Chapter 64

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The Land God lay on his bed, sensing the life force within him rapidly ebbing away.

The incense offerings were too impure…

He reflected, a wave of regret washing over him.

If only he had known, he would never have accepted such things.

Surrounded by friends who had come to see him off, he noticed that their expressions didn’t seem all that pleasant. Heh… of course. As fellow Land Gods, witnessing his fall likely stirred feelings of sorrow within them. They were not only grieving his death and the departure of a friend but also feeling a deep fear—seeing in his fate a reflection of their own eventual demise.

Compared to ordinary beasts, humans were already considered immortal.

Compared to mortals, Daoists who could live up to 120 years were truly long-lived.

And for him, to enjoy three to five centuries of carefree existence—wasn’t that also a kind of longevity?

But longevity always had its end. In his youth, he had been brimming with ambition, willing to face death unflinchingly in pursuit of his great aspirations.

Yet, the longer one lived, the more one feared death. The dread of mortality weighed heavier on Earth Deities than on common folk…

The old Land Deity tried to speak, but no words came. His Primordial Spirit and essence were dissipating, his mind pierced by bursts of sharp pain. His vision blurred and flickered, as if caught between reality and illusion. In his fading sight, he saw a young boy kneeling down and worshipping him. The boy pleaded, expressing his hope to study and pass the imperial examinations so that his parents would no longer toil so arduously. He spoke of how his parents had taught him to cherish food through their daily labors and how he aspired to become an upright official.

The boy eventually passed the imperial examinations and became an official. Yet when he returned, he had grown increasingly greedy with every step he took.

The youth who had once tearfully lamented his inability to spare his parents from their forced labor now wasted enough food at a single banquet to feed five hundred people.

There was also the young woman who prayed fervently for a fated match to marry into a wealthy family.

In the end, she could not withstand her loneliness and took a lover in secret. Others came to bow quietly before him, silently praying for their elder brothers to perish on their trading journeys so they could claim a larger share of the family inheritance. Some begged for their adulterous affairs to remain hidden. A kindly old woman, with a seemingly gentle face, whispered a plea for her daughter-in-law to bear a son; if it were a daughter, she prayed for a miscarriage—yes, a miscarriage would be best.

Later still, those who knelt in worship, vowing to serve as upright officials and bring real change, harbored schemes in their minds of how to climb the ladder of power step by step.

They promised to gild his statue in gold, but in the end, merely scattered a few specks of gold dust in repayment of their vows.

Scene after scene invaded his mind, overwhelming the dying old Land Deity’s consciousness with chaos. In a daze, he found himself standing atop a grand platform. Again, atop that same high platform, gazing down at the worshippers below. They knelt, faces full of sincerity. And yet, he was also among them, kneeling on the ground, lifting his head to look up at the statue towering above him. He gasped! The statue’s face—it was unmistakably his own.

Everyone was bowing to him.

Everyone worshipped themselves.

Slowly, the Land Deity began to forget who he was.

When he raised his head, he was the impoverished scholar desperate for success.

When he turned around, he was the younger brother wishing death upon his elder sibling.

And then, he burst into laughter.

It was the old woman who had prayed for her daughter-in-law to miscarry after giving birth to a girl. She now hid in the firewood shed, chuckling to herself in secret—like a weasel that had watched a chicken die.

Lord Juyun Lingmiao sighed, his gaze heavy with sorrow. “…He can no longer maintain the essence of his spirit. The incense offerings only gather the desires of all living beings.”

[TL_Note: Juyun = Gathering Clouds, it’s part of his title]

“To control them, one must possess the great enlightenment to suppress such desires. Otherwise, they should simply be left to scatter with the winds.”

“He’s reached his end…”

Unwilling to witness the Land Deity’s fall any longer, Lord Juyun Lingmiao let out a long sigh and turned to leave.

Such a death was not the result of life’s natural end but the collapse of one’s spirit.

I can no longer recognize [myself].

How truly pitiable.

As he departed, his eyes suddenly caught sight of three thin incense sticks rising from below. At first, he thought nothing of it, but then he remembered. The old Land Deity had poisoned himself by recklessly absorbing impure incense offerings. As his strength faded, even a wisp of pure incense became unattainable, leaving him teetering on the brink of death. Yet now, in his dying moments, three slender sticks of pure incense had appeared. Lord Lingmiao couldn’t help but feel the cruel irony of fate and the indifference of the world.

“Such is the impermanence of worldly affairs…”

Lord Lingmiao sighed deeply.

With a sweep of his sleeve, he gently directed the three sticks of incense toward the Land Deity. The thin threads of smoke wafted over to him as Lord Lingmiao turned and began to walk away.

Yet, he failed to notice the faint strands of purple that emerged from the incense.

Extremely pure and upright!

Completely devoid of selfish desires or personal longing. It was a manifestation of pure gratitude.

As the incense merged with the Land Deity, it suddenly seeped into his being. The old Land God, who had been lost amidst the chaotic desires and karmic ties represented by the incense offerings, whose true spirit had almost dissipated, and whose essence had been corroded by countless impure thoughts, suddenly felt a surge of clarity. This singularly pure and righteous gratitude suppressed the chaotic energy in an instant.

The Earth Deity’s erratic breath stabilized in the blink of an eye.

