Using a Ritual to Defeat a Ritual

Chen Xu looked at Thor’s fanatical yet slightly proud expression and found himself at a loss for words.

He sent a soul shock directly at the creature, sending it spinning wildly through the cosmic void.

“Help! Help! It’s beast murder! Beast murder!”

Chen Xu simply mobilized his mental strength, condensing it into a giant hand that snatched Thor’s body and hauled him back in front of him.

“No, what exactly are you proud of? Don’t tell me the Mother of Hell’s insane behavior was some backup plan you deliberately left behind?”

Upon hearing this, a chill instantly rushed to Thor’s heart. He thought Chen Xu suspected him of providing guidance to Hell.

“Ho-how could that be? That damned Hell nearly slapped me to death back then. What kind of relationship could I possibly have with it? You’re joking.”

As he spoke, Thor put on a fawning smile. Unfortunately, as an astral behemoth, his appearance was far too hideous for acting cute to be anything but a negative.

Chen Xu didn’t buy it and pressed on. “Then what are you so proud of?”

“Heh, I’m just gratified to see that the ancient craft of rituals is still being carried forward by someone today.”

Thor sounded like an old scholar of ancient knowledge. In an era where his field had been phased out, suddenly discovering someone inheriting his mantle made him feel a surge of excitement.

Moreover, this successor had surpassed the master, employing a ritual on a scale far beyond anything he had ever achieved. It gave him a sense of fulfillment, as if his legacy was in good hands.

But at that moment, Chen Xu threw a bucket of cold water on him.

“Do you want to guess whether the Mother of Hell—the one who inherited your ultimate technique and expanded it—will spare you, her ‘teacher’?”

Thor froze for a moment, and then his face slowly darkened.

Right. He had been so caught up in the excitement that he forgot Hell was no longer the same entity it was before its ascension.

Since its ascension, it had been tormented by madness every second of every day. Hell’s mind was likely twisted beyond recognition, and he, the primary instigator, was probably at the very top of its hate list.

“That... actually... does make some sense,” Thor said, his voice growing fainter and losing all its confidence.

Chen Xu raised his hand to open a spatial gate, bringing Thor back to the Undead Dao Court.

Standing on the level ground, Chen Xu looked up at the high tower in the sky and asked, “Tell me, as an expert in rituals, analyze this for me. What is the purpose of the ritual Hell is setting up?”

“Purpose? The purpose of a ritual is always simple: to obtain Ritual Power.

The ritual energy obtained upon completing a ritual is a universal power similar to world source or the power of faith.

The more complex and grand the ritual, the more Ritual Power is obtained upon completion, and the higher its quality.”

“Ritual Power? The power of faith comes from the devout belief of followers, and world source comes from the world itself. Where does this Ritual Power come from?”

“Ha, who knows? Perhaps there is some great existence in the unseen depths that we haven’t discovered yet. Ritual Power is the payment it gives—the reward for watching the show.”

Hearing this, Chen Xu didn’t even turn his head. He simply fired another soul shock, sending Thor flying once more.

Then, with a wave of his hand, the mental hand snatched him back again.

“Have you forgotten? We are bound by a soul contract. Whether you’re talking nonsense or telling the truth, I can sense it all.”

Facing Chen Xu’s interrogation, Thor’s tongue lolled out and his head slumped as he spoke helplessly.

“Big brother, the problem is that I really don’t know where Ritual Power comes from! You insist on asking, so I could only make something up.

It’s like the power of faith. Everyone knows it’s generated by believers, but the believers themselves don’t undergo any physical change. Their souls are the same, so how does it suddenly produce an unprecedented power?

At the base level of transcendent power, there are many things that aren’t scrutinized deeply. I’m just an applied specialist, not a theoretical specialist.”

The feedback from the soul contract confirmed that this was the truth. Thor wasn’t lying; he truly didn’t know the source of Ritual Power.

A mysterious power with an unknown source—this was perhaps one of the major reasons why the ritual system had been phased out.

But Chen Xu was in no mood to investigate a defunct system right now. He only wanted to know one critical thing.

Chen Xu turned his head and looked at Thor.

“Forget all that. Let’s talk about the key point. How do we sabotage or stop the Mother of Hell’s ritual?”

Seeing that Chen Xu was asking for professional expertise, Thor suddenly perked up and straightened his body again.

“Now you’re asking the right person! As a ritual expert with extensive experience in major incidents, I can tell you clearly: there are only three ways to stop a ritual.

The first is the simplest and most direct: kill the ritual’s architect.

Once the architect dies, the ritual loses its ongoing guidance and will automatically collapse.

Of course, if you understand rituals, you can also directly inherit the ritual, complete the subsequent guidance, and claim all the rewards for yourself.”

Chen Xu’s brow furrowed, and he gave Thor a look.

Thor gave an awkward smile. “I know, killing Hell directly is a bit difficult. But I’m not talking nonsense; this is a genuine solution.

However, if the first method won’t work, we have the second: sabotage the ritual’s setup and disrupt the critical guidance.

For example, with Hell, these constantly burning fires of war are clearly one of the most important components of the setup.

We just need to make these battlefields call a truce. If they stop fighting Hell, Hell’s ritual will inevitably be severely damaged!”

After saying this, Thor looked at Chen Xu, only to find the other man staring at him as if he were an idiot.

So, he asked cautiously, “Um, is something wrong?”

“What’s wrong? You’re asking me? Look at the method you’re suggesting. A truce? You want Heaven and Hell to call a truce? You want the civilizations being invaded by Hell to give up their resistance?

I might as well send you to assassinate the Mother of Hell. After all, don’t you have experience sneak-attacking her? I think that plan is more feasible.”

“No, no, no! Please don’t be angry. It was my oversight. War is indeed a bit of a wicked thing; it’s not easy to stop.

It seems there’s only one method left. This is a method I’ve only practiced two or three times.

Ordinary people wouldn’t dare try it. Only I, the great astral behemoth Thor—a ritual master of this caliber—can say I handle it with ease.”

“What method?”

“According to the theories of ancient sages, the best way to defeat a transcendent power is to use the same power against it.

Simply put, you must use magic to defeat magic, and a ritual to defeat a ritual.

To frustrate Hell’s ritual, we must create a ritual even larger than the one it has now.

We use this larger-scale ritual to overwrite its ritual. That way, when the ritual settlement occurs, it will settle the grand ritual instead of Hell’s smaller one.”

“A larger ritual...” Chen Xu murmured under his breath.

Although this final method seemed just as impractical as the first two at first glance, strictly speaking, it was the only one that was actually actionable.

All six special worlds were part of the Mother of Hell’s plan. Chen Xu couldn’t stay out of it like the other Dao Lord-tier factions.

Doing nothing and waiting for the Mother of Hell to come to his door would be certain death.

However, Chen Xu didn’t immediately adopt Thor’s suggestion. After all these years, the Mother of Hell’s ritual likely wouldn’t end instantly.

There should still be time—time for him to go over the contents of the rituals.

Chen Xu pulled up the Undead Network and began browsing through everything Thor had uploaded from the beginning.

Soon, Chen Xu discovered a ritual event that might contain a way to deal with the Mother of Hell.

“Thor, tell me in detail about the Sages Stealing the Chess Piece incident.”

“Hmm? Why are you suddenly interested in that? Wait.”

Thor reacted quickly, guessing Chen Xu’s thoughts.

“You don’t want to follow the sages’ example and try stealing the piece to change masters, do you?”