Sword drawn from the constellations, poison as its edge.

Chapter 179 Virtue Matches Heaven and Earth, Might Shakes the Universe
When Jiang Mingzhe uttered the words "incense can make one a god," Ding Chunqiu was visibly shaken.

He hurriedly asked, "Incense offerings can make someone a god? Good disciple, tell me in detail!"

Jiang Mingzhe said, “Master, you know my experience. In my pursuit of immortality, I traveled to many famous mountains and visited many virtuous people. The phrase ‘incense leads to divinity’ was told to me by an old Taoist priest. According to him, everything in the world has cause and effect. First, there is cause, then effect. For example, my determination to seek immortality is the cause, and meeting you, Master, is the effect. Because I have the will, I have the action, and the action has the effect. Looking further ahead, my becoming your disciple is another cause, and if I achieve success in the future, I will honor you, Master, which will be another effect.”

Ding Chunqiu nodded, and Jiang Mingzhe continued, "After the old Taoist priest finished explaining the matter, he asked me, 'Since cause and effect are intertwined, can we reverse the cause and effect?'"

"Alas!" Ding Chunqiu was a man of great achievement, whose thinking was beyond that of ordinary people. At first, he did not think much of Ding Chunqiu's explanation of cause and effect, but when Ding Chunqiu said the words "reversing cause and effect," Ding Chunqiu's mind was stirred and he immediately had endless wonderful ideas.

Unable to resist, he urged, "This old Taoist priest does have some skill. Continue, how can you reverse cause and effect?"

Jiang Mingzhe asked, "Master, what would happen if all the people in the world genuinely believed that Murong Fu could become emperor?"

Ding Chunqiu's expression turned serious. After a moment of contemplation, he said solemnly, "Mencius said in 'Li Lou I,' 'There is a way to gain the world: gain the people, and you will gain the world!' If all the people believe that he can be emperor, as long as he is not killed by the current emperor, he will probably be able to become emperor sooner or later... Well, if we follow the cause and effect, he should first find a way to become emperor, and then govern with benevolence and love for the people, thus gaining their hearts as the result. But if we follow the cause and effect, once he has gained the people's hearts, what difficulty is there in becoming emperor?"

Murong Fu frowned inwardly, thinking to himself that Duan Yu was the prince of Dali, Kumārajīva was the national teacher, and Ding Chunqiu was clearly a heretical figure, so why did he speak with such pedantry?

Jiang Mingzhe laughed and said, "Master is indeed wise and profound. What that old Taoist said is exactly the truth. He said that the will of the people is the will of Heaven. Although one person's wish is insignificant, if the wishes of all people are in unison, how difficult is it to change the world? By this logic, what would happen if everyone believed that Master was a god?"

"The will of the people is the will of Heaven. Hmm, the Book of Documents says, 'Heaven sees as the people see, Heaven hears as the people hear.' If that's the case, isn't the will of Heaven the will of the people?" Ding Chunqiu was shocked again, suddenly stood up, and said with great joy, "I know! If every city has a temple dedicated to me, and every household worships my Dharma body, and all the people recognize me as a deity, burning incense and bowing in worship morning and evening, wishing that their hearts would reach Heaven and Earth with the incense, then Heaven and Earth would know and generate great power to forge my immortal body and divine form. Hahaha, so this is the way of turning cause into effect, and incense becoming a god!"

Unable to contain himself, he raised his hands high and laughed loudly, "Hahahaha, what a brilliant twist on cause and effect! Incense offerings become gods, I have succeeded! I have succeeded! Hahahaha, Jiang Mingzhe, when I took you as my disciple, I had a vague feeling that you were the source of my destiny, and now it is indeed so! Hahahaha, you said that your ambition to seek immortality was the cause, and meeting me was the effect. In fact, my taking you in was also the cause, and your future attainment of immortality will also be the effect! Hahahaha!"

Ding Chunqiu laughed and talked, gesturing wildly, truly overjoyed.

As she spoke, she suddenly turned around and grabbed Jiang Mingzhe's arm. Jiang Mingzhe was startled and almost used the Northern Darkness Divine Skill.

Ding Chunqiu was almost delirious with joy at this moment, and he didn't notice the change in his expression. He loudly promised, "Good disciple, good disciple, in the future, when Murong builds a temple for me, I will also have him sculpt a statue of you, standing behind me, just like Zhou Cang holding the sword behind Guan Yu, or Sudhana behind Guanyin. If I become an immortal, I will also share some of the incense offerings from all the people with you, so that you can also become a little immortal, and not let down our master-disciple relationship!"

Ding Chunqiu is selfish by nature, and the words he uttered at this moment, regardless of what will happen in the future, are certainly sincere at this moment.

Jiang Mingzhe was overjoyed and bowed: "Master, how can I repay such kindness? This is truly a case of 'what you think about will eventually come to pass.' If I had not become your disciple, how could I have ever hoped to enter the immortal realm?"

Li Qingluo was filled with envy upon hearing this. She jumped up, grabbed Ding Chunqiu's hand, and said in a spoiled tone like a little girl, "Daddy, Daddy, I want one too! I want to stand behind you. Guanyin Bodhisattva not only has Sudhana, but also the Dragon Girl holding the pearl!"

"Okay, okay, I'm all in this together!"

