Lü Yang carefully questioned the three White Lotus Sect Divine Monarchs about their teachings and developnt model. The results left him utterly astonished.
"Master, there is sothing you don’t know."
The three Divine Monarchs were Qing Lian, Zi Lian, and Jin Lian. Among them, Zi Lian was a Great Divine Monarch comparable to the Mid-phase of Foundation Establishnt, while Jin Lian had even reached Mid-stage Perfection.
Naturally, it was the Golden Lotus Divine Monarch who spoke first:
"Although our White Lotus Sect bewitches people’s hearts, we don’t just deceive them. If we truly only lied and offered no real benefits, we could never gather so many followers."
"Besides, controlling the minds of those we’ve bewitched requires casting spells daily, which is incredibly troubleso. The Incense they produce is far less pure than that of true fanatics. So, unless absolutely necessary, we generally don’t use such Magic. We rely more on providing real benefits to win the followers’ heartfelt devotion."
"Indeed, indeed!"
The Cyan Lotus Divine Monarch hurriedly chid in, "The holy land of our sect, the [Void Ho], is a true paradise. Those who live there are free from disaster, hardship, and fear."
"All our followers yearn for it."
"That is why they believe so deeply in the White Lotus Sect."
The Zi Lian Divine Monarch also explained, "Every year, we select the most devout among our followers and send them to the [Void Ho] to enjoy ultimate bliss."
"We then use them as an example."
"When the remaining followers see this, they naturally follow suit, their hearts filled with longing. They work even harder to contribute to the sect, offering all their Money and faith..."
After the three Divine Monarchs’ explanation, Lü Yang quickly understood how the White Lotus Sect operated. And he was left in a state of profound shock.
"Wait, you guys actually *support* your followers?"
That was right. According to the three Divine Monarchs, the [Void Ho] was actually supporting fanatical followers, spending an incalculable amount of Money on them every day!
The operational model was simple: use the many to support the few. They used the hard-earned Money of countless low-level White Lotus Sect mbers to support the fanatical followers in the [Void Ho]. Then, they would cull the ranks periodically and recruit new blood to ensure circulation, thereby maintaining a stable supply of Incense for the entire sect.
"There’s nothing we can do about it."
The Golden Lotus Divine Monarch sighed, "These unruly commoners... you have to give them sothing to hope for. Otherwise, they’ll cause trouble. And once they do, people’s hearts beco unstable, and the Incense diminishes..."
"However, the sect has been facing many difficulties in recent years."
"Although our screening process is already very strict, the number of followers in the [Void Ho] keeps increasing, and the daily expenditure of Money grows larger and larger."
"In the last few months, the sect’s inco can no longer cover its expenses. That’s why we sent disciples to this remote place—to open up new sources of Incense and recruit more useful, hard-working followers. After all, the more followers we have at the bottom, the better life is for those in the [Void Ho] at the top."
"You people..."
Hearing this, Lü Yang shook his head and looked at the three Divine Monarchs with an expression of bitter disappointnt. "Is that all the White Lotus Sect amounts to? Your thods are far too upright!"
"...Huh?"
The three Divine Monarchs were suddenly taken aback. They were used to being called an evil cult, but this was the first ti anyone had ever described the White Lotus Sect’s thods as "too upright."
Then, they heard Lü Yang say coolly, "In the end, why do you even use Money to support them?"
"What else can we do?"
The Golden Lotus Divine Monarch asked, puzzled, "Followers are still human. As humans, they need to eat, they have desires, and they need to enjoy themselves. All of that requires Money to achieve..."
"You still consider followers human?"
"Can’t you just use a little Illusion Technique? Make cornbread look like gourt delicacies, make tattered clothes look like silks and satins, then delude their senses into thinking it’s all real. Wouldn’t that achieve the sa effect and save all that Money?"
In Lü Yang’s opinion, even that was a waste.
After all, the Myriad-Soul Banner was far more efficient. Once soone beca a Banner Spirit, they didn’t need to eat at all. They could live on Spiritual Qi, and the banner could manifest any luxury imaginable.
A perfect example of cost reduction and efficiency improvent.
