145. Master of Censorship Evasion

A conceptual weapon?
Yet isn't this an instrument of execution?
And wasn't that illusory world, which helped reassemble his consciousness, created by Cthulhu?
In that case, shouldn't Cthulhu be aware of the properties of the gallows?
Could it be...

Amidst the cascading series of question marks popping up in his mind, Chen Sheng's gaze instinctively shifted toward the octopus-like entity. But recalling that demigods belonging to these cosmic civilization chains seemingly possessed universal telepathy, he hastily cut off the thought, desperately reigning in his train of thought.

Otherwise, the best-case scenario for him would be having to compensate Cthulhu with an entire city carved of stone.
The volume of information contained within this was simply too immense! And Chen Sheng could not be certain that a demigod would not take an interest in it.

"Was that caused by a conceptual weapon?" Chen Sheng asked with a perfectly natural expression. This demeanor wasn't put on for Cthulhu's benefit, but rather to convince himself that he was genuinely perplexed by the matter at this moment.

To deceive others, one must first deceive oneself.

"Naturally. Only a conceptual weapon could inflict conceptual damage upon a place," Cthulhu suspected nothing and obligingly offered an explanation.

Having said that, he even took the initiative to offer consolation: "You needn't worry, however. Based on my past experiences, this conceptual attack was likely just collateral damage. Because the power of conceptual weapons is far too formidable—even demigods of the Ninth Chain covet them—experiments with conceptual weapons are frequently conducted in secret. Although there is a high probability that the culprit missed their mark this time and did no intentional harm, we cannot simply let the matter rest! We shall chalk this debt up for now and exact compensation from the master of this conceptual weapon the next time we encounter them."

"We?" Chen Sheng caught the shift in Cthulhu's phrasing. Although this could be interpreted as Cthulhu's faction, it was unmistakably inclusive of Chen Sheng himself at present.

"Yes, we. For besides here, is there anywhere else you can go? Earth has been destroyed by a conceptual weapon of annihilation. Once defined by a conceptual weapon, Earth, along with the intelligent races upon it, exists in a state of eternal destruction. No matter how powerful a demigod might be, they cannot resurrect the humans of Earth." Cthulhu wore the expression of someone who had Chen Sheng entirely at his mercy.

"Then what can I do by staying here? Craft illusory worlds to lure other demigods, or perhaps intelligent beings of the civilization chains, to come and play?" Chen Sheng asked.

Though his memories of being a human spanned a long time, he had truly only been a human for a fleeting moment, let alone a demigod!
That tenure was even shorter than his time as a human.
Moreover, as a human, he at least had some reference memories; as a demigod, he had none whatsoever.

"You won't need to help with crafting illusory worlds; I am fully capable of that myself. But that is of no consequence, for we can no longer sustain our livelihood by crafting illusory worlds."

"Why?" Chen Sheng asked directly.

Given that he was ignorant of many things at present, and knowing Cthulhu's propensity for lying, the Cthulhu before him could arguably be described as the most ideal encyclopedia-cum-utility man... ah, utility demigod.
If he were to miss out on Cthulhu, this ideal utility demigod, he feared he would have to pay a staggering price if he encountered anything he wished to know in the future.

"Ever since you were completely resurrected, the illusory worlds have also lost their appeal to those demigods and intelligent beings, let alone the ability to entice demigods to seal their own memories and voluntarily participate by playing the roles of your younger sister or colleagues." With his head of tentacle-like appendages swaying, Cthulhu was filled with regret.

"Chen Youyou is a demigod too? And what about Cao Daha, that bald boss of mine?" Chen Sheng was not particularly surprised by this, merely wishing to confirm it.

"Indeed. The one playing your sister, Chen Youyou, is the younger sister of the Lord of the Realm of Light from the Ninth Civilization Chain. Because of an issue with their divine power originating from the same source as the Realm Lord, she has now defected. The brother and sister are dead-set on eliminating one another, but regrettably, both possess true divine rank, leaving them in the awkward stalemate where neither can kill the other." While explaining, Cthulhu threw in a snippet of esoteric gossip.

It was evident that this demigod of the Seventh Chain was a gossip fanatic.
For when Cthulhu recounted the grievances and romantic entanglements between the Realm Lord of Light and his sister, those eyes visibly brightened.
It was as though the fire of gossip was burning within them.

Could this octopus-man have awakened while studying Earth's civilization? Or was he always like this?
It was no wonder Chen Sheng thought this way; after all, that head full of tentacle-like appendages possessed far too strong a style of an evil god, and what else interested an evil god most?

