Gentlemen, it's time to enter the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls.

Chapter 162: Preparing for the Conferment of Godhood
The Venerable One wanted to say that he had lived for hundreds of years and had seen everything, but looking at the bronze bell with the fire snake coiled in Chen Ye's hand, he could only admit that he was still too ignorant.

No one can master all eighteen different supernatural powers, but one supernatural power can indeed have eighteen different effects.

Since Chen Ye said so, the Lord had no choice but to believe him.

After all, he was the first cultivator in history to cultivate eighteen Qi Seas.

The lord couldn't help but become curious and asked, "What use is this second level of hell to you?"

Chen Ye smiled and said, "Clear your mind and spirit, and eliminate distracting thoughts."

"I believe you."

Despite saying this, the Lord still beckoned to Chen Ye with his finger: "Come, let me see how much you've improved during your trip to the Northern Frontier."

Before Chen Ye could respond, a red snake flew out from the void and lunged at Chen Ye's neck.

It was the same trick again, a sneak attack without warning, a complete lack of martial ethics.

But this time, Chen Ye remained completely still.

But when the red snake landed on Chen Ye's neck, it passed through like an illusion.

Chen Ye said smugly, "My lord, I told you this bronze bell can purify my mind and spirit, so please don't use ordinary illusions... I'll go!"

Before Chen Ye could finish speaking, a fist that seemed bigger than the sky came crashing down on him.

The bronze bell with the animal head appeared on Chen Ye's body, enveloping him.

With a loud clang, Chen Ye and Zhong were sent flying.

The Venerable One chuckled and said, "Not bad, your reaction time has improved. Your bell is quite hard."

Chen Ye scrambled to his feet, thoroughly exasperated. That old guy was truly cunning, giving him absolutely no chance to catch his breath.

Once again, countless crimson snakes burst forth from the void, rushing towards Chen Ye.

This time it's not just an illusion; among the hundreds of fake red-banded snakes, there are a few real ones.

If it were placed on the ground for Chen Ye to examine closely, he could barely distinguish between the real and the fake. But now that they were all huddled together and rushing towards him, Chen Ye didn't have time to look closely at them at all.

Left with no other choice, they had to use the bronze bell with the animal head as protection once again.

A series of clanging and banging noises rang out, but the Lord frowned slightly.

The sound of the bronze bell disturbed his peace of mind.

Logically speaking, his realm was far superior to Chen Ye's, and he shouldn't have been affected by mere noise. However, the sound of the bell reminded him of many unpleasant memories.

Because of his mood, the Lord's offensive slowed down slightly. The rapid tolling of the bells slowed, and Chen Ye, inside the bronze bell, seized the opportunity.

The fiery serpent hell manifested around his body, which was ten feet in size. The Venerable Lord felt as if his feet were stepping into a swamp, with countless fiery serpents coiling around his body and their venomous fangs biting at him, trying to drag him into an endless abyss.

Not only that, a bronze bell descended from the sky, enveloping the Venerable One, and then began to vibrate wildly.

As Chen Ye released his defenses, he saw the bronze bell enveloping the Venerable Lord vibrating as it sank into the fiery serpent hell.

But Chen Ye was not smug at all, because he was well aware of the gap between himself and the Venerable Lord, and this little trick could not really have any effect on him.

Sure enough, there was a noise behind them.

Chen Ye turned around and saw the Lord's large hand descending from the sky, as if to suppress him.

Chen Ye hurriedly tried to protect himself with the bronze bell, but found that he could not move.

When the palm pressed down, Chen Ye's Qi Sea couldn't circulate, until the palm slapped Chen Ye's shoulder.

The Venerable One laughed and said, "Not bad, not bad. Your Eighteen Levels of Hell's supernatural power is truly profound. Even I almost fell for it. However, since this bronze bell can protect you, don't remove it casually. Since you are in an invincible position, don't deliberately reveal any weaknesses. If you still have this bronze bell, it wouldn't be so easy for me to pat you on the shoulder."

Chen Ye said with a wry smile, "I don't want to either, but I'm a beginner in this Bronze Bell Hell, and I can't last long."

Having just grasped this level of supernatural power, the Venerable One immediately came to test him. Chen Ye hadn't even had a chance to carefully consider its uses, and his second Qi Sea hadn't been fully transformed into the Bronze Bell Hell. Being able to use the Bronze Bell to protect himself was already quite good.

