Chapter 850: Chapter 573: Heavenly Person Divine Enthronement List (Monthly Ticket Request at the Start of the Month)
"The Investiture of the Gods?"
Lu Chenzhou’s face showed a look of shock.
So, this is the true purpose of the Heavenly Person List—to unite the strength of our civilization, to allow the spirits of our forebears to ascend and rank among the Divine Realm.
"President, the ’Gods’ here—are they deities on par with the Great Wilderness Gods, or are they just ordinary Incense Fire Gods?"
As far as he knew, within the Three Thousand Worlds, some civilizations followed the path of divinity or totemism, giving birth to many ’Divine Spirits,’ yet these were merely ordinary spiritual entities.
Their strength varied immensely.
The weak ones were only at the level of Martial Artists.
The strong could rival Eight Realm existences.
It was said that in a place called the Barbaric Ancient Great World, there had once emerged a Demigod-level totem spirit.
Yet even Demigod was the limit.
No one had truly attained godhood by such means.
Chen Beiming said:
"The Divine Spirits conferred by the Heavenly Person List are different from the Great Wilderness Gods. The Great Wilderness Gods are not belief-based beings, but primordial creatures born with mastery over the Dao—they are incarnations of the Dao itself. Such gods possess greater might, but death for them is true and final.
But for faith-based deities, similar to the Stellar Evil God, these are spiritual entities; as long as their faith endures, they never truly die. One day, they may yet be resurrected.
When the Divine Court fell, it was thought that the Stellar Evil God also perished along with the collapse of the Divine Kingdom, but unexpectedly the faith in the Stellar Evil God was not extinguished, and over countless years, it rekindled from the ashes.
The Chi Ji God, who is the Star Lord of Destiny, can see Fate and glimpses of distant futures. Upon finding this out, before the Divine Court’s demise, He made many preparations.
On one hand, He united with other trusted gods—such as Zouyu, Lu Shu, Zhu Tian—leaving behind inheritances in the form of divine abodes and relics, seeking out Fire Seed Worlds.
He wished for cultivators to become gods.
On the other hand, He left behind the Heavenly Person List, hoping to emulate the Stellar Evil God, and, rooted in the Three Thousand Worlds, create undying, immortal, and mighty spiritual entities.
That is, the Heavenly Spirits.
Our Martial Arts progresses fastest, and produces the greatest number of experts most efficiently, thus this task was handed to us. As to whether these spiritual entities can truly rival the Divine Spirits, that is unknown, but it is certainly preferable to having all sentient beings worship evil gods."
Chen Beiming revealed some ancient secrets.
Lu Chenzhou mused, "No matter black cat or white cat, so long as it catches evil gods, it is a good cat. The path of faith has many flaws, yet it can be rapidly established in a short time."
"Indeed. The essence of the Heavenly Person Martial Arts Trial is to strengthen the Xia Realm, spreading the name of Martial Arts and its experts to more civilizations and beings throughout the Three Thousand Worlds, so that, eventually, we may create a Divine Kingdom-like entity—the Supreme Martial Realm, constructed from the faith of all beings, supplanting the Great Wilderness. Without sources of faith, even if evil gods revive, they will be curtailed; even if they escape the Forbidden Zone, their strength can never recover to their peak. Even if cultivators cannot birth Divine Spirits, they can, by condensing the faith of all living things into the Heavenly Spirits, resist the evil gods."
Ultimately.
The Chi Ji God still harbors concerns.
That humanity cannot become gods.
There must be deeper secrets behind this; only by Lu Chenzhou truly reaching that step will the mists be dispelled.
"In short, the first phase requires the emergence of fifty Seventh Realm cultivators, and the widespread dissemination of the Heavenly Spirits, so that more Martial Artists appear in the Three Thousand Worlds. Our Seventh Realm experts out in the world have already done preliminary work; if eight more break through to Seventh Realm, the task will be complete."
"Then it is near at hand."
Lu Chenzhou, too, looked forward with hope.
The difficulty of Breaking Seven is dropping.
Within ten years, this step can be achieved.
