In the universe, families, sects, realms, ancient teachings, divine kingdoms…, one force after another, to survive, must have divine spirits presiding over them.
Just as only great worlds that give birth to divine spirits can become subordinate mortal realms of the Heavenly Court.
Only races that give birth to divine spirits can enter the Hundred Clans Royal City.
…
But the lifespan of divine spirits is only one Yuanhui.
If they cannot pass the Yuanhui calamity, they will perish, and the entire force will collapse as a result.
To be divided, annexed, slaughtered, enslaved.
This is the law of the jungle in the universe!
For a force to flourish long-term without decline, it must cultivate new divine spirits.
The geniuses of the mortal world thus become crucially important. Those who can fuse fifth-grade saint wills, the seeds of divine spirits, are all the more pivotal, representing the hope and future of a force.
Cultivating geniuses, however, requires a steady stream of resources.
How to acquire resources?
A force must expand.
Since divine spirits cannot interfere in the mortal world, for a force to expand, it can only rely on powerhouses of the mortal world.
How to cultivate powerhouses of the mortal world?
Geniuses and resources.
The way of survival in the universe: geniuses, resources, divine spirits, mutually reinforcing one another, none dispensable.
The more numerous and exceptional the geniuses, the more abundant the resources, the greater the chance of cultivating a second divine spirit.
Only when a force has a second divine spirit can it truly be considered relatively stable, able to withstand greater risks.
When a force expands to a certain extent, the strength of its divine spirits also becomes crucially important.
A force presided over by a false god, if it expands too greatly, will inevitably invite catastrophic destruction.
Divine spirits, to cultivate and grow stronger, also need resources, also need wealth provided by the mortal world. Thus, the forces of the mortal world must continue to expand.
When a divine spirit’s cultivation reaches the level of Divine Venerable, it naturally no longer fears any challenge.
But even Divine Venerables have their lifespan exhausted and will perish.
The forces under a Divine Venerable are even more vast, the interests even more terrifying; once they collapse, it will shake the heavens and earth, concerning the survival and honour of billions of living beings. Therefore, Divine Venerables also need to cultivate successors.
In the universe, every force harbours immense crisis awareness.
If not preparing for a rainy day, all that one possesses now may well vanish overnight. Even falling to a miserable end, becoming slaves, losing dignity, forfeiting lives, the entire clan perishing.
Investing in a future Divine Venerable thus becomes crucially important.
It can bring shared prosperity.
The lifespan of a Divine Venerable spans hundreds of thousands of years, even millions; for any force, sheltering under a Divine Venerable’s wings will inevitably lead to flourishing.
Just as in the mortal world, many great families sponsor young heroes who conquer the land; when that young hero becomes the ruler of a nation, those families too can become noble houses and great clans.
Of course, that young hero must first wed the daughters of those great families to gain their support.
Zhang Ruchen now is precisely that young hero who may become a Divine Venerable in the future, and moreover, the figures behind him, the Blood Absolute War God, the Blood Empress, the Nether King, are all extraordinary personages.
The forces wishing to invest in him are naturally innumerable.
With the Blood Absolute Family in such a state of thriving prosperity, who knows how many forces harbour jealousy, how many forces worry that their future expansion will regard them as threats.
In such circumstances, the Blood Absolute War God naturally must proactively unite various forces through marriage alliances, lest their excessive flourishing invite backlash, leading to the clan’s destruction and members’ deaths.
Zhang Ruchen is the best candidate.
Because he has half human bloodline, his father is Qi Tian, and the Infernal Realms already have numerous forces hostile to him. Marriage alliances can both protect him and aid his growth.
The Blood Absolute War God discerned that Zhang Ruchen was extremely averse to marriage alliances, much like himself in his youth.
But in his youth, he had no choice and had to wed.
Behind the Blood Absolute War God, although there was a supreme protector of the Undying Blood Clan, that supreme being was not fond of intervening in struggles between forces, entering seclusion for at least centuries, millennia at a time, utterly unable to protect him at all moments.
In this world, one must ultimately rely on oneself.
Being able to form marriage alliances with major forces is also a manifestation of one’s own strength and methods.
Backers are merely a form of deterrence at a higher level.
The Blood Absolute War God pondered deeply for a long while before saying, “For you at present, the greatest threats come from two places. First, the Adjudication Division of the Destiny Divine Temple.”
“Second, the Southern Heavenly Life-Death Ruins.”
“As for the Enddharma Divine King of the Death God Temple, the Azure Deer Divine Temple of the Asura Clan, the Earth Fiend Ghost Clan of the Ghost Clan, although they all harbour intentions to put you to death, compared to these two great threats, they are negligible.”
Zhang Ruchen’s expression grew solemn, knowing that every word the Blood Absolute War God spoke now was intimately tied to his life.
“I can understand the Adjudication Division; after all, they have the duty to cleanse the Destiny Divine Temple of all potential threats. I am Qi Tian’s son, his only son. This is an irreconcilable conflict!”
