Journey to the West: From Fish-Chasing Boy to the Boundless Heavenly Venerable of the Golden Palace

"Licentious worship..."

"Family destroyed and people killed."

Upon hearing Monk Zhiyuan's words, the crowd stirred once again.

Seeing the wavering expressions on everyone's faces, Li Yue's expression darkened.

That stinking monk is using magic to bewitch people!

These believers today are all exceptionally "devout" to the religion, otherwise they wouldn't have come spontaneously. How could they possibly be swayed by just one sentence from Monk Zhiyuan?

In reality, the monk used magic.

Speaking of which, monks are most skilled at bewitching people.

Fortunately, perhaps fearing it would damage his own dignified image, the monk Zhiyuan's spell was not deep, only to the extent of a psychological suggestion.

It can still be reversed.

"Monk, you keep using the term 'licentious worship,' so let me ask you, what exactly is 'licentious worship'?"

"To offer sacrifices to things that are not properly designated is called illicit worship."

"So you've got a good 'not what it's meant to be worshipped'? Then let me ask you, how do you define 'right and wrong'? What can be worshipped, and what cannot?"

"Gods of heaven, gods of earth, ghosts of men, all the gods and Buddhas of heaven, ancestors and forefathers, are all worthy of worship."

"Hehe, since you said that all gods and Buddhas can be worshipped, and Yiling Gong is one of them, how can it be considered an immoral worship?"

Li Yue smiled slightly as he looked at Monk Zhiyuan.

The people around gradually came to their senses and couldn't help but nod in agreement. Yes, they were all gods and Buddhas. Why could you worship Buddha, but they couldn't worship the local deity?

"absurd."

Faced with Li Yue's question, Monk Zhiyuan showed no panic, but instead gave a disdainful snort.

"Among all the gods and Buddhas, is there ever a Yiling Gong? I ask you, in which sacrificial text is this Yiling Gong recorded?"

"You need the source."

Li Yue smiled again and waved.

Immediately afterwards, the priest came over carrying a thick booklet.

Li Yue gestured, and Da Zhu walked up to the monk Zhiyuan, turned to a page, and recorded the story of Yi Ling Gong.

Not only Yiling Gong, but Dazhu then turned a few more pages, which contained the records of Wutong Shen and Menlang Gong.

"Monk Zhiyuan, can you see clearly now?"

"..."

The monk Zhiyuan's face instantly darkened, and after a long silence, he suddenly let out a cold shout.

"Your religion is incredibly audacious to forge religious rites!"

"Ridiculous! You think you can just forge something like that? Who do you think you are, His Majesty the King?"

"Hmph, still dare to argue."

Monk Zhiyuan gave a light hum, flipped his hand over so that a large stack of books appeared in his palm.

"Look carefully, this is the true sacrificial ceremony."

"Ridiculous! How can you determine whether something is true or false? How can you prove that what you said is real?"

Li Yue glanced at the large stack of sacrificial texts, but his face showed a look of disdain.

"Of course it's true!"

Monk Zhiyuan casually took out a few books and flipped through them.

"The Three Pure Ones, the Four Emperors, the Five Elders, the Six Ministers, the Seven Primordial Elements, the Eight Extremes, the Nine Luminaries, the Ten Capitals, and all Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Arhats are recorded in the records. How could there be any falsehood?"

"That's it. I've also recorded it here with all the gods, so it must be true."

"The truth cannot be hidden, and falsehood cannot be made true. If you still want to deceive me, take a good look. All my sacrificial rites have seals."

Monk Zhiyuan chuckled and flipped to the last page of each ritual text, where he found, sure enough, the seal of the Chechi Kingdom.

"The emperor sacrifices to the famous mountains and rivers of the world. The Five Sacred Mountains are regarded as the Three Dukes, and the Four Rivers are regarded as the feudal lords. The feudal lords sacrifice to the famous mountains and rivers within their own territories. The gods worshipped are all certified. Do you think you can just compile a sacrificial canon and pass it off as genuine?"

Could it really be a lewd ritual?

After listening to the monk Zhiyuan's explanation, the people present looked at each other in bewilderment, their gazes wavering once again.

Clearly, the monk Zhiyuan had cast a spell again.

