When Goddess Taiyuan saw Taiyin Star Lord Wangshu, she smiled and said:
"Why don't you come visit me in the Primordial World? What's so good about staying on Taiyin Star all the time? You might as well join me in beating up Demon Gods."
Wangshu rolled her eyes at her. "Isn't having you, the War Goddess, enough? The Five Divine Emperors need talent like you."
Li Fan sensed a trace of resentment in Goddess Taiyuan.
Wangshu said, "This time, Li Fan is promoting the Postnatal Divine Path. We'll follow your lead. Say whatever ideas you have."
"I want to bring Doumu Yuanjun over as well to promote the Incense God Path together. More people means more strength. In the end, the foundation of the Postnatal Divine Path cannot compare to the Innate Divine Path."
"We must expand our achievements from the very beginning. Later on, those neutral Postnatal Deities will definitely join the major powers."
"The Three Emperors cannot let us control all Postnatal Deities. Although the collective providence of all beings only accounts for five percent of the Primordial World's total, small gains add up. Given enough time, exceptional geniuses will eventually emerge and break through to Great Luo through the Postnatal Divine Path. That will be no small force."
"Most importantly, there are simply too many Postnatal Deities. If we bring the neutral Postnatal Deities of the Primordial World under our management, it'll be too scattered and thankless. Which of you is going to handle all that trouble?" Li Fan looked at the Three Goddesses.
Goddess Taiyuan waved her hand. "Definitely not me. I don't even manage Innate Deities. I'm busy enough as it is—I have Chaos Demon God avatars to fight."
Wangshu said calmly, "All beings are where karma gathers most intensely. I prefer peace and quiet. I'm not like Solar Star God Zhuzhao, who welcomes every god that wishes to join him."
"One problem is that it becomes a mixed bag, and another is conflict. Once any faction develops to a certain scale, resources grow scarce. To continue growing, it must expand its territory. That is unavoidable."
"I feel that the delicate balance between the four major powers of the Primordial World is slowly being broken."
Li Fan strongly agreed with Goddess Wangshu. The Dragon-Phoenix Tribulation, the Witch-Demon Calamity, and the Investiture of the Gods Tribulation of Later Generations had all been for resources and providence. Once karma became entangled, it was not something one could avoid simply by wishing to.
Within the River of Time, Li Fan informed Doumu Yuanjun, and she soon arrived at Taiyin Star.
Ziguang teased, "Taiyuan, long time no see. Taiyin Star is so lively today. Are you plotting something bad?"
Li Fan smiled. "We're preparing to do something big, to benefit sentient beings. We urgently need Goddess Ziguang to join us. Goddess Wangshu and Goddess Taiyuan have already joined. Only you are missing."
Then Li Fan told Goddess Ziguang about the Postnatal Divine Path.
Li Fan suggested, "Let's perfect the path of worship—the Incense God Path."
After one hundred thousand years of deduction, the four Great Luo Venerable Gods summarized three paths to postnatal godhood.
Li Fan's Method: Receive incense offerings, establish temples to gather incense fire, and become a god through comprehending the Heaven and Earth Laws.
Goddess Taiyuan's Method: Use the heavenly book, the Investiture of the Gods, to directly confer godhood. Its drawback was that the Divine Authority granted to the gods would divide the authority of Innate Deities, potentially triggering wars between gods.
Wangshu and Ziguang's Method: Use faith as the foundation, an upgraded version of incense fire. Its drawback was that believers would completely become the possessions of the Postnatal Deities, with no right to resist in will.
The postnatal deity methods deduced by these two goddesses are pretty dark. Better not provoke them.
"Let's discuss how to collect licensing fees."
Wangshu looked curious. "What are licensing fees?"
Li Fan pondered. "People don't cherish things that come too easily. So, we can take something in return. Incense fire and faith are toxic, but they aren't unusable. They can still be used to refine Houtian Spiritual Treasures."
"Regardless of which faction a deity belongs to, neutral or not, as long as they reach the Venerable God Realm through the Postnatal Divine Path, they must provide a certain amount of incense fire and work for one hundred thousand years."
Ziguang asked curiously, "What does working mean?"
Li Fan explained, "It means serving us in the Star Sky for one hundred thousand years. Star Gates can be built on auxiliary stars for travel. Also, I think the palaces of the Three Goddesses are not large enough. Goddess Wangshu's Guanghan Palace can be expanded, and Postnatal Deities at the Venerable God Realm can apply to join an auxiliary star."
