"God?" Phield was stunned as he sized up the monster before him.

Contrary to what he had imagined, he felt no urge to kneel in worship, nor any sense of being insignificant as an ant. In fact, the very first thought that crossed his mind was taking a picture and posting it online.

"Child, what is your name?" The giant eyeball stared at Phield for three seconds. It had no mouth, yet a deep voice echoed from within it. "You are unique."

"Uh, I’m merely a refined baron passing through."

Phield shamelessly made something up while giving a courteous bow. If this thing learned his real name, who knew what terrifying consequences might follow.

The giant eye fell silent for a long moment. It seemed genuinely choked speechless by Phield’s nonsense.

"Relax. I hold no ill intent, nor can I curse you through your name."

"All right then. Are you truly a god?" Phield carefully softened his tone as he asked.

"I am not a god. Hermaines Mora is my name. I am the divine artifact of a Ninth Tier Wisdom Divine Chosen."

"Ninth... Ninth Tier? That actually exists?"

Both of them sucked in cold breaths in disbelief. To Phield, even a Third Tier existence already seemed overwhelmingly powerful. He could not imagine what a Ninth Tier divine artifact truly represented.

Rosalia’s mouth hung open. Dizzy, she pressed a hand against her forehead. "Even the entire Empire shouldn’t possess a Ninth Tier existence."

"But this scroll calls you a god." Phield waved the scroll around twice. After staring at the annotation for a moment, realization dawned on him. "Then this annotation itself is wrong."

"Correct. However, I am merely a projection of thought. If they see me as a devil making bargains, then I become a devil. If people regard me as an animal, then I am an animal. I may be an ignorant stone, or I may become a wise sage."

This giant eyeball was unexpectedly philosophical.

A Ninth Tier artifact was certainly shocking, but at least it was not some incomprehensible, ethereal deity.

Phield gradually relaxed and nodded thoughtfully. "I thought Wisdom Divine Chosen were all mysterious riddlers who only spoke incomprehensible nonsense. Turns out you’re surprisingly easy to communicate with."

"Wisdom exists to pursue knowledge, not obstruct understanding." The giant eye used one of its tendrils to pat Phield’s shoulder in an oddly friendly manner, as though showing approval. "Profoundness does not mean incomprehensibility."

Those idiots from the Shadow World Sect had worshipped this thing as a god and ended up being played like fools by a giant eyeball.

Phield, meanwhile, was a materialist. So the eyeball had never deceived him.

As if reading his thoughts, the eyeball’s tone grew slightly lighter as it admitted openly, "I have been using them to acquire resources. The annotation was written by me. The offerings made by Baron Busby were secretly taken by me. However, their true god is someone else entirely."

"Then why are you looking for me?" Phield asked directly.

"You possess knowledge beyond your era. That is why I wished to meet you. I need your assistance. From one of the Five Great Calamities, the Chaos Divine Chosen, retrieve the lost pages of The Infinite Wisdom Canon. The Chaos Divine Chosen possess the ability to block all forms of perception. Even I cannot deduce their location, nor can I destroy them."

Phield remained cautious. "Here’s the problem. Today you deceived Baron Busby. Tomorrow you could deceive me as well."

"My master has already faded away. I cannot harm anyone. Otherwise, I would have personally eradicated the Chaos Calamity long ago. Besides, I shall offer you sufficient sincerity."

As the words fell, an exquisite book slowly materialized.

"My master’s greatest inheritance, The Book of True Knowledge, a First Tier divine artifact. It can directly transform an ordinary woman into a First Tier Divine Chosen. You may also keep it as a divine artifact for yourself. However, do not use it on someone you truly care about. She will become your living library, absolutely loyal to you, but she will no longer remain herself. She will merely become a tool."

"So Divine Chosen really can be bestowed?"

"Not exactly. It is more akin to possession. A unique inheritance that only Ninth Tier Divine Chosen may possess." The giant eyeball gradually began to fade. "The lost pages consist of seven Chapters in total. Every time you recover one Chapter, I shall grant you an appropriate reward."

"But where are they? And how am I supposed to contact you?"

Before Phield could finish asking, the giant eye vanished entirely.

All Phield could do was stare blankly as he muttered helplessly, "Forget it. I’ll look slowly. At least I now have a clue about the Chaos Divine Chosen."

He silently recorded the information about the Chaos Divine Chosen into his personal notebook.

"Chaos is one of the Five Great Calamities." Rosalia licked her lips. "I wonder what they taste like."

The Chaos Divine Chosen suddenly sounded oddly delicious.

"Do you know anything about the other four calamities?" Phield carefully accepted the new artifact and turned toward Rosalia.

"I don’t know. But the other calamities are likely the same as us Corrupted beings. Their ultimate goal is singular: the extinction of all life in this world."

Phield could not understand it. "But why?"

"My inheritance never explained the reason. Before forming a contract with you, I was also driven to slaughter. If I didn’t kill something, I would feel unbearably hungry and painfully miserable."

"Forget it. No point dwelling on that right now. Let’s take this artifact first."

Phield picked up The Book of True Knowledge. Unlike other divine artifacts, this book did not require blood to bind itself. Information naturally surfaced within his mind.

The Book of True Knowledge

First Tier Divine Artifact, Exclusive

Origin: Goddess of Wisdom 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Ability One: Wisdom Inheritance

Exclusive inheritance granted by a Ninth Tier Wisdom Divine Chosen.

Can bind with any female lifeform and forcibly transform them into a First Tier Divine Chosen.

Note: The inheritance will alter the target’s personality and character, causing absolute obedience toward all commands from the lord.

Ability Two: True Knowledge Appraisal

Civilization Foundation Tier

Can identify all divine items of First Tier and below, as well as all non-divine items of Third Tier and below.

Note: It can only analyze present and past knowledge. It cannot deduce future knowledge.

"So powerful?"

This was the first time Phield had ever seen the designation "Civilization Foundation Tier."

"Let me try it."

Phield focused the book on one of the eggs they had found earlier. The moment he activated it, nearly a quarter of his magic power was instantly drained away.

At the same time, dense lines of biological descriptions slowly emerged across the blank pages of the Book of True Knowledge. Phield skimmed past the massive amount of secondary information until he located the important section.

Scarlet Blood War Eagle Egg:

A special egg nurtured within blood pools, containing powerful slaughtering energy. Long term consumption may alter the nature of magical power.

"There’s no description of the Scarlet Blood War Eagle itself?"

After several attempts, Phield finally understood how the book functioned.

It only answered exactly what was being examined.