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

Chapter 426 Relics of Civilization
"What's happening here?"

The fighting stopped, staring in disbelief at the rising pillar of light. Anyone with even a slightly keen sense of perception could feel the immense energy contained within it!

Even the lizard god's envoy's expression turned serious, a golden spear appearing in his hand, as if facing a formidable enemy.

It couldn't understand. Apart from itself, the strongest power in the ritual arena was only at the King level, but the pillar of light before it contained the aura of a Heroic Spirit! And not just any ordinary Heroic Spirit!

Amidst the puzzled gazes of the crowd, a figure slowly emerged from the pillar of light.

The moment the figure appeared, everyone stared wide-eyed in disbelief!
"Cang Kai?!"

The lizard messenger's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets! No one was more horrified by the sight before it; Cang Kai was unmistakably dead right in front of it, and it had even personally crushed his head!
If something dies to that extent, even if some consciousness remains, resurrection is impossible; even the god it worships cannot do it!
But what's going on with this scene?

"Playing tricks!" the lizard messenger roared, his golden spear whistling as he hurled it!
The golden spear transformed into a golden streak of light piercing the sky, its power far surpassing any previous attack! It was no longer a mockery of the weak, but a full-force attack aimed at killing with a single blow!
Before this attack, even Shia, a member of the Blood Crystal Civilization's royal family, would have been instantly killed!

But Cang Kai simply raised his wrist, and a black giant sword with an aura as powerful as a mountain slashed down at the golden spear!

It was as if a mountain peak was truly pressing down from the sky. No matter how strong the heroic spirit was, how could it possibly contend with a mountain? The golden spear kept humming, like the teeth of a saw hitting a rock. With a tooth-grinding metallic sound, a small corner suddenly broke off! The entire spear flew back!

The lizard envoy's expression changed drastically. He stared at Cang Kai in disbelief and let out a low growl like a wild beast: "Who exactly are you!"

The others were equally incredulous. Cang Kai, who should have died, not only came back to life but also possessed strength that rivaled or even suppressed the divine messenger.

The group looked at each other, then simultaneously stepped back, ceasing their fighting.

Off-camera, those who were dragging and beating the families of the militia members stopped and stared blankly at the screen.

"What on earth is going on?" The lizard messenger naturally noticed this change. Looking at the weapon that had returned to its hand, now with a corner broken off, it felt a sense of disbelief and fear rising within it.

Just then, a voice rang in the mind of the lizard messenger.

"This is the power of civilization. This world can actually allow the power of civilization to converge?"

The lizard messenger was startled and immediately knelt down: "My Lord God!"

The moment he knelt down, the voice of the God of Hunting, filled with surprise and even a hint of urgency, rang out again.

"Ancoke, quickly gather all your guards and capture that man!"

"Remember, you absolutely must not kill him! The sacred artifact of civilization is brewing within him. If you kill him, the power of civilization that has been painstakingly gathered will collapse again!"

The words of the God of Hunting stirred up a tidal wave of emotions within the Lizard God's messenger.

He had heard of the power of civilization, which was a kind of power born from the digitization of emotions, beliefs, expectations and other feelings that only exist in the mind.

However, the birth of such power is too difficult, let alone gathering it into a form that can be materialized, so it has always existed only in legends.

Could it be that this mysterious power has actually manifested in Cang Kai today?
What then are those sacred artifacts of civilization?
What shocked the lizard messenger even more was the tone of the hunting god!

Even though it is revered as a divine messenger in the outside world and possesses the powerful ability to control the life and death of others, it is nothing more than a servile servant before the gods.

Each time the gods conveyed divine messages to him, they were merely cold commands.

But this time, it heard excitement in the voice of the gods for the first time!
That so-called sacred relic of civilization even excited the gods!
Just then, the voice of the god rang out again: "No, don't alert it. You just need to hold it off and protect the altar."

"I will come in person."

These words shocked the lizard messenger so much that his eyes widened in astonishment!

The gods are actually coming in person!!!
How long has it been since the gods left their planet? Five thousand years? Or ten thousand years?

What exactly is that sacred relic of civilization?
Taking a deep breath, the lizard messenger roared, "Form the array!"

As its voice fell, the dozens of king-level lizardmen hovered beside the lizard envoy, their spiritual power connecting in the air, as if forming a lizard giant thousands of meters tall!

The lizard messenger was positioned in the very center of this giant, his golden spear humming. The entire power of the lizard giant was channeled into this golden spear through the connection of its various lizard guards!
"boom!"

The moment the lizard god's messenger threw it, a massive air blast swept through the entire forest, snapping ancient trees in half with the shockwave. The sonic boom was loud enough to pierce the eardrums of ordinary people even thousands of meters away!

