Chapter 725
“What's the exam about? Are they really going to test how to manage the divine path?”
“Experience, experience in the mortal realm of the Nine Mountains and the Hundred Immortals Alliance? They must have some experience in managing mortals, right?”
Many disciples were somewhat familiar with Zheng Fa's line of thinking, and they quickly grasped the essence of these three rules, getting it almost spot on.
To put it simply, this was akin to a high-stakes civil service exam.
It was also meant to cultivate those disciples who might not have exceptional talent in research but possess perseverance, a steadfast mind, and a willingness to work hard.
Zheng Fa hoped that such disciples would enjoy the nourishment of incense power and even had high hopes for their future development.
The desire for incense in the divine path could also be seen as a kind of opportunity, one that could strengthen their resolve and be quite beneficial for cultivators.
However, in the eyes of the Yuanshi Goddess, Zheng Fa's approach was far too unfamiliar, leaving her even more perplexed.
You see, the selection in the Yaochi still focused on aptitude and spiritual roots.
Unlike Zheng Fa, who seemed to prioritize their ability to manage mortals.
But the Heavenly Emperor had not finished speaking:
“Thirdly, the rules for the appointment and punishment of the divine path.”
“Each divine position has a term of fifty years. Once the term is up, one must accumulate good deeds again and take the exam.”
“A single cultivator can ascend to divinity at most twice.”
“Every ten years, there will be a divine path examination.”
“Those who rank in the top tier will gain free entry to the Transcendence Pool.”
“Those who rank in the lower tier will be demoted from their divine position and will not be reemployed.”
After the Heavenly Emperor finished speaking, the small Divine Ranking Board was already filled with dense, tiny characters.
Yet he still felt that the sentient beings couldn’t see clearly, so he pointed at the Divine Ranking Board, projecting the text into the void, as if to imprint it in the hearts of everyone in heaven and earth.
……
“Zheng Zhangmen, you are being too harsh on the divine path cultivators.”
As soon as she saw Zheng Fa, the Yuanshi Goddess couldn’t help but say, clearly impressed by the divine contract.
Zheng Fa smiled but didn’t respond. The Yuanshi Goddess turned to Sister Zhang and added, “Is this strictness the reason why Zhang Zhenren is unwilling to ascend to divinity?”
Sister Zhang shook her head. “First, it’s because of the selection rules; I can’t violate them, and I have to avoid suspicion. Second, honestly, the position of divinity doesn’t benefit me much; it actually distracts me from my thoughts.”
Upon hearing the first part, the Yuanshi Goddess was taken aback.
She knew that Sister Zhang was special in the Nine Mountains, yet now she wanted to avoid suspicion because of this contract.
This showed how seriously the Nine Mountains Sect took the divine contract.
After hearing the second part, she suddenly understood and said, “That makes sense. After all, Zheng Fa has only achieved corpse dissolution, while you have already reached the transformation of spirit.”
Given the current situation, with only twenty-four divine positions in the Nine Mountains, and since Zheng Fa’s cultivation was merely at the corpse dissolution stage, the highest he could reach was the transformation of spirit.
For Sister Zhang, the position of divinity was indeed not very helpful.
Moreover, she loved to deduce and calculate, and she didn’t want to be mired in desires every day.
“Are you about to set off, Yuanshi?”
Zheng Fa sensed that the Yuanshi Goddess wouldn’t come to him without reason and understood she had something to say, so he initiated the conversation.
“Yes, I really can’t delay any longer; the Xuan Ding is getting anxious.” The Yuanshi Goddess nodded and continued, “Zheng Zhangmen, I have something to ask you.”
“Hmm?”
“What’s your view on the divine path? And what about that divine contract…”
As she spoke, her expression seemed quite tense.
Zheng Fa pondered for a moment, as if considering how to articulate his thoughts.
The Yuanshi Goddess added, “Zheng Zhangmen, I hope you won’t hold back in your teachings.”
“Teaching? I wouldn’t dare to claim that. It’s more of an attempt.”
“An attempt?”
Zheng Fa nodded gently.
To put it plainly, the Heavenly Emperor’s body was essentially a subject for experimentation.
Experiments in the cultivation of the Yang God, including experiments in the cave heaven method.
Zheng Fa’s foundation still lay in the “Huang Ting Jing.”
However, due to the significance of the Nine Mountains, he didn’t dare to be too bold, but he wasn’t as anxious as the Yuanshi Goddess, who seemed to be caught in a web of worries. The divine contract was also a kind of attempt.
“In my view, the divine path and the immortal path are fundamentally different— the divine path is impartial, while the immortal path values the individual.”
The Yuanshi Goddess listened intently, seemingly deep in thought.
“The divine contract naturally leans towards mortals, as they are the foundation of the divine path,” Zheng Fa stated plainly. “That’s why I established the term limits.”
The Yuanshi Goddess nodded lightly, exhaling, “Term limits… Yaochi actually lacks this.”
Zheng Fa felt a sense of pride in his heart.
