The old man you see with your phone is highly suspicious.

This proves that the swarm's loss of control was not caused by the death of the Sixth Apostle, but was a premeditated attack controlled by someone.

The only thing Xue Dinglu could think of before was "Lord of the Mist".

And now, this can be considered his first test with the Lord of Mist, now that he has obtained the power of the God of Order.

After discussing how each person should respond and their alliances and support, the war meeting came to an end.

It was much simpler than I had imagined. Xue Lude thought he would have to show off his strength and beat up all these arrogant gods before he could have a proper conversation.

To his surprise, although some unfamiliar gods seemed unfriendly to him, there was no conflict, no mockery or snorting. The gods even bowed slightly to him.

This is something even Xue's Law isn't used to.

Normally, after arriving, you'll definitely have to face some ridicule before you can prove them wrong, right?

“Xerides, I will be waiting for you in the reception room in an hour. There are many things I need to discuss with you in detail. As for the time before that, you can do whatever you want. Perhaps it is more important for you to see this world that seems so different to you.” Chaos said, and then left.

Xue felt a little confused, but he kept Chaos's attitude towards him to himself.

Because soon, people started coming over to him.

"Hello, my name is Tu Shanyi, are we from the same hometown?" The male fox who had been strategizing and commanding on the sand table came to Xue Dinglu's side and greeted him in a very familiar manner.

"If we follow your local custom, I might be called a fellow villager..." Xue Dinglu complained.

After all, here, this fox could probably call anyone from Earth a fellow countryman.

"However, I come from Earth three thousand years in the future, which is quite far from you." Xue Dinglu didn't care about that and directly stated that he came from three thousand years in the future.

"Oh, so much time has passed... We've lived in this world for generations. The hometowns that our grandparents used to talk about are gradually fading into the memories of us younger generation. Come, have some tea. I doubt we have anything this good back home. I've heard that the magic power back home is waning, so I imagine you're having a tough time." The fox named Tu Shanyi seemed to have a bit of sympathy as he poured a cup of tea for his fellow countryman.

But he seems to have misunderstood something; perhaps he thinks that the Earth is now just a wasteland, and life is very difficult there...

Xue's Law wanted to complain, but didn't know how. He wanted to give this fox, who was basically an overseas Chinese, a general overview of the great developments in Earth's scientific civilization, but then thought better of it...

"Yeah, it's really terrible. I've never even drunk tea before..." Xue Dinglu could only manage to utter this last sentence.

"Sigh, it seems our ancestors were right to leave. By the way, you must be a descendant of the Celestials, right? You can come here to register and acknowledge your ancestors. We'd also be willing to let you change your surname to Tushan. I can sense that you have the same bloodline as us, although it's very faint now. But you're still a descendant of the Celestials. Change your surname and return to the Celestials' genealogy." The male fox's next sentence almost made Xue Dinglu choke.

Sure enough, he still couldn't connect with feudal people.

That's so feudal...

Xue Dinglu quickly and persuasively declined the offer, as for things like the divine bloodline or the recognition of one's ancestors...

Let's just treat Schrödinger's law as a complete waste of time...

"Sigh, you can tell at a glance that you have the bloodline of a celestial being, it's just a bit diluted." The fox didn't insist and said in the end, "When we go to the Eastern Realm of Sumeru, I'll show you what it looks like now, it's probably much better than your hometown."

Xue's Law: "..."

Your most prosperous city, Osmar, is probably only at the level of the Han and Tang dynasties in Xue's opinion. Your so-called feudal place on the eastern border of Mount Sumeru is better off not making my brother Xue laugh.

However, Xue's law still gave the fox some face and did not point it out directly. In the end, he only asked about things like "celestial beings".

"The Celestials are the descendants of the Tushan clan and the Yellow Emperor who intermarried for generations. In ancient times, if someone had fox-like features, they would return to Tushan; if they didn't, they were considered 'Celestials.'" The fox spoke, then whispered...

"I'll tell you something, but you mustn't reveal it. Celestials actually look down on other people. Because we Celestials possess immaculate bodies, compared to those others, we are born without body odor, mysterious, ancient, and long-lived, like elves. So many Celestials look down on others in their hearts. I see you have an immaculate body, which is why I said you must have extremely rare Celestial blood, unlike them..."

