Chen Zhou was stunned for a moment.
“You mean you can raise my cultivation directly to the Non-Existence Rank?”
He almost thought he had misheard.
【...】
【What are you thinking?】
【I can help you reshape a godhead that belongs entirely to you.】
【^_^】
Reshaping a new godhead?
Although his godhead was fully functional and possessed complete authority, it was, after all, someone else's.
And just as the system had said, that godhead had long been polluted by the Heavenly Tribulation. The abilities he activated using it would be completely suppressed when facing power of the same source.
If he could replace it with his own, all his problems would be solved.
Chen Zhou hastily pressed further, “Didn't you say before that only after reaching the Non-Existence Rank can one pluck another's godhead and birth their own outer godhead?”
【That is the conventional path.】
【But you have unconventional conditions.】
“What needs to be done?”
【You currently hold the two ghost decrees of Zhaoye and Xuandu, have been chosen by the Great Emperor's Palace as the successor, have reclaimed three outer provinces, and possess seven zhang of merit.】
【Though your cultivation is a bit lacking, as long as you obtain the recognition of heaven and earth, you are qualified to be exceptions to achieve godhood ahead of schedule.】
Chen Zhou looked up.
“Then how do I obtain the recognition of heaven and earth?”
【You already have.】
The words were spoken lightly, yet they sent an inexplicable jolt through Chen Zhou's heart.
【Do you think the things you have done over the years were only seen by you and those around you?】
【You rose from the Dead Man’s Forest, took in refugees, built the City of the Wrongfully Dead, slew the snake demon, subdued the Corpse Soul Sect, pacified Lantao City, sacrificed the Toad Saint, wiped out the Ksitigarbha of Great Vows, suppressed the Provincial Capital's Path of Hungry Ghosts, and expelled the divine sense of Central Province.】
【Although heaven and earth have undergone great changes, they have never died.】
【It has been watching all along.】
【The order of the three provinces is being restored, the ley lines are reviving, the Way of Humanity is flourishing, and in this territory of yours, heaven and earth are slowly regaining control of the rules.】
Chen Zhou's breathing grew softer.
【Although merit is still a useless thing for now, it is not merely a numerical measure of your good deeds to save the world. It is the degree of recognition heaven and earth have for your existence, the depth of the brand you leave behind as you walk through this world.】
【Your actions have been watched by it from the very beginning.】
【It recognized you long ago.】
【So, you can achieve godhood now.】
...
【I'm sorry.】
【It was too weak before, so it couldn't help you much. Although it has regained control over some rules now, it is still no match for that thing.】
【Endure and bide its time.】
【That is all it can do for now.】
【The road ahead is still yours to walk.】
Chen Zhou sat on the withered stone, remaining silent for a long time.
He thought of many things.
The sight of the ten thousand-plus believers in the Dead Man's Forest kneeling in the mud and kowtowing.
The mortals of White Jade City whom he had rescued from the blood sacrifice.
The cries of the refugees of Shideng Village when they harvested their first crop of grain from the Thick Earth Spirit Field.
The expressions on the faces of the human-livestock in Poison Flame Mountain when they saw the sunlight.
And many, many more.
He had forgotten the things he had done, but as it turned out, heaven and earth remembered.
“...Fine,” he said. “Let's do it.”
The golden light of the little gold blob brightened for an instant.
Then Chen Zhou felt something vibrating deep within the system space.
Two tokens flew out of the void. One was engraved with the characters for Zhaoye, and the other with Xuandu. They were pitch-black all over, with a dark luster flowing across their surfaces.
The two ghost decrees traveled through his body, heading all the way down to the depths of his sea of consciousness. They stopped before his divine sense, hovering in midair and radiating a cold, heavy aura.
Chen Zhou trusted the system completely and actively let down his guard.
His divine sense slowly relaxed, and the defensive death qi wrapped around the periphery of his godhead dispersed layer by layer.
Guided by the system, the two ghost decrees flew toward his godhead.
The pitch-black tokens passed through the outer layer of his divine soul, through the barrier of death qi, and through the grayish-white ring of light around his godhead, gradually melting into it.
Chen Zhou shuddered as a primitive and ancient aura surged from deep within his godhead.
It was like the rock strata deep underground, or magma solidified ten thousand years ago—heavy, solid, and carrying an indescribable sense of ancient vicissitudes.
His godhead was changing.
The original grayish-white light was being permeated and enveloped by the black light of the two tokens.
Nüba's inner godhead was dispersing bit by bit, replaced by something new.
What was this new thing?
It was Chen Zhou's own.
The little gold grain floated above the godhead, and the Golden Light of Merit poured down like a waterfall, washing over Chen Zhou's godhead.
Using Nüba's inner godhead as a foundation, the system channeled merit to cleanse the original authorities, then used the ghost decrees to rewrite the authorities of the new god, connecting his karma with the Great Emperor's Palace.
