Chapter 9
He freezes, as if hearing a hallucination, then turns toward me in disbelief.
"SuXiaotang?" His voice trembles with uncertainty and desperate, humble hope.
He stares at me. After several long breaths, recognition finally dawns in his ashen eyes.
"You... remember everything?"
I push through the raging demonic winds toward him.
“QiYaoheng, you once left me for the sake of the world.”
“Dare to try it again?”
I ignite my nascent soul, drawing on the last strands of power from the SeaOfWishes, and open ProjectedImages across every temple linked to it.
TaiyuanRealm is shaking. Outside, everything has already fallen into chaos.
In the ProjectedImages, voices rise in fury, every curse aimed at the DivineLord.
“Useless! We’ve poured so much incense money into this—what have you done?”
“Worthless thing, can’t even hold one city!”
“It’s the DivineLord’s fault—lost virtue, offended heaven, dragging us all down!”
“Smash this rotten temple! What’s the point of worshiping trash?”
…
Faces that once bowed in reverence now contort with rage.
Some start wrecking the temples. Others snatch the meager offerings. A few even piss on the sacred plaques.
I swallow the rage and ache burning in my chest and look at QiYaoheng.
“This is what you’ve been guarding…”
“Is it worth it?”
The flood of abuse crashes over him, yet his expression stays calm. He looks at me and smiles instead.
His trembling hand reaches out, gently brushing the tears from the corner of my eye.
“What I’ve always wanted to protect… is only you. And the world you live in.”
“Don’t cry.”
His low voice wraps around me, soft and soothing.
“This time, we do whatever you say.”
11
He never says anything he doesn’t mean.
The next instant, golden light peels away from his chest.
Warm, sacred, it flows into my brow.
The vast SeaOfWishes connects to me in a rush. Power that could shatter mountains and shift seas floods through my veins.
He has transferred the DivineSealMark to me.
“With me here, you can do anything you want,” he says.
“Good!”
I draw a deep breath and turn to the ProjectedImages, to those ugly, sneering faces still cursing the DivineLord without restraint.
With the mark, my will spreads like an invisible net across the entire TaiyuanRealm.
My voice rings out through every mind, reaching every corner of the realm.
“Worship the DivineLord? Heh… three measly fruits and a couple of dates every day—not even enough to send a beggar away—and you call that devotion?”
The clamor falters.
I don’t hold back.
“Don’t pretend you’re righteous. This TaiyuanRealm doesn’t belong to the DivineLord alone. Why should he sacrifice everything for garbage like you?”
“I don’t care if you’re saints or scum—if you want to keep breathing, you contribute.”
Someone still dares to shout in front of a temple.
“We’re just loose cultivators. Our power is tiny. This isn’t our responsibility!”
I lift my hand. Huge ProjectedImages unfold before every temple across the land.
There stands the ancient BoundaryStele at the edge of the SeaOfWishes, radiating timeless weight.
“This is the boundary of the SeaOfWishes. Every cultivator can press their palms to the BoundaryStele and pour in their cultivation as wish power.”
“Over three million cultivators in TaiyuanRealm—you feast on the people’s incense and rice. Why shouldn’t you give something back?”
Some still mutter curses, as though distance could hide them.
I broadcast their sects live and start naming names.
“You—Elder Liu of Qingyun Sect.
Last year alone, those ‘filial gifts’ from wealthy gentry under your jurisdiction topped a million spirit stones, right?