With the formal joining of the three City Lords, the growth of the Axis Cult ushered in unprecedented vigor.
With the full support of Long Ziyun, City Lord of Ice Wolf City, Yan Luo, City Lord of Savage City, and Wind Blows Snow, the banner of the Axis Cult soon flew high over Ice Wolf City, Savage City, and North Nether City.
Branch temples sprang up everywhere like bamboo shoots after a spring rain, and the number of believers grew exponentially.
Meanwhile, the new Sacred Temple of the Axis Cult located in Fontaine was successfully completed.
This magnificent complex was situated in the most prominent location in the city, with deep blue crystals as the main body, complemented by silver-white decorations, shining brilliantly under the sunlight.
The entire Sacred Temple seemed to have grown out of the water, blending perfectly with the surrounding environment.
On the day of the relocation, Furina stood in front of the brand-new main hall, looking at the endless stream of believers coming to worship, a glimmer of satisfaction flashing in her eyes.
What satisfied her even more was that the points on the System interface were rising rapidly at an unprecedented speed.
"It is time," she whispered to herself, tapping lightly on the System interface with her fingertip.
Fifty thousand points were instantly deducted, and a brand-new Statue of The Seven for the Water God appeared in the System space.
This statue was soon transported to Ice Wolf City, where Long Ziyun, City Lord of Ice Wolf City was personally responsible for placing it in the center of the branch temple.
The moment the statue was installed, the water elements in the entire Ice Wolf City seemed to become active, and the air was filled with a cool and moist aura.
"Is this the power of the Pope?" An elderly believer knelt before the statue, feeling the gentle energy surging around him, and could not help but tear up.
...
God Realm, Water God Palace.
The Water God, who was resting with her eyes closed, suddenly opened her eyes, a trace of surprise flashing in her pupils.
She clearly felt a disturbance from the Douluo Continent in the Lower Realm, and that fluctuation resonated subtly with her own divine force.
"Interesting." The corners of her lips curled up slightly, and a wisp of Divine Sense quietly probed toward the Lower Realm.
When her Divine Sense swept across the Douluo Continent, an organization called the "Axis Cult" caught her attention.
What surprised her even more was that the "Water God" worshipped by this cult was a young woman named Furina, and this woman was the Pope of the cult.
"She is quite a pretty one," the Water God observed Furina's appearance with interest, "It is just that her figure is a bit too slender; if she were a bit plumper, she would certainly be a stunning beauty."
As her Divine Sense probed deeper, the Water God discovered an even more surprising fact—Furina was collecting the faith of believers through the statue and converting it into Power Of Faith.
"Interesting, truly interesting," the Water God could not help but chuckle.
In the God Realm, the path to godhood is mostly through inheriting the god position of a previous deity via a God Trial, or by breaking through the world's Rank limits to create one's own god position.
The latter is extremely difficult, and the Realm one can reach varies from person to person.
Most of those who create their own god position can only remain at the level of an ordinary deity for their entire lives; those who can reach a Second-Rank deity are rare, and First-Rank deities are even fewer.
As for the position of God King, in her memory, almost no one could attain it.
The rarest are the Faith Gods who rely on the Power Of Faith to shape their divine bodies.
This method is not only a long process but also has extremely high requirements for the practitioner.
What is even more troublesome is that the strength of a Faith God is often unstable.
If one cannot completely convert the Power Of Faith into one's own divine force, once the offerings of believers are lost, it is very likely that one will fall from the god position.
She did not expect that in a world like the Douluo Continent, she would actually see someone attempting this difficult path.
"And it is in the name of the Water God..." A playful look flashed in the Water God's eyes.
When her Divine Sense swept through Furina's body, she was even more surprised to find that this young woman actually possessed three Martial Souls, two of which were of the Ultimate Water attribute.
"Such talent..." The Water God fell into deep thought.
She began to seriously consider whether to directly open the Water God Trial for Furina and pass on her own god position to her.
After all, judging from her current performance, she quite appreciated this Mortal junior who claimed to be the Water God.
"Should I give her this opportunity or not?" The Water God tapped the armrest of her god throne lightly, lost in deep thought.
...
Meanwhile, in another part of the God Realm, Sea God Tang San was standing on the clouds, frowning as he stared at the Lower Realm.
