One person: Orochi, starting with Feng Baobao's Eight Heroes.

An effect without a cause, like a rootless duckweed, cannot last long.

While the two were discussing philosophy, over at the hot spring, Lu Jin was vividly recounting Chen Qi's past to others.

"You have no idea how dangerous it was for Brother Chen when he single-handedly stormed the Miao region's Gu stronghold..."

Lu Jin danced with joy.

"Faced with the Hundred Poisons Formation, he only used one talisman..."

Lu Ren listened intently, while Lu Ci occasionally glanced towards the quiet room, his eyes gleaming with contemplation.

As the night deepened and all was quiet, everyone went to rest.

Chen Qi quietly got up and went into the courtyard.

Under the moonlight, he took out the cinnabar and yellow paper he carried with him and began to draw intricate talismans.

"Incense serves as the catalyst, space as the foundation..."

He chanted softly, a faint golden light swirling around his fingertips.

"The company's framework can begin tonight."

The next morning, the group bid farewell to Bai Xian and descended the mountain.

Chen Qi took out the talisman paper he had prepared beforehand, folded it into the shape of a horse, blew on it, and the paper horse grew in the wind, transforming into several magnificent talisman horses, pulling a sled and waiting by his side.

"Brother Chen's horsemanship skills are becoming more and more exquisite."

Lu Jin exclaimed in admiration.

Chen Qi smiled without saying a word. After everyone boarded the sled, he bowed to the white fairy on the mountain.

In the distance, Grandma Bai's figure appeared and disappeared, and she returned his greeting before vanishing into the clouds and mist of the valley.

Around noon, everyone returned to the gathering place at the foot of the mountain.

Liao Huzi hurriedly went to report the situation to his superiors, while Guan Shihua was pestered by Wang Ai to "ask about the immortals' fate".

"Miss Guan, please take me to try it out!"

Wang Ai followed him shamelessly.

"Maybe some immortal will take a liking to me?"

Helpless, Guan Shihua had no choice but to take him to a small hall.

Lu Ci, Lu Jin, and Lu Ren gathered together to discuss Wang Ai's chances of success.

"I'm looking at Xuan."

Lü Ci pouted.

"With his impetuous nature, it's no wonder the immortals wouldn't be interested in him."

Lu Jin smiled.

"It's hard to say. Fate is a very mysterious thing."

Lü Ren looked at Chen Qi, who had remained silent.

What do you think, Brother Chen?

Chen Qi withdrew his gaze from the distance and said calmly.

"The path to immortality is unpredictable and cannot be judged."

He looked at the sky.

"Please rest first, everyone. I have some things to take care of back at the inn."

Before anyone could respond, he turned and left, his figure quickly disappearing around the street corner.

Back in his inn room, Chen Qi immediately set up a protective barrier.

He took out a crystal-clear jade stone from his pocket, which was the "space foundation stone" he had secretly prepared over the past two days.

Chapter 292 Building My Company

"The principles of incense and deity worship have been basically mastered."

He muttered to himself, his fingers tracing intricate patterns on the jade.

"Next, it's time to build my own company."

As he drew, the jade began to emit a soft glow.

A flame of ambition also ignited in Chen Qi's eyes.

Inside the inn's private rooms, the air was filled with the fragrance of sandalwood.

Chen Qi sat cross-legged on a futon, with a yellowed scroll of "A Study of Immortal Temples" spread out in front of him, his fingertips gently stroking the pages.

The moonlight outside the window was like water, casting a silvery glow on his profile.

"I see..."

Chen Qi whispered, a glint of light flashing in his eyes.

His all-night discussion with Grandma Bai completely overturned his understanding of shamanism.

He had originally thought those immortals were merely "thieves of heavenly secrets" who used incense offerings to cultivate themselves, but now he understood the true meaning behind it all.

True immortals take only what they need and use it sparingly, just as herbalists only take what they need and never exhaust the resources.

Chen Qi closed the book and took out a jade thumb ring from his pocket.

This was a gift from Grandma Bai before she left, containing a wisp of the essence of Bai Xian.

As his fingertips caressed the cool jade surface, the kind yet profound gaze of the white-haired old woman reappeared in his mind.

"Young Chen, remember this: incense is like a knife; it can slay demons and eliminate evil, but it can also harm you."

Grandma Bai's admonition still echoes in my ears.

"Although the primordial energy within you can suppress delusions, if you are greedy and seek quick results, sooner or later..."

"It will be like the Six Treasuries Immortal Thief being devoured by Heaven and Earth."

Chen Qi muttered to himself, finishing the sentence with a bitter smile.

He had seen people who had gone mad from practicing the Six Treasuries Immortal Thief technique.