He didn’t know if others had the ability to rewrite the Divine Ranking Board.
But the Great Sun True Fire was incredibly fragrant!
“To speak frankly, divine path cultivators practice the divine path for themselves. Once they become powerful, they naturally see sentient beings as a burden.”
A hint of embarrassment appeared on the Yuanshi Goddess’s face.
“That’s human nature,” Zheng Fa shook his head, “nothing surprising.”
“Term limits serve two purposes: first, they allow cultivators to break free from the constraints of the divine path; second, they prevent deities from becoming complacent, neglecting sentient beings, or even resenting their followers.”
The Yuanshi Goddess sighed, “That’s true. It’s manageable in the short term, but over a thousand years, ten thousand years, or even a million years, who has that kind of patience? I… feel the same way.”
Zheng Fa agreed with her sentiment. To put it bluntly, if he were in charge, he wouldn’t want to endure the onslaught of incense desires either.
“I can understand the rest, but why impose such strict limitations on the position of divinity?”
The Yuanshi Goddess seemed particularly concerned about this point and asked again.
“Yuanshi, to me, the position of divinity isn’t important; it’s merely another training system for disciples,” Zheng Fa shook his head. “But more importantly, I hope that the Nine Mountains can produce more talents that I can utilize.”
To put it simply, he wasn’t afraid of the incense desires; a little more hardship for the Heavenly Emperor’s body was fine.
He viewed the position of divinity as an accelerator for cultivating some disciples.
What he cared about was always how to nurture more talents.
Naturally, he was more concerned about people than about the divine.
“I even hope that my disciples in the Nine Mountains don’t become too immersed in divine positions,” Zheng Fa suddenly said, “but rather that they can continue to explore the immortal path after cultivating with the help of incense.”
The Yuanshi Goddess was taken aback, and she said, “So that’s why you impose such restrictions on the divine path?”
Zheng Fa nodded gently and suddenly said, “Yuanshi, I have a somewhat simplistic view.”
“Hmm?”
“The divine path should provide order for the weak, while the immortal path should grant freedom to the strong.”
The Yuanshi Goddess pondered for a moment, slowly nodding.
“Thus, the divine path is merely a place for my Nine Mountains to cultivate talents, while the exploration of the immortal path is the future.”
The Yuanshi Goddess finally understood Zheng Fa’s philosophy. She summarized, “The division between immortals and deities… I understand the meaning of the Zhangmen now.”
“Does that satisfy you, Yuanshi?”
The Yuanshi Goddess smiled wryly, “It seems I can’t hide anything from you, Zhangmen.”
Zheng Fa pointed, and the Great Sun True Fire blazed in the air.
The Yuanshi Goddess’s eyes were filled with longing.
“I can’t say whether the Great Sun True Fire can help you break free, but right now, it probably can’t.”
Zheng Fa spoke candidly, knowing that the Yuanshi Goddess was a true immortal, and he didn’t know what form the Yaochi divine path took, so he dared not make any promises.
Yet the Yuanshi Goddess was quite open-minded: “... A glimmer of hope is enough.”
“I’ve said it before, Yuanshi is a friend of my Nine Mountains.”
The Yuanshi Goddess clasped her hands, saying nothing, but both she and Zheng Fa understood that their positions had completely flipped in just a few sentences.
Previously, the Yuanshi Goddess had approached the Nine Mountains with the mindset of rural poverty alleviation.
Now, due to the benefits of the trade routes between the East and West continents and the wonders of the Great Sun True Fire, she had almost shown a posture of being subordinate to Zheng Fa.
Zheng Fa didn’t expect her to follow him blindly, but he was confident that in the future, his words would likely carry more weight with the Yuanshi Goddess than even those of the Grand Master of the Xuan Ding.
Moreover, since he hadn’t yet resolved the Yuanshi Goddess’s issues, she was merely beginning to express her attitude.
Earlier, the Yuanshi Goddess had been carefully probing Zheng Fa’s views on the divine path and divine path cultivators, or perhaps, his attitude towards her…
The divine path has its flaws, which is a good thing!
(End of this chapter)
Chapter 498: Secrets of the Milky Way, Advancement of the Spiritual Eye
Chapter 498: Secrets of the Milky Way, Advancement of the Spiritual Eye
“Welcome, Yuanshi!”
From a distance, the Grand Master of the Taishang Dao, Li Sanxian, greeted her with a bow.
Her expression was somewhat awkward.
She was familiar with the Grand Master of the Xuan Ding, having known him since the previous epoch.
This Li Sanxian was a disciple who had attained enlightenment in this epoch, and she hadn’t had much interaction with him in recent years since she couldn’t enter the Xuan Wei.
She had only heard that he was the most outstanding disciple of the Taishang Dao in this epoch.
Thinking of this, she couldn’t help but recall Zheng Fa, whom she had seen not long ago, and gently shook her head.
Being late was already impolite, and making such comparisons was truly an insult to the Taishang Dao, which wasn’t good at all.
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