Reverend Ecstasy

"Illusory bonds? 'From the Earth I came, to the Earth I return. If I don't step into the Bitter Sea, who will?' The Mantra of Sacrifice is, to me, the most mesmerizing mantra of Lianism. If I can't fight tooth and nail for the safety of those I care for, why bother preaching scriptures?

What's so wrong with contradictions? Without, would I still be a person?

Is perfection not...somewhat overrated?" Qingxin seriously asked.

A silence fell on the scene, with the 24 monks at the head abbot's back lowering their heads as if refusing to confront Qingxin's question. The head abbot, however, didn't falter, and with a smile asked:

"A new Ascendant has risen in the east. Qingxin, do you want to see his name?"

"No." Without delay, Qingxin rejected the offer.

"And that is why you cannot survive your Great Calamity." Having predicted that Qingxin would make this choice, the head abbot shook his head. But regardless, his words kindled Qingxin's interest.

"Great Calamity? Has a senior abbot attempted to read my fate?"

"I did. And Qingxin, it is not promising. If you can survive your Great Calamity, you will return to the peak of the Holy, Divine and Immortal roads and lead trillions into enlightenment — not as a vassal of any force, but a leader of the coming era.

But if you can't...well, you would have reached the end of your destiny," the head abbot said. Disappointment laced his words, as if he could already see Qingxin failing to cross that "Great Calamity."

"Thank you, head abbot, for this warning. But since you will not give me Abbot Yuanzhen's bones, I have no other choice but to enter the Valley of Saints...on my own," Qingxin said, pulled himself from the ground, and faced the head abbot with a defiant gaze.

"High God or not, the Paradox of Holy Creeds will tear you to shreds — body and soul."

"That's a risk I'm willing to take. After all, I only have one disciple, and perhaps it's my willful pleasure...to always be biased towards him," Qingxin said, and his lips curved at his own words, he gave the head abbot a polite bow, then walked out of the Golden Lotus Temple. A spatial rift opened before him, leading straight to the door of the Valley of Saints.

However, as the head abbot watched Qingxin depart, golden rays flashed in his eyes, and he lowered his head, joining his hands in a prayer sign.

'If such is your will.'

...

As all this played out, in the Mausoleum of the Underworld, Xinzi's breakthrough ended. The Bloodshifter Heart evolved into Sinshifter. The Reincarnation of Mahasura broke through two levels, directly reaching the fourth and adding the dark-green Naga Heart and amber-colored Bali Heart to Xinzi's demonic portfolio. With these three breakthroughs, Xinzi now had access to a brand-new spectrum of abilities.

But the gains didn't end here. Encoded in golden Lianist Runes, the words "Transcendent Rapture" appeared above Xinzi's coffin, marking the completion of his Sentence, and his evolution into an Ascendant Monk. The Dao Breath improved once more, but more importantly, Xinzi's lifeform level rose again, and with the addition of his new Demon Hearts, his true body's current battle prowess became hard to estimate.

"The Holy Path is both the strongest and the weakest, which is why power-hungry monks often supplement it with the cultivation road. So, while this breakthrough did make me immensely more powerful, it also added a weakness. Sooner or later, I will have to deal with it," Xinzi's eyes opened. The coffin's lid slid to the side, and Xinzi walked out.

Hovering in the air, Xinzi spread his Divine Sense out, sweeping the three million spirit scions that, till now, chanted Lianist sutras.

Waves of Holy Force swirled around each spirit scion. Golden lotuses blooming left and right as they each benefitted from this Holy Communion with Xinzi to become Enlightened in his Creed of Indulgence.

Three million Enlightened Monks thus appeared in the Great Desolation World. This wasn't an unprecedented occurrence. One of the requirements of Ascendance was to lead others into Enlightenment. Eminent Monks had to do it before reaching the Ascendant state, and even afterward, they had to keep doing it.

For that reason, be it in the Golden Lotus Temple or other places, Eminent Monks often relied on Astral Projection to guide Lianist practitioners all the way from their respective temples.

With that said, Eminent Monks only needed to enlighten 10,000 people to become Ascendants, and 100,000 as one of the requirements to rise to Perfected. People who, like Xinzi, directly brought millions into Lianism, could be counted on one hand.

"Greetings, oh Ascendant One! May the Golden Lotus' hallowed rays guide you to Perfection!" The three million spirit monks said, and bowed at Xinzi.

"Perfection? Such an overrated term. When Heaven, the Golden Lotus and Hell, all fall short, who can claim true perfection?" Xinzi asked in a barely audible tone, more for himself than the new Enlightened Monks, who had nothing to gain from having their faith challenged so soon.

"Regardless, congratulations on embracing my Creed of Indulgence. To thank you all for your assistance, My Humble Self will grant you...power and eternal life," Xinzi said and stretched his hand out. A colorful orb mixing the five basic elements, Fire, Wood, Water, Metal and Earth, took shape above his palm — then broke into three million rays that pierced through the spirit monks' hearts.

Instantly, they could feel the conflicting powers of the five elements take shape and harmonize in their dantian — equipping them all with a portion of Xinzi's Five Elements Transmutative Technique.

At the same time, the Servant Sutra appeared in their souls. They all embraced it, becoming White-Winged Demon Nobles...or well, demon monks in this case, and adding 30,000 Diabolic Shards to Xinzi's portfolio.

Without free will, they couldn't make independent Lianist progress, and would always be restrained by the highest level that Xinzi reached. Moreover, they couldn't achieve true Perfection.

But in the grand scheme of things, this didn't matter.

"Henceforth, you are the first Shamans of the Liberation Temple — endowed with the ability to communicate with the dead, transmute the five basic elements and heal all diseases.

All across the four continents, teach, guide, and enlighten. Use this power to spread the faith and bring billions to the banner of the Liberation Temple.

My Humble Self will be watching and protecting you...every step of the way. When the time is right, we will reunite, and open the gates...of our Paradise."