Chapter 282.

"Fuck you."

For a moment, Qi Xing was so infuriated by Duo Chenzi that he actually laughed out loud.

"If I don't rely on God, should I rely on you? Who the fuck are you?"

Cursing was one thing, but the illusion of motherhood wouldn't vanish just because Qi Xing had angrily cursed Duo Chenzi's mother. It remained pressed deep within his bones and blood, nauseating to the extreme.

What to do?

How could Qi Xing break through this power that was designed purely to disgust people?

Think, Qi Xing, think!

In this critical moment of life and death, Qi Xing let his thoughts race through his mind like lightning.

There was no time left for doubt, warnings, slamming on the brakes, or self-questioning. He simply used his first instinct and followed it, letting the fragments of abstract thought fly by—

—All Giant Spirits were artificial intelligences created by Sasa in imitation of the great beings of the upper realm.

—But on the other hand, it was clear that all Giant Spirits must also contain elements of Sasa's own essence and personality.

Qi Xing knew clearly that no single Giant Spirit could be entirely independent of Sasa. The only reason they functioned, and the only reason they could be controlled and studied by the Peacock Disciples, was that they all contained Sasa's own spiritual essence, bearing the imprint of her personality.

Suppose all the Giant Spirits, just like the humans of this universe, were made using Sasa's own spiritual essence, poured into molds of other great upper-realm beings that she had imagined in her head…

…then, weren't the Giant Spirits also part of Sasa?

Was this a fallacy? Was it absurd?

No.

Qi Xing understood Samael better than anyone else in the world; at most, aside from his brother, the King of Hell, no one could understand the essence of this devil better than him.

He was clearer on this stupid devil's personality and attributes than anyone in this world. Precisely because of that, he knew this must be a self-evident truth.

The Giant Spirit was Sasa.

Even if it donned the dharma form of Buddhism, took on a Taoist title, changed its mask, or stacked up any amount of power, the essence remained the same.

If the Giant Spirit was Sasa—then even this Empress of Precious Moonlight before his eyes was nothing more than a stupid Sasa who had changed her appearance and weight.

That's right.

Every Giant Spirit Qi Xing had encountered until now—he just hadn't realized they were Sasa—but in reality, weren't they all Sasa?

In an instant, a sudden chill washed over Qi Xing's chest, followed by a bizarre sense of clarity.

Since they were all Sasa, then this Giant Spirit, exuding the power of a violent maternal scolding and seemingly shouting "I am your mother"—wasn't it just a stupid Sasa putting on an act, not worth fearing at all?

Unable to control his heartbeat, Qi Xing finished his train of thought and opened his eyes to look at the Empress of Precious Moonlight.

That's right—what met his eyes was nothing more than a fifty-meter-tall stupid Sasa who had changed her posture and script.

What mother?

Isn't she just a devil who has never even had sex, gets scared when stripped naked, likes to put on airs, and is stupid as hell?

"…Thank you, Duo Chenzi."

After a blank half-second, Qi Xing suddenly couldn't help but laugh out loud, speaking strange words,

"Thanks to you, I have realized the truth."

No matter what, Duo Chenzi couldn't possibly see the thoughts currently in Qi Xing's mind, so she immediately frowned: "What?"

But Qi Xing had already reached out his hand toward the Empress of Precious Moonlight. The [World]—Sasa's source, the silver coin—was glowing in his hand, illuminating the entire Celestial Palace.

If this Giant Spirit were truly the Supreme Holy Mother of the Three Realms in the Taoist cosmology, it would certainly be very difficult for Qi Xing to deal with her.

But since it was Sasa, everything was a different matter. Because Qi Xing had no reason to lose to Sasa, and no reason why he couldn't hold Sasa in his hand.

The Empress of Precious Moonlight unleashed her divine power once again. The power of motherhood descended again, like an invisible, terrifying giant hand, attempting to press Qi Xing to his knees.

However, this time, her power had absolutely no effect.

Qi Xing had already leaped up amidst silent laughter. As lightning flowed around him, he stepped onto the head of the Empress of Precious Moonlight.

