Chapter 689: Refining The Divine Fragment, Possession Ritual, Five Ways Divine Shadow Army
Chu Kuangren had reaped many benefits in his recent clash with the Thunder God Cult. He tidied the treasures and announced that he would go into a closed-door meditation for a few days.
Thanks to his Universal Cauldron Physique, it did not take many days before Chu Kuangren finished refining all the divine ambers.
His cultivation had strengthened considerably.
However, it was still insufficient to breach into the Heavenly Imperial Realm. Despite refining all the divine ambers, Chu Kuangren could sense he was still far from reaching the Heavenly Imperial Realm.
"Perhaps I need to refine this Lesser God's divine fragment as well." Chu Kuangren murmured.
Without further delay, he began absorbing the divine fragment's power.
While Chu Kuangren was meditating...
The God Worshipping Cult had begun to put their plans into action. They could not just sit by and watch the Black Heaven School grow stronger day after day.
With the Thunder God Cult, Fire God Cult, Water God Cult, and Frost God Cult destroyed, the rest of the cults within the God Worshipping Cult were growing anxious.
If Chu Kuangren was not dealt with swiftly, the rest of the cults would not be able to spread their religion safely in Firmament Star.
The followers of the God Worshipping Cult congregated on a mountain peak.
"By hook or by crook, we must get rid of Chu Kuangren. He's an even peskier vermin compared to the Heavenly Tormentors. At least those Heavenly Tormentors won't form a religion of their own. He's uprooting our entire foundation!"
An Underworld God Worshipper uttered crudely.
"He's right. We can't let Chu Kuangren continue on his current path."
"If this goes on, the entire world will worship the True Black Heaven God or whatever that is. What are we even by then?"
"Agreed, this is no longer a matter of personal vendettas. We're fighting a crusade for the sake of our beliefs!"
"But how can we get rid of Chu Kuangren? He's basically undefeatable by anyone below the Heavenly Imperial Realm."
The members were scratching their heads. As much as they wished to kill Chu Kuangren, they could not deny his extraordinary strengths.
"If one or two of us isn't enough, what about thousands and thousands of us? We have countless followers in our army, so we should be able to outnumber him," said the Underworld God Worshipper.
The rest stared at one another.
"Is it not an excessive sacrifice?"
"My people have long prepared to sacrifice our lives for the Gods. While we're more than willing to do so, we're just afraid our sacrifices will not be enough to defeat him."
Amidst the crowd's worries, the Underworld God Worshipper chuckled. "Rest assured, everyone. I'm an expert in formations. I can first summon a mega formation that traps Chu Kuangren within. By then, if we all attack in unison, we'll be able to slay this blasphemous heretic for good."
"But how do we lure him into the formation?"
"It's simple. We declare war against him in the name of our Gods. If he wishes to maintain his reputation as the True Black Heaven God, he must show up. Otherwise, his reputation as a God will surely be tarnished," said the Underworld God Worshipper with confidence.
The crowd nodded their heads in agreement. After a long discussion of mending out the details, they immediately put their plans into action.
"By the way, is the Divine Maiden participating in our plan?"
A worshipper asked.
"The Divine Maiden is busy occupying herself with the God Flesh. Who knows how long she will need to finish her affairs. Chu Kuangren is growing stronger day by day. If we don't act now, things will only get tougher."
The Underworld God Worshipper said.
The crowd was shocked by the mention of the God Flesh.
"The God Flesh is supposed to be the last resort against the Heavenly Imperials. Who would've thought that it would first be deployed against Chu Kuangren."
"Indeed, what an unexpected twist of events."
"Alright, let's get to work."
...
In another location.
Deep within a mountain cave.
A naked body floated in the air.
It was the male physique that possessed delicate facial features. His body was slim, and his skin fair as jade. The faint flickering of Daoist runes could be seen hiding beneath his skin.
