Chapter 105 Crane Cry (3)
Since you are a god, why worry about not having a temple?
As the night deepened, Shu Su carried the dazed Bai He and walked to a new temple where construction had just begun.
The temple occupied several acres of farmland, and many people gathered in the open space where building materials were piled. Men rolled up their sleeves and worked diligently to dig the foundation. The busy men looked exhausted, like those who had just recovered from a serious illness. Their skin was sallow, the veins on the backs of their hands were bulging, and beads of sweat streamed down their foreheads.
They dug with all their might, and when they stood up, their eyes were black and their bodies were shaking.
The women had their hair tied up and their faces were pale. They carried mud and stones in bamboo baskets. A skinny woman about 1.5 meters tall could carry two baskets of mud weighing dozens of kilograms. She walked unsteadily but did not forget to catch the fallen mud with her hands.
No matter how tired they were or how late they stayed, they never complained. They contributed both money and effort, and were willing to build a temple for Shu Baoxiang.
Many white-haired old men were kneeling on the ground, chanting scriptures and praying. In front of them was a tablet of a god covered with red cloth, which was as tall as a person.
A dozen young girls in their twenties, wrapped in plain clothes, knelt behind the tablets of the gods with joy in their eyes. They were chosen by the people as tribute maids and would be responsible for cleaning the new temple in the future.
In the world of immortal cultivation, ordinary people's admiration for cultivators has reached its limit. When Yun Yeting was still alive, Kaiyuan Sect's vassal states were proud to serve her. A nation's heir may be unproductive and unskilled in strategy, but they must be able to read people's expressions.
Those princes and princesses were, after all, just servants of Yun Yeting, lowly slaves who could not get close to him.
There was a ballad that said—
A mortal has been seeking immortality for eighty years, and when he is old and gray he talks about the Mad Emperor.
Born in a lowly family, I cannot become an immortal. I might as well bow down and serve you as my servant.
[Palace destiny is noble][Women sit together], in ancient times, all the monks died, only Dacheng left his name.
Among the tribute maids kneeling on the ground, there were many who were dressed in silk and satin, and among them were noble ladies who were well-read in poetry and books, and beautiful girls who were the center of attention. But at this moment, they were all excited and fell to the ground to pray devoutly. Being able to serve the Xiang Fairy would be the most glorious moment in their lives.
If they were noticed by the Fairy Xiang and chosen to enter her palace, they would become "fairies" of a higher class than others. Even if they were just a small maid, they would have supreme power.
Back then, Madam Fen's four handmaidens possessed the power to destroy entire regions, and ordinary emperors would kneel down in obeisance upon seeing them. Even more disrespectful, nowadays, the ancestors of three of the four great families were once Madam Fen's servants. It seems the only path for the humble to rise to the top is to become even more humble.
Without any teaching from anyone, the tribute maids were loyal and looked at the immortal tablet with clear eyes. From the moment they knelt down, their fate was tied to Shu Baoxiang.
Shu Su looked up at the newly built structure. The bright moonlight clearly illuminated its general outline.
Dozens of straight giant pillars were nailed into the ground, and pieces of cut wooden boards were stacked in an orderly manner to form independent rooms. Because they have not been fully built, they look a bit depressed.
Disciples of aristocratic families often practice the way of incense and fire to harvest faith to enhance their own strength. After thousands of years of operation, they have formed a mature system of harvesting faith from "confusing the people" to "suppressing the people".
The Shu family excelled in crafting artifacts, so naturally, believers didn't need to spend six months or even months building temples. Each Shu family member carried the clan artifact, the "Mirage," when establishing their faith territory. This served both to showcase their "miracle" and to impress the masses, while also winning hearts and highlighting the "god's" benevolence.
A white-haired old man tremblingly brought a bowl of raw rice. He respectfully placed the bowl in front of Shu Baoxiang's tablet, and then, with the help of others, slowly knelt down, prostrating himself on the ground with his head pressed against the ground.
Everyone present, regardless of gender, adult or child, knelt down and prayed sincerely.
