Chapter 654: Twilight of the Gods

While others were unaware of this, Almin naturally remembered.

During the era of the Great Winter, thousands of years ago, not long after the Demon Realm's invasion and its massive war with the Immortal Realm in the Blood Domain, Hermes vaguely recalled a set of world coordinates and instructed that a teleportation array be built.

However, once completed, the array failed to connect to another world; only emptiness lay on the other side, so it was eventually ignored.

Could it be?

She frowned slightly.

Another pre-existing answer!?

The God of Wisdom, Mercury, was truly unfathomable. As a divine consciousness born from the remnant of a Ninth-Rank being, it was no wonder that all the information they sought had already appeared in history, within their sight, though they had simply failed to notice.

"What have you discovered?" Li Shengjiang asked.

"There are some things I need to confirm," she replied with a smile.

She mused for a moment, deciding not to explain her thoughts immediately, as it was only a conjecture, and she was already somewhat shocked by it internally.

"Perhaps, back then, the world coordinates were indeed connected. But at that time, our capabilities were far too weak – more than ten times less powerful than now. The other world had isolation mechanisms, terrifying powerful beings, actively resisting exploration! That's why the coordinates led to nothing but emptiness!"

She and Medusa had previously discussed and researched methods for breaking into other worlds.

Although they knew that finding another world among the vast myriad of realms was not easy, like searching for a needle in a haystack, they had only discovered one desolate ancient world over the years, which had made them suspicious.

"At the time, we speculated that either the next world was too far from our location, or it was a higher-level world protected by some kind of barrier to prevent exploration and discovery."

This was a hypothesis.

Truly terrifying, top-tier worlds would undoubtedly have supreme beings concealing their secrets, preventing them from being pinpointed, and not allowing enemies to invade their native worlds where they grew and thrived, as these were their main strongholds.

If she were powerful enough, she could achieve this as well.

By using some means to assist, to shield an entire world.

However, achieving that level, even if it's not a true Ninth-Rank world, would likely require a very high degree of cellular transformation, walking extremely far down the path to Ninth-Rank.

"Now, our capabilities are much stronger. Perhaps we can try those old coordinates again?" she whispered, her heart pounding. "Can we break through an unknown shield?"

However, now was not the time.

They needed to plan carefully.

After all, if her conjecture was correct, the other side would be extremely terrifying!

They might even possess ancient beings whose power far exceeded their own, potentially bringing utter destruction upon them.

Even if their world were to descend, they would need to find special methods to prevent being reverse-tracked and their own world's location being pinpointed by the other side.

Her eyes glowed with excitement. "If this is true, we would possess their coordinates, allowing us to descend at any time. And as long as we are cautious and find a way to erase our traces, while they remain unaware of our coordinates, that would be a huge advantage!"

Li Shengjiang looked at her apprentice, seeming to sense something, but asked no questions, as the place was too crowded and not suitable for a prolonged stay. "Let's go back," she said.

"Teacher, I'll take you to see the Underworld," Almin smiled.

Mengmei also turned to leave, waving her hand. "If you have time, remember to come visit me."

After all, with "her own people" stationed beside Almin, she wasn't worried about any secrets being kept.

She had finally "conquered" Almin and Medusa, those two tough nuts to crack!

Even though Medusa had already left.

But the thought of Medusa, wherever she was, made her grit her teeth in anger.

"Then we shall take our leave too!"

Since Hermes had departed and answered the three questions, the gods present also left, one by one.

"As for these mortals..."

Suddenly, a god paused, their gaze cold.

They looked at the entire classroom, where the terrified students and teachers trembled.

In the past, treating human lives like grass and mortals like ants, they would naturally have killed them off handily to silence them, as was common practice.

"Enough, enough. One should be calm when traversing the world. Why cling to such bloodlust?" someone said.

"These students, on the other hand, sat in the same classroom with us gods, listening intently. That can be considered a fated encounter," the Blood Emperor offered an awkward, benevolent smile. "We can help them. I'll leave you tokens; come to my church if you wish to cultivate the vampire profession... It's good to accumulate some positive karma. After all, I've begun cultivating a pure heart seeking truth, and I now believe that good is repaid with good, and evil with evil."

The surrounding gods silently rolled their eyes.

"If any of them show good potential, I could offer some guidance," he added.

Venaki, charming and seductive, wielding a whip and bearing demonic horns, scanned the students, looking for any male students who were tall, strong, and could endure hardship, suitable for a body cultivation path.

"If there are good candidates, they can be sent to the Paladin Church next door and then come over regularly on weekends like them. We can help train them."

Ultimately, the students and the history teacher were spared.

And today, these words, this scene in the classroom, would be eternally recorded in ancient history, becoming the cornerstone that laid the foundation for the entire Six Realms' transformation, removing all obstacles.