Ding Chunqiu smiled indulgently and casually placed the fan in Li Qingluo's hand: "You are now my fan-bearing dragon maiden! Hmm..."

He suddenly realized that Guanyin, the Dragon Girl holding the pearl, was a virgin, while his own daughter was already a child. If he became a deity and met Guanyin at the Dragon Altar Dharma Assembly, wouldn't he be at a disadvantage?
He couldn't help but shake his head, thinking to himself, "I've always been strong-willed, even as a human, let alone as a deity. Hmm, when the time comes to build a temple and statue, I'll simply make a statue of my granddaughter, Wang Yuyan, and have her serve as my fan-bearing maid. As for Qingluo, once I become a true immortal, I'll appoint her as a local earth goddess, which will be a fitting tribute to our father-daughter relationship."

Fearing his daughter would see through his thoughts, he quickly changed the subject: "Young Murong, if you want to establish a kingdom in Tibet, I will naturally do my best to help you. But how many people does Tibet have? Now that you have the help of my master and me, you mustn't be so petty. After conquering Tibet, you should simply swallow up Xia and Song, and even conquer Liao. You should annex the nine provinces, unify the world, and achieve the great feats of Emperor Taizong of Tang and Emperor Taizu of Han. Let the hundreds of millions of people under your rule worship me, the Star Immortal Venerable. Only then will our destiny have been worthwhile!"

Upon hearing these words, Murong Fu felt a jolt of electricity shoot from the soles of his feet to the top of his head, leaving his entire body numb.

He knelt down, tears streaming down his face, and said with heartfelt emotion, "If that day ever comes, Senior Ding, I will be the Emperor of all people, and you will be the Immortal Venerable of all immortals!"

Jiang Mingzhe chimed in, "Wonderful! When the time comes, there will be a couplet before the Star Constellation Immortal Venerable: the first line reads 'Virtue matches Heaven and Earth,' the second line reads 'Majesty shakes the universe,' and the horizontal inscription reads 'Boundless Magic Power!'"

Upon hearing the couplet, Ding Chunqiu felt that every word resonated with him, and he burst into laughter.

The more she looked at Jiang Mingzhe, the more pleasing he became. Suddenly, she asked Li Qingluo, "Where is Yuyan? Quickly call her here and tell her that her grandfather has chosen a good husband for her, so that this little girl will be happy!"

Li Qingluo's smiling expression froze instantly, and she hesitated, saying, "Father, you don't come often, so you may not know, but that girl Yuyan has quite a few feelings for her cousin."

Originally, Li Qingluo had a poor relationship with Murong Fu's mother and believed that Murong Fu was ambitious but incompetent. She had never liked her daughter to be close to him. But now that it seemed that Murong Fu had a chance to restore the country, her thoughts naturally changed. In addition, she herself did not know why, but she really did not want to see her good younger brother become her son-in-law. Therefore, she subconsciously said these words.

Ding Chunqiu was taken aback and looked at Murong Fu, saying, "Oh? You've taken a fancy to my Yu Yan?"

Murong Fu's mind raced: My A'Zhu is betrothed to Xiao Feng to win over the Liao Kingdom, and I must give A'Bi to Duan Yu to win over Dali. My virtuous brother Mingzhe refuses to be a king of equal rank, and I'm worried about how to win him over. Yu Yan is outstanding in appearance and extraordinary in talent. If I betroth her to him, wouldn't my virtuous brother be grateful to me?
He immediately laughed and said, "Aunt, my cousin has grown up in seclusion since childhood. Apart from me, her cousin, what good men has she ever seen? Although she is close to me, it is only as a brother and sister. I treat her the same way. Besides, my brother Mingzhe is outstanding in both literature and martial arts. Only a man like him is worthy of my cousin!"

As he spoke, Ding Chunqiu stared intently, and seeing that Murong Fu's eyes were clear and his words sincere, without any sign of reluctance, he was overjoyed: "Well done, young Murong! You are determined to restore your country, so you should prioritize your career. If you want to get married, first marry the princess of Qing Tang Tubo. After you destroy Qing Tang, I will personally ask for the princess of Xixia for you. After you destroy Xixia, the Song and Liao dynasties will probably send their princesses to marry you on their own!"

Murong Fu was overjoyed to hear Ding Chunqiu's confident words about seeking a marriage alliance with the Western Xia princess on his behalf. Knowing that someone like Ding Chunqiu would never speak up without certainty, he clasped his hands in thanks and said, "That's wonderful! This junior thanks the Immortal Venerable for granting my request!"

Seeing that Murong Fu had turned against him, Li Qingluo frowned and shook her head, saying, "I still think it's not appropriate. By the way, Father, didn't you say that my brother had abducted some girl named Azi? Since he has someone he loves, how can we force him into a marriage?"

Upon hearing this, Ding Chunqiu also thought of Azi and looked at Jiang Mingzhe, saying, "I was just about to ask you, where is Azi now?"

Jiang Mingzhe said, "Reporting to Master, this matter is quite interesting. It turns out that Senior Sister Azi has quite a background. Her biological father is the Prince of Zhennan of Dali..."

Before she could finish speaking, Li Qingluo's expression changed drastically: "The Prince of Zhennan? Could it be that bastard Duan Zhengchun? Is Azi his daughter? Bastard, ah, no, little brother, I don't agree to you being with that little bitch!"

(End of this chapter)