Amidst the murmur of prayers, the divine plaque flickered and glowed.
The aristocratic families were very clever; they knew what ordinary people wanted and how to suppress them. Immortals and mortals were different, and it was impossible for cultivators to constantly monitor the people in their territories. Therefore, they had to let them "manage themselves."
Cultivating fanatical believers is not easy. Natural disasters, man-made calamities, and any unhappiness in life can shake people's faith. Except for believers like Gong Xiangbi who have direct interests involved, other shallow believers need to be further restrained and put on the shackles.
The old man holding the bowl is the most prestigious old man in the area. He takes the lead in holding the ceremony and can suppress some rebellious young people with filial piety.
People live for the public.
As long as we are alive, we must live in social relations. Young people are easy to accept new ideas, and sometimes they will think about them, but they have parents and elders. Even if they know something, they dare not disobey their parents. Those elders are most likely to be brainwashed and become fanatics. With them around, there will be no fierce resistance, let alone □□.
That bowl of rice is also called "rice for all people".
Every household in every area, regardless of age or gender, must contribute a grain of rice when building a new temple, which is then collected into a bowl of rice for use in the ceremony to express their trust and love for Shu Baoxiang.
To stick together is to restrain each other.
The aristocratic families don’t care whether one truly believes in something or not; they just want an attitude.
A grain of rice is as light as a feather and as heavy as Mount Tai. By offering this grain of rice, the group pledged their obedience to Shu Baoxiang. From now on, the bowl of "rice" would be a single entity. If anyone rebelled against Shu Baoxiang, the others would tear the rebel to pieces without her having to do anything.
Soon, strong winds gathered, the color of the sky and the earth changed drastically, and the sky suddenly became bright.
He saw a beam of light covering the immortal tablet, with misty white clouds floating in the air, and radiant rays of light where they gathered. Shu Su raised his head and could vaguely see many strange immortal scenes passing by quickly in the sky. He knew that it was just an illusion caused by a [mirage], but how could a mortal kneeling on the ground have ever seen such a magical scene.
Their mouths opened wide, their eyes rolled back and forth, and the old man in the lead burst into tears, lying on the ground and not daring to look up.
"Living Immortal"
"Mother, it's the magic of Xiang Fairy!"
"Don't look directly at her! Xiang Xianzi is a deity. If a child looks at her, it will shorten his lifespan."
Seeing this scene, Jian Shiyuan curled his lips and was in the mood to joke with the Golden Chain of Laws.
[Luckily, there's no Faith Point indicator above their heads, otherwise, their Faith Points would have exploded.]
A rosy glow stretched across the sky, stretching to the horizon. Soon, it faded, revealing a massive temple. This temple boasted several immaculately white stone pillars reaching to the sky, each intricately carved with white cranes. Outside, a massive bronze cauldron was densely engraved with numerous Buddhist scriptures, its colors simple yet radiant with a mysterious aura.
Inside the hall, the first thing that catches your eye is a golden statue that is ten meters high.
The carvings are lifelike and majestic. At first glance, you can feel a strong sense of pressure.
The girl was holding a sword and wearing armor, with a defiant look. Countless divine lights were diffused around her, illuminating the magnificent temple with a white glow.
The old man led a group of people and walked into the temple carefully. The young girls seemed to have received some instructions. They held their heads high and stood on both sides of the golden statue without looking around. Without any reminder, they either lowered their eyes with a compassionate expression or smiled. Some raised their hands to receive something, and some bent their knees and half-knelt. After a while, they steadied their bodies and slowed down their breathing, as if they had transformed into several flesh-and-blood statues.
Looking at the girls who didn't even blink, Jian Shiyuan sighed.
It is not easy to be a tribute maid. The moment you enter the temple, you have to keep your mouth shut. If there is no one in the temple, the girls can walk around and rest. If there are pilgrims and believers in the temple, the girls have to pretend to be dead statues, not speaking, moving, eating or drinking.
