Chapter 743: The Ferryman of the River of Darkness

With the split of the alliance among the three major gods of justice, who served as the symbols of Heaven Mountain, changes naturally occurred within Heaven Mountain itself. Clearly, the just Jerome and the mighty Behistan gained most of the support. Neither the God of Justice nor the God of War had Ivan’s ruthless nature of using any means to achieve their goals. Thus, although they were not as powerful as Ivan, the Lord of Dawn, they won people’s hearts. The fact that Tom, the most powerful god of justice within Heaven Mountain besides the Three Glorious Gods, also supported Jerome and Behistan showed that Ivan’s actions over the years had indeed lost public favor!

The situation was now clear. Without the support of these two allies, Matthews could strike at Ivan at any time. But as a higher god, he surely had his own strong advantages, so Matthews waited—for the day Ivan declined.

In Donald’s view, perhaps Ivan would bring about his own destruction without even needing to intervene.

The war between the Heavenly Realm and the Abyss had ended, but Donald’s essence of law did not withdraw from the Ninth Layer of Hell. This was precisely the perfect opportunity for Hell to invade the Abyss and take advantage of the situation. “Go ahead! I’m here in Hell—just attack in whatever direction you want!” With Donald’s assurance, Astymos immediately summoned all his forces excitedly. Including all the hellish gods and powerful demons, a massive army surged into the Abyss like a tide. They roared triumphantly, slaughtering demons, seizing the souls of those who had fallen into the Abyss, and plundering anything of value.

The lower layers of the Abyss, which had just suffered attacks from the Heavenly Realm’s glorious coalition, had not yet recovered. The remaining demons didn’t even have a chance to organize an effective counterattack. Yet, the Bottomless Abyss, having endured countless years, was not so fragile. Otherwise, it wouldn’t still stand firm, becoming a constant source of worry for the gods of the Heavenly Realm.

Soon, the will of the Abyss summoned more demons from deeper layers to launch a counterattack. The demon lords who had fled from those layers also hurried back anxiously, fearing their territories would be taken by other demons.

Even though the number of hellish demons had exceeded a million, it still paled in comparison to the Bottomless Abyss, which had existed for countless years. A million demons might be a significant force for one layer, but once they merged into the Abyss, they became as insignificant as a stream merging into the ocean.

However, the higher-ups of Hell didn’t expect them to be able to conquer several planes directly. Their main goal was still to reap some benefits and then withdraw, staying at the entrance of Hell. The invasion by demons was a further blow to the Bottomless Abyss, but it was the celestial coalition that truly dealt a severe blow to it. Despite having the Hell King with the strength of a peak mid-tier god, along with other lower-tier gods and demi-god-level demons, the higher-ups of Hell couldn’t pull two major planes away as effortlessly as the Radiant Coalition could. They could only, within the limits of their own strength, separate some plane fragments from the relatively easier planes in the lower layers of the Abyss. These plane fragments were generally not very large—usually above the size of small semi-planes—but after the demons dragged them back to the Ninth Layer of Hell and merged them there, it greatly expanded the space of the Ninth Layer. Originally, only the Ninth Layer of Naisus and the First and Second Layers met the standards of a complete plane; now, two more layers had been added, and with the joy of the plane’s will, two more demon warriors were appointed as new lords of Hell by Astymos. At the same time, the demons killed in the Abyss and the souls seized also increased the population of the Ninth Layer of Hell by nearly one-tenth in such a short time—a tremendous development for any layer. While secretly guarding the Ninth Layer of Hell, Donald also made further progress regarding the River of the Dead. The prison plane of the Abyss, Kasseli, was now largely under his control. Except for the lowest layer, the Death Prison Layer, which remained frozen by Nairo’s icy power, Donald could only make the River of the Dead carve out a narrow channel between the icebergs to complete Kasseli’s cycle. To lift the entire ice seal would require considerable time and effort. The Death God Nairo, already under his control, posed no threat, so Donald didn’t waste energy dealing with him. On the other hand, he had fully mastered the core of the Hundred Coffins Ship, created by the ancient Soul God system. Since its original purpose was not for warfare but for operating Kasseli, Donald placed it on the River of the Dead, making it the only artifact capable of traveling on it. “I remember from legends in my past life that there were ships above the Underworld that led to the netherworld of Hell. As long as one paid the fare, ordinary people could also travel to the world of the dead! But white sails don’t suit the atmosphere of the River of the Dead; ghost ships are more in line with the mood!”

At Donald’s thought, the sailboat, whose material was no less superior to that of high-grade divine artifacts, immediately took on the appearance of a classic ghost ship from past movies—simple, serene, and imbued with a mysterious aura.
“Hmm! Not bad. All that’s left now is a ferryman!”
With that, Donald used a portion of his willpower from the River of Death to form a figure clad in a black cloak, whose true face remained hidden, standing quietly at the bow of the ghost ship.
The River of Death could be considered one of his avatars—a powerful one, but one that couldn’t be moved easily. However, it was quite simple to separate a wisp of willpower to create a ferryman.
After doing this, the ferryman waved lightly, and the mysterious river ship drifted downstream toward the abyss.
The bottomless abyss—the serene waters of the River of Death, ranging from clear to turbid—flowed continuously across the Plain of Endless Pits, branching into countless tributaries before ultimately disappearing into numerous deep pits, reaching even deeper layers of the abyss.
Some reverse-flowing waterfalls surged out from portals and merged into the River of Death, as if an endless river stretched deep into the abyss, as well as beyond it to Kasseli, before mysteriously vanishing in the chaotic voids at the bottom of the multiverse.
Through this, the power of the River of Death extended into the starry voids, flowing from an unknown source, traversing the void to reach the upper realms, passing beneath the Mountain of Heaven and beyond the material world, before returning to the lower realms.
By this point, the Endless River of Death had finally become a great force that spanned the entire multiverse. It already reached a level slightly below that of a god, with purity of power surpassing that of abyssal wills at the same level. If Donald had chosen to merge himself with the River of Death right then, entrusting his fate to the two supreme paths of time, he could have instantly attained a level slightly below that of a god.
Yet Donald, having firmly chosen the path of order, would not abandon his decision. With such a flaw in his psyche, even if he achieved a level slightly below that of a god, it would likely be difficult for him to move forward.