Chapter Sixty-One: The Subtle Use of Faith

“Did you notice anything strange about that Dafeng?”
Back in the Heavenly Court, Li Tian recalled Dafeng’s words and couldn’t help but furrow his brow, turning to ask Nuwa.
“What’s wrong?”
Nuwa asked in surprise, not having given the matter much thought. In her eyes, Dafeng was little more than an insignificant ant, not worth her attention.
“It’s nothing.” Li Tian shook his head, offering no further explanation.
It was merely a fleeting thought, so he didn’t dwell on it. Unable to find an answer, he quickly cast it from his mind.
...
Upon returning to the Palace of Mirro, Li Tian received a report from Qin Yuan: two quasi-saints had come to pledge allegiance, named the Lord of the East and the Queen Mother of the West.
Hearing their names, Li Tian was momentarily surprised, but soon regained his composure.
After all, so many years had passed, and every year countless powerful beings sought to join him; he had grown numb to such things.
Today, the Heavenly Court already counted hundreds of quasi-saints among its ranks, so one or two more meant little to him.
Nevertheless, these two had come to offer their loyalty, so it would not do to slight them. He decided to receive them in the Hall of Lingxiao.
“I wonder, what brings you siblings to pledge yourselves to the Heavenly Court?”
Li Tian sat high upon his throne, smiling as he looked down at the Lord of the East and the Queen Mother of the West.
Born of primordial yin and yang, both possessed strikingly perfect appearances, though the Lord of the East wore garments reminiscent of a certain island’s style, which Li Tian found somewhat displeasing.
Of course, this was merely a private thought; he did not let it show.
Having been Emperor of Heaven for so many years, he had learned to mask his emotions.
“The Heavenly Emperor’s wondrous arts are boundless; we siblings have admired them for a long time,” the Lord of the East said, cupping his hands in praise.
Li Tian smiled, but said little more. He summoned the ceremonial officials and instructed, “Issue a decree: bestow the title ‘Lord of the East’ upon the Lord of the East, and ‘Lord of the West’ upon the Queen Mother of the West!”
“Thank you, Heavenly Emperor!”
At these words, the Lord of the East immediately pulled the Queen Mother of the West into a respectful bow.
“Very well.” Li Tian nodded, satisfied with their attitude. His earlier displeasure vanished in an instant.
He instructed Qin Yuan to arrange accommodations for the pair, then returned to the Palace of Mirro.
He was ready to thoroughly explore the wonders of the power of faith.

...

The three thousand great paths, each leads directly to the essence of all things; in fact, from a certain perspective, even the Heavenly Dao itself is built upon these three thousand great paths.
Yet, when the Heavenly Dao manifests, the great paths remain hidden.
Under the Heavenly Dao, nothing can directly touch the great paths.
But nothing is absolute; with the aid of the power of faith, one may enter a marvelous state.
In this state, one is free from the constraints of the Heavenly Dao and can directly perceive the essence of all things...
Li Tian now found himself in such a marvelous state. At this moment, everything he sensed around him brimmed with infinite mysteries.
Roaming through these boundless mysteries, Li Tian couldn’t help but recall the three thousand great paths discussed by Hongjun in the Palace of Zixiao.
Yet, compared to what he now perceived, Hongjun’s teachings barely scratched the surface.
As time passed, more and more power of faith poured into his body.
In his perception, the endless mysteries around him grew ever clearer.
After countless years, Li Tian finally glimpsed traces of the great path within the essence of endless flames, thus attaining a hint of the path of fire.
His true form was the primordial golden crow, born with the essence of the sun’s true fire, already attuned to the path of fire.
Thus, most of his time was spent delving into the source of flames.
Now, after so many years, it was only natural that he should begin to comprehend the path of fire.
But this was not enough.
With ever more power of faith entering his body, Li Tian devoted himself further to understanding the path of fire.
Yet, as time went on, his progress slowed, inching along in increments: 0.001%, 0.0012%, 0.00123%...
At last, after ten thousand years passed with no further progress, Li Tian ceased his meditation.
By chance, he then gained a glimpse of the path of wind, and soon immersed himself in its mysteries.
Countless years later, Li Tian also gained a hint of the path of wood, and fell into contemplation there...
Then came the path of yin and yang, the path of the five elements...
Li Tian understood the wisdom of not overreaching.
Originally, he intended only to grasp the path of fire, but immersed in the boundless mysteries, such things were beyond his control.
It was as if you set out to learn just one thing from an encyclopedia, but upon opening the book, you inevitably find yourself drawn to other topics, learning them unconsciously...

Moreover, there seemed to be reasons behind Li Tian’s insights into these paths.
For example, the path of wind and the path of yin and yang were likely related to the Great Peng, while the path of wood and the five elements perhaps came from the Peacock (Kong Xuan).
...
Countless years passed. When tens of thousands of years brought no further progress, Li Tian finally opened his eyes.
He had now gained hints of five paths: wind, fire, wood, yin and yang, and the five elements, with fire being the most profound.
Stepping out of the Palace of Mirro, he calculated that several million years had gone by.
Millions of years’ contemplation, yet all he had to show were a few faint traces of the great paths—so insubstantial, he wondered if it was worth the effort.
After all, beneath the Heavenly Dao, its power is limitless.
Whatever the great paths can achieve, the power of the Heavenly Dao can as well.
Though Hongjun once said, “I have attained the great path, and may become a Saint of the Dao, transcending the Heavenly Dao,” Li Tian now understood the difficulty firsthand.
After so long, even his deepest insight—the path of fire—amounted to no more than one or two ten-thousandths, and now seemed stalled.
It made sense; in the legends of the future, countless great beings of the primordial era, endless aeons... even after the extinction of the wilderness, none ever truly attained a single great path.
Even Pan Gu, Hongjun, and the three thousand chaotic gods and demons, blessed beyond compare, did not expect to fully comprehend an entire great path.
“But at least it’s a goal worth striving for.”
Muttering to himself, Li Tian prepared to gather more power of faith.
After so many years, the Palace of the Heavenly Emperor among the human race now numbered in the hundreds of thousands, nearly reaching saturation—any further construction seemed unnecessary.
But this was due to the limited numbers of the human race. Besides humans, there was another, far more populous race in the wilderness: the demon race!
Li Tian narrowed his eyes, entertaining the idea of building Heavenly Emperor Palaces among the demons as well.
He wondered whether the demon race could generate power of faith.
It ought to be possible.