Chapter 2718: The Value of Esoterica
In the universe, families, sects, realms, ancient teachings, divine kingdoms... every single power must have a deity sitting in command to survive.
Just as only a great world that gives birth to a deity can become a subordinate mortal realm of the Heavenly Court.
Only a race that gives birth to a deity can enter the Hundred Clans Royal City.
...
However, a deity's lifespan is only one Eon.
If they cannot survive the Eon Calamity, they will fall, and the entire power will collapse as a result.
They will be divided, annexed, slaughtered, and enslaved.
This is the law of the universe: the weak are prey to the strong.
For a power to flourish forever, it must cultivate new deities.
Thus, mortal-world geniuses become critically important. Those Divine Seed who can fuse a Fifth-rank Sacred Intent are even more crucial, representing a power's hope and future.
Yet, cultivating geniuses requires a continuous stream of resources.
How to obtain resources?
A power must expand.
If deities cannot interfere in the mortal world, then expansion can only rely on mortal-world experts.
How to cultivate mortal-world experts?
Geniuses and resources.
The way of survival in the universe: geniuses, resources, and deities complement each other, none can be missing.
The more geniuses there are, and the more outstanding they are, the more resources there are, the greater the chance of cultivating a second deity.
Only when a power has a second deity can it be considered relatively stable and able to withstand greater risks.
When a power expands to a certain extent, the strength of its deity also becomes crucial.
If a power guarded by a single False God expands too much, it will inevitably invite catastrophic destruction.
Deities also need resources to cultivate and grow stronger; they need wealth provided by the mortal world. Therefore, the mortal-world power must continue to expand.
When a deity's cultivation reaches the level of a God Venerable, they naturally no longer fear any challenge.
But even a God Venerable has a lifespan that will eventually run out; they too can fall.
The power under a God Venerable is even more vast, its interests even more terrifying. Once it collapses, it will inevitably shake heaven and earth, affecting the survival and honor of billions of living beings. Therefore, God Venerables also need to cultivate successors.
In the universe, every power feels a tremendous sense of crisis.
If they do not prepare for the future, everything they now possess could vanish overnight. Or worse, they could end up in a miserable state, reduced to slaves, losing their dignity, losing their lives, their entire clan wiped out.
Investing in a future God Venerable thus becomes critically important.
It can bring glory to all.
The lifespan of a God Venerable is hundreds of thousands, even millions of years. For any power, being able to shelter under the wings of a God Venerable will inevitably lead to prosperity.
Just like in the mortal world, many great families will sponsor a young hero who is conquering the world. When that young hero becomes the ruler of a nation, those families can also become high-ranking aristocratic clans.
Of course, that young hero must first marry the daughters of those families to gain their support.
Zhang Ruochen is now that young hero who might become a God Venerable in the future. Add to that the extraordinary figures behind him—Xue Jue War God, Xue Hou, and Underworld King—and the number of powers wanting to invest in him is naturally countless.
With the Blood Absolute Family in such a flourishing state, countless powers are jealous, and countless powers worry about their future expansion, seeing them as a threat.
In such a situation, Xue Jue War God naturally took the initiative to use marriage alliances to unite various powers, lest their very prosperity invite backlash and lead to the clan's destruction.
Zhang Ruochen is the best candidate.
Because he has half-human bloodline, his father is Qi Tian, and many powers in the Hell Realm already view him with hostility. Marriage alliances can both protect him and help him grow.
Xue Jue War God could see that Zhang Ruochen was extremely resistant to marriage alliances, much like he himself had been back then.
But he had no choice back then; he had to marry.
Although Xue Jue War God had the protection of a supreme being from the Undying Blood Clan behind him, that supreme being didn't like to interfere in power struggles. Each seclusion lasted at least hundreds or thousands of years, so he couldn't protect him at all times.
In this world, one ultimately has to rely on oneself.
Being able to form marriage alliances with major powers is also a reflection of one's own strength and means.
A backer is just a deterrent on a higher level.
Xue Jue War God pondered for a long time, then said, "Currently, the greatest threats to you come from two places. First, the Judgment Hall of the Destiny Temple."
"Second, the Tiannan Life-Death Ruins."
"As for the Dharma-Ending God King of the Death God Temple, the Azure Deer Divine Temple of the Shura Clan, and the Earth Fiend Ghost Clan of the Ghost Clan, although they all have the intention of putting you to death, compared to these two threats, they are nothing."
Zhang Ruochen's expression turned serious, knowing that every word Xue Jue War God was now saying was directly related to his life.
"I can understand the Judgment Hall. After all, it is their duty to eliminate all potential threats to the Destiny Temple. I am the son of Qi Tian, his only son. This is an irreconcilable conflict!"
