Chapter 462: Killing and Destroying the Heart

Snap!

The mirror in the sky, now uncontrolled, abruptly shut down. Mortals on the earthly plane could no longer see the full projection of the attack on the Peach Banquet, causing an immediate uproar! This was the irreversible flaw of the Grotesque entities. After all, they were not living beings, but rather rules formed from the collective thoughts of all beings. Even if they possessed thoughts and actions, those actions were merely what the beings endowed them with.

“You are very, very intelligent.” He said to Lin Hongfeng, then suddenly looked towards the distant battlefield, where the five Grotesque Heavenly Emperors he had brought were fighting. He spoke with a touch of bitterness, “I have done my best, but against you, we are ultimately at an absolute disadvantage. Miracles—victory by the weak over the strong—are not so easily created after all.”

The Three Realms boast a heritage of thousands of years, with numerous powerful figures eternally existing and monopolizing the world. It’s incredibly difficult for us to rise up and challenge them! With one deity and five Heavenly Emperors—a total of seven entities—Bai Xiaosheng had stirred up the entire Peach Banquet held in the Three Realms. Resisting forces dozens, even hundreds of times greater than their own, was almost impossible. These top-tier figures of the Three Realms are all exceptionally intelligent. Although caught off guard by the attack, they devised countermeasures instantly. Bai Xiaosheng’s rules were quickly understood, and he was targeted immediately. He presumed that soon, the rules governing the other Heavenly Emperors would also be discerned, leading to their suppression and subjugation. The speed of their response, even Bai Xiaosheng himself couldn't help but admit, was truly impressive.

“Your channel for spreading fear has been closed. You've lost,” Lin Hongfeng said calmly. “It’s truly incredible that you managed to cause such a widespread commotion with the pawns at your disposal.”

Bai Xiaosheng suddenly retorted, “The beings can’t see the Peach Banquet now, but does that mean they won't be afraid just because they can’t see?” He muttered to himself while solving a problem, constantly writing down dense numerical equations and complex geometric calculations with a pen and paper. “Human fear stems from fear of the unknown. Now that they can’t see the events of the Peach Banquet, they might become even more afraid. Just like in the darkness, the unseen, vague shadows are the most terrifying. They can’t help but imagine the worst: ‘Has the Celestial Realm been attacked? Can they win? Are we going to die? Has Mother Earth Qing Teng perhaps been assassinated? Are the Heavenly Dao, the Great Emperor of the Underworld, and those ancient deities already dead? We can’t see, and we’re so scared!’”

With every word he spoke, Lin Hongfeng's expression grew a shade more solemn. Bai Xiaosheng maintained his calm demeanor. “You must understand that human fear is far easier to acquire than human worship.”

“Who knows?” Lin Hongfeng smiled brightly, though a flicker of barely discernible worry crossed her eyes. She then chuckled, “You are ultimately constrained now. Why don't we have a chat?”

“What do you want to discuss?”

“What is your goal?”

“My beautiful Martial Emperor, you no longer have any equivalent exchange to offer, so I won’t be compelled to answer.” After a pause, Bai Xiaosheng also smiled. “However, I will answer your question personally: Our goal is to rule the world, establish a new Evil Clan Heavenly Court, and usher in the Era of Evil Gods. I will be the First Original Evil True Monarch Heavenly Emperor. Ruling the world, as long as all beings utter my divine name, fear me, and dread me, they will achieve immortality and eternal youth. I will also grant a general amnesty to the world. I will not kill any of your powerful figures from the Three Realms—Shu Mountain, the Great Zhou Emperor, or the various religious churches of the Demon Realm. Instead, I will imprison them, just as you imprisoned the three thousand demons, and establish a God-Suppressing Pagoda to suppress the ancient deities!”