After a long absence, the Sacred Spear Longinus appeared in his hand once again. He swung the sacred spear, the blade-like spearhead slashing down fiercely, striking straight at the iron mask on the Giant Spirit's face.

Crack—! The heavy iron mask was torn open with a massive gash, and the gemstones embedded in the peacock eyes shattered into a sky full of light fragments. Immediately, the blade of the sacred spear continued to slash down along the fissure, causing the golden shackles to break inch by inch under the impact.

The Giant Spirit let out a deafening—almost seemingly panicked—roar, its thousand hands spreading out in unison, attempting to wield magical artifacts and divine treasures to block Qi Xing.

But Qi Xing gripped the crown ornament on its head with one hand, shouted loudly, and stomped down with one foot, actually crushing the Giant Spirit's massive head deep into the foundation of the Celestial Palace!

The iron mask of the Empress of Precious Moonlight was completely shattered by Qi Xing's impact. The golden shackles disintegrated into countless light fragments.

The controller was broken; the Giant Spirit, with its face smashed into the foundation, no longer had any divine power, helplessly shattering and falling into the void.

"…This is, a bit fresh."

Duo Chenzi stared with wide eyes for several seconds; this scene left her speechless for a moment.

"The [Dominator] silver coin has this kind of usage?"

"This isn't a question of usage, Duo Chenzi. Your inability to understand just proves your shallowness."

Qi Xing merely shook his head, his expression carrying a hint of pity,

"—This is love."

At this, even Duo Chenzi was finally a bit startled: "What?!"

It is love.

But it is likely not something like romantic love, nor is it some illusory, romantic emotion.

If we say that small love is just the understanding of one person, …then if one can, on that foundation, expand and extrapolate this understanding to all existences connected to that person, extending to the connection between the [World] and the individual—then it is no longer the emotion of a mortal, but something closer to the compassion of a Buddha or the holy love of a God; it is something that carries divinity.

"How truly pathetic, Duo Chenzi. You will never understand the power of understanding and connection."

Revealing a profound gaze, Qi Xing said indifferently.

Unfortunately, Duo Chenzi only thought he was going crazy: "…Talking about love while stomping the Giant Spirit's head into mush and smashing its face, that's just your perverted fetish, isn't it."

"This is education through love."

To tell the truth, Qi Xing occasionally wanted to do the same thing to Sasa, especially when she was particularly asking for a beating—but so far, other than spanking her, he hadn't done anything else.

Was it that Qi Xing dared not? Obviously not. After all, he was the strongest; he didn't need to consider the consequences of anything he did. The strong do not need to restrain their thoughts, do not need to disguise themselves, just like a tyrant can unhesitatingly order the execution of ministers, behead maids, or hang up a common farmer and hack him to pieces just for fun.

In a situation where no one dared to hold him accountable for his actions, he wanted to beat her, but didn't want to just beat her purely—

"I want to see Sasa become a proper god. You surely don't understand this feeling, do you, Duo Chenzi?"

This motivation was, of course, love.

Unfortunately, Duo Chenzi only took Qi Xing to be crazy. Anyway, which demon king isn't crazy? Among a pile of lunatics, it wouldn't be strange to have one more like Qi Xing.

"Then our goals are actually the same, Venerable Leipu, it's just that our ideas are different. But now these differences are no longer important."

Duo Chenzi raised her head and glanced at the [Samsara Disk] overhead that was gradually stopping its rotation,

"My ritual is complete. I can feel it; the White God will surpass the suffering of Jesus of Nazareth and become the true god who bears all the suffering in the world. "And her divine power will be controlled by me!"

It was done!

Duo Chenzi's ritual had succeeded. According to her calculations, Samael, having endured enough suffering in the [Samsara], would complete the trial as an omnipotent being and reign over this universe once again as a true god.

Unlike Qi Xing or other demon kings who craved the [silver coin], Duo Chenzi didn't care about the throne of God, nor did she care about the vain glory of "I am God."

In her eyes, power was just a means, just a tool, and at the same time, just one of the replaceable means. It didn't matter if the throne of God was given to a god, as long as she could hold the reins of the god tightly, that was enough.

In Duo Chenzi's view, the history of Samael once being beaten by the Descender Jesus precisely showed that becoming a god would actually be dangerous.

