Chapter 753 - 475: Preparations

Chapter 753: Chapter 475: Preparations

A deluge of alerts erupted everywhere, each one short and shocking.

The first to suffer were the world’s most polluted cities. The already severe environmental pollution, once animated, transformed into even more terrifying Abyssal Demons that began to wantonly destroy everything.

Each monster born from environmental pollution possessed terrifying Life Force. As long as the source of the pollution remained, they were unkillable. And while possessing this immortality, they also had destructive power and lethality comparable to a Tier Five being. This was a catastrophe for any city not permanently guarded by a Crowned King. Even though the Star Association launched an immediate counterattack and defense, it was difficult to prevent casualties and losses.

Then, in just over ten minutes, this storm of animation swept across the globe, with attacks from materialized pollution striking every corner of the world.

Even a casually discarded wad of paper, at the call of the God of Contamination, animated into an Abyssal imp and used every possible means to attack humans.

Suddenly, the world was turned upside down.

Such was the mighty power of a God.

If left unchecked, any God had enough power to destroy the entire World. This was even more true for "Turbidity," an Evil God born from humanity’s evil deeds, who was inextricably linked to the World. Once it acted, the consequences would be unimaginable.

「India.」

The ghastly green, radioactive river water formed a monstrous, roaring wave. It swept toward the city, leading an advancing legion of radioactive monsters.

Defensive artillery fire rained from the sky, annihilating everything. But immediately after, new radiation monsters would reform from the smoke of the explosions, seemingly inexhaustible.

One after another, giant radioactive waves surged above the clouds. Before them, the entire city was like a sandcastle, on the verge of being washed away and crushed at any moment. The premonition of death hung over everyone’s head like a sharp knife, bringing horror, Fear, and a persistent, bone-deep chill.

But at that moment, a withered, skeletal figure quietly stood in the path of the advancing radioactive tsunami.

His limbs were gaunt and shriveled like deadwood, his skin was dark, and his old face was covered in deep wrinkles. His expression was serene, full of compassion for all living things.

—An Ascetic Monk, a common sight in India.

The Ascetic Monk lowered his gaze, raised his withered right hand, and gently pressed it against the empty air before him.

Immediately after, a tremendous roar, like a landslide and thunderclap combined, erupted from beneath his palm.

The heavens and the earth seemed to cry out. The crest of the radioactive tsunami, which had touched the clouds, was forcefully suppressed by this power. The terrifying impact traveled downward, setting off a chain of explosions.

Billions of tons of water, filled with radiation and viruses, turned into a torrential downpour amidst the explosions. A massive palm print was seared into the surging tide, causing the water’s surface to sink deeply as countless radiation monsters were shattered by the impact.

With a single palm, he had crushed the mighty tide with overwhelming ease.

Without a doubt, this was a Tier Five Crowned King.

But pure Power clearly couldn’t solve the root of the problem. As long as the pollution remained, these monsters would simply stage a comeback.

In the blink of an eye, huge, ferocious figures began to coalesce again in the churning river water, only to be instantly shattered from a distance by the Ascetic Monk.

A tempest raged over the Holy River. The Ascetic Monk was containing the disaster’s spread with the most primitive and brutal methods, but this approach only treated the symptoms, not the cause. A dangerous emerald-green color began to spread through the river, rapidly expanding both upstream and downstream as more radiation monsters were born from the water.

The Ascetic Monk’s brow furrowed slightly, but then immediately smoothed out.

High in the sky, a figure had appeared, looking down upon the chaotic world below.

A roar echoed as boundless, pale Fiery Fire swept in from the void, instantly igniting the entire radioactive river.

A rolling torrent of incineration surged over the Holy River, rushing to the sky and burning everything to ash. Flames coiled and licks of fire danced, and a scorching heat spread across the land, twisting space and searing every eye that beheld it.

An ancient, crimson crown appeared above Zhou Chen’s head, looking as if it were forged from steel. The Authority of the King of Melting and Casting descended, turning the World before him into a furnace.

A wild inferno.

Then, he reached out, grasping a Forging Hammer covered in primordial fire patterns. He swung it down at the empty space above the river—Forging of All Things!

CLANG!

A flash of flame erupted. Though the hammer had struck nothing but air, the tangible sound of metal being forged rang out.

The winding, radioactive river boiled and surged. In that instant, all the viruses, chemical Elements, and Abyssal sediment were brutally gathered by the Authority of Forging, bypassing countless complex steps to instantly take shape, solidifying into a glass bottle half-filled with a dark green liquid.

—Name: [Vial of Fierce Poison]

—Danger Level: B-Level

—Description: A dangerous Extraordinary Artifact created from the concentrated hazardous materials of the Ganges River. The dark green liquid inside contains a fatal toxin. Just 0.0001 milligrams is enough to destroy a city. Permanent containment is recommended.

Below, the Holy River, once polluted green, was now clear again. The various kinds of trash and hazardous materials accumulated over countless years had been wiped clean. A river that would have taken tens of billions of dollars and a vast amount of time to clean was thus reborn in Zhou Chen’s hands.

With the environmental pollution completely dealt with, the invasion from the Abyss had failed.

But this was only here.

Zhou Chen wasted no time, immediately teleporting to the next location.

He appeared above a city shrouded in a sea of smog. Only its tallest building was visible; everything else was submerged in the smog, reduced to faint outlines.

