Stealthily cultivating in the chaotic world of demons and martial artists
Chapter 947 - 803 Conspiracy

Chapter 947: Chapter 803 Conspiracy

All gods have ranks, and so naturally does divine power.

For the average lowly deity, their divine power is mostly a greyish white.

Then for a Ninth Grade deity, divine power is pure white; for Eighth Grade, it is white with red; for Seventh Grade, it is red.

Until one reaches Fifth Grade, divine power turns into pure gold!

Golden divine power in the path of gods is already quite advanced, enough to support a deity’s positive transformation!

However...

When it entered this particular seal, it was as if a clay ox had entered the sea.

"It seems that this object’s rank is even higher than I imagined..."

Fang Xi closed his eyes slightly, the golden light on his body retracted, and a patch of green cloud floated above his head.

He was not a mere Fifth Grade deity, but a genuine Fourth Grade deity!

He could already refine some green divine power!

Those who possess green divine power can be called great gods in the path of gods. If Fang Xi had no way to handle it, he could only wait to try again another day.

Threads of green divine power, like a fine drizzle, wrapped around the stone seal, seeping into it through the cracks.

A flash of blue light skittered across the surface of the stone seal, which then levitated.

"Useful?!"

A hint of joy appeared on Fang Xi’s face. He continuously refined the Fifth Grade golden divine power within him into green divine power and injected it into the stone seal.

Half an hour later, he stopped with a somewhat ugly expression on his face.

His own divine power had nearly run out and needed time to slowly recover.

At this moment, that particular stone seal seemed to show little to no change.

No!

Fang Xi focused his Divine Consciousness above the seal and suddenly made a discovery.

He reached out and caught the seal, noting that this small stamp was four-square, seemingly unchanged from before.

Even the fine cracks had not healed.

It was the inscriptions on the bottom that seemed clearer by a few degrees, and he could barely make out a few divine texts.

"Green..."

"Lord Qingtong..."

After struggling for a while, Fang Xi barely recognized it as the five characters for ’Lord Qingtong’s Treasure.’"

"This ’Lord’... couldn’t be the one I’m thinking of, could it?"

A shudder of awe sprung up in his heart!

In the God Path, Ninth Grade is the lowest, and First Grade the highest.

Above First Grade are the Heavenly Ranks!

Heavenly Duke, Heavenly Marquis, Heavenly Count, Heavenly Emperor...

Above the Heavenly Duke lies ’Heavenly Lord!’

Even within the Heavenly Court, they are real heavyweights.

According to Fang Xi’s previous speculation, their status might be equivalent to an Integration Master in the Earth Immortal Realm!

"If this ’Lord Qingtong’ truly possesses a Heavenly Rank, then this seal is really formidable..."

Fang Xi gazed at the stone seal in his hand: "No wonder it can disregard Taoist Law and draw on spiritual essence... Could Mei Changkong be the chosen one? The protagonist of the next era, who might found a new ’Heavenly Emperor’ dynasty?"

"No, no, he’s too down-and-out to fit the profile... This stone seal requires green divine power to unlock. Given his current plight, it’s impossible for him to join the Taoist Court and climb above Fifth Grade..."

"If not him... could it be me?"

Fang Xi suppressed the palpitations in his heart, suddenly looked up, and through the mountain, his vision reached the expanse of azure sky.

Above the sky, could there possibly be a pair of eyes watching him right now?

If not, why would ’Lord Qingtong’s’ treasure of Heavenly Rank just happen to come across his path?

’Heavenly Lord’s rank, Integration cultivation... Indeed, they correspond quite well, fitting perfectly...’

’However, it might not necessarily be orchestration by a great power; perhaps... it’s the influence of the laws of cause and effect?’

’The marvels of causality in this world are indeed inconceivable. The universe is like a great Maharishi’s net, and even I, an outsider, am being forced into its confines...’

’Of course, there are benefits too. If I refine this ’Lord Qingtong’s Treasure,’ after ascending to the Heavenly Court, I’d be a real big shot... essentially a lord acknowledged by the Heavenly Emperor.’

