The Death God clone's advancement from Sequence 1 to Sequence 0 required an exceptionally rare and specific potion.
The difficulty of this advancement far exceeded that of other Sequence 1 paths.
Since the clone's divine essence was incomplete, reaching the same level as the main body was no easy feat.
Although the Potion Vial could perfectly formulate potions, it could not create every potion.
This was because many potions required extraordinary materials that could not be extracted.
The Death God Sequence that Rosen had devised for his Death God clone required an unconventional potion for its advancement to Sequence 0.
The most crucial auxiliary ingredient was already in place—the death power within the Death Shroud was sufficient to serve as the core auxiliary material.
As for the other seven auxiliary ingredients, they needed to be gathered from various types of deaths—the more, the better.
Despair from suicide, helplessness from murder, unwillingness from accidental death, agony from torture, fear from being scared to death, greed from unwillingly dying of old age, and numbness from a soul's decay—these were the best auxiliary materials.
Rosen's True Ancient Realm housed trillions of people, with at least a hundred million dying of old age every day.
Among them, suicides numbered at least two million daily.
Homicides and accidental deaths were even more common than suicides.
Torturous killings were rarer, but given a few years, the numbers would accumulate.
Deaths from fright were less frequent, but by sending criminals who had tortured others into a Horror Paradise, collecting fear-induced deaths was easy. Lastly, for the numbness of soul decay, throwing souls into the accelerated Death Fruit World would solve the issue effortlessly.
The Death God clone's task was to merge with each deceased individual and experience their deaths firsthand.
It had to personally feel every type of death, using this immersive experience to gradually understand death, until it ultimately became death itself—an entity whose will could not be shaken by any form of death, a true Death God.
This was destined to be a long process, but fortunately, Rosen had the benefit of a thousandfold time acceleration.
While the Death God clone underwent these experiences, Rosen began preparing the final core ingredient.
After experiencing countless deaths, the Death God clone would become the embodiment of death itself. However, merely experiencing death was not enough. It needed to hunt the living, take their lives, and spread death.
Rosen began scouring the Main God Network, tracking down and capturing all extraordinary beings who had committed murder.
This was easy—there were very few Beyonders who had never taken a life.
Rosen simply made rounds through the prisons of various kingdoms and empires, gathering trillions of Beyonder death-row inmates and confining them in the Void Divine Prison.
Normally, Beyonders were rarely sentenced to death—those with minor crimes were sent to the front lines, while only those with severe crimes faced execution.
And even then, execution did not mean a swift death; they were often turned into experimental subjects for wizards and doctors.
After ten thousand years in accelerated time, the Death God clone had personally experienced all manner of deaths, enduring the suffering of countless deceased souls. This nearly caused its divine essence to be entirely tainted by the resentment of the dead.
At this point, it needed an outlet. Rosen transferred all the Beyonder death-row inmates into the Death Fruit World.
The Death God clone then invoked the Descent of the Painted Realm, bringing Death Hell into the Death World. Alongside its countless Death Hunters, it began a world-spanning hunt and deathmatch. As the slaughter intensified, the clone's divinity and faith began to ignite friction.
Finally, at the moment when no one remained alive in Death Hell, the Death God clone's divine fire ignited.
The extraordinary essence of the Death God Sequence began absorbing one core material and nine auxiliary materials. Through the death-killing ritual, the potion took form. As the extraordinary essence transformed, the divine fire tempered the faith, gradually condensing a divine persona and forging the soul from within.
Since the Death God clone had no physical body, its soul was its body.
However, its divine essence was not cohesive enough to form a divine persona. Thus, external assistance was required—through a special potion, the extraordinary essence needed to be strengthened to the point that it could compensate for the missing divine essence.
Bit by bit, the Death God's divine persona took shape.
At the instant the Death God persona was born, the Death God clone began to lose control.
Instinctively, it sought to break free from its main body and become a completely independent entity.
Rosen had anticipated this and immediately commanded the Eternal Persona to invade the Death God clone's sea of consciousness. Using the Eternal Persona's overwhelming might, he forcefully suppressed the Death God persona before assimilating it through compatibility and plunder. Once the Death God persona had been completely devoured, he used mimicry to split off a subordinate persona.
Finally, this newly formed Death God subordinate persona was implanted back into the Death God clone.
Almost no one would allow a clone to independently condense a persona.
