373: Unite everyone as one!

Feeling the surging mana within his body, which was several times more pure and robust than when he was at the Mid-stage Golden Core.

A trace of a smile finally appeared on Murong Jingyang's hazy face.

However, to an outsider, this appearance of his looked like a bizarre mix of crying and laughing.

"It really hasn't been easy!"

He whispered to himself, his tone carrying a hint of emotion, but his heart was filled more with helplessness.

In fact, according to Murong Jingyang's original estimation, he should have been able to break through to the Late Golden Core Stage several years ago.

The reason it had been delayed until now was largely because the Sovereign would suddenly "consume" a batch of his followers at the drop of a hat!

The core of the Six Desires Heavenly Demon Art he cultivated lay in absorbing and refining the mortal thought power of the "Seven Emotions and Six Desires" of living beings.

The more followers there were and the more devout their faith, the more pure and massive the power of mortal desires produced would be.

But the Sovereign seemed to frequently perform "sacrifices," causing the followers he had worked so hard to develop and convert to suddenly die in large batches without any warning!

Sometimes, the speed at which he developed new followers and collected mortal desires simply could not keep up with the speed at which the Sovereign "consumed" them!

Because of this, even though he faced no Bottlenecks in his cultivation and his progress was fast, even the cleverest housewife cannot cook without rice.

He would often be halfway through a closed-door meditation when he would suddenly sense the supply of mortal desires being cut off as a large number of believers perished mysteriously.

Over time, this naturally and severely slowed his pace of accumulating power and charging at the Bottleneck.

Fortunately, although the process was bumpy, he had accumulated enough over time.

Finally, on this day, he successfully stepped into the Late Golden Core Stage!

Just as Murong Jingyang was still feeling the mysteries of his new Realm.

"Tap... tap... tap..."

A series of clear footsteps abruptly intruded into the underground space, echoing from the only entrance tunnel of the great hall.

The footsteps approached from afar, neither fast nor slow, yet they shattered the feverish atmosphere of the followers.

As the synchronized shouts of congratulations gradually subsided, Murong Jingyang, sitting cross-legged upon the altar, slowly turned his head.

He cast his gaze toward the direction of the footsteps. The constantly shifting "Faces of the Multitude" on his face seemed to steady, revealing a pair of eyes as deep as an abyss beneath.

Almost at the same moment he looked over.

*Swoosh!*

Within the hall, the thousands of followers who had been kneeling facing the altar actually twisted their necks in perfect synchronization, turning their faces toward the entrance!

Their faces, hidden in the shadows of their hoods, now displayed an extreme, eerie indifference.

There was no curiosity, no vigilance, and certainly no hostility; they just looked at the tunnel entrance with such numbness.

A spine-chilling sense of deathly silence permeated the entire underground cave.

It was as if what existed here were not thousands of independent individuals, but a collective consciousness possessing a shared will.

This scene was clearly seen by Lu Ming through the perspective of his dharma body.

"Interesting..."

He whispered in his heart.

If it were in the past, when his knowledge was shallow, Lu Ming might have thought this was just some mysterious Spell of the Six Desires Heavenly Demon Art used to manipulate hearts and control Cultivators.

But now, after digesting and absorbing the insights and understanding of Li Daoxuan and Zhuge Mingyi regarding the Laws and the Great Dao, his perspective was no longer what it used to be.

He could glimpse a deeper level within it, traces that touched upon a certain essence.

This was no longer within the simple category of a "Spell"; it was more like the manifestation of an Origin power close to the "Dao"!

Lest it be forgotten, the Six Desires Heavenly Demon Art practiced by Murong Jingyang was a lower-level simplified chapter derived from the core Legacy of the Inner Domain demonic giant "Six Desires Demonic Sect," the Six Desires Heavenly Demon Great Art of Governing All Spirits!

Previously, Lu Ming's cultivation and vision were insufficient, or perhaps he had subconsciously ignored why a perfectly good Legacy would be named with "Governing"?

Could it be just to make it sound good?

Clearly, it was not!

At least, the Six Desires Demonic Sect wouldn't be that bored!

And looking at it now, the core and essence of its various incredible and mysterious powers were perhaps all tied to these two words: "Governing"!

What was "Governing"?

It was definitely not as shallow as simple "control" or "enslavement."

This "Governing" was a "dominion" of a higher dimension, nearly at the level of the Great Dao!

It was to govern the orderly principles of the Heavenly Dao's operation, making all phenomena flow according to one's will!

It was to govern the thoughts and desires of all spirits, gathering endless thoughts for one's own use and turning the multitude into one heart!

It was to govern the ultimate principles of the Laws of the Dao, incorporating thousands of dao rhymes into one's own order!

This was a type of ultimate goal aimed at establishing absolute order, bringing all variables under control, and finally achieving "all Laws return to me, all spirits serve me"!

"What grand spirit! What great ambition!"

Lu Ming was shaken. He remembered his previous confusion about why Yun Chenzi sought the Great Dao of the Five Elements, and why the Zhuge Family devoted themselves to the mysterious Great Dao of Karma.

Even someone like Li Daoxuan was comprehending the Great Dao of Thick Earth which carries all things!

But as one of the Seven Grotto-Heavens of the Inner Domain, why did the core Legacy of the "Six Desires Demonic Sect" focus on such an unorthodox path as the "Seven Emotions and Six Desires"?

Don't misunderstand; Lu Ming had no intention of looking down on the "Seven Emotions and Six Desires." Desires are the fundamental nature of living beings, and power has no absolute distinction between good and evil.

It was just that this path was usually considered to be more inclined toward "techniques" and "Spells," and rarely pointed directly to the root of the Great Dao, so it was somewhat puzzling!

But looking at it now, what the Six Desires Demonic Sect plotted was definitely not as simple as merely toying with human hearts and desires!

They were likely attempting to use the "Seven Emotions and Six Desires" as an entry point to leverage deeper levels of power and creation to achieve the grand blueprint of "Governing"!

Lu Ming's thoughts were like lightning, and he instantly thought of the 'Soul Devouring Demonic Sect,' which was also a demonic Grotto-Heaven.

"If even the Six Desires Demonic Sect has such profound meaning, then I'm afraid the 'Soul Devouring Demonic Sect' is also definitely not as simple as it appears on the surface. At the very least, it's definitely not as straightforward as ghost cultivation and the path of the soul!"

"Its core Legacy must also hide secrets that touch upon some high-level Great Dao!"

It was just that he was not standing high enough yet; his "lower cultivator's perspective" was too limited. Many key points were not seen clearly, and he could only make conjectures based on existing information.

"The Soul Devouring Demonic Sect... what they pursue, could it be the Great Dao of 'Life and Death'? Or the authority of 'Reincarnation'? Or..."

Lu Ming was suddenly stunned, a thought flashing through his mind like a thunderclap.

"Holy crap! No way!"

Lu Ming was shocked, feeling his scalp tingle.

He thought of the soul banner in his hand that originated from the Soul Devouring Demonic Sect, which had now transformed into the "human emperor banner."

And the [Xuanming] Law currently being nurtured inside it, as well as the initial form of the "Netherworld Underworld" scene!

Could it be that he had accidentally, through the miraculous changes of the golden book and the human emperor banner, unknowingly touched upon the true secret path of the Soul Devouring Demonic Sect?

"Isn't this just utter nonsense!"

Lu Ming subconsciously shook his head, temporarily suppressing this overly startling hypothesis.

His current level was too low and his information insufficient; too much speculation was harmful and useless, only serving to disturb his mind.