From God of Lies to Lord of All Worlds

Chapter 279: Dismembering the God of Thieves

(Going on a trip was sheer torture. Dealing with all sorts of things made me want to drop dead, and I couldn't even sleep well. Fortunately, I am back!)

To briefly summarize Fang Ergu's mental journey, it went something like this:

"I have seen it all! Is it not just toxic Wish Power? I have seen plenty of that!

No, wait, I have never actually seen this before!

What is this thing? And what the hell is that? Stay away from me!"

And thus, the supposedly almighty visitor, a mid-tier deity with Medium Divine Power and the illustrious God of Thieves in Dylan Continent, succumbed to this peculiar Wish Power.

This was exactly why Bai Yang was so wary of this specific Wish Power.

The Wish Power originating from India was simply too wicked and demonic. Only the even more sinister figures within Buddhism could somewhat endure and absorb it.

Take Wutian, for instance. He was a product of this exact wickedness, yet due to certain unique structural elements of Buddhism, he had paradoxically been transformed into a Bodhisattva.

However, Bai Yang still did not believe that this Wutian Buddha was truly all that venerable or had genuinely transformed into a Bodhisattva. It was merely that he had found the correct path.The story of Wutian Buddha was far from over. In the future, there would undoubtedly be many more events left to unfold.

'Perhaps I should open up another virtual world for them in the future? Let them take their followers inside and battle it out?' Bai Yang thought cheerfully. He felt it was a very promising idea.

But that was a matter for the future; there was no rush right now.

With the situation in Southeast Asia settled, Bai Yang turned his attention back to Fang Ergu's current body.

Though whether the current "him" could still be called "Fang Ergu" was highly questionable.

The two arrived on a secluded island in the vast Pacific Ocean. Here, they found "Fang Ergu." Of course, the entity before them would now be more accurately described as a living corpse.

The Soul that originally belonged to the God of Thieves had been utterly fragmented by the endless Wish Power. He had lost all self-awareness, reducing him to a "God" who had absolutely no idea who he was.

Calling him a God was not even accurate anymore, as his Godhood had already been extracted by Bai Yang to serve as a tool in his hands.

A nascent, ignorant Consciousness slowly surfaced within the body. It stared at them blankly, projecting a very clear sense of sheer bewilderment.

"This is exactly what we need. The Consciousness of a newborn deity might just serve as the foundational material for Buddhism!" Bai Yang declared. He continued to observe this peculiar entity. "I cannot possibly let him live. Given the God of Thieves' inherent traits of concealment, if he is truly alive, he might very well be hiding within his Divine Nature!"

Bai Yang possessed a fair understanding of the Deities of Dylan Continent. Those who died and resurrected time and time again were the primary focus of his attention!

These Deities were incredibly difficult to kill because their core essence belonged to a higher plane of existence. They were even bound to the long river of history, allowing them to repeatedly manifest from the past.

Therefore, facing this newborn Consciousness, Bai Yang showed no mercy whatsoever. He decisively reached out, seizing it in his grasp as virtual Wish Power began to invade and systematically purge it!

At that very moment, Bai Yang sensed a hint of anomaly. It was a unique True Spirit, a nearly intact "consciousness reserve."

"Hah, found you!" Bai Yang revealed an enigmatic smile. Without giving the entity any chance to react, he casually tossed this hidden Consciousness into the flames dancing at his fingertips.

This was the divine fire belonging to The Lord. It was also the most potent tool of destruction in Bai Yang's arsenal. No matter what kind of Consciousness it was, it could never survive in such flames!

"Crown, your insight is unparalleled!" Alvin exclaimed in astonishment. Even he had not anticipated that this seemingly harmless God of Thieves would harbor such a hidden trump card!

Bai Yang waved his hand. "No need to flatter me. I did not actually perceive it; I simply put myself in his shoes! If it were me, I would have also thought of a similar method to survive. As long as one is alive, there is still hope, is there not?"

His expression was jovial, but his eyes were incomparably cold. "After all, these Deities have lived for countless years. One can never be too careful with them!"

With that, Fang Ergu, the renowned God of Thieves of Dylan Continent, officially and completely perished.

Bai Yang began to extract the remaining value from this being of Medium Divine Power. "Dark Elf male, thief, spy, underground trades... These were Fang Ergu's divine domains. Meanwhile, his Divine Nature consisted of the rather fascinating concepts of Secret deception, shifting traps, and unrestricted transactions!"

First of all, it had to be made clear that easily eliminating this deity of Medium Divine Power did not mean the opponent was weak.

