Merit Stone

The stone house looked a lot like a local earth god temple. It was only half a person's height, with many red cloth strips tied to the stones and surrounding branches. A small altar made of stones was built in front of the house, filled with earth, and contained many burnt-down incense sticks.

Judging by the leftover incense, this small temple had a decent amount of worshipers.

Pan Yun stared blankly, then asked uncertainly, "Is this... our Master?"

"That's right," Wang Fei Yin said. "Lord Pan is the mountain god of Mount Sanqing. This entire area is under his jurisdiction and protection. Within fifty li of Mount Sanqing, there are three such mountain god temples. This one has existed the longest and is the largest."

This is considered large?

Pan Yun: "Senior Brother, haven't you ever thought about building a bigger temple for Master?"

"I intended to, but Master refused my requests several times."

Pan Yun was confused: "Why?"

Wang Fei Yin: "Perhaps the people praying were not the right ones."

"Ah?" Pan Yun's heart skipped a beat, and she pointed to herself. "Does that mean it has to be me?"

Wang Fei Yin handed her the incense and candles he had brought. "Offer incense to Master first."

Pan Yun set the cat aside and knelt to light the incense and candles.

When lighting incense, you're supposed to rub the ends first. It's usually not easy to light, and Pan Yun used to take a long time to get an incense stick lit. But this time, the incense lit up as soon as the tinderbox was opened, so fast it made her mind wander.

Pan Yun blinked, screwed the tinderbox shut, and inserted the incense.

This time, the incense also burned quickly and smoothly.

Pan Yun gave half the incense to Wang Fei Yin and held the other half herself, standing before the temple and gazing forward. After a moment, she lowered her eyelids and sincerely recited in her heart: [Master, the incense burned so smoothly today, which shows you truly favor your little disciple, right? Don't worry, I will definitely come often to burn incense for you in the future and spread the prestige of the Mount Sanqing mountain god far and wide.]

Pan Yun bowed and inserted the incense.

Seeing the incense smoke curl upwards, Pan Yun smiled and felt relieved. She turned to Wang Fei Yin with an expectant look, her left eye conveying "gift" and her right eye "welcome gift."

Wang Fei Yin picked her up and leaped into the air, stepping on five or six trees before flying towards the giant rock behind the mountain god temple.

The terrain gradually sloped upwards, and the trees slowly disappeared, leaving only a giant rock barrier like a sky screen blocking their path.

Wang Fei Yin, however, seemed like a wisp of smoke, floating upwards with the gentle breeze, still carrying Pan Yun, who was shouting "Kitty, kitty!"

He stepped onto the giant rock and ascended, landing in a crevice between the rocks. He placed Pan Yun aside, clapped his hand, and the rock cracked open. He shifted his body, and the shattered stones fell down the cliff.

Pan Yun turned to look and saw a fist-sized, golden-white stone nestled within the cracked rock. It seemed to twitch slightly. She blinked. "Is it alive?"

But upon closer inspection, it stopped moving.

It was embedded in the rock, appearing to be part of it, yet also not.

It can't be jade, can it? Isn't this granite? Pan Yun looked at Senior Brother's hand, thinking he was amazing to be able to shatter granite with his bare hands.

Wang Fei Yin put that hand behind his back and explained to Pan Yun, "This is an incense and fire stone, also called a merit stone. Over a hundred years ago, people who wanted to pray to the mountain god had to climb all the way here to offer incense."

Pan Yun glanced down and felt dizzy. She immediately averted her gaze, staring intently at the stone that was neither gold nor jade, pressing herself against the innermost rock. "It's so high, how could ordinary people get up here?"

Wang Fei Yin: "Those with a sincere wish would find a way to come up. For thousands of years, the nearby villagers prayed like this. Taoists and believers from afar would also come here to pray. It wasn't until the establishment of my Great Ming dynasty that mountain god temples began to be built at the foot of the mountain, and people started burning incense and praying below. But no matter where it was, the incense smoke would eventually drift towards this incense and fire stone."

Wang Fei Yin reached out, grasped the jade-like stone, channeled his power into his palm, and with a strong pull, removed it completely. He handed the stone to Pan Yun.

Pan Yun took it. It was cool to the touch, but within moments, it became warm. She felt a sense of closeness to the stone and held it in her hands, liking it very much. She didn't hide her affection and said to Wang Fei Yin with starry eyes, "Senior Brother, I feel like I've met this merit stone before. I feel very close to it."

Wang Fei Yin: "This is a merit stone, a gift and recognition from the Heavenly Dao. It's not just you; even livestock, pigs, cows, dogs, and sheep would feel close to it upon seeing it."

