"Still... in its early stages, life is far too fragile."
If Qi Yuan wanted to return to Blue Star and become the planetary governor, he needed a large population. That way, if a war ever broke out between this universe and Blue Star, it would be easy to operate: surrender immediately to join Blue Star, and then vote himself in as planetary governor.
"Old Man Divine Thunder."
"Qi Qi."
"Zhu Zhuangshi."
"Brilliant and blazing, the infant emerges from the divine treasury! Hear my command: Divine Infants, fall in!"
Along with Qi Yuan's sacred, majestic voice, more than four thousand Yang Gods surged forth in a grand, awe-inspiring host.
Each of them radiated a vast, mysterious, and towering aura.
It seemed as if any single one of them could swallow a star.
Facing Qi Yuan, these innate deities—forged from the foundation of the Ancestral Land and mythological visualization—bowed their heads one after another.
"Greetings, Heavenly Venerable!"
"Greetings, Father God!"
As Qi Yuan's strength grew, the corresponding power of the Divine Infants within him had also increased tremendously.
One could say that these innate deities were created through rare treasures from the Ancestral Land and Qi Yuan's visualization of mythology.
The cultivation system they walked was completely distinct from that of the Immortal Realm.
"Address me by my title during work hours," Qi Yuan said with a smile to Qi Qi.
"Father God, it's not like I called you sugar daddy," Qi Qi replied playfully.
Although she visualized Houtu, she still retained her pure, lively nature.
"Never mind." Qi Yuan waved his hand, then looked at the many Divine Infants. "Now that I have opened the heavens in this realm and planted many seeds of life, you shall watch over these seeds of life for me and help them multiply and thrive."
Qi Yuan's words were law; to these Divine Infants, his decree was absolute command.
"We respectfully obey the Heavenly Venerable's decree!"
At that moment, all four thousand-plus Divine Infants bowed together, receiving his august mandate.
"Now there's living beings, and there's gods. Surely they won't let me down, right?" Qi Yuan murmured to himself.
Originally, he had already accelerated the flow of time on these stars. Furthermore, once he departed this realm, a single day for him would equate to a hundred years in this universe.
Perhaps it wouldn't be long before the living beings here multiplied and formed civilizations.
"Past Buddha, Present Buddha, Future Buddha, please wait," Qi Yuan called out.
The Past Buddha, Ancient Buddha Dipankara; the Present Buddha, Shakyamuni Buddha; and the Future Buddha, Maitreya Buddha, each pressed their palms together and paused before Qi Yuan.
"Transmit your insights on the past, present, and future to me."
Although Qi Yuan had visualized the Three Pure Ones, he was still far from true omniscience and omnipotence.
As for the past, present, and future, while seemingly clear to Qi Yuan, they remained extraordinarily elusive. For instance, he could casually accelerate the flow of time in a region with a wave of his hand. However, he could not travel back into the past, nor could he foresee the future.
Instantly, the three Buddhas transmitted the concepts of the past, present, and future to Qi Yuan.
Receiving countless profound and intricate streams of information, Qi Yuan stood in place with a calm expression.
After about a hundred breaths of time, he sighed softly. "Time does not exist in the first place."
Time did not exist.
If so, how should one interpret the past, present, and future?
"I really shouldn't overthink this, or my brain will swell again."
Qi Yuan stopped dwelling on it. If his head grew into a giant toddler melon head, it would ruin his handsome looks.
...
Universal Void Realm.
Myriad Changes Society.
Within an overlapping fold of space, Realm Lord Chuibei wore a solemn expression. "Plus one, retreat two, extinguish, ignite..."
He issued one command after another.
Ahead of him, a diamond-like substance underwent continuous transformations, resembling a chemical reaction.
After roughly a hundred breaths had passed, Realm Lord Chuibei withdrew his gaze.
"As expected, even with the modifications made to the Dao Lord of Vitality's Scripture of All Things Growing, He still cannot be brought to awaken His true spirit."
The research topic Realm Lord Chuibei worked on was "Spirit Awakening"—awakening the true spirit of the fourth tier of the Yang God realm.
