Chapter 484: Shinto's Pros and Cons, Cooperation Agreement
Chapter 484: Shinto's Pros and Cons, Cooperation Agreement
Originally, the sky could not be seen in the Nine Mountains Realm.
Not to mention being in the mortal world of the Nine Mountains, even if you are in the Nine Islands of the Heavenly Palace, wherever you look, there is thick fog. On normal days, you cannot see the sun or the moon, let alone the stars.
But now there is a change.
Zheng Fa rose slowly along with the Sun and Moon Bell, and golden and purple lights bloomed and shone brightly in the air.
The white fog that was so thick that you couldn't see your hand in front of you in the past, when illuminated by this light, melted away in an instant, just like snow meeting the sun.
When you look at the sky from the mortal world of the Nine Mountains, you will see a clear sky with only blue sky and white clouds.
The buildings standing in rows on the nine islands appear and disappear in the clouds, just like palaces in heaven.
The power of the incense surrounding Zheng Fa is like seven-colored clouds. The colorful soft light shines on these buildings, making them even more beautiful and more like a fairyland.
But this scene was very different in Zheng Fa's eyes.
He sat upright in the small courtyard, his mind vaguely connected with this yang divine body.
From his perspective, the power of the incense is actually a sea of spiritual consciousness!
Zheng Fa had never heard before that mortals could have spiritual consciousness, so he naturally thought that spiritual consciousness could only be generated after one had cultivated oneself.
But today's scene broke his cognition:
This colorful sea of incense is actually a collection of wisps of spiritual consciousness that even Zheng Fa can hardly see.
A single wisp of spiritual energy is insignificant, but the Nine Mountains Realm now has a population of hundreds of millions. When gathered together, the power of this spiritual consciousness is far greater than that of Zheng Fa himself.
"Incense Shinto, that's what it is."
Zheng Fa suddenly understood a lot about the essence of Shinto practice.
In the relationship between spiritual consciousness and cultivation, there is a paradox that Zheng Fa has not realized:
When a cultivator practices, he needs to use his spiritual consciousness to attract spiritual energy. How can mortals do this without spiritual consciousness?
This scene now proved to Zheng Fa that everyone has spiritual consciousness, but the spiritual consciousness of mortals is too weak to be released externally. Even they themselves are not aware of it, let alone the power of magic.
However, after the incense and fire gods gathered these weak spiritual consciousnesses together, miraculous changes occurred.
In Zheng Fa's perception, the yang spirit body at this time could actually use the power of incense to replace the spiritual consciousness.
Now this Yangshen's spiritual consciousness is powerful, far superior to that of ordinary gods.
What surprised him even more was that the Sun and Moon Bell was the foundation of the Nine Mountains Realm. After his Yang Shen body was fused with the Sun and Moon Bell, he was further blessed by this realm. In the Nine Mountains Realm, his combat power was actually comparable to that of the Fusang Tree - in other words, this Yang Shen body might be just a transformed god outside, but in the Nine Mountains Realm, he could be comparable to a wandering immortal.
"…Shinto's speed is truly incredible."
Zheng Fa looked at Yang Shen's body and felt that it was a bit outrageous:
You know, this Yang God body of his had only just begun to cultivate into a Yang God, but as soon as he entered the divine way, his strength improved by leaps and bounds.
Even though he knew that this Yang Shen body was his own clone, he had to say at this moment - cheating is shameful!
But this is not the greatest benefit of Shinto, at least not the greatest benefit to Zheng Fa:
Just standing there in the Nine Mountains Realm would not be able to resolve his crisis.
What's more, Zheng Fa has no shortage of immortal combat power.
But since Shinto can rule the Xuanwei Realm for an era, it is naturally not that simple:
His mind moved, his yang body opened his eyes slightly, and he looked up at the Sun and Moon Bell.
The Sun and Moon Bell slowly floated down and sank into the top of Yang Shen's head, completely merging with it.
The Yangshen body opened its eyes, and the power of the surrounding incense surged like waves, squeezing each other and converging into a vortex.
In an instant, half of the spiritual energy of the Nine Mountains Realm surged towards the vortex and poured into Yang Shen's body, making his figure more solid.
