The Abyss of the Nine Regions:
Lucas and Zheng Qizi concealed their presence as they quietly observed the scene before them.
After studying the situation through the chat group, Lucas couldn't help but ask, "I have a question—are those who cultivate the soul in the Yang God World considered far nobler than those who cultivate the body? Or is this disparity unique to the Nine Regions Abyss?"
Zheng Qizi: "Soul cultivators in the Yang God World are indeed regarded as nobler than body cultivators. But the status gap isn't normally this extreme."
Dongfang Yuechu: "Shouldn't soul and body cultivation offer similar potential and strength? Why such a vast difference in status?"
Zheng Qizi: "Because soul cultivators can reincarnate after their physical bodies age. Upon reaching the ghost immortal level, they can find an unborn child and be reborn. Their lifespan depends on their soul, allowing them to live for hundreds of thousands of years."
Zheng Qizi: "By contrast, even body cultivators who reach the peak—immortals who rival seven-thunder-tribulation creators—live only two or three hundred years. See the difference? Soul cultivation is the obvious choice for most."
Zheng Qizi: "Those with wealth and status invariably choose soul cultivation. Only servants and battlefield warriors typically pursue body cultivation."
Lucas: "To be precise, it's not that soul cultivators possess noble status, but rather that the nobility choose soul cultivation."
Zheng Qizi: "Exactly! However, the warriors here are severely limited. Their strength never approaches the Martial Saint level because they're constrained by magical restrictions."
Lucas: "This isn't surprising. Cultivators here can't advance beyond ghost immortal level due to insurmountable calamities. Body cultivators don't face these limitations, which makes the soul cultivators fear potential rebellion if martial artists grow too powerful."
Lucas: "So they've imposed restrictions on all martial artists, preventing them from reaching levels that could challenge ghost immortals. Any martial artist showing exceptional potential is hunted down by the cultivators who benefit from this system."
Zheng Qizi: "This goes too far! How does this differ from evil demons who raise humans as livestock?"
Lucas: "There remains a distinction. Demons and heretics don't cultivate ordinary people at all. This doesn't mean the righteous path is truly good—their attitude toward common people barely differs from demons. Only their exploitation methods vary."
Lucas: "Evil monks exploit directly, while righteous monks allow for development. These warriors and commoners under their care must worship the Three Ancestors of Taoism and offer incense to them."
Xiao Xuan: "Incense power? Is this special soul energy derived from incense?"
Zheng Qizi: "Indeed! Incense power in our world possesses remarkable properties—it can transform fiction into reality. This power can crystallize fanatical thoughts and create gods."
Lo Pei: "Gods?"
Lucas: "Allow me to explain. Imagine I tell stories about Eight Great Demons in this world, then inspire a group to worship them. Their incense offerings would condense into fanatical thoughts, forming souls of these imagined demons."
Howard Stark: "Artificial gods?"
Lucas: "Precisely! But these divine souls have peculiar limitations—they require continual incense and faith from believers to maintain existence. This continues unless they manage to condense physical bodies and transcend their original life form's constraints."
Zheng Qizi: "Taoist Sect indeed possesses methods for condensing incense and creating fire gods. What are the Three Taoist Sect planning? Do they intend to use incense power to enhance artifacts? As I recall, incense power can strengthen magical items."
Lucas: "Strengthen magical weapons! Since they're committed to creating a King of Artifacts, they wouldn't divert energy toward creating incense gods. Integrating these incense powers into the Ancestral God Mountain represents their most logical choice."
Zheng Qizi fell silent, eventually releasing a soft sigh. "They weren't like this before. Can the Group Leader stop them?"
Lucas laughed. "Of course!"
Lucas stepped forward, positioning himself in the sky above the Taoist Sect site. An incomparable powerful aura erupted from him, causing people throughout the complex to emerge one after another.
BOOM!
A powerful light burst forth from the distant Ancestral God Mountain, attempting to counter Lucas's aura. Three figures rose from the Ancestral God Mountain—the current Three Ancestors of the Taoist sect.
"Who are you? How dare you behave so presumptuously at our Taoist Sect site."
"Leave immediately, and we'll overlook this transgression."
"If you persist, you'll face our wrath."
