The disappearance of the Immortal Painting Saint and the Old Continent greatly alarmed all the immortal Divine Demons of the Ancient God World.
None of them had yet bound themselves to the Fate Clay Tablet. At this point in time, hunting each other would yield greatly reduced rewards, making it hard to use the Ancient God's plundering power to seize the life origin and divine origin of the losers. Thus, engaging in hunts now would not be worth the cost.
Unless the hunter is vastly stronger than the prey, only then would they disregard the reduced gains.
It wasn't hard to investigate who the hunter was—Rosen's motives were easy to understand.
This only made the other immortal Divine Demons even more wary, especially since some of them knew that the disappearance of the Heaven and Earth Sacred God was connected to him.
Those who knew couldn't sit still any longer and began to push forward the ignition of the War of Fate without hesitation.
In a situation where the minority obeys the majority, all the immortal Divine Demons gathered in the Celestial Hall of the Star Realm.
Although Rosen's true body did not appear, his avatars attended under hidden identities.
Through his avatars, he saw the Fate Clay Tablet with his own eyes—and his first reaction was disbelief.
The Fate Clay Tablet had already become an Eternal Sacred Artifact. He could clearly sense the Miracle Source Seeds and the Fate Source Seeds within it. No one knew how many Fate Source Seeds there were, nor how the Ancient God had stripped them from the Fate Library.
But there were definitely three Miracle Source Seeds, each without exception fused into the Fate Clay Tablet.
Ultimately, the Fate Clay Tablet must also contain the Plunder Source Seed; otherwise, it would be impossible for the immortal Divine Demons to plunder each other's origins.
Every immortal god-demon coveted the Fate Clay Tablet—Rosen more than anyone, eager to seize it and collect all the Miracle Source Seeds.
But no one dared to act, as the Fate Clay Tablet belonged to the Ancient God.
All the immortal Divine Demons could do was send forward the gods of their respective civilizations to sign the Fate Oath.
Although the purpose of the immortal Divine Demons gathering was to hunt one another, everyone wanted to start by picking the softest targets.
The universe was on the brink of destruction. They themselves were struggling to survive—let alone the civilizations under their control.
In such times, no immortal god-demon would show mercy. One by one, they chose to sacrifice their civilizations, letting their gods kill each other first to plunder origins and, with the Fate Clay Tablet's help, create Great True Gods or even immortal Divine Demons.
If a new immortal god-demon was born, they could then easily hunt it down to further strengthen themselves.
At this very moment, the gods stepping forward one after another to sign the Fate Oath still had no idea they'd already been betrayed by the immortal Divine Demons behind them. They didn't know they'd become insects raised for a ritual—waiting to birth a Gu King, the sweet appetizer before the immortal god-demon's main feast.
Once all the gods under the immortal Divine Demons had signed the Fate Oath, they were immediately taken back into the law domains of their masters.
Rosen's avatars and pets had also dispersed among these gods. With the help of the Space-Time Boundary Gate, he could easily infiltrate an immortal god-demon's eternal world, deceive their perception, silently capture and replace certain gods.
While the immortal Divine Demons wanted their appetizers, his avatars and pets sought to hijack the feast.
After the gods vanished, nearly three thousand immortal Divine Demons stepped forward to sign the Fate Oath.
With each successful oath, the power of the Fate Clay Tablet grew stronger, until at last it exploded into thousands of fragments, which then merged into the bodies of all the immortal Divine Demons, becoming the medium by which they would hunt and absorb each other.
There were more fragments than there were immortal Divine Demons. Those who tried to intercept all the fragments failed entirely.
Some fragments tore through space and scattered toward the Spirit Realm, while others fell into the eternal worlds of the various Divine Demons.
In front of Rosen's true body, a fragment attempted to tear through space and embed itself into him. However, it was immediately caught and swallowed by the Star Sea Ladybug. He didn't trust anything created by the Ancient God to merge into his own body.
In any case, he had no intention of taking a shortcut to ascend to eternity and had no need to use the Fate Clay Tablet to plunder origins.
Though Rosen didn't plan to refine the fragments of the Fate Clay Tablet, he did control the Star Sea Ladybug to travel through space and collect them. After all, each fragment contained shards of three source seeds—all things he needed to gather and master.
