Austerity and merit

Asceticism is an indispensable part of India mythology. Most of the gods in this world, except for a few foreign beings who are worshipped as deities, rely heavily on human faith.

The India gods, in particular, used a peculiar method: asceticism and sacrifice. When mortals performed asceticism and sacrifice, they generated an energy powerful enough to influence the Heaven.

Therefore, those who can preside over sacrifices are called Brahmins.

When a person's ascetic practices accumulate to a certain level, the gods who offered their asceticism will often reward them; this is the Power of Blessing in India mythology.

If mortals do not engage in ascetic practices or sacrifices, the gods will gradually lose their power. This is why the Asura of Kalakeya choose to hunt down humans, in order to fundamentally sever the Source of Power.

At the same time, the principle that blessings must be bestowed after asceticism has become an ironclad rule that all deities must abide by, even if the ascetic is Rakshasa or Asura. Many human kings have even used the power of asceticism to drive Indra off the throne of the God of God on more than one occasion.

"Kama, I'm very happy to see you come out. Don't worry, I will keep it a secret from God Rati."

Brahma smiled and nodded at Kama, then turned his gaze to Bai Mo and asked earnestly, "Child, do you wish for a blessing? Just nod, and you will receive everything except eternal life."

Bai Mo clasped his hands together and bowed to Brahma, saying with a wry smile, "I don't need your blessing, Brahma. I've obtained similar all-powerful wish-granting machines more than once, but it's meaningless if I don't obtain them with my own hands."

"And I only discussed this topic with this guy; I didn't ask for any blessings."

Bai Mo did not want to rely too much on external forces, especially the power of gods. Although he knew that this blessing would most likely not have any negative effects, he still resisted it in his heart.

He had great faith in his own heart.

Upon hearing this, Indra, who lived in Sudarsana City in the Heaven, suddenly breathed a sigh of relief for some reason, feeling a sense of ease in his heart.

"Hmm? Something seems to have happened... It must be that some extreme ascetic was interrupted from his ascetic practice by the celestial maiden I sent. That's a good thing."

He filled his cup and drank a full cup of Soma.

Upon hearing Bai Mo's words, Brahma was slightly taken aback. After thinking about it carefully, it seemed that Bai Mo had indeed not asked for any blessings. He had only sensed a hint of something and then came down directly.

The main reason was that even Brahma hadn't expected Bai Mo to not even crave this power.

Bai Mo possesses a powerful Power of Austerity, which greatly assists the operation of the entire world. Moreover, this Power of Austerity cannot be utilized by any deity other than the India gods.

However, these practices were all conducted outside of India, and given Bai Mo's status as an outsider, this portion of his Power of Austerity would not flow into the world unless he agreed.

In other words, these powers that Bai Mo could not use, and which he had not even discovered, were an unimaginable treasure for this world.

But Brahma is not an aggressive deity; he is actually indifferent to many things.

"Well, since you seek power within, this blessing may become an obstacle on your path. Perhaps that's why Narottama (Krishna) never told you this."

The Power of Austerity is immense, useless to you, but of great help to the world. If you need anything, please accept my assistance.

Brahma then turned to Kama and said, "This trip to see you wasn't in vain, Kama. I'll trouble you to communicate with him later."

"Hey, I don't want to work. I'm on vacation right now, and I don't even see the overtime messages."

Kama closed her eyes and covered her ears, hiding behind Bai Mo like a granddaughter pleading with her grandfather. Brahma shook his head helplessly, then, as if remembering something, asked her:

"Did you explain to him the Power of Austerity and the Power of Merit?"

Seeing that Kama still hadn't opened her eyes or let go, Brahma knew there was no need to ask any further. Bai Mo pinched her ear and said to Brahma:

"I know how this world works. Since you need the power of this arduous cultivation, just give me whatever you like. My disciple has come to this place, so why not ask the god of construction Vishvakarman, to build him a city?"

Upon hearing Bai Mo's request, Brahma pondered for a moment and said:

"That's not fair. Our blessings must be commensurate with the cultivator's efforts. If you just want cities... I can grant you three billion Sudarsana City of the same level as Indra, where Indra resides. That should be about right."

Thirty-one seats? That's a bit too many; there aren't that many people right now.

"It's three billion, I can hear it clearly even with my ears covered," Kama reminded him, and Bai Mo felt a wave of dizziness upon hearing this.

"Um... I wanted to ask... if there were three billion... could the Daichi hold them all?"

Brahma shrugged and laughed, "Why do you care about that? I'll just drop those three billion palaces from the sky. They might overlap, but there won't be any damage."

Bai Mo imagined what it would be like to have 3 billion Sudarsana City descending from the sky. His brain began to quickly search for related memories. According to mythology, Sudarsana City are 2,500 yojanas long on each side.

A "yojana" is roughly the distance an ancient India emperor would travel in a day, usually considered to be between 7 and 15 kilometers.

Therefore, the side length of the Sudarsana City is approximately 25,000 kilometers...

"Hiss, how long is the equator again?"

"About 40,000 kilometers," Kama kindly reminded the somewhat numb Bai Mo. Bai Mo quickly waved his hands in refusal.

"No, no, no, we don't need the city anymore. I'll lead them to build it ourselves."

"It seems you're not familiar with the situation," Brahma said with a smile, shaking his head. Bai Mo clasped his hands together, adopting a questioning attitude. Brahma nodded and said:

"I believe you already understand the extent of the Power of Austerity, and that is sufficient. Just remember, blessings can only be given to oneself or to those connected to oneself."

Furthermore, you possess not only the Power of Blessing, but also the Power of Merit, which is even more important. Let me tell you how to use merit; simply do this... and then state your wish.

Although it can only be realized in this world, its power is far beyond your imagination. At this level... it might be able to do anything.

The blessings gained through ascetic practice differ from the Power of Merit. Blessings are bestowed by the gods, so there is often a contingency plan in place to prevent uncontrollable situations. Merit, on the other hand, is accumulated by oneself and is entirely one's own power, capable of achieving almost anything. However, accumulating merit is also very difficult.

Brahma said, and upon hearing that he could do anything, Bai Mo subconsciously glanced at Kama behind him. Kama, seeing this, flicked his hair and said:

"What's wrong? Trying to use this to get my love? Sure, you don't need any of that nonsense."

Bai Mo did not answer, but seemed to be chewing on his thoughts, pondering the possibilities of this Power of Merit. Seeing this, Kama became somewhat curious about Bai Mo's ideas.

What are you thinking about?

"It's just a few things, nothing."

Afterwards, Bai Mo put his hands together in prayer and bid farewell to Brahma with Kama.

"Goodbye, Grandfather. Remember to keep it a secret!"