Blood was splattered around the cross as candles were lit one by one. The bone powder of mysterious creatures floated gently, and fog began to rise. He drew a circle with sea salt from the Sea of Mist, placing prepared crystals, spices, and a bloodstone from a true god within it. Finally, he solemnly laid down the Void Compass—this was the beacon, the sign for the descent.

Everything was ready. Under the moonlight, Director Wang walked around the inverted cross, chanting.

"O great and supreme Lord,

In the abyss of the endless universe, I call upon you with a humble heart. Please listen to our voices, feel our sincerity, and allow me a glimpse of your infinite wisdom and might."

The inverted cross emitted a faint light, and the Void Compass began to rotate slowly, opening a rift to the dimension of the Void!

Through the rift, a colossal figure with a crocodile head and enormous wings could be vaguely seen!

The deity was gazing.

Light surged from the rift up to the clouds!

In the heavens, space warped, and the massive crocodile-headed apparition loomed, heavily pressing against the boundary of the real world, straining to enter!

Great City fell into silence, the god's visage towering in the sky.

The moonlight dimmed, and all things lost their glow as the nine bishops ascended, their presence as overwhelming as the sea, as daunting as a prison.

"The defeated shall depart; the victors shall remain."

The voice of the bishop from the Palace of Thought was solemn:

"When the will of the true god occupies a vessel, the memories and lingering souls of that vessel will be extracted. In the end, the survivor will take away the extracted memories and lingering souls!"

"Agreed!"

Several bishops responded in low tones, the space being torn apart. A chilling aura enveloped the entire Ninth Ring. Countless people trembled in fear, and one by one, the common folk clasped their hands together, raising them high above their heads!

"Emper Xiang bless us."

They recited earnestly.

……………

Outside Great City, on a remote island.

A massive scarecrow slowly opened its eyes, standing as if upon a high mountain, yet also in a wheat field, surrounded by eighty-four thousand crows that circled around it.

It gazed at Great City, looking upon the enormous face of the true god looming over the city, and finally sighed:

"Enough, you cannot die."

The original fear, with clarity of thought, revealed a grave expression on the face woven from straw. To intervene in the divine descent at this moment would mean enmity with a true god,

and might even draw the gaze of outer gods.

But it wasn't a significant issue.

At most, it would remain in reality, never venturing into other dimensions; that way, even outer gods wouldn't be able to touch it.

The original fear slowly tightened its grip on the scythe in its hand, and the eighty-four thousand crows circled and cried out. It wanted to step forward, to descend upon Great City, but halted at the last moment!

The scarecrow turned its gaze, its deep, hollow eye sockets fixed on the darkness. The newcomer trembled uncontrollably, its mind nearly torn apart, an endless fear surging from deep within.

The newcomer fell prostrate on the ground, trembling, and stammered:

"I come to deliver a message."

"Speak." The cold voice of original fear pierced the prostrator's mind. Meng Tu gasped for breath; despite being a false god, he was on the verge of death!

The duke from the White Star Kingdom managed to say with difficulty:

"Do not intervene, do not show yourself; he will be fine. In the end, he will give you the answer you seek. This is his exact words."

Original fear stared at the prostrated Meng Tu from its deep, dark eye sockets, remaining silent for a long time before finally retreating back into the shadows. The eighty-four thousand crows ceased their cries.

"I understand."

That deep, boundless fear dissipated. Meng Tu collapsed onto the ground, drenched in sweat, his heart racing.

He swallowed hard: "Original fear really is here. It actually listened to the mentor's words."

Meng Tu wiped away the sweat; moments ago, the mentor had issued several directives, one of which was to send him to this isolated island to meet original fear.

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Meng Tu felt even more awe; this newly arrived councilor seemed far more terrifying than he had imagined!

Not daring to hesitate, after resting for a brief moment, he recalled the directives and hurried towards his next destination.

"The next place is…"

"Wu Clan Manor."

"Release a ghost and take up a mirror, placing it on an airship."

……………

Time had already passed midnight.

The progress of the divine descent gradually increased as the nine bishops stood in the clouds, deciding the outcome!

"This is the best opportunity."

The director of the Colossus had unknowingly arrived outside St. Rolo Square. He looked fearfully and excitedly at the nine towering figures in the sky, his breathing quickening.

"Soon, I too shall become a god!"

The director of the Colossus set up the ritual, turned the deep red compass, and his own form gradually became transparent, bathed in light.

"I will enter the gap between dimensions and reality, using this divine battle as a ritual to tear apart the next piece of reality to become my divine domain."

"And then, I will be a god!"

As he murmured, he gradually faded into the light mist, suddenly disappearing from the spot, leaving only a compass that fell to the ground.

As he vanished, in the sky,

the first fallen bishop appeared.

The bishop of the Shadow Church coughed blood, the first to be hunted, ultimately choosing to withdraw.

"I give up!"

He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth while the other eight bishops continued to battle among themselves. The terrifying aftermath rippled but was forcibly contained by Lu Sangdou, not spilling over into the Ninth Ring.

The expressions of the other bishops were somewhat strange; they couldn't understand the actions of this Abyss of Void bishop, but they didn't pay too much attention.

As time passed, the bishop from the Church of Life also fell, the strings of his violin snapping as he sustained heavy injuries.

Then the old woman in the wizard's hat also withdrew from the battlefield, her hat tattered, divine blood spilling as if it were free.

