Inside the Qixia Palace on Qixia Peak, Qingyang Sect.
Upon receiving the news, Patriarch Qixia did not doubt the report from True Monarch Juhui, as he believed Juhui would not lie to him. He proceeded directly to the Sect Master's hall without verification.
He reported the news there.
And intended to bring Ding Yun and the others over.
"I never expected your descendants to be affected by this. Alas, to be honest, my emotions are rather complex right now. I don't even know if I should believe those who have experienced the so-called river god encounters, especially those whose physical bodies were transformed by that river god.
Looking at these incidents, one after another.
I feel no joy, only worry!"
After hearing Patriarch Qixia's report, Sect Master Xuri's brow showed no sign of happiness, only endless concern.
For them, things beyond their control posed too great a risk. Unsolicited affection and manna from heaven were too daunting, making them hesitant to touch or accept them casually.
He felt it was a conspiracy.
A terrifying conspiracy.
The more he couldn't uncover the truth behind the events, the more he couldn't understand the problems or the poison hidden within these benefits, the more worried he became. If clear evidence of demonic sect involvement was found behind these benefits, he might feel more at ease. The unknown was the most frightening thing.
"Sect Master, if even with our cultivation levels we cannot find the slightest flaw, it can only mean that the cultivator behind this is far beyond our imagination, at least at the level of Immortals and Gods. Even if they truly intend to do something, we likely won't be able to stop them. Why not let things take their course?
At least based on the information collected so far, the river god does not seem to favor the demonic sects. Although many demonic cultivators have encountered the river god, they either failed miserably or gained nothing. Some even received the same treatment as ordinary mortals, only obtaining gold and silver, which suggests that the river god is likely righteous.
Furthermore, to speculate less pleasantly, if other sects gradually grow stronger through these river god encounters while our sect deliberately abstains, we will inevitably fall behind. This matter has likely become a general trend.
It is difficult to deliberately go against it!"
Some matters, even if everyone knows there's a problem, ultimately leave them with only two choices: either remain aloof or go with the flow. As for stopping it, people's hearts are fickle, and human greed is immense. How can it be so easily stopped? Can one person be stopped, but not thousands or millions?
An individual might still choose to remain aloof.
But how can a force remain aloof?
If you don't progress, others will. If you don't seize this opportunity, others will. Once others seize this opportunity and improve their strength, they will demand more benefits. The world's benefits are limited, and territory is finite. At that time, they will naturally bully the weak and those who haven't progressed to obtain new benefits.
This is true in the mortal world and in nations.
It is also true for cultivation sects.
Even Saints strive for destiny, let alone cultivators.
Clearly, what Sect Master Xuri had said earlier was essentially a reluctance to bring Ding Yun and her two children, who had become Golden Core cultivators through the river god, into Qingyang Sect, fearing hidden dangers. Having one Zhu XiongYing in the sect was enough; he didn't have the energy to keep an eye on so many people.
That's right, Zhu XiongYing had been taken in as his disciple.
In essence, he was also being monitored.
The subsequent words of Patriarch Qixia were primarily meant to argue that regardless of who was behind the river god, the current situation meant they were powerless to stop it. Instead of being in constant fear and warily guarding against an unknown enemy, it was better to go with the flow and accept it.
At worst, they could deal with it as it came.
Afterward, the other elders present, after careful consideration, largely agreed with Patriarch Qixia's idea. After all, in the absence of any clear harm from the river god encounters, who wouldn't be tempted by the benefits they brought?
They only regretted not having encountered it themselves.
Finally, Sect Master Xuri compromised, but with the condition that anything related to the river god was not allowed into the sect's core blessed land. He also specifically sealed off the entire core blessed land as a precaution. In the unlikely event of a truly subversive and terrifying conspiracy behind the river god, at least the sect's inheritance would be preserved.
Naturally, no one had any objections to this.
After all, the Sect Master was merely being cautious.
Then, Patriarch Qixia personally went to bring Ding Yun and the others over. Many elders and disciples of the sect, due to the lifting of restrictions, also began throwing things into rivers of all sizes, trying their luck. That's right, in certain aspects, these cultivators were not much different from ordinary mortals. As long as it was something beneficial, even if it seemed foolish, they would flock to it with blind obedience.
The more they saw relatives and acquaintances achieve success.
The more frantic they became.
The more they thought, why couldn't I be the next one to have a miraculous encounter? As long as I work harder, and throw different things into different rivers, I will surely succeed.
Good rivers were turned into wishing wells. What was most outrageous was that ordinary people only threw things into the water, made a wish, and left. These cultivators, however, threw things in, made a wish, and if the river god didn't appear, they would retrieve the items and try again in another river.
In an instant, similar incidents truly occurred all over the country, becoming a true carnival that did not distinguish between immortals and mortals, spiritual roots, or even good and evil.
After all, where is there a river without water?
Where could someone prevent others from jumping into a river?
Because there were too many people jumping into rivers and throwing things into them, and most importantly, they hadn't forgotten to chant to the river god. A key characteristic of deities is their ability to hear the prayers of their devotees. Therefore, the final result was that every time Ding Yun transformed into a river god, she would hear countless pleas and prayers, which gave her a headache.
When she was the sun god before, the divine status served as an information relay to filter things, so it was manageable. But now she wasn't a deity and didn't have a divine status to filter information.
She was somewhat overwhelmed.
To save herself some trouble and increase efficiency, Ding Yun did something significant: she fixed the randomly appearing river gods and specifically set up a program for these fixed river gods to operate according to the program. This not only saved her a lot of trouble, eliminating the need to go out and distribute wealth and treasures every day like clockwork.
It was also a good thing for the common people and cultivators.
Since the river gods had fixed locations to appear, cultivators no longer needed to fly aimlessly across the land, throwing things into different riverbeds. In this way, how could it not be a good thing?
With cultivators no longer flying around randomly, ordinary people wouldn't have to worry about a cultivator or demon appearing overhead and then getting caught in the crossfire. Although life was also dangerous before, it was safer than having cultivators flying around everywhere. Therefore, the fixing of river god appearances was naturally a good thing for the common people.
As for other issues, such as whether the rivers where the river gods appeared would be occupied by a certain sect or a powerful cultivator, Ding Yun had already prepared. If someone tried to occupy them, she would simply change the river god's appearance location. After a few such instances, those with common sense would understand that they shouldn't try to occupy them.
There are always more solutions than difficulties.
This was a perfect plan, killing three birds with one stone...