“This is…” The old man seemed to have realized something and his eyes widened.
"The incense is the divine consciousness, so it can naturally be used for cultivation." Zheng Fa spoke out his conjecture, which made him look even more horrified. "For cultivators like me, we must use our divine consciousness to draw spiritual energy into our bodies. Now that the Yang Shen body has the power of the incense, its divine consciousness is completely different from before. The range of spiritual energy that can be absorbed is naturally incomparable."
In the small courtyard, Senior Sister Zhang and the others looked at each other with expressions of admiration.
Everyone understands what this means - it can be said that if the Yang Shen body wants to practice in the future, it will not lack spiritual power, but will lack the understanding of the great Dao!
"This is even more powerful than your Heaven and Earth Furnace Technique."
The old man endured for a long time before he couldn't help but sigh.
Zheng Fa nodded in agreement.
The method of the furnace of heaven and earth is certainly useful, but it cannot break the limitations of spiritual consciousness.
In the final analysis, the Nine Mountain Patriarch can only enhance the density of spiritual power in the surrounding space, but the power of incense can expand the range of spiritual power absorbed by the Yangshen body ten or a hundred times.
More importantly - the spiritual power that the Nine Mountain Patriarch can provide is limited.
When Zheng Fa was in the Nascent Soul stage, the Nine Mountains Patriarch, who was in the Spirit Transformation stage, was naturally a super-large capacity power bank. But now that Zheng Fa is in the Spirit Transformation stage, the spiritual energy of the Nine Mountains Patriarch can only be said to be barely enough.
If Zheng Fa was stronger, then the Nine Mountain Patriarch would not be that useful:
It might be able to solve an urgent problem when used in a fight, but it doesn't make much difference when practicing.
But at present, Shintoism does not have this problem. The stronger the incense, the broader the consciousness of the yang god body, and the more spiritual power it can absorb.
"This magic is so powerful." After the old man was amazed, he frowned, "The Heavenly Venerable is dead, I'm afraid it's a big pity..."
Zheng Fa nodded gently and looked at Yang Shenshen. He saw that his eyes were sometimes confused, sometimes happy, and sometimes even grinning. He couldn't help but sigh softly.
……
"Did I send it?"
Li Shangxian frowned and thought hard, feeling that he would not forget such an important event, but the fluctuation of Zheng Fa's spiritual power now did have some traces of the Supreme Dao.
"This... doesn't this mean that Zheng Fa is harmed?"
"Harmed Zheng Fa?" Master Mingde was stunned for a moment, but saw that the old man in the transformed spirit was actually nodding, and he was even more puzzled: How can it be said that imparting the secret of the Supreme Tao to Zheng Fa harmed him?
Li Shangxian touched his forehead and sighed: "The power of incense may seem like a treasure for cultivation, but it is actually dangerous. The thoughts of sentient beings are like poison to cultivators."
The head monk Mingde asked in surprise, "How can you say that?"
"After Dao Zun created the Yang Shen Fa, the Divine Dao rose, and this method was practiced very quickly, and soon became the mainstream of Xuanwei." Li Shangxian shook his head, "But this method eventually fell into obscurity. The problem lies in the minds of sentient beings."
The old man continued:
"The ancestor is right. All living beings are ignorant. Their daily thoughts are complicated and even filthy. Since Shinto practitioners have benefited from the incense, they naturally have to bear these thoughts."
"So the hearts of Shinto monks are filled with the desires, greed, and ignorance of their followers..."
"But the more believers there are and the stronger the Shinto monks are, the more these thoughts arise. It's like drinking poison to quench thirst."
Master Mingde felt numb after hearing this, and only then did he understand why the master said that he had harmed Zheng Fa.
"This……"
"Zheng Fa is using the magic of the way of the gods, probably to fight against Immortal Lu as soon as possible." Li Shangxian frowned and said, "But it is extremely difficult to achieve the greatness of the way of the gods. If something goes wrong, I'm afraid there will be no need for Hao Rishan to take action..."
Everyone looked at each other and understood why Immortal Li cared so much.
