"Congratulations on your great increase in strength, my lord!"
With a heavy thud, Dugu Bo dropped to his knees, his voice filled with reverence.
"May you reign for thousands of generations—may you slay even the gods should they stand in your way!"
"Hahahaha!"
Bai Mu walked up to him with a smile. Like a benevolent ruler, he personally reached out and helped Dugu Bo to his feet.
"I should thank you for your Internal Alchemy Bead, Old Poison. Without it, I might not have discovered such an enormous harvest."
"The lord overpraises me. It was merely my duty as a subordinate…"
Dugu Bo's body trembled slightly, his expression one of being "overwhelmed by favor."
"Duty is duty—but rewards are rewards."
With a flick of his wrist, Bai Mu took out two faintly glowing primal immortal herbs from his spirit tool. They were ones he had cultivated recently.
"Here. These are your rewards."
He handed them to Dugu Bo.
"These Immortal Herbs serve only one purpose—to increase spirit power and help you condense a new Internal Alchemy Bead."
He paused, then smiled lightly.
"Work hard. I'll want another Internal Alchemy Bead from you in the future."
After all, even though he knew how to condense a Soul Core, how could half a day of his own effort compare to directly obtaining one from a Titled Douluo? Once acquired, he could simply purify and modify it—it was far more efficient.
Unfortunately, using an Internal Alchemy Bead to form a Soul Core in the upper dantian wasn't convenient. Otherwise, he would have had Dugu Bo handle that as well.
"Oh, right."
Bai Mu continued casually, "This is the Soul Core condensation method I just figured out. Use it as a reference when shaping the Internal Alchemy Bead for me."
As he spoke, he tapped Dugu Bo's forehead, transmitting a stream of information through Mental Control.
"Thank you, my lord!"
Dugu Bo's eyes lit up as he immediately prostrated himself again.
Although he would still lose an Internal Alchemy Bead, as long as he could condense a Soul Core, the suppression of his toxins would far exceed that of an Internal Alchemy Bead alone.
If he worked harder, he wouldn't have to worry about dying from poison anytime soon—even without Bai Mu's direct assistance.
Look at that—he still has to thank me, Bai Mu thought to himself.
Outwardly, he made a generous promise.
"It's nothing. Work hard, and there will be plenty of benefits."
"Yes!"
Dugu Bo responded respectfully. After storing the Immortal Herbs away, he asked carefully:
"May I ask what kind of faction the lord intends to establish by calling me here?"
The Holy Spirit Cult Bai Mu had him set up earlier was merely a temporary organization. With limited time, it had only formed a basic framework and recruited a small number of people.
"The faction I intend to establish is very special."
Bai Mu clasped his hands behind his back and looked toward the distant sky.
"I call it the Heavenly Palace of Order."
"Heavenly Palace… of Order?"
Dugu Bo was momentarily stunned.
"May I ask, my lord—what exactly is this faction meant to be?"
After thinking for a moment, he added cautiously,
"Why not call it the Heavenly Court of Order? That name sounds more inclusive."
"Hehe…"
Bai Mu chuckled softly. He turned back to look at Dugu Bo, a deep light flashing in his eyes.
"A Heavenly Court belongs to everyone."
"But a Heavenly Palace belongs to me alone."
His inspiration came from the Heavenly Palace Order of a certain being from another universe.
The law of the jungle is also a law.
And the Heavenly Palace Order is, likewise, an order.
However, unlike that order—which was built on dictatorship and extreme indulgence—his Heavenly Palace of Order would be a centralized system of power, an absolute unification of faith, with himself as the sole supreme existence.
Calyrex's Power of Faith had laid an even stronger foundation for this vision.
The Z-cells could believe in him, achieving a self-sustaining, self-purifying cycle of faith. Meanwhile, the faith of others could also be filtered, refined, and stored through the Z-cells.
Thus, his order needed only one voice.
"The lord means…"
Dugu Bo began to grasp the implication.
"The more believers there are, and the purer their faith," Bai Mu said calmly, "the stronger my power will become."
He raised his hand, and a faint orb of light formed from the Power of Faith appeared in his palm.
"I need an organization—one that unifies all believers."
"In this organization, I am the sole faith, the only true god, and the absolute supreme."
"For the sake of development, I can listen to suggestions."
"But—"
"Everyone must obey me unconditionally."
"Everyone must offer their faith to me."
"Everyone is merely a part of my Heavenly Palace of Order."
"For all of them, the true core of this order is me alone."
"And only I can lead the Heavenly Palace of Order toward greatness—beyond myth itself."
Dugu Bo was completely dumbfounded.
He had seen ambitious people before—but never ambition of this scale.
Unifying all faith and standing supreme…
This was the path of mythic beings, of gods themselves.
And judging by the situation, it was even more extreme than the gods of legend.
"My lord…"
His voice trembled slightly.
"Isn't this… isn't this a bit too—"
"Too what?"
Bai Mu looked at him, still smiling gently.
Dugu Bo wanted to say "too flamboyant."
But that smile made a chill run through his entire body.
"N-no… it's nothing."
He lowered his head, not daring to meet Bai Mu's gaze.
"The lord is wise. Your subordinate will support you with all his strength."
"Wise? Hehe~ Since you think so, let me ask you something."
Bai Mu lifted Dugu Bo's chin, smiling.
"Dugu Bo—when do you plan to offer your faith?"
"I… I…"
Dugu Bo's body shook as cold sweat poured down his back.
He opened his mouth, but no words came out.
Faith wasn't something one could simply choose to give on a whim.
Stubborn brain—believe already!
"Hahaha, don't be nervous."
Bai Mu suddenly laughed and gave Dugu Bo's shoulder a firm pat.
"Relax. I'm not a bad person. As long as you don't provoke me, I won't harm you without reason."
"And I believe that with my abilities, sooner or later, I'll earn your genuine conviction."
"Right?"
"R-right… my lord!"
Dugu Bo forced a smile.
Though Bai Mu always felt somewhat dangerous, strictly speaking, he truly hadn't committed evil without cause.
On his own side, it was Dugu Bo who had provoked Bai Mu first.
On Long Gong's side, they had also been the ones to provoke him.
It seemed that as long as one behaved properly, Bai Mu wouldn't act ruthlessly for no reason.
"It's good that you understand."
Bai Mu felt no guilt over his actions.
"The Holy Spirit Cult will continue operating, gradually absorbing believers who are absolutely loyal to Order."
"For now, the Heavenly Palace of Order will operate under the name Hall of Order and develop quietly."
He looked at Dugu Bo.
"You will be the first Bishop."
Dugu Bo's entire body jolted.
The first Bishop—what did that signify?
As long as he didn't cause trouble and followed orders, his future status would be anything but low.
"Th-thank you, my lord!"
He glanced at the terrifyingly powerful Zygarde and knelt down once more, his voice filled with excitement.
"Get up. Work hard, and there will be many benefits in the future."
Bai Mu waved his hand casually.
"Yes, my lord."
Dugu Bo stood up, his eyes filled with complex emotions—reverence, anticipation, and deep fear.
He knew that from this moment on, his fate was completely bound to Bai Mu's.
This path would either lead him to the peak—or end with him shattered beyond redemption.
But he had no choice.
"Your subordinate will give everything to build the most perfect Heavenly Palace of Order for my lord!"
"Good. I trust you."
Bai Mu smiled.