For the Miracle Source Seed fragments, Rosen used the Eternal Spark to burn and extract them, merging them into the Miracle Star Sea.
Although the number of fragments wasn't enough to create a new miracle trait, even if the Ancient God retrieved all the remaining fragments, it would now be impossible to restore three complete Miracle Source Seeds. Just as the miracle shards disappeared, Rosen suddenly had a spiritual revelation.
The Cosmic Heart, already deeply connected to him, expressed a strong yearning toward the remaining fragments of the Fate Clay Tablet.
The Origin Source Seed was still undergoing metamorphosis within the Cosmic Heart, and it hadn't yet recovered enough to reclaim source seeds.
But these fragments, now lacking the Miracle Source Seed, seemed to be an exception.
Through the Origin Source Seed, Rosen delivered one fragment into the Cosmic Heart.
He watched as the Fate Source Seed fragment within was instantly absorbed and fused, after which the fragment—now containing only the Plunder Source Seed—was returned. Clearly, the Fate Source Seed held a very special value for the Cosmic Heart.
Perceiving the change in the Cosmic Heart, Rosen quickly understood what was happening.
The universe gave birth to all things—and all things originate from the universe.
All source seeds, and even the mental cores like the Original Psy-Nucleus, were likely fundamental origins stripped from the Cosmic Heart by the primordial lifeforms.
Having lost these origins, the Cosmic Heart lost control over the cosmos.
Thus, the Cosmic Heart could reabsorb source seeds and instinctively sought to fuse with all of them. However, in its current fragile state, it lacked the strength to digest complete source seeds—fragments were much easier for it to absorb.
As for why the Plunder Origin Seed was not reclaimed, it was because it contained the eternal will of the slumbering Ancient God. In contrast, the fragments of the Fate Origin Seed held no trace of eternal will.
Rosen extracted the Miracle Origin Seed fragments from over a dozen shards and fed the Fate Origin Seed fragments to the Heart of the Universe. The remaining Plunder Origin Seed fragments were sealed away. He also crushed the Agility and Black Hole Origin Seeds and fed them to the Heart of the Universe.
These two Origin Seeds had both been refined by eternal will, and even during their destruction, additional eternal will had been injected into them.
Thus, when the Heart of the Universe absorbed these fragments, Rosen's eternal will also fused into it. Perhaps sensing a glimmer of rebirth, the Heart of the Universe unexpectedly returned an Origin Seed after absorbing the two.
Rosen examined the returned Origin Seed and discovered it to be the Universe Origin Seed.
This was the most fundamental Origin Seed of the universe, and also the most powerful among them. Because the Universe Origin Seed encompassed all things, both innate and acquired Origin Seeds were born relying on it.
Rosen quickly refined the Universe Origin Seed and, through it, sensed the presence of other Universe Origin Seeds.
Deep within the Ancient God World, he sensed a microcosm inside Blue Star.
He also sensed the Holy God Temple within the Sea of Universal Origins, as well as the Dimension Forbidden Zone connected to the temple. In both places, he felt the presence of microcosms and Universe Origin Seeds—proof that such microcosms were only possible due to the presence of the Universe Origin Seeds.
Rosen fused the Universe Origin Seed into his True Realm of the Ancient God, which immediately began to evolve into a microcosm.
He unexpectedly discovered that feeding the Heart of the Universe with Origin Seed fragments had resulted in the return of the Universe Origin Seed. He also learned the reason behind the existence of microcosms. It seemed the Ancient God and the Holy God Temple had each obtained Universe Origin Seeds through their own means.
Rosen continued to study the Universe Origin Seed and discovered it possessed the ability to absorb and transform.
The Universe Origin Seed could absorb everything and integrate it into the microcosm. It could also transform everything, acting almost like a weakened version of the Heart of the Universe. Ultimately, it could also transform into any of the universe's Origin Seeds, though only one at a time.
Rosen transformed the Universe Origin Seed into a Space Origin Seed, and the resulting form was equivalent to ten combined Space Origin Seeds.
When he transformed it into a Painting Origin Seed, something remarkable occurred. The acquired Painting Origin Seed could originally only split into three, but now it could split into ten. So the Origin Seeds he controlled could all be transformed and enhanced to their limits by the Universe Origin Seed.
This also explained why the Ancient God could still wield complete time-space reincarnation even though Rosen held the Time Origin Seed.
