Chapter 647: Death

The God-Enthronement Ritual!

This is the inevitable path to becoming a True God, the highest ritual magic in this world!

To become a True God, one must first possess strength and followers…

In Fang Xing's view, it's like borrowing money.

To borrow from heaven and earth to become a god, one must offer collateral to prove repayment ability.

A Demigod is best; if not a Demigod, at least a Legend!

Of course, there are lucky mortals who ascend directly—but this is because their collateral is astonishingly valuable: for example, picking up a divine office and divine essence crystal on the road, or being noticed by a great master who becomes their guarantor…

In short, the first step to godhood is possessing 'strength,' whether it's your own or lent to you by others.

In this regard, the Lord of the Killing Sect is excellent, for he is already a Demigod, having ignited Divine Fire!

This effectively reduces one major trial.

Mortals who ignite Divine Fire endure a life-or-death calamity.

In comparison, the true divine descendants born as Demigods have no idea how much advantage they hold.

The Killing Sect.

A sacrificial altar.

One by one, followers are praying.

This scene occurs across all regions of the Shengchao Empire.

The second condition for becoming a deity is possessing sufficient followers and faith!

In this regard, the Lord of the Killing Sect has taken a shortcut.

For the current Killing Sect is the state religion of the Shengchao Empire, and he is Fang Xing's subordinate deity.

As long as Fang Xing issues a divine decree, he can divert a portion of the Killing Sect's faith to him—such as adding an angel beside the original worship.

And the Shadow Church's framework is equally simple to build: just transfer personnel directly from the Killing Sect…

The main altar.

Waves of faith energy surge like tides, causing the Lord of the Killing Sect's form to mutate.

Within his Divine Fire, the 'Shadow' divine office seems to slowly melt, or perhaps fuse with him.

Divine Fire, divine office, combined with faith energy… transform into purest divine power.

Under the influence of divine power, all scars and deformities on his skin vanish, leaving behind a perfect body like a marble statue.

He has ascended to godhood!

This is the moment when a deity is most vulnerable, for His true form is exposed in the mortal realm, yet has not entered His divine realm, nor mastered any divine abilities.

If one wishes to slay a god, this is the perfect opportunity!

Yet.

Natural light flickered!

Fang Xing appeared beside the altar, arms crossed, smiling as he watched it all.

The newborn God of Shadows bowed his head in reverence: "My Lord!"

This is the advantage of being a subordinate deity: with a senior figure of the sect present, no foolhardy soul dares to come and die.

Of course, in the mortal realm now, True Gods and Holy Ones have mostly perished; the few remaining hide like rats.

Ordinary Yang Shen and Demigod experts dare not attack the Grand Pontiff of the Shengchao Empire.

Moreover… even if they all attacked together, they couldn't defeat Fang Xing.

"You should raise your divine realm—I'll hitch a ride."

Fang Xing smiled.

"As you wish!"

The God of Shadows nodded, and in the mortal realm, a star appeared in broad daylight!

A brilliantly luminous star rose, rose, rising endlessly until it reached the sky's limit!

BOOM!

In an instant, it seemed to break through a barrier and entered the Heavenly Court's major plane!

"A new deity… has been born!"

At this moment, all high-ranking practitioners above ground sensed it.

"This damned Twilight of the Gods, this Source Storm… finally over."

The surviving divine holy ones nearly wept with relief.

Who wants to live in the mortal realm, exposing their vital core to a horde of bloodthirsty hunters?

Upon sensing the Source Storm's calm, they immediately rushed back to their own divine realms.

The Heavenly Court.

Within the divine realm of the 'God of Imperialism and Kingship.'

The land lay utterly silent.

The opulent architecture, the endless wine, the inexhaustible feasts—all discarded like trash upon the ground.

When a True God dies, His divine realm falls silent.

The souls of followers who depended on the divine realm perish instantly.

Even the divine realm itself slowly disintegrates, eventually becoming a meteor that crashes into the primary material world.

"No wonder the ancient god's divine realm is still so resilient."

Fang Xing casually strolled through, inspecting the deity's treasury.

The wealth within a divine realm is unimaginable to mortals.

Now, Fang Xing has a divine system's spoils to collect.

He merely took a look, lost interest, and prepared to hand this task over to his subordinate deity.

"The storm has subsided, the gods have returned to their realms…"

"World order gradually returns to peace… but one problem remains."

Fang Xing split off a divine avatar, blinked, and appeared in the Eighteen Layers of Hell: the Scorching Hell.

It was as hot as ever; the entire underworld resembled a vast vortex, ceaselessly drawing in souls from the dying mortal world.

"Souls have weight, so after death, one descends—not ascends… no matter who dies, they immediately arrive in the underworld."

Fang Xing gazed back with a touch of reflection.

A flash of teleportation light appeared; the Poison Hand Scholar materialized: "My Lord…"

"During the recent mortal dynastic change, many died… the underworld's performance has soared."

