"Ancient deities came in many kinds.
Some deities were eternal and unchanging. Whether we worshiped them or not, they existed. They might not even care that we existed, yet we sought opportunities to survive through them.
They were among the oldest deities.
We called them Ancient Gods, the most ancient of deities.
There were also deities who needed us. They needed us to remember them, needed our thoughts and incense offerings to sustain their worship.
We gave them forms and appearances, making them increasingly real.
Through our worship, they grew stronger and stronger. The Yellow River Earl fell somewhere between these two kinds.
He did not need worship, but he did not reject it either, so the River Earl was not bound by incense offerings and thoughts.
Nor could they bind him.
Your path of cultivation differs from mine. Yours is bolder. To advance further, you need the Thoughts of the Multitude to support you.
The River Earl's aura protects you. Even if you gather the Thoughts of the Multitude, you will have no problems.
The Yellow River Earl has the right to establish his own seat of authority.”
Granny Weiming explained patiently. In truth, her words were profoundly blasphemous.
She was far too rational.
She showed little reverence for deities, either. Lin Feng looked at Granny Weiming and detected no scent of incense offerings on her.
Granny Weiming looked at Lin Feng and said, "In fact, I am a god too, a god even while alive. I can gather clouds and bring rain. I can disperse a bank of snow clouds and protect a tribe.
I can keep company with the spirits in the mountains and ask them to do things for me. For some years, people in certain tribes regarded me as a divine being, but I refused."