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

Chapter 222: Everything Was Within the Grandmaster's Calculation
The Yellow Springs Palace, the highest point of the thirty-three levels.

Chen Ye let out a long breath, slowly waking up from his deep meditation. The moment his consciousness returned to his body, an indescribable sense of exhaustion washed over him like a tide, almost causing him to collapse to the ground.

He raised his hand to wipe his forehead, finding it covered in cold sweat. Upon internal inspection, he saw that the eighteen Qi Seas within his body, which had once been abundant and vast, were now mostly depleted.

Although Mo Suixin's "spiritual communion" just now lasted only a short time, it was extremely taxing.

However, the massive amount of spiritual energy he consumed was not directly transferred to Mo Suixin, who was far away at the Incense Burning Sect; it was merely used to maintain the phantom of the Fengdu Emperor from collapsing.

Creating a deity from scratch in just three days was far more difficult than Chen Ye had anticipated.

The weight of the word "reincarnation" was heavier than Chen Ye had imagined.

If it weren't for Qu Heng's full assistance, Chen Ye wouldn't have been able to condense the phantom image of the Fengdu Emperor.

In this "remote transfer of power," Chen Ye's spiritual energy was mainly used to maintain the phantom image of the Fengdu Emperor.

The Emperor of Fengdu then transformed the incense offerings and vows into magical power, lending it to Mo Suixin so that she could use the supernatural abilities that Chen Ye possessed.

Although the time was short, it was still too much for Chen Ye, a cultivator at the Tongxuan Realm.

Now that he had severed his spiritual connection with Mo Suixin, Chen Ye felt as if he were about to collapse to the ground.

Qu Heng, who had been silently protecting him from the sidelines, chuckled and praised, "Well done. I thought you wouldn't last this long. Eighteen Qi Seas, tsk tsk, you'll have much more spiritual energy than other cultivators in the future. I'm afraid no one will be able to fight a protracted battle with you."

Chen Ye forced a smile and joked along with him, "If that's the case, then wouldn't I soon be invincible?"

"Invincible under heaven?" Qu Heng scoffed, mercilessly retorting, "Come talk to me about 'invincible' when you can withstand a single sword strike from Zhang Qi! What good is having a lot of spiritual energy? Against a strong opponent, one move can take your life!"

Chen Ye couldn't help but recall Zhang Qi's Heaven-Splitting Sword, and also the Heaven-Devouring Demon Hand of the Underground Demon.

As his cultivation level increased, the cultivators he encountered also became increasingly powerful.

Not only are their cultivation levels higher, but the spells they use are also becoming more and more powerful. They are no longer the rogue cultivators who can be easily killed.

Seeing the change in Chen Ye's expression, Qu Heng thought that he had spoken too harshly, so he comforted him, "There's no need to belittle yourself. A person like Zhang Qi only appears once every thousand or ten thousand years. Moreover, if you, the Great Emperor of Fengdu, can achieve perfect merit, then you really might succeed Zhang Qi and become the number one person to suppress the world."

Upon hearing this, Chen Ye shook his head with a wry smile: "Grandmaster thinks too highly of me. There's no chance of me achieving perfection within the next hundred years."

The Emperor of Fengdu is the deity Chen Ye envisions as controlling cause and effect and reincarnation, whose rank is much higher than that of the Crimson Dragon Buddha.

Back then, the prototype of the Crimson Serpent Buddha was barely cultivated by Qu Heng after countless efforts and years. In the end, it absorbed the overwhelming resentment and unwillingness of countless rogue cultivators in Hundred Seas Valley before taking the final step and becoming a "deity" in the true sense.

His newly "born" Emperor Fengdu is currently just a phantom, lacking any intelligence or independent consciousness.

To turn it into a true deity, one would need to collect incense offerings and prayers for hundreds of years.

However, this Emperor Fengdu is the true foundation of the Yellow Springs Sect and Chen Ye's greatest reliance. When this deity's merits are complete, perhaps Chen Ye will be able to ascend to the Immortal Realm.

