The churches of the Monger World naturally regarded their True Gods as their core.
Hess was the Death God and his God Nation was situated in the Netherworld. All souls after death had to go through his screening before being able to ascend into a God Nation or into the depths of the Netherworld. He was perceived as fierce and ferocious. The Church of Death relied on this power, and their influence in the human world was tremendous.
To no avail, he had faced Fang Yuan who had taken along origin power. Even the Sun God was heavily defeated, while the outcome of Hess overestimating his ability was heavy injuries and sinking into a deep slumber.
Most importantly, the appearance of the Nine Tier Purgatory directly changed the terrain of the Netherworld. Contending for souls with the Death God was definitely adding insult to injury in Hess' views.
Thus, in these years, it was said that this Death God was always in deep sleep and had few moments when he woke.
The Gods' injuries were usually very difficult to recuperate from. A God Nation and church that was constantly deteriorating could obviously not provide any assistance.
Despite this, with the foundation of the Church of Death, deteriorating within the mortal world should have been a very slow process. Unfortunately, the previous Pope just had to seek death by releasing the purification order, pretty much offending the majority of the soldiers fighting at the frontlines, thereby incurring endless hatred.
Not to mention, among those hunting down the Deities, it was once again the Church of Death taking up the largest share. Thus, the retaliations that they suffered greatly damaged their vitality.
Adding up all these reasons, in the short span of four years, the Church of Death was unable to keep a foothold in the heart of the continent and had to relocate their headquarters.
However, the location was coincidentally in the direction of the Noether Kingdom.
Numerous thoughts flashed in Fang Yuan's mind, and combined with the general situation of the migration of the central nobles, it instantly made him understand that the relocation of the Church of Death's headquarters had very likely become the pawn of many powers.
Of course, a church possessing a True God could not be handled at one's discretion even if it had deteriorated. Thus, it would not have been forced to relocate, instead moving along with the tides and gaining profits in risk.
"It wants rebirth here?"
A sneer appeared at the corner of Fang Yuan's mouth.
Evidently, those pastors and bishops, and even the True Gods, could not possibly know that the Church of Death once again made a fatal mistake, actually moving their headquarters to under the eyes of Apophis, their enemy and the Master of Nine Tier Purgatory!
"As the baron's marriage will be carried out in the Stan Duchy's capital, I'll go there directly. Also… as my wife is pregnant, she doesn't need to go."
Fang Yuan made his decision and waved his hand. The people around him knew to retreat.
After waiting for everyone to leave, he slightly concentrated and his stats window appeared:
"Name: Luhn (Fang Yuan)
Hidden God Name: Apophis (Master of the Nine Tier Purgatory)
Essence: 100.0 (200)
Spirit: 100.0 (200)
Magic: 100.0 (200)
Godhood: Death, Slaughter, Evil Demons
Profession: Warrior (Legend), Disaster Knight
Cultivation: Fighting Armor, Disaster Halo (Level 5)
Specialization: Medicine [Level 3], Botany [Level 6] (Maximum), Fiery Golden Eyes [Level 3]"
"This world's Legends are actually Domainers! Equivalent to the Da Qian World's Dream Master, True Elementals, and True Sages. Of course, they're still slightly weaker as they lack authority."
This portion that they lacked was the Godhood! The specialized domain bestowed by the world!
"Although rules have been set, the advantage is that it can endlessly expand and accommodate believers in the domain, becoming easier to achieve the state of spiritual synchronization, thereby creating great power. This is a True God!"
Compared to the powerful beings of the Da Qian World, the Gods unquestionably had wider power and authority, and could even build their own God Nations. It was similar to the existence of the Heavenly Abode.
"Only… relying on a gift of the world, there will definitely be restrictions. Needless to say, to maintain a large domain requires the believers' power of faith as a supplement. Once it cannot match up to what is consumed, the Gods would descend into a deep slumber or even death."
Regarding the pros and cons of this world's Gods, Fang Yuan could be said to be extremely well-versed.
It was precisely because of this that he did not overly unearth the godly powers of Apophis.
"Right now, I can only really be considered a slightly special Legend. Only in the Nine Tier Purgatory am I able to recover to the peak of my abilities."
Of course, blowing Luhn's trumpet was intended to disguise himself, and ability was actually not important.
Anyway, if he dared to challenge the entire world at the moment, he would definitely face being suppressed by all the Gods working together.
After all, unsealing the origin power could only be done once.
At the moment, it had already properly fused with this world. In other words, the entire world's energy was being used to refine it.
"The gathering of divinity also requires a process!"
Fang Yuan raised his palm and a faint dark glow suddenly appeared on top.
