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

Chapter 226 Helping Master Achieve Godhood Before Setting Off

Just as Qu Heng had said, the invitations from the five major sects arrived quickly.

The above text does not mention anything about Zhang Qi's passing; it only states that the five major sects jointly held a conference for cultivators, inviting many independent cultivators and members of unorthodox sects to participate.

Although Chen Ye's Yellow Springs Sect has not yet been officially established, it has dominated the entire Northern Frontier and can be considered a powerful unorthodox sect. Therefore, Chen Ye was specially invited to participate in this grand event.

The venue for this grand event was set at Lietian Mountain.

"Lietian Mountain?" Chen Ye asked doubtfully, "Is that the battlefield of the final battle between the righteous and the demonic forces?"

Legend has it that after the internal strife within the Demonic Sect, the five righteous sects joined forces and launched a desperate counterattack, ultimately forcing the remaining Demon Lords into a desperate situation. During the great battle, Zhang Qi cleaved the sky with a single sword strike, and the sword mark can still be seen to this day.

Previously, Chen Ye had taken it as a joke, never imagining that a single sword strike could leave a mark that spanned a thousand years.

But now, if you look up at the sky over northern Xinjiang, you can see a clear line that divides the blue of the sky into two shades: dark blue and light blue.

This is the mark left by Zhang Qi's sword strike back then, and it hasn't completely faded away even now.

Back then, Zhang Qi was only dealing with the remnants of the Nirvana Sect. Because he was wary of the mortals in the Northern Frontier, he did not go all out.

Even so, a clear sword mark remained in the sky.

So it's not surprising that there's a thousand-year-old sword mark left on this Rift Mountain.

But why choose this place?

Unbeknownst to others, Chen Ye received the news in advance from two close friends.

This was actually the five major sects preparing for Zhang Qi's death, discussing how to deal with those demons.

Inviting other sects to participate in this grand event is mostly just a smokescreen.

But if it's a secret, why choose Rift Mountain? Are you afraid that those demons won't hear the news and won't associate it with the matter of eliminating demons and protecting the righteous path?

Qu Heng pondered for a long time, and then analyzed, "It is probably to conceal the secrets of heaven. This place, Lietian Mountain, is the place where the war between good and evil ended. It has a great cause and effect. Choosing this place is to use the past to cover up the present. It is extremely difficult for ordinary diviners to calculate the idea of ​​the righteous path."

Chen Ye quickly said, "Then I suppose Grandmaster can figure it out? After all, you are no ordinary diviner, you are the best in the world."

Upon hearing this, Qu Heng glanced at him irritably and retorted, "Why should I calculate it? Why don't you just go and ask him directly?"

Chen Ye touched his nose and gave an embarrassed smile.

That makes sense.

Chen Ye was invited, so it's unlikely that the five major sects would keep him hidden away, at least not the Qinghe Sword Sect.

Asking Qu Heng to make calculations now is asking too much of him.

But Chen Ye still said, "I'm just being prepared. After all, I have a lot of grudges with the Incense Burning Sect and the Mirage Sect. I'm afraid they'll make things difficult for me if I go."

“They wouldn’t dare,” Qu Heng said decisively.

Chen Ye asked in confusion, "Why do you say that, Grandmaster?"

Qu Heng laughed and said, "As long as they stand on Mount Lietian, look up at the sky, and think about your relationship with the Qinghe Sword Sect, they wouldn't dare to do it even if they had ten thousand lives."

That was a statement that Chen Ye couldn't refute.

Let alone the sword mark on Rift Mountain, Chen Ye now stands at the highest level of the Yellow Springs Palace, and the sword mark he occasionally looks at in the northern sky makes him feel uneasy. He can't even imagine what the effect would be if that sword were to strike him; he'd probably not even leave behind ashes.

"In that case, I am relieved. However, there are many problems within the Yellow Springs Sect, so Grandmaster, you must keep a close eye on them for me."

Chen Ye's tone was somewhat ambiguous. Qu Heng blinked and then asked, "You little brat, you suspect that I secretly orchestrated the City God's rebellion?"

Chen Ye quickly waved his hand and explained, "That's not quite right, but Grandmaster, you're fueling the fire, aren't you? The Crimson Dragon Buddha controls all the incense power, and the Ox-Headed City God has been collecting large amounts of incense in unusual ways outside Fengdu City. You couldn't possibly not know that. Grandmaster, you were just observing, and you must have intentionally kept the news out of us, so the White Bone Ancestral Spirit had no reaction to it."

"Grandmaster, you know that most of those city gods will be resentful after they develop sentience, so you're preparing to make an example of them, right?"

After listening to Chen Ye's analysis, Qu Heng said with a half-smile, "You guessed half right. I did know in advance, but I also know your temper. I didn't block the news or prevent other City Gods from sensing this matter. But the White Bone Ancestral Spirit didn't notice at all, which is its own problem."

Chen Ye frowned, surprised that Qu Heng hadn't secretly orchestrated this. Qu Heng continued, "You lad, you understand human nature quite well, but you understand the gods too little. The gods of incense, if they are not of mortal origin, have no sense of good or evil. The ancestral spirit of white bones you chose is the same; although it possesses intelligence, it grew up on blood and flesh, and killing and human sacrifice is commonplace for it."

"The ancestral spirit is ignorant and won't benefit much from being promoted to City God, so the City God you chose is actually quite incompetent. He can't foresee the rebellion of his subordinates, nor does he know how to detect such situations in advance. But you're right, I guessed it long ago, and I've been waiting for this opportunity."