The Venerable One offered a rare word of comfort: "Then keep working hard. When you reach the Dao Integration Realm, you might even be able to be called a Demon Venerable."

Chen Ye asked in confusion, "Aren't all demonic cultivators considered demon lords once they reach the Dao Integration Realm?"

The Venerable One shook his head and said, "It's not that simple. Back then, the Demonic Sect had more than eighteen Dao Integration Realm cultivators."

"what?"

Chen Ye was shocked. Was the Demonic Sect really that strong back then?
The Lord then asked, "You know almost nothing about the Demonic Sect, so how did you become a Demon Lord?"

Chen Ye was speechless. He didn't want to be a demon either, but he had no choice. However, since they had already come this far, Chen Ye decided to ask a few questions.

"Lord, could you tell me the story from back then? You said before that Demon Lord Wujiu ambushed Demon Lord Chilian, which led to Demon Lord Chilian being killed by the five righteous sects. What exactly happened?"

The Venerable One shook his head and said, "This matter cannot be discussed. When one's cultivation reaches a certain level, one will be able to sense everything related to oneself. This is why diviners are prone to backlash when divining the fortunes of high-level cultivators. This secret is closely related to the Incense Burning Sect. If we talk too much, that old codger Lu Xingzhou might sense it."

Although the Lord didn't say anything, Chen Ye had a vague feeling that something was wrong.

What? Was the ambush on Demon Lord Chi Lian by Demon Lord Wu Jiu secretly orchestrated by the Incense Burning Sect? Then why was Demon Lord Wu Jiu sealed in Green Coffin Mountain? Was he discarded after being used?

Chen Ye thought he wouldn't hear any more ancient secrets, but the Venerable said, "However, you should hear the story of another Bewitching Demon Venerable."

"The Demon Lord Who Bewitches Hearts?"

Chen Ye vaguely recognized the name and asked, "I've heard that this person is best at bewitching people and is a stunningly beautiful woman."

The Venerable One laughed and said, "For cultivators, what is the point of talking about being stunningly beautiful? No matter how beautiful the body is, it is ultimately just a fleshy bag that encases the soul. Being good-looking is not as important as having thick skin and flesh. This Bewitching Demon Venerable may be called a beauty, but she is definitely not stunningly beautiful. Her strength lies in her bewitching demonic voice."

"I heard that Zhang Qi almost fell into her trap when he encountered her before his swordsmanship was fully mastered. Later, the Bewitching Demon Lord died in the infighting of the Demonic Sect, betrayed by her most trusted disciple, and then died a violent death, her soul completely shattered, leaving nothing behind. However, in truth, the death of the Bewitching Demon Lord had little to do with the righteous sects' schemes. Even without the righteous sects' plot, her disciple would have betrayed her sooner or later."

Chen Ye was also deeply moved. It was too ironic that the Demon Lord, who had spent his whole life manipulating people's hearts, was betrayed by his own disciple.

"Although this person was arrogant and conceited, it's not a pity that she died, but you can learn her skills. It just so happens that your bronze bell also has the effect of influencing people's hearts."

The Venerable One's words excited Chen Ye. This senior really knows everything, even the secret techniques of the Bewitching Demon Venerable.

Chen Ye asked expectantly, "Lord, have you learned all the skills of the eighteen Demon Lords? Can you teach them all to me?"

The Lord was stunned for a moment, then pointed at Chen Ye and laughed, "You brat, you're insatiable! You want to learn the skills of the eighteen Demon Lords? Then what are you? The greatest demon in the world?"

Chen Ye laughed and said, "It's always good to have more skills. The path of cultivation is so difficult and dangerous, it's never a bad thing to learn more skills. If I had the talent, I would have asked Master Zhang to teach me the Qinghe Sword Technique."

The Lord scoffed, "Dream on! If I knew all the abilities of the eighteen Demon Lords, I would have crushed the world with a single slap long ago. Why would I need to hide in this remote place with you and build a city?"

Chen Ye was slightly disappointed, and asked again, "How many kinds do you know?"

The Venerable One shook his head and said, "I only have the legacy of the Crimson Serpent Holy Sect. If you want to learn it, I can teach you. As for anything else, I don't know it either. When I tell you about the abilities of the Bewitching Demon Lord, it's not that I want to teach you, but that I want you to imitate him. The Demonic Sound that disturbs the gods is not just about being loud. Later, I'll give you some books that record the life of the Bewitching Demon Lord. You can read them and figure them out yourself."

