Chai A Si had long since departed.

In the quiet chamber, Elder Xi Yuan sat alone for another lengthy period. He, too, had once been young, harboring numerous aspirations for the future. Yet, in the end, the shifting tides of fate outpaced all his carefully laid plans.

Had he not, step by arduous step, grown old to reach this point? Had he not, little by little, yielded to his current state?

Until…

“Father!”

His daughter, Yuan Xiao Qing, called out from the outer room.

Elder Xi Yuan’s bewildered and sorrowful aged eyes instantly blazed with sharp light. With an agility utterly unbefitting his aged form, he abruptly shot out of the room, instantly darting to the paper screen door. He placed himself between his daughter and the demonic entity depicted on the screen, his expression contorted with violent rage, nearing distortion. “Who permitted you to come here? How many times have I forbidden you! Go upstairs at once!”

Yuan Xiao Qing froze, startled.

After a moment of stunned silence, she burst into tears and fled back up the stairs.

She, of course, knew this place was a forbidden zone, where her aged father had repeatedly warned her against venturing. But after seeing Chai A Si leave so long ago, and receiving no word from her father, she had become deeply worried and had ventured down for a glimpse.

She had never expected her aged father, who had always been reluctant to scold her, to erupt in such a furious outburst.

After his daughter left, Elder Xi Yuan abruptly turned back, kneeling before the paper screen door. He pressed his forehead to the ground, humbling himself. “Great Night God, please forgive this sin slave… My daughter, this sin slave’s daughter, did not intentionally offend by coming here. Please, I beg you, forgive her! That young dog demon just now was exceedingly powerful. This sin slave has already devised a plan and can certainly help you develop him into a divine servant.”

Within the cramped space of the divine path, Jiang Wang, who had left a Six Desires Bodhisattva to hold the fort, found this utterly inconceivable.

Observing the recent exchange in the quiet room through the red makeup mirror, he felt that Chai A Si had progressed remarkably quickly, his acting already commendable. But he hadn’t expected this Elder Xi Yuan to be even more masterful.

Knowing the existence of the demonic entity, he naturally wouldn’t believe Elder Xi Yuan as Chai A Si had. Yet, he hadn’t anticipated that Elder Xi Yuan, who had sworn cooperation and repeatedly referred to Chai A Si as “not a thing in the pond,” had, from the very beginning, only intended to groom him into a divine servant for the demonic entity he served.

This matter spurred him to greater vigilance and self-reflection.

Every living being in this world possesses its own independent thoughts and absolutely cannot be lightly underestimated. Initially, Zhuang Cheng Qian had manipulated gods and spirits, and the White Bone Evil God had fallen a hundred years ago after losing a child. These two had fiercely contended, neither of them ever regarding him, Jiang Wang, as an opponent. What was the result?

Today, he, Jiang Wang, hid within the red makeup mirror, pretending to be an ancient demon god. Could it be that he truly believed himself omniscient and capable of controlling everything from afar?

In deceiving minor demons, he must not even deceive himself!

Seeing that the demonic entity delayed in speaking, Elder Xi Yuan was clearly somewhat flustered. “Demon God, are you not hungry? I have just ordered them to prepare blood food. I shall go at once!”

Within the bizarre painting on the paper screen door, a voice suddenly resonated. “There is no need.”

The timbre of this voice was exactly the same as before, but the feeling it conveyed to Elder Xi Yuan was entirely different from the past’s violence, bloodiness, and madness. Instead, it was abyssal, remote, and mysterious.

Elder Xi Yuan became even more agitated, actually beginning to bang his head against the ground in fervent kowtows. “If you are unwilling to wait, you may partake of this sin slave’s blood. This sin slave has long prepared himself, ready to dedicate himself to you at any moment. Please forgive my daughter; she is lazy and gluttonous, and her cultivation is poor. Consume me, consume me instead, Great Night God!”

“You have misunderstood, Elder Xi.”

Jiang Wang, having swallowed the demonic entity’s divine power, also gained some fragmentary memories of its existence and the mode of its interactions with Elder Xi Yuan.

