12dz Chapter 11 Dual Development of Humans and Gods
Chapter 11 Dual Development of Humans and Gods
Mountain God Temple.
After Zhong Xuan saw off the group of people who had come to pay their respects and test him, he left.
He closed the temple doors, took the Mountain God Seal, and began to analyze the situation.
The current situation is critical, with only one month left to survive.
Within the Mountain God's Seal, images began to appear:
The Ninth-Rank Mountain God: One hundred sticks of incense must be offered every hundred years as a token of devotion.
Eighth Grade Mountain God: One Thousand Pillars.
Seventh-rank Mountain God: 10,000 pillars.
Cuiyun Mountain, under his jurisdiction, is a seventh-rank minor immortal mountain in the mortal realm, with an annual quota of ten thousand pillars.
There are now 27 days left until the centennial examination of the Heavenly Court's Mountain and River Bureau.
He starts work today and will need to pay 2,700 pillars in 27 days.
Because the mountain gods who have been granted official rank belong to the Heavenly Court's righteous god system, they will inevitably be punished for dereliction of duty.
"But what exactly is the incense of devotion?"
Zhong Xuan pondered deeply and consulted the basic knowledge about mountain gods contained in the Mountain God Seal.
The incense of piety refers to the incense offered by creatures under the mountain god's rule, who genuinely believe that it can protect the peace of the area under the mountain's jurisdiction.
"This is the way of the gods, quite interesting, and it allows me to learn from the strengths of various schools."
Zhong Xuan did not resist it and humbly learned from it.
This incarnation of the mountain god is now walking the path of the god.
On the human side, they follow the path of carefree immortals.
He continued to look down.
A stick of incense offered with devotion does not necessarily have to be offered to only one person.
If one is a casual believer making offerings as they please, even a hundred sticks of incense can be equivalent to one stick of sincere devotion.
A powerful cultivator could use a single incense stick to withstand the power of several pillars, or even more...
"Huh? Is this the ancestral master's wondrous method? Can incense be offered on the human body?"
Zhong Xuan's eyes lit up, and he suddenly felt the heavy dark clouds above his head disperse a little.
What if one cultivates and progresses in their spiritual practice on the human side, and then develops devout faith in this side?
After all, his belief was now firm; he was determined to ensure that the mountain god's incarnation fulfilled its duties.
He firmly believed in protecting the people and safeguarding the territory, and thought it might be feasible!
"Let's see if we can find a loophole."
Zhong Xuan made a note of this matter, and a thought crossed his mind.
The human body had already completed its initial training some time ago.
This is because he had a century of experience in the Dao, so his first cultivation was a natural and successful process.
Even after getting up and walking around, because his mind reflected the changes in the surrounding energy, he was always using a clear and calm mind to distinguish and draw in the surrounding spiritual energy, and then absorb the spiritual energy into his body, refining it into his own pure power using the ancient Qi-refining techniques.
The mind's lake reflects the vital energy; refining and absorbing this energy without ceasing.
When the two intertwine, they create a wonderful effect that seems to allow one to cultivate oneself anytime, anywhere.
On the contrary, the monkey, once it got up, became distracted and could no longer absorb spiritual energy.
The Heavenly Immortal Stone, which was just like him, had comprehended the ancient Qi Refining and Cultivation Method in a short period of time—this was the difference in cultivation between the Dao Heart and the Dao Realm.
Since one can cultivate oneself anywhere in this world, one should gladly wander about seeking opportunities for spiritual practice.
Now, stop by the roadside and call the monkey to pick some dried leaves and fruits.
He then took some clay and sculpted it into little figures, drawing his own image as the incarnation of the mountain god.
It should be understood that the act of passing on incense requires sincerity, but it is not necessary to use incense.
Therefore, wisps of smoke rose up, and under the curious gaze of the monkeys, they floated with sincere intentions.
In the unseen realm, a connection is established between the human body and the incarnation through the supernatural rules of the Heavenly Way.
