A deity could indeed step in to strip divine portfolios, but such things were exceedingly precious to gods as well. Once Lolth the Spider Queen was delivered to the divine realm of the God of Alchemy, would he really return the extracted portfolios?
The God of Alchemy was bound by no restrictions against lying or deception, and in his current weakened state, Lolth's divine portfolios would be an extraordinary tonic—potentially allowing him to surpass his former limits and ascend to even greater heights.
Faced with such temptation, would the God of Alchemy really spit out the spoils?
Moreover, the God of Alchemy had deceived Anbaixiu in the past, and because of that, there had always been a lingering knot of mistrust between master and apprentice.
Now that the God of Alchemy had posed the question, Anbaixiu had to consider it with utmost seriousness.
Heji Stone couldn't help muttering in a low voice, "A deity who comes running at your beck and call—what else could you possibly doubt about him?"
None of those present were weaklings, so everyone naturally heard Heji Stone's words, and in truth, they shared the sentiment.
The God of Alchemy had already gone this far; how could he not be trusted?
Just when everyone assumed Anbaixiu would agree without hesitation, he said, "Teacher, you're right. I truly don't trust you. If this were solely my prize, I wouldn't mind taking a gamble to see if you'd screw me over again. But not this time. These spoils don't belong to me alone. Unless you can offer an acceptable guarantee, I'll have to seek another deity's aid."
Hearing Anbaixiu's words, the members of the Elegy Poetry Society felt quite gratified. Who would have thought that a lich usually so obsessed with money would show such loyalty and integrity at a critical juncture?
Just as everyone expected the God of Alchemy to display his wrath, the deity said placidly, "I knew you would say that. Rest assured, you have no idea how much weight the name of the Elegy Poetry Society carries. There is no way I would cheat you."
Anbaixiu glanced toward Poet. This senior seemed to know the God of Alchemy, so the decision ultimately rested in his hands.
Poet patted Anbaixiu on the shoulder. "He speaks the truth. Relax, your teacher won't deceive you."
Since even Poet had said so, Anbaixiu had no further reservations and moved directly to the next topic.
"There are four divine portfolios that can be extracted from Lolth the Spider Queen. How... do we divide them?"
Once the question was raised, Poet was the first to state his position: "Leave me out of it. Those things are of no use to me."
Poet was clearly an entity on par with deities, yet not a deity himself. His refusal likely stemmed from lack of need rather than false modesty. However, as Poet had contributed the most to this endeavor, if he declined to take anything, it made it awkward for the others to speak up.
Heji Stone, showing no such embarrassment, opened his mouth to chime in, but Anbaixiu glared at him. "Shove off. Don't you have any idea how little you contributed? Later on, I'll ask Arthur Ryan a few more questions for you, but don't even dream about a divine portfolio."
"Deal!"
Heji Stone agreed readily. He had never expected to receive a divine portfolio anyway; no matter how they divided it, his turn would never come. Securing Anbaixiu's promise already felt like a win.
Having dealt with this vampire who served as little more than background cheer, Anbaixiu turned back to Poet. "Senior, if you don't take anything, it will make it hard for the rest of us to divide it. How about you make a request?"
"Divine portfolios really are useless to me, though." Poet stroked his chin in thought for a moment before saying, "I'd like to hold a concert, but arranging the venue and audience is quite troublesome. How about you help me prepare it?"
Anbaixiu: ...
Maybe it was better to just give him a divine portfolio instead. This senior's music was true "grave" music—even undead would have their souls scattered to the winds upon hearing it! Merely listening for a few dozen seconds earlier had filled Anbaixiu with an urge to die; sitting through an entire concert might reduce him to nothing but ash.
Still, for the sake of godhood, he would brave it!
At worst, he could have Poet hold the concert in Ryan when the time came, sending that whole bunch of Ryan paladins ascending straight to heaven!
"All right. I will do my utmost to help you prepare the concert, Senior. However, it might not be possible anytime soon. As everyone surely knows, the continent's situation is extremely volatile, and we must all prepare for the upheavals ahead."
Poet said magnanimously, "No rush. Undead are immortal anyway."
Youjiaxi the ghoul also gave up his claim to a divine portfolio. He stated that he hadn't contributed much, and besides, Lolth's portfolios didn't align with his nature; he would rather take his time to forge his own path.
Only then did Anbaixiu realize that Youjiaxi, just like Aige, was a demigod merely a step away from true godhood. For a demigod who had already charted their own path, assimilating someone else's portfolio was indeed ill-advised; it might trap them permanently at the rank of a demipower, which would be a colossal loss.
Youjiaxi didn't ask for anything special either, merely saying, "Once Lolth's divine portfolios are separated, if her corpse remains, give it to me. The taste of a deity is truly divine."
With neither of these two claiming one, the rest became simple.
Of the four divine portfolios, the God of Alchemy would take one. Of the remaining three, Rose of Decay would take one, Anbaixiu would take one, and Gareth and his wife would take one. That accounted for all of them.
Seeing that Anbaixiu and the others had settled the division, the God of Alchemy swept his broad hand, taking Lolth the Spider Queen away with him.
"My divine power is quite weak at present, so separating the portfolios will take some time. Wait patiently."
Anbaixiu wanted to ask how long it would take, but the God of Alchemy had already vanished. By the looks of it, he too was eager to return to his peak.
