Chapter 645: The Three Death Deities
Chapter 645: The Three Death Deities
The Ascension Ritual!
This is the mandatory path to becoming a True Deity, the highest ritual magic in the world!
To become a True Deity, one needs power and believers...
In Fang Xing's view, it's like taking out a loan.
To borrow divine power from the heavens and earth, one needs collateral to prove repayment ability.
Being a Demigod is best, but if not, at least one should be Legendary!
Of course, there are those lucky mortals who leap to divinity in a single step, but this is because their collateral is incredibly valuable! For example, finding a divine office and divinity crystal on the street, or being favored by a powerful figure who vouches for them...
In short, the first step to becoming a deity is to have 'power,' whether it's your own or borrowed from someone else.
In this regard, the Slaughter Sect's leader is quite well-off, as he is already a Demigod and has ignited the Divine Flame!
This significantly reduces one of the major tests.
Mortal Ascension involves a Trial of Life and Death.
In comparison, those True Deity descendants who are born as Demigods have an enormous advantage.
Slaughter Sect.
A sacrificial altar.
Believers are praying.
This scene can be seen throughout the Great Holy Dynasty.
The second condition to becoming a deity is to have enough believers and faith!
In this aspect, the Slaughter Sect's leader has taken a shortcut.
Because the Slaughter Sect is now the state religion of the Great Holy Dynasty, and he is Fang Xing's follower deity.
With a single divine edict from Fang Xing, he can receive a portion of the Slaughter Sect's faith, for example, by establishing an angel statue next to the original idol.
The Shadow Church's structure is also very simple to set up, directly drawing personnel from the Slaughter Sect...
Main Altar.
Waves of faith power surge like tides, causing the Slaughter Sect leader's body to undergo a transformation.
Within his body, the 'Shadow' deity office seems to be slowly melting and merging with him.
Divine Flame, deity office, combined with faith power... transforming into the purest Divine Power.
Under the influence of Divine Power, the scars and deformities on his skin all disappear, turning his body into a perfect marble statue.
He has ascended to divinity!
This is the weakest moment for a deity, as their true form is exposed in the mortal realm, not yet entered the Celestial Realm, and unfamiliar with the various abilities of a deity.
If one wants to slay a deity, this is the best opportunity!
However.
A flash of Nature's Radiance!
Fang Xing appears beside the altar, arms crossed, smiling warmly as he watches.
The newborn Shadow Deity bows his head in respect, "Lord God!"
This is the advantage of being a follower deity, with a powerful figure from the same faction present, no one would dare to seek death.
Of course, in the current mortal realm, most True Deity Sages have died, and the remaining ones are hiding like rats.
Ordinary Yang Deities and Demigod experts would not dare to attack the Great Holy Dynasty's Grand Patriarch.
Moreover... even if they all attacked together, they would not stand a chance against Fang Xing.
"You should now ascend to the Celestial Realm, and I'll hitch a ride."
Fang Xing says with a smile.
"As you wish!"
The Shadow Deity nods, and in the mortal realm, a star appears in broad daylight!
A dazzling star rises, rising continuously... until it reaches the limit of the sky!
Boom!
In an instant, it seems to break through a barrier, entering the Celestial Court!
"A new deity... has been born!"
At this moment, all high-tier mortals can sense it.
"This damned Gods' Twilight and Origin Power Storm... is finally over."
The surviving deity sages are almost in tears.
Who would want to live in the mortal realm, exposing their vital points to a horde of bloodthirsty hunters?
Sensing the calm after the Origin Power Storm, they immediately return to their own Celestial Realms.
Celestial Court.
In the Celestial Realm of the 'God of Empire and Sovereignty.'
The land is dead silent.
The magnificent buildings, the endless wine, and the inexhaustible food lie discarded like trash.
When a True Deity dies, their Celestial Realm falls silent.
The believer souls who rely on the Celestial Realm for life die instantly.
Even the Celestial Realm itself will slowly disintegrate, eventually turning into a meteor that falls into the material world.
"Truly worthy of an ancient deity's Celestial Realm, it's still quite sturdy."
Fang Xing casually wanders around, inspecting the deity's treasure vault.
The wealth within a Celestial Realm is unimaginable to mortals.
Now, Fang Xing has an entire pantheon's treasure to claim.
He just takes a look and loses interest, planning to delegate this task to his follower deity.
"The storm has subsided, and the gods have returned..."
"The world order is gradually returning to peace... but there is still one issue."
Fang Xing splits off a divine avatar, and with a flash, he arrives at the Eighteen Layers of Hell.
Blazing Hell.
It is as scorching as usual, the entire Underworld resembling a massive vortex, tirelessly drawing in the souls of the deceased from the main world.
"Souls have weight, so they descend after death, rather than ascend... no matter which mortal dies, they will first come to the Underworld."
Fang Xing looks back with a sigh.
A flash of Teleportation, and the Poison-Hand Scholar appears, "My Lord..."
"In the past, when dynasties changed in the Mortal Realm, many people died... The Underworld's workload kept increasing."
