CHAPTER 928: CHAPTER 403: DIVINE CONTRACT, OPPORTUNITY FOR TRANSCENDENCE

Speaking to this point, Lord Ni Chang looked again at the Great Sun True Fire in the void, murmuring, "I just don’t know if this Divine Fire is so miraculous that it can provide my Turquoise Pool with a chance to escape."

...

Zheng Fa did not know Lord Ni Chang’s thoughts. He erased Sister Zhang’s name from the Investiture of the Gods for his own reasons.

His view of the Divine Dao was quite complex.

He himself was not a person who coveted the position of Heavenly Emperor, otherwise, he would not have pushed over the idols and used the Cave Heaven Technique for cultivating the Yang God.

If you talk about his true intent, it is naturally that he wishes to study the mysteries of the Immortal Dao.

Even to him, this Heavenly Emperor Body is an aid but not so important.

Yet...

He closed his eyes, feeling all sorts of thoughts coming from the Heavenly Emperor Body.

Among them were, of course, desires, malice, and the darkest aspects of the human heart.

But he could also see many other images:

There was an old man, devoutly kneeling on the street, bowing to the Heavenly Emperor Body in the sky.

There was a child, drooling, placing the freshly picked, juicy fruit from the courtyard in front of Zheng Fa’s statue.

There was a father holding his newborn daughter, smiling sheepishly, as if introducing the little face to Zheng Fa.

...

Although Zheng Fa did not particularly like the idea of worshipping gods, he had to admit that the Divine Dao was the only cultivation method in the Xuanwei Realm that cared for mortals.

The Immortal Sect seemed to only care about cultivating geniuses, treating ordinary mortals as mere straw dogs.

Needless to say about the Demon Sect, who knows how many souls perished at the hands of the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor.

Judging from the Tianhe Technique, the Tianhe Sect also showed little concern for the mundane world.

Only the Divine Dao, due to its mechanism, was the friendliest to mortals.

Lord Ni Chang naturally complained that the Divine Dao was a cage.

But for countless mortals, the Divine Dao was actually a shield.

If Zheng Fa were a mortal without cultivation, he might prefer to live under the rule of a Divine Dao cultivator rather than an Immortal Sect.

In simple terms, cultivators are only responsible for the source of their power.

In such a situation in the Xuanwei Realm, the weak can only rely on the Divine Dao to have the power to resist those Immortal Sects and Demon Ancestors.

His gaze fell on the Small List of Gods, around which the Great Sun True Fire continued to burn, its patterns constantly changing.

The Heavenly Emperor Body stood in the void, its voice clear: "I am the Heavenly Emperor, hereby making a covenant with all beings of the Nine Mountains, protecting the world together, swearing with mountains and rivers."

"The first item is the pact between gods and humans."

"A god accepting the power of incense must adhere to three oaths:"

"First, to reward good and punish evil, to protect life and prevent killing."

"Second, to harmonize the seasons and to shelter all living beings."

"Third, to enlighten and promote the Dao, to spread skills and benefit the people."

As he finished speaking, everyone in Heaven and Earth could see the Investiture of the Gods inscribed with these three oaths.

The Heavenly Emperor Body continued: "Humans receiving divine grace also have three promises to make:"

"To do good, to revere heaven, to seek knowledge."

Lord Ni Chang frowned, feeling puzzled.

Though both had three promises, Zheng Fa’s restrictions on the gods were much heavier than those on humans.

This was unprecedented in the Xuanwei Realm.

She understood that this was deliberate on Zheng Fa’s part, but she didn’t understand why.

The Heavenly Emperor Body looked at the freshly inked contract words on the Investiture of the Gods, knowing this was probably the first step in the Nine Mountains Heavenly Court’s policy.

The Divine Contract was more about form than content.

Essentially, it pointed out the source of the Divine Dao’s power, bringing gods and humans to a relatively equal position.

In terms of content, for Zheng Fa, among the three promises, enlightening intelligence, promoting the Dao, and spreading skills to benefit the people were the most important.

They also aligned most closely with his philosophy of gathering collective wisdom.

...

In the mundane world of the Nine Mountains Realm, anyone who had read books, and even those who hadn’t, could understand these simple words.

They stared blankly at Zheng Fa’s Heavenly Emperor Body, seemingly unable to grasp the meaning.

But the Heavenly Emperor Body was not finished:

"The second item is the rules for selecting deities."

"First, anyone aspiring to become a god must accumulate good deeds. Those lacking sufficient merit cannot ascend to godhood."

"Second, anyone aspiring to become a god must pass exams. Those who do not meet the criteria cannot ascend to godhood."

"Third, anyone aspiring to become a god must undergo trials. Those without enough experience cannot ascend to godhood."

When Zheng Fa finished speaking, it was the Nine Mountains Disciples who were astonished.

"Not looking at cultivation and Spirit Root?"

Someone immediately noticed this point, and many disciples became excited at once.

"Good deeds... I don’t know what the threshold for good deeds is."

"What are the exams about? Is it about practicing the Divine Dao?"

"Trials, will the trials take place in the Nine Mountains Realm’s mortal world and the Hundred Immortals Alliance? They should have experience in managing mortals, right?"

Many disciples were familiar with Zheng Fa’s thought process and managed to guess the essence of these three rules with uncanny accuracy.

In simple terms, it’s a high-bar civil service exam.

It also aims to cultivate those disciples who may not be highly gifted in research but are persistent, resolute, and willing to work hard.

Zheng Fa also hopes to allow such disciples to enjoy the nourishment of the Power of Incense, even anticipating their future development.

The desire for incense in the Divine Dao Skill, in another way, can actually be considered an opportunity; it can strengthen one’s Dao Heart and is beneficial for cultivators.

But in Lord Ni Chang’s eyes, Zheng Fa’s approach was so unusual that she became increasingly perplexed.

It’s important to know that the Turquoise Pool’s selection of Subordinate Gods still relies on qualifications, looking at Spirit Root.

Unlike Zheng Fa’s approach, which seems to focus only on their ability to manage mortals.

But the Heavenly Emperor Body was not finished:

"The third is the rule for the appointment, removal, reward, and punishment of the Divine Dao."

"Each Divine Position has a term of fifty years. After fifty years, one can only accumulate good deeds again and participate in exams."