In front of Xue Jue War God, Zhang Ruochen did not hide his intention to rescue the Ming Emperor.
He continued, "But what is the reason the Tiannan Life-Death Ruins must eliminate me?"
Xue Jue War God gave Zhang Ruochen a deep glance and said, "Xumi Saint Monk!"
"One hundred thousand years ago, the fall of Xumi Saint Monk was most directly related to the Tiannan Life-Death Ruins. All the gods already know that you cultivated to your current level at Xumi Saint Monk's place of nirvana. You are Xumi Saint Monk's heir. How could the Tiannan Life-Death Ruins give you the chance to step into the God Venerable realm?"
Zhang Ruochen said, "Doesn't that mean all the gods who participated in besieging Xumi Saint Monk back then will see me as a potential enemy?"
"Do you know about the events of that year?" Xue Jue War God asked.
Zhang Ruochen did not reveal the secret of having gone to the River of Time, saying only, "I have heard something about it."
Xue Jue War God said, "There were naturally many gods who besieged Xumi Saint Monk back then, but very few would see you as a threat."
"The Judgment Hall and the Tiannan Life-Death Ruins are two powers that even I, the master, am very wary of. The Blood Absolute Family cannot afford to offend them for now. And they have already developed the intention to kill you."
Xue Jue War God used "I, the master" instead of "your maternal grandfather" because his mood was extremely grave at this moment.
"To confront these two powers, you must form marriage alliances. You may not want to marry a hundred, but you must marry these few. Even if they are unwilling to marry you, you must find a way to make them marry you."
Xue Jue War God took out a second booklet and threw it to Zhang Ruochen.
This booklet was much thinner.
It had only four pages.
Four names.
Luo Sha, Yan Zhexian, Bai Qinger, Qing Feiwei.
Zhang Ruochen pondered carefully, frowning. "Why is Qing Feiwei here again?"
Xue Jue War God said, "We cannot confront the Judgment Hall head-on; we can only divide it from within. Qing Feiwei comes from the Judgment Hall. If she can become your wife, there will inevitably be another consideration within the Judgment Hall. Their hostility towards you will decrease significantly."
"Luo Sha is the beloved daughter of Luo Yan, and she was betrothed to you by Fulu God Venerable. Marrying her will bring you nothing but benefits. All your potential enemies in the Rakshasa Clan will become wary because of this."
"Yan Zhexian is born from the most direct lineage of the Yama Clan and is deeply loved by Tai Shang. If you can marry her, you can gain the support of the entire Yama Clan. At that point, even the Tiannan Life-Death Ruins will have to be cautious."
"As for Bai Qinger... Sixth Son has already told me about your relationship with her."
"On the Shura Clan side, Ni Xuanhui will help plead your case. This way, you can leverage the power of the entire Lower Three Clans and the Yama Clan to gradually charge towards the God Venerable realm. This will greatly reduce the resistance."
Having reached Xue Jue War God's level, he saw the major interests at play and was laying out a plan for Zhang Ruochen's path to becoming a God Venerable. He would not discuss trivial matters of romance with him.
It was all about interests and value.
Emotion, in the face of interests, is sometimes too fragile!
Zhang Ruochen knew that this was already Xue Jue War God's bottom line, so he did not refuse outright. "Alright! I'll try."
In the face of life and death, he had no other choice.
Xue Jue War God laughed heartily, his mood much lighter.
Then, he turned to matters of cultivation.
"Your Sacred Intent not only fuses Yin-Yang and the Five Elements but also possesses the attributes of Time and Space. Correct?"
Zhang Ruochen did not hide it. "That's right. I cannot hide it from Grandfather's eyes."
Xue Jue War God shook his head. "If you hadn't displayed your Sacred Intent in my Divine Realm World, I might not have sensed the mobilization of Time and Space. But this is my Divine Realm World; how easy do you think it is for you to mobilize Time and Space?"
Zhang Ruochen understood. No wonder he had felt so powerless earlier.
Xue Jue War God looked up at the sky and sighed deeply. "Fusing nine types of Sacred Intent... how terrifying. This is a true First-rank, worthy of being called the number one person throughout history. If I were your enemy, I would not be able to sleep or eat peacefully until I had killed you."
"Enough of that. Let's talk about Sacred Intent. Your Sword Dao Sacred Intent has reached Third-rank?"
"Yes!" Zhang Ruochen said.
Having already seen the First-rank Sacred Intent formed from the fusion of nine paths, Xue Jue War God no longer showed surprise. "Do you know the relationship between Sacred Intent and Esoterica?"
"Please enlighten me, Grandfather." Zhang Ruochen cupped his hands.
Xue Jue War God clasped his hands behind his back. "Your cultivation is only one step away from the Divine Realm. Moreover, during the Ten Realms Battle, you even managed to draw upon the power of Sword Dao Esoterica. Telling you the essence of Esoterica now will be beneficial to you."