Fang Xing casually remarked, "The Underworld should exist, but it should bring peace to souls, not eternal torment..."
To be honest, he had no interest in the Underworld's system.
If there were no souls, death would be the end of everything, like a deep sleep from which one never wakes, with no sensations or perceptions...
Even with souls, coming to the Underworld had nothing to do with judgment.
What did a person's good or evil mean when judged by the standards of planets and nature?
A man who killed ten thousand people and a virtuous man... to the Heavenly Dao, they were the same. After death, if they had no extraordinary encounters, their souls would gradually fade away, eventually transforming into pure energy to nourish the cosmos.
Therefore, concepts like good and evil, and virtue... were all fabricated by humans.
Of course, when enough people believe in something, it becomes the truth.
So, the so-called virtue should be more accurately called 'Human Virtue.'
No matter how much Human Virtue one accumulates, it brings no benefit to the cosmos, and thus cannot earn any favor from the cosmos.
"To gain Heavenly Virtue, one must transcend the world and gain benefits from outside it, enhancing the World's Origin..."
"Benefiting the heavens earns Heavenly Virtue, benefiting humans earns Human Virtue... Virtue is like printing money; whoever issues it, they must use it..."
"No matter how much Human Virtue one has, it cannot be spent on Heavenly Virtue..."
Fang Xing now had a new perspective and understanding of the Great Dao, laws, and virtue.
"For deities, the faith of believers is virtue... it is Divine Virtue. So, after death, believers can use their Divine Virtue to demand that deities fulfill their promises. If the deity fails to do so, it is a breach of contract."
...
The Poison-Hand Scholar looked bewildered, not quite understanding, and could only say, "I will do whatever my lord wishes."
"Very well, then you shall become the God of Death."
Fang Xing's hand glowed, and a somewhat incomplete Deity Crystal appeared, the 'Death Deity'!
His Panwu Path, or 'Panwu Deity,' required only a portion of the Law of Death. Therefore, after using it, the Death Deity Crystal remained partially incomplete.
At this moment, he used his ancient deity powers to modify the deity role: "This Death Deity is incomplete and needs some adjustments... perhaps you won't be a full God of Death, but roles like 'Ferryman of the Styx' or 'Yama' should be manageable."
Modifying the deity role!
For some powerful deities, as long as they had the Deity Crystal, making minor modifications was not a big issue, as long as the essence remained unchanged.
Not to mention, Fang Xing was now an ancient deity.
Soon, under his modifications, the incomplete Death Deity Crystal split into three lesser deity roles of the Death Deity—'Guide of the Styx,' 'Judge of the Dead,' and 'Gatekeeper of the Underworld'!
"From today on, you are the God of Death in the Underworld. The Celestial Realm will be established in the first layer of the Underworld... Your main responsibility will be to guide mortal souls and conduct the first round of screening. Believers of the gods will be sent to the Celestial Realm, while unbelievers will be exiled to the deeper layers of the Underworld to fade away on their own..."
Fang Xing said.
With the God of Death in place, the Underworld could be reformed. The Eighteen Layers of Hell could remain, but they would torment only their enemies, not every unbeliever who entered.
"Yes, my lord!"
The Poison-Hand Scholar was somewhat excited, never expecting to become a deity!
He had already gained divinity, ignited the Divine Flame, and become a demigod.
Becoming a full deity was a simple matter.
"However, the authority of the God of Death is too great, and overseeing the Underworld requires a division of power."
Snap!
Fang Xing snapped his fingers, and two souls appeared, the Black and White Dharmapalas!
They had died during the battle against the God of Shadows and Thieves, and their souls naturally went to the Destruction Celestial Realm.
This time, Fang Xing brought them back to the Celestial Realm.
"My lord!"
The Black and White Dharmapalas hurriedly bowed.
"Do you... want to become gods of death?"
Fang Xing's lips curved into a smile, feeling that the Black and White Dharmapalas were naturally suited to be gods of death.
After all, the concept of the Black and White Dharmapalas was too good to pass up.
Moreover, they were his believers and deserved some special treatment.
Promoting these two Yang Deity souls was a bit tricky, as they were not even demigods.
Fortunately, Fang Xing had plenty of Divine Power and even spare divinity, so it was no issue.
The Poison-Hand Scholar, hearing this, felt a complex mix of emotions.
First, he was relieved to have followed the right person.
He had fought hard to survive, become a demigod, and now a God of Death.
In comparison, the Black and White Dharmapalas had become deities after death, almost like winning by default...
"Poison-Hand Scholar, you will be the 'Judge of the Dead'!"
"As for Black Dharmapala, you will be the 'Gatekeeper of the Underworld,' and White Dharmapala, you will be the 'Guide of the Styx'..."
Fang Xing made his decision.
Among the three death deity roles, 'Judge of the Dead' was the most powerful and naturally went to the Poison-Hand Scholar.
The roles of the Black and White Dharmapalas were perfect for the Black and White Dharmapalas!
(End of Chapter)
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