The next second, Chen Sheng confirmed this hypothesis.
This octopus-man was indeed a fanatic for gossip.

"As for the one playing your boss, she is a demigod of the Eighth Civilization Chain. I am indebted to her matchmaking for allowing me to borrow a portion of the Netherworld's power to serve as the world's foundation. Of course, she wasn't being entirely kind-hearted; she merely used helping me as an excuse to tryst with her old flame. Speaking of which, one cannot help but question her taste—to actually fancy an ordinary intelligent being. Though he belongs to the Ninth Civilization Chain, he is unworthy of her status as a demigod."

Cthulhu delivered these words with a tone that practically begged for a pair of tongue-clicking sounds.

"She is a demigod of the Eighth Civilization Chain, while you are of the Seventh. Isn't it rather ill-advised to mock her so casually, in case she can perceive it?" Chen Sheng suddenly spoke up. Yet he wasn't doing this out of consideration for Cthulhu; rather, he wished to use this opportunity to probe the classification of demigods and their capabilities.

After all, the timing was too opportune. Matters relating to "Chen Youyou" could arguably be considered common knowledge, but the intelligence regarding "Cao Daha" could be classified as top-secret—secrets that might well provoke her into a fury.

"You overestimate the power of demigods. A demigod is merely an existence transcending biological limits, neither defined by time nor constrained by physical boundaries. As for destructive power, the golden lightning you unleashed earlier actually surpasses that of nearly half of all demigods. The might of a demigod lies in their eternal existence, not in the destruction they can inflict. Otherwise, there would be no need to forge conceptual weapons."

"Although the strength of demigods can be categorized by civilization chains, a civilization chain does not represent a demigod's actual might. For instance, the one playing your boss in the illusory world—the one you call Cao Daha—is a demigod of the Eighth Civilization Chain. However, this Eighth Civilization Chain merely denotes her upper limit. Her actual strength, much like your own, is of the Fourth Chain."

Chen Sheng nodded, indicating that he understood.

Since Cthulhu was facing him directly while speaking these words, they were undoubtedly the truth.
The number of the civilization chain represented a demigod's upper limit.
It did not, however, represent their true strength!

Even so, the formidable nature of these demigods was truly somewhat hard to believe.
To not be defined by time—wasn't that the very definition of eternal life? And to not be constrained by physical boundaries could easily be understood as perpetual youth.
In other words, demigods were beings who enjoyed both immortality and eternal youth!

A wave of shock, mingled with a touch of joy, inevitably arose in Chen Sheng's heart. After all, he was now a member of the demigod fraternity. Though he lacked the backing of a civilizational race, he possessed the two defining traits of a demigod!

Yet shortly thereafter, a slight sense of loss crept into Chen Sheng's mind.
This was because the gallows in his possession, while exceptionally peculiar at present and functioning akin to a conceptual weapon, could not be used to combat demigods.
This execution instrument could strip away all the time possessed by its target, but demigods could not be defined by time.

Even so, Chen Sheng immediately thought of the other two instruments of execution he had previously obtained. However, this was not the time to summon them, so he was about to speak and continue his questioning when he suddenly saw Cthulhu turn around.

With his back to Chen Sheng, Cthulhu said, "Look, since you have nowhere to go, why not stay and act as my assistant? I won't treat you unfairly—how about I help you fashion a daughter?"

When did I have a daughter?
Chen Sheng raised an eyebrow, then said calmly, "Regarding this matter, would you mind turning around to speak?"

"Why?" Cthulhu remained with his back turned.

"Someone told me that whenever you lie, you cannot face the person you are speaking to."

"She told you that?" The tentacle-like appendages on Cthulhu's head thrashed violently, as if he were gripped by intense emotions and longed to hurl a string of curses, but in the end, Cthulhu restrained himself.

With an expression of utter dismay, Cthulhu turned around. He looked at Chen Sheng and said helplessly, "It seems you've truly caught her eye. She even told you this... this..."

After stumbling over his words for a good while without finishing, Cthulhu abruptly changed the subject: "Since that's the case, if you encounter a demigod of the Tenth Chain in the future, you might try conversing with them. If the other party is willing to communicate with you, or if you can perceive them without them causing you to be unable to gaze directly upon them, then you most likely bear a mark left by her. Should you encounter the Stone-kin in the future, you can compel them to obey you unconditionally, though the Stone-kin are in decline now, so it won't be easy for you to run into them..."

Cthulhu muttered endlessly under his breath, seemingly venting a bellyful of grievances he dared not voice aloud.

"Are there cosmic civilizations of the Tenth Chain?" Chen Sheng asked. From what he had heard earlier from Cthulhu and that little girl, he had assumed the Ninth Civilization Chain was the highest.