’And if my main body’s cultivation breaks through to Mahayana, wouldn’t I be able to become a Heavenly King or even a Maharishi? The Immortal Maharishi of the South Pole?’

Various thoughts mysteriously arose in Fang Xi’s mind, feeling as if the stone seal in his hand had become a hot potato.

"Let it be, let it be... Since it’s come into my possession for so long, any arrangements must have already been made. If I discard it now, I’d be foregoing any benefits and suffering a needless loss..."

"But by this account, am I not already the leader of the present emperor?"

Fang Xi stroked his chin, feeling an inexplicable sense of elation.

Others thought he was a Fourth Grade deity from Black Cloud Mountain, but in reality, he could ascend to First Grade at any time!

Others thought he was a First Grade, but in reality... he could at any time inherit a Heavenly Lord’s position, ranking several levels above the current Heavenly Emperor!

Others thought he was of Heavenly Rank, but in reality, he was an Integration cultivator...

"The Taoist Court... things just got interesting."

Fang Xi looked towards a particular place, a playful smile appearing on the corner of his mouth.

...

Panlong Prefecture.

The government office.

Not far from the government office was the ’City God Temple of the Prefecture’!

In the Taoist Court, the positions of the City Gods and the local deities were quite numerous.

Take the City God as an example, the lowest was that of a county City God, but it was also a proper seventh-grade Godhood Position!

After that, the Prefecture City God was of the fifth grade!

Finally, the ’Metropolitan City God’ was of the third grade!

Zhang Zichun, the Prefecture Governor of Panlong, was the Prefecture City God, a deity of the fifth grade.

At this moment, he was sitting cross-legged in a small pavilion, silently releasing his Divine Soul, transforming into the City God, and overseeing all matters of the prefecture city.

With Divine Path surveillance, the common folk of this world were indeed living a better life than the mortals of the Earth Immortal Realm.

For Zhang Zichun, the official duties of a prefecture governor were far less important than those of a Prefecture City God.

The Taoist Court had a great number of superfluous officials, and it was truly rare to find a place that did not already have its own City God. Many proper fifth-grade officials could only deign to assume the position of a county City God, or await their enfeoffment by the Taoist Court after death.

The highest enfeoffment from the Taoist Court was usually just a scattered official post, which was a way to break through restrictions and receive a wide spread of incense offerings. However, whether in terms of authority or other aspects, it fell far short of the position of a City God.

Unaware of how much time had passed, the incense in the bronze burner with beast ears on the desk in front of Zhang Zichun had burned out.

Zhang Zichun opened his eyes, a trace of astonishment crossing his face.

Just moments ago in the City God Temple, he had received an official document— a celestial envoy was about to descend!

"Summon someone!"

Zhang Zichun immediately called out.

"Prefecture Governor, Sir?"

The servants, maids, armored guards, and advisors waiting outside the pavilion promptly came in, lining up in an orderly fashion.

"Prepare an incense table to receive the celestial envoy!"

Zhang Zichun commanded with a solemn tone.

"Yes!"

The group was not surprised and immediately took their leave with a bow, starting the preparations.

Communication through Divine Path was extremely convenient, and they had grown accustomed to such events.

Before long, an incense table was set up, with bright yellow silk as its base, adorned with an incense burner and seasonal fruits as offerings.

Once the incense table was ready, Zhang Zichun changed into his official robes and, accompanied by numerous officials from the government office, knelt down, "We, your humble servants, respectfully welcome the celestial envoy!"

At that time, the sky was clear for thousands of miles, the sunlight splendid.

Suddenly, a colorful auspicious cloud drifted over, carrying a red-robed eunuch with two golden-armored divine generals following behind, gently descending: "Prefecture Governor Zhang Zichun, receive the decree..."

"Your servant... Zhang Zichun humbly listens to the divine edict."

Zhang Zichun bowed again.