Then Chen Zhou felt something new taking shape within the godhead.
It was his.
It was the path he had walked.
From the Dead Man’s Forest all the way to Qingzhou, every inch of land he had stepped on, every person he had saved, and every enemy he had slain was inside it.
Chen Zhou closed his eyes, letting the process complete itself deep within his divine soul.
The Golden Light of Merit circulated through his body; the old authorities were fading away, and new authorities were growing.
The sensation was wondrous, as if he had taken off an ill-fitting suit of armor and stood bare-handed. Just when he felt exposed, someone timely handed him a new suit of armor.
It was heavier, more form-fitting, and suited him much better.
His karma was being reshaped.
Chen Zhou could feel that, in the unseen world, several invisible threads extended from the surface of his godhead, piercing through the void, through realms, through the barriers of time and karma, and finally landing in some extremely distant place.
It seemed to go deep underground, in the direction of the Great Emperor's Palace.
Those threads acted like a bridge, connecting Chen Zhou's godhead with the Great Emperor's Palace.
He could feel the outlines of the four palaces, heavy and massive, crouching in the chaos like giant beasts, their breathing extremely slow.
He could feel the four ghost mansions standing in the four directions, the breath of evil ghosts deep within the Eighteen Levels of Hell, and the skeletal fingers pressing gently against the edge of the crack in the Wujian Hell.
Through this connection, his karma with the Great Emperor's Palace became clear.
Their karma was bound, their fortunes linked, and their authorities joined.
The moment the new karma was completely connected, he suddenly felt an extremely ancient aura surge from deep within the godhead.
Cold and heavy, like a rock wall that had never seen sunlight for eons, it seeped out from Chen Zhou's godhead, spreading outward along every crack of his divine soul, quickly soaking his entire sea of consciousness.
【All right.】
【The final step.】
The golden light of the system suddenly intensified.
【Keep your eyes wide open.】
【You only have this one chance.】
Before Chen Zhou could react, a violent tremor suddenly came from deep within the godhead.
It was as if something had been opened.
His consciousness was violently dragged into a much deeper place.
All around was chaotic darkness, with only a wisp of gray light in the far, far distance.
Chen Zhou instinctively looked in the direction of that wisp of light. His gaze pierced through the endless darkness and saw an immensely colossal object floating quietly in the dark.
It was gray and lifeless, its entire outline shrouded in chaos.
No shape could be discerned, nor any boundary; its existence could only be felt.
The thing flowed slowly, like a long river. Chen Zhou stared at that chaotic river for a long time.
Then, in the depths of the chaos, he saw something slowly turning.
It looked like a gate.
Or perhaps a heart.
Or something else he couldn't name.
As he stared at it, the chaos suddenly shuddered.
Chen Zhou felt an extremely cold gaze sweep over from the depths of the chaos. It was like a bucket of ice water poured over his head, freezing his entire divine soul until it trembled.
Then, he woke up.
His consciousness snapped back into his sea of consciousness. Chen Zhou gasped heavily, cold sweat breaking out layer after layer.
“What was that?”
The sea of consciousness remained silent for a long time.
Then, the system's text slowly emerged.
【Your newly born authority should have allowed you to catch a glimpse of the Underworld.】
【After the Battle of Qingtian across the three realms, the Celestial Realm collapsed, the mortal world was ruined, and the Underworld cracked into its current state—the Wanchuan River dried up, and the Six Paths fell into disorder.】
【The authority of the Underworld was once one of the supreme authorities in this world.】
Chen Zhou wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. “Then who was it that I saw?”
“Was it the Northern Great Emperor?”
The system fell silent for a moment.
【You didn't see anyone.】
【You simply saw the Underworld itself.】
Chen Zhou frowned. “I saw a gate, or something like a heart...”
【That gate is called the Ghost Gate.】
【You can also call it the heart of the Emperor of Fengdu.】
Chen Zhou's heart skipped a beat.
“The Emperor of Fengdu?”
【The supreme existence of the Underworld, Lord of the Dead, Ancestor of the Ghost Path, and judge of the destination of all souls.】
【He fell in the Battle of Qingtian. What you saw just now was his remains.】
Chen Zhou remained silent for a long time.
He suddenly recalled that after arriving in this world, he had seen too many things related to death, dead souls, and reincarnation.
The unwilling wandering souls of the Dead Man's Forest, the Pursuing Soul Envoys refined by the Corpse Soul Sect, the souls devoured by dreams in Lantao City, the countless evil ghosts imprisoned in the Provincial Capital Hell, and the vengeful spirits from five hundred years ago in the Path of Hungry Ghosts.
Because the Underworld no longer existed, the souls of ordinary people had no place of return after death. No ghost bailiffs came to guide them, and they could not go to the Underworld.