This was because igniting the divine fire, sublimating the source of divinity, and condensing a persona would inevitably cause the clone to develop self-awareness and break away from its main body.
Therefore, even when allowing a clone to ascend to godhood, most would use an existing persona to modify and integrate into the clone, never granting it the chance to ignite its own divine fire. Clones created this way had no risks, but their growth potential was permanently capped.
If a god's clone wished to become a true divine clone, it had to be strengthened using an additional True God persona.
Rosen's Death God clone was different—it possessed divine fire and had condensed its own persona. Its potential was no less than any naturally ascended god. Moreover, there was no risk of it losing control because both the Death God persona and its divine fire had already been devoured by the Eternal Persona, turning them into a subordinate extension of its mimicry.
Perhaps due to being a split of the Eternal Persona, the Death God clone's persona was no ordinary persona.
Although it lacked the advantages of a bloodline persona, its divine intensity had still reached a value of 14.
[Death God Persona: Sequence 0 Divine Persona][True Persona Name: Rosen Saint Howard...][Divine Source (Illusory): 140][Subordinate Divine Fire: Death Divine Fire][Law: Law of Death][Godly Sequence: Death God Sequence][Innate Divine Art: Death Curses]
A clone was still a clone, so the Death God persona's divine source remained illusory rather than real.
Unless the main body perished, the illusion would never become reality, nor could the clone be used as a vessel for rebirth and resurrection.
Furthermore, the Death God clone did not inherit a bloodline persona, limiting its growth ceiling to a mere 14 points.
However, this was already beyond the Forbidden Sequence level—many True Gods only had around 140 points of divine source.
Rosen struck while the iron was hot, assisting the Death God clone in transforming the Hell Reincarnation Painting into a divine kingdom.
When the Death God clone condensed its persona, it had slaughtered countless Beyonder death-row inmates.
All of their souls became nourishment for the death hell within the Hell Reincarnation Painting.
Thus, this miraculous painting was forcibly transformed into the Death God clone's personal divine kingdom.
[Hell Reincarnation Painting: Miraculous Artwork][Level: Sequence 0][Miraculous Attribute: The Death God, who commands the Law of Death, leads Death Hunters and Death Angels to establish the Divine Kingdom of Death Hell.][Miraculous Traits: Death Judgment, Soul Harvest, Death Hell, The Only One, Eternal and Indestructible]
With just the fundamental attributes of the Death God persona, combined with the Death Hell divine kingdom, the Death God clone was already on par with the weaker True Gods.
If the clone could further share the main body's Origin Sequence and gain access to limited omniscience and omnipotence, it could rival most veteran True Gods. It would be capable of surpassing its godly rank in combat power—a feat rarely seen in the history of both the old and new worlds.
More importantly, this was only a clone. Calling it the strongest divine clone in history would not be an exaggeration.
Satisfied with the Death God clone's strength, Rosen hesitated for a moment before deciding to dispatch it to the Hell Ruins.
He could ensure the clone's perfect ascension to godhood, but he would not assist it in becoming a True God.
The reason was simple—his clone was meant to be an asset, not a burden. The true gods of the main world who wielded two laws were not necessarily incapable of creating divine clones with true god-level power. They simply saw no need to do so, as clones were usually meant for convenience and as a means of resurrection should the original body perish.
Although Rosen had abundant resources, he also nurtured multiple clones.
It was time for the Death God clone to become independent. If it wanted to ascend to true godhood, it had to venture into the Hell Ruins and compete with the evil gods entrenched there for control over Hell's legacy. With Rosen providing a certain degree of support from behind the scenes, failure would only mean the clone was unworthy of further cultivation.
Of course, he wasn't completely leaving the Death God clone to fend for itself. The entire inheritance of the God of Thieves had been reserved for it.
Whether it could integrate the Soul Thief pathway into the Death God sequence would depend solely on its own abilities.
After sending off the Death God clone, Rosen turned his focus to the sequence advancement of the Bronze Dragon clone.
As a self-portrait clone, the Bronze Dragon clone had inherited the Bronze Dragon bloodline.
It was already a formidable extraordinary bloodline, yet as Rosen's power continued to grow, he found himself less impressed by it.
The Bronze Dragon bloodline had never ranked among the top-tier bloodlines in history.
Instead, he saw greater potential in the Historian extraordinary sequence that the Bronze Dragon clone wielded.
However, he believed that the ordinary Historian pathway was unworthy of his clone.
