Stealthily cultivating in the chaotic world of demons and martial artists
Chapter 934 - 790: Bestowing the Command Tablet

Chapter 934: Chapter 790: Bestowing the Command Tablet

Seven days later.

The county office.

"Student meets the teacher!"

Gan Yu, mixed among a group of scholars, bowed to the county magistrate, who wore a scarlet official robe.

Among the scholars with him, there were both children with dangling hair and youths like him, as well as middle-aged men and even the old with prematurely graying hair.

Enduring hardships for fame and officialdom is no empty talk!

This county magistrate’s last name was Xu, a jinshi by examination, with a face like fine jade and three strands of a long beard fluttering in the wind, appearing to be in his thirties or forties, with a majestic and stately appearance.

County Magistrate Xu had excelled in the imperial examination in earlier years, only to squander two years before being selected as an official for Qingxi County, taking on the post of principal clerk of the ninth rank. Three years later, he was promoted to chief clerical officer, followed by county police commander and county chief... Finally, he became the seventh rank county magistrate, enduring over a decade, truly a case of sweetness following hardship.

In the dense bureaucracy of the Taoist Court, such a rapid rise was definitely considered fast, with at least every step unobstructed, which sufficed to indicate there was a powerful support behind him.

"Cough cough..."

The complexion of County Magistrate Xu was somewhat pale as if he was under the weather, and at that moment, he raised his hand.

Gan Yu immediately felt a gentle force surge forward, lifting him up, and looking at this sickly looking County Magistrate Xu, he immediately felt a sense of awe in his heart.

"All of you are scholars full of learning, and this official is recruiting talent for the Taoist Court this time... Remember, you must be loyal above to the Taoist Court, and should you become officials in the future, be free from guilt towards the common people below..."

County Magistrate Xu offered a few words of admonition, seeing the expectant glances of certain people, he suddenly smiled, "Enough, seeing all of you so anxious, I shall personally bestow talismans upon you..."

As he spoke, the bailiffs around him bowed and exited one after another.

The hall seemed to be shrouded in the aura of incense, blurry and filled with a sense of mystery.

Gan Yu caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of his eye and suddenly felt that the appearance of County Magistrate Xu somewhat resembled the statue of the City God he had seen when he had gone to pray at the City God Temple. He quickly bowed his head to conceal the shock in his eyes...

"Rise!"

County Magistrate Xu did not talk much with the scholars and formed a hand seal with one hand.

Inside his body, the divine position of ’Seventh Rank Qingxi County City God’ suddenly shone brightly with crimson light.

A streak of crimson light, like a flying bird, carrying a talisman turned into spiritual light, shot straight out from his heavenly spirit.

"Ah!"

God’s Prestige like a mountain!

The scholars on the scene all turned pale and knelt on the ground.

Then, they heard the clear sound of mandarin ducks, and the crimson divine power above County Magistrate Xu’s head took the shape of a pair of mandarin ducks, circulating around a Taoist Record.

This Taoist Record was also entirely crimson, resembling something carved from fine jade. Among the divine text contained within—was clearly the ’Supreme Court Appeal Secret Order’!

With the infusion of the crimson divine power, the Taoist Record instantly split into several specks of light, turning into grey-white ’Supreme Child Spirit Official Instruments’!

However, compared to the Child Talismans Fang Xi had seen, these seemed to lack a bit of divine spirit, giving off a sense of being counterfeit.

County Magistrate Xu’s expression was stern, "City God Xu Xinji, recruiting talents for the country, witnessed by the Heavenly Emperor and Mother Earth!"

In his hand, a copper seal emerged, specifically the official seal of a seventh rank county magistrate!

County Magistrate Xu, holding the official seal in both hands, saw the phantom of a City God golden seal emerge in the void, merging into the official seal.

Clack!

He stamped each Child Talisman below with an official seal.

The crimson divine power appeared to turn into sealing wax, flashing momentarily upon the Taoist Record.

Hum hum!

The Child Talismans roared and suddenly took on a dignified divine might, entering the forehead of each scholar.

Gan Yu’s body shook, and with a brief moment of concentration, he felt as though a talisman had been added to his Sea of Consciousness.

At the same time, having previously consumed spiritual objects and established a solid foundation, he could even sense an inexplicable fate from the void manifesting, provoking a sense of longing in his heart.

Unconsciously, he sat down cross-legged and attracted a thread of heavenly earth spiritual qi into his body.

"Drawing qi into the body?"

Seeing this scene, County Magistrate Xu nodded slightly, "To be able to do this just after receiving the talisman, indeed, he is a promising seed..."

More importantly, Gan Yu was young enough to still have time to strive on the path of the imperial examination.

As for those few white-haired elders, their hopes were rather dim...

After a while, the group of scholars gradually recovered from the unusual state, their faces revealing a hint of joy.

The Taoist Court had strict rules, with Taoist Law suppressing the spiritual qi of the world!

Without a Taoist Record, even if one could hardly draw some qi, in the end, it would be no more than a moon in the water or a flower in the mirror.

But now, receiving a talisman was like stepping onto the path of Taoism!

It was like ascending to heaven in one step!

County Magistrate Xu coughed again, seemingly burdened by the talisman bestowal ceremony. When he saw Gan Yu awaken, he spoke in a deep voice, "The bestowed Child Talismans now enable you to draw the heavenly and earthly fate, strengthen the body, and even cast spells... This is the grace of the Taoist Court, you all must remember it well. Should there be any unfaithful or unfilial characters in the future, I shall personally seize their Divine Souls, subjecting them to various torments of hell..."

As he said this, his voice was icy, causing Gan Yu to shiver.

