When I become a demon king, I want to change my department to the Taoist sect.

Chapter 912 Changes in the Immortal Realm

“My son, do not harbor resentment, do not seek revenge. Your only task is to carry on the bloodline of the Cui family of Qinghe.”

These were the last words her father said to Cui Ye before he died.

Since he could remember, his father had never shown such a dejected and desperate expression.

In Cui Ye's memory, her father always had a straight back like a pine tree, and his every move exuded dignity. His words and actions were worthy of his noble status as the eldest son of the Cui family.

It should be noted that only the top ten disciples of the same generation in the direct line of the Cui family of Qinghe can be considered noble.

Since the Xianhan period, the Cui family has been developing Qinghe. To this day, there are hundreds of millions of people with the surname Cui in Qinghe alone.

Although the vast majority of these are collateral branches, even if the direct line is less than one ten-thousandth of them, and considering only those within a hundred years of each other, it is still a very large number.

However, Cui Ye's father was able to rank among the top ten among his many relatives, not only because he came from the Qinghe main branch, but also because he himself was outstanding enough.

Over two hundred years, he achieved the second grade of elixir formation and further refined the five divine powers of the "Food Classic".

The "Food Classic" is a fundamental secret transmission of the Cui family, and it is a very rare method of food cultivation.

It records the flavors and cuisines of the sixteen ancient kingdoms, as well as the methods of consuming them. Cultivators can acquire the supernatural powers of a kingdom by completing the banquet of each kingdom.

Those who successfully complete the Sixteen Kingdoms period will attain the status of a primordial spirit.

During the Immortal Han Dynasty, most of the Cui family cultivators who were most accomplished in the "Food Classic" held the position of Grand Wine Sacrifice in the imperial court.

The seasonal sacrifices and the cultivation of knowledge about food and drink are all due to his efforts.

Although the Celestial Dynasty no longer exists, the rituals of worship remain crucial for powerful clans like the Cui family. Ancestral tablets and guardian deities are still essential.

Therefore, unlike those spoiled brats, Cui Ye's father was the son of the Cui family who was truly raised by famous teachers and strict discipline with countless resources invested in him!
He took over real power in the clan at a very early age.

But precisely because of this, he was unable to escape the great purge when Zhou Ju arrived in Qinghe.

For this family, which has existed for hundreds of millions of years and whose glory has remained undiminished through the rise and fall of celestial dynasties, they have never experienced such despair as that day.

The entire Qinghe region was shrouded in Zhou Ju's Celestial Realm, and everyone could only silently wait and accept judgment.

Those whose evil deeds are notorious shall die!
These noble scions never imagined that they would lose their lives because of one or two insignificant mortals.

In their minds, what difference is there between those of lowly birth, poor families, wandering cultivators, mortals, and cattle and livestock? They are merely provisions for them to enjoy.

This has been the case since ancient times, so naturally no one feels any guilt about it.

Even the vast majority of people believe they are innocent when struck by lightning.

As for Cui Ye's father, although he did not commit the purely evil act of taking pleasure in the lives of others, as the young master of the Cui family who was already in charge, the number of lives exploited and killed through his decisions far exceeded one million.

The power and influence of aristocratic families can be glimpsed from this. In terms of influence on the secular world alone, they surpass even many immortal sects.

Although the Earthly Immortal Realm is already a great world where cultivation is extremely prosperous, with numerous inheritances and countless sects, the number of people who can join a sect to cultivate is still extremely small.

Moreover, even a sect as numerous as Luofu has only a million disciples. A sect like Taiqing, which values ​​the quality of its disciples, has only one true disciple per generation. The entire sect has only a few hundred disciples.

However, aristocratic families continue to thrive, passing down their lineage through bloodlines without requiring any special qualifications. In this way, they branch out far more often than sects, in terms of sheer numbers.

Even though the direct descendants of the Three Pure Ones hold high positions, they mostly reside in remote immortal mountains and overseas. In the eyes of ordinary people, they are no different from legends. In terms of influence on mortals and minor cultivators, they are far less influential than many aristocratic families.

The vast majority of cultivators and mortals still make a living under the rules and influence of aristocratic families, and are naturally either directly or indirectly controlled by these families like slaves.

It is only a rough estimate that each member of the Cui clan, on average, enjoys at least a thousand times the support of servants.

This is not an isolated case in the Immortal Realm; the situation is similar in most of the myriad realms.

