Cetus Kingdom, the Dark World, the Sorcerer's Guild.
After Kam obtained several cultivation techniques passed down by the Sun Goddess and carefully analyzed them, he immediately convened another sorcerer's meeting.
"Everyone, we are in deep trouble. Our previous speculation was wrong. I'm even unsure if an energy tide will appear in the short term. If an energy tide were to appear soon, that deity wouldn't need to create these special cultivation techniques, which provide energy for her believers. That would be completely unnecessary. Therefore, I strongly suspect that even if an energy tide appears in the future, it won't be anytime soon. It might take years, even a decade or two. Also, the revival time of other deities will likely be pushed back significantly. The deity in the sky likely had a plan before falling into slumber and managed to revive herself years ahead of others, even at great cost, cultivating tens of millions. Her ambitions are immense! Given the current situation, if an energy tide doesn't occur within a year or two, this world will likely have tens of millions of believers comparable to Level 3 or even Level 4 sorcerers. At that point, not only will we be outnumbered, but our cultivation speed will also be far inferior. We won't be able to make any waves! It's even questionable if we can survive. So, what are your thoughts now?"
Since Ding Yun descended with divine punishment, these sorcerers didn't even dare to utter Ding Yun's true name, let alone the word "sun." They only dared to refer to her as "that deity," fearing that as soon as they mentioned her, Ding Yun would perceive it and obliterate them.
"Kam, are you perhaps being overly nervous? Perhaps that deity simply awakened early and intended to make early arrangements. It might not be as complicated as you think. Even if your speculations are true, we sorcerers are not that weak. We are weak, yes, but we do have sorcerers comparable to deities. As long as we can contact them, we should be able to ensure our survival. Why be so dejected?"
Fara Tong dismissively shook his head and retorted. He was truly optimistic and confident because his ancestors once had a deity-slaying sorcerer. This ancestral confidence had been passed down, and even though he was only a Level 3 sorcerer, it didn't stop him from fearing no gods.
"Fara Tong, you are too optimistic. I have visited many extraordinary organizations and sorcerer guilds in other countries during this period, and the results are even more discouraging. The sorcerer guilds of Fas Country and Tea Country have explicitly stated that they used their preserved divine artifacts to try and contact the sorcerers who left! However, half a month has passed, and they have received no response. There are only two possibilities for this situation: either all the sorcerers who left those two countries have died, hence they cannot respond, or that deity was prepared and intercepted the information flow. In my estimation, the second possibility is more likely. This means that even if everything develops in the best direction and an energy tide occurs soon, and we successfully become Bright Moon Sorcerers, we still won't be able to transmit any related messages. After all, you've seen that deity's abilities. She is most likely a main god. If a main god wants to prevent us from transmitting information, who can succeed? So, should we be sensible and simply become her believers?"
My goodness, Sviya, who had been rushing around and gathering information recently, was even more outrageous. Because he had learned more information than others, and it was more comprehensive, he was even more despairing at this moment, to the point of wanting to defect. Since there were no signs of an imminent energy tide and it seemed hopeless to contact the departed senior sorcerers, it appeared that the only way for him to achieve longevity, live longer, and improve his strength was to diligently believe in the Sun Goddess. In the previous epoch, when their lineage of sorcerers was not powerful, they had believed in gods before. At worst, they could return to the embrace of sorcery once they became powerful enough and sever their faith in deities. As long as they did not absorb divine power or ignite their divine fire and condense their divine personality, their cultivation methods before becoming gods were essentially the same as those of sorcerers, making it easy to convert.
"Are you serious?" Kam asked in surprise.
Sviya replied as if it were natural: "Of course. I don't have many years left to live. If believing in that deity can allow me to live for several decades or a century longer, I don't think it's impossible to give up my sorcerer identity! After all, one must be alive to have a future!"
Seeing that Sviya had misunderstood, Kam explained what he wanted to ask in more detail: "No, I'm not asking you that. I'm asking if it's true that even the divine artifacts couldn't contact the departed sorcerers?"
Although a bit embarrassed, Sviya continued, "Of course, it's true. This is not a secret that cannot be spoken. You can contact other sorcerer guilds to inquire. If they weren't worried about causing panic, those two sorcerer guilds would have announced the news to the world directly."
At this, all the sorcerers fell silent. They knew very well that most of them were descendants of those who failed in competition or lacked talent in the past. Those with real backgrounds, capabilities, and good aptitude had long since left this energy-depleted world. Even if they could contact those senior sorcerers who had long since left this world, they were unsure of what would happen, nor were they sure if they would necessarily benefit. It was only out of habit, when encountering difficulties, that they sought help from their own kind, which led them to try and contact them. Now, discovering that they couldn't contact them at all, they calmed down and began to carefully consider the gains and losses.
"It seems no matter what choice we make, we will only gain scraps left over by others. Even if we find those senior sorcerers, without sufficient strength, we can't do anything. We'll just be following behind them and eating leftovers. In that case, taking the risk to contact senior sorcerers whom we don't know if we can even reach, the difference with defecting to that deity is not significant."
"At least currently, that deity seems quite generous to her devout believers. Every cultivation technique is sufficient to easily cultivate to demigod level, and she can even provide the energy for cultivation continuously."
"Then should we all convert and believe in that deity?"
"How about we wait a bit longer? If after a full month there's still no reply, we'll convert!"
"That's fine too..."
"I'm not waiting. The deity is clearly in a phase of offering great rewards for little return right now. The later we join, the fewer benefits we'll receive. Starting today, I'm withdrawing from the Sorcerer's Guild. Don't ever call me a sorcerer again!"