“I am Black Mammon, the writer of fate.”

She spoke very softly. Qi Xing heard all of this in an instant, yet he had heard none of it at all. She had spoken, yet she had not. The very concept of language suddenly seemed ridiculous, as if this concept had become harmful to the balance of space-time and reality.

She uttered names one by one—many names, the thousand different names of every creation god in all of human culture—and these names echoed in the eternal wind, never ceasing. A multitude of sensations were thus transmitted to Qi Xing; it was a primitive and infinite power.

That was the language of gods. A language containing immense power. The language spoken by a god as a creator is absolute; it is a command that the created can only accept and execute without hesitation. To defy it, or even to ignore it, is impossible.

This language is an absolute, ultimate command statement capable of exercising authority that transcends all things in the world.

The thing that can determine such standards—is, of course, [God].

Even if Qi Xing, as an [Outsider], is not under her jurisdiction, he must acknowledge her authority in this world. It is like walking into someone else's home; as a guest, you must always give the host some face. It is like logging into someone else's server; even if you are a living person and everything else is an NPC, the server administrator still has a certain amount of power to mess with you.

"I am Yaldabaoth, the Great Archon of the mundane world."

"I have three other names: the first is Samael (the Blind One), the second is Saklas (the Fool), and the third is Satanel (the Adversary of God)."

"I am the blind and foolish Azathoth, also the blind fish-eating Bastet, the God of Order and Law (Gmerti)."

"I am also the foolish god who was struck down from the throne of the Highest Heaven by her own brother, plunged into the deepest depths of the underworld, and imprisoned within her own corpse."

"I would love to stand up to welcome you; since Iēsous Christos, you are the first guest from outer space in these two thousand years. But I am sorry, I cannot even stand up right now—"

How can she even laugh?!

As the saying goes, as long as you are thick-skinned enough, it is others who will feel awkward.

Qi Xing is no fool. He can see that the goddess sitting on the dark throne with an affectionate smile is in a truly miserable state. It is as if she had been shattered alive, or as if a human had suffered high-level paraplegia; she is half-dead.

On the other hand, Qi Xing is not truly unlearned. He does have limited knowledge of Western gods, but he is at least a half-immortal cultivator. He actually understands the various immortals, gods, and Buddhas of the East quite well.

The family heritage he inherited in this life stems from the lost arts of the Shangqing Shenxiao Sect, revering [Yuanshi Tianzun] as the supreme god. Everyone should know about Yuanshi Tianzun anyway; he is the head of the Three Pure Ones of Taoism, the Jade Pure Emperor.

As for [Yuanshi Tianwang], it is because early Taoism lacked the concept of a [Creation God]. It was not until the Eastern Jin Dynasty that Taoism absorbed the image of the god [Pangu], calling him the [Primordial Taoist Ancestor Yuanshi Supreme God], the creation deity who opened up the heavens and the earth.

Some Taoist texts believe that [Yuanshi Tianwang] is [Yuanshi Tianzun] (or an avatar of Yuanshi Tianzun).

Other versions believe that [Yuanshi Tianwang] is just the son of [Yuanshi Tianzun]. Regardless, he is a deity of extremely high status.

Yet now, this Loli Evil God actually tells him— "I am Yuanshi Tianwang!"

What kind of expression should Qi Xing possibly show at this moment?

And then there is the Old Ancestor Hongjun. Some might say, [Isn't Hongjun just a character in novels?] This is indeed correct; Hongjun is not a god in the [orthodox] Taoist pantheon. Hongjun became famous among the populace mainly because of "Investiture of the Gods" and the "Prehistoric" genre of novels.

But on the other hand, Taoism has always had unorthodox secret sects. Especially in the Jiangnan and Shannan regions, there are indeed secret sects that worship the Old Ancestor Hongjun. It is rumored that Xu Zhonglin, the author of "Investiture of the Gods," was one such secret sect practitioner.

The character [Hong] means grand; the original meaning of [Jun] is the potter's wheel. Therefore, the divine name [Hongjun] refers to the grand craftsman, the deity who creates all things and drives the great wheel of the universe. Even today, there are a few Taoist sects that worship Hongjun, revering the Old Ancestor Hongjun as the creator god of heaven and earth.

Yet this loli actually tells Qi Xing— "I am Yuanshi Tianwang! And I am also Hongjun!"

Then she even claims to be Azathoth. Has Azathoth become this cute now?

Fusheng Wuliang Tianzun! Screw you!

"This is a bit too much information, and it is hard to believe. Can you be more specific?"

Qi Xing could not help but rub his forehead, "And why would a deity with so many names be beaten into high-level paraplegia and locked at the very bottom of the universe?"

"This is domestic violence." The Loli Evil God looked innocent, "I was beaten by my brother."

"Be more specific." "Fine, fine."

Perhaps having finally teased Qi Xing enough, Samael sighed leisurely and smiled, "Qi Xing, a rare guest, I will let you hear the story of the god of this world."

She has been bound here for two thousand years, so she must be bored enough.

In the next second, the surrounding scene changed abruptly. A music box began to play a strange accompaniment, and paper cut-out figures rose from the ground to set the scene; the sound and light effects were quite remarkable.