Chen Ye was somewhat disappointed, but still cupped his hands and said, "Thank you, Your Excellency."

"Yes, you should cultivate diligently and hurry up and complete the Gang Sha Body Refinement stage. In a few days, Fengdu City will be completed, and we will hold the sect opening ceremony. We must make it a grand and glorious event."

"A sect-opening ceremony?" Chen Ye asked doubtfully, "Does it really need to be so grand?"

Chen Ye thought to himself, "Now that Fengdu and the Yellow Springs are built, I can just invite a few friends over for a cup of tea and that's it. What's the point of cultivators going through all that complicated formalities?"

The Venerable One said, "Other sects may be able to keep a low profile, but the Yellow Springs Sect cannot. Don't forget, you promised to ensure that the incense offerings of those ancestral spirits never cease. Can such a large sect like the Yellow Springs Sect accommodate so many ancestral spirits? Have you considered that those messy incense offerings might affect the spirituality of the Crimson Serpent Buddha?"

"So, what does this have to do with the founding ceremony?" Chen Ye asked.

"Of course there are, because that's how the Nirvana Sect played the game back then. When the Nirvana Sect still ruled the Northern Frontier, they only had one Buddha, the Golden Buddha. But those fabricated stories were made real by believers through their incense and prayers. What should they do then? They couldn't just say they were all incarnations of the Buddha. The Nirvana Sect's Buddha also had his pride."

Chen Ye asked curiously, "What was the final outcome for the Nirvana School?"

The Venerable One looked disdainful and explained to Chen Ye, "They fabricated a set of theories about the conferment of gods, bestowing various divine positions upon these chaotic and unclear ancestral spirits. Then they fabricated a set of theories about the five signs of decay in the celestial beings, sending these ancestral spirits to undergo tribulations. Using the failure to undergo tribulations as an excuse, they caused these gods of worship to perish one by one, basically summarizing the tribulations as a lack of piety."

"You do not respect Buddha, and your heart is not sincere, so you will suffer all kinds of calamities. Even gods cannot escape these calamities, so what can a mortal like you do? You can only devoutly worship Buddha. Do whatever Buddha says, do not doubt, do not doubt, just obey. The Nirvana Sect uses this method to fool mortals and turn the northern border into their sheepfold."

Chen Ye suddenly realized that the Nirvana Sect was indeed cunning. This way, they could both eliminate the ancestral spirits that distributed incense offerings and continue to deceive the people of the Northern Frontier into providing incense and prayers.

But is the Yellow Springs Sect also going to follow this old path?

Chen Ye said to the Venerable One, "We can't just follow the methods of the Nirvana School, or we'll truly become a demonic sect."

The Venerable One nodded and said, "That's right, that's exactly it. We can't just copy it, but we still have to do the conferment of gods. The ancestral spirits are numerous and complex, and the incense and vows influence each other, which will eventually cause big problems. You must figure out a set of rules, categorize and arrange them properly, and improve this way of incense offerings."

"I?"

Chen Ye was a little insecure. What did he have that made him worthy of being deified?

The Venerable One said, "Don't underestimate yourself. When I was interrogated last time, the Yama you conjured up didn't seem to be something you imagined out of thin air. You must have a complete arrangement by now, right? I'll give you the list of those ancestral spirits later. You can carefully arrange their seating order for me, and we'll proceed according to that. Then we'll invite Zhang Qi to witness it. These ancestral spirits won't be just some wandering ghosts, but the incense gods of our Yellow Springs Sect!"

Chen Ye exclaimed in shock, "We still need to invite Master Zhang?"

"Otherwise what? Do you think it's that simple to establish a sect? It's not just the Qinghe Sword Sect; all five major sects have to invite people to witness it. Only in this way can it be considered a certified sect. Otherwise, if any cultivator just comes along and opens a sect and takes on disciples, who knows if it's a demon in disguise? Cixin Temple also went through this ceremony back then; otherwise, how could it have severed its ties with the Nirvana Sect?"

The Venerable One reminded him, "Don't forget, our practice of offering incense is also a method of the Nirvana Sect."

(End of this chapter)