Li Ling experimented with the deeper transformations of shaping Gang Baleful Energy, making all manner of things manifest in the smoke wreathing his body.
In essence, this worked on the same principle as the transformations used in Cloud Escape. But the Incense Essence Li Ling used was an unknown substance capable of merging with his soul and responding freely to his control, making it far easier to handle than he had expected.
Within moments, sabers, spears, swords, halberds, and a bronze mirror appeared on the arms of his child form. Its main weapon was the Sharp-Bladed Long Halberd, held in both hands.
A mass of cloud and mist transformed into radiant light. Seven-colored auspicious clouds supported his feet, while golden clouds became a cloak streaming more than ten zhang behind him.
"No Divine Abilities to speak of, just a load of flashy frills..."
"Still, I have to admit, it looks pretty intimidating now. I just have to talk my way through things whenever possible and never fight. The moment I do, the truth will come out."
Li Ling laughed and sighed at his own assessment. What could he do? His extraordinary gifts had given him some of a great cultivator's traits while he was still at a low cultivation stage.
He did not think there was anything wrong with that, though. After all, even counting generously, he had been cultivating for less than two months.
I'm still just a child.
Once he finished, Li Ling committed his current appearance to memory with a thought. Then his manifestation vanished, returning him to his intangible spirit body.
He went home first and found several large vats prepared in advance in a room in the Fragrant Incense Pavilion, ready to conduct an experiment that was inconvenient to perform during the day.
He had already had these vats sealed shut. The edges of their wooden lids were coated with a building sealant, creating airtight spaces.
His spirit body plunged into one. Inside, he saw the ashes of Spirit-Communing Incense that had been lit beforehand and had already smoldered away.
To his Spiritual Consciousness, wisps of smoke filled the vat. His incense-smelling gift could also detect a strong scent that remained concentrated without dispersing.
But no Incense Essence was visible. It seemed to have vanished completely because too much time had passed.
"Did it seep through the vat and disperse, or did it vanish into thin air?"
Li Ling pondered this question.
If it was the former, he could keep experimenting to find an environment capable of sealing and confining it, artificially creating cultivation conditions comparable to a heavenly grotto or blessed land.
But if it was the latter, that would not work.
Next, Li Ling slipped into the other vats to inspect them.
These vats had all been marked beforehand. The incense in them had been lit during the hours of the Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig respectively. He had deliberately spent some time busying himself by the river before returning, and it was now the hour of the Rat.
Through this method, he finally confirmed that the Incense Essence continuously dispersed outward over time, then gradually faded into nothingness.
In other words, it both passed through the vats and vanished into thin air.
"My earlier approach doesn't seem workable."
"But the original preface to The Incense Compendium records: 'The Book of Songs and Book of Rites speak of burning firewood to serve Heaven, burning mugwort as sacrificial offerings, presenting fragrant sacrifices, and raising the sweet scent of pepper to reach the gods and commune with the hidden realms. Its origins lie far in antiquity.'"
"This seems to indicate that incense can commune with the unseen. It's hardly surprising that it can transcend material barriers."
"Besides, form is emptiness, and emptiness is form. Matter appears to have substance, but its essence is still emptiness. It's only natural that it can't hold this back."
"But the mechanism behind this disappearance into thin air is rather baffling. Has the Incense Essence of Spirit-Communing Incense changed in nature and vanished from my perception, or has it entered another dimension of space and time?"
"Those would mean two entirely different things!"
Li Ling understood full well that if it had changed in nature and could no longer be used, there was nothing more to discuss.
But if it was the latter, that meant...
He could establish a path of incense offerings, drawing upon the incense and candles burned by all living beings-the more, the better!
The prerequisite was finding a way to enter that dimension of space and time and absorb the Incense Essence there.
Li Ling slipped into the final vat and used the Fire-Sprout Branch he had prepared to light the unused Spirit-Communing Incense placed inside, personally watching over it to verify his findings again.
He spent a full two hours witnessing the entire process of burning, dispersal, and disappearance, then compared it with the earlier results.
Li Ling did not record any of this in writing. Instead, he committed it to the depths of his memory, intending to conduct other experiments in the future.
"I've taken these little experiments as far as they can go. Next, if I'm going to play, I'll play big."
"The ancients once said that immortals ascending to Heaven found their physical forms cumbersome and difficult to shed, and had to burn over a hundred jin of fine incense before departing to aid them. Perhaps this was a veiled reference to death, but translated literally, it means that an immortal's body was too heavy to ascend, so they needed to burn over a hundred jin of fine incense beforehand and let the smoke lift them..."
"They really knew how to damn well live it up. Burning over a hundred jin of aromatics in one go?"
What Li Ling had in mind were legends related to the Incense Path found in ancient tales of gods and strange beings.
"But during Emperor Yang of Sui's reign, bonfires were piled up in every palace courtyard on New Year's Eve. Agarwood and all kinds of aromatics were burned as firewood, with flames several zhang high and fragrances that could be smelled for dozens of li."
"Over two hundred cartloads of agarwood and more than two hundred shi of aromatics could be burned in a single night. Truly extravagant."
