I can receive unlimited protection; my parents handed me over to the state.

Gaia's screams, filled with endless resentment and curses, echoed deep within the Earth's core.

Lu Yuan's face was also somewhat pale. Forcibly stripping away the core of an ancient god that was deeply bound to the rules of the entire planet was a huge drain on him. But the excitement in his eyes grew even stronger.

In his hand, a sphere composed of dark green light was slowly emerging. It was only the size of a basketball, yet it exuded a terrifying life force and the decaying power of the abyss. It struggled violently in Lu Yuan's hand, trying to escape, but was firmly imprisoned by Lu Yuan's power of rules.

"Is this... Gaia's core?" Lu Yuan looked at the sphere in his hand, his eyes filled with curiosity. He could feel that this core contained endless life energy and abyssal rules, far more powerful and complex than any material he had absorbed before.

However, just as he was preparing to analyze the core further.

"Boom—!"

The entire Earth's core suddenly erupted in an unprecedentedly violent tremor. It wasn't Gaia's struggle, but rather a deeper force emanating from the depths of the Earth's core.

Lu Yuan suddenly looked up and sensed a consciousness, even more ancient and primal than Gaia's own body, awakening from the deepest part of the Earth's core. That consciousness was filled with the pure aura of "destruction" and "end," as if it were the most primordial chaos at the beginning of the universe.

"Hmm? There's something even stronger?" Lu Yuan was slightly taken aback, then a fanatical smile appeared on his face. "It seems that this 'surgery' is much more complicated than I imagined."

He knew that by stripping Gaia of its core, he had triggered an even more powerful restriction deep within the Earth's core.

"Interesting, this is getting more and more interesting." Lu Yuan gripped the Gaia Core tightly, his eyes blazing with fighting spirit. He had no recollection of a "hidden boss" of this caliber residing in Earth's core.

On the ground, the Pacific Ocean.

Yan Ji stood atop the Xuanwu, her face grave as she watched the violently shaking sea below. Earthquake alerts worldwide had reached their highest level, and warnings of volcanic eruptions and tsunamis were being issued one after another.

"Lu Yuan..." she murmured his name, her heart filled with worry. She could feel the tremors growing stronger from the depths of the earth's core, the ancient and terrifying pressure even penetrating the thick crust, making this newly ascended god feel a chill in her heart.

"Can...can he really do it?" Yan Ji stared at the boiling sea, gripping the Phoenix Cry sword tightly in her hand. She knew that all she could do now was protect the "home" that Lu Yuan had entrusted to her.

The top of the world, the command center.

Su Lie, Qian Sen, and the others stared at the constantly flashing red alerts on the screen, their faces turning ashen.

"Abnormal global tectonic plate activity! Multiple active volcanic clusters have become active! Large-scale collapse of the Antarctic ice sheet has occurred!"

"The geomagnetic field is fluctuating violently! Communication signals are being severely disrupted!"

"Qian Sen! What on earth is going on?! Lu Yuan... he didn't just tear the Earth apart, did he?!" Su Lie shouted anxiously.

Qian Sen pushed up his glasses, the lenses reflecting a light of despair.

"No...it wasn't Lu Yuan who dismantled it..." His voice trembled. "It was...it was that thing...it...it was resisting! It was...struggling!"

"It's struggling?" Su Lie was taken aback. "You mean, Lu Yuan succeeded? He really... defeated that ancient god?"

"I don't know!" Qian Sen slammed his fist on the table, veins bulging on his forehead. "All I know is that we're facing the real apocalypse! If Lu Yuan fails, or if he can't control that thing..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but everyone understood what he meant.

The entire command center fell into a deathly silence.

Just then, an emergency communication popped up on the screen.

"Report! The energy fluctuations at the prehistoric site beneath the Antarctic ice sheet have intensified again! The main body of the site is slowly rising!"

"What?!" Oppenheimer exclaimed, "It...it's coming out?!"

"No...it's not that it's coming out..." Qian Sen stared at the constantly changing energy graph on the screen, his pupils suddenly contracting. "It's...it's calling! It's calling to that...thing deep inside the Earth's core!"

"It...it's activating...the planet's...self-destruct program!"

Qian Sen's voice was filled with despair.

Deep within the Earth's core.

Lu Yuan looked at the Gaia core he had extracted, then looked up at the terrifying power awakening deeper within the Earth's core.

