Chapter 457 The Kami-sama

Wei Yuan picked up his phone, sat on the bed, and scrolled through Nü Jiao's replies, softly reading:

"Using the divine seal to confer the title of mountain god, with oneself as the master, imitating the ancient divine systems, one can naturally mobilize great power. This can be said to be a grand and upright path, different from any modern cultivation method, but the resulting power is immense, a state between a heavenly god and a human."

The first sentence was Nü Jiao's fair assessment of this type of method, which made Wei Yuan quite tempted.

Then came four concise and forceful words.

"Dream on!"

Wei Yuan: "........."

Nü Jiao sent a voice message:

"Did that water monkey, Wu Zhiqi, tell you about this?"

"...How did you know?"

"Is that even a question? Nowadays, only that old antique would suggest such an outdated method. Where can you find any unclaimed spiritual mountains to confer in this era?"

"There aren't any?"

"Of course not."

Nü Jiao answered crisply, then added, "Are you also planning to search for underwater spiritual mountains? I advise you to give up on that idea as soon as possible. Do you know the reason for the vast difference in strength between mountain gods throughout history?"

"On one hand, it's due to the spiritual veins; on the other hand, it's due to the grand sacrifices over the generations."

"Spiritual veins are the innate foundation, while the sacrifices that gather the thoughts of all living beings are the acquired growth."

"Often, mountains with sufficient spiritual veins will generate various legends due to the gathering of spiritual energy. They will be naturally occupied by cultivators and their descendants, eventually becoming the ancestral veins of sects. The former will be conferred by successive dynasties, while the latter will have disciples cultivating and chanting scriptures daily."

"Over time, the mountain gods born from them will far surpass the mountain spirits of ordinary mountains."

"Not to mention the underwater mountains, which have never had sacrifices and haven't given birth to spirituality. Finding such a mountain would at most nourish that divine seal, with limited benefits and numerous restrictions. It's better not to use it."

Wei Yuan couldn't help but ask:

"Then, what about those mountains that once had mountain gods but have disappeared in modern times? Are there any?"

Nü Jiao said, "There are."

"But those mountains have often been conferred by successive dynasties. Their spiritual veins contain the residual fortunes of different eras, which clash with each other. If there is the suppression of dragon vein energy, they can barely maintain balance. But if you rely on yourself to connect with the seal, it's like adding a foreign divinity into a balanced state."

"You should know the consequences."

Wei Yuan thought of the First Emperor's experience. The suppressed divine nature of the Divine Land was stimulated by foreign divinity, causing it to riot. If what Nü Jiao said was true, rashly connecting the divinity in the seal with the spiritual veins would cause the residual aura of mountain gods from different dynasties to riot, making it too dangerous.

Wei Yuan sighed, "Then there's no way..."

"A way? It's not like there isn't one."

Nü Jiao sent an emoji with sunglasses, and then slowly said:

"Mountains that haven't experienced sacrifices have too weak spirituality. Raising them to a usable level would take thousands of years. As for the mountain gods conferred by dynasties, their incense is too chaotic and would backfire on you. So, you just need to find a spiritual mountain with a single source of incense."

"For example, Longhu Mountain has been worshipped by the Celestial Master's Mansion for generations, and its spirituality is pure."

"You just need to have those Daoists add parts of Daoist magic and incantations that directly point to you into the Celestial Master's Dao rituals, linking these incantations to the seal. This will reduce the resistance of the Longhu Mountain spiritual veins to a safe level."

"Then, connecting the divine seal and the spiritual veins will be very easy."

"The mountain god spiritual veins of Longhu Mountain can transform into the Dragon and Tiger Qi, following you. If you can completely control them, your seal will receive a considerable reverse boost. I'll send you files with the ritual modifications and the general methods."

"Alternatively, you can use the method of substituting one thing for another."

"For example, the Onmyoji lineage of Sakura Island actually worships the Mount Tai Judge of the Divine Land. Their Mount Tai Judge ritual has great magical power and is quite ingenious. You can add parts that point to you into their magic."

"Guide this part of the sacrifice and the foundation of the Onmyoji inheritance into the seal."

"Then, find an ordinary mountain next to Mount Tai, connect it to the earth veins, and use it to share a trace of Mount Tai's power. Although it can't be compared to the real Mount Tai, it would still bless the seal far more than ordinary mountains."

"After all, even if it's just a wisp of Qi shared through unorthodox methods..."

"It's still a wisp of the head of the Five Mountains."

"How about it? Consider it?"

Wei Yuan closed his eyes and pondered, finally replying, "Longhu Mountain is close to me, and the Celestial Master's Mansion has helped me a lot. The first method is to seize the ancestral property of the Celestial Master's Mansion. I can't do that. As for the second method, that's using the divinity of Sakura Island to disguise as Mount Tai. It's like a fox borrowing the tiger's might."

Nü Jiao said, "Not bad."

Wei Yuan was silent for a moment, and replied, "I can't let the divinity of Sakura Island enter the Divine Land again."

"Besides..."

His voice paused, and he said:

"Besides, although I'm useless, I don't think highly of the divinity of Sakura Island."