"Mortal realm cultivators all think that once they step into the Divine Realm, Sacred Intent automatically transforms into Esoterica. But it's not that simple. Sacred Intent and Esoterica are as different as heaven and earth."
"Let's start with rules."
"The Sacred Dao Rules that cultivators cultivate within their bodies—such as Sword Dao Rules, Palm Dao Rules, Time Rules, Space Rules—all originate from the rules of heaven and earth. They are a part of the rules of heaven and earth."
"Therefore, no matter how many billions of Sword Dao Rules you cultivate within your body, compared to the Sword Dao Rules of heaven and earth, they are still insignificant."
"Esoterica helps you mobilize all the rules of heaven and earth."
"For example, if you possess one ten-thousandth of the Sword Dao Esoterica, then theoretically, in an extreme state, you can mobilize one ten-thousandth of all the Sword Dao Rules in the universe for your own use. Do you know how terrifying that power is?"
Zhang Ruochen was lost in thought for a long time. "Such immense power would be enough to kill a True God, wouldn't it? I possess ten ten-thousandths of the Sword Dao Esoterica. Does that mean I can mobilize ten ten-thousandths of the Sword Dao Rules of heaven and earth?"
Xue Jue War God smiled. "I am talking about the theoretical extreme state. With your current cultivation, you are not worthy of the ten ten-thousandths of the Sword Dao Esoterica. But even if you can only draw upon one in a hundred million, or one in a billion, of the Sword Dao Rules of heaven and earth, you can already display great divine power in the Saint Realm."
"In fact, only a deity's Divine Soul can use Esoterica to mobilize the rules of heaven and earth for their own use. That you can use it at a basic level is already quite remarkable."
"Doesn't that mean my ten ten-thousandths of the Sword Dao Esoterica represents supreme power and is a great temptation for deities?" Zhang Ruochen said.
Xue Jue War God said, "It is not a temptation for every deity. Only deities who cultivated Sword Dao Sacred Intent at the Great Saint Realm can grasp it and unleash its unparalleled power. For other deities, it only serves the purpose of comprehension and cultivation."
Zhang Ruochen looked puzzled.
Xue Jue War God explained, "You should know that only Great Saints who have fused a Fifth-rank Sacred Intent have the hope of stepping into the Divine Realm."
"Only Great Saints who have fused a Third-rank Sacred Intent can grasp Esoterica after stepping into the Divine Realm."
"For example, Xia Yu. Her Third-rank Sacred Intent was fused from a Fourth-rank Blood Sea Heavenly Dao Sacred Intent and a Sixth-rank Wind Dao Sacred Intent. After stepping into the Divine Realm, her main cultivation paths will inevitably be the Blood Sea Heavenly Dao and the Wind Dao."
"If she can grasp some Blood Sea Heavenly Dao Esoterica or Wind Dao Esoterica, she can quickly become a powerhouse in the Divine Realm."
"But if she obtains some other type of Esoterica, its significance to her is minimal. She can only use it for comprehension and cannot unleash its combat power."
"Exactly. Sacred Intent is the door to power, the door to becoming a strong one. It is of utmost importance."
"Whether one can fuse a Second-rank Sacred Intent is even the first threshold for being judged as an Eon-level genius."
Zhang Ruochen pondered thoughtfully. "I understand! That is to say, for me, after stepping into the Divine Realm, only ten types of Esoterica—Yin, Yang, Five Elements, Time, Space, and Sword Dao—will be useful? Other Esoterica, even if I grasp them, can only be used for comprehension and cultivation?"
Xue Jue War God said, "That's the general idea, but it's not absolute. The Nine Eternal Dao often serve as exceptions."
"As long as you grasp one percent of an Eternal Dao Esoterica, you can become the Envoy of that Dao. For example, the Truth Envoy. Then you would be the spokesperson of the Way of Truth in the mortal world! Not only after becoming a god, but even before becoming a god, you can possess extremely strong combat power."
"Although other Sacred Daos also have the concept of Envoys, they are completely incomparable to the Eternal Dao. Sacred Intent alone can limit the possibility of most deities becoming the Envoy of that Dao."
"If the Esoterica of a certain Sacred Dao that you grasp reaches one-tenth, and your cultivation is strong enough to fully control that one-tenth of the Esoterica, mobilizing one-tenth of the rules of heaven and earth, then you can be called the Main God of that Dao."
"If the Esoterica you grasp exceeds half, and you can fully control it, then you are the Overlord of that Sacred Dao."
Zhang Ruochen believed that there must be Main Gods in the universe, but...
"Does the Heavenly Court and Hell have Overlord-level existences?" Zhang Ruochen couldn't help but ask.