"A self-destruct program?" Lu Yuan repeated Qian Sen's guess, a playful smile playing on his lips. "Interesting. It seems this planet holds quite a few secrets."

He knew he couldn't delay any longer. If the "self-destruct program" was truly activated, everything he was doing now would be meaningless. He had to completely resolve the problem of Gaia's core and find a way to control or eliminate the "self-destruct program" before that more powerful being fully awakened.

"Then... let's start with you." Lu Yuan looked at the Gaia Core in his hand, his eyes flashing with a dangerous light. "Let me see just how many surprises you, this 'Abyss Mother,' can bring me."

With a thought, the Gaia Core in his hand was drawn by an invisible force and slowly merged into his palm.

"Blessing All Things, Devouring the Rules!"

What Lu Yuan needs to do is not just analyze, but to completely devour and integrate. He wants to completely transform Gaia's "life" and "abyss" rules into his own, making them a part of his "divine seed".

As Gaia's core merged with him, Lu Yuan felt an unimaginably vast torrent of energy and information surge into his body. That power, filled with primal savagery and the decay of the abyss, attempted to take over and completely assimilate Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan's body trembled violently, and golden blood began to spill from his seven orifices. Deep within his soul, the "seed of divinity" spun wildly, attempting to digest this immense power. He could feel his consciousness being eroded by countless ancient whispers and abyssal illusions, as if he were being dragged into endless darkness.

"Trying to turn against me?" Lu Yuan gritted his teeth, a ruthless glint in his eyes. "You're not qualified!"

At this moment, the "Stone of Zero" in his sea of ​​consciousness emitted a faint fluctuation, instantly clearing away the abyssal whispers and illusions that were trying to erode his soul. At the same time, the "Heart of Lava" and the "Soul Ice Crystal" within his body also exerted their power simultaneously. One fire and one ice, two extreme forces of law, suppressed the abyssal rules of Gaia's core and began to forcibly decompose them.

"ah--!"

Lu Yuan let out a deep roar, and the ocean of liquid metal around his body was instantly pushed aside by an invisible force, forming a huge vacuum zone. His body burst out with a dazzling golden light, as his "Blessing of All Things" system was operating at full power, forcibly assimilating the Gaia core.

This was an extremely dangerous process. A single misstep could result in Lu Yuan being completely devoured by Gaia's core and becoming part of the abyss. But he had no choice. He had to become stronger to face the ultimate threat that was about to awaken deep within the Earth's core.

Lu Yuan knew that this "operation" had only just begun.

The process of Lu Yuan forcibly devouring Gaia's core was far more difficult than he had imagined. That core was not just a mass of energy, but more like a living, independent entity of rules. It fiercely resisted within Lu Yuan's body, attempting to corrupt his divinity with the decaying power of the abyss and drag him into endless darkness.

"You damned thing! You're already in my bowl, and you still want to jump around?" Lu Yuan gritted his teeth, the golden blood overflowing from his seven orifices instantly evaporating under the powerful fluctuations of the rules. He felt his soul being torn apart, his consciousness teetering on the brink of collapse amidst the whispers of the abyss.

He knew this was Gaia's instinctive backlash. It was trying to assimilate everything that tried to control it using the most primal rules of the abyss. But Lu Yuan was no ordinary man. He not only possessed the two ultimate rules of power, "Heart of Lava" and "Soul Ice Crystal," but also the "Stone of Zero" as the last line of defense for his soul.

"Forged in ice and fire, dismantle it!"

With a thought, Lu Yuan unleashed scorching Yang fire from the "Heart of Lava" within his body, instantly burning away the abyssal decaying power of Gaia's core. Simultaneously, the "Soul Ice Crystal" released extreme Yin ice, instantly freezing the raging life rules within the core. Fire and ice, like two invisible divine blades, cruelly decomposed and purified Gaia's core.

"ah--!"

The Gaia Core let out a silent wail; it had never imagined it would be treated this way. Its power of rules was forcibly twisted and decomposed within Lu Yuan's body, then devoured by Lu Yuan's "God Seed," becoming nutrients for its own growth.

This process lasted a full hour. For Lu Yuan, that hour felt longer than a lifetime. He felt like a mortal thrown into the chasm between a volcano and a glacier, his body and soul enduring extreme torment. But he persevered, knowing this was the necessary path to becoming stronger.

