Her limbs had been completely severed, and stakes were driven into the stump-like, clean cuts, suspending her in the void. In other words, she was in a state of crucifixion.

Even those who were not believers in the cross could associate her posture with "that man." Rather, it seemed to be a ritualistic imitation intentionally performed by Duo Chenzi.

However, compared to Jesus, who was nailed to the cross two thousand years ago, this young girl was enduring even more cruel treatment.

Every time a dead soul floated into the Samsara Disk and was crushed, terrible wounds would spontaneously bloom on the girl's fair, young limbs.

Every time a dead soul floated into the Samsara Disk and was crushed, the crown-shaped black thorns on her head would pierce deeply into her porcelain-like skin, tearing and drawing blood.

"Eee… Eee-eee-eee-eee-eee!! Eee-aaaaah-ah-ah-ah!!"

Every time a dead soul floated into the Samsara Disk and was crushed, a wound would appear on the girl's body. The lacerations were as if sharp blades had cut deep into her body, chopping even the bones to pieces; the stab wounds pierced right through her body with every strike. There were also invisible flames scorching her, charring her skin and causing blisters.

The pain was so intense that the girl nearly lost consciousness. This time, shocking, thick, rope-like red ligature marks appeared on her slender neck. Then, the marks tightened inward, embedding into her neck like she was being slaughtered. The girl immediately began to suffocate, sticking out her tongue. Her originally pink tongue immediately turned a bruised, eggplant-like purple.

She was tortured in countless ways, experiencing a rotation of various methods; the variety of punishments was unnaturally large, and none were ever repeated.

Whenever these injuries occurred, the girl would emit piercing screams and wails, shedding tears of blood.

Who exactly was this girl being executed? And for what reason was she made to endure such torture?

— This girl symbolized the god executing this great mystery.

The pain she received was the suffering of various miserably dead human souls that Duo Chenzi had collected over a thousand years.

The pain she received would be synchronized through the Samsara Disk and the Vajra, onto the one with the Vajra stuck in her head… their creator, Samael.

Gazing at the scene above her head, Duo Chenzi couldn't help but let out a soft sigh.

"Although I deeply sympathize with our creator, the White God, this is unavoidable. In order to correct this flawed world without love, this is an essential and precious sacrifice."

Sorrow brewed in her eyes, and these words were not sarcasm, but genuine feelings from her heart.

— At the same time, upon thinking that she could harbor compassion even for that stupid, useless creator, she couldn't help but be deeply intoxicated by her own compassionate nature.

"Rest assured, my Lord White God. You are not the only one being sacrificed… The pain that you and these souls are tasting, I am actually feeling as well."

Duo Chenzi said with deep emotion.

"I will complete the trial to become the Omnipotent. The pain that the [Descender], Jesus of Nazareth, suffered on Golgotha, I will transcend all of this through equal and even greater pain."

"With this, I will end the interference of Outer Gods in this world for the past two thousand years."

A ritual. What is a ritual?

A so-called ritual is the imitation of a god's story. It is not merely burning incense, chanting, or performing rites; its essence is a reenactment — temporarily opening up a stage in the mundane mortal world to perform an ancient myth once more.

The reason a ritual is sacred lies not in the actions themselves, but in its synchronization with those ancient stories. Man and god, past and present, overlap in one place.

Therefore, a ritual is the reproduction of myth, "re-copying" sacred moments of the past right before one's eyes.

In order to surpass the thirty [silver coins], seize the rule of the world, and rewrite the laws of causality — the simplest method is to replicate and surpass the same process as Jesus of Nazareth.

Enduring suffering and torment great enough to cover all of humanity, while simultaneously resolving to love all of humanity without resentment — this is the proof of divinity.

Of course, Duo Chenzi is not a god. Her god-content is even lower than Papiyas'. At the very least, Papiyas could truly be called the "son of God (Sasa)."

To perform the ritual of reenacting Jesus of Nazareth's suffering, death, and ascension on the cross, the person nailed to the cross must be a god. Otherwise, what use would it be to just nail any random person up there?

So, the method Duo Chenzi thought of was very simple. Samael is indeed the unquestionable creator of this universe, a god, right?

The [Peacock Disciples] lineage indeed acknowledges this principle. Duo Chenzi undoubtedly acknowledges that Samael is a god.

Moreover, Samael is the source of all souls in this universe and the essence of all sentient beings.

…Then, as long as she lets the god (Sasa) endure the suffering of all beings, and she (Duo Chenzi) loves all of humanity without resentment… couldn't they cooperate to complete this ritual?

What genius, world-shaking wisdom! Even her disciples could only look up at the sky in deep awe and fear at this moment.

