Jiannan Incense Faith Cannot Enter the Netherworld

The sky was cloudless.

"Yan'er, what are you looking at?"

Liu Huai, holding a pipe, walked over to Qiu Yan, who had suddenly run out, and asked in confusion, then looked up at him in the same direction.

"The weather is nice today."

"It's nothing," Qiu Yan shook his head, showing no sign of anything amiss.

Liu Huai nodded, then said, "We're going to the Zhang Residence today? Then don't rush off yet. Have dinner, then deliver the things to them."

After several busy days, Qiu Yan finally had some free time, so he began to organize his classical texts and articles, preparing to send them to the Zhang Residence for Zhang Zhen to use for his studies.

Although Zhang Zhen had failed the Provincial Examination and maintained his usual demeanor, Qiu Yan could still clearly sense his frustration, which led to this suggestion.

The ancients were not lacking in wisdom, but they lacked certain memory techniques and systematic learning tricks. Even if they did have them, they were closely guarded secrets passed down through the Aristocratic Clan and academies.

Qiu Yan, who came from Earth, remembered quite a lot. He took out some of it now, both to help his friend and to begin preparations to test the things from his previous life and see if they had changed in this world, laying the groundwork for future promotion.

"I'll be leaving soon." After saying a few words, Liu Huai left, but Qiu Yan's expression became serious. He looked up at the sky again, his eyes flashing.

To outsiders, the sky was cloudless, but in his vision, there was a faint divine barrier in the sky, obscuring the sun and extending from afar, stretching into the distance without a single gap.

Not only in the heavens, but even on the ground, there was a faint sense of separation.

For a moment, the entire Jiannan Circuit seemed to have been isolated from the earth.

As this divine barrier formed, Qiu Yan immediately sensed that the Incense Thoughts rising from several places in Jiannan Circuit were being isolated and unable to reach his true self.

"The worship of the Kitchen God gradually spread, and it certainly couldn't be kept secret from Lü Liang. Although deities cannot sense each other's location or the Netherworld Domain through incense offerings, Jiannan Circuit is Lü Liang's innate Domain of Law. He sealed it off, making it difficult for incense offerings to be freely passed on. Deities below the Fifth Grade are fine, since they don't involve the Netherworld. But once they reach the Fifth Grade, the incense offerings People's Wishes must be redirected, passing through the Yin-Yang Dao of the Circuit City God..."

Despite her inner turmoil, Qiu Yan didn't appear particularly anxious. Instead, she calmly organized her books, ate something, and then went out.

As I walked down the street, a torrent of thoughts suddenly gathered around me and merged into my being.

Soon, Qiu Yan seemed to transform into a bottomless pit, continuously swallowing Incense Thoughts, transmitting them to his true self and the Netherworld through the Soul Aperture.

"You may have your brilliant strategies, but I have my countermeasures. Even if you block off the entire path, you didn't expect that this clone of mine has Soul Aperture connected to my main body, allowing me to pass on the incense offerings just the same."

As he walked and pondered, Qiu Yan easily foiled Lü Liang's scheme, but he realized that time was of the essence.

"This is just the beginning. Lü Liang will definitely have more to do, and I 'Metropolitan Examination to the capital for the imperial examination next year. By then, my clone will be gone from Jiannan, and the incense offerings will be hard to gather. So I need to break through to the Fourth Grade as soon as possible. Once I achieve the Fourth Grade, I can Domain Derivation. Wherever the statue is, I can spread my Domain of Law and send the incense offerings directly to the Netherworld. I won't need to rely on it from afar anymore, and this sealing of the path will become a waste of effort."

As he pondered, Qiu Yan suddenly frowned. Through his true form, he heard some thoughts and ideas circulating within the incense offerings—

"The City God has appeared! He has instructed me to find Marsh Red Flower to offer as a sacrifice..."

"The City God wants me to offer a horned sheep..."

"Huh? Is this dream real or fake? Why is the City God choosing offerings? Western Carp? That sounds familiar, it seems to be a creature from the west, known for its hangover-relieving and invigorating effects."

These various whispers, faint and low, seemed to be the voices of hundreds or thousands of people in one's ear. The gods could interpret them through Incense Faith, but ordinary people could hardly bear them. These voices alone could drive a person mad.

There is no single god to worship or offer sacrifices to. Although some believers only worship one god, most people worship gods they encounter and offer incense at temples, which is not considered devout. Therefore, believers in the Kitchen God can also worship the Circuit City God.

"The Marsh Red Flower is still bright, the horned sheep is ready for the Double Ninth Festival, and the Western Carp can awaken the soul. These are all medicines used for healing and awakening. If they are fused together, the resulting elixir will also benefit the gods. It seems that Lü Liang is casting a wide net and collecting medicinal materials throughout the entire region to awaken the Southwest Mountain Envoy. Both he and I are racing against time! In that case, I must act ahead of schedule."

The thought had barely formed in his mind when he arrived at the Zhang Residence. He knocked on the door, and a servant came out and immediately came to greet him. Before long, footsteps echoed from inside the Zhang Residence, and then the main gate was opened.

The Zhang Family father and son, along with several important members of the Zhang Residence, personally came out to greet them.

"Uncle Zhang, you're being too polite. Why make such a big fuss?"

"Yes, yes, you have now passed the provincial examination with top honors and are capable of pacifying the frontier. You are a valuable talent for the country and cannot be taken lightly." Zhang Yunling led Qiu Yan into the mansion, his words revealing respect and awe. Compared to Qiu Yan's first visit to the Zhang Residence, this was truly a world of difference.