Thus, he intended to create a more powerful version of the Historian sequence.
At the very least, he had to lay the groundwork for the Bronze Dragon clone to grasp the essence of Eternal Omniscience in the future.
In fact, the Death God clone had already set the foundation for merging with the Dark Sun's source.
Since clones lacked a bloodline godhood, they could not wield an Eternal Source at Sequence 0. However, at the very least, they had to grasp one Eternal Source upon reaching true godhood. This would not only bring immense benefits to the clones but also to Rosen himself.
Though the source he controlled could be freely converted into any of the six Eternal Sources, including the Dark Sun,
if he wielded too many Eternal Sources, he would end up being a jack of all trades, yet master of none.
Therefore, each of his clones would specialize in mastering a single Eternal Source.
This way, Rosen himself could directly reap the benefits of his clones' cultivation, achieving both breadth and depth in power.
However, creating a stronger Historian sequence beyond its natural limits was too difficult to achieve in isolation.
The first thing that came to Rosen's mind was the Historical Secret Realm. If he could seize it, not only would the elevation of the Historian sequence become easier, but the secret realm could also serve as the perfect foundation for the Bronze Dragon clone's divine kingdom.
Moreover, he still had some unfinished business with Wendy.
Inside the Historical Secret Realm, Wendy sighed helplessly as she browsed through historical records.
Since the arrival of the Grand Era, the World Government had loosened its suppression on multiple Golden Sequences.
Furthermore, the world's will had relaxed its grip on the difficulty of mastering divine authorities. As a result, several Sequence 0 individuals from various Golden Sequences had ascended to true godhood.
With her accumulated knowledge in history, Wendy was fully capable of seizing the opportunity of the era to master the Law of History and become the sole true god Historian.
However, she was a step too late—the Law of History had already manifested and had been claimed by an unknown individual.
With her path blocked, she had no choice but to seek an alternative route.
Since the Law of History was no longer an option, she had to attempt to master laws related to secrecy and time.
However, these laws were not a perfect fit for the Historian pathway. Not only did they drastically increase the difficulty of becoming a true god, but even if she miraculously succeeded, she would only end up as a mediocre deity. Every time Wendy thought about this, an unbearable pain gripped her heart.
Just as Wendy was about to push herself further, a floating hourglass suddenly appeared before her.
She dared to say with confidence that no one in the World Government had broader knowledge than she did.
So at a glance, Wendy immediately recognized it—this was the Divine Extraordinary Relic, the Hourglass of Time and Space.
The surrounding space was sealed, and time had come to a standstill. Only her consciousness could barely function.
A mere Hourglass of Time and Space shouldn't have been able to achieve this. At the very least, it had to be the work of a great true god who wielded the Laws of Time and Space. Otherwise, it would have been impossible to suppress the entire Historical Secret Realm and restrain her in an instant. Realizing this, despair filled Wendy's heart.
Time, which had been frozen, suddenly resumed. Wendy collapsed onto the couch, drenched in cold sweat.
At that moment, Rosen had already taken a seat across from her without her noticing.
Beside him, Sonia nestled obediently in his embrace, looking at Wendy with an apologetic expression.
Wendy stared at Rosen and Sonia in disbelief, instantly understanding everything.
Back when Sonia had disappeared, no matter how she investigated, she could never uncover the truth.
Later, when Rosen became wanted by the World Government, Wendy suspected that Sonia had died at his hands.
But now, it was clear—Sonia hadn't died. She had been subdued and reshaped by Rosen.
Rosen's arrival could mean nothing good.
Wendy glared at Sonia with hatred. If it hadn't been for Sonia's words back then, she would never have schemed against Rosen and made an enemy of him. And now, Rosen had come knocking, holding her fate in his hands. If she weren't completely powerless against him, she would have loved nothing more than to kill this traitorous b***h with her own hands.
"Do you want to live, or do you want to die?"
Rosen asked in an unquestionable tone.
"How would I die if I choose death? And how would I live if I choose life?"
After weighing her chances of escape, Wendy reluctantly asked.
"Dying is simple—I'll turn you into a Sequence 0 puppet and gift you to Sonia as her servant…"
Rosen stated his most ruthless threat in a calm voice. "Living is simple as well. I can grant you the Law of History, and if you can become a true god in a short time, you will qualify to be my subordinate god. But if you fail and waste my Law of History, you'll die anyway."
"Subordinate god…"
Wendy instinctively wanted to refuse.
