Chapter 1
King Shipi slowly said, "Just like your modern mystery studies have concluded, the path of bestowing divinity through faith, although unobstructed and rapidly advancing, has an upper limit no lower than other so-called 'Great Daos,' perhaps even higher.

However, there exists a massive, undeniable hidden danger—

The more one draws upon and utilizes the power of faith,

The more one is influenced and interfered with by the chaotic thoughts of countless believers, which in turn affects one's own existence.

Humans are extremely complex creatures.

When a believer prays to a god, they think about the cattle and pigs that need feeding, the sheep that need shearing, the bowls that need washing,

They think about marrying a wife, about making money, making more money,

They think about conflicts with their neighbors,

They think about the gods suddenly descending thunder to strike dead the nobles who oppress them..."

Believers release all their dissatisfied negative emotions.

Even positive emotions, such as praying for favorable weather, abundant harvests, and the good health of their families,

Are never satisfied, always mixed with impurities."

King Shipi paused for a moment and said, "If four spoonfuls of salt are added to a cup of water, it's already unbearably salty.

What if half the cup of water is salt?

Drinking it this way for a long time is bound to have an effect.

If you're lucky, your personality gradually changes, gradually losing your self-will.

If you're unlucky, you're directly overwhelmed by the massive amount of chaotic thoughts, turning into an ignorant puppet that only exists according to the believer's imagined form.

A deity consists of several parts:

Divinity, Divine Authority (Shen Ge), Divine Duties (Shen Zhi), Divine Fire (Shen Huo), Divine Power (Shen Li).

Divinity is the origin of a deity.

Divine Authority (Shen Ge) is the 'status' that spontaneously forms when power reaches a certain level.

Divine Duties (Shen Zhi), on the other hand, are for weakening the interference of chaotic faith power and improving the efficiency of faith power absorption.

Those who want children go to worship the Bodhisattvas and deities who can grant sons and daughters.

Those who want abundant harvests go to worship the deities in charge of autumn, harvest, and soil.

Those who want to pass the imperial examinations go to worship the deities in charge of literature and writing.

The groups of deities who embark on the path of bestowing divinity through faith actively divide themselves into individual Divine Duties (Shen Zhi) within themselves, each performing their own functions, in order to reduce the impurities contained in the power of faith.

This allows believers to specifically worship the deities they need, thereby reducing negative influences.

Because of this, the earliest human societies in the real world gave rise to polytheism, not monotheism—a single deity in charge of all Divine Duties (Shen Zhi) could hardly maintain itself from the impact of massive chaotic thoughts.

The more immense the power of faith, the more it tests the deity's will.

That's why Divine Fire (Shen Huo) is relied upon.

Divine Fire (Shen Huo) is actually more like a sign of the qualitative change caused by the accumulation of Divine Power (Shen Li) to a certain extent.

A demigod like you clarifies your Divine Duties (Shen Zhi), giving believers a clear purpose to rely on, accumulates enough power of faith,

Then ignites the Divine Fire (Shen Huo),

Melting the impurities in the power of faith, purifying the self, and officially becoming a deity.

And after becoming a deity, the Divine Fire (Shen Huo) will continue to be responsible for purifying impurities."

King Shipi spoke plainly about many matters related to bestowing divinity through faith, and said lightly, "Of course, even Divine Fire (Shen Huo) can never completely strip away impurities.

The gods and Buddhas of various pantheons and eras racked their brains to reduce the impurities in the thoughts of believers in order to maintain the self of the gods, but they could never do it.

First, they harmed the common people, deliberately causing them to constantly fall into natural and man-made disasters, forcing them to rely on the power of the gods at all times.

But they found that doing so was too inefficient.

The number of common people was small, resulting in a low total amount of faith power. A large number of gods and Buddhas would fight among themselves to compete for these believers.

So, they started educating.

Sending out all kinds of messengers, Prometheuses and the like,

Teaching the people survival and living skills, teaching them how to cultivate, plant, raise livestock, and build houses.

They also often performed miracles to protect the ordinary humans under their jurisdiction from harm from beasts and demons.

Under the education policy, the population grew rapidly, and the total amount of faith power increased.

However, before the gods and Buddhas could celebrate, new problems arose.

The smarter and more comfortable humans are, the deeper their suspicion and understanding of all things in the world, and the more chaotic their thoughts become.

