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Chapter 497 - 494: "You succeeded.

Chapter 497: Chapter 494: "You succeeded.

Shadow grabbed his hand. At this moment, time around them suddenly paused. Cici couldn’t hear their exchange at this time.

"Don’t be in such a hurry to refute me, I know you’re not Jiu Shen, but aren’t you curious, why did you come here?" Shadow said, "Future person."

Seeing this, Su Ming’an realized something, "Was it you who brought me to this timeline?"

"Yes," Shadow nodded, "... I am a Divine Envoy of Jiu Shen, I have this authority."

"Jiu Shen originally had Divine Envoys?" Su Ming’an had never heard of this before.

Shadow smiled faintly, "I am Jiu Shen’s Divine Envoy, but in this world where belief has been monopolized by Bai Shen, I can only pretend to be an ordinary orphan and blend in with the children.

Children are the purest, I can easily change their mindsets. And among them, Cici is the most susceptible.

I have been telling her about the various deeds of Jiu Shen since she was little, subtly changing her beliefs, and now... I have finally succeeded. As long as I deceive her by saying that it is you who have been saving her, that you are Lord Jiu Shen, and get her to believe in the existence of Jiu Shen, then Jiu Shen will truly exist. So, please don’t deny what I’ve said."

A marvelous causality relationship.

Hearing these words, Su Ming’an couldn’t help feeling sentimental about the rules of Qiongdi.

In the minds of the people of Qiongdi, deities are formed from social relations, as a part of culture.

Deities and people are interdependent, they make common agreements using faith as currency.

People give their loyal faith, and in return, deities that live on faith will truly descend before them, becoming what they need.

It’s not simply ’believing’ that makes a god.

Only pure ’faith’ can do that.

It is a value imbued by humans, rooted in their subconscious.

What Shadow has been doing is to make Cici believe that Jiu Shen, which is passed down through word-of-mouth, truly exists. He deliberately induced disasters to make her lose faith in Bai Shen, making her place all her hopes on the Jiu Shen who could save her.

If you believe, it exists; if not, it doesn’t.

A simple phrase, yet it can be played out in so many ways.

"... Do you think, Lord Jiu Shen is an Evil God, the evil side behind Lord Bai Shen?" Shadow said.

"Isn’t that so?" Su Ming’an said.

Shadow laughed.

"No," he said, "it’s quite the opposite."

Listening to Shadow’s words, Su Ming’an felt an upsurge of absurdity.

He has a premonition, that the words Shadow is about to say, would overturn all the information he had so far.

"Lord Jiu Shen is the most ancient Guardian God that exists in this world of Qiongdi," Shadow said.

"..." Su Ming’an was somewhat surprised.

He had guessed that Jiu Shen didn’t exist, that Jiu Shen was a Companion God of Bai Shen, he had even guessed that he himself was Jiu Shen.

... But he had never guessed that Jiu Shen had existed from the very beginning.

He had just not received enough faith to awaken yet.

Instead, it was Bai Shen, who was merely an image of a deity fabricated by outsiders to control the people of Qiondgi.

"I see," Su Ming’an said, "Hundreds of years ago, outsiders with belief invaded, they maligned Jiu Shen, destroyed all cultural books about Jiu Shen, labeled it as an Evil God, thereby changing the faith of the entire Qiongdi - with that, the outsiders who controlled the faith of Qiongdi’s people could do whatever they wanted under the guise of their fabricated ’Bai Shen.’ And the true god, ’Jiu Shen,’ who lost his believers, fell into a sleep."

"You’re smart," Shadow said.

"However, not long after, the imaginary image of Bai Shen also received enough faith and would appear briefly just like an ephemeral flower," Su Ming’an said.

"That’s true," Shadow said, "But, what’s fabricated will always be a fabrication, Bai Shen will soon die and become a Shield covering the firmament. He is ultimately not a true deity."

Su Ming’an took a breath.

He hadn’t expected Jiu Shen to be the real, ancient god. He had been defamed by outsiders, stripped of faith, and thus remained asleep the whole time.

And Bai Shen... before He truly appeared, was nothing but a lie from the outsiders.

People are adept at using the concepts of "contamination" and "purity" to create distinctions in society. Humans naturally find the presence of disease repugnant, and so it naturally becomes a distinguishing factor. If one desires to ostracize a group, the best method is to loudly declare that this group is diseased, causing contamination.

Thus, the outsiders proclaimed that Jiu Shen would bring curses and disasters, and those who believed in Jiu Shen would cause contamination.

And they succeeded, people no longer believed in Jiu Shen, and Jiu Shen fell asleep.

