The Path of Incense Godhood and a Fated Encounter

Three cultivation techniques lay before her, each with a distinct focus.

One concentrated on demonic cultivation, quite overbearing, pursuing the ultimate freedom and unrestraint.

Another leaned towards the ghostly path, profoundly chilling, cultivating a Yin spirit capable of existing independently of the physical body.

The third centered on the Path of Incense Godhood, exceptionally profound, delving into various methods of utilizing incense. It promised that with sufficient incense, one could aspire to become a true deity.

‘…’ She had been quite pleased moments ago, but now her lips pouted in resignation.

She had initially thought it was a choice of three, but upon closer inspection, she realized there was only one viable option.

One for ghost cultivation, one for demonic cultivation—what was this supposed to be?

“Grandpa Gui, Grandpa Mo, where did you two find these?” Su Mo asked, her voice laced with a childish lilt, knowing this approach would make both grandfathers reveal everything without reservation.

It was her ‘killer move,’ perfected over many years.

A plea of endearing charm.

Seated at the table, she watched as both men clearly held their own opinions.

Grandpa Gui seemed to favor the ghostly path for her, while Grandpa Mo hoped she would choose demonic cultivation.

It was as if whichever book Su Mo touched would declare one of them the victor.

However, people often favored compromise. By choosing the Path of Incense Godhood, she would gain everyone’s approval.

Unbeknownst to Su Mo, she already possessed the qualifications to cultivate both the demonic and ghostly paths.

“Little Mo Mo, this was something I, your Grandpa Mo, stumbled upon in my youth. Back then…” Grandpa Mo began to boast again.

He always claimed to have stood alone through the ages, witnessing life and death unfold before all beings, determining the rise and fall of destinies.

Ignoring him, Su Mo tilted her head, looking towards Grandpa Gui.

Grandpa Gui stroked his gleaming chin, devoid of a beard, and chuckled:

“Found it. Back then, with my hands in my pockets, I didn’t even know what a true opponent was…”

‘…’ Su Mo rolled her eyes. To be stuck with two such irreverent old men was truly something else.

Yet, many years later, Su Mo suddenly understood that Grandpa Gui’s words were not entirely false.

He had his hands in his pockets, but four other arms extended from his back…

Reaching out, she selected the cultivation technique for the Path of Incense Godhood, then jumped off her stool and immediately darted away.

Unable to wait, she read as she ran, closing the door behind her with a flick of her foot.

With a soft ‘thump,’ she flopped onto the wooden bed and began to read, murmuring to herself.

“’The Daoist Scripture of Precepts for Overcoming Suffering’—what an impressive title…” A surge of delight filled her as she read meticulously.

After the first read, uncertain, she glanced at it again.

On the second read, her brows furrowed slightly. It felt suspiciously like a pyramid scheme, designed to defraud people of their incense offerings?

She repeatedly flipped through the pages, and from the lines between the words, Su Mo could discern only two characters: ‘deception’.

In reality, Su Mo’s interpretation was flawed, but it did capture a certain essence.

The Path of Incense Godhood indeed carried a deceptive undertone.

Its essence lay in making worshippers believe in the Incense God’s abilities, what they could achieve, and which domains they governed.

Once belief took root, a ’cause’ was formed. Then, when Su Mo actually performed an act, people would perceive it as a genuine success.

Thus, a ‘result’ would manifest.

With this cause and effect established, incense would replenish, and after a period of nurturing, a harvest could be reaped.

“My power relies entirely on your imagination!” A sentence spontaneously formed in Su Mo’s mind.

However, her understanding was incomplete; it actually required pairing with the divine name, duties, and authority bestowed by heaven and earth.

For instance, even if a Fire God’s worshippers believed they could summon wind and rain, possessing dominion over water, it would still be futile.

The Fire God could not utilize the seemingly omnipotent incense to achieve such feats or supplement their divine power in relation to water.

This was because, from the moment a divine statue was erected, certain fundamental aspects and broad directions were established and could not be violated.

Su Mo, however, was different. Heaven and earth had not bestowed any such declarations upon her.

Instead, she was free to improvise.

The power of ‘I reckon’ was far from baseless.

Setting down ‘The Daoist Scripture of Precepts for Overcoming Suffering,’ Su Mo fell into deep thought.

That Fox Immortal Temple was her incense god temple, intrinsically linked to her future and her prospects in the Path of Incense Godhood.

She needed to manage it diligently, ultimately striving to open ‘chain stores’ and spread her incense offerings across all four seas and eight wildernesses.

Rolling on the bed, pondering how to extensively spread incense, she suddenly paused, remembering the ‘temple steward selection’ three years hence.

“Although I’m not yet an adult, can I still intervene? After all, the villagers are gradually noticing how strikingly similar I look to the Fox Immortal…” Su Mo mused aloud.

