Chapter 24

One to one, the next match would be the most critical.

Watching Xun Tan return to Xun Yi's side, the City God of Bayang County said, "For the third match, who will fight?"

Another person stood up beside him, choosing the lake as the battlefield.

Xun Yi and Xun Tan discussed, and Xun Tan smiled, "Is this a dragon?"

The third person sent by the City God of Bayang County was a carefully cultivated companion, a red dragon.

The higher the rank of a deity, the greater their divine powers, and their methods became more mysterious. At the Fourth Heaven, one could create a small world and choose companions within it. At even higher levels, one could create three thousand worlds to train their subordinates.

This red dragon stood out in such a world. The City God of Bayang County even arranged for the dragon to undergo trials at a Dragon King's Dragon Gate, receiving a dragon aura baptism, which greatly enhanced its power.

The red dragon entered the lake, stirring up thousands of waves. Xun Tan said to the person beside him, "Auntie Xue, I ask you to take this battle."

Auntie Xue?

Xun Yi was startled, seeing a woman in white appear beside Xun Tan. This woman had skin like congealed fat, exuding a seductive charm. Wasn't she Auntie Xue who had taken care of him since childhood?

Why was she here? Wait, she had divine powers? Xun Yi's heart was filled with shock. Focusing his divine senses, he saw white light shining behind Auntie Xue, with fluffy white fox tails swaying.

A fox spirit!

Not the usual nickname, but a true fox spirit.

"Six tails, heavenly aura, this is a woman who walks the path of the Heavenly Fox." The other City Gods, upon seeing Auntie Xue's face, admired her and were also somewhat envious. "It seems she has reached the peak of the Third Heaven. If she joins our side, we might have a goddess of the divine level in the future."

Deities, besides their divine duties, also have emotions and desires, especially these City Gods, who were mostly deified after death and still retained their human desires. Seeing Auntie Xue's beauty, their hearts stirred. Moreover, among the five types of foxes—Heavenly, Spirit, Demon, and Monster—this female spirit chose the most difficult path of the Heavenly Fox, which would greatly enhance their side's strength.

A Heavenly Fox gathers divine nature and receives incense offerings, similar to the cultivation of deities.

A Spirit Fox focuses on wisdom, refining its spiritual nature, a path of spiritual cultivation. At the Fifth Heaven, it transforms into a divine being.

A Demon Fox causes chaos, devouring essence and harming lives. Many dynasties' collapses have been linked to such foxes.

As for a Monster Fox, it is even more vicious, generally not tolerated in the world.

Among the three benevolent foxes, the Heavenly Fox has the most difficult path. They seek enlightenment through the Heavenly Dao, pursuing a thread of life from the universe, achieving the highest accomplishments. However, probing the Heavenly Dao invites divine retribution, so each growth comes with a tribulation. Nine tails, nine tribulations, breaking through to become a deity.

"One tail, one tribulation. A six-tailed Heavenly Fox must have passed six tribulations," the City Gods admired. Each tribulation is a matter of life and death, only those with great determination can pass.

Auntie Xue nodded to Xun Yi and stepped into the arena. On the side of the Chu Lu demons, a woman stared at Auntie Xue, seemingly remembering something, and then fixed her gaze on Xun Yi's face, her eyes wide with surprise and joy: "Finally found you!"

Instinctively, the woman wanted to approach Xun Yi but was stopped by an old man beside her: "Don't move. This is a gathering of deities. What are you going to do? Disturbing the deities, do you want to die?"

The woman came to her senses and stood quietly beside Old Tree, watching the battle on the lake: "Old Willow, who do you think will win this battle?"

"The red dragon controls the water, having the advantage in the lake. But in terms of realm, it has just entered the Third Heaven, and its main strength is the dragon aura that intimidates all spirits. After all, this is the age of dragons, and the dragon aura restrains all races. However, the Heavenly Fox has passed six tribulations, a person of great wisdom, courage, and determination. This battle is hard to predict."

In terms of strength, Auntie Xue is definitely stronger, but the outcome of the battle in the lake is uncertain.

Auntie Xue herself didn't have as many thoughts as others, walking gracefully on the water.

The red dragon, sensing Auntie Xue's overwhelming power, preemptively stirred the waves to attack.

However, it was all in vain. Any attack on Auntie Xue dissipated, and droplets of clear water fell back into the lake. The woman smiled, holding a water-repelling pearl, calmly watching the red dragon's attacks. "This water spray is nice. Try more. See if you can hurt me at all."

