Above The Sky
Chapter 1031 - 1031 119 Too Many Gods 12

1031: Chapter 119 Too Many Gods (1/2) 1031: Chapter 119 Too Many Gods (1/2) “Huai Guang…

is a God Slayer?”

Ian was stunned for a moment, then slowly repeated, “A slayer of extraterrestrial gods?”

In that instant, Ian almost wanted to laugh—the Huai Guang Sect, the most revered among the Four Great Orthodox Churches of Terra, turned out to be god-slayers?

It sounded utterly bizarre.

But upon further reflection, he began to understand.

The deity of the Huai Guang Church, ‘Huai Guang,’ had no tangible form, a so-called ‘idol-less’ entity.

Its essence was instead an abstract concept, a steadfast belief.

In a way, the deity of Huai Guang existed alongside its clerics who upheld its doctrine, their divine power manifesting as the Spirit Energy within the Huai Guang clergy.

Meanwhile, the gods spoken of by the Forest Ocean Spirit were of an entirely different nature.

The gods it referred to were tangible, even corporeal beings—’existent deities’ with physical forms.

They were akin to Ritual Masters or Ritual Spirits—living, breathing entities that could be seen, sensed, influenced, and in turn, influence others.

Take, for instance, the Divine Tree.

Ian could more or less infer that on their planet, the Forest Ocean Spirit symbolized…

an entire ecosystem’s living will.

The spirit of the Divine Tree governed the planet’s ecology, capable of eradicating all life on a whim, yet it refrained from doing so, instead allowing many intelligent beings to coexist with it, and even providing conveniences to them.

Under these conditions, it was only natural for those living amidst the wilderness of the Forest Seas to worship the entity that granted them their prosperity as a ‘god.’

Though the same term was used, the two types of gods were entirely distinct.

And as for the so-called extraterrestrial gods…

“Could it literally mean gods from other planets?”

Ian mused sarcastically to himself.

Yet that didn’t seem all that implausible.

Much like how the Deceased Monarch, upon ascending to become a Spirit God, could take all their subjects off their original planet and become a Spirit Seed of Fire, it was natural that planets with deities might produce entities like the Forest Ocean Spirit—beings who used divine fire as a vessel, carrying the legacy of their home world to distant lands.

In a way, this too was a kind of ark of salvation—a seed of fire for the gods.

Even though such seeds were rare, Terra, this cursed land, harbored more than a thousand of them.

Even if only one-tenth or one-twentieth of these seeds counted as extraterrestrial gods, that would still amount to dozens, if not hundreds, of them.

Pondering this, it became clear that Huai Guang indeed needed to slay a few of these gods; otherwise, Terra, already chaotic with its swarm of demons, would truly devolve into a realm of gods and devils running amok.

The Forest Ocean Spirit’s subsequent words confirmed this notion.

[Our form of life is unlike most life forms in this universe]

The towering Mother-like figure slightly lowered its gaze.

Its leaves could mimic any human posture with precision, yet exuded a divinity that transcended mortal compassion: [We are a congregation of countless lives, a collection of countless soul-lights.

We are life birthed from life, the will behind an entire ecological system.]

[Beings like us who embody an entire planetary ecosystem and command it are what you would call ‘gods.’]

[When we fully become the wilderness, the entire wilderness trembles with our every breath.]

[It is not a bad thing for a planet to have an entity like us—many intelligent species thrive within our domain; we aid one another, support one another, and grow together to greater heights.]

[But on Terra, ‘gods’ are not welcomed.]

Speaking slowly, the Forest Ocean Spirit’s tone carried a trace of helplessness: [Because]

[There are too many gods.]

Hearing this, Ian almost couldn’t keep a straight face.

Indeed, Terra’s gods were far too numerous.

Leaving aside the Four Great Orthodox Churches for a moment, weren’t Fifth Energy Level powerhouses essentially terrestrial gods?

With such entities existing, the Forest Ocean Spirit was already lagging at the starting line.

Moreover, by the Forest Ocean Spirit’s account, there were many other beings similar to it that could also be considered ‘gods.’

For example, Ian had heard of entities like ‘Carlin’s Flower’ and the ‘Worm Nest.’

Carlin’s Flower, rooted in the sea of human souls—or rather, in the soul sea of all intelligent beings—was a super-Spirit Energy lifeform that assimilated the souls of all living beings into itself.

Though individual awareness might persist, the essence of the soul would have become a seedling of Carlin’s Flower.

In the face of entities like Carlin’s Flower, concepts like free will became meaningless.

It didn’t even deign to strip them away—after all, humans were creatures whose decisions could be swayed by mere hormones or a few suggestive words.

The self-awareness of non-Sublimators was ultimately just a feedback mechanism of the body, and Carlin’s Flower, as a being that controlled souls, could effortlessly make people worship it as a ‘god’ from the depths of their hearts.

As a deity, it was undeniably formidable.

And the Worm Nest was even more so.

It could devour entire planets, converting everything into its biomass.

The Worm Nest, by nature, had only one supreme authority.

