Poor Taoist Qiu Chuji

Chapter 403 Patron Saint

Of course, anything is possible, but not everything will be accomplished.

The ancestral land does indeed have a profound influence on all the heavens and myriad worlds, and is even related to the evolution and generation of many heavenly worlds, but all heavenly worlds are real.

It is impossible for Qiu Chuji to have played the role of 'Dao Ancestor' in the ancestral land and become the universally recognized Dao Ancestor of all heavens and myriad worlds, or even replace the position of the Three Pure Ones.

Ultimately, all the ancestral land can facilitate is merely an 'opportunity'.

Only someone like Qiu Chuji, who had already cultivated to the level of a Golden Immortal and possessed the characteristics of a Great Luo Immortal, and who had obtained a 'core' that connected the past and present, could possibly step into the Great Luo Realm in one step.

Not just any Tom, Dick, or Harry who gets this 'core' can become a superstar.

If that's really the case, then the Great Luo is practically worthless, and everyone could just come to the ancestral land to cause trouble.

"Thank you for the reminder, Brother Ma. I will consider it!" Qiu Chuji nodded and said with a smile, without showing whether he agreed or disagreed.

Qiu Chuji and Ma Liancheng chatted for a few more minutes, but didn't bring up any profound topics. They just exchanged a few polite but meaningless phrases like "mutual support" and "progress together."

After finishing his braised pork trotter rice, Ma Liancheng paid the bill and said goodbye.

As Qiu Chuji sensed Ma Liancheng's presence fading away, he frowned slightly.

In fact, Ma Liancheng has temporarily secured the position of the god of the internet, and he has no direct competition with Qiu Chuji. He also controls publicity and media resources, so it is very necessary for Qiu Chuji to maintain a good relationship with him.

However, Nezha's attitude served as a reminder to Qiu Chuji that it was best to be more cautious and prudent when dealing with people from the demonic path.

······
"Well? Did you figure anything out?" Ma Liancheng asked the computer screen in front of him in a high-rise office in Guangzhou.

A face identical to Ma Liancheng was projected onto the screen.

"After comparing big data, no corresponding information about him was found. He probably changed his appearance... or he has always been using the appearance after transmigrating. Also, he said he was Qiu Chuji, which may be an alias, or he may really be Qiu Chuji. He transmigrated into Qiu Chuji in some world of the myriad realms."

"Further details will require continued data collection and comparison before we can determine the exact situation," the face on the screen said.

“His style isn’t old-fashioned; he’s at most from the post-80s generation. Look back further and focus on those who died from dump trucks, computer leaks, and other bizarre deaths. Find traces in their records and make comparisons.”

“If we can find his family and friends in his ancestral homeland, it will be very helpful for our next ‘communication’ with him,” Ma Liancheng said coldly, without any of the enthusiasm he had shown when he greeted Qiu Chuji earlier.

In fact, given Ma Liancheng's current status as an internet god, it would be quite easy for him to find information about a person's past through the internet.

Through big data comparison, he may even know more about a person's past than the person themselves.

Those consumption records, browsing history, various comments, selfies, short essays, etc. posted online can all become materials for building a specific character model.

However, Qiu Chuji made preparations in advance, using his appearance after time travel as the first firewall, and also settling in the entire Xuan City in advance, directly eliminating all traces of Qiu Chuqing's existence on both the mental and physical levels.

This caused Qiu Chuqing to completely disappear, becoming a person who no longer existed.

Indeed, data on the internet can be recovered.

However, Xuan City, a small, third-tier city, did not enter into full internet management so early. Many older documents and archives are stored on paper and are basically not updated in real time.

After all, Qiu Chuqing in the past was not a significant figure and did not deserve special treatment.

Therefore, no one could possibly find Qiu Chuqing's last trace from the incredibly complex, heavy, and redundant information garbage, not even if he was some kind of internet god.

Even a Golden Immortal, who can process far more information than a supercomputer at the same time, will still focus their subjective judgment on a specific event as an individual.

Moreover, Ma Liancheng was not one of the other three Golden Immortals currently in the ancestral land.

"He's troublesome. Based on simple modeling and his relationship with Nezha, there's a 32.7% chance that he's the Golden Immortal who released his primordial spirit aura and spied on the world a few days ago."

"Little Sun, you are making a very dangerous test!" said the face on the computer monitor.

Ma Liancheng said, "The current situation is on the eve of a change of era. Many giant beasts are lurking at the bottom of the water. Since we have chosen to be the first to step forward, and even picked the position of the God of the Internet, which is important in some ways but not in others, isn't it all for the purpose of using our status to seize the initiative and gain the upper hand?"