In reality, Fang Ergu was an immensely powerful God. Being from the chaotic Evil alignment already proved his formidable strength. The main reason he capsized here was simply that Bai Yang had caught him completely off guard. Before Fang Ergu could utilize even a single one of his abilities, his Soul's defenses were instantly obliterated by the overwhelming wave of Wish Power. Naturally, all his strength had been rendered utterly useless.

It was precisely because of this capability that Alvin felt Bai Yang's actions were A Sight to Behold. His wild, unconstrained imagination and profound execution were unlike anything Alvin had ever seen in his entire existence!

Because of this, the rewards reaped from their elaborate scheme were astonishingly bountiful!

If Bai Yang wished to do so, he could use these four divine domains to directly mold four God-tier characters. Combined with Fang Ergu's body and Soul, that would equate to the immediate combat power of five Deities!

"Hah, I have already figured out how to utilize this Divine Nature of underground trades!" Bai Yang's eyes lit up, his entire demeanor brimming with excitement. "Is the interaction between The Faithful and Deities not just another form of transaction?"

He singled out this divine domain and began his Setting or Design, reconstructing and entirely remolding it, weaving his own ideas into the framework!

In a certain sense, The Faithful and Deities genuinely shared a transactional relationship. The Faithful offered up their Divine Faith, loyalty, and adherence to the Precepts, and in exchange for their Wish Power, they obtained a fraction of power from the Deities.

This was already a part of the Divine System that Bai Yang had originally designed. It was just that the previous so-called Boons had all been handled by Bai Yang and Alvin through Personal Involvement. Naturally, this kind of manual interaction was fraught with inefficiencies.

"Now, our creation of Deities will incorporate this authority of faith-based transactions!"

With this, all future interactions would be conducted completely "automatically"!

As he stripped out this divine domain, reconstructed it, and integrated it into his own Divinity of Lies, it laid down new foundations. In the future, all interactions between Deities and The Faithful, Demons and the Depraved, Buddhas and Buddhist Followers...

...and all other similar exchanges would now follow a brand new, formalized template!

Bestowals from the Deities would appear much more standardized, and interactions between different Divine Pantheons would gain entirely new channels!

The most crucial aspect was that the Secret and unhindered nature of these interactions would cause The Faithful to believe even more firmly in the might and Sacred nature of the Deities!

This fundamental shift, powerful enough to be inscribed directly into the laws of the world, represented merely a fifth of Fang Ergu's legacy.

From this alone, one could imagine just how terrifyingly massive of a boost a being with Medium Divine Power provided to Bai Yang!

"As expected, how could rules that I compile, formulate, reinforce, and integrate myself ever compare to something I can just seize and use right away?" Bai Yang chuckled, watching this special authority slowly merge into the Transcendent setting of this world.

In the future, as the Wish Power system continued to strengthen, this authority would gradually transform into a genuine law of the world, becoming an intrinsic part of the true reality Bai Yang was shaping!

"This truly is a massive gift package!" Bai Yang nodded approvingly. He set aside the remaining authorities for now, separately bringing out Fang Ergu's physical body and that battered Soul whose core essence had been ravaged beyond recognition.

He had yet to come up with specific uses for the remaining divine domains and authorities, so he shelved them for the time being. Right now, he intended to utilize the opponent's body infused with Divine Nature to properly forge the true foundation of Buddhism.

The foundation of the Catholic Church was the roaring fire of The Lord and the authoritative tome of rules currently rewriting history!

The foundation of Norse Mythology was Yggdrasil, the World Tree, along with the divine realm and pantheon currently being nurtured!

And now, the foundation of Buddhism finally had its vessel!

Bai Yang smiled as he looked at everything laid out before him, having already formed a comprehensive plan in his mind.

"It is, after all, the physical vessel of a being with Medium Divine Power. While it might fall short if used to mold Mount Sumeru, utilizing it as the vessel for a regional Buddha to guide the power of Buddhism should not pose any problems!"

Bai Yang remarked. Indeed, he planned to establish Buddhism's kingdom directly within the illusory Mental World, for this was the fundamental essence of the Buddhist sect, or rather, the Western Pure Land itself!

This was a religious sect that wielded boundless might within the Mental World. It was also the foundational Setting or Design Bai Yang had prepared for them.

His hand swept over Fang Ergu's form, causing the divine body of the Dark Elf to slowly transmute under his touch into a stone Buddhist statue. And the figure carved into this stone statue was none other than Shakyamuni.

"Amitābha. Who would ever imagine that this ordinary-looking Buddhist statue would serve as the anchor connecting Buddhism in this physical world to the Mental World?"

With a wave of his hand, Bai Yang sent this statue soaring far to the north, straight toward the islands of Japan!

The development of Mahayana Buddhism would begin there, serving as a reliable failsafe for their grand plans.

"Prepare yourself, Alvin. Our Faith Sealing the Nation project is about to commence!"