"When can I dream up some pretext to hold an Incense-Burning Grand Gathering and try burning a few hundred cartloads of agarwood?"
Li Ling pictured it longingly. He could not afford to burn spiritual materials for now, but ordinary materials were worth a try.
"Incense-Burning Grand Gathering? What's that?"
The next day, Li Ling read and drank tea at home, mentioning the idea to his wife in passing.
The Ninth Princess was intensely curious and asked him for details.
Li Ling said, "Burning firewood and burning incense were originally one and the same. Our ancient forebears didn't know how to extract aromatics, so they mostly burned things like mugwort, pepper, and cinnamon instead. Incense culture therefore actually originated in the practice of burning plants during the age of primitive tribes. This was already evident in remote antiquity, when shamans flourished and people lived in ignorance."
The two worlds had things in common. Ordinary people's ways of using aromatics were indeed much the same.
"That brings us to the ability of aromatics to repel insects, ward off evil, and even treat illness."
"Before Youchao, our ancestors lived in caves, which sheltered them from wind, frost, rain, snow, and wild beasts."
"But most caves were damp and dark, and might harbor snakes, insects, rats, and ants. What were they to do?"
Recalling the effects of Spirit-Communing Incense, the Ninth Princess could not help asking, "Burn incense?"
Li Ling said, "Exactly. Burn incense. More precisely, fumigate the place with smoke."
The Incense Compendium had once recorded the origins of Spirit-Communing Incense.
According to legend, during Emperor Ming of Han's reign, True Person Yan Ji lived in a stone cavern on Three Lords Mountain. Plagued by venomous snakes, fierce beasts, and evil spirits, he descended the mountain and moved into a hermitage in Huayin County.
After he had lived there for three years, three Daoists suddenly arrived seeking lodging. During the night, they discussed the merits of the stone cavern on Three Lords Mountain, lamenting that evil spirits invaded it.
One said, "I have a wondrous incense that can save the people of the world from suffering. Burn it, and through the Dao you may attain the mysteries of nature and ascend to the heavenly realm."
The True Person obtained the incense and returned to the mountain. He sat burning it, and all the venomous snakes and fierce beasts fled and fell silent.
One day, the Daoist appeared through the void, his hair loose and a zither on his back. He wrote the incense recipe on the stone wall, then rode away on the wind.
This was a tale of gods and strange beings. Setting aside the account of the Daoist arriving through the void with loose hair and a zither on his back, then writing an incense recipe on the stone wall, the first part plainly described something even primitive cave dwellers would do.
Li Ling said, "The earliest incense was simply mugwort, pepper, and the like. Even dry wood and withered grass picked up anywhere counted. The purpose was to produce smoke, drive away snakes, insects, rats, and ants, and cleanse the surroundings."
"Our ancestors didn't understand the principle, but they instinctively remembered that burning firewood and incense could drive away evil. They also integrated it perfectly with the bonfires and sacrificial rites of the tribal age."
"Bonfires and sacrificial rites?" The Ninth Princess caught the key words.
Li Ling said, "Exactly. Bonfires and sacrificial rites."
"Incense culture came from the rite of burning firewood. This was an ancient ceremony for offering sacrifices to Heaven, in which jade, silk, sacrificial animals, and other offerings were placed on a pile of wood and burned. It's easy to see the surviving influence of bonfire culture here. The ancients believed that burning incense and lighting candles could convey prayers to Heaven and communicate with the gods. The Mystic Xin Kingdom's rites of burning incense in sacrifice also have a long history."
"The world has no shortage of fire-worshipping religions, and folk traditions have many bonfire festivals. In truth, they can all be considered branches of the same root."
"This can be regarded as the precursor to incense culture. As civilization developed in later generations, people's instinctive love of fragrance and dislike of foul smells gradually led them to develop true aromatics. Yet they often abandoned the root to chase the branches, emphasizing outward appearances and caring only about the scents released by aromatics and incense products."
"As the varieties of aromatics increase, incense fragrances grow ever richer. Perhaps in some future age, ordinary people will be able to manufacture essences, aromatics, perfumes, and the like on a vast scale, filling every field with fragrance until it's everywhere. Yet they may instead forget its roots and treat it merely as a plaything for putting on cultured airs."
"But..."
"If we're going to talk about refinement, let's talk about the highest refinement."
"If we're going to revive the past, let's revive the most ancient past!"
"Scraping off a little powder and treating it as a family treasure—that's far too petty. Wearing fragrance, Incense Fumigation, bathing in scented water, and spraying perfume are also beyond the means of the toiling masses. Real men should burn firewood to serve Heaven and promote the sacrificial culture of our ancient tribes!"
The Ninth Princess saw the light and said admiringly, "You truly deserve to be called a master of the Incense Path, husband. That makes so much sense!"
"But this sounds expensive. It won't be easy for us to accumulate enough materials for an Incense-Burning Grand Gathering."
Li Ling said, "We didn't have the Incense Affairs Bureau before, and Agarwood resources were insufficiently developed, so it looks difficult."
"But if we start putting more effort into stockpiling them now, I imagine it should be possible."
