly cause such a difference? Chu Xiu was extremely curious.

But he only glanced at it briefly and didn't spend time looking at it carefully.

After all, the information has already been provided, and there will be plenty of time to review it later. Right now, the most important thing is to pass the trial.

"The most important information I have obtained right now is the specific power of the gods and the knowledge of the rules."

He quickly analyzed the combat strength of both sides in his mind.

The seven civilization envoys have already made it clear that they will not help him, so he only has himself and the power of the rules from the six tribulation artifacts.

The enemy, on the other hand, is an incarnation of tribulation lightning whose strength is still unknown, five heavenly tribulations, a divine domain, and a divine body.

"As Cat Seven said before, the power of that god's body is less than one percent, but even if it's only one percent, that's still the power of a hundred peak demigods! Even considering that the opponent can only release simple energy, I have no chance of winning in close combat."

"The power of the Heavenly Tribulation is extremely abnormal. A single Heavenly Tribulation wiped out half of my ghost army and consumed a large amount of my magic power and advanced power."

"There's also an incarnation of tribulation lightning and an outrageous divine domain."

Thinking of this, Chu Xiu felt somewhat desperate. The difference in strength between the two sides was simply too great! He even wondered if Xie Xuanzhao's statement that he still had a sliver of hope was just empty promises to scare him into a corner and a desperate act.

However, after calmly considering the situation, he felt that there might still be some hope.

The most important point is that the enemy must also have some limitations that he is unaware of.

Otherwise, given the guaranteed hit nature of the divine domain, that divine body could have instantly killed everyone.

"Is it a limitation on the range of movement?" Chu Xiu kept this possibility in mind.

"There should be limits to the Heavenly Tribulation, otherwise when Muto and the other three were injured by the Cancerous Rule, they should have launched the next two Tribulations in one go and wiped us out."

"Xie Xuanzhao said I might have special methods of dealing with this. Compared to other civilization envoys, my most unique trait is probably this [Body of Tribulation]."

"and many more."

At this moment, Chu Xiu suddenly frowned, as if he had thought of something.

He opened his eyes and asked, "Brother Mu, to what extent have you mastered the rules?"

"What, did you think of something?"

Just now, Chu Xiu had his brows furrowed, and everyone knew he was thinking of a solution. Although almost everyone was curious about the tribulation-bearer, no one disturbed him. Now that he asked a question, everyone looked at him.

"It's just a guess," Chu Xiu said.

“Hmm,” Muto thought for a moment, then smiled frankly, “I only obtained the Seed of Rules five years ago, so naturally I am at the lowest Sequence Nine.”

Chu Xiu nodded and then asked, "I heard Brother Zhu say before that the cancerous rule that attacked us was at least Sequence Six, and Brother Mu even said that the means of replicating the power of rules is something only gods can possess."

Muto glanced at Chu Xiu, seemingly understanding what he wanted to ask, and said, "That's right, to be able to copy even the rules, one must have authority at Sequence Three or above, which means at least a servant god who possesses the [Fruit of Rules] can do it."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's expression changed.

Chu Xiu continued, "But Brother Mu's comprehension is superior to his opponent's, and he can even counter his opponent."

Muto nodded: "That's right. It seems that the other party only had great power, but did not know how to control it, which is why I was able to seize it."

After a pause, Muto hesitated again and said, "To be honest, it is simply unimaginable for me to seize authority above Sequence Three with my strength. With the rank of the [Fruit of Rules], even if it were given to a child who knows nothing, I am afraid I would not be able to shake it."

"That rule gave me the feeling that it had the ability to [imitate rules], but it wasn't a true [imitate rules], but rather something that touched the essence of [imitate rules]. After listening to Miss Xuanzhao's explanation, I think that's probably the power of the calamity."

Muto's words made everyone look thoughtful, and Chu Xiu frowned and spoke in a deep voice.

Zhu Jiu couldn't help but ask, "Brother Chu, has something come to mind?"

Chu Xiu looked up, hesitated slightly, and then shook his head, saying, "It's nothing. I just feel that there might be something fishy about it."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Jiu paused for a moment, then glanced deeply at Chu Xiu, who was still deep in thought, and did not press further.

In fact, Chu Xiu did discover some clues, but these clues stemmed from his identity as a tribulation participant, and were too incredible to explain to everyone.

That is, although he did not master the power of the rules, he seemed to be able to compete with that strange Jie for the power of the rules, just like Muto and the others!
Previously, when attacked by the cancerous rules, Chu Xiu released a legion of ghosts to absorb the mist. The principle was to use the Nether Chain to empower a portion of the life energy into the ghosts, thereby attracting the cancerous rules.

However, the problem is that the transmission of the Nether Chain is limited. No matter how those ghosts transmit it, their life energy cannot exceed his own. Therefore, Chu Xiu must solve the cancerous rules targeting his body himself!

His original plan was to use his experience in dealing with tribulation lightning to tough it out, but in practice he found that these tribulations, which contained rules, were much less destructive than tribulation lightning in terms of pure force.

The lightning strike is like a pure deletion command, which is naturally difficult to resist. However, the lightning strike mixed with rules is like a virus with a purpose. Due to its greatly increased complexity, it also has more room for resistance.

This is why, even though he was fully exposed to the scarlet mist, he only developed pustules.

Then he discovered that this crimson mist was less of a virus and more of a program without any malice or human manipulation. In other words, it was the embodiment of the tribulation lightning. If his life energy was large enough, he would also be attacked!

Chu Xiu believed that this was why Muto was able to turn the Faceless Men against him. The process was ingenious, but it was like a weapon that no one was controlling. As long as one had the relevant knowledge, one could turn it into a weapon in one's own hands.

just
Chu Xiu frowned as he looked at his body. He could clearly sense that several wisps of scarlet mist were beneath his skin, fused together with his body!
Chu Xiu even had a premonition that he could even manipulate these wisps of mist! This was why he was able to clear away his own cancerous rules so quickly!
"But what's going on?"

"Why am I able to extract a portion of power like MUTO, even though I have absolutely no understanding of the laws governing cancer?"

Chu Xiu himself didn't know what had happened; it was all a spontaneous reaction of his body. Things developed too quickly afterward, and the mist remained inside his body without being studied.

He looked up and saw that even though Cat Seven's speed was incredibly fast, each artifact's location was at least hundreds of kilometers apart, and there were still a few seconds left.

A few seconds is a considerable amount of time for a reaction and calculation speed comparable to that of a top-tier demigod.

Chu Xiu let out a soft breath, extended his divine sense, and swept it towards the scarlet mist within his body.

(End of this chapter)