[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-infinite-faith-system-join-the-divine-chat-group":3,"chapter-infinite-faith-system-join-the-divine-chat-group-infinite-faith-system-join-the-divine-chat-group-chapter-14":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Infinite Faith System: Join the Divine Chat Group",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1373144,1815,"Chapter 14: Li Shimin’s Calculations — Ready to Sacrifice the Priestess Feixuan","infinite-faith-system-join-the-divine-chat-group-chapter-14",14,"\u003Cp>The atmosphere in the grand meeting hall grew tense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Shimin’s question about the existence of gods and Buddhas hadn’t just startled his guests—it had caught them completely off guard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Around the long sandalwood table, officials and scholars exchanged uncertain glances. No one dared answer. Their eyes instinctively turned toward Shi Feixuan, the veiled envoy of Cihang Temple.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, if anyone here could speak for the divine, it would be her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Feixuan remained composed, her white robe still and pure, like a lotus in winter frost. Yet inside, her heart stirred uneasily.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why is he asking this?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everything she’d heard about Li Shimin—graceful in bearing, strategic in thought, respectful of faith—had painted him as a future ruler with virtue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But this line of questioning... was almost sacrilegious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Does he not support Buddhism at all? Or worse—does he intend to challenge it?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Feixuan hesitated only for a moment before offering a graceful smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I cannot say with certainty whether gods or Buddhas walk this earth,\" she said gently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But our ancestor, the Enlightened Dini, has remained incorruptible for over three centuries. Her body—untouched by decay—stands as proof of something greater.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Shimin didn’t miss a beat. He set his teacup down softly, his gaze steady.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That only proves she was strong,\" he said flatly. \"It doesn’t make her a deity.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The words struck like a slap in the face of orthodoxy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To him, bodily preservation was mere biology—nothing divine. He’d already seen things far beyond that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Ninja Scientist in the chat group had described reviving the dead, even extending life beyond natural limits.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jack Sparrow, that mad pirate, walked the seas as a man cursed to never rot—his flesh immune to time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And then there was Orochimaru, a man who had transcended mortality and called upon a god so real and terrifying that even entire nations fell before him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Feixuan felt the weight of his words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her lips tightened under the veil.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"May I ask, Prince Shimin... why do you pursue the matter of gods and Buddhas so intently?\" she said carefully.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Is it immortality you seek?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her voice was respectful but cautious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If that was the case, she would have to report it back to Cihang Temple. A young ruler obsessed with living forever often led to suffering for their people.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Shimin chuckled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Immortality?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was already within reach. Orochimaru had achieved it. Others were racing toward it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No—his curiosity had nothing to do with personal desire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I ask,\" he said, \"because I wish to know if you—Cihang Temple—believe in a true divine being, or merely in control.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His tone sharpened subtly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It’s said your sect holds He’s Jade, and the right to name an emperor.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If a temple can anoint emperors like priests choosing kings, then the emperor is not ruler... but puppet.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Feixuan’s face remained hidden, but her posture stiffened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Shimin had made himself clear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He would not be ruled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If I take the throne,\" he thought coldly, \"Cihang Temple will be the first I cleanse.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their politics disguised as piety—he saw right through it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They want a ’chosen one’? Fine. I’ll offer them one. Right on the altar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shi Feixuan, let’s see if your loyalty lies with mortals or something far greater...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If she refused the Eternal God, she would become the sacrifice herself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And if she accepted?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She would preach faith for him throughout the empire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Either way, she was already part of his plan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Shimin leaned back, his fingers drumming lightly on the table.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You think I’m obsessed with immortality?\" he asked, a wry smile on his lips. \"Not quite. I’m no child chasing fairy tales.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His voice dropped, mellow and thoughtful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I met a Taoist sage recently. We debated for hours—searching ancient scrolls, piecing together folk legends. Do you know what we found?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His gaze swept the room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Nothing. Absolutely nothing. The gods and Buddhas of our world exist only in myth. There’s no proof, no miracles, no teachings... just stories.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A tense silence settled again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shi Feixuan didn’t speak immediately. Her fingers tightened around her teacup. After a long pause, she finally said in a quiet voice:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"There are gods three feet above our heads. It is not the place of mortals to question the heavens.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her tone had cooled. The conversation had crossed a line.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Let’s... speak of the border conflict with Tubo, shall we?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Shimin smiled politely and nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They changed the subject—but the atmosphere never warmed again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the guests had finally gone, and the last white-robed envoy had vanished into the courtyard shadows, Li Shimin’s smile vanished.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So much for the ’holy daughters of light,’\" he muttered, voice thick with contempt. \"Just another political cult dressing up ambition as enlightenment.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The silk curtain behind him rustled softly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A young woman stepped into view—tall, regal, and radiant with a sharp grace. Her gaze carried steel behind the softness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was Li Xiuning, the princess of the Tang clan and one of the sharpest minds in the empire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Second Brother,\" she said with a scoff. \"You were right. Those Cihang women are nothing but manipulators. Every word wrapped in incense and lies. Immortals and Buddhas? False gods—every last one of them.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Shimin chuckled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"To control the emperor by pretending to choose one... using He’s Jade as a divine seal of legitimacy. It’s clever. But not clever enough.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His eyes narrowed as he turned to her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What about the meditation?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Xiuning’s confident posture shifted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She glanced down, then up again—more hesitant now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It’s real.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her voice was quiet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The Eternal God... I—\" she swallowed, \"I felt it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That glint in her eye—a flicker of fear. Li Shimin noticed immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You mean... you meditated and actually connected?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She nodded, slowly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I broke through to the Xiantian realm overnight. I—I defeated one of our top guardians with a single move. He said I radiated like a land immortal.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She shivered, remembering.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Second Brother... when I reached out through meditation... I saw Him. Or rather, I saw a shadow so vast and blinding, I couldn’t even perceive His face. Just being in His presence made my legs shake.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Shimin stared at her, the gears turning behind his eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She wasn’t one to exaggerate. If she was saying this...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then it was real.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And far, far more powerful than anything the Daoists or Buddhists could conjure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He broke into a wide grin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Excellent. Then the altar is ready. Tomorrow, we give Him a proper welcome.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He turned to the window, looking out over the palace city lights.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"They call themselves goddesses?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He laughed under his breath.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Good. We’ll see how much their gods protect them when I put their priestess on the altar.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>-------\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hey, if you have been enjoying this so far, do you think I should post extra Chapters on Patreon?\u003C\u002Fp>",1136,"2026-06-05T21:52:16.553Z",1,"novelbin.me","b6691926d83d41aa2d3db11e7e82cd3b0b0d5833ce621f8eef82c8e33c89b79f","infinite-faith-system-join-the-divine-chat-group-chapter-15","infinite-faith-system-join-the-divine-chat-group-chapter-13",391,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Finfinite-faith-system-join-the-divine-chat-group-cover.jpg"]