Among all the research projects, this one ranked in the top three for difficulty.
The diamond-like object before him was deeply linked to the fourth tier of the Yang God realm. It had originally belonged to Pure Yang, a cultivator of the fourth tier of the Yang God realm. While in the first stage of the Yang God fourth tier, Pure Yang had encountered another terrifying fourth-tier Yang God. A clash ensued, and Pure Yang was defeated. Ultimately, as Pure Yang stepped into the final stage of the fourth tier of the Yang God realm, he shattered into billions of fragments.
This crystal shard was part of his physical remains.
The Myriad Changes Society had obtained Pure Yang's crystal shard and had been studying it continuously.
Yet the fourth tier of the Yang God realm was far too mysterious.
They were utterly unable to extract any useful information from it.
"Another failure. It seems... this cosmic epoch likely won't see any progress either," Realm Lord Chuibei sighed.
"It doesn't matter. We will keep trying. Wasn't the founding purpose of the Myriad Changes Society to find that single thread of change amidst billions of constants?" another Realm Lord remarked.
They had conducted experiments and research like this countless times and were long accustomed to it.
"Perhaps the Scripture of All Things Growing is still imperfect. If it can be refined further, it might truly be possible to awaken the crystal shard of Pure Yang," Realm Lord Chuibei said.
"This is a true scripture created by a Dao Lord. How could it be refined so easily?" another female Realm Lord said.
For the previous modified version of the Scripture of All Things Growing, the Realm Lords on this project had paid an immense price.
"Indeed, there is nothing left to alter," Realm Lord Chuibei admitted.
After all, the stronger one was, the harder it became to take even a single step forward.
"I heard a newcomer arrived recently. Why not assign this task to him?" the female Realm Lord suggested.
"That works. We old fogies understand this technique too well and our thinking has long ossified. Seeking change would be too difficult for us."
"Mm, though he only just obtained the Devouring True Scripture. He'll probably spend a hundred or two hundred thousand years trying to learn it before coming here."
"A mere hundred thousand years is but the snap of a finger."
These Realm Lords spoke without the slightest concern.
After all, at their realm of cultivation, time was truly nothing more than an abstract concept.
Just then, a wave of information was suddenly transmitted into their jade medallions.
"Fellow Daoist Qi Yuan has arrived?"
"He isn't going to try practicing the Devouring True Scripture?"
"Just in time."
Various thoughts crossed their minds.
At that moment, a handsome figure in red robes appeared. It was none other than Qi Yuan.
He looked at the eighteen Realm Lords before him and introduced himself: "My name is Qi Yuan. I have social anxiety, I don't like talking, I don't like socializing, I'm Lawful Good, I obey the law, and I strictly follow the rules."
Such was Qi Yuan's self-introduction.
Realm Lord Chuibei said with a beaming smile, "Chuibei. I like talking."
"Huanghai."
"Qimeng."
The Realm Lords introduced themselves one by one, each exceedingly sparing with words.
Realm Lord Chuibei continued, "Regarding the research topic of Spirit Awakening, here are the current materials and progress."
He passed the records over to Qi Yuan.
Qi Yuan took a look, full of anticipation. "Zero progress?"
"Indeed. Awakening the fourth tier of the Yang God realm is extraordinarily difficult. If any breakthrough can be made, I fear... the cultivation paths of countless universes and spatial planes would be rewritten."
"After all, if the fourth tier of the Yang God realm could still retain a true spirit, what the cultivation path would become is hard to imagine!"
"Fellow Daoist Qi Yuan, now that you have joined the Spirit Awakening project, do you have any ideas regarding how to awaken the fourth tier of the Yang God realm?" the female Realm Lord asked casually.
"Well... I do have a few ideas, and even some experience," Qi Yuan said.
As soon as those words left his mouth, the Realm Lords present were momentarily at a loss.
Having a few ideas was one thing, but having experience?
"Feel free to speak your mind, Fellow Daoist," Realm Lord Chuibei said with a chuckle.