For some reason, he had been feeling uneasy recently.
Although he had secretly dispatched the two deities Titan and Azure Bull Python to the Lower Realm, and had split his daughter Tang Wutong into two—one part incarnated as Wang Donger, and the other part of her Divine Sense was cast into the body of the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, to obtain the Luck of the Star Dou Great Forest and the Soul Beast clan—he still felt uneasy.
This layout could be described as ingenious: as long as the two Clones approached the child of destiny, the Divine Sense he left on them could perceive the development trends in the Lower Realm, preparing for the next step of his plan.
At the same time, he also secretly gave the descendants of the Tang Sect a trace of Luck, hoping that they could encounter the child of destiny.
In this way, he could not only use the power of the child of destiny to revive the Tang Sect but also absorb a portion of their Luck, weakening the child of destiny to make it easier to control.
However, recently, he always felt that the development of things seemed to deviate from the expected track.
Just as his Divine Sense was about to sweep across the territory of the Axis Cult within the Star Luo Empire, a powerful aura of destruction suddenly struck from behind.
Tang San immediately retracted his Divine Sense and turned to look.
He saw a man dressed in black robes with silver hair and purple eyes walking slowly, his whole body exuding a suffocating destructive fluctuation.
It was indeed the God of Destruction.
"Sea God, what are you doing?" The voice of the God of Destruction was as cold as ice.
"Nothing, just caring about Xiao Qi's situation." Tang San wore a warm smile, his tone calm and waveless.
However, deep in his heart, anger was quietly spreading.
As an old-school God King in the God Realm, the God of Destruction had always been at odds with him.
Fortunately, the wife of the God of Destruction, the Goddess of Life, had a gentle and indecisive personality; otherwise, his plan to expand the God Realm would have already been implemented.
By that time, the influence of the God of Destruction would surely have far exceeded his own.
As of now, his influence could not yet confront the God of Destruction head-on.
This old-school God King had a Foundation in the God Realm far deeper than his own, and if it were not for the Seven Original Sin Gods under his command having strange personalities and often causing him trouble, the influence of the God of Destruction would only be even greater.
The God of Destruction snorted coldly, obviously not believing Tang San's rhetoric.
"Is that so? Xiao Qi already has your Divine Sense protection on her; no one in the Lower Realm can hurt her at all. Even if her Mortal body falls, she can immediately return to the God Realm. Why pay such close attention? Unless..." He paused meaningfully, "You are looking for a successor for your god position? That way, you can also take off the heavy burden of being a God King; that would not be bad."
Tang San naturally heard the hidden meaning in his words—this was clearly trying to force him to leave the God Realm.
"However, for a dignified God King to be so concerned about the Mortal Realm, I am afraid it is not quite appropriate." The God of Destruction continued to apply pressure, "There are still many affairs in the God Realm waiting to be handled. If the Sea God feels idle, why not agree to my plan to expand the God Realm."
Tang San shook his head and said: "Expanding the God Realm at will may shake the Foundation of the God Realm; this move is not advisable."
"Hmph!" The anger of the God of Destruction almost turned into substance.
Thinking that the God of Evil and the Goddess of Good actually handed over the control of the God Realm to this upstart, he was furious.
What was even more infuriating was that the successors of those two God Kings were too young and immature, with indecisive personalities.
And the main body was having a great time in the Lower Realm; every time they regained their memories, they chose to directly enter Reincarnation, delaying their return.
"If it were not for Tang San's obstruction, the God Realm would have long been expanded, able to accept more deities, and control a vaster Star Domain..." The God of Destruction hated in his heart.
"Then how long do we have to wait?" He asked, suppressing his anger.
"This matter needs to be discussed in the long term." Tang San still maintained a calm posture.
"...Very well." The God of Destruction suppressed his anger, "Please return to the God Realm Committee quickly to handle government affairs, Sea God. There are a host of deities waiting to ask for your instructions; do not waste time here."
"Many thanks to the God of Destruction for the reminder." Tang San nodded slightly, and as he turned to leave, a cold light that was difficult to detect flashed in his eyes.
You have already embarked on the path to your own death!
This game of power in the God Realm was far from over.