Chapter 182: The Source Standard

Chapter 182: The Source Standard

"Among the Five Great Righteous Gods, you are the one I admire most—and even fear the most! Because only you have unearthed the Deep Power of Godhood and created the Dark Web."

"If possible, I would much rather join forces with you to carve up the Four Pillar Gods, even the entire multiverse. In the end, we could either divide and rule or fight to the death!"

Seizing the opportunity during the God of Death's silence, Yu Sheng'an spoke eloquently.

"But unfortunately, while I created the Fourth Calamity, it was you, the God of Death, who truly elevated it to greatness!"

"Do you know why those Four Gods spared me but chose to besiege you?"

"Because the potential of the Fifth Calamity is too terrifying! You can convert almost the entire population of your preaching zones into soldiers. Who else possesses such an ability? No one!"

Yu Sheng'an's flattery eased the fury on the God of Death's face, but the suspicion in his eyes only grew.

"Precisely because the Fifth Calamity is so fearsome, I dare not ally with you. Because once we join forces, the moment our enemies are annihilated will be the day I, the Internet God, fall."

"I can see your potential, and so can the Four Gods! Now, if you wish to cease hostilities and recuperate, the only way is to accept my proposal: cede the twelve domains. We will allow you to relocate your population. This way, your Fifth Calamity remains unscathed, and if you return in glory someday, you might yet dominate the multiverse."

"Don’t forget—you are the master of the Dark Web. You are no longer like the Four Gods, dependent on preaching zones to harvest Source Essence. For you, preaching zones hold only one value: population. And that is the key to sustaining the Fifth Calamity! Look at me—I’ve never expanded my preaching zones, and this is why. Preaching zones mean little to either of us."

Yu Sheng'an’s detailed analysis left the God of Death stunned, as if a veil had been lifted from his eyes.

Indeed, he was the master of the Dark Web. What use did he have for preaching zones?

As long as he had a population, the Fifth Calamity would naturally follow.

Given just a little time to recover, he could gather endless undead corpses to fuel the Fifth Calamity.

Then, once fully prepared, he could indeed dominate the multiverse, just as the Internet God had said!

Wait—

"Hmph, I don’t believe you’re this generous!"

The God of Death’s voice was icy as he frantically pondered what benefits the Internet God stood to gain from this strategy.

"Correct! Of course, I’m not helping you out of kindness—I’m helping myself. The Four Gods used the threat of allying with you to extort me. I can’t afford to gamble, nor do I dare."

"If my proposal succeeds, the Four Gods will gain their share and cease hostilities. You’ll get a chance to recover. And I? I’ll secure the right to spread the internet in their preaching zones, along with a jointly signed Alliance Agreement to ensure relative peace for a time."

"An Alliance Agreement?" The God of Death frowned in confusion.

"Just like the one you had before—only this time, I’ll be part of it! If you agree, the six of us can sign the Alliance Agreement and divide the multiverse together."

At this point, Yu Sheng'an spread his hands, his expression utterly candid.

"By now, my motives shouldn’t be hard to guess. That’s right—I’m buying time. Time is a precious thing. Who knows? In ten years, a hundred years, even a thousand, a new god might emerge and overturn the current way of harvesting Source Essence."

Hearing this, the God of Death finally understood completely.

He had to admit that the solution proposed by the Internet God might not be the best at the moment, but it was the most suitable one.

The Four Gods didn’t want to fight, fearing that prolonged conflict would only allow the Internet God to reap the benefits.

But the war had already begun. Military expenses had been poured in, warriors had died in droves, and without any gains to show for it, they simply couldn’t accept it!

The God of Death didn’t want to fight either. Though powerful, taking on four gods alone was still beyond his strength.

Now, with the Dark Web as a new channel to obtain Source Essence, he no longer needed to rely on preaching zones. Their only remaining value to him was the population.

Thus, ceding some territory in exchange for population migration rights wasn’t unacceptable.

The Internet God, as a newly ascended deity, had limitless potential but lacked deep-rooted foundations due to his short rise to power.

Whether it was the Four Gods or the God of Death, any of them had the ability to swallow him whole.

The Internet God’s survival relied entirely on strategic maneuvering, extortion, and the lingering deterrence of his resilience.

So what he sought was stability!

Given enough time to develop, there was no telling how far he could grow.

This wasn’t a win-win-win situation, but it was one that largely satisfied the demands of all three parties.

Most importantly, the multiverse didn’t consist of just these three. Rather than fighting to the death and letting the other gods benefit, it was better to sit down and negotiate, carving up the multiverse first.

"The Four Gods aren’t fools. Why would they give us time to develop?"

