Super Righteous Player-Chapter 1267 - 297: The Chariot Prison

"I should have realized it earlier... Atabanus."

Annan narrowed his eyes slightly.

He raised his head, gazing at the Corrupted Husband slowly approaching him, and murmured in a low voice, "Though you were once the finest alchemist... your divine authority likely doesn’t encompass the domain of ’spices.’"

"Well said."

The Corrupted Husband, instead of showing anger at Annan’s direct address, responded in a calm and agreeable manner: "Indeed, it does not. But what of it?"

His pace neither quickened nor slowed.

Like strolling through a garden in the afternoon, he raised his pale and slender right hand, tracing mesmerizing patterns in the air like magical illusions.

There wasn’t the slightest trace of air currents around him, yet the petals—of varying colors, some fresh and others dried—seemed to come alive, coiling around his fingertips.

While the previous petal resting on his fingertip had transformed into a butterfly and then disintegrated into dust mid-flight...

Other petals vied for the chance to settle upon his fingers.

Not out of fervent faith.

But because they—or rather, it—desired to escape this form as quickly as possible. Even if they could transform into butterflies and shatter in the air, it would be better...

Better than being trapped in an uncontrollable body, drifting helplessly on the wind, only to dry out and decay.

Annan continued, "So, where exactly do all those varied and power-infused perfumes you’re creating come from?

"If they were merely plant-derived concoctions... then the formula for producing them would surely be traceable.

"You’ve always lacked disciples, especially no Angel Envoys of Gold rank capable of protecting your higher-tier followers. If these perfumes were indeed alchemical products, wouldn’t you distribute them among your followers?"

"You’re entirely correct."

The Corrupted Husband nodded with delight: "If I truly could offer these fragrant oils to others, I most certainly would."

"The reason you haven’t done so is that these perfumes cannot be given to others; or rather... if you were to gift them, their special properties would be lost.

"Since they’re neither the result of your divine authority nor an alchemical product that can be bestowed upon others... there’s only one possibility. These fragrances themselves are the alchemical effect of catalyzing some raw resources—they are not a ’product,’ but rather the ’effect’ of a spell!

"Because your followers lack alchemic abilities powerful enough to trigger such reactions on the spot, even if they were handed the raw materials..."

Annan inhaled deeply as he stared at the rain of petals, "Corruption, calcination, condensation, purification, dissolution, stigmatization, sublimation—the foundation of the path of Ascension originates from alchemy.

"The goal of alchemy is to transform low-value matter into high-value matter, as though turning black iron into gold... or even into the Philosopher’s Stone. If such perfumes can be created in just one step of refinement, it means the materials themselves must hold remarkably high ’value.’ They wouldn’t merely consist of rare, cursed, or enchanted plants rich in volatile properties but rather... immobilized human vitality."

"—To be precise, the Immortals themselves."

The Corrupted Husband spoke with elegance and composure: "I bestowed eternal life upon them, haven’t I?

"As long as even a single petal remains uncorrupted, not entirely vanished from the world, they continue to live. This is undoubtedly a form of immortality.

"And the perfumes made from countless overlapping petals embody countless lives—so long as the fragrance lingers in the air, they persist."

The Corrupted Husband extended his hand gracefully and seized a petal.

He pinched it gently, crushed it, and flicked the debris toward Annan.

The shattered residue drifted through the air, bursting other petals. This blast carried the fragments of petals along, spreading outward and shattering more petals as it expanded.

Close to the Corrupted Husband, the air became nearly transparent; but near Annan, the fragments converged into a pink haze tinged with faint yellow, red, and violet halos.

It resembled a drop of blood falling into water from a great height.

Like a bullet piercing through the body, or rings of smoke gently spreading—

Formed from the vaporized essence of countless lives, this intangible blow softly advanced toward Annan.

Yet Annan’s expression remained stoic.

He simply gripped his staff with both hands and rested it before him.

But everyone present, including the Corrupted Husband, seemed to experience a hallucination—they thought they saw a Valkyrie with a shield flash briefly behind Annan, blocking the seemingly gentle attack.

