Mythological origin

"This thing can dissolve the power of Dao transformation, right?" After pondering for a moment, Bai Mo said calmly.

The power of transformation is the most troublesome problem for true immortals.

Despite the protection of the True Spirit Barrier, the power of Dao transformation did not stop accumulating; it was merely blocked by the dam, and one day it would be breached by the increasingly fierce flood.

That is the end.

The Tribulation of Reincarnation was a path Bai Mo found to strengthen the barrier of the True Spirit, but the Tribulation of Reincarnation itself was a test of life and death, with each tribulation a gamble with one's life.

“Yes.” Ji Qingxuan nodded. “Only True Immortals can extract the Spirit Coins from the Spirit Net to dissolve the Dao Transformation Power attached to True Spirits.”

She paused, seemingly choosing her words carefully, before adding, "Of course, the effect is far less than undergoing a cycle of reincarnation. But for those... True Immortals who lack the ability or courage, spirit coins can allow them to keep going."

"Even though the cost will continue to rise."

The power of Dao transformation increases daily without ceasing. If one tries to offset it with spirit coins or the purple and blue spiritual energy from the Dao Chen Realm, the consumption will increase significantly each time.

The atmosphere around the round table grew even more somber.

True immortals live for tens of thousands of years, but no one complains about having too long a life.

Terra is simply too short a history. Even if you include the thousands of years of Earth's era, as a civilization, it has been less than ten thousand years since its birth—and there are no immortals whose time is about to end yet.

But "not yet" doesn't mean "it won't happen." Every true immortal knows that day will eventually come.

Bai Mo's gaze swept across the round table.

He could clearly see the longing in the eyes of those true immortals.

It is an instinctive desire to delay death, no different in essence from the desire of ordinary people for longevity, health, and survival. No matter how high your cultivation level or how strong your power, when faced with the ultimate choice between "existence" and "non-existence," every life will make the same choice.

But at the same time, Bai Mo also saw another emotion in his eyes—the color of greed.

It wasn't a low-level, momentary impulse, but a deeper, almost instinctive desire amplified and stimulated by the spirit coins themselves.

Wait a moment.

Bai Mo's brows twitched almost imperceptibly.

What was he thinking just now?
The idea that "spiritual coins are stimulated and amplified by the coins themselves" is itself an admission that spiritual coins have the ability to influence the minds of true immortals.

While the primary function of a True Immortal's Spirit Barrier is to resist the power of Dao transformation, it also possesses extremely strong defensive capabilities against external mental interference and emotional manipulation.

Even Bai Mo did not have the ability to mentally control another True Immortal.

If the Spirit Coin can even influence True Immortals, then its power is far greater than it appears on the surface.

Its influence is not through external infiltration, not through mental attacks, not through any means that can be detected and defended against by the True Spirit Barrier—it bypasses all of that and acts directly on…

unless--

Unless this influence does not originate from outside.

It's not the spirit coins that are manipulating their emotions.

Rather, it's the spirit coins amplifying their pre-existing emotions.

Greed exists in everyone's heart, even immortals. They are simply better able to control it, suppress it, and be driven by it than mortals.

But if there is a force that can bypass the defenses of the True Spirit Barrier and directly amplify this emotion—not by instilling it from the outside, but by catalyzing it from within—then there is no need for manipulation.

Everyone will eventually walk into the abyss.

With just a gentle pluck of that string, the rest is up to each individual to make their own choice.

Bai Mo's gaze fell once again on the spirit coin symbol in his hand. This thing was more interesting than he had imagined.

This is a perfect closed loop.

A program driven by greed.

The true immortals of the Divine Ruins—the top beings who built this system—could not possibly be unaware of this.

They understood the true nature of the spirit coins better than Bai Mo.

Because Lingbi didn't appear overnight; it took a long time, countless iterations, and generations of optimization to reach its current form.

Everyone involved in this process understands its underlying logic to some extent.

……

Bai Mo's thoughts began to wander.

He recalled once again what Teach had said: "The Divine Ruins is a world of 'explosive growth,' where everyone is frantically growing from top to bottom. Cultivators are more focused on productivity than combat power. It's about who can produce more, work more, and earn more money. Strength, lifespan, knowledge, emotions... even souls can be bought like clothes as long as you have enough money."

At the time, he thought it was just some kind of extreme form of capitalism.

A social form that emerges from pushing "market logic" to its extreme, much like the civilizations he has seen in some worlds that have been completely alienated by money.

Everything has a price, everything can be traded, and every corner has been commodified.

This is a pathological condition, but at least it is a pathological condition that can be understood.

But now he understands.

That's not an economic system.

That is a true belief system.

……

Bai Mo's thoughts suddenly drifted in another direction.

Since greed can...

What about the other six deadly sins?

Pride, envy, wrath, sloth, gluttony, lust—can every extreme emotion, every original sin rooted in the depths of human nature, be dealt with in a similar way?

Would a concept god that feeds on "arrogance" make the entire civilization extremely conceited and arrogant?
Will an entity that feeds on "jealousy" lead society into endless internal strife and comparison?
Could a being that feeds on "rage" turn the world into an eternal battlefield?

But on the other hand—

What if these powers could be guided and controlled, turning into "spiritual coins" to counter the power of Tao?
As a desire, greed can dissipate the power of transformation, but what about pride? Wrath? Lust?

Could they also become weapons against Taoism?
Bai Mo's thoughts became unusually active at this moment.

He recalled his choice when he severed his three corpses back then.

Good, evil, and nothingness—three extreme obsessions, three attempts to resist the Dao's influence. This is the path Bai Mo ultimately chose among the many options on this timeline. He cut off a part of his essence, shaping it into an independent existence, using it to bear those parts that might be eroded by the power of the Dao.

But now, the Spirit Currency system of the Divine Ruins has shown him another possibility:
It's not about cutting off your obsessions, but about utilizing everyone's obsessions.

It's somewhat like the White Earth.

But the level of madness in the Divine Ruins is clearly much higher—the White Land at least has a clear consciousness, clear goals, and a clear organizational structure, while the Divine Ruins' system is decentralized, unconscious, and operates spontaneously. (End of Chapter)