Chapter 2277: The Means of Lingxu Saint Lord

"The physical bodies are all in the human realm, under the control of the Heavenly Palace, which is overseen by the Venerable Lingxu. Other gods wishing to descend to the human realm must obtain permission from the Lingxu deities."

"The number is limited?" He Lingchuan pondered. "How limited?"

"From what I've heard, there are at most, no more than thirteen thousand of them."

He Lingchuan smiled. "There are fewer than nine thousand Lingxu deities, yet the number of physical bodies is just slightly more than that? The Venerable Lingxu is testing you."

God Puyin sighed.

It and the other gods knew this all too well.

The Venerable Lingxu revealed this number to the entire demon realm, effectively telling them:

"Besides the Lingxu followers, there are four thousand spots to descend to the lower realm. Who wants them?"

Who wouldn't want them?

The world essence of the demon realm was already decaying, while the human realm was vibrant with life. Seeking advantage and avoiding harm is an innate biological instinct, and demon gods are no exception.

"Whoever wants a spot to descend must align themselves with the Venerable Lingxu. And since the spots are limited, those who want one should quickly go and curry favor with the Venerable Lingxu," He Lingchuan murmured. "What a clever move."

This tactic employed by the Venerable Lingxu could indeed temporarily suppress the deep-seated animosity among the demon gods.

Only when an issue involved the vital interests of every demon god would they seriously prioritize the greater good.

The Stinger Dragon Pillars' ability to sow discord was temporarily rendered ineffective.

"What conditions must demon gods outside of the Lingxu faction agree to in order to obtain a physical body in the human realm?"

"I'm not sure about that," God Puyin said, its voice a little dry. "But I heard that a few gods have already obtained them. They are all leaders of their respective factions, with status and prestige."

"So, what about minor gods like you?" He Lingchuan asked seriously, not mockingly. "Assuming the Venerable Lingxu is telling the truth, then ultimately only a little over twenty percent of the demon gods will be able to escape the demon realm. The vast majority of the rest will be abandoned where they are."

God Puyin fell silent.

Such good fortune as returning to the human realm would certainly not fall to it.

They also didn't want to sit by and wait for death; they were also figuring out a way.

"If the Venerable Lingxu's experiment fully succeeds, I'll give you a tip," He Lingchuan said with a smile. "No matter how powerful the Lingxu faction is, their physical bodies are still preserved in the human realm. Find some reliable capable individuals to help you steal one, and then you won't have to curry favor with them in heaven."

God Puyin retorted testily, "You're really clever."

It had very little influence and few followers in the human realm; where would it find such experts? The Lingxu faction's counterpart in the human realm was the Heavenly Palace, a unique entity that commanded all the high-level cultivators and great demons in Beijia.

"Beijia isn't the only place with capable people in this world," He Lingchuan said, making his point. He then took out seven more Stinger Dragon Pillars, and together with the original seven, circled them three times in the statue's smoke.

"Thank you, it was a pleasure working with you."

As soon as he placed the Stinger Dragon Pillars on the table, they vanished.

The smoke gradually dissipated, and God Puyin departed.

He Lingchuan opened the door and windows, then gazed absently at the garden outside for a long time.

An hour later, Du Shan was summoned to the palace and bowed respectfully:

"Your Majesty!"

He Lingchuan then recounted the day's events to him.

Even with Du Shan's composure, he was moved several times during the account.

After He Lingchuan finished, he asked, "What's your take on this?"

Du Shan listened and thought simultaneously, then immediately replied, "The Venerable Lingxu's move is quite brilliant. In the short term, it can turn the tide, temporarily suppressing the turmoil in the demon realm and attracting all the experts from there. It seems they intend to abandon the majority of the demon gods."

He Lingchuan rested his hand on his temple. "It never intended to bring all the demon gods along in the first place."

It couldn't bring them, simply couldn't.

For years, the demon realm had been in chaos, and the Venerable Lingxu must have known that the good order of the past could never be restored.

From its perspective, the demon gods were eating its food and then smashing its pot. Why would it bother to bring along this group of ungrateful, parasitic burdens that only held it back?

It was exhausting.

Therefore, in this declaration about descending to the lower realm, the Venerable Lingxu clearly stated:

I will only bring my own people to the lower realm.

Whoever wants to return to the human realm must first become "one of his own."

Even across the world barrier, He Lingchuan could sense the Venerable Lingxu's helplessness.

Originally, it probably genuinely wanted all the demons to descend together, didn't it? The more people—no, the more demons—the greater the power.

Unfortunately, the situation had changed.

"But that's only temporary," Du Shan said. "Once most demon gods realize they can't descend to the lower realm, they won't give up easily."

"They're just a rabble; they can't stir up much trouble in heaven." After so many years of fighting in heaven, although the Lingxu deities suffered significant damage, their power still reigned supreme in the demon realm. "I think the Venerable Lingxu is making every effort to divide Kshatriya Heaven and other opposing forces. Groups like Naraka Heaven are likely their targets for recruitment."

Like the Lingxu faction, Kshatriya Heaven also consists of gods of different ranks. The Venerable Lingxu only wants the top-tier leaders and capable individuals from the middle ranks, but it won't give tickets to lower-tier minor gods or wild gods. Dragons associate with dragons, phoenixes with phoenixes; mice and their friends can just stay where they are.

"Your Majesty is absolutely right," Du Shan affirmed. "This way, the strength of the forces opposing the Lingxu faction will greatly diminish. However, while these rejected demon gods can't cause much trouble in heaven, they can oppose the Lingxu in the human realm."

These words were exactly the same as what He Lingchuan had just said to God Puyin.

Du Shan continued, "A few years ago, you already heard about the developments in the demon realm. Most demon gods not only questioned whether the divine descent experiment would succeed but also doubted the number of divine descent bodies."

He Lingchuan nodded.

Just over half a year ago, some demon gods were still scoffing at the Heavenly Palace's demon puppet experiments, mocking it for wasting effort on futile endeavors.

Now that the Venerable Lingxu had proven the feasibility of using demon puppets as divine descent bodies, the next question would emerge:

How many divine descent bodies could the Heavenly Palace truly create?

"Thirteen thousand – that number will definitely invite suspicion," Du Shan said, blinking. "The Venerable Lingxu releasing such a rumor actually makes it easy for others to find fault. If someone were to spread a rumor and lead most demon gods to believe that the Heavenly Palace can actually create at most two thousand divine descent bodies, then not only would the Venerable Lingxu's newly gained advantage be shattered, but chaos would also erupt within the Lingxu faction."

The internal harmony of the Lingxu faction was due to the Venerable Lingxu assuring them that every member would receive a divine descent body.

If this number were to be compressed to two thousand bodies, it would mean that only twenty percent of the demon gods within the Lingxu faction itself could obtain tickets to the lower realm.

Oh, wait, a portion of these two thousand bodies would also have to be allocated to the experts and elites recruited from outside.

By then, the mood within the Lingxu faction would likely be just as furious as that of the abandoned minor gods and wild gods outside.

"Spreading rumors is easy, proving one's innocence is exhausting," He Lingchuan chuckled. "Faced with such a rumor, the Venerable Lingxu wouldn't be able to prove itself innocent right away."

Thirteen thousand bodies? Ha, that number itself is highly inflated, and besides, the experiment hasn't even fully succeeded. What would the Venerable Lingxu use to prove itself?