Chapter 632: The Vengeance Seeker
Chapter 632: The Vengeance Seeker
In Fang Xing's opinion, faith was a contract between man and god, a transaction!
Believers devoted their faith and daily offerings, in exchange for their souls ascending to the Celestial Realm after death, achieving eternal bliss.
But for a church of a True Deity, to treat a devout believer in such a manner?
And not even receiving divine punishment for it?
"This Wu Yong, it could be said that his subordinates didn't do a good job... But if I find other examples..."
Fang Xing glanced around.
Drawn by the food, more and more souls were gathering.
For ordinary cultivators, this could be a life-threatening situation, but for him, it was no big deal.
"Go!"
He grabbed a handful of Spirit Bamboo seeds and scattered them on the ground around him.
Instantly, Flaming Jade Bamboo shoots sprouted, emitting a fragrant scent from their Bamboo Grain.
The surrounding souls that had been encircling him suddenly turned and began gnawing on the bamboo...
Fang Xing extended his perception and searched, only to find a few more unfortunate souls.
They all claimed to be believers of deities, but after death, their souls were not guided to the Celestial Realm...
"Combining this with the layout of the Underworld's Eighteen Hells... Could it be that only Astarta was sincere, and all the gods of the Great Zhou Pantheon intentionally abandoned the souls of shallow believers, even true believers, to the Underworld... Then, through the torment of the Eighteen Hells, they squeezed out every last drop of essence before letting them perish?"
Fang Xing shook his head, "No wonder they're Western Deities, their methods are indeed crude..."
The Celestial Realm accommodating believers' souls naturally incurred a cost.
For high-quality believers, there was a surplus, benefiting the divine power.
But for inferior souls, there was a sense of not having enough to cover the expenses, and even if it was a break-even situation for the deities, it was still a loss.
Fang Xing felt that this was probably the drawback of those deities being transplants from another realm.
If they were ruling over their own Western race, there wouldn't be much of an issue.
But for Western Deities to rule over an Eastern realm, and still play this game, it was a huge problem!
The Eastern Ancestors valued the notion of 'Noblemen and commoners, all are born with potential!' and had a more practical mindset.
No matter what deity it was, if they were useful, they would be worshipped, but if they failed to fulfill their duties, the temples would be torn down.
The Western Ancestors believed that deities governed everything, and when faced with great disasters, they only knew to seek divine protection and blessings, unaware of escaping during the great flood, waiting for an ark instead of building their own, blaming themselves for their deaths due to the original sin they were born with...
Whereas the Eastern Ancestors believed in human determination surpassing heaven, fixing the broken sky, and shooting down the extra sun if there were too many. If a deity acted evilly, they would even slay it!
'These Great Zhou deities, ruling Great Zhou with Western thinking, seem to have no issues on the surface, but in reality, it's a huge problem...'
Fang Xing shook his head, 'For example, these souls... If they had the ability, they would probably fight to the death to take a bite out of those True Deities.'
'Resentment has been accumulating in the shadows.'
Fang Xing observed the memories of one soul after another, thinking to himself.
Then, he turned his gaze towards Lu Zhong.
The Temple Knight was in a peculiar state, with multiple faces appearing on his body, some male, some female, some old, some young... The only commonality was that all their expressions were wailing and crying...
As a righteous messenger, he had to show mercy to the weak, but at this moment, feeling the emotions of these weak souls, Lu Zhong's faith was wavering, "No... My lord..."
Blood continued to flow from Lu Zhong's eyes, and he saw an old beggar who had suffered a lifetime of misery, donating his last copper coin to the church before his death.
But after his death, his soul still fell into hell!
He witnessed a devout believer who had held onto his faith throughout his life, but due to the weakness of his soul, he was disregarded by the divine messenger.
Finally, he saw the soul that had been abandoned by the church of redemption...
"Ahhhh!"
Lu Zhong's face contorted, and he let out a painful cry.
His faith was shaken, and the deity he had so easily received blessings from the church and the divine messenger was now turning against him.
Usually, for elite professions, especially Half-Legendary powerful beings, they would undoubtedly be under the watchful eye of a deity.
Once they were discovered to have fallen, divine punishment would be swift, leaving no chance of survival.
But at this moment, under Fang Xing's 'Divine Insight', the deity Lu Zhong worshipped did not notice the rebellion of his follower.
Lu Zhong thus gained a glimmer of hope.
"Ahhhh!"