So in the future, actually, it was Xiber—the one rejected by everyone—who was the only person in Qiongdi with the correct faith.

Su Ming’an remembered the moment when he first entered the instance, woke up, and pushed open that wooden door, seeing Xiber for the first time.

The vast, deep black sky lay behind her, her slender and gaunt figure dressed in a bright red robe.

She was like a vibrant flame flickering in the night, stubbornly beaming the most dazzling glow amidst the dark colors.

—As if silently struggling against this dark world with the power of one.

At that time, she

was indeed making an enemy of the world.

Shadow raised his hand, and time resumed its normal flow, Cici opened her eyes.

She was now too weak, forcibly suppressing the curse within herself made even speaking difficult.

"Xiber," Shadow said, "do you want to live?"

"You..." Cici didn’t understand, her childhood playmate who had always been so low-profile, this Shadow... this orphan who had been picked up by her parents and always stayed by her side, who in the world was he?

"You’ve seen it too, Lord Bai Shen doesn’t care for you. Even your Young Tribe Leader Sik, until his death, didn’t receive a shred of pity from Him," Shadow said.

"He... issued the Oracle that led you to wage a hundred-man war, to massacre each other, to be thrown into the lava for a deity’s sacrifice. He isn’t a deity worthy of trust.

But the one before you, who has been aiding you, saving you, altered your brother’s abilities, and defeated the strongest Great Elder... This omnipotent Lord Jiu Shen, He is deserving of your faith.

As long as you believe in Jiu Shen, Lord Jiu Shen can save you."

"What should I do?" Xiber said blankly.

As the one most likely to be sacrificed, she was not a loyal believer of Bai Shen.

Since she was young, Shadow had always been by her side, telling her.

[Jiu Shen truly exists.]

[You must believe in Jiu Shen.]

And now, Jiu Shen had indeed appeared before her eyes, continuously saving her from the brink of death.

She believed.

Lord Jiu Shen... might truly exist.

"If you want to believe in Jiu Shen..." Shadow stood before her eyes, looking at her.

"Xiber, you must uphold your faith in Jiu Shen for a lifetime," Shadow said.

...

["But I cannot give up my faith in Jiu Shen," Xiber shook her head, "Sorry, but only this I cannot do."]

["...Is that so?" Su Ming’an couldn’t understand such fanatical belief.]

[Despite being an unaccepted Evil God, despite the sufferings it had caused her, why would she rather remain an outcast and continue to believe in Jiu Shen?]

...

"You must offer up your exceptional talent as a sacrifice to Jiu Shen," Shadow said.

...

[The man in the red robe spoke with a trembling voice: "Adventurer, I must remind you, I am the weakest of them all, I am the Guide ranked at the very bottom..."]

...

"You must offer up your life force as the cost for every instance of power Jiu Shen grants you," Shadow said.

...

[Su Ming’an noticed that after moving her hands, Xiber’s originally youthful face seemed to have suddenly matured a bit.]

[He wasn’t sure if this was just his illusion.]

...

"You will—become the only heretic in this Qiongdi dome," Shadow said.

...

["You wish to accompany me, do you?" In that moment, she revealed an almost wild smile.]

[The sudden wildness that sprang to his lips was that of a madman, fearless of life and death.]

["...then join me as the only pair among these hundred to stand against the world as ’heretics’—until the very end, death itself."]

...

Under Shadow’s voice, Cici’s jet-black hair began to turn snow-white.

Her eyes started to fade in color, her senses began to dull, her bones grew fragile...

Her exceptional talents were offered up, her vibrant body became weak, her strength gradually faded away...

White hair like snow.

"Xiber." Shadow reached out and took her limp hand.

His crimson eyes stared at hers as they started to fade from their weakening state.

"...If Bai Shen will not give you a chance

then put your faith in Jiu Shen."

...

...

[On the first night of the instance, Su Ming’an had a dream.]

[He couldn’t remember the specific details of the dream, nor what images he saw, but upon waking, he vaguely recollected a familiar voice saying a few sentences.]

...

[Xiber,]

[...If Bai Shen will not give you a chance.]

[Then put your faith in Jiu Shen.]

...

A streak of white light appeared on Cici’s body.

Her snow-white hair flowed like mercury, her bright red robe fluttered in the fire.

She closed her eyes.

In that moment, a silent aura of majesty enveloped the area, and Su Ming’an heard the wind sounding like whispering.

Xiber was behind the smoky flames, vaguely visible. The fiery halo poured down, passing through the smoke like a layer of gauze draped over a frameless painting.

The edges of her figure were also soft, carrying a touch of divinity, and though she was within arm’s reach, she seemed as distant as a fragile dream.

Even her eyelashes seemed clean and clear.