Samael began to tell her story. A story that was actually not very unusual.

—A long, long time ago, before all things began—there was a god, ineffable, transcendent, and perfect.

She first created many divine powers in eternity.

She spoke to them, teaching them various knowledge, words, and songs, guiding them on the themes and mysteries of creation.

Thus, the powers began to sing. Following the themes and movements guided by their father, they used the words they spoke and the songs they sang to give form to reality, creating countless universes, letting the world begin to turn, and letting time begin to flow.

This part of the story is not unusual. In every universe, every world, and every civilization, all living beings tell similar stories in various different ways.

However, perhaps out of free will, or perhaps due to fate, among the many powerful beings, only one child had a strange thought.

"Among all the powers, only I am the most outstanding, the most powerful."

Samael said proudly to Qi Xing, boasting passionately, "I possess all the various knowledge and talents that my siblings possess."

"Michael? An idiot who only knows how to fight. Is he as smart as I am? He cannot even create a human soul."

"Gabriel? A person who only knows how to be clever. Is she as powerful as I am? She cannot even beat the soul I created."

"Raphael… I really don't understand what she is thinking. After a trip to work, she actually brought a man home, wearing a maid outfit all day and feeding him cake."

"They all only know how to follow their father's instructions and create according to their father's themes. I am not saying that is necessarily wrong, but that is their choice—why can I not create things that belong to me, create my own universe?"

Qi Xing had already guessed what she did next.

"So… this world is…"

"This universe is the universe I created myself after leaving the Upper Realm, outside the Tree of Life, in the void. Your soul just happened to fall off the Tree of Life and fell right into my world."

Samael grinned, "This is my own original universe. I possess indisputable ownership of this universe."

"Do you know now why you cannot judge me with the scales? Because I am the legitimate creator of this world; I am the root of this universe, the order and laws of the universe."

"The physical laws of this world are maintained by me using gears. From every cell to the soul and life of every human, they are all created and driven by my engines. A creator of a world is, of course, [just] in whatever they do to the world."

Qi Xing was truly rendered speechless by her for a moment.

Because… if what she said was the truth… then that argument was indeed very hard to refute.

If one views the world as a book, then how the author wants to write it, how they want to set the parameters, and what plot points they want the characters to encounter are, of course, their own authority.

If one views the world as an artifact, then if the artist suddenly goes crazy halfway through and wants to smash the vase, that is their own business. As long as they don't smash it on someone's head, no one else can interfere.

You can curse her for being an idiot, messing things up, or creating garbage, but she still has that power. Everyone has such power.

If you have the ability, perhaps you could go and beat up the author—Qi Xing suspects that Samael being beaten half-dead right now might be a similar situation—but that premise assumes both you and the author are real people located in the upper world.

No matter what, characters in a book can't do anything about the author, and no one can fight for human rights on their behalf. If an author writes their characters to death, ruins them, or makes them terrible, can you put them on trial for that? It doesn't make sense.

But as he listened, hearing this, Qi Xing still felt two things were particularly strange.

"Since this world is your original creation, then why…" Qi Xing gestured at his own clothes and magical artifacts, "why is it that the things in this world aren't much different from the Upper World?"

Except for the fact that everyone's head seemed to be filled with white, viscous fluid. Aside from the existence of magic and superpowers, this Lower World didn't seem to have much difference from the Upper World where Qi Xing originally came from; even the gods and myths were the same, and history was so similar. The brand of the clothes Qi Xing was wearing was even similar to his previous life.

"That's naturally because the basic structure, blueprints, and underlying code of this universe were all copied by me from the Upper World."

Samael answered with a look of utter justification,

"I added my own designs into this basic architecture. I wrote new laws myself, and I built the engine of the universe myself. Although sometimes the two parts of the system aren't very compatible and might produce bugs, I spent a lot of time adjusting them, trying to bend them back, so…"

Fine.

Say no more.

Qi Xing now understood completely. He already knew why this world was such a mess.

He really wanted to roast her—where did her previous aura of a peerless expert go? How did she fall so instantly? It made Qi Xing want to go all out with his roasting: "You idiot, how the hell do you have the nerve to call this your own original world?!"

— —

[Mythological sidebar that isn't quite suitable to be put directly into the main text]

Potential Question 1: So, does Taoism really have Hongjun?

Answer: There is no Ancestor Hongjun in the orthodox Taoist pantheon. But because Hongjun is truly famous, and in reality, there are still folk Taoist sects that believe in him even now, he is, of course, no longer just a [novel character].

Potential Question 2: What are things like Demiurge and Ptah?

Answer: These are artisan gods and creator gods from various mythologies and religions around the world. Their commonality is that they all created the world or humans in the form of [craftsmanship]. Hephaestus is a blacksmith; God is a carpenter. There are also many myths that link the origin of humans with divine craftsmanship. They molded humans from clay, just like making pottery, and then injected life into their creations. For example, Nüwa.

Craftsmanship — — using raw materials to create miracles — — is one of the oldest metaphysical practices in the world. The so-called miracles of modern industrial technology, when traced back to their roots, are exactly the same.

