Fight for Your Own Pride

Though the more prominent shrines of Incense Gods were always located in the centers of towns, these Incense Gods could not simply settle down and stay there.

In the Northern Jambu Continent, Incense Gods were a product of compromise, and if one were to be honest, the Incense Gods had made the greater concessions.

The path of incense worship, as things stood, was hardly an orthodox path to immortality.

It was merely a way to pacify the wild demons of the mountains back in the day.

When the treaty was first established, Incense Gods were allowed to erect shrines, but they could not take up residence in towns. Even if they truly wished to benefit the people under their care, they could not act directly.

The essence of this arrangement was that the immortals of that time wished to prevent demons from truly gaining control over the common people.

The treaty placed many restrictions upon the Incense Gods.

At the time, the treaty seemed rather humiliating, but now the situation had completely changed. The current treaty had become the greatest guarantee of protection for these Incense Gods.

Most Incense Gods had established their cave dwellings on their respective mountain peaks.

Those with prestige and cultivation could even open their own palaces and take on followers. Most demons who lacked background or cultivation insufficient to establish their own shrines would temporarily place themselves under the command of these top-tier Incense Gods.

Within the shrines, a small side hall would be set up, where the incense and prayer power would be channeled to these lesser demons who could not establish their own shrines.

In the Northern Jambu Continent, truly prestigious Incense Gods were never solitary beings. They always had many skilled demons under their command.

But what mattered most to the Evil Spirit Sect was that these Incense Gods had to establish their cave dwellings deep in the mountains and forests.

After all, violent conflicts inevitably led to accidents. If innocent mortals were caught in the crossfire and news leaked out, the consequences would be incalculable.

If someone were to slaughter people in the Northern Jambu Continent openly, even a fool would know they would be hunted back to their very homes by the Eighteen Immortal Sects.

But within the cave dwellings of these Incense Gods, there were plenty of ways to get things done.

Before making their move, the Evil Spirit Sect had prepared thoroughly. They had gathered intelligence, confirmed cultivation levels, and sent operatives who either overpowered the enemy in cultivation or overwhelmed them in numbers.

Many of their key members from the Core Fusion stage also participated in person.

Over the past thousand years, the Incense Gods had stood divided, constantly competing for prayer power. They had no immediate awareness of anything major brewing.

Some Incense Gods might have speculated that this newly emerging group of Incense Gods had considerable backing, but none would have imagined it was the work of the Evil Spirit Sect.

Most of the targeted Incense Gods only realized something was terribly wrong when the Evil Spirit Sect had already surrounded their cave dwellings.

These Incense Gods were well-informed within their own circles, but when it came to matters outside the Northern Jambu Continent, they were as blind as bats.

Under such an imbalance of information, and with the Evil Spirit Sect—a heretical organization with no moral boundaries—making the move,

a one-sided defeat in the early stages was inevitable.

But just as the Evil Spirit Sect thought they had acted in secrecy and could at least buy some time,

Cui Hao casually passed along information to the blind side.

For Cui Hao, too one-sided a slaughter by the Evil Spirit Sect would quickly cause the Incense Gods to lose the will to resist.

After all, as things stood, the Evil Spirit Sect did not intend to swallow the entire Northern Jambu Continent—nor did they have the strength to do so.

These Incense Gods, frightened by the bloodshed, might collectively choose to back down.

That kind of loss among the Incense Gods would not be enough to fulfill Cui Hao’s original plan.

What he wanted was an open, full-blown battle between the two sides, where real hatred took root.

He needed to push the Incense Gods into a quagmire where they could not win but had no choice but to fight.

Northern Jambu Continent, Deep Water Ravine, Mountain Cover King’s Cave.

The once rarely seen Incense Gods of Nascent Soul stage were now mostly gathered here. Among them, keen observers could even spot a few who had not shown their faces for years, yet had already reached the Divinity Transformation stage.

If incense worship was practiced merely as a supplementary path—without greed or reckless pursuit, and with devotion to bitter cultivation—then the ceiling of growth would not be set too low.