As the last trace of abyssal decay was purified and the last wisp of life's rules was assimilated, Lu Yuan suddenly opened his eyes. His eyes were one gold and one black, gleaming with a profound light. He could feel that the "seed of divinity" within his body had become more solidified, containing not only the rules of ice, fire, and sea, but also the primordial authority of "life" and "abyss."

"Phew... finally done." Lu Yuan let out a long sigh of relief, wiping the golden blood from the corner of his mouth. He felt that his power had reached an unprecedented level, and his understanding of the rules had become much deeper. He could now not only rewrite the rules, but even fundamentally "create" and "define" them.

He looked down at his hands, his eyes filled with excitement. He could feel that his control over "life" had reached an unbelievable level. He could even sense the tiny life forms in the Earth's core, the "seeds of the abyss" that Gaia had once nurtured. To him, they were now like newborn babies, instinctively submitting to him.

"Now, those abyss seeds have become my 'children'." Lu Yuan's lips curled into a playful smile.

However, he didn't have time to be happy for long.

"Boom—!"

A deafening roar echoed once more from the depths of the Earth's core. That destructive consciousness, even more ancient and primal than Gaia's own body, was fully awakened at this moment!

Lu Yuan suddenly looked up and saw that in the center of the ocean of golden liquid metal in front of him, the huge black fleshy ball—Gaia's true form—was slowly beginning to split open to both sides!

It wasn't being torn apart, but rather like an ancient door that had been sleeping for millions of years, opening towards him.

From that crack flowed an aura of pure "chaos" and "nothingness." It was not the decay of the abyss, nor the distortion of rules, but the primordial state of the universe at its birth, before anything had been formed. Lu Yuan could sense that the aura contained power sufficient to erase all existence, even capable of reducing the rules themselves to nothingness.

"This... is not Gaia's power." Lu Yuan's pupils suddenly contracted. He could feel that this power was countless times stronger than the Gaia core he had just devoured, and it was not even in the same dimension.

"Mortal...you...have awakened...the slumbering...end..." A grand and cold voice resounded directly in the depths of Lu Yuan's soul. This voice had neither Gaia's venom nor Baal's tyranny; it was simply "existence," and pure "destruction."

Lu Yuan saw a hand slowly emerging from the crack.

It was neither flesh and blood nor condensed energy. It was composed of pure "nothingness" and "chaos". With each expansion, the surrounding space wailed in agony, and even the ocean of liquid metal froze.

"Is this... Earth's 'self-destruct program'?" Lu Yuan took a deep breath, but there was no fear on his face. Instead, he showed a fanatical smile.

He felt his blood boiling. This was the real challenge! This was the "material" that would get him going all out!

"It seems the secrets of this planet are far deeper than I imagined," Lu Yuan muttered to himself. He knew that what he was facing now might not be a "life form," but a "concept" that coexisted with Earth.

The ethereal hand slowly extended, but instead of attacking Lu Yuan directly, it exerted an invisible "suction" on the Gaia Core in Lu Yuan's hand.

"Trying to steal my materials?" Lu Yuan scoffed. "No way!"

He gripped the Gaia Core tightly, simultaneously channeling his newly acquired power of "Life" and "Abyss" rules into it, attempting to resist the suction force.

However, the suction force was too powerful. It wasn't a simple pull, but a conceptual "stripping." Lu Yuan felt his Gaia Core being forcibly "removed" from his hands, as if it had never existed.

"Rule deletion?" Lu Yuan's pupils suddenly contracted. He remembered "Zero's" ability and the "Stone to Zero" she had given him.

"This... could it be a kind of 'Zeroing One'?" Lu Yuan's heart skipped a beat. He knew that if this power was truly of the "Zeroing" attribute, then his existing power of rules would be greatly limited.

"Blessing of All Things: Rule Analysis!"

Lu Yuan activated his talent once more, determined to analyze the essence of this "zeroing" power. He discovered that this power was more primal and thorough than the "rule deletion" of "zero." It wasn't deletion, but rather "zeroing," reducing all existence to nothingness.

"The end...that is...return to zero..." The grand voice rang out again, as if explaining its own essence.

Lu Yuan took a deep breath, knowing he couldn't withstand it head-on. This power was too conceptual; directly confronting it would only reduce his own rule power to zero.

With a thought, the Gaia Core in his hand was instantly enveloped by his power of rules, and then he forcibly "stuffed" it deep into his "divine seed".

"Want to steal it? Then try to steal it from my body first!" Lu Yuan sneered.

