Chapter 44

The stone house resembled a folk land god shrine, only half a person's height, with red cloth strips tied to the stones and surrounding branches; in front of the house, a stone altar had been built, filled with soil, containing many incense sticks burned down to their bases.

From the remaining incense, it was clear the shrine still had decent offerings.

Pan Yun stared blankly, uncertainly asking: "Is this… our master?"

"Correct," Wang Feiyin said. "Pan Gong is the mountain spirit of Mount Sanqing; all this land falls under His dominion and protection. Within fifty li of Mount Sanqing, there are three such mountain spirit shrines—this one is the oldest and largest."

This one's big?

Pan Yun: "Didn't your brother ever think of building a bigger temple for Master?"

"We intended to, but every time I prayed to Master, He refused."

Pan Yun puzzled: "Why?"

Wang Feiyin: "Probably because the one praying wasn't right."

"Ah?" Pan Yun's heart stirred; she pointed at herself. "Does it have to be me?"

Wang Feiyin handed her the incense and candles he'd brought. "First, offer incense to Master."

Pan Yun set the cat aside, crouched down, and lit the incense and candles.

The incense and candles needed rubbing before lighting, but they were hard to ignite—Pan Yun had always struggled for a long time to light them before, but this time, the moment she struck the fire starter, the incense caught instantly, so fast it made her blink.

Pan Yun paused, snapped shut the fire starter, stuck the incense in place, and began lighting it.

This time, the incense burned quickly and smoothly.

Pan Yun split the incense in half, gave one portion to Wang Feiyin, held the other in her hand, stood before the shrine, gazing ahead; after a moment, she lowered her eyelids and silently, sincerely thought inside: 【Master, since the incense and candles burned so smoothly today, it must mean you truly cherish your humble disciple.】

【Rest easy—I will come often to burn incense for you, and spread the glory of the Mountain Spirit of Mount Sanqing far and wide.】

Pan Yun bowed, then stuck the incense into the altar.

Seeing the incense smoke curl upward, Pan Yun smiled, relieved; she turned to Wang Feiyin with hopeful eyes—her left eye written with "gift," her right eye with "present."

Wang Feiyin seized her and leapt upward, stepping on five or six trees in succession as he flew toward the massive rock behind the shrine.

The mountain slope rose gently; trees gradually vanished, replaced by a colossal rock barrier standing before them like a heavenly screen.

Wang Feiyin floated upward like mist and cloud, carried by the breeze, still holding Pan Yun, who shouted, "Cat cat cat!"

He leapt onto the rock, landing between a crevice; he set Pan Yun aside, slapped the rock with his palm—the stone cracked; he shifted his body, and the shattered fragments tumbled over the cliff.

Pan Yun turned to look and saw, amid the fractured rock, a golden-white stone the size of a fist, faintly twitching; she blinked. "Is this… alive?"

But when she stared hard, it stopped moving.

It was embedded entirely within the rock, as if part of it, yet somehow not.

"Could it really be jade? Isn't this granite?" Pan Yun glanced at her senior brother's hands, thinking he was incredibly powerful—shattering granite barehanded.

Wang Feiyin tucked his hand behind his back and explained to Pan Yun: "This is incense stone—also called virtue stone. Over a hundred years ago, those wishing to pray to the mountain spirit had to climb here to offer incense."

Pan Yun glanced downward, felt dizzy, immediately pulled her gaze back, and fixed her eyes tightly on the stone that was neither quite gold nor quite jade, pressing herself against the innermost rock. "So high—how could ordinary people climb up?"

Wang Feiyin: "Those with sincere desires will always find a way. For thousands of years, local villagers have come here to pray; Daoist Priests and believers from afar have also come to pray here—until the Great Ming was founded, when shrines began being built at the mountain's base, and people switched to offering incense below."

But no matter where they prayed, the incense smoke always drifted toward this incense stone."

Wang Feiyin reached out, gripped the stone, channeled his Qi into his palm, and with a firm twist, pulled it free intact; he handed the stone to Pan Yun.

Pan Yun reached out and took it—it felt icy cold at first, but within moments warmed to the touch.

She felt a deep fondness for the stone, holding it in her palms, liking it; she made no effort to hide her affection, her eyes sparkling as she told Wang Feiyin: "Senior brother, I feel like I've known this virtue stone before—it feels so familiar."

Wang Feiyin: "This is virtue stone—a gift and recognition from Heaven's Dao. Don't just you—even an animal, a pig, cow, dog, or sheep, upon seeing it, would feel drawn to it."