When the delicate pink mist collided with the illusory shield of light, it abruptly emitted explosive crackling sounds akin to an electrified mosquito swatter at night, accompanied by acrid smells and dazzling bursts of brilliance—

The invisible shield before Annan blazed brightly in an instant.

Like an enormous sword of light emerging from the ground... standing vertically, its radiant outline stretching over twenty meters tall and seven or eight meters wide in an overwhelming blaze. At the moment of contact between the mist and the light shield, the light erupted mightily.

A gentle breeze escalated instantaneously into roiling air currents.

A storm erupted at the point of impact, making Annan’s waist-length pure white hair and his white robe surge wildly in the wind.

Annan’s gaze remained unwavering as he stared through the wall of fire and light to confront the Corrupted Husband.

"As I expected," Annan scoffed, "the first step in human refinement... requires cultivating thick-faced shamelessness.

"When exactly," he asked, "did you become so... indifferent to the act of ’using others’ lives’?"

"I’ve always been this way, unchanged,"

The Corrupted Husband chuckled softly, "That’s why I am the Eternal God."

"So," Annan raised his brow slightly, "the reason your ascension quest remains stalled to this very day... is because you’re ’eternal’?"

"Your Majesty, what you say makes little sense..." The Corrupted Husband lowered his gaze humbly, his voice sweet and trembling with fear.

"—If I were to kill you here, wouldn’t the task be complete?"

"Whose task?"

Annan retorted, "Your ascension task? Or... the Worm’s task?"

"Of course, it’s the task you assigned me."

The Corrupted Husband answered unwaveringly.

He spoke with earnestness: "You once promised me...

"If I kill you here, you will make me eternal."

Annan could tell.

It was the truth.

At the same time, he realized what the Corrupted Husband was referring to...

—It was the Worm who had ordered him, aiming to replace Annan’s existence.

Because in any singular historical period, there cannot coexist two Annans; and since the Worm had replicated Annan completely, it meant the Worm cannot directly manifest in this time period.

It was like two files of identical size and name but slightly different contents. With Annan already present here, the Worm could at most become Annan (1) but could never replace the true Annan.

Unless Annan were killed first.

Annan’s face grew solemn.

This wasn’t good...

Not because the Corrupted Husband had gained the Worm’s assistance and would become vastly stronger.

The real issue was that the Worm had truly stolen Annan’s Wisdom.

The Worm was a genuinely delusional creature.

It was the embodiment of "agnosticism," "apocalyptic theories," and other disasters.

What people believed about the Worm would grant it corresponding powers; and the Worm, lacking a physical form, could not be killed through material means; moreover, it could directly interfere with history from the future—the only limiting factor was the Worm’s insufficient intelligence, relying solely on instinctive actions, behaving more like a "beast" than a "demon."

Although after stealing Annan’s power and Wisdom, the Worm could now be killed using material means... the Worm had also gained genuine intelligence.

It had now become a true demon.

This raised an urgent question in Annan’s mind.

—Was Annan’s Ascension Ritual still safe?

At the moment every True God ascends to the realm of Light, they might inevitably come into contact with the Worm.

Because the final gateway to the realm of Light is the "Worm and Cicada Gate." With its ability to "gain power from being called by name," the Worm likewise governs this passage.

"You’ve already figured it out?"

The Corrupted Husband chuckled softly, "Not bad, as expected of Your Majesty’s predecessor. Truly wise.

"Allow me to help confirm it further. Your Majesty’s ability works like this: the farther removed a historical moment is, the greater Your Majesty’s influence over it. Besides those ’immutable histories,’ Your Majesty can reshape any history.

"Upon becoming a god, however, one completely detaches from primary history and enters ascendant history. Thus, Your Majesty cannot interfere with the True Gods who have already ascended; but during the Ascension Ritual itself... the aspirant is still not a fully-fledged god.

"It’s a perilous journey fraught with fatal consequences—an accident here means obliteration with no chance of resurrection...

"In short, you no longer have the opportunity for ascension."

The Corrupted Husband declared conclusively, "And this world will never see the Celestial Chariot again."