Chen Chuan understood the meaning behind Lord Qiutong's question.
In ancient times, the power of gods and deities had been extraordinarily vast. Back then, the ancient sovereigns primarily struggled against them to wrest secular authority away from the oppressive yoke of theocracy.
By the medieval era, as forms of governance gradually matured, the emperors of the East Continent no longer possessed immense individual might, yet the collective strength of humanity grew steadily. Through this process, the deities naturally learned to coexist with mortals.
Thereafter, emperors ascended the throne through shared covenants between man and god, maintaining their rule in this manner while relying on faiths like the Xuan and Chan teachings as state religions to provide checks and balances, thereby establishing a stable equilibrium.
Thus, asking him this question now was undoubtedly an inquiry into whether he endorsed that paradigm.
With the old dynasty having fallen, the candidates these deities could back no longer existed. Going by their own reasoning, they had sought out him—a commander wielding vast armies on the front lines.
Perhaps they still harbored thoughts that with a single order from him and their assistance, he could carve out a separatist domain within the convergence zone and establish a new regime.
If he agreed, their very next words would surely be an offer to lend their full backing.
They truly were relics stranded in a bygone age; their thinking was just as antiquated as expected.
Not to mention that his own aspiration was transcendence and he disdained becoming some earthly monarch, this was already a new era—that obsolete system had long been cast aside.
After the founding of Great Shun—or rather, after the nations of the world in the new era were established—even the former state religions had been universally rejected, let alone those archaic gods of antiquity.
Simply put, these ancient deities had long fallen to a status little different from the "old abominations" suppressed in earlier times. Aside from a handful of people with ulterior motives, almost nobody in the new era worshipped them anymore. Bringing this up with him now struck him as purely laughable.
He said placidly, "Times change and circumstances shift. Has Lord Qiutong stayed in the convergence zone for so long that you cannot discern the shifting tides of the world? If that is the case, no wonder Emperor Wenguang merely treated you as tools."
His words were not the least bit polite, yet Lord Qiutong took no offense, merely chuckling softly. "And yet, Emperor Wenguang ultimately still needed us. Otherwise, why would he forcefully bind us? Why would he need heavenly guidance?"
Chen Chuan nodded. "True. Emperor Wenguang even drank the 'Immortal Ascendance Water.' It seems he truly did need you."
That remark proved hard to answer—the Immortal Ascendance Water had been obtained by Emperor Wenguang slaughtering numerous ancient deities or their incarnations.
Lord Qiutong immediately steered the conversation elsewhere.
"Then it seems Chen Xuanji has no interest in the mantle of earthly sovereign. You must be aspiring to the upper realm, seeking to become an unfettered immortal?
"That makes sense. Everything in the mortal world is like flowers in a mirror or the moon on the water; only power is real.
"A pity, then, that upon ascending to immortality, fiends and demons from beyond the heavens come to harass and invade. Even if one becomes an immortal, it is by no means a carefree existence. Those demons covet you constantly, harassing you day after day.
"An immortal severs mortal ties and is isolated from the world. Those who can provide aid and support are few and far between. In the face of a protracted defense, most eventually suffer the fate of seeing their immortal bodies dissolve, only to be devoured by the calamity demons of the heavens."
Pausing slightly, he continued, "Whereas we have stood beyond the heavens for ages, and could watch over and aid the immortals."
Chen Chuan let out a soft murmur and remarked, "Noble deities such as yourselves, yet you fret over the safety of immortals. You certainly go through a lot of trouble."
Seeing the resolve in his tone, as if his next words would unequivocally state his refusal, Lord Qiutong cut in ahead of him: "Chen Xuanji, there is no need to rush to refuse.
"Human strength has its limits, and even we encounter times when our powers are strained. We hold the same dread and reverence toward those fiends. Since we share a common enemy, why can we not cooperate in earnest?
"Let me tell you this: the might of those demons far exceeds anything this world can fathom. Once the Profound Calamity arrives, even greater upheavals will unfold. When great demons and fiends run rampant, even our combined forces might not be enough to withstand them."
Chen Chuan glanced at him. Sensing his thoughts, Lord Qiutong added, "I know you may wonder: since we and those demons share the same origin, how much credibility can these words possess?"
He let out a sigh. "Though we stem from the same root, we long ago gained our own selfhood and nature. We know the heavens and recognize the earth; we discern fortune from ruin. How could we abandon that lightly?
"In this matter, I speak from the bottom of my heart, with no intent to deceive you."
Evidently, he also knew that mere words would not suffice to win Chen Chuan's trust, so he added:
"To show my sincerity, I can impart to you the method to purge the aberrant qi from this place."
As he spoke, he tapped the lake water beneath him with a finger. Accompanied by the clear, crisp sound of a stone dropping into water, ripples spread across the surface of the lake. At the same time, the aberrant qi lingering here dispersed slightly.
Perhaps because this act consumed what little energy Lord Qiutong had left, his form began to fade from the water's surface upward, dissolving away.
"Chen Xuanji, since you and I do not trust each other today, let our conversation end here. We shall leave it for another day, should fate bring us together again."