As Lu Zhong cried out in pain, his body ignited with Holy Flame, and the strange and illusory faces on his body eagerly threw themselves into the flames.
Hee hee...
Haha...
When Lu Zhong's wails ceased, he had transformed into a severely burned patient.
Only his eyes remained bright!
His aura even advanced further, truly reaching the threshold of the Legendary realm!
"Congratulations on recovering from the lies of the deities."
"How should you name yourself now? Evil Knight? Or... The Vengeance Seeker?"
Fang Xing's lips curved into a slight smile.
Facing the man who had wanted to slaughter him earlier, a slap to death would only send him to the Celestial Realm to enjoy eternal bliss.
This, however, was the best revenge.
"Evil Demon..."
His voice hoarse, he said, "If you're trying to tempt me to fall, congratulations, you've succeeded..."
"Hmph, what do I owe you?"
Fang Xing chuckled, "I just wanted to visit the Underworld and borrow your hand to clear the way..."
He took a step forward, preparing to head towards the next Hell of Ice.
Lu Zhong followed closely behind Fang Xing, unsure of his thoughts.
At this moment, Lu Zhong had completely abandoned his faith, becoming a true 'Faithless One', and the anger in his heart burned fiercely. The stronger his faith had been, the more resentment he now harbored, vowing to spend his life seeking vengeance against the deities, even if it meant death!
Fang Xing paid no heed to this fool who couldn't even endure the first layer of hell.
Lu Zhong's temperament and willpower were incredibly resilient. Even witnessing countless human tragedies, he remained unmoved.
Soon, they arrived at the Glacial Prison.
Compared to the scorching heat of the previous layer of hell, the void here was perpetually enveloped in a chilling cold capable of freezing souls.
The wandering souls in this place were those whose resentment was so profound that even the first layer of hell couldn't dissolve it!
Next, they would encounter the Tongue-Pulling Prison, the Flaying Prison, the Mortar and Pestle Prison, and the Crushing Prison...
Fang Xing toured each of these places, occasionally casting blessings upon the ghosts.
Finally, they reached the eighteenth layer, the Avici Hell.
Known as 'Avici', this place erases the concept of time, ensuring that souls who enter here will suffer eternally without redemption.
Tic! Tic!
Lu Zhong spotted a faint wisp, like a firefly, yet it persisted without dissipating.
Tears welled up in his eyes as he wondered, "What kind of obsession could lead one to fall into Avici and still not dissipate?"
"Hehe... Only by existing, can one truly live. If one gives up, the soul truly disperses."
Fang Xing coldly laughed, "Surviving is the greatest obsession!"
The most ⊥new⊥small⊥say⊥in⊥six⊥9⊥⊥book⊥⊥bar⊥⊥first⊥hair!
He felt that with his obsession, even in the midst of Avici Hell, he might be the most stubborn one.
Avici Hell wasn't large; all around, it was shrouded in a gray haze.
The two walked for a long time before they spotted a few firefly-like souls.
"What are you searching for?"
Finally, Lu Zhong's patience wore thin, and he asked.
He had been wondering about this before.
"I'm not searching for something; I'm searching for what's missing here..."
Fang Xing shook his head and abruptly stopped walking.
Before him, there was a broken vessel.
In Avici, where souls suffer eternally, some choose to transform into unyielding objects like rocks to resist.
Fang Xing released a faint sense, and before him, he seemed to see a monk with his ears pierced, eyes poisoned blind, throat rendered mute, limbs broken, like a pig, biting his tongue and writing with blood: "I curse... those high and mighty deities... one day, they will forever fall into Avici!"
"An accurate wish."
Fang Xing commented and tossed the vessel to Lu Zhong.
Lu Zhong took it and first felt a strong resentment, then was startled: "This vessel... gives me a feeling of a sacred object from a church, though it's very faint..."
"It's a Fushasha!"
Fang Xing explained, "It's been here for a hundred years without falling, and it has automatically gathered a faint divine essence, becoming a Fushasha... For us Easterners, all things can become divine!"
Lu Zhong's habit made him want to say it was a great disrespect, but he held back.
"I'm not just any demon, but a Great Demon!"
Fang Xing laughed, his figure disappearing instantly, leaving only his voice: "Wu Kong, the True Demon..."
"Are you the True Demon Lord?"
Lu Zhong's pupils dilated: "The True Demon Lord isn't a false god but a true deity?"
(End of Chapter)
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