Gao Wu insists on cultivating immortality.

Chapter 401 Legend
Federation, Orchid State.

Orchid Island is a huge island where people of all kinds have settled for hundreds of years, forming a complex ethnic nation.

A century ago, a cataclysmic event occurred, and tens of millions of people on the island were swallowed up by a secret realm. Over the past century, the Alliance has continuously migrated, eventually forming the Orchid Kingdom as it exists today.

With a population of over 20 million, the island has prospered thanks to its abundant resources and maritime advantages.

In recent decades, the worship of the Flying Whale King has become popular in the Orchid Kingdom, with nearly 80% of its members becoming followers.

This year, the archbishop issued a decree to hold a grand festival on June 6th on the vast beach east of Orchid City, calling on all believers to participate.

For decades, the faith in the Flying Whale King has penetrated into all levels of society.

The decree was issued, and believers from all directions flocked to Orchid City. For the people of Orchid City, the sacrifice was the most important event.

This important festival was the first of its kind in decades. Many believers brought their families to the orchid market.

A huge altar has been built on the beach. This open and flat beach is more than 30 miles long and several miles wide, enough to accommodate millions of believers.

Most of the early arrivals chose to stay temporarily on the beach. After a few days, the beach was littered with garbage.

The beach was very windy and cold in June.

The believers, however, were very excited. They drank, barbecued, and played loud, explosive music.

As a powerful deity, the Flying Whale King's greatest love was music. The church had a large number of excellent songs that were sung.

The believers gathered together, singing and playing games, and were even happier than if they were attending a concert.

The church's popularity is also attributed to various rituals and the accompanying medications, which greatly enhance the loyalty of its members.

In fact, in such a large church, once one officially becomes a believer, it is absolutely impossible to leave the church alive.

Anyone who attempts to abandon faith, or who is a heretic who blasphemes against the gods, will be met only with blood sacrifice.

The fervent emotions also provided believers with spiritual comfort, which in turn strengthened their loyalty to God.

On the rooftop of a high-rise building overlooking the sea, Diana looked down at the dense crowds on the beach below and asked a bishop next to her, "There must be ten million by now, right?"

Diana wore a loose white robe, seemingly without any underwear underneath. Her exposed shoulders, chest, and long legs shone with a beautiful wheat color, and her body had full, smooth muscle lines, exuding a wild and vibrant beauty.

Her features were striking, and her emerald eyes, like the most beautiful gems, shone with a captivating light.

The two seventh-level bishops standing behind Diana both bowed their heads respectfully and looked down at Diana.

Even though they worshipped different gods, Diana was far more powerful than them, and even the archbishop had to show her exceptional respect.

A bishop dressed in a blue uniform said respectfully, "According to preliminary statistics, the number of believers has exceeded seven million."

"Make sure the supply of medicine, alcohol, and food is guaranteed. Try to maintain order." Diana nodded slightly. "Don't cause any trouble in the last two days."

“Yes,” the two bishops replied respectfully.

Diana waved her hand, and the two bishops quickly left with a large number of priests and clergy.

The rooftop returned to calm, and Hades finally emerged from his attire.

Hades was pale, with dark eyes and long hair. He wore a long black robe that covered his ankles, and the chilling aura he exuded was colder than the wind on the rooftop.

Hades looked down at the swarms of believers on the beach below and said coldly, "After the festival, Orchid Kingdom will be transformed into a semi-secret realm, large enough to accommodate the arrival of the Flying Whale King's avatar."

"This greedy and cruel god will not tolerate anyone invading his territory."

Diana suddenly asked, "Is this really necessary?"

Not wanting Hades to perceive her as weak, she explained, "Only the living can create value. The dead merely complete a blood sacrifice to satisfy the gods. It doesn't really mean much to us."

“Venus and the other three are all gone, and you’re still thinking about long-term interests.”

Hades' dark blue lips curled slightly, revealing a contemptuous smile. "I am the world. If I die, I will take the world with me!"

Diana paused for a moment before saying, "Perhaps they're just trapped somewhere."

"If you can't get out, it's no different from being dead."

Hades didn't care much about Venus's life or death; he only cared about his own safety.

Dongwei Island was their first test of the alliance, and it was a great success. Their original plan was to rely on the secret realm of Dongwei Island to hold back the three Martial Saints of the alliance.

If the three Martial Saints of the alliance dare to continuously invest their power, they will deal with them on Dongwei Island.

As a result, Venus and her companions suddenly disappeared. The secret realm that transformed Dongwei Island was also broken, and now Dongwei Island has become a dead land.

Without the cover of secret realms, it means that the Alliance's various heavy modern weapons can cover Dongwei Island at any time.

Such an island as Dongwei is of no use to the Federation.

Four Level 8 Venus members went missing, and the Federation's high command lost half of its combat power. This dealt a heavy blow to the Federation and severely disrupted the balance between the Federation and the Alliance.

It's easy to imagine that the alliance will not let this go, and will definitely take the opportunity to take action against them.

Once those four level-eight saints are dealt with, the Federation, though vast, will be at the mercy of the Alliance.

Hades didn't care about the fate of the Federation; he cared about his own safety. Of course, if the Federation were gone, nothing he did would be convenient.

Without a large number of believers, one cannot receive divine blessings, and the possibility of upward ascension is cut off, as is the possibility of immortality.

Whether for personal safety or for the survival of the Federation, a buffer zone must be established.

Orchid Kingdom was originally a pawn used to restrain the alliance, but now it has lost its strategic significance. The only way to save it is to sacrifice all its followers and transform it into a secret realm, forming an outer buffer zone. Once transformed into a secret realm, it could potentially channel the power of the demon god even in the sea thousands of miles away from Orchid Kingdom.

