Chapter 478 - 113: Divine Technique
Zi Luan was looking in the direction of True Yang Mountain.
Wang Ping walked up to him, teacup in hand, and also gazed toward True Yang Mountain. Yu Lian, however, downed her tea in one gulp, then leisurely refilled her cup, utterly unconcerned with the Duke of Chu’s imperial ascension ceremony after Midnight.
The Duke of Chu’s imperial ascension edict had only been sent out two days ago. Yet, in that short time, two-zhang-high sacrificial altars had been erected before the Xiao Shan Lord’s Golden Body Divine Statues in all the major cities within the Chu Country’s domain.
This was even true for the newly conquered Jingwu Prefecture on Beiyuan Road. In the city center, outside the Prefecture Magistrate’s Office, a magnificent white jade altar stood before the Golden Body Divine Statue built by Earth Vein Cultivators, its surroundings brightly lit by flames.
Although it was still three hours until Midnight, tens of thousands had already gathered around the altar. These were the former slaves who had been granted freedom and land by the Chu army two days prior. They knelt before the divine statue, praying with immense piety.
As time passed, more and more people gathered around the altar. But there was no clamor. Following the habits ingrained in them as slaves, they silently found a spot at the edge of the crowd and knelt to pray under the watchful eyes of the soldiers.
Prayer was nothing new to these former slaves. It was a privilege they had once dreamed of, for it symbolized freedom and wealth.
At some point, their fervent faith ignited the Golden Body Divine Statue outside the Prefecture Magistrate’s Office. A dazzling golden stream shot up into the sky, forming particles of light like golden sand that drifted down upon the former slaves, who had long been afflicted by illness and pain.
A warmth they had never felt before spread through their bodies. The next moment, they realized their ailments were gone. Many burst into tears, kowtowing just as they had seen their former masters do. Some prostrated themselves so forcefully that their foreheads bled.
Shortly after, the divine light of faith, channeled through the intricate Divine Technique Formation within the statue, formed a pillar of light between heaven and earth, resonating with the distant Xiao Shan Lord.
When Midnight arrived, towering golden pillars of light erupted across the southern regions, illuminating the pitch-black sky as if it were day. These pillars seemed to construct a vast, illusory space that appeared to contain the legendary Divine Country!
At that moment, it was not only the people within the Chu Country’s borders who stared at the sky. Even those in the Northwest Territory, the northern lands controlled by the Court, and Lishui Prefecture in the Southeast Sea Region gazed up at the golden expanse that shone like a sun.
「On a watchtower in the eastern part of Xingyang Prefecture, the capital of West Stone Road.」
Zhang Xinghuai and Ming Kong also faced the golden radiance, gazing at the celestial space that seemed almost close enough to touch.
"Rumor has it that cultivating a Divine Technique can establish a supreme Divine Country, where one can ennoble asuras and gods. Is this the Divine Country from the legends?" Zhang Xinghuai asked softly.
Ming Kong shook his head. "To cultivate a Divine Country requires great perseverance and determination. One must endure countless mortal tribulations to find one’s true self. Only with a powerful true self can one connect with the spirituality of the myriad people and truly answer their prayers. The Xiao Shan Lord is nowhere near that realm."
"Has anyone ever reached it?"
"No one has ever succeeded!"
Zhang Xinghuai laughed at this. "If no one has ever succeeded, how do you know the ultimate form of this Divine Technique?"
Ming Kong reached out, trying to grab a sliver of the golden light falling from the sky. But the radiant stream passed right through his body. It was visible, yet intangible.
"I have the Divine Secret Technique. Do you want to learn it?"
"Is that so? Then I find it very strange. Who created this secret technique? Since no one has ever mastered it, why are you so certain that it can be mastered?"
"There is a legend in the Mystic Sects. Over five thousand years ago, the Human Dao flourished because seven True Monarchs—from the Five Profound Sects and two Heavenly Sects—found cultivation techniques in the Mist Sea Region and passed them on to mortals. This Divine Secret Technique was one of them!"