He sighed at this moment and began to weave a narrative. “In truth, this seat is not the Night God.”

Elder Xi Yuan, of course, knew that the demonic entity was not the Night God. How could an entity truly worthy of the title “Night God” possess such crude and savage methods? But he dared not expose the demonic entity’s true nature while facing it – it was already so savage now. If it didn’t even bother with pretense, what then?

“You are the Night God, you will forever be the Night God in this sin slave’s heart. Eternal sleep in the long night, sin in all sentient beings. I shall forever provide for you, forever be pious!” He was almost weeping hysterically, his emotions seemingly genuine.

Fortunately, Jiang Wang was concealed in the darkness, acting with intent against a lack of it. He was still able to play along. “This seat did indeed pass through a period of muddled savagery and lack of wisdom. That was because this seat was injured at the source during the chaotic great war beyond the heavens, and its consciousness slumbered for a prolonged period. The instinct to restore the divine body and the urge to seek sustenance became intertwined, giving rise to that savage demonic spirit consciousness. That is why you experienced all those things… those were not the true essence of this seat.

Just now, your true love for your daughter, echoing scattered virtuous thoughts in the long river of time, penetrated time and space, awakening this seat. Thus, this seat has returned.

Elder Xi, you are the greatest meritorious minister in this seat’s return to the Demon Realm and ascension to the Nine Heavens of the Sovereign Sky!”

Elder Xi Yuan was naturally not as easily fooled as Chai A Si. He hesitated and said, “You have just spoken so many words, are you not tired? Would you like to drink some blood?”

“You must remember!” The voice of the god was full of majesty. “This seat has already recovered its consciousness, conquered its heart’s nightmare, and will forever cease to partake of blood food.”

Elder Xi Yuan prostrated himself again. “This sin slave was frightened!”

“Henceforth, you need not refer to yourself as sin slave,” the god’s voice turned compassionate once more. “Believe in this god, spread the righteous path. What sin could there be?”

As he spoke, a faceless wooden divine sculpture leaped out of the divine path space and suspended in mid-air.

This divine sculpture was entirely ghastly white, fixed motionlessly in the air. A strange power spread along with it, causing Elder Xi Yuan to unconsciously feel a chill.

And the god’s voice said, “This is this god’s divine sculpture, to act in the world. Kowtow to it without sin!”

Jiang Wang had long contemplated the idea of spreading his teachings within demon clan territory. After this accidental encounter with the demonic entity, he seized the opportunity and immediately made up his mind.

He was now deep within enemy territory, so to speak, and looking around, everywhere were demon clan powerhouses capable of extinguishing him with a flick of their hand. He could not afford a single false step; the situation was far too perilous.

To place everything on Chai A Si was truly unreliable. Greed, gluttony, foolishness, cunning, lust, timidity – this child possessed them all. Guiding him would not be a task for a single day.

And establishing his own religion and spreading it within demon clan territory was undoubtedly a viable path.

The demon clan originally just had a prevailing divine path, with numerous miscellaneous gods. If he secretly spread his teachings, it wouldn’t draw much attention. If he succeeded in spreading his teachings, he could entirely treat the divine path as a potential safety net, increasing his probability of survival within demon clan territory.

His plan was to borrow an external object to shape a god, a false body to merge with the Dao. That is, he would use a divine sculpture unconnected to his own destiny as the entity receiving faith. In the era when the divine path flourished greatly, many cultivators who did not cultivate the divine path themselves, yet fought alongside divine soldiers and generals, did precisely this.

This, of course, was not as fast as directly absorbing incense and fire, and there was also a significant waste of faith.

But the advantage of doing so was that once this divine religion was targeted and traced by someone, it would not lead back to him. The ultimate source would only be a lifeless, formless divine sculpture. And if the divine religion succeeded and he encountered any mishap, he could still rely on the accumulated power of faith to immediately transition to cultivating the divine path.

Of course, he was not proficient in the divine path.

But fortunately, he had Du Gu Xiao’s pious experience and the numerous preparations he had made to deal with Zhang Lin Chuan. By experimenting and contemplating, he had still managed to find a feasible method.