On the ground beneath the body was a cultic sigil marked with blood. There was an array of peculiar offerings arranged around the cave, ranging from candles, skulls, and dark soils.
A cloaked lady stood nearby.
It was the Divine Maiden of the God Worshipping Cult.
She stared delightfully at the body before her. "The black soil, the Underworld God's sigil, demonic corpses, and the strange dark candle that contain the power of the Underworld God... With these mediums, I should be able to call upon the consciousness of the Underworld God to reside within this God Flesh."
The God Flesh was a technique cultivated by the God Worshipping Cult after countless years of research. These bodies, forged using the Power of Faith, resembled an actual Godly Physique rather closely, which was why it was known as the God Flesh.
Despite being sealed, the Gods were able to attach their consciousness to the God Flesh. The power that could be drawn out of these God Flesh was far more formidable than the borrowed power granted to the people of God Worshipping Cult.
"Chu Kuangren, the Underworld God shall personally knock on your door with one of our God Flesh. You should feel honored," the Divine Maiden muttered.
...
In the Black Heaven School.
Chu Kuangren had nearly absorbed all of the power from the Lesser God's divine fragment and could feel his cultivation abilities strengthening tremendously.
Since his Emperor qi in his body was nourished, his power had surpassed beyond the Rank Nine Initial Emperor Realm. In fact, his Emperor qi was probably no weaker than some in the Heavenly Imperial Realm.
However, he was yet an official Heavenly Imperial.
Chu Kuangren was still lacking one criterion, which was to wield universal energy!
Only Emperors who could control the universal energies and forge a mini-universe were the true testament of becoming a Heavenly Imperial!
This required a deepened understanding of the Dao.
It would not be a difficult feat for Chu Kuangren as his understanding in the way of Dao far surpassed that of an ordinary Emperor. Furthermore, he possessed the Chaos Emperor Scripture, which could be a useful reference.
Chu Kuangren believed he could soon master the universal energy and officially ascend beyond the Initial Emperor Realm into a Heavenly Imperial!
At this point, Chu Kuangren was not even thirty-years-old.
Compared to most Emperors who were easily hundreds of thousands of years old, thirty years old was such an insignificant number.
A thirty-year-old Heavenly Imperial had never existed in history!
Chu Kuangren could sense the drastic change in his bodily energies, and he smiled with delight. Hence, he decided to celebrate the occasion with a lucky draw.
Out came the Fantasy Roulette.
Draw.
"Congratulations, Host. You've acquired a God-tier Five Ways Divine Shadow Army."
Five Ways Divine Shadow Army?!
Chu Kuangren hastily went to the item description.
Five Ways Divine Shadow Army, a God-tier prize.
It was an undead army that was forged out of the Five Ways energy. They possessed undying loyalty for their master and would ruthlessly rule over a battlefield...
"I've got an army! A God-tier one at that!"
Chu Kuangren was overjoyed.
Chu Kuangren retrieved his prize and saw a glowing orb appearing in his palm. This orb acted as a barrack for the Five Ways Divine Shadow Army.
If the army perished on the battlefield, their bodies would be returned into the orb for revival and recovery.
It was the reason why they were also known as an undead army.
Chu Kuangren mobilized his spiritual thought and stored the orb in his spiritual mound. He eagerly looked forward to the occasion when he would put this to great use.
After exiting his closed-door meditation, Chu Kuangren cast his Emperor Thought over Black Heaven School to monitor the Black Heaven School's recent development.
To his surprise, he found the Immemorial Sage, the White Lotus School Leader, and others drowning in worry.
As Chu Kuangren listened closely, he learned that the God Worshipping Cult had recently claimed the True Black Heaven God to be the false God. They would conduct a hearing at the Nether Abyss Valley to decide the appropriate punishment for the True Black Heaven God, and the world shall see it as the false God it was!
"God Worshipping Cult, you've finally declared a war against me."
Chu Kuangren chuckled lightly.