The God of Death narrowed his eyes.

The might of his Fifth Calamity had surely been witnessed by the Four Gods. Given that, wouldn’t it be illogical for them to let him grow unchecked instead of nipping him in the bud?

Yu Sheng'an exhaled… As expected of gods who had lived for millennia. On the surface, they seemed temperamental and capricious.

In reality, they were simply powerful enough that they didn’t need to bother with masking their emotions.

"Because of firearms! By ceding your territory, the balance will shift in their favor. They’ll be able to sustain a larger population and thus recruit more soldiers!" Yu Sheng'an stated frankly.

The God of Death nodded in sudden realization.

"I have one more question."

"Speak."

"After ceding the preaching zones, how will I sustain the migrating population?"

"I can sell you food at a low price to help you through the initial difficulties. After that, you’ll have to figure it out yourself! You can buy, plunder, or even develop high-yield seeds—there are plenty of ways. Surely I don’t need to teach you that?"

Yu Sheng'an deliberately spoke with a relaxed tone.

This was a massive trap he had laid!

Knowing the horror of the Fifth Calamity, how could he simply hand over population to the God of Death for free?

Limited land combined with a doubled population would be an enormous pitfall!

In the future, the God of Death would be forced to scramble just to feed his commoners. To fuel more Fifth Calamities, he might even encourage excessive reproduction.

Once the population exploded, it wouldn’t be a demographic dividend—it would trigger a food shortage!

To fill his people’s bellies, he would have no choice but to wage war.

The Four Gods and the Internet God would likely be off-limits, bound by the agreement.

That left only the gods of the multiverse as his targets.

At that time, the multiverse would be in a state of overall peace with localized conflicts, which would benefit the development of Yu Sheng'an's Faction System and even the sales of weapons.

This would not only stimulate the growth of Yu Sheng'an's Fourth Calamity but also allow him to amass the world's wealth to strengthen himself.

Of course, the Fifth Calamity would also grow powerful amidst the flames of war.

This was inevitable.

From then on, it would be a race to see who could grow faster and make the fewest mistakes!

Yu Sheng'an simply refused to believe that, with the multiverse as his market, he could fall behind the God of Death.

Sure enough, upon hearing this, the God of Death stopped pressing the issue of food.

Instead, he began questioning details such as: "What if the Four Gods tear up the agreement after I cede my preaching zones?" and "The firearm production lines must include a share for me, the God of Death!"

Yu Sheng'an patiently answered each question one by one.

After urgent negotiations, Yu Sheng'an and the primary consciousness of the God of Death returned to the stone palace in the Cordillera Mountains.

The Four Gods seemed to have observed the private exchange between Yu Sheng'an and the God of Death the entire time. They showed no surprise at their silence or the God of Death's sudden change in attitude.

With mutual understanding, the three parties continued negotiating the finer details.

For example:

Which domains would be ceded to the Four Gods?

The God of Death refused to cede twelve, insisting on only six. The two sides engaged in heated debates over the number, even slamming tables and cursing.

After settling territorial disputes, ensuring the safe withdrawal of the God of Death's commoners became another major issue.

In short, discussions over such details lasted two full days and nights.

Having witnessed millennia of deceit, the gods considered every problem with meticulous care. If not for the Prophecy Godhood, Yu Sheng'an admitted he would have struggled to keep up with their deliberations.

However, this discussion also broadened his horizons.

He finally understood how the Five Gods had formed their alliance without any contractual guarantees in the past.

Just as the three parties were about to sign the Six Great Gods Treaty, Yu Sheng'an suddenly tapped the table and said, "I have one more proposal. Would the five of you care to listen?"

"Hmm?"

The Five Gods' eyes flickered as they turned to him.

"I would like to establish Interconnected Bank branches in your preaching zones!"

"Impossible!" (Wishful thinking!) (Dream on!)

The Five Gods rejected him almost in unison.

"Don’t be so quick to refuse. We’ll all need to do business eventually. Wouldn’t bartering be too troublesome? Why not unify the currency?"

"Hmph! Internet God, I advise you not to stir up more trouble. Don’t think that just because we’ve negotiated the Six Gods Treaty, we won’t tear it up," the God of Life threatened bluntly, unwilling to waste words.

He suspected Yu Sheng'an had deliberately waited until the signing of the Six Great Gods Treaty to make this demand, hoping to catch them off guard.

Unfortunately, the gods had seen too many tricks to be swayed.

"What if the currency could be exchanged for Source Essence?"

"To be frank, I plan to peg Keville Currency to Source Essence. Are you truly unwilling to allow my Interconnected Bank to open branches?"

Yu Sheng'an flashed a persuasive smile.