Before the Blood Absolute War God, Zhang Ruchen did not conceal his intent to rescue the Bright Emperor.
He continued, “But what reason does the Southern Heavenly Life-Death Ruins have for eliminating me?”
The Blood Absolute War God gave Zhang Ruchen a profound glance and said, “Sumeru Holy Monk!”
“A hundred thousand years ago, the fall of the Sumeru Holy Monk was most directly related to the Southern Heavenly Life-Death Ruins. The various gods already know that you cultivated to your current level in the place of the Sumeru Holy Monk’s parinirvana. You are the successor of the Sumeru Holy Monk; how could the Southern Heavenly Life-Death Ruins give you the chance to step into the Divine Venerable realm?”
Zhang Ruchen said, “Does that not mean that all the divine spirits who participated in besieging the Sumeru Holy Monk back then will regard me as a potential enemy?”
“You know of the events of that year?” The Blood Absolute War God said.
Zhang Ruchen did not reveal the secret of having traversed the River of Time and said, “I have heard some.”
The Blood Absolute War God said, “The divine spirits who besieged the Sumeru Holy Monk that year were naturally numerous, but those who would regard you as a threat are exceedingly few.”
“The Adjudication Division and the Southern Heavenly Life-Death Ruins are two forces that even this seat is extremely wary of; the Blood Absolute Family cannot afford to offend them for now. Moreover, they have already formed killing intent towards you.”
The Blood Absolute War God used “this seat” rather than “your maternal grandfather,” precisely because his mind was exceedingly grave at this moment.
“To confront these two forces, you must form marriage alliances. One hundred, you are unwilling to wed, but these few you must wed. Even if they are unwilling to marry, you must find a way to make them marry you.”
The Blood Absolute War God produced a second tome and tossed it to Zhang Ruchen.
This tome was much thinner.
Only four pages in total.
Four names.
Luo Ji, Yan Zhe Xian, Bai Qing’er, Qing Fei Wei.
Zhang Ruchen pondered carefully, frowning as he said, “Why is there Qing Fei Wei again?”
The Blood Absolute War God said, “Unable to confront the Adjudication Division head-on, we can only divide them from within. Qing Fei Wei hails from the Adjudication Division; if she can become your wife, the Adjudication Division’s internals will inevitably harbour other considerations. Their hostility towards you will diminish greatly.”
“Luo Ji is the beloved daughter of Luo Yan and betrothed by the Fortune, Wealth, and Longevity Divine Venerable. Marrying her brings you a hundred benefits without a single harm. All your potential enemies in the Rakshasa Clan will thereby develop apprehensions.”
“Yan Zhe Xian is born of the Yama Clan’s most direct lineage, deeply favoured by the Supreme One. If you can marry her, you can gain the support of the entire Yama Clan. At that point, even the Southern Heavenly Life-Death Ruins must exercise some caution.”
“As for Bai Qing’er… your relationship with her, the Sixth Son has already told me.”
“On the Asura Clan’s side, Ni Xuan will speak on your behalf. In this way, you can borrow the momentum of the entire Lower Three Clans and the Yama Clan to step by step impact the Divine Venerable realm. Thus, the resistance can be much smaller.”
Having reached the Blood Absolute War God’s heights, what he saw were the grand interconnections of pros and cons, laying out the framework for Zhang Ruchen’s path to Divine Venerable; he would not speak to him of the entanglements of romantic affections.
He spoke only of interests and value.
Emotions, before interests, were sometimes too fragile!
Zhang Ruchen knew this was already the Blood Absolute War God’s bottom line and thus did not immediately refuse, saying, “Very well! I shall try!”
Before life and death, he had no other choice.
The Blood Absolute War God laughed heartily, his mood greatly relieved.
He then turned to matters of cultivation.
“Your saint will has not only fused yin and yang with the five elements but also possesses attributes of time and space. Correct?”
Zhang Ruchen did not conceal it and said, “Precisely so; it cannot escape Maternal Grandfather’s eyes.”
The Blood Absolute War God shook his head and said, “If not for you executing saint will in my divine realm world, I might not have sensed the mobilisation of time and space. But this is my divine realm world; how easy is it for you to mobilise time and space?”
Zhang Ruchen understood; no wonder he had felt exertion beyond his strength earlier.
The Blood Absolute War God gazed towards the firmament, sighing deeply: “Fusing nine saint wills, truly terrifying; this is the true first-grade, arguably the foremost since ancient times! If I were your enemy, before killing you, I would surely be unable to eat or sleep in peace.”
“Enough of that; let us speak of saint will! Your Sword Dao Saint Will has reached third-grade?”
“It has!” Zhang Ruchen said.
Having already witnessed the first-grade saint will of nine fused into one, the Blood Absolute War God no longer showed surprise and said, “Do you know the relationship between saint will and mysteries?”