Just like primitive people only need to think about eating, drinking, and defecating all day long,

Feudal peasants have to think about cultivating, planting, dealing with tax collectors and corrupt officials, raising children, and so on.

In order to prevent the common people from thinking too much,

The gods and Buddhas began to fool the people again.

On the one hand, they sent messengers and prophets to spread their faith, criticizing all thoughts that could threaten their existence, and blocking technological progress.

On the other hand, they actively eliminated those ordinary people with particularly divergent thinking and advanced ideas.

They wanted to keep humans, like sheep, in the fences they had drawn."

Li Ang frowned and said, "This plan, didn't it succeed?"

"It succeeded, and it failed."

King Shipi shook his head and said, "The era in which I was born was the era when the gods promoted the plan to fool the people.

They formed a group, monopolized the path of bestowing divinity through faith,

And promoted faith among the people, using believers to search for hidden players among the common people for them.

The positions of the gods are also limited.

No deity is willing to share their Divine Duties (Shen Zhi) with others.

All transcendents who are powerful enough to become gods, only one step away from the final step,

Are either killed by the gods,

Or accepted by the deity group to become new gods—this situation usually occurs when the demigod has deity bloodline, and it is the bloodline of a chief god.

As far as I know, I myself do not have any deity bloodline left in the mortal world.

Vishvakarman and Indra were willing to accept me. The most important reason is that they encountered trouble."

"Trouble?"

Li Ang raised an eyebrow. King Shipi did not explain the power level of Vishvakarman and Indra, but Indra, since he is the ruler of the gods in the Thirty-three Heavens, could not be weak.

He would be stronger than the remnants of King Shipi in the Ajanta Caves, and much stronger.

"That's right,"

King Shipi nodded and said, "Just like your modern mysteries have speculated, after each round of the Killing Game ends,

The Killing Game itself does erase the too obvious traces left by transcendents in history,

Such as the war-torn land caused by divine wars,

The rift valleys and volcanic landforms left by the battles of gods and Buddhas.

Only a very few things can remain, such as pyramids, obelisks, and the like.

In this era,

You, and that angel, and several other players,

Are already considered the strongest transcendents in this world,

But compared to the heyday of the gods and Buddhas, there is still a considerable gap."

Li Ang frowned and asked, "How big is the gap?"

"Um..."

King Shipi recalled for a while and said, "I remember, Mahoraga in the Eight Legions of Devas and Nagas,

That is, the great serpent god with a human head and snake body who is good at playing musical instruments,

He can lift a mountain and walk.

His position in the god and Buddha sequence is roughly equivalent to the Giant Spirit God in Eastern mythology."

"So, he's just a filler?"

Li Ang grinned. The Giant Spirit God is a celestial warrior under the command of Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Li Jing.

His most famous record is that a certain monkey broke his axe in half with a stick.

"You can understand it that way."

King Shipi nodded and said, "Since most of the miracles have been erased by the Killing Game, the power of the gods and Buddhas in their heyday is still beyond your imagination.

At that time, the gods and Buddhas were at the top of the world. Those who could kill them and cause the fall of the gods,

Apart from the tests regularly降下 by the Killing Game, there was only each other's killing and conquest.

In order to seize the origin of divinity,

In order to occupy the only Divine Duties (Shen Zhi),

In order to seize more power of faith,

The same group of gods is also full of infighting.

Those in low positions are always trying to climb up,

Those in high positions are always guarding against each other, and the gods below.

Even the gods of the same family and with the same bloodline,

Cannot avoid fratricide, father killing son, son killing father.

Just like Mount Olympus and the Egyptian pantheon.

And the wars between different pantheons are even more cruel and bloody.

Gods are essentially also humans. In order to survive, in order to live longer than ordinary people, they can use any means.

The Killing Game regularly kills transcendents who have exceeded their lifespan.

The only way to survive and continue is to go further on the path of bestowing divinity through faith,

That is, to become a chief god.

In order to plunder the resources of other pantheons, Vishvakarman and Indra recruited soldiers and horses, and even personally visited the mortal world many times to teach those talented mortals.

At first, I accepted their invitation,

After all, since I was born, I have been receiving the indoctrination that Indra is the ruler of the gods in the heavens.

For me, it is a great honor to be able to serve the gods and Buddhas and join them.

