I Don’t Want To Court Death!

“Oh, Lord Overseer, save my soul! Look over my children and wife! Bone Two, although I hate your pessimism and face, I’ll forever remember your good words and friendship! Bone Three, although I hate your snobbishness and body odor, I’ll forever remember the good times we had! I’ll remember you all in the next-”

“Stop being so dramatic.” Yang Yang slapped the captain’s face with his right hand. “Dispel wickedness; cinder hatred; exterminate devils. Restore life and rebuke death. Flip fate and reach enlightenment. Pure Flame Magic: Golden Restoration.”

The Flame of Purity did not only restored their life force, but also burned away the wickedness in their souls. Feelings of immorality, sorrow, anger, hatred, and desire were cleansed. When the Flame of Purity disappeared, the trio regained their youth, and felt relief and peace. 

“By the Abyss! I never felt so good before!” 

“I haven’t feel such satisfaction since my wedding night!” 

The captain touched his smooth, young face and rubbed his head where a set of long, straight, black hair had returned. He rubbed his head long and hard. Tears welled up in his eyes. 

“Good Lord, you truly saved us. Thank you, thank you!” The three young men kneeled before Yang Yang. “Sir, please let us express our gratitude by helping you in any way we can.”

“No worries. Just lead me out of these caves and take me close to the Arcane Temple. You just have to lead me to the general vicinity since you are part of the Sacred Cult and I wouldn’t want you to-”

Suddenly, the three magi started screaming. “Oh god! What have we done!?” 

“What’s the matter?” Yang Yang took a step back. 

“The Sacred Cult. The Sacred Cult! Oh god, we’ve committed inhumane crimes!” 

“Everywhere! The pleading! The children! The elderly! Why!? How could we have done such a thing!? We have sinned!” 

“What have we done...” The trio gripped their heads and banged it on the ground while crying. Yang Yang couldn’t understand why they would feel like this. He secretly sent the magical power of the Flame of Purity into them to calm them. 

“Enough! Tell me what’s on your mind.” 

“My lord, the truth is that-” Bone Three tried to respond, but he shivered and then collapsed. Bone Two caught his friend before he hit the floor, and he spoke up: “This idiot! My lord, we are not allowed to say certain things about our cult such as our practices and rituals. There is a special sealing spell on our person that prevents us from even uttering such a thing within the presence of a non-cult member. I know it’s hard to believe or for us to prove such a thing, but we truly can not say it.” 

Yang Yang whispered a spell and scanned the Sacred Cult’s members. Each of them indeed had a seal on their body that prevent them from spilling any secrets. In fact, they even had an additional sealing spell on their souls for extra security. These seals would punish them with immense pain before rendering them unconscious. He cast a healing spell on Bone Three to wake him up. 

"Indeed a cult. This smells way too fishy. Even if I complete this mission, there's no way I can simply leave matters unresolved here because of this Sacred Cult. I need to check on the other disciples first before dealing with this. If I can at least confirm that they are safe, then I'll go ahead and deal with the Sacred Cult." 

After Bone Three regained consciousness, Yang Yang put his hand behind his back and summoned the Mark of Life. He expanded it until it was as large as spell formation. He then brought out his magic-aspect and the Flame of Purity. Bright green and radiant golden lights shone all around and illuminated the cave labyrinth in spectacular colors and magical power. As he stood there in front of the trio, Yang Yang was very much like a god's incarnation. In the trio's life, they had never seen such a majestic display before, not even during their cult's rituals. 

"You three, give me clothing from the Sacred Cult. I'm going to infiltrate your cult, so I'll need to blend in as well as possible. From what I can assess, they are of a vile faith and worship a heretical god of the Underworld. From now on, you will no longer give your faith to the Sacred Cult, the Sacred Master, or the Sacred Overseer." His boundless voice moved heaven and earth. His imposing stature swayed heart and minds.

"Instead, you of the Overworld shall worship me, the successor to the Life God. I am the Scion of Life, Yang Yang. Declare your faith to me and I will bless you with great fortune and prosperity. I'll take you all out of this land with your families and friends, free from sin and suffering. No longer will you have to remain in a pond, but rather, can venture out to the sea! Not even the sky of the world beyond will be the limit. Follow me."  

 The trio, immensely shaken and profoundly impressed, knelt on one knee with their heads bowed. "From now on, we of the Bone Squad shall resign from the Sacred Cult's teachings. We shall follow his holiness, the Scion of Life, Lord Yang Yang." 

Yang Yang shook as he felt three familiar, warm stream of energy that were produced by the Bone Squad. He breathe in and out, letting the streams of energy to flow throughout his body. 

Although the trio could not see it, Yang Yang was transforming on the cellular level. The Mark of Life glowed with supreme brilliance and the Flame of Purity popped with excitement. His aura of life became even purer and his cultivation base was even rising. In a very quick moment, he became twice as strong as before. 

When people gave their faith to an object, symbol, or entity, they would produce a special kind of energy. 

It was the most mystical of all energies, the Divine Power of Faith.