Tai Shang Dao wants Zheng Fa to stop Lu Zhenxian from achieving the Golden Immortal path, so Zheng Fa must not die - but now Zheng Fa is practicing the Divine Dao which is so risky, if something goes wrong, then Tai Shang Dao will fail?
He looked up at the sky and said in distress, "Why didn't I keep my mouth shut?"
At this moment, a crow's cry suddenly came from the sky.
A golden crow, covered in flames, flew towards Zheng Fa in the sky.
Flames gathered behind it, like a long tail feather, dragging a red-gold chariot frame, and on the frame, there was a huge sun canopy.
The golden crow flew across the sky and landed in front of Zheng Fa.
Zheng Fa walked onto the chariot, and the divine chariot turned into a huge sun, and then passed through the sky, carrying Zheng Fa with it, and disappeared without a trace.
People in the Nine Mountains Realm felt a surge of great joy in their hearts for no reason, even the foreign gods like the Mingde Chief felt the same.
As everyone was in doubt, Li Shangxian spoke: "The gods are in their proper positions, and the sun and moon are in order. This divine law, Zheng Fa, is complete."
After hearing this, everyone didn't know whether to be happy or sad for a moment.
Li Shangxian thought for a long time and seemed to have thought of something: "Wait a moment, I will go find Zheng Fa to talk."
……
Looking at Li Shangxian who suddenly came to find him, Zheng Fa felt a little puzzled.
"Alliance leader, what Shinto methods do you practice?"
When Li Shangxian saw Zheng Fa nod, a look of regret appeared on his face: "Then I guess you have also felt the trouble of the power of the incense."
Zheng Fa also had some lingering fear on his face.
The distracting thoughts within the power of incense are truly countless.
Some people wish for spiritual stones to fall from the sky.
Some people want to live in a big house.
What's worse, some people want to ascend to heaven in one day, live forever, and have three thousand fairies.
There are also some evil thoughts hidden in people's hearts, which cannot be seen on normal days, but can be clearly seen in the incense.
The Yang Shen body is in the midst of it, as if falling into a sea of desire, and is in danger of losing his mind from time to time.
Fortunately, the method of transforming Three Pure Ones into one is mysterious. Although he can feel these desires, he just feels like he is reading a book that has nothing to do with him.
However, Yang Shen was deeply harmed by it, and Zheng Fa could only wake him up from time to time.
If Zheng Fa himself practiced Shintoism, it would be too late to regret now.
Li Shangxian shook his head and sighed, "It's my fault."
Zheng Fa was stunned for a moment. He trusted Li Shangxian a lot now, and he wanted to observe Yang Shenshen even more. He really didn't hear the discussion of Li Shangxian and others. Therefore, he didn't quite understand what Li Shangxian meant by this.
"Forget it..." Li Shangxian was silent for a while, then explained his purpose. "Actually, it's not completely impossible."
"Ok?"
"My predecessor, the Supreme Daoist, also practiced the Shinto method in his early years." Li Shangxian explained, "After they perfected it, this Shinto method has two methods that can slightly avoid these defects."
Zheng Fa was surprised when he heard this.
But Li Shangxian said directly: "First, it is the fundamental inheritance of my Supreme Dao, which I cannot pass on to you."
"Fundamental inheritance?"
"Yes, the 'Taishang Wangqing Sutra' was created by Dao Zun. Although it is not a divine law, it is extremely restraining for the desires of all living beings."
Zheng Fa suddenly looked at Li Shangxian and asked tentatively, "Forgot?"
Li Shangxian nodded slightly, and seemed unwilling to say more, and only said: "Another method is not top secret, and it is very suitable for you, the leader."
Zheng Fa also became interested when he heard it: "What method?"
"Dongtian Method."
Zheng Fa looked puzzled, and then he listened to Li Shangxian's explanation: "The so-called cave heaven is what you call the heavenly monument boundary. My Taishang Dao inheritance calls it the cave heaven. Dao Zun once said that the so-called heavenly monument is the boundary monument of the immortal cave heaven."
After hearing this, Zheng Fa was shocked, but he did not reveal his thoughts. He just continued: "Then the Cave Heaven Method is..."