"Although it was well concealed, to the Tu Shan clan, the smell was simply unbearable..."

Xue's Law: "?"

Is it true that feelings without physical connection are simply a matter of divine blood?

So it seems there are 14 billion celestial beings on Earth... or even more...

And your fox-like sense of smell must be several times that of a normal god, right? That really puts you in a difficult position.

After the fox left, several other people came to talk to Xue Dinglu, and Xue Dinglu responded to each of them.

Some of the Greek acquaintances, such as Apollo, looked at Xue's Law with very strange eyes, almost causing Xue's Law to suffer a PTSD attack like Zeus.

After the social niceties, which seemed to be part of the drinking culture, Xue arrived at the meeting place with Chaos.

“We’ve finally met, Xerides. Did you never expect our meeting to be so peaceful?” Chaos said, exposing his back to Xerides as if he were completely unprepared.

Xue Dinglu didn't speak; he didn't know what the man's attitude was, so he simply remained silent.

“Sure enough, the same reaction as that woman Athena.” Chaos just smiled when he saw Xue’s reaction. “When I asked about you before, that woman Athena had the same reaction, and that’s what she said most often…”

“If it were Xerides and Joshua, they would definitely do the same.”

Chapter 472 If it were Xue's Law, he would definitely do the same.

Xue listened silently behind him, almost without uttering a word.

Chaos didn't force Xue Dalu to answer. She seemed quite used to being with Xue Dalu, even to his inexplicable silences.

“Sure enough, your reaction was just as I expected. You and she are really alike, even identical, in terms of reactions, personality, and even your views on the same things.” Chaos continued, even chuckling, and walked forward. The two seemed to have arrived at the door of a basement.

"So, since I was very young, I've always wondered who that woman was thinking about. She often told me a lot of strange and wonderful things and stories, things that didn't seem to have come from this world or Earth, but she just happened to know them."

"When I ask her the same question, she will definitely fall silent, just like you are now, unable to say anything, until I press her again, and then she might blurt out something like this..."

"If it were Xue's Law, he would definitely do that."

The basement door opened, and Chaos stepped into the darkness, while Xue Lude hesitated at the doorway. Perhaps he realized that he might see Athena inside, or perhaps there were more stories he didn't want to see. After a brief hesitation, he still went in.

Chaos's voice continued to echo in the tunnel, with a soft resonance: "When I was too young, I didn't know how to keep pressing for answers. But as I grew older, I learned how to force out more of the truth."

"So when that woman tried to brush me off with those words again, I blurted out this..."

"Are you staging another 'memoir of your deceased husband'?" Chaos said, even laughing at himself.

Xue Luding was stunned. Perhaps he still didn't feel anything about the past that Chaos was talking about, because to him, the protagonist in Chaos's story seemed to have nothing to do with him.

But strangely, he had a feeling of familiarity.

"Do you know what that woman answered back then?" Chaos asked Xue Law.

Xue Dinglu shook his head.

"She shook her head at that moment." Kausun chuckled immediately, his gaze towards Xue Lude softening, a complex emotion subtly revealed.

"Or perhaps she was annoyed by my reaction, and in the end she just said, 'Because I am just a copy of him, or my mind has been completely distorted by them, that's all.'" Chaos said, seemingly with a tear glistening in the corner of his eye. "I originally thought she was talking about some riddle again, but now, perhaps I've finally realized what she meant."

“Apart from your gender, you two are exactly the same in terms of thinking and habits, like a one-to-one replica. When I see your habits, I can instantly recognize the familiar parts. They are just too familiar.” Chaos smiled wryly and stopped at the end of the corridor.

"We've arrived. This is the last secret of this planet."

She silently pushed open the door, and what Xue Dinglu saw was not a scientific laboratory, nor a magical research institute, but a huge pile of... tree roots?

Yes, it's tree roots. Dense tree roots are everywhere, completely enveloping the room. At the same time, these roots are fully rooted in the ground, as if they want to spread throughout the whole world through this root system.

These massive tree roots immediately reminded Xue Dinglu of something very familiar.

