Chapter 325: Summon the Deity!

Several disciples with cultivation stood behind Jiang Lin the old Taoist, their expressions reverent.

The half-grown boy and girl, newly admitted and without any cultivation, hid behind the door, curiously poking their heads out to peek.

"Disciple Jiang Lin, forty-seventh-generation successor of Yunhai Monastery on Chengming Mountain, disciple of True Person Lingjing, hereby report to the Heavenly Sovereign."

"Now, due to slaying a demon and depleting my magic power, I have gained two disciples to guide their paths; I humbly beseech the celestial and terrestrial spiritual energies from both directions, hoping the Tiangong grants permission."

A perfectly ordinary "Spirit Invocation" ritual.

Logically, celestial and terrestrial spiritual energies are governed by the Spirit Bureau's deities, yet for some reason, one must petition the Heavenly Sovereign during a Spirit Invocation.

As for why one uses "Spirit Invocation" instead of directly reporting to the Tongli Shenjun enshrined in the monastery…

Golden Core Stage cultivators receive two units of spiritual energy monthly; Foundation Establishment receives only one. If successful, it would serve as additional cultivation resources for the disciples.

Soon, all procedures were completed.

The disciples behind him lowered their eyes, respectfully awaiting the Tiangong's response.

Jiang Lin the old Taoist clenched his fist, his heart filled with tension—though he was a Golden Core cultivator, a fine layer of sweat formed on his palms.

Smoke curled gently, as if drawn upward, straightening into the high heavens.

"Approved!"

A vast, emotionless, icy voice sounded in the ears of Jiang Lin the old Taoist and his disciples.

Approved!

The disciples, who had been lowering their eyes, all raised their heads, their eyes brightening with delight as they looked toward Jiang Lin the old Taoist.

Yet Jiang Lin the old Taoist stood frozen in place.

At the instant the vast voice sounded, he felt as if a towering, boundlessly majestic figure had appeared before his eyes—its height immeasurable, its divine aura overwhelming.

His eyes manifested the natural transformations of sun, moon, wind, and rain, reflecting human fortune and misfortune, life and death, longevity and auspiciousness.

It was at the moment he glimpsed this majestic presence that the Four Divine Methods spontaneously activated.

【Deity: Heavenly Sovereign (??)】

【Resides in the Golden Palace of the Nine Heavens, holds supreme authority, governs all yin-yang fortune and misfortune in this realm, rules over all spirits, saves countless beings, the Supreme Deity】

【Authority: Oversees the Three Realms—Heaven, Earth, and Space.】

【Commands the Ten Directions—Four Cardinal, Four Intermediary, Up and Down.】

【Creates the Four Forms of Life—Womb-born, Egg-born, Moisture-born, Transformation-born.】

【Rules the Six Realms—Heavenly, Human, Demon, Hell, Animal, Hungry Ghost.】

【Dao:??】

【Fa:??】

【Current Status: Summonable】

Heavenly Sovereign?

Summonable?

Gazing at the golden characters manifesting on the ethereal jade book before him, Jiang Lin the old Taoist was slow to comprehend.

Only when his disciples called out did he snap back to awareness—and the jade book's golden text vanished instantly.

"Master, the Spirit-Collecting Flask." The senior disciple held out a long-necked jade flask before him.

The flask's neck was slender, its body luminous and smooth, inscribed with a golden talismanic character.

After a successful Spirit Invocation, the Tiangong does not directly allocate spiritual energy; the cultivator must absorb it through breath control.

But then, the amount absorbed becomes difficult to control.

Too little wastes the allocation; too much exceeds the Tiangong's sanctioned quota…

Hahaha!

Thus, one must use the Spirit-Collecting Flask to gather only the allotted spiritual energy, ensuring no waste and no overage.

Moreover, during cultivation, one must create a "spiritless environment" to avoid accidentally inhaling excess spiritual energy…

In this world, cultivation is truly an exceedingly troublesome affair!

Wait!

I haven't been discovered yet!

Jiang Lin the old Taoist realized belatedly.

Taking the Spirit-Collecting Flask from his senior disciple, he placed it upon the altar, infused a trace of magic power, and set the amount of spiritual energy to be absorbed at two units.

The successful Spirit Invocation proved the Spirit Bureau deities had not detected his anomaly.

But unfortunately, there were still Tongli Shenjun and Tongwei Shenjun…

They knew the Xiong Shen had come to hunt him; indeed, Tongli Shenjun had even given Zhang the Soul-Snatching Divine Talisman, instructing the Xiong Shen to erase all traces after its deed.

Now that I have returned unharmed and the Xiong Shen is dead, it is impossible to conceal this forever.

In the simple act of setting down the jade flask, Jiang Lin the old Taoist pondered countless possibilities.

What if… the Xiong Shen was lying, trying to slander the Shenjun?

Then, he found an excuse to drive all his disciples out.

Gazing at the enshrined deity statue, he lit three incense sticks and bowed.

"Disciple Jiang Lin, I humbly request an audience with Tongli Shenjun."

No sooner had he spoken.

Hum~!

Golden light flared in his vision, and the ethereal jade book reappeared.

【Deity: Tongli (Worthless)】

【One of the Spirit Bureau deities, tasked with subduing demons and exterminating evil…】

【Authority: ……】

【……】

【Current Status: Summonable, Controllable, Subjugatable】

Divine might like a hellish court, boundless divine radiance spread across heaven and earth, filling the entire temple, as a four-armed golden-armored spirit stepped forth from within.

……

……

Upon the mountain peak, Xu Xing watched the entire "Spirit Invocation" ritual until Tongli Shenjun arrived in person.

