Daily Intelligence: From Water Snake to Jinghe Dragon King

Chapter 145: The River God Temple Worships the Dharma Realm, and the Various Living Beings in the City

Fortunately, 'gods and demons are different'. These sacred beings, as well as their wives and children, all live in the realm of incense and Dharma, and are not visible to the world.

"The worship of Dharma Realm on this side of Jing River originated from the great general Wei Xiaokuan of the previous dynasty. After his death, he was named the God of Jing River by the founding emperor of the previous dynasty. He was worshipped by the people on both sides of the Jing River.

Unfortunately, the success and failure of this dynasty were both due to incense. After the founding of this dynasty, Emperor Yang Jian of the Sui Dynasty issued an edict to deprive Wei Xiaokuan of his title as the god of the Jing River and strictly prohibited people on both sides of the river from offering sacrifices.

Therefore, the former Jinghe River God Wei Xiaokuan fell from the altar, his spirit perished, leaving behind a vast, ownerless incense realm. Later generations of incense gods and power gods used this as a place to rest their descendants, renaming it the 'Sacrificial Realm.'

"Most of the Jinghe River Dragon King's family have achieved the status of powerful gods, and they do not conflict with the Jinghe River God appointed by Wei Xiaokuan."

Hong Gu explained to Liu Qing intentionally or unintentionally: "The power body is the physical body that is integrated with the Tao. As the Tao level increases, one will slowly comprehend the power realm, and then the Tao level will naturally evolve into the divine realm.
As for the Incense God, after merging with the Dao, it will also evolve into the Dharma Realm and the Divine Realm, but its power is not even one tenth of the Authority Dharma Realm, but it also has the ability to open up the universe and transform the void into reality."

Liu Qing really broadened his horizons and was filled with curiosity about the sacrificial rituals of the Jing River. Husband and wife are one, so Liu Qing wanted to see it for himself, and Hong Gu naturally had no objection.

"God, can we go together?"

Qu Yuan sternly corrected her: "Please do not call me 'God' anymore. In front of the lady of the seventh rank, I am ashamed to be called a God."

Hong Gu quickly changed her words: "Old senior."

Qu Yuan waved his hand again and said: "Just call me fellow Taoist. There are different levels of seeking the Tao. How can we judge seniority based on age?"

All right, old-fashioned old man.

Afterwards, Qu Yuan walked on the water, and Hong Gu and Liu Qing rode on Shui'er and followed behind him, heading towards the Jing River.

Qu Yuan drowned in water and was named Water God after his death, so he had extraordinary water-related magical powers.
But in terms of speed in water, it is not inferior to the water-avoiding golden-eyed beast Shui'er by a lot. However, he needs to consume divine power to control water, while Hong Gu and Liu Qing only need to praise Shui'er Qianli, which is really convenient.

This made Qu Yuan extremely envious, and his desire to find a mount became even stronger.

The waterway is hundreds of miles long and can be reached in a cup of tea. In front of you is the surging river water and the faint water chestnuts. It is the Qianli Jing River.

In the middle of the Jing River, there is an island in the middle of the lake. On the island, there is a dilapidated river god temple. The red paint on the temple gate is mottled and falling, and the words "Imperially Appointed General Wei as the God of Jing River" can be faintly seen.

Incense can make a god, and the success or failure depends on the incense.

When the incense is at its peak, it is like a holy figure in the clouds; when the incense is fading, it is like these ruins. Throughout its prosperity and decline, it is nothing more than a tower in the sky, like a mirage in the water.

I advise you not to become a god of incense and fire, only when you have power and authority in harmony with the Tao can you achieve immortality.

Liu Qing was filled with emotion. Over there, Qu Yuan, already wearing the fifth-rank Water Spirit Officer token, was the first to step into the River God Temple. Seeing this, Hong Gu also blew out the seventh-rank authority priest jade scepter.

He activated his divine power and ignited the jade scepter, covering Liu Qing and Shui'er with divine light. He raised his head proudly and led his family into the River God Temple, entering the sacrificial realm through this entrance.