Cang Kai dared not be careless, knowing that the golden spear had a locking ability. He had just entered the Heroic Spirit realm and was not yet familiar with the power in his body, so there was no way he could dodge this attack. He immediately mustered all his magic power, and the Star Ring Pulse Gauntlets and Chiwen simultaneously shone brightly, slashing towards the golden spear!

"clang!!!"

The moment the dragon and the spear clashed, it was like two meteors at maximum speed colliding! The immense power collided, releasing immeasurable light and heat, instantly illuminating the entire ritual site as if it were daytime!
When the dazzling light faded, everyone was horrified to discover that an area of ​​at least three thousand meters from the center of the collision had been completely engulfed in flames, and the fire waves were still spreading outwards! Towering trees were ignited, like burning torches!
Cang Kai retreated rapidly, a trace of blood spilling from the corner of his mouth, clearly having suffered a minor loss in this exchange.

Unfortunately, all of Chu Xiu's high-level power is currently concentrated in the star core, so he can only inject refined spiritual power.

These spiritual energies cannot enhance the power of these weapons; they can only serve as a "backup power source" to help Cang Kai reduce his energy consumption.

Otherwise, with the combined power of gods and demons and the essence of magic weapons, a single strike from Chiwen could cleave even three more divine messengers into ashes.

But right now, these are just three ordinary [Mythical] equipment pieces, and Cang Kai has only just entered the Heroic Spirit realm. It's already quite impressive that he was able to withstand the full force of the Lizard God's envoy and dozens of his personal guards.

However, although Cang Kai suffered a minor loss, the lizard envoy's expression turned somewhat serious.

Even the most ingenious formations have ways to be broken! The lizard giant, composed of the lizard envoy and its personal guards, certainly has an amazing energy output, but it is far less flexible, after all, the personal guards who participated in the support were only king-level!

Then its weakness is also obvious: it can bypass the enemy from the side, find weaknesses, and defeat them one by one!
And Cang Kai, who had been through countless battles, couldn't possibly be unaware of this!
Sure enough, Cang Kai's figure flashed in the distance, and before the golden spear could return, he transformed into a streak of light and rapidly approached the lizard giant!
The lizard envoy snorted coldly and shouted, "Shield Formation!"

But the guards, as if they had rehearsed and practiced a thousand times, quickly changed positions in the air. The thousand-meter-tall lizard giant rapidly shrank, eventually becoming a lizard warrior who was only a little over a hundred meters tall and held a giant shield!
This is the most defensive formation. After being shrunk, the formation can be changed more flexibly, enough to keep up with the speed of ordinary heroic spirits!

However, at that moment, five giant dragons of different colors suddenly appeared above Cang Kai's head!

The moment the dragon appeared, Cang Kai was suddenly enveloped in a layer of five-colored spiritual light, and his speed increased dramatically! The dragons summoned by the Imperial Five Dragon Crown can use the five elements to assist him. However, although the five dragons are mutually reinforcing in terms of the five elements, they can mostly only provide energy to one of them to cast one type of spell, while the other four are just for support.

However, in reality, as long as there is enough energy to support them, the five dragons can be activated simultaneously to unleash a powerful spell that combines the five elements!
After replenishing Chu Xiu's spiritual power, Cang Kai directly unleashed the Five Dragons Combined into One [Five Elements Great Escape]!
With this kind of escape technique, Cang Kai's speed even surpassed that of the previous lizard messenger! The lizard warrior didn't even have time to turn his shield around before he circled behind him and slashed out with his sword!
In an instant, a violent sword aura erupted in mid-air. Even though the lizard envoy roared overhead, three guards were still killed instantly, and more than ten were injured to varying degrees!

The lizard envoy's eyes were fierce, as if his bloodlust had been completely aroused. Ignoring the surging of his own blood and qi, he directly changed formation and surrounded Cang Kai in the middle!

Cang Kai was not afraid at all. He raised his sword to meet the attack. He was extremely fast. No guards could stop him. Almost every time he swung his sword, he took the life of a guard!

This made the lizard messenger's face look uglier than ever before. It wasn't that it was heartbroken about the deaths of its subordinates; these guards were just expendable supplies prepared to trap Cang Kai.

What angered it was that the deaths of these guards were utterly meaningless! Not only was Cang Kai's aura not diminished, but it even seemed to have intensified, perhaps due to its own illusion!
How come they're getting stronger the more they fight?

This illogical situation directly disrupted its entire previous plan!
"What exactly is this."

"and many more!"

The lizard messenger suddenly thought of something.

Could it be the power of civilization?
The gods had previously said that the power of civilization was gathering within Cang Kai's body, and it was this power that resurrected Cang Kai and gave him such astonishing strength.

Although the lizard envoy could not see the power of civilization, seeing Cang Kai growing stronger with each battle, he could guess that the gathering of the power of civilization had not stopped, and that the power of civilization was continuously flowing into Cang Kai's body; otherwise, this scene would be inexplicable.