"The Heavenly Fox has won this battle." The City Gods, after watching the water-repelling pearl, all agreed: "This pearl is from the mermaids, who once rivaled dragons. This woman, having passed six tribulations, is far superior to a mere red dragon." As they spoke, Auntie Xue transformed into a massive six-tailed Heavenly Fox, a hundred feet tall, and struck the lake with its large claws, sending the red dragon ashore, its fate unknown.

Auntie Xue transformed back into human form and smiled at Xun Yi: "Young Master, I have not failed you."

Xun Yi looked at Auntie Xue, this aunt who had taken care of him since childhood seemed somewhat unfamiliar. But then he thought, if she wanted to harm him, why wait until now?

The details can be discussed later. Xun Yi, having thought it through, smiled at the City God of Bayang County: "Two wins, one loss. Brother, what do you have to say?"

The City God of Bayang County glared at the scarred man beside him: This is the human you spoke of? Where did this mere human find so many helpers!

The City God's face turned ashen, and he silently threw the token, conceding defeat.

"The third match goes to Longchuan." The scribe beside the Martial King of Zhao Ling wrote down the result: "Chu Lu now belongs to Longchuan."

Chu Lu, a vast area, spontaneously gathered red auspicious clouds that flew to Xun Yi's head. A mountain and river canopy opened above his head, adding another mountain to Longchuan's territory.

Subconsciously, the City God's domain expanded, and his divine power increased slightly.

"Is this why City Gods favor land?" Xun Yi smiled, accepting the congratulations of the other City Gods. The Martial King of Zhao Ling sent everyone back to the Dragon Palace of the Zhou Dynasty.

"You may leave if you have no further business." The matter settled, the Martial King of Zhao Ling yawned, starting to dismiss the guests.

The City Gods, having enjoyed the spectacle, bid farewell and left.

Xun Yi bowed to the Martial King of Zhao Ling and was about to leave.

"Wait." The Martial King of Zhao Ling called out to Xun Yi, then fell silent for a moment before saying, "I see the stars falling in the north, with ominous energy stirring. Longchuan will soon face a great calamity. Take care of yourself." With that, he dismissed all the City Gods and closed the doors of the Dragon Palace of the Zhou Dynasty.

In the dark hall, a square tripod rose, inscribed with the words "Benefit the Central Kingdom, to pacify the four directions." This was the square tripod established by Maode Gong, modeled after the Nine Tripods of the human race, to stabilize the Zhou Dynasty's fortune.

The spirit pool in the tripod shimmered, with a golden dragon playing in the water.

"Maode Gong, your child has some of your style. Even if you don't return, the Xun family can maintain their influence in the heavens." The Martial King of Zhao Ling muttered to himself, his gaze worried as he looked at the small dragon in the tripod. Since the disappearance of Maode Gong and the High Ancestor Emperor ten years ago, the Zhou Dynasty's fortune had been very strange. The lotus leaves and flowers in the spirit pool had withered, and a misty fog enveloped the tripod, but the golden dragon remained unharmed, and the fortune was still stable.

"You two should hurry back. Without you, I, a City God of the Fifth Heaven, can't control the situation." He felt anxious, thinking about the disappearance of the High Ancestor Emperor and Maode Gong.

"Their divine power when they ascended was stronger than mine. They were just investigating the Abyss of Demons, so why haven't they returned after so long? Could something have really gone wrong?"

At the entrance of the Dragon Palace of the Zhou Dynasty, the Chu Lu demons, using the Demon Summoning Banner, built a rainbow bridge to return to Chu Lu. One of the women saw Xun Yi and the Longchuan deities preparing to board their divine carriages and hurriedly stepped forward.

"Lord, wait." The woman blocked the path of the deities, staring directly at Xun Yi: "Lord, do you remember the red fox you saved three years ago?"

"Red fox?" Xun Yi frowned, thinking hard but drawing a blank. Just as he was about to speak, Auntie Xue's expression changed, and she whispered in Xun Yi's ear: "Young Master, have you forgotten the young animals you released in the mountains with the old master three years ago?"

Hearing this, Xun Yi vaguely remembered the hunting trip. At the time, due to hunting rules, he had released the young animals he had caught, including a very noticeable red fox.

"Are you that red fox?"

"Yes." The woman looked at the young man nervously. Originally, she had planned to wait a few more years, cultivate further, and then go to the human world to repay him, creating a beautiful story of gratitude. But now that Xun Yi had become a deity, and a high-ranking one at that, there was almost nothing she could do to help him.

"Lord, is there anything you need help with?" The woman couldn't help but ask.

Xun Yi, having never lacked for anything and with a wide network of connections, couldn't think of anything he needed help with at the moment.

