Chapter 176: Incense Offerings, Spirit Light Unmoved

Audacious!

Daring to look directly at the True Lord's true countenance, a minor cultivator of the He Mountain Sect, how fearful, how fearful.

Old Master Chen—no, A-Ci—hurriedly raised his hands in a salute, then used his sleeve to carefully brush away the non-existent dust on the jade statue, his face full of righteousness, looking even more like an Apprentice of Longhu Mountain than an Apprentice of Longhu Mountain.

Sigh. Always walking in a melon patch, how can one not slip up.

Chen Ci never expected that the big melon he ate at the Liangjiang Sea Market two months ago would accurately strike his current self; truly, worldly affairs are impermanent.

Standing bent over for a long while, A-Ci confirmed that this jade statue of the Star Lord had no Spirit Light flickering, nor any other anomalies, only then did he suppress the unease in his heart, let out a breath, and recover the bearing of Old Master Chen.

It's just a mere jade statue, hmph.

I, your old master, will set it up for worship in a moment.

Hmm?

Chen Ci glanced at the Changping County Magistrate behind him, his eyes slightly narrowed: "What are you doing?"

Seeing Chen Ci pondering in silence, the Changping County Venerable wiped his forehead and said in a low voice: "True Person Chen, if there is nothing else, this subordinate will return to the county office to handle official business. These five thousand taels of silver are the True Person's festival gift money, and five thousand taels are for the clay sculpture of the divine statue. If it is not enough, the True Person only needs to speak; the county can always squeeze out a bit more."

Pausing, the Changping County Venerable gave a sheepish smile and explained in a low voice: "Although I don't know why the True Person suddenly wants to worship, there is no harm in extra rites, it is never wrong."

Chen Ci pondered for a moment and finally sighed. As the He Mountain Light, he truly bore it all; he had to worry about the He Mountain Sect before, and now he had to worry about Longhu Mountain as well.

Chen Ci shook his head and looked at the Five Ghosts in the main hall—they were ugly, and he was just about to call someone to smash them, but as soon as he raised his hand, he remembered what he had just said.

However, it was somewhat inappropriate for this Star Lord divine statue to be set up in Sanyin Temple. If he didn't know, that would be one thing, but Old Master Chen had long since been molded into the shape of the He Mountain Sect, filled with the soul of the He Mountain Sect; how could he worship the founder of another sect, right? Moreover, for a statue of a Longhu Mountain Primordial Spirit True Monarch to be squeezed into a small He Mountain Outer Transmission dojo, what kind of decorum was that.

Besides, a clay-sculpted golden body—if cultivators from next door saw it, they would think Longhu Mountain had fallen on hard times, being so stingy even with their own founder's statue, only five thousand taels of silver; who are they looking down on.

The Dao palace, two hundred taels; he said minimalist style, so that's the price.

Old Master Chen did not embezzle or take a single cent from it.

Soul Fixing Talisman: Proficient/15/100

Even with his current attainments in the Soul Fixing Talisman Method, he could only produce about ten talismans at noon each day, fifteen at most; any more would exhaust his True Qi, leaving him unable to protect himself or perform other cultivation.

Chen Ci touched his chin, and for a moment, he realized something: could it be that while he didn't have the guts to go against Longhu Mountain, he had plenty of guts to use Longhu Mountain to amass wealth?

In just half a month, a minimalist-style bluestone Dao palace was erected about a mile outside the east gate of Changping County. It occupied a large area and was solemn and dignified. Inside, it enshrined only a golden divine statue, one zhang tall, with an extraordinary temperament, wearing a Star Crown and a Star Dao Robe; between its hands and feet, it exuded the majesty of money.

This Apprentice he took in, why does it inexplicably feel like a secretary.

The foundation, ten thousand taels; this foundation was ancestral property of Sanyin Temple, for rent only, not for sale, at a cost of only ten taels of silver per year. Sanyin Temple and the county office signed for a thousand years in one go, signifying that the incense for the Star Lord would never be broken for a thousand years.

"Have all the people arrived?"

Chen Ci waved his hand and let him go back. Not to mention clay, five thousand taels of silver was more than enough to sculpt a golden body—of course, not the pure gold kind.

Chen Ci instructed indifferently: "Today is the consecration of the Duer Star Lord divine statue; those who didn't come are simply not giving face to Longhu Mountain."

The plaque, two thousand taels; the three characters 'Due Palace' were requested to be written by the Changping County Magistrate himself. The calligraphy fee was less than a thousand taels per character, cheap.

Chen Ci calculated in his heart the time for the Soul Fixing Talisman to advance. This time was not long, but it wasn't exactly short either, yet it happened to be able to advance in parallel with the Golden Scale Wonderful Method and the Five Ghosts Wonderful Method.

The Changping County Venerable, whose presence was not high, didn't know when he had also followed and knelt behind Chen Ci. Hearing Chen Ci's question, he climbed up, straightened his clothes and hat, and said solemnly: "Although the Master does not speak of strange forces and chaotic spirits, me following along to worship makes it look like you, True Person Chen, are sincere."

