National Guardian's Gone and We're Done

If that happens, what awaits me is the endless wrath of the Deities.

Even the lightest punishment would be centuries, or even a millennium, of torment.

The rules of the Celestial Palace are stricter than you can possibly imagine. No one dares to break them.”

At this, Amaterasu instinctively recoiled, her eyes filled with dread as a faint tremor ran through her body.

”Don’t you always go on about being a Deity? Calling yourself one all the time?

You may just be a lower-ranked deity at the bottom of the divine hierarchy, but you still bear that title.

So why are you playing dumb with me now, claiming you don’t even know where the Celestial Palace is?”

Chu He’s narrow eyes narrowed further, a cold glint flashing within them like the edge of a blade. His piercing gaze felt like a physical chain, locking onto Amaterasu, intent on dissecting her very soul. ”According to what you’ve told me,

the Deities are all living carefree lives in that supremely mysterious Celestial Palace.

As a Deity yourself, why aren’t you among them? Why are you wandering the mortal realm instead,

so helpless in my grasp, like a lamb to the slaughter?”

Chu He was certain of it. Amaterasu’s story was riddled with inconsistencies.

She was definitely hiding some dark secret.

He was determined to pry the truth from her, no matter how harsh his methods had to be.

”I...” Amaterasu’s delicate frame shuddered violently, and she sank back into a deep mire of hesitation, unable to speak.

Her lips, as vibrant and delicate as spring petals, now trembled like dying leaves in an autumn wind.

Each subtle tremor seemed to rip a gash in the silent air,

laying bare the terror coiling within her.

She clearly harbored some earth-shattering secret she dared not speak a word of.

Yet she also knew that the capricious man before her could obliterate her soul with a single motion if provoked, leaving no chance of rebirth. The thought scared her into silence.

Seeing this, Chu He let out a cold snort. The sound was like shards of ice cracking in the dead of winter,

carrying a bone-deep chill that seemed to freeze the very air around them.

With a seemingly casual flick of his wrist, he made his move.

The Grass Cutting Sword, which had been hanging at his side like a slumbering beast, instantly teleported to Amaterasu’s neck—a neck as flawless and pale as carved white jade.

The cold, gleaming blade pressed against her skin, so delicate it looked as if it would break with a single touch.

The slightest pressure from Chu He’s fingertips would be enough to slice through her fragile throat,

sending a spray of crimson across the room.

”I’ll talk! I’ll talk!”

Amaterasu’s eyes widened in terror,

the panic in them a surging tide threatening to swallow her whole.

She shrieked hysterically, using every ounce of her strength. ”It’s because I bear a solemn duty, assigned to me personally by a high-ranked Deity! I must guard the gate between heaven and earth!

I cannot allow anyone to seek the path to godhood.

If I detect anyone attempting to break their mortal bonds and ascend,

I must strike without hesitation or mercy, killing them before they can succeed,

annihilating any hope of their ascension!”

Amaterasu’s voice trembled violently. It had taken all her strength to force the words out. Large beads of sweat rolled down her smooth forehead,

landing with a soft pat on the ground and kicking up tiny puffs of dust.

”So there really are other Deities in this world?”

Chu He’s gaze was sharp as he instantly seized upon the key information. He pressed his advantage, giving Amaterasu no chance to breathe or compose herself.

He wanted to peel back the layers of this mysterious world of Deities, one by one, until he reached the truth at its core.

”There are...”

Amaterasu had just uttered those two words when something bizarre occurred.

Her muscles instantly petrified, her body becoming as rigid as an ancient statue, stripped of all life.

Then, as if pried open by a pair of invisible yet immensely powerful hands, her eyes were forced wide. Her eyeballs bulged grotesquely, straining against their sockets.

Finally, within her once-clear eyes that had reflected the stars,

a crimson web of blood vessels spread with visible speed, hideously covering her entire eyeballs.

”It’s over... It’s all over...”

Amaterasu’s voice was an unrecognizable, trembling wreck, like a desperate shriek from the depths of Hell. ”I’ve revealed too many secrets of the Celestial Palace... The punishment from the high-ranked Deities is here... I’m dead... I’m dead for sure...”

Her body began to convulse uncontrollably.

Seeing this, Chu He’s brow furrowed tightly.

He raised his hand without hesitation. A dense, almost tangible life force instantly converged in his palm,

forming a surging river of life capable of nourishing all creation.

He sent it roaring into Amaterasu’s body.

However, in a jaw-dropping turn of events,

this torrent of life force—an energy that could reverse fate and raise the dead in the eyes of mortals—

was instantly incinerated the moment it touched Amaterasu’s body. It was like mortal snowflakes

meeting the raging, all-consuming divine wrath of the Deities. It vanished into a wisp of smoke, disappearing without a trace.

What was more terrifying was that the divine wrath, like an insidious viper choosing its prey,

slithered back along the stream of life force,

locking onto him as its new target. It sought to drag Chu He into the vortex of death and devour him completely.