Chapter 168: The Virtual God Cassius

Soon, Chen Xiao’s body appeared in the Main God’s Space. The Main God’s Space was a divine artifact created by the Main God, equivalent to an independent world—something not something as trivial as a Virtual God could simply enter. Even other Main Gods of the same rank couldn’t locate this space and arrive here.

This time, it was Shui Miao who sensed the fluctuations in spatial laws emanating from the Freedom Statue and, after some deduction, understood what was going on. In fact, Shui Miao had been secretly observing Chen Xiao these days, keeping track of everything she did. That’s why she appeared now to seek Chen Xiao’s opinion.

At that moment, the emerald-green Freedom Statue was emitting a faint glow, with strands of Virtual God laws constantly winding around it, causing the entire statue to tremble slightly. Suddenly, a pulse of life surged from the statue, and lines resembling skin appeared on its rigid surface. In the next instant, the statue transformed into a real person—a manifestation of a Virtual God.

“I wonder who has used this method to trap my teleportation array,” said the Virtual God Cassius’s avatar, standing up and looking around.

“Hm? It’s just a barren, lifeless planet?” After taking in his surroundings, Cassius was stunned but not expecting such a result.

“Do you think by throwing my teleportation array on such a desolate planet, I won’t be able to return?”

Cassius snorted coldly. He stretched out his hands and grabbed at the void, trying to tear apart space and return to his true form’s location.

“What sturdy space,” Cassius thought, frustrated that his attempt to tear space apart failed.

“The God of Freedom? A mere first-tier Virtual God dares to call itself a god? How reckless.”

Suddenly, a calm and indifferent voice rang in Cassius’s ears.

“Who is there?” Cassius frowned and slowly raised his head. Before him stood a man in black clothes, with a stern expression, appearing out of nowhere.

“Shang Weiting and the Temple of Glory—are they your pawns?” Although Cassius was just an avatar here, he was still a Virtual God, a being who had unified nine realms and mastered the laws of Virtual Gods. He could clearly sense the Virtual God laws emanating from the man in black. Yet, the laws from this man—Shou Hen—were terrifying. After a quick assessment, Cassius realized that even if his true form appeared, he wouldn’t be a match.

“Submit to my master, or be destroyed,” Shou Hen said bluntly, without further ado.

“Submit to your master?! You, a peak-level Virtual God with countless Virtual God laws at your disposal, also have a master? Is your master a true god?”

Cassius was stunned by Shou Hen’s words. Though it was just one sentence, he gained countless pieces of information from it.

“That’s right. Our master is a true deity, the supreme being among all deities.” At that moment, Mengfei also appeared before Cassius. Among all the divine disciples, Mengfei’s strength ranked second, only below Souhen, and he too belonged to the highest tier of Void Gods. It could be said that all the divine disciples chosen by the Supreme God Kraneras were extremely powerful beings at the peak of Void Gods. A first-tier Void God like Cassius was not even noticed by the Supreme God. “Another peak-level Void God?” Cassius instinctively took two steps back. Beings like Souhen and Mengfei could easily kill ten of his clones with a single slap. Even if Cassius’s true body appeared, it could still be killed in one move by them. There were different ranks among Void Gods as well. “Whose subordinate are you?” Now, Cassius’s expression had completely changed. His earlier defiant look had turned into one of great respect. “The same as before: submit to my master, or this clone of yours will be destroyed,” Mengfei said with a smile, tilting his neck. “As for who my master is, you’re not yet qualified to know. Of course, if you’re willing to submit, that’s another matter.” Cassius narrowed his eyes slightly and began to ponder. “What benefits would I get by submitting to your master? Power, status, wealth?” It took a while before Cassius spoke again. “What about giving you the chance to become a true deity?” Suddenly, a third voice rang out. Chen Xiao’s figure slowly appeared before Cassius. “Become a true deity? Obtain the treasure trove that unlocks the Tianlong Secret Vault, one of which contains a divine essence. If I get that divine essence, I can also become a deity.” Cassius looked at Chen Xiao with skepticism. At the same time, he carefully observed Chen Xiao and found that, unlike Souhen and Mengfei, who were surrounded by chaotic Void God energy, Chen Xiao’s energy fluctuations were extremely weak, which made him slightly less worried. “It seems there’s no difference whether I submit to you or not.” “Are you sure you can get that so-called divine essence?” Chen Xiao shook his head. “If you were confident, why would you set up traps and bring your Void God transmission array here?” Chen Xiao knew that this was the other party making conditions and offering a price. To be honest, Chen Xiao really hoped to have another powerful subordinate like Cassius. Although his divine disciples were all top-tier Void Gods, they were restricted by rules and couldn’t fully unleash their strength. “So what? Even if I fail, I’ll still be me, free and unrestrained,” Cassius said proudly, raising his head. “Is that really the case?” Chen Xiao smiled. “Your Void God transmission array must have cost you quite a bit of Void God laws, right? This time you came as a clone, but once you enter the Tianlong Secret Vault, it’s likely your true body that will arrive.” “What exactly are you trying to say?” Cassius frowned. “What I’m saying is, I guarantee that if you don’t submit to me today, this clone of yours will be destroyed. And if your true body dares to appear in the Tianlong Secret Vault, I’ll kill you.”

