Star Sky Professional

According to Fang Xing's view, faith is a contract between humans and gods, a kind of transaction!

The believer offers their faith and daily offerings in exchange for their souls ascending to the Divine Country after death and enjoying eternal freedom.

But a church of a True God would actually treat a devout believer in such a manner?

Even more, without receiving any Divine Punishment?

"This Wu Yong, one might say that it was the subordinates who failed in their duties... but if other instances are found..."

Fang Xing looked around.

Attracted by the food, more and more ghosts were gathering.

For ordinary cultivators, this might be a deadly situation, but for him, it posed no problem.

"Go!"

He grabbed a handful of Spirit Bamboo seeds and scattered them on the ground around him.

One by one, Fire Jade Bamboo rapidly grew, and the bamboo grains emitted a refreshing fragrance.

The ghosts surrounding him immediately turned and began gnawing on the bamboo...

Fang Xing extended his sense, searching, and found a few more unlucky souls.

Amazingly, they were all considered followers of the Divine, yet after death, their souls were not taken to the Divine Country...

"Combining this with the layout of the eighteen levels of the Underworld... could it be that only Asta was genuine before, and the gods of the Great Zhou Divine System deliberately abandoned the souls of superficial believers, or even true believers, in the Underworld... then tortured them through the eighteen levels to extract every bit of worth, leaving them to perish?"

Fang Xing shook his head: "As expected of the Western Divine, their methods are crude..."

The Divine Country accepts believers' souls, naturally incurring a cost.

If it's a quality believer, there's surplus, benefiting the Divine Power.

But if it's an inferior soul, it feels like more is going out than coming in, and for gods, even breaking even is a loss.

Fang Xing thought, this is probably the downside of those gods being migrants.

If they ruled over a Western populace, it would hardly be an issue.

But Western gods ruling an Eastern land and playing it this way is quite problematic!

The Eastern ancestors emphasized, 'Are kings and marquises naturally born?' and had a sense of practicality.

No matter what god you are, if you're useful, worship is fine, but if you take without doing anything, then it's time to raid the mountain and break temples.

Western ancestors let gods dictate all, praying for divine protection and blessings amidst great calamities, waiting for the ark during floods, blaming themselves upon death for they were born with original sin...

Yet Eastern ancestors believed that humans could conquer heaven; if the sky broke, it was to be mended. If the Sun became too many, it was to be shot down. If gods committed evil, they'd still slay gods!

'These Great Zhou gods use Western thinking to rule over Great Zhou. It appears harmless, yet in reality, it's a colossal issue...'

Fang Xing shook his head; 'Like these ghosts... if they had the ability, they'd probably fight to take a bite out of the True Gods.'

'Resentment has been accumulating in the shadows.'

Fang Xing observed one soul's memory after another, contemplating in silence.

Then, he turned his gaze to Lu Zhong.

This Temple warrior was in a bizarre state, with countless faces on him.

These faces varied from male to female, young to old... the commonality being their expressions of wailing and crying...

As an envoy of justice, he must empathize with the weak, and at this moment, sensing these vulnerable emotions, Lu Zhong's faith trembled: "No... My Lord..."

Lu Zhong's eyes continued to bleed as he saw an elderly beggar, who had lived a solitary life, donate his last copper coin to the Church before dying.

However, after death, his soul still fell into Hell!

He witnessed a devout believer maintaining their faith throughout their life, only to be scornfully dismissed by the Divine Envoy for their soul's feeble strength.

In the end, he saw souls abandoned by his own Redemption Church...

"Ahhh!"

Lu Zhong's expression distorted, releasing a scream.

His faith wavered, the power he had so easily obtained from the Church and the gods now turned against him.

Generally, in professions like this, especially for semi-legendary strong ones, there is certainly a god's gaze upon them.

Once found fallen, divine punishment would be inevitable, leading to absolute death!

Yet now, under Fang Xing's 'God's Eye Can't Reach' influence, the gods he devoted himself to was unaware of his defection.

Thus, Lu Zhong gained a glimmer of hope for survival.

"Ahhh!"

As Lu Zhong screamed, holy fire ignited on his body while the strange, ethereal faces on his surface rushed eagerly into the flames.

Hee hee...

Ha ha...

When Lu Zhong ceased his wails, he appeared severely burned all over.

Only a pair of eyes remained bright!

Even his presence further advanced, truly reaching the threshold of legend!

"Congratulations, for recovering from the gods' lies."

"Now, what will you name yourself? Evil Martial? Or... Avenger?"

Fang Xing's lips curled into a slight smile.

Facing this guy who wanted to kill him earlier, slapping him to death would merely send him off to the Divine Country for luxury.

This way, is truly the best revenge.

"Evil Demon..."

He spoke, voice hoarse: "If you meant to lure me down, congratulations, you succeeded..."

"Haha, what are you worth for me to do anything?"

Fang Xing chuckled: "I simply wished to tour the Underworld, paving the way with your hand..."

He stepped out, preparing to head to the next Cold Ice Hell.

Lu Zhong, unclear of his own intention, followed behind Fang Xing.