"The Divine Tree?" Xue Dinglu asked immediately.

“Yes, a divine tree, a divine tree that descended upon this planet when I was just a little older, the same divine tree that took everything from me…” Chaos said, walking to the roots of the tree, touching them gently.

"Athena, the person you've been waiting for has come to see you."

"Buzz!"

The tree roots seemed to twitch slightly, and this slight movement caused an earthquake to occur throughout the entire planet. In the city of Osmar, such a massive earthquake seemed to shake the entire city.

However, the people living here don't seem to care, as if they've long been used to such large earthquakes.

But Xue's pupils constricted. Based on Chaos's previous story, combined with the current divine tree and her attitude, Xue immediately understood why Chaos was able to become the 10th Apostle, why the world was the way it was, and why Chaos called this divine tree...

Athena!

"You're right. We were too weak back then. We had no power. Even Athena had no choice but to merge herself into the divine tree in order to completely distort this monster."

"That's exactly what she said at the time..."

"The last thing I can do is to use this vast memory, which includes myself. It is the memory of billions of stars, the memory that completely distorted me from that trashy Greek god into what I am now. And all I can do is to completely implant this memory bomb into this monster's body."

As Chaos spoke, he gently rested his cheek against the roots of the sacred tree.

“If it were Xue’s Law, he would definitely do the same.” Chaos mimicked Athena’s tone and said this again.

In an instant, Xue Dinglu felt his head buzzing. He understood what had happened and why Chaos had always maintained this attitude.

Xue Lude was unaware that Athena's memories had been completely distorted. He only knew that the Great Sage and Athena had discussed something, and it seemed that he had persuaded Athena, which allowed them to form an alliance.

Although they were allies who fought against Zeus back then, unfortunately Xue Dinglu was unaware of such deep inside information. The great sage would not elaborate on such matters, but would simply arrange for Xue Dinglu to be taught how to kill Zeus through "conspiracy and intrigue" in the future.

Only now did he understand why Athena had changed so much, transforming from an ancient Greek madwoman into a completely different person.

It turns out that she had completely experienced all of her memories, and then she was completely twisted into another personality.

Later, when facing this divine tree, she chose to let it devour her. While the tree was devouring her, she transformed that distorted memory into a final soul bomb, pouring it completely into the tree's body to achieve her goal.

Now, this divine tree is another twisted divine tree that has inherited all the memories of Athena and Xue's Law, and can even be called the reincarnation of "Athena".

Xue Luding stared silently at the tree. After understanding his old friend's past, he suddenly turned ashen-faced.

"That's how I am. After this divine tree ate Athena, it took root, blossomed, and bore fruit on the spot, giving birth to the most dazzling fruit. And I am the apostle who was born from eating this fruit."

"The apostle was born from eating this fruit, which was conceived by my 'mother'."

Chaos's words were calm, yet filled with suppressed anger and resentment...

But in the end, she seemed to have let go of her worries, or perhaps she just wanted to ask about her final unresolved issues. She looked at Xue Dinglu, her slightly glistening eyes looking at him, and at the same time, it seemed as if she was looking through Xue Dinglu at other people.

"If it were you, would you have made the same choice?" That was her last question.

"Probably." Xue finally spoke, but as soon as he uttered those two words, it felt like they were stuck in his throat.

He probably understands now why Chaos brought him here and told him all the stories about this place.

Perhaps after all these years, all she wanted was this answer—an answer to why Athena abandoned her and merged with such a monster.

And now, it's clear that she has received this answer.

If you were facing the arrival of the divine tree and had not killed its power, what would you have chosen?

If it were the old Xue Law, he wouldn't hesitate at all; he would have given it his all, even risking his last life, to try and seize a chance at the Twisted Divine Tree.

This was Xue's choice, and clearly, Athena, whose memory was completely distorted by Xue's memory, made the exact same choice. She also chose the same method, and even used her memory as the biggest soul bomb to completely distort the divine tree.

Even Xue Dinglu never imagined that his own memories could also be used as a weapon to distort the divine tree. When did he become one of those indescribable ancient rulers?

However, after hearing the story of Chaos and Athena, Xue felt very uncomfortable for some reason.