"We have knelt thirty million times, praised six hundred million times, now, finally, the Celestial Venerate has once again observed the Nine Netherworlds in the human realm, showing mercy, finally entering the cycle of reincarnation, reborn."
"Blessed by heavenly grace!"
Thus ended the sacrificial text.
"Is this... truly the Netherworld?" a soul murmured with a shiver.
Chen Yuque stared at the words ’Nine Netherworlds Sin-Extinguishing Celestial Venerate descends to the mortal realm, experiencing the mortal world personally’, speechless.
For a long time.
"Zhang Fusheng..."
"Is it a deity’s descent to the world??"
She murmured to herself, suddenly feeling a thrill of fear, could this explain why he cultivated so quickly?
The body had perished, concealing intelligence, the malevolent aura also vanished,
The fragments of the past spun in her mind, various overlooked details recalled at this moment,
She suddenly gave a wry smile:
"How could I commit such foolishness?"
Silence for a long time.
The departed souls knelt before the towering statue, following the sacrificial text, praised and extolled, once, over and over.
They did not know if kneeling thirty million times, praising six hundred million times, could truly allow them to ’reincarnate and be reborn’,
But they did it anyway.
Because, they saw on the other side of the insurmountable great river, in the distance, also stood vast statues, with departed souls kneeling before them.
At a glance, densely packed, infinite and endless.
Fifty-six souls worshipped, loudly praising the ’Central Pole Sect Leader’, ’Emperor of the Underworld’, ’Nine Netherworlds Sin-Extinguishing Celestial Venerate’.
Neither pious nor sincere.
But sometimes, some things, by saying it over and over, reciting it over and over, they would eventually come to fully believe it, become pious.
......
Jiangzhou.
In a small room, Zhang Fusheng sat quietly on the bed, introspecting his internal organs—having absorbed the entire vitality of five Martial Arts Masters,
Although he temporarily regained clarity due to the disappearance of the malevolent aura, at that time, he did not proceed to devour those organs,
Yet Zhang Fusheng still gained some uniquely extractable substance from this vitality, capable of exploring the Spleen Secret.
However, the progress was unbearably slow.
"I still need the Five-Element Medicine in the end."
He focused on excavating the Spleen Secret, attempting each time to break through the earthly shackles within it, while his heart smiled bitterly.
"But man-made medicine, forget it..."
He couldn’t truly accept cannibalism.
The passage of time was unknown, nor whether it was day or night.
’Knock, knock, knock’
The door was knocked.
Zhang Fusheng walked to the door, opened it, and there stood a young disciple of the Western Sect, head lowered, respectfully:
"Sir, it’s noon, would you care to dine?"
"Given the situation, there’s still food?"
"Yes, some ingredients were preserved, not engulfed by the mortal tendrils of the great God of Plague."
Zhang Fusheng’s thoughts turned, realizing that the disciple referred to the tendrils of flesh and blood.
He shrugged:
"I’ll have a bite."
Though no longer in need of sustenance, Zhang Fusheng felt he still ought to eat, to live like an ordinary person.
If he completely lost his humanity, again ruled by malevolence, what would be the meaning of living?
Wouldn’t it just render him a complete monster?
"Yes, sir." The disciple respectfully took his leave, keeping a bowing posture, hands cupped, slowly backing away.
"Western Sect..."
Zhang Fusheng contemplated that, although twisted and suspicious, the sect was still part of Taoism,
He should try to learn something from it.
His first thought was the Path of Divination—when seated in meditation at Eight Sceneries Palace, his position dramatically elevated,
Though unsure of specifics, he reckoned that an extremely high position that overlooked all of creation might have some uses with divination, right?
"Brother Zhang!"
A refined voice arrived, Zhang Fusheng looked aside, and it was Kong Dongyan, accompanied by the trembling Jiang Shutong.
The refined young man bowed humbly:
"Kong Dongyan, here to humbly visit Brother Zhang."
Zhang Fusheng raised a brow, just as he was about to speak, a roaring sound came from the distance.
He lifted his gaze, looking far away.
"That is..."
In the city’s center, a large area of tangled blood threads gathered, spiraling upward, forming a massive, seven to eight hundred meters tall monumental stone of flesh!
On the monumental stone, countless blood-colored threads twisted, forming one after another gigantic characte.
"A divine decree!" The disciple who brought food exclaimed: "Why, why has a divine decree descended!"
From afar, Old Ghost Chai’s voice of amazement echoed as well.
"The divine descent completes tomorrow, and yet the Venerable God of Plague expends such a great cost to deliver a divine decree??"
Exclamations rose one after another.
On that colossal stone of flesh, the characters formed by entangled flesh and blood gradually became clearer and clearer.