Cultivational families are like giant parasites, occupying the bodies of the world and all living beings.

Fortunately, compared to true "eternity" like becoming an immortal and proving one's Dao, bloodline inheritance is merely a kind of "pseudo-eternity" and is not the first choice for those who are single-mindedly pursuing the Dao.

Otherwise, imagine how hopeless the world would be if everyone could only pursue the "pseudo-eternity" of bloodline inheritance.

Even more fortunately, the blessings bestowed upon humanity have been severed by Haotian. The world treats all beings born after birth equally, and there is no control over innate talent for cultivation that can play a decisive role.

Even the Five Emperors' families could only establish an advantage for their descendants by monopolizing methods such as inheriting Taoist scriptures and cultivation resources.

Even before birth, they might prepare a physique for their descendants that is beneficial for cultivation, such as "ice-like skin and jade-like bones." However, in the Hundred-Day Foundation Establishment stage, ordinary cultivators can still build a foundation that is no less impressive than theirs through their own efforts.

Moreover... although it is difficult, there are still ways to make up for the previous weak foundation in each subsequent realm.

Even at the Nascent Soul Realm, there are no longer any requirements for the innate qualities of the physical body and soul.

Aside from those innate races, none of the myriad races in the heavens today, including the dragon race which is recognized as having the strongest talent, can directly reach the primordial spirit solely through extraordinary bloodlines.

This is the hope and uncertainty that the world leaves for all living beings!

Although many people, including the exploited minor cultivators and mortals, felt that those from noble families were born with noble bloodlines and that it was only reasonable for them to enjoy all of this.

But in reality, all living beings are born equal, and there is no essential difference between people.

If a non-hereditary cultivator cannot see through this point and cannot accept himself, then the Golden Elixir's inquiry into the heart and the Primordial Spirit's breaking through illusions will definitely be two insurmountable mountains for him.

Even if one manages to break through by chance, one will still be trapped by mental issues and will not achieve perfection.

This is one of the reasons why the Taoist sect began to suppress aristocratic families since the Immortal Dynasty. The Taoist sect was not afraid of the Five Surnames and Seven Noble Families or the Ten Great Families.

Rather, it is a system of inheritance that uses blood ties to transform the merits of ancestors' spiritual practice into privileges for future generations.

The most terrifying thing about this system is that if you're not careful, it can be born from within and silently undergo a process of alienation, just like the Zhang family of Dragon and Tiger!
The swords that the Taoist sects use to strike at aristocratic families often end up falling on themselves. This is why the Taoist sects' repeated attempts to suppress them have not been very effective.

Even during this operation, there were still some disagreements within the Taoist community regarding how to deal with the threat posed by powerful clans.

Many people believe that the aristocratic families are an important part of the current strength of the Taoist sect. Ruthlessly cutting off their flesh might damage their own foundation and benefit the demonic sect instead.

Moreover, this view is not shared by just one or two sects; even the Shangqing Sect, which has always been a staunch ally of the Three Immortal Islands, has not offered its full support unconditionally this time.

It's simply because too many powerful families are involved, and the impact is too great.

This situation is different from the previous instance where the three religions joined forces against the Five Emperors' Families. Although the Five Emperors' Families had an impressive reputation, they were only a few dozen families in total.

However, Tang Yuan's goal this time is not just to cleanse the Five Clans and Seven Noble Families, but tens of millions, even hundreds of millions, of cultivation families.

Among them were pure cultivation families like the Five Surnames and Seven Noble Families, as well as powerful families like the Lin Family of Ten Thousand Laws and the Shen Family, which held authority over their sects. It can be said that their influence extended to almost the entire Earthly Immortal Realm.

It goes without saying how much resistance there will be.

Although Tang Yuan is the current leader of the Daoist sect, if it weren't for the [Ling Shu Dharma Realm] that he single-handedly established, allowing all the great cultivators to glimpse the great era that might appear in the future.

The various sects of Taoism would not allow him to do as he pleased.

But once the Taoist sects tacitly approve, coupled with the power of the Three Immortal Islands, the various aristocratic families will be like clay chickens and earthen dogs, powerless to resist.

