Confucian and Taoist scholar

Chapter 509 The Goddess of Heaven
Thirty miles outside Dafeng County, Yun Xiao and his group landed in the mountains.

After the rain, the air in the mountains was fresh.

Yun Xiao looked up slightly and saw a Taoist temple faintly visible on the mountain.

"Yulin Temple? There are Taoist priests living in seclusion here?"

Yun Xiao thought he should find a good feng shui location nearby to perform a ritual to invite the gods, and he found this place to be quite good.

Xuan Lang stepped forward first and knocked on the door of the Taoist temple.

A moment later, a boy opened the door.

Xuan Lang took out a jade token to identify himself, "I am a disciple of Qingyang Palace. May I ask if the Abbot is here?"

Upon hearing this, the boy looked surprised and doubtful. He had heard of the famous Qingyang Palace, but their small Taoist temple had no connection with such a top-level Taoist sect.

The boy glanced at the jade token in Xuan Lang's hand, unable to distinguish its authenticity, and said, "The abbot just went out. Why don't you come in and wait..."

The boy raised his hand in invitation. These people looked extraordinary, and no matter what their background was, he couldn't afford to be negligent.

Upon hearing this, Xuan Lang asked, "Where did the Abbot go?"

The boy couldn't help but say, "Just now, a master in Dafeng City performed a spell to stop the rain. The abbot went to the city... Hey, you wouldn't happen to be..."

The commotion that just occurred in Dafeng County was quite significant, and the Taoist priests at Yulin Temple were aware of it.

The local abbot and several Taoist priests, out of curiosity, went to Dafeng City to see what was going on.

The boy originally wanted to go and take a look, but his cultivation was shallow and his status was low, so he was left here to guard the house.

Upon seeing this group of people suddenly appear, the boy couldn't help but wonder if they were the experts who had come from the city.

Lu Zheng and the others did not show any change in expression upon hearing this, since they had indeed noticed that quite a few people wanted to visit them when they left the city earlier.

However, they were busy with other things and didn't have time to contact those people.

Xuan Lang smiled and said, "Then I'll have to trouble you."

The boy quickly replied, "It's nothing, esteemed guests, please come in!"

Just then, a sound came from behind.

Lu Zheng turned around and saw a middle-aged Taoist priest riding on a cloud.

Upon seeing the newcomer, the boy exclaimed, "It's the Abbot!"

The middle-aged Taoist priest landed slowly, waved his sleeve to dispel the clouds beneath his feet, and bowed to Lu Zheng and the others, saying, "This humble Taoist is Chen Lin, also known as the Jade Forest Taoist. I am sorry for not greeting you properly. Please come in!"

Chen Lin spoke very politely. When he went to Dafeng City before, he saw Lu Zheng performing a ritual in the sky, and Yun Xiao and the other two descending.

He had originally wanted to find an opportunity to visit them, but he had no way to do so. When he saw Lu Zheng and the others coming out of the city and heading this way, he rushed over in a hurry. He didn't expect that these people would actually come to Yulin Temple.

Yun Xiao smiled and said, "I wish to use your esteemed place to perform a ritual to invite the gods. I hope this fellow Daoist won't mind?"

Chen Lin was surprised to hear this. Performing a ritual to summon the gods? This was not something an ordinary Taoist priest could do.

He couldn't help but say, "Performing a ritual to invite the gods! That would be an honor for me. Please make yourselves at home. Is there anything I can help you with?"

These people are using his Taoist temple to invite gods, which means his area is benefiting from this. If this gets out, it will probably make the Taoist practitioners in the vicinity jealous.

Yun Xiao nodded, "No need for the abbot's help."

Yun Xiao strode into the Taoist temple, followed closely by Lu Zheng and the others.

Yulin Temple is not very large, but it is elegant and quiet, making it a good place for spiritual cultivation.

The Taoist temple still faintly exudes a refreshing and pleasant aroma of incense.

Yun Xiao visited several small temples, which housed statues of saints and immortals, but none of them contained the one he was looking for.

Yun Xiao looked at Chen Lin, who was following beside him, and asked, "Don't you have any worship of the Goddess Nüba here?"

"The Goddess Nüba?" Chen Lin was taken aback upon hearing this, then shook his head, "Our temple is too small to accommodate so many immortals and deities..."

The deities enshrined in temples and shrines of the Shu Kingdom did not possess any divine presence, nor did they retain the power of incense offerings.

Even if someone worships, the incense only travels through the statue of the deity once before merging into the natural order of the Shu Kingdom.

The statues of gods serve only as a medium. In small places, Taoist temples have few incense offerings, and people don't worship so many gods and immortals. So, it's usually enough to set up a few main statues of gods for worship.

Upon hearing this, Yun Xiao replied, "No, that's fine too."

For statues of deities that have been worshipped with incense year-round, this practice makes it easier to invite the deity to possess you.

Of course, it doesn't matter if you don't have it; Yun Xiao is very confident in his abilities.

He arrived outside the hall and casually waved his hand, causing a ripple in the center of the bluestone-paved square, with soil breaking through the stones.

In just a few breaths, a life-sized statue of a goddess appeared.

The statue was radiant and changed from earthy yellow to a lifelike color in the blink of an eye, becoming incredibly vivid.

There were no statues of gods here, so Yun Xiao simply sculpted one, though the effect might be less impressive.

Qingwan looked at the new statue with curiosity and asked, "Does this is what the Goddess Nüba looks like?"

