Chapter 1485: Collecting Faith
Zhong Siyu's suggestion made Yang Haoran's eyes light up. Previously, the smile on his face had been intentionally maintained, thus it was forced, but now, the smile on his face was truly heartfelt.
"I think that's excellent!"
Yang Haoran pondered for a moment, then responded with a smile, confirming Zhong Siyu's proposal.
After receiving Yang Haoran's affirmation, Zhong Siyu became even happier, as it was a form of recognition for her. Conversely, if Yang Haoran had rejected her suggestion, given her personality, she would inevitably have become angry.
"Since you think my suggestion is excellent, then is this matter settled?"
Zhong Siyu pressed, her face full of anticipation. Yang Haoran, hearing this, smiled and nodded.
"Haha, see? I told you I could solve your problem. This issue that gave you such a headache, didn't I, Young Miss, ultimately resolve it for you? So, in the future, if you encounter any trouble, I advise you to communicate with me, Young Miss, first. That way, you'll avoid many detours."
Zhong Siyu laughed heartily. To placate this eccentric Young Miss, Yang Haoran not only offered a forced smile but also nodded in agreement.
It wasn't just him who didn't understand; Zhong Siyu, as the Guardian Spirit, similarly didn't have a clear grasp either.
However, after that great battle, Yang Haoran and Zhong Siyu still found time to perform Soul Fusion multiple times. This was to increase their synchronicity. After all, Soul Fusion involved both of them. Performing Soul Fusion a few more times naturally brought benefits, and it was during this period that both of them gained a comprehensive understanding of their Soul Fusion form.
Although Yang Haoran, in his Soul Fusion form, wasn't as imposing as a ferocious beast, his appearance and aura were impeccable. The invisible aura he exuded was also extremely potent. He truly felt there was no issue with choosing his Soul Fusion form as the basis for the God Statue.
Previously, when choosing the God Statue, Yang Haoran had not considered his Soul Fusion form. Had it not been for Zhong Siyu's reminder at this moment, he didn't know if he would have thought of it. After all, before Zhong Siyu made this suggestion, he had already focused his choices on various ferocious beasts. In that state, it would likely have been difficult to step out of the "ferocious beast" mindset.
Yang Haoran had originally thought that after telling Zhong Siyu his troubles, given Zhong Siyu's personality, she would surely walk away without a care. However, the outcome surprised him. Not only did Zhong Siyu not do so, but she instead began to ponder seriously. She truly treated the problem as something to be handled. What surprised him even more was that Zhong Siyu had actually solved the problem for him.
Since he had a satisfactory outcome, Yang Haoran naturally wouldn't waste any time. He prepared to bid farewell to Zhong Siyu immediately, and then go find Old Master Wu to arrange the upcoming task of creating the God Statues.
Zhong Siyu saw that Yang Haoran was about to leave and wasn't planning on taking her with him. She immediately became displeased. The dissatisfaction in her heart was clearly written all over her face, and she clamored to go with Yang Haoran.
Zhong Siyu's way of complaining was different from that of other delicate young girls. The latter mostly used methods of coquetry, but Zhong Siyu's way of complaining was a menacing threat plastered across her face!
Yang Haoran had no choice. Furthermore, he didn't want to waste his time due to Zhong Siyu's clamoring. So, he agreed to Zhong Siyu's demand and took her along to find Old Master Wu.
Why didn't Yang Haoran issue the order directly via a Communication Talisman? That was because Communication Talismans weren't omnipotent; some matters were more reliably arranged in person. Moreover, Old Master Wu didn't know what his Soul Fusion form with Zhong Siyu looked like.
As for why he didn't use a Communication Talisman to have Old Master Wu come to him, it was because he had just finished a meeting, and not much time had passed since then. Making Old Master Wu come to him again felt somewhat improper, so he simply decided to go find Old Master Wu himself.
Soon, Yang Haoran brought Zhong Siyu to Old Master Wu. Old Master Wu was currently in his office, racking his brains over Yang Haoran's God Statue. Upon Yang Haoran's arrival, Old Master Wu was both surprised and puzzled. Yang Haoran then informed Old Master Wu of Zhong Siyu's suggestion and his own decision, and also instructed Old Master Wu to convey this matter to his other trusted subordinates, so they wouldn't waste time racking their brains over the problem.
Since Old Master Wu didn't know his Soul Fusion form with Zhong Siyu, he used a magical technique to manifest his Soul Fusion form. To make the created God Statue appear even more majestic, he also added his three Soul Armaments. The Soul Armament Remnant Moon floated above his right palm, the Soul Armament Black Lightning transformed into streaks of lightning, coiling around his left hand, and the Soul Armament Ghost Butterfly danced gracefully on his shoulder!
In addition to this, Yang Haoran also gave Old Master Wu a task: to create the God Statues as quickly as possible. Every household must have a small God Statue, and they must pray piously to it every day, contributing their Power of Faith.
Large God Statues must also be present in every temple and major area, to facilitate the people of the Great Night Empire in making offerings on specific days.