This is equivalent to using 20 million people to build a divine fortress. Building seven or eight such divine fortresses along the perimeter of the Federation would be sufficient to protect the outer perimeter of the Federation.

Within the Federation, several stable divine power realms have already been established. This combination of internal and external resources is sufficient to form a stable divine power defense line to withstand the three Martial Saints of the Alliance.

Diana understood this principle, of course; she simply felt that the living were more valuable.

Only living people can continue to reproduce, establish a stable order, better spread faith, and better reap the power of faith.

The temporary, large-scale blood sacrifice, while creating a divine realm, was useful, but it resulted in the complete loss of 20 million people, all modern industrial capabilities on the island, and all related value created.

A simple estimate suggests that the cost of establishing the Divine Power Realm is exceptionally high.

But things have already come to this point, and there's no way to change the plan now.

Diana paused for a moment before saying, "I heard that the Alliance's top martial artists have advanced to level eight!"

She used the common language of the Federation, but when she spoke Gao Wu's name, she spoke exceptionally standard Chinese.

This is the only way to express things better and more accurately, and avoid ambiguity.

Hades nodded: "There are indeed some rumors circulating in the league, and they're quite exaggerated. It sounds like they're deliberately trying to scare us!"

Ever since Gao Wu killed Qu Hanshan, many powerful figures in the Federation have paid close attention to Gao Wu.

A few days ago, Gao Wucai was officially recognized by the alliance and received the Golden Dragon Medal, becoming the youngest level 7 Martial King in history.

This news also caused a sensation among the federal leadership.

The news that the destruction of Dongwei Island was related to Gao Wu shocked Hades, Diana, and the other three saints.

The disappearance of Venus and the other three level-eight saints greatly unsettled Hades and his companions, who all wanted to know what had happened.

Under normal circumstances, even if the Alliance broke through the East Guard Island Secret Realm, it would be impossible to kill Venus and the others.

Even the strongest level eight saint, Athena, found this matter very strange.

The alliance, however, blamed everything on Gao Wu, which made the saints even more suspicious.

Just over a month later, Gao Wu made a high-profile appearance in Zhongjing, taking a girl with no talent for martial arts as his disciple and holding a grand apprenticeship banquet.

Gao Wu has always liked to show off, which is fine in itself. However, the girl who was proven to have no talent for martial arts became a high-level warrior in less than three days.

This astonishing progress shocked all the high-level powerhouses in the alliance. Now, the legends surrounding it are growing ever more powerful, portraying Gao Wu as an almost godlike figure…

Diana and the others all had their own information channels, so they naturally received the relevant information.

Diana found it incredible that an ordinary person could be transformed into a high-ranking warrior in just a few days; even a god might not be able to do that.

While divine power is immense, the mortal body has its limits. The stronger the divine power bestowed, the harder it is for a mortal to withstand.

They became level eight powerhouses through decades of arduous training, aided by divine power, which led to their current achievements.

If one could become a Level 8 through divine power, with the Federation's population, creating dozens of Level 8s wouldn't be difficult.

Therefore, Diana felt that this whole thing was very strange. It seemed like the Alliance was deliberately promoting it to create hype for high-level martial arts.

Hades shook his head as well: "The Alliance has been promoting high-level martial arts all along. Is it trying to create a god?"

Diana sneered and shook her head: "If fame alone could make one a god, then becoming a god would be too easy."

Deities need to absorb the spiritual power of life, and the first thing they need to do is to let other life forms know their name.

For deities, having a name is essential for continuously drawing upon the power of wills. Even if a deity perishes unexpectedly, as long as a large number of intelligent beings still know the deity's name, the deity can be reborn from nothingness.

The problem is that fame alone is not enough; deities are extremely powerful and unique life forms.

Having dealt with various gods for decades and explored their exclusive Olympian realm, Hades and his companions also knew some of the gods' secrets.

No matter how great a mortal's reputation, they can never gather enough willpower to ascend to godhood.

If they want to become gods, they can only do so by being granted divine power by the gods, changing the nature of their lives, and becoming subordinates of the gods, thus having the opportunity to become god-level beings.

Once they sign a soul contract and become subordinates of a deity, they can only ever be the deity's servants.

A more precise way to put it is to become a demigod, or to be subordinate to a demigod!
Even so, it was enough for them to transcend the limits of mortals and survive in the world for thousands of years.

If the God Lord levels up, they will also have a tiny chance of advancing to True Godhood. Once they reach that point, they will have their own divine kingdom.

But all of that is too far away; they haven't even taken the first step, so thinking about it is pointless.

Hades, however, had a different view. He said, "China has a long history and various myths and legends. Among them, there must be some real divine projections."

"Moreover, the Chinese have the concept of 'immortals.' They believe that one can become an immortal through personal cultivation. Perhaps Qin Jiuyue and his group found a divine realm corresponding to their own mythology and obtained powerful artifacts from it."

"Without the help of divine artifacts, how could Gao Wu have grown from a low-level martial artist to a level seven expert in just three years? It's just a pity that we discovered it too late."

"Having discovered Gao Wu's anomaly a year in advance, I'm willing to risk everything to infiltrate the Alliance and capture him..."

Diana didn't care. "It's too late to say anything now."

She looked at the dense crowd on the beach and said, "I just hope the blood sacrifice will go smoothly tomorrow."

Hades shrugged it off: "Such a large-scale gathering can't be hidden from satellites. So what? It would be great if Qin Jiuyue and Gao Wu dared to come; it would save us countless troubles..."

(End of this chapter)