Chapter 257: Chapter 210: The Stronger the Weaker, the Weaker the Stronger (Part 2)
"Is this... the power of Evil Qi?"
Du Chengfeng vaguely sensed that this power seemed somewhat familiar, but upon deeper thought, he always felt there was some discrepancy—because this power was not just entwined with the weapon, but a part of it was being wielded by the Yin priest himself.
This Yin priest, after undergoing seven so-called "rituals," actually obtained powers comparable to ghosts and gods.
And now, the eighth ritual was completed as well.
All came silently, as if nothing had happened. At least in the eyes of the few bystanding Yin Warriors, there seemed to be no change in this robust priest—but from the perspective of the Bronze Halberd, Du Chengfeng could clearly feel that mysterious power surging within the body of the Yin priest.
Certainly, he did not feel the presence of any supposed ghosts or gods, yet this Yin priest truly obtained power.
"In other words, achieving one’s set goals allows one to obtain power?"
Though he somewhat concluded this, Du Chengfeng still felt that something was not quite right; this conclusion was still too superficial as he had not yet touched upon the true essence of this method.
Likewise, just like Du Chengfeng, the Yin priest also felt something was amiss after gaining this power.
"Not enough."
Despite having formidable power, the Yin priest furrowed his brow.
"Completely not enough."
Indeed, not enough at all, for while this powerful strength could destroy half a city with a single strike, comparably to ghosts or gods, it merely reached that level—the Yin priest had not yet become omnipotent like a true ghost or god, still trapped in his mortal coil.
"Could it be because I do not believe enough?"
The Yin priest clenched the blade of the Yue Saber in his hand.
Not believe enough?
Du Chengfeng suddenly realized the crux of the matter.
Yes, he should have realized it before, whether it was the set goals or these so-called rituals, rather than achieving some kind of sacrament, it was more about making oneself believe, believe that one can gain power through these means.
"Could it really be done this way?"
Du Chengfeng was rendered speechless; he had never thought that weaker would become stronger, and stronger would become weaker, and that someone could indeed find a solution to this paradox.
Furthermore, this solution appeared feasible.
After all, the other four Yin Warriors indeed grew stronger, even though they only experienced part of the rituals, but they truly gained formidable power, becoming far stronger than when they just set off.
The only one who did not reach his expectations was the Yin priest who orchestrated all of this.
The priest who personally organized these series of rituals understood all too well, and precisely because of this, seeds of doubt sprouted in the priest’s heart.
This slight doubt caused the effects of the rituals to diminish greatly upon him.
This also made the Yin priest increasingly disheartened.
As the war came to an end, the Warriors naturally returned to the city in triumph, with the other Warriors celebrating, only this priest chose to drink—though it seemed like he was drowning his sorrows in alcohol, in fact, it was quite the opposite. In the language of the Yin people, wine is the essence of grains, a treasure that can communicate with ghosts and gods.
As for the method of communication, naturally, it is by drinking.
The more you drink, the more devout you seem, the drunker you get, the more you can communicate with the ghosts and gods in the void.
Thus, the robust priest used bronze wineware to heat the wine, then filtered out the impurities, leaving only the pure wine broth, and then drank cup after cup without stopping, soon becoming intoxicated.
"In other words, using alcohol intoxication to suppress reason?"
Du Chengfeng’s train of thought became ever clearer.
No wonder that Bronze Halberd immediately asked him for wine and meat after speaking to him before.
He now saw the role of wine, and as for meat, it likely did not refer to the meat for consumption but to those living sacrifices used in the rituals.
Clearly, while the phrase "a firm will can change everything" was concluded by the Chu people, before the Chu people, others had also realized this point—unlike the Chu people who followed a seemingly hollow goal of "using overbearing power to suppress everything," these former Yin people not only discovered this point but also summarized it into a relatively effective enhancement model.
Using "wine" and "meat" to make oneself believe, thereby becoming firm, and then gaining power from this firmness.
"Remarkable..."
Du Chengfeng couldn’t help but admire it.
This system also inspired him greatly, as he too was troubled by a similar dilemma—or rather, whether it was him or the nameless giant, those who inherited the war tactics of the former Chu people actually all faced similar difficulties.
When they could no longer find an opponent, when they could no longer see a stronger direction, how should they become stronger?
And now, this Yin priest provided an answer.
"Impossible, absolutely impossible, I can’t just stop here, I absolutely can take another step forward!"
The drunk Yin priest pointed at the moon, shouting loudly.
"I must become a ghost god! I can definitely do it!"
"..."
Du Chengfeng listened intently.
Perhaps to ordinary people, this was just a regular drunken outburst, but in Du Chengfeng’s eyes, this Yin priest was not merely drunk—under the intoxication of alcohol, the priest’s rationality had finally been stripped away, exposing that most intense desire hidden deep within his heart.
Perhaps this is the ghost god the Yin people wanted to communicate with.
Not some high and mighty powerful being, nor some hidden presence in the void, but the inner demon lurking deep within the heart of this Yin priest.
The Yin priest was trying to induce his heart’s inner demon, to make himself believe, to make himself persist, even if it’s blind belief, it didn’t matter.
After all, as long as one could gain power, it was enough; as long as the power was strong enough, everything would submit.
"...Seems like it fits."
Du Chengfeng sighed.
Indeed, it fits perfectly; this is what the Chu people referred to as "domineering," the thing that many Chu people pursued their entire life, which the former Yin people considered merely as scraps.
Blind belief requires domineering, non-blind belief naturally does not; believing without being blind means one is actually walking the right path, so why would one need to suppress anything with domineering?
Not needing to suppress anything with domineering, that was the most ideal situation in the eyes of the Yin people.
Just this understanding of power alone made the Yin priest surpass the Chu people of later generations.
"This is the Yin people..."
The more Du Chengfeng understood his opponent, the more he felt that strength.
Although theoretically, these ancient people couldn’t be stronger than later generations, but that was only relatively speaking, and for these inherently elite warriors of the Yin people, this thinking clearly did not apply—in fact, limited by the context of their time, their vision might not have been broad, and their understanding of things wouldn’t be as deep as in later generations, but if given a little time to broaden their horizons, if given a chance to learn new things, these ancient mighty warriors would eventually shine brilliantly again.
The former Yin people were already very powerful, yet they continued to evolve on top of that strength.
"Remarkable."
Finishing viewing the memories left on the bronze fragments, Du Chengfeng couldn’t help but exclaim once again.
"Surely in the end, this Yin priest did become a ghost god."
