Understand Principle and Rebuke Ghosts, Cultivate the Dao and Repel Gods

"Everyone is different, there will always be variations."

Qiu Yan replied, but his mind was in deep thought. Believers are different, and any deity, as long as they sit on the Divine Rank, will be able to sense this.

However, while it's easy to notice, it's not so simple to categorize and summarize them.

"That's it. This distinction between believers may seem like a matter of a few words to us gods, but understanding it will greatly help in summarizing the divine path in the future. I will give this to you as a gift."

As soon as he finished speaking, several more Seven-Colored Divine Sense gathered from all around and condensed into a book in front of Qiu Yan, the book being blank.

Qiu Yan didn't stand on ceremony. He reached out and took the book, then poured in his divine power to solidify the fleeting Divine Sense, transforming their nature and turning them into a physical form.

"Now that the Divine Sense has been formed into a book, you no longer need to worry about me tampering with it. If you have any questions about the Divine Path, I can provide assistance. This will serve as the basis for our joint efforts. Now that this matter is settled, I will take my leave."

As soon as she finished speaking, her soft, seductive voice quickly faded into the distance, disappearing without a trace.

"This unknown deity knows when to stop. She's already said enough to me today; too much is as bad as too little. So, after leaving this book, she decisively departed. However..."

Sensing the departure of that Divine Sense, Qiu Yan narrowed his eyes and looked down at the book in his hand.

"When this god first came into contact with me, he secretly tried to enslave me, thus creating an enmity. Now, he has revealed so much information, actually in order to resolve the feud. I wonder what Lü Liang intends to do, that he has forced such a god to bow down and seek an alliance."

Qiu Yan had been aware of this calamity all along. From the day Yin Xiao'e issued the warning, he had been on guard. This time, after contacting the unknown deity, he found clues in the other party's words, calculated the Karma, and half guessed and half calculated his idea. Then he asked questions to test the waters, and sure enough, he confirmed that it was related to Lü Liang.

Qiu Yan had never forgotten the grudge between himself and Lü Liang. Lü Lü Liang had forced Yin Xiao'e to remove Qiu Yan from his Divine Office as a celestial being. If he hadn't been Heaven-Born Deity, he might have lost his divine path and never recovered. This was an enmity that severed his path.

Not to mention, during the battle of Wuxin City, Lü Liang returned to the Third Grade. Then he launched an attack, and when the two gods clashed, Qiu Yan detonated a Divine Soul, causing Lü Liang's Divine Grade, which was still unstable, to regress, almost falling back to the Fourth Grade.

In truth, it was Lü Liang who provoked the whole affair. But in Lü Liang's view, given his status and position, it was only natural for him to have the power of life and death over lower-ranking deities. These deities held power within the Heavenly Court system, and if they resisted, it would be a violation of Heavenly Rules and an offense against his authority. He could not let it go, neither for public nor private reasons.

As it turned out, after finally returning to the Third Grade, he was forced to drop in cultivation level by Qiu Yan. This was no small grudge, and how could Lü Liang let it go? Of course, he would seek revenge at all costs.

Unexpectedly, Qiu Yan used the Divine Rank of the Nine Spirits Mountain God as a shield.

In the Heavenly Court's Divine Rank hierarchy, the Great Mountain God's direct superior is the Mountain Envoy, but the Southwest Mountain Envoy has long been asleep due to a fierce battle, so of course he can't touch Qiu Yan, the Mountain God.

The gods' sleep is not as short as that of mortals, forcing Lü Liang to suspend his revenge plans.

After all, they belong to different factions and cannot overstep their bounds. Lü Liang enjoys the power brought by the Heavenly Court system, so he must be restrained. Otherwise, how could he, with his status, live peacefully in Jiannan Dao?

Without the constraints of the Heavenly Court system, the Marshlands and barbarian lands would have been subject to the interference of countless gods, causing chaos.

Furthermore, apart from Lü Liang, none of the other gods in the entire Jiannan Circuit Divine Office are Qiu Yan's match in a one-on-one fight. Moreover, the position of City God does not involve killing or warfare. Although Lü Liang has power, he cannot make the gods abandon their duties, paralyze the Dao, and go to Nine Spirits Mountain to besiege him.

"Lü Liang's ascent to heaven this time is definitely for revenge. Now that he has alarmed the Five Marshes Gods, it will likely cause quite a stir. The Divine Name that unknown god is involved in Karma, so he must have a significant background. If such a god says he wants to join forces, it seems that Lü Liang is determined to succeed this time. It's very likely that seeking revenge against me is just a side matter; entering the Five Marshes is his real purpose..."

As Qiu Yan pondered, he realized that this matter was not to be taken lightly. The Five Marshes held considerable value for him, and he would not easily give it up unless absolutely necessary.

"We should consider joining forces, but we can't be reckless. We can't rule out the possibility that she's lying. The key is to have enough intelligence so we won't be led by the nose. We must not be misled by her and end up Human Fire."

Thinking of this, Qiu Yan recalled the several deities he had captured—

Black Marsh Patriarch, Ghost Mother, and the Child-Giving God Feng Zhen.

"The ideal way to gather intelligence is to infiltrate the enemy's ranks. However, I previously became Child-Giving God and then left without saying goodbye. I wonder if this will arouse suspicion within the Yin-Yang Pagoda."