"Cosmic civilizations do not have a Tenth Chain; the Ninth Chain is the highest tier of cosmic civilization. However, there are always those who can transcend the limitations of their own civilization and forge a unique divine rank. Once they achieve divine rank and become a demigod of the Tenth Chain, they can truly be called gods. Even the Great Will of the universe will consult the suggestions of a Tenth Chain demigod regarding the trajectory of its evolution."

Chen Sheng finally understood. No wonder Cthulhu had backed down so thoroughly; that little girl was a terrifying entity of the Tenth Chain.

Yet given that, why would this little girl single him out for special treatment?
Chen Sheng could not help but feel puzzled.
Logically speaking, that experience in the illusory world could only be considered a recreational slumber for her, at best earning him a modicum of favor from a Tenth Chain demigod.

After all, someone who plays a card game for a long time will, to a greater or lesser degree, develop an affinity for the cards they cultivate the most.
Chen Sheng could clearly sense that her attitude toward him was exceptionally intimate.

Could it be that this little girl had used entering the illusory world to participate in a "game" as a cover, and had done something else entirely within that illusory world?

Reflecting on it, from the gold-rimmed glasses she gave him to enter the "healing game" all the way to the path of departure she purposely left for him at the end, her actions had clearly been purposeful.

To this end, she had even gone so far as to seal her own memories and accompany him throughout the entire process. At the very beginning of everything, she had also contrived a three-year period of shared companionship for the two of them.
There was unmistakably something hidden beneath all this!

Chen Sheng pondered the matter, but finding himself utterly unable to fathom it, he abandoned the guesswork. Directing his gaze back to Cthulhu, he brought the conversation back on track: "When did I have a daughter? And didn't you say I was the last human? Surely you don't intend to conjure up a demigod just to make me experience the agony of conflicting divine powers?"

"Well, you should remember who brought you out, shouldn't you?" Cthulhu countered with a question.

"A rather ill-fated little female ghost," Chen Sheng said. "You surely aren't trying to tell me she's my daughter?"

"Not quite that. She was actually pieced together from scraps of leftover material gathered after your first six reassemblies of consciousness. Everything she thinks and believes inherits your ideology—specifically, the ideological concepts of a radical late-medieval rebel from the former Earth civilization. In a sense, she is the true radical rebel, because your own ideological concepts have clearly changed since then."

Having reached this point, Cthulhu added a supplementary note: "Your first six attempts to reassemble consciousness failed. Although I indirectly guided the subsequent five, the very first time... for reasons unknown, even though your initial consciousness reassembly was immensely successful and fulfilled your dying wish, you stubbornly refused to leave the illusory world and chose to end your own life instead."

At this moment, Cthulhu was facing Chen Sheng directly, so these words were the truth.

This revelation left Chen Sheng wearing a thoughtful expression.
What if the entity produced by the first reassembly of consciousness—or rather, the person generated during that very first attempt—was a one-hundred-percent pure "radical late-medieval rebel"?
Whereas the seventh attempt produced a consciousness tainted by other influences, perhaps even one brought into being out of nothingness!

A sudden realization stirred within Chen Sheng's heart, driven naturally by the connection to the series of actions taken by that little girl. If her goal had been to bring a consciousness into existence out of nothingness, then her deliberately sealing her own memories to enter the illusory world and spend time with him suddenly made complete sense.

Yet if that was the case, what was her ultimate purpose in doing so?

Chen Sheng mused on this. Unable to figure it out, his thoughts flashed back to the moment he bestowed a new definition upon the gallows, followed by doing the same for the guillotine, along with that iron rod—all three instruments of execution had only acquired their properties after he redefined them.

"Moreover, the definitions I bestowed all took effect, and they possess the might of conceptual weapons."
"Yet why am I able to define instruments of execution?"
If the "Netherworld" truly existed, then the things residing within it might be real as well!

So deeply absorbed in thought was he that Chen Sheng momentarily forgot to shield his mental activity to avoid "telepathy." Fortunately, the moment Chen Sheng realized this, he noticed that the octopus-man showed no signs of having "heard" his "inner voice."

For Cthulhu continued unperturbed: "But none of that matters. After all, you were willing to come out after your seventh consciousness reassembly. As for why I said she is your daughter—since that consciousness coalesced alongside you, I simply used a portion of your bodily tissue to fashion a physical body for her."

"Which part of my bodily tissue?" Chen Sheng asked with a hint of vigilance.

"..."
Chen Sheng: "..."

You truly are a master of passing censorship.