The materials for crafting God Statues also had their specifics. The better or more special the materials, the sturdier the resulting God Statue would be, and the faster it would collect Power of Faith. This would minimize the waste or loss of Power of Faith.
Of course, God Statues made from ordinary materials could also collect Power of Faith, just like the statue the villagers once created for Bai Xue. The villagers didn't have any good or special materials to sculpt Bai Xue's statue. The materials they used for Bai Xue's statue were simply the most ordinary ones. God Statues made from such common materials could not compare to those crafted from superior materials, neither in terms of durability nor in the speed of collecting Power of Faith.
Yang Haoran certainly wouldn't choose ordinary materials for his own God Statues. He had conceived the idea of becoming a god a long time ago. Thus, he had long since secretly tasked Tang Shi with collecting materials for this purpose. By now, a substantial amount of these materials had been gathered. While it was impossible to satisfy the needs of the entire Great Night Empire, there was certainly no problem meeting the initial requirements. For subsequent materials, they could source them locally and select materials with similar properties. After all, the Eastern Sunrise Ocean was exceptionally rich in various resources, so finding materials with similar properties to craft God Statues would not be a major issue.
The materials Tang Shi had secretly collected for Yang Haoran had now all been submitted to the state treasury. Not just the materials needed for crafting God Statues, but the vast majority of other collections from the Myriad Ghost Grotto had also been submitted to the state treasury. Apart from the Myriad Ghost Grotto, other organizations previously under Yang Haoran's command had also, like the Myriad Ghost Grotto, submitted all their various collections and resources to the state treasury. Whatever was needed could be retrieved from the treasury according to the proper procedures and conditions.
Old Master Wu had Yang Haoran's command. It was not difficult for him to retrieve the materials for crafting God Statues from the state treasury. Therefore, after receiving Yang Haoran's order, Old Master Wu immediately retrieved the materials from the state treasury. He did not immediately use these materials to craft the God Statues, but instead first had professionals analyze their properties.
With the detailed information on these materials, Old Master Wu simultaneously arranged for the best craftsmen to construct the God Statues for Yang Haoran, and assigned personnel to search for materials needed for subsequent God Statues. Some materials could be found identically in the Eastern Sunrise Ocean, so they wouldn't need to be changed. If identical materials could not be found in the Eastern Sunrise Ocean, then materials with similar properties would be sought as substitutes. This was to fill the shortage of materials for the subsequent crafting of God Statues.
Under the full effort of the craftsmen, the first God Statue was soon successfully completed. This statue, towering a hundred zhang high, stood majestically in the central plaza of the Great Night Empire's capital.
The Great Night Empire had a total of nine major cities. These nine cities were distributed across Half-Moon Island, dividing the entire island among them. Yue City was the capital of the Great Night Empire, and also its largest city currently. The sudden erection of this God Statue in the central plaza of Yue City immediately became the focal point of the entire city's attention.
At the same time, information about the God Statue, along with a series of commands, were successively relayed to every household. This was the case not only in Yue City but also in other cities.
Few people in the entire Great Night Empire knew who the God Statue represented. Even Yang Haoran's closest confidantes were no exception. Very few knew, and even fewer had ever seen it. After all, during Yang Haoran's battle with the Tongzhou Great Emperor, by the end, there was no one else present apart from him, Zhong Siyu, and the Tongzhou Great Emperor. Although Yang Haoran had performed Soul Fusion with Zhong Siyu multiple times afterward, there was never a third party present. Thus, no one else had ever seen Yang Haoran's Soul Fusion form with Zhong Siyu.
Therefore, who the God Statue was, certainly needed to be explained. And the information about the God Statue released by the Night God Palace to the populace was precisely to explain this matter.
As this God Statue involved Emperor Yang Haoran and his Guardian Spirit Zhong Siyu, the explanation was very simple: This God Statue was the combat form of Emperor Yang Haoran after fusing with his Guardian Spirit, with no further elaboration.
And those commands, required all citizens of the Great Night Empire to pray piously to the God Statue at home every day. On festivals and other special days, they were also required to go to temples to burn incense and pray for blessings before the God Statue. In addition to this, there were some important notes and taboos, all of which were conveyed to every household in the form of commands.
Not long after the God Statue was erected in Yue City's central plaza, smaller God Statues, suitable for home worship, were also mass-produced. They were delivered to every household in the shortest possible time, first meeting the demands of Yue City's residents, and then proceeding to craft the necessary God Statues for other cities.
In less than half a year, every household in the entire Great Night Empire was worshipping God Statues depicting Yang Haoran's Soul Fusion form with Zhong Siyu. The Great Night Empire, which once had no temples, gained over a hundred Night God Temples of varying sizes within this half-year period. Without exception, each of these Night God Temples featured a towering God Statue. Yang Haoran named this God Statue "Night God," corresponding to the Night God Palace and representing the entire Great Night Empire.
By now, there was no longer any need to explain who the Night God was. All citizens of the Great Night Empire knew that the Night God was Yang Haoran, the Emperor of their Great Night Empire!
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