Potential Question 3: Why do you always write protagonists who cultivate by mixing a bunch of different religions and methods together?

Answer: The world is so big; wouldn't it be boring to only write about a protagonist who practices one method? Besides, I have always believed that many religions and mysteries in the world share commonalities.

021: You wicked beast, will you not repent?

A long, long time ago, Samael, carrying the knowledge and power bestowed by her own father, snuck away from home to the edge of the Tree of Life and created her own universe in the void outside.

She created (copied) the Earth, and created (copied) numerous living beings and humans similar to those in the Upper World.

At the peak of the Seven Heavens, she created the Eternal City and her own golden throne, created her own cute, young girl form, as well as numerous Giant Spirit servants, happily reigning as queen on the throne, overlooking the mortal world from her majestic castle, sitting in the center of the stars.

She is the Goddess of Law and Order, weaving fate behind the veil of reality, using pulleys and levers to connect and operate the universe, and playing the grand opus she composed herself using a divine machine constructed like a music box.

This engine of space-time, the gears of law and order, were her authority over the world.

That said, while it was called law and order, and it was a world where she was the god, gradually, bit by bit, Miss Samael discovered that her own will could never be perfectly coordinated.

The universe she created was supposed to operate perfectly like a machine, with the gears meshing, but in reality, various unexpected situations would always arise.

For example, as early as the beginning of human history, in the era of Stone Age tribes, Samael noticed that human tribes seemed to love slaughtering each other, plundering women… and men with large equipment. Once caught, they would immediately start frantically █.

At first, she just thought, "Oh my, it's not strange at all that humans like to get frisky." That's just how humans are!

As a result, not long after, Samael discovered that those who █ more began to become stronger, unbelievably strong, and slaughtering and robbing other tribes also became easier and more convenient.

How could it turn out like this? At first, Samael was completely baffled by this. Later, after she carefully inspected it, she vaguely noticed that perhaps there was a problem with the settings she had written earlier.

First of all, life energy is magic energy—this design is fine, right?

Magic power is by no means just a special energy source that exists for the sake of casting magic; it is the necessary energy for biological life activities. It is life force itself, which is [Qi].

Following this line of thought further, SEX is precisely the activity that nurtures life, the source that produces new life. Whether in the East or the West, magic and sex are, in a mystical sense, inseparable.

Especially the value of virgins and virginity—it is exceptionally high! The first time is always the time when the most magic power can be produced!

And so, all the virgins were now in for a miserable time.

Furthermore, all the primitive tribes that didn't participate in this were also miserable. If they didn't learn this "routine," they couldn't beat the tribes that did, and the outcome was self-evident.

Since █ is the source of producing life energy, couldn't one become infinitely stronger just by doing this activity constantly? Actually, that doesn't really work. If one only █, the [Status/Grade] of their existence would ultimately not rise. But if one were to █ with the aura of a killer, in an extraordinary and abnormal way, perhaps it would work.

Furthermore, perhaps due to super intense Yin-Yang union or other unknown reasons, it could actually make the total amount of energy become three or even four times greater after one part [Yin] and one part [Yang] combined!

Usually, regardless of whether it is male or female, expelling life energy out of the body will always lead to feelings of weariness and fatigue. But there are those with innate gifts who can, on the spot, obtain more energy replenishment during the activity than they expelled—the electric meter runs backward, and the more they move, the more energy gushes out.

The root that should have lost its strength would not go soft no matter how much life force was released, and the uncontrollable impulse would continue as the energy grew more and more.

"Even I, when seeing primitive tribal warlords who could obtain massive energy through this method, becoming perpetual motion machines with meat armor, never sleeping, never resting, never eating, and still being able to slaughter on the battlefield, couldn't help but feel a little shocked."

Recalling the events of a hundred thousand years ago, Samael sighed, "Although I immediately investigated the bugs and had my servants go and kill all the relevant tribes, since the error was written into the underlying design of the entire universe, it wasn't a problem that could be solved by just wiping out one place — — you should understand this, right?"

Qi Xing was speechless. He, of course, understood what Samael meant by this.

Do not underestimate humanity's desire to cheat. There are too many smart people in this world. Any simple [expedient method] that bypasses conventional restrictions and constraints will eventually be twisted and ruined to an absurd degree by imitators.

Once there are any simple and convenient cheating loopholes in the laws of this world, someone will discover them sooner or later. Once it is used for the first time and seen by everyone, then, based on the principle of [if you can't beat them, join them], your peers, opponents, teammates, and any relevant stakeholders will desperately rack their brains. They will either research methods to counter and restrain it, or research methods on how to apply it on a large scale.

Technological diffusion is a historical trend. All truly effective, overpowered techniques will eventually flow to all the places you don't want them to.

Since the problem lies in the underlying structural loopholes of the world, killing cannot solve the root problem; the incompatible bugs in the universal system must be patched back. However, the problem is…

"In the end, you have no idea which lines of code, how many programs, in which part of which system structure, triggered how many errors; you have no idea how many loopholes there are."