However, before I could completely integrate into the group of gods and Buddhas, I discovered more truths.

The truth about the divine kingdom."

King Shipi paused and said, "The divine kingdom, the Buddha kingdom, are not different in themselves, they are all domains spontaneously formed by the gods,

Used to raise petitioners and provide a continuous stream of faith power.

Compared to the mortal kingdoms with a large total amount and many impurities,

The faith power provided by the divine kingdom, although small in quantity, is more pure and hardly needs to be filtered.

When multiple gods of the same pantheon live together, their domains will merge with each other to form a wider divine kingdom.

The divine kingdom is full of birds and flowers, gentle breezes and bright sunshine, full of fragrance, tranquility, and peace,

And, a massive number of zombies."

King Shipi exhaled a mouthful of turbid air heavily, "When I was invited to step into the divine kingdom, I was stunned by the scene before me.

In the divine kingdom, which is vast in area and comparable to a land plate, there stood a massive number of petitioners on the mountains and plains,

Their expressions were fanatical and stiff. They stood in place, praying desperately and non-stop.

They had long lost their self-will and had become batteries without awareness.

Ordinary petitioners are usually believers who have been devout all their lives. After death, they are guided to the divine kingdom by the divine messengers to enjoy eternal peace and joy.

Petitioners live as long as the gods. If the gods do not die, then the divine kingdom will not die. If the divine kingdom does not die, then the petitioners will not die—the gods rely on this kind of propaganda of believing in the gods to gain eternal life to gain a massive number of believers.

However, when the divine war is about to come,

The gods will collectively change their policies with great tacit understanding,

Treating petitioners as disposable batteries.

They squeezed the petitioners, controlling them to continuously produce high-quality faith power.

When the petitioners' souls are damaged and the essence of their souls collapses,

They will not hesitate to smash them to pieces,

Turning the petitioners into energy to continue nourishing the divine kingdom.

Not only Indra, but other pantheons do the same.

Even,

In order to prepare for the divine war, the gods will descend to the mortal world and directly kill their devout believers on a large scale.

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Stealing them into the divine kingdom, and erasing this part of their memory,

Let them start producing faith power.

In Indra's divine kingdom, I saw my ancestors.

They stood with thousands of ordinary believers, as thin as firewood, haggard, like matches, radiating flames."

King Shipi seemed to fall into some kind of deep memory, and said calmly, "In order to prepare for the divine war,

The entire pantheon entered a state of war.

Indra and other gods helped me ignite the Divine Fire (Shen Huo), promoted me to deity, and made me one of them.

Then,

They asked me to go to the mortal world to slaughter my own people and turn them into petitioners in the divine kingdom.

Before I became a deity, I was the king of Devavati,

At that time, my people thought that I had moved Indra and Vishvakarman because of the matter of cutting flesh to feed the eagle and became a deity.

They were sincerely happy for their benevolent king to become a god.

Holding song and dance celebrations, scattering flowers all over the city, dancing and jumping, immersed in infinite joy.

I refused Indra's request to slaughter my own people.

I would rather die than harm my people.

And Indra's response was,

Stepping on me."

King Shipi took a deep breath and said, "He stepped his foot into the mortal world, slowly descending above Devavati,

The people in the city were suddenly covered by darkness. A foot covering the sky and the sun fell like the curtain of night.

High-rise buildings collapsed, gravel splashed,

People cried and ran away,

Soldiers fired a rain of arrows into the sky,

Mothers hugged their children and hid in the basement, comforting the trembling children, telling them that the great King Shipi had become a god and would come to save them.

Indra, in front of me, with a teasing attitude, overlooked the common people in the city like ants, slowly lowering his feet and stepping down.

Devavati, was imprinted on the ground.

The next second, my parents, my wife and children, my people,

Appeared before my eyes, in the form of petitioners."

King Shipi said calmly, "Because they believed in and loved me during their lifetime, they directly became petitioners exclusively for me after their death.

The gods around me laughed and mocked the bone-deep hatred I had just erupted.

In their eyes, it is much happier for mortals to become petitioners than to endure hardship in the mortal world.

Indra retracted his foot, patted my shoulder, and asked me to build my own divine kingdom like other gods,

To prepare for the divine war.

However, from that time on, I had made up my mind.

I want to kill all the gods and Buddhas in the sky, not one left."