Chapter 1355 - 1359: All Very Nourishing
"Excellent, excellent..."
"Guardian King, how could Seventh Mother deceive you? If not for the sake of blessing the people, Empress Luoxiang wouldn’t meet a mortal Monarch so easily. This is a once-in-a-thousand-years opportunity for your Wei Dynasty." Sixth Lady’s voice drifted out from within.
"I... I only meant to abdicate my throne and retreat to the mountain for quiet cultivation with Sixth Lady. As for the thoughts of the people, I find it difficult to influence them," the Guardian King said hesitantly.
"Empress Luoxiang allows you to cultivate here, to be imbued with the fragrance of spiritual essence that will elevate your merit and help you ascend. She wants you to build a temple on Earth fitting her divine form. What does that have to do with the people’s opinions? You are the Monarch—do you need to ask your subjects for permission to construct a temple?" Sixth Lady said with some dissatisfaction.
Zhu Minglang and the Weaver Star listened to these words and grew increasingly clear on what exactly Empress Luoxiang planned atop Mount Luoxiang.
Step one: create some divine miracles and spread word of them.
Step two: attract pilgrims and foster the image of endless worshippers streaming in.
Step three: curry favor with worldly aristocrats and royal kin, using them to endorse and promote her, building temples in prosperous locations to make her faith seem no longer rustic but resplendent.
Although many True Gods rose in similar ways, everything about Empress Luoxiang’s ascendance was manufactured, laced with deception.
Merit and prestige must be built gradually. This act of feigning sanctity and then frenetically taxing people’s faith—this was faith fraud.