Incense Protection for the Deity

"Last time, Sister Consort Yuan brought a few scholars here, saying she wanted to teach us how to read, speak, and write, but they fainted the moment they saw us."

"My name is Hong Yi, what is your name?" Hong Yi looked at the incense smoke swirling around him and felt as if his entire body were soaking in a hot spring; he felt none of the coldness he had experienced during his first soul projection. Furthermore, even after projecting, he still lacked any ability to protect himself. It was only after reaching the stage of Object Manipulation that one gradually gained the ability to defend oneself, which was far inferior to martial arts. After practicing punches and kicks for a month or two, one could easily knock down a person or two. Hong Yi estimated that many cultivators likely perished after their souls projected for the first time.

At the same time, he saw a young girl of about twelve or thirteen standing faintly above the head of the little white fox. She was dressed entirely in plain white, her sleeves fluttering, and her features looked as if they had been carved by a master painter, her exquisite appearance radiating a sense of spirituality.

"Oh, the incense is about to burn out. Brother Xiao Yi, you should return to your shell, otherwise, you won't be able to bear it. Once your soul is stronger, Brother Xiao Yi, you can come out and play with us. Later on, Brother Xiao Yi, you can even go into the towns and buy us things to play with, okay? I really want to go to the towns to buy things."

"Jiji, jiji."

"What are the Eight Great Demon Immortals of the world?" Hong Yi asked. Even if one could manage it, once the soul left the body, it was like a person who couldn't swim jumping from a boat into the ocean—they would immediately face a life-threatening disaster. The little white fox's eyes stared at him, blinking.

"Mr. Bai is called Bai Ziyue, he is very famous and is one of the Eight Great Demon Immortals in the world."

"Then, if you haven't reached the realm of Object Manipulation, what ability do you have to protect yourselves?" Hong Yi asked.

"It just means the eight most outstanding and powerful beings besides humans. But I don't know much either; I just heard it by chance when I was eavesdropping on Mr. Bai and Sister Consort Yuan talking." Xiao Shu shook her head again.

"Xiao Sang, what is this food? Why have I never seen it before? Is it for foxes to eat?" Hong Yi pointed to the two items on the ground.

"By the way, what stage of cultivation have you three reached?" Hong Yi cracked open a peanut, and sure enough, it was crunchy and fragrant. He peeled the sweet potato, and it was sweet and fragrant; he had never eaten such good things before.

"The world says foxes are cunning, but they don't know that human schemes and cunning are ten thousand times greater than a fox's." Hong Yi sighed.

Just then, two more little white foxes entered the doorway. Seeing the sandalwood incense lit in the stone chamber, they both made chirping sounds, curled up on the ground, and remained still. At the same time, Hong Yi saw two more little girls dressed in plain white.

"Have you practiced before? How could you project your soul so quickly?"

"You mean you want me to project my soul again? For us to communicate? But..." Hong Yi had just experienced the danger of his soul leaving his body and was somewhat hesitant.

Hong Yi asked the little white fox. The three foxes and one human returned their souls to their bodies.

"Xiao Fei, Xiao Shu, come over here quickly! Brother Xiao Yi can actually project his soul and talk to us!" Xiao Sang suddenly shouted.

Taking a sip of the steaming hot tea, Hong Yi looked at the three little foxes jumping around and thought of the three girls who had called him Brother Xiao Yi when his soul was out of his body; a warmth welled up in his heart.

Having thought the problem through, Hong Yi's mind was perfectly clear. The two little girls chattered away, surrounding Hong Yi and chirping incessantly, making Hong Yi realize that little girls could have such a cute side. They were not like the maids in the Wuwen Marquis mansion, who, even at a young age, were all shrewd and tried to sharpen their heads to climb the social ladder.

"No wonder they say the way of spirits and ghosts is not fit for polite society; it turns out there are so many taboos." Hearing these conversations, Hong Yi gained a deeper understanding of the immortal path of soul cultivation.

"It's true, this is so much fun. Staying in the mountains every day is boring us to death. It's a pity Sister Consort Yuan said we can't go outside; if we go, people will kill us."

"Mr. Bai? Who is Mr. Bai?"

Subsequently, Hong Yi felt his whole body lighten, and he sat up abruptly. Before him, there were no little girls in plain white, only a little white fox, a fruit bowl on the stone table containing some snacks, and a cup of steaming tea.

Just when Hong Yi felt his soul could not return to his body and was about to dissipate, he suddenly saw a little girl in plain white run in, grab him, and push him toward his body.