Family members are family members, because my wife is so capable.

As soon as I entered the River God Temple, I could smell the faint scent of incense. Then the divine light from the Jade Sceptre shone brightly, and the next moment the world was spinning.

When he woke up, he found himself in an unfamiliar place.

There was a long river hanging upside down in the sky, flowing endlessly. Liu Qing guessed that it was the manifestation of the Jing River. On both sides of the river, there were countless large and small lakes, deep pools and ditches like stars. They were the various large and small tributaries of the Jing River system, guarding the Jing River veins.

Is this the sacrificial realm of Jinghe River?

In the Dharma Realm, because the water veins of the Jing River are used to represent the sun, moon, and stars, the sky and the earth are unclear, the light is dim, and the water is vast and foggy, and the visual range is only ten feet.

The air was filled with moist water vapor, and in the water vapor floated the eternal incense. The incense took the form of smoke, making the already unclear Dharma Realm even more blurred.

The ground is covered with soil, mountains, fields and forests, just like the outside world. When you step on it, it doesn't feel empty, but solid.

However, these fields and forests all look gray and not as lush and green as the outside.

Many residents of the Dharma Realm with heads of various kinds of fish and shrimps on their heads are working in the fields. The wheat, rice, millet, beans, hemp and other grains planted in the fields have their own spiritual charm and are obviously not ordinary things.

The inhabitants of this Dharma Realm are presumably the family members of the incense god who were brought with them when they became gods. They were placed here and have multiplied over the years to the present day, and their number is extremely large.
They brought one or two offspring at first, and as they multiplied, their descendants continued to grow. As their numbers grew, the gods and ancestors could no longer take care of them, so they had to send them away to fend for themselves, plowing the fields and hunting in the mountains to fill their stomachs.
I was promised to follow my parents to become gods and enjoy a good life, but unexpectedly I still have to make a living on my own. How miserable! How is it different from the outside world?

Fortunately, the crops we cultivate are rare grains that are rarely seen in the outside world, which is enough to comfort us.

And within these fields and forests, a vast city stood, built over a hundred years using incense as bricks, divine power as mud, and the efforts of the ancestors and gods of each family. Inscribed on the city gates was the city of no return.

Monsters are different from mortals, and gods are different from monsters. Once they enter this sacrificial realm, any descendants who are not gods cannot get out, so they are called "no return".

A giant carp demon, the descendant of some incense god, had reached the state of refining emptiness and merging with the Tao. It transformed into the appearance of a young man on earth, wielding a hoe and repairing the canal in the field. Then it stretched out its hand and the demonic aura came out, pulling the water of the Jing River hanging upside down in the sky to irrigate the hundred acres of nine-ear wheat planted.
Liu Qing was splashed with water from the Jing River pouring down, but considering the other party's carp foot, he did not attack.
Hong Gu curled her lips and said, "This carp is from Jing River. It's not the red-tailed, silver-scaled Yellow River carp, nor is it from the East China Sea. How can it be worthy of being from the same clan as my sister?"

Hong Gu was about to step forward to question Liu Qing and vent her anger, but Qu Yuan, who was standing nearby, quickly stopped her: "Fellow Daoist Hong Gu, please don't start a disturbance. The carp clan in this Dharma Realm all came from the Wei River. You have the power of the Dao, so although you are not afraid, there is no need to cause trouble."

Qu Yuan said this, looking at Liu Qing in surprise. He never thought that this servant snake demon would be so valued by his master.
If Liu Qing guessed Qu Yuan's thoughts, he would definitely curse him, saying, "You are the slave, and your whole family are slaves."

"This sacrificial realm belongs to the Jing River system, so why are the creatures of the Wei River inhabiting it?"

"Since the sin of the gods a hundred years ago, the Jing River has been without dragons or incense gods. There's no one to lead it. Therefore, this realm, which originally belonged to the Jing River system, has been occupied by some incense gods from the Wei River, serving as a habitat for future generations."

