The air in the Temple grew a bit subtle at the mention of the title "God of Machinery and Creation."
The four team members exchanged glances, their eyes conveying a message that only they could instantly understand.
The God of Machinery and Creation?
Wasn't that the ultimate unlucky bastard from the previous Dungeon who had his home raided by the "Mother of Rebirth," got his Divinity swallowed, almost died completely, and finally managed to win the revival match thanks to them (mainly Lin Qingyue)?
So that God had such a monumental military achievement of cleaving the heavens and suppressing the Ancient Gods?
These two Dungeons truly deserved to be fragments split from the same world.
Even the deeds of the Gods could seamlessly connect.
"And then?"
Lin Qingyue acted like a curious listener, guiding the topic to the part they were most concerned about.
"After that God of Machinery ascended, how were you Four Celestial Gods born?"
This question was like stepping on a switch, precisely activating Qingxuan's rant mode.
"Us?"
Qingxuan snorted coldly, that look of disdain returning, as if discussing a troublesome matter that had nothing to do with him but he had to endure.
"We are just the 'plug-ins' for the seal. Or in more advanced terms, we're the 'firewall'."
His wording was very trendy, clearly having been deeply brainwashed by Lin Qingyue's online novel industrial theory.
"To ensure that the Super Great Array could run stably for a long time, the World autonomously nurtured us four unlucky bastards, each corresponding to one of the four key nodes of the 'World Heart'."
He spread his hands and shrugged helplessly, his posture filled with the bitterness of a "Party B contractor."
"The Azure Dragon of the East controls Vitality and Balance, corresponding to 'Pride'."
"The Vermilion Bird of the South controls Destruction and Rebirth, corresponding to 'Wrath'."
"The White Tiger of the West controls Slaughter and Order, corresponding to 'Envy'."
"The Black Tortoise of the North controls Protection and Death, corresponding to 'Sloth'."
Qingxuan stretched out his finger and traced four points of light in the air: Azure, Crimson, White, and Black.
"We are deeply bound to the four core array eyes of the Great Sealing Array. As long as we four Celestial Gods remain stable and fulfill our duties, the Great Sealing Array will be as solid as an impregnable fortress."
He spread his hands again, his tone laced with the unconcealable resentment of a "deity wage slave."
Gods love humanity?
Bullshit.
The truth was that the gods were acting as security guards for the world, and the kind without insurance, unable to quit, and on call 24 hours a day!
"But if any one of us has a problem..."
Qingxuan said no more, but the implication was already self-evident.
These words caused Lin Xiyue, Su Wan, and Xia Lian's brains to crash.
The so-called "Trial of the Heavenly Gods" was not some challenge to test mortal heroes at all.
This was the "Third-Party Psychological Intervention Emergency Plan" activated by the World Will when the divine employees suffered massive psychological issues and the sealing system was on the verge of collapse!
Their team was the chosen "externally hired psychological doctor dream team."
The Temple fell into silence once more.
The ancient secret Qingxuan had revealed was like an invisible mountain, pressing down on everyone's hearts.
The so-called Celestial Gods of the Four Directions were not the rulers of this world, but four specially designated "jailers" guarding a prisoner who could destroy the world at any moment.
And their "salary" was to draw energy from the prisoner to sustain the world's operation.
This logic was filled with a certain exquisitely cold sense of balance.
Very "mechanical."
And very "creative."
"I have one more question."
Lin Qingyue broke the silence, her voice cool and sharp, striking straight at the core.
"Since the seal is so important, and your states directly affect its stability, why did you all have problems collectively?"
This question was asked quite bluntly, even carrying a hint of interrogation.
A faint blush, almost imperceptible, spread across Qingxuan's cheeks. It was the embarrassment of a socially anxious shut-in being called out for "professional negligence" in public.
"Well..."
His gaze began to bounce back and forth between the ceiling and the floor again, his toes unconsciously drawing circles.