"In essence, it is to use the power of incense to temper the treasure of the cave heaven." Li Shangxian explained, "My predecessor, the Supreme Dao, discovered that after a person who practices the divine way combines with the treasure of the cave heaven, he can use the treasure of the cave heaven to temporarily maintain his nature."
“Moreover, after the cave-heaven magic weapon grows, the cultivation of the Shinto monks will be enhanced, and they will be able to withstand stronger incense desires.”
Zheng Fa immediately thought of Tianhe Fa. It seems that the idea of using magic weapon to maintain one's nature really came from Shintoism.
Li Shangxian added: "This method is actually not that precious."
"Ok?"
"What's precious is the treasure of the cave heaven." Li Shangxian said with a smile, "There were many cave heavens in the past, but now there are fewer. In this era, the only cave heaven that I know of is the Nine Mountains Realm."
This is understandable:
No matter how precious a secret method is, if it cannot be practiced, it is naturally of no use.
Zheng Fa couldn't help but have some anticipation on his face. Although he was not afraid of the desire for incense like others, it didn't mean that his Yang Shen body didn't need this method.
The influence of the desire for incense on monks is actually multifaceted:
The most serious thing, of course, is that it can easily make monks lose their nature.
In addition, the daily practice of cultivators is easily disturbed by these thoughts, and it is also difficult for the Yang Shen body to meditate and practice.
It can even be said that the advantage of practicing Shinto is that the spiritual energy is almost endless, but the disadvantage is that one has to dance with the inner demons every day and cannot calm down to practice.
Therefore, what Zheng Fa is most worried about now is the issue of how to cultivate the Yang Shen body.
"But I also want to remind the leader." Li Shangxian added, "This is not actually a cure. To advance the cave treasure, the incense power required is extremely strong, and the desires that the cultivators have to endure are also stronger."
"My senior, the Supreme Dao, discovered that even if the treasure of the cave heaven is advanced, it can only suppress it temporarily, but cannot solve the suffering of sentient beings' desires. Over time, the cultivator's mind is invisibly affected by the power of incense, and it is difficult to reverse the situation."
"Therefore, this cave method can only temporarily delay the time of going astray. The divine method... is not a great method."
Li Shangxian thought for a moment and revealed a secret, "Afterwards, there were no more mortals in my Great Dao Cave Heaven."
After hearing this, Zheng Fa thought to himself that he didn't actually care about the Cave Heaven Method's ability to suppress his desire for incense, but that didn't mean he didn't want the Cave Heaven Method!
From Immortal Li's words, Zheng Fa deduced one thing: if the treasure of the cave heaven can be advanced, the Shinto monks can also be advanced. In other words, this is actually a method of rapid advancement of the Shinto method.
When the cultivation of Yang Shen Body is disturbed by thoughts of incense, this method is more suitable for Zheng Fa who wants to strengthen Yang Shen quickly!
Perhaps others would be afraid of the power of incense, and therefore worry about gains and losses, or even select the residents in the cave to purify the idea of incense to a certain extent.
But Zheng Fa is not afraid!
He bowed to Immortal Li and said, "Thank you for the reminder."
“It’s okay. I won’t pass this method on to you for free.” Li Shangxian smiled, then said with a bitter face, “Actually, this is also my fault…”
Zheng Fa was even more confused when he saw him blaming himself, and could only sigh:
Although this Li Shangxian doesn't look very smart, he is... a good person.
……
Soon Zheng Fa found out the price of the Dongtian Method.
There are two rows of wooden chairs in the reception room of Zhengfa Courtyard.
Several high-ranking officials of Jiushan Sect and Taishang Dao's entourage sat on both sides.
Zheng Fa held the jade tube and looked at it for a stick of incense before handing it to Senior Sister Zhang beside him.
Li Shangxian asked, "What do you think, leader?"
"I generally agree to this condition." Zheng Fa recalled the contents of the jade tube and said, "In the fight against Hao Ri Mountain, your sect and I share the same stance, so we are naturally willing to join forces."
The conditions of the Grand Master Xuan Ding are actually just two points:
One is the Anti-Haorishan United Front.
To put it simply, let’s attack Haori Mountain together.
There are detailed clauses such as intelligence sharing, mutual assistance, etc., which actually revolve around this.
