The Innkeeper

Chapter 1323  How to raise a Deity

Lex raised an eyebrow. Compared to the first, which was basically a scavenger hunt across a realm, and possibly more, the second way of killing a Deity sounded too simple But there was no way it could be so straightforward. After all, Vinei had just said that killing a Deity was one of the most difficult things in the universe.

”What is Divine fire?” Lex asked, wondering if he could give it to Luthor to absorb. His physique required him to absorb various kinds of fires. The more fires he absorbed, the more powerful his own would become, so absorbing a Divine Fire should also technically work, right? As long as it was technically still fire.

”To become a Deity, one must use the accumulating Divine Fire in their body and light a fire using it. It is the single most difficult obstacle to becoming a Deity. To achieve it, you need the purest divine energy, in copious amounts. That means you must have countless devoted followers, praying to you nonstop, providing you with the purest divine energy possible.

”If you donʼt have that, then you must wait countless years while accumulating divine energy, and then distill and purify it until it can be used to light a divine fire. Newborn Deities must keep their divine fire within their bodies, but as they grow stronger, they can hide away their Divine Fire, which is the very source of all their power. If it is extinguished, the Deity will die, but to extinguish it is very difficult, and the more powerful the Deity, the more powerful the Divine Fire.

”After a certain level of strength, the Divine Fire itself becomes the Deity, more than the Deities body, which means that if you try to extinguish it, the Deity can and will use their complete strength in stopping you. But even if they didnʼt, extinguishing Divine Fires is extremely difficult, since it is powered from Divine energy itself.

”Realistically, your best bet would be to take another Deity and have them consume the Divine Fire. Itʼs still not easy, and would require quite a fight, but itʼs still much easier than extinguishing the fire on your own.”

Lex nodded, but then shook his head.

”I think Iʼll still have to try it myself. The Deities Iʼm targeting are near the Dao realms, even if one of them is severely injured. Finding another Deity to work with me near that level… it wonʼt be easy.”

Suddenly, the sword buried deep inside Lex trembled just a bit, as if to remind Lex that he had a link to a Deity, but Lex ignored it. His plan to consume that sword was going very well, and at his current level it would only take him a few years to absorb it all. If he improved his sword intent further, it would be even quicker.

”You… what?” Vinei asked, showing the first trace of emotion since Lex had met him, and that was confusion. ”Did you say the Deities you are targeting are near the Dao level?”

Lex nodded.

For a few moments, silence filled the room, until Vinei eventually continued speaking as if nothing had happened.

”I take it this means you have agreed to my tasks. Keep in mind that I do not expect these tasks to be easy or simple. First, I require the core of a Defiler. Within the Crystal realm, we killed all Defilers back when the realm was young, so it is impossible to get our hands on the core of one.”

Lex nodded. As it just happened, he had new leads on Defilers.

”Just like how a Divine Fire is the source of a Deities power, a core is the source of a Defilerʼs power. Those, too, are not easy to get your hands on. I will give you an entire guide on how to deal with Defilers, and you can pursue it at your own leisure.”

”I accept. Iʼll come find you when I do it. Just know that I am busy with other things as well, so I may not be able to deal with it immediately.”

”My patience is extensive,” Vinei responded.

”Do you mind if I ask you another question?” Lex asked, as he pondered over something. ”I donʼt mean to belittle the difficulty of becoming a Deity, but from your description, it sounds pretty easy to become a Deity. I mean, if all you need are followers, basically anyone can just become a Deity? Any immortal can brainwash mortals over a few generations, get a bunch of devoted followers and begin accumulating divine energy. In as little as a few decades, and at most a few centuries, they can become a Deity.”

Vinei nodded.

”Yes, in essence, anyone can become a Deity. In practice, itʼs a little harder, since lighting a Divine Fire is not so simple. For many who are weak, and have no hope of becoming stronger through conventional means, becoming a Deity is a convenient route. But nothing in this universe is so straight forward. The Crystal realm, too, was filled with thousands of Deities in its early years. ”Until someone figured out that a Deity can become stronger not only by spreading their religion and influence, but also by consuming other Deities. In fact, not only do you gain more power, you can even inherit some of the powers of the consumed Deity according to their religion, thereby enhancing your own. You see, creating your religion cannot be completely up to your whims, and must be grounded in reality. Consuming other Deities is a shortcut.”

Lex gained a deeper understanding of Deities, and their complex relationships with one another. No wonder religions always seemed to be targeting one another. Not only was it a competition for worshipers, but the Deities themselves could serve as nourishment for another.

It only made sense. There was no path to power that was completely easy. Each path had its own risks and rewards. He just had to keep that in mind while he grew strong enough to kill Sekhmet, and eventually Ra.