Yun Xiao approached the statue, stroked his chin, and said, "I don't know what the legendary goddess looked like, but the goddess Nüba that our Shu Kingdom worships looks just like this."

"Actually, it doesn't matter what it looks like. As long as we believe, even a stone can be called a god. If we don't believe, no matter how beautiful the statue we make is, it's nothing..."

As a cultivator, Yun Xiao was not as superstitious as ordinary people. These statues were, in the end, just tools for them to cast spells, and there was no need to be overly reverent.

Yun Xiao then took the storage bag and casually tossed it out, sending countless spirit stones flying out before they exploded in an instant.

Wisps of spiritual energy swirled around the plaza, forming extremely complex patterns, and an array was slowly emerging. Yun Xiao, unhurriedly, said to Lu Zheng, "You're quite good at writing, aren't you? I'll recite two incantations for summoning the gods, and you can write them down using your literary energy. It'll be useful later..."

Yun Xiao began to recite the incantation for the gods, a simple incantation that resembled a longer poem.

Lu Zheng listened carefully for a moment, then took out the Imperial History Bamboo Slip and Dong Hu Brush and tried to write with literary flair.

In a short while, Lu Zheng successfully wrote two incantations for summoning the gods on the Imperial History Bamboo Slip.

Each character shimmered with golden light, emanating an aura similar to divine power.

Yun Xiao was setting up an array nearby when he saw Lu Zheng write out the incantation for summoning the gods so quickly, and his eyes flashed with a strange light.

"Tsk tsk tsk, I knew you were well-suited to cultivating our Taoist practices..."

Yun Xiao reached out and said, "Lend me the jade slip. Qingyi, stay here. You all stay away."

Lu Zheng tossed the Imperial Historian's Manual to Yun Xiao.

Yun Xiao held it firmly, then glanced at the words on it and quickly formed a hand seal.

The two incantations to summon the gods immediately shone with golden light, enveloping Yun Xiao and Qing Yi.

Lu Zheng and the others retreated outside the formation, watching Yun Xiao perform his ritual with curiosity.

Yun Xiao muttered incantations, and a mysterious melody echoed out.

The entire spiritual energy array shone brightly, then rapidly changed, shrinking inward.

In just a few breaths, the array and the light both disappeared.

Apart from Yun Xiao and Qing Yi, and the goddess statue, the square became completely clean, without the slightest ripple.

Yun Xiao raised his hand, revealing a golden mark on his palm, formed from the condensed power of the arena.

The golden mark vanished into the statue in an instant.

In an instant, the statue shattered and transformed into a golden stream of energy that shot straight into the sky.

Golden light shot into the sky and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Lu Zheng and the others looked up at the sky, but after a while they did not see any unusual phenomena or fluctuations.

I wonder where that golden light went.

"Failed?"

Qingwan couldn't help but mutter to herself, looking at Yun Xiao with a questioning gaze.

"Ahem..." Yun Xiao coughed lightly and explained, "Let's wait a bit longer. Inviting the gods can't be done so quickly; we need to give the heavens some time to prepare..."

Actually, he wasn't entirely sure what to do, since it was his first time performing a ritual to invoke the power of the Goddess of Death, and failure was to be expected.

A few breaths later, the previously clear sky suddenly showed a slight ripple.

Above Yulin Temple, a deep, dark opening suddenly appeared in the sky.

Within the spatial rift, a powerful divine force emanated from within, and golden beams of light shot out from the rift, directly striking the earth below, the area where the statue had originally stood.

Yun Xiao dodged away from Qing Yi in a flash.

Qingyi tilted her head back and saw a golden beam of light enveloping her, and a trace of the power of heaven and earth was supporting her body, giving her a special feeling.

Little Qingyi didn't move, but she flew up on her own, soaring thousands of feet into the sky.

Golden light emanated from its body once more.

A thousand-foot-tall phantom of a deity stood between heaven and earth, and Qingyi was located at the center of the phantom.

The towering phantom of the deity grew increasingly solid, its features clearly visible, and a scorching aura emanated from its body.

"It's so big!"

Qingwan looked up at the golden giant in the sky, her eyes filled with astonishment.

The descending deity was far larger than she had imagined.

None of the deities I encountered in the State of Chu displayed such a grand form.

Of course, it's not that the gods of Chu couldn't do it; it's just that the capable gods didn't reveal themselves in this way.

For example, if the Moon Goddess herself wished, transforming into a figure thousands of feet tall would not be a problem.

Yun Xiao chuckled and said, "Just kidding, the god I invited is naturally extraordinary! Besides, this little fellow's power is compatible with that of the Goddess Nuwa, allowing him to fully unleash the divine power he received..."

Yun Xiao felt a little proud. Fortunately, he succeeded in summoning the god on his first try and did not lose face in front of Lu Zheng and the younger generation of Qingyang Palace.

The people in Dafeng County and the surrounding villages and towns also discovered the suddenly appearing golden giant.

The towering golden deity stood between heaven and earth, leaving countless people in awe and unable to calm their emotions.

Zhang Yu, who was originally arranging tasks, also stopped and stood on a high place in the city to watch.

He had just learned that Lu Zheng and his group had left the city, and in the direction that the giant had appeared.

"It's the Goddess Nüba! Someone has summoned a deity!"

The knowledgeable Taoist priests in the city couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

"Summon the gods..."

Zhang Yu muttered to himself, "I'm afraid only those experts from Qingyang Palace could invite such a deity."
(End of this chapter)