Suddenly, he saw the Chu Lu demons in the distance and pointed to them: "I have just taken in the Chu Lu demons. They have been free and wild, and it may be difficult for them to follow orders. If you can help me pacify the Chu Lu demons, that would be the greatest repayment to me."

The woman understood, bowed, and went to find her companions.

"I have heard of this spirit fox in Chu Lu." The Mountain God of Chu Lu smiled at Xun Yi: "She has some influence in Chu Lu. It seems that the integration of Chu Lu into Longchuan will be smooth."

"An unintentional good deed years ago has won the loyalty of a mountain's worth of demons. Lord, you truly have great fortune." The City God of Jinglong praised: "If you can use this mother fox to integrate Chu Lu, eliminating conflict, it will be a great virtue."

"What virtue? It's just a matter of coincidence."

"How can it not be virtue?" Auntie Xue smiled: "As the saying goes, action is virtue, and the body is morality. When your actions align with your intentions, and others benefit and are grateful, that is virtue and good deeds."

Auntie Xue's words struck a chord with Xun Yi.

What is virtue?

"According to the deities, serving the heavens and earth will earn heavenly merit. Benefiting living beings, who will remember your kindness, will earn the power of their wishes. One day, one person, this is virtue." Thinking of the merit book in the City God's residence, Xun Yi's mind cleared: "But for oneself, the heart is action, and the nature is morality. Understanding one's own heart is the manifestation of action, and thoroughly understanding one's own nature is the manifestation of morality."

"If we further discuss virtue, all external actions are actions. Only one's own moral norms and changes in character are one's own morality. This is what Auntie Xue meant by action being virtue and the body being morality."

In other words, action is the practical implementation, whether it's helping others, following the heavenly path, or self-reflection to improve one's moral character, all of these are actions.

Morality is the inherent quality, understood through actions, which is the inherent character.

The heart is action, the nature is morality, this is the principle of virtue.

External actions, internal cultivation, this is the method of virtue.

Heavenly actions, human benefits, this is the path of virtue.

With the heart of virtue, a golden-green seed of the Dao was deeply planted in the spiritual platform of the mind.

Humans have three dantians: the qi sea three inches below the navel, the golden gate at the chest, and the mud pill palace at the forehead.

Cultivating qi, one starts from the lower dantian, gradually opening the golden gate at the chest, and activating the mud pill palace at the forehead. For the still-mortal Xun Yi, his mud pill palace was a barren wasteland. The seed of the Dao sank into the earth, losing its vitality.

Though there are wise people among humans, with extraordinary intelligence, few achieve enlightenment. The reason is that while they can understand the great Dao, they cannot transform the truth of the Dao into their own divine nature.

If nothing unexpected happened, the point of virtue that Xun Yi had understood today would be forgotten after a good night's sleep. With the next day's actions, the just-cleaned spiritual platform would be covered in dust again.

However, an unexpected event occurred!

As the golden-green seed of virtue was about to dissipate, a rain of virtue fell like a sweet dew.

At this moment, Long Ge returned to the Heavenly Palace to report, recording the merits of the City Gods. The heavenly merit was automatically recorded in the merit book and entered the bodies of the City Gods.

Not only Xun Yi, but also the City God of Jinglong and others felt the merit entering their bodies. However, they had a significant difference from Xun Yi. They were officially appointed City Gods, and the merit entered their bodies. Xun Yi, being a temporary substitute, had the merit split in half, with half entering his body and the other half sealed in the merit book of the City God of Longchuan County.

Understanding the heart of virtue, the sweet dew of virtue rained down.

Taking advantage of the virtue rain, the golden-green seed of the Dao took root in the barren and poor spiritual platform. As the rain and clouds dissipated, a seed sprouted from the spiritual platform. A green sprout swayed, surrounded by a slowly rising golden ring.

The first realm of the Nine Heavens—Taihe Heaven!

"Interesting, this is truly the will of heaven." Long Ge, having just completed his mission and walked out of the Heavenly Palace, suddenly sensed something and lowered his divine eyes to the human world. He saw Xun Yi understanding the heart of virtue and refining the seed of the Dao of virtue.

This prince was greatly surprised: "Although I deliberately gave him more heavenly merit, he has already laid the foundation for a deity of virtue? In a few days, with a few more good deeds, he can stabilize his realm and begin true cultivation as a deity." Long Ge, while munching on a meat bun, implanted the method of virtue into Xun Yi's mind.

"The Dao of virtue was created by the Flame Emperor, the most orthodox path for our deities of fortune. Boy, after all, you are of the lineage of the deities of fortune!" Mobile users, please visit http://m.piaotia.net

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