"Do not be afraid, Kasqi." Duo Chenzi patted her disciple's face with her tender little feet. "I will certainly succeed, without a doubt; there is no reason for failure. If a weak man like Jesus could do it, how could I not?"

"And unlike Jesus, who only knew how to lament, I am doing this voluntarily."

Speaking of this, she smiled triumphantly, her smile full of the spirit of an omnipotent being who views everything as a matter of course.

Duo Chenzi's long hair was snow-white, but at this moment, it revealed a rainbow-like seven-colored radiance, which was simply dazzling, daring no one to look directly at it.

She was a superhuman sage who had exhausted human wisdom and the mysteries of cosmic arts over a thousand years. She was naturally the one worthy of the power of the Ruler of the World — was she not? At least, that was what she believed.

"Our god, the true god of this world, will return to her rightful heavenly throne."

"And I will use this divine power to save everyone; I will give love to all beings. Give peace to all beings. My love will lead humanity to a perfect world without strife and pain, becoming the true savior!"

The world she wanted to create was quite simple — quite easy to understand.

Samael is a god, indeed the god of this world. So, let her endure all the pain, disasters, suffering, program errors (BUGS), and all sorts of messy things in this world — this is what the god who created the world should endure in the first place. If there is a problem with the world, of course, it should be the god who created the world who bears it.

Then all created beings can enjoy absolute tolerance and happiness with one another. This is Duo Chenzi's selfless, universal love for all of humanity!

Volume 7: Age of Dharma-Ending Apocalypse: 253: Debt Problem

"It hurts!" Sasa wailed, clutching her head, rolling around while shouting.

That appearance should logically have been quite comical; unfortunately, the reactions of the few people present were all very subtle.

The few people here — Elaine and Lin, needless to say, had never had any good feelings toward Sasa. Elaine's gaze was cold, as if she were watching an irrelevant farce.

Lin's state of mind was even higher. She didn't even lift an eyelid, just stood there quietly, as if she hadn't heard Sasa's screams at all.

Even Xue Ning and the Zombie Immortal, who cared more about Samael, had very complex feelings toward their own god. They originated from the [Peacock Disciples] and acknowledged Samael as the creator, but that acknowledgment never stemmed from pious reverence and love.

Seeing Sasa in pain and crying out, although they wouldn't gloat, nor did they have malicious hostility, they also didn't have admiration or heartfelt worry; it was more like facing a failed and incompetent parent — wanting to sympathize, yet finding it hard to truly empathize.

Xue Ning frowned, but still couldn't help asking in a low voice: "Are you alright?" But there was clear hesitation in that voice, as if it were out of duty rather than emotion. The Zombie Immortal just moved her lips but didn't speak a word.

As for Qi Xing, his feelings toward Sasa — sigh, that was even more complex.

To say he liked Sasa, that was probably too far off; to say he hated her, it hadn't reached the level of gnashing his teeth.

To say it was pity… but Qi Xing's feelings toward Sasa were probably not that condescending.

To say it was romance… that seemed a bit too disgusting.

Therefore, when Sasa was clutching her head and howling in pain, although Xue Ning would ask her with concern if she was alright, the others basically just watched her with very cold eyes.

But this was only at the beginning.

"Ugh!" Accompanied by a somewhat piercing scream, a blade-like bloody gash suddenly split open on Sasa's shoulder. Flesh curled, bright red blood gushed out, and even the white light of the bone was exposed; the scene was shocking and unbearable to look at.

Naturally, there were no enemies attacking her, so this was not an attack. This wound had split open out of thin air.

— This was just someone who had cultivated to the highest realm of magic, through a cunning and cumbersome ritual, dragging the "god" down from her high position, placing her on a cross, and then tightening the torture instruments bit by bit, tearing her flesh.

"Wah!" Sasa let out a piercing scream. Suddenly, crisscrossing whip marks appeared on her back, as if an invisible iron whip were brutally lashing her flesh. Every mark was deep enough to see bone, skin torn and flesh gaping, and blood quickly soaked through her dress.

Suddenly suffering such a heavy blow, Sasa was naturally knocked to the ground, the pain making her unable to catch her breath, her whole body trembling, tears swirling in her eyes, ready to roll down at any moment.

Others wouldn't pay her any mind, and even if they did, they couldn't help her. Thus, she naturally could only look timidly and pitifully toward Qi Xing.

…And Qi Xing naturally couldn't bear to see this. In fact, even if it weren't Sasa, if he saw anyone else suffering this kind of torture, Qi Xing wouldn't stand idly by.

"Regardless," he then said, "even if it weren't Sasa suffering this, we couldn't just watch Duo Chenzi skip levels, snatch away the god's authority, and write some new code for the universe."

"Whatever tricks she wants to play, just kill her first."

Lin loved to hear this, her expression immediately brightening — this was the decision she most wanted to hear.