He was emaciated yet his belly was as big as a drum, and his eyes were full of madness; he looked exactly like someone who had been "stuffed to death."

A gust of wind blew past the window, causing the candlelight to flicker.

Chen Qi suddenly stood up, took out seven ancient bronze lamps from his bag, and arranged them in the room according to the Big Dipper.

These are the items he prepared over the past three days to establish the shrine. Each lamp wick is soaked in century-old peach wood oil, and the lamp base is engraved with talismans to ward off evil.

"Since we can't absorb it directly, let's find a container."

With a flick of his finger, Chen Qi caused all seven lamps to ignite with a ghostly blue flame.

"A shrine to immortals is just what I need."

He suddenly paused, his brows furrowing slightly.

Traditionally, a shamanic shrine requires the presence of "four beams and eight pillars"—the four beams being responsible for sweeping, watching, and protecting the shrine, while the eight pillars each have their own duties.

However, Chen Qi had neither a contract with a deity nor wanted to be bound by it.

Why be so bound by formalities?

Chen Qi chuckled and pulled a piece of vermilion paper from his sleeve, laying it on the table.

"All I need is a small, well-known religious shrine that can preserve the power of faith."

He bit his index finger, and a drop of bright red blood dripped into the inkstone, mingling with the thick ink to form an eerie purplish-black color.

Chen Qi dipped his brush in ink, the tip hovering three inches above the red paper, and suddenly turned to look out the window.

"Since you're here, why don't you show up?"

The window lattice creaked softly, and a pure white hedgehog slipped through the crack, landing and transforming into a three-foot-tall phantom image of an old woman.

Grandma Bai leaned on her dragon-patterned cane and said with a smile.

"I knew you would be holding your ceremony tonight, so I came to see what the fuss was about."

Chen Qi performed a respectful but not arrogant bow.

"Now that you've arrived, senior, may I offer you some guidance?"

"Guide?"

Grandma Bai shook her head.

“Your unorthodox methods don’t even have the basic structure; I can’t guide you.”

She leaned closer to look at the red paper, and suddenly her eyes widened.

0 ······Requesting flowers··· ·········

"Seven stars as the foundation? You want to emulate Zhuge Liang borrowing the east wind?"

Chen Qi's brushstrokes flowed like dragons and snakes, and the outline of the Big Dipper appeared on the red paper.

"Zhuge Liang borrowed the opportune moment; I want to build a signal tower."

With a turn of the brush, the eight trigrams were outlined around the seven stars.

"The power of faith is like electromagnetic waves; it always needs a receiver."

Grandma Bai's illusory figure swayed, clearly stunned by this unorthodox metaphor.

She stared at the talisman that was gradually taking shape under Chen Qi's pen, and suddenly gasped.

"You mean...you're going to build the temple inside the interior?"

... ... ....

The pen paused, and Chen Qi looked up with an expression of admiration.

"Senior's wise eyes."

He continued to write.

"The physical body is like a boat, and the inner world is like the sea. Since there are many limitations in the outer hall, why not create another world in the Purple Mansion?"

As the last stroke was made, the entire sheet of red paper shimmered with golden light.

Chen Qi stared at the blank space in the center, lost in thought—the name of the Archbishop should be written here.

Traditional shamans often use simple and unadorned titles such as "Black Mother" or "Third Master Hu," but he is by no means a person who follows the rules.

"The Master of the Heavenly Passage Sect..."

Chen Qi muttered to himself, his pen already falling unconsciously.

Once the four characters were formed, the red paper moved on its own without wind, and the flames of the seven bronze lamps suddenly leaped three feet higher.

Grandma Bai's illusory figure was blurred by the shockwave, and she cried out in alarm.

"What arrogance! Even if Zhang Daoling were alive today, he wouldn't dare... Huh?"

She suddenly fell silent, because she saw that the jade pendant at Chen Qi's waist was emitting a bluish light—it was the mark of the direct descendant of Longhu Mountain.

Chen Qi acted as if he hadn't heard, and began to chant incantations and make hand gestures.

"The Big Dipper shines brightly in the dark. The hall opens to the Purple Palace, and Qi permeates the heavens!" (Spoken)

Chapter 293 Divine Manifestation

The red paper burst into flames, and a wisp of blue smoke condensed and entered his nostrils.

The flames of the seven lamps simultaneously contracted, transforming into seven points of starlight suspended above his head.

Outside the inn, Old Wang, the night watchman, was striking the third watch clapper when he suddenly froze in place.

A strange sight was reflected in his cloudy eyes.

The entire inn was enveloped by seven beams of light, and the Big Dipper in the night sky was dazzlingly bright.