Lord Lingmiao, who had already walked several steps away, sensed the anomaly and turned sharply, astonished. The other gathered Earth Deities were also dumbfounded. Their gazes locked onto the thin column of incense smoke, shock written across their faces. Who could have offered such incense? How could it possess such extraordinary weight—so much so that it could help a Land Deity on the verge of collapse, consumed by chaotic desires, reassemble his spirit, and extend his life again?!

What kind of pure and untainted cultivation was this!

What kind of singularly righteous and steadfast will?!

Lord Juyun Lingmiao rushed back in several swift steps, pressing his hand against the brow of the unconscious Land Deity. After a few breaths of examination, he muttered in disbelief: “All the distracting thoughts and desires have been suppressed. Who could have done this?”

“Was it a True Person of the Daoist Path, one who has traversed the mortal world yet maintained a heart of clarity and unwavering righteousness?”

“Or could it have been an Arhat of the Buddhist Path, one who, after witnessing the Eight Sufferings of the world, vowed to deliver all beings?”

The Mountain Gods and Land Deities surrounding them were utterly speechless, stunned by what had transpired. Only the Mountain God of Juyun Peak stepped forward in a hurry, asking anxiously: “Is Brother Zhou alright now?”

[TL_Note: Just to clarify in case it’s confusing, the mountain god of Juyun Peak is a different person from Lord Juyun Lingmiao]

Lord Lingmiao nodded: “Yes…”

Only then did his tone return to his usual calmness and he replied: “The chaotic desires in the incense have been suppressed. At the very least, his lifespan has been extended by three months.”

A single offering of three sticks of pure incense had prolonged the Land Deity’s life by three months.

It wasn’t just the surrounding Mountain Gods and Land Gods who were astonished. Even Lord Lingmiao found it unbelievable. Instinctively, he reached out his hand to grasp the lingering wisp of fragrance, attempting to trace it back to its source, yet he could catch nothing. As his divine power circulated, the final wisp of smoke dissipated entirely. Within the ethereal haze of smoke, it seemed as though the gentle voice of a youth could faintly be heard:

“Many thanks to the Land God for granting shelter for the night.”

Calm and unhurried, yet ripples stirred in the hearts of all the Earth Gods. Lord Lingmiao stroked his beard, glancing at the old Land God who had fallen into a deep slumber. He then thought about how many Earth Deities suffered from the burden of incense offerings. This individual’s methods were so profound—if he could be invited to help, perhaps the situation of these many Earth Deities could be stabilized. At the very least, it might allow this old Earth Deity behind him to survive.

Three months is still too short… there’s not enough time to repair his connection to the Earth Veins.

Thus, he immediately dispatched one of the Earth Deities with exceptional mastery of the earth-escape technique to investigate.

It wasn’t long before the Earth Deity returned, his voice heavy and muffled: “Old Zhou’s Earth Temple has already collapsed. I couldn’t find anything at all.”

“I could just find this incense burner.”

He held a single incense burner in his arms.

All that remained within was a scant amount of fresh incense ash—lonesome and strikingly conspicuous.

Placing the incense burner down, another Land Deity arrived shortly after and reported:

“I went to ask the [Chaofeng] and [Jiaotu] atop the city gate towers of this great city.”

“They see far and wide. Though they lack other abilities, they can perceive things invisible to ordinary eyes. No demon or cultivator can escape their gaze. I thought they might know something unusual, so I sought their counsel.”

The Mountain God of Juyun Peak interjected: “And? What did they say? Did they see a young Daoist priest like the one we’re searching for?”

The Land Deity with the earth-escape skill wore a peculiar expression as he answered: “Those two pretended to be dead…”

“No matter how I called out to them, they wouldn’t respond.”

“They acted like statues carved from real stone.”

“Not even their eyes moved.”

The Mountain God of Juyun Peak was stunned. Lord Lingmiao sighed and said: “Blending into the crowd and even making [Chaofeng] and [Jiaotu] refuse to reveal his origins. He must truly be a Daoist True Person with extraordinary abilities. Those two may not have great divine powers, but their sharp perception is unmatched, especially in discerning advantages and avoiding danger…”

Someone nearby asked: “Then how should we go about finding this person now?”

Lord Lingmiao hesitated for a long time before finally saying:

“If we use divination to locate him, it may come across as disrespectful. However, this matter concerns the life and death of a Land Deity.”

“I have no choice but to risk offense…”

“When the time comes, I will personally offer my apologies and make amends.”

Lord Juyun Lingmiao clasped his hands in a gesture of apology, then lifted the incense burner with his left hand and pinched a trace of incense ash with his right.

Though he was an Earth Deity, having cultivated for many years to become the guardian of a region’s ancestral vein, his mastery of Daoist mystical arts was also profound.

Taking a step forward, he invoked the power of the Earth Veins to channel his divine ability.

He sought to use divination to trace the young Daoist [footprints]. In an instant, the Earth Veins and feng shui beneath his feet shifted. The principles of feng shui prioritize orientation, which is why Land Deities and Mountain Gods excel in such arts. As he performed his incantations, the atmosphere transformed into one of grandeur and mystery. Lord Lingmiao, revered as the “Great Saint of the Zhongzhou, Great Compassion, and Spiritually Wondrous Lord of Mystical Arts”, swept his sleeve, releasing an aura of profound power.

He began the incantation to deduce the whereabouts of the young Daoist.

To praise and say:

“Taishang Xuanling…”