Precisely because of this, she was even more determined: she didn't need to take the risk of ascending to the throne of God herself; as long as the god became a machine she controlled, operating on the tracks set by humans (by her), and fulfilling wishes according to human (her) expectations, that was enough.

God should only exist for the sake of humanity.

Ah, how selfless she was, how truly great. She was almost moved to tears by her own selflessness.

Just at the same time, the [Samsara Disk] stopped rotating, like a giant bell being struck, echoing with a low rumble between heaven and earth.

The massive hexagonal wheel suddenly stopped, and the rushing waters of the Yellow Springs flowed backward, spitting out the one who had been tested.

A stream of light fell from the center of the disk.

That divine soul was first a mass of chaos, then gradually condensed into a concrete form. Bloodstains, chains, wounds, and whip marks all dissipated in the light. In their place was a familiar silhouette.

Sasa slowly re-condensed into a human form, stepping into the void. Her black and red long hair hung down, and a crown of thorns-like halo was still slowly rotating.

Qi Xing and Duo Chenzi both turned their heads to look at her.

One expected to see if she had grown, changed, or gained enlightenment; the other had the corners of her mouth slightly curled, waiting for her to become the machine of her ideals.

The atmosphere had solidified, and the sound of the wind ceased. Both stared intently at the new appearance the god was about to reveal.

Sasa's eyelids trembled.

Then, she slowly opened her eyes.

A flash of inexplicable depth crossed her golden pupils, but soon, her lips curled slightly, revealing the stupid expression Qi Xing was extremely familiar with.

"Oh my, Sheikh Adi,"

She raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms,

"This [Samsara Disk] of yours for me… seems like it's not stimulating enough?"

Volume 7: Era of the Dharma-Ending Apocalypse: 259: Growing Up (Part 2)

Duo Chenzi had of course considered that her ritual might fail.

But even if it failed, it would always produce some effect, at least it could serve as a reference for the next ritual.

It wasn't over yet. There was still the next opportunity. And the next, and even if it failed, there would be the next, next, next time… right?

For an envoy of the [Samsara] silver coin, the most terrifying thing was not failure, but failing without even understanding the situation.

Therefore, the scene before her eyes, for Duo Chenzi, must be the worst-case scenario.

"Completely useless…? This is impossible!"

Being a person who had lived for nearly a thousand years, Duo Chenzi wasn't about to have her expression break down immediately, but she was still clearly very shocked.

"Reincarnating for a thousand generations in the [Samsara Disk], feeling a thousand lifetimes of suffering—even for a god, it's impossible for your thoughts to be completely unaffected! Especially since you were never a god with a firm will to begin with!"

"Why haven't you awakened?! Why don't you realize that the suffering people of the world are all your responsibility?!"

This was truly a bit rude, although Qi Xing also agreed with part of it.

Sasa said this [Samsara] wasn't intense enough, saying she wasn't affected by the reincarnation at all—really?

Even Qi Xing didn't believe it.

"No!"

But Sasa still held her head high, unabashed, and even scoffed,

"What's the matter, Sheikh Adi? You don't think that by pushing me into the painful lives of a thousand people, I would be brainwashed by other people's lives, do you? What does other people's painful life have to do with me?"

Qi Xing sighed and reached out his fist, knocking Sasa on the head hard.

"It hurts! —But it's just like that! She thought that by hanging me on a cross and torturing me, I would feel 'ah, all living beings are too pitiful, so I must voluntarily sacrifice and dedicate myself to creating a world where everyone can be happy'?"

Sasa protected her head, but her mouth remained tough, following the Eight-Tailed Cat's brushstrokes, embarking on the adventure of "breaker of the inner world" on the uu library.

"There is no such world! A world with only happiness and no suffering does not exist! Let alone a world where all suffering is thrown onto others to bear!"

…Although these words were correct, coming from this guy's mouth, it gave people a feeling of very unnecessary arrogance; it was truly incredible.

Reality will not always be smooth sailing; it is paved with toil and suffering. Ideals are called ideals precisely because they cannot be realized, and dreams are called dreams precisely because they cannot be turned into reality. To have effort yield results is the greatest happiness in life.