Secret World: I Became a God Through Lies

Chapter 541 Secluded Dharma Altar
A house provides shelter, a shell offers refuge from the world. But if one remains indoors for too long, the world itself becomes a prison.

To shed one's skin, one must be opened with blood and guided by the heart.

—From *Zi Bu Yu* (The Book of What the Master Did Not Discuss), Chapter on Disliking Staying at Home

That wet, cold tongue almost touched Siming's neck.

He could feel his breath being drawn away little by little by that chilling aura, the air becoming thick and his body feeling as if it were sealed by invisible glue.

Even raising my hand has become difficult.

The old man with the snail shell bent down, his mouth, stretched into a spiral, facing him.

"Stay...it's safe here...don't leave..."

The sound was sticky and slow, like wind squeezed out of a shell.

Si Ming's eyes were now only gray and white; he could barely see the world before him.

The next second—

"Buzz!"

A crimson light burst forth from behind him.

Selene bit her lip, and blood flowed down her fingertips.

The blood did not drip to the ground, but instead transformed into red runes in the air.

"Star Calamity - The True Ancestor of Vampires!"

She read it aloud in a low voice.

The bloody shadow spread rapidly, as if her shadow had been torn apart and covered the entire ground.

A flash of blood, and four figures emerged from the shadows.

A blood wolf covered in tattered armor;
A bat with outstretched wings;

A humanoid knight with long, crimson hair;

There was also a strange, fog-like figure with blurred limbs, sliding across the ground.

They are all Serian's blood servants.
It is the bloodline of the vampire family within her—the bloodline of the "True Ancestor".

The old man in the snail shell suddenly looked up, his eyes bulging.

"Blood...Clan...Star Calamity..."

Before he could stick out his tongue, the blood wolf pounced, its teeth biting into the edge of his shell.

The bats transformed into streaks of blood, circling from the air towards the corners of the room.

Si Ming looked in that direction—

The center of the spiral, that corner.

There, hidden is that gray-white snail shell ornament.

"Don't touch it—that's my house!!"

The old man in the snail shell let out a piercing scream, and the patterns on his shell spun wildly.

The walls of the room began to shake, like living skin.

Selene sneered, "Then tear it down."

Blood mist gathered in her hands, transforming into sharp, blood-red claws.

She swung her hand forward, almost creating an explosive shockwave.

"Bam—!"

The attacks of the Blood Servants all came crashing down.

A burst of grayish-white sparks erupted from the corner of the room.

The shell shattered into powder instantly.

The air froze for a second.

Then—the whole house felt like it had been hit by a heavy hammer.

"boom--!"

The corrugated iron walls suddenly bulged outwards, shattering all the tables and chairs.

The spiral pattern on the ceiling suddenly disappeared, and water droplets fell from the wall.

The old man in the snail shell let out a agonizing scream as the shell on his back split open from the center, oozing a dark gray liquid.

His body began to collapse, his skin tore like paper, and spirals of blood oozed out from his body, only to be dispersed by the blood mist.

"My house—my—house!!!"

He stretched out his withered hand, trying to crawl towards the corner of the ground, but only grasped at air.

The shell shattered completely, and he collapsed to the ground, his body gradually dissolving into a pool of gray water.

Selene's eyes turned cold.
With a flash, he transformed into a blood-red shadow and appeared behind him.

"ended."

She raised her right hand, her blood-red claws gleaming, and pierced through the old man's chest from behind.

With a "poof," blood and ash exploded together.

The old man with the snail shell slightly opened his mouth, squeezing out the last word.

"Don't... tear down... my home..."

He looked down at his chest.
The expression on his face wasn't one of pain, but rather one of bewilderment.

The next second, it completely collapsed.

An eerie silence fell over the room.

The blood mist slowly dissipated.

Selene withdrew her hand, flicked the blood from her fingertips, and smiled at Siming.

"How was that? Impressive, Master?"

Her eyes sparkled, and a slight smile played at the corners of her lips.

Si Ming stood up from the ground, dusted himself off, and

His expression remained indifferent: "Don't be in such a hurry to take credit."

He looked up at the snail-men who were half-melted into the wall.

Those humanoid monsters were still moving, their shells were shaking, and their eyes were empty.

"It's not over yet."

Selene was taken aback: "What do you mean? Didn't I tear that old man to shreds?"

Si Ming looked at them, his brows slightly furrowed.

“He is indeed dead, but his ‘house’ is still there.”

He raised the playing cards in his hand and flicked them lightly.

The card spun in the air and drew a red arc as it fell.

"As long as the domain doesn't collapse, this place still belongs to him."

at this time--

The room lights flickered twice and then went dark again.

A faint echo emanated from the air.

"The room... is too small... but the outside is too big..."

The air was eerily quiet.

As the blood mist dissipated, the tin shack finally stopped twisting.

The walls were restored to their original state, except that they were cracked everywhere.

Blood, ash water, and semen mixed together and flowed out through the cracks in the floor.

Si Ming dusted himself off and looked around.

