Chapter 724
Ni Chang Yuan Jun nodded and said, “Indeed, this item is called the Feng Shen Bang, and if one can be listed on it, the benefits are endless. For any sect, this item is a true treasure.”
Upon hearing this, the disciples of Yaochi all turned their gazes toward the scroll in Zheng Fa's hand, their eyes filled with longing.
Ni Chang Yuan Jun understood their desire. In this era, treasures of the cave heavens were rare, and even the number of divine positions was limited.
For the disciples of Yaochi, unless they possessed extraordinary talent and some fortuitous encounters, it was difficult to make it onto the Feng Shen Bang.
Thinking of this, she couldn’t help but sigh inwardly: “No wonder the Supreme Dao values Zheng Fa so highly. Setting everything else aside, just based on this Feng Shen Bang, if given time, the Jiu Shan Sect will surely produce many talents.”
“However, with Lu Yao about to attain the Dao, I wonder if the Jiu Shan Sect has that much time left.”
…
The Heavenly Emperor tossed the Feng Shen Bang, and the scroll unfurled before him.
On the back of the scroll, the mountains and rivers of the mortal realm in the Jiu Shan world were depicted.
At the very top of the front side, there were two mysterious runes, beneath which was the name Zhang Wuyi, along with twenty-three empty columns.
The small Feng Shen Bang was not exclusive to Zheng Fa; it was a common treasure for cultivators of the cave heavens.
Ni Chang Yuan Jun had mentioned this before.
To put it simply, when Zheng Fa first entered the Jiu Shan world, the silver and gold books he received were derived from this, akin to the divine positions:
In essence, the Feng Shen Bang of the Xuan Wei Divine Path is a system similar to feudal grants.
The fundamental contradiction of the divine path is that cultivators need more incense offerings, which in turn requires a larger population.
The problem is that a larger population brings greater desires.
The Feng Shen Bang, in essence, is a way for the cave master to distribute their followers when they can no longer bear the burden.
The mechanism is quite simple: the cave master uses the Feng Shen Bang to cultivate powerful sub-deities through incense offerings.
These sub-deities, being loyal and devoted to the cave master, naturally contribute their own incense power.
With fewer sub-deities, there are fewer desires, thus transforming the collection of incense power from the mortal realm into the collection of incense power from the sub-deities. Although the quantity of incense power may be significantly less, the burden of desires is only one percent or even one-thousandth of the original!
Sub-deities act as filters for incense power.
And this method can only be used by the cave master; after all, without a cave fully under one’s control, how can one talk about distribution?
Thus, although Zheng Fa had obtained the small Feng Shen Bang early on, he could only fully master this treasure once he merged with the Heavenly Emperor’s body and the Jiu Shan world.
…
“Eh? There’s already a name on it?”
Ni Chang Yuan Jun looked at the small Feng Shen Bang in surprise, and upon closer inspection, she recognized it as Zhang Zhenren from the Jiu Shan Sect.
She immediately understood and smiled, “It’s only right to grant that Zhenren a divine position.”
The other disciples of Yaochi nodded in agreement; they weren’t foolish and could see clearly that within the Jiu Shan world, Zhang Zhenren was second only to Zheng Fa.
Now that they were sealing gods, it was only natural for Zhang Zhenren to take the lead.
In the small courtyard, Zheng Fa turned his gaze to Sister Zhang.
Sister Zhang gently nodded, as if no further questions were needed.
Zheng Fa smiled and pointed toward the Heavenly Emperor’s body. Suddenly, a great sun of true fire appeared in the void, enveloping the small Feng Shen Bang.
Moments later, the name Zhang Wuyi on the small Feng Shen Bang faded from bold to faint, ultimately disappearing. Instead, a drop of essence blood emerged from the front of the scroll, flying into the courtyard and landing on Sister Zhang’s heart.
No one expected that the first act of Zheng Fa in sealing gods would be to remove Sister Zhang’s name from the small Feng Shen Bang!
The Yaochi disciples were all stunned, but none were as excited as Ni Chang Yuan Jun.
“Disappeared?”
“Zheng Fa… can actually rewrite the Feng Shen Bang?”
She gazed at the small Feng Shen Bang from a distance, her expression shifting from surprise to doubt, and finally, her eyes were filled with longing, even a hint of fervor.
Which of the Yaochi disciples had ever seen her like this? They exchanged glances, and the green-clad female disciple timidly asked, “Yuan Jun, is this really such a big deal? Isn’t it Zhang Zhenren who’s at a loss?”
Ni Chang Yuan Jun shook her head and looked at Zheng Fa, her eyes brimming with hope. “You don’t understand. For you, being on this Feng Shen Bang is indeed a great opportunity.”
“But for us, being able to break free from the divine path is the true liberation.”
She fell silent for a moment before continuing, “If Zheng Fa has such ability, if he could apply it to the gods of Yaochi…”
The green-clad female disciple, seeing her lost in thought, curiously asked, “What then?”