“Only death can instill fear in these gods of incense offerings, and only in this way can the City God abide by the rules of my Yellow Springs Sect. I was worried that you would be too soft-hearted, but I didn’t expect you to be so decisive when you take action.”

Chen Ye shook his head and said, "One thing at a time. Killing a ghost messenger means paying with one's life. There is no room for leniency in this matter."

In fact, Chen Ye was never soft-hearted; he just never killed innocent people indiscriminately. It's unclear why others always thought he was too soft-hearted.

Qu Heng looked at Chen Ye's calm demeanor and nodded with satisfaction, praising him, "You're starting to look like a sect leader. Your trip to Lietian Mountain will likely involve you in the major event of Zhang Qi's death. If it weren't for the five major sects inviting you, I wouldn't want you to go. With your current abilities, it's not safe enough."

Upon hearing this, Chen Ye's eyes lit up, and he asked Qu Heng, "Grandmaster, do you perhaps have another magical treasure to give me?"

This grandmaster was truly like a treasure chest, always able to pull out some treasures no matter the time.

Unexpectedly, Qu Heng glared at Chen Ye and cursed, "Magic treasure my foot! I'm penniless myself, and the only magic treasure I have was stolen from the Nirvana Sect. You go and practice your new supernatural power before you go, and then give me the incense offerings from those City Gods that you just swallowed. I'll rebuild Mo Ci's golden body."

Chen Ye said in confusion, "Didn't we agree that we would have Master recast his golden body when we established our sect? It would be a perfect part of the ceremony."

Qu Heng shook his head slowly but firmly and said, "It's too late. I originally thought you could wait peacefully until the day you established your sect, but who would have thought that Zhang Qi would give up first. When Zhang Qi leaves, the world will change drastically, and who will care about the establishment of a small side sect like yours? Your trip to Lietian Mountain will definitely be risky, otherwise the five major sects would not have invited you to participate in such an important event."

"The title of 'Number One in the Profound Realm' sounds nice, but it's actually useless. In the end, you're just a pawn. If you want to go from a pawn to a player, you need to have more trump cards. Mo Ci should also take on the responsibility of being a master. I can't be the one worrying about your affairs every day."

Chen Ye naturally wouldn't refuse to help Mo Ci rebuild his golden body; it's actually a bit too late now.

Previously, Mo Ci had been on the verge of death. If Chen Ye hadn't used the bond between master and disciple to hold him hostage, Mo Ci would probably have already dissipated.

Hearing Qu Heng say this, Chen Ye nodded repeatedly and said, "That's right, it's time to let him come out of seclusion. He can't just hide in the Ten Thousand Soul Banner and relax all day long. The Yellow Spring Sect is currently short of manpower, so we must make him work hard."

Qu Heng glanced at Chen Ye. This kid truly lived up to his reputation as a member of the Demonic Sect; he was really adept at the trick of betraying his master and ancestors.

"In that case, go and make preparations. That White Bone Ancestral Spirit is of little use; we should let Mo Ci, the 'Day Wanderer,' take charge. Your Underworld can't be without a single real 'official.'"

Chen Ye nodded, completely agreeing with Qu Heng's statement.

The title of Day Wanderer was a divine position that Chen Ye had long planned to create for Mo Ci. As one of the Ten Underworld Marshals, he could be considered a big figure in the Underworld.

Chen Ye said to Qu Heng, "Let's discuss some details further. This day-roaming deity is no ordinary god..."

The deities sculpted by incense are a bit like creating a person from clay. You have to decide what shape you want to make them before you can start, otherwise it's a waste of materials.

The Day Wanderer is an evil god who travels around causing trouble.

But it's not about causing trouble. Rather, whenever someone does evil, the Day-Roaming God will travel thousands of miles to your side in an instant, record your misdeeds, and punish you, or report directly to Yama, the King of Hell, and deduct your merits from several lifetimes before you even enter the underworld.

From appearance to divine role, every detail had to be prepared in advance before incense could be used to create the golden body, so that Mo Ci could possess the abilities of the Day Wanderer God.

It may seem like they're just randomly creating all sorts of supernatural powers and secret techniques, but it's not without its limitations.

Chen Ye's Fengdu Emperor was also created, but now it is just a phantom. Even if he swallows all the incense offerings in the Northern Frontier along with the Crimson Dragon Buddha, he may not be able to truly take form.

Because the level of reincarnation is too high, this amount of incense offerings is far from enough.

The same applies to the Day-Wandering God. You can design it to be as powerful as you want, even one slap that can destroy the heavens and the earth. The problem is, where do you get so much incense and offerings to fill this golden statue?

Even in the pursuit of immortality, there are still some basic principles to follow.

Therefore, the two of them had to carefully calculate the extent that the current incense offerings could achieve, and how to make the day-wandering deity as powerful as possible while ensuring that the golden body could be formed.

This discussion took several more days before everything was finally ready.

Chen Ye immediately went underground and awakened the sleeping Mo Ci within the Ten Thousand Souls Banner.

Mo Ci's groggy voice came from the Ten Thousand Souls Banner: "What, are you bored again and want to chat with your master?"

Chen Ye said in a serious tone, "Master, it's time for you to get up and get to work. Starting today, it's decided that you will help me govern the Northern Frontier City God."

(End of this chapter)