Demoness, where are you Fleeing to?
Chapter 534 - 427 How did I become Wangfu?_1

Chapter 534: Chapter 427 How did I become Wangfu?_1

When Li Xuan took the purple-golden stream of light into his hand, he discovered that what appeared to be a talisman was actually in the shape of a jade scepter.

In ancient times, jade scepters were used by emperors and lords for imperial audiences, ritual vows, and symbolized authority and status, similar to a seal stamp.

The seal script on it read ’Water Virtue Monarch Consort Li Xuan’. What was astonishing was that this jade scepter contained a vast and wondrous power within it.

Li Xuan was not unfamiliar with this power at all. It was clearly the power of faith, also known as divine power. He had a profound experience with it when he was in the Jinling underground. The ’Shenyuan Stone’ he obtained later was the essence formed by the aggregation of divine power.

Now, within this jade scepter, not only was there a concentrated divine power, but Li Xuan could also feel a multitude of faith pouring into his divine token.

Li Xuan couldn’t help but feel baffled, wondering what on earth was going on?

He probably knew that people like the Dragon King of Yangzhou and the Dragon Lord of Poyang Lake all regarded him as Ao Shuying’s ’Monarch Consort’. After hearing about his battle with the Shenqi Union, these Dragon Kings were willing to take the initiative to help him by blocking the rivers and sinking many of the Shenqi Union’s ships.

Li Xuan hadn’t paid much attention to this, brushing it off as a delightful misunderstanding.

But what was the deal with this divine token? It seemed to be related to the canonization of the Divine Status at Jinque Palace?

Li Xuan knew that the deities in this world can be roughly divided into three types. The first type were the orthodox deities canonized by the emperor. They were included in the Court’s establishment, and received offerings from the Court.

Ao Shuying and many other Dragon Kings fell into this category. They were strongly promoted by the court, venerated during annual festivals, and held prestigious positions.

Even if they didn’t have a single believer, they could still live a carefree and comfortable life.

The second type were those who, although not canonized by the court, were recognized by Jinque Palace. These deities usually had a certain faith, and they were generally upright in manner.

Jinque Palace, acting on behalf of Heaven and to some extent representing the divine will, especially the ’Book of Jinque’, which was said to incorporate fragments of the Investiture of the Gods. Therefore, the deities they canonized, although mostly not allowed to be openly worshiped by the Court, were still recognized as orthodox deities by the people, and were not persecuted or ostracised by Buddhism and Taoism.

However, these deities had basically no guarantee, and they faced the risk of collapse if their believers were significantly lost.

The third type were the deities of illicit worship. Although some of these were venerated as deities due to their reputation accrued during their lifetime, the vast majority were blood-eating ghost gods, heretical foxes, and even demons. They were worshipped by the ignorant masses.

It was said that before the Eastern Han Dynasty, there were countless deities of illicit worship throughout the country, causing great harm. It was not until Zhang Daoling established the ’Orthodox Alliance’ and scattered temples and mountains everywhere to eliminate the unorthodox gods that the status of the Tianshi Mansion in Longhu Mountain was established.

Because all the orthodox deities in the world were grateful for him, they all gave special care to his lineage.

Especially the Descendence, the Invocation Spell of Zhang’s lineage, was always stronger than others.

What Li Xuan couldn’t figure out was, why had he suddenly become a deity? And why was it with the divine name ’Water Virtue Monarch Consort’?

So he looked at the man across from him in disbelief: "Is this a divine status canonization? Are you sure you didn’t make a mistake?"

"No mistake!" said the middle-aged man in the Taoist robe, standing with his hands behind his back, expressionless, "Since the twelve years of Jingtai in October, 127 temples erected your divine image, and the faith attributed to you, Li Xuan, has been gradually increasing.

Especially in the Yichang area, 120,000 households have set up a divine token for you at home, and among them, the devout believers have already reached 97,000. Now your faith in the mortal realm is already on par with the city’s god of Hangzhou Government."

Upon hearing these words, Xue Yunrou couldn’t help but be amazed. Hangzhou Government was one of the most prosperous regions in the Great Jin Dynasty, almost on par with Jinling. The believers of the Hangzhou City God amounted to a large group of four hundred thousand people. Relying on this faith, after hundreds of years of accumulation, the god’s power has reached the heavenly level!

Yu Hongchang thought that this was the so-called "Thousands of Households Live as Buddhas". Yesterday, hundreds of thousands of people in and around Yichang were saved by Li Xuan, and many people witnessed Li Xuan’s battle with Xiangyue.

The common people are simple, even those slightly honest officials would build a divine token, or even a shrine to respect him. How could they not feel reverence towards Li Xuan, who publically battled with demons and resolved a flood disaster?

What Yu Hongchang found strange was that even those Qing Dynasty officials who had been in service for decades and had a well-established reputation found it very difficult to achieve divine status while still alive.

