The hundred spirit stones bestowed by the Qi court enriched Jiang Wang's coffers in an instant.
This was barely enough to repay the debt Ye Qingyu had incurred buying the Meridian-Opening Pill for Jiang An'an.
However, with tens of thousands of li separating them, early repayment was difficult. No merchant house had the capability to conduct business across the world—a feat even the great powers could not achieve. Even mighty Qi could barely manage to circulate its blade coins throughout the Eastern Domain, while being secretly resisted by all parties.
Through the Cloud Command Token, when Jiang An'an was cultivating at the Celestial Firmament Pavilion, Jiang Wang had said that regardless of how many resources the pavilion invested in An'an, he would definitely repay them.
He had never doubted this for a moment.
Setting aside the future, for now, if he could successfully secure the position of the Rizhao County Pacification Commissioner, all of this would be insignificant.
Among the people of Qingsang Town, Dugu Xiao was about to open her meridians. Once the six-month period ended, Zhu Biqiu would return to the Sea-Fishing Tower. Zhang Hai would continue to be compensated according to the previously agreed spirit stones. Only for Xiang Qian—with his level of strength, the spirit stones previously set were clearly far from sufficient.
He had sought out Xiang Qian for a chat to discuss how to compensate him. The "heart-to-heart talk" had been an unexpected outcome from the Suspended Temple matter.
Fortunately, the result was not too bad.
Although he didn't know whether he had managed to persuade Xiang Qian, at least it was not a bad thing for the pent-up emotions to be released.
At the end of their conversation, Jiang Wang directly took out ten spirit stones and listed the techniques he was proficient in and could pass on, for Xiang Qian to choose from.
Xiang Qian did not hesitate. He accepted the spirit stones and indicated that these techniques were too complex and he was too lazy to learn them.
While Jiang Wang was not stingy about passing on his arts, Xiang Qian possessed the inheritance known as the Pinnacle from the Flying Sword era. His cultivation formed its own system and likely was not particularly in need of them.
"Gods and deities are different concepts. He said he respects his master as a god, yet you use the example of an Underworld deity. That's really not very convincing."
Jiang Wang was contemplating techniques in the meditation chamber when Jiang Yan mocked him about his earlier conversation with Xiang Qian.
This was not Jiang Yan seeking attention, but rather "proving his value."
Jiang Wang understood clearly that this was because the technique he was currently studying made Jiang Yan feel threatened.
The secret mid-grade technique Envy Fire, obtained from the Qi treasury, had an entry barrier at the Inner Palace realm. Due to the growth of his spiritual power, he had only just touched its edges, yet already sensed its wondrous effects.
This was a profound technique that responded to emotions and communicated with the spirit, especially useful in battles of spiritual confrontation.
Hearing Jiang Yan's words, he only said, "I didn't know that."
"The character 'god' comes from 'yi-shen.' 'Shen' is the shape of lightning in the sky. In ancient times, people believed lightning was unpredictable and infinitely powerful. Lightning donned garments and took form, hence it was called 'god.' Gods represent invincible might and unfathomable power."
Jiang Yan said, "In the beginning, the Heaven-Earth Gate was the boundary between humans and gods. Everyone considered the Tenglong realm as the realm of gods! Because cultivators in this realm could fly through the sky and travel through the earth, surpassing ordinary mortals."
"After the first cultivator opened the Inner Palace, the concept of gods was elevated further. For a very long time, the Spirit-Descent realm was considered the realm of gods—'I am as a god descended.' In ancient times, the Spirit-Descent realm was also called the 'Immortal' realm, but later it was proven to be 'false immortality,' and the name was lost."
"Since ancient times, the concept of gods has always been changing. Today, the path of cultivation has been fully developed and is naturally different from before. Xiang Qian respects his master as a god because he believes in his heart that his master is omnipotent and invincible—not because he reveres his master as a deity in the narrow sense!"
"What do you think a deity is? What kind of existence is the White Bone God?"
Jiang Wang asked cooperatively, "What kind of existence?"
"Just as humans opened the path of cultivation and moved toward the extraordinary, some deceased souls cannot reincarnate, wandering through various realms awaiting dissolution. Yet among those ghosts unwilling to perish, there are also prodigies who cultivate with their soul bodies, opening the Divine Path."
