Lord of Prayer-Chapter 166 - 126: Demon’s Bewitchment (2)

"Xiao Ju, do me a favor. This wall, this wall, and this one... knock them all down, except for the load-bearing ones. I'll buy you a family bucket for lunch."

"Meow~"

Xiao Ju meowed in agreement and trotted over to one of the thin walls. With a flick of its tail, a brilliant rainbow light shot out, sweeping across the top, bottom, and sides of the wall. Its destructive power and temperature were appallingly high, easily disintegrating the wall's structure. With a loud RUMBLE, the wall came crashing down, kicking up a huge cloud of dust.

Then, Xiao Ju destroyed the remaining thin walls in the same manner, expanding the basement's overall area.

Zhou Chen began a major cleanup, clearing out the junk, useless decorations, and broken wall fragments from the basement. With the powerful physique of an Ascender, it took him less than an hour to finish everything, and he hardly felt tired at all.

'If I were a bricklayer, I'd definitely move the most bricks…' Zhou Chen thought to himself wryly. He hoisted the heavy Alchemy Melting Furnace onto his shoulder, carried it down to the basement, and set it in a suitable spot. It was the last piece of equipment.

After turning on the air filtration system to clear out the dust, he and Xiao Ju went back to the first floor. He ordered two family buckets. While waiting for the delivery, he suddenly remembered Dr. Qin. He pulled out his phone, found the doctor's homepage, and played his most-viewed video.

"In this episode, we're going to talk about Demons.

They are symbols of evil, using their power to manipulate, deceive, and even torment humans. They also sometimes make deals with humans, and the price is often the Trader's Soul—or something even more important.

The most widely known are likely the seven great Demons who represent the Seven Deadly Sins: Lucifer, Leviathan, Samael, Belial, Mammon, Beelzebub, Asmodeus…

In reality, the Demons who hold the Authority of the Seven Sins are real. They live in the Abyssal Hell and often use avatars or projections to secretly invade the Mortal World, preying on people's desires to trick victims into signing a Demon Contract and offering up their Souls…"

"Four years ago, in a small town, I met a man who had made a deal with a Demon. To gain fame and fortune, he signed a contract and, under the Demon's influence, was gradually led down a path of crime. Fortunately, he came to his senses before it was too late. I helped him contact the Star Association, and we survived a terrifying night when the Demon came to claim his life. Ultimately, I helped him banish the Demon.

That night…"

"In short, everyone must remember that Demons are symbols of evil. Do not make any deals with them. Don't let momentary desire and greed blind you. The only fate for those bewitched by a Demon is to fall into the Abyss…"

·

"The only fate for those bewitched by a Demon is to fall into the Abyss…"

Night fell. In a classically decorated bedroom, Dr. Qin's educational video was playing on a phone. When it ended, a young, completely naked woman lying in bed wrapped her arms around the man beside her and asked curiously,

"Daddy, did you really experience all of that yourself?"

Dr. Qin leaned against the headboard, smoking a cigarette, and nodded. "Everything in my videos is something I've personally experienced. I started traveling the world when I was eighteen—from North America to South America, from the Cape of Good Hope to the Middle East, from Western Europe to Eastern Europe, from the Eastern Continent to Yingzhou… In over twenty years, I've set foot in many places. I've crossed the Amazon Jungle, reached the North and South Poles, and climbed Mount Everest… I've experienced countless events in the world of Mysticism.

I've seen many things you couldn't possibly imagine. Once, I was even caught up in a small-scale war.

My wife and I met during one of those later expeditions. At that time…"

The young woman showed no jealousy when Dr. Qin mentioned his wife, because she knew that his wife had passed away long ago, leaving him with a daughter. However, it seemed Dr. Qin's daughter had also passed away recently, which had caused a certain… twist in his psyche.

He had started to enjoy keeping 'goddaughters'. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Liu Ying had met Dr. Qin at a Mysticism gathering and was captivated by his charisma from the very first glance. After meeting him privately a few more times, she agreed to let him provide for her.

Although she was already married and loved her husband, Dr. Qin offered her far too much—so much that she would never have to worry about money again. Besides, Dr. Qin was exactly her type.

With her head full of romantic notions, she thought she had found true love. So, she steeled herself, divorced the man she had only recently married, and became Dr. Qin's 'goddaughter'.

"That's so amazing… My dream has always been to travel the world." Listening to Dr. Qin's stories, Liu Ying couldn't help but yearn for that kind of life. "Daddy, when did you become an Ascender?"

"It happened on the same trip I met my wife. My tour group was in North America. Our hotel was robbed one night, and I accidentally awakened my powers during the shootout. I saved my wife, and our relationship blossomed from there. Two years later, Duoduo was born."

Dr. Qin looked down at Liu Ying and smiled gently. "You know, Duoduo was as young as you are. Her eyes were as beautiful and bright as yours, and she even smiled like you. Perhaps that's why fate brought us together."

"In that case… Daddy?" Liu Ying blinked her large eyes and smiled, her voice sweet.

Dr. Qin's breathing instantly grew heavy.

「Three in the morning.」

Liu Ying was fast asleep, utterly exhausted. With a blank expression, Dr. Qin threw back the covers, got out of bed, and left the bedroom.

He went to the basement of his villa, pressed a book on a bookshelf, and the shelf slid open without a sound, revealing a staircase leading down into the unknown.

Dr. Qin descended the stairs and entered a dark, secret chamber.

In the flickering light from some equipment, he could vaguely make out a nutrient pod. Submerged inside was a human figure that emitted a faint glow.

He stepped forward and gently touched the glass of the nutrient pod, as if wanting to caress the head of the person inside.

"Well, well. A moment ago, you were a ravenous wolf with your 'daughter,' driving her to the point of collapse, and now you're playing the doting father? Don't you think you're being a bit hypocritical?"

An eerie laugh echoed from the darkness. "Qin Xu, you should just take my suggestion. Let me turn your daughter into a Succubus. That way, you two can be reunited and live an even happier life together."

"Don't test my limits again," Qin Xu said coldly, his gaze fixed on the nutrient pod. "If you try to provoke me again, I'll report you to the Star Association. If it comes to it, we'll both go down together."

"Suit yourself. It's not my daughter who'll be gone, after all," the voice from the darkness replied, sounding unconcerned.

"How are the preparations?" Qin Xu asked coldly.

"As you know, piecing together your daughter's original form is very difficult. You've only found the eyes. You still need the nose, mouth, ears, and the rest of her face…"

The voice from the darkness chuckled strangely. "Speaking of which, you've screwed all those women. Using them to assemble your daughter's body… wouldn't that be the same as… Hahaha, just a joke! Don't be angry."

Qin Xu took a deep breath, suppressing his rage. "You'd better not be deceiving me. If I find out you're playing me…"

"I know, I know. You'll 'make me pay a heavy price,'" the voice from the darkness said lazily. "You can rest assured about the terms of the contract. When it comes to deals, Demons are the most trustworthy beings in the world. I am a Demon of desire and procreation, but I also wield Power belonging to the Life Realm. As long as a complete Soul exists, resurrecting someone is almost too easy.

"But let me give you a little warning: that young man you met today might just ruin your plans."

"Him?" Qin Xu frowned.

"Go look him up yourself. And by the way, that line from your video—'The only fate for those bewitched by a Demon is to fall into the Abyss'—couldn't be more wrong."

The voice in the darkness laughed.

"—Even without a Demon's temptation, humans will fall into the Abyss all on their own."