With the battle concluded, the members of the Elegy Poetry Society went their separate ways.
They had arrived swiftly and departed without the slightest hesitation. Soon, only Anbaixiu, Rose of Decay, and the low-level undead wandering aimlessly about remained in the subterranean city.
Anbaixiu said to Rose of Decay, "Once you receive the divine portfolio, what do you plan to do with it? If you ascend to godhood, you will be bound by Ao's restrictions, making it difficult to act against Ryan personally."
Rose of Decay replied, "I certainly won't ascend to godhood. I am not yet qualified to face the Lord of the Dawn's Holy Light head-on. I will trade this portfolio for the aid of other deities, so that I can destroy Ryan with greater ease."
Her words also served as a reminder to Anbaixiu: once one ascended to godhood, the rules changed entirely. As a mortal, the Lord of the Dawn could not simply incinerate him with a blast of Holy Light, but once he became a deity, there would be far fewer restrictions on the Lord of the Dawn striking against him.
Of course, deities generally hid within their own divine realms, making them difficult for outsiders to find. In Lolth the Spider Queen's case, had she not gone mad and struck directly at Anbaixiu, she would never have met such an end.
Yet there was always the risk of misfortune. What if the Lord of the Dawn found him? One strike from that divine hammer, and Anbaixiu would probably be reduced to dust and ashes, even as a god.
Even so, Anbaixiu soon said with determination, "Regardless, I must ascend to godhood. Even if there is danger, I have to try."
The road lay before him—the one and only path. Even if it was fraught with thorns, he could only press forward with resolve.
"I knew you would say that. In that case, before you become a god, let us have a few more children," Rose of Decay said.
The phrasing was terribly prone to misunderstanding, but it jolted Anbaixiu's memory.
"Crap, I forgot about Melina! Where is she?!"
Anbaixiu had calmed Melina earlier, telling her to stay obediently with those drow elves. The massive battle that followed had been so intense and fast-paced, taking less than ten hours from start to finish.
Once Anbaixiu was caught up in the fray, he had completely forgotten about his daughter.
Rose of Decay also looked surprised. Her daughter was lost?
The two immediately split up, searching every corner of the city for Melina.
The underground city had been trampled and plowed through repeatedly by Gareth so many times that its appearance was utterly transformed.
After flying several circuits, Anbaixiu finally found a completely bewildered Melina amid the ruins.
The poor child, still in her drow disguise, was huddled inside a collapsed house.
Seeing Anbaixiu return, Melina said blankly, "Father, what happened? I waited here for hours, and then suddenly there was an earthquake, and then this place collapsed."
"Silly child, couldn't you run?"
"If I ran, I was afraid you wouldn't be able to find me when you came back."
Anbaixiu: ...
Melina was truly fortunate not to have been in the path of Gareth's frontal charge; otherwise, if not dead, she would have been grievously wounded.
This time, Anbaixiu had to admit it was his own fault. He hadn't expected the child to be so obedient and literal; she would definitely need proper educating in the future.
Anbaixiu said to Melina, "Everything is fine now. Let's head back."
Melina asked in confusion, "Head back? Was the mastermind found?"
"Already dealt with."
"Huh? But... I haven't done anything yet!"
Melina slumped in dejection. She had finally managed to infiltrate the place and was preparing to wash away her reputation as a fool with her brilliant wits.
How had everything suddenly been resolved?
If she returned like this, wouldn't she still be an idiot in everyone else's eyes?
Seeing Melina's expression, Anbaixiu chuckled and said, "It doesn't matter. Let me teach you another lesson: history is written by the victors. Now that we've won, the mastermind died however we say they died. You can claim all the credit for yourself. Don't worry, no one will compete with you for it."
"But isn't that fake? In reality, I still didn't do anything," Melina said glumly.
Anbaixiu smiled and said, "Silly child, only fools obsess over the process. If you don't want to be a fool, start with this. Make those who called you a fool believe that you took down the mastermind with your brilliant wits. As for the specifics, just make something up."
Delivering the pensive Melina to Rose of Decay's side, Anbaixiu bowed out, his mission complete.
This trip had originally been solely to acquire the myconids' spore powder. Who could have expected he would end up obtaining a divine portfolio, leaving him just one step away from godhood? It truly put him in high spirits.
Returning to his alchemy workshop, Anbaixiu identified the raw materials required for the sunscreen from among the three kinds of spore powder, then sent a message to Rose of Decay.
After collaborating for so long, there was no longer any need to discuss shipping fees or procurement costs. Rose of Decay didn't even haggle over price, simply stating that she would gather the materials and deliver them in bulk.
Having finished with this, Anbaixiu opened his demiplane again and walked over to Trisna's corpse.
Everyone had forgotten about this drow Matron Mother—a legendary drow blessed by three goddesses. Her corpse possessed immense value as well.
Just as Anbaixiu was contemplating how to utilize the corpse, the black dagger impaling Trisna melted into liquid and seeped into her body.
Then, the corpse rose up from the ground. The effect of Time Stop had completely broken.
When Trisna stood once more, her eyes had turned pitch-black. In an eerie voice, she said to Anbaixiu, "You took all the spoils. How do you intend to compensate me for my loss?"
Chapter 263