♂,
"So, an eighth-grade Dao Body and a ninth-grade qi disk are useless?" I hurriedly asked. After all, if the ninth-grade qi disk was useless, I would be stuck at the eighth-grade Dao Body.
However, Bai Ruqi said, "No. Even a ninth-grade one would still suit you if it had sufficient years of power. It's just that, Xia Xianjia, think about it. Even if we have so many guardians, not every one of them is outstanding enough to accumulate sufficient True Immortal qi for you to advance. Without True Immortal qi, even the cleverest housewife can't cook without rice."
"Mm, that's true. Then what do ordinary eighth-grade cultivators rely on to advance to the seventh grade? What about advancing further? Do they simply cultivate continuously for hundreds or even thousands of years?" I pressed her for an answer.
"Cultivating year after year is the same everywhere, isn't it? Precisely because there are so many difficulties, one has to cultivate for a hundred or a thousand years. Could it be that Xia Xian hasn't gone through such long cultivation before? However, it isn't entirely like that. Once you reach the eighth grade, things become less difficult. Take Li Chengqi, for example. He's also eighth grade, but I heard that at his level, he receives a share of the merits earned by subordinate divine officials and guardians like us. We don't know exactly how much, but I've never seen him lacking merits. In fact, he even has a surplus to give to other High Gods in exchange for merit missions for us." Bai Ruqi explained.
"So that's how it is. I get it now—it's just like running a pyramid scheme. It's simple. The more minor gods you recruit below you, the more downlines you develop. The more downlines you have, the more