FVN #342 - Faith Drys Up
#342 - Faith Drys Up
Chapter 340: Faith Dries Up
Zhang Chen had plenty of time; he could afford to wait!
Next, he would absorb incense offerings on a grand scale, mastering all kinds of skills as soon as possible. When the time came, perhaps he could start with the Dragon Qi skill and enlighten the two beasts, turning them into demon beasts.
Seeing that his lair was safe, Zhang Chen didn't want to be too ostentatious and attract people's attention, so he transformed into a vampire bat and returned.
However, on the second day after Zhang Chen mastered the Mountain Moving Art, a major event occurred in the Daoist temple: the pool of faith had dried up!
After Zhang Chen cultivated the Mountain Moving Art and entered the initial realm, he looked at the few remaining points and thought that he should focus on mastering his skills, improving their levels as soon as possible so he could become a great expert.
One day, Zhang Chen came to the underground chamber and looked at the incense energy flowing on the stone wall, a hint of surprise in his eyes:
"How strange, why hasn't the power of faith I absorbed yesterday recovered?"
Zhang Chen looked at the dim wall, a look of astonishment on his face, wondering where the problem lay.
Logically, the incense faith collected by the Yellow Sky Dao should be continuous and inexhaustible, and it should have recovered overnight. Why does it still look like it did last night?
Zhang Chen pondered in his heart for a moment, then didn't dare to act rashly, but turned around and returned to the surface, thinking about the key to the matter.
Why did the power of faith in the Yellow Dawn Temple suddenly dry up?
"Could it be that something major has happened within the Yellow Sky Dao?" Zhang Chen wondered to himself.
Outside, the north wind howled. Zhang Chen, wearing a fox fur cloak, stood in front of the window, unable to figure it out.
After a long time, Zhang Chen transformed into water mist and left the Daoist temple from the underground, heading to other Daoist temples in the north. He wanted to investigate whether it was just the Yellow Dawn Temple's power of faith that had dried up, or whether the power of faith in other major Daoist temples had also dried up.
The closest Daoist temple to the Yellow Dawn Temple was a hundred miles away, called the Yellow Hexagram Temple.
Zhang Chen quietly arrived outside the Daoist temple and instantly transformed into dozens of vampire bats, flying in the cold winter.
Logically, bats should hibernate in winter, but Zhang Chen's vampire bats had already entered the ranks of magical creatures, so how could they be troubled by ordinary cold?
The dozens of vampire bats that Zhang Chen transformed into were scattered in all directions around the Daoist temple, secretly emitting ultrasonic waves to detect the layout and personnel inside the Daoist temple. After more than thirty breaths, Zhang Chen had a clear understanding in his heart: "The strength of this Daoist temple is no worse than that of the Yellow Dawn Temple. There are more than two thousand Daoist priests of all sizes in the temple, and all of these two thousand people have strong vitality, obviously all martial arts practitioners. As long as an order is given, they can put on armor and enter the battlefield."
"The foundation of the Yellow Sky Dao is really profound, but what exactly does the Yellow Sky Dao want to do by cultivating so many experts? Liu Feng said before that they were rebelling, but now the Yellow Sky Dao and the Peaceful Border Prince's Mansion are cooperating, and they have become accomplices. How can they rebel?" A thought flashed through Zhang Chen's mind:
"Unless the rebellion is not against the Peaceful Border Prince's Mansion!"
After Zhang Chen investigated the experts in the Daoist temple, all the vampire bats gathered together and transformed into a stream of water, penetrating into the ground and exploring underground.
His ultrasonic waves did not have the ability to detect underground secret rooms, but Zhang Chen expected that the location of the secret room in this Daoist temple should not be much different from that of the Yellow Dawn Temple.
In fact, it was indeed the case. Zhang Chen quickly found a stone room underground, but the divine light on the walls of the stone room had completely withered, even worse than that of the Yellow Dawn Temple.
The stream of water that Zhang Chen transformed into hovered outside the secret room for a circle. After a little thought, a drop of water clone carefully infiltrated into the next room, and saw that there was no one in the next secret room.
Zhang Chen boldly infiltrated in and saw an identical pool of faith, but at this time, the water in the pool of faith had dried up.
"The depletion of the pool of faith in the Yellow Dawn Temple is indeed not accidental." After Zhang Chen glanced at the pool of faith in front of him, his eyes swept across the secret room and saw a bookshelf in the secret room, with books on it. Zhang Chen was very interested in the books, stepped forward and picked them up to read one by one, but soon lost interest. Those books were just some account books and secret methods of martial arts practice, and there was no difference from the objects in the Yellow Dawn Temple.
"It seems that the layout of the other Daoist temples in the north is generally the same, and going there again would only be a waste of time." Zhang Chen put the books back on the bookshelf. At this moment, a scolding sound suddenly came from outside the door. Zhang Chen was very sensitive to sound waves and immediately recognized that it was two people.
