Daily Intelligence: From Water Snake to Jinghe Dragon King

Chapter 160 The Yin God's Soul Splits into Two, a Temple is Built, and a General Appears in a Dream

After refining into the Void and uniting with the Dao, the demonic energy within Liu Qing's body condensed from its demonic cloud state into liquid, transforming into a trickle that flowed ceaselessly throughout his body.

A liquid-like demonic energy flowed throughout his body, strengthening his physical form from the outside in. A strong physical form naturally nourished his Yin spirit.
The Yin spirit became more solidified, even the black robe that materialized on its body was as smooth as silk. What surprised Liu Qing the most was...

Then, the Yin spirit began to slowly regain a touch of warmth, no longer as cold and eerie as before, carrying a chilling and oppressive aura of Yin energy.
This indicates that the Yin spirit has begun to slowly transform into Yang. Other mountain and river demons only undergo this transformation in the late stage of Refining Emptiness and Uniting with the Dao. Afterward, through accumulated refinement over time, they finally transform their Yin spirit into Yang spirit and achieve Union with the Dao.
Liu Qing had just stepped into the Refining Void and Merging Dao stage when his Yin Spirit began to transform into Yang, once again much earlier than his demonic counterpart.

Seeing the powerful Yin spirit, Liu Qing could no longer restrain himself and activated the incense-based supernatural power 'Soul Splitting', attempting to divide himself in two.
This time, I felt a sharp pain in my soul, as if it had been cut in two by a knife. A moment later, the pain disappeared.
Upon closer inspection, two identical Yin spirits appeared where the original spirit was hidden, both dressed in black with white faces.

Liu Qing was overjoyed, finally succeeding in splitting his soul. This time, the incense-offering deity that had evolved earlier had the possibility of merging with the Dao.

After the Yin spirit split into two, its form was smaller than the original, but its warmth did not dissipate, indicating that the process of these two divided souls transforming into Yang had not stopped.

Once the demonic energy slowly nourishes them, or they find a celestial treasure to nourish their soul, their yin spirit will completely transform into yang, allowing them to merge with the incense offerings and become gods sooner.

With one happy event after another today, Liu Qing was in a very good mood. After leaving the courtyard of the mansion, he stretched and, seeing that the weather was fine and sunny, he couldn't stand being idle and decided to go for a walk with Hong Gu.

More than half a month has passed since Yuan Datou became a god. Liu Qing wondered how he was doing and decided to go and visit him.

He summoned Hong Gu, who was playing mahjong, and Shui'er, the water-avoiding golden-eyed beast. After explaining the situation, Hong Gu, who was also feeling restless, readily agreed to go.

Perhaps it was because the world was becoming increasingly chaotic, with villagers everywhere unable to survive, who had laid down their hoes and picked up knives and guns, either gathering in the mountains and forests or robbing the wealthy, causing the atmosphere of killing and plunder to become increasingly intense.
The murderous aura in the mortal realm has intensified, causing the Heavenly Way to become increasingly obscure and the Heavenly Secrets to become increasingly chaotic. The Heavenly Court, which originally acted as the substitute for the Heavenly Way,...

They also became deaf and blind, whereas they could have allowed various mountain gods, river gods, city gods, and other local deities in the mortal realm to report news on time.
Unfortunately, the path was blocked by the murderous aura, and the message was not transmitted smoothly, almost completely cut off. This made it increasingly difficult for the Heavenly Court to control the mortal realm.

In this situation, the most obvious change is that Hong Gu's seventh-rank divine authority has not been assigned any tasks for quite some time.

So, bored out of his mind, he could only pass the time by playing mahjong.

Hearing that she was to visit Yuan Datou, Hong Gu naturally went happily. Shui'er's cultivation had improved again, and she was now almost at the half-step Divine Power Realm.
After revealing his true form, Liu Qing embraced Hong Gu and sat astride her: "Shui'er, let's go to the Jing River."

Yuan Datou requested the title of "Seventh-Rank General Who Subdues the Waves of the Jing River," and his place of office would naturally be the Jing River.

