I have Immortality In The Cultivation World

"Worldly affairs are ever-changing; last year, the Mountain God Temple was brimming with incense smoke, but now only a few broken walls remain."

Zhou Yi waved his hand and drew the god statue from the rubble. It was barely discernible as a tiger-headed human figure wearing armor; it was indeed the Wushan Mountain God.

A Demon King at the Golden Core Stage had occupied the position of the Mountain God for over a hundred years.

Last year, Jin Yangzi investigated the Linyang land case and along the way, he beheaded the Mountain God. Since it wasn’t an official deity consecrated by the Imperial Court, akin to slaying a demon, not even the County Government Office’s announcement mentioned it.

Spirits and Monsters of the mountains and rivers were all seen as deserving death in the eyes of the Imperial Court!

Yet, the Lord of Yuntong River, who was also a Wild God, did not receive any punishment, not even a verbal reprimand.

"Having a powerful backer works everywhere!"

Zhou Yi did not need to investigate to know that the Lord of Yuntong River had the protection of a Nascent Soul Dragon Lord, and even more powerful dragonkind sheltering him above that.

The dragonkind are exceptionally protective of their own; should one of their own commit a crime, they would never allow a human to mete out punishment.

"After taking over Wu Mountain, the first step is to focus on cultivation and gradually make contact with fellow practitioners. Once I have a thorough understanding of the Dongsheng Divine Continent, I must find a strong backer. Otherwise, someone might come along and wipe me out!"

In recent years, Zhou Yi had already inquired clearly about the current Emperor’s deeds since his ascension to the throne.

Emperor Yuanding had ruled over Daheng for more than seventy years, executing more official gods than the previous two hundred years combined, known throughout the world for his ruthless and heartless nature.

Given his character, the next hundred and twenty years are sure to bring Daheng into a state of utter turmoil.

"Either Emperor Yuanding will bring about a restoration or he will hasten Daheng’s collapse!"

In Zhou Yi’s eyes, Daheng, with its history of two thousand five hundred years, was deeply afflicted with chronic maladies.

The reason it hadn’t collapsed was that the Imperial Court was controlled by Divinity Transformation cultivators, leaving the common people at the bottom powerless to resist. However, the thoughts and prayers of countless living beings were bound to produce karma.

Daheng replaced the previous dynasty when the Great Eternal Ancestor had a breakthrough after achieving Divinity Transformation and rose up in rebellion, with clouds converging and scenes following in his wake.

Folktales say that the Great Eternal Ancestor of Daheng is still alive to this day, having established the rule that every two hundred years, a new Emperor should ascend. Afterward, he entered closed-door cultivation, wholly focused on his ascension!

Upon reaching the peak of Black Mountain.

Zhou Yi’s eyes shone with a divine light as he surveyed the mountain range, quickly locating the point where the geomantic and meteorological patterns converged.

His escaping light descended.

There was also a Mountain God Temple here, larger in size than those in other territories, likely the cultivation site of the previous real god Mountain God.

With a wave of his hand, the ground rumbled and the remains were buried underground.

Walls sprouted from the earth, and moments later, a new Mountain God Temple was erected.

It spanned over a hundred zhang, with a front and rear section.

The vermilion gate bore a sign that read "God of Black Mountain." Pushing the door open would reveal the main hall’s statue of the Mountain God, clad in dark blue Taoist robes, wielding a sword in one hand and a talisman in the other, with a face seven or eight parts similar to Zhou Yi’s.

Behind the statue was Zhou Yi’s place of cultivation, divided into rooms for receiving guests, alchemy, retreat, and Qi Refinement.

Overall, it resembled a Taoist temple, except the sculpture of the immortal god within was of Zhou Yi himself.

"Without the name of the Mountain God and no one to offer incense and worship, it would be difficult to condense Wish Power Beads!"

Zhou Yi ascended into the air, his Divine Sense sweeping over a hundred li radius, spotting a few scattered villages and hunters who lived in the mountains all year round; most of them were followers of the Mountain God.

After observing with his Divine Sense for a moment, there were no commoners he could guide.

"First, I’ll repair the other small temples. According to the cultivation notes of Hong Luo, erecting several temples not only facilitates the worship of the faithful below but also attracts passing commoners into the temples to burn incense." n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

In a world where Immortal Gods manifest, mortals know the gods truly exist and naturally developed the habit of burning incense when encountering temples.

Whether it is useful or not, paying respects to the gods is never a mistake. If you happen to encounter a petty-minded deity who sees you not offering incense, they might just cast a curse to bring you bad luck.

This kind of offering from passersby, although the incense and wish power are diluted, is also a strategy of accumulating small amounts over time!

Several days later.

Wu Mountain had several dozen new Mountain God Temples, with roughly one every twenty to thirty li.

Zhou Yi employed the Dream Induction Technique to inform the people living in Wu Mountain about the new Mountain God’s name and appearance.

The gist was: There’s a new Mountain God in town, don’t worship the wrong one!

Perhaps because Zhou Yi’s likeness was humanoid and far more approachable than the former tiger-headed monster, the commoners didn’t resist at all and directly replaced the tiger-headed god statues in their homes.

"Or perhaps the commoners believe not in the Mountain God, but in the position of the Mountain God!"

Zhou Yi shook his head; he had no intention to change from occupying the position of the God of Black Mountain in the short term.

Regardless of whom the people worshipped now, after a few hundred to a thousand years, they would undoubtedly worship Zhou Yi. Moreover, his long lifespan allowed Zhou Yi not to rush for immediate results, choosing instead the righteous path to gather incense.