“Competing with the Heavenly Maiden, I would stand invincible, and even the Heavenly Maiden…”
At this point, Ni Chang Yuan Jun looked again at the great sun of true fire in the void, murmuring, “I just wonder if this divine fire is truly so miraculous that it can offer Yaochi a glimmer of escape.”
…
Zheng Fa was unaware of Ni Chang Yuan Jun’s thoughts. His act of erasing Sister Zhang’s name from the Feng Shen Bang was driven by his own intentions.
His views on the divine path were quite complex.
He was not someone who coveted the position of the Heavenly Emperor; otherwise, he wouldn’t have engaged in acts of toppling divine statues. His use of the cave heaven method was also for the purpose of cultivating the Yang God.
If he were to speak of his true intentions, he would still prefer to explore the mysteries of the immortal path.
Even for him, the Heavenly Emperor’s body was a support, but it wasn’t overly important.
Yet…
He closed his eyes, feeling the myriad thoughts emanating from the Heavenly Emperor’s body.
Among them were certainly desires, malice, and the darkest aspects of human nature.
But he could also see many other scenes:
An old man, kneeling devoutly on the street, bowing to the Heavenly Emperor in the sky.
A child, drooling, placing freshly picked, glistening fruits before Zheng Fa’s statue.
A father, holding his newborn daughter, smiling shyly as if introducing her little face to Zheng Fa.
…
Although Zheng Fa was not fond of the idea of worshiping gods, he had to admit that the divine path was the only cultivation method in the Xuan Wei realm that cared for mortals.
The immortal sects, as it appeared now, only valued those with exceptional talent; ordinary mortals were regarded as mere fodder in their eyes.
As for the demonic sects, it goes without saying; the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor had countless souls under his control.
The Tianhe Sect’s approach was evident; they wouldn’t care much for the mundane.
Only the divine path, due to its structural issues, was the most friendly toward mortals.
Ni Chang Yuan Jun naturally complained that the divine path was a cage.
But for countless mortals, the divine path was, in fact, a protective umbrella.
If Zheng Fa were an ordinary mortal without cultivation, he might prefer to live under the rule of divine path cultivators rather than among the immortal sects.
In short, cultivators are only responsible for the source of their power.
In the Xuan Wei realm, the weak could only rely on the divine path to gain the strength to resist those immortal sects and demonic ancestors.
His gaze fell upon the small Feng Shen Bang, where the great sun of true fire continued to burn, its patterns constantly shifting.
The Heavenly Emperor stood in the void, his voice resonant: “I am the Heavenly Emperor. Today, I make a pact with the beings of Jiu Shan, to guard the heavens and earth together, to vow the mountains and rivers.”
“One of the items is the oath of the divine and the mortal.”
“The divine shall accept incense offerings, and there shall be three oaths:”
“First, reward the good and punish the evil, protect life and cease killing.”
“Second, harmonize the four seasons, and shelter all living beings.”
“Third, enlighten and promote the Dao, impart skills and benefit the people.”
As his words fell, everyone in heaven and earth could see three new oaths added to the Feng Shen Bang.
The Heavenly Emperor continued, “The mortals, in turn, must also have three promises:”
“Do good, respect the heavens, and seek knowledge.”
Ni Chang Yuan Jun frowned, feeling perplexed.
Though there were three promises, the restrictions placed on the divine by Zheng Fa were far greater than those on mortals.
In the Xuan Wei realm, this was unprecedented.
She understood that this was Zheng Fa’s intention, but she couldn’t grasp why.
The Heavenly Emperor gazed at the newly inscribed contract on the Feng Shen Bang, knowing that this was likely the first step in the custom of the Jiu Shan Heavenly Court.
The contract between the divine and the mortal was, in essence, more about form than substance.
Fundamentally, it clarified the source of the divine path’s power, bringing the divine and the mortal to a relatively equal position.
In terms of content, for Zheng Fa, the most important aspect of the three promises was indeed the enlightenment and promotion of the Dao, imparting skills and benefiting the people, which aligned perfectly with his philosophy of gathering wisdom.
…
In the mundane world of the Jiu Shan realm, anyone who had read even a little would understand these simple words.
They stared blankly at Zheng Fa’s Heavenly Emperor form, momentarily seeming as if they hadn’t comprehended anything.
Yet the Heavenly Emperor did not finish:
“The second item is the rules for selecting deities.”
“First, anyone who ascends to divinity must accumulate good deeds; those lacking in good deeds cannot ascend.”
“Second, anyone who ascends to divinity must pass an examination; those who do not meet the standards cannot ascend.”
“Third, anyone who ascends to divinity must undergo trials; those lacking experience cannot ascend.”
Once Zheng Fa finished speaking, it was the disciples of the Jiu Shan Sect who were astonished.
“Doesn’t this consider cultivation level or spiritual roots?”
Someone immediately realized this point, and many disciples suddenly became excited.
“Good deeds… I wonder what the threshold for good deeds is.”
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