As the first incense deity in the Jinghe River in a hundred years, I wonder what kind of prestige he possesses. I'd like to go and see for myself.

Leaving Dawan Lake, passing Luanshitan, we stopped to chat with the little crocodile for a while, and then went straight into the Jing River from Luanshitan.

Upon arriving at the Jing River, they discovered its vastness, stretching for thousands of miles, but they had no idea where to find General Fubo, Yuan Datou.

So he had no choice but to recite the sacred proclamation.

"With sincere devotion, I pay homage to the Yuan Dongxiang, the General of Fubo within the Jing River, who commands a thousand Yin soldiers and is in charge of the water system. He is infinitely beneficial, compassionate, and has great vows. He is the Great Sage and Merciful, the Water Official of the Lower Yuan Qi who relieves calamities, the Seventh-Rank General Fubo."

This imperial edict was originally given to Liu Qing by Yuan Datou to use in times of crisis for seeking help, but Liu Qing used it to search for someone. One wonders what Yuan Datou thinks of this.

As soon as the imperial edict was finished being recited, a sudden, rushing sound of water rose from the river dozens of miles away, growing ever closer.
In just a few breaths, Yuan Datou appeared fully armed. He wore a pointed helmet, chainmail, and lotus-silk water-walking shoes. A bright red cloak hung from his back, and a jade belt with a divine tablet hanging from it adorned his waist. He held a magical spear in his right hand and a tortoise-shell shield in his left.

Judging from the aura revealed by Yuan Datou after being away for half a month, it has reached the mid-stage of the Divine Power Realm.
In terms of the speed of progress in cultivation, the Incense God surpasses the Authority God, simply because the Authority God faces greater difficulties in advancement; Hong Gu is still only at the early stage of the Divine Power Realm.

However, in terms of actual strength, Yuan Datou is far inferior to Hong Gu.

Before even getting close, he stood on the crest of the wave, staring wide-eyed and shouting, "Is that Brother Liu Qing?"

"Hey, whoever dares to bully my brother, General Fubo, come and face your death!"

As expected, Yuan Datou thought that Liu Qing was in danger because he was reciting the sacred edict, so he came to help him fully armed.

Liu Qing blinked, looking rather embarrassed.

"Uh, I wasn't bullied, brother. Don't worry. I just missed you and came to look for you, but I couldn't find you for a while, so I resorted to this. Please don't blame me, brother."

Yuan Datou calmed down, looked at Liu Qing, and immediately rolled his eyes in anger. Liu Qing was embarrassed and had to call him "brother" for a while to coax Yuan Datou back to his senses. Then Yuan Datou led the way, taking Liu Qing, Hong Gu, and Shui'er to his house.

Upon reaching a small island in the Jing River, Yuan Datou said, "Brother, this is where I will live."

Upon reaching the island, they found Lady Gu already waiting at the edge. The island was overgrown with shrubs and teeming with water birds. Lady Gu had cleared a path for them.
Vegetable gardens and flower beds have been created on both sides of the path, and wild cherry, peach, apricot, and walnut trees have been transplanted from outside.
In our great China, whether human or demon, the tradition of farming has never been abandoned, even for those who have become gods.

At the end of the path is a newly built temple. Inside the temple is a statue of General Fubo. In front of the statue are an incense burner, a long table, and a prayer cushion, where devout men and women can light incense and make wishes.

The temple has a temple keeper, who is actually Lady Gu in disguise. The husband is a god, and the wife is the temple keeper. The couple is the temple of General Fubo, and it is now officially open for business.

"After I became a god, I came to the Jing River and found a small island. I used the method of appearing in dreams to tell the people on both banks that I was General Fubo, who could make the Jing River calm and protect the ships coming and going on the river. When the people heard this, they raised money to build a temple for me."

"With temples and statues of gods to live in, I don't have to worry about being homeless. I've been diligent in fulfilling my vows and helping others in recent days, so the incense offerings have gradually become more abundant."

"Since you brought your sister-in-law along, I'll have her act as the temple keeper. It'll be good for the husband and wife to work together, haha, brother, is my arrangement appropriate?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Qing gave a thumbs-up to express his admiration.

