Chapter 3916: Breaking Their Faith

In all this, Lin Mu also noticed another important detail.

If effigies existed throughout multiple zones, their origin likely lay somewhere much deeper within the Mad Demon Depths. Someone or something had originally distributed them. That meant the true source almost certainly existed beyond the Second Zone. Perhaps the Third or perhaps even farther.

Lin Mu’s gaze slowly returned toward the old man and he remained quiet for several breaths before asking another question.

"Tell me honestly." The old man looked up. "Do you truly believe this is a deity?"

Lin Mu’s eyes remained calm.

"Or..." His voice softened slightly. "Have you simply believed it for so long that your mind needs it to remain true?"

The question stunned everyone present and several prisoners looked completely bewildered. One woman quietly covered her mouth while another prisoner frowned in confusion.

The old man himself visibly shuddered while his weathered body trembled. And for the briefest instant... Doubt appeared within his lone eye.

Then it disappeared beneath stubborn certainty.

"It is a deity!" His voice rose sharply and far louder than before. "It has to be!" He repeated.

"It protects us!"

"It keeps us alive!"

"It..."

The old man’s voice gradually weakened.

"It..."

His words stopped.

Lin Mu quietly watched him and saw that the old man’s earlier confidence had already begun cracking. He simply refused to acknowledge it.

Lin Mu slowly spoke. "You’ve remained here far too long."

The old man looked toward him.

"Your cultivation has remained sealed for nearly two centuries and you’ve forgotten how to perceive the world beyond ordinary senses." He calmly pointed toward the crystal skull. "You’ve mistaken the result for the cause."

The old man shook his head violently. "No... You don’t understand..."

Lin Mu simply sighed.

Rather than arguing, he reached toward his hidden storage ring and a single talisman appeared between his fingers.

The prisoners immediately gasped. "Storage treasure?"

The existence of one alone shocked them. But before anyone could react, Lin Mu flicked his wrist.

WHOOSH

The talisman flew through the air and it struck the crystal skull with a soft slap. Several prisoners instinctively cried out witnessing this. But the talisman adhered firmly to the polished crystal.

SHUA

The paper immediately began glowing as a brilliant yellow light spread across its surface and one rune after another emerged. Soon that number multiplied into dozens and then hundreds.

Intricate symbols flowed outward like liquid and they surrounded the skull from every direction. The prisoners stared with mouths hanging open as many of them had not witnessed a talisman functioning before for a long time.

And for some, this was the first time they were even seeing one.

HUMM

The glowing runes slowly circled the crystal and each completed several revolutions before changing direction. Different pulses spread outward as some appeared gentle while others were sharp.

The surrounding air vibrated rhythmically.

While all this happened, nobody spoke, and even breathing seemed to stop. Nearly a full minute passed when finally the talisman completed its task. The floating runes suddenly halted as every symbol locked into position.

HONG

Then, lines of golden light appeared between them. One connection became two. Two became ten. And ten became hundreds. Soon a magnificent three dimensional construct gradually materialized around the crystal skull.

Countless geometric planes intersected one another containing hexagons, triangles, and squares which were intricately layered structures floating within larger structures. Thousands of glowing runes occupied carefully defined positions.

Entire clusters formed distinct patterns and every pattern connected to another through channels of flowing spiritual light. Energy continuously circulated throughout the construct just like rivers flowing through an enormous city.

And in all this the crystal skull sat precisely at its center.

Silence overwhelmed the summit as every prisoner stared blankly and even the old man’s mouth slowly opened.

His remaining eye reflected the glowing construct.

Lin Mu calmly turned toward him.

"Even if your senses have dulled..." He spoke evenly. "You should still remember a little of what you once knew."

He slowly raised one finger toward the glowing construct.

"That..." He said quietly. "...is an array."

The old man’s breathing suddenly stopped. His lone eye remained fixed upon the intricate network of runes floating around the crystal skull. And for the first time in nearly two centuries...

The foundation of his faith faced undeniable proof that something far more tangible had existed before him all along.

The old man stared at the glowing construct surrounding the crystal skull without moving. His remaining eye remained locked upon the countless intersecting runes, the intricate channels, the flowing spiritual energy and the layered geometric structure.

Everything stood plainly before him.

It was impossible to deny that something existed and yet, his lips continued to tremble.

"No..." He whispered. "No..."

His voice grew a little louder. "This..."

"This cannot be." He slowly shook his head, almost pleading with the reality before him. "The Deity..."

"It has always been the Deity..."

His breathing became uneven.

"It answered our prayers."

"It accepted our offerings."

"It punished those who delayed."

"It..." His words gradually lost strength.

The glowing construct continued floating silently around the crystal skull. It neither argued with him nor attempted to convince him, it simply existed. That very existence became the greatest argument against nearly two centuries of belief.

Lin Mu remained quiet as there was little reason to speak.

Some truths required time. No amount of explanation could compete against something a person witnessed with their own eyes. The old man’s gaze wandered across the countless runes once more and his breathing gradually slowed.

Deep within his mind, the thoughts that had remained buried for decades slowly resurfaced.

Before becoming the leader of this community... Before performing countless rituals... Before spending nearly two centuries beneath the earth... He had once been a cultivator.

He had studied the basics, he remembered formations, he remembered talismans, he remembered arrays powering city gates and sect defenses and he remembered elders explaining the differences between formations and natural phenomena.

Those memories had slowly faded over countless years. The endless routine of survival had buried them beneath layers of hunger, fear and habit. But now they began emerging one after another.

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