Seeing that Monk Zhiyuan was closing in step by step, Li Yue remained calm and showed no sign of panic.

"Still holding on."

Monk Zhiyuan sneered again, assuming that Li Yue was speechless, and continued.

"Besides, there are countless gods and Buddhas in the heavens. The sacrificial texts I have here are only a small part of the whole. How could your book possibly record everything?"

"Well said, that's absolutely right."

Li Yue suddenly smiled, not refuting but clapping his hands in praise. He then took the sacrificial text from the chief priest, closed it, and showed the cover to the monk Zhiyuan.

"Monk, look what's written on this."

"Sacrificial rites in Hedong County?"

"That's right! This is only the sacrificial rites of one county in Hedong, hence there is only one copy!"

Li Yue smiled slightly, then flipped to the last page, where another seal was revealed.

"Look again, what is this now?"

"The official seal of the Hedong County government..."

"Exactly! You just said that all sacrificial rites must be certified, and that sacrifices correspond to different levels. The sacrificial rites of Hedong County are certified by the Hedong County Government. Isn't that reasonable and in accordance with the law?"

Li Yue handed the sacrificial ceremony back to the chief priest, raised his head slightly, and glanced contemptuously at the monk Zhiyuan.

"Monk, what else do you have to say?"

"this……"

Monk Zhiyuan frowned and was momentarily speechless.

They fell for the trap.

Shen Qingzhu deliberately led him to take out the sacrificial text and explain the difference between proper and improper sacrifices, which in turn proved that his sacrificial text was genuine, thus proving that Duke Ling of Yi was a proper sacrificer.

Monk Zhiyuan looked at Li Yue with a low gaze. What a cunning and wicked devil!

Immediately afterwards, Monk Zhiyuan looked at Chen Shouzhou with anger in his eyes. How could the dignified magistrate of a county, the father and mother of tens of thousands of people, collude with evil spirits!

If Chen Shouzhou hadn't agreed, how could the county government have stamped the official seal?

Although he was filled with resentment, Monk Zhiyuan was helpless at this moment.

The practice of sexual worship is acceptable, but it must be within the bounds of the law.

At least at the Hedong County level, it is compliant.

Since he cannot accuse the cult of worship of gods of immorality, how can he "correct" them?

The monk fell silent.

"Congratulations on winning the debate!"

"As expected, that monk was lying to us!"

"A monk, indeed! He's full of lies."

For a moment, the crowd began to whisper among themselves again.

Zhiyuan and the monk Xiu had sharp ears and eyes, and they could hear these people's voices clearly, even though they were speaking softly. However, they were unable to defend themselves at this moment.

"Continue the ritual!"

After glancing at Monk Zhiyuan, Li Yue turned to the crowd and announced loudly.

"If this monk dares to obstruct us again, we'll tear down his Zhengyuan Temple!"

"I will strictly follow the decree of the Grand Sacrificer!"

The crowd shouted in unison, and the ceremony continued.

Monk Zhiyuan frowned, but did not stop him further.

Since it cannot be proven that the worship of gods is immoral, there is no basis for prohibition.

If he were to forcibly obstruct him, it would be unreasonable. Although he possesses great magical power and is not afraid of the believers of the God Worship Cult, Zhengyuan Temple is just an ordinary temple, and the monks inside are all ordinary monks.

Li Yue's words just now clearly threatened Zhengyuan Temple!

Even the monk Zhiyuan had to be cautious, fearing that the consequences might be unforeseen.

[Perform the duties of the local deity once!]

[Achieve the divine office of the Lord of the Town!]

[Unlock the Thousand-Mile Scroll, the magical artifact of Lord Ling!]

The moment the statue was placed into the temple, a series of notification sounds rang out.

"Um?"

Li Yue was slightly taken aback. When had he completed a divine service as the Duke of Yiling?

Splash!

Before he could think any further, the Lustful Sacrifice Record appeared, turning to the sixth page, depicting a hunchbacked old man holding a scroll.

"This is!"

Standing to the side, the monk Zhiyuan, with his keen eyes, suddenly saw a burst of golden light erupt from the temple of the Duke of Yiling.

The deeper the furrowed brow, the more likely this god of licentious worship has descended upon the world.