"By the mandate of Heaven, thus decrees the Emperor: There is a mountain deity of Black Cloud Mountain, whose benevolence is profound. With divine grace granted, proper Godhood should be conferred for worship... You are appointed as the deputy envoy, to proceed together for the enfeoffment!"

After the eunuch’s shrill voice finished reading the imperial edict, a smile played across his face, "Governor Zhang, this time I am the chief envoy and you are the deputy envoy. We must work together wholeheartedly to accomplish this imperial task."

Zhang Zichun looked at the imperial edict in the eunuch’s hand – the edict had a bright yellow background, three feet long, one foot wide, with patterns of auspicious clouds and flanking dragons, the scroll being made of redwood and inlaid with beautiful jade.

Such an imperial edict, involving enfeoffment, bestowal of a title, and command for worship... was something countless civil and military officials dreamt of.

Why then did it seem to this eunuch like some tiresome task?

With a calculated thought in his mind, he immediately ordered a banquet to be held to entertain the celestial envoy and his party.

After the banquet, he even invited the celestial envoy to the study for a detailed discussion.

"Eunuch Wang, regarding the enfeoffment of the mountain deity this time, is there something unusual?" Zhang Zichun asked politely.

"Hehe, Governor Zhang is a smart man. You must have never enfeoffed this kind of natural-born deity before, right?"

Eunuch Wang chuckled and then sighed, "This is a tiresome task indeed. If we cannot complete it, both you and I will suffer the consequences..."

"Please enlighten me..."

Zhang Zichun bowed and slipped a piece of gold ingot from his sleeve.

This gold ingot shone brilliantly, yet it was entirely formed from accumulated incense offerings, being Divine Path’s incense money!

For Zhang Zichun, a proper fifth-grade City God, he would not know how long he would have to save to own such a piece.

Eunuch Wang happily accepted it and offered advice with a smile, "This kind of natural-born deity is mostly defiant and reluctant to accept the imperial enfeoffment... Why is that? In fact, they inherently possess spiritual awakening and know that entering the Taoist court system and accepting a Taoist Record would do more harm than good!"

"Ah?!"

Zhang Zichun was hearing such a secret for the first time and could not help but bow again, "How so?"

"We, born of mortal flesh, if not enfeoffed and not acknowledged as deities, would remain unremarkable," Eunuch Wang said. "But natural-born deities are inherently divine, and in fact, they do not fall under the jurisdiction of the Taoist Court. Their Divine Rank is bestowed by Heaven; as long as they meet certain conditions, they can ascend on their own!"

"This... this is heresy and a great rebellion!" Zhang Zichun didn’t know whether to envy or be jealous, but his face was full of indignation.

Such behavior was akin to self-promotion before the court had decreed it. Wasn’t that a rebellion? Where was the rule of the king and the Taoist Law?

"Governor Zhang is truly a loyal official... Therefore, it is imperative to enfeoff them, to bring these innate deities into the system. The key is the Taoist Record; once they accept the Record, that bit of innate nature is gone. Even if they later rebel and strip away the Record... it would be futile. Without the enfeoffment of the Taoist Court, no matter what they do, they will find it hard to ascend in Divine Rank!"

Eunuch Wang smiled proudly, "For example, the Lord of Panlong Lake had considerable potential back then, but once he accepted the enfeoffment... without grace from the court, he remains the same for life."

"Then, what specifically should be done?" Zhang Zichun regained his composure and continued to inquire.

"Another day, you and I will go together to meet that mountain deity and bestow upon him the ’Supreme Court Great Cave Papyrus’ of the proper third grade... Once he accepts the decree, all will be well. These natural-born deities are often foolish, and a bit of coaxing, deceiving, or frightening... should suffice." Eunuch Wang said with a smile, "Don’t think we’re giving him too high of a grade. No matter how high, isn’t he still a subject of the Emperor? Once this sovereign-subject relationship is established, hehe, then we hold the moral high ground, and no matter how much he resists, even if he takes the case to the Heavenly Court, we will be in the right..."