Chapter 619: Mother Stone, Firearm Scripture

These past few days, the shrine has gradually begun to change.

Strands of incense power are actually condensing!

Although very faint, it has made Li Yan grow vigilant.

For no other reason than that this figure is truly too famous.

From ancient times to the present, various legends have been left behind, and the number of temples dedicated to her is countless; she is a true Great Deity.

But this shrine is an ancient artifact, perhaps dating back to the era of ancient tribal ancestors, and since no one has been offering incense or consecrating it, why would it condense incense power?

To this day, Li Yan has gained some understanding of folk deities.

They are born from incense and die from being forgotten.

Using concepts from his past life, so-called folk deities are projections of collective consciousness, a kind of virtual existence. For example, upon seeing natural phenomena like wind, frost, rain, and snow, people would create deities who wield the corresponding powers.

This is humanity's exploration of the external world.

Human emotional power is incomparably strong, and coupled with the circulation of the two Qis—Gang and Sha—in this world, joy, anger, worry, thought, sorrow, fear, and shock all give rise to something.

Folk deities are the same.

The weaker ones can only reside in a small statue, no better than wandering ghosts, at most able to warn through dreams.

The formidable ones, like the Water Deity General Yang Si, have statues spread throughout the rivers of the south, their incense forming a continuous line, allowing them to manifest and even slay demons.

And the True Lord Li Erlang exists on yet another level.

Reincarnated as a human, he successfully ascended to godhood.

This phenomenon may not be an isolated case.

For instance, this Goddess Xiwangmu.

From the *Classic of Mountains and Seas*, we know that in ancient times she was the Lord of Kunlun, in charge of the "Five Calamities of Heaven" and the "Elixir of Immortality."

The so-called "Five Calamities of Heaven" were the five disasters ancient ancestors feared: plague, war, famine, flood, and earthquake.

Her true form was "tiger teeth and leopard tail," symbolizing the ruthlessness and regeneration of natural laws, and also representing the fears of the ancestors.

In other words, he is a fierce god.

But there is also a theory that the Goddess Xiwangmu was actually an ancient Western female clan leader; like the Nüwa clan, Fuxi, and Shennong, these were clan names, not referring to a single individual.

The alliance at Yaochi with Wang Mu of Zhou was merely a mythological expression of a historical event, which is why they could exchange gifts.

Regardless of the situation, changes occurred later on.

During the Han Dynasty, Han Wu Di built the "Temple of the Golden Mother Yuanjun," and the description of her image became "features neither too long nor too short, natural beauty hidden and elegant, a face of peerless beauty," and she gifted immortal peaches to Han Wu Di.

Mythology and history are often deeply intertwined.

Perhaps this is related to Wang Mu of Zhou's western expedition and Han Wu Di of Han's western inspection.

The so-called "gift of immortal peaches" might also be related to the alchemists' deception of emperors in their search for immortality, hence the appearance of the "Goddess Xiwangmu's Bamboo Slip" divine nightmare incident.

Later on, she gradually evolved into the current form of a "Goddess of Fortune."

This is typical of the influence of incense.

Just like Li Erlang, as he absorbed incense, both his personality and demeanor changed, eventually becoming Yang Yi Jian's ascension to godhood.

The Goddess Xiwangmu may have experienced a similar process.

Regardless, the truth has been submerged in history.

This shrine is still an ancient divine object, but the nature of the Goddess Xiwangmu has changed; any incense offered will only appear on the current Goddess of Fortune and Virtue.

Could it be that something went wrong with the Goddess Xiwangmu's worship?

Li Yan could not fathom it.

Fortunately, this bit of incense power had no effect on him.

Holding the shrine, Li Yan focused his mind, and the copper coin scales on his Thousand-Thought Bracers immediately clattered.

A sudden gale rose around him, and the Gang and Sha Qis converged, directly washing away the bit of incense on the shrine until it was completely clean.

After doing this, Li Yan carefully put it away.

There are too many things to do at the Opening of the Cellar Assembly; after it ends, he will immediately head to the Western Ridge, and while waiting for Long Long Yaner to break through her barrier, he will absorb the shrine.

Afterwards, he will head to Luoyang.

After setting the plan, Li Yan came to the window.

