After the Skyfall

Chapter 541 Incense becomes a god
As the sky gradually brightens.

Everyone in the mountain temple was relieved and happy at this moment. They finally survived a very dangerous night. If it weren't for Li Yi, Old Liu believed that most of them would have disappeared mysteriously like those before and died in this wilderness.

After what happened last night, everyone was especially respectful to Li Yi. They all thought that he was a master who knew magic. As long as he was around, the ghosts and monsters in the mountains and forests dared not approach him.

"Master, it's daybreak. Should we continue on our journey? If it's too late, I'm afraid we won't be able to pass the three gates ahead, and we'll have to stay in the wilderness for another night. With your abilities, we don't have to worry, but we are mortals and don't dare take risks."

After everything was ready, Old Liu came to Li Yi respectfully and asked.

The others also looked at Li Yi eagerly, hoping that the Taoist priest could travel with them. In this way, the rest of the journey would definitely be very safe and they would not have to worry about any accidents.

Li Yi slowly opened his eyes at this moment, finishing a day of practice. He said, "You want me to protect you for a while?"

"I dare not, I dare not. I just want to follow the Taoist priest for a while and take advantage of his influence." Old Liu said hurriedly.

Li Yi looked at the statues in the temple and said, "Speaking of which, I was partly responsible for the danger you encountered last night. Well, I have no fixed place to live anyway, so I'll go with you guys and go wherever you go."

As soon as these words were spoken, the scholar Lu Yue and several other passers-by were all delighted.

"Master, I am very grateful for your kindness." Old Liu bowed politely.

"No need to be so polite. Now that everything is ready, let's go." Li Yi stood up and patted his Taoist robe. Without any delay, he walked out of the mountain temple.

At this moment, the sun was rising, clouds and mist were lingering between the mountains and fields, and green mountains were undulating in the distance. Between breaths, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth gathered towards him at a rapid speed, which made his body comfortable and his mind refreshed.

Although the cosmic energy here is average, as long as there is no pollution, the speed of cultivation will not be slow.

However, Li Yi has not yet opened the fourteenth acupoint, and is unable to absorb the golden energy of heaven and earth into the lung acupoint. However, after a night of practice, he has made some progress. It just takes time to hone his skills. However, he wants to get in touch with the practitioners in this world to see what the practice methods of this world are like and whether they can help him.

As Li Yi stepped out of the temple.

Old Liu hurriedly asked the others to catch up and not fall behind.

Li Yi's steps are vigorous and his posture is light. Although he is just walking down the stairs, he gives people the feeling that he is about to fly into the air at any time. There is an indescribable sense of agility. But if he walks on flat ground, his steps are like a dragon or a tiger, and there is a great majesty in his glance that makes people afraid.

Yesterday evening, no one could see clearly, but it was not until daytime that they discovered how graceful and extraordinary the Taoist priest before them was.

The group walked down the mountain along the path. There really was no danger at all on the way. They didn't even hear the sight of some wild animals around the corner.

"Old Liu, look at that mountain."

Suddenly, the scholar Lu Yue saw something, his face changed, he hurriedly took a few steps and pulled Old Liu in front of him, pointing to a mountain not far away and said: "That mountain should not be like that yesterday."

Old Liu glanced away, but then was startled, with horror in his eyes.

However, I saw that the originally good mountain had a crack in the middle at some point. The crack ran through the mountain, neat and straight, as if it had been cut by some magical weapon. Moreover, the crack extended from the peak to the foot of the mountain, and finally reached the mountain temple behind him.

"That mountain must have been split apart by lightning last night when Taoist Taiyi was exorcising demons." He was very sure, but also a little terrified, "The rumbling sound last night was the sound of rocks rolling down. No wonder all the ghosts and monsters disappeared after the Taoist took action. After seeing this, how could anyone dare to stay here?"

Lu Yue looked again and was also shocked: "From the top of the mountain to the mountain temple, although it looks close, it is at least ten miles away. How can someone split the mountain from such a long distance? Is he really a human?"

Old Liu also remained silent. He had never encountered such an outrageous thing in his life, but today he was lucky enough to see it happen.

As the group went down the mountain, they arrived at the main road.

