"[Preaching Altar] activated. Soul Strength -1 automatically deducted.""[Preaching Altar] Attributes: Current host's Qi Refinement Level—Stage One. Randomly drawing in three consciousnesses within a ten-thousand-mile radius… Initiating consciousness summoning…"
A string of system prompts appeared before vanishing. Immediately after, a wave of weakness and dizziness struck Lu Fan, leaving his spirit in a state of extreme fatigue—a clear side effect of the Soul Strength deduction.
Just then, a sliver of radiant light pierced through his blurred vision. It was blinding, accompanied by an irresistible pull, swallowing his very consciousness.
...
The Great Zhou Dynasty, Imperial Capital.Zijin Palace.Side Hall, Imperial Library.
The decor was grand and profound. Bookshelves stood in neat rows, stacked with ancient bamboo scrolls and aged paper tomes exuding a heavy sense of history. Beneath each shelf stood a eunuch, heads bowed respectfully. They were intimately familiar with every volume's location and, upon the library master's summons, would retrieve the required text without delay and present it reverently.
At the very heart of the library—
Lu Fan let out a breath of relief. So he was still within the Preaching Altar.
Regaining his clarity, Lu Fan's gaze shifted. "A title is required within the altar?"Could it be that the title serves to preserve one's anonymity?
After a brief deliberation, he sighed. Since his Soul Strength had already been deducted, he might as well follow the rules.
A title for preaching…
Lu Fan narrowed his eyes in thought. As a former netizen and programmer who once ruled the digital realm with a keyboard, choosing a username was as effortless as breathing.
"How about 'A Moonlit Night on the Twenty-Four Bridges'? Sounds immortal enough!"He stroked his chin and spoke with careful consideration.
"Title rejected."
The system's cold response appeared.
Lu Fan: "…"
His face stiffened slightly.
Was the name… not immortal enough?
With a solemn expression, Lu Fan tried again. "Then how about 'Where is She Who Played the Flute'?"
"Title rejected. Host, please behave with some dignity."
Lu Fan: "???"
A rare chance to unleash his personality, yet the system repeatedly shot him down. He had no choice but to compromise.
If the goal was to remain mysterious—and considering he aimed to reshape the world, a feat akin to an immortal's endeavor—he decided to style himself as a great immortal. How about Lu Daxian? Too blunt. "Lu" also sounded like "six." Perhaps "Immortal Liu Liu"… or "Immortal of the Six Paths"?
Sure enough, once he selected this more proper title, the system offered no objection.
"Preaching Title [Immortal of the Six Paths] successfully established. Please enter the Preaching Altar."
A twitch played at the corner of Lu Fan's lips—so close, yet the "great" was omitted…
Before he could voice his complaint, clarity returned to his vision.
Buzz...
Thick spiritual energy surged and roiled. Beneath the pale-blue aura hovered a massive formation altar, with Lu Fan standing at its very center. All around him stretched boundless darkness and emptiness. The spiritual energy cascaded down the altar's edges like plunging waterfalls—grand and awe-inspiring.
"This is the Preaching Altar?!"
Lu Fan's spirit trembled. Such an overwhelming abundance of spiritual energy—if it could be absorbed, one might ascend to immortality on the spot!
Yet despite his efforts, he could neither absorb nor utilize the energy—it was only visible, not tangible.
What was the purpose of this altar then? Surely not just to observe untouchable energy after paying a precious Soul Strength point?
That would be a terrible loss.
"[Preaching Altar] enables the host to construct secret realms, merge and create cultivation techniques, and forge magical artifacts."
The system's explanation surfaced.
Lu Fan was momentarily stunned. His eyes narrowed.
"Construct secret realms? Merge and create techniques? Sounds like a powerful development tool…"
He pondered.
To transform a low-tier martial world into one of fantasy and mysticism, it wasn't enough to simply flood it with spiritual energy. The people needed to feel the change—grow stronger alongside it.
As the saying goes, where there are people, there is Jianghu. The same applies to a fantasy realm—it takes people to create the mythos.
Thus, in the absence of macro-level control, Lu Fan resolved to reshape the environment by reshaping its inhabitants.
With this thought, a clear path seemed to emerge before him.
Lu Fan scanned the Preaching Altar. Only now did he realize that it was shaped like a Bagua formation, and he stood precisely at its core.
"Qian, Dui, Li, Zhen, Xun, Kan, Gen, Kun… These appear to be the eight trigrams."
His eyes narrowed at the symbols engraved on the altar.
The Bagua, originating from the I Ching, is said to have been created by Fuxi, filled with the aura of ancient mysticism.
The dual forces of Yin and Yang, the four cardinal symbols, and now this formation infused with spiritual essence had forged the very structure of the Preaching Altar beneath him.
Taking a deep breath to suppress his excitement, Lu Fan sat at the heart of the Yin-Yang diagram.
As his thoughts shifted, mystical runes before him seemed to stir like spirits—dancing.
Yet they were more than mere visual phenomena.
Lu Fan focused on the flickering symbols.
"Twenty-seven runes in total," he murmured.
Qian, Dui, Li, Zhen, Xun, Kan, Gen, Kun—corresponding to Heaven, Lake, Fire, Thunder, Wind, Water, Mountain, and Earth. Alongside the duality of Yin and Yang, that made eighteen runes. The remaining were the numbers one through nine—the Nine Extremes.
A total of twenty-seven runes.
As his thoughts moved, the runes responded—rearranging and recombining at his will.
By configuring these runes within the Preaching Altar, he could construct various "programs"—each one birthing a unique secret realm upon execution.
This damnably familiar feeling!
Wasn't this... programming?!
Lu Fan's spirit quaked.
This was his true calling!
If only the Preaching Altar didn't drain Soul Strength points… that was the only painful cost. After all, attribute points were scarce and invaluable.
Just as Lu Fan was deep in thought, the altar began to shift.
Lines of system prompts flashed before him.
"Yuwen Xiu (Identity: Emperor of Great Zhou) has entered the Preaching Altar.""Xiang Shaoyun (Identity: Governor of Western Province) has entered the Preaching Altar.""Nie Changqing (Identity: Butcher of Beiluo City) has entered the Preaching Altar."
Hm?
Lu Fan blinked.
He already knew the altar would randomly summon three consciousnesses—so that didn't surprise him.
What startled him were their identities.
The first two were grand—an emperor and a governor. Impressive.
But the third…
A butcher from Beiluo City? What kind of joke was that?