"As long as you come, that auxiliary star will nominally belong to you, and you will become one of the Zhou Tian Star Gods. Zhuzhao has recruited so many gods—he is no peaceful god. We cannot let him interfere with the ownerless auxiliary stars within the Taiyin and Ziwei Star Domains."
Ziguang readily agreed. "Both hands in favor. The Star Sky is far too desolate. Many auxiliary stars do not even have a single person. This time, we can make the Star Sky lively."
What Li Fan had in mind was the Zhou Tian Star Array. Incense fire could be used to refine the array flags of the Zhou Tian Star Array, while the Postnatal Deities who wished to join would become manpower for setting up the formation. It never hurt to be prepared.
A win-win situation—Li Fan won twice. Hahaha!
The methods of attaining godhood through the Postnatal Divine Path had been deduced, and all preparations were complete. The four Great Luos prepared to imprint the Postnatal Divine Path into the laws of the Primordial World.
"Primordial World above, today I, Li Fan, Taiyin Star Lord Wangshu, Doumu Yuanjun Ziguang, and Central Yellow Emperor Taiyuan Goddess establish the Postnatal Divine Path, the Incense God Path."
"All sentient beings may enter our Postnatal Divine Path. May the Primordial World bear witness."
The Postnatal Divine Path officially entered the stage of the Prehistoric Universe. In an instant, many Great Luos learned the fundamental principles of the Postnatal Divine Path from the Heaven and Earth Laws.
For establishing this path, the Primordial World rewarded them with providence. The four of them divided it equally, and each gained something.
Heavenly Emperor Cangli murmured, "The Postnatal Divine Path? The struggle between innate and postnatal... I hope they can complement each other."
Human Emperor Jiutou Clan praised, "All beings have gained another choice. For Houtian Beings, this is a blessing. Admirable, truly admirable."
Hongjun pondered, "The Postnatal Divine Path and the Qi Refinement Path—how should all beings choose? Azure Emperor Yang Mei, do you Five Divine Emperors have some plans for the Primordial World?"
Yang Mei waved his hand. "You old Daoist, I don't concern myself with such matters. Go ask Taiyin Star Lord yourself."
The Primordial World suddenly became lively. One after another, they asked the ancestors of their clans about the godhood methods of the Postnatal Divine Path. The ancestors comprehended the methods from Heaven and Earth and passed them down.
Among the four Great Luos, Goddess Taiyuan's method for Postnatal Deities required her personal involvement. Li Fan asked her to use the Investiture of the Gods to confer godhood upon Postnatal Deities while she fought Demon Gods.
Li Fan was simply born to toil. He still had to go to the Primordial World to set up Teleportation Arrays and transport Postnatal Deities to build up the Star Sky.
Taiyuan and Li Fan separated as soon as they arrived in the Primordial World. In this era, without the Heavenly Court's guiding light, those below Great Luo needed vast stretches of time to travel between heaven and earth. Teleportation Arrays could reduce the time gods spent on the road.
Establishing a Teleportation Array was a complicated process involving Space Law, energy transmission, and stability control.
Li Fan's comprehension of Space Law was profound enough. After spending one hundred thousand years, he established the Nine Giant Teleportation Arrays: within the territories of the Three Emperors and the Five Divine Beast Clans, with the last one in Goddess Taiyuan's Territory.
Outside the Teleportation Arrays, Li Fan issued a Great Luo Warning: no deity was permitted to damage them. Those who did would die.
Li Fan arrived in Goddess Taiyuan's Territory. Taiyuan said, "I've already conferred godhood upon quite a few gods, but they are all too weak."
"Take it slowly. We'll wait for the flowers to bloom and bear fruit."
"Taiyuan, this is Dao Comprehension Divine Tea and Innate Spirit Fruit Huangzhong Plum for you. I'll brew you some tea. We can enjoy tea while waiting for Postnatal Deities at the Venerable God Realm to emerge."
Goddess Taiyuan drank tea brewed with Three Lights Divine Water and entered a state of enlightenment. A hundred years later, Taiyuan opened her bright eyes.
"This tea has benefited me greatly. I'm not far from the Grand Unity Tenth Heaven."
In the Primordial Unrecorded Years, Li Fan chatted and discussed the Dao with Taiyuan in her territory, and his Law of World grew even stronger.
Goddess Taiyuan entered seclusion to make her breakthrough, while Li Fan guarded her Dao. She successfully broke through to the Grand Unity Tenth Heaven, becoming one of the foremost among Great Luos.
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