This would probably have to fall to the Incense Affairs Bureau. Only by making use of this organization could he conveniently gather the materials.
That afternoon, Li Ling really did summon Vice Minister Pei of the Incense Affairs Bureau for questioning and brought up preparations for an Incense-Burning Grand Gathering.
Vice Minister Pei's expression grew somewhat puzzled upon hearing this.
He kept feeling that something was not quite right. But Li Ling was a master of the Incense Path appointed by the immortal master, a figure of considerable authority. How could he voice any objection?
In the end, his own knowledge was simply too limited. He did not know what sacrificial ritual or secret of communicating with the great Dao of Heaven and Earth lay hidden in burning firewood and incense.
After considering it, Vice Minister Pei said, "It should still be possible. If we can't buy it directly on the market, we can requisition some from various places, then conscript laborers to enter the mountains and fell trees..."
Li Ling felt somewhat guilty at this. "I have a suggestion."
Vice Minister Pei said, "Please speak, Prince Consort."
Li Ling said, "I'll turn Li's Incense Workshop over to you to manage. In the future, any expenses involving me can be drawn from it."
Li Ling knew that he was still taking advantage of the Incense Affairs Bureau. His future expenses might be very, very large...
But Li's Incense Workshop was not without assets. Quite the opposite: through years of careful management, Li Ling had gained a market among high officials and nobles with product lines including scented soaps, perfumes, and Incense Fumigation, successfully securing authority over the discourse surrounding this world's incense culture.
If the Incense Affairs Bureau's officials were capable, they could monopolize the entire aromatics market of the Mystic Continent and draw a steady stream of generous profits from it.
The cultural industry was a good business. Once the associated culture flourished, merchants and ordinary people would follow suit, and many more would make their living gathering aromatics and producing incense.
Of course, these were all things Li Ling had created over the past decade or more. Later, he had simply offered them to the immortal master of his own accord in exchange for a lovely wife, beautiful concubines, peace, and prosperity.
At these words, Vice Minister Pei suddenly understood-or rather, he mistakenly assumed that Li Ling was inventing a pretext to seize the opportunity to rake in wealth.
Turn Li's Incense Workshop over to the Incense Affairs Bureau?
More like turn the Incense Affairs Bureau over to the Li family!
But he was delighted.
Working for Li's Incense Workshop was much better than serving as an official in the Incense Affairs Bureau.
Prince Consort Li was a favorite of the immortal master. He would never mistake the reason the Incense Affairs Bureau had been established.
But it would not do to spell out such things. Whatever Prince Consort Li said was how it would be.
He immediately promised, "Please rest assured, Prince Consort. Entrusting this matter to us is an honor for everyone in the Incense Affairs Bureau. We will certainly have it arranged for you before the end of this year."
Li Ling asked, "About how much can you obtain?"
Vice Minister Pei said, "We'll need at least three hundred cartloads of Agarwood to match your household's grandeur."
Li Ling said, "Three hundred cartloads..."
Vice Minister Pei said, "I am willing to stake my head on a military pledge: at least three hundred cartloads, all carried in proper horse-drawn carts, with each hauling a full five hundred jin or more. We certainly won't fob you off with mule carts or the like."
"The timber will also be resin-rich agarwood. If you need other varieties, we can add various grades of red sandalwood and rosewood."
Thoroughly satisfied, Li Ling nodded. "Oh, and add a few incense sugar maples from the south. The Incense Affairs Bureau was originally tasked with overseeing that matter anyway. Bring them in to count toward the tribute quota, and I'll clear the accounts for you."
Vice Minister Pei said, "Thank you for your consideration, Prince Consort. That will spare us more than ten cartloads of fragrant firewood."
He was a clever one. He had already furnished the things Li Ling wanted with the designation of fragrant firewood.
Agarwood used as firewood was fragrant firewood, was it not?
Li Ling added, "As for finished aromatics, two hundred shi should be enough. Half can be ordinary agarwood and the Spirit-Communing Incense produced by the workshop. For the rest, use various ordinary aromatics. If necessary, cinnamon twigs, cloves, licorice, lychee shells, and the like will also do."
Vice Minister Pei was so moved he almost cried. The prince consort was worried about making things difficult for his subordinates! How could they allow the Incense-Burning Grand Gathering planned by his household to be so shabby? People would laugh.
He immediately resolved to gather enough superior aromatics. Two hundred shi hardly seemed sufficient either. It would take at least three hundred shi to demonstrate the competence of everyone in the Incense Affairs Bureau.
But there was no need to make another pledge over something like this. It was not that he feared being unable to accomplish it, but the prince consort had already spoken. Contradicting him immediately would be nothing but a foolish display of prowess.
Better to accomplish it quietly and find an opportunity to surprise him.
Once they finished discussing this matter, Li Ling added, "Oh, among the spiritual materials sent last time, the Devil Finger Wood, Cold Fragrance Fruit, Silverthread Grass, and Five-Spirit Flower are useful. I intend to report to the ancestor and have them added to the tribute list."
Everything had been laid out. It was time to reap a harvest.