After a moment of silence, Nü Jiao said with a non-smiling expression:

"Quite the boast. Not bad, you're improving."

Her tone softened, and she said:

"However, people of my Tu Shan clan should have such capacity. If you chose the second method, I wouldn't say anything, but I would somewhat look down on you. Forget it, there's actually a third method. Do you still remember Qingqiu?"

"Qingqiu Country is outside the human world, north of Chaoyang Valley. There's a water god named Wu in the valley, but He is no longer there. Chaoyang Valley is also empty. Not far from Qingqiu is the residence of Emperor Jiang, but He is also gone."

"Although these two places haven't had sacrifices in later generations, they themselves have nurtured heavenly gods. Their spiritual veins and spirituality are sufficient. If all else fails, come back."

"One more spiritual vein won't make a difference."

Nü Jiao's tone turned gentle.

How could Wei Yuan not know about these two places? He was the one who recorded them on jade tablets.

Emperor Jiang and Wu were both gods with names in the Classic of Mountains and Seas, meaning they were worthy of having their names remembered by Da Yu. Connecting the Mountain Sovereign's seal with the spiritual veins of their residences would be considered a high climb.

Wei Yuan almost agreed, but then he heard a hint of nostalgia and regret in Nü Jiao's tone, and his voice paused. He remembered that after Qingqiu left the human world, Emperor Jiang, Wu, and Shebi Corpse accompanied Qingqiu at the same time.

In other words, these three heavenly gods were Nü Jiao's last good friends.

After being far away from the human world, and as all the familiar existences of the past gradually withered and disappeared, only these three heavenly gods could still communicate with Nü Jiao equally and calmly, not seeing her as an old woman who had lived through countless years, but as simple friends, sometimes gathering to drink, sometimes talking passionately.

As time passed, even the gods departed, leaving only Nü Jiao.

If he were to occupy the spiritual veins and divinity they left behind, it would be equivalent to erasing the traces of their existence in Qingqiu. Because Wei Yuan had experienced the past time and again, he knew what the things left behind by departed friends meant to those who were still alive.

What it meant to Nü Jiao was probably like the Nine-Section Staff to Wei Yuan, like Uncle Niu's Yellow Turban, like the First Emperor's jade dragon pendant. She was willing to take these things out, truly caring for him. So Wei Yuan was silent for a moment, and then said in a relaxed tone:

"Occupying the spiritual veins of Emperor Jiang and Wu, wouldn't that be like freeloading on the old generation?"

"That wouldn't be good."

"Besides, those gods should be your friends."

He sat cross-legged, smiling as he replied:

"Nü Jiao, if my cultivation improvement requires others' unconditional giving, requires you to abandon the memories and recollections of your friends, then I'd rather die somewhere. I shouldn't have the qualifications and value to improve my cultivation.

"Simply accepting others' sacrifices and good intentions is something both Yuan and someone else can do."

"And if I did that, Yu the Great would also look down on me, right?"

"After all, I was the only one who dared to really hit him back then. How could I not even have this bit of capacity? It's just a seal. What if I used up all the spiritual energy in it? Before that, I'll find a suitable spiritual vein."

Wei Yuan shattered the slight wavering that had just emerged. Strength was important. To cultivators, it was like money and power to ordinary people, like unknown knowledge to scientists. Everyone, as long as they were alive, would be affected by these things.

But remember, remember.

The pursuit of anything should always have one's own conscience as the boundary.

This was what he saw in that old man, and he took it as self-reflection.

Because Nü Jiao treated him very well, he couldn't occupy the things left behind by Nü Jiao's friends.

He felt that his words were sincere and earnest, and that Nü Jiao should be able to feel it.

Perhaps only those who have experienced many things and are left alone in the end can have such sentiments.

As a result, Nü Jiao didn't speak for a long time, nor did she type. After a long time, four words suddenly flashed out:

"Tsk, little brat."

Then came a large emoji of a middle finger.

Instantly, more than a dozen floors were posted.

The expression on Wei Yuan's face slowly solidified, and the corners of his mouth twitched.

I shouldn't have had any expectations of her.

Yu!!!!!!

………………

Outside a school, on the way to school.

An old man was setting up a stall. A child in a school uniform was squatting beside him, watching in a daze. There were many interesting things on the stall, including books, a bronze disc, and a small sword. His gaze swept over these things, and he saw a delicate Sakura Island geisha doll at the edge.

Her black hair hung down, and her face was beautiful and cute, with a dignified temperament.

He subconsciously reached out to touch it.

But a wrinkled hand grasped his. The little boy subconsciously looked up and saw the old man's dim eyes staring at him. He saw that the old man's white hair was sparse, his hairline was receding, his eye bags were large, his teeth were yellow, and his face was like a soft, rotten carrot. In his other hand, he held a long-stemmed pipe, and said:

"This thing is not for sale."

The little boy was stunned, "Not for sale? Why?"

The old man tapped the long-stemmed pipe on a stone, his expression respectful and devout, and said:

"Because this is a Kami-sama." (God)

"Kami-sama?"

"Yes, it's God..."

ps: Second update today... three thousand two hundred words, ten past twelve, okay, good night everyone~

Thanks to book friend 111130194738862 for the myriad reward, thank you~