Slayer of Gods: I lied; I became the agent of the Nine Gods.

Lin Qiye, An Qingyu, and the others also acted in unison, cleaning up the remaining giant ants at the peak of the Sichuan Realm.

Li Deyang was momentarily stunned. Although he knew these people were powerful, the fact that they could instantly kill a peak-level expert in the Sichuan Realm right before his eyes was still quite shocking.

Di Ting was thrown to the ground when Lu Yu went to pick up the little girl. Just as it stood up, it heard Li Deyang's thoughts and snorted: "That's natural. Lu Yu's friends are agents of the gods. Although they are all from pantheons I don't know, their strength is not bad."

"Moreover, Lu Yu is a student of the Sage, and even the Empress has plans to take him as a disciple..."

The last sentence was too soft to hear, and was even harder to hear amidst the sounds of the boy fighting the giant ant. Li Deyang had also spent most of his energy watching the battle, so he didn't pay attention to this matter.

"……I'm back."

Soon, Lu Yu returned empty-handed. Apart from her slightly disheveled hair, she showed no signs of fatigue.

"We've got this sorted out here too!"

Baili Tuming waved his hand, signaling the others to come over.

"And this seems to be the entrance to their lair!"

Once everyone had come over, they saw a deep crack in the ground; the bottom of the dark crevice seemed invisible.

"Want to go in?"

Cao Yuan tidied up the backpack on his back and looked at Lin Qiye, asking a question.

"Don't rush, let me disguise you first."

Lu Yu stopped Cao Yuan from making any rash moves, silently calling out to the system in his mind:

"Use [Zhang Zhang Wei Huan], you who spoke, time limit is up..."

[Hint: The skill [Illusion of Expansion] has been activated. It consumes 100 points of Fiction Points per minute. The current total Fiction Points are 12, and it can be maintained for 20 hours.]

Since this skill can only be used within the fog of the [Key to the Gate], there is a risk of it being broken; please use it with caution.

The system's voice was calm, but Lu Yu suddenly chuckled softly: "Yan Zhe, why have you been offline so often these past few days? This time you're four seconds late again."

The system was silent.

"...Never mind, I'll talk to you after this mission is over."

Lu Yu sighed, clasped his hands together in front of his chest, and the air around them became blurred like waves in that instant.

Immediately afterwards, the wavy, drifting waves wrapped around their hands and feet.

Lin Qiye clearly felt that he was still in his original body, still standing in the same place, but in his field of vision, he saw that his teammates in front of him had become the same as the giant ant.

"Is this... an illusion?"

Lin Qiye squinted at Lu Yu, "Your illusion technique won't come at any cost, will it?"

It wasn't that he doubted Lu Yu, but given Lu Yu's past experience, there were always unexpected things that could happen when someone had special abilities. This illusion technique might have some kind of cost or aftereffects.

"No, Seven Nights, we used this at school before, have you forgotten?"

Lu Yu looked innocent and said, "Don't worry, there will be no aftereffects. The only thing to worry about is whether we'll be found out."

Lin Qiye finally felt relieved and lifted his foot to be the first person to go in.

Li Deyang watched this miraculous scene from the side without comment, but his raised hand and the knife blocking the stone wall indicated that he also wanted to enter this place.

Lu Yu glanced at him, did not stop him, but instead cast an illusion spell on Li Deyang as well.

…………

The bottom of the nest had a complex network of pathways. Lin Qiye and his group mingled with a group of giant ants carrying various kinds of food and followed them inside.

"Following them, these giant ants are probably heading to the queen's main nest."

Lin Qiye whispered to someone behind him, then carefully turned off the flashlight.

"Don't worry, you can see the surrounding environment."

Lu Yu tapped the "Mending the Fence After the Sheep Are Lost" button, and soon the group found that their vision was clear, just like during the day.

[Note: The "Mending the Fence After the Sheep is Lost" skill has been used three times since its last use. A fourth random penalty will occur at an unpredictable time. Please be careful.]

"Received~"

Lu Yu walked nonchalantly to Lin Qiye's side. Last time he turned into a tiger, so this time it shouldn't be too outrageous.

"The queen ant should be at least at the Sea Realm level. We shouldn't attack directly. This is underground, and many attack methods would cause a collapse..."

Di Ting nodded: "Since these ant colonies can build their nest at the entrance to the underworld, they must know the exact location, but they dare not continue digging because of the aura inside."

As he said this, an indescribable resentment flashed in his eyes: "Just because they are reincarnations of gods, these ants dare to act like this. If the Queen were still alive..." how could she possibly allow the underworld to suffer such a calamity...

But...the Empress is gone...

Upon entering the cave, Di Ting immediately sensed the aura of the underworld. However, despite its sensitivity to this aura being as potent as primal energy, after countless attempts, Di Ting ultimately had to confirm it—

The six realms, which originated from the goddess Houtu, have fallen apart to the point of being completely fragmented.

As for Pingxin Niangniang, who was transformed from the primordial spirit of Houtu Niangniang, she herself has also disappeared without a trace.

Even the aura of the entire underworld has been weakened to an unknown number of layers, leaving only a thin layer scattered here.

The horn of Di Ting appeared without anyone noticing, and its aura weakened.

"Lu Yu...Your Highness Lu Yu..."

The sound of the telepathic message reached the ears of the girl walking in front; it was low and muffled, and seemed somewhat dry.

"What's wrong? Did you notice something, Di Ting?"

The girl didn't laugh at the little mythical beast's unusual fragility at this moment. Instead, she quietly picked up the fluffy creature on the ground and gently stroked its face.

"...You summoned me here because you wanted to tell me that the Underworld has fallen, right..."

Lu Yu didn't speak. Knowing that Di Ting could hear her thoughts, she explained in her mind:

"In the past hundred years, the gods of the Great Xia have entered the cycle of reincarnation countless times. As a result, the Underworld has been without a master and has long been a piece of fat meat in the eyes of other pantheons. Later, in their struggle, it was divided into six, leaving only this last core that could not be taken away."

"Listen carefully..."

Lu Yu's tone was more serious than ever before.

“Those thieves are already preparing to steal this last core. I am not a member of the Underworld, but I know the principle that thieves should die. The return of the Six Paths is imminent. As a member of the Underworld recognized by Lady Pingxin, you have some of the original aura of the Underworld. You are naturally a more suitable link than I am.”

Her eyes suddenly held a hint of helplessness: "However, there's something I shouldn't hide from you. Perhaps you can't go back to the Primordial World for the time being... You have to wait until things stabilize here before you can come with me to the Primordial World."

This was also what the system told her, because if the anchor point disappeared halfway through the transfer, Liudao would probably be stuck halfway.

Di Ting suddenly laughed: "Lu Yu...you're too gentle..."

"It's just that I can't go back for the time being. I stayed in the Underworld to enjoy some peace and quiet, and now I'm just staying in a different place..."

"Besides, as you said yourself, I am under the protection of the Goddess and am already a part of the Underworld. When it is my turn to help, I will not back down."

He gently scratched the girl's palm, causing a slight tickle: "But you really shouldn't have kept it from me... Consider this your punishment..."