The Divine Statue’s Foundation

A soft hum resonated, and a figure flashed past, startling Gong Nianxian.

Upon closer inspection, it was none other than the Ghost General, who leaped down from the cliff to catch Su Mo’s sleeping soul.

Following closely behind, Gong Nianxian understood that the critical moment had arrived.

He watched as the Ghost General used the Soul-Nourishing Lamp to once again gather Su Mo’s complete soul.

He remained silent, then turned to look back at Gong Nianxian.

“Old fellow, are you ready?” the Ghost General asked gravely.

As it concerned Su Mo’s future, the matter had to be taken seriously.

Gong Nianxian gave the buffalo horn a final touch, then reluctantly lowered his arm and nodded.

“Then let’s go choose a location.” The two beings headed for the Ghost Gate. Stepping through it, they returned to the mortal realm.

This time, they concealed their presence, without drawing undue attention.

Their objective was clear, and they flew directly in one direction.

Upon reaching three villages nestled by mountains and rivers, each separated by towering peaks, the two stopped.

“The geomancy here is excellent,” the Ghost General remarked with profound emotion. “Those mountain ranges form a dragon and tiger configuration, possessing the ability to ward off evil. Residing in this area, one can live in peace and prosperity, rarely encountering ghosts or monsters.”

He was an Incense God, and also, in a sense, a ghost. Naturally, he could clearly perceive the repelling force that made him wish to distance himself from this place.

For irrational ghosts and monsters, they would instinctively bypass this place.

“Indeed, it’s excellent. These three villages, with hundreds of households, can provide a transitional phase for Su Mo’s Path of Incense Godhood, and there’s no need to worry about too many disturbances.” Gong Nianxian nodded, his expression serious.

With both in agreement, the two silently flew into the mountain forest, completely unnoticed by the ‘mortals’ in the villages, or even by the masters who had entered the Dao through their skills.

After all, the strongest individual in the villages was only nearing the Golden Core realm.

“Coo-coo~ coo-coo~” resounded through the forest, as birds chirped softly.

The wind rustled fallen leaves, and faint signs of life hid in the grass, peeking out with their curious little heads.

Amidst this vibrant life, beams of light piercing through the trees added a touch of serenity.

The two surveyed their surroundings. Their eyes were not ordinary; they could discern deeper layers of fate, geomancy, and natural currents.

Following the auspicious omens, they selected a spot for Su Mo’s divine temple to take root.

“Splash!” Spring water surged, cascading down against the rock face, raising a fine mist that diffused over the pond below.

Above the small waterfall, they observed their surroundings. The two followed the spring upstream, deeper into the mountain forest.

Gradually, a delicate fragrance wafted through the forest. The green woods now boasted numerous blossoms, hanging from the branches.

They saw colorful butterflies fluttering, and in a flat area within the mountains, stood a towering boulder.

The boulder was embraced by vines, and at its base, numerous fresh flowers clustered.

Foxes, wolves, and rabbits lay coiled, resting, surprisingly coexisting peacefully, basking in the sun and looking utterly lazy.

Slightly surprised, Gong Nianxian turned his head and asked:

“Is this the place you’ve chosen? It’s rich in spiritual energy and carries a hint of the Great Dao of Nature… This boulder, I fear, could nurture mountain spirits, couldn’t it?”

“Naturally,” the Ghost General replied with a smile, stepping forward to observe. “If a cultivator were to discover it, they would surely bring it into their sect to refine it into various magical artifacts. The fact that we see it now indicates this item has a destiny with us.”

The group of animals showed no sign of noticing them, as if the demon and the ghost didn’t exist.

“Are you planning to use this to establish Su Mo’s divine statue?” Gong Nianxian asked, pondering the feasibility.

The choice of a divine statue was not a trivial matter. The initial materials used would, to a certain extent, influence Su Mo’s future Path of Incense Godhood.

For instance, if raw crimson stone from molten fire were used, then the resulting Incense God would mostly be a deity mastering ‘fire’.

Now, with this boulder as the primary material, Su Mo’s domain might relate to nature, spiritual energy, vitality, mountains, and rivers.

This would be a very standard Incense God of natural mountains and rivers, and certainly not a bad one.

But it might not be exceptionally brilliant.