The three bishops distanced themselves from the battlefield, each wearing a gloomy expression.

The old woman looked down, gazing at the Ninth Ring, surveying the entire Outer Third Ring:

"Hmph, having come this far, I can't return empty-handed."

The bishop of the Shadow Church suggested: "The Ninth Ring is mine; I will pull it into the shadows."

"The Eighth Ring is mine," said the youth with the broken violin, his expression grim. The old woman looked at him in surprise: "What does your Church of Life want with lives?"

"We grant beings life; when beings die, they will return to us."

The youth replied coldly:

"I will use the blood of beings to heal my wounds. With the least number of people in the Eighth Ring, it should not be a problem for me to claim it?"

"Then I want the Seventh Ring." The old woman nodded with a smile, her gaze filled with disdain as she looked toward the Seventh Ring:

"Order, hmph, the very thing I loathe the most. Only chaos can bring about war; only war is the truth!"

The three fallen bishops divided the territories.

The god in the shadows spread its hands, vast shadows swirling upward; the youth pulled the strings of the broken violin, summoning lives to return to him; the old woman unleashed her crimson power, scattering seeds of chaos, as one by one, people lost their sanity and began to fight each other.

On the inverted cross, under the looming terror of divine power, Chen Xiang sighed lightly.

"Church... Heh."

He shook his head gently:

"Just a cult."

At this moment, the entire outer third ring fell into panic. The ninth ring was engulfed in shadows, the eighth ring was shrouded in the rhythm of life, as one person after another had their vitality summoned back or stripped away. The seventh ring became a true hell, where everyone lost their reason and began to kill each other.

"The divine war does not affect mortals; the gods do not unleash their wrath upon humanity!"

Suddenly, a clanging sound erupted, and a figure veiled in mist, indistinct in appearance, emerged from who knows where, tearing apart the shadows as it surged forward!

"From where do you come?" The shadowy bishop frowned, engaged in battle with Meng Tu, who was cloaked in mist.

"Messenger!" Meng Tu shouted, his voice echoing through the ninth ring: "I am a messenger from the Order!"

The old woman and the youth glanced over, surprised, but did not intervene. They quietly continued reaping souls from the seventh and eighth rings.

Above the eighth ring, a gigantic airship had floated up, its presence accompanied by a deep, hollow, and solemn voice.

"Life belongs to you; the souls belong to me."

The voice from within the airship was extremely authoritative:

"Ants! You dare to usurp my rights! You shall be killed!"

The Life Bishop looked astonished, turning to gaze at the airship, only to see that the speaker was… a mirror?

Huh?

In the next instant, light reflected from the mirror, enveloping the entire eighth ring. The souls that had been pulled away by the sound of the violin returned to their original vessels, and one ghost after another crawled out from the void!

"Let me show you!"

The mirror, standing atop the airship, roared:

"Let me show you the might of the Invincible Mirror King! The usurpers shall surely die!"

Hundreds of thousands, millions, tens of millions—

All the souls of the deceased from the eighth ring over the past fifteen hundred and eighteen years awakened at this moment, transforming into ghosts and gathering into an immeasurable sea!

This sea of ghosts would drown the youth playing the violin.

In the inner third ring, Lu Saleng's eyes widened, while Lu Fenghua gasped in surprise:

"009??"

"Great-grandfather, didn't you banish it to the void?"

"It has returned from the void." Lu Saleng lowered his eyelids, speaking softly but with immense shock in his heart!

009 had clearly been sacrificed to the old days by himself!

Why was it here?

Could it be…

The Mentor?

Yes, it must be the Mentor, who can traverse the subspace and obtained 009 from the Great Master, bringing it back to reality!

So that's it.

Lu Saleng's expression relaxed slightly, adopting a calm demeanor:

"The matters of the outer third ring have nothing to do with the Great City. No matter what happens, there's no need to pay attention or be surprised. Little girl, I've taught you that when a mountain collapses in front of you, you should remain calm."

Lu Fenghua nodded in shame:

"Great-grandfather, I remember. Remain calm in the face of disaster!"

"Hmm, just remember. There's an ancient saying in Donghong Kingdom: 'With thunder in your heart and a calm face, one can be revered as Aha?!'"

Lu Saleng suddenly jumped up from his wheelchair.

"Great-grandfather, remain calm in the face of disaster! Remain calm!" Lu Fenghua stared at the seventh ring, where the massive ghost was piloting a giant ship.

"Is this a disaster?!"

Lu Saleng watched as the giant ship, piloted by the enormous ghost, smashed into the crimson bishop, shattering him to pieces, gasping in disbelief:

"This is a calamity!"

He was extremely startled. When did Chen Xiang release the subspace ship??

And why would that ghost of the divine level be piloting for him?

There was only one answer.

The Mentor had also given 009 to Chen Xiang.

No, the Mentor is his father??

Lu Saleng's expression became unprecedentedly grave as he sensed something was amiss.

The Mentor trusted Chen Xiang too much.

"What went wrong?"

………………

In the ninth ring, at the Holy Roman Plaza.

The divine descent had already completed over half, as a wisp of the crocodile-headed true god's will tore apart the barrier between reality and the void, descending into the mental world of the hanging youth.

"A perfect vessel."

The crocodile-headed deity felt a tinge of joy.