He knew that County Magistrate Xu’s words were indeed true!

...

In some distant mountain forest.

Inside the Dongfu.

Fang Xi sat cross-legged, with Mei Changkong’s roasted wild rabbit and stream fish still placed in front of him...

Both pieces of game were roasted to a golden crisp, placed on a large green leaf fashioned as a plate, with fruits served alongside as a garnish.

A bamboo tube beside them contained freshly boiled water.

In such wilderness, achieving this was quite impressive.

At this moment, Mei Changkong was absent, having gone to find food for himself.

Fang Xi opened his eyes, nodding slightly with satisfaction.

At the same time, he recalled the scene where Gan Yu was bestowed the Taoist Record.

"So, this is how a Taoist Record splits from the one of a higher grade?"

"No... the split produces merely a false facade, an imitation!"

"The true key lies in the seals, seeking heavenly and earthly recognition and approval..."

Mulling over his past experiences silently, Fang Xi gained a deeper understanding of the workings of the God Path.

"With such layered control, the ultimate sovereign indeed has the authority to revoke the godhood positions of the officials below, and even decide life and death, truly ’with the law in his mouth’!"

"What if there were godhood positions without Taoist Records?"

"Moreover... where did the godhood positions in this world originate from, perhaps they too split from a certain godhood position?"

Fang Xi felt as if he had touched upon one of the deepest secrets of the Heavenly Court...

...

Earth Immortal Realm.

Falling Sky Island, Nine State Sect.

Inside the Dongfu, Fang Xi wore a green-colored robe that resembled smooth silk but was incredibly breathable, its surface engraved with numerous intricate arrays.

This robe alone was worth as much as the entire wealth of a Returning to Emptiness cultivator.

For Fang Xi, such luxuries were nothing unusual; with his hair disheveled, he sat lazily in front of his desk.

Six Talismans lined up on his desk.

From the ninth-grade ’Supreme Court Official Instrument’ to the eighth-grade ’Supreme Court North Star Secret Talisman’, and even the godhood position of day-and-night wandering spirits, to the most conspicuous ’Ninth-Grade Qingxi County City God Temple Punishment Court Martial Judge’... they all seemed to lose their magic at this moment and lay quietly on the desk like ordinary talismans.

"Indeed, the laws of heaven and earth vary, hence they cannot be used immediately?"

Fang Xi murmured, picking up the Martial Judge godhood and examining it closely.

Taoist Records of the God Path, naturally far more precious than the Taoist Records bestowed by the court.

This ninth-grade godhood position was even rarer than an eighth-grade Taoist Record, and the Divine Texts were many times more complex!

"After observing these for some time, my skills in the Taoist of Talisman have steadily entered the seventh stage..."

"After all, after the Promotion to Integration, advancing the ranks in the Hundred Arts of Immortal Cultivation should be somewhat easier..."

Fang Xi muttered, taking up the ’Qingxi County City God Temple Daily Roaming Capital Office’ godhood position, and his Divine Consciousness entered it.

From his recent research, he had made some discoveries.

With a thought, he passed through the Divine Text and reached the core of the godhood position, obtaining several divine spells.

Like the ’Call Spirit Order’, the ’Technique of Heavenly Vision and Earthly Hearing’, the ’Wind-controlling Skills’, and so on.

These were divine spells, and once one refined the godhood of the Sun Travel God, it was akin to receiving an empowerment, allowing one to learn them instantly.

Not only that, but these could be cast in an instant by consuming divine power.

"Just need to modify it a bit, gather faith offerings in the Earth Immortal Realm, and it should be possible to reactivate the godhood position..."

Fang Xi pondered for a moment, "It’s just that most godhood positions are bound to a particular place... their divine prestige greatly diminishes once they leave their own domain... That’s slightly bothersome."

But this trouble was actually quite simple to resolve, as one only needed to carry a Treasure of Cave Heaven with them, and relocate a multitude of followers within it.

Having spent considerable time within that Taoist Court world without discovering any Cave Heaven treasures, such treasures probably did not exist or were extremely rare.

’However, that is normal. In the Mortal Realm, such treasures are extremely scarce...’

’As for carrying followers with oneself, this is merely a temporary solution... It might be possible for people from The Nine States to do some research, like installing some high-powered faith signal towers to extend the range of the godhood domain.’

Technology is always advancing.

Especially with an Integration-level Taoist Master, joined by a Returning to Emptiness powerhouse, and even a group of Transcendent God elites, the technology of The Nine States now could completely crush the Nine States of the Nascent Soul era.

"Taoist Records are split from another, and perhaps godhood positions are the same..."

"Even all the godhood positions in the world may ultimately converge onto that one being... the source of all deities!"

The more Fang Xi researched, the more unfathomable he found that Heavenly Emperor to be.

At this moment, he picked up the Martial Judge godhood position.

Even though the Divine Instrument of the God Path that it turned into had lost all its luster, it still appeared striking, as if carefully carved from fine jade, with threads of crimson veins within.

When his Divine Thought entered the godhood position, in addition to a variety of divine spells, there was even more knowledge.

For instance... how to collect the faith offerings of the people and refine ’Incense Money’!

This money was a currency among the deities, capable of replenishing and transforming divine power... its value far exceeding that of gold and silver.

Besides, after becoming a deity, one could also combine their own insight into Divine Text with their godhood position to Sacrificially Refine a Divine Tool of Godhood Authority.

This could be in the form of a decree, a pagoda, a cauldron... but most commonly a seal!

"Generally speaking, a ninth-grade deity would find it difficult to create such Divine Tools... it’s only at the solid seventh-grade that one has a good chance."