Chapter 1509 - 1074: Retribution in This Life (2)
"Hahahaha! You bunch of fools! You deserve it!" Hai Xunche watched the once arrogant Patriarch of the Hai Family, who now had nothing but what he wore, angrily trying to attack the invisible barrier with magic.
He laughed so hard at the karma unfolding in front of him that he could barely breathe.
Thank goodness I didn’t try to escape immediately; thank goodness I’m smart enough to realize only by worshipping the Sea God can we get better protection in this catastrophe!
Even traitors can’t touch me, magic attacks won’t hurt me, let alone foreign savages?
It turns out the divine prophecy was true!
The Sea God is indeed keeping His promise, still protecting the devout believers!
Even though I wasn’t devout before, from now on, Hai Xunche will wholeheartedly worship the Sea God, with no second thoughts!
Feeling lucky to have avoided calamity, Hai Xunche looked at the sea demons floating outside the city, feeling quite pleased.
The complete isolation meant even the Patriarch’s full-force attacks could not break the barrier, implying no matter how he taunted or mocked, they couldn’t harm him in the slightest.
"Tsk tsk!" Leisurely walking over to the furious Patriarch, he spoke in a sardonic tone, "Karma sure comes fast. Though there’s no divine punishment, you’ve lost all the gold and silver you’ve accumulated over half a lifetime! Hahaha, let me guess, how many treasures were in your luxurious storage bag, Patriarch?"
"Hai Xunche, be sensible." The Patriarch of the Hai Family, panting and furious for losing all his wealth, had tried everything possible to retrieve his treasures, but failed.
In a heavy tone, he said, "While you are still in Xiyue City, hand over those storage bags to me. Otherwise, mocking the Patriarch will lead to consequences you can’t imagine."
Hai Xunche thought to himself, don’t you think I want to grab them all? Those are tens of thousands of storage bags filled with treasures scattered everywhere, but the problem is they can’t be picked up!
"At this point, still playing Patriarch, do you think I’m afraid?" Despite not gaining any advantage, it didn’t stop him from angering the Patriarch. Hai Xunche smirked, picking his teeth, and said, "You better think carefully about how you’ll manage in the upcoming days. I heard, dealing with the demon race in the wilderness above won’t be easy, especially when you’ve lost everything. How will you get by? Hahahaha..."
Before his laughter could fade, he suddenly felt his body lighten, despite not moving, he was slowly floating upward!
Oh no!
Realizing the situation was out of hand, Hai Xunche was also forcefully excluded by the increasingly strong rules from the city that was being protected.
So, one moment he was taunting, and the next, he was face-to-face with the furious Patriarch.
"Let’s talk this out, we should be united now..." The scene was awkward, and before Hai Xunche could finish pleading, the angry Patriarch punched him into pieces.
Turtle Essence watched the bizarre scene, sensed bizarre developments in the city through his divine sense, and slowly realized: First those sea demons who chose to flee were abandoned by the Sea God; then those who stayed but lacked faith were also kicked out.
"Alas, if only they knew from the start." He sighed quietly.
In the vast city, sea demons who have been protected by the Sea God for generations mostly did not believe in Him. Among hundreds, barely one was truly devout!
More and more sea demons were being kicked out, yet Xiyue City was growing more lively—the sea demons who lost all their treasures were not content, whether cursing or joining forces to attack, trying to resist the Sea God’s forces, they densely floated in another dimension, illuminating the city with their dazzling magic.
"Temporary faith is useless, few remain here, thus there should be less need to distribute food and spirit stones." Turtle Essence thought deeply, watching a few workshop chiefs kicking and struggling as they were ejected, he sighed and advised, "Everyone should retreat and cultivate in seclusion for now, once the dust settles and the chaos outside stops, we can discuss how to proceed."
Another batch of sea demons pretending to worship were expelled, leaving even fewer sea demons in Xiyue City.
This scene was occurring across every piece of the fragmented Undersea World, including all cities, towns, and tribes, even the Mermaid Race was not exempt.
Clearly they had moved into the Seashell Cave Mansion, joyfully envisioning their new life, yet over a hundred mermaids were still stripped away. Men, women, old, and young, over a hundred merfolk were uncontrollably ejected from the Seashell Cave Mansion, floating in the seawater helplessly seeking help.