Although Xue Ning sighed, she didn't refute it. Since she had already defected to [Venerable Leipu]'s side, she naturally knew right from wrong and understood which side she should stand on, to help blast Duo Chenzi down…

…But then again, Qi Xing actually didn't intend to take her along to fight. Rome must always have strong individuals left to guard it, and Xue Ning, along with the [Mahamayuri] she controlled, happened to be the most reliable defensive force.

If he really brought the [Mahamayuri] to attack, he would instead have to worry about whether Duo Chenzi had other means to counter the Giant Spirit.

If he really brought the [Mahamayuri] to attack Duo Chenzi, Qi Xing would instead worry about whether the opponent had other secret means of controlling the Giant Spirit.

…Looking back now, Duo Chenzi had painstakingly studied for nearly a thousand years, focusing on how to control the Giant Spirit, rather than putting her effort into directly developing and utilizing the [silver coins]; this was likely for today, for today's purpose of dealing with Sasa, so she had experimented and prepared in advance.

By the time Qi Xing flew over to find trouble with her, heaven knows how many Giant Spirits, how many experts, and how many ambushes he would encounter? At the very least, two Giant Spirits would inevitably be there.

"Qi Xing, the devil is howling in pain now, can she still synchronize with you to use two [silver coins]?" Elaine's brain always turned very quickly. Although Qi Xing kept saying he wanted to go slaughter Duo Chenzi, she immediately realized this problem and leaned in to ask quietly.

"I'm afraid not." Qi Xing indeed shook his head. "But from the Battle of the Moon until now, at least half a year has passed. Even without relying on Sasa, I am not completely unable to use two [silver coins] simultaneously myself, it's just that the burden on my brain — or rather, on my thinking — is very great."

Sasa had once said that Qi Xing could completely elementalize, abandoning his brain, which would increase the synchronization rate with the [silver coins]. But abandoning his brain completely was, after all, too reckless, and Qi Xing had not dared to do so until now.

Therefore, when he used the [silver coins], there were always some limitations.

"Three minutes." Qi Xing extended three fingers of his right hand and said quietly to Elaine, "Without Sasa, I can only fight for three minutes while controlling two [silver coins] simultaneously."

"Like Ultraman fighting monsters, three minutes is enough to defeat one Giant Spirit, even two. But adding Duo Chenzi to the mix, the outcome is hard to say."

As for the other leaders of the [Peacock Disciples], their fighting against Qi Xing could no longer have a decisive effect. As long as Qi Xing brought Lin along, he should have ways to deal with these guys.

Only Duo Chenzi, if she were on her own home turf, bringing out her true skills to fight Qi Xing with full force, even Qi Xing himself couldn't say for sure if he could win.

Unless… He gave a subtle signal to Elaine, his gaze shifting slightly, landing on the painfully wailing Sasa.

Elaine understood immediately, instantly grasping his implied meaning: as long as they destroyed the ritual Duo Chenzi was using to torture Sasa, allowing Sasa to regain her freedom, she would be able to synchronize with Qi Xing again. At that time, Qi Xing would be able to drive three [silver coins] simultaneously, reaching the supreme realm of the Trinity. In that way, defeating Duo Chenzi would not be a difficult task.

Therefore, before setting off, Qi Xing had to first figure out exactly what Duo Chenzi had set up. And the person who might be able to answer this question for him was right here.

"Letting Sasa suffer a bit is not a bad thing. So, Ancestor, let's chat for a while." He turned around and said to the Zombie Immortal in the palace. They indeed had a lot to talk about.

"Xu'er, I have seen your current power. Since you want to vie for the world with your Ancestor-Grandmother, and you seem to truly have the ability… Mother will not try to dissuade you from this." The Zombie Immortal bit her lip mournfully, her voice filled with twists and turns of sorrow and bitterness. "But why on earth did you run away from home back then? And why, after achieving success in your cultivation outside, did you still refuse to come home, not even sending a letter?"

That gaze was as if saying: No matter how powerful you are, you are ultimately my child. That gaze simply made goosebumps rise on Qi Xing.

But after all, he was in the wrong, so he patiently repeated that previous explanation once more: I am a transmigrator, this body is borrowed, your family's situation was too terrifying, so I ran away at that time.

The Zombie Immortal was actually a bit more "reasonable" than the younger half-sister of this body of Qi Xing's. Hearing Qi Xing say this, she was semi-skeptical: "…Then where did my Xu'er's soul run off to?"

How would Qi Xing know? It probably wasn't swallowed by Qi Xing, because he had absolutely no memories of Nie Xu himself. Perhaps it was ejected out of the body by Qi Xing's soul, which would be equivalent to death — but perhaps, it was directly ejected to another universe by the power of the [Descender]?