"True Person Chen, long time no see!"

Chen Ci was dressed in a jade-colored wide-sleeved Dao robe and wore a Zi-Wu Lotus Dao Crown. He sighed softly; for the sake of this Dao palace, his Apprentice had been exhausted these days.

He didn't know if that Longhu Mountain Primordial Spirit True Monarch, by using the name of the Dongxuan Miaodao Du'e Star Lord to have mortals worship with incense, was doing so to cultivate some kind of divine ability or secret technique, or if there was some other intention, but it had nothing to do with Old Master Chen anymore. Having recognized the origin, besides doing as told, did he dare to have any small tricks?

That is called incense money.

"It will take another two or three years."

Old Master Chen originally wanted to sign for more years, but the county office's public account really had no money left, so he had to give up.

With this matter settled, it was time for bitter cultivation and practice; pill cultivation also needed to be put on the agenda, but he didn't need to worry about pill materials, as he had an Apprentice to toil for him.

Sigh, worried to death, and all the money earned is hard-earned money.

Another five thousand, five thousand per person!

Let the county office suffer; as for the bad reputation, Longhu Mountain can bear it.

If the Apprentice is tired, it means the teacher is tired. Moreover, if it weren't for Old Master Chen spending money and effort, sending his own Apprentice to cut and transport the bluestone, how could a Dao palace of this scale be built so quickly.

A total of thirteen thousand taels of silver in construction costs; truly, money flows like water to achieve the current progress.

No, what is called amassing wealth.

Long Xianzhi had lost a circle of weight, but he was also a bit more capable.

"True Person Chen!"

"Reporting to Teacher, everyone has arrived."

The divine statue, eight hundred taels; the gold powder was mixed with some Five Elements Divine Sand, and the effect was indeed good, especially the statue's eyes, which seemed to have starlight rippling, with extraordinary majesty.

Pure what gold?

"Very well, let them come in to offer incense."

Chen Ci nodded, holding a large stack of Soul Fixing Talismans in his sleeve, all obtained from his hard work on the Soul Fixing Talisman Method these days. It was a waste to leave them idle; if he could sell them to recover some costs, that would be quite good.

Due Palace.

It had to be a luxury single room at the very least.

Chen Ci: "..." You are really a talent, you deserve to be an official.

Several polite greetings interrupted Chen Ci's somewhat strange thoughts.

Those who came today were all big families in the county. The Star Lord Dao temple set up by Longhu Mountain, personally managed by Old Master Chen of the He Mountain Sect—even if they were given a hundred guts, they wouldn't dare not to come.

"I can only follow the decrees of Longhu Mountain. In the future, on every festival, you all should arrange for more family members to come to the Due Palace to offer incense to the Star Lord; that would also be excellent."

Chen Ci scanned the crowd: "The Star Lord's name is Dongxuan Miaodao Du'e Star Lord. Whenever you encounter disaster, if your heart is sincere, all can be warded off and escaped; this is called 'Duer' (Crossing Disaster)."

Pausing for a moment, Chen Ci continued: "In the Dao palace, there are still Star-blessing Evil-warding Divine Talismans and Nurturing Life Spirit Pills. To drive away evil spirits, bring auspiciousness to the home, and strengthen the body and prolong life, all are possible. Those with a sincere heart can obtain them with a single stick of incense; those without a sincere heart can also obtain them with a hundred taels of incense money."

"Yes!"

Everyone bowed respectfully.

That Longhu Mountain Daoist only spoke of needing the county residents to offer incense with sincerity, but with Changping County's population of one hundred thousand, it was impossible to have the yamen runners arrange for them to come to the Daoist temple one by one to offer incense. However, as long as the wealthy families in the county came a few more times and spread news of the efficacy, those commoners would naturally follow suit, which would save time and effort.

Chen Ci narrowed his eyes, scanning his own panel to see if any filthy things would be brushed out, while simultaneously using the Observation Qi Method to pay attention to the jade statue placed within the Star Lord statue. The golden statue was merely the exterior; the core was still that Star Lord jade statue specifically sent over by the Longhu Mountain cultivator.

Fortunately, Chen Ci had made no move to worship, and nothing extra had appeared on his Gold Finger panel; it was a cause for celebration.

"Eh?"

But suddenly, a faint, almost imperceptible Spirit Light flashed across the jade statue. Chen Ci withdrew his gaze. Before the statue, a figure looked somewhat familiar. After scanning the person following alongside, it turned out to be a female relative from the household of that Master Liu.

It must be said that this Master Liu also had some connection with Sanyin Temple.

Initially, Old Master Chen was kind-hearted and sent out two spirit children, who were adopted by this Liu family. Later, he found another piece of raw jade and made some plans with Longhu Mountain. However, worldly affairs are unpredictable; now that Chen Ci had welded the car door shut within the He Mountain side sect, this backup plan he had left was likely of no use, so it could only be treated as a good deed.

