Upon hearing Xie Lingyun’s words, Zhang Chen couldn’t help but narrow his pupils: What the hell? An existence comparable to the Yang God realm, and a hundred were born?
What is the Yang God?
To compare using cultivators from the Divine Soul Dao, a Yin Spirit must endure nine Heavenly Tribulations to birth a strand of Pure Yang Qi in their soul and step into the Yang God realm.
Even for Qi Cultivators, those who can endure nine Heavenly Tribulations should at least be Pure Yang Immortals, right?
To suddenly have a hundred emerge so effortlessly, how is that even possible?
"Among the forty-eight billion people of the Great Victory Dynasty, a hundred Yang God level Divine Spirits have emerged, which is certainly not the upper limit but just the lower limit. According to the measurements of the Inspection and Supervision Department, merely ten million followers are required for a mortal to possess power comparable to the Yang God level," Xie Lingyun explained.
Zhang Chen gasped; if Xie Lingyun’s words were true, wouldn’t it be long before the Great Victory Dynasty births Tier Twelve Divine Beings?
"There are already Tier Ten Divine Beings born, and even Tier Eleven is brewing. The Divine Era is upon us, so you must be careful and stop causing trouble. The traditional techniques of the Divine Soul Dao have been abandoned by the era," Xie Lingyun sighed, full of regret.
"How are those people’s incense gathered so quickly?" Zhang Chen was puzzled. Even if the Divine Spirit Dao was prevalent, shouldn’t there be a development period for such emergence?
"Those major nobles just need to reduce half their land rent to make the people grateful," Xie Lingyun said, "For them, erecting statues to gather faith is merely a matter of words."
"In the future, the common people will be important resources that all nobles want to gather! Population represents faith, and faith represents strength," Xie Lingyun added.
Zhang Chen shivered at the thought; if Xie Lingyun’s words were true, aren’t common people akin to pigs and sheep reared by nobles? In this scenario, would the common people ever rise?
"This is the trend!" Xie Lingyun noticed the meaning in Zhang Chen’s eyes and spoke softly.
At these words, Zhang Chen fell silent, pondering for a long time before speaking: "What about the Great Victory Royal Family? What’s their stance?"
"The Royal Family chose to stand by coldly, although some of their collateral branches have acted and started setting up the Incense Dao," Xie Lingyun replied.
"How about the Inspection and Supervision Department?" Zhang Chen asked.
Xie Lingyun smiled bitterly: "Some within the department want to walk the Divine Spirit Dao, some insist on the Soul Refining Dao, and others choose to follow the Qi Blood Dao; the world is about to be chaotic! Who will rise and fall in the future, no one can say, so everyone must prepare early."
Zhang Chen pondered, as the chaos of the world indeed took him by surprise.
"Where has Zhang Xiaohua gone?" Zhang Chen asked.
"The Yellow Heaven Dao intends to appoint the Southern Dipper Six Sons and the Seven Sons of Beidou; Zhang Xiaohua has been chosen as the Star God and has already gone to the main altar at Qingcheng Mountain for enthronement," Xie Lingyun said, "Don’t provoke Zhang Xiaohua in the future. Once Zhang Xiaohua is recorded and gains the Star God position, collecting incense with the power of Prince Pingbian’s Mansion will be effortless. Then Zhang Xiaohua, holding the Star God position, might reach Tier Ten strength."
Zhang Chen felt that the world had suddenly changed; he hadn’t grown yet, but these exceptional beings were already rising.
"The Great Victory Court should deploy thunderous means to suppress them," Zhang Chen sighed.
"In the view of the various nobles, the Divine Spirit Dao is the Dao of Longevity; even the Great Victory Royal Family dare not defy the trend of the world," Xie Lingyun said.
The Great Victory Royal Family also had its dilemmas.
Zhang Chen fell into silence, feeling that if this continued, something big was bound to happen sooner or later.
"But you needn’t worry; the court also has masters. How could it let the Yellow Heaven Dao develop wildly? There are strong figures in the court who can calculate to use incense to worship mysterious items, perhaps causing these items to gain spirituality, becoming comparable to Divine Spirits," Xie Lingyun said.
Hearing this, Zhang Chen felt inexplicably shocked; during the Emperor Division era, how were Divine Spirits born? Wasn’t it by worship through the faith of all beings?
The only difference now is that there is no mysterious material between heaven and earth; whether mysterious items can again gain wisdom and become Divine Spirits is unknown.
Xie Lingyun had said so much, leaving Zhang Chen somewhat startled, feeling that matters were escalating.
There is no sense of security! But he couldn’t even find the next secret technique for Qi Refining and Immortal Cultivation.
Zhang Chen’s gaze fell on Xie Lingyun, wanting to ask for help but ultimately refrained. He was a proud person, and the relationship between him and Xie Lingyun was pure; he didn’t want that relationship to become tainted.
"Confucianism worships the Supreme Ancestor Master and items from Liezi’s legacy, using the faith of numerous students to nurture it; they’ve already achieved remarkable success. Yellow Heaven Dao must collide with various houses if it wants to expand further. In the future, Huangli Temple likely won’t be safe, so you should plan early and leave this powder keg to avoid getting caught up," Xie Lingyun advised Zhang Chen in detail.
What could Zhang Chen say?
He couldn’t say anything and could only nod in agreement; the incense faith of Huangli Temple was now divided, and staying longer seemed unnecessary.
However, Zhang Chen still harbored some luck, wondering if after some time, once Huangli Temple’s forces complete their Divine Enthronement, would there be any leftover incense faith stored?
Xie Lingyun left, leaving Zhang Chen standing in a small courtyard pondering for a long time, realizing that he needed to plan ahead.
He certainly didn’t want to expand and conquer for Yellow Heaven Dao, becoming a pawn and prolonging their life.