"We pay our respects to Your Majesty, the Battle Saint King!"
Even the Supreme Ones of the Heavens had to address him with the honorific 'Your Majesty'.
Ye Chen's gaze fell directly upon the Buddha Patriarch.
The Buddha Patriarch naturally knew of his existence and understood his power, yet remained utterly unperturbed. He pressed his palms together and said peacefully, "This humble monk greets Benefactor Ye."
Ye Chen smiled, without the slightest imposing aura of a Chaos Giant. He was as mild as an ordinary person, speaking politely, "Buddha Patriarch, I have some questions I wish to consult you about."
"Benefactor Ye, you are too kind. Please, come inside."
"Agreed!"
The assembled Supreme Ones parted, clearing a path.
Ye Chen walked side by side with the Buddha Patriarch. Aside from the Profound God Great Emperor who followed slightly behind, the other Supreme Ones trailed in after them, their Emperor auras restrained, appearing like ordinary people.
Great Thunderclap Monastery, Mahavira Hall.
The Supreme Ones sat cross-legged on floor cushions, the ground spotless and free of dust.
Ye Chen also sat cross-legged on a cushion. To be honest, this was his first time visiting the Great Thunderclap Monastery.
He sat facing the Buddha Patriarch and said, "Buddha Patriarch, what is the difference between Faith Power, mental power, and willpower?"
Once, Ye Chen believed that Faith Power was both mental power and willpower, merely different names for the same thing in the world.
But as his cultivation gradually deepened, he also gradually discerned the differences between the three.
Especially in the last ten thousand years, he had spent some time researching them from the level of a Supreme Giant, perceiving many mysteries.
They seemed similar, but in reality, they had fundamental differences.
However, after all, his research in this path had been too brief. Even as a Ten Thousand Ancient Giant, he could not completely comprehend this path thoroughly in a short time. Perhaps seeking guidance from the Buddha Patriarch, a great achiever on this path, would be better.
All the Supreme Ones listened attentively.
The Buddha Patriarch pressed his palms together and said, "Faith is the sincere belief and reverence that all living beings hold in their hearts for a certain being or object. It can be a person, a demon, a devil, or even a stone, a mountain, a city... everything in the world can become an object of faith. Faith means becoming a believer, trusting in the existence one believes in, viewing it as a deity."
"Faith Power can also be considered a type of mental power, the intangible mental power of believers towards the object of their faith. But Faith Power also separates from mental power, belonging solely to the aspect of faith."
"Mental power is thought. There are countless thoughts—joy, anger, sorrow, happiness, the seven emotions and six desires—all are forms of thought."
"Thinking is also thought. Dreaming is also thought."
"Different thoughts produce different mental powers."
"Willpower is the same, a type of mental power. It is the wishes of all living beings for a certain thing, hoping it becomes as imagined. Whether hoping the world becomes better, hoping for peace under heaven, or hoping to become immensely wealthy... these are all willpower."
His words were not overly complex or abstruse. They were concise and to the point, expressing the core essence.
Faith Power and willpower were both mental power.
Mental power was vast and varied, but Faith Power and willpower were its two major branches.
This simple speech gave Ye Chen profound insights.
He earnestly thanked the Buddha Patriarch. Even though his cultivation was higher, he still performed a gesture of gratitude.
Before leaving, the Buddha Patriarch suddenly said, "Benefactor Ye, this humble monk knows you once erected a Divine Statue to gather Faith Power. But merely doing so, for many years, has maintained the same scale as before, limited to a certain region. This humble monk has a word of reminder."
Ye Chen said, "Please speak, Buddha Patriarch."
The Buddha Patriarch said, "Build Divine Temples, erect Divine Statues, spread them across the world. As long as all living beings do not perish, you shall not perish."
Ye Chen was silent for a long time, then earnestly performed a bow. "I am enlightened!"
How could someone as intelligent as him fail to understand the Buddha Patriarch's meaning?
Building Divine Temples, erecting Divine Statues, spreading them across the world—he had done all these before.
But all along, it had been perfunctory, somewhatperfunctory.
