“Excuse me, sir, could I take up a little of your time?
I would like to tell you about our Heavenly Father and Savior, the great King of Infinity, the Pale Lord.”
Listening to the cloaked man’s incredibly sincere yet fanatical voice, Gu Xin’s expression turned exceedingly bizarre.
*Holy crap!
It’s actually a cult!*
Gu Xin was shocked.
In his eighteen years of life, he had finally met a living cultist!
*A real, live cultist!*
The theme of this world was swords and magic.
Under the imperial system, the balance of power between the monarchy and theocracy had always been maintained in a delicate equilibrium.
The Great Xia Empire was an absolute monarchy.
Although the Emperor did not reject theocratic factions, he didn’t promote them either, maintaining a highly ambiguous stance.
Take the Church of Light, for example.
While they had established branches within the Great Xia Empire, their followers were not actually widespread there.
However, when it came to cults, the Great Xia Empire cracked down on them with extreme prejudice.
It was an almost unreserved suppression.
As long as a cultist was discovered and reported by an enthusiastic citizen, the law enforcement squad would dispatch at top speed to eliminate them.
Moreover, the rewards for reporting them were incredibly generous—the kind of lucrative bounty that an ordinary person simply couldn’t refuse.
So, despite always hearing about the existence of cultists, this was the first time Gu Xin had seen one in the flesh since he was born.
If he remembered correctly, Yin City had conducted a small-scale anti-crime sweep just over a month ago.
Its main objective had been to eradicate a cult organization that had popped up out of nowhere.
The result had been a total victory.
*Could the guy in front of me be a remnant?*
“The King of Infinity.
That sounds pretty amazing,” Gu Xin remarked.
Seeing Gu Xin looking so interested, the cloaked man’s tone grew incredibly excited, his body trembling beneath his cloak from the thrill.
*Good lord, is this what a fanatical cultist is like?*
“Could you tell me more about it?” Gu Xin tilted his head.
“Of course!
It is my honor, sir.”
Beneath the shadow of the cloak, Gu Xin could faintly make out a pale chin—a pallor akin to that of a corpse.
“My Lord is the great King of Infinity.
He is the sovereign of the Land of Death, the master of the Pale Realm, the eternal being who governs souls and reincarnation!”
“His presence exists in the present, the past, and the future.
He dwells in the endless Pale Realm, and His radiance bathes the heavens and the earth.”
“Amazing, truly amazing.” Gu Xin clapped, letting out a heartfelt gasp of admiration.
The cloaked man didn’t speak, but it was visible that his body was trembling even more violently beneath his cloak.
“Since the Pale Lord is so incredible, why have I never heard of Him before?” Gu Xin asked in confusion.
If it weren’t for Gu Xin’s purely innocent gaze and puzzled tone, the cloaked man might have even thought he was being sarcastic.
And being sarcastic right to the face of a zealot like him, no less.
“Why would my great Lord care for empty fame?
But this decaying world requires the Lord’s descent.
Cultists of false gods run rampant, and the Impure Ones hold sway.
They need the Pale Judgment!”
The cloaked man gnashed his teeth.
Thinking of the bitter days he had endured since becoming a Pale Believer brought tears to his eyes.
Especially with the dual persecution from the Church of Light and the Great Xia Empire—it was too bitter, simply too bitter!
“Then can I join you?”
“Of course you can!
Believe me, sir, this is the wisest decision you will ever make!”
The cloaked man was incredibly thrilled, but he forcefully suppressed his emotions to avoid losing his composure.
*Pale Lord above, I have finally found another believer for You!*
However…
“To join our faction, sir, you will need to undergo an initiation ceremony.”
“An initiation ceremony?”
“Yes.
Once you complete the initiation ceremony, you will be able to feel the Lord’s presence.
His gaze is always watching over us, and we shall be with the Lord forever!”
“Do we have to go right now?” Gu Xin feigned a bit of hesitation.
“Certainly.
It won’t take up much of your time; the process is very quick.
Could it be, sir, that you are like those fools—not sincerely wanting to join us?
Unwilling to believe in my Lord?”
By the end of his sentence, the cloaked man’s tone had grown subtly more deranged.
“Alright, but it’s best we make it quick, or my mom might come out looking for me.”