Now he has completely abandoned his faith and become a true 'Unbeliever'. The anger in his heart burns fiercely, turning his once-strong belief in the Divine into deep hatred. He has vowed to spend his entire life avenging himself on the Divine, even if it means death!

Fang Xing paid no attention to this idiot who couldn't even handle the First Level of Hell.

His mind and will were incredibly resilient; even when witnessing such human tragedy, he remained unmoved.

Soon, he arrived at the Cold Ice Hell.

Compared to the previous layer's scorching heat, here the Void was filled with a coldness that could freeze the soul at any moment.

The souls wandering here are those whose grudges were too deep to be resolved by the First Level of Hell!

Next, there were the Tongue-pulling Hell, the Skin Stripping Hell, the Pestle Hell, the Car Wrecking Hell...

Fang Xing toured each of them, occasionally casting blessings on the tormented souls.

In the end, he reached the eighteenth layer, the Abyss Hell.

Called 'Abyss' because it has no concept of time; souls entering this space will suffer eternal torment until they perish, never finding redemption.

Tick, tick!

Lu Zhong saw a faint ghost, so weak it resembled a firefly, yet it had not dissipated.

He couldn't help but shed tears: "What kind of obsession is this? To fall into the Abyss and remain unchanged?"

"Heh heh... Only by existing can one be alive. If one gives up, they truly become scattered souls."

Fang Xing let out a cold laugh: "To survive is the greatest obsession!"

He felt that with his own obsession, even in the Abyss Hell, he would probably be the most stubborn one.

The Abyss Hell wasn't large; the surroundings were all gray and misty.

The two walked for a long time before seeing a few firefly-like ghostly wisps.

"Evil Demon... Sir... what exactly are you searching for?"

Finally, Lu Zhong couldn't hold back and asked.

He had harbored this question in his heart from the beginning.

"I'm not searching for something, I am searching for what is lacking here..."

Fang Xing shook his head and suddenly stopped his steps.

In front of him was a broken Bowl.

Lu Zhong knew this was also formed from a soul's obsession.

Trapped in the Abyss, eternally tortured, some souls chose to transform into stones and other eternal, unchanging things to resist.

Fang Xing slightly extended his perception, and it was as if he saw an old monk, with his ears stabbed deaf, eyes poisoned blind, throat made mute, limbs broken, resembling a human pig, biting his tongue's tip to use blood to write scriptures: "I curse... those high and mighty All Gods... that one day, they will fall eternally into the flames of the Abyss!"

"A commendable wish."

Fang Xing commented and tossed the Bowl to Lu Zhong.

Lu Zhong caught it, first feeling the intense resentment, then was surprised: "This Bowl... actually gives me a sense of a Holy Artifact from the Church, although very faint..."

"It's a Sacrificial God!"

Fang Xing explained: "It hasn't fallen in all these years and has naturally gathered a trace of weak Divinity, evolving into a Sacrificial God... For us in the East, everything can become a god!"

Lu Zhong's habit made him want to say this was sacrilege, blasphemous... after all, the concept in the West is that gods are born gods.

But remembering he had become an Avenger, he instead closely examined the Bowl.

This Bowl wasn't a Divine Artifact, and its power seemed weak.

Yet that trace of essence inexplicably gave him a familiar feeling.

Like a young tiger could be bitten to death by a Hyena, but it remains a tiger, possessing the majesty of a tiger!

Fang Xing chuckled, connecting with the water element.

Splish splash!

In this quiet place, where time seemed to stand still in the Abyss Hell, a sound of splashing water suddenly echoed.

A tranquil river suddenly flowed through the Abyss Hell.

Fang Xing casually scattered seeds, causing strange, flower-like things to bloom on the river's far bank.

"What is this..."

Lu Zhong was more and more unable to understand Fang Xing.

"This is the red spider lily..."

Fang Xing said: "I just found this place rather dull, so I thought I'd add a little scenery..."

'Do you think I'll believe you?' Lu Zhong's expression was speechless.

He knew that souls able to descend to the bottom of the eighteenth layer of hell and remain for hundreds of years without dissipating would have immense destructive power once given the chance.

"Alright, we're done here. If we don't leave now, they will notice us."

Fang Xing glanced at Lu Zhong, and a sudden emerald-green radiance enveloped them both.

...

Great Zhou Divine Dynasty.

In the wilderness, amidst a dense forest.

Nature suddenly opened the Gate, allowing the two of them to walk out from it.

"I... actually left the Underworld so easily? No... this is an authority only the Divine possesses!"

Lu Zhong's dark eyes stared at Fang Xing: "Who exactly are you?"

Getting out of the Underworld is a privilege bestowed by the Divine, passed on to the Divine Envoy.

Aside from them, it's impossible for anyone to achieve this; it's the foundational operation of the belief system.

"I'm not a god, but indeed a great Evil Demon."

Fang Xing laughed heartily, his form disappearing instantly, with only his voice lingering: "Eternal Void Ancestor, hometown of the True Demon..."

"Is it you? True Demon Lord?"

Lu Zhong's pupils dilated: "The True Demon Lord isn't a Fake God, but a True God!?"