Chapter 20: Impure Thoughts of Faith |
The reason Nemus managed to figure out Dual-Rule Synergy was that he had originally relied on this very technique to push the Breath of Holy Precepts to a high level.
Compared to the souls of this world, his transmigrator soul possessed a unique structure and bizarre properties. It would perhaps be more accurate to call it a True Spirit.
When Nemus first crossed over, he naturally possessed an external soul as well.
Only upon becoming aware of his own True Spirit did he gain the ability to divide his existence into inner and outer layers, thereby employing the heretical exploit of breathing through both simultaneously.
As Nemus''s True Spirit circulated, a speck of golden light flared from within it.
That was The Number of this world! The fragment of Divinity that Nemus had acquired from the God of Precepts served as his qualifying credential to ascend to godhood.
Now, with the manifestation of that Divinity, the breathing of his True Spirit took on a peculiar, specialized power.
As the Dual-Rule Synergy activated, the breathing of Nels''s physical body shifted. The Holy Nails of Faith driven into his flesh trembled slightly, undergoing further transformations.
Having Holy Nails embedded in one''s body fundamentally severed all future prospects. Unless a Miracle occurred, there was no salvation.
Originally, the Holy Nails were nothing more than formless spikes forged from ordinary Power of Faith.
At this moment, however, they were riddled with dense, overlapping impurities.
The surface of the Holy Nails resembled a slab of rotting meat spawning a swarm of writhing maggots.
"I want to marry a woman who will obey my every command!" Nemus''s mental perception brushed against one of these ''maggots'', immediately hearing this prayer.
It was glaringly obvious that this was an impurity within the Faith. These were the personal desires people harbored while praying to the divine, the Impure Thoughts mixed into their devotion.
Very few people could believe in a god''s existence with absolute, unreserved devotion—believing not for any ulterior motive, but simply because that deity was the one they wished to worship.
If a god could not process these impurities of Faith, they would be hijacked by the demands of their believers, gradually losing their original sense of self.
The ability currently displayed by the Divinity was precisely the power to purify Faith.
However, since it only purified without the ability of Refining those impurities, Nemus found himself utterly helpless against these ''maggots''.
He attempted to use his Mental Power to uproot these Impure Thoughts, only to find them inextricably bound to the Faith.
His Mental Power had very little effect on them.
If he forced the issue, he risked inflicting collateral damage on the Power of Faith itself.
''What a pity. My Divinity is incomplete. Judging by the current situation, it likely only accounts for a fifth of a complete Divinity Count.''
''Many of its functions are in a fractured state. I will have to unlock them step by step before its true capabilities can be unveiled.''
''Furthermore, my Cognition regarding gods is far too lacking.''
Above the Golden Rank was the Mythic Rank. Although there were differences between a Mythic Rank entity and a true god, the gap was no longer vast.
Conversely, the divide between the Golden Rank and the Mythic Rank was an insurmountable chasm.
''Blackstone, Iron, Golden, Legend, Mythic.''
''Among them, Legend is a special variant of The Number. Its tier is equivalent to the Golden Rank, much like how a Mutant''s tier mirrors that of an ordinary Demon. However, it is exceptionally difficult to achieve, and I don''t even know the method to reach it.''
''I only know that generally, only great figures who stand prominently in history can successfully achieve Advancement to the Legend Rank.''
''My reservoir of Knowledge basically stops at the Golden Rank. The meager Cognition I have regarding the Mythic Rank consists entirely of common sense known to everyone.''
''Such intelligence is too difficult to obtain.'' Nemus currently had two methods available. The first was to contact a cult.
Cults were professional rebels, dedicated to rising up against the Orthodox Gods. Any cult that had survived extermination for so many years possessed a certain degree of Cognition regarding the existence of deities.
''The alternative is to become a Greater Demon.''
When a Demon underwent Advancement, they received inherited information from the consciousness of The Abyss, simultaneously updating their authority within The Abyss itself.
A Greater Demon corresponded to the Golden Rank, while an Archdemon mirrored the Mythic Rank. Nemus calculated that once he became a Greater Demon, he would be able to acquire a certain amount of mythic Knowledge.
After all, when he became a Heterogeneous Demon, he had automatically received knowledge concerning Greater Demons and the Golden Rank.
This was likely a form of incentive, urging him to hasten his successful Advancement.
''But it won''t be that easy for me to advance.'' Nemus faced his own Predicament.
The Attribute Value of a Heterogeneous Demon could inflate to over three times that of an ordinary Demon, meaning the difficulty of becoming a Greater Demon was also more than triple the norm.
Nemus had roughly estimated that if he remained in The Abyss, his chances of becoming a Greater Demon would grow incredibly slim.
Coupled with the fact that he possessed the Divinity Count of the God of Precepts, he had expended a great deal of effort to enter the Material Plane and arrive in the territory governed by that very god.
''Do I really have to fulfill their conditions one by one?'' Nemus made a rough observation. A single Holy Nail contained dozens of Impure Thoughts.
Fortunately, most were highly homogenous—extravagant desires born of greed.
''No, that would be far too inefficient.'' Nemus quickly dismissed the idea.
Granting wishes would naturally eliminate the Impure Thoughts, but he wasn''t a true god. He couldn''t shine his mighty power upon the mortal masses.
Besides, even a true god wouldn''t stoop to doing such a thing.
''There must be another way to root out these Impure Thoughts.'' Nemus had a premonition. If he could achieve this, not only would he resolve the Predicament plaguing Nels''s physical body, but he would also gain a deeper understanding of the essence of his Divinity.
Throughout this process, Nemus conducted several more experiments. For instance, he altered the nature of his Mental Power to increase its lethality, aiming not to uproot the thoughts, but to obliterate them with direct attacks.
He discovered that while this approach did manage to erase a fraction of the Impure Thoughts, it couldn''t eradicate them entirely.
In other words, the current functional capacity of Nemus''s Divinity Count could only purify the Faith up to a certain threshold.
''And it is incredibly draining.''
''My mind is by no means weak, yet clearing out this tiny sliver of Impure Thoughts took a full hour.''
''With my daily stamina, I can likely process no more than three Impure Thoughts.''
''Not only does this brute-force method fail to root them out completely, but it also provides me with no real improvement.''
Nemus''s ultimate goal in harvesting the Power of Faith was to use it to develop his Divinity, master it step by step, and ultimately perfect it.
It was meant to serve as stepping stones on his climb to the very peak.
Resorting to brute force now would be focusing on the trivial while neglecting the essential.
''Perhaps I should change my approach...'' Failure did not cause Nemus to retreat; instead, it sparked his Spiritual Insight.
The Oath Rope materialized. Nemus then closed his eyes, extending his senses to perceive his other Oath Ropes.
Specifically, the Oath Rope connected to Purr.
He intended to leverage his Divinity to compare the differences in their Faith.
Nemus believed that Purr''s Faith was relatively pure.
By contrasting a pure Power of Faith against one teeming with Impure Thoughts, he might be able to isolate the differences and deduce a solution.
However, just as Nemus focused his attention on Purr''s end, he suddenly sensed a disturbance in another segment of the Oath Rope.
''Hmm? The Watchman?''