Pan Yun: "I thought it was the collective will of the people or something. It's actually a gift and recognition from the Heavenly Dao?"

"It naturally includes the collective will of the people. The matters involved are very complex, and I can't explain them clearly."

Pan Yun, while stroking the stone, muttered, "Why can't you explain it clearly?"

Wang Fei Yin: "If I could explain it clearly, it would mean I had fully understood how the merit stone was created and how the Heavenly Dao thinks. If I could think like the Heavenly Dao, I wouldn't be human now, but the Heavenly Dao itself. Don't we cultivators spend our entire lives pondering, investigating, what the Dao is?"

Pan Yun looked thoughtful. She hadn't considered this question before. She had only shallowly desired to cultivate and become stronger, even stronger. Whether in her past life or this one, she had never deeply pondered what the Dao was.

Pan Yun looked down at the merit stone in her hand and asked, "Master is going to give this merit stone to me?"

Wang Fei Yin nodded.

"Why?"

Wang Fei Yin: "He will tell you tonight."

So, he'll come to me in a dream tonight.

Pan Yun clutched the merit stone in her hand, feeling a little nervous.

Seeing this, Wang Fei Yin reached out and patted her head. "Junior Sister, you must remember, even divine gifts come with a price. You need to see if the price is one you can afford. If you don't wish to comply, the gods cannot force you."

He said meaningfully, "Whether it's gods, ghosts, or demons, they all seem more powerful than humans. However, all things in the world are under the Heavenly Dao. The Heavenly Dao allows humans the right to refuse."

So she could refuse the mountain god.

Pan Yun hugged the merit stone tightly and nodded at Wang Fei Yin. "I understand, Senior Brother. Do you know what this merit stone is used for?"

Wang Fei Yin said, "It has many benefits. It calms the mind, nourishes the soul, and makes people and things feel more favorably towards you, just like how you're holding onto it and refusing to let go. Others will find you endearing."

Meaning it gives her the "popular with everyone" attribute?

Pan Yun: "Is that all?"

"What else? Does it calculate the merit of the person carrying it? The more recognized by the Heavenly Dao, the deeper the golden color?" Wang Fei Yin asked. "In the end, doesn't it just make you more approachable?"

Pan Yun's eyes widened. She tightened her grip on the merit stone in her arms, and she knew what this thing was for!

She stiffly lowered her head to look at the stone in her arms. So, the great mountain god knew everything.

That made sense. Sanqing Temple was on Mount Sanqing, which was like living on Lord Pan's body. Every move she and Pan Little Black made would naturally not be hidden from him.

She just didn't know how much He specifically knew.

It felt like being stripped bare and exposed. Pan Yun disliked this feeling.

Before she could fully process it, Wang Fei Yin had already picked her up and flown out again. This time, they were heading directly towards the cliff below.

Plummeting down, Pan Yun's legs went weak, and she trembled uncontrollably, screaming "Ahhh--" The wind rushed into her mouth and wouldn't stop.

Wang Fei Yin descended rapidly. As soon as they hit the ground, he placed her on the grass nearby. Her legs were so weak she couldn't stand, and she collapsed onto the ground with a thud.

Wang Fei Yin confirmed, "You're afraid of heights?"

The wind filled her stomach, and Pan Yun let out a hiccup. Her eyes were red, and she vehemently denied it, "No, I'm not afraid of heights! It's just that you were too sudden, Senior Brother. Why didn't you say anything beforehand if you were going to fly down?"

Wang Fei Yin stared at her for a moment before nodding. "I'll tell you next time. Let's go, we're going up the mountain."

Pan Yun, holding the merit stone in one hand and propping herself up with the other, struggled to get up. She stumbled after Wang Fei Yin.

Seeing that she had abandoned him like this, Pan Little Black could only meow and follow, making a racket the whole way.

Pan Yun: "Keep making noise, and I won't let you in the house?"

Pan Little Black immediately stopped making noise.

Wang Fei Yin smiled. "Junior Sister, your cat is so intelligent. Have you raised it since it was young?"

Pan Yun nodded. "Yes, I've raised it since I was young. It's been with me since the day I was born."

Upon hearing this, Wang Fei Yin couldn't help but examine the black cat, frowning. "This cat is eight years old?"

"It's a spirit cat. It grows slower and will live a very long time," Pan Yun changed the subject. "Senior Brother, can this merit stone be used as a formation stone or something similar?"

The lucky number for this chapter is still a number ending in 3. Screenshot as proof.