Chapter 391: Smurfing Feels So Good

The stars shifted and the seasons turned.

In the blink of an eye, more than a decade had passed.

Inside [Li Hen Tian], Patriarch Nether Whisper sat cross-legged, the [Yama Heaven Mysterious Nether Lord-Commander of the Ghost Wardens] Incense Divine Talisman floating steadily before him.

A moment later, Patriarch Nether Whisper opened his eyes.

In an instant, three distinct Innate Divine Abilities lit up across his body. Coupled with a Life-Bound Divine Ability, his aura surged violently, crashing through the bottleneck.

Late Foundation Establishment stage—a Great Perfected One!

In the cultivation of the Foundation Establishment realm, this step was a qualitative transformation. Consequently, the difficulty of recovery was far greater than before, costing Patriarch Nether Whisper a considerable amount of time.

But regardless of the struggle, he had finally succeeded.

Watching from the side, Lu Yang beamed with excitement. After all, even though they were both at the Late Foundation Establishment stage, the caliber of Patriarch Nether Whisper was on a completely different level from Long Yue.

“Congratulations, Patriarch.”

The moment Patriarch Nether Whisper finished consolidating his cultivation and opened his eyes, Lu Yang appeared before him, bowing respectfully.

Patriarch Nether Whisper smiled wryly and shook his head. Although he had recovered his physical body, he was still restricted by the Myriad Spirits Banner. Strictly speaking, as the banner owner, Lu Yang had no need to be so polite. Even if Lu Yang made excessive demands, the Patriarch would have no way to refuse.

Yet, Lu Yang’s attitude remained unchanged.

Undeniably, this feeling of being respected was very pleasant for Patriarch Nether Whisper. Added to the fact that Lu Yang had always taken the revival of the Shaman Ghost Dao to heart…

What was this?

A heart of pure sincerity.

Patriarch Nether Whisper sighed with emotion, then personally helped Lu Yang up. “I have tested the Incense Divine Talisman for you. I’ve fully ascertained its pros and cons.”

As expected of the Patriarch.

“What are the advantages and disadvantages of this incense fire divine power?”

Speaking of this, Lu Yang suddenly recalled various bits of knowledge from before his transmigration and couldn’t help but ask, “Could it be that this incense is toxic, posing huge hidden dangers after use?”

“Not to that extent,” Patriarch Nether Whisper shook his head. “Or rather, it originally had a tendency to evolve that way, but someone forcibly reversed it.”

Lu Yang paused for a moment, then quickly understood.

That makes sense. Since Hong Yun views this world as his final retreat, how could he allow something as obviously flawed and pitfall-ridden as ‘toxic incense’ to evolve here?

“The advantages of Iicense fire divine power are simple,” Patriarch Nether Whisper explained. “First, the floor is high—the weakest is at the level of a Qi Refining Great Divine Ability. Second, progress is rapid. As long as there is enough incense, there are no bottlenecks and no tribulations. One can rise straight to Foundation Establishment Perfection!”

Just these two points were absurdly powerful.

However, Lu Yang remained calm. There was no such thing as a free lunch. The greater the advantages of the Incense Offering Divine Dao, the more likely it possessed equally glaring defects.

“However…”

Sure enough, Patriarch Nether Whisper changed the subject. “I can solve most of its shortcomings, but there are two inherent problems.”

“First, the Dao Foundation.”

Patriarch Nether Whisper said solemnly, “Although an incense god has a stature, their essence is not self-cultivated, nor do they possess a Dao Foundation. Their stature is upheld entirely by incense.”

“If the incense scatters, the person falls.”

“When that happens, the higher they stand, the harder they fall. The most miserable among them would be the Capital City God. If they lose their incense, they would almost certainly die on the spot!”

This point was similar to the concept of Foundation Establishment upholding a Perfected Lord.

However, the difference was that a Perfected Lord possessed a Grotto-Heaven. Even if all the Foundation Establishment cultivators died, the Lord would at most go into seclusion with their Dao Fruit, suffering no harm.

But incense gods were different. Once the mortal population suffered mass casualties and the incense cut off, it would immediately become a life-or-death crisis for the god!

This is likely the reason for the peace in this world. If they really went to war, a Capital City God with the power of Foundation Establishment Perfection could flip the table in desperation, sinking continents and extinguishing the Divine Dao… With that level of deterrence, the three factions are able to maintain peace.