After discussing the matter of the Fengdu Emperor, Chen Ye continued, "Grandmaster, I just made contact with Miss Mo from the Burning Incense Sect and learned some information. The situation seems to be more dangerous than we anticipated; the corpse of the Demon Lord Wujiu has undergone a strange transformation..."

Chen Ye then told Qu Heng about the details of the Soul Cleansing Flower's mutation, the tremors of Green Coffin Mountain, and the damage to the seal.

Unfortunately, Mo Suixin still didn't know enough, and many things could only be pieced together through guesswork. But even these clues made Qu Heng frown deeply.

He stroked his chin, pondering for a long time, repeatedly muttering, "Something's not right, something's very wrong..."

Seeing this, Chen Ye quickly asked, "Grandmaster, do you think that Demon Lord Wujiu is really going to be resurrected? We previously deduced that Lu Xingzhou wanted to possess Demon Lord Wujiu's body. Could it be that the damage to the seal was also caused by him, just to find an excuse to carry out his plan?"

Upon hearing this, Qu Heng slowly shook his head, denying Chen Ye's guess.

"No, it shouldn't be Lu Xingzhou's doing. With Lu Xingzhou's current absolute position in the Burning Incense Sect, why would he need to resort to any underhanded tactics? With just a decree from the sect leader, the entire Burning Incense Sect would definitely do everything in its power to help. The damage to the seal on Green Coffin Mountain is probably due to a genuine accident."

Chen Ye, however, offered a different perspective: "But Grandmaster, isn't this timing a bit too coincidental? For a thousand years, the seal has never been broken earlier or later, but it broke at this crucial juncture? If it wasn't Lu Xingzhou's doing, could it have been those underground demons?"

"It's unlikely." Qu Heng shook his head again, his tone certain. "Although everyone knows Zhang Qi doesn't have much time left, he's not dead yet. As long as he's alive, those cowardly remnants of the demonic sect will never dare to cause trouble so openly. Zhang Qi only has a few months left, why rush things? Are they hoping Zhang Qi's last sword will fall on their heads?"

Qu Heng paused, a strange light flashing in his eyes, and then uttered an even more frightening guess to Chen Ye: "The loosening of this seal and the mutation of the Soul Cleansing Flower are probably the Demon Lord Wujiu's attempt to save himself." "Self-rescue?!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Ye felt a chill rush to his head.

You should know that the Incense Burning Sect even emptied the head of the Demon Lord Wujiu, yet he still wasn't completely dead. How could he possibly save himself?

"Don't be too surprised." Qu Heng seemed to see through Chen Ye's shock and explained calmly, "The Demon Lord Wujiu is the most unique one in a thousand years. His physical body is no longer something that should exist in the mortal world."

"Back then, even someone as powerful as Zhang Qi could only sever his soul; he was helpless against his physical body. Otherwise, given his nature of eradicating evil completely, why would he leave such a huge hidden danger and entrust it to the Burning Incense Sect to be sealed under Green Coffin Mountain?"

"That demon is known as 'Reborn from a Drop of Blood,' and what makes him terrifying is not just the infinite regeneration of his physical body." Qu Heng's tone was solemn: "What is reborn is not only his flesh and blood, but also his complete and intact soul."

"The soul can be reborn? Wouldn't this person be truly immortal?"

Qu Heng said decisively, "They are immortal and indestructible, so the Incense Burning Sect found the Soul Cleansing Flower, a rare species, in some ancient cave. After several rounds of cultivation, they planted it into the body of the Demon Lord Wujiu. I didn't know where they planted the flower before, but now that I've heard from you, I know that they planted it directly in the Demon Lord Wujiu's brain."

"How ruthless! The so-called righteous path is nothing more than this."

Qu Heng sighed and then continued, "The effect of the Soul Cleansing Flower is to tear apart the Demon Lord's constantly resurrecting soul, ensuring that he cannot condense a complete soul. But the little girl from the Seven Star Hall said that the Soul Cleansing Flower has mutated, so I guess it's mostly because the Demon Lord Wujiu's physical body has adapted to the damage of the Soul Cleansing Flower and has begun to use this mutant species against him."