"The second phase will be the emergence of two hundred Heavenly Realm experts. The Heavenly Person List can then be evolved into a Supreme Treasure. If the trial proceeds smoothly, Martial Arts Incense Power can spread to a thousand worlds, and with 108 Heavenly Spirits, each generally at the power of the Eight Realm, those like Zhang Ancestor—already mighty—would at least be Demigod-level beings."
"In the third phase, a thousand Heavenly Realm experts must arise. The Heavenly Person List will become a Supreme Treasure, a Divine Artifact that guards the realms. Martial Arts Incense Power will spread through the Heavenly Spirits to the Four Great Realms; Zhang Ancestor and his peers will be known throughout the universe, their legends shining across the heavens, becoming pillars of faith. In theory, Zhang Ancestor should become a spiritual entity rivaling the so-called True Gods."
The Heavenly Person Martial Arts Trial follows three steps.
The ultimate goal is Divine Enthronement.
"Should the Martial World thrive, the benefits would be many. For example, we could construct Martial Arts Temples across the Three Thousand Worlds, connecting them to the Martial World. Any Martial Arts expert who believes in the Martial Path, if meritorious in a given world and dying in battle, can be remolded with Incense Power into a Heavenly Person Martial Soul, condense a Martial Arts Golden Body, becoming a Martial City God. As Martial City God, one can continue to guard a region, teach the Dao and pass on the teachings, slay demons and eradicate devils. So long as the Martial World endures, these spiritual entities will be undying—they may fall in battle, but given time and sufficient Incense Power, they can be revived."
On all fronts, the living forces multiply.
Lu Chenzhou understood clearly.
The living can fight; so, too, the dead.
While alive, become a hero among mortals; when dead, a venerated ghostly champion!
Essentially, it is much like the ghostly beings created by the Old Mother of Forgetting Sorrow.
This, then, is ’using the strengths of the foreign to restrain the foreign.’
"The Heavenly Person List offers many benefits. This ’Heavenly Person’s Thoughts’ I have compiled during this period; take it back and study it—there will be much for you to gain."
"Thank you, President."
"President still, eh? Haha, after this selection, you’ll be the Tianxia Military Leader—the leader of the civilization."
Chen Beiming laughed.
"Look at my getup?"
Lu Chenzhou gestured to the skeletal frame.
He worried that his appearance might frighten ordinary folk during speeches.
"Don’t you know illusion arts? When competing or taking office, just use an illusion to cover it up. With your attainments in illusion, aside from Seventh Realm experts, no one else should see through it."
Chen Beiming thought of a solution.
"Very well."
Lu Chenzhou took his leave.
...
Returning home.
He immersed his consciousness into the Heavenly Person List.
In a single thought, he arrived in the Martial World.
Which is the place of the Heavenly Heart Mark.
At the dome of the realm, the stars blazed brilliantly, and at the very center, without a doubt, shone the 108 great stars as the most luminous.
Each great star represents a forebear.
To be called a ’Heavenly Spirit’ was to have been at the ’Absolute Peak’ of their age; even if their cultivation in life was but Second or Third Realm, their pioneering significance endures.
Beneath the celestial vault stood four wonders:
The Taiji Palace, towering ten thousand zhang, resting atop a colossal island shaped as a thousand-mile-wide Yin Yang diagram.
Spirit Mountain awash in golden light, with forests of Buddhas standing tall.
And the Wanxiang chessboard, comprised of myriad branches—Grey Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, Mystic Turtle, Eagle, Mantis, and other Elephant Form lineages.
Also, a sword, a spear, and a saber leading the eighteen weapons that together formed the Sky-reaching Iron Tree.
A slovenly Daoist drifted out from the Taiji Palace.
Zhang Ancestor smiled and spoke:
"The Tai Chi Diagram, Spirit Mountain, Wanxiang Chessboard, and Divine Weapon Treasure Tree—these are the four great proto-treasures of our Tianxia human civilization. For now, they possess the might of Top Grade Seventh Rank Spiritual Weapons. They correspond to the Four Great Holy Lands. The Four Grand Principals, should a civilization crisis arise, may each mobilize their corresponding treasure, but the Master of the Heavenly Person List can wield them all."
"If the Four Daoist Schools represent the four mainlines of Tianxia’s Martial Arts Civilization, then the Four Treasures are the pillars that anchor those lineages. From now on, Combat, Heart Cultivation, and Martial Arts—these three aspects shall be united."