After thinking this through, Lu Yang looked at Patriarch Nether Whisper again. “And the second?”

“The second is the incense itself.”

Patriarch Nether Whisper shook his head. “Incense is formed from the human heart. It contains a massive amount of distracting thoughts. If someone with an unstable will uses it, they are very likely to suffer Qi Deviation.”

“This point becomes more troublesome the higher the realm.”

Saying this, Patriarch Nether Whisper pointed to the [Yama Heaven Mysterious Nether Lord-Commander of the Ghost Wardens] Incense Divine Talisman in front of him. “Right now, it is only at the Late Foundation Establishment standard.”

“But it is already putting some pressure on me.”

“Although I could suppress it even if it reached the peak of this world—Foundation Establishment Perfection—my ability to suppress it does not mean others can.”

“If my guess is correct, the reason those great gods at the level of the Capital City God do not manifest in the world is likely because they are burdened by the incense. They need to stay in seclusion to maintain their self and avoid Qi Deviation… However, correspondingly, this is actually a good opportunity to temper one’s own spiritual intent.”

With that, Patriarch Nether Whisper looked at Lu Yang.

“Aren’t you cultivating Sword Intent?”

“Although I do not understand the Sword Dao, according to my deductions, as long as you control the dosage, using this Incense Fire Divine Power should be beneficial for tempering your Sword Intent.”

Lu Yang’s heart skipped a beat.

But he quickly calmed down. Using Incense Fire Divine Power to hammer-forge his Sword Intent was possible, but the prerequisite was a stable external environment.

But that won’t be long now.

A look of certainty flashed in Lu Yang’s eyes.

Ten years of lying low and spreading his secret teachings… The current White Lotus Sect was nothing but a hollow shell. He had long since hollowed out its inner flesh and blood, eating it clean and wiping his mouth.

His method of preaching was simple— borrowing the shell to lay the egg.

Using the foundational territory of the three White Lotus Divine Lords, he expanded outward. Through word of mouth among believers, one White Lotus Sect follower after another voluntarily transformed into a banner spirit.

By now, a full ninety percent of the White Lotus Sect’s believers had been secretly converted by Lu Yang into banner spirits. As long as Lu Yang didn’t make the banner spirits change their faith—keeping the offerings flowing on the surface so the incense still pointed towards the White Lotus Sect—the Incense Gods of the sect would find it very hard to notice anything wrong.

Thinking of this, Lu Yang performed a divination with his fingers. It’s about time they arrived…

Boom!

Not long after, loud explosions rang out from outside [Li Hen Tian]. Several majestic hands formed of incense power were clawing towards him, blotting out the sky!

Lu Yang looked out and immediately saw a dense mass of figures standing outside [Li Hen Tian]. The weakest among them were County City Gods, comparable to the Initial Stage of Foundation Establishment. At this moment, their auras erupted, outlining a magnificent scene of radiant light and precious treasures that sealed off the entire space.

[The Homeland of True Emptiness]!

This time, the White Lotus Sect had turned out in full force!

The leader was none other than Divine Lord Black Lotus. The Incense Fire Divine Power on his body had almost condensed into a solid substance, and his aura was hardly inferior to Long Yue’s.

Yet, Lu Yang showed no panic whatsoever.

Although I revealed a flaw on purpose, I didn’t expect the White Lotus Sect to actually take the bait… though they have made some progress compared to ten years ago.

At least they learned to gank with numbers.

But it seemed they hadn’t considered whether there might be a trap. Or perhaps they felt that even if there were a trap, their combined strength was enough to crush it?

Unfortunately for them, while the thought was beautiful, it played right into his hands.

Now that my momentum is established, their so-called ‘bullying the few with the many’ will just turn into a group suicide.

Thinking of this, Lu Yang couldn’t help but feel emotional.

Calculating karma, laying out plans, playing the enemy in the palm of my hand, with everything within my expectations… It’s really been a long time since I felt like this!

Ah…

He felt like he somewhat understood the World Honored One.

Smurfing feels so good!

With this thought, the Myriad Spirits Banner appeared in Lu Yang’s hand. In the next second, the vast ocean of incense that originally belonged to the White Lotus Sect—enough to support a Capital City God or a Foundation Establishment Perfection cultivator—suddenly surged toward [Li Hen Tian]!

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