“Please enlighten me, Maternal Grandfather.” Zhang Ruchen cupped his hands and said.
With hands clasped behind his back, the Blood Absolute War God said, “Your cultivation is now but one step from the divine realm. Moreover, during the Ten Realms War, you even drew upon the power of Sword Dao Mysteries. Telling you the essence of mysteries now will benefit you somewhat.”
“Saint-realm cultivators all believe that upon stepping into the divine realm, saint will automatically transforms into mysteries; in truth, it is not so simple. Saint will and mysteries are worlds apart.”
“First, of rules.”
“The saint path rules that cultivators forge within their bodies, such as Sword Dao Rules, Palm Dao Rules, Time Rules, Space Rules…, all derive from the rules of heaven and earth, are parts of the rules of heaven and earth.”
“Thus, no matter how many billions of Sword Dao Rules you cultivate within your body, compared to the Sword Dao Rules of the entire heaven and earth, they remain utterly insignificant.”
“Mysteries are what aid you in mobilising the rules of the entire heaven and earth.”
“For instance, if you grasp one ten-thousandth of Sword Dao Mysteries, then theoretically, in an ultimate state, you can mobilise one ten-thousandth of the Sword Dao Rules of the entire universe for your own use. Do you know how terrifying this power is?”
Zhang Ruchen was lost in thought for a long while before saying, “Such immense power would suffice to slay true gods, would it not? If I have one ten-thousandth of Sword Dao Mysteries, could I not mobilise one ten-thousandth of the Sword Dao Rules between heaven and earth?”
The Blood Absolute War God smiled and said, “What I speak of is the theoretical ultimate state. With your current cultivation, you are unworthy of one ten-thousandth of Sword Dao Mysteries. But even if you can draw upon one billionth or one ten-billionth of the Sword Dao Rules between heaven and earth, you can already dominate greatly in the saint realm.”
“In truth, only the divine souls of divine spirits can, through mysteries, mobilise the rules of heaven and earth for their use. For you to preliminarily wield them is already extraordinarily impressive.”
“Does that not mean my one ten-thousandth of Sword Dao Mysteries represents supreme power, holding immense allure for divine spirits?” Zhang Ruchen said.
The Blood Absolute War God said, “Not for every divine spirit. Only divine spirits who cultivated Sword Dao Saint Will in the Great Saint realm can grasp it and erupt with incomparable power. For other divine spirits, it holds only value for comprehension and cultivation.”
Zhang Ruchen revealed a puzzled look.
The Blood Absolute War God explained: “You should know that only Great Saints who fuse fifth-grade saint will have hope of stepping into the divine realm.”
“Only Great Saints who fuse third-grade saint will can, after stepping into the divine realm, grasp mysteries.”
“For example, Xia Yu; her third-grade saint will is fused from fourth-grade Blood Sea Heavenly Dao Saint Will and sixth-grade Wind Dao Saint Will. After entering the divine realm, what she primarily cultivates will inevitably be Blood Sea Heavenly Dao and Wind Dao.”
“If she can grasp some Blood Sea Heavenly Dao Mysteries or Wind Dao Mysteries, she can swiftly become a powerhouse in the divine realm.”
“But if what she obtains are other mysteries, they hold little significance for her. They can only be used for comprehension, unable to manifest in combat power.”
“This is precisely why saint will is the gateway to power, the gateway to supremacy, crucially important.”
“Whether one can fuse second-grade saint will is even judged as the first threshold for determining if one is a Yuanhui-level genius.”
Zhang Ruchen pondered and said, “I understand! In other words, for me, after stepping into the divine realm, only the ten mysteries of yin, yang, the five elements, time, space, and Sword Dao will be useful? Other mysteries, even if grasped, can only serve for comprehension and cultivation?”
The Blood Absolute War God said, “That is the gist, but not absolute. The nine eternal ancient paths often prove exceptions.”
“As long as one grasps one percent of the mysteries of an eternal ancient path, one can become the emissary of that path. For instance, as a Truth Emissary, you become the spokesperson of the Truth Path in the mortal world! Not to mention after becoming a god, even before, one can possess exceedingly strong combat power.”
“Other saint paths, though they also speak of emissaries, cannot compare in the slightest to the eternal ancient paths. Merely saint will can restrict the vast majority of divine spirits from having any possibility of becoming emissaries of such paths.”
“If the mysteries of a certain saint path one grasps reach one-tenth, and one’s cultivation is sufficiently powerful to fully control that one-tenth of the mysteries, mobilising one-tenth of the rules of heaven and earth, then one may be termed the principal god of that path.”
“If the mysteries one grasps exceed half, and one can fully control them, then one is the sovereign of that saint path!”
Zhang Ruchen believed that principal gods certainly existed in the universe, but…
“Does the Heavenly Court and the Infernal Realms have sovereign-level existences?” Zhang Ruchen could not help but ask.