"As the Sons of Purgatory inherit the power of Apophis, they control divinity, allowing them to obtain a longer lifespan, unparallel martial arts talent, and astounding control in magical skills and resistance. They even obtain the ability to adapt to a variety of harsh environments and have powerful disguises…"
It could be said that a Deity was a God in reserve.
This temptation could not be resisted even by the Legends of this world.
According to Fang Yuan's intuition, there were already many Legends investigating the powers of divinity, even actively merging with it to obtain the possibility of a breakthrough.
Furthermore, the first Half-God had already been born and was currently eyeing the Godhoods with ambition!
"Hmm?"
Just at this moment, he had sensed something and looked toward the direction of the Stan Capital with a contemplative smile.
…
"This is the location of our future headquarters?"
Stan Capital.
A large procession slowly entered the city gates.
On one of the high towers, an old man wearing a violet-gold ferraiolo with a golden crown on his head watched silently.
Behind him, a few archbishops sighed.
"This was something that couldn't be controlled!"
The old man dressed as the Pope shook his head. "With the Lord in deep sleep and animosity in the central regions, we would be seeking our death there. Instead, being on the outside gives us more possibilities. Such as this Stan Duchy. When the first generation Grand Duke Stan was building it in the beginning, it was just a barren and desolate land. Currently, it's very decent… Furthermore, there are still few Evil Demons."
"Only… there are too few believers here, and the policy of the Stan Duchy is to centralize royal power," an archbishop added.
"This definitely must be changed. Of course, it's also a good thing. As it is a desert of believers, more lambs can be created," the Pope said slowly. "First, we need to obtain sufficient authority from Grand Duke Stan."
"Truthfully, him agreeing to us relocating, and even having our headquarters in the capital, is indeed unbelievable," said a bishop behind him.
"This is, of course, because of a transaction… To a true noble, there is no such thing as eternal friendship or eternal hostility—only eternal interests!" The Pope's laughter carried some profound meaning. "This requires us to pay something, but compared to what we get, it is definitely worth it. The time is half a month later during the wedding of the duke's daughter."
After waiting for all the bishops to leave, the face of the Pope was not as relaxed as before, having a tinge of solemness as he looked at the land.
He was very clear that the source of the church was still with the True God!
If Hess was unable to recover, no matter how many lambs he domesticated in the mortal world, it would ultimately not help the situation.
Of course, as the earthly spokesperson of the Death God, he knew quite a few secrets.
For example… soon, something huge would occur to the Netherworld!
This was the absolute secret of the Church of Death and the true plan of the Gods.
Everything that happened in the mortal world was merely a smokescreen!
However, this Pope did not know that concealed within smokescreen, many shadows were also converging.
…
"It's already been confirmed. It's truly the people of the Church of Death."
After observing for a long time at a corner of the city wall, a youth dressed as a beggar stood up and turned into an alley. Not long later, he came to a secret room and reported to a person entirely covered with a cloak.
"It seems like… it's true that the Church of Death wants to relocate its headquarters."
The person in the cloak nodded and flung out a silver coin.
"Thank you, Sir!"
This lad from the outskirts instantly bowed ecstatically and retreated out.
After he waited for the beggar to leave, the cloaked person came to the other side of the secret room and opened up the wall. "My Lord!"
Inside was shockingly what appeared to be an altar.
A lot of fresh blood encircled to become an array, bringing about a pungent stench that made one want to vomit.
Inside the middle of the altar was a statue of a very lifelike Evil Demon with a huge body and gentle eyes.
He lifted up his cloak, revealing a scarred face, and kneeled down loyally. "Lord Jay, the Lord of the Evil Demons, the Son of Purgatory, your believer Hal loyally reports to you that the Church of Death has already entered the Stan capital."
Buzz buzz!
With the prayers of Hal, a layer of blood suddenly appeared on the statue.
Immediately, a shrouded silhouette seemed to fuse with the statue and a raspy voice was transmitted, "Hal, my believer!"
If there was a decent pastor there, he could definitely see with one look that this was a standard "false God"! It had a portion of the Gods' abilities but did not have the actual Godhood.
A few Legends were unable to obtain the approval of the world, and in order to break through, they would usually apply such a tactic.
Of course, they were the targets that various churches were severely striking at.
"I need you… "
The words of the false God continued while Hal modestly bowed his body and silently listened.
…
In a cavern an unknown distance away, Jay lifted up his head and looked toward the direction of the Stan Duchy while muttering endlessly, "My believer… I require you destroy the plans of the Church of Death at all costs. I will dispatch more believers there…"
After a moment, he ended the transmission and a cold smile appeared. "Hess… don't think that nobody can discover your plans!
"When that day comes, I'll certainly give you a surprise!"