"As the saying goes, if a person is handsome, the world treats him well and his luck goes through the roof. Needless to say, for a dashing, handsome man like me, even if it's a stone, as long as I speak to it, it will enthusiastically respond to me," Qi Yuan declared.
The Realm Lords exchanged glances.
They had seen plenty of Realm Lords who were off their rockers, but one this unhinged was a first.
"If you don't believe me, I'll give you a demonstration," Qi Yuan said with a smile. Turning to Realm Lord Chuibei, he said, "Let's take your robe as an example."
A sharp glint flashed through Realm Lord Chuibei's eyes.
He was at the Heaven-Opening realm, and the robes he wore were of supreme quality, peerlessly precious.
However, his robes lacked sentience.
Nor did he wish to wear a living, sentient being.
"Please, Fellow Daoist, be my guest," Realm Lord Chuibei said generously.
He wanted to see just how Qi Yuan planned to talk a true spirit into his robes.
The other Realm Lords looked on with curiosity as well.
Had Qi Yuan merely picked an ordinary stone off the ground and given birth to its true spirit, they might have believed it. After all, the Heaven-Opening realm was capable of world creation, possessing all manner of unique, mysterious, and complex abilities, making it quite normal to slip past their senses.
However, this test was taking place directly on Realm Lord Chuibei.
Realm Lord Chuibei had lingered in the Heaven-Opening realm for vast eons; no petty trick could possibly escape his notice.
"Little Robey, I'm talking to you. Can you hear me?" Qi Yuan opened his mouth, activating his special ability.
This time, his voice was specifically targeted at Realm Lord Chuibei's robes.
Listening to Qi Yuan's voice, the other Realm Lords merely looked on with curiosity.
"That sounds like an ordinary voice without any divine abilities behind it."
"Talking to clothes—can you talk clothes into getting pregnant or something?" the Realm Lords muttered among themselves.
"Hey, stop sleeping! Come chat with me!"
"I've got many fellow Daoists here who all want to meet you!"
Qi Yuan called out once more.
The other Realm Lords either maintained calm expressions or focused their senses intently, eager to discover what trick Qi Yuan had up his sleeve.
"Don't sleep too long, or you'll sleep yourself to death!"
"Time to get up, the sun is shining on your butt!"
Qi Yuan continued to deploy his superlative eloquence.
Qi Yuan considered that while he had social anxiety, his eloquence was still quite impressive. After all, whenever he spent time with Ning Tao, Canary, and Jin Li, they were always thoroughly pleased.
Of course, his skills were also exceptional.
"Fellow Daoist Qi Yuan, perhaps you should switch to another object? Since those robes are worn on Realm Lord Chuibei, I'm afraid you won't be able to pull off any tricks."
"Indeed, why not switch to something else?"
The other Realm Lords chuckled, their expressions relaxed.
Realm Lord Chuibei's expression remained steady as he maintained constant vigilance over his clothes and Qi Yuan's voice.
He too found it rather odd: Qi Yuan's voice was completely ordinary, containing no Daoist techniques or divine arts whatsoever.
"Hey, if you don't wake up, I'm leaving!" Qi Yuan said.
As the saying went, playing hard to get to catch the quarry.
He was employing the art of war.
Sure enough, the moment his words fell, something utterly unexpected by everyone occurred.
Realm Lord Chuibei's eyes widened in sheer disbelief.
Even having lived through such vast eons, he had never imagined he would witness something like this.
His robes, as if possessed of spirituality, flew straight off his body!
Babbling and chattering non-stop, they made little squeaks and noises.
"It came alive?"
"It gained a true spirit?"
"How did he do that?"
The Realm Lords present were utterly dumbfounded and thoroughly shocked.
The scene before their eyes defied all expectations.
If a rock by the roadside had done this, they could understand it.
But these were Realm Lord Chuibei's robes.
This meant that if Qi Yuan ever ambushed Realm Lord Chuibei, Chuibei might fall victim to him without even realizing it.
"See? Being handsome has its perks, doesn't it?" Qi Yuan remarked.
