Nie Xinying said, "Teacher, is this thing only a fragment?"
Deng Jing smiled. "Everything in this world has roots that may be traced. In the view of our White Truth Mountain lineage, the Great Dao has an inner and an outer distinction. Within lie its subtle marvels; without, it manifests motive force. The Great Dao governs us from within, while those of us who seek the Dao proceed from the outer Dao toward the inner Dao, and may ultimately touch true mystery.
"Setting aside the inner Dao, this 'outer Dao' was born from the One, then unfolded into the myriad things. All things were originally one body, continuing without end; only the lengths of their cycles differed. In your teacher's view..." He shook the white branch in his hand. "This thing was severed from its main body no more than ten years ago."
Nie Xinying pondered this. "Then, according to Teacher, this object has been detached from its trunk for ten years without any connection. Does that mean the Faith God formed within it has already become an entity of its own?"
Deng Jing nodded. "That is so. Your earlier judgment was not wrong, disciple. The Faith God should be the god of Heavenly Mechanisms Manufactury believed in by the craftsmen of the Celestial Mechanism Institute. This reminds me of something..."
He recalled, "Back in the days of Divine Xia, several Dao sects often refined artifacts beside a certain spirit lake. Later, because they drew upon it too excessively, the spirit lake dried up and was abandoned. Yet cultivators gathered there all year round, so even after the various Dao lineages departed, spiritual activity remained abundant.
"Afterward, a group of ordinary people often came there to worship, believing there to be a god of fire refining and furnace forging. A