He truly had nothing related to the divine path on his person, and there was no time to create anything now. He could only make do with Zhang Lin Chuan’s divine sculpture.

During the annihilation of the Wu Sheng Teach, he had seized many of these things, if nothing else. He had also kept one, often using it to ponder Zhang Lin Chuan’s path and choices.

Though they were mortal enemies, now that the person was dead and the path eliminated, he had to admit Zhang Lin Chuan’s powerful aspects and would also learn from those aspects of Zhang Lin Chuan that were worth learning. All the opponents he had defeated would become the stepping stones for him to ascend to higher places.

Elder Xi Yuan heard the voice and kowtowed, his head hitting the ground with a thudding sound.

No matter what sudden madness this evil god had fallen into, not eating blood food was better than eating blood food, and not doing evil was better than doing evil.

During this period, constantly seeking blood food had brought him close to being noticed by the security officers several times.

He himself was almost drained dry!

Moreover… this suddenly appearing divine sculpture did indeed possess an extraordinary sense of power. It made the god’s words more credible.

The god had also become profound and unfathomable, clearly far stronger than before!

Perhaps it had truly awakened?

Through the power of fatherly love?

Elder Xi Yuan couldn’t fully believe other things, but he was clear about how much he cherished his daughter. If this love could move a god, it didn’t seem entirely accidental.

He shouted, “Kowtow in reverence to the god!”

This time, the god’s voice said, “Elder Xi Yuan, as my first believer after my resuscitation, would you be willing to establish a sect based on my Dao, promote my Dao, and open territory and expand soil for my divine kingdom?”

Elder Xi Yuan did not hesitate. “Sin slave… Your divine servant is willing to dedicate everything for you!”

Indeed, there was nothing to hesitate about. To hesitate now was surely to seek death?

Furthermore, establishing a sect sounded much better than “sin slave”…

He prostrated himself on the ground and said again, “Great Venerable God, you have already discarded the title of Night God. How should I now address your divine name?”

The Great Venerable God was momentarily stuck, silent for a moment.

The divine path plan had unfolded hastily; this had truly not been thought through beforehand.

Of course, in Elder Xi Yuan’s perception, this was the sign of something profound and unfathomable. Ancient stories buried within time, when revealed, would inevitably stir up some dust. This was precisely what was called “vicissitude.”

The vicissitudinal voice of the god thus spoke, “Have you heard of the myths and legends of the Ten Halls of Yama?”

Elder Xi Yuan repeatedly expressed doubt. “This seems to be a legend of the human race?”

He might not have heard other human race legends, but the myth of the Ten Halls of Yama was truly too widespread. Even now, when they were being butchered on the Dao, they would sometimes say, “King Yama calls for your death at the third watch; who dares leave you until the fifth?”

The god’s voice said, “The demon clan is naturally favored by heaven and earth, the masters of the present world. The human race, however, are merely learners and imitators of our demon clan.”

After uttering a slogan, he began to get to the main point. “Elder Xi, this is an ancient secret. It comes from my mouth and enters your heart. It cannot be transmitted outwards.

The Ten Halls of Yama were originally a myth of our demon clan. No, it is history.

Do you know of our demon clan’s Heavenly Court? Do you know of our demon clan’s Hell?

In the glorious era, the Heavenly Court controlled the heavens, and Hell controlled the earth, together grasping all the myriad worlds of the heavens. It’s just that the former needed to be resplendent, while the latter needed to be hidden. Reincarnation is quietly concealed, revolving within heaven and earth, hence it was not known to the world.”

“Reincarnation is quietly concealed” is a phrase from ‘Zhao Cang Wu’, describing a weapon. “Revolving within heaven and earth” is from the Daoist classic ‘Jing Xu Xiang Er Ji’, actually describing the Yin Yang diagram.

But the ancient god surnamed Jiang blended them together very naturally, demonstrating a certain degree of eclecticism. One might think he could have some common topics with Zhao Wu Yan.