Aside from the inherent fixed time-space reincarnation of Blue Star, the Ancient God had likely transformed a Universe Origin Seed into a Time Origin Seed. This explained how he could still wield complete time-space reincarnation without being affected by the loss of the Time Origin Seed.
Rosen wanted to delve further into his research on the Universe Origin Seed, but suddenly he felt something.
Through the Universe Origin Seed, he was able to sense the presence of other Universe Origin Seeds, and naturally, those who controlled the others could sense his. Deep within the Heart of the Universe, a dim room silently emerged.
In the room stood a round table, and above it floated a projection of the universe.
Through this projection, any corner of the universe could be observed directly.
Initially, there had been three chairs around the table. At this moment, a fourth chair suddenly appeared.
Rosen's eternal will was pulled into the room and seated in one of the chairs, from which he cautiously examined the space.
Moments later, three more figures appeared, each occupying one of the remaining chairs.
These three figures were shrouded in black mist, making it clear they were the holders of the other Universe Origin Seeds.
Rosen, through his own Universe Origin Seed, gained partial control over the room and learned of its origins.
This was the "Room Between Universes," a special space left behind by the Primordial Lifeform, similar in nature to the Veil Society.
The only requirement to enter was possession of a Universe Origin Seed.
The purpose of this space was to maintain the operation of the universe.
If the universe were to become unsustainable and face complete destruction, the beings who entered the Room Between Universes by wielding Universe Origin Seeds would gain the right to build a microcosm and thus obtain the authority to destroy the old universe and create a new one.
"Is the mutation in the Heart of the Universe related to you?" asked one of the mysterious beings who held a Universe Origin Seed.
The question was not directed at Rosen specifically, suggesting the black mist around each figure obscured all identity. With no way of knowing who sat in which chair, none could be targeted directly.
Rosen did not respond. The other two shadowy figures extended their hands and made a gripping motion in the air.
This was clearly a pre-agreed method of verifying identities. All three shadows turned to look at Rosen, who had not responded.
"No reaction? Seems you're not very confident in your strength," one of the unidentified figures chuckled lightly.
"Ancient God, Dimensional Holy One... and who is the third?" Rosen asked, probing.
"I am the Ancient God," said the shadow to Rosen's left without any attempt to conceal their identity.
"I am Dimension," added the shadow on his right.
"I am Chaos," said the shadow seated across from Rosen, completing the introductions.
"Still unwilling to reveal your identity? Seems your power hasn't reached the limits of eternity..." the Ancient God continued. "But your mere presence here already proves your extraordinariness. You are qualified to join our game for the inheritance of the universe. This game has no rules—the condition for victory is to become the only survivor, regardless of the cost."
After speaking, the Ancient God departed from the Room Between Universes. Dimension and Chaos also vanished, no longer paying any attention to Rosen.
Rosen remained seated in the Room Between Universes, feeling an overwhelming heaviness in his heart.
It was said that the Ancient God was slumbering, and Rosen had believed that to be true as well. But now, the Ancient God clearly possessed conscious awareness, able to enter the Room Between Universes. This meant that even if the Ancient God's true self was dormant, he must have a conscious incarnation hidden in the dark, able to enter this space at any time.
As for the Dimensional Holy One—he truly was still alive. And judging by what he had seen, his power even surpassed that of the Ancient God.
Lastly, there was the unheard-of Chaotic Holy One. From what Rosen observed, he appeared to be the most powerful among the three.
That earlier introduction clearly wasn't spoken at random—it followed an order based on strength.
The Ancient God had intentionally introduced the so-called "game for the inheritance of the universe" among the three of them. This was obviously to highlight the hierarchy of power among them, and perhaps also to win Rosen over, because it wasn't hard to analyze that the Ancient God's situation wasn't great.
The Ancient God was clearly exposed to the open, and the other eternal beings in the universe were all hostile toward him.
In contrast, the Dimensional and Chaotic Holy Ones remained hidden in the shadows, unknown to the world.
Rosen's judgment had been correct. The Ancient God, who had just gone offline, suddenly came back again. Without saying a single word, he placed a piece of Eternal Origin Stone on the table and pushed it toward Rosen, then disappeared again without a trace.
Worried that the stone might be a trap, Rosen examined it carefully for a long time before confirming that it contained nothing but information.