Although it is a highway, it is easy to get lost when walking on it, because there are lush ancient trees on both sides of the road and weeds all around. When your vision is blocked, you can't tell the east, west, south and north at all. Occasionally, you come across a fork in the forest, and you don't know where it leads to.

There are neither signposts nor signs on the road.

In order to successfully pass through this area, an experienced guide is essential. Passersby only need to collect some money to hire someone like Lao Liu to lead them out of here smoothly and avoid the risk of getting lost. Of course, there are also brave people who don't hire anyone and wade through it by themselves, but it is unknown whether they can get out smoothly.

At this point, everyone kept silent and just focused on getting on with their journey.

Because talking causes excessive breathing and consumes energy. If you don't have the strength to keep up and fall behind, no one will be willing to stand there waiting for you.

I have to say that the people in this world have really good physical strength. After walking for more than ten kilometers, no one stopped, and even the two women didn't complain of being tired.

"There are towering ancient trees, undulating mountains, and hidden spiritual veins here. I don't know how many monsters are nurtured here. Although it is a bit dangerous for ordinary people, it is very suitable for me to collect wood energy here." Li Yi was looking at the surrounding environment at this moment, and made a mark in his mind, which might be useful in the future.

Another walk.

Everyone was a little tired at this time.

But Old Liu shouted, "We are about to pass Sandaokou ahead. Once we pass that, we will enter Xinzhou. Everyone, hurry up and don't rest. Let's go through it while the sun is at its strongest at noon."

Everyone was cheered up and quickly quickened their pace.

Although they had heard about the dangers of Sandaokou before, it was their first time passing through it after all, and no one knew what the situation ahead was like. But the guides here said that it was not a good place, and there must be a reason for that. Although there was a Taoist priest leading the way ahead, they still didn't want to encounter anything strange, after all, the Taoist priest was a master, and they were not.

Li Yi also saw the so-called three entrances at this moment.

It is indeed dangerous.

A road suddenly narrowed and went into the mountains and forests. The surrounding light dimmed instantly, and the middle of the road was surrounded by three large mountains, which made the road winding and tortuous, and it was impossible to see the situation ahead clearly. In addition, the main road was divided into two, and there were many side roads on the left and right sides.

Each of those forks leads into the dense forest, some are shortcuts around the mountain, and some are unknown ancient roads.

If you get lost in it, it's easy to get in but hard to get out.

"Woo!"

There were cold and damp winds blowing from the mountain stream, and strange noises were heard continuously.

Fortunately it was daytime. If it was night, I would have been frightened and lost my way, and no one would know where I would have run to.

But at this moment, the older woman in the team suddenly felt weak as she walked, as if all her strength was drained away. She fell to the ground with her eyes rolled back. The young girl who was walking with her saw this and hurried to support her, but it was of no avail.

Soon, the older woman was lying on the ground unconscious.

"No, no, she fainted." the girl shouted hurriedly.

Old Liu, Lu Yue, and two other pedestrians in front stopped and looked back.

Old Liu's face changed and he hurried back to take a look. He said immediately, "This lady has a heat stroke. If she's not treated properly, she could die."

"How could he get heatstroke in such a cool mountain stream?" A passerby nearby asked in surprise, "Could he be possessed by evil spirits?"

"Heatstroke can be divided into hot heatstroke and cold heatstroke. I'm not wrong. This lady suffered from cold heatstroke. She was walking too fast before and sweated. Now she's been hit by the cold wind from the mountain stream. With the combination of hot and cold, the sweat is trapped in her body and can't come out. She will collapse to the ground immediately. This disease is very serious. If she doesn't get treatment, she will die soon."

Old Liu said, "Two years ago, I saw a few passers-by who also walked to Sandakou. Because they were thirsty, they drank a few sips of spring water from the mountain stream. The cold air immediately hit them and they immediately fell to the ground and lost consciousness. Although they asked someone to carry them out of here, they died not long after entering the Xinzhou boundary."

"Then do you have any way to save him?"

The scholar Lu Yue asked hurriedly, "We can't just watch this lady die in this desolate mountain. It's not easy for anyone to be away from home."

Old Liu shook his head and said, "I don't know how to save him. But there is another guide, Lao Gen, who can help him. But he led a group of people away from this area two days ago, so it's not easy to find him."