In order to further control people's thoughts, the aristocratic families came up with all kinds of tricky rules. For example, the tribute maids, the motionless life would wear away their temperament. Slowly, they would give up thinking and become dull and slow. Day after day, they would turn into living "statues".
If this was a punishment, Jian Shiyuan could still lend a helping hand and save them, but this was a "rule" and they willingly accepted this perverted rule. Even if Jian Shiyuan wanted to help, he couldn't because they didn't need his help at all.
After losing his emotions, Jian Shiyuan had almost no emotional fluctuations. The sigh at this time was neither "sad for their misfortune" nor "anger at their lack of struggle". It was just the simplest sigh without any emotional meaning, just like a physical instinct.
Shu Su stood outside the temple, looking up at the golden statue.
He was so small that when he looked up at the golden statue of Shu Baoxiang, he was like a believer worshiping a god, and a hint of sadness unconsciously appeared on his face.
No one knew what magic Shu Su used, but the believers around him ignored his existence. In the interweaving of light and shadow, he stood alone like a forgotten and lost shadow.
Suddenly, rows of candles on both sides of the golden statue were lit, as if to welcome someone's arrival. They burned from inside the hall to outside the door on the other side. The long rows of candles were like long tongues of flame, with a faint orange light that swayed unsteadily.
Shu Su laughed to himself again. He lowered his eyes, reached out to touch the injured crane's wings, grabbed the tip of its feathers, waved to the golden statue, and spoke for the white crane, "Sister, hello——"
The candles all jumped.
As if sensing some danger, the white crane in his arms suddenly struggled. It flapped its wings, cried hoarsely, and pecked at Shu Su's arm with its sharp beak regardless of anything, while kicking its legs and stretching its neck.
Shu Su hugged it tightly, lowered her head and rubbed her face against the white crane's wings, "Little sister, don't scare it, it's timid."
"snort!"
Shu Baoxiang sneered in dissatisfaction, and her clear voice echoed in the new temple. The mortals kneeling on the ground were unaware and continued to kneel respectfully.
"Where did you get this dirty beast?"
Shu Su lowered her eyes and caressed the white crane in her arms listlessly, like coaxing a child, pinching its claws and saying softly, "Don't be angry with me, I'm a very good person. I just say it's hard on the outside but I'm soft on the inside. I really like you."
Shu Baoxiang felt sick when she saw his weak and submissive appearance.
"It's a disgrace."
I don't know whether he was scolding Shu Su or the white crane in his arms.
Shu Su was not angry. She still lowered her head to comfort the fluttering white crane in her arms, huh——
A cool breeze blew, and the bushes outside the temple were blown by the wind, rustling and shaking. After a while, fireflies flew out, and they pounced on Shu Su like will-o'-the-wisp.
Under the sky full of fireflies, a strange scene happened.
A blue magic circle suddenly appeared under Shu Su's feet. In the blink of an eye, Shu Su appeared in front of another exquisite floating palace.
The Shu family excels in weapon crafting. Ever since Shu Baoxiang seized the Gentleman Sword, they have earned the right to possess their own palace. This palace, named Chao Palace, differs from the Mirage in that it is a truly celestial magical instrument. Attached to it are nearly a thousand formation talismans, and weighed down by countless spiritual stones and materials, allowing it to soar and hover, traveling a thousand miles a day. It can also defend against attacks, acting as a mobile fortress capable of both attack and defense.
Shu Baoxiang built Chao Palace into her base camp. No matter she was touring the territory or taking on external missions, she would place her real body in Chao Palace. Under her refining, the defense and attack power of Chao Palace were greatly improved, and the area of Chao Palace was expanded. Now Chao Palace is as large as ten acres. Even if she faces a cultivator who has reached the out-of-body state, she can still have a chance to escape.
In front of the temple was a jade-paved avenue. The further one walked, the more exquisite the surrounding scenery became. A forest of artificially refined white jade was exquisite and luxurious, with bright red gems hanging from its branches. In the Biyun Pond, spirit fish frolicked happily, and the bottom of the pond was covered with gold grains.
Jian Shiyuan followed Shu Su, walked through the winding corridor, and finally caught a glimpse of a jade color.