A cold glint appeared in Chen Xiao’s eyes; he was making an outright threat. Threatening a Void God—if this got out, other supernatural beings and cultivators would surely consider him insane.
“You’re threatening me,” Cassius’s expression turned icy instantly.
“I am,” Chen Xiao stepped back slightly, watching him with amusement.
Cassius’s expression was unreadable; it was unclear what he was thinking.
In truth, this avatar had condensed a great deal of Void God laws within it. If this avatar perished here, his true body would also suffer severe damage.
He dared to come here because he believed he could successfully leave using the Void God teleportation array. But he never expected to end up in such a strange place, facing two terrifying Void God apex beings.
In his own world, such beings were giants who understood the ways of heaven and grasped the rules, striving to become gods on their own.
Only those like Cassius, who were still at the initial stage of Void Gods with a distant path to divinity, would consider seizing other gods’ divine essences to achieve godhood.
Generally, gods who merged divine essences were extremely weak, even inferior to some powerful Void Gods, as the laws and rules within their divine essences were not their own insights but mere borrowed knowledge.
Powerful Void Gods like Suo Hen and Meng Fei relied on their own understanding of nature to grasp the path to divinity.
Strongers like Suo Hen would disdain stealing divine essences, and Cassius hadn’t expected to encounter such people either.
Cassius gritted his teeth; he simply didn’t have the courage to abandon this avatar. This avatar contained nearly one-third of his true body’s Void God laws—something he couldn’t afford to lose. If it perished and his true body was severely damaged, word of it would likely attract several Void Gods of his rank to seize his laws.
“You succeeded.”
Cassius let out a long sigh and smiled bitterly. The longer one lived, the more afraid they became of death. As a Void God who had cultivated for who knew how long and endured countless hardships, he valued his life even more.
Living was always better than dying.
“Do your gods behind you need my faith?” As a Void God, Cassius naturally didn’t need reminders. The most direct way for gods to subdue others—even among Void Gods—was to gain their faith.
Once faith was established, it bore the mark of a god. Unless the god perished or its divine essence was destroyed, that bond of faith would never break.
Chen Xiao nodded. “Then worship me and offer your faith.”
“Worship you?” Cassius was stunned.
“That’s right, me,” Chen Xiao smiled. He knew his strength wasn’t very great at the moment—actually, it was extremely weak. Not even someone like Leng Shi from before would be willing to worship him.
But in the next moment, Chen Xiao’s spirit moved, and a vast force emerged from the void. Instantly, he felt as though he could control all the laws and rules of this primary godly space with every move he made.

“Now I am transferring some of the power of the Prime God’s laws to you, allowing you to manipulate them freely. Here, even true gods would not be a match for you.”
Shui Miao’s voice echoed once again in Chen Xiao’s mind.
Chen Xiao was stunned, then a sense of confidence rose in his heart.
“Who do you think you are to make me worship you? If you are indeed the god behind this, then I regret to say I cannot comply.”
Cassius’s expression darkened; he felt as though he had been tricked.