“You're clearly about to lose, yet you can still calmly speak at length about your future success...” Lin Hongfeng smiled noncommittally. “You don't kill the Incense Heavenly Emperors because good and righteous gods cannot be killed. Even the most despairing person will harbor hope for a hero to descend from the heavens and save them... Just like evil thoughts such as yourselves, they can only be suppressed. And you don't kill living Heavenly Emperors like us because powerful individuals like us can provide you with greater incense. One Heavenly Emperor's hatred, fear, and despair, when imprisoned, is far more potent than that of millions of mortals.”

“Clever! Truly clever!” Bai Xiaosheng clapped his hands and laughed, praising loudly, “It’s truly interesting to converse with intelligent people! You are indeed worthy of being the founder of the Martial God Palace, the vast new power established in the past century; your foresight, talent, and wisdom are all admirable. The Divine Clan and the Evil Clan are two sides of the same coin; neither can truly kill the other, yet we are sworn enemies. Our very natures prevent us from coexisting peacefully, so we can only suppress one another. If we were to succeed the Incense Righteous Gods and rule the Three Realms as Incense Evil Gods, we still wouldn’t kill any mortals. This is the greatness and foresight of Mother Earth. Regardless of who rules in the ages to come, good or evil, righteous or wicked, it ultimately will not affect ordinary mortals or Mother Earth herself. You, too, are among the beings, and even if you are defeated, you will not be killed, for you can provide us with incense.”

“Beings, then?” Lin Hongfeng sighed. She could sense Bai Xiaosheng’s genuine admiration, his profound respect for Mother Earth, who had given birth to them. The distant fighting continued, and she asked again, “What kind of world do you wish to establish?”

“You aim to establish a beautiful and happy world, collecting worship and good thoughts. Naturally, we do the opposite; we collect fear...” Bai Xiaosheng considered seriously before replying, “While we won’t kill mortals, this will be a bloody, terrifying world filled with despair, helplessness, and horror.” He extended a hand, and Lin Hongfeng saw a world of the future.

All the rules had changed. There was no sun or moon; the sky seemed covered in a heavily colored oil painting, with enormous, colorful, twisted black patterns, reminiscent of Van Gogh's Starry Night. The turbulent, multi-colored, distorted sky, the moon, and the sun all appeared twisted as if painted upon the heavens. The land was entirely dilapidated, dark red, and decaying. There were crumbling villages, terrifying demons and monsters in the deep mountains, all sorts of grotesque creatures, and malevolent spirits everywhere; it was a dreadful world of phantoms.

A flicker of fear crossed Lin Hongfeng’s face. “Are you afraid?” A vast, resonant voice slammed into her mind. “I sense the fear emanating from you towards me. It flows ceaselessly, like a great spring gushing into my body, feeling incredibly pleasant and fulfilling, making me even stronger.” He whispered in her ear, with an intimacy akin to that of a lover, “My dear, your fear, your awe and dread of me, will be the wellspring of my spiritual power.”

“I... no.” Her voice was sluggish as she immediately struggled free from that helpless mindset, regaining her composure. Bai Xiaosheng was still silently working on the complex problem with his pen and paper. Bai Xiaosheng lowered his head, his smile deepening. “It’s no use. The more you try to resist, the more you tell yourself not to be afraid, the more afraid you become—that’s human nature! You can’t simply choose not to be afraid... The seed of fear has already been planted within you; it has begun to grow into a towering tree, becoming the nourishment for my future ascension to godhood.”

“You think you’ve controlled me, but in reality, I’ve controlled you... You stopped me from closing the mirror, but have you truly stopped the beings from perceiving the Peach Banquet?” Bai Xiaosheng raised a profound smile, picking up his pen and paper. “Who knows if all of this wasn’t part of my calculation? Do you think I wouldn’t know my own weaknesses?” He whispered softly, like a demon in her ear, “This problem should be solved this way. I’ve already solved it. What about you?”

Bai Xiaosheng!!!

Lin Hongfeng took a deep breath, staring at the terrifying man.