The other cultivators had no way of guessing Li Ling's true thoughts, but the Incense Accumulation Sect had made its willingness to draw closer to the Divine Path plain. The others were happy to see it happen, and promptly chose to trade with it for exemptions for some of their disciples.
They were not particularly willing to let their own elites fall into the Divine Path, preferring to reduce their quotas instead.
"Wouldn't that leave the other disciples from humble backgrounds without a chance? Not everyone can reach Foundation Establishment or Core Formation, and even those who do may not have a future of longevity and immortality..."
The disciples who had accompanied Li Ling to this "Peaches of Immortality Banquet" were bewildered. In their view, opening up the Apotheosis system offered considerable benefits to lower-level cultivators. Why did those people always flee from it as though they could not get away fast enough?
For a moment, they had forgotten that a single general's triumph was built on ten thousand withered bones. While mighty experts attained eternal life, countless others inevitably saw their futures laid to waste.
The vast majority of cultivators never saw any hope of advancing their cultivation throughout their entire lives.
But no one cared. Even they themselves had long since grown accustomed to it.
Naturally, Li Ling wanted his disciples to have good futures, but if there truly was no other way forward, he did not mind sending them onto the Divine Path.
The Incense Path enjoyed the advantages offered by the Divine Path's incense offerings, and their ties might well deepen in the future.
Thus, this arrangement allowed him to advance on the offensive or retreat on the defensive, giving him considerable room to respond at ease.
Several days later, within Cloud Above Heaven, Li Ling