For example, Mountain Cover King—an incredibly clever wild boar spirit—

had managed to ascend to the Core Fusion stage, and the path of incense worship had left few lasting marks upon him.

Only a figure of such stature could organize this grand assembly of Incense Gods.

Mountain Cover King sat upright in the seat of honor, his appearance transformed into human form. He looked like a kind-faced elder with completely white hair and beard, and blotched wrinkles marking his age.

For a wild spirit in the mountains, if it lacked a heavenly opportunity, its limit might well be what Mountain Cover King had achieved.

Mountain Cover King wore a benevolent expression. He drew little prayer power for himself; what little he collected was all reserved for the subordinate gods under his command.

Over the centuries, he had even conceded many of his shrines to other Incense Gods.

He lacked nothing in prestige, strength, or kindness.

“Everyone is here, and you all know the news,” Mountain Cover King said, his gaze sweeping over the dozen or more Incense Gods of Nascent Soul stage and above seated before him. “That batch of Incense Gods that showed up from somewhere—they have backing. Now that they’re cornered, they’ve started striking ruthlessly.”

“By the latest count, at least eight Incense Gods who had established their own palaces have fallen out of contact.”

“No information has come out, which means the enemy is at least at the Divinity Transformation stage or higher—far beyond what we imagined.”

Mountain Cover King spoke slowly, word by word.

But the Incense Gods below all wore humble expressions, silently waiting for him to finish.

Mountain Cover King let out a soft sigh.

“Perhaps some of you received favors earlier and gave them face, and then this slaughter might not have happened.”

“But it’s too late now. Their methods are merciless—I’m afraid they won’t stop until they are satisfied.”

When his words faded, the hall fell silent.

A Fox Incense God, strikingly beautiful in appearance, waited a moment to be sure Mountain Cover King had finished his opening remarks, then spoke in a gentle tone.

“Your Majesty, do you know who these attackers are? From my observations earlier, those were just dragons standing shrines were only at the Qi Refining or Foundation Establishment stage—nowhere near qualified to establish shrines.”

“I don’t think similar beings from other continents would be generous enough to let such low-level demons build shrines. I suspect there is human manipulation behind this.”

“Considering the such brutal methods, could it be that humans intend to break the balance of the Northern Jambu Continent?”

“I have spent much time reading human books, and one line resonates with our current situation: ‘Not of our kind, their heart is different.’”

“Now that Chu Xingchen has answered the great tribulation, and demons are running rampant, is it possible they intend to eradicate us—those who are not human?”

“If the tide of destiny is sweeping against us, then we have no choice but to submit, or abandon these incense prayers and hide in some remote wilderness, just barely scraping by.”

“After all, our words no longer carry as much weight as they once did.”

Upon hearing this, Mountain Cover King fell silent briefly, then lifted his gaze to fix it on the far-seeing Fox Incense God.

The Fox Incense God was dressed in plain clothes, with a green jade hairpin gathering her hair. Her eyes held only worry and deep, steady composure.

Once she finished speaking, many Incense Gods who lacked such far-reaching insight revealed stark, fearful expressions.

Some enemies, from the moment they were known, were fated to be beyond their power to oppose.

“It should not be the case,” Mountain Cover King said, subtly shaking his head. Even then, he could not openly admit it here. His tone softened, “In the thousands of years of Northern Jambū Continent, the covenant of that time was sworn by Heaven.”

“But your concerns are not without reason. Instead of relying on mercy, I’d say it’s better to do everything we can.”

“For instance... this formidable enemy who has come with such force.”

Fox Incense God pondered for a moment, then asked:

“Mountain Cover King intends to confront them head-on?”

Mountain Cover King gave a slight nod, then stood up, revealing the Daoist resonance of his Unity realm:

“The rights and wrongs of the past no longer matter. Anyone can squeeze a fruit that is easy to grasp. If we don’t stand up for ourselves, we will only have to swallow even more grievances.”