"Really? I can't see anything. Old man, you're not lying to me, are you?"
"If you don't believe me, fine, why don't you ask yourself?"
Soon, Chongxuan opened his eyes.
"Chongxuan, how effective is Chongxuan?"
"Ahem, it does have some effect, but it's not obvious. So, we need to try it again," Chongxuan said seriously. His tone was extremely solemn, truly exuding an aura of authority.
"Furthermore, I am quite angry about what you did just now, but since it concerns your path to enlightenment, I can understand. However, it is impossible to expect to pay no price. How about this, each of you take out a bottle of Heavenly Silver as compensation," Chongxuan said with a smile.
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Chapter Eleven: Incense Offerings and Divine Religion, Claiming Respect and Ancestorship (Happy New Year)
To be honest, Chongxuan had already come to believe in the power of incense (faith) by this point. That's why he directly demanded that each of the remaining deities receive a bottle of Heavenly Silver.
The so-called Heavenly Silver is actually refined from the power of incense offerings through various processes, and is one of the important currencies in the divine realm. After all, they don't need it, but the gods on the human side really do.
To be honest, since inheriting the position of the deity of Mount Tai, Chongxuan's strength has hardly improved at all. This can be considered one of the shortcomings of these gods. Later, Chongxuan fought and struggled, but nothing changed.
But at this moment, hope appeared on the path of incense offerings in the divine kingdom. To be precise, it was only today that Chongxuan realized how inefficient he had been in utilizing incense offerings in the past.
"Okay, I'll add something to it next." After saying that, Chongxuan took out a jade bottle from his pocket.
As soon as the jade bottle was opened, it released a refreshing fragrance. The mere scent made Lin Yang suddenly feel a pang of hunger. Then, a large stream of purple liquid flowed directly from the jade bottle into the golden lotus.
"This is the highest grade of Heavenly Silver, made from a large amount of spiritual energy from heaven and earth, mixed with incense and fire. One bottle is worth a third-grade heavenly treasure. However, times have changed. After today, even a fourth-grade heavenly treasure may not be able to exchange for a bottle of Heavenly Silver." Lin Yang said with a smile as he looked at the bottle of Heavenly Silver.
Then, with the infusion of purple celestial silver, the entire golden lotus expanded rapidly, as if injected with adrenaline. The sky tore apart, the earth cracked. The air roared, and the entire divine kingdom seemed on the verge of collapse.
"Where is Tianyin? Why don't you make a move at once?" Chongxuan shouted.
Upon hearing this, hundreds of purple and silvery beings entered the divine kingdom. Even the golden lotuses quickly bloomed. As the lotuses bloomed, celestial music filled the air, and multicolored light flashed forth.
Meanwhile, the divine kingdom was undergoing earth-shattering changes. With a cry, a three-legged golden crow appeared in the sky, transforming into the sun. Then, accompanied by a croaking of frogs, a toad flew directly into the sky, transforming into a full moon.
With the appearance of the sun and moon, the entire divine kingdom expanded rapidly. If the divine kingdom was initially only the size of a county, it had now grown to the size of a province.
At the same time, a large amount of seven-colored light appeared directly, following the connection between the divine kingdom and Chongxuan, and came directly to Chongxuan's side, enveloping him.
"This must be effective, otherwise, why would he ask us for Heavenly Silver? It seems that the way of offering incense is quite effective."
"Hehe, it's good that it works, it's good that it works. In my perception, Chongxuan's aura has increased by about one percent. That's one percent! It's an increase of one percent on top of the peak of the mid-stage of the fifth rank. So, what if it were a fourth-rank deity?"
"That's right, and his luck has also changed quite a bit. Basically, anyone skilled in the art of observing qi can tell."
Amidst the gods' discussions, Chongxuan finally awoke.
"Good, through the power of incense, we can promote the evolution of the divine kingdom. Through the evolution of the divine kingdom, we can give back to me, the ruler of the divine kingdom. Young brother, your way of incense offering is indeed powerful."
"This is just a divine kingdom. Could you elaborate on the Pope, the covenant between gods and men, the bishops, and so on? Of course, you'll reap the rewards," Chongxuan said with a smile, looking at Lin Yang. Even his address changed to "little brother."