It turns out that to cultivate the soul, the first step is to calm the heart, settle the spirit, and dispel all distracting thoughts; only then can one project the soul through visualization. First, calming the heart, settling the spirit, and dispelling all distracting thoughts—such conditions were not something an ordinary person could achieve. Hong Yi also deduced the flaws in some of the cultivation methods recorded in the Daoist Classic, and even that they were intentionally malicious.

"Jiji, jiji."

"The immortal path of soul cultivation has too many restrictions, is difficult to start, and is too dangerous. No wonder it is not popular in the world, while the path of martial arts is flourishing."

"Xiao Sang and I have only cultivated to the point of projection. Xiao Shu is a bit more powerful; she can travel far at night, but she hasn't reached the level of traveling during the day. She can't go too far from her body. Sister Consort Yuan said that if we haven't reached the Yin Spirit realm of Object Manipulation, we can't use flying needles or flying swords, so we can't go out. Otherwise, those people outside the mountains with vigorous blood and energy would be impossible for us to bewitch, and we would easily be harmed." Xiao Fei shook her head.

"Yes, it was like that at the beginning, but a few elders died from cultivation deviation. Later, Mr. Bai came once and said this Daoist Classic had problems, so he gave Elder Tu some pointers." Xiao Shu replied.

"Alright." Hong Yi sat properly, closed his eyes, and performed the Pagoda Visualization Method, suddenly leaping.

Hong Yi understood this principle as well. Boom!

"Jiji, jiji, jiji..." The little white fox happily circled around Hong Yi, pointing at the tea and snacks on the ground with its paw.

"Giggle, giggle, Brother Xiao Yi, why are you so silly? A soul cannot pick up things, and people cannot see it either. Only when you reach the realm of Object Manipulation can you pick things up. But Brother Xiao Yi, you were able to cultivate to the point of projection so quickly; Object Manipulation should be very fast for you. Sure enough, humans are the spirits of all things; cultivation is much faster for you than for us foxes."

"Jiji, jiji."

"Xiao Sang, Xiao Shu, Xiao Fei, does your Pure Fox Clan follow the cultivation methods in this Daoist Classic?" Hong Yi suddenly asked.

Hong Yi did not read books blindly; he pondered the author's thoughts, their life experiences, and even clarified the time the book was written, examining the environment and the state of mind the author was in at the time. Only in this way could one thoroughly understand a book and have the soul communicate with the author.

Hong Yi's eyes flashed with surprise. No one had ever called him by such an intimate title. Although Xiao Sang was a fox, her soul projection was no different from a human—a cute little girl. Now that he thought about it slightly, he understood that although the Martial Classic and the Daoist Classic of the Great Gan Dynasty were profound, they contained many improprieties, and even traps that could lead people to their deaths.

"Was it you who saved me just now?"

"You still haven't told me why you can project your soul so quickly! Was the method you just used the Pagoda Visualization Method? When I practiced this method, it took me a full month to be able to project." Xiao Sang fiddled with her head.

"There is nothing strange about this method; it just takes the idea of jumping after climbing high. A person climbing a mountain and jumping off a cliff dies before hitting the ground—that is, the soul has already left the body. Practicing this visualization method is just imagining yourself jumping from a high place, and the soul leaves the shell."

The little white fox chirped again, as if answering Hong Yi's question, but the two could not understand each other's language, and Hong Yi was confused.

"We Pure Foxes are all surnamed Tushan. My name is Tushan Sang; you can call me Xiao Sang. So your name is Hong Yi? Then I'll call you Brother Xiao Yi from now on." Xiao Sang was innocent and romantic. "My body hasn't learned to speak human language yet; I can only communicate with you through my soul. This is sandalwood incense; it can protect the soul and prevent the wind from blowing it away. The incense offered in temples is all of this kind."

Hong Yi heard a voice.

"No wonder gods like incense..." Hong Yi laughed. "Brother Xiao Yi... did you just call me Brother Xiao Yi?" He saw his body again; his soul had projected. The Daoist Classic was compiled by the Great Gan Dynasty by collecting classics from all over the world. The Great Gan Dynasty did not want people to practice immortal arts, as that would undermine the dynasty's rule.

"Before the soul reaches the realm of Object Manipulation, we can only bewitch others to protect ourselves. But it is difficult to bewitch people who are physically strong and have a firm will. Like you, Brother Yi, a clear-headed person, we cannot bewitch at all. Last time, a group of people came into the mountains to hunt, and some of them were particularly strong. My soul saw them from far away; their blood and energy were as vigorous as fire, and I didn't dare to get close. Fortunately, we hid and were not found by them."