His eternal will read the contents within the stone, and just as he suspected, his earlier analysis had been entirely correct.
The Ancient God had directly revealed the identities of the Dimensional and Chaotic Holy Ones to him, and at the same time proposed an alliance of offense and defense.
The Ancient God suspected that both the Dimensional and Chaotic Holy Ones were not merely eternal beings, but reincarnations of Primordial Lifeforms. Another being suspected to be a reincarnated Primordial Lifeform was the one behind the Veil Society.
Precisely because they might be reincarnated Primordial Lifeforms, the Ancient God was no match for them.
Among them, the Chaotic Holy One was the strongest, forcing the Ancient God to maintain a long-term alliance with the Dimensional Holy One just to barely resist him.
The Ancient God's slumber wasn't only due to his divine essence being unable to control his overly powerful source of life. It was also because he had once clashed with the Chaotic Holy One. After that battle, the Ancient God was gravely wounded. If not for the Dimensional Holy One's intervention, he might have perished.
After that battle, the Chaotic Holy One didn't stop but instead secretly took control of the Holy God Temple and influenced over a hundred eternal beings.
The reason the Ancient God allowed the Holy God Temple to send thousands of immortal Divine Demons into the Ancient God's World wasn't because he benefited from them, but because he was powerless against the Chaotic Holy One, and the Dimensional Holy One had also begun harboring ill intentions toward him.
Right now was the Ancient God's most difficult and dangerous moment.
That was why he didn't hesitate to be honest with Rosen, hoping to draw him into an alliance against the Dimensional and Chaotic Holy Ones.
Only by uniting the weak against the strong could there be a chance to become the final victor.
Thus, the Ancient God's proposal was filled with sincerity. However, Rosen did not plan to respond. Compared to the three of them, he was far too weak. Until he became an eternal being himself, he would never take the initiative to contact the Ancient God.
Otherwise, if the Ancient God learned his identity, he wouldn't seek an alliance—he would devour him while he was still weak.
Rosen was now even starting to worry about the World Tree. He didn't know whether the Ancient God was aware of everything the World Tree was doing.
He probably didn't know—otherwise he wouldn't have allowed the World Tree to jump around so freely.
Rosen wanted to ask the World Tree whether it knew about the Dimensional and Chaotic Holy Ones. But his instincts told him this would be dangerous. He now even suspected that every move the World Tree made was under the Ancient God's watch, and that it had unknowingly become one of the Ancient God's pawns.
Regardless of who was the pawn and who the player, anyone who wanted to compete for the so-called inheritance of the universe needed true strength.
Even the Ancient God needed allies—Rosen didn't even qualify to be one yet.
After his eternal will left the Room Between Universes, Rosen immediately transformed the Heart of the Universe into the Plunder Origin Seed. Then, by using its power, he accelerated the speed at which his microcosm digested universal matter, greatly advancing his progress toward becoming eternal.
Since he now knew the Ancient God had a conscious incarnation, he no longer dared to appear in the Ancient God World.
Instead, he remotely controlled his avatar and pet. Only after using the fragments of the Fate Slate to grow them to the peak of Greater True God did he return to the Ancient God's True Realm.
No longer needing the power of the Origin Dark Sea, the strength of his microcosm alone was enough to allow his avatar and pet to ascend as Immortal Divine Demons.
As his avatar and pet continued to grow, Rosen's true self focused entirely on strengthening his eternal will.
The world did not stop turning just because someone disappeared. On the contrary, in the absence of Rosen's interference, it began to move forward on the proper track.
All the Immortal Divine Demons had gone mad from battle. The entire Ancient God World was nearly torn apart by them. The most frenzied of all was the World Tree, which no longer bothered to hide its existence. Gradually, the number of Immortal Divine Demons dwindled, and those who survived only grew stronger.
This war of fate among the Immortal Divine Demons lasted for over a hundred years from beginning to end.
Of the nearly three thousand Immortal Worlds possessed by these Immortal Divine Demons, fewer than a hundred Immortal Divine Demons survived the century-long carnage.
And the number of surviving Immortal Worlds was also less than a hundred.
At last, the bloodthirsty Immortal Divine Demons were called to a halt by the Holy God Temple, bringing an end to this catastrophic war of fate.
All the surviving Immortal Divine Demons now had the qualification to ascend to eternal life through external means.
(End of chapter)