Gu Xin reluctantly agreed, but still added a comment to indicate that his family might worry about him.
And the “fools” the cloaked man mentioned were likely unlucky victims.
“Hehehe, it seems you have a mother who cares for you very much, sir.
How enviable.
May my Lord bless your family.”
“Please, follow me.”
The cloaked man chuckled deeply, then turned and walked into the alley.
Gu Xin naturally followed right behind him.
“Senior, how should I address you?”
“You may simply call me Asma, sir.”
*Asma?
That name isn’t from the Great Xia Empire.*
Gu Xin suddenly understood.
He knew it—he had never heard of this so-called ‘Pale Lord’ before.
Sure enough, this was a cultist who had run over from another country.
After following the cloaked man named Asma through a few turns in the alleys, they finally arrived at a small house.
Gu Xin’s expression turned a bit strange, because this small house was only a few hundred meters away from his own shop.
*Good grief, so there’s actually a cultist hideout right near my house?*
*That certainly made life interesting.*
Upon entering the small house, Asma walked into the inner room and skillfully pressed against a wall that showed no visible marks.
A mechanism activated, and a secret tunnel appeared in the corner of the room.
*Just how shady is this?
Do people still design basements like this in this day and age?*
Gu Xin couldn’t help but complain inwardly, but his face remained impassive.
Feigning innocent curiosity, he followed closely behind Asma.
The basement wasn’t entirely dark; magical fluorstones were installed along both sides of the corridor.
However, whether due to poverty or habit, the quality of the fluorstones wasn’t very good, and there weren’t many of them, leaving visibility rather dim.
After walking for about a few minutes, Gu Xin could only conclude that these cultists were truly dedicated diggers to have excavated this deep.
“Mr.
Asma, what is that?”
Gu Xin’s gaze quickly landed on an iron cage not far away.
A blue-haired girl with twin-tails was locked inside, huddled in the corner with her arms wrapped around her knees.
“Please pay it no mind.
That child is a heretic who refuses to revere my Lord.
She will serve perfectly as an offering for our monthly sacrifice to Him,” Asma said, his tone chilling.
As if hearing Asma’s voice, the blue-haired girl buried her head even lower, a deep despair enveloping her.
*A sacrifice for their ritual?*
Gu Xin raised an eyebrow, shifting his gaze to the other side of the basement.
There lay a magic circle drawn in fresh blood.
In the center of the array were several shriveled corpses.
“Mr.
Asma, are you the only believer here?” Gu Xin looked around but didn’t spot anyone else.
“No, Ula is also here.
Look, sir, here he comes.” Asma pointed to the left.
A man walked over, similarly draped in a black cloak, though he was currently eating from a cup of instant noodles.
“Asma, who is this guy?” Ula frowned.
“A new member willing to join us,” Asma replied briefly, preparing to conduct the initiation ceremony.
“Is it just the two of you?”
Gu Xin’s smile gradually grew radiant.
“There were originally over a dozen congregation members, but they have already sacrificed themselves in the battle against the Impure Ones,” Asma said, his voice laced with sorrow and anger.
*The Impure Ones…
does he mean the law enforcement squad?*
*If so, that means the anti-crime sweep conducted by Yin City’s officials a month ago was targeting this Pale Faction.*
“I see.
How truly tragic.”
“Yes, but their souls will surely accompany my Lord by His side.”
Asma’s tone was fanatical.
“Indeed.
But I feel that’s still not enough.
Mr.
Asma, since you love your Lord so much, how about I send you and Mr.
Ula to accompany Him as well?”
Gu Xin flashed them a massive, beaming smile.
“?” Asma reacted in confusion.
An eerie purple Void Rift tore open on the ground behind Gu Xin.
A massive, hideously evil head slowly emerged from the rift, terrifying and macabre.
The Void monster’s heavy breathing echoed through the underground space.
The majestic, oppressive weight of its presence made the very air feel thick and murky.
Baron Nashor!
“Your soul belongs to your Lord, and your body belongs to me.
What do you think of that arrangement?”
In the eyes of the dumbfounded Asma and Ula, the black-haired boy stood beneath Baron Nashor’s hideous head, his smile still as innocent and radiant as ever.