Thus, while devising her ‘deceptive schemes,’ she simultaneously worked to strengthen her influence within the three major villages.

Day after day, over three years of diligent effort, many people had come to acknowledge Su Mo’s identity as the ‘Fox Immortal’s Saintess’.

The villagers believed that Su Mo had likely been favored by the Fox Immortal and was destined to follow them in the future.

Consequently, all the young men who secretly admired Su Mo retreated, abandoning their romantic notions.

“Who knew there would be an unexpected bonus?” Su Mo, a budding beauty, was already slender and graceful at twelve, unlike any ordinary mortal girl.

They say a beautiful face can bring disaster, and that beauty played as a solitary card often leads to nightmares.

Su Mo agreed with this sentiment, having sensed that some individuals harbored covetous desires for her.

Once, a cultivator passing by was utterly astonished by her beauty, visiting her two grandfathers multiple times to make a request.

She heard it was to arrange a child marriage.

And then? Nothing. It ended in every conceivable way.

She still remembered that day when Grandpa Mo returned, shouldering an iron shovel with traces of mud on its edge.

He greeted Grandpa Gui with a hearty laugh:

“Planting this kind of ‘vegetable’ is quite interesting.”

“Is it planted well? Make sure it doesn’t grow crooked,” Grandpa Gui asked, concerned.

Making a gesture, Grandpa Mo chuckled:

“Don’t worry, no one can crawl out… bah! The ‘vegetable’ has its roots firmly buried.”

“That’s good then.”

‘…’ Su Mo vaguely sensed something amiss, but it wasn’t until much later that she fully understood what that cultivator had done in his desire to possess her.

The word ‘wicked’ seemed almost inadequate to describe it.

****

“Crack! Pop! Bang!” Firecrackers exploded outside the Fox Immortal Temple, and nearly all the villagers had gathered, creating a lively atmosphere.

In the year Su Mo turned twelve, everyone acknowledged her as the little temple steward.

Now, she followed an elderly grandmother in her sixties, learning the various duties of a temple steward.

Her status had suddenly elevated, no longer resembling that of a mere village girl.

Naturally, the children who once sought Su Mo for play had all disappeared.

Though it appeared she was isolated, Su Mo was actually quite content with this development.

“We were never meant to walk the same path.” Su Mo understood that she would eventually leave this secluded village in pursuit of the Grand Dao.

When they met again many years later, perhaps it would be within the Fox Immortal Temple itself.

By then, Su Mo would embody the perspective of the Fox Immortal, looking down from above through the haze of incense smoke upon the myriad of beings, listening to their various pleas and desires.

“Chime~ Chime~” The wind chimes near her feet rang, and Su Mo looked down at her ankle.

She had seen the Fox Immortal statue; that deity had a string of bells, a Resonance Bell, on its right ankle.

Since childhood, both grandfathers had tied a bell to her, and she had always thought it was an item she’d possessed before.

It was also the Resonance Bell corresponding to the statue.

Yet, after observing it for so many years, she hadn’t discovered anything peculiar about the bell on her ankle. Apart from its red color, its appearance differed greatly from the Resonance Bell.

It resembled a wind chime.

“Whoosh…” Wind whispered past her ears, and Su Mo brushed her hair back, gazing towards the distant fields.

Across the golden rice paddies, several large green trees stood, propping up the azure sky.

In the breeze, Su Mo narrowed her eyes slightly, spotting an unexpected figure on the horizon.

‘Xu Qingzhu?’ she murmured to herself, her surprise quickly fading into indifference.

Picking up the small ceremonial staff, Su Mo averted her gaze and continued on her way.

The old temple steward said they needed to pray for rain for the village today.

Whether it would be effective or not was beyond Su Mo’s immediate concern. There was so much to learn about the Path of Incense Godhood; for now, she simply let the divine statue do its thing.

After dabbling in the incense path for three years, she might not have achieved complete enlightenment, but she had at least acquired some proficiency.

Though she hadn’t quite ‘grown her fur’ yet.

“Thud-thud-thud…” Walking along the small dirt path, Su Mo kept her head down, the sounds of wind and footsteps echoing in her ears.

People passed her by, and in a moment of distraction, the figure ahead paused.

His dark hair danced in the wind, and as he turned, it blew across his eyes.

Watching Su Mo’s petite figure retreat into the distance, he fell into a prolonged reverie.

“…Is it her?” Xu Qingzhu had searched for many years, encountering several girls who bore some resemblance to Su Mo.

However, after a brief investigation, he always found they were not the same person and promptly moved on.

This time, his instructions had led him to an incense god temple—the Fox Immortal Temple.

“First, I’ll examine the Fox Immortal Temple, then assess the situation with that little girl… Thud-thud…”

Footsteps resumed, and the two walked in opposite directions, growing ever more distant from each other.