"Are you trying to tell me the legend is true?"
"I’ve never seen it, so how would I know if it’s true or false? However, this Divine Secret Technique was likely passed down from that era. As for whether the seven True Monarchs truly obtained it from the Mist Sea Region, you’ll have to find that answer for yourself. So, what do you say? Do you want to cultivate the Divine Technique?"
Zhang Xinghuai shook his head.
Ming Kong continued, "Actually, the Divine Technique isn’t as worthless as you think. The Xia Imperial Family simply cultivated it incorrectly. They used the nation’s fortune to power their technique, forcing the world to believe in them. They artificially created a Divine Country within their cramped Imperial Palace to monitor the realm. To put it bluntly, their successive Emperors weren’t cultivating the Divine Technique—they were merely puppets of that Divine Country in their palace."
Zhang Xinghuai understood. He asked, "And how is the Xiao Shan Lord’s cultivation of the Divine Technique?"
After pondering for over ten breaths, Ming Kong replied, "He already has the embryonic form of a Divine Country. If he had waited a while longer, established a formal mythological title, built corresponding temples for the people to worship, and then waited another thousand years or so to establish a steady stream of incense offerings in the Mortal World, he might have actually been able to create a true Divine Country!"
Zhang Xinghuai couldn’t help but scoff. "I feel like you’re trying to fool me. There are many in the Mortal World who receive the kind of incense offerings you describe. For instance, the first two Human Dao Saints, my own master, and the True Monarchs worshipped during Buddhist and Daoist rituals all fit your description. Have they all established Divine Countries?"
Ming Kong fell silent.
Just then, faint streams of golden light also rose from the military barracks stationed outside the city, flowing up into the sky.
"Don’t worry. Human nature is to follow blindly. The Xiao Shan Lord is building momentum. The more momentum he builds, the more it benefits us. Look..." Ming Kong extended a hand. In an instant, a white curtain of light shot up before them, seeming to split the heavens and the earth in two.
He looked up toward the top of the light curtain and said, "This is the power the Saint has bestowed upon me in return. At this moment, the world is in a perfect state of balance!"
Zhang Xinghuai said dismissively, "A balance like this will be short-lived. After tomorrow, Zhongzhou will most likely descend into chaos!"
"Chaos is also a form of cultivation. When you can restore this chaos to balance, you might just be granted the power of the Fourth Realm!" Ming Kong’s words were laced with temptation.
"So, your cultivation of the ’Saint’s Dao’ is just a tool. Your ultimate goal is no different from theirs—to achieve an eternal life that transcends all!" Zhang Xinghuai no longer had any respect for the bald man. Some things, once you see past their glamorous exterior, are nothing but filth inside.
Take the Divine Technique that gathers the thoughts of the myriad people, for example. It is so alluring. The dazzling, resplendent golden light in the sky fulfills all their fantasies of the divine. But in reality, it is just another manifestation of spirituality.
Cultivating the Divine Technique is to cultivate the spirituality of the myriad people, and that path is paved with cannibalistic stories!
...
Midnight passed without notice, and the date turned to March 15th. It would have been an ordinary day, but an edict from the Chu Country three days ago had made it anything but.
Just after Midnight, the Duke of Chu ascended the altar before the Xiao Shan Lord’s Golden Body Divine Statue on the southern face of True Yang Mountain. He proclaimed the Imperial Ascension Edict in his hands to the world, then led the civil and military officials and the myriad people in worship of the Xiao Shan Lord!
In an instant, the prayers of the myriad people seemed to echo throughout the entire Zhongzhou Realm. The prayers converged in the golden space in the sky, forming waves of mystical, celestial music that left the masses utterly mesmerized.
At that moment, time itself seemed to freeze. The golden space in the sky transformed into a magnificent, resplendent grand hall, and upon a cloud bed at its forefront sat the Xiao Shan Lord.