Still unhurried, Hades moved at a slow pace, taking in the entirety of the Japanese mythological world. For him, treasures and resources were secondary; understanding the unique aspects of this mythical realm was paramount. After all, knowing oneself and the enemy is essential for winning battles and achieving absolute victory. Thus, Hades observed everything with meticulous care: humanity, the gods, and the structure of the world.
After his careful examination, Hades confirmed that this world was divided into four realms: heaven, earth, sea, and underworld, with Gao Tianyuan representing the heaven. This four-realm configuration is standard in nearly every major world.
What intrigued Hades most, however, was the divine essence he was able to strip away from a particular god—a stone deity who had been born from rock. As Hades controlled this divine power, it felt almost like an anatomical dissection. He studied the nature of these gods intently.
Half an hour later, Hades dissipated his divine power, and the stone god completely vanished, turning into a ray of light. The god's soul was entirely erased. After all, under Hades's intense scrutiny, the god had met his end.
"Belief… how strange," Hades murmured. "In this world, the belief of the gods seems remarkably easy to obtain. This is truly a peculiar phenomenon."
He found it increasingly odd that, in a world boasting eight million gods, the stone god was merely the fifth he had examined and subsequently destroyed. The variety was overwhelming; stone gods, grass gods, wood gods—essentially, any being that exhibited a hint of spirituality could be considered divine.
The most fascinating aspect for Hades was how these beings transformed into gods through belief. This was an unusual process.
Typically, there are three paths to godhood: the law, the kingdom of God, and faith. Among these, the law offers the most stability, while the kingdom of God is the fastest route. However, faith is the most challenging path, requiring a painstaking accumulation of followers and belief over time.
While Hades himself absorbed pure souls, transforming them into his own followers who would worship him in the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, he found that the power of faith was the weakest among his cultivation paths. Despite the considerable faith he received, it felt like a mere drop in the ocean compared to the vastness of his other powers.
In stark contrast, almost every god in this Japanese mythological world had abundant faith, effortlessly reaping it like a harvest of leeks. The five gods he had studied all seemed to embody this phenomenon.
As Hades contemplated this, he stroked the soft fur of Cerberus, who was blissfully content in his master's embrace.
"Perhaps I should give it a try," Hades decided. A ray of divine thought emerged, infused with the law of death. In an instant, it transformed into a god-like clone, a young man resembling Hades but more aligned with the local aesthetic—dressed in luxurious kimono.
This clone, lacking self-will but imbued with Hades's essence, was sent to a large city nearby. Notably, in this world, people congregated in vast cities rather than smaller villages.
Upon arriving in the city, the clone swiftly eliminated the original deity, assuming the role of the city's god.
"Meet Lord Death God!"
"Bow before Lord Death God!"
Countless inhabitants paid their respects, their beliefs seamlessly shifting to their new deity. Hades was astonished by the sheer volume of high-quality belief being offered.
In this world, the common humans possessed no inherent power unless blessed by a god, yet they provided faith that rivaled what he had painstakingly selected from across various realms. The faith they offered was vast, and it flooded into Hades's essence.
He left a fragment of the law of death in the city to absorb this belief and returned to his own form. Shocked, he murmured, "This world is extraordinarily strange. No wonder the gods here are born from belief—that is how it works."
Finally, Hades grasped the reason why belief was so easily harvested here; it felt like plucking leeks—high quality, abundant, and incredibly compliant.
This realization ignited a hunger in him. While there were challenges in cultivating the power of faith, such high-yield prospects tempted him. If he could control this divine world, he could potentially rise to the status of a Primordial God in record time, achieving ultimate power through the intertwining of the world tree and faith.
Even if the chances were slim—perhaps only 1% or 3%—having any chance at all was infinitely better than having none.
"It appears," Hades concluded, "that although this world lacks the protection of an absolute god, it is a rich and tempting prize."
With this newfound understanding, Hades's initial nonchalance transformed into a serious focus. This mythical world was not merely an opportunity; it was a veritable treasure trove. While it might pose dangers, the potential rewards were undeniable.