"It's nothing. She has blood congestion. It will be fine once it's unblocked." Suddenly, Li Yi turned around and walked over. His eyes were shining and he glanced at her for a few seconds.

"Master, do you know how to treat diseases?" Old Liu asked in surprise.

Li Yi said: "I don't understand. I only learned a few small spells and practiced some martial arts. I haven't learned any medical skills. However, although illness seems complicated, it is actually simple. It is nothing more than insufficient Qi and blood and stagnation of Qi and blood."

As he spoke, he stretched out a finger and circulated his qi and blood. An invisible strand of qi and blood wrapped around his fingertips.

Then he snapped his fingers, and the strand of energy and blood flowed into the woman's body.

Nourished by this strand of qi and blood, the woman's meridians became open in an instant, her qi and blood flourished, a stream of turbid air came out of her mouth, and she quickly opened her eyes and woke up.

"Thank you very much, Taoist priest, for saving my life." After the woman woke up, she immediately regained her strength and expressed her gratitude.

"You really have to thank the Taoist priest, otherwise you would never be able to get out of these three entrances and would definitely become a pile of dry bones on the roadside." Old Liu sighed.

It is so difficult to be away from home. If you encounter a little acute illness, you will die outside and there is no way you can survive.

Li Yi just smiled and said, "It's okay. I will open up all your meridians with a strand of qi and blood, and keep that strand of qi and blood in your body. If you don't encounter any danger in the future, I guarantee that all your diseases will be cured and your life will be prolonged." "Is there such a good fortune?" Everyone was envious when they heard it.

The woman was surprised, but she really felt a warm current flowing through her body. She, who had been weak just now, was now full of energy and it seemed that she could easily travel another twenty miles.

Li Yi was about to say something when he suddenly saw wisps of invisible aura coming towards him from these people.

"This is."

He was a little curious and reached out to try to grab it, but he couldn't touch it.

This breath is neither essence nor spiritual energy, but rather a power of belief.

Although the power of this belief was very weak, after it gathered on Li Yi, it seemed to have thoughts. The surrounding spiritual energy of heaven and earth was attracted by the power of this belief and poured into his body.

This scene is somewhat similar to the statue of the mountain god seen in the mountain god temple.

"It's only the faith of five or six people that has brought about such a change in me. What will happen if the faith is added by thousands, tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of people?" Li Yi was stunned. He seemed to have accidentally touched upon the practice method of this world.

Moreover, there must be a system for this kind of practice, and the statue is the best proof.

"Maybe we should go to a more prosperous place with more people."

He then had some ideas.

Because the more people there are, the more opportunities there are to gain faith, and the stronger the power of faith.

However, how to gain the power of belief still needs further study.

After curing the woman, everyone continued on their journey.

Although these three intersections were dangerous, with Li Yi leading the way and Old Liu as the guide, they did not encounter any danger. It took about half an hour to successfully cross the mountain stream.

After leaving the mountain stream, the terrain becomes flatter the further you go.

Gradually they walked out of the mountains and at the same time, other pedestrians began to appear on the road. They had gathered from other mountain paths and were all heading in the same direction.

With the popularity, everyone's nervous mood was obviously relaxed a lot. At least they didn't have to worry about encountering mountain monsters again.

But we didn't go far.

There was a boundary marker beside the avenue, with the words "Xinzhou" written on it. However, Li Yi could not read, so he learned this from the scholar Lu Yue.

There is also a small temple a few dozen meters in front of the boundary marker.

"That is the land temple of Xinzhou. After worshiping the land temple and burning incense, you will enter the territory of Xinzhou, and my job as a guide will be completed." Old Liu smiled at this moment.

The land temple is not big, but there are quite a few people sitting nearby.

There are merchants coming and going to rest, and there are guides waiting for work. In addition, there are also herbal tea stalls and noodle shops on both sides.

Several people came to the land temple, took three free incense sticks, lit them and offered the incense sincerely, and then paid the remaining money to Old Liu according to the price agreed upon in advance.

However, Li Yi was standing in front of the land temple at this moment, looking at the statue inside the temple.

There was a lot of incense burning in front of the statue, which was emitting light. The spiritual energy of heaven and earth nearby gathered together, and vaguely, a human figure emerged.