Even specialized Worm Nests like the Ancestral Bee Swarm, capable of producing semi-autonomous Hero Units, still regarded such individual units as offspring of the Worm Nest, intrinsically viewing it as their ‘divine being.’

By this calculation, the number of extraterrestrial gods on Terra…

truly seemed endless.

But as fate would have it, whether it was the Worm Nest or Carlin’s Flower, Huai Guang had intervened.

Sometimes, it even led the crusade against them.

Over the years, based on what Ian knew, the Huai Guang Church had already eradicated over a dozen Worm Nests.

Similarly, it had likely done the same to comparable cataclysmic life forms.

By this reckoning, Huai Guang had slain over thirty extraterrestrial gods.

Beyond that, entities resembling the Forest Ocean Spirit, who had been warned and thus retreated to obscurity without daring to act openly, undoubtedly existed in far greater numbers.

In this sense, Huai Guang’s reputation as a ‘lineage of god-slayers’ was well-deserved, which explained why the Forest Ocean Spirit was so cautious, even fearful.

—To the foreign demigods and deities, the Huai Guang Church was practically a supermassive butcher, towering eighty meters high and wide, with dozens of skulls hanging as pendants, gruffly asking these newly awakened fledglings, “So, are you still planning to be gods?”

…What other answer could there be?

—You win, big guy.

If you say I’m not a god, then I’m not!

“Why does Huai Guang slay gods like this?”

Once the ridiculousness faded, composure returned.

Ian regulated his expression, asking at just the right moment, “I may be one of the Terra People, but I’m young and not well-versed in such ancient history… Huai Guang’s behavior within human society never hinted at this.”

“Forest Ocean Spirit, what difference is there in Huai Guang’s treatment of you and humanity?”

[There is no difference.]

Yet, the Forest Ocean Spirit’s response came as a surprise: [Though the great figures of Huai Guang once possessed the power to destroy me, they chose not to act and merely conveyed one message.]

[They said…] The towering Mother-like figure closed her eyes and softly spoke: [Whether the conclusion is ultimate annihilation and void or hopeful redemption,]

[Humanity must choose its own path.]

“Humanity must choose its own path.”

Across the distant continent, beneath the majestic Holy Mountain.

Three kilometers underground lay the spiral-shaped abyss known as the ‘Terminal Doctrine Zone,’ a vast subterranean structure reaching deep into the Earth’s crust.

From its depths, nearly eternal icy winds gusted upward, as if the final breath of a dying deity, carrying with them a mournful wail.

Glorious Sword, Redemption Light, and Yingguang walked silently down the spiral staircase of the Terminal Doctrine Zone, circling the immense hollow abyss.

The cold winds from the Earth’s depths billowed their robes as they steadily descended, step by solemn step, toward the innermost heart of the Holy Mountain.

To where the ‘truth’ resided.

“We of Huai Guang are not the true light, unable to illuminate all beings.

Humanity is the race we’ve chosen, the original species of the Terra Continent.

Most of our members originate from humanity, who indeed possess extraordinary potential and wondrous will—Huai Guang values humanity’s choices and seeks to understand their ultimate fate.”

At this moment, the Spirit Energy Radiance in Glorious Sword’s eyes glimmered brilliantly.

He spoke in a peculiar tone, his voice echoing across the Terminal Doctrine Zone: “Huai Guang’s true purpose is neither to shelter humanity nor to protect it.”

“The reason Huai Guang resists cataclysms and slays extraterrestrial gods is merely to eliminate all external factors that could influence humanity’s self-determination.”

The Dragoness Nun remained silent, listening intently to this familiar yet suddenly enigmatic elder speak revelations she had never known, yet which filled her with a startling sense of clarity.

“I see… That’s why Huai Guang isn’t truly light…”

Yingguang murmured to herself but quickly became puzzled.

“But Brother Glorious Sword, by your reasoning, wouldn’t Huai Guang clergy refrain from doing good deeds or engaging with human society… Shouldn’t we be a hermetic group rather than a widespread Orthodox Church across Terra?”

“Because that is humanity’s choice.”

Glorious Sword replied calmly, “If humanity desires Huai Guang to be an Orthodox Church, then Huai Guang becomes an Orthodox Church.

Just as, if humanity wished for a god to worship, Huai Guang would refrain from opposing extraterrestrial gods.”

“Huai Guang doesn’t care whether humanity’s ultimate choice leads to prosperity or ruin.

Huai Guang simply ensures humanity makes its own choices… Whether weak or strong, whether ordinary or Sublimator, however the beings of this world choose, we accept.”

“But before consensus is reached among all beings, we prevent disasters from arriving because peaceful living is the greatest shared desire among all.”

“Glorious Sword, you never breathed a word of any of this…”

Redemption Light murmured to himself, “I always thought we were genuinely close friends…”

“It’s because we are truly friends that I could never share this with you.”

Unmoved, Glorious Sword—this poised, youthful, and powerful cleric—spoke with level determination: “There are things that, once known, you cannot return from.

You cannot pretend ignorance; the knowledge lingers, inducing fear, anxiety, and reshaping the trajectory of one’s life.”

“Just like what I am about to reveal to you now… Once you know, your old life will be forever altered.”