"Since we're going to have to face each other anyway, why not do it a little earlier?"

"After all...who says godhood is fixed? I am the God of the Internet now, but after I form alliances and win battle after battle, I will not only be the God of the Internet, but also the God of Technology or even higher!"

Looking at Ma Liancheng's arrogant and unrestrained appearance, the face on the screen seemed to reveal a hint of gloom amidst the flickering light and shadow before disappearing.

······
Over the course of more than ten days, governments in countries with stable regimes generally realized what was happening and began to proactively contact the transmigrators who had returned home.

It's impossible to hide it forever. Not to mention the few who voluntarily exposed it, which triggered a large number of people returning home with strange phenomena, the various unusual celestial phenomena that appear from time to time have already caused widespread panic.

At this time, what is needed is to do something to quickly stabilize public sentiment.

Moreover, governments with keen senses have already discovered that in the depths of mountains and wilderness, in those remote places rarely visited by humans, some terrifying and monstrous beasts are emerging.

And those places haunted by eerie rumors and malevolent spirits have also given rise to evil.

The world is changing, and those who can't keep up and cling to outdated ideas will eventually be left behind.

With the tacit approval or even support of governments around the world, a large number of deities emerged in a short period of time.

Aside from novel godhoods like the God of Games and the God of the Internet, the competition for established core godhoods such as the God of War, the God of the Sun, the God of the Sky, and the God of Thunder is the most intense.

Within just ten days, more than forty returning transmigrators demonstrated their power in different countries and regions, and after gaining some local support, they chose these popular divine positions.

The existence of beings with the same divine position is certainly not possible to coexist in the ancestral land. They will inevitably fight to determine who is superior, and in most cases, it will be a matter of life and death.

The positions of gods such as the God of War, the God of the Sun, the God of the Sky, the God of Thunder, and even the God of Wealth, the God of War, and the God of Heavenly Secrets in China have all been claimed by various gods. Among them, there are two Gods of the Sun, one in Beijing and one in Shanghai. The two suns shining brightly in the world are quite remarkable.

Related information and rumors have naturally been circulating online for some time.

Say anything.

Whether it's displaying disdain with snarling gestures, expressing one's unruliness with humor, or calmly and somberly lying down, the core message is the same: severe discomfort in the face of sudden change.

In China, the government's role is to broadcast messages around the clock to reassure the public that everything is under control.

Meanwhile, those who voluntarily stepped forward and claimed divine positions would frequently appear on various programs, showcasing their miraculous abilities while also conveying their firm commitment to protecting China and maintaining peace.

To obtain a divine position, one needs the approval of as many people as possible.

This isn't a situation where you can have boundless divine power and sweep everything aside. If everyone is wiped out, then nobody gets to play.

Therefore, anyone who dares to use their divine power to commit massacres will be targeted and kicked out of the game.

With the world's largest population, it's conceivable that China and India will be the main battleground for the ultimate ownership of the divine throne.

After all, these two countries together have a population of three billion, accounting for a small portion of the world's total population.

The world was in turmoil, but Qiu Chuji remained silent, seemingly waiting for the right opportunity.

The neon lights outside the window blurred into colorful spots in the rain, and the 24-hour coffee shop was filled with a bitter, burnt aroma.

The man in the plaid shirt was huddled in a corner booth, the blue light from his phone screen dancing on his glasses. His thumb mechanically refreshed the hottest forum posts, his expression carrying a faint sense of destruction and weariness.

The girl next to me suddenly gasped, her teeth creased the straw of her milk tea. In the live stream, lightning split the surface of the Huangpu River, and a giant golden-bronze cauldron slowly rose from the whirlpool.

Wang Yu, the newly crowned Thunder God of China, is using his Yuan Yang Cauldron to extract all the toxic and harmful substances from the Huangpu River, aiming to perform the miraculous feat of making the Huangpu River clear in a single day.

The sounds of keyboards clicking filled the air, mixed with the hum of the air conditioner and the sounds of swallowing.

The delivery guy in his uniform stood in front of the food counter, looking up at the TV hanging on the wall.

'A hundred-armed Guanyin image appears on Mount Putuo' 'Thor appears in the aurora zone, fulfilling the wish of a three-year-old child with a terminal illness' 'The feathered serpent god of the Maya appears, calling on all indigenous peoples to reclaim their land'

The messages kept coming in, it was utterly surreal.

If it weren't for an official announcement, it would probably have been mistaken for a prank video.

