[Father reignited the furnace fire that had been extinguished for many years and forged a treasured sword with the finest skill of his life.]

[Before throwing himself before the sword-forging furnace, he said to me, This sword is called Bane-Repelling. It must use the forger as a sacrifice in order to possess the effect of making all evil submit…]

[Take this sword… and run!]

[Having said that, Father sacrificed himself to the sword, leaving behind this Bane-Repelling Sword for me.]

[I understood that he hoped I would hold this divine weapon, carve a path of slaughter out of the siege, and escape this mountain village that had already been corroded by evil things.]

[But how could he understand that though the world is vast, there is already no place for me in it? Where could I possibly flee to?]

[Tomorrow, the villagers will once again hold a living human blood sacrifice to offer to the existence in the temple who was once called Pure Goodness Bodhisattva, but is now called the Mother Buddha of All Evils.]

[How am I supposed to kill my way out? How am I supposed to escape alive?]

[The Bane-Repelling Sword in my hand hums sharply. It seems to be reminding me that evil can never suppress righteousness. It seems to be telling me that all evil things will be suppressed by this divine weapon.]

[But in my utter despair, I only find it ridiculously laughable…]

[What is evil? And what is righteous?]

[I only know that the winner is righteous, and the loser is evil…]

[That bone flute made from a living human leg bone, the decadent melody it plays seems to sound beside my ears. That flower drum stitched from a young girl’s skin, the demonic drumbeats it strikes seem to sound in my heart…]

[That clay idol soaked in blood, the terrifying smile it reveals is right before my eyes…]

[I can’t escape!]

[How could I possibly escape this hell where evil things are everywhere?!]

[Father, you did not sacrifice yourself to the sword, nor did you leave me the last remaining hope of survival…]

[You were afraid! You were utterly terrified!]

[You were afraid to keep living in this horrifying human world, afraid that those boundless evil things would swallow up every last bit of hope…]

[That is why you wanted to use death as release, to escape all of this!]

[That is why you left me alone in this hell full of demons and evil things…]

[…]

[Father, I am sorry. I do not have the courage to face all of this…]

[When the sharp blade cut across my neck, when fresh blood sprayed out in a gush, I felt completely relieved…]

[At the edge of death, I had only one thought left. How wonderful, I no longer need to face that endless fear ever again…]

[…]

[The shattered memory comes to an abrupt end here…]

After reading the memories, Lin Xun could not help grinding his teeth.

“Holy shit! Hellish game, it’s another hellish start!”

From the memories of the Swordsmith’s Son, it could be learned that the once incomparably powerful Vermilion Empire had already been destroyed more than ten years ago, perhaps even several decades ago, and that the empire’s emperor had already fled to immortal islands overseas to seek the protection of immortals beyond the mortal world.

And now, the land of Vermilion was covered with people corroded by evil things. Even the gods and buddhas that had once enjoyed incense offerings everywhere had fallen into horrifying evil gods.

Even this nameless mountain village isolated from the world had been unable to escape the reach of evil things, so there was no need to even think about the state of the outside world.

Calling the current situation a hellish start almost felt pale and powerless.

“So, is the current situation that all the gods in this world have already been completely corroded by the Extreme Delusion Fruit?”

A huge number of characters flashed through Lin Xun’s eyes as Analysis Authority activated.

“If all the gods in this world had already been completely corroded by the evil god, then according to what the servant said, the evil god’s power would have risen to a truly terrifying level. In that case, this chapter wouldn’t be Chapter Eight, but Chapter Nine.”

“Judging from the prefix Fire-Worshipping on this Shell, Ancient Heavenly Enma probably hasn’t died yet.”

“If Ancient Heavenly Enma had already fallen, then this Shell should be like the demons of the Abyss race and not carry a related prefix at all…”

“No, the evil god corrodes gods rather than killing them. So even if Ancient Heavenly Enma had been completely corroded, He would not die or perish.”

“Just like Sakura Falls’ Dance Goddess back then. After She was completely corroded by the evil god, She did not die, but instead became the evil god’s slave and source of strength.”

“So based on the prefix alone, I can’t determine much useful information.”

Lin Xun glanced at the prefixes of several yokai summon creatures. After entering the chapter, their prefix labels Origin-Tracing were still there as well.

And according to the previous chapter’s situation, Chaotic Origin Dragon, that old dragon, had long since failed to hold on anymore. From this, it could be seen that even if the evil god had completely corroded the other two main gods, it still would not affect the summon creatures’ prefixes.

“According to the answer analyzed, the most likely situation at present is that the majority of the gods have already been corroded by the evil god. For example, Pure Goodness Bodhisattva of the Vermilion Empire has been corroded into the Mother Buddha of All Evils.”

“Only a small portion of the gods have not yet been corroded, and are hiding on immortal islands overseas…”

“That’s why the Vermilion Emperor fled overseas to seek the protection of Penglai immortals, because there are already barely any normal gods left within the empire’s own territory.”

After analyzing all this, Lin Xun only felt that his current situation was far too terrible.

It was the same as being right in the enemy army’s headquarters, with enemies everywhere he looked…

“Looking on the bright side, these corroded gods are equivalent to one high grade Divine item after another, which perfectly matches my need to rapidly improve my authority powers.”

“It’s just that the situation is so terrible that there’s no way to borrow anyone’s strength…”

“In the face of a situation like this, trying to win while weak against the strong will be very difficult.”

Lin Xun searched through the sword-forging room he was currently in, trying to find some more information and clues.

But aside from a Legendary weapon and a garbage-tier Shell, there were no other usable items at the spawn point.

[Do you wish to leave the sword-forging room and explore the outside world?]

[You push open the tightly shut door of the sword-forging room and arrive in a courtyard overgrown with weeds…]

[Just as you are about to explore the other rooms in the courtyard, you hear the courtyard gate being knocked on.]

[The knocking continues without pause, the rhythm neither hurried nor slow, always exactly the same, mechanical as though the one knocking is not a living person at all…]

[Do you wish to open the courtyard gate?]

Lin Xun narrowed his eyes and pressed the ‘Yes’ option.

[You quickly arrive before the gate and pull open the locked gate in one motion…]

[You see a dense mass of villagers standing outside the gate. An old man at the front is knocking on your door.]

[The expressions of the more than one hundred people all seem to have been cast from the same mold, carrying a strange coldness that makes you feel a thick, gloomy eeriness.]

[You discovered the Extreme Evil Village Head of Li Family Village!]

[You discovered the Extreme Evil Villagers of Li Family Village!]

[The old man at the front gives you a cold glance and says, The sacrifice is about to begin. Only you are left.]

[Follow them and go pay homage to the Mother Buddha of All Evils!]