Chapter 512: The true face of Wushen Mountain

Within the Shaman God Mountain range, there was a peak named Mystic Radiance Mountain.

The Zong people said this place had no name, and it must have been named by this Mountain God, not officially recorded in the Shaman God Mountain's name registry, so it didn't count.

However, Li Qi didn't care. Since the locals already had a name, he would call it that.

At this moment, the Mystic Radiance Mountain God was paying respects to Li Qi, but Li Qi had told him to leave and attend to matters, yet this Mountain God, named Niu Huang, hadn't left.

“Hmm? Is there a problem?” Li Qi asked again.

Niu Huang immediately knelt on his front legs, lowered his head, and said, “This humble god’s learning is shallow, and his abilities are meager. Today, I have the Opportunity to witness a Invoker establish his Immortal Cave. This is the beginning of his diligent efforts to spread his influence. Having been entrusted with a position by the Invoker, and being the first to be promoted to oversee the laws, this humble god, not overestimating himself, wishes to exert his utmost strength to assist the Invoker in revitalizing the discipline, bringing about a fresh outlook, and ensuring clarity in the new Immortal Cave, where humans, gods, and demons will all be enlightened!”

Li Qi chuckled upon hearing this and said, “You want me to bestow a title upon you? It seems this is our first meeting today. Where did you get such audacity?”

Niu Huang immediately replied, “All the Anomolus Spirits, big and small, on this mountain know my name. The villages below the mountain, whether demon or human, all worship me. The Fengshui and Qi of this mountain are orderly, the seasonal changes occur on time, the mountains, waters, and plants are prosperous, and the villages and demon dens flourish. All of this is my doing, which is why I was chosen as a god. It’s just that in the past, I had no means or way to voice it. Now that I have met a Invoker, I boldly recommend myself, hoping the Invoker can help me achieve my Dao.”

Li Qi nodded and replied, “Oh, so these things are your courage, but that shouldn’t be enough.”

Niu Huang immediately replied, “Indeed. I’ve heard the ancients say that a capable person, among a crowd, is like an awl in a cloth bag; its tip immediately pokes out, its sharpness fully revealed. It’s just that I’ve always suffered from not having a cloth bag. Now that the Invoker has come, he has given me a cloth bag! If I were to sit and wait for the Invoker to leave, I would never have another chance to reveal my sharpness.”

“So that’s how it is. Then please, Mountain God, lead the way and let me see the Fengshui of this mountain,” Li Qi said, standing up.

Niu Huang also immediately stood up: “Then please, Invoker, ride on my back.”

“Why?” Li Qi asked again.

Niu Huang replied, “I once heard a passing Shaman lecture on the principle of ‘ascending and descending not by the main steps.’ The main steps are the master’s steps. If a filial son cannot bear to see his father ascend or descend the main steps, then if the Invoker bestows a title upon me, it is no less than the grace of a parent’s rebirth. I should treat him with the respect due to a parent. I also cannot bear to see the Invoker personally walk down the steps. Please ride on my back, and I will take the Invoker to tour the entire mountain.”

Li Qi smiled and shook his head, but he didn't refuse; instead, he mounted Niu Huang's back.

So Niu Huang took a step, not flying, but meticulously leading Li Qi down the mountain.

When Li Qi arrived, he had flown directly, only stopping at the summit to admire the scenery, so he hadn't truly descended the mountain to see it.

Niu Huang walked slowly, moving outwards little by little.

He walked along a mountain path and saw a group of weasels approach to pay their respects, shouting, “Mountain God, Mountain God, why have you come here?”

Niu Huang looked up, only to find that the Invoker on his back had disappeared, as if he had vanished completely.

He didn't know why, but he still replied, “I’m bringing the Invoker to see your current situation.”

“Invoker? Where is he?” The weasels were very confused.

Niu Huang shook his head and sighed, “He was just on my back, but I don’t know where he went now. Perhaps he saw something he wasn’t satisfied with and didn’t want to see the remaining achievements.”

“In that case, Mountain God, you should go rest,” the weasels said.

But Niu Huang shook his head: “Since I promised the Invoker to tour the entire mountain, even if he doesn’t want to see it, I should still fulfill my promise.”

With that, he bid farewell to the weasel family and continued his journey.

He walked across a river, where an old softshell turtle was lying. The old softshell turtle saw Niu Huang and said, “Niu Huang, Niu Huang, I calculated that you would have an Opportunity on the mountain top today. Did you go?”

Niu Huang sighed, “I went, but unfortunately, I missed it.”

The old softshell turtle also shook his head: “I have been Cultivating the Book of Changes, but I still haven’t found a way. Why don’t you come and look at my turtle shell again? See if there are any new changes; perhaps you can find a new Opportunity.”