After saying that, Chongxuan threw over a magical artifact. It was a scepter, on which were engraved several ancient characters that Lin Yang did not recognize. It looked very ancient and heavy.
"This is the mountain-driving whip used by the First Emperor. With this whip, one can drive away the mountains and rivers of the world. I believe it will be very beneficial to the development of your fiefdom, young brother," Chongxuan said with a smile.
Seeing this, the remaining gods followed suit, each taking out various priceless treasures. Even the lowest-grade of these treasures was a fourth-tier item. In addition, there were many rare and precious natural materials.
It can be said that with all these treasures combined, Lin Yang's wealth is already comparable to that of a first-class family at the state level. This is true overnight riches.
"Haha, since everyone is so sincere, then as a simple scholar, I naturally have no choice but to accept." After saying that, he took out the super Qiankun bag he had just acquired and put all the treasures inside. Then, with pen, ink, paper and inkstone, Lin Yang began to write.
Although the content was unmistakably Western religious doctrine, Lin Yang believed that calling it "incense-based religion" made no difference. After all, faith and incense offerings were two sides of the same coin.
As Lin Yang wrote furiously, a gigantic eye appeared above his head. Then, visible streams of profound merit rained down upon him. At the same time, Lin Yang's destiny and fortune underwent tremendous changes.
It can be said that once Lin Yang's title as the Ancestor of the Divine Path is confirmed, he will truly rise like a roc on the wind, soaring ninety thousand miles into the sky.
It can be said that every deity who later established a divine kingdom, founded a divine religion, developed faith, and reaped the benefits of faith owes Lin Yang a great debt of gratitude.
Moreover, it's not just them. Don't those heads of aristocratic families, sect leaders, and academy deans want to collect incense offerings, create a divine kingdom, and create a divine kingdom belonging to their own family or sect?
After all, building a divine kingdom isn't actually that difficult. Any fourth-tier expert, with a large amount of incense offerings, could easily accomplish it.
"Alright, it's finished. Let's call this book 'A Detailed Explanation of the Divine Path'." As soon as he finished speaking, these four large characters miraculously appeared on the book's cover. At the same time, a large mass of merit descended from the sky.
"Good, young brother, you're really lucky. You've obtained a fifth-tier treasure that brings good fortune right away. And even so, this is far from the end of the road for this magic treasure," Chongxuan congratulated.
Before anyone could react, Emperor Ling exclaimed happily, "Excellent! Truly, heroes emerge from among the young! First, my nephew Mengqi (Ma Chao) introduced battle qi. Then Wenruo (Xun Yu) introduced magic. Next, Benchu (Yuan Shao) presented the Agricultural Classic (the official name of the Agricultural Encyclopedia). Now, Feipeng, you have introduced the Divine Way. These are all the destiny of our Great Han!"
"Such a great achievement deserves a reward..."
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Chapter Twelve: Feudal Southern Kingdom (Happy New Year)
"With your merits, my nephew, you deserve a large fiefdom, and a dukedom is certainly within your reach." The Spirit Emperor nodded, glancing at the dragon-robed deity from before. Clearly, the two had already discussed this privately.
"Even if my nephew is unwilling to go to the frontier and stays in the interior, he will still have a fiefdom of a whole lower-class prefecture. Of course, if he were to go to the frontier, he would certainly have a territory of a higher-class prefecture. In fact, if my nephew is strong enough, it is not impossible for him to seize a province from the foreign tribes," Emperor Ling said with a kind smile.
To be honest, Emperor Ling was never afraid of others having ambition or ability. Ambition was good; let them go and expand their territory. Ability was even better; would you be willing to be granted land and titles?
Once you have painstakingly eliminated all the dangers on your territory, the imperial court will transport the surplus population to the frontier on a large scale to enrich the territories of the feudal lords. In this way, the power of the feudal lords will be consciously strengthened or weakened.
After all, for the feudal lords, the most important criterion for measuring strength was population. The size of the population was the most crucial issue for them. However, the population problem was not something that could be solved in a year or two.
Therefore, the imperial court's population transport every hundred years became a powerful weapon that influenced, and even determined, the strength of the powerful feudal lords.
No matter how capable you, the feudal lords will not be able to develop without a sufficient population. At that point, they will have no choice but to rely on the Han Dynasty court, which can be considered an unspoken rule of the court.