The other Realm Lords looked at one another, their gazes toward Qi Yuan now tinged with wary dread.
Just then, Qi Yuan prepared to speak to that female Realm Lord.
Frightened, the female Realm Lord jerked backward, avoiding Qi Yuan.
After all, Qi Yuan's voice was far too uncanny. If he ended up talking her body hair, magic treasures, and the like into coming alive, that would be a catastrophic liability.
Though they all shared the Myriad Changes Society, wherever people gathered, strife followed. This was hardly a haven of peaceful harmony.
"So you see, if you find me a cultivator of the fourth tier of the Yang God realm, I'll put on a show right now and talk them back to life," Qi Yuan said seriously.
As for the Gate of Myriad Manifestations, Qi Yuan had chosen not to talk it to life.
After all, so-called "talking to life" was effectively giving birth to an entirely new living being.
Having come to the Myriad Changes Society, he was researching these projects to earn merits, which would allow him to visit opportunity grounds like the Cosmic Spirit Sea to bolster his strength.
The others looked at Qi Yuan with varied expressions.
Naturally, none of them believed Qi Yuan could truly speak a fourth-tier Yang God into developing a true spirit.
Even so, this trick of Qi Yuan's had genuinely shocked them.
As Realm Lords, they were already calculating in their minds how to fight Qi Yuan if they ever became enemies.
First and foremost, one would have to seal their five senses completely; otherwise, one could easily fall prey to his voice.
"The fourth tier of the Yang God realm exists across the past and future, invisible to the likes of us," Realm Lord Chuibei said. "Spirit Awakening is a highly complex study. Fellow Daoist, why not begin by refining the Scripture of All Things Growing? As long as you adapt and complete it thoroughly, you will receive ten major merits."
"Sounds good," Qi Yuan nodded.
He had not expected his task to be so light.
Regarding major merits, he was already well-informed.
With the status of his golden jade medallion, he could visit fourteen opportunity grounds to cultivate and advance his cultivation realm.
Those visits were free, but they carried time limits.
However, by spending one major merit, an opportunity ground would have no time limit at all.
Furthermore, once he gathered a hundred major merits, his jade medallion could be upgraded to purple.
With a purple jade medallion, even the final three opportunity grounds would become accessible.
If he amassed a thousand major merits, he could even become the Society Master of the Myriad Changes Society and meet the Dao Lord in person.
"Adapting the Scripture of All Things Growing requires quite a long time. Fellow Daoist may first find a cave abode here on Mount Myriad Changes to take up temporary residence," Realm Lord Chuibei offered.
"Is it free?" Qi Yuan asked.
"Yes," Realm Lord Chuibei replied, falling silent for a moment.
"Not bad. Room and board included, plus the five insurances and the housing fund... Wait, no, I'm a god now. It has to be six insurances and a housing fund to be worthy of my status," Qi Yuan remarked.
The other Realm Lords looked at Qi Yuan, none of them chiming in.
They recalled Qi Yuan's self-introduction when they first met.
Social anxiety? Doesn't like talking?
Damn it all, he just spoke a piece of clothing into a true spirit, and he doesn't like talking?
Who was he trying to fool?
Soon, led by an auxiliary member of the Myriad Changes Society, Qi Yuan arrived at Mount Myriad Changes.
"Mount Myriad Changes is the headquarters of the Myriad Changes Society. The clouds, mist, flowers, grasses, and trees upon this mountain are all supreme treasures, enough to make cultivators of the first and second tiers of the Yang God realm fight tooth and nail until their heads bleed." Having said this, pride surfaced on the auxiliary member's face, which quickly turned into a fawning smile toward Qi Yuan. "Lord Realm Lord, there are a total of 37,210,000 handmaidens and manservants here. You may select ten thousand of them to serve you."
Qi Yuan glanced over and immediately sensed thousands upon thousands of Yin God auras, among which were not a few Yang Gods.
He could not help but sigh with emotion: Yin Gods were truly as common as dogs now.
Chapter 575