71: Chapter 71 Human Faith

The moment the time flow adjustment was activated, Su Bai felt the space-time of the New Era Ruins begin to warp.

Grayish-white Yin Qi descended like a curtain, shrouding the steel ruins within.

Only Su Bai's consciousness could penetrate that curtain and see everything.

Su Bai didn't have high expectations for the combat power of technological humans, but he did have expectations for human faith.

This was a characteristic of human civilization; the Power Of Faith it generated was very high.

Therefore, Su Bai wanted human civilization to survive in the Netherworld World, even if it meant sending the Ten Great Ghost Messengers to intervene simply.

Time began to accelerate.

The first year, the second year, the fifth year, the tenth year.

The surface of the New Era Ruins remained deathly silent.

1.8 million technological humans gathered in the few remaining cities, facing this unfamiliar land in a daze.

The technological equipment they were once proud of began to malfunction on this land.

Death began from the very first day.

The first to die was a middle-aged man. He was an engineer who used to be responsible for maintaining the city's energy system. On the third day after entering the Netherworld World, he suddenly went mad, rushed into an abandoned factory, and pierced his skull with a steel rod.

When his body was found, his eyes were wide open, and a bizarre smile was on his face.

No one knew what he had seen.

But everyone knew that this land was devouring them.

In the tenth year, the population plummeted from 1.8 million to 1.2 million.

Six hundred thousand people were dead.

Some died of madness, some of disease, some of internal strife, and some of despair.

The survivors began to split.

One group insisted that technology was the only way out. They gathered at the city's technological center, using remaining equipment and parts to try and rebuild the industrial system. They believed that as long as they could restart those large factories and manufacture high-tech weapons again, they could resist the erosion of this land and survive.

They called themselves the "Technology Faction."

Another group began to doubt technology. Looking at their dead companions, the malfunctioning equipment, and the symptoms of madness, a terrifying thought arose in their hearts.

Perhaps technology could not save them.

Perhaps they needed to find a new way out.

They began to observe this land, study the drifting Yin Qi, and notice those bizarre existences they had never seen before.

They called themselves the "Exploration Faction."

The two factions went from initial arguments to later confrontations, and finally to a total break.

In the twentieth year, the Technology Faction expelled the Exploration Faction and occupied the central urban area with the most abundant energy.

The Exploration Faction was forced to move to the edge of the city, areas where the Yin Qi was thickest and equipment was most unstable.

They huddled in dilapidated buildings, barely surviving on the most primitive supplies.

But they did not give up.

Because they saw it.

They saw those figures drifting in the Yin Qi.

...

The first Netherworld unit to contact the Exploration Faction was the Soul-Hooking Ghosts.

That was on a night in the twenty-fifth year.

A young man from the Exploration Faction named Chen Ming was searching for supplies alone in the ruins on the edge of the city. His radiation detector suddenly went off, showing abnormal energy fluctuations ahead.

He looked up and saw a bizarre figure.

It was a humanoid existence wearing a short black-and-white robe, its face so blurred that its features were indistinguishable, holding a thin black chain in its hand. It floated in mid-air, its grayish-white eyes staring straight at him.

Chen Ming's heart almost jumped out of his throat.

He subconsciously raised his laser gun and aimed at the existence.

But the existence did not move.

It just watched him quietly, then slowly turned around and floated into the distance.

After floating a dozen meters, it stopped again and looked back at him.

The gesture seemed to signal him to follow.

Chen Ming hesitated for a long time.

Ultimately, curiosity triumphed over fear.

He put away his laser gun and followed.

The existence led him through the ruins, across abandoned streets, and through collapsed buildings, finally arriving in front of a massive structure.

It was a temple.

A temple the Exploration Faction had never seen, formed entirely from condensed Yin Qi.

Above the temple door hung a plaque with three words written in bright red:

[Hall of Impermanence]

Chen Ming stood before the temple door, feeling an emotion he had never experienced before well up in his heart.

It wasn't fear.

It was awe.

He pushed open the temple door and walked inside.

Inside the temple, two figures stood side by side.

The one on the left wore white clothes and a tall white hat with the four red characters "Wealth at First Sight" written on it. He had a gentle smile on his face, but those eyes seemed able to see through everything.

The one on the right wore black clothes and a tall black hat with the four white characters "Peace Under Heaven" written on it. His face was fierce, but his eyes held an indescribable majesty.

Black and White Impermanence.

White Impermanence looked at Chen Ming, his smile still gentle.

“You've come.”

Chen Ming was stunned.

He opened his mouth, wanting to ask many questions.

Who are you?

Where do you come from?

What do you want to do to us?