The suction force that seemed to be returning to zero instantly lost its target. The ethereal hand paused in mid-air, seemingly puzzled.

"Mortal...you...are...hiding..." The voice of the End turned somewhat displeased.

"So what if I hid it?" Lu Yuan retorted defiantly. "If you're so capable, come and take it from my body!"

He knew it was risky; hiding Gaia's core within his divine essence meant that if attacked by the power of "Zero," his divine essence would also be severely damaged. But he had no other choice. He had to buy time to analyze this power of "Zeroing at the End."

The Void Hand of the End slowly withdrew, then suddenly pointed at Lu Yuan.

"The end is zero!"

An invisible force instantly enveloped Lu Yuan. He felt his body being gradually "reset to zero," starting from his toes, his physical existence being reduced to the most primordial nothingness. He could feel his power of rules being forcibly "deleted," and even his "protection of all things" defense was rapidly crumbling.

"Damn it!" Lu Yuan was shocked. This power was terrifying! It directly affected the very concept of existence, making it impossible to defend against.

In that critical moment, the "Stone of Zero" in his pocket suddenly emitted a faint light. Although the light was faint, it exuded an aura of "zeroing" that was completely different from "End Zeroing".

"Zero...you traitor..." For the first time, a hint of anger crept into the End's voice. "You...you actually...helped...mortals!"

The "Stone of Zero" erupted with dazzling light at that moment, instantly enveloping Lu Yuan. The power that attempted to "reset" Lu Yuan's body was forcibly "neutralized" upon contact with the "Stone of Zero"!

"It really is the same power!" Lu Yuan was overjoyed. He knew that "zero's" "rule deletion" and "the stone that returns to zero" were both connected to this "end of zero" power.

"Thanks, Zero!" Lu Yuan said to the stone in his pocket, then he rushed towards the ancient door that was slowly cracking open.

"Since you like playing 'reset', then I'll use your own power to deal with you!"

Lu Yuan rushed into the crevice, determined to confront the true form of "The End." He knew that only by completely eliminating this ultimate threat could the Earth be truly saved.

"Mortal...you...will...regret...it..." The voice of the End was filled with icy mockery. "This...is...the...abyss of nothingness..."

Lu Yuan ignored him and rushed into the world composed of "chaos" and "nothingness".

on the ground.

Volcanic eruptions and seismic activity around the world suddenly stopped. The tsunami also began to recede slowly.

"What's going on?!" Su Lie exclaimed in surprise.

Qian Sen looked at the data on the screen, which had instantly stabilized, and his face turned pale.

"It didn't stop..." His voice trembled, "It's...it's that even more powerful being...it...it was lured away by Lu Yuan!"

Everyone gasped. They lured it away? They lured away a terrifying entity capable of triggering the global apocalypse?! How madness is that?!

Standing on the Xuanwu, Yan Ji could feel the terrifying pressure deep within the Earth's core suddenly disappear, replaced by a deeper and colder sense of nothingness.

"Lu Yuan..." She gripped the Phoenix Cry divine sword tightly in her hand, her eyes filled with worry. She knew that Lu Yuan was now facing an existence countless times more terrifying than Baal and Gaia's true forms combined.

"You must come back..." Yan Ji murmured to herself.

Zenith World Command Center.

Oppenheimer looked at the prehistoric ruin beneath the Antarctic ice sheet on the screen. It had stopped rising, but was still emitting faint energy fluctuations.

"Dean Qian Sen, what exactly is that site?" Oppenheimer asked.

Qian Sen stared at the energy diagram of the ruins, his eyes filled with fear and a hint of fanaticism.

"If my guess is correct..." his voice trembled, "that ruin is... is a 'backup' of Earth."

"Backup?" Su Lie was taken aback.

"Yes..." Qian Sen took a deep breath, "It will activate when Earth faces a catastrophic crisis. It will not only call for 'the end,' but also... 'reboot' the entire planet!"

Everyone was shocked. Rebooting the planet? What did that mean? It meant that all life, all civilization, would be wiped out and started anew!

"Then... Lu Yuan, he..." Su Lie murmured to himself.

"He's probably fighting against the 'program' that's 'rebooting' Earth right now." Cold sweat beaded on Qian Sen's forehead. "What he needs to do isn't just eliminate the enemy, but also... stop Earth's 'formatting'!"

The command center fell silent once again. Everyone knew how heavy the burden on Lu Yuan's shoulders was.