"After the Divine Path was opened, there were also those dead whose memories had not faded, unwilling to reincarnate and start over, who directly switched to cultivating the Divine Path. These people were often cultivators in life, and the Divine Path grew strong because of them. And after the Divine Path grew strong, there were living people who felt cultivation was hopeless but had talent for the Divine Path, who directly abandoned their physical bodies to cultivate the Divine Path. The Divine Path once dominated an era!"
"Deities in the narrow sense, apart from divine spirits born as such, mostly come from ghost cultivation. Some gather faith, some extract death energy, some consume resentment—the Divine Path is vast and varied..."
"Regarding the Divine Path, I don't know much. What I know is mostly through the White Bone God."
Jiang Yan said, "The White Bone God is an existence far beyond our reach. His power in the Underworld must transcend the pinnacle of the extraordinary. But he is absolutely not 'omnipotent' and can be defeated."
"So you used the White Bone God's failure as an example to tell Xiang Qian that 'even gods can fail.' While the logic is there, to those who understand these things, it seems somewhat laughable."
Jiang Wang remained unconcerned: "Xiang Qian's knowledge is far broader than mine. With such an invincible True Person as a master and such a prestigious inheritance, his horizons would not be low. I think he probably knows this as well?"
"Yes." Jiang Yan sighed: "Perhaps it was because that fat man you mentioned later moved him. Perhaps because... he also needed a reason to convince himself!"
Regarding this point, both Jiang Wang and Jiang Yan could understand.
But Jiang Yan's deliberate step forward to "point out" the error in Jiang Wang's words was not purely to correct him, but merely to demonstrate his value.
When Jiang Wang pointed out that "Xiang Qian probably knows this too," he was telling Jiang Yan: I understand your intentions, I've received your goodwill, and I'm putting your mind at ease.
Jiang Yan naturally understood this without words, and turned to expressing his sentiments.
The relationship between them was complex—coexisting symbiotically, yet wary and guarded against each other.
Jiang Wang asked again: "The White Bone Evil God is already an existence transcending the pinnacle in the Underworld. What is the reason for his multiple descents to the mortal world?"
"I only know he wants to achieve the status of a 'Mortal World Deity.' But I don't know what significance this holds for him, nor do I understand the difference between a 'Mortal World Deity' and an 'Underworld Deity.' But presumably it is his way of advancing further!" Jiang Yan said.
"I've heard White Bone cultists mention the 'White Bone Era' many times. What does it represent? Is it like the 'One Truth Era' or the 'Flying Sword Era'? Is it connected to the White Bone Evil God's descents?"
As soon as this question was asked, Jiang Wang thought to himself: perhaps creating the White Bone Era was the method of achieving the Mortal World Deity status! And the Mortal World Deity was an existence a step beyond the Underworld Deity.
Of course, this thought, he did not communicate with Jiang Yan.
"Perhaps only when this era truly arrives will we know." Jiang Yan sighed.
Clearly, regarding the White Bone God, Jiang Yan was unwilling to say too much.
"Do you know anything about the Suspended Temple?" Jiang Wang changed the subject.
It was rare for Jiang Yan to be willing to perform today, and he didn't mind extracting a bit more knowledge.
"The Eastern Holy Land of the Buddhist Sect, a very ancient sect—very strong, extremely strong! If you didn't already have a legitimate noble title from Qi, you might have been dragged to the Suspended Temple for tonsure by now!"
"The Suspended Temple has a tradition of forcibly recruiting disciples?"
"Not exactly. However, regarding these powerful forces with unclear intentions, before we've grown strong enough, it's best to keep our distance."
Perhaps feeling he had already said enough today, Jiang Yan spoke these words and said no more, closing the Nether Candle of his own accord and falling silent.
Leaving only Jiang Wang to contemplate the secrets of Envy Fire by himself.
He thought to himself: "When that yellow-faced old monk Ku Jue was around, Jiang Yan was indeed very well-behaved."
"Could it be because... in front of a powerhouse of that level, he might be discovered?"