Cultivating Immortality in Two Realms

Chapter 214 Shinto

"A local temple? A temple dedicated to the Earth God?"

Fang Qing's eyes gleamed, as if he could see through the earth god's temple and into the statue, where a somewhat ethereal spirit resided. "Weak...too weak. Somewhat like a cultivator's soul, and somewhat like a ghost cultivator...but its strength is probably only around the first level of Qi Refining cultivation...no, even the first level of Qi Refining is still cultivation, already having entered the Dao...what true knowledge did it consume? The essence of incense offerings?!"

After entering this void, he calculated the cause and effect and immediately learned many things.

"Interesting... Mortals cannot cultivate; only by accumulating merit during their lifetime and being posthumously honored as gods by the court can they, as heroic souls, be reborn to cultivate the divine path?"

"Divine script?"

"Without this item, one cannot cultivate. Even if one possesses a trace of extraordinary power, one will be regarded as a heretic and evil, and under the influence of incense and religious laws, the gods will punish such a person upon seeing them?"

With that thought in mind, Fang Qing concealed his presence and entered the Earth God Temple.

This grotto-heaven actually has a unique path of cultivation, which is quite strange and should be thoroughly investigated.

"I'm entering the grotto to do only two things!"

"First, I want to see what benefits this grotto-heaven can offer me! Second, I want to see what dangers this grotto-heaven might pose!"

"We still need to find a local monk to ask Jianjian..."

With this thought in mind, Fang Qing had already arrived at the small earth god temple.

Inside the statue, there was a small space where an old man, no bigger than a finger, holding a peach wood staff and wearing a robe with auspicious symbols, gazed at the small village with a satisfied expression through the incense smoke: "This year, Qingxi Village has had a good harvest, with abundant grains and thriving livestock... It should be rated as excellent in the year-end assessment, so shouldn't we distribute some incense money as a reward?"

"Oh? I wonder what the purpose of incense and donations is?"

At that moment, Fang Qing's voice rang out.

"This incense offering is a condensation of divine power, serving as a stipend for us deities... It can replenish one's own divine power, be used to forge divine artifacts, and increase blessings... In short, it has many benefits."

The old man from the land answered in a very serious manner.

Then... he saw a giant hand!

The large, white hand, as white as jade, was enormous. It grabbed him from the clay sculpture and held him up in front of it for a closer look.

Those five fingers resembled five white jade pillars supporting the sky.

Her eyes were like stars in the sky.

"This... is it the Earth God?"

"It's so quiet..."

Fang Qing stared at the Thumbelina in his palm—no, the Thumbelina Old Man—and muttered to himself, "While the size of the soul is irrelevant, this is such a shoddy job! Even though the soul is small and consumes less energy… it's still somewhat…"

He was too lazy to eavesdrop on the thoughts of such a minor cultivator who was only at the first level of Qi cultivation, so he used his profound techniques instead.

With the blessing of their rank, even their innate "eloquence" can achieve an effect similar to "words becoming law".

"I wonder who you are? And why have you become this local deity?"

Fang Qing exhaled and made a sound, the airflow like a storm, and the local earth god barely managed to grab his fingers so that he wouldn't be blown off.

After the storm subsided, he straightened his clothes and solemnly said, "I am Sun Zimu, a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) of the thirty-sixth year of the Chengye reign of the Great Sui Dynasty... I governed a region, and after my death, I was honored with virtue and was granted the title of local land deity..."

"A Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination)? A landowner?"

Fang Qing blinked, immediately understanding: "Since it's a divine path, it must be full of empty positions. There are too many people taking up spots in front. For this guy to get a real position, even a local deity... he must have quite remarkable skills and achievements..."

"How did this earth god come to be? Let me see!"

He continued speaking.

This time, however, a hint of hesitation and doubt appeared on the old man's face.

"Even with my Du Zi rank's blessing, I still hesitated for a moment... This is incredible! Is it because he himself is connected to the incense network? If so, his death will immediately attract attention... Even if the younger ones are beaten, the older ones will come immediately... I might soon face the greatest terror of the cave!"

"Therefore, we cannot proceed in this way; it is better to proceed gradually."

Fang Qing watched silently, while Sun Zimu hesitated for only a moment before reaching into his body and pulling out a strange black talisman. This talisman was entirely black, with only a single line of divine script in the center, carrying the ultimate truths of heaven and earth, making its meaning immediately clear even to those who were illiterate: "The Ninth Rank Earth God of Qingxi Village, Sanshan County, Jiujiang Prefecture, Great Sui Dynasty!"

"As expected... it's a well-established system of incense and deity worship."

Fang Qing did not take the divine position, after all, this divine position was connected to Sun Zimu's aura, and if it were taken away, the local earth god would not survive.

That will inevitably alarm their superiors, and then their superiors...

"How do you cultivate and advance in rank, fellow cultivator?"

He continued to ask questions.

"As a deity, why should I cultivate? As long as the shepherds perform meritorious service, they will naturally receive incense offerings and rewards every year. Furthermore, there are records of merits with the civil and military judges of the City God... Ten thousand merits are enough to advance one rank. I have already accumulated three thousand seven hundred merits. I only need to wait a few hundred more years to be promoted to the ninth rank of Earth God and take up my post in a large village..."

"If one accumulates ten thousand merits, one can be appointed as a seventh-rank City God, in charge of governing a local area..."

As the old man spoke, Fang Qing nodded silently, while secretly making hand seals to calculate:

"Yes, [Ghost Gold] carries the imagery of rituals involving ghosts and gods... This system of incense offerings and rituals is precisely a manifestation of this symbolism!"