At this moment, the clay statue seemed to come alive, and its eyes stared at Li Yi as if sizing him up.

"Faith, incense, and statues of gods? So that's it." Li Yi thought thoughtfully.

Offering incense is actually just a form, but the belief generated by people in the process of offering incense is very important. After obtaining the statue, it can gather the spiritual energy of heaven and earth by itself, and under the nourishment of the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, the statue will have cultivation and strength.

However, the statue is just a clay sculpture. Even if it is blessed with faith and the gathering of spiritual energy, it is impossible for it to manifest a human form.

Unless there is a soul residing in the statue, it can be blessed with faith and become stronger in practice.

Thinking of this, Li Yi suddenly revealed a smile, because he can now be sure that his father must be living well in this world, because an evolver in the soul realm has crossed over. If he cannot find a physical body, he can completely parasitize in the statue, rely on the faith of all living beings to maintain the survival of the soul, and then absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to strengthen himself.

So, this is a very suitable place for spiritual practice.

"Where did you come from, you mountain Taoist? You entered my temple, neither burning incense nor kneeling, and you refused to leave. What's the reason? Are you trying to take my incense? Get out of here immediately, or I will seize your soul."

suddenly.

At this moment, someone suddenly shouted, and then an illusory figure slowly floated out from the statue.

The man looked like a middle-aged man, wearing a loose robe, with a yellowish face, eyes wide open, and very majestic.

"With the blessing of the soul's faith and the gathering of the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, it is indeed possible to leave the body and live forever in heaven and earth." Li Yi's eyes moved slightly at this moment: "This way of practice is indeed very special and unique."

As he spoke, he also attracted the attention of others around him.

Many people wondered if this Taoist was crazy as he was actually talking to the statue.

Because in the eyes of ordinary people, they are the invisible land god. After all, the soul, belief, and aura are things that can only be seen by the medium.

"You are still talking nonsense here and don't take me seriously at all. I will teach you a lesson, so that you will know how powerful I am." The middle-aged land god was furious. He grabbed and took out a whip from his waist.

The whip was condensed from some kind of evil energy and combined with the essence of the sun and the moon. It was emitting light and looked very extraordinary.

The land god waved the whip in his hand and lashed at Li Yi.

This whip is called the Soul-beating Whip. It does not hurt the body but specifically harms the soul.

If an ordinary person was hit by this whip, his soul would be severely damaged. He would either fall into a coma or become an idiot, and there would be no medicine to help him.

But the next moment.

Something happened that shocked the land god. He saw a ball of red energy rising into the sky from Li Yi's body. When the soul-beating whip hit it, it was like encountering a raging fire, and it actually caught fire in an instant.

The scarlet energy was extremely hot and burned along the soul-beating whip towards him. Before it got close, his palm was already burned black.

"What kind of magic is this?" The land god was horrified. He quickly dropped his whip and retreated.

"Such a weak god, he can't even withstand a ray of heart fire." Li Yi said.

However, his heart fire energy is most effective at suppressing souls and primordial spirits. A cultivator's primordial spirit would be turned into ashes if burned by the heart fire energy, let alone a small hairy god.

Such a weak god?

The land god was shocked and frightened at this moment: "Wild Taoist, don't be violent. This is the territory of Xinzhou, and there are countless gods enshrined here. If you dare to make a move, you will not survive tonight."

"You don't have much ability, but you have a big mouth. After being worshipped for a long time, do you really think you are a high and mighty god? You are just a dead soul who is lucky enough to live in the statue and get the blessing of faith, so you have become a little bit powerful. Today I will teach you a lesson so that you can learn how to be a human being." After Li Yi finished speaking, his eyes flashed with murderous intent.

Boom!

Thunder roared suddenly, and in an instant a silver bolt of lightning fell from the sky and struck the statue of the land god accurately.

The statue suddenly shattered and collapsed into a pile of mud.

Other people nearby were shocked when they saw this.

They looked at the statue of the land god, then looked up above their heads, and each other, not knowing what had happened.

"That silver lightning again"

Only Old Liu, the scholar Lu Yue, and a few other people who were traveling with him understood the reasons after seeing this scene.

They all looked at Li Yi.

I don't understand why this Taoist priest wanted to use thunder to destroy the statue in the land temple.

(End of this chapter)