Yinshan Record

Chapter 517 The Difficulties of the Divine Path of the Elder of Separation and Union
"To deal with the demon god, one must either be a master of the mystical arts who is proficient in formations or a sword immortal with unparalleled sword energy."

The Yin-Yang Dharma King put down the small bowl in his hand: "It's not appropriate for Old Ghost Beimang to come over, so naturally we can only have this person come over."

The Lihe Pavilion, a sword-fighting sect in the East China Sea, is famous for its straightforward payment system. If you pay them well, they'll get things done for you.

Kong Kong'er is the Supreme Elder of this sect, a dignified Longevity Sword Cultivator.

With such a figure coming to the Central Plains to take charge, Young Master Su felt much more confident.

The ancient underworld was about to distribute the fruits, and the last remaining demon god was coming to the Central Plains, in addition to a perfectly timed coup.

The Southern Dynasties are getting more and more lively every day.

Good days, good times.

"But if you want him to do something for you, you'll still have to pay something. You should also consider your own financial situation."

The Yin-Yang Dharma King reminded him.

"Aren't we all members of the association...?"

"Even close brothers keep clear accounts. Besides, if you want to order him around, do you think you're the boss? Let me tell you, it's only because I'm known for my kindness and gentleness that you can get a better deal. Those bastards in the Lihe Pavilion are notorious for being willing to sell anything for enough money."

"Speaking of which, husband, don't you still have the Azure Dragon's half-divine talisman?"

The little fox seized the opportunity to speak.

"This is quite a rare item. Since none of us follow the path of religious offerings, we might as well bring it out..."

"What that fox girl said is quite right. A talisman is something that can summon a deity just by holding it in your hand, but it requires a lot of effort to cultivate, so it's very sought after. Even though that old ghost Kongkong has seen many good things, he won't refuse this one..."

A half-finished divine talisman can be nurtured to the sixth rank with a little effort, and if you add some more effort, making it to the fifth rank is not a problem.

If a higher-level cultivator were to obtain it, they could also change their cultivation path. Such a thing is like a life-extending elixir, and countless cultivators in the East China Sea who are nearing the end of their lives and want to extend their lives would be willing to spend their entire fortune to obtain it.

"No."

Su Che shook his head.

A glint flashed in the little fox's eyes.

"So you're saving it for someone else? I wonder which sister it is that my husband is so fond of."

“I have no interest in the divine way, nor do I intend to leave it to anyone. This thing is naturally meant for that azure dragon.”

Su Che said quietly.

The Azure Dragon wants to serve, and Young Master Su is willing to leave him a way out, but what will happen in the future depends on the Azure Dragon's own actions.

As for the half-sealed divine talisman, not only was Young Master Su uninterested, but he also had no intention of leaving it to Madam Xue. Even though she had long been determined to achieve the position of God of the Canglang River.

“The cultivation of the divine path depends on the incense offerings in the human world, and the incense offerings in the human world mostly come from the human heart.”

The Taiyi Donghua Jade Book contains four methods: “Contemplation,” “Divine Travel,” “Spiritual Seed,” and “Saintly Refining.” Among them, the “Spiritual Seed” method overlaps with traditional divine methods. Although Su Che has not yet practiced it, he has gained some understanding of divine cultivation.

The difficulty of the divine way lies in the human heart.

The first priority in cultivating the divine path is to collect incense offerings from the people, and the power of these offerings originates from the hearts of ordinary people. Thus, there are three essential tasks.

The first is "self-determination," clearly defining what kind of deity one is. A river god is a river god, a fire god is a fire god, and if one is in charge of granting children, then one should be a benevolent person who grants children; if one wants to spread plagues, then one should be a thoroughly evil god.

No matter what level of deity one achieves, the first thing is to shift one's cultivation in that direction. Otherwise, the River God cannot touch water, the Fire God cannot touch fire, the Plague God dies of illness, and the Child-Giving God has to personally deliver children. In that case, it would be better not to be a deity at all.

With this premise in place, we can begin the second step.

The second step is "majesty." To be a deity, besides one's own supernatural powers, one needs the strength to inspire faith in the people. This requires majesty. The common people are pragmatic; the larger your temple, the more powerful they perceive you to be. The more people who believe in you, the stronger you seem to be. If you can bless the faithful and punish the wicked, creating stories that spread by word of mouth, countless more will believe.

This is "power".

In addition to these, "rituals" are also required, namely ceremonies and rituals. These rituals and rituals not only demonstrate the divinity of the gods but also represent their own laws and doctrines, serving as the foundation of their existence. The core believers who administer these rituals and rituals are crucial central figures from whom the gods cannot function. Through these rituals, the believers' devout faith is transformed into the power of incense offerings. Furthermore, through these rituals, the real-world network formed by the core believers becomes an important tool for the gods to maintain and expand their faith.

Without the word "majesty," there would be no such thing as gods in this world.

The third is "spiritual enlightenment".

Cultivating the divine path by borrowing the power of incense offerings is similar to the cultivation of the Xuanmen (Taoist) sect, both falling under the category of "the struggle between heaven and man," and is even more dangerous than Xuanmen cultivation. This is because the foundation of divine path cultivation is the power of incense offerings, which, unlike Xuanmen cultivation, does not come from oneself but from the power of the common people.

In the process of spiritual practice, many conflicts and setbacks are inevitable.

For example, the deity in a believer's heart naturally differs from their own self in their perception. Su Che knew of a certain deity who was originally a strong and valiant man who followed the righteous path of saving people from suffering, but inexplicably, after intervening in a few cases of granting children, he gradually became the Goddess of Fertility.

Over time, with the believers' repeated prayers, this deity no longer knew what it was, and actually transformed from a valiant man into an unknown male or female figure. This is a typical example of losing one's self and consciousness.

Furthermore, some of the City Gods appointed by the imperial court were actually loyal ministers of the previous dynasty, utterly devoted and righteous, who would never cooperate with their enemies, yet the court insisted on emphasizing their loyalty. These loyal ministers originally had no spiritual cultivation, and many of them, under the prayers of believers, somehow became loyal ministers of the later dynasty, governing their respective regions for the court—a truly bizarre situation.

If you follow this path, you might become a wish-granting machine for the people, and at most you'll gain a good reputation for serving them. But if you lose your own identity and forget your original intentions in the process of word of mouth, you'll become a machine driven by the power of incense offerings.

Young Master Su, you're a respectable member of the Huangtian Dao sect, why would you get involved in something like this?
Lady Xue and the green dragon each had their own reasons for taking this path.

That's why Young Master Su said earlier that he wouldn't take the half of the divine talisman from the Azure Dragon, and he also didn't intend to let Madam Xue continue down this path.

"Let's pack our things first, we're moving to Jiankang soon."

Su Che stretched comfortably: "Let's rest for a few days. After we take Sikong Tu's head, we'll head over to Jiankang."

(End of this chapter)