Not to mention, Tang Yuan first captured the leader of the bandits, forcing the Daoist Lord of the Cui Clan of Boling to seal himself away. With the Sea-Stabilizing Needle already collapsed, who would dare to, and who could, resist the terrifying might of the Three Immortal Islands!
Therefore, this great purge, which affected the entire Earthly Immortal Realm, lasted for a full ten years. Not to mention a Golden Core direct descendant like Cui Ye's father, even great cultivators at the Yang God or even Yuan Shen realms died like dust, unable to stir up the slightest ripple, and very few actually put up a resistance.

If one accepts punishment peacefully, one may be reincarnated.

But if one remains stubborn and unyielding, then the only outcome will be utter destruction and certain death.

Therefore, Cui Ye's father gave Cui Ye such instructions. The entire aristocratic system was suppressed by such power, so how could an individual possibly harbor resentment or hope for revenge?

Not to mention, for someone like Tang Yuan who is sensitive to thoughts, even resentment in his heart will be perceived by him; it just depends on whether he cares or not.

But in Cui Ye's heart, there was really no resentment towards Tang Yuan.

Unlike those who believed that the family's decline was entirely Tang Yuan's fault, Cui Ye believed that even without the sect leader of the Three Immortal Islands, the aristocratic family would still have met its current fate. It would simply have been another sect within the Three Pure Ones lineage, and another Daoist Lord.

Although he was young, he saw things clearly. This method of inheritance by aristocratic families, which relies solely on bloodline rather than aptitude yet monopolizes a vast amount of cultivation resources, is a tremendous waste for the Daoist sect, for humanity, and even for the world!

In all the realms, including the Immortal Realm, the distribution of spiritual energy directly addresses the core of many problems.

In particular, powerful families are keen to keep numerous resources locked away in their own secret realms and treasure troves, preventing their circulation. This has an even greater impact, causing the entire cultivation market in the Earthly Immortal Realm to decline as a result.

This vicious cycle, if continued indefinitely, will one day affect all sects of Taoism, and even the entire Immortal Realm.

Cui Ye clearly realized that, given the approaching demonic calamity and the final tribulation, this was an unforgivable crime for aristocratic families!
The fate of aristocratic families will not change due to individual will, but is an inevitable result of the overwhelming trend of the times.

When the aristocratic families were at their peak, enjoying great prosperity, Cui Ye had already foreseen this future, and therefore he was mentally prepared for the recent events.

Therefore, when Cui Ye learned that it was the Jade Jade True Lord, who was known for his impartiality, who had descended upon the Cui family to oversee the cleansing, he even felt quite fortunate.

Otherwise, their situation might be ten times worse!
The development and outcome of the situation were exactly as Cui Ye had predicted... Apart from the guilty being executed, there was no system of collective punishment, no wrong judgments, and no opportunistic acts.

Cui Ye understood that, compared to cleansing and massacring, the Dao Alliance was more concerned with breaking up the originally huge and bloated Cui clan into countless small families and dividing their wealth equally.

This will lead to the redistribution of wealth and resources for spiritual practice.

In this way, the Cui family, which originally played the role of hindering the development of the Dao Alliance and the Earthly Immortal Realm, turned into an important force promoting their development.

As for Cui Ye personally, he felt it was pretty good.

Without the pressure and constraints from his family, he had more energy to devote to his cultivation, and even his mind became clearer.

In the original powerful clans, everyone was given a role by the family. Personal will was irrelevant; as long as it was beneficial to the family and served the family, that was enough.

Individuals are merely cogs in the vast cog of the family concept. Moreover, in the drama of aristocratic families, good roles are rare, and competition is fierce. The vast majority are assigned, and can only be, spoiled brats.

For many scions of aristocratic families, this lack of uncertainty and certainty about the future is precisely the root cause of the evil in their human nature.

From a very young age, Cui Ye sensed this alienation and discipline from his family. Although he resented it, he had no choice but to obey and play the role of a gentle and refined young master from a noble family, just like his father, according to worldly standards.

However, the rebellious thoughts in his heart destined him to be unable to integrate.

Therefore, Cui Ye did not believe that his father's death should be blamed on the Dao Alliance or that he should resent Tang Yuan. He believed that it was the Cui family itself that truly pushed his father to the brink of death.

Because his ideas differed from those of the remaining clansmen, Cui Ye simply left Qinghe and broke away from the family.

It should be noted that even a starved camel is bigger than a horse; even the dismembered remains of the Cui family still possess considerable strength.