Hong Gu's face darkened, and she looked quite angry, as if her own garden had been broken into by a thief.

I really want to beat them out with a big stick. Although Hong Gu is a seventh-rank, she has the power of the Tao and a lot of spiritual treasures. She is not taken seriously by ordinary incense gods of the same level. Even those of a higher level can escape unscathed.

If she were to have an attack, there would be nothing to be afraid of in this sacrificial world.

But thinking that Liu Qing was by his side and this was just a witness, he suppressed his displeasure and did not get angry.

Liu Qing rubbed his nose. He didn't expect that he would become a burden. Well, he should improve his strength as soon as possible after returning.

Having been to the Qu Yuan River Festival several times, he was very familiar with the place, so he extended his hand and led Hong Gu, Liu Qing, and Shui'er to line up and enter the city.

The person who can make the fifth-rank water spirit official line up obediently to enter the city must be a righteous god of the fifth rank or above in this city.

There are ghost soldiers guarding the city gates. Any living creature entering the city, whether it is a demon or a god, will be charged a city tax of ten taels of incense silver.

Those whose life spans have run out, or whose Yin spirits have not yet shed their Yang forms, or who have not collected enough incense and silver to achieve the Dao, have no choice but to escape from their souls and transform into Yin soldiers, similar to the General Tiao in Liu Qing's Yin Yu Ling Banner.

Each person had to pay ten taels of silver as a city entry tax, which was simply insane and no different from robbery. Liu Qing felt distressed, but fortunately Qu Yuan was the host and helped Hong Gu, Liu Qing and Shui'er pay the tax together.

From what Liu Qing had seen, the other incense silvers were just like silver ingots in the human world, but the incense silver that Qu Yuan took out was unique.
It looks like a rice dumpling.

"To maintain such a large city, all bricks and stones are made from incense silver, so naturally a high city entrance tax must be collected to cover the cost of future repairs."

Hong Gu then added, "The Incense God can transform the power of incense and vows into incense silver. After countless years of accumulation, everyone has tens of thousands of incense silver in their hands. They frequently travel to this Dharma Realm, so the circulation of incense silver here is extremely high. It's all too common."

Liu Qing was somewhat puzzled and asked, "Incense silver is very important for the promotion of Incense Gods. Why don't they use the accumulated incense silver to advance to the priesthood?"

"The incense silver is certainly important and can strengthen their incense divine power, but if you want to be promoted to a priesthood, the incense silver is not the key. Gaining the recognition of the Supreme God and being granted by the Heavenly Court is the key to the promotion of the Incense God."

After passing through the city gate and entering the City of No Return, I saw a main road three meters wide running along the north and south sides of the city. It was paved with bluestone and was very clean without any mud.

On both sides of the main road, there are restaurants, teahouses, rice shops, horse and carriage shops, clothing and jewelry shops, and even brothels.

It looked exactly like a county town with many flowers on earth, which made Liu Qing marvel at it. Then he could not help but be stunned when he heard the voices of a woman with a snake's body, a girl with a river clam, and a young woman with an eel soliciting customers from the brothel on the second floor.

"Sir, it's been a long time since we last met. You must have missed your sister so much. Come in and let's get close to each other—"

"Master Catfish, why haven't you taken care of my sister recently? She's almost starving."

"Oh, what a handsome snake man, don't just stay with the yellow-faced woman beside you, try to taste my sister too——"

Hong Gu was immediately angry, "You little slut, who is the yellow-faced woman?"

He immediately threw a punch, and the power of authority came out, smashing the bulging chest of the ignorant mandarin fish madam into a dent.

No matter how big it is, it's not the reason for you to be horny. Besides, mine is not small either. Pah——

Liu Qing quickly lowered his head and dared not look again, for fear of causing Sister Hong Gu's anger.

Qu Yuan was very perceptive. He hurriedly took a few steps and took Hong Gu and the others away from this place: "The world is becoming more and more corrupt. I never thought that in the worship of the Dharma Realm, there would be a place for flesh and blood. I despise it."

(End of this chapter)