Start in Terra, immortal

"That's...alive?"

In the heavens beyond the celestial realm, Zhao Xin, facing the direction Rosso was looking, saw a colossal shadow as large as a mountain.

Resembling a whale in appearance, it soars through the sky, its back covered with dense forests and peaks.

Zhao Xin could even sense a vast space within its body, filled with a unique aura.

"The Celestial Behemoth. That's our next destination."

Rosso pointed to the giant fish swimming in the air and said calmly.

Inside the colossal beast, the two stood before a group of elegant buildings.

"It looks like a temple dedicated to some deity."

Zhao Xin's gaze swept around and landed on a table full of treasures—where stood an extremely beautiful female statue.

He stared at the statue, lost in thought for a moment.

"I seem to sense some kind of alluring power within this statue."

"You're not mistaken; He is the embodiment of desire. If it weren't for the fact that his soul is now incomplete, what you would perceive would be more than just a 'seductive' power."

Rosso stood with his hands behind his back, explained to Zhao Xin, and then turned his gaze to the front of the statue, standing quietly and waiting, as if waiting for something.

"Who are you? How dare you trespass into the temple of Venus!"

A clear, sharp female voice rang out. A woman with short white hair, wielding two swords, appeared first, her eyes wary.

"Rudis! Her Majesty the Goddess has instructed that visitors must not be neglected!"

Another woman with long, straight black hair quickly stopped them, then turned to the two and apologized repeatedly.

"Distinguished guests, we apologize. The Goddess has sensed your presence and has specially ordered us to come and welcome you."

"Serena, you know perfectly well that the goddess is right now..." Rudis looked indignant and wanted to argue, but Serena interrupted her again:

"This is a divine oracle from the goddess!"

After calming Rudis down, Serena bowed to the two of them.

Please come with me.

The deeper Zhao Xin went into the palace, the stronger the alluring force became—from initially faint to gradually clear and intense.

Occasionally, strange, distorted creatures, neither human nor human, can be seen wandering among the pillars along the way.

Zhao Xin sensed an aura emanating from them that shared the same origin as the statues, and he already had a guess in mind, but he still asked:

"What are those...?"

"They are those who received Venus's 'blessing.' They deserve to be like this, causing the goddess to become like this!"

Upon seeing those figures, Rudis could not contain her anger.

"They were once human beings too..."

Zhao Xin fell silent, a complex mix of emotions welling up inside him.

"We've arrived. Please come in, both of you."

Upon arriving at the entrance to a space shimmering with a faint purple light, Serena knelt down first, her posture respectful yet tinged with sadness.

Rudis, who was behind her, also knelt on one knee, crossing her two swords in front of her, appearing neither humble nor arrogant.

With the two men's courteous greetings, Rosso and Zhao Xin stepped into that space.

Upon entering, one is greeted by a stunningly beautiful figure, gracefully seated on a flower-shaped throne.

She wore a golden pointed crown, and her long, deep purple hair cascaded down like a waterfall, smooth and shimmering.

Her face was covered by a golden mask, revealing only her red lips, and her skin had a unique pale purple hue.

She wore a black and gold gown, the upper body of which clung to her skin, outlining her smooth curves; the lower body was a high-slit purple skirt, the hem of which was adorned with gold tassels and patterns that extended along her legs to the gold high heels on her feet.

"Perfect……"

Zhao Xin muttered to himself, then suddenly snapped back to reality, his expression turning serious:

"The root of temptation."

That near-perfect figure rose gracefully from the solitary seat, her jade-like feet moving lightly as she approached the two.

"State your purpose, strangers."

"I sensed a fragmented soul here, and I just wanted to see if I could complete it."

Rosso answered calmly. He sensed only a faint positive energy from Venus's soul; the rest was almost entirely dominated by negative energy.

Why did you split your soul apart?

Rosso gazed at her and asked slowly.

Although the deity before us is a god of faith formed from the beliefs of the people, in general, such a materialized concept of a deity should not be so profoundly influenced by human desires.

The fact that she is in this state can only mean that she has truly fallen in love with humanity, and even with the part of her own divinity that is composed of human beliefs.

That part of her divinity, containing the vast majority of her positive energy, was stripped from her and stolen by outsiders.

Now, she is like a child who has lost something they love, her heart filled with resentment and emptiness.

"How dare you mention that..."

A brilliant golden divine light burst forth from Venus, and divine power surged toward the two of them like a tide!

Almost simultaneously, Zhao Xin's body also radiated dazzling golden energy, steadily resisting the surging impact of divine power.

The two beams of light faced off in space, lingering for a long time.

Ultimately, the golden light emanating from Venus faded first.

"If my soul were not flawed... I would not have ended up in this state."

Her lips trembled slightly beneath the mask, her voice tinged with sorrow.

"You clearly still have energy left, so why...?"

Zhao Xin could tell that her divine power was not exhausted, and he couldn't help but wonder.

"Ha... those powers are not beautiful. I don't like them."

Venus whispered softly, as if talking to herself:

What I loved... had already been stolen.

The soul that represented truth, goodness, and beauty has vanished, leaving only the desires she loathed, the desires that represented ugliness.

"Zhao Xin, look—this is the price of over-reliance on faith."

Rosso ignored the self-pitying Venus and instead offered some advice to Zhao Xin:

"If you ever encounter a god of faith in the future, keep quiet if you can. They have fully accepted human faith, and you know... how complex human nature is."

"Yes, my lord!"

Witnessing a deity fall to such a state, Zhao Xin felt a surge of emotion. He had never imagined that a god could be so easily influenced by human desires.

"So, He became like this... because of humans? Then those people outside who turned into monsters, is it because of His revenge?"

Zhao Xin was caught in a dilemma. He understood that Venus, existing in this state, would probably not take back the "gifts" she had bestowed upon those "people".

After much deliberation, Zhao Xin decided to seek help from Rosso:

"My lord, if I may be so bold as to ask... is there any way to change the current situation?"

Upon hearing this, Rosso first nodded, then shook his head.

"Yes, but no."

The glimmer of hope that had just appeared on Zhao Xin's face froze slightly as he waited for what was to come.

"I know you want to save those who have turned into demons, and I can indeed save them. But I can save them once, not forever."

Even if they are restored to their original state, as long as they still believe in Venus, and as long as Venus remains in this state, they will ultimately be unable to escape falling into depravity again.

Unless the problem of Venus is solved at its root.

Of course, restoring her soul wouldn't be difficult. However... once I do it, half of her soul will belong to me.

I do not wish to force others' will by altering their souls.

Do you understand now?

For Rosso, it was incredibly easy to tamper with the souls of beings whose souls were weaker than his own.

If he so desired, he could forcibly bring all living beings in the world into the spirit realm and make them his subordinates in the blink of an eye—even so-called "apostles" or gods like Venus.

However, Rosso believed that he still retained a part of himself that was "human." If one day he were to do such "inhuman things" to achieve his goals, it would mean that he had completely abandoned his humanity and become a pure god.

At that time... that may become a calamity for all the worlds.