I Have a Technique, Its Name Is Divine Strike!

That was right—the Divine Strike Technique!

It was a mystical art similar to the Chuma Family's "Invoking Gods to Possess," yet fundamentally different.

The similarity between the Divine Strike Technique and god-invocation arts was that both invited gods to possess the body.

The difference was that the former invoked "deities" formed from Incense and Fire Prayer Power.

These deities mostly referred to "incense and fire gods" that did not truly exist, yet had taken shape through the worship of ordinary people.

Such deities possessed neither consciousness nor wisdom, but they could grant a certain degree of recompense to those who offered them incense.

Of course, some Divine Strike Techniques could invoke "true deities," but Chen Yan remained doubtful as to whether true deities even existed in this world.

Unlike the god-invocation arts of Shamanism and the Chuma Family, however, the "Immortal Families" invoked by those shamans and Chuma disciples truly existed. They were the Fox, Yellow, White, Willow, Grey Spirits—Demonic Creatures and Ghosts with joy, anger, sorrow, delight, greed, wrath, and delusion.

Thus, compared to Divine Strike, which had no side effects, god-invocation arts carried far more severe consequences.

The greatest side effect was that whenever these "Immortal Families" possessed someone, they demanded payment. And that payment was often far more than simple objects—sometimes it was organs, limbs, or even the soul.

That was why there was a saying: "Easy to invite a god, hard to send one away."

But Chen Yan's Divine Strike had no such concerns.

Because the Divine Strike Technique invoked only "incense and fire gods," Chen Yan was, in a sense, merely borrowing the power of Incense and Fire Prayer Power.

According to the information described by the Divine Strike Technique, it was divided into three grades.

The first grade invoked the blessing of a "deity's" Incense and Fire Prayer Power. At this level, it could greatly strengthen the caster's physical body, making them impervious to blades and spears and granting them immense strength.

As for exactly how much it could enhance him, Chen Yan had yet to test it, so he did not know for now.

Second-grade Divine Strike stood a level above first-grade Divine Strike. It invoked a "Deity's Incarnation" for protection. At that point, the god was him, and the incarnation guarded him.

In a sense, the caster became an incarnation of the deity. Not only would their physique be greatly enhanced, they could even become immune to certain spells.

As for the final, third-grade Divine Strike, it was the hardest to master.

According to the Divine Strike Technique, cultivating this final level was extraordinarily difficult. But once mastered, one could move mountains and fill seas, shoulder mountains and chase the moon, achieve Body Becoming a Saint, and attain the "Myriad Law Golden Body." In the words of the Divine Strike Technique:

"The Myriad Law Golden Body repels all laws; the fleshly body is imperishable."

It seemed that Divine Strike at this grade had already surpassed the level of ordinary spells, reaching a realm comparable to the divine abilities of immortals. Untouched by all laws and deathless in body—it was simply invincible.

However, Chen Yan was only at the first grade, and he had only attained even that through the Heaven Book of Merit forcefully instilling it into him. He had not even reached the second grade, so he did not know whether the legendary third-grade Divine Strike was truly that powerful.

He could only wait until such a day truly came and verify it then.

But did that mean Chen Yan could now use Divine Strike?

The answer was still no.

Because using the Divine Strike Technique required one extremely crucial thing—a Divine Invocation Item.

As its name suggested, a Divine Invocation Item was an object needed to invoke a deity.

To put it plainly, it was something related to the "deity" being invoked—usually a god statue, a Buddha statue, or the like.

Of course, if one invoked their own ancestors, then Magic Tools or Spiritual Treasures commonly used by those ancestors would also suffice. Buddhist relics, Daoist ritual swords, and the like could all serve as Divine Invocation Items.

Chen Yan had neither masters nor ancestors in this world, so the latter kind of Divine Invocation Item was naturally not an option.

Therefore, he could only choose the former: using a deity's statue as a Divine Invocation Item.

Generally speaking, the more prayer power a Divine Invocation Item contained, the more prayer power first-grade Divine Strike could invoke.

The prayer power imbued within a Divine Invocation Item—that was, the god statue—was related to the incense offerings it had received from ordinary people.