Niu Huang then walked into the water and carefully observed the old softshell turtle's shell, but he couldn't make anything out of it. He had no choice but to bid farewell to the old softshell turtle and continue walking forward. He crossed the river and arrived at a village where people lived, men tilling and women weaving. Each one was robust and exceptionally talented; a casual Cultivation would allow them to reach a certain rank.

They were skinning and butchering a ninth-grade wild boar.

Seeing this, Niu Huang walked forward: “How many prey has your village hunted now?”

When those people saw Niu Huang coming, they greeted him one after another, saying, “Mountain God Niu is here! This is the first one this month.”

Niu Huang instructed, “The one that died was from the Shang family of Southern Den. You are not allowed to go to Southern Den again this month.”

Those villagers immediately nodded: “We understand.”

Niu Huang then left these villagers and continued towards the side of the mountain.

Walking next to a giant stone, he saw the stone suddenly speak: “Mountain God, I have stood here for two thousand years. When can I transform into a demon like you?”

Niu Huang said, “Have you finished reading the book I gave you that day?”

The stone replied in a muffled voice, “No, I am illiterate.”

Niu Huang sighed: “The principles written in the book, if you understood them, transforming into a demon would be an easy feat. If you are illiterate, then I will teach you.”

So Niu Huang stopped and taught the stone to read, but the stone had a stone head and couldn't recognize a single character for a long time.

It took him several hours to remember one character, and then he said he was tired. Niu Huang shook his head and said, “You will probably have to stand here for another two thousand years.”

After speaking, Niu Huang left and continued walking forward, but he suddenly felt as if he was carrying a mountain while walking, especially tired and very hungry.

So, he changed direction. He walked to a tree and rested there. The big tree shook its branches and said, “Niu Huang, I’m about to bear fruit, and it’s the stamen of that old bastard from West Mountain.”

Niu Huang replied, “Good, when that time comes, I will bury your fruit in West Mountain.”

The big tree swayed its branches and leaves contentedly, then extended some tender leaves, shaking them down from the branches.

Niu Huang chewed the tender leaves, and then he became energetic again and continued walking forward.

Not long after, he encountered a grave on his way. The ghost in the grave said, “Mountain God, oh Mountain God, the sun is too strong now, it’s giving me a headache.”

Niu Huang replied, “The movement of the sun is a natural principle; how can it be stopped? If you are truly afraid, then go be reborn.”

With that, Niu Huang ignored the grave and continued forward.

Soon, when he reached the foot of the mountain, he had finally traversed the entire mountain.

Reaching the foot of the mountain, he sat down to catch his breath.

The mountain was traversed, and the task was done. It was time to continue fulfilling his duties as a Mountain God.

Just then, a pigeon flew over and landed on Niu Huang’s horn, saying, “Mountain God, Mountain God, is this Mystic Radiance Mountain? Are you the Mountain God of this place?”

“Yes, why?” Niu Huang nodded and replied.

“Here’s a letter for you,” the pigeon said, transforming into a human.

The pigeon transformed into a graceful young man in white clothes, about fifteen or sixteen years old, with red lips and white teeth, handsome and refined. He took a cylindrical tube from his leg, found the corresponding letter from a pile of documents inside, and handed it to the Mountain God: “Here’s a letter for you, please sign for it.”

“Uh… aren’t all communications done by Spiritual Artifact now? Why are there still paper documents?” Niu Huang was very confused.

In all his years as a Mountain God, this was the first time he had received a physical letter.

“We are couriers from the Ritual Patriarchsfu. The Ritual Patriarchsfu is responsible for transmitting various documents. Many of these documents are personally written and stamped by Great Powers, so they each possess divine power. They must be the original documents to be effective and grant authority. Communication Spiritual Artifacts can only transmit information; the original documents still need to be delivered by us,” the pigeon said.

“So you are a courier, then thank you very much,” Niu Huang quickly thanked him.

“It’s a small matter, just my duty. Well, I’ll be going to other places now. Take care, Mountain God. Oh, one more question, why haven’t you taken on a human form yet, Mountain God?”

Niu Huang heard this question and smiled bitterly, shaking his head: “If I were to take on a human form without an official investiture, with my talent, I fear my Dao path would be hopeless thereafter.”

The pigeon nodded and did not reply further.

There were too many things that couldn't be officially invested, not everyone could work in the Ritual Patriarchsfu like him and receive a formal investiture as a work benefit, one for everyone.

The pigeon’s body swayed, and after a puff of green smoke, it transformed back into its original form and flew away rapidly, its speed much faster than an old horse.

However, an old horse can carry people, while a pigeon doesn’t need to, so it’s naturally much faster.