Amidst the sea of clouds, a mysterious and majestic palace stood tall. Shu Su walked faster and faster, the white crane in his arms daring not to move, instead nestling in his sleeves.
Bang.
There was no wind, and the palace door opened automatically. Shu Su raised her foot and stepped into the hall.
The jade steps were stacked up endlessly, winding upward like a ladder to heaven. Jian Shiyuan's sight passed through the misty fairy air and finally saw Shu Baoxiang kneeling at the end of the steps.
Shu Su stood at the foot of the jade steps, looking up with a smile, and greeted Shu Baoxiang, "Little sister, long time no see."
Shu Baoxiang swung her sleeves and stood up with an ambiguous expression. She looked down at Shu Su, "It hasn't been long. You haven't been following me all the time, haha."
She said as she walked down.
"You want followers from Mincheng? Sure, I'll give them to you."
"Who made you my brother? I'm your sister, so naturally I have to give you the best things."
"Don't talk about faith. If you want my marriage, I'll give it to you."
Shu Baoxiang's tone was not sharp, but slow and calm, but anyone could hear the sarcasm in her words.
Jian Shiyuan noticed that Shu Su pursed his lips. His long eyelashes were like crow feathers, drooping low, casting a shadow. From a distance, he looked like a white crane with its head lowered.
He didn't argue, but the system was not to be trifled with.
"Shu Baoxiang, don't be so arrogant!"
The system can only communicate directly with the host. Shu Baoxiang could not hear its roar and his expression remained the same. On the contrary, Shu Su was shocked by it, his face turned pale and he was shaky.
Shu Baoxiang, dressed in a gorgeous gown with a trailing skirt, exuded an imposing presence. Standing on the second step, she was just a head taller than Shu Su. She reached out and lifted Bai He's chin, stroking his jawbone and moving down to his neck. Then, she pulled out a necklace with blue round beads.
The emerald blue bead lay in her palm, and Shu Baoxiang's expression darkened.
"Your expression is so ugly, is your spirit scolding me again?"
"It's just a small bead. There's nothing special about it recognizing you as its master, and it doesn't bring you any benefits."
"How about we refine it? You've let this dead beast run wild and let it go without knowing its limits. It's really annoying."
The system couldn't help but said, "You! I just didn't recognize you as my master! Do you really need to hold a grudge against me forever?!"
Meeting Shu Baoxiang's eyes, Shu Su sensed the malice in her eyes, frowned but said seriously, "Wu Bao is my friend, you can't say that about him."
"friend?"
Shu Baoxiang slapped his face with a sneer. "If you die, it will immediately look for its next master. Only a fool like you would be deceived by the spirit of the weapon. It wants you to kill to achieve your goals and attain enlightenment. But have you ever considered that you might not be able to complete its mission in this lifetime, and it will wait for you for hundreds of years in vain?"
"If you show any sign of weakness, it will kill you directly to save time."
As she spoke, she leaned close to Shu Su with malicious intent and whispered in his ear, "I'm different. I'm your sister. No matter what you do wrong, I will tolerate you and protect you. You've been a waste your whole life, so I will support you for the rest of your life."
"But you've repeatedly targeted me for this weapon spirit. Don't you think it's ridiculous?"
"I gave you everything I had to bear the hatred of having my wife taken away from me. We should be sworn enemies."
Shu Su's face turned pale.
A golden pop-up window also popped up in front of Jian Shiyuan.
[Tsk, what the hell is that?]
Jian Shiyuan reached out and touched it. "Some of Shu Su's memory fragments, haven't you known about my world? They are keyword jump links. After I transformed the divine art, I can automatically lock the relevant memory fragments for easy reference."
The Golden Chain of Laws was excited and encouraged
[Look at this, the hatred of stealing his wife, is he sleeping with his own brother-in-law? This is an amazing move!]
Jian Shiyuan:
"That should be the hatred of having your husband taken away from you."
[Look, I can't wait]
At the urging of the golden chain of law, Jian Shiyuan clicked on another memory.
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