Rank

Li Qi spent half an hour flipping through books and found a record in the "Zhu" text.

The book "Zhu" records: "In ancient times, there were Shen Tu and Yu Lei, two brothers who could restrain ghosts. They lived on Mount Duoshan in the East Sea, standing under a peach tree, reviewing all the ghosts. Ghosts that acted without reason and caused harm were bound by Shen Tu and Yu Lei with reed ropes and fed to tigers."

It also records: "The East Sea casts its light on Mount Duoshan. On the mountain, there is a large peach tree, three thousand li in circumference. In the northeast corner, all the ghosts come and go. Above it are two divine beings, one named Shen Tu, the other Yu Lei, who rule over all ghosts. Evil ghosts are bound with reed ropes and fed to tigers. The Yellow Emperor then erected a large peach effigy at the gate. He painted Shen Tu, Yu Lei, tigers, and reed ropes to ward off ghosts."

This means that in ancient times, there were two brothers, Shen Tu and Yu Lei, who could restrain ghosts and lived on Mount Duoshan in the East Sea.

This Mount Duoshan had a large peach tree on it, incredibly vast, stretching for three thousand li.

In the northeast corner of the peach tree was a ghost gate, the place where all ghosts entered and exited. Shen Tu and Yu Lei were stationed there, responsible for supervision and management. If any unreasonable or wicked ghosts appeared, Shen Tu and Yu Lei would arrest them, bind them with ropes made of reeds, and feed them to tigers.

When the Yellow Emperor ruled the world, seeing the chaos and the rampant evil ghosts that greatly disturbed the people, he taught the common folk to carve statues of Shen Tu and Yu Lei from peach wood and hang them with ropes in front of their homes to prevent the invasion of evil spirits.

Thus, Shen Tu and Yu Lei became Household Gods.

In this record, Li Qi saw some deities he was familiar with, as well as astronomical knowledge he knew.

Although he didn't know the relationship between this world and his original world...

But these folk customs, and even ancient texts, could match up?

Most importantly, he could understand the written language, and damn it, there was even a country called Tang Kingdom here...

Was it a coincidence?

Never mind, it didn't matter. These things had nothing to do with him.

Since he was here, he would make the best of it.

To offer sacrifices to the Household God, Li Qi tried a different method this time.

He placed the willow branch that Young Master Zhu had given him on the altar.

This time, a wisp of divine energy from the Household God entered the willow branch.

This was also a method recorded in the "Zhu" text. Many magical artifacts and divine tools used by Shamanic Priests were made using this method.

With a wisp of divine energy integrated into it, the willow branch clearly became more lustrous, but it did not undergo a qualitative change.

It was normal. This was a willow branch given by Young Master Zhu, and it should have already contained the divine energy of an Earthly Deity.

However, after being infused with the divine energy of Shen Tu and Yu Lei, the willow branch clearly gained some different sensations.

According to the records in the book, its ability to strike ghosts should have strengthened.

Good, good, it was good to strengthen equipment now.

The Earthly Deity had also been appeased, but Li Qi did not offer sacrifices to the Human-Ghosts.

Because Human-Ghosts were ancestors, but he actually had no ancestors in this world; he was an outsider.

As an outsider, he had no need to offer sacrifices to Human-Ghosts unless he gained the acknowledgment of a Human-Ghost deity in the future or became a live-in son-in-law.

After finishing these tasks, Li Qi, who had woken up at three in the morning, looked up and saw that the sun had already risen.

Fortunately, after all this, he was not tired. Instead, nourished by the vital energy of wood, he felt invigorated.

Shen Shuibi was still sound asleep. She hadn't opened her eyes all night and was sleeping very soundly.

Compared to the cautious Li Qi, she, a fugitive with a hundred gold bounty on her head, seemed to have no pressure at all.

It could only be said that being single-minded was quite practical in some ways.

He would wait for her to sleep... The room fee was paid by Young Master Zhu anyway.

With these thoughts, Li Qi voluntarily stopped the Ox-Strength Technique and walked out.

"If I calculate based on the current situation, what rank would I be?" he asked himself, testing his strength.

Using the classification of Wushen Mountain, Li Qi felt that he was just an ordinary Shamanic Priest who had just started. He still had to flip through books for the proper procedures of sacrifice. The two simple daily sacrifices this morning took a full three hours, and he had to stay up late to do them. He was barely not an amateur.

And the classification of Shamanic Priests themselves was difficult to benchmark against others in the entire world.

Therefore, the Sages formulated a method applicable to all cultivation paths to "standardize the world," which was the classification from ninth grade to first grade.

Li Qi really wanted to complain about the phrase "standardize the world," but upon careful consideration, this thing might be more than just symbolic... it was likely a struggle for "Dao" among the powerful.

Perhaps this thing could truly standardize the world and, like the Heavenly Way, restrain all cultivators.

Putting aside such grand and abstract matters, Li Qi also learned in detail about the classification method.

The first to ninth grades were actually divided based on the influence and understanding of "Dao," not combat power.

For cultivators of the Military Way and Sword Way, defeating opponents who were not good at combat, such as Diviners of the Shamanic Way, was as easy as eating and drinking, but their influence on Dao was definitely far less.

Because of this difference, a fifth-grade Diviner of the Shamanic Way might be easily defeated by a sixth-grade Military cultivator, who was one grade lower than him.

However, if this Diviner hid and used divination or even curse techniques to kill the opponent, it wouldn't be difficult.

Alternatively, a Medical Way cultivator, even if they reached a high grade, would probably have little environmental destructive power.

But a Shamanic Priest of the Shamanic Way, with the protection of the divine energy of an Earthly Deity and mountain god, could cause localized earthquakes at the eighth grade.

In short, this grade classification only looked at Dao grades. While there was a slight relationship with performance and combat power, the relationship was not significant. The killing power mainly depended on the cultivation method.

But grades were not just for looking at. If a certain Dao reached a high grade, it would naturally have its own methods. Perhaps they were not very good at combat, but they were definitely irreplaceable or even unique.

According to the classification, eighth, ninth, and seventh grades were the lowest, meaning the stages from just starting to gradually becoming familiar.

A rank of six, five, or four would be considered an expert, a master of their respective path, possessing a deep understanding of their Way and some unique skills.

Ranks of three, two, or one would be considered a contemporary master, generally the leader of a sect or the head of a major power.

The miscellaneous chapters of the book "Zhu" record that the Shamanic Way has Shamanic Gods, the Daoist Sect has True Immortals, Confucianism has Sages, and the Martial Way has Human Immortals.

Legends say there are levels above these, and rank one is not the ultimate.

However, the book does not elaborate further, perhaps deeming it unnecessary.

As for Li Qi...

He confirmed it again and again.

He should be... unranked.

That's right, unranked. It's estimated that he won't be considered rank nine until he has at least mastered the sacrificial methods of the four seasons, continuously for a year, honoring the most common Heavenly Gods of the four seasons, the Earthly Deities, and the Five Sacrifices. Only when the four seasons' energies are present within his personal small world and the energies of the Five Sacrifices Gods protect his body will he likely be considered rank nine.

"Alas, the task is long and arduous. Will a year of diligent cultivation be enough to achieve a rank?"