NOVPUB"I see that you, fellow Daoist, are merely at the Nascent Soul Stage, how strong can any secret technique of yours be?" Xin Hongzhang shook his head slightly, "I’m telling you the secret news with no expectation of return. That [Descent of the Divine], you might as well keep it to yourself."
Upon hearing this, Li Fan’s expression immediately turned ugly.
It seemed he was about to erupt, but ultimately, he patiently explained in a hushed voice, "Xin Daoist, don’t judge me just because I’m at the Nascent Soul Transformation Realm, but the Divine Presence I summon posesses combat strength even greater than mine. It’s capable of holding its own against God Transforming cultivators, able to withstand a blow or two..."
"Hmm?" Xin Hongzhang looked more serious upon hearing this.
"If you don’t believe me, we can put it to the test," Li Fan said earnestly.
Xin Hongzhang, now slightly sobered up from the wine, observed Li Fan more carefully.
"He’s indeed at the Nascent Soul Stage, even if he harbors ill intentions, I can kill him as I please. Fine, let’s see what kind of trick he’s trying to pull."
He didn’t feel any malice from Li Fan, only a full sense of sincerity.
After pondering for a moment, Xin Hongzhang agreed to Li Fan’s suggestion.
The two, one after the other, left the defensive fortress.
They flew until they reached a desolate and uninhabited area in Jiushan Province.
"Fan Li, I think this place will do. Show me this so-called Divine Presence of yours," Xin Hongzhang abruptly stopped and then said to Li Fan.
Li Fan looked around and nodded, "Fine, Xin Daoist friend, move a bit further away. I wouldn’t want to accidentally harm you..."
Xin Hongzhang smiled inwardly but complied nonetheless.
He watched with interest as Li Fan became solemn and began to chant, "Mercy of the mundane world, bless all beings. As I pray, may the Immortal body descends divinely..."
"Imperial Decree!"
"He really is taking it seriously," Xin Hongzhang thought.
But soon, sensing a strange and powerful aura, the playful scorn in Xin Hongzhang’s heart vanished instantly.
What replaced it was utter solemnity.
"What is this..."
A goat-headed humanoid monster appeared before Xin Hongzhang in response to the summoning of the Daoist known as Fan Li.
With its eyes tightly closed, the monster gave Xin Hongzhang a feeling of being targeted.
Shadows and light appeared simultaneously on the goat-headed humanoid monster.
It looked bizarre yet sacred.
"Xin Daoist friend, what do you think?" Li Fan’s voice came through.
Xin Hongzhang finally snapped out of his astonishment.
He didn’t respond but started assessing the strength of the monster before him.
The other side seemed to see his intent and said slowly, "Merely watching will avail you nothing, Xin Daoist friend. Would you be interested in sparring with my Divine Presence?"
Xin Hongzhang squinted his eyes and nodded in agreement.
"Then be careful, Xin Daoist friend!" Li Fan called out.
The goat-headed monster vanished in an instant, and in the next moment appeared behind Xin Hongzhang.
"This speed..." Before he could express his shock, Xin Hongzhang felt the monster’s large hands grip his throat from behind.
Unable to struggle free, the scene before Xin Hongzhang’s eyes suddenly changed.
It was as if he had plunged into a boundless realm of Ghost Slugs, with five blood moons intertwined above.
Around him were tens of thousands, endless hordes of terrifying demon gods, all casting their gaze upon him.
Under the terrifying and oppressing atmosphere, Xin Hongzhang’s thoughts seemed to freeze in an instant.
He had completely given up any resistance, allowing himself to be butchered like a fish on the chopping block!
"Xin Daoist?"
It wasn’t until Li Fan’s calling voice startled him awake from the nightmare.
"You..." Xin Hongzhang looked around and noticed that the goat-headed monster from just before had vanished. He looked at Li Fan with a mixture of shock and hesitation, unsure what to say.
"How about the strength of this [Descent of the Divine]?" Li Fan said with a proud smile.
After a moment of silence, Xin Hongzhang finally uttered four words, "I am not as also..."
"It’s fine, this secret technique does not have any restrictions against co-cultivation. If you are willing, I can teach it to you," Li Fan said earnestly.
Having personally experienced the terrifying strength of [Descent of the Divine], Xin Hongzhang subconsciously wanted to agree.
However, remembering the shadowy Ghost Slug he had seen, Xin Hongzhang inevitably hesitated.
This secret technique seemed somewhat unorthodox.
Moreover, for such a divine technique and secret method, was he truly offering to teach it for free?
Doubts proliferated in Xin Hongzhang’s mind.
Seemingly perceiving Xin Hongzhang’s worries, Li Fan smiled, pulled him to land on the ground, and began to explain.
"Actually, I want to teach you [Descent of the Divine] partly for selfish reasons," Li Fan confessed.
"Oh?" Xin Hongzhang felt intrigued and focused his attention on Li Fan.
"To understand this, we must start from the origin of the secret technique. It is said that in the primordial times, gods and demons ran rampant. Our Human Clan was merely their food, with a miserable fate. A compassionate saint emerged, making a grand vow to suppress all gods and demons and to return a resplendent cosmos to the world..."
"Are you saying that the goat-headed monster you summoned just now was one of those ancient gods and demons suppressed long ago?" Xin Hongzhang looked a bit perplexed.
Li Fan nodded, "Although the saint suppressed all the gods and demons of the world, they could not be killed or erased. To prevent them from escaping, the saint turned himself into a prison to suppress them for eternity."
"He also foresaw that after countless years, his own power might wane. Hence, he left behind a secret technique, so that anyone who cultivated [Descent of the Divine] could also suppress an infinite number of gods and demons. In return, they could summon projections of the gods and demons trapped within the sacred prison to fight for them..."
Xin Hongzhang listened until his head swam.
Compassionate saints, gods and demons of heaven – he had never heard of such things.
It was a belief contrary to his previous worldview, difficult to accept.
But Li Fan continued, "Originally, I felt the same as you, believing the matter to be too absurd. However, once I truly started cultivating this secret technique and successfully summoned the projection of a demon god, I understood..."
"This secret technique is not a native secret of the Xuanhuang World. The events recorded did not happen in the Xuanhuang World. However, the power of the secret technique is indeed real and effective."
Upon hearing this, Xin Hongzhang suddenly had a moment of realization.
"Moreover, this secret technique has a special feature. Each person’s cultivated technique has a unique signature. That signature doesn’t disappear after passing the technique to someone else. Instead, it benefits from the next person cultivating the technique, enabling the summoning of more and stronger demon god projections..."
These words sounded a bit mysterious, and Xin Hongzhang didn’t immediately grasp their specific implications.
But soon, Li Fan demonstrated their meaning in practice.
"For example..."
Three demon gods exuding a formidable evil aura instantly appeared around Xin Hongzhang.
Surrounded him completely.
Stained by the endless demonic aura, Xin Hongzhang swallowed hard, too nervous to move.
"I have already taught this secret technique to more than a dozen fated individuals, which is why I can summon three demon gods now."
"The more cultivators to whom the technique is taught, the greater the number of demon gods that can be summoned. That’s why I don’t mind, in fact, am quite eager to teach you this secret technique of [Descent of the Divine]."
Li Fan said with a smile.
Seeing the imposing trio of demon gods surrounding him, Xin Hongzhang couldn’t help but be heartily moved.