"What is this?"

"Jiji, jiji." The little white fox pointed its paw at the burning incense on the ground, meaning that with incense, there was no fear.

"Peanuts, sweet potatoes?" Hong Yi looked, reached out to pick them up, but grabbed nothing.

"Flying swords and flying needles?" Hong Yi asked, puzzled.

Hong Yi pondered, "I just read the records in the Daoist Classic: 'Calming the Spirit, Projection, Night Travel, Day Travel, Object Manipulation, Manifestation, Possession, Thunder Tribulation, Yang Spirit.' This Daoist soul cultivation method is simple in principle but difficult to start. Fortunately, I am a scholar and can calm my heart. How can ordinary people, whose minds are like monkeys and horses, calm their spirits? If you can't calm your spirit, don't even talk about projection. Sure enough, the Great Dao is simple; the cultivation of this immortal art is much simpler than the cultivation of martial arts."

"No wonder the highest realm in the Martial Classic only reaches the Martial Saint, but there is no Human Immortal!"

"No wonder the world is like a bitter sea, and the physical body is the precious raft to cross the world. When a human soul leaves the body, it is like jumping into the sea naked—it is finished in an instant."

Demons bewitch people in two ways: first, the person's heart is not upright, and they are suspicious, which weakens the soul. Second, the body is weak, and the blood and energy are not vigorous. They can also take advantage of weaknesses, such as dying people who always see demons and ghosts.

Among the three girls, Xiao Shu seemed more mature. Her speech was also clear and logical.

"These are seeds brought from overseas by monks from the Great Zen Temple. The red-clothed ones are called peanuts, also known as groundnuts. That one that is roasted until it is fragrant and soft is called a sweet potato. After the Great Zen Temple was burned, we brought some seeds over and planted them ourselves in the mountains. These two things are easy to grow, produce a lot, and are delicious." Xiao Sang giggled.

Hong Yi opened his eyes. There was nothing in front of him, only three little white foxes looking at him, blinking. The conversation with the three little girls just now felt like a dream.

The little white fox tapped its head with its front paw and sat on the ground. At the same time, it pointed at Hong Yi, wanting him to imitate it. This was the first time Hong Yi had heard of Mr. Bai.

The little white fox chirped for a while, seemingly knowing that it could not explain, and ran out, bringing back a long stick of incense, lighting it, and sticking it on the ground. Soon, Hong Yi was surrounded by swirling incense smoke.

"In this way, there may be many intentional omissions in the Martial Classic. But I think there should be two versions of the Martial Classic and the Daoist Classic: one version in the Royal Library and another version circulating among the people. Moreover, the Emperor of the Great Gan Dynasty probably felt that this was still inappropriate, so he ordered the books to be banned."

The little white fox nodded.

"Yes, after reaching the realm of Object Manipulation, you can drive swords and needles to kill, and you can also drive stones to hit people. Then you can protect yourself," Xiao Sang said.

Hong Yi, however, had never seen these two things and did not know what they were. Such warmth was something he could not feel in the Marquis mansion, where human relationships were as cold as knives and frost.

"How did your soul run out..."

"I really don't understand. What is there to be afraid of about us foxes? Those people want to kill us on one hand, but are afraid of us on the other. It's really strange."

The three little white foxes chirped again, picked up the dried fruits on the stone table, and sent them to Hong Yi. Hong Yi knew that his soul had just left his body and could not return, which was extremely dangerous. Fortunately, the soul of this little white fox had given him a push. The little girl in plain white was the soul of the little white fox that had projected.

Hong Yi discovered that the dried fruits in the plate were very strange; they were fruits larger than beans, with a red outer membrane. The other was a large piece of fruit, roasted until charred; peeling off the shell, the inside was golden and emitted a sweet smell, which greatly increased his appetite.

"No wonder when the Daoist Classic records the visualization method, it doesn't mention lighting a stick of sandalwood incense. It turns out it contains malicious intent, wanting the practitioner to die." Hong Yi finally understood the danger of soul projection.

"Brother Xiao Yi, is your name Brother Xiao Yi? It's so good to have a person; we can play together in the future. I've wanted to leave the mountain and find someone to play with for a long time."

"Hmm? For demons to bewitch people, the person's heart must first be not upright, or the body must be weak and the blood and energy not vigorous." Hong Yi recalled some things recorded in the Caotang Notes.