Qingcheng chose a good day; today is a long-awaited sunny day, the cold mist across the sky has dissipated, and the sunlight tears through the thick fog to fall, recreating the beautiful scenery of Zhaoyang Cave.

Looking out, it is a scene of shimmering gold.

However, although the scenery is beautiful, Li Yan has other things on his mind.

The appearance of the Nine Cauldrons, new-style firearms, the Great Ocean Voyage, steam engines, the abnormality of the Great Luo Dharma Realm... many signs indicate that this humanitarian revolution will undergo earth-shaking changes.

The wheels of history have long deviated from his understanding.

When they set out from Guanzhong, their goal was simply to travel far and wide, broaden their knowledge, and complete their cultivation inheritance.

Subsequently, they were drawn into the war in the Southwest and the schemes of the demon-folk.

By now, their strength has grown rapidly; whether it is his name or the names of the Twelve Yuan Chen, they have all spread far and wide.

Before setting out, he had never thought of this.

However, yesterday's assembly also reminded him.

Under the great trend of humanity, those great sects with deep foundations are all looking for a way forward, and the Meishan Dharma Sect has even directly defected to the imperial court.

Where will their small team go from here...

…………

The glazed hip-and-gable roof of the Shangqing Palace pierces through the sea of clouds.

As the mountain wind stirs the pine waves, under the eight-cornered flying eaves of the palace, seventy-two copper bells chime in the wind, and then the young Daoist pulls the striking log.

Dong! Dong! Dong!

The magnificent sound of the morning bell resounds through the mountains.

Outside the Shangqing Palace, it was already bustling with people.

The first day was for sacrifices and meetings, the second day for opening the cellars to collect treasures, and today is the final day, which is also the time for exchanging various spiritual materials and treasures.

The Opening of the Cellar Assembly is not held every year, and one of this scale is even rarer; naturally, every sect will not miss it, and they arrived early to wait outside the Shangqing Palace.

Li Yan and the others are among them, exchanging pleasantries with many people.

Many of these forces are old acquaintances.

For example, the Doumu Institute of Mount Taibai, the Chunyang Palace of Mount Huashan, the Zhenwu Palace of Mount Mount Wudang, the Baotong Zen Temple of Near Wuchang, Guangde Temple...

Although the people who came are not familiar, they have all met before, and the relationships are good.

Unknowingly, Li Yan has accumulated quite a lot of connections.

Of course, there are also people who stay far away from him.

For example, the Shangshan Sect of Shanzhou; he had a conflict with Master Yue Master Yue Fachong when he was in Chang'an, and coupled with the fact that the Ming Sect where Shen Shen Sanyou belongs does not get along with the Shangshan Sect, he couldn't be bothered to pay them any mind.

This is how it is to mix in the martial world.

There is no shortage of friends, and no shortage of enemies.

And all of this falls into the eyes of those who care.

In the battle at the Shu Prince's Palace, he was already famous throughout the world; now, those who converse with him are all forces of the Mystic Sect's righteous path, making many people begin to evaluate him in their hearts.

For example, Di Yu Longzi of the Tongtian Sect, watching silently from afar, although his face is gloomy, a trace of wariness appears in his eyes...

And there is Tang Jiu of the Meishan Dharma Sect, who was infinitely glorious the day before yesterday.

This short, fat old man looks at Li Yan in the crowd, lost in thought, and after hesitating for a moment, walks up, smiles, and bows, saying: "Li Li Shaoxia, I have long admired your great name..."

The righteous path people of the Mystic Sect around them understand, knowing they have something to say, so they find excuses to disperse one after another.

Li Yan also smiled and cupped his hands, saying, "Greetings, Elder Tang. I have received President Zou's letter. Seeing you in such high spirits, the matter has likely been resolved, right?"

"Good luck, Lord Pei helped."

Tang Jiu laughs, then speaks with a serious face: "Although the matter is settled, Li Li Shaoxia's willingness to take action was also giving us face. My Meishan Dharma Sect never treats friends poorly. Please accept this item."

As he speaks, he takes a booklet from his bosom.

Li Yan takes the booklet and sees the words *Meishan Firearm Method Compendium* written on it, asking with some confusion: "Forgive my shallow knowledge, but this book looks like it was just written?"