“Old fellow, it’s time to dig into our personal hoards,” the Ghost General said in a low voice.

The main material for the divine statue was important, but auxiliary materials were equally crucial.

A divine statue couldn’t just stand there as a bare body, could it? Clothing, accessories, accompanying divine beasts, and attendant immortal children would naturally require some effort.

Were both of them truly impoverished? They could first build a divine palace, fill it with Heavenly Soldiers and Generals, and then erect a majestic divine statue for Su Mo.

Of course, with such a grand scale, the probability of gaining approval from other immortals and gods would sharply decrease.

The principle of virtue not matching position was a saying applicable everywhere.

They were poor, and could only opt for a ‘youth version’ as much as possible.

“You don’t need to tell me; I’ve practically emptied my pockets,” Gong Nianxian exaggerated.

“Hey! There’s no need for that,” the Ghost General said, raising a hand to stop him.

“…”

The two pondered, gradually revealing a considerable amount of gold coins.

The Ghost General produced a pile of ornaments which, upon inspection, resembled burial objects.

“You fiend, did you dig up someone’s ancestral grave?” Gong Nianxian asked, astonished.

Narrowing his eyes, the Ghost General explained that these were low-grade magical artifacts collected over many years, merely imbued with the aura of the Underworld.

On the other side, Gong Nianxian laid out several blood-colored garments. Pondering, he also pulled out a long string of blood-bead necklaces, bracelets, dyed red cords, and hair ties.

Frowning, the Ghost General said disdainfully:

“Old fellow, did you slaughter an entire family to dye these few sets of clothes and ornaments?”

“Nonsense,” Gong Nianxian said reluctantly, stroking the red garment. “These are all excellent items, dyed with special blood I collected over many years of campaigning. This red garment alone was dyed with the blood of no less than nine exotic spirit birds. Its power is unfathomable, understand?”

He went on to explain that the red cords were made from extracted tendons, the blood beads were boiled down from spirit beasts, and the hair ties were condensed from True Demon blood.

In short, it was all rather sinister.

“If you go about it this way, Su Mo’s Path of Incense Godhood will take a rather strange turn,” the Ghost General hesitated.

Feeling indignant, Gong Nianxian retorted:

“Your pile isn’t that also thick with Underworld aura? Are they not all ghostly artifacts? What? Do you look down on my demonic artifacts?”

Upon reflection, he realized it was indeed the case. If Su Mo were to embody both ghostly and demonic attributes, they would have a much easier time guiding her.

All their skills could then be passed on.

Brilliant!

It was truly peculiar: a fox demon, a True Demon, a Ghost God, an Incense God, and a human soul…

One could only exclaim:

“Child, you are invincible!”

With these preparations, the Ghost General’s gaze swept across their surroundings once more.

The creatures there now sensed a faint aura of ghosts and demons, and grew tense.

In a blink, a ferocious Ghost God appeared, smiling as he asked:

“I have a great opportunity here. Are you interested in learning about it?”

Whether fox legs, wolf legs, or rabbit legs, all of them went limp, trembling as they gazed at the towering Ghost General.

They heard him grin maliciously and say:

“You have absorbed the spiritual energy of this boulder for a long time, gaining a degree of sentience and forming a connection with it, becoming a part of it. Now, an opportunity to ascend to heaven is before you. I hope you will cherish it.”

“Later, you will lie beneath the boulder, empty your minds, and carefully perceive. Whether you succeed or not depends entirely on your compatibility with Su Mo… That is all I have to say. Will you seize this chance?”

Their懵懂 (muddled) beast eyes blinked, filled with confusion.

‘Seize this chance’? What was that? Could it be eaten?

But vaguely, they understood that it was best to huddle beneath the boulder, no matter what.

They could only obediently crawl over, their hind legs already weak with fear.

Looking back, they saw the terrifying Ghost General lecturing a few trees.

It was the same set of words: cherish, seize the chance.

After speaking, he pulled up the trees… and…

“Thump!” He placed them behind the boulder, standing them upright. These trees truly fit, without the slightest sense of incongruity.

“Excellent, this adds another touch of nature,” the Ghost General said, clapping his hands as he finished.

“…” The silent animals, with a strange unanimity, thought:

‘We weren’t tricked, were we?’