Those "snail people"—mystical sorcerers corrupted by the elderly living in cramped quarters—are still lying in the corner.

Their bodies were still twitching slightly, their shells were half-melted and half-dissolved, and their eyes were vacant.

Selene frowned and covered her nose: "It stinks... This smells worse than a battlefield."

Si Ming did not respond, but simply took a step closer to observe the cursed bodies.

"...They are still alive."

Celian was taken aback: "Alive? But they're already...?"

Before he could finish speaking, one of the "snail people" suddenly moved.

With all his might, he stretched out a broken hand and pointed to the deepest part of the room.

There is a table there.

It was covered by a dark red cloth.

Selene squinted: "What is this?"

Si Ming remained silent for a few seconds, then walked over and stood in front of the table.

The air was still filled with the smell of incense ash—the sweet, burnt aroma left after the incense had burned out.

Selene lifted her foot and ripped the red cloth off with a single kick.

The red cloth slipped off.

Dust rose from the desktop, revealing a tiny altar.

The table was crooked, made of old wooden planks, and covered with a thick layer of dust.

Three incense sticks were stuck in the incense burner, only one of which was not completely extinguished—the flame was burning eerily downwards.

It slowly inhaled the fragrance, as if it were burning back.

However, the statue enshrined in the center of the altar is not a deity.

It was a statue of a monster.

It carries a huge snail shell on its back and its body is covered with eyes.

The snail shell was engraved with strange symbols, some resembling spirals and others like pupils.

From the front, that face—was almost exactly the same as Wei Shouhuai's face.

Celian took a step back, her expression complicated: "What... what is he offering?"

Si Ming's eyes flickered slightly, and he slowly spoke:
"This old man... isn't worshipping a god."

Celian turned her head: "Then who is he offering sacrifices to?"

Si Ming stared at the strange statue, his voice calm: "Myself."

The air fell silent once more.

The snails were breathing softly in the corner, like murmurs in their sleep.

The wind from outside blew in, lifting the red cloth that had fallen to the ground, making a rustling sound.

Selene frowned and whispered, "He's gone mad."

Si Ming shook his head: "It's not madness. It's just loneliness."

He paused, then stretched out his finger and gently brushed away the dust on the altar.

The carved words are faintly visible on the surface of the wood.

A few crooked lines:
"This house has a spirit; I wish to guard this body."

Selene looked at the words and felt a tightness in her chest.

"He wants...the house to remember him?"

"Hmm." Si Ming withdrew his hand, his gaze falling on the strange statue.

"He was afraid of dying, afraid of being forgotten. He wanted to use his faith to ensure his survival."

Selene asked softly, "And what was the result?"

Si Ming smiled slightly, his tone tinged with helplessness. "He's remembered the house, but he can't get out."

The wind howled past the window.

The house emitted a low creak, like a sigh.

Selene sighed, "How pitiful."

Si Ming did not answer, but stepped forward and picked something up from the altar.

It was a complete snail shell.

It was smaller and rounder than the ones that had broken before, and its surface shimmered with a faint sheen.

"This is the talisman used to ward off evil spirits on the altar," Si Ming said in a low voice.

He held the shell in his palm, flicked it lightly with his fingertips, and a silver light flashed from his hand.

The light spun in the air, forming a thin line, like the strokes of fate.

He softly recited a legal decree:
"Returning to form is the rule, breaking free from attachment is the way to cross over."

The silver light fell onto the snail shell along his fingertips.

The shell trembled slightly, emitting a crisp "ding" sound.

Instantly, the entire altar began to tremble.

Ashes rose from the table, and the incense burned out suddenly.

A faint white light seeped from the cracks in the wall, like a dream torn apart by the wind.

Selene took a step back and raised her hand to cover her eyes.

"what's the situation?"

Si Ming whispered, "The heart of the domain has been touched."

The shell began to crack, and cracks spread across its surface.

What flowed from the crack was not liquid, but a wisp of smoke.

The smoke smelled slightly fragrant and salty, like a mixture of incense ash and tears.

Si Ming stared at the plume of smoke, his voice low:
"He thought it was faith, but it was actually a shackle."

Celian tilted her head: "What do you mean?"

Si Ming withdrew his hand: "If he wants to stay, he has to trap himself."

As soon as the words were spoken, the statue on the altar suddenly trembled slightly.

The eyes on the statue—opened simultaneously.

The light inside the room suddenly dimmed.

Selene gripped her blood claws: "Again?"

But Si Ming did not move.

"It wasn't an attack... it was a last-ditch reaction."

The statue opened its mouth and moved silently a few times, as if it were saying something.

Si Ming stared at its mouth and whispered, "Thank you... I heard you."

The cracks in the statue spread, and the entire altar shattered into dust with a "crack".

The air began to flow again.

The wind outside blew into the house, carrying away the last trace of ashes.

Celian breathed a sigh of relief: "Finally over?"

Si Ming shook his head, his expression remaining calm.

"No, there's one last step."

He looked at the broken table, his gaze deepening.