Tang Jiu looks around, not deliberately concealing anything, and smiles: "Since my Meishan created firearm techniques, Daoist friends from all over the Shenzhou have gathered here to study and research together."

"My Meishan is not a narrow-minded sect, but unfortunately, outside sects do not worship the Ancestor of the Altar, so they cannot learn the techniques."

"But our Shenzhou has a continuous emergence of talent. These are all ideas summarized by fellow Daoists from various paths. Perhaps in the near future, other sects will also be able to cultivate this method."

"I heard that the Twelve Yuan Chen are skilled in using firearms, so I present the *Meishan Firearm Method Compendium* to you, hoping that you will all achieve great things..."

As soon as these words are spoken, they immediately attract everyone's attention.

Li Yan immediately sees the other party's intentions.

On the first day of the assembly, although the Meishan Dharma Sect stole the limelight and defected to the imperial court to enter the Ministry of War, with a limitless future, they also offended many fellow Mystic Sect members.

This move is, on one hand, to show the demeanor of the Meishan Dharma Sect, and on the other hand, to buy people's hearts.

If there are no accidents, there will definitely be people who are tempted.

And this booklet will inevitably be sent out in many copies.

On the path of firearm techniques, the Meishan Sect has already embarked on a smooth road, occupying an innate advantage; even if others research methods, they can still draw references, forever occupying the upper hand.

No matter how you calculate it, they are not losing money.

Sure enough, people immediately come forward impatiently to strike up a conversation.

Li Yan doesn't care and retreats to the side to check the booklet.

Opening the first page, it is the origin of this book.

Just as Tang Jiu said, it gathers the hard work of many Mystic Sect experts, some of whom are quite famous.

Li Yan quickly flips through a few pages.

He sees that Volume One is *Chapter on Firearm Form and System*:

"Firearms borrow the intensity of metal and fire externally, and contain the changes of Yin and Yang internally. The Meishan Nine Refining Method: Saltpeter and sulfur as bone, cinnabar as soul; lead and mercury to transform Sha, thunder talismans as guides. Whenever building guns and cannons, one should carve the Twenty-Eight Mansions on the barrel, yin-carve fire-avoidance patterns on the bottom..."

So that's it!

Li Yan understands a lot as soon as he sees it.

The new-style firearms they obtained, even if they asked someone to build them specifically, were all traditional styles, and if they want to perform firearm techniques, they must have corresponding firearms that incorporate artifact-refining techniques.

Volume Two is *Chapter on Controlling Fire to Communicate with Gods*, discussing the speculations and ideas of firearm techniques; Volume Three is *Chapter on Mechanism and Automaton Techniques*; Volume Four is the chapter on formation and military strategy, which only has a few sentences written, and should have been hidden.

After all, this thing relates to Meishan's status in the army.

Good stuff!

Li Yan praises secretly in his heart, and then feels the sound of heavy breathing beside him.

It is Sha Hearing Sha Lifei leaning over, eyes wide open, staring fixedly at the booklet, as if he were stuck to it.

Li Yan smiles dumbly and hands the book to him, "Old Sha, this thing is probably most useful to you."

Sha Hearing Sha Lifei doesn't talk nonsense either, grabs it, finds a large rock to sit on, and is soon fascinated.

And just at this moment, several Daoists walk out of the Shangqing Palace.

The leader is Ling Ling Yunzi, his Daoist robe fluttering in the wind, smiling and performing a Daoist salute, "Daoist friends and seniors, you have waited a long time. I suppose you don't want to hear me talk nonsense, so let's follow the old rules: the righteous sects go first."

This is the consistent rule of the Opening of the Cellar Assembly.

The imperial court buys a portion first; Vice Minister of Rites Pei Pei Zongti left this morning, indicating that when Qingcheng organized the cellar storage last night, the Ministry of Works' list had already been prepared.

Next are the major righteous sects of the Mystic Sect.

Only after the leftovers are picked will it be the turn of the Dharma lineages, and finally those small sects.

The Mystic Sect of the martial world has its own rules.

The righteous sects of the Mystic Sect have status, so naturally, they have many preferential treatments.