“In that painful period… the glorious era was shattered, the demon clan’s Heavenly Court collapsed, and the demon clan’s Hell also disintegrated amidst unyielding resistance.

Ox-Head and Horse-Face, they were the top powerhouses of the Ox race and the Horse race, all fighting to the death. Judge Meng Po was also unable to survive. The Hell blood war lasted a thousand years, a sworn resistance. In the end, not an inch of nether soil remained… because ‘Reincarnation is quietly concealed,’ this lamentable and tearful story could only be buried within history!”

Jiang Wang spoke with increasing fluency, to the point where he himself half-believed it. “Now the Ten Halls of Yama have all fallen, dying more tragically than one another. Only I remain with a trace of true spirit, relying on supreme divine ability, constantly reincarnating, constantly rebuilding, and thus awakening today! And destined to lead the demon clan to rise again, to be great again!”

Elder Xi Yuan was solemnly respectful. Whether true or false, this King Yama God at least told a good story and painted a grand picture. Compared to the savage state that had demanded blood food every day before, this was immeasurably superior. It seemed he had truly awakened!

Even if not King Yama, at least an Ox or Horse?

Ox-Head or Horse-Face.

“So you are… which of the Yama gods?” Elder Xi Yuan respectfully asked.

Fortunately, he didn’t ask how a true spirit could rebuild, otherwise the great god would have to tell him the story of the predecessor Guan Yan who changed his appearance.

Facing this question, the voice of the great god became more and more remote and vicissitudinal, leading Elder Xi Yuan to traverse long years and recall the glorious era hidden deep within time. “In my most prosperous time, I controlled the bottom of the great sea, the Great Roaring Earthly Hell beneath the northern fertile charcoal stone, as well as the surrounding sixteen minor hells, such as the constantly kneeling iron sand, the grinding and bleeding, the biting fire and closed throat… the peeling skin and revealing grass!”

“I control fire, I control wind, I control life and death!”

The god’s voice suddenly became grand, possessing a kind of power that shocked the heart.

Elder Xi Yuan had to admit, at this moment, a feeling of being moved truly arose in his heart. He felt deep awe, immersed in a fanatical emotion, wanting only to perform the highest ritual of worship.

The god’s voice was like thunder rolling. “I am King Bian Cheng! Master of Hell, monarch of Yama, God of Assassination!”

Elder Xi Yuan prostrated himself on the ground, weeping bitterly. “Great Venerable God! Only today do I know your greatness. The demon world thanks your return! Your divine servant will absolutely not pity his crippled body, absolutely not slacken for a single day. He must use his remaining life and exhaust all his strength to spread your glory, promote your greatness, and allow you to return to the divine kingdom early, stand at the absolute peak once more, and save our demon clan!”

The God of Assassination contentedly faded the emotional influence, and majestically said, “Returning to my seat, for my sect, how can there be regret for a crippled body? When I recover my divine power, I shall certainly decree you as my subordinate god, grant you a complete tail, and allow you to enjoy longevity!”

Having lived for so many years, Elder Xi Yuan was already accustomed to being given empty promises, so although he was still in the afterglow of his excited emotions, he wasn’t particularly moved.

But the next moment, a fire seed imprint suddenly appeared, imprinted on his forehead and also imprinted deep within his sea of consciousness!

This is…

“This is my divine imprint! It is a portion of my authority over fire, now bestowed upon you. At moments of critical danger, recite my name, pray to me, and you can mobilize my divine power to burn and extinguish the enemy!”

Feeling the genuine power within that fire seed imprint, Elder Xi Yuan actually felt some belief at this moment!

This divine imprint of King Bian Cheng could actually achieve an effect similar to expounding divine abilities after the demon mark grew!

What kind of miraculous method was this? What kind of great power was this?

He piously knelt and worshipped, asking the final question. “What name should this religion of ours use to walk the world and spread your great glory?”

That ghastly white, faceless divine sculpture quietly suspended in the air.

The great god’s voice said, “Just call it the Faceless Teach.”

“You and I are both faceless, let all sentient beings paint our faces then!”

Please visit: wap.mxguan.cc