Sacrifice

"Black King… I see. You entered the One Piece World, crossed paths with the Black King born in that world, and yet, with your bloodthirsty nature, you weren’t killed. I suppose… something happened between you two."

The illusory figure moved its finger away. Bai Cangshu felt no pressure whatsoever from the figure; its physical body was still seated atop the altar.

Bai Cangshu had realized that this Supreme Expert’s condition was abnormal, and it was not entirely because of the information-gathering abilities of his Mantra and Limit Break Spiral state. More importantly… it was because of the appearance of his Hidden Mission, Divine Power.

Bai Cangshu had actually always been curious. In a place like Infinite Dimensional Space, what exactly was the status of so-called gods?

After all, since Infinite Dimensional Space boasted of sending players into countless worlds, gods were certainly not some particularly rare species.

In some smaller worlds, the strength of gods could not even compare to the powerful beings of more terrifying worlds.

At the end of the day, the vast majority of gods were merely special races that had gained such a title because their abilities surpassed those of humans.

Just like in the Demon Slayer World, as mystery gradually faded away, a minor figure like Kibutsuji Muzan, who would not have been particularly powerful in other worlds, had become a persistent scourge that plagued the priests for a thousand years.

Divine Power had already weakened to a terrifying degree.

The power unleashed by Cursed Seal: Inari Ōkami’s Strike was probably only considered decent among the Strong-tier. It could not possibly compare with the punch Bang and Bomb had used together to shatter the atmosphere, much less reach the level of monsters like Tatsumaki…

Then the power that could attract the attention of an Inari Ōkami weakened to such an extent was surely dangerous enough to be acceptable.

The Eternal Destiny before him had displayed nothing particularly divine or extraordinary. He seemed to merely be making deductions based on the information already available.

The only display of an ability he had used was probably stripping the Sage of his ability to speak.

After thinking for a moment, Bai Cangshu tapped the ground with his foot, passed through the phantom, and led the Sage toward the altar.

You have come into contact with the Special Creation: Ancient God Ritual

After independently occupying this creation for 72 consecutive hours, you may be judged to have obtained ownership of this creation

Current ownership: Unknown

This was something of the same nature as Eldorado in the One Piece World, both recognized by the space as Special Creations that reincarnators could occupy.

Judging from the unknown ownership, Eternal Destiny had not been sent into this world very early this time. At the very least, he had yet to completely obtain this creation.

Of course, it was also possible that he did not wish to occupy it. Bai Cangshu studied the strange state of one of the man’s hands extending into the altar’s enormous wall and guessed that he was probably seeking something belonging to those gods.

Bai Cangshu also extended his hand bearing the cursed seal and pressed it against the altar.

"Mercenary Tao, I advise you not to do that."

The illusory figure once again appeared out of thin air before Bai Cangshu and calmly tried to dissuade him.

"You should understand that the reason I have not attacked you is not because I am kind, but because I am currently in another space. That is why you can speak with me as an equal."

"Once you help that Outer God enter this space, regardless of whether I or It obtains that thing, you will not be able to remain alive."

"You should understand very clearly that a god whose mystery has faded to this extent likely possesses true combat power that not even you can match. How could It possibly protect your life before me…?"

He did not sound as though he were threatening him. He was more like someone calmly laying out the situation.

"I have three objectives in this world. Right now, your most sensible choice should be to take advantage of the fact that I am tied down here, seek gains elsewhere, and leave early."

"Mercenary Tao, you are very talented, far more so than the Sage. If you can return to the space alive from this world, I will invite you to become my follower in the next cycle. I can sense the scent of Fatalism upon you…"

The phantom slowly faded away, and the altar returned to deathly silence.

Bai Cangshu looked at his palm. The cursed seal had become scorching hot. That Inari Ōkami was probably already impatient, but It truly had no ability to interfere with his actions.

"Let’s go, Mercenary Tao. Since His Excellency has acknowledged your qualifications, there is no need for us to fight to the death. With my abilities, I can absolutely bring you tremendous gains in this world. We could even… hunt down Tree Herder Tang Sanzang together…"

The Sage had regained his ability to speak and immediately began persuading him. He was not saying this solely out of fear of death. Even now, he still did not believe Bai Cangshu could kill him tens or millions of times. The impact caused by the deaths of natives of this world on that scale would be terrifying.

It would inevitably draw in Plot Characters on the level of Tatsumaki and Saitama.

As long as even one of them felt "pity" or "reluctance," he could survive!

Sage Yu Huaxin truly acknowledged Mercenary Tao’s value at this moment. In terms of aptitude as a reincarnator, the other man was not only above him; even White Face, whom His Excellency favored most, likely could not compare to him.

Being friends with such a person was better than fighting him.

Bai Cangshu tilted his head and studied the Sage, whose every word was trying to make him reveal the "aura of a weakling." He found the man increasingly contemptible.

Pfft!

The Sage’s chest tightened. An arm suddenly pierced through his steel-hard dragon scales and plunged into his chest cavity. Then he felt that arm constantly stirring inside his chest before gripping his heart. The suffocating, oppressive sensation of his heart being unable to beat was utterly terrifying.

Blood continuously streamed down Bai Cangshu’s arm.

Bai Cangshu raised his hand and held the Sage high in the air. Looking at his face, he smiled cruelly.

"Is it because this Supreme Expert is nearby that you feel a trace of security?"

"You think that even if I haven’t been killed yet, I’ll at least feel some apprehension…"

The Sage’s heart could no longer pump blood through his body, and darkness began to cloud his consciousness. Yet the other man’s voice still reached his ears. That was indeed what he had thought.

His mind was hazy, and he began overlooking details he should have noticed.

The corner of Bai Cangshu’s mouth lifted. The black cursed spirit in the shape of an inverted cross was now almost clinging to the Sage Bai Cangshu held aloft. Through the Sage’s agreement with his words, it once again activated the Cognitive Devil’s ability to muddle cognition.

"Transform into a dragon, Mr. Sage~"

He spoke softly, like a demon tempting someone into an abyss.

The scarlet Omen of the Evil God had already begun to dim, and more than half his long hair had turned white.

Yet Bai Cangshu still did not release the Limit Break Spiral talent. He watched as, amid a roar, the Sage’s body began turning blue-gray, enormous tail and dragon wings sprouting as he gradually assumed a mythical form.

Bai Cangshu suddenly pulled out his left hand.

Pfft!

The heart, which had just begun pounding violently again with immense vitality due to the Dragon Transformation, was ripped from the blue-gray dragon of the mind that had only just begun to emerge.

With his back to the Sage, Bai Cangshu did not waste the transcendent comprehension granted by Limit Break Spiral on understanding an extraordinary Mythical Creature again. The immense amount of information and mysterious contamination were of little use to him now and would instead place an enormous burden on him.

Dragon Blood spilled across the altar, and the altar instantly began to glow.

Bai Cangshu then walked over and sat before Eternal Destiny, who was seated cross-legged at the center of the altar. He patted that unconscious body and said,

"Making Tatsumaki and Shigeo Kageyama into Black Kings—I think you’re being far too petty."

"Why not choose Saitama? Is it because… you’re afraid?"