Gradually, Qiu Yan began to understand the future and felt a sense of urgency.

This time, he temporarily channeled his lustful thoughts into Fenglin Stockade, and was immediately discovered by the unknown deity. This was probably not accidental; it must have been a premeditated plan, waiting for him to come to him, using the Buddhist Sect matter as a pretext to appear and avoid any misunderstandings or further conflict.

Such meticulous planning shows that even the unknown deities felt the crisis was imminent and were not letting any opportunity slip by.

"If everything that needs to be done is done, there's no need to panic, lest we lose our composure."

Having sorted out his thoughts, Qiu Yan put the matter aside, looked down at the book in his hand, opened it, and scanned it with his Divine Sense, giving it a general overview.

"The contents of this book are indeed useful. Although they are only a few sentences long, they are all based on experience. If I were to summarize them myself, I don't know how much time it would take."

The content of this book is not complicated; the entire book revolves around the concept of offering incense Votive Thoughts.

According to the book, the extraordinary power of the gods originates from incense offerings and is a manifestation of the thoughts of all living beings, thus enabling them to distort reality. As the source of these offerings, believers are of paramount importance. However, sacrifices are also essential; without making vows and offering sacrifices, even the most devout believer is meaningless to the gods.

Without a deity to whom one belongs, even if one offers incense and makes a wish, the Incense and Fire Prayer Power and the wish cannot be transmitted.

If one has gods in their heart but never prays or makes sacrifices, no Incense and Fire Prayer Power will be made, and the gods will not receive any benefit.

"That's an interesting way of putting it. It treats believers as resources, and the Incense and Fire Prayer Power are the output of these resources. But to reap the rewards of these offerings, you first need to occupy a piece of land, then cultivate and care for it, so that you can reap the rewards year after year."

Browsing through the book, Qiu Yan thought for a moment and understood the reasoning behind it.

The gods are the farmers, and the believers are the rice. Incense Faith are the grains of rice. The Essentials claim a piece of land and get a land deed before the harvest is yours. Otherwise, you are just doing the work for someone else. But similarly, if you only have rice but don't sow and fertilize it, the rice will be malnourished, die, or fall over, and there will be no harvest.

Just as planting crops requires autumn sowing and summer harvesting, it cannot be accomplished overnight. The same applies to spreading the worship of deities. A temporary harvest cannot last. Just like when Qiu Yan distributed porridge in Qingchang County, he gained a lot of popular support in a short period of time, but it dissipated over time. This is because his foundation was not stable.

For the deities, regardless of the number of believers, it is not a one-off transaction; what is needed is a steady, long-term flow, not a short-sighted approach. The management of believers must not be chaotic; they must be treated differently, maintaining a sense of belonging and cohesion within the sacrificial community while fostering a competitive mechanism.

This is the essence of being steady and striving for excellence.

The book makes it very clear that only ordinary people, objects, and creatures who can continuously offer sacrifices for more than a year can truly be considered believers and need the attention, care, and guidance of the gods.

The book uses this standard to classify believers and provides a brief introduction.

The first type is people who do not believe in ghosts and gods. The extreme ones do not even acknowledge the existence of gods. Such people are not only worthless to the gods, but also a threat, because under certain circumstances, such people can even make ghosts and gods retreat!

You must understand that gods are born from the thoughts of all living beings. If everyone stops believing, the foundation for the existence of gods will cease to exist, and they will eventually vanish. And when faced with someone who doesn't believe in ghosts and gods at all, even supernatural Divine Ability based on Votive Thoughts can be defeated by just a few words from that person!

Those who do not believe in ghosts and gods are mostly advocates of Human Path.

"Oh? So, it seems there's a hidden antagonism between Confucian scholars and deities!"

Qiu Yan immediately gleaned the key information from this passage, a flash of Spiritual Light struck him, and he seemed to have grasped something vaguely. He then looked at the following content.

The second type mentioned is those who deceive spirits and deities.

The actions of such people, as the name suggests, are suspected of fooling and exploiting the gods. Most of these people do not worship gods, but at most worship their ancestors. They acknowledge the existence of gods, but do not think that gods are supreme. Instead, they crave to obtain the same power as the gods.

The most typical example of those who deceive spirits and deities is the monk.

Whether it is Nature Cultivation or Life Cultivation, they may acknowledge the gods, but they will not blindly follow or submit to them. Instead, they focus more on their own strength, hoping to obtain power comparable to that of the gods. The extreme ones even want to enslave the gods.

Upon seeing this, Qiu Yan recalled the cultivators he had encountered before and subconsciously nodded.

"Once a person has attained cultivation, they naturally will not easily submit to others. Moreover, most cultivators focus on themselves, tighten their minds, and refine their souls, not allowing even a wisp of their thoughts to be devoured by the gods. As a result, not only Confucian scholars, but even cultivators You Di the gods. It seems that the situation in the cultivation world is not peaceful."

With a sigh, he continued reading.

The third type of person described in the book is someone who Hearts Aware of Gods and Ghosts.

Hearts Aware of Gods and Ghosts means believing in the existence of ghosts and spirits, and also believing that gods and ghosts possess extraordinary power and can have a certain impact on one's own and others' lives.

Strictly speaking, only from this third type of person onwards can they truly be considered "believers." As for the first two types, to the gods, they are not only not "the people," but also a considerable threat. (To be continued...)