Qing Lu attempted to dispel the brand.
Divine power surged from the depths of his origin, turning into waves of azure light that washed over the twisted mark within his body again and again.
But it was completely useless. The brand remained motionless; instead, as if provoked, the speed of its devouring increased.
“This is impossible!”
“You are but a creation who has just stepped into the eighth-stage, while my true body is at the peak of the ninth-stage! The difference in our status is like the distance between heaven and the abyss. How can you possibly devour my divine power?!”
Chen Zhou enjoyed Qing Lu’s impotent rage as he injected death qi into his whisk once more. He then lifted the giant brush and began writing in the air.
“What’s the rush? I told you, after Wan Xiu is dead, it’s your turn. Why are you in such a hurry?”
As the brush descended, a massive resistance suddenly surged from all directions.
It was as if countless invisible hands were tightly gripping the brush handle, refusing to let it move an inch.
Chen Zhou frowned and increased the output of death qi.
A grayish-white light poured from the tip of the brush. The handle trembled as it moved bit by bit, but its speed was incredibly slow.
Qing Lu’s voice emerged from the azure light, carrying a hint of smugness.
“What, can’t write anymore?”
“Did you think the divine sense of a true god would be like you divine creations, something that can be judged and sentenced at will?”
“My status stands firm. Even if this is only a wisp of divine sense, it is not something you can lay hands on.”
Chen Zhou felt a bit of regret; this thing called a godhead was truly troublesome.
He stopped his brush and looked up at the ball of azure light, his tone carrying a faint smile.
“Look at you, getting ahead of yourself again.”
Qing Lu’s laughter faltered.
“I am getting ahead of myself? What do I have to be anxious about?”
Chen Zhou said unhurriedly, “I’ve only written a few strokes, and you couldn't wait to jump out and mock me.”
“Is that not a sign of being anxious?”
“Would someone who is truly calm care so much about their opponent's actions?”
Qing Lu fell silent for a moment, then said coldly, “Sharp-tongued brat. This is nothing more than a deathbed struggle.”
Chen Zhou shook his head, his tone relaxed.
“Fine. Since you’re in such a hurry, I won’t hold back anymore.”
“Actually, I still have one ultimate move I haven’t used yet.”
Qing Lu became wary. “What ultimate move?”
Chen Zhou smiled. “The ultimate move Lord Zhu Pan gave me.”
Qing Lu’s voice instantly turned frigid. “Zhu Pan? What did he give you?”
Chen Zhou clicked on the only Source of Divine Power in his system panel and chose to use it.
This was a reward from the system after sacrificing Zhu Pan’s divine sense back in the provincial capital of Gloomlight Province. How could it not be considered a gift from Zhu Pan?
The Source of Divine Power was rapidly consumed as Chen Zhou activated Sinful Karma Punishment.
His Law-Evaluating Eye opened automatically, shooting two golden beams of light from his eyes. He lifted the giant brush and injected all the Source of Divine Power into the Yin-Yang Judgment.
The brush handle jolted violently. The resistance seemed to vanish instantly as the brush strokes became vigorous and powerful, moving with unstoppable force.
Qing Lu’s talent immediately told him that something terrifying was brewing.
The azure light within him surged violently as if sensing something dreadful.
The final character was completed.
“Sin.”
The blood-red character for Sin condensed in the air, more than ten times larger than the one used to judge Wan Xiu earlier.
Qing Lu’s entire being shook. He felt his sins being stripped away one by one, laid bare before heaven and earth.
The living beings he had slaughtered, the souls he had enslaved, the sacrifices he had schemed against.
Every case, every deed, was as clear as if it had just happened.
“You cannot judge me! I am a true god! I am the orthodoxy of heaven and earth!”
“What right do you have—”
Before he could finish, Qing Lu’s divine sense began to burn. Azure flames erupted from within him, but the color of the flames changed rapidly.
From azure to dark red, and from dark red to blood-red.
“Ahhh—!!”
Qing Lu let out a shrill, miserable scream.
He desperately channeled his divine power, trying to extinguish the flames on his body.
But it was useless.
The karma-fire did not just scorch his body; it burned his sins. The deeper the sin, the more fiercely the fire burned.
And he, as the Sky-Monitoring Four-Direction Envoy of Central Province, the Eastern Qing Lu, how many millions of sins had he committed over the past ten thousand years?
The karma-fire burned hotter and hotter, turning from blood-red to purple-black. The flames soared into the sky, and the sacrificial souls that had burst out of Wan Xiu’s body also pounced frantically toward Qing Lu.
Every soul carried the hatred and obsession from their previous lives.
They tore at Qing Lu’s divine sense and gnawed on his divine power, venting the anger and pain they had accumulated for ten thousand years.
One among them had hatred so intense that it had practically solidified, turning into a layer of blood-red mist that shrouded her.
Her hair was disheveled and her face was distorted; it was impossible to recognize her original appearance.
But Chen Zhou recognized her. It was Tao Tuantuan.
She had been refined by Wan Xiu and became a soul to supply Qing Lu after her death. She no longer had any sanity, only hatred and obsession remained.
But her mouth kept repeating a few phrases—the last few words left by Duke Wen in the 《Governance of Tianchi》.
“In this battle... our side shall surely prevail...”
“This person... shall surely die today...”
“Henceforth... there shall be no calamity for ten thousand years...”
Words carry spirit. Even though she was dead and had lost her mind, her intense hatred still successfully communicated with the divinity of hatred within Chen Zhou, igniting a more violent Hatred Fire.
Purple-black Hatred Fire surged from Tao Tuantuan’s body, merging with the karma-fire.
The two types of flames echoed and fueled each other, burning even more fiercely.
Qing Lu’s screams became even more agonizing.
He felt this wisp of his divine sense being burned away and torn apart bit by bit.
The wishes of mere ants could actually hurt him.
“I am a true god... you ants... how is it possible...”
Tao Tuantuan could no longer hear him. She just kept repeating those three phrases, over and over again.
With each repetition, her hatred deepened. And with each deepening of hatred, the Hatred Fire grew stronger.
Chen Zhou took the opportunity to use Bone Incarnation to descend upon Jian Huaishuang, and then he began the sentencing.
“Qing Lu of Central Province, you have refined souls into soldiers, turned corpses into tools, and slaughtered cities and nations. Your sins are monstrous.”
“The entire Tianchi Province perished because of you, and billions of lives died because of you.”
“Such crimes cannot be tolerated by heaven or earth.”
Chen Zhou’s voice echoed through the Ghost Domain, each word weighing as much as a mountain.
“Today, I punish on behalf of heaven and redress grievances for the people.”
“I decree your guilt and determine your sentence.”
The moment he finished speaking, the character for Sin that had been hovering in the air finally plummeted.
Boom—!!
With a deafening explosion, the entire underground space trembled.
The rock ceiling above collapsed in large sections, with rubble raining down like hailstones, and the ground cracked into countless fissures.
Qing Lu stopped struggling. He allowed the karma-fire to incinerate him and the souls to tear at him.
“Good... very good...”
“I admit defeat this time.”
“But do not be too smug.”
“This is merely a single wisp of my divine sense.”
“My true body is far away in Central Province. Even if I lose this wisp of divine sense, it will cost me nothing more than a bit of effort to restore it.”
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