...

"—Aren’t you curious why I don’t coax more children to put their faith in Jiu Shen like Xiber?" Shadow’s voice rang in his ear.

Su Ming’an nodded.

"If only it were that simple." Shadow laughed softly, looking down, leisurely straightening the fabric of his clothes.

His movements were slow, but he then dropped a statement that stunned Su Ming’an.

"Guess,"

"—how many times have I escaped from the sea of flames with Xiber?"

Su Ming’an’s pupils contracted.

Emotion surged from deep within his heart, filling his chest like a tide.

"Reincarnation, the Authority of Jiu Shen." Shadow looked at him:

"I’ve tried every method I could think of to make her put her faith in Jiu Shen after choosing Xiber...

And then, I’ve failed three hundred and twenty-six times."

"Three hundred and twenty-six times," Su Ming’an repeated.

"Yes. Bai Shen’s dominance in faith is too strong, overpoweringly so. To struggle against such dominance, I had made ample preparations for failure," Shadow said:

"In these reincarnations, sometimes, she did not trust me and she drove me out of the house.

Sometimes, I couldn’t save her, and she died, cast into the magma.

Sometimes, she even died young in her childhood, and I never got to see her grow up.

After failing so many times, I suddenly realized that success was impossible. In my current identity, I’m just a weak orphan, and restarting time is my only authority. I can’t learn martial arts, I don’t have the abilities that come with a curse, and I’m completely powerless. No matter how many times I restart, I can’t keep her alive,"

Shadow said, spreading his arms:

"—So, after much thought, I paid a ’price’ to add a variable into this cycle of reincarnations."

"Is it me?" Su Ming’an asked.

"Yes," Shadow replied, "I pulled you from the future. This time, as the variable, you successfully saved Cici and led her to believe in Jiu Shen. This is the three hundred and twenty-seventh time... I’ve succeeded."

As he spoke, a relieved smile appeared on his face. He seemed like a weary traveler who had finally reached the end of his journey.

"Yes," Su Ming’an said:

"...You’ve succeeded."

After so many cycles and so many instances of going back, Shadow had succeeded.

Shadow had achieved his goal and realized his faith.

In the face of his final victory, Shadow could finally reveal the experiences deeply buried in his heart from the three hundred and twenty-six cycles of reincarnation.

...But what about him?

Will there be someone in the future who can hear his unrestrained experiences, who can tell him at the moment of his ultimate success, "You have succeeded"?

Shadow’s "reincarnation" authority is indeed weaker than Su Ming’an’s ability to rewind. Shadow can only trace back the time of the Eighth World Dome instance, while Su Ming’an can rewind time including the Main God World, the instance, and even the High Dimensions beings.

Shadow keeps tracing back the time within the instance, which is the background of the Eighth World Dome instance. He remains under the control of the World game, and the audience did not rewind with him.

However, Su Ming’an can continuously rewind time outside of the instance, which includes the World game itself, the audience, and high-dimensional beings.

It seems he far surpasses Shadow.

...But who dares to say that the "World game" itself... isn’t an instance?

What if he is just another "Shadow" in the eyes of even higher dimensions...

"What are you thinking about?" Shadow suddenly asked, interrupting his train of thought.

"I’m thinking..." Su Ming’an immediately changed the subject and looked at Xiber, with her white hair fluttering: "Is Jiu Shen about to awaken?"

"No, just Xiber alone is not enough; she can’t truly awaken Jiu Shen but will be able to barely invoke Lord Jiu Shen’s strength in the future," Shadow said. "I just wanted to plant a seed belonging to Jiu Shen in people’s hearts, hoping that Xiber can fully unleash the power bestowed by Jiu Shen in the future, convincing people that Jiu Shen can protect them."

Su Ming’an suddenly remembered.

Xiber said her goal was to become a deity.

Then after she becomes a deity, she can mobilize a change in people’s faith, thereby truly aiding Jiu Shen.

...This is an investment by Jiu Shen in her.

No wonder.

From the past to the future, from what was seen to what was yet to come, all the information he had seen...

Everything was connected.

A tide of shock surged in his heart, as if he had received an enlightening revelation.

Images from past days emerged in his mind, and his thoughts were exceptionally clear right now.

...

["My goal is not just the ultimate victory. I... want to become a deity on this land, in this enclosed world..."]

[Xiber lifted her eyelids.]

[There was a wildness in her eyes that reminded one of the plains and lurking packs of wolves.]

[Beneath the twisted, dark sky, she stood before him in a red robe, like a vivid flame burning fiercely.]

[Like an undying beacon standing firm amid the darkness.]

["...to become a deity," she said.]

...

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