Later historians would refer to it as: Mercury's Kiss of Integration.

The thrice-great Hermes, through this dialogue with the gods, spurred a transformation in that barbaric era of deities.

In ancient historical descriptions, one historian wrote a profound epilogue to this period:

History progresses forward; the higher the development, the closer it moves towards shedding barbarism.

In the most ancient times, tribal barbarians practiced slash-and-burn agriculture with stone tools.

Later came various colonial dynasties.

And then came the era of cyclical tribulations, where Heavenly Emperors slaughtered beings to ascend to godhood.

As the era advanced again, incense began to bloom, countless beings emerged from tribulation, and mortals no longer suffered pain and disaster.

In the distant future, even gods who no longer instigated world cataclysms chose to completely withdraw, and no one person could dominate an era anymore; it belonged to new generations of talented individuals.

Mengmei and Emperor Lei, among others, returned.

"I witnessed a magnificent epic of civilization, where eras overlapped, evolving towards a truly mature transcendent world," Mengmei said.

Mengmei smiled. "And I've experienced all of this, from the beginning until now... Hermes, truly a sage of civilized wisdom, living up to the suspicion of being an ancient player, has propelled another great era forward, making those belligerent brutes who just want to seize resources without cultivating themselves, much more civilized!"

Mengmei also smiled, finding it all very beautiful. As a pacifist, she detested war; otherwise, she wouldn't have been moved by Dao Changsheng's death, prompting her desire to build dragon-vein incense to completely end such tragedies.

She preferred an era of peace and tranquility, disliking great heroic eras like Dao Changsheng's. What if they were grand and sweeping? What if they could turn the tide? Even the most beautiful eulogies could not prevent death.

"What a beautiful era," she murmured.

She tilted her head back, facing the sun, and smiled brightly at the clear, radiant sky. "This reminds me of the second set of national middle school radio gymnastics."

"Huh?" asked Long Wuming.

"The times, they are a-changin'!!"

Long Wuming's face darkened. "It's the call of the era," he corrected.

Year 22 of the Six Realms.

One year after the emergence of the Grand Alchemist, who gathered the Unique Essence and had an audience with Hermes, the God of Wisdom, the Six Realms were fully established.

The Demon Realm was controlled by Heavenly Emperor Hu Haihan, who had not yet ascended to godhood but was destined to be the next deity, serving as the second-generation Progenitor Demon God.

Of course, his true body would ascend, while the colossal demon god body merely wielded divine authority; such a massive, terrifying physique could not be controlled without the Blood of Immortality.

The Beast Realm was controlled by the Martial God Palace.

The various gods no longer harbored thoughts of obstruction or conflict; their existing forces were sufficient to sustain themselves.

Year 24 of the Six Realms.

Events continued to unfold.

Almin's lifespan was fully extended.

The Heavenly Fox of the Demon Realm ascended to the throne, and a grand ceremony was held, with celebrations lasting three full months, as various nations and races presented exotic treasures.

The following year, Lin Hongfeng of the Beast Realm succeeded to its leadership, becoming the contemporary ruler of the Beast Clan, celebrated throughout the world.

Year 25 of the Six Realms.

The era of the gods' retreat emerged.

The various gods successively withdrew, entering ancient divine realms, merely absorbing the faith of mortals, while various Popes and Saintesses acted as their divine representatives, traveling among humanity to spread their doctrines.

Year 70 of the Six Realms.

A long era passed, marking the greater part of a mortal lifetime.

With the passing of many of the older generation, most ordinary people gradually forgot the existence of gods, regarding them merely as figures of faith. However, most powerful individuals, professionals, and cultivators still knew of the true gods' existence, pursuing the grand goal of becoming a deity, hoping to ignite their divine flame and stand alongside the gods who shone like stars in the heavens; at the very least, they wished to enter the legendary divine realm and behold the faces of the true gods.

But for the vast majority, while this wasn't the fall of the gods, the era when gods descended to the mortal realm, constantly manifested, and waged incessant wars, had come to an end.

In this era where gods were not overtly present and heroes emerged in droves, that past chasm in time was named "Ragnarok" by them, and the one who created this chasm...

...was none other than the legendary God of Wisdom, Hermes.

Another day.

Almin had fully mastered the use of Prime Essence.

The Grand Alchemist, through joint study and exploration with Almin, had also completed many knowledge systems of this era.

"Everyone, you've likely guessed why I've called you here."

Almin's gaze swept over her surroundings. "Yes, I have found the answer to Hermes' third question from back then, the method of breaking through. I have successfully confirmed the existence of another world. However, I dare not act rashly. What do you all think?"

The gods fell into deep thought.

A turning point in destiny had opened once more.

"A world crisis, a world adventure, death or rebirth?"

They had finally obtained what they desired from Hermes.

But what now?