"There are three righteous paths: protecting civilians, preaching, and granting wishes."

Protecting civilians means curing illnesses and rescuing people from disasters, earning the sincere support and reverence of the common people, but it is quite burdensome to accomplish.

Not every subject is sick, nor do they all fall ill at the same time; the path of curing requires waiting for opportunities and traveling far and wide. The same goes for rescuing from disasters – aside from creating disasters oneself, one wouldn’t encounter a natural calamity once in ten or twenty years.

Preaching means spreading the law and the way of cultivation. For cultivators and Spirits and Monsters who step onto the path, the incense and wish power offered far exceed that of ordinary people.

Granting wishes entails the commoners burning incense and praying, with immortals casting spells to fulfill their wishes.

Zhou Yi pondered carefully and, comparing his insights with the population of less than ten thousand nearby Black Mountain, he suddenly had an epiphany.

"No wonder the Mountain God turned to evil ways, these three righteous means of gathering wish power, are but earning a meager incense money through hard work!"

"Busy here, busy there, gathering a few Wish Power Beads, still not enough to make up for the cultivation time delay. Fortunately, the longevity of a humble Daoist like myself is boundless, crossing a sea takes thousands of years, so I can take my time gathering the beads!"

Zhou Yi occupied the deity position of Mount Wu, with no plans to move in the short term.

Gathering Wish Power Beads was the priority, followed by making friends with Daoists from all sides, understanding the Cultivation World of the Dongsheng Divine Continent.

One month later.

Peasants from South Mountain went hunting and encountered a blind bear, seeing that they were about to lose their lives.

Suddenly, a huge boulder rolled down from the mountain and knocked the Black Bear out cold, and the hunters faintly heard a majestic voice: "Bold beast, how dare you harm people within my territory!"

The hunters repeatedly thanked the Mountain God and offered worship day and night at home, telling everyone they met about the miraculous power of the Mountain God.

This event was of course orchestrated by Zhou Yi, who performed the Incense Flame Condensing Spirit Mantra and discovered that the wish power of the incense provided by the hunter was more than ten times richer than before.

If there were grades among the believers, it would be akin to evolving from the casual worshippers to devoted believers!

"Immeasurable Heavenly Honored One!"

Zhou Yi silently recited the heart-purifying spell, trying to suppress the idea of using magic to cause accidents and then miraculously saving people.

"By obtaining incense wish power in this manner, how am I different from that Land Deity Linyang? Many Immortal Gods start with minor evils; as greed grows, they step by step become demonic!"

One year later.

Experience more on empire

The God of Wu Mountain gained dozens of followers.

Among them was an old man by the surname Chen, grateful to the Mountain God for granting him a son, thus continuing his family’s lineage, and became the temple priest of the Mountain God Temple.

Two years.

The number of believers increased to over a thousand.

Five years.

For three days and nights in winter, heavy snowfall blocked the inside and outside of Wu Mountain, leaving the people lacking clothing and food.

The Mountain God revealed himself, used the art of ’Spring Breeze Turns into Rain,’ melting the ice and turning a disasterous snowstorm into auspicious snow that nourished the land.

After the disaster, the people living near Wu Mountain all became followers of the Mountain God.

Blossoms bloomed and withered, clouds coiled and relaxed.

Ten years flashed by in an instant.

That day.

The sun hung high in the sky.

It was the busy summer season for farming.

A streak of light descended at the foot of Wu Mountain and transformed into a young man in his twenties.

With a face like fine jade and an upright stature, he was dressed in a bright yellow Daoist robe, embroidered with a three-inch-long sword mark on his chest.

"Eleven years, I have returned!"

The young man was none other than Lin Heng, who after lodging his complaint at the Imperial Court all those years ago, was accepted as a disciple under the Divine Transformation Heavenly Monarch and had recently passed the minor forty-nine heavenly tribulations. With his master’s permission, he had descended the mountain to travel.

The first stop was Wu Mountain.

Lin Heng took out a golden bell from his storage bag and gently shook it, producing a clear, tinkling sound.

After waiting for a long time, there was no response.

"Could it be that Green Snake is not on the mountain?"

Lin Heng furrowed his brows, shaking the golden bell as he climbed up the mountain, yet he could not find any trace of her after scouring Wu Mountain.

He did come across a few spirits and monsters in the process, asked about the snake demon and Green Snake, but they all shook their heads indicating they didn’t know, and directed Lin Heng to inquire at the Mountain God Temple.

Mountain God Temple.

As Lin Heng descended from the light and before he could knock on the door, a young Daoist boy came out.

"The Mountain God has already been informed of the Daoist friend’s intention, but he is currently in deep cultivation and it is inconvenient for him to meet visitors," said the Spirit Ginseng child with a bow.

"It turns out that the former Mountain God, implicated in the Linyang Land case, was killed by the enforcers, and his subordinates either died or scattered. I do not know where that Green Snake has gone."

"So that’s how it is."

Lin Heng couldn’t help but feel disheartened, his ten years of anticipation ended like this.

Fortunately, his Daoist heart was as firm as iron, and without using any Escape Skill, he turned around and slowly walked down the mountain.

Looking back.

The Mountain God’s young Daoist was still standing at the doorway, his dark blue Daoist robe fluttering in the wind and his long black hair spread out, inexplicably stirring Lin Heng’s heart, the more he looked, the more tender and amiable he found him.

"Immeasurable Heavenly Honored One!"

"How could I, a poor Daoist, harbor such thoughts? This is truly terrifying; I should return to my sect for close cultivation!"

Lin Heng repeatedly muttered the heart-purifying spell, turned into a fleeing light, and hastily retreated.