The so-called Divine Temples were replaced by Divine Halls.
The purpose of erecting Divine Statues was only to gather Faith Power and condense powerful avatars.
Spreading across the world was even more limited to the areas under the jurisdiction of the Chaos Heavenly Mansion.
Ultimately, his fundamental goal was not to walk the path of becoming an Emperor through faith.
But now, he comprehended the Buddha Patriarch's other meaning.
Let the world believe in him, have believers and subjectsspread throughout / pervadingthe world, take the path of faith to its extreme, and receive feedback.
All living beings believe in him, and he is closely connected to all living beings.
One day, even if he fell, due to the faith of all living beings, he could be reborn and reappear in the mortal world.
This was somewhat similar to imprinting oneself upon the Heavens like the Starlight Celebration, but even more formidable.
The stars of the Heavens and the worlds of heaven and earth were all without consciousness.
People in the world had consciousness, so believers were more vivid and alive.
Ye Chen had to admit that this was a supreme great method, something only a remarkable figure like the Buddha Patriarch could achieve.
In the past, he spread Buddhism across the world, letting all living beings believe, borrowing the power of all living beings to prove his Dao and become an Emperor.
All living beings were him, and he was all living beings.
Clearly, this was a path that astonished the Ten Thousand Ancient Times. At this stage, even if one died, there was still hope of reviving and returning one day by relying on the faith of all living beings.
Unless the living beings who believed in him were exterminated, as long as his believers were not destroyed for a single day, he had hope of reviving again.
"The Buddha Patriarch truly is one who astonishes the Ten Thousand Ancient Times. This path... perhaps it is worth walking," Ye Chen thought to himself. The Blood-Stained Epoch was too terrifying; even Ten Thousand Ancient Giants faced the danger of falling. As powerful as Ye Chen was, he dared not claim he could definitely survive the Blood-Stained Epoch.
The future would only become increasingly difficult.
He also needed to plan an escape route.
He could not die, at least not at this current stage, because the burdens on his shoulders were far, far too many.
Not long after, Ye Chen personally built a Divine Temple for himself within the Chaos Heavenly Mansion, with his own Divine Statue inside.
The moment the Divine Statue appeared, its light instantly illuminated the Myriad Domains and the Eight Realms of the Myriad Worlds. All living beings could see it andbowed in worship one after another.
Infinite Faith Power surged towards the Divine Temple, converging into a vast, boundless ocean of Faith Power, causing the originally gathered ocean of Faith Power to suddenly increase by a large margin.
Originally, the Chaos Heavenly Mansion and the Chaos Heaven Continent and Ancient Heaven Realm under its jurisdiction all had Ye Chen's Divine Statues erected. Over the past hundred thousand years, an astonishing amount of Faith Power had already been gathered. But at this moment, the Faith Power came from the entire Pangu Universe, its scope wider, the Faith Power greater, instantlysurgedby a large margin.
Deep as an abyss, vast as the sea!
Ye Chen looked up and whispered softly, "Thank you."
All of this was not his doing. He had never liked being overly ostentatious, preferring to take things slowly. But the Universe's origin spread it across the entire universe for him, visible to all living beings.
It was also because of Ye Chen's illustrious battle achievements over the past ten thousand years that his popularity had reached its glorious peak, hence such an immense surge of Faith Power emerged all at once.
The Buddha Patriarch gazed at this place from afar, revealing a faint smile.
Ye Chen entrusted all of this to his disciple, the Primordial Demon God, to handle, while he himself continued his secluded cultivation and meditation.
He had a premonition that the current peace would not last long and would soon be broken.
That was why he wasarranged variousmeans one by one.
Thus, several months passed. Suddenly, the Primordial Demon God entered, performing a grand bow. "Disciple pays respects to Master."
Ye Chen, having returned to simplicity, showed no Giant's imposing aura. "What is it?"
The Primordial Demon God said, "Reporting to Master, Disciple has obtained news regarding Master's wives."
Hearing this, even Ye Chen's usually unperturbed face revealed a trace of joy. He whispered softly, "Finally... there is news..."