"Receiving my protection but showing no respect, even maliciously cursing me in private, now you are free." Sea Goddess Lu Ji’s voice was ethereal as it sounded from Jiang Yuan’s Ink Jade Space, "Leave now, go live in other worlds, the Undersea World will no longer offer you sanctuary."
Jiang Yuan: ???
They mean, these mermaids don’t believe in the Sea God?
The High Priest was also surprised, just recently puzzled by the events, as the Sea God explained, she couldn’t help but question, "Living under the Sea God’s protection, yet you don’t believe in Him? Why?"
"How could that be? I’ve always worshipped the Sea God devoutly!"
"Yes, there must be a mistake, didn’t they say the Sea God’s state was off? This must be wrong."
"How could we not believe in the Sea God..."
......
The Sea God didn’t allow them the chance to argue, he continued, "You can deceive people, but not gods, nor your own heart. If truly respectful and sincere, even a tiniest hint of faith, I could sense the power of belief, then you’d receive divine protection. You lack any faith on you, further talk is pointless."
Understood! Jiang Yuan instantly realized, just like the system’s Faith Value, it’s clear who believes and who doesn’t!
Just like Lin Chunsheng before, disbelief is disbelief, no matter how respectful the words, how much incense burned, how loud the head bowing, there was zero Faith Value.
In other words, the Faith Value decides everything.
Even if there’s a trace of faith on the Sea God’s little record, it is worth offering protection.
With things laid out this clearly, further arguments are pointless. But seeing their dream life slipping away, an elderly merfolk was disgruntled, muttering, "Not disbelief, just never witnessed!
Since our ancestors, we’ve worshipped the Sea God, yet isn’t the Mermaid Race still bullied by other races, driven to this impoverished backwater? If you truly manifested, why not bring thunder from the sky to eliminate those bullies all at once! If seen firsthand, why fear disbelief?"
"Indeed, the Sea God has never manifested, worshipping has brought no benefits, instead we’re blamed for disbelief. Shouldn’t it be the Sea God’s manifestation first, then we believe?"
The Clan Leader, shaking with anger, retorted, "Disbelieving in a God yet aspiring to gaze upon deities, where’s the shame? Moreover, a display of divine power doesn’t cultivate belief, but rather a trade, equally unworthy of protection!
Besides, though we’ve lived remotely these years, were you lacking any essentials? Ever been invaded by foreign tribes? Without the Sea God’s protection, how could the Mermaid Race thrive, with your current strength, you’d have been captured and sold by the dominant sea demons long ago!
No wonder the Sea God’s condition is poor, exhausting His infinite power and resources, yet nurturing ungrateful ones like you. Consuming without contribution, offering no Faith Value, just dragging down the gods! Scram! All of you, get far away, truly infuriating!"
In fact, even if they refused to leave, there was nothing they could do, unable to touch anything from the Seashell Cave Mansion or the Mermaid Race tribe. Other than their clothes, they couldn’t take anything, staying stubbornly just to argue, what’s the point?
After a long dispute, Jiang Yuan looked at their system label— "Merfolk NOT protected by the Sea God," certainly, he wasn’t so kind-hearted to plead with Sister Sea God to forgive and keep them.
Freeloading rebels who enjoy without reciprocation, and even curse, it’s very benevolent of Sister Sea God to not kill them outright.
"This is only the beginning." Sea Goddess Lu Ji’s voice echoed in Jiang Yuan’s mind, "Initially, it was those who chose betrayal, once they move they can never return; next were those who pretended worship without the slightest donation of belief, they too will be expelled from divine protection.
When the divine power covers all fragments of the Undersea World, I will remove the final barrier. If the Celestial Path child hasn’t returned from the Secret Realm, you better escort the Seashell Cave Mansion to a safe location.
Otherwise, once the barriers open, they will surely attract many greedy demon races. Though they can only watch, unable to touch the precious treasures and resources, they’ll inevitably attack madly. At that point, I must be fully vigilant protecting the Undersea World and the believers, fearing I can’t spare the energy to help you escape."