The next second, a pale, fiery light ignited in Zhou Chen’s eyes. The Molten Fire blazed, setting the sea of smog alight.

The pale flames spread, instantly engulfing the entire city. The blaze soared into the sky, becoming a torch clearly visible from more than ten kilometers away.

Zhou Chen raised the Hammer of Forging again and smashed it down toward the sea of smog.

Forging of All Things!

CLANG!

Miserable screams echoed from within the sea of fire. The Abyssal monsters hidden in the smog were turned to ash without any resistance, fusing with all the toxic gases to be forged into a palm-sized glass bead, within which gray smog swirled.

—Name: [Fog Pearl]

—Danger Level: B-Level

—Description: Sealed within is an abyssal toxic fog capable of submerging a region of Hell. Permanent containment is recommended.

"Two..."

Zhou Chen muttered to himself before his figure vanished again, reappearing above the Mechanical Cemetery.

But he was too late. With a roar, the Mechanical Angel made of electronic waste disintegrated. Countless bits of junk rained down, then melted into streams in a crimson fire. In moments, all the electronic waste was reduced to its essential materials—steel, metal, oil...

Tang Ling nodded at him, and without any further pleasantries, vanished from the spot.

Clearly, all capable individuals had been mobilized and were putting out fires everywhere.

As the saying goes, every expert has their specialty. The Authority of Forging was perfectly suited for dealing with environmental pollution—by directly forging the pollution into Extraordinary Artifacts, it solved the problem at its root, preventing more pollution monsters from being created.

Zhou Chen didn’t waste any time, immediately rushing to the next trouble spot to put out another fire.

·

「Five hours later.」

Through everyone’s efforts, the global pollution crisis was finally contained. But Turbidity’s influence on the World was far from over.

In those five-odd hours, incidents of mental pollution worldwide had skyrocketed. The birth rate of Corrupters climbed steadily, and the Star Association had to activate an isolation Matrix in the nick of time to suppress the chaos. But this was only a temporary measure.

Turbidity was born from humanity’s evil deeds, a product of sin, desire, malice, and more. It was intimately connected with the entire World. Not even the Star Association could completely sever its connection to the mortal plane. They could only weaken it as much as possible. But as long as it existed, it would constantly interfere, looking for any opportunity to exploit.

Under normal circumstances, this wouldn’t be a major problem. But now was a critical period in a world-altering war, and being constantly watched by a venomous gaze from Hell was definitely not a good thing.

"Zhou Chen, are your prayer points sufficient?" No. 9 sent a communication, asking in a grave voice.

"This is related to our next plan. It’s extremely important."

Above the Pacific Ocean, having just quelled a Siren disaster, Zhou Chen looked at his Prayer System Panel and said, "Two Great Miracles."

"Good. Come to Zone One immediately."

An Any Door opened beside him.

Zhou Chen flew through it and arrived in a spacious laboratory. No. 9 and a group of scholars were gathered there, along with a woman with green skin and dark red hair.

She was of Western descent, with a high-bridged nose. Her clothes looked like they were made of leaves, appearing very simple and covering only the essential parts. Large patches of her green skin were exposed, yet it didn’t feel revealing. Instead, she exuded a refreshing feeling of "healthy and natural."

"This is Ms. Alena, the ’Nature and Forest Goddess.’ She is our main force for dealing with ’Turbidity’," No. 9 introduced.

"Ma’am, I’ve long heard of your renown," Zhou Chen said, offering a polite greeting.

Although Alena looked young, only about twenty-five or twenty-six, her actual age was over two hundred. She was, without a doubt, an old monster, but for someone of her Demigod rank, that age was nothing remarkable.

Many years ago, Alena had already been a renowned Ascender who commanded the winds and clouds. She gradually faded from public view after reaching Tier Five, but everything she did drew massive public attention: forest restoration, desert reclamation, environmental protection... She watched over all forests, maintained the natural order, and had even become an indispensable part of the planet’s ecosystem.

According to the Star Association’s predictions, if she successfully achieved Ascension to Divinity, she would very likely become the master of nature for this planet, and even gain the ability to terraform other planets unsuitable for human life.

Unfortunately, Alena’s Ascension Ladder was extremely difficult, and she had yet to push open the gates to the Divine Forbidden Area.

But today was different from the past.

Zhou Chen’s existence could allow a considerable number of Demigods to cross their final threshold.

"I’ll be troubling you, then," Alena said with a nod, her voice tinged with irrepressible excitement. The path to godhood lay right before her; who could remain calm?

Zhou Chen immediately made his Prayer:

"Let Alena become a God!"

[You have created a Great Miracle!]

A single, beautiful and brilliant speck of starlight descended, sinking into Alena’s Soul and, defying all logic, helped her cross the final threshold.

Ascension to Divinity, right on the spot.

"I have one more chance. Let’s continue." Zhou Chen glanced at No. 9. ’Helping Alena achieve godhood has earned me a large amount of Divine Secret Power, allowing me to advance a good distance on my own Ascension Ladder. This confirms my previous suspicion—my own path to Ascension to Divinity will be exceptionally difficult.’

"Alright."

A door opened, and No. 9 led him into a room that had been sealed for a long time.

The room was empty, save for a simple, ancient Bronze Coffin lying in the center.

’Th-this is...’ Zhou Chen suddenly recalled the corresponding information. He was utterly shocked, a look of horror on his face.

—Forbidden Object A-002: Immortal Bronze Coffin!