The Northern Great Emperor.
The Emperor of Fengdu.
Although Chen Zhou hadn't been a religious scholar in his previous life, he was well-acquainted with this name thanks to the abundance of web novels back then.
The Northern Great Emperor was the chief deity who ruled the underworld in Taoist mythology, the existence in charge of the Netherworld, reincarnation, and the Register of Life and Death.
He hadn't expected to find such an existence in this world as well.
And according to the inscription, this emperor was clearly an ancient deity. For some unknown reason, however, he had fallen.
Even his inheritance had been left at the bottom of the black sludge pond in the Immortal-Slaying Shrine, unseen for tens of thousands of years.
Chen Zhou took a deep breath and calmed his racing heart.
To be honest, it felt a bit strange.
Ever since he had transmigrated, erected the Bone Altar in the Dead Man’s Forest, gathered refugees, and established the City of the Wrongfully Dead, his believers had constantly compared him to this figure.
Terms like 'True God of the Underworld,' 'Ruler of Lifespan,' 'Judge of Good and Evil,' and 'Master of Reincarnation' had been thrown around. At the time, Chen Zhou had simply smiled it off.
But now, he had actually encountered the real deal. He wondered if the original owner would take offense at him acting under his name.
Chen Zhou rubbed his nose, feeling a rare sense of sheepishness.
However, he only indulged in the sentiment for a moment before quickly reigning in his emotions.
The true owner had been dead for tens of thousands of years, leaving behind only an inheritance. Since he had made it this far, there was no reason to back down.
Chen Zhou looked up, his gaze passing the stone stele to look deep into the hall.
Beyond the stele, the hall branched into five passages.
At the end of each passage stood a mansion brimming with ghostly qi. Their gates were tightly shut, and plaques hung above the lintels, each carved with a different title.
From right to left, they were: Zhaoye Ghost Emperor Mansion, Suwei Ghost Emperor Mansion, Dongming Ghost Emperor Mansion, Xuandu Ghost Emperor Mansion, and Zongshe Ghost Emperor Mansion.
The Five Direction Ghost Emperor Mansions stood in five directions, guarding the center.
According to the stele, to obtain the inheritance of the Northern Great Emperor, one had to pass the trials of the Five Direction Ghost Emperors. Only after passing all five stages could one inherit the authority over the Abyssal Underworld.
Chen Zhou didn't rush to choose. Instead, he first expanded his Ghost Domain to sense the aura of the five mansions.
Grayish-white mist spread from beneath his feet, surging toward the five passages.
The Zhaoye Ghost Emperor Mansion had the most majestic aura. Two massive door god statues stood on either side of the entrance, one holding a steel whip and the other a golden mace. Their eyes were wide and angry, as if they could come to life at any moment.
The Suwei Ghost Emperor Mansion leaned toward a cold, sinister aura. The plaque above the gate shimmered with a dark-red light, like clotted blood, and a faint scent of blood could be detected.
The Dongming Ghost Emperor Mansion had the sharpest aura. A sword stele stood before the gate, covered in sword scars. Every mark radiated an astounding sword intent that made one's skin prickle.
The Xuandu Ghost Emperor Mansion felt heavy and profound. The stone steps before the gate were covered in moss, making it look the most ancient. Countless ghost and monster patterns were carved onto the doors, their green faces and protruding fangs looking lifelike.
The Zongshe Ghost Emperor Mansion had the most mysterious aura. As soon as Chen Zhou's Ghost Domain approached, it was repelled by an invisible force, making it impossible to sense the situation inside.
Five mansions, five auras, five trials.
Chen Zhou retracted his Ghost Domain and fell into thought for a moment.
In his current state, he had only temporarily broken through to the initial phase of Siming. The duration of the Divine Grace for Self-Use was limited, so he couldn't waste too much time on the selection.
Since he had to pass all five stages anyway, the order wasn't particularly important. Chen Zhou stepped forward and walked toward the Zhaoye Ghost Emperor Mansion on the far right.