Yet as long as someone was willing to guide them, these dead souls could still be reincarnated.
Wu Gou had personally transcended many evil ghosts, and he himself had pardoned countless heroic spirits of the Western Region, allowing them to be reincarnated.
Why was it that even though the Six Paths were in disorder, the laws of reincarnation remained intact?
The moment Chen Zhou saw the Underworld just now, he suddenly understood.
Reincarnation did not exist because this world possessed rules of reincarnation, but because that place still existed.
The Ghost Gate was still turning, so souls could still come and go, and dead souls still had a place of return.
【The fact that you were able to see the Underworld means we succeeded!】
【Your karma is now connected!】
The system's text interrupted his thoughts.
【From now on, you are the successor to the Underworld!】
【Your godhead has been completely reshaped. You have obtained a brand-new godhead—Lord of the River of the Underworld (Outer)】
【The Underworld opens, and the abyss begins to show.】
【You have glimpsed the Ghost Gate beneath the Nine Underworlds. Deep within your divine soul, a remnant shadow of the River of the Underworld has awakened at this moment, gathering into a flow. Although it is still in a chaotic and unclear state, it already possesses the foundation to carry all things in the Underworld.】
Chen Zhou looked up abruptly. “Me? Inherit the Underworld?”
【Of course not right now.】
【You haven't even reached Non-Existence yet.】
“...”
“No need to remind me a second time, thank you.”
【I'm just telling you that you saw it.】
【And you remembered it.】
【Once you reach that realm one day, you will naturally understand how to proceed.】
The golden light of the system gathered, turning back into that rice-sized little gold grain.
The golden light in his sea of consciousness calmed down, and the merit was no longer surging.
Within Chen Zhou's godhead, the two ghost decrees had completely melted in.
Many new patterns appeared on the surface of the godhead, interwoven with dark gold and grayish-white.
He clenched his fists.
It was different.
The death qi was still circulating, but the way it flowed was calmer and firmer than before, no longer carrying that faint, floating feeling.
He was like a tree that had finally taken deep root in the soil. Its branches and leaves hadn't changed yet, but its roots were already different.
In the chaotic and vast dark void of his sea of consciousness, the newly born godhead pulsed slowly like a brand-new heart.
And that ghostly river of the Underworld's remnant shadow settled quietly in the deepest part of his divine soul, waiting for the day it would surge once more.
Chen Zhou stood up from the withered stone.
“Thanks.”
The little gold grain hopped once.
【You're welcome.】
【I'm best at this.】
Chen Zhou raised an eyebrow. “But there's still one thing I want to ask you.”
【Ask away!】
“Your identity... are you—”
Before Chen Zhou could finish his sentence, the little gold grain slipped away, diving into his godhead and vanishing without a trace. Only a line of text slowly appeared on the system panel.
【What are you talking about? I don't understand.】
【I am the system!】
【I'm tired, I have no strength left, and I'm about to dissipate. You no longer need to fear the white pollution now, so do your best on your own!】
【^_^】
Chen Zhou stared at the line of text for a few moments, smiled, and did not press further.
He looked up toward the edge of the forest. Wu Gou and the others had been gone for a while; they should have already engaged in battle over there.
He rotated his wrists. The operation of the new godhead was very smooth, with almost no sluggishness.
Chen Zhou stepped forward and walked toward the edge of the forest.
On the other side.
At the edge of the forest, the silvery glow of the moonlight had grown thin. Dou Mu Xie's moonlight barrier was being slowly eroded by some force.
Yet beneath this remnant moonlight, Wing-Fire Snake's transparent flames spread across a wide area, a massive fiery net directly covering a radius of a hundred zhang.
In the very center of the fire net, a white, wolf-eared youth was bound by countless sticky black vines.
These vines extended from Jiao Mu Jiao's body, dense and as thick as human arms, with sticky black liquid flowing across their surfaces, binding the youth's entire body.
The wolf-eared youth struggled frantically, his claws digging into the vines in an attempt to tear them apart. However, Jiao Mu Jiao's vines were incredibly tough; even the white pollution had to gnaw for a long time to completely erode a single vine.
“It's about time.”
Jian Huaishuang's voice drifted out from the shadows.
The greatsword was no longer in his hand, but everyone could feel an extremely sharp aura gathering strength from an unseen angle.
The Hidden Sword had been charging for a long time. With the power of deception infused into the blade, all aura was perfectly concealed.
The longer the charge, the more powerful the ultimate strike that could be unleashed.
Jian Huaishuang dashed out from the tree canopy, taking a step forward and slightly raising his finger.
An almost invisible arc sliced through the air—silent, breathless, and shadowless.
The wolf-eared youth's body split right down the middle, dividing into two halves.
The white torso fell to both sides, shattering into a flurry of white debris upon hitting the ground, drifting in the air before slowly settling on the earth.
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