Zhang Chen's heart moved, and he quickly transformed into a stream of water and infiltrated into the bluestone on the ground. Just as he was about to leave, he heard a Daoist priest scolding: "Senior Brother, I've really had enough! That damned Gu Mingyue is really bullying people too much! The north is our territory, but he ran over to point fingers. What exactly does he want to do! ! !"
This voice was rough, full of anger: "It was fine when he replaced Master to issue orders before, but now he actually took the incense faith that we worked so hard to collect and gave it away to others, to enshrine the nobles in the north! That is the incense that we painstakingly collected. Even if we are enshrining gods, we should be the priority, so how can it be the turn of those nobles in the city?"
"Gu Mingyue is cutting off our path to longevity, he is simply not leaving us a way out." The rough man scolded and kept denouncing Gu Mingyue's behavior.
This scolding caused Zhang Chen, who was preparing to leave, to stop. He was a little curious in his heart and continued to lurk in the bluestone to eavesdrop.
He roughly heard from the previous man's scolding why the power of faith in the various Daoist temples had dried up. It was probably all transferred by Gu Mingyue for the use of the major nobles.
Just as Zhang Chen was thinking, a gentle voice sounded at this time: "Junior Brother, be careful! You must know the principle that disaster comes from the mouth. This matter is the decision of Uncle Gu Mingyue, but our Master did not raise any objections, obviously he has already acquiesced."
Zhang Chen thought for a moment and understood that the master he was talking about was Wu Changming.
"The incense faith in the north is what Master prepared to use to break through to the tenth rank, and the rest is enough for us brothers to enshrine gods. Now that old thief Gu Mingyue has taken the fruits, Master didn't even fart, becoming a tortoise with a shrinking head, which is really disappointing! If this continues, the hearts of all the fellow disciples will probably be scattered. Who will dare to work for Master in the future?" The rough voice was full of dissatisfaction:
"Why are those nobles coming to pick the fruits? That is the faith that we have painstakingly collected over decades of hard work, spreading the Dao bit by bit."
"Master must have his own difficulties." Another voice said.
"I don't care what difficulties Master has, I only know that the bastard Gu Mingyue gave all our shares to the nobles at the foot of the mountain, but Master didn't even dare to fart. If this continues, people's hearts will definitely be scattered. We might as well go and rely on Uncle Gu Mingyue, it's better than suffering under Master's anger." The rough man scolded.
Then the secret room fell into silence. After a long time, another gentle voice sounded: "I'm going to rely on Uncle Gu Mingyue, what about you?"
"Since Master has become a shrinking turtle, it's only natural for us disciples to seek alternative paths. I'll go with you to seek refuge with our Martial Uncle," the burly man said.
Then, the two of them secretly plotted how to please Gu Mingyue and dedicate their forces to her.
Hearing their words, Zhang Chen was secretly shocked: "No wonder that old codger Wu Changming would abandon the divine path and cultivate Yin God techniques. I didn't expect him to be in such a miserable state that his lair was taken over by Gu Mingyue."
Only now did he realize that Wu Changming's choice to pursue the Yin God path was out of necessity.
He was already fifty-five this year, with one foot in the grave. It was too late for him to develop believers and gather faith.
Moreover, everyone had now recognized the importance of incense offerings. Major forces had begun to stake their claims, supporting their own incense-based powers. Even many Jianghu figures had begun to lay out plans and spread incense faith in advance.
It was no longer the blank slate it once was for Wu Changming to spread his faith. He would face the suppression of various forces and the pressure of the great nobles, making it as difficult as ascending to heaven to spread his teachings.
After the two finished their discussion, Zhang Chen transformed into a stream of water and flowed out of the Taoist temple, revealing his presence in the mountains. Looking at the wilderness in the cold wind, he pondered silently.
"Gu Mingyue is giving those incense offerings to the great nobles to use, which means she must be bestowing godhood. The calamity of the incense chaos is finally about to arrive." Zhang Chen felt a bit of pity in his heart. If such a massive amount of incense were given to him, how wonderful would that be? He could max out all his skills.
"What a pity." Zhang Chen sighed inwardly and turned to return to his own Taoist temple.
His idea of frantically grinding skill points had been shattered.
"I wonder what Zhang Xiaohua is doing now. Do I have a chance to kill that grandson of a turtle, Zhang Xiaohua?" A murderous intent flickered in Zhang Chen's heart. He returned to the Taoist temple, secretly observing the Qi within, only to find that Zhang Xiaohua had already left.
"Lucky he ran fast, otherwise I would have tried dropping a big rock from high up to see if I could smash that grandson of a turtle to death." Zhang Chen muttered and returned to his own small residence. Seeing the little bean sprout cultivating, he didn't disturb him but silently took out the slingshot and began to refine it.
