Emanators, Paths, and Believers: these three are entirely different.
Aeons are responsible for pioneering Paths. Paths represent the permission to use Imaginary Energy. Embarking on a Path means one possesses the power to use Imaginary Energy.
Therefore, humans, for the sake of Imaginary Energy, will involuntarily tread the path of the Path.
Unless a certain lifeform can pioneer a Path themselves and become a new Aeon, they will inevitably have to accept the Path powers pioneered by the Aeons.
Emanators, on the other hand, are the subset of Pathstriders favored by the Aeons. This subset is allocated greater usage rights over Imaginary Energy. These lifeforms possess this power precisely because they have received the Aeon's appointment.
Believers are relatively simple. Believers are simply those who worship an Aeon or believe in the existence of a certain Aeon.
What needs to be clarified here is that Believers do not necessarily walk upon the Path of a certain Aeon.
For example, the Xianzhou's mainstream faith is the Hunt, but the Paths within the Xianzhou are diverse and varied.
One cannot simply say that someone who is a Pathstrider of the Erudition has betrayed the Hunt, right? If so, the Xianzhou would probably explode on the spot.
Therefore, faith is faith, and Paths are Paths. Faith is the idol that a person worships, while Path is the attitude with which that person faces the universe.
In response to the current mainstream thought of the universe, the Path closest to Noldrei's attitude is not those previous Aeons, but—[Destruction].
After hearing Fu Xuan's explanation, Noldrei roughly understood the reason why Ziyueji had joined the Disciples of the sanctus medicus.
It was nothing more than directly obtaining the power of an Aeon's blessing, or changing one's physical form to obtain a wider range of survival time.
He explained to Fu Xuan what he had done after entering the Disciples of the sanctus medicus, and even took out the Pureland Sect theory he had compiled.
Fu Xuan felt that this person was a madman at times. She asked in disbelief, "Did the sanctus medicus really create the so-called Pureland? I don't remember any records of it in Xianzhou history or past cosmic history. On the contrary, the Harmony created the so-called Paradise. Aren't you afraid that they will deal with you for lying to them like that?"
Noldrei explained, "No, because aside from the sanctus medicus, those believers actually can't believe in anyone else. Even materially, there is no way to change the result that the Pureland will inevitably be born."
As he said this, he took Fu Xuan's hand and asked solemnly, "Look, suppose I want to pull you along. Then I would inevitably have to use force and respond to your resistance, right?"
Fu Xuan was quite bewildered by his sudden hand-holding.
"Those believers are the same. For the Aeons, the only Aeon that can truly bestow compassion and grace is the sanctus medicus. Only the sanctus medicus will indiscriminately give feedback to all lifeforms that meet them. This is something other Aeons can't do at all."
"In other words, as long as a believer of the Pureland Sect meets the sanctus medicus, the Pureland will definitely descend upon this world because of that believer's prayers and requests to the sanctus medicus. Only the sanctus medicus will respond to this kind of request, and only they will act in accordance with the believer's voice."
"And others need to walk the path of the Path themselves in order to receive the attention of the relevant Aeon."
Fu Xuan frowned, and her hand clenched involuntarily. She naturally understood what this meant.
For believers of other Aeons, the power to reject believers only comes from the Aeons. But for the sanctus medicus, the power to reject believers only comes from those who oppose the sanctus medicus.
Believers of the sanctus medicus Pureland Sect will, in fact, identify themselves with the same position as the sanctus medicus.
The Pureland Sect that Noldrei established seemingly harmonized other Pathstriders on the surface, but in reality, it was even more pure and more ideological in its faith.
Before the Pureland Sect, it was possible to use external forces or verbal confrontations to strike at the faith of the Disciples of the sanctus medicus.
But after the Pureland Sect, it was impossible for any Aeon other than the sanctus medicus to actively solve the suffering felt by humans.
Fu Xuan murmured, "Enticing people with benefits, controlling people with power… none of it is as good as directly telling people there is a way to solve their suffering."
"Do you know what you've unleashed? Our ancestors released the Ambrosial Arbor, the real thing, in reality. You've unleashed the 'Ambrosial Arbor' in the spirit, one that can never be killed off. No wonder the methods of those Disciples of the sanctus medicus have become more flexible and varied recently, even they themselves have begun to clean up believers."
Seeing her so anxious, Noldrei reassured her, "Don't worry, I didn't lie to them. These people will soon change direction, thereby further integrating into Xianzhou society. I even wrote them some suggestions for guiding people towards goodness."
Many religions on Earth originally had a mentally numbing effect because there was no truly universally salvific Buddha. But in a universe with Aeons, it was no longer a true numbness through Noldrei's combination.
Because the world actually exists—Yaoshi the Abundance.
In the past, no one had considered asking the Abundance for a Pureland world without suffering, but now that Noldrei had proposed this, there would definitely be humans who would try to seek the Abundance's blessing.
The Pureland would instead become an inevitable future.
Fu Xuan was even more worried. She said, "I'm not afraid of those Disciples of the sanctus medicus causing division and trouble. I'm afraid of them integrating into the Xianzhou! Your newly revised doctrine is too beautiful, so much so that even I, an outsider, can't help but want to see what the Pureland Sect is all about."
Just like with Christianity, the focus is never on the old guy himself, but on 'going to Heaven'.
She herself was a Xianzhou native; how could she not know?
Even a civilization as advanced as the Xianzhou never managed to free life from its own suffering. Then the humans of other civilizations were even more mired in deep trouble.
She said, "The suffering between people is like a cycle of reincarnation. As long as humans exist, suffering will continue to exist forever. Wanting to create a Pureland without suffering through the Abundance's blessings is simply… simply blasphemous!"
"The things you've done now are already making me very miserable. I wish I could punch a few more holes in you right now."
She gnashed her teeth in anger, but showed no signs of actually taking action.
Noldrei noticed an unexpected thing: he found that Fu Xuan would emphatically use 'This Seat' to refer to herself when emphasizing things she wanted to do but wouldn't do.
He said very calmly, "Don't worry, your suffering is my suffering. I bear the suffering of many lives, so naturally, I don't mind shouldering the suffering of one more person."
Fu Xuan exclaimed in exasperation, "Is this a question of whether it's painful or not? Do you know how much trouble you've brought to me and the Xianzhou!"
Qingque had now hidden behind the doors and windows, watching the two people in the courtyard outside. The sound of mahjong inside the room had disappeared.
'What are they doing?!'
A row of question marks popped up on Qingque's head. She completely couldn't understand what the two people outside were talking about, and why they insisted on holding hands while communicating.
Could this be the real reason why she replaced the boss?!