Afterward, the Liu family was preyed upon by that evil cultivator surnamed Ma, and they came to Sanyin Temple to beg for two Soul Fixing Talismans, which also allowed Old Master Chen to get his first blood on the road to Longevity.

Still the same saying, Brother Ma died miserably.

Now, it was the sincere worship of his family's female relative that caused the jade statue to emit Spirit Light.

This Liu family, I fear, might have some bit of destiny upon them.

"Those who are sincere in heart shall be rewarded."

Chen Ci pondered slightly and spoke up to call out to Master Liu: "Divine talisman or Spirit Pill, you may choose one."

"Ah, True Person Chen."

Master Liu was somewhat stunned, but he still consciously offered a hundred taels of silver, dropping it into the incense box. After thinking for a moment, he said: "I trouble the True Person to bestow one divine talisman."

He remembered that a divine talisman used to cost five hundred taels; now it was only one hundred taels, so choosing this would certainly not be a loss.

Chen Ci nodded slightly, and a Refined Soul-Fixing Talisman fell into his hand.

Although other wealthy families also offered a hundred taels of incense money, not one of them was sincere in heart; they were all just going through the motions.

But it didn't matter; Old Master Chen would take action.

Five Ghosts Transportation Method: Perfected/62/100

Withdrawing his gaze from the panel, Old Master Chen puffed out his chest. For the great cause of Longhu Mountain, let him be the villain. How could there be any reason not to buy the divine talismans bestowed by the Star Lord? Once they bought enough, they would naturally become sincere in heart.

If they still weren't sincere, it meant they hadn't bought enough. Is this reasonable? This is very reasonable.

"The Essence Refining has been a bit lacking lately, causing the Five Ghosts Transportation Method to still be short of the mark."

"I wonder what the situation will be after it is Perfected."

Chen Ci rubbed his fingertips lightly. It had been some time since he had purged the local customs, and he didn't know if there were many heads of fierce bandits in the county jail. By the way, there were also the big game animals in the mountains; he hadn't seen the Stone Bodhisattva for a long time, and inexplicably, he missed it a little.

Once the crowd of incense pilgrims finished their offerings and left, the Due Palace, which was already simple and empty, became even more desolate.

"The burden is heavy and the road is long."

Chen Ci shook his head. Nearly a hundred people offered incense, yet only one stirred a trace of Spirit Light. It seemed this matter was not very simple.

Immediately, he sighed and fished over a thousand taels of silver from the incense box to keep on behalf of the Star Lord. After all, all the expenses for this Due Palace were being paid by Chen Ci. Is this reasonable? This is naturally very reasonable.

"Incense."

"Five Ghosts Transportation."

"Sigh."

Chen Ci shook his head. Forced by necessity, truly forced by necessity. One might not believe in other things, but one must believe in the words of the He Mountain Light.

Ten days later.

Chen Ci opened his eyes in the quiet room and slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air. In the void, several clusters of gray mist flickered in and out of existence, finally pouncing into Chen Ci's back amidst a burst of playful frolicking, disappearing without a trace.

Five Ghosts Transportation Method: Perfected/71/100

"Almost there."

Staring at his panel for a while, Chen Ci stood up with satisfaction. After adjusting his breath for a moment, he would head out to the Due Palace.

These days, Chen Ci would leave Sanyin Temple at dawn to stand guard at the Due Palace, practice the Soul Fixing Talisman at noon, and wait until evening to hand over the night watch to others before returning to Sanyin Temple to consume Qi, practice his methods, and refine the Five Ghosts.

It felt a bit like punching a clock for work.

It was just that the progress was not very pleasing. In these days, a total of over six hundred people had offered incense, but the incense that could stir the jade statue's Spirit Light was few and far between. However, Chen Ci currently had no other way.

The so-called incense requires wishing, efficacy, and belief—a whole chain to be effective.

No matter how well Old Master Chen's Five Ghosts could impersonate evil spirits, they wouldn't see results in just a few days.

It was just that the Soul Fixing Talismans had been sold—or rather, requested by pilgrims—several times, so it wasn't a loss.

But he didn't have much time to stay in the Daoist temple. Did they really think Old Master Chen didn't need to go out to cultivate? Longhu Mountain hadn't paid him a single tael of silver. The incense money was Old Master Chen's hard-earned wages; what did it have to do with Longhu Mountain?

"I must find a Temple Keeper to manage things a bit; I only need to come twice, on the first and fifteenth of the month."

Chen Ci shook his head and glanced at the statue. Just as he was about to leave, he inexplicably felt something was wrong. Subconsciously, he glanced at the statue a few more times, pondered for a moment, but couldn't say what was wrong.

Longhu Mountain Primordial Spirit True Monarch.

Star Lord statue.

Incense offerings.

Jade statue Spirit Light.

Chen Ci narrowed his eyes, carefully sorting through the events of these past days. Finally, his memory landed on that young Longhu Mountain Daoist in Sanyin Temple that day, and his expression became somewhat strange.

When one pondered this matter, it really was a bit off.

(End of this chapter)