Whether they were from the main branch or a branch of the Cui family, the vast majority of them were simultaneously resenting the Three Immortal Islands and scrambling for the remaining resources while clinging to the corpses of the Cui family.

People like Cui Ye, who give up competing and leave almost penniless, are an extremely rare minority.

This approach has both advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is that Cui Ye will no longer be trapped in his family and have to work with those scoundrels, thus avoiding being implicated by them again.

The downside is that not only will they lack the support of their family resources, but in the current environment, a scion of a noble family venturing into the world alone is seen by many as nothing more than a fleeting opportunity!
Just like right now:

“Fellow Daoists outside, please do not go any further.” Cui Ye patted the dust off his robe and slowly stood up, saying, “The formation is blind; it would be bad if anyone were injured.”

"Young master, you are wise. We are not evil people."

“My name is Xu Ming. I previously served under the Cui family. Seeing that you came here alone, without any servants or attendants, I thought we might be of use to you, so I took the liberty of visiting you,” a dark-faced, thin, middle-aged Taoist priest said, bowing outside the cave entrance.

"Which branch and unit did you previously serve, and what was your job?"

"Replying to young master, my Xu family has always worked under the patronage of Master Cui Ling of the third branch, managing the mundane affairs of Chi County for him."

Cui Ye frowned, then remembered his cousin who was so marginalized in the clan that he didn't seem to be a direct descendant.

Even though he was a marginal figure in the Cui family of Qinghe, he was already a very important person in the outside world.

Throughout history, the landscape of the Nine Provinces and Four Seas has varied. For example, Huazhou was once home to hundreds of kingdoms, with the Five Emperors' families operating behind the scenes, secretly wielding great power. There was also the East Sea, with thousands of sects and factions, each ruling over an island.

As for the sensitive Central Plains, no new celestial dynasty was born after the Immortal Tang Dynasty. Instead, various sects ruled the world, especially the Three Mountains Daoist sect.

However, the Taoist sect is still inactive and avoids worldly affairs. Even though the Yuanshi lineage does not adhere to this rule as strictly as the Taishang lineage, it will still try to prevent its disciples from being too tainted by worldly affairs. Naturally, it will not have much control over the people under its jurisdiction. At most, it will set up Taoist temples in various prefectures and counties to worship the City God and govern the people with divine power.

Therefore, it was the powerful families, large and small, who truly extended their reach to the common people, which is one of the reasons why Taoist sects like Longhu Mountain tolerated these powerful families in the past.

The order in the Central Plains was indeed maintained by the various noble families.

The most prestigious clans, such as the Cui family of Qinghe, were not only in control of Qinghe County, but also in the surrounding ten counties.

Leaving aside other taxes, just considering the incense offerings that are most valued by the gods, 30% of them end up in the pockets of aristocratic families.

Don't underestimate this small percentage (30%). Taoist sects, especially the Yuanshi sect, have the authority to supervise the divine path, and their demand for incense offerings is virtually limitless, making them extremely greedy.

Even so, they still had to share 30% of the incense offerings, which shows how influential the aristocratic family was.

As for other cultivation resources, almost all of them ended up in the pockets of aristocratic families.

However, powerful clans disdained to delve into rural areas, which naturally led to the emergence of agents, tax farmers, and vassals from other clans who performed these tasks on their behalf.

As a direct descendant of the Cui clan, Cui Ye received a fiefdom of three counties as soon as he came of age, and several smaller families like the Xu family served him like dogs and horses, at his beck and call.

However, with the Cui family's power already crumbling, these small families had long since scattered in the face of disaster, and those纨绔子弟 (sons of wealthy families who used to fawn over Cui Ye) had all gone their separate ways.

Now, it seems to be in danger of being devoured by its master.

At this moment, the greed in Xu's eyes was about to overflow, but he still restrained himself and said, "The Xu family has been deeply indebted to the master. If you don't mind, young master, a banquet has been prepared at home. You can rest for a while and relieve your fatigue."

Cui Ye, impatient with further testing tactics, said with a mocking expression, "You are all as stupid as pigs as ever."

Xu, who had been putting on an act, looked at Cui Ye with a bewildered expression, clearly not knowing how this noble young man, who was always known for his extraordinary demeanor, could utter such vulgar words.

"Why do you fools think that this great change will only end here?"

"The so-called divine might means that everything must be shattered to pieces from top to bottom before it can be called awe-inspiring!"

“We will all perish, but how can you henchmen survive?”