"This is the divine seal transformed from the Lord's Divine Path Authority."
Su Xue seemed to see her confusion and explained softly.
"The Lord is a true god of this world, carrying the wishes of all beings and soothing their suffering."
"Even if you feel you are defiled, in the Lord's eyes, as long as you have a heart inclined toward goodness, you are a seed worthy of redemption."
The mummified corpse bathed in the radiance of the divine seal as if in a daze.
It turned out that in this world, there really were gods.
He was not an imposter like her who occupied a divine remains; he was willing to extend a hand even to a monster like her, rotting in the sand.
The mummified corpse suddenly felt an intense sense of inferiority and shame.
As expected, a true god was benevolent and radiant, someone who would protect all living beings.
Just like the owner of the remains she inhabited, he was someone so many longed for, someone so many creatures were willing to believe in.
She felt her base heart stir with a restless urge.
It was a longing for light.
A thirst for warmth.
A hope to be saved.
Blood continued to flow uncontrollably from her eye sockets.
The mummified corpse desperately tried to wipe it away, not wanting her filthy blood to tarnish such a holy power.
But her hand was tightly held by Tuoba Feng, leaving her unable to move.
She could have easily broken free, but at this moment, she didn't want to struggle at all.
It wasn't like before when she had resigned herself to fate and allowed the black spots to merge into her body because she didn't want to fight.
Rather, it was because of an emotion she could not understand.
She felt her heart grow warm and full, yet sour and astringent at the same time.
Something was breaking through the soil and sprouting.
The mummified corpse's power was restored, and she carefully thanked the Lord whom she had never met but Su Xue spoke of.
Then, she separated a thread of consciousness and followed the eye that had been constantly calling to her.
She wanted to see what that escaped eye was actually doing.
She saw...
A thousand miles away, at the Star-Picking Platform in Gloomlight Province.
The seven-colored mist in the sky still lingered, hanging in the heavens like a solidified dream.
The faint sound of Brahma chanting echoed from deep within the mist, yet there was still no trace of the Golden Buddha descending into the world.
Boom—!!!
The earth tore open, and two massive black pillars, each ten zhang thick, completely broke through the surface and soared into the sky.
Dragon-Suppressing Stakes!
Chen Zhou stood atop the high platform; the Judgment Whisk had already transformed into a giant brush, its tip pressing firmly down onto the first Dragon-Suppressing Stake.
Blood-red characters for 'sin' spread across the surface of the stake; the judgment was in progress.
But the speed was too slow.
The massive eye on the Judge's neck spun frantically, and a beam of black light shot out as sinful karma wrapped around the second Dragon-Suppressing Stake, pulling it toward him.
"Don't even think about it!"
Chen Zhou made a grabbing motion with his left hand, and the Domain of Defiled Earth expanded as countless bone hands reached out from the void, grabbing the Dragon-Suppressing Stake with a death grip.
The Dragon-Suppressing Stake struggled violently, and the sinful karma faces on its surface let out sharp shrieks as black spots frantically corroded the bone hands.
Crack... Crack...
The bone hands shattered one after another.
The Judge raised his arm and made a clenching motion toward the Dragon-Suppressing Stake.
Whoosh!
The Dragon-Suppressing Stake abruptly broke free from the shackles of the bone hands, turning into a streak of black light that instantly merged into the Judge's body.
Boom!!
The black sinful karma flames burning around the Judge surged violently.
"I command sinful karma, and a true god has arrived; any who stand in my way are acting in vain!"
The Judge's voice was no longer intermittent; it became fluent, each word carrying the oppressive weight of heavenly authority.
He raised his hand and pressed down toward the ground below.
Boom!
The black-spot monsters gathered around the Star-Picking Platform began to follow his commands, merging with one another.
Ten, a hundred, a thousand...
Tens of thousands of black-spot monsters converged, their flesh merging and bones restructuring until they transformed into three hundred-zhang-tall black giants.
The giants had no facial features; their entire bodies were composed of wriggling black spots, and every step they took made the ground tremble.
They swung fists as large as mountains, smashing toward the only entrance of the Star-Picking Platform—the direction Jian Huaishuang was guarding.
"Here they come."
Jian Huaishuang stood at the entrance, his giant sword pointing diagonally toward the ground.
The paper people behind him let out high-pitched, mocking laughter, pouncing toward the giants without a shred of fear.
They climbed up the giants' legs and tore at their bodies while the summoned malevolent ghosts used their sharp claws to leave white gashes on the black spots.
But the giants' counterattacks were even more violent.
One giant raised its foot and stomped down ruthlessly.
Squelch!
Dozens of paper people were crushed into scraps, scattering in the wind.
Another giant opened its massive maw and spat out black mold.
Sizzle!
Hundreds of paper people melted instantly, turning into pools of black sewage.
As paper snow filled the air, every attack from the giants caused another crack to open in Jian Huaishuang's paper armor.
However, the giants were clearly not faring well either; after an attack, one of the giants' arms exploded!
Black flesh splattered, and black spots fell like torrential rain.
【Lie Sword Domain】 was in effect; any attack launched within the domain against Jian Huaishuang or his designated targets would have its damage deceived by the domain, reflecting part or all of it back onto the attacker.
"Again."
Jian Huaishuang raised his giant sword.
The paper people gathered once more and pounced again.
Wave after wave they went, knowing no fear and no fatigue.
This was because their lives originated from death, and their will came from the god sitting upon the altar.
Jian Huaishuang took a deep breath, the cracks on his paper armor multiplying.
Yet he remained at the entrance, not retreating a single step.
Because behind him was his god.
He was the existence Jian Huaishuang had sworn loyalty to, someone he was willing to give everything for.
Therefore, he could not retreat.
Not even in death.
Atop the platform, Chen Zhou's expression grew extremely solemn.
The Judge's aura had grown stronger, and he was now capable of controlling the black-spot monsters.
More troublesome was that the ground began to tremble again.
Several more Dragon-Suppressing Stakes were awakening beneath the earth, about to break through the surface.
Once the Judge merged with two more, his strength would be completely stabilized, and he might even advance further.
At that point, everything would be too late.
The only good news currently was that for some reason, the Golden Buddha had not descended, preventing the situation from becoming even worse.
The provincial capital was crawling with ghosts; the stronger the Judge became, the stronger the black spots would be.
Yet, no ghosts had swarmed from the direction of the imperial palace or the city to add to his troubles.
This was because there were people in the palace, in the city, and even in the Eastern and Western Regions who were fighting with all their might for him.
Chen Zhou took a deep breath; at this moment, his Evil God Points ticked down rapidly until they hit zero.
He converted all his savings into the divine seal of 【Faith Conferment】.
A brilliant, sun-like golden light erupted from Chen Zhou's palm.
The light was so blinding that it even pierced the black sinful karma shrouding the Star-Picking Platform, tearing a golden rift in the sky.
"Divine Path Authority, Faith Conferment, in my name, I confer upon all living beings!"
Chen Zhou raised his hand and violently threw the golden ball of light into the sky.
The light cluster exploded, turning into several streaks of golden light that cut through the sky like a meteor shower, shooting out in all directions.
They flew toward Wu Gou before the Path of Hungry Ghosts, toward Xiaoye and Bai in the provincial capital, toward Jian Huaishuang in front of him, toward the distant Plague Rat and Poison-Wing in the Eastern Region, and toward Su Xue and Piao in the Western Region.
"Since you believe in me so much..."
"Then let's take a gamble."
Chen Zhou left no backup for himself; he didn't need any.
Water can carry a boat, but it can also overturn it.
Since they believed in him, he believed in them as well.
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