"The power of civilization is gathering. Does that mean those bastards are now secretly supporting this guy?"

The lizard envoy's eyes flickered, and the broadcast footage entered its mind through the magical artifact in its hand. Sure enough, the previously chaotic crowd stopped and focused intently on the broadcast footage.

A look of anticipation reappeared in their eyes!

This enraged the lizard envoy. These two-faced bastards had acted so convincingly before, even bringing out their own kind for trial, yet they secretly hoped that Cang Kai would win!
Are all those prayers to the gods false?

"No, there must be loyal believers, but it's just that the proportion of ignorant people is too high, which is why the power of civilization has gathered."

"But those uneducated people who toil from dawn till dusk their whole lives just to have a bite to eat are always the easiest to fool."

The lizard envoy smiled, then suddenly raised his hand and sent a beam of light shooting towards the altar!

The next moment, a surge of powerful spiritual energy erupted from the altar, creating a massive thundercloud in mid-air!

Huge, strange noises kept coming from the thunderclouds, as if some giant, bound creature was about to break free from them!

"You lowly servants! The altar has been activated, and the gods will soon descend! No one can stop it!"

"Cang Kai! I don't know where you got your power from, but you are no match for me now. Before the power of the gods, you are as laughable as an ant!"

"When the gods descend, all those who have not shown their piety will be burned to ashes by the gods' wrath, and their souls will suffer eternal torment in purgatory!"

As soon as it finished speaking, the expressions of the people watching from outside the drone changed drastically!
"Holy Hunter! Eternal God! Bathed in Your glory, we give thanks for Your favor!"

At that opportune moment, the king, atop the altar, led his nobles to kneel. This scene, once broadcast, triggered a chain reaction; countless people followed suit, kneeling and praying loudly. They prostrated themselves on the ground, not daring to even look at the battle unfolding on the screen! It was as if merely watching the battle was an act of distrust towards the gods, a desecration of their faith!

Even those who did not believe in God dared not stand alone in the square under the threat of the lizard messenger, for fear of attracting the attention of others—the scene of them taking turns to judge those associated with the rebels had transformed into extreme fear, deeply imprinted in everyone's hearts.

Almost visibly, Cang Kai's aura suddenly dropped significantly! And he received no further replenishment; almost every battle with his personal guards caused his energy to be rapidly depleted!
At this rate, it's more than enough to last until the gods descend!
This made the lizard messenger laugh triumphantly.

That's how people are; they expect heroes to stand up for them, but when the possibility of sacrifice falls on their own heads, they break down in immense fear and bury their heads back in the familiar soil.

Why resist?
Yes, the gods slaughter us at will for their own amusement, but don't we do the same to pigs and sheep? Why don't we admit that in the presence of the gods, we can only hope that the pigs and sheep we are to kill today are not our own?
Resisting is difficult, but accepting one's fate and burying one's head in the ground is far easier than imagined.

"In this way, the convergence of the power of civilization will also diminish."

"puff!"

Before the lizard messenger's smile had faded, a beam of light suddenly pierced its heart.

It looked up in disbelief. In the distance, Cang Kai was holding a giant silver bow, his other hand still in the posture of releasing an arrow, looking at it with a cold expression.

The aura emanating from that silver bow was exactly the same as the feeling it had when the pillar of light surrounding Cang Kai surrounded it!
Almost instantly, the lizard messenger realized that it was a sacred artifact of civilization that even his own god coveted!
It retreated hastily, attempting to use its extraordinary self-healing ability to repair its injuries, but was immediately horrified to discover that the arrow of light was not simply causing penetrating wounds, but was continuously extinguishing its life force at such a speed that even its body, modified by the God of Hunting, could not withstand it.

This is the terrifying power of sacred artifacts of civilization!

The lizard messenger was not afraid of death, but
"why?"

It looked at Cang Kai with a face full of resentment. At this moment, it realized that the decline in Cang Kai's aura earlier was not because the power of civilization had stopped gathering, but because the gathered power of civilization had been used to facilitate the birth of the sacred artifact of civilization.

But why is this!
"Why!!!"

The lizard god emitted the roar of a dying beast.

Even though the ignorant masses have already submitted out of fear, and everyone is praising the greatness of the gods, why is the power of civilization still gathering?
"Submitting to the strong, accepting one's fate, giving up on oneself, and even hunting one's own kind are all outward manifestations of fear."

Chu Xiu looked at the lizard envoy roaring like a madman, and shook his head with a light laugh.

Perhaps even Cang Kai doesn't know why the power of civilization is still gathering.

But Chu Xiu knew that no matter whether the outward expression was surrender, flattery, or escape, deep in everyone's heart, there was only one most simple and fundamental desire.

That is the yearning and pursuit of a better life.

And everyone actually knows that there is only one way to achieve this, and that is—

win!
(End of this chapter)