Watching the pigeon leave, Niu Huang also opened the letter.

It read:

“Xuanjing is a settlement, and you, the god, are truly its origin. From the joy of seclusion, the people remember you unforgettably. When there are bandits, droughts, disasters, and plagues, your prayers are answered. You toil your spirit and weary your form, exhaust your wisdom and worry your thoughts. All living beings also hear of the peace and non-action. Your duty is the mountains, rivers, wind, rain, Yin and Yang, and the order of Qi. You are rightfully deserving of investiture. We bestow upon you a divine jade tablet, to manifest your clarity and benevolence, bringing benefit to all life, and hereby invest you as the Mountain God.”

Niu Huang’s eyes widened instantly.

This… this was an investiture from the Ritual Patriarchsfu?!

The Ritual Patriarchsfu and the Ritual Patriarchs Temple are not the same. The Ritual Patriarchs Temple is an archive, data, and personnel management agency, while the Ritual Patriarchsfu is a proper authority and power-handling agency. It is the Zong people’s office, also responsible for the internal affairs and statistics of the entire Shaman God Mountain.

Receiving this investiture was far more effective than finding a Invoker to bestow one!

It’s just…

He immediately realized why he could receive this investiture, so he immediately knelt down, prostrating himself towards the direction of the mountain peak.

However, Li Qi, sitting on his back, tapped Niu Huang's head: “You’re bowing in the wrong place. I’ve been right here all along. But never mind, for the matter of establishing the Immortal Cave, I’ll trouble you to inform everyone on the mountain.”

With that, Li Qi stood up and flew back to his Immortal Cave.

Only Niu Huang was stunned for a moment, saying nothing more, and immediately joyfully lifted his hooves and ran out.

Meanwhile, Li Qi, having flown back to his Immortal Cave, felt a surge of emotions.

Regarding the investiture, he was, after all, merely a Invoker. If he were to bestow the investiture, it would be against proper etiquette, and the invested deity would be a wild god, similar to those weasels who sought investiture.

Weasels seeking investiture were, in essence, seeking the recognition of a spiritual being, and upon receiving it, they could take human form.

While his own investiture would be much stronger than that, it still lacked formal official certification.

With the document from the Ritual Patriarchsfu, it would be a position as a proper god, no longer a wild god, and his Dao path would be much smoother in the future.

The difference between a proper god and a wild god was quite significant.

Of course, there were distinctions even among proper gods.

The proper gods invested by Shaman God Mountain were the most free, while those invested by the human Tang Nation had the heaviest duties but also great authority. However, none of them could compare to the true Heavenly Court proper gods, who were the genuine core of the Divine Dao.

The gap between Heavenly Court proper gods and these other gods was like the gap between Li Qi and an ordinary Shaman. As for those wild gods, that was the difference between Li Qi and a rural wild Shaman.

However, this was not a place where the Divine Dao resided, so those who Cultivated divinity still had to abide by Shaman Dao.

It’s just…

Shaman Dao.

Li Qi flew to the mountain peak, observing the situation on Shaman God Mountain.

All things have spirits, which is why when he wrote the investiture, he used the phrase ‘all living beings.’

It was truly, all living beings.

The boundaries of all things seemed to disappear within Shaman Dao.

Humans are part of nature, stones are part of nature, that old softshell turtle is part of nature, and that big tree naturally is too.

Their Dao paths of Cultivation were also different.

Mountain God Niu Huang, needless to say, followed the Divine Dao.

The pigeon was a courier, which meant he followed Shaman Dao.

Those human villagers Cultivated the most common Martial Dao.

That old softshell turtle Cultivated a fragmented method of Diviner, not quite a Diviner, but possessing a part of its power, and it was also Shaman Dao. Moreover, he was a turtle, capable of using his own shell as a medium, so his divination was not bad either.

That old tree and those weasels followed the Demon Dao.

That giant stone had not yet entered the Dao; it was still懵懵懂懂 (ignorant and confused), but it had already been endowed with sentience by the strong and abundant Heaven and Earth Great Source.

Just like Chang’an in the Human Dao.

The territory of Shaman God Mountain was also so miraculous.

If Chang’an was absolute orderliness, development, strength, with the grandeur of a ‘Capital of Ten Thousand Realms,’ then Shaman God Mountain seemed much more backward.

But… was it truly backward?

Li Qi walked down the peak and asked a nearby mouse, “Are you full?”

The mouse suddenly spoke in human tongue, nervously saying, “Replying to Senior, I… I am full.”

“So, what will you do next?”

The mouse answered in a panic, “I… I just ate some fruit, and I need to go far away to excrete it and sow the seeds.”