But in the end, he only managed to ask one word:

“Why?”

White Impermanence's smile deepened.

“Because you are searching.”

“Because you are willing to believe that there are other existences in this world besides technology.”

“Because you are qualified to survive.”

Chen Ming fell silent.

He didn't know what to say.

Black Impermanence spoke, his voice deep and resonant:

“Go back.”

“Tell your people.”

“If you want to live, you must change.”

“Adapt to this land, or be devoured by it.”

“There is no third way.”

Chen Ming gave them a deep look, then turned and left.

From that day on, the Exploration Faction began to change.

They no longer tried to use technology to combat Yin Qi, but instead began trying to adapt to it.

They learned to observe the drifting Ghost Soldiers, to understand those bizarre existences, and to accept the new rules of this world.

They discovered that those Ghost Soldiers did not harm them.

The thirtieth year.

The population of the Exploration Faction plummeted from the initial 300,000 to 150,000.

Another half had died.

But these 150,000 survivors began to undergo subtle changes.

The first to undergo a change was Chen Ming.

He found that his eyes had changed.

His originally black pupils had now turned a faint grayish-white.

The exact same grayish-white as the Yin Qi.

He stood up and stretched his body.

He could feel that this land had finally accepted him.

He had succeeded.

He became the first human to adapt to Yin Qi.

Once the news spread, the entire Exploration Faction was shaken.

Thus, from the thirtieth year to the hundredth year became the most frenzied period for humanity.

Countless people tried to completely open their minds and bodies to accept the Yin Qi, just as Chen Ming had done.

Countless people died in agony.

But even more people survived through the pain.

And during this process, Black and White Impermanence began to appear frequently in the Exploration Faction's camps.

They weren't there to take lives.

They were there to guide.

White Impermanence, still smiling, spoke to those humans willing to listen about the rules of the Netherworld, the principles of life, death, and reincarnation, and the law of karmic retribution.

Black Impermanence's face was still fierce, but his eyes showed majesty and compassion. He taught those humans how to resist evil thoughts, how to maintain inner peace, and how to preserve their sense of self within the Yin Qi.

The Ghost Bride would also occasionally float over.

Wearing her red bridal gown, she floated in mid-air and told her story to those humans. She was once an ordinary human who became a Ghost Bride after death, but she held no resentment or despair because she had found someone worth following.

When she spoke of Su Bai, her eyes sparkled, her face full of pride and reliance.

“My Lord is the best!”

“He will never abandon us!”

“As long as you live well and have faith, he won't abandon you either!”

Sadako also came to join the fun, constantly cursing the humans.

The humans brushed by these curses would see their most terrifying fears and experience the most painful torture. But after enduring it, they would find their will had become firmer and their souls stronger.

Although the Slit-Mouthed Woman didn't come often, her reputation grew under the Ghost Bride's embellishments.

Her legend began to spread among the humans. It was said that if you walked alone in the ruins at night, you might encounter a woman wearing a mask. She would ask you, "Am I beautiful?" If you answered "beautiful," she would take off her mask, revealing a mouth split to her ears, and then eat you. If you answered "not beautiful," she would eat you directly.

This legend made all humans firmly remember one thing.

Never go out alone at night.

The Day Patrol Envoy and Night Patrol Envoy appeared alternately in the sky above the ruins.

During the day, a golden figure streaked across the sky, its golden eyes scanning every inch of the land. Any human attempting to do evil would be locked onto by that gaze and then suppressed by the golden token.

At night, a silver figure streaked across the sky, its silver eyes perceiving all treachery. Any hidden evil thoughts would be discovered by that gaze and then have their souls locked by the silver token.

Ox-Head and Horse-Face would occasionally escort some humans who didn't follow the rules past the camp. Some of these humans were murderers, some were rapists, and some were traitors. They were bound by chains, prodded by steel forks, and dragged toward an unknown destination.

When Ox-Head's blood-red eyes swept over the camp, all humans would lower their heads, not daring to meet his gaze.

A bizarre smile was on Horse-Face's long, narrow face, a smile more effective than any threat.

The Four Great Demon Underworld Envoys also began to appear in the humans' sight.

Wherever Leopard Tail walked, the animals domesticated by humans suddenly became docile and stopped attacking people.

In the sky where Bird Beak flew, the circling birds suddenly dispersed and stopped snatching human food.

In the waters where Fish Gills appeared, the polluted water sources suddenly became clear and drinkable.

In the buildings where Wasp stayed, the breeding pests suddenly disappeared and stopped spreading diseases.

Humans began to understand.

These existences were not enemies.

They were the guardians of this land.

They were the embodiment of order.

They were...

Gods.