The girl in the JK uniform suddenly chuckled, tapping her rhinestone-studded nails on her tempered glass phone screen protector, and posted a comment on Douyin: "Eighteen years old, available for threesomes, looking for a kind soul to take me in!"

"A new god has emerged!" the deliveryman suddenly shouted.

All eyes were focused on the large television screen.

In the scene, a Taoist priest descends step by step from the clouds in the mountains, with lotus flowers blooming with each step. Lotus petals fall with the wind, and many of the pilgrims on the mountain are rejuvenated under the nourishment of the lotus petals.

The young get younger, the ugly get better, and the good get better.

There were also people with physical disabilities or serious illnesses whose health improved significantly.

"I, Qiu Chuji, today make a great vow at Zhongnan Mountain to become a 'guardian deity,' determined to protect the peace of the world and prevent external evils from invading."

"From this day forward, I will preach in the mountains, teaching martial arts and immortality. Those of excellent virtue and extraordinary talent will receive rare and precious immortal fruits, directly enter the path of immortality, achieve longevity, and uphold the righteous path of humanity with me!"

The sound from the television echoed through the coffee shop, then immediately became noisy.

Where is Zhongnan Mountain?

"I need to book a ticket and get there!" the JK girl couldn't help but shout.

Some people were even quicker, already using ticket booking software and paying extra to snag tickets.

Train tickets, bullet train tickets, plane tickets, even bus tickets—anything to get to Zhongnan Mountain as soon as possible.

When the gods of the past appeared in the world, they did perform miracles, but they mostly showed how great they were. At most, they did things like Wang Yu, extracting harmful substances from the river water to benefit the environment.

Qiu Chuji is the only one so far to have directly stated that he was preaching the Dao and the Dharma, and even provided rare and precious fruits and delicacies.

This is also Qiu Chuji's advantage.

He planted many spiritual roots in his small world back then. Now that the small world can no longer communicate with the heavens and the world, the spiritual roots he planted have grown to maturity several times over, and the relatively ordinary spiritual herbs have been piled up into small mountains.

Originally intended to strengthen the Quanzhen Sect and elevate it to the status of a celestial sect, it is now perfectly suited for winning people's hearts.

······
"Smash!" Ma Liancheng slammed the water glass to the ground, his face clearly showing anger, but there was also an element of acting involved.

"Excellent calculation, excellent skill, excellent courage!" He used three "excellent"s in a row, which shows the impact Qiu Chuji's move had on him.

Why is it good?

What's so good about it?

The Martial God Yuwen Bing, who was sitting in the same office as 'Ma Liancheng', expressed his doubts.

This martial god was a muscle-bound, overpowering type of player in the world he traveled to.

That is, the type of person who endlessly stacks armor and brute force, and then smashes everything in sight. Because they are used to dealing with problems with muscle, they can no longer react quickly to things that are a little complicated.

After he declared his intention to become a God of War, Ma Liancheng immediately found him and signed an alliance agreement with him.

"The world is undergoing great changes, and the transmigrators are returning home. Sooner or later, this world will be in turmoil. No matter how much we restrain ourselves, it is inevitable that some people will act impulsively and cause trouble."

“The Guardian God was originally insignificant, but with our arrival, his necessity has greatly increased. He has essentially made us all serve as a foil for him! As long as he can truly handle a few major crises, he can easily gain a lot of support.” Ma Liancheng only explained the most basic level.

Upon hearing this, Yuwen Bing showed an expression of realization, followed by some annoyance.

He believed he was capable of protecting the public, but he didn't think that much about it at the time and simply chose the path he was most comfortable with.

What Ma Liancheng didn't say was that Qiu Chuji, using immortality as bait, had already broken through his internet information blockade.

His plan to use the internet as a means of coercion to gradually control and subdue a group of returning migrants has been completely thwarted by Qiu Chuji's decisive action.

To gain prestige, a deity still needs to rely on publicity.

Mastering the internet is equivalent to controlling the key to propaganda. With the lure of immortality, powerful figures from all countries will flock to the destination. Other returnees with the ability and confidence will also follow suit. Even if they cannot spread the teachings and doctrines as widely as Qiu Chuji, they can selectively recruit a group of people to become their core believers.

In this way, even if traditional print media loses money, a large number of powerful and wealthy people will be willing to invest and help with overwhelming publicity.

Besides, the internet... is just the internet.

Traditional media such as television and radio stations are not within the scope of the internet's jurisdiction.

As for why Ma Liancheng didn't start with 'Fengshen' and control all information dissemination from the source?
That's because he wanted to jump ship and change course midway, but once he became the 'Wind God,' his position was fixed, and he couldn't change course anymore.

(End of this chapter)