Under such circumstances, the Bodhisattva statues and Daoist Patriarch statues worshipped in century-old temples and millennia-old Daoist palaces would naturally have accumulated the most incense offerings. If used as Divine Invocation Items, they would certainly provide far more Incense and Fire Prayer Power.

But setting aside whether Chen Yan could obtain such century-old or millennia-old Buddha and Daoist Patriarch statues, he was even more worried that using them as Divine Invocation Items might bring unpleasant consequences.

Though Divine Strike invoked deities of prayer power rather than real deities, who knew whether those Buddhas and Daoist Patriarchs truly existed? What if they did exist, and one of those venerable figures looked his way?

So, to be safe, Chen Yan felt it would be better to honestly make a god statue himself.

One that did not exist in this world, but had been worshipped by countless people of the martial world in his previous life—a Guangong Statue!

There was no helping it. Guangong statues had been far too famous in his previous life, and Chen Yan had thought of one first.

Moreover, with Saint Guan's martial prowess, if he could invoke the Incense and Fire Prayer Power of that fierce general, it would surely be no small matter.

More importantly, invoking Emperor Guan from his previous life in this world would carry no risk while still granting him the blessing of Incense and Fire Prayer Power. It was all benefit and no harm.

But Chen Yan did not intend to create a Guangong Statue from scratch.

First, the materials for sculpting a god statue were far too troublesome. It required high-quality clay pellets, cinnabar, lacquer ink, and so on. Chen Yan could not get hold of such things for the time being.

More importantly, a newly sculpted Saint Guan statue would have no Incense and Fire Prayer Power. Without the accumulated incense offerings of ordinary people, even if he invoked Emperor Guan, it would not be able to grant Chen Yan much power.

Therefore...

Chen Yan planned to "borrow" one.

Thirty li southeast of Shanxi Town stood a mountain called General Mountain. On that mountain was an old temple known as General Temple.

The General Temple had originally enshrined a general from the previous dynasty. It was said that incense offerings had flourished there during the previous dynasty, only gradually declining after the Martial Dynasty was founded. By now, almost no one went there to worship anymore, leaving behind only a dilapidated temple.

What Chen Yan planned to borrow was the General Statue that had been enshrined in that General Temple for several hundred years, which he would reshape into a Guangong Statue.

Time waited for no one. Chen Yan immediately left the city under cover of night and headed straight for General Mountain.

Half an hour later.

In a stretch of desolate wilderness, Chen Yan stood before an abandoned, ruined temple. The wind sighed around him, and leaves rustled through the darkness.

He stepped inside. Cracked bluestone flooring lay overgrown with weeds, lush vines sprawled everywhere, and all around was pitch-black. One look made it clear that no one had come here in a long time. Only the occasional traces of campfires left by passing merchants and travelers seeking shelter remained in the temple.

Chen Yan paid none of it any mind and walked directly to the General Statue at the center of the temple.

It was a General Statue sculpted from high-quality clay pellets. Even after a century, it merely looked somewhat old, with slight damage in a few places. Overall, it had been preserved relatively well.

Yet because no one had cleaned it for years, the General Statue was covered in bluish-black moss, while vines had crawled over its body. At first glance, it looked as though it wore a cloak.

Through its faintly visible features, he could vaguely make out a face filled with majesty.

Standing before the General Statue, Chen Yan wore a solemn expression. He respectfully bowed to it, then clasped his fists and said:

"Chen Yan of Shanxi borrows the general's sacred image today to cultivate divine abilities. In the future, I will surely rebuild a temple for you, General, and continue your incense offerings!"

After speaking, Chen Yan respectfully bowed three more times.

Whether it was coincidence or not, a cold gust of wind happened to sweep through, throwing open the temple doors and blowing away the straw and vines covering the General Statue, revealing its true form.

Chen Yan remained unruffled. With practiced ease, he climbed onto the altar, sank his qi into his dantian, and gave a low shout as he directly hoisted the thousand-jin General Statue onto his shoulder.

Carrying the General Statue on his shoulder, Chen Yan leaped down from the altar. With a boom, he stamped a deep footprint into the ground, sending dust flying.

But to Chen Yan, who had reached the Third Blood Qi Realm, this was no more than child's play. Blood qi coursed throughout his body as he carried the General Statue and headed straight back toward Shanxi Town.