"He's still waiting for a farewell."

The altar was destroyed, leaving only a charred wooden platform.

In the ashes, the incense stick that had been rekindled was not completely extinguished, its flame flickering as if waiting.

Si Ming walked to the table and picked up three relatively intact incense sticks from beside the broken incense burner.

He took out a flint and lightly struck it.

"despair--"

A spark flew up, and the incense stick ignited with a faint light.

Celian frowned: "What are you doing? Are you going to light incense?"

The God of Fate did not turn around, but simply inserted three incense sticks into the burner.

The cigarette smoke rose slowly, but instead of spreading upwards, it hovered in mid-air, swirling into a small vortex.

“He needs an end to this,” Si Ming said calmly.

At that moment, the room moved again.

A faint shadow appeared on the wall, like a reflection in the water.

It's the shadow of Wei Shouhuai—that old man living in a cramped apartment.

He huddled in the corner, hugging his knees, the shell on his back slowly turning, muttering words that were hard to understand.

Selene glanced at him and whispered, "He hasn't left yet."

Si Ming nodded, his tone as calm as if he were stating the weather.

"Therefore, we should see him off."

He stretched out his hand, the playing cards between his fingers shimmering faintly, like the wicks of fate.

With a gentle wave of his hand, a silver line traced its way through the air.

That was fate's "verdict".

Si Ming's voice was deep, yet it echoed clearly in every corner of the room:
"By burning three sticks of incense, we will sever their obsession."

One stick of incense for the body, ashes to return to mud;
A stick of incense represents a home; the house returns to the earth.
With a stick of incense burning in my heart, all resentment vanishes.

Those who died in the attempt to survive may have their names restored;
Those who die restless may have their souls depart.

I command by destiny—soul, return!

As soon as he finished speaking, the smoke from the three incense sticks simultaneously turned into a silvery mist.

The light flowed like water toward the altar and then slowly seeped into the ground.

The air in the room suddenly brightened, and even the broken walls seemed to glow with a soft light.

The shadow on the wall moved.

Wei Shouhuai raised his head, his face no longer contorted with a smile, but calm.

He looked at Si Ming, his lips moving slightly.

"……Thanks……"

The sound was extremely soft, yet it made the entire room tremble.

The next second, all the light exploded at the same time.

"Click——"

Like the sound of glass shattering.

The house collapsed, and the corrugated iron, bricks, tiles, and floorboards all turned into countless fragments.

They turned into specks of light in the wind, then drifted away and disappeared.

Si Ming stood still, his expression calm.

Selene raised her arm to shield her eyes from the glare, and when the light faded, she found that they had returned to the street corner of Wangchuan Town.

Woke Lane is gone.

There was only a patch of grayish-white dust on the ground.

At the same time, a beam of light rose from the ground and transformed into a silver-gray card in Siming's palm.

The card depicts a small house with candles burning upside down on the roof.

[World-type Low-tier Mystic Card]

"Secluded Abode at the Dharma Altar" - "He regarded himself as a god and the room as the boundary."

When the candle flame burns backward, the whole world becomes a rented room.

effect:

Upon activation, it generates a 30-meter-wide enclosed space.

Time flows slowly within the space.

The sound echoed three times.

Cool for 24 hours after leaving.

Side effect: Users will temporarily lose the desire to leave the space.

Selene squinted, examining the card: "This thing... is quite interesting."

“It’s a World-type Domain Card.” Si Ming put the card away, his voice calm. “It will come in handy later.”

On the ground, three snail-like beings began to convulse.

Their shells cracked little by little, and blood and mucus oozed from under their skin.

They painfully shed their skin, rolling around repeatedly until the shell completely disintegrates.

A few minutes later, they all crawled out of the slime, covered in sweat.

But the gray shell pattern has disappeared.

One of the older men struggled to his feet, leaned against the wall, and smiled bitterly.

"Thanks to you all... we've finally escaped that house."

He took a couple of breaths, then looked up at Si Ming.

"You must be—Si Ming, right? The Lord of Fate, Si Ming."

Si Ming did not answer, but merely raised his head slightly, his expression indifferent.

Selene smiled and patted him on the shoulder.

"It seems you're quite famous, Master."

Si Ming sighed and stuffed the playing cards back into his sleeve.

"Being famous is useless; the trouble has only just begun."

He looked up and gazed into the distance.

The mist began to swirl again in the valley.

A deep, resonant bell rang out on the wind.

"when--"

Selene perked up her ears: "That voice again."

Si Ming's gaze deepened.

"It's a signal for a new game."

The two looked at each other.

The wind whipped up the dust on the ground, scattering the last traces of "Snail Shell Alley".

In the distance, through the fog, a deeper portal of light seemed to be slowly opening.

"Once the obsession is severed, the house becomes empty; if the heart is free from attachment, the shell will shatter on its own."

However, sentient beings are unaware of this, and often take their shells as their homes, and their homes as their prisons.

—From *Zi Bu Yu: Zhai Hun Lu*

(End of this chapter)