And after saying this, Ling Ling Yunzi takes out a list, reads it out one by one, and then smiles: "These Daoist friends can also go in first."

These names are also not simple.

For example, a Feng Shui master, although alone, has extraordinary status, and many Dharma lineages invite him when they encounter Feng Shui problems...

For example, those few men, who seem unremarkable, are actually from prestigious families, with the Ten Great Masters of the Shenzhou standing behind them...

And Li Yan is also among them.

Unlike the time at Mount Huashan, this time Li Yan is listed among them, and no one expresses opposition, even thinking it normal.

After all, everyone saw the scene just now.

"You go, I won't go in."

Sha Hearing Sha Lifei waves his hand, "Anyway, I won't understand it after going in, this thing is the priceless treasure to me."

Li Yan doesn't force him either, looks at Wu Ba eating peaches beside him, and lets him stay to accompany Sha Hearing Sha Lifei.

Afterwards, he takes Wang Wang Daoxuan and Lv San into the Shangqing Palace.

The location of the hidden treasures is in the Hunyuan Pavilion on the west side.

This was originally the place where Mount Qingcheng stored scriptures and lectured on the Dharma; at this moment, after being arranged, large scripture banners hang down outside the hall, and the candles are bright.

Like Mount Huashan, after entering the hall, supernatural powers are sealed again.

Li Yan looks up and sees that the eight golden nanmu pillars in the hall have dragon scales with blue-black patina, and the gilded Taiji diagram in the center of the caisson ceiling is illuminated by 999 eternal lamps, looking like a living thing.

The entire hall is illuminated by candlelight.

Li Yan knows that these things look like decorations, but they are actually formations to prevent people from getting hot-headed and taking action in the hall, or using supernatural powers to steal.

In the center of the hall, there is a bronze Bagua platform.

Sect Leader Chen Confucius went to see off Pei Pei Zongti and is not in the hall.

Qingcheng Elder Zhu Zhu Qingzi is responsible for presiding; he stands solemnly holding a blue jade chime, with eight Qingcheng sword guards standing on both sides, all carrying peach wood swords wrapped with the *Five Mountains Suppressing Qi Talisman*.

"Fellow Daoists."

This old Daoist says indifferently: "The Hunyuan Pavilion has three floors of pavilions. The first floor displays spiritual materials, the second floor has artifacts, and the third floor has ancient books and secret scrolls; each floor is equipped with the 'Bagua Spirit-Locking Formation' to prevent prying."

"My Qingcheng Sect Leader has just ascended to his position, and because of many busy affairs, plus the disaster in Outside Chengdu Prefecture, we are not holding an inauguration ceremony. To express our apologies, everyone can use the 'Celestial Master Golden Talisman' to purchase three spiritual materials at cost."

After saying this, he nods to the side.

Immediately, many Daoists carrying trays walk out one after another, and on them are placed gilded copper talisman plates.

"Sect Leader Chen Confucius is too polite."

Everyone gets the benefit and expresses their thanks.

They are not surprised either; after the battle at the Shu Prince's Palace, Cheng Cheng Jianxian fell, and the pattern in Shu will also change.

Compared to the inauguration ceremony, Chen Confucius has more important things to do.

Just like this time, the Mount Emei Sect, the nominal leader of the Mystic Sect in Shu, didn't even send anyone, and there are probably many troubles.

After all, even if Cheng Cheng Jianxin is old, his reputation and connections are there; now that he is gone, it is a test for Mount Qingcheng.

This Opening of the Cellar Assembly can also help Qingcheng increase its strength.

But they can't say much about the competition between the righteous sects in Shu, so they can only accept the gifts and play dumb.

The righteous sect people all came with missions and don't talk nonsense, heading straight for their goals.

And Li Yan, having gone through the Opening of the Cellar Assembly at Mount Huashan, is no longer a novice; he gives a wink, lets Wang Wang Daoxuan go to the gold cellar to find some flower money, and takes Lv San straight to the spiritual wood area.

Supernatural powers are sealed here.

But Lv San can understand the language of birds, beasts, and plants, and coupled with his cultivation of the *Classic of Sesame and Orchid*, his judgment of spiritual wood is probably clearer than these Qingcheng disciples...

(End of chapter)