There was no special reason for this choice; it was simply because this door was the closest to him.
Chen Zhou stopped before the mansion gate.
The two door god statues opened their eyes simultaneously. Ghostly green fire lit up within their stone sockets as they stared directly at him.
Chen Zhou remained unfazed and reached out to push the door.
The door didn't budge.
The two statues continued to stare at him, their ghost fires flickering as if waiting for something.
Chen Zhou frowned. Just as he was about to exert more force, he felt a strange ripple seep out from the crack in the door.
It seemed to be death qi, yet it was slightly different from ordinary death qi. Wisps of it seeped out and condensed in the air before him, slowly forming characters.
The handwriting was ancient and the strokes were vigorous, identical to the text on the stone stele.
【The Northern Great Emperor's Zhaoye Ghost Mansion. This mansion's trial: Merit and Faith.】
【As a god, if one lacks merit, their divine position will be unstable. If one lacks faith, their divine power will fail to sustain itself.】
【Merit is the public judgment of heaven and earth. Doing good produces merit; doing evil diminishes it. Every deed is weighed by heaven and earth.】
【Faith is the collective heart-intent of all beings. With many believers, divine power flourishes; with few, it withers. Building a tower from grains of sand—this is the foundation of the divine path.】
【Those who enter this gate must meet three criteria.】
【First: Possess the Golden Light of Merit, condensed into at least a one-zhang golden wheel.】
【Second: Have no fewer than one hundred thousand believers under one's command.】
【Third: Among the believers, those at the level of Devout Believer or higher must number no fewer than ten thousand.】
【Only with all three criteria met may one enter.】
【If even one is missing, any who force entry shall have their divine soul extinguished.】
Chen Zhou's brow twitched as he finished reading.
Golden Light of Merit, number of believers, and the proportion of Devout Believers... Weren't these all free points?
He looked down at himself.
Activating the Law-Evaluating Eye, he saw a dense layer of Golden Light of Merit enveloping his body.
The intensity of the golden light—how could it be only one zhang?
Ever since he had protected the City of the Wrongfully Dead, slain the judge, stabilized the four regions of Gloomlight Province, incorporated Tianchi Province, and taken over Cangzhou, his merit had been steadily growing.
By now, the Golden Light of Merit around him had condensed into a massive golden light-wheel. Its diameter was at least seven or eight zhang, far exceeding the requirement of a 'one-zhang golden wheel.'
As for the number of believers...
Chen Zhou opened the system panel.
The numbers for Evil God Points were constantly fluctuating—on one side was the consumption for maintaining the Divine Grace for Self-Use, and on the other was the growth from the daily prayers of his believers.
Evil God Points were the manifestation of the power of faith. One unit of Evil God Points corresponded to one standard unit of faith vow power.
The number of believers under Chen Zhou's command had long since surpassed the ten-million mark.
In the City of the Wrongfully Dead alone, after several rounds of expansion, the permanent population was already approaching one million. Adding the four regions of Gloomlight Province, Tianchi Province, Cangzhou...
The total number of believers was likely in the tens of millions by now.
And as for Devout Believers...
Chen Zhou glanced at the believer classification statistics on the system panel.
【Saint: 4 (Jian Huaishuang, Wu Gou, Plague Rat, Lian)】
【Fanatic Believer: 18 (Hong Ling, Ugly Hag, Cangming, Cang Che, etc.)】
【Devout Believer: 1.24 million+】
【True Believer: 6.8 million+】
【Shallow Believer: 19 million+】
【General Believer: 42 million+】
One million, two hundred and forty thousand Devout Believers.
The requirement was ten thousand.
He had exceeded it by more than a hundredfold.
After checking, Chen Zhou looked up in satisfaction and reached out to push the door.
This time, the door opened.
The ghost fires in the eyes of the two door god statues flickered for a moment before receding. The statues bowed their heads slightly as if in greeting, then returned to their motionless state.
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