With a thought, the mountain god, holding the mountain god's seal, sent out a stream of magical power from afar.
With a loud crash, though damaged by the distance, it still shook a large tree nearby. This was precisely the mountain god's way of protecting its believers.
"Great!" Zhong Xuan and the monkey were both delighted, and the latter even did a somersault.
They assumed it was because their brother had suddenly become powerful, and they couldn't understand the mystery behind it.
Zhong Xuan smiled and led the monkey on the way, explaining in detail.
Meanwhile, the mountain god's incarnation was inevitably excited, but also knew it was still not enough.
The incense that just passed from the other side was indeed a stick of sincere and devout incense.
However, the body's essence, energy, thoughts, and magical power are also depleted as a result, indicating that the incense offerings are not created out of thin air.
It's roughly like having concentrated your energy on a battle with someone; the damage is neither too great nor too small, and you can recover naturally.
However, even if one offers incense three times a day, it can only make up for a small portion of the missing amount.
But in these twenty-seven days, he must collect a full two thousand seven hundred sticks of incense.
The incense of casual faith can be accumulated, but the incense of devotion must knock on the heart of living beings, how difficult that is.
Moreover, at this moment, the area around the mountain god temple is being watched closely by more than ten pairs of eyes, all of whom are spies of local forces and rogue demon cultivators.
Once his divine body sets out, he will be hindered at every turn. Even if the other party does not take action, as long as they disrupt the situation, he will not be able to accumulate even a shred of incense offerings.
That's why he sent someone to take the monkey away and find another way to make incense offerings.
This is an inevitable conflict between the newly appointed mountain god and the local entrenched forces, as well as the demonic and rogue cultivators.
"We must gather enough incense offerings before the deadline."
Zhong Xuan's eyes were deep and unfathomable, lacking the gentle warmth of the young man in human form.
"If more than half of the positions are vacant, the priests will be stripped of their priesthood and sent to the execution platform or the underworld to be punished."
There is also a hidden danger that is not yet clear – the power of the Celestial Master's Mansion.
This time, the radish pit that replaced someone else's was likely due to the other party having a powerful background in the Heavenly Court.
If all you need to do is give a heads-up during the assessment and review process, and they handle it strictly...
If it really attracts a thorough investigation, it's possible that even one's personal safety could be implicated.
As he closed his eyes slightly, a thought suddenly struck him.
The view of Cuiyun Mountain as sensed by the Mountain God Seal was that, apart from the area within a hundred meters of the Mountain God Temple being illuminated, the entire area was originally dark.
But suddenly, a wisp of smoke rose up.
Incense offerings outside of the human body?
Zhong Xuan's expression showed no surprise; he never expected that there would be people who worshipped the Cuiyun Mountain God.
It should be noted that seventy-three years have passed since the last one, and the mountain god has not responded at all.
He followed the wisp of incense with his divine sense and detected an almost desperate plea.
At the same time, the records in the Mountain God's Seal also quietly changed.
Surprisingly, the person offered a total of seventy-three strands of incense in devout worship.
For the past seventy-three years, not a single incense stick has been missing, and one stick of incense has been offered every year!
……
In the blink of an eye, she arrived at a secluded bamboo forest several miles away from the mountain god temple.
In front of the Banana Cave, clusters of flowers bloom, vying for beauty.
Two maids were watering the flowers when they saw their master return and hurried to greet him.
The little maid chattered: "Cave Master, Cave Master! How's the mountain god this time? How many days will he live?"
The Rakshasa woman reached out and tapped her forehead: "You have no manners."
He paused, then continued, "I initially thought it would only be a month or so... but now it seems it's been at most a month or so. Even if they possess skill, perhaps reaching the same True Person realm as me, how can they possibly contend with the entire mountain?"
The older maidservant served a cup of tea and said solemnly, "That makes perfect sense. The cave master is cultivating by borrowing the spiritual veins of Cuiyun Mountain, hoping to attain the Dao fruit of the Earth Immortal. If the mountain god were to completely control the entire mountain, we would all become his subordinate gods, with no freedom of life or death. It would be strange if this mountain god were not dead."