Not to ntion, Banner Spirits were special. No matter what they thought before, once they voluntarily entered the banner, their hearts were filled with nothing but loyalty, and their faith-fueled Incense was exceptionally pure.
"Alright, take to see your followers."
Lü Yang gave the order, and the three Divine Monarchs dared not disobey. After all, as Divine Monarchs of the White Lotus Sect, they each had their own private plot of land for harvesting Incense.
........
「Seven Luminaries Heaven. Several remote cities.」
The City God Temples here had long been deserted. Every household worshiped tablets of the White Lotus Sect, praying sincerely to them day and night.
But in the last few days, things had changed.
Previously, the responses from the tablets were all about recounting the White Lotus Teachings and presenting the beauty of the [Void Ho], firing up the followers with zeal.
Recently, however, a new na had appeared.
[Li Hen Heaven]
"Leave behind all the fears and hardships of the mortal world, its lingering hatreds, and go to the highest Heaven. And there are no conditions—anyone can go voluntarily..."
At first, no one believed it.
However, when the White Lotus Sect Divine Monarchs they had originally worshiped appeared in person to preach, they had no choice but to believe. Besides, Lü Yang had packaged it very well.
"Everyone, your days of suffering are over!"
"The good days are about to begin!"
"The Mother of Non-Birth has descended to the world and is willing to save all living beings! All followers, regardless of gender or age, can enter [Li Hen Heaven] and enjoy eternal bliss from this day forward..."
Who wouldn’t be swayed by that?
Especially since everyone present was a follower of the White Lotus Sect. Which one of them didn’t think their faith was devout? With the endorsent of their own Divine Monarchs, this had to be real!
In an instant, the crowd was in an uproar.
Lü Yang didn’t even need to do anything. He just opened the entrance to the Myriad-Soul Banner and left it there, and countless people surged forward, one after another, to rush inside.
What they had believed in before was unimportant.
First, he used the na of the [Mother of Non-Birth] to trick them inside. Once they were in the banner, what they believed in would be up to him, wouldn’t it? It was a simple matter of a few words.
"HISS...!"
Seeing this, the three Divine Monarchs of the White Lotus Sect all sucked in a cold breath. But Lü Yang’s expression was calm, without a trace of emotion.
When a living person entered the banner, like Chen Xin’an and Progenitor Tingyou, they didn’t truly die. Aside from becoming absolutely loyal to him, there were basically no other changes.
Perhaps so people would find this cruel.
But in the Stain Sect, we generally call it "efficient."
’Still, I can’t just take them all in one go. For now, this is just a necessary evil to accumulate Incense. After all, Banner Spirits can’t have children.’
Once things stabilized later on, Lü Yang’s plan was to open a "Myriad-Soul Banner Senior Service Center."
In short, he would only convert the elderly who were near the end of their natural lifespans but had not yet truly died into Banner Spirits, thereby achieving a sustainable form of "draining the pond to catch the fish."
’At that ti, I can also issue a new doctrine. I’ll say that as long as you work hard when you’re young and have three or four children, you’ll be able to achieve Ascension to the Celestial Realm and enjoy a life of bliss in your old age. That way, not only can I achieve explosive population growth, but I can also carry out a large-scale harvest almost every year.’
Wouldn’t that be wonderful?
Thinking of this, Lü Yang grinned and released the people who had been converted into Banner Spirits, not making them change their faith imdiately.
"No need to rush... If you’re patient, things will turn out perfectly."
Changing their faith too quickly could easily alarm the White Lotus Sect, especially the [Mother of Non-Birth]. A great deity comparable to soone at Foundation Establishnt Perfection was not soone he could handle right now.
So, he would consu them bit by bit!
Using the current White Lotus Sect followers who had been turned into Banner Spirits as his foundation, he would gradually consu the rest of the sect’s followers, until he had replaced the very lifeblood of the entire White Lotus Sect!
Once all the followers of the White Lotus Sect had beco Banner Spirits...
...what could the [Mother of Non-Birth] possibly do?
By then, the true orthodoxy of the White Lotus Sect would lie in [Li Hen Heaven]!
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