Fang Xing said casually: "The underworld should exist—but it should grant souls peace, not eternal torment…"

To be honest, he had no interest in the underworld's system.

If there were no souls, death would be final—like falling asleep, only never waking again, with no sensation, no perception…

Even if souls existed, arriving in the underworld had nothing to do with judgment.

What do good and evil mean to a standard measured by planets and nature?

!

A killer of ten thousand people and a good person… to the Dao of Heaven, they are identical; without extraordinary fortune, their souls gradually dissipate, ultimately returning as pure energy to nourish heaven and earth.

Thus, good and evil, merit and virtue… are all human inventions.

Of course, if enough people believe in them, they become truth.

Therefore, what is called 'merit' should more accurately be termed 'Human Dao Merit.'

No matter how much Human Dao Merit one accumulates, it brings no benefit to heaven and earth, so naturally, heaven and earth grant no favor in return.

"To gain Dao of Heaven merit, one must transcend the world, gain benefits from beyond the world, and enhance the world's primordial source…"

"Benefit heaven, gain Dao of Heaven merit; benefit humanity, gain Human Dao merit… and merit is like printing money—spend it with whoever issued it…"

"No matter how much Human Dao Merit you have, you can't spend it with heaven."

Fang Xing now holds entirely new insights into the Dao, the laws, and merit.

"For deities, followers' faith is merit… it is Divine Dao Merit. Thus, when followers die, they may claim Divine Dao Merit and demand the deity fulfill it; if the deity fails, it is a breach of contract."

…

The Poison Hand Scholar looked utterly bewildered, unable to comprehend, and could only say: "Whatever my Lord wishes, I shall do."

"Hmm, then become the God of Death."

Fang Xing's hand flashed with light, revealing a partially damaged divine office crystal—the 'Death Divine Office'!

His Pan Wu Dao, or 'Pan Wu Divine Office,' requires only a portion of the Death Law, so after using it, the Death Divine Office still retained a damaged remainder.

Now, he used his ancient god ability to modify the divine office: "This Death Divine Office is damaged—needs adjustment… hmm, perhaps I can't make you God of Death, but 'Ferryman of the River of Souls,' 'Yanluo,' or similar offices should still be feasible."

Modifying the Divine Office!

For powerful deities, as long as they possess a divine office crystal, minor modifications are no great issue—as long as the essence remains unchanged.

Not to mention, Fang Xing now holds the rank of Ancient God.

Quickly, under his modifications, the damaged Death Divine Office split into three lower divine offices—'Ferryman of the River of Souls,' 'Death Judgment,' and 'Gatekeeper of the Underworld'!

"From today, you are the Underworld God of Death, your divine realm established in the first layer of the underworld… your primary duty is to guide mortal souls and conduct the first screening: send the followers of other deities to their divine realms; for the faithless, do not torment them—just banish them to the underworld's depths to fade away naturally…"

Fang Xing said.

With a God of Death in place, the underworld can now be reformed: the Eighteen Layers of Hell may remain, but torment shall be reserved only for enemies—not every faithless soul sent to hell.

"Yes, My Lord!"

The Poisonous Hand Scholar was excited—he never imagined he could become a god!

He had already acquired divinity, ignited the Divine Flame, and become a demigod.

Becoming a full deity would be simple.

"But the Domain of Death is too vast, and it governs the Underworld—it needs to be divided."

Snap!

Fang Xing snapped his fingers, and two souls appeared—Black and White Dharma Kings!

They died fighting the Shadow and Thief Gods, and after death, their souls naturally went to the Realm of Destruction.

This time, when Fang Xing returned to the Divine Realm, he brought them out again.

"My Lord!"

The Black and White Protectors hurriedly bowed.

"Do you… want to become the God of Death?"

A faint smile appeared on Fang Xing's lips—he felt these two Protectors were born to be Gods of Death.

After all, the concept of Black and White Impermanence was too perfect to pass up.

Moreover, they were his own devotees—he naturally owed them special favor.

Elevating these two Yangshen souls was tricky, since they weren't even demigods.

Fortunately, Fang Xing now had more than enough divine power, even surplus divinity—so it was no issue.

The Poisonous Hand Scholar, listening nearby, felt a complex mix of emotions.

First, he was relieved he had chosen the right master.

Yet he had fought tooth and nail just to survive and become a demigod—now he could become the God of Death.

By contrast, the Black and White Dharma Kings had been deified after death—they had essentially won by lying down…

"Hmm, Poisonous Hand Scholar, you shall oversee 'Judgment of Death'!"

"Black Protector, you shall be the 'Gatekeeper of the Underworld'; White Protector, you shall be the 'Guide of the River of Souls'…"

Fang Xing made his decision outright.

Of the three divine offices in the Death Pantheon, 'Judgment of Death' was the most powerful—he naturally gave it to the Poisonous Hand Scholar.

And the duties of Black and White Impermanence were perfect for the Black and White Dharma Kings!

(End of Chapter)