The Third Taoist Patriarch spoke harshly, attempting to intimidate Lucas with threats to cease his actions immediately.
"Unbelievable!"
A mocking expression crossed Lucas's face. Without further words, he struck with his palm. The Ancestral God Mountain—the Third Patriarch's greatest asset—shattered under his attack. The aftershock sent the Third Patriarch flying backward, blood spurting from his mouth.
"Zheng Qizi, take control of all this!"
"After all, many in today's Taoist sects were your former comrades-in-arms and juniors."
Lucas turned to Zheng Qizi. He had no interest in wasting time with the Three Ancestors of Taoism.
With Lucas's support, Zheng Qizi would undoubtedly manage the situation effectively.
"Agreed!"
Zheng Qizi accepted readily. He'd been thinking the same but hesitated to suggest it.
As Lucas noted, Taoist Sect's members—including the Three Ancestors—were mostly veterans or descendants of those who fought against evil demons. Though disappointed by the Three Ancestors' actions, Zheng Qizi wouldn't alienate innocent followers.
Even toward the Three Ancestors themselves, Zheng Qizi felt more disappointment than anger. They had once been righteous individuals who risked their lives battling evil.
Zheng Qizi suddenly asked, "Group Leader! According to what you mentioned earlier, evil forces also exist within the Nine Regions Abyss? I request that you eliminate them."
Lucas nodded casually. "No problem!"
He extended his hand, instantly tearing open the space before him to reveal an area shrouded in miasma. Lucas then delivered a powerful palm strike...
Black flames surged forth with his movement, immediately engulfing the entire area. Various forces attempted resistance but were forcibly suppressed by Lucas's power.
Shortly afterward, the jet-black flames returned to Lucas's body, transferring all the blood energy and soul energy they had devoured into his form.
"Excellent!"
Lucas nodded with satisfaction, smiling gratefully.
Before receiving Ancient Emperor Tuo She's inheritance, Lucas's strength came primarily from external sources—the Ten Tails, magic, dark energy, Infinity Stones, and phoenix power—with only minimal personal cultivation.
Emperor Tuo She's inheritance had successfully transformed Lucas into a Dou Qi practitioner while strengthening both body and soul. However, his spirit remained his strongest attribute, with body and soul as relative weaknesses. This was partly why he chose to enter the Yang God World.
A realm specializing in soul and body cultivation would certainly strengthen his physical form to match his Dou Qi abilities. The Void-Swallowing Flame had now transferred the evil cultivators' bodily and soul energies to Lucas, enhancing these aspects of his power.
In the chat group:
Xiao Xuan: "Group Leader, you aren't planning to bring the Nine Regions Abyss into the Dark Dimension, are you?"
Lucas: "Absorb the Abyss of Nine Regions into the Dark Dimension? That's an intriguing idea! The Abyss overflows with energy and resources that would significantly enhance the Dark Dimension's power, subsequently strengthening me as its lord."
Zheng Qizi: "Remove the Nine Regions Abyss? Such action would certainly deplete the Yang God World's energy! Does the Yang God World have a higher plane that could replenish it?"
Lucas: "No, the Yang God World lacks any higher plane to restore its energy."
Zheng Qizi: "In that case, I hope the Group Leader will reconsider taking the Nine Regions Abyss. I fear such actions would devastate the entire world. The Yang God World, like the Dou qi Continent, already produces fewer powerful individuals with each generation."
Lucas: "True! The ancient Yang God World once boasted naturally powerful demon gods, Yang God powerhouses, and vacuum-shattering masters. Now... not a single individual of either level remains."
Xiao Xuan: "What caused their world's decline? Did their most powerful beings leave with vital energy? Without a higher plane, did they perhaps migrate to parallel dimensions?"
Lucas: "Not at all! The Yang God World's decline has little connection to celestial energy—it follows the inevitable law of worldly development. The Yang God World measures time in eras. The ancient period marked the beginning, while now we approach the era's end. The diminishing number of powerful beings relates less to heaven and earth's decline and more to their own actions."
Zheng Qizi: "Their own actions?"
Xiao Xuan: "What do you mean?"
Lucas: "Whether cultivating soul or body, one requires proper techniques and guidance. The powerful individuals in this world never pass down their knowledge. Each generation of masters must discover everything anew!"
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