With those parting words, his entire figure vanished completely.
Chen Chuan noticed a piece of paper fluttering where Lord Qiutong had disappeared. With a stir of his mind, the paper drifted over and hovered before his eyes.
He glanced over it, lost in thought.
According to what was written, this place had originally been discovered and opened by the imperial household of the Chang Dynasty, though they had lost it even before retreating into the convergence zone.
It was likely offered up by some imperial clansman of the Chang Dynasty. Once the Ding Dynasty acquired it, they continued to use it. At that time, this "immortal abode" had still been relatively normal. But after moving into the convergence zone, as their bodies gradually underwent aberration, they had tainted and modified this immortal abode with aberrant qi so it could remain usable. Far from expanding the site, however, this had cost it any potential for further advancement.
According to Lord Qiutong, this was not irreversible. Much like treating an illness, one first had to expel the "pathogenic qi" here.
Thus, purging the aberrant qi was also a process of remediation and conditioning. Only after the aberrant qi was thoroughly purged could the place be restored to its original state.
Furthermore, not only did the paper provide methods of "remediation," it also pointed out fundamental concepts, explaining that an immortal abode had a foundation.
First, there had to be an "immortal seed." Depending on how it was guided, it would grow different stalks and blossoms, and only what grew atop it was the "immortal abode"; otherwise, it was merely an "implement."
When the immortal abode was exhausted, the seed would gestate anew until its core essence was spent and it dispersed.
Therefore, if one remained dissatisfied with the immortal abode even after removing the aberrant qi, one could destroy it to revert it back into an immortal seed. Moreover, any immortal seed could serve as nourishment for another.
Immortal seeds could also be captured beyond the Ring of the World to make them gradually grow stronger.
Reading up to this point, Chen Chuan could not help but think of the method Old She had previously mentioned for establishing a domain; the two were essentially variations on the same theme.
The text provided quite a few ancient methods for obtaining "immortal seeds," which were of considerable reference value.
Although Lord Qiutong's stance differed from his own, the being's inherent abilities and methods were unaffected by ideological divides. His true form was an upper-tier power, and looking down from above, his explanations were remarkably thorough.
Perhaps because he was a deity, the explanations leaned heavily toward the perspectives of the Visage of the Divine and the Visage of the Aberrant. Still, that mattered little; it provided a useful angle of thought.
It was easy to see that the deity had shared this information precisely to gain his trust.
Chen Chuan looked up. The technique Lord Qiutong had just applied was still actively working, and the aberrant qi here had already decreased somewhat, proving that the method provided was effective.
The deity's claim that the demons were powerful and required a joint effort to confront might not be entirely fabricated either, and Chen Chuan sensed that there was still much left unsaid.
Of course, as an upper-tier power, there were many things he could not explain clearly to Chen Chuan, and explaining them would be pointless anyway.
Perhaps from the deity's perspective, having established contact now, there would be room for dialogue once Chen Chuan attained the upper realm, rather than immediate hostility and bloodshed upon meeting.
He stepped out of the pavilion. Although he possessed the method to purge the aberrant qi, he did not act immediately, for he could not be certain whether Lord Qiutong had laid any traps within it.
When dealing with such upper-tier powers, no matter how blunt he was in speech, in actual practice he had to be cautious in the extreme.
Verifying the reliability of these methods was actually quite simple: he only needed to send an inquiry to the Tianji Sect, and he was confident they could provide him with answers.
He strode out of the fissure, returned to the alchemy chamber, and sealed it shut with his mental intent.
Calling out to Chaoming, who was on guard outside, he returned to the camp and transmitted a telegram to the Tianji Sect, consulting several zhenren regarding the matter.
By the afternoon, a reply came from the Tianji Sect.
The one who replied was Zhenren Long Xian. As enthusiastic as ever, he stated that such matters were inconvenient to discuss over telegram, so he would soon send a package containing detailed answers.
Chen Chuan nodded. If sent by express delivery, it would arrive in about seven or eight days.
Therefore, he did not need to make any moves over the next few days and could focus on his own cultivation.
By now, the metamorphosis of the aberrant tissue in his body had nearly concluded, and the rising momentum had leveled off. He could now proceed with formal cultivation.
He recalled what Heavenly Master Lu had told him back then: the cultivation of the Visage of Man lay in "Inquiring Within."
And before Inquiring Within, one had to first undergo "Inquiring the Name."
To learn the name of one's spirit visage was to know what one truly sought, and thus how to cultivate.
In truth, he felt that even without having passed this trial yet, he could already faintly discern and perceive certain things.
For instance, with the precious materials and relics he required, his body instinctively knew which ones he needed and which he did not, as though by pure intuition.
However, this precisely proved that when it came to cultivating the Visage of Man, no one else could assist him; he could rely only on himself.
Having read the telegram, he was just about to head back when the telegraph operator spoke up: "Commander, there's another telegram, forwarded from the Zhongjing Wuyi Academy." With that, the operator handed over the newly decoded telegram.
Chen Chuan took it and glanced over it, raising an eyebrow. "Hmm, the tournament?"
Chapter 1462