People like Zhonglie Duke Wen and the Urban God of Nanjing City, only achieved divine status after death.

This was partly because they had already achieved heavenly status in their lifetime and disdained divine status. On the other hand, it was due to an insufficiency of devotees’ power.

The canonization of a living god and posthumous canonization were not the same concept. The faith required by the two also varied by tenfold.

Although Li Xuan had twice heroically saved the people of Jiangnan from wars and flood disasters, his reputation among the people couldn’t yet match that of Zhonglie Duke Wen in his prime, could it?

Also, why in October of last year, were statues of Li Xuan erected on a large scale throughout the Great Jin Dynasty? Was it because of the major incident in Jinling in September?

At that time, Li Xuan’s reputation was mostly limited to the Great Jin Dynasty court and among scholars, with few commoners in the known.

Yu Hongchang, curious, glanced surreptitiously at the divine token in Li Xuan’s hand, then stared blankly.

Immortal Master Shuide?

Yu Hongchang began to somewhat understand why Li Xuan had such an expression.

Yu Hongchang then turned her puzzled glance to Ao Shuying, only to see the Water Deity’s complexion turn slightly red, her gaze shifting uncertainly.

The middle-aged Taoist continued, "Seven days ago, Shaosiming from the Heaven Palace was concerned about the large number of incense and prayers that had no deity to worship and were scattered and unordered, which could potentially be exploited by evil spirits. Therefore, she crafted this divine jade and ordered me to give it to you, so that these prayers had a patron to rely on and would not be scattered among mortals."

He paused and looked at Li Xuan pensively, "A few days ago in Fengyang, an evil spirit captured your prayers and gathered divine power, manipulating relationships and causing great harm. It has already cost seven lives, and your Liudao Division is already dealing with this matter."

"Relationships?" Li Xuan was curious, wondering how his divine power was related to relationships?

"The power of gods is related to the wishes of their believers. Previously, your followers mostly asked for relationships and knowledge from you, with relationships being the main concern."

The middle-aged Taoist seemed cold and emotionless, however, he was open and sincere in response to Li Xuan’squestions, "Of course, that may not be the case in the future. Yesterday, your new followers were praying for rivers, peace, and demon suppression,"

Li Xuan was still confused. It made sense for his followers to pray to him, a great scholar, for knowledge, but why relationships?

He shook his head in bewilderment, then fell into contemplation.

Li Xuan was actually somewhat resistant to this divine status. While divine enthronement is a dream for many, for someone like him who has the potential to reach the heavenly level or higher, it can be burdensome.

But if the little girl with the green sword wants him to take this thing, then it means that this thing might be useful to him,

He thought it was just a token, and if it proved to be harmful to him, he would throw it away.

With this in mind, Li Xuan let down his guard and asked, "So what is the deal with this ’Water Deity Wangfu Li Xuan’ title, can it be changed?"

"It can’t be changed," The middle-aged Taoist shook his head: "Your current divine statues are erected in the Temple of the Water Deity under the name ’Water Deity Wangfu Li Xuan’. Unless the Court officially renames or confers a title to you in the future, it cannot be changed."

"Furthermore, this is not an official conferment, you are still far from being physically divine. This Jade Talisman is just a reference for you, so that you can gather the power of these prayers, without letting them fall into the hands of evil spirits and demons."

As the mid-aged Taoist spoke, he glanced sideways at the divine statue next to the statue of the Water Deity.

The statue had no facial features, it was probably temporarily removed, and the divine token in front had also been removed. However, this statue’s attire was the Liudao Fumo armor, and its figure seemed heroic.

The corner of the mid-aged Taoist’s lips imperceptibly rose, then asked, "Do you have any other questions?"

Li Xuan thought for a moment, then shook his head slightly. He still had many questions in his heart, but he needed the little girl with the green sword, and the Water Deity at his side to explain them.

The mid-aged Taoist saw it and slightly nodded, "My mistress has another message, that your case is a once in a millennium situation, and you might potentially be physically deified. She hopes you will use your divine power well and benefit the mortal world."

After he finished speaking, the mid-aged Taoist turned into a cloud of purple light and disappeared into the void.

Shortly after he left, Li Xuan, his eyes profound, looked at Ao Shuying, "Lord, can you explain the ’Water Deity Wangfu Li Xuan’ matter? Could you please Lord--"

But before he could finish his words, Ao Shuying ’swooshed’ into the sky. "No! The Heavenly Punishment is imminent, I must rush to Poyang Lake to self-seal. Li Xuan, if you have any business, wait until a month later."

She drove the Red Thunder Chariot through the clouds at an incredible speed and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Li Xuan could only look up at the sky, standing still in place.

Yu Hongchang and Xue Yunrou at the side grinded their teeth, thinking that this Dragon Lady really had a covetous heart for Xuan.