Qiu Yan had barely spoken half his piece when the thoughts of the other chief ministers were violently shaken. Especially that phrase, "using humans to encroach upon the stars"—it made everyone present change expression again and again, Ma Yang and Wang Fu included.
One had to know that since ancient times, the stars had represented something transcendent and mysterious. Many Sages had speculated and explored, yet even now, the notion that the stars were the dwelling places of gods had only continued to deepen. They represented a realm distinct from the Human Path.
Even observation was merely for recording and seeking omens, never for laying hands upon them or incorporating them into one's own system.
Seeing their expressions, Qiu Yan naturally understood why they were shocked. He said, "Ancient lore holds that gods dwell among the stars, that they belong to a realm different from the Human Path. Ordinary mortals cannot investigate the truth of the stars by their own strength, much less gain enlightenment from them. But with this Armillary Sphere and telescope, that may change. This is not merely to investigate the blood-red sky, but also to prepare for the Human Path's future expansion and defense."
"Expansion and defense?"
Qiu Yan's words, and the meaning revealed behind them, were simply too shocking. Even Cai Que forgot to make trouble for Qiu Yan, instead chewing over the implications of his words.
To use the Human Path to taint the Divine Path was no simple matter of observation. It meant reproducing, through the methods of the Human Path, phenomena that could be explained by the Divine Path, and thereby interpreting them. This was an act that would shake the foundations of the Divine Path and would inevitably draw its blows and suppression!
Only in Donghua, where the Divine Path could