The Rakshasa woman sighed and glanced at the cave entrance.
Suddenly, she caught a glimpse of a few golden hairs scattered in the cracks of the stone steps.
"Has anyone been here?"
The maidservant immediately perked up: "Yes, yes, yes! A young man with exceptionally beautiful eyes, as clear as mirrors! He was accompanied by a golden-haired monkey dressed in human clothes, who kept calling him 'Brother Monkey, Brother Human,' claiming to be a devotee of immortality and the Dao, and requesting an audience with the cave master. He even called me a fairy!"
The Rakshasa woman chuckled: "So, what did you reply?"
The older maid snorted coldly, "Chase him away. I've seen plenty of male Taoists who are infatuated with the cave master's good looks and covet the banana leaf fan. Discussing Taoism? Nine times out of ten, it's just an excuse."
The little maid puffed out her cheeks: "Fine, you can send him away, but why did you try to trick him into going south to Cuiyun Mountain? You said there was a small gathering of water and land spirits there, a convergence of many paths—but the road there is full of wolves, tigers, and demons. How can a young boy with a monkey possibly get there? You should know that our Cuiyun Mountain is very large!"
The Rakshasa woman frowned slightly.
She pondered for a moment, then suddenly stood up: "Take some daily necessities, tea, and snacks, and send them to the mountain god temple."
The older maidservant was taken aback: "Cave Master?"
The Rakshasa woman had already ridden a gentle breeze: "I'm going out for a bit."
A gentle breeze blows across the mountain path.
Not long after the Rakshasa woman flew away, she saw a man and a monkey walking slowly down the mountain below.
The young man, dressed in coarse linen, walked with a leisurely gait.
The monkey followed beside him, scratching its ears and cheeks from time to time, looking around, picking fruit and flowers.
The Rakshasa woman's heart stirred.
In this world, it's commonplace for a young man seeking immortality to die.
But if the maid tricks this person into going south of the mountain, causing him to die on the way, who will bear the consequences?
She could have ignored it, but then she suddenly remembered the words in the mountain god's temple:
"The more you accumulate good deeds, the more you will have."
The Rakshasa woman gritted her teeth and descended from the clouds.
She swept her sleeve over her face, creating a hazy white veil that concealed her beautiful features.
With a gentle sway, her plain clothes transformed into the attire of an ordinary village girl.
She landed at the fork in the road at the foot of the mountain, in front of the man and the monkey, and sat down by the tea stall to wait silently.
However, as the two figures drew closer, she heard them talking.
……
The monkey looked around and gradually saw people hurrying by carrying loads on their shoulders passing by the roadside.
It instinctively grabbed its brother's sleeve.
Suddenly, a fork in the road appeared ahead, leading north and south.
"Brother, brother!" it cried anxiously.
"Um?"
"Wrong, wrong! This isn't, it's not a Water and Land Ceremony!"
"Why was it wrong?"
"Fragrant! Monk, the fragrance is wonderful!"
The monkey, however, remembered everything Zhong Xuan had said before.
Zhong Xuan looked at the sky and then at the monkey, his heart filled with struggle, like water flowing over the stone in his heart.
"Cultivators receive a lot of incense offerings, yes."
He turned his gaze away and looked at the fork in the road in front of him.
"Going south, we can go to the Water and Land Ceremony. If we can win over a few cultivators to worship the Mountain God, we can greatly alleviate the pressure on the Mountain God's incense offerings."
"To the north, there is only one mortal who has been offering incense for seventy-three years and is still waiting."
"Brother Monkey, which way do you think we should go?"
Zhong Xuan turned around, his gaze gentle and clear, fixed on the monkey.
This question not only made the monkey stop in its tracks, puzzled.
Even the Rakshasa woman disguised as a village girl at the tea stall, which was more than ten meters long, was stunned.