"Beneath the four main branches, countless sub-branches rise and intertwine, but myriad changes do not depart from their root. All are one family."
Hearing this lesson, Lu Chenzhou cupped his fists in salute.
"Greetings, Zhang Ancestor."
"I have also met the list master. At a fleeting first glance back then, I knew you were of rare worth, and now it proves true."
One hundred and eight streams of starlight landed—Lv Ancestor, Kong Wen, Dharma, Spear Immortal, Sword Immortal... all arrived.
"Greetings, Master of the Heavenly Person List."
"Congratulations, young Lu."
"Seventy years to Breakthrough Seven—the Human Clan shall rise."
"If the list master calls, we shall not hesitate."
"If there are martial studies in need of discussion and analysis, you may commune with us in your mind—let us pool our wisdom."
"Should you wish to debate the Dao or seek enlightenment, we are available."
"Comparisons of skill are no matter either."
From the moment he became the Master of the Heavenly Person List, Lu Chenzhou’s path of cultivation, enlightenment, battle, and decision-making was no longer a solitary journey—he now possessed an entire think tank, the crystallization of human civilization.
Whenever unsure, just ask.
This would no doubt quicken his progress in cultivation.
"Now do you see why I hurried to pass this to you?" Chen Beiming’s form appeared, with a wry smile. "With my talent, wielding such a treasure is the very definition of squandering a mountain of gold."
Lu Chenzhou felt a desire to try.
He produced the book ’One Dao to Three Forms,’ as well as a blood-red rhomboid crystal—the spoils from the Blood Vine.
"Honored elders, I shall soon be leaving the Xia Realm, but wish to leave behind a manifestation to guard the Human World. Therefore, I want to research a clone technique usable across worlds.
This blood crystal is from a Demon Emperor skilled in splitting bodies. I’ve asked an Eight Realm expert, and it is a rare treasure: Nascent Wood Blood Crystal. If I can develop a method to create a flesh-and-blood avatar using this as the foundation, then I could create a clone that shares will with my true self and will ascend as I do."
Lu Chenzhou plainly stated his request.
Zhang Ancestor accepted the ’One Dao to Three Forms’ and the crystal.
Deep wisdom flickered in his profound gaze.
"I took part in the original research of this technique. I understand what you seek; we shall take it from here."
"Researching avatar methods?" Ge Xianweng stroked his beard and smiled. "When I studied the Outer Elixir Method long ago, I was once struck by inspiration, and conceived an idea for a clone technique. The ancient Qi Refiners excelled at this. If you can refine an energy crystal within your body, that would be the Inner Golden Core; then, with the Nascent Wood Blood Crystal as the Outer Golden Core, and by forging a shell from vast amounts of rare treasures, your clone, sharing energy with your true self, should achieve the effect you desire."
"Indeed reasonable."
The first Heavenly Master Zhang nodded.
Here, though the forebears within the Heavenly Heart Mark cannot cultivate, they are ceaselessly seeking enlightenment and researching the wisdom of ages. Each is a ’super biological intelligence.’ A hundred minds storming together—if enough time and resources are spent, most methods can be devised.
Of course, this cannot replace personal research.
It simply allows Lu Chenzhou to avoid wasting too much energy on marginal or auxiliary secret techniques.
Without doubt, it would save vast amounts of time.
The Ancestor Card—the externalized brain—could handle research.
Lu Chenzhou, meanwhile, researched the functions of the Heavenly Person List. He found that the Martial Arts Tree had updated the Xia Realm fate entry.
[Main Luck: Xia Realm’s Protection (Sixth Level) → Xia Realm’s Favor (Seventh Level)]
...
[Effect 4: Boosts strength within the Xia Realm (Note: Within the Xia Realm, you receive a 10% strength buff; your enemies are suppressed by 10%).]
The other subordinate luck entries remained unchanged.
"The main luck can continue to ascend. Part is due to my own power growing, but more because of the Heavenly Person List. I have received the recognition of the Xia Realm. Thus, apart from the suspected Eight Realm ancient evil creatures, I am unrivaled here! After all, I can mobilize the four great proto-treasures in battle."