"Evil intent? Me?"

A look of surprise appeared on Jiang Yan's face.

He had actually made many guesses about his relationship with the "Lord of the Abyss".

But I never expected this answer.

Aside from occasionally having his subordinates work overtime; having angels and ascetics kindly invite others to believe in the Holy Light; and fulfilling others' wishes to become spirits of the dead, he also...

Even if it's not as fair, merciful, kind, and just as believers boast, it's at least completely unrelated to evil.

Moreover, such words coming from the mouth of the "Lord of the Abyss," who represents the source of all evil, are hardly convincing.

"Do you want to shake my will and find the flaw in the seal of the law of reincarnation?"

Jiang Yan gave a barely perceptible cold laugh.

However, the issue of "extraordinary" mentioned by the other party is worth considering...

Do you know who I am?

As if seeing through Jiang Yan's thoughts, the "Lord of the Abyss" was not annoyed and asked leisurely.

"If I'm not mistaken, you must be the first Holy Lord."

Jiang Yan hesitated and said, "Actually, I'm very curious about how you became like this."

He knew that Lovis was involved, but he didn't know the specifics.

"Holy Lord...such a distant title..."

The Lord of the Abyss gazed into the sky with his deep eyes, as if traversing endless time and space to see his former self.

After a long silence, he finally spoke softly:

"In the 366th era, I discovered the rudimentary form of the abyss at the very bottom of all worlds."

"Back then, there was only one floor here, and only a few scattered obsessions filled with negative emotions and hatred wandered around. I tried to influence them with holy light, but with little effect."

"So you discovered the Abyss very early on, but were unable to completely destroy or seal it away?"

Jiang Yan couldn't help but interrupt.

The memories he had seen from the fragments of the ancient Netherworld were about the "God of Time" discovering and prophesying the threat of the Abyss, but that was 400 epochs later.

"It cannot be completely destroyed, but its growth can indeed be suppressed by destroying it every once in a while."

"Then why don't you do it?" Jiang Yan blurted out.

"Because their birth was due to my dereliction of duty, the responsibility lies with me."

A hint of sadness flickered in the eyes of the "Lord of the Abyss".

"I believe that under my and the gods' rule, the world is illuminated by holy light, fair and beautiful, and every living being can live in peace and happiness."

"But in fact..."

"The various pantheons secretly clashed over their respective beliefs, even resorting to coercion, deception, and other means. Yet, these gods also guarded the stability of each realm and eliminated unknown crises in the void."

“The various selection methods may seem fair, but their fates are often determined at birth.”

“...”

"I wish to split the laws of holy light to perfect the laws of fairness, but I find myself at a loss."

The Lord of the Abyss looked at Jiang Yan with a calm gaze: "Tell me, is it fair that two people who work equally hard end up with such different fates because of a difference in their talent?"

"You say, because of the legacy of our ancestors, someone else's starting point is already their destiny. Is that fair?"

With great power comes great responsibility. Those with exceptional talent receive more resources and favor, and naturally, they also bear greater responsibilities.

"As for the legacy of their ancestors, if their contributions are significant enough, they should naturally receive corresponding preferential treatment; otherwise, who would be willing to step forward?"

Jiang Yan pondered for a moment, then met his gaze without flinching: "In a sense, this is fair."

"That's right."

The Lord of the Abyss nodded: "From your perspective, and from most people's perspective, this is fair. But... if you are the one who, no matter how hard you try, can never see the other person's back; the one who is clearly much more outstanding, yet is easily squeezed out of the opportunity you worked so hard to obtain by someone who is inferior to you in every way, do you think that's fair?"

"I..."

Jiang Yan's lips moved, but she didn't say anything.

Some things can fool others, but they can't fool your own heart.

The Lord of the Abyss did not ask any further questions, but simply said to himself, "When resentment, jealousy, despair, and injustice accumulate to a certain degree, the originally pure heart will be stained with shadows that can never be removed. After that, any trace of negativity will further amplify these shadows."

The "Lord of the Abyss" gazed at Jiang Yan with a deep, unsettling look, his voice somewhat ethereal:

"Everyone has an abyss hidden in their heart."

"When you look at it, you are already surrounded by it."

"This... is the origin of the Abyss, and also the secret to its ability to freely connect to all the heavens and myriad worlds. If I wish, everyone can be a conduit for the Abyss to descend."

"you..."

Jiang Yan was startled, and it took him a long time to suppress the turmoil in his heart before slowly saying, "So, you too have been corrupted by the abyss in your heart?"

"Maybe."

The Lord of the Abyss smiled faintly: "Back then, I personally came to the real abyss, trying to change all of this."

“I’ve come up with a solution. Since it’s those negative emotions that have created this place, I’ll transform it into a world of pure light. A world without conflict, without worries, a world of true equality. Let those who have opened the gates of the abyss find true redemption and close the abyss in their hearts with their own hands.”

"You failed?"

Jiang Yan shook his head slightly. This was impossible. He couldn't even imagine how much effort it would take to build and maintain such a world.

In the universe where the mechanical overlord was acquired, he saw many similar experiments, but even it failed.

"No, it was almost successful."

The Lord of the Abyss said with some regret, "Back then, the Abyss was not so vast. With all my strength, I could barely construct such a world of redemption. The aura of the Abyss was being dissolved. As long as it was kept within a certain range, it would be possible to permanently suppress the Abyss in a roundabout way."

"Unfortunately... the successor of the Holy Light was seduced by the demons in the sealed myths, and during that time he secretly created countless conflicts and chaos in the myriad worlds."

"The negative energy and obsessions in the abyss increased at an unimaginable speed, quickly exceeding the limits of my control."

"Now that you've realized the root of the unrest, why don't you go and kill them first?"

Jiang Yan couldn't help but ask.

"To kill them, I must stop the world I have built. By then, the earliest obsessions of the Abyss will be redeemed. If I abandon them then, they will be completely corrupted by overwhelming negative emotions again, with no possibility of redemption."

"But as you said, sacrificing just this small group of obsessions might truly solve the abyss and save countless lives across the myriad realms. It's worth it."

No, you're wrong.

The Lord of the Abyss's gaze grew increasingly profound and distant: "If you follow your approach, you will never achieve true redemption for them. No one should be sacrificed. When everything is at odds, all I can do is prioritize what is in front of me."

"you..."

Jiang Yan was stunned.

Are these words something a "Lord of the Abyss" should say?

Why do I, the Lord of Holy Light of all realms, seem like a villain compared to him?

Could it be... that I really harbor evil intentions?