Pan Yun: "I thought it was the people's collective devotion—so it's Heaven's Dao's gift and recognition?"

"Of course it includes the people's devotion too—this matter is complicated; I can't explain it clearly."

Pan Yun stroked the stone, murmuring: "How can you not explain it?" Wang Feiyin: "If I could explain it clearly, it would mean I've fully understood how this virtue stone was created, how Heaven's Dao thinks—if I could think exactly as Heaven's Dao does, I wouldn't be human anymore—I'd be Heaven's Dao."

"We cultivators spend our lives pondering: What is the Dao?"

Pan Yun fell into thought; she'd never truly considered this question before—she'd only shallowly wished to cultivate, to grow stronger, then stronger still.

Whether in her past life or this one, she'd never deeply questioned: What is the Dao?

Pan Yun looked down at the virtue stone in her hand and asked: "Is Master giving me this virtue stone?"

Wang Feiyin nodded.

"Why?"

Wang Feiyin: "He'll tell you tonight."

Meaning, He would come to her in a dream tonight.

Pan Yun clenched the virtue stone tightly, feeling a little nervous.

Wang Feiyin saw this and patted her small head. "Little sister, remember—even divine gifts come with a price. You must ask whether you can afford the cost. If you refuse, even a god cannot force you."

!

He spoke with deep meaning: "Whether gods, ghosts, or demons—they may all seem stronger than humans—but all things under Heaven lie beneath the Dao. Heaven's Dao grants humans the right to refuse."

So she could refuse the mountain spirit.

Pan Yun hugged the virtue stone tightly and nodded to Wang Feiyin. "I understand, senior brother. Do you know what this virtue stone does?"

Wang Feiyin: "Many benefits—it calms the mind, soothes the spirit, nurtures the soul; carrying it makes people and things grow fond of you, just like you can't let go of it now—others will find you endearing too."

Meaning she'd gain a charm that made everyone adore her?

Pan Yun: "That's it?"

"What else? Does it calculate the bearer's virtue, making the gold tone deeper the more Heaven's Dao approves?" Wang Feiyin: "But in the end, isn't it still just about making you more likable?"

Pan Yun's eyes widened; she clutched the virtue stone tightly in her arms—she now knew exactly what this thing was for!

She stiffened, looking down at the stone in her arms—so the Mountain Spirit knew everything.

Of course—he did. The Three Pure Ones Monastery sat atop Mount Sanqing, meaning they lived right on Pan Gong's body; every move she and Pan Xiaohei made was surely visible to Him.

She just didn't know how much He actually knew.

She had the feeling of being stripped naked and seen by someone — Pan Yun disliked this feeling very much.

Before she could think it through, Wang Feiyin had already grabbed her and flown off again, this time heading straight for the foot of the cliff.

Plunging down through the air, Pan Yun's legs went weak, her whole body trembling uncontrollably, and she screamed "Aaaah—" at the top of her lungs, not stopping even when the wind filled her mouth.

Wang Feiyin dropped at top speed, and the moment he touched the ground he set her down on a patch of grass nearby; her legs were too weak to support her, and she flopped down onto the ground with a plop.

Wang Feiyin confirmed it now. "You're afraid of heights?"

Wind rushed into her belly, and Pan Yun let out a burp; her eyes reddened at the corners as she flatly denied it. "No, I'm not afraid of heights! It's just that you, Senior Brother, were too sudden — if you were going to fly down, why didn't you say so in advance?"

Wang Feiyin stared at her for a while, then nodded and said, "I'll tell you next time. Let's go, we'll head up the mountain."

Pan Yun held the Merit Stone in one hand and braced herself against the ground with the other as she struggled to her feet, stumbling along behind Wang Feiyin.

Seeing her just leave him behind like that, Pan Xiaohei could only follow along meowing, making a terrible racket the whole way.

Pan Yun: "Keep it up and see if I won't let you inside the house."

Pan Xiaohei immediately dared not make another sound.

Wang Feiyin smiled warmly. "Little Junior Sister, your cat is awfully intelligent — have you raised it since it was small?"

Pan Yun nodded. "Yes, I've raised it since it was little. It was by my side from the moment I was born."

Hearing this, Wang Feiyin couldn't help but size up the black cat, frowning as he said, "This cat is eight years old?"

"This is a spirit cat — it grows slowly, and it'll live a very long time too." Pan Yun changed the subject. "Senior Brother, can this Merit Stone be used to make something like an array stone?"

The lucky number for this chapter is still a number ending in 3; a screenshot will serve as proof.

(End of this chapter)