"You have quite the morbid sense of humor."

This naturally referred to the system-like interface formed by simultaneously activating the four cultivation methods.

"Just adapting to the times," Hong Zun chuckled. "After all, the opportunities gained from the 'Catalyst' vary widely—I must give this young disciple an inheritance with some novelty."

He was no relic stuck in the past; the framework of the 'Spirit Net' in the heart of the Taixuan Realm was designed by his own hand.

After a pause, Hong Zun added:

"Why not also take up a young disciple, and see whose chosen one advances further—what do you say?"

Hearing this, Xu Xing lifted his gaze toward the distance.

"We'll see. Let fate decide."

If a suitable one appears, then give it a try.

If not, then forget it—the focus must remain on severing the connection.

!. Read

All phenomena in this realm—even the succession of immortal and divine eras—are but a negligible prologue within this process.

…………

Within the temple, the boundless divine radiance had begun to recede.

Yet auspicious mists still rose, and sacred chants echoed through the void, grand and holy.

Divine beings travel with ceremonial retinues; if they appeared ordinary, lacking any distinctive splendor, how could they prove their supreme divine authority?

Displaying divine manifestations is the simplest way to gather incense offerings.

Jiang Lin's expression remained unchanged.

In the past, upon encountering a Shenjun's descent, he would have been reverent in body and spirit.

But now…

Facing a spirit bearing the title 【Virtueless】 and suspected of conspiring with demons to kill him, he simply could not bring himself to show reverence.

With a thought, the Spirit-Subjugation Method activated silently; a thread of Spirit-Subjugation magic power settled upon the majestic Tongli Shenjun before him.

Tongli Shenjun did not notice this—his divine eyes gazed down upon Jiang Lin, revealing a hint of confusion behind them, though expertly concealed.

He had noticed Jiang Lin's return the moment he came back.

But due to unrest in the Celestial Court caused by the Fuming County incident, he had, out of caution, delayed descending to eliminate the threat.

"Mortal cultivator Jiang Lin…"

He had intended to say, as usual, "Why have you summoned me?"—but the words changed mid-sentence:

"Why aren't you dead?!"

Damn it!

It was his deepest, most hidden thought.

This was the brilliance of the Spirit-Subjugation Method—spirits like Tongli Shenjun, whose authority derived entirely from the divine system, could not resist it.

Jiang Lin's heart sank further in disappointment.

He took a deep breath, then spoke as if he had not heard the previous words: "I heard of a bear demon wreaking havoc, capturing humans to devour them for sport, so I slew it."

"I did not know its brother was the Mountain God of Guashan, who came to seek revenge."

"At the time, my magic power was depleted, and I had young disciples to protect—I was forced to absorb spiritual energy beyond my allotted share to slay that Virtueless spirit."

"I know my sins are grave, but my disciples are innocent—please, Shenjun, show mercy."

Tongli Shenjun had intended to speak some formal words—but again, the words changed mid-sentence:

"How audacious! That Guashan Mountain God's elder brother gathers incense offerings for me with tireless diligence—what does it matter if he devours a few mortals?"

"You old Taoist are narrow-minded and arrogant! You dare steal spiritual energy to cultivate, slay a spirit, and judge the righteousness of deities—I shall extract your soul and refine your bones to uphold the divine law!"

The once righteous and majestic Tongli Shenjun now looked monstrous and terrifying; Jiang Lin stared, stunned.

After all, he had worshipped this spirit for generations—he had clung to an unrealistic hope.

All of this had been said by the Guashan Mountain God.

What if the Soul-Siphoning Divine Talisman was stolen by Xiong Shen? What if everything Xiong Shen claimed was meant to slander Tongli Shenjun?

Long silence. Jiang Lin trembled as he raised his hand:

"You ascended to divinity through mortal worship and the offering of incense—yet now you… you…"

"Mortals are fortunate beyond measure to offer their lives to aid my incense offerings!" Tongli Shenjun said coldly.

Under the effect of the Spirit-Subjugation Method, he could not conceal his true thoughts.

Jiang Lin took several deep breaths before calming himself.

"Will the Shenjun truly not spare my disciples?"

"How could killing you alone satisfy my rage!"

Words spilled uncontrollably from Tongli Shenjun's mouth—he was terrified, burning with the desire to grind the old Taoist to dust and ash, yet tragically found himself utterly immobilized.

"Merely to vent your rage, does the Shenjun not fear the Divine Inspector's inquiry?"

"Hah! I sent two taels of merit to the local Divine Inspector's office just the other day—how would he trouble me over a trivial matter?"

Minor matter...

Hearing this, Jiang Lin the old Taoist finally gave up, his expression showing signs of pain.

"Why must you force me..."

Why, when he had already prepared to die for his disciple...

When he looked up again, his eyes were filled with resolve!

Hss~!

Just one breath in!

Boom—boom!

One saw rolling spiritual energy surging back, streaming in from all directions, transforming into a tornado suspended above the Cloud Sea Monastery.

The Taoists of Yunhai Temple, the Divine Inspector overseeing this region, and all living beings within several li around witnessed this sight.

Like a great whale drinking water, the old Taoist swallowed the swirling spirit vortex in one gulp.

In an instant, his nearly depleted magic power became abundant, his withered meridians were nourished, and even that dimmed Jin Dan regained its brilliance.

And within the celestial and terrestrial spirit energy, the Divine Path imprint, purified by the "Devouring Divine Method," transformed into a purest essence of Divine Path origin.

"Weak virtue, feeble divine power—summon it swiftly!" (End of Chapter)