Time passed bit by bit. As evening approached, a somewhat lonely Wu Changming came to the Taoist temple carrying a wine jar.
"Kid, come have a drink with me." Wu Changming pushed open the door and entered the house, tightening the Taoist robe on his body. He called out to Zhang Chen.
Zhang Chen put the slingshot back into the jade box and sealed it, then walked out of the house. He saw Wu Changming, his head covered in ice, sitting somewhat forlornly in front of the stove, warming himself. Streams of water vapor evaporated from his robe, making him look very disheveled. Most importantly, the divine light surrounding Wu Changming had dimmed by another third, and his strength had declined significantly.
"Master," Zhang Chen looked at Wu Changming, feeling that the old guy was in a bad mood.
"Come, drink some wine." Wu Changming poured a bowl of wine for Zhang Chen.
Zhang Chen looked at Wu Changming's face, which was uncertain under the firelight. Knowing the suppression in his heart, he knowingly asked: "Master, is something on your mind?"
"I'm going into seclusion. I won't come out until my Divine Soul Dao cultivation reaches the Yin God realm!" Wu Changming picked up the wine and took a sip, then picked up a piece of prepared beef and took a bite:
"You kid will have to cultivate on your own from now on."
Zhang Chen knew the bitterness in Wu Changming's heart, so he picked up the wine cup and poured wine for him: "Master, do you have any instructions for your disciple? If Master goes into seclusion, what about the Immortal cultivation incantation that I want?"
Hearing this, Wu Changming gulped down a bowl of wine, then held his breath to savor the aroma of the wine. After a long time, he let out a long breath: "To be honest, I can't even take care of myself now, so how can I care about you? As for the Immortal cultivation manual you want, that manual is in the main temple. If you can become a True Disciple in the future, go get it yourself."
Wu Changming was suffering in his heart!
How could he have the face to return to the main temple?
"Immortal cultivation and Qi refining are ultimately just deceptive tricks. They were traps deliberately set up by ancient predecessors to protect the manuals, pretending to be mysterious and acting like ghosts. The Qi refining technique is a fabricated incantation to hide the Divine Soul method. Don't waste your time on this incantation," Wu Changming instructed Zhang Chen.
He didn't think the incantation was of any use, so he couldn't be bothered to return to the main temple to retrieve it for Zhang Chen. He was so down on his luck now, that if he returned to the main temple, he would definitely be ridiculed, and even be confined by the Great Virtuous Teacher, so as not to hinder Gu Mingyue.
"Where is the main temple of the Yellow Turban Taoism?" Zhang Chen asked.
"Qingcheng Mountain," the old Taoist said.
"This disciple understands." Zhang Chen looked at Wu Changming, feeling that he had worshiped this master in vain.
"Also, there is one thing I must tell you. If you can break into the Mysterious realm in the future, if you can hope to glimpse the Yang God, then never take the path of Incense Divine Dao. Without enough Yellow Spring water to wash away the poison of incense, the Divine Dao is a dead end. Even the Great Virtuous Teacher is entangled by the poison of incense, let alone us?" After Wu Changming gave another instruction, he finished his wine and left the Taoist temple.
Watching Wu Changming leave in the wind and snow, Zhang Chen stood in front of the door, facing the cold wind for a long time without speaking. How high-spirited was Wu Changming in the past? Slaughtering dragons and splitting mountains and seas, moving the universe with every move, but now he has fallen to such a point, it is really sighing.
The next day, Xie Lingyun came again.
Zhang Chen brewed tea and then looked at Xie Lingyun: "Why does Sister have time to come?"
"That space channel is about to close. The people below have explored all the places that can be explored. It's useless for me to stay there," Xie Lingyun said, her eyes looking at Zhang Chen: "Moreover, I heard people say that there has been a major change in the Yellow Turban Taoism. Wu Changming was ordered by the Great Virtuous Teacher to be confined to hard cultivation, and he is not allowed to interfere in the affairs of the Taoist temple. I am worried that Wu Changming's loss of power will affect you, so I came here to support you. It's also good to tell those people that although Wu Changming's lineage has fallen, I am still behind you."
Hearing this, Zhang Chen was moved and bowed to Xie Lingyun: "Thank you, Sister."
He was surprised before, why Wu Changming obediently surrendered and willingly gave up all the territory, it turned out that there was already a decree from the Great Virtuous Teacher. No wonder Wu Changming was so down on his luck last night, it was really sighing.
"There is one more thing I want to tell you. The situation down the mountain has changed. If you go down the mountain in the future, you must not swagger about," Xie Lingyun instructed Zhang Chen.
Hearing this, Zhang Chen was stunned, and heard Xie Lingyun's subtext, and asked: "Please also ask Sister to enlighten me."
"The great nobles have already begun to bestow godhood! I heard people say that in the past few months, the Great Sheng Dynasty has produced hundreds of gods comparable to the Yang God," Xie Lingyun said.