"Probably... just from living too long, I guess."
"For tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of years, repeating the same job over and over. Watching mortal dynasties rise and fall, the blue sea turning into mulberry fields... Even the most interesting things become dull and tedious. And then... all sorts of little problems started to surface."
"Feng Yan, that Red-Feathered Bird, got more and more furious, taking issue with everyone she saw, until she finally burned herself to nothingness."
"As for me, you all saw it, I wrote novels until I became a shut-in, refusing any contact with the outside world, and spent every day thinking about how to escape reality."
His voice grew softer and softer, eventually becoming almost inaudible, filled with self-loathing.
"Speaking of which..."
Qingxuan seemed to have suddenly remembered something, snapping his head up, those dragon pupils revealing a trace of delayed confusion.
"Roughly a little over a year ago, I did feel the seal of the 'World Heart' loosen very violently once. At that time, that nauseating aura belonging to the Ancient God was active like never before."
Lin Qingyue understood.
A little over a year ago was exactly the time this Dungeon appeared.
That lump of Spirit of Pride outside wasn't lying.
All the clues were instantly linked in this moment, forming a complete and clear chain of logic!
Lin Qingyue let out a long sigh, that sigh mixed with understanding, absurdity, and a trace of strange sympathy for these "unlucky gods."
"Now it's confirmed."
She looked up, her long pink hair swaying in the windless Temple as an aura of absolute insight quietly spread.
Then, she stated the conclusion that had already surfaced, word by word.
"It was because the Four Celestial Gods collectively fell into the abyss of negative emotions that the seal of the 'World Heart' loosened completely."
"The Ancient God's power leaked out and eroded reality, which is what formed this 'Shadow of the Ancient God' Dungeon!"
"The Ancient God's counterattack strategy was never a head-on physical confrontation from the start."
Lin Qingyue's finger traced an arc in the air, connecting the Vermilion Bird's "Wrath" with the Azure Dragon's "Pride."
"It chose a more sophisticated and more lethal method: Mental Pollution!"
"It precisely found the most vulnerable corners of your hearts, the four gods, and infinitely amplified your own negative emotions, letting you each sink into self-constructed psychological cages, unable to extricate yourselves, and actively going on strike!"
"The Vermilion Bird's 'Wrath' is rooted in an endless weariness of eternal life and responsibility! And your 'Pride' is essentially a pathological fear of social interaction and the outside world!"
"When all of you, the 'Living Suppression Plug-ins,' malfunctioned, the seal naturally failed. The Ancient God then seized the opportunity to seep its power out, forming this twisted Shadow Dungeon governed by the Seven Sins!"
The Ancient God was playing a very, very grand game of chess.
Its chess pieces were the four Celestial Gods guarding it.
It wanted these jailers to personally open the cell door for it!
And this conspiracy had already succeeded more than halfway.
If it weren't for the intrusion of Lin Qingyue and her group of unconventional "uninvited guests"...
"Wait a minute."
Qingxuan suddenly frowned, a look of deep confusion in her beautiful dragon eyes.
"Speaking of which, it is strange. After that great disturbance over a year ago, I thought some cataclysmic event would occur. But in the end, because of my writer's block and social anxiety, I just lazed around in the Temple every day, and I feel... the Ancient God's nauseating aura has actually weakened quite a bit recently?"
She tilted her head, staring straight at Lin Qingyue as if seeking an answer.
Lin Qingyue looked at her, a meaningful smile playing on her lips.
In that smile was the gratification of a "Gold-Medal Mentor" and the pleasure of a "Troll."
"That's because,"
Lin Qingyue paused, her words falling with heavy emphasis.
"The Vermilion Bird's 'Wrath' was cured by my talk therapy."
"Your 'Emptiness' was filled with web novels."
She spread her arms wide, as if embracing this mad and fascinating world, punctuating the conversation with a declarative tone.
"We are forcibly interrupting the Ancient God's prison break plan."