Yuan Datou truly lives up to his reputation as the former lord of the manor; his methods for acquiring property and settling down are quite adept.

"Brother, I just heard you mention the 'method of sending messages in dreams.' Could it be a new supernatural power you acquired after becoming a god?"

Yuan Datou patted the divine tablet at his waist: "Exactly, this divine tablet contains various divine spells and techniques, but they are all restricted. Each time you advance to the next rank of divine office, you unlock one or more spells and divine abilities."
Because his elder brother had donated millions of incense coins, he achieved the rank of a seventh-grade righteous god in one step, and thus unlocked three restrictions in succession, obtaining seven or eight magical abilities, one of which was the 'Dream Transmission Technique'.

Yuan Datou achieved the rank of a seventh-grade incense god. Although his status was not as high as Hong Gu's, he was still worthy of Hong Gu's attention. He interjected:
"Although the Incense God has many restrictions, compared to the Power God, he has the benefit of learning magic and supernatural powers. My little sister is a seventh-rank like her brother, but unfortunately she is not taught any supernatural powers or magic."

"The gods of power obey orders but not summons. They are nominally subordinate to the Heavenly Court, but in reality, they are outside of it and are not considered one of the Heavenly Court's own people. Therefore, they are not taught supernatural powers and magic."

"However, those who can become gods of authority are not without the support of a powerful force, and naturally they are not lacking in supernatural powers and magic."

Yuan Datou was shocked to learn that Hong Gu was a seventh-rank deity with great power.

After the initial shock, he envied Liu Qing: "Brother, you are so lucky to have such a wife. I truly admire you."

Yuan Datou had said something similar to Xia Ke Xing before, and Liu Qing felt rather embarrassed upon hearing this.

This old man is clearly saying he's a kept man.

The host and guests chatted happily, and Lady Gu, as the hostess, naturally prepared wine and dishes. The Jing River was rich in fish and shrimp.
There were also offerings of pork, mutton, and wine made by devout men and women when fulfilling their vows, so there was no shortage of meat. They also picked some fresh vegetables from the vegetable garden outside, and soon a table of food and wine was prepared.

Yuan Datou invited them to the table. Since they were all friends, there was no distinction between insiders and outsiders. So the five of them, host and guest, sat down together, clinked glasses, and enjoyed themselves immensely.

It's a pity for Yuan Datou, because he is a Yang spirit who has merged with the incense offerings and has no physical body. He can only smell the food and drink at this banquet, but cannot swallow it.

It sucked the food and wine with its mouth, instantly wiping away all flavors. The food and wine then turned as pale as paper and tasted like chewing wax.

Lady Gu left the banquet for a while, and when she returned, she brought out a steamed bun shaped like a clam shell. It was probably baked in an oven, as both sides were golden brown and the aroma was wonderful.

"Brother Liu, hurry up and try the steamed buns your sister-in-law just made. These are her own creation. They are thin and even, round, with three concentric circles inside and out, and beautiful patterns. I call these steamed buns 'Qu Yuan Steamed Buns'."

“That old codger, relying on his higher divine rank than me, wants to use me as a mount. It’s really infuriating. Right now, I can’t beat him, so I can only endure it for now and settle things with him later.”

"However, although I can't beat him now, I can't just sit here and suffer. I used the method of sending a message in a dream to tell the believers how to make this steamed bun. Starting this year, we will eat this Qu Yuan steamed bun on the Dragon Boat Festival to make that old bastard angry."

Liu Qing took a big bite, and finding it fragrant and crispy, she immediately gave a thumbs up and exclaimed, "What a wonderful Qu Yuan steamed bun! It's so satisfying to chew!"

After a short while, the guests and hosts had enjoyed themselves immensely. Liu Qing and Hong Gu took their leave. Before departing, Yuan Datou made a promise with Liu Qing that they would go to the City God Temple in Chang'an together after some time to recruit ghost soldiers.
Since becoming a god, it has not recruited a single ghost soldier, all because it has just become a god and does not have enough incense offerings to support it.

(End of this chapter)