Thinking of intelligence sharing, Zheng Fa looked at Li Shangxian with a slightly meaningful expression: "I didn't expect that the Supreme Dao would value Tongjian so much."
Li Shangxian smiled.
Zheng Fa sighed in his heart that among the great monks he had seen, only those were limited by their knowledge, but none of them were truly stupid.
The live broadcast of a Dao Fruit Battle seemed to allow Tai Shang Dao to see Tong Jian's ability and even guess the intelligence capability of Jiushan Sect.
When it comes to intelligence sharing today, there may really be some thoughts of wanting to take advantage.
Even Zheng Fa could guess that Tai Shang Dao was probably secretly on guard against Tong Jian.
Seeing that Li Shangxian didn't say anything, Zheng Fa shook his head and felt that the agreement was fair.
The Supreme Dao also plays a significant role in the Jiushan Sect:
One is naturally to withstand the pressure from the four sects, especially the pressure brought by Xie Qingxue.
The most important thing is that with the Supreme Daoist here, Zheng Fa feels that the Jiushan Sect is truly safe:
Although there is only one true immortal in Haori Mountain now, he is also afraid that Leiyin Temple will shamelessly interfere. With the Supreme Dao, this worry is naturally much less.
In this regard, the interests of the two are almost completely consistent.
There is another point in the terms that is worth discussing - trade terms.
Senior Sister Zhang put down the jade tube in her hand, looked up at Immortal Li, and said, "Magic weapon and talisman for elixir?"
Li Shangxian nodded and laughed: "My Supreme Alchemy Dao is unique and profound. Your alliance has some magical instruments and talismans, which are also... very unique."
It can be seen that Li Shangxian thought about it in his mind and finally found a word of praise.
This is not because he deliberately belittled the Jiushan Sect, but for the Supreme Dao, the current alchemy and refining capabilities of the Jiushan Sect can only be regarded as unique:
Madam Xuanhua is still in the late Nascent Soul stage and has not yet become a spirit, so naturally she cannot refine a spiritual weapon.
To the Supreme Daoist, especially to an immortal like Li Shangxian, these magical instruments and treasures are really a bit low-end.
Li Shangxian added: "Oh, you can also change the cave heaven method, I forgot to write it down."
Zheng Fa and Senior Sister Zhang looked at each other, seeming a little hesitant.
To be honest, this trade agreement is quite fair.
The Xuan Ding Patriarch of the Supreme Dao seemed to have obsessive-compulsive disorder. The prices of many products were clearly written on the back, and some were even accurate to half a spirit stone.
Zheng Fa took a rough look and found that the price was about the same as the market price in Xuanwei Realm, so no one was at a disadvantage.
Li Shangxian felt embarrassed. He whispered, "I can give you a cheaper price for the Cave Heaven Method, but for the other things..."
He paused and said, "Master Xuan Ding is the most serious. Usually, the spiritual stones in the sect are all counted and cannot be moved easily."
Hearing this, Master Mingde and others all nodded, obviously sharing the same sentiment.
This Supreme Dao Xuan Ding Patriarch is probably not a lavish person:
Many of the items in this product catalog are Jiushan’s exclusive magical instruments, and Master Mingde used to like to buy them.
Also, because these things are relatively low-end, perhaps the disciples of Tai Shang Dao are unwilling to earn this hard-earned money.
In other words, this agreement not only does not harm the interests of Tai Shang Dao, but also can supplement some of the needs for magical instruments.
I think that the founder of Xuan Ding had been carefully selected. It can be said that he did not intend to give the Jiushan Sect any advantage.
Zheng Fa thought about it and nodded to Senior Sister Zhang.
Senior Sister Zhang understood and said, "I have two questions from the Jiushan Sect."
"please say."
"Can this product catalog and price be changed later?"
Li Shangxian laughed: "Of course."
Unexpectedly, Senior Sister Zhang's face showed some disappointment, and she asked again: "How many of these things do you want?"
Li Shangxian was stunned, with a bewildered look on his face, as if he didn't understand the question, and couldn't help asking, "What?"
"How many of these magic tools or talismans do you want?" Senior Sister Zhang explained slowly to him, and then asked expectantly, "Is there a limit?"
(End of this chapter)