The Black Book: Seven Deadly Sins
Chapter 354: Poison of Faith

Chapter 354: Chapter 354: Poison of Faith

Compared to the benefits gained, this side effect is practically negligible.

More importantly, this side effect is not completely without merit; the expansion of desire also represents the driving force for progress!

The burning desire constantly urges the cultivator, making their enthusiasm and self-discipline far exceed normal levels, resulting in an astonishingly fast growth rate!

Under Zhu Haomiao’s persuasion, out of unconditional trust in him, Zhao Nuo finally agreed to the suggestion, curiously flipping through the secret manual in her hand.

"Huh? Brother, why is the last layer of this Void Refining God and Returning to Truth Technique missing?"

"Uh, the Yue King gave me a secret manual before he left, and there are many places worth referencing in it, so the last layer of this Void Refining God and Returning to Truth Technique is still a draft."

"Wait! Did you create these two cultivation techniques yourself?!!"

"Yeah."

Zhao Nuo looked at the young man incredulously, as if understanding the reason for his thirst for knowledge at the Royal Martial Academy’s Scripture Pavilion every day, her dark eyes full of shock.

So, have you already been preparing for the mundane tribulation of killing?!

Seeing the emotion in the little girl’s eyes, Zhu Haomiao vaguely felt she misunderstood something and quickly changed the topic.

"These two cultivation techniques are external and internal. Only some extraordinarily gifted people can practice both; ordinary people can choose one to practice, don’t bite off more than you can chew."

"Then can I cultivate?"

"Uh..."

Thinking of the Longevity Principle to be contained in the sixth layer of the Void Refining God and Returning to Truth Technique, Zhu Haomiao hesitated for a long time before finally nodding.

"You can, but you must tell me immediately if you feel any discomfort."

"No problem!"

After saying goodbye to Zhao Nuo, Zhu Haomiao returned to his room alone and took out the secret manual given by King Zhao before he left, studying it carefully.

The Seven-colored Divine Light flashed in his eyes, various law fragments were filtered and refined in his mind, selecting the most precious Longevity Principle, and gradually filling the final framework of the cultivation technique.

The sun rose in the east and set in the west. After an indeterminate amount of time, Zhu Haomiao finally completed the final deduction, collecting the divine light in his eyes, exhaling a long breath of impure Qi.

By sacrificing some combat power, the precious Longevity Principle combined with authorities like Lust and Sloth, surprisingly produced a wonderful chemical reaction.

After cultivating the Void Refining God and Returning to Truth Technique to its utmost, one can even stay forever young and achieve immortality!

"Little girl, consider this my gift to you..."

Knowing that he would eventually ascend and leave this Illusion Realm, Zhu Haomiao stood up wistfully and gazed out into the sky.

......

Northern Desert·Golden Royal Court

The extreme cold wind and snow gradually subsided, a trace of spring warmth swept the land, tender green sprouts began to emerge, and the entire grassland welcomed bustling new life.

And on this celebratory day, in the largest felt tent of the royal court, a centaur towering over three meters high, as majestic and powerful as a magical beast, looked down at the graceful and serene human in front of him.

"Master, why oppose my conquest of Da Zhen?"

"They are in internal chaos now, it’s the perfect time to strike!"

Facing the terrifying Child of Destiny whose voice was like thunder and whose breath could cause heaven and earth to tremble, even Emperor Shitian couldn’t help but place him on equal footing, soothingly said.

"Great Khan, you might not know, Da Zhen’s fate is not yet exhausted, a Divine Person will descend to the world. If you forcefully conquer them, it will likely result in mutual destruction and no success."

Hearing this, the centaur furrowed his brows and murmured unwillingly,

"Are we just going to watch them consolidate internally?"

"If they unite..."

As a long-standing mortal enemy of the southern agricultural empire for thousands of years, both sides understood each other’s strengths well from so many battles.

One must strike when the enemy is down, never allowing them time to recover.

Hearing this, Emperor Shitian chuckled and shook his head.

"Da Zhen is a tough nut to crack, we can first pick off the softer targets."

"To the west of the royal court, once you cross the Hanhai, there are countless fertile lands weak and easy to conquer. Great Khan can first send out troops to consume them."

"Afterwards, split the troops into two groups, one continuing westward to swallow thousands of miles."

"The other requires only a few elite soldiers to head south, carrying my decree along the way, achieving conquests without bloodshed, gaining millions of citizens and innumerable treasures of gold and silver..."

The massive centaur stared into Emperor Shitian’s eyes, half believing, half doubting.

"Are these words true?!"

"Of course, I’ve told you, I will help your iron hooves trample the entire world!"

"When most of the world falls into your hands, with the power of all beings and the momentum of Heavenly Destiny, crushing Da Zhen will be a natural result."

Feeling the sincerity in Emperor Shitian’s words, the centaur thought deeply and then decisively nodded.

"Then I will follow the Master’s advice!"

......

Thousands of miles south of the Golden Royal Court, Da Zhen’s Imperial City was already a scene of spring warmth and blooming flowers.

After the end of the year, this country, which had undergone a massive upheaval, seemed to benefit from the calamity, beginning a bizarre and intense transformation.

Void Refining God and Returning to Truth Technique and Constant Star Melting Furnace Body Tempering Technique, two dark arts, began to circulate in the market. Even illiterate old farmers could learn a few rudimentary moves from "missionaries" wandering the streets.

With the widespread dissemination of these techniques, Zhu Haomiao found the threads of faith anchoring him becoming increasingly dense, eventually breaking through some boundary, triggering a qualitative change that allowed him to hear unnameable whispers from the void.

The whispers, neither male nor female, layered and unclear, reverberated until they could be faintly heard even after returning to reality.

When he reemerged in the Illusion Realm after a round of rest, Zhu Haomiao found himself seemingly marking the entire world with a unique imprint!

Furrowing his brows with a peculiar expression, Zhu Haomiao vaguely sensed that, if things continued this way, even without relying on the Heavenly Destiny True Object, he could create a beacon using the faith of all beings as an anchor!

"Oh no, I’ve become a Human Pillar Power!"

Feeling an inexplicable sense of unease, the young man muttered to himself, thinking carefully.

Unlike the believers who lost themselves in the First Layer Heaven, the "believers" in this world were only affected by their own spiritual radiation.

Their faith not only provided power but would also be a shackle!

"No! I must isolate myself, use a symbol to carry this faith; otherwise, there will be a big problem when I ascend..."

Cognizant of the understanding, Zhu Haomiao subconsciously flicked his fingers, and a gorgeously ornate gold coin magically appeared, gracefully spinning between his fingers.

Suddenly, the young man’s movement paused, his gaze landing on the greed coin with its eerie yet sacred depiction of a pyramid, and the All-Knowing Eye hovering above its pinnacle, slowly narrowing his eyes.

Let the power of faith not direct to himself but to the greed coin.

This way, he could peel away this symbolic part when ascending, preventing contamination by the Poison of Faith!