This change was not due to anyone else, but rather something Qiu Yan earned himself. His relationship with the Zhang Residence began with a piece of calligraphy and deepened through his connection with Zhang Zhen. Now, Qiu Yan has not only become the top scholar in the imperial examination, but also gained fame for his strategy to pacify the southwest. Naturally, Zhang Yunling's perception of Qiu Yan has changed.

"Sure enough, once you've accumulated enough fame and your status has changed, the relationships between people will also change. However, it's still necessary to be on good terms with the Zhang Family..."

Southern Border Jiannan, in the Nine Spirits Mountain, Stove Mountain.

The deity himself sat atop the mountain, silent, lost in thought.

Within the Divine Body, incense and People's Wishes continuously poured out from the Black Hole of the pool. Above the Divine Pool, talismans slowly rotated, and the light and shadow Li Trigram the Li trigram appeared and disappeared, while scattered flames of fire were visible all around.

There are countless stars, at least several thousand.

Deep within those stars, a book can be faintly seen.

The book has been turned to its last page, revealing a picture of surging clouds and flowing water, with divine power and the Incense Faith moving within it, exuding an aura of mystery and wonder.

"Lü Liang has already made his move, and I've finished what I was doing. It's time to move on to the next step."

With this in mind, the deity opened its senses to capture the incense offerings People's Wishes around it.

"Although Jiannan Circuit is blocked, the People's Wishes can still be conveyed through the scholar's avatar. This can serve as a source of divine power and divination, protecting the believers. Otherwise, without a place to manifest, the believers would quickly waver. Fortunately, incense is invisible and divine power is elusive, so Lü Liang cannot find the scholar's avatar through this method. In addition, the incense in Wuxin City has not been blocked, and incense continues to burn brightly both inside and outside Nine Spirits Mountain and Great Snow River, so the impact is not significant."

The worship of the Kitchen God mainly originated in Jiannan Circuit, which is the main area, but there are several other sources as well.

The first one is Wuxin City, where a great battle was fought. Because the gods appeared and saved all the lives in the city, the people in the city are especially devout in their worship of the Kitchen God. After all, it was a life-saving grace, and the incense People's Wishes entrusted to them are the most intense.

Secondly, there are the villages surrounding Nine Spirits Mountain and Great Snow River. As Qiu Yan took control of the mountains and rivers and restrained the demons, the villagers' living conditions improved significantly, which naturally led to the villagers worshipping him.

However, the difference is that these people do not worship the Kitchen God, but the Mountain God and the River Earl. However, as time goes by, under Qiu Yan's subtle guidance, the worship of the Kitchen God is slowly taking shape.

Although these villages provide a small amount of incense offerings, their stability and purity are commendable, giving them considerable development potential.

Thirdly, there are the demons and beasts in the mountains and rivers. Unlike the believers, these non-human beings were intimidated by Qiu Yan's divine power and have no piety to speak of. They are more afraid of the powerful force and can offer very little incense and Votive Thoughts. However, they are mostly skilled in Divine Ability and have supernatural abilities. If used properly, they can be a force to be reckoned with.

Besides Jiannan Circuit and these three sources of incense offerings, there are two other points that can provide incense—

One of them is the Lianxi Tribe, located at the Land of the Divine Remains.

The second point is the Five Marshes region south of Jiannan Circuit!

"Geluolan and the others have returned to the Five Marshes. Several tribes have erected statues of the Kitchen God. If guided properly, this will not only ensure the continuation of the incense offerings but also change the Marshfolk's lifestyle, fundamentally quelling border troubles. However..."

The invasion of the Marshfolk has passed, and the imperial court has issued an edict to maintain peace on the frontier and not to increase military spending or material investment. This incident will also be handled with pacification as much as possible.

The tribes of Nasaluo and others were already well-known powerful clans in the Marshlands. Simply punishing them would only cause the Five Marshes to lose control and descend into chaos. In addition, they had surrendered voluntarily and presented their surrender documents.

The officials in the court were overwhelmed with numerous matters and had no energy to spare. Adhering to the principle of minimizing the severity of the matter, they only pursued the crime of Biaoxin, while giving the other officials the label of being coerced into submission, and then released them without further investigation.

However, the looted goods were forcibly confiscated, and the court provided other items, which would be sent to the Marshlands in a few days.

When Monuma returned and recalled his trip, he still hated Biaoxin, but he was also moved by the power of the Kitchen God and began to convert to Christianity.

"Those Shaluo tribes are all large clans. Their conversion to the Kitchen God has a significant impact on the smaller tribes among them, and may even lead a trend. However, they still pose a threat. Although Biaoxin has suffered considerable losses, he has returned to Five Marshes and is showing a tendency to spread Buddhism. Biaoxin's tribe can also influence many other tribes, and there will be some trouble in the future."

Thinking this, the deity flipped his wrist, and a seal appeared in his hand. The back of the seal was carved with a swamp, which was the Law Seals that suppressed the Black Marsh Patriarch. It contained a Divine Spirit Talisman.

"This seal is quite strange, its position fluctuates between Fourth Grade and Fifth Grade, and I wonder what it hides. However, since the Black Marsh Patriarch originated from the Five Marshes region, I need to find some time to inquire about it properly."

As Qiu Yan was pondering this, the deity's true form suddenly trembled, the flame pattern on its forehead leaped, and then it heard prayers echoing—

"Heavenly Gods above, please show your power and save us!"

Qiu Yan recognized the voice; it was none other than Shao Jing, the chieftain of the Lianxi Tribe! (To be continued, please search for the novel for better and faster updates!)

P. S.: Thanks to "wstcly" for the monthly pass!