"And... skilled in weapon crafting?"

Fang Qing smiled: "Fellow Daoist, what kind of weapon have you refined? Please let me see it!"

"I have only served as a land official for a few decades, and my savings are meager, amounting to nothing more than this walking stick and this bowl..."

Sun Zimu immediately handed the peach wood staff to Fang Qing.

Fang Qing held the peach wood cane, which resembled a toothpick, in his hand, his expression slightly strange, then looked at the broken bowl, which looked like a toy:

"Hmm... Although the material is very ordinary, and the quantity is even too small... its essence remains the same, so it can barely be considered a Qi-absorbing magical artifact!"

How rare are the ritual implements for breath control?

Fang Jiale and Ming Xue are still using that broken Xuanqing magic sword!

Aside from disciples of major sects, which Qi-cultivating cultivator possesses two Qi-cultivating artifacts?

"Not bad, not bad... How was this magical artifact crafted?"

Fang Qing inquired.

"This staff is made from century-old peach wood and has been refined with incense day and night... Of course, a lot of incense money was also added."

"The main ingredient in that bowl is 'Azure Essence Stone,' which is quite effective for defense..."

Sun Zimu replied somewhat embarrassedly, "As for the refining technique? It seems I was born with it... no, it was something I naturally learned after I became a god."

"Is it the profound mystery of the Dao Foundation? No... it's the wondrous mystery of the Purple Mansion!"

Fang Qing took a closer look and felt a chill in his heart: "This is a divine artifact crafting technique at the Purple Mansion level, which has been distributed to every deity through the great network of incense offerings... In this way, as long as one has enough incense money, one can freely craft so-called 'divine artifacts'? It seems that... higher-level deities definitely do not lack Dao Foundation spiritual artifacts... Then, what about Purple Mansion magic treasures?"

"Could this be the benefit I can gain?"

Without a doubt, there was the vast network of incense and religious practices, as well as the ruling power of the mortal Sui Dynasty.

Whatever Dao Foundation Spiritual Objects or Purple Mansion Spiritual Objects were born in this grotto-heaven... they would have been searched and stored away in the treasury long ago. To obtain them without going to war with the Divine Path is basically impossible.

Fang Qing is currently in the reconnaissance phase and tends to pick up any leftovers.

Furthermore, he thought of the "Bronze Halberd" treasure in his possession!

According to Sangji, this treasure has a very good foundation and already has the potential to become a Purple Mansion Magic Treasure. As long as a master craftsman specializing in gold and fire is found, it can be forged into a true Purple Mansion Magic Treasure!

"It's difficult for a Purple Mansion level weapon-refining master to pull strings, but there seems to be a shortcut within this grotto-heaven?"

It should be known that even a master craftsman at the Purple Mansion level would need to spend many years and invest a great deal of money to forge a Purple Mansion magic weapon. However, within the incense and divine path of the White Radiance Grotto-Heaven, one could use a large amount of incense money instead, and there were also specialized and wondrous methods for forging weapons. It was impossible for Fang Qing not to be tempted...

"However, we're still at the bottom; we need to look upwards..."

A thought struck him, and he looked at Sun Zimu: "Fellow Daoist, do you have any connections with the City God? Could you perhaps introduce me to him?"

"Of course!"

Sun Zimu said, "The civil judge under the City God of Sanshan County was my mentor back then..."

"Very well, I will go and rest for a few days. I will ask you to introduce me to someone then. Until then, please forget about this matter."

Fang Qing smiled, gently put down the Earth God statue in his palm, and his figure had already walked out of the Earth God Temple.

"Huh? What was I doing just now?"

Sun Zimu's eyes were cloudy, then he patted his bulging forehead: "It's this year's incense offering money..."

a few days later.

After his travels, Fang Qing returned to the small Shidi Temple in Qingxi Village.

"This grotto-heaven governs the people under the rule of the Sui Dynasty and the world through divine means... Although there are still some mountain spirits, monsters, and wild fox-like Taoist priests, they are insignificant... They are not part of the divine system and are ultimately just ants!"

"Within the divine path, 'divine script' serves as the foundation, with nine ranks of black script, eight ranks of gray script, seven ranks of white script, five ranks of red script, three ranks of crimson gold, and one ranks of pure gold... This layered control is extremely rigorous..."

"Such opportunities don't exist in the wild... Seeking them from the gods is bound to be dangerous."

"Oh... I forgot that I am originally in the body of Mingzi, and I came here to explore."

Fang Qing, with a slight smile on his face, walked to the earth god temple: "Fellow Daoist Sun!"

"Oh? So it's Fellow Daoist Fang... Come, come, let this old man lead the way for you."

Sun Zimu was momentarily stunned upon seeing Fang Qing, but then, as if they were old friends who hadn't seen each other for a long time, he took Fang Qing and rode up in divine light: "My master's surname is Zhao, and he loves to mentor the younger generation. If you've read Wang Moke's poetry collection, a few words of conversation will surely please him..."

Sanshan County Town.

The city gates were bustling with people. Built against the mountains and beside the water, the place encircled by the city walls was not the county government office, but a large temple—the City God Temple! Through Fang Qing's perspective, he could see the rich power of incense gathering, faintly forming a net of law that enveloped the entire county. Inside, countless golden-armored soldiers patrolled, and there were also day and night guardian deities and civil and military judges...

Originally, this incense and legal system would certainly have resisted him, an outsider, but with Sun Zimu, the local earth god, leading the way, it was as if they were opening the door to welcome a thief, inviting him in...