A subordinate god—the lowest, most disgraceful, and utterly despairing form of divinity.
Because the authority they wielded was ultimately controlled by their chief god,
a subordinate god was forever an appendage, bound to their superior. At any moment, their power could be stripped away.
In a sense, a subordinate god was nothing more than a glorified servant.
The rejection was at the tip of Wendy's tongue, but the moment she looked at Sonia, she swallowed it back down.
If she refused to become a subordinate god, she would become Sonia's puppet.
Even in death, she would find no peace. Even after dying, Sonia would still toy with her.
A chill ran down Wendy's spine. She clenched her teeth so hard in humiliation that she nearly shattered them, then lowered her head.
She didn't say she wanted to live, but her silence spoke volumes. It was the only bit of defiance she had left.
Rosen did not press further. After all, if Wendy was left with only hatred, even if she became a subordinate god, she wouldn't be reliable.
It was only after entering the Historical Secret Realm and seeing Wendy that Rosen reconsidered his initial plans.
The Historian pathway's higher Sequence advancement sounded simple in theory but was incredibly difficult to achieve.
Perfecting his Death God Clone all the way to Sequence 0 had already cost him tens of thousands of years, even with accelerated time.
So, Rosen decided to shift the burden of advancing his Bronze Dragon Clone onto Wendy.
The Bronze Dragon Clone didn't necessarily need the Law of History—the Law of Time and Space was actually more suitable for a Historian, as it was the superior law of their pathway. The Law of History, on the other hand, could be handed to Wendy, allowing him to gain another true god-level subordinate.
With that, the task of advancing the Historian pathway could be left entirely to Wendy.
Now that he had grasped Root Laws, Rosen no longer valued the laws he previously controlled as much.
After all, those laws belonged to the Old Gods of the past world.
Since Root Laws could simulate any other law, he could simply distribute the lesser ones to his subordinate gods.
The Law of History would go to Wendy. The Law of Painting could be given to Sonia. The Law of Flesh and Blood would go to Li Shiqing, and the Law of Life to the Mother Tree of Life, Elise. Sooner or later, everyone around him would wield a law and become his subordinate gods.
With his Hunter's Map, Rosen had accumulated an uncountable number of Hunter Points.
Any law he desired, he could obtain by hunting the corresponding true god.
Loyalty from his subordinate gods was not a concern. The more he had, the stronger he became, and as their chief god, he would reap immense benefits.
As a subordinate god, Wendy voluntarily handed over her divinity.
Rosen fully refined Wendy's divine spark and, with her cooperation, transferred her Divine Kingdom into the Fruit of History's World. There, it would fuse with the Fruit of History's World, allowing Wendy to leverage the Historical Law Sequence Ancient Tree inside and ascend to true godhood.
As for the entire Historical Secret Realm, Rosen directly pulled it into the True Domain of the Old Gods, effortlessly suppressing all the historians within.
Once Wendy became a true god, she would dedicate herself to assisting the Bronze Dragon Clone in ascending to godhood.
With the Bronze Dragon Clone settled, advancing the Yinglong Clone would be much easier.
After all, the Yinglong was inherently a great true god-level bloodline Beyonder Sequence. Rosen simply needed to bestow the Dragon God Law upon the Yinglong Clone, then force the Infernal Blood Dragon and the Dragon Race Deities to become its subordinate gods. With that, its ascension to godhood would only be a matter of time.
Among Rosen's three clones, one was about to succeed in ascending to godhood, and the other two were on the right track—it was only a matter of time before they followed suit.
The only issue left to consider was the advancement of his pets.
Most of his pets were still stuck at Sequence 1, not because they lacked effort, but simply because he had grown too fast.
The easiest way to help them catch up was by utilizing the Hunter's Map.
The pet closest to godhood was the Calamity Apostle, so Rosen set his sights on hunting the Abyssal Shadowfiend, which had ascended to Abyssal Monarch. Once he killed it, the Calamity Apostle would be able to effortlessly advance to true godhood.
Rosen's expectations weren't too high—he only needed his pets and subordinate gods to reach forbidden godhood with 13 points of growth.
After all, even his clones had only reached 14 points of growth in the Immortal Sequence. The Dark Sun Slime was simply an anomaly. It was unrealistic to expect every clone to reach the same height. As long as they could become forbidden gods and had a future chance of ascending to great true godhood, that was more than enough.
(End of Chapter)