"It's most likely that Demon Lord Wujiu used the mutated Soul Cleansing Flower to break the seal, which led to all the subsequent events. The Incense Burning Sect wanted to use this opportunity to test its disciples, so they created this scene. However, they are quite ruthless; even their chief disciple died, leaving only his soul, which must have greatly damaged his foundation."

Chen Ye also sighed, "This is the confidence of a prestigious sect. Several chief disciples of the Longevity Hall have died, but they can replace them as easily as changing clothes."

Chen Ye had previously heard Mo Suixin mention that the internal competition among the Three Mountains and Five Halls of the Incense Burning Sect was extremely fierce, with only the Seven Star Hall having a small number of disciples, which is why she lived a leisurely life.

The most basic reason for the intensity is simply the sheer number of people involved.

Qu Heng comforted him, "Don't be envious. Our Yellow Springs Sect will not be inferior to the Incense Burning Sect in the future. However, we must pay attention to the matter of Demon Lord Wujiu. If he is resurrected after Zhang Qi's death, something terrible will definitely happen."

"Grandmaster, should we also do our part?"

Qu Heng quickly shook his head and said, "What effort is there to put in? Informing them that there's a demon underground is already more than enough. If the sky falls, the tall ones will hold it up. The five major sects aren't all dead yet, what does it have to do with our Yellow Springs Sect?"

Qu Heng, being from the Demonic Sect, would never consider cooperating with the five righteous sects. It would be better to take this opportunity to weaken the power of the five major sects, so that the Yellow Spring Sect could become the sole dominant force.

Besides, if the five major sects can't even suppress a Demon Lord Wujiu, then what can the Yellow Springs Sect do?
Chen Ye understood this principle and could only pray that Mo Suixin would be safe and sound.

The two then chatted about the daily affairs of the Yellow Springs Sect. As the sect leader and the supreme elder, they couldn't completely shirk their responsibilities.

After finishing these miscellaneous matters, Qu Heng said, "What you mentioned before, asking me to modify the supernatural power of the Opening Zen, has now been modified. Take a look at it yourself and learn it as soon as possible, so that you won't make a mistake when the Mirage sends someone to question you."

The Mirage Sect is coming to investigate Chen Ye's theft of secret techniques, and they will definitely use methods similar to the Mind-Questioning Technique on him. The golden body formed by the Opening Zen can resist the effects of such magic.

But Chen Ye took the notes and looked at them, then asked in confusion, "Grandmaster, is this still the divine power of the Opening Zen? How come it's completely different?"

The "open mouth Zen" means that as long as you speak reason, even if it is fallacious, as long as you can justify it, you can use the Buddha's power to create a protective golden body.

However, Qu Heng's modified supernatural power had nothing to do with eloquence anymore; instead, it became a permanent effect.

Those who cultivate this supernatural power need to accumulate merit through good deeds and then use the power of the gods to condense a protective golden body. At crucial moments, as long as they silently recite the supernatural mantra, they can summon golden light to protect their body.

The more Chen Ye looked at it, the more he felt it aligned with the Fengdu Emperor's principle of rewarding good deeds.

Qu Heng said smugly, "That's why I told you to quickly forge your own deity. Look, isn't this divine power perfectly suited to the Fengdu Emperor? If this method is promoted in the Northern Frontier, it will be much easier to spread the faith of the Fengdu Emperor."

So that's how it is. No wonder he claims to be the greatest diviner in the world; every step of this master's calculations is just right.

Chen Ye thought for a moment and realized that people who do good deeds and accumulate virtue can be blessed by the gods, and then their faith will become more devout, and the incense offerings to the Fengdu Emperor will increase.

With more incense offerings, more ordinary people can be protected, and in turn, more people will do good deeds and accumulate merit.

Isn't this just the snowballing effect of incense offerings and prayers?
If all good people in the world could be indestructible, wouldn't the mortal world become a paradise?

(End of this chapter)