Chapter 336: Chapter 282 Lord of Yuntong River

Mountain God Temple.

Main Hall.

“Gone?”

Zhou Yi stood in front of the statue, performing the Soul Condensing Technique, gathering threads of incense wishes that swirled like azure smoke.

“Gone.”

The Spirit Ginseng doll bowed and said, “Immortal, now that wretch has entered the Heavenly Monarch’s tutelage, clear about the ways of the Cultivation World in Dongsheng Divine Continent, why didn’t you let me transform into Xiao Qing to gain some insight?”

“Haste makes waste!”

Zhou Yi said, “Although Lin Heng possesses extraordinary talent, his pale brows and thin lips mark that of early demise. The Divine Transformation Heavenly Monarch will surely notice it, and with a little calculation, he would know someone has been supporting him in secret, which if tainted privately, could bring disaster.”

Divining the heavens relates to fate and often diminishes lifespan, hence few cultivators study or perform it in depth.

Within the Divinity Transformation Realm, one has a lengthy lifespan, and divining lower-level cultivators is even easier, often resolving doubts with a divination to see fortune and misfortune.

The Spirit Ginseng doll nodded, “I see, but to simply let Lin Heng go seems a bit of a pity.”

Zhou Yi’s gaze became focused as he scrutinized the Spirit Ginseng doll, hesitating.

“You’re not getting too caught up in the act, are you?”

“Not at all!”

The Spirit Ginseng doll shook its head repeatedly, saying, “The Spirit Ginseng is hermaphroditic, neither male nor female, never entertaining such thoughts.”

“Good.”

Zhou Yi moved his position so as not to turn his back on the Spirit Ginseng doll and said, “The affairs of the world are entangled in cause and effect, even Immortals cannot clarify or avoid them. Lin Heng owes me now, if not today, he will repay in the future.”

“Remember this, we must never owe others in terms of cause and effect; it will always have to be repaid sooner or later!”

“I will heed the Immortal’s teachings.”

The Spirit Ginseng doll scratched its head, puzzled by his words.

In the midst of their conversation.

The incense within the Mountain God Statue was drawn out entirely, converging into Zhou Yi’s hands, a fistful of ashy grey substance.

This was the preliminary condensation of incense, containing the complex wishes of the devout, not only encompassing negative thoughts such as greed, resentment, and evil intentions but also prayers, praise, and reverence.

Both positive and negative thoughts needed to be expelled from the incense.

When cultivators refine spiritual energy, by also consuming Wish Power Beads, their cultivation speed could increase more than three to five times.

The downside is the incense wishes merge into mana, with cultivation in the long run permeating both the physical body and the soul. Theoretically, after countless years of accumulation, one will eventually suffer from the backlash of these wishes.

Backlash from the wishes of countless beings would most likely turn a cultivator completely into a deity!

This was why Zhou Yi dared not cultivate with Wish Power Beads, using them only to defend against Heavenly Tribulation and to condense the Nascent Soul.

Other cultivators had short lifespans, coupled with secret techniques to purge residual incense wishes, they were unlikely to experience backlash before their lifespan ran out, but for Zhou Yi, it was inevitable.

“There are no shortcuts on the path to Immortality!”

Zhou Yi applied the methods within the Incense Refining Spirit Technique to continuously purify the incense, with grey, black, and white impurities swiftly scattering.

The ashy incense mass slowly shrank to the size of a thumb, solidifying from a mass into a tangible form.

Eventually, it formed into a standard Wish Power Bead.

The Incense Condensing Spirit Technique did not stipulate the size of the Wish Power Bead; it could be as big as a fist or even as big as a head, but Daheng had set standards for easy management, trade, and collection of divine incense from various deities.

“The Wish Power Bead still contains many impurities, seemingly stemming from the deepest thoughts of the believers and involving deeper cause and effect. Fortunately, the incense I received has always been rightfully earned, never through deceit.”

“Earning incense rightfully and nobly means there will be very few residual thoughts within the refined Wish Power Beads!”

Zhou Yi had an epiphany, realizing that the path of the gods, similar to that of Immortals, was also divided between righteousness and wickedness.

“It’s just a pity that there are too few civilians near Wu Mountain; even if they all believed in me, their contributions to break through to the Nascent Soul Realm would be but a drop in the bucket!”

It wasn’t easy to refine incense.

It took two or three months of contributions from Wu Mountain’s civilians to form a single Wish Power Bead. Zhou Yi had been busy for ten years and had only accumulated about fifty or sixty beads, still not matching the amount from killing Hong Luo.

“Murder and arson may earn a golden belt, but walking the night path too often eventually leads to ghosts. It’s better for me to accumulate slowly!”

Zhou Yi was of a peaceful nature, not fond of fighting or killing; his greatest wish was to cultivate quietly for thousands of years until ascending to immortality in a haze of glory.

“Let’s wait for now. Since Wish Power Beads can be traded, then the position of a deity is not the only way!”

…

Seasons changed from spring to autumn.

Another year passed in the blink of an eye.

Linyang County.

Xiao Xiang Building.

It was bustling with delightful warblers and swallows, brightly attired.

Zhou Yi lay lazily on a soft couch, with beauties on either side of him, a girl at the front massaging his legs, and another behind pressing his shoulders.

On the stage below.

More than ten scantily clad women danced to the music, with the newly-chosen Oiran, Miss Xi Xi, drawing continuous howls with her graceful and charming movements.

Scholars who were usually prim and proper, in such an atmosphere, also began to let loose.

Zhou Yi popped a grape into his mouth, blissfully content, “This is the life; it’s truly that of an Immortal, to continue for thirty or fifty thousand years!”

“Master Zhu jokes.”

The girl in his arms said with a grin, “Who in this world could enjoy music for so long? People stop coming as they get older, concerned about appearances and unwilling to waste money!”

“I can.”

Zhou Yi turned to take a sip of grape wine, chuckling, “At 6,500 years old, I can; and at 65,000, I will be just the same!”

The girls giggled and played, thinking the young master was drunk.

Right then.

Zhou Yi, his senses hazy with drink, suddenly looked towards the northwest, feeling a clear disturbance in the natural energy of the world, with the sound of thunder rolling continuously.

“A minor forty-nine Heavenly Tribulation!”

“The only one in Linyang County facing tribulation must be the Magistrate. Over twelve years, from the mid- Foundation Establishment to pseudo-pill stage. No wonder each and every cultivator is obsessed with Wish Power Beads; they truly are a supreme treasure that increases mana…”

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