Chapter 122 Secrecy is a powerful force, and prejudice is hard to change…
The god of agriculture, who oversees the five grains, is actually a rat spirit?!
This is simply too absurd.
Yun Tianjiao even suspected that the Rat Immortal in front of him was not the real-life Gongxin God, but merely his identity in Zhu Jing's memories.
As the Divine Lord Gongxin appeared, many powerful rat demons around Yun Tianjiao and the others transformed into human form, respectfully and devoutly prostrating themselves on the ground, kneeling in the direction of Gongxin.
Suddenly, a gust of wind howled, and a large, swaying banner flew through the air, with a person clinging to it, shouting, "Make way! Make way!!"
Wherever the banner passed, the rat demons along the way all avoided it. The person carrying the banner rushed all the way to the vicinity of the temple, then suddenly veered to the side and charged straight towards where Yun Tianjiao and the others were!
Before Yun Tianjiao could react, the black leopard lying on the ground darted out and collided head-on with the person carrying the banner in mid-air.
The talisman that shielded the black panther's aura fell off, startling Yun Tianjiao. He rushed forward and quickly slapped several more talismans onto the black panther, taking advantage of the chaos to drag it back to a corner.
But Yun Tianjiao still sensed that the new deity in the temple seemed to have glanced in their direction.
"Oh my god, ptooey, ptooey, what just hit me? I'm dead!"
At this moment, the huge banner that had blown up the entire scene had fallen to the ground, turning into an ordinary banner with eight large characters written on a white background in black: "See through the three realms, and win half a game against heaven."
The man carrying the banner also got up from the ground, spat out a mouthful of mud, and tidied his long, disheveled beard.
Yun Tianjiao finally saw the person's face clearly and was stunned.
Isn't this... that old man who told her fortune on the street and predicted that she would never live past the age of nineteen in any of her lifetimes?
However, compared to how Yun Tianjiao saw him, Zhu Jing remembered him as looking much younger, with brown hair and beard that had not yet turned gray.
Could he actually be a rat demon?
The old man felt a sudden silence around him, as if everyone was staring at him. Only then did he realize what was happening. He hurriedly knelt down and respectfully kowtowed several times to the Venerable Gongxin, apologizing, "Senior, I was in a hurry to get on my way and lost control of my magic weapon, which is why I accidentally rushed into the execution ground. I did not intend to cause chaos."
The Venerable Gongxin was very gentle and said, "It's alright, please take a seat."
The other rat demons weren't as easy to talk to as the Divine Lord Gongxin. They whispered among themselves, "Pah! Nobody believes his magic weapon malfunctioned. He was clearly late and couldn't squeeze in, so he forced his way in!"
"Yeah, what a schemer! He even talked to the senior! Ugh, I'm so angry! I've been queuing here for three days and I still haven't been able to speak to the senior!"
The fortune teller ignored the discussions of the rat demons, carried his fortune-telling banner on his shoulder, squeezed out a space in the rat demon horde, and sat down shamelessly, drawing countless glares.
Unaffected by this minor disturbance, the Divine Venerable Gongxin began to preach and expound the Dao after the ritual site had completely quieted down. His core principle was the same: how to cultivate oneself to attain the Great Dao.
Yun Tianjiao was initially a little worried, after all, Gongxin God Venerable certainly did not want people to know his original form. The black panther's spirit talisman had just fallen and its aura was exposed, which meant that there were people other than rat demons present.
If Gong Xin were even slightly more shady, he might very well expose and silence them in order to protect the secret of his origins.
However, Gong Xin preached calmly and clearly from beginning to end, and listening to the entire sermon was quite enlightening.
He mainly expressed three points:
Firstly, as a rat demon, one should not consider oneself a rat, but rather experience human emotions and desires, understand principles, and learn morality.
Secondly, since the Heavenly Pillar was broken, all the gods in Heaven have relied on incense offerings. Therefore, to ascend to godhood, one also needs the offerings of worshippers. To obtain incense offerings, one must do good deeds in the human world and be loved by people; then, incense offerings will come naturally.
Thirdly, focus on self-cultivation, avoid comparison, impatience, and involvement in worldly disputes. Cultivate a pure and desireless mind, and be indifferent to honor and disgrace. Day after day, year after year, you will eventually achieve the Great Dao.
Yun Tianjiao had never heard Gong Xin, the Divine Lord, speak so much before, nor did he know that his voice could be so gentle yet powerful, flowing like a gentle stream, soothing all restlessness and unease.
The rat demons were almost moved to tears by the end, feeling a deep sense of emotion. Even after the ritual ended and Gongxin's true form faded away, they remained gathered there for a long time, unwilling to leave.
Yu Siran listened intently, no longer afraid of the little mouse circling around her feet. She just tilted her head and stared into the temple with her big eyes, seemingly lost in thought.
Yun Tianjiao couldn't help but sigh that tonight's trip had been worthwhile, and he also had a rough plan for raising the black panther.
The two quietly left with the black panther and the demon-slaying sword, preparing to return to the inn.
On the path ahead stood a lone figure, radiating a faint divine light that illuminated a patch of the dark forest.
Yun Tianjiao immediately became alert and spread his arms to protect Yu Siran and the black leopard behind him.
So, they really are going to silence them?
Gong Xin held his ever-present earthenware jar in his hands, glanced over indifferently, and after examining him for a moment, said, "Are you the daughter of the Xuanxiao Sect Leader?"
Yun Tianjiao said, "That's right."
The Divine Venerable Gongxin smiled slightly, "I am here to ask Miss Yu for something."
"What...what is that?"
Yun Tianjiao clenched the talisman in her sleeve, her throat feeling dry. She was terrified that Gong Xin's next words would be: "I want your lives."
Gong Xin seemed to sense her nervousness, but he didn't point it out. He simply said, "I want Miss Yu to promise not to spread the word about my true identity."
Yun Tianjiao was stunned. "That's...that's all?"
Gong Xin nodded. "That's all."
"Okay, I promise I will never reveal your true identity."
"Thank you," Gong Xin replied, seemingly ready to leave.
Yun Tianjiao couldn't suppress her questions, or perhaps it was because these were Zhu Jing's memories, but Yu Sishu was the one who was truly puzzled. So she blurted out, "Do you really despise your original self so much?"
Gong Xin was not annoyed by being touched on a sensitive spot, and remained calm and kind.
"I have never despised myself because of my original form."
"Then why don't you want people to know?"
Gong Xin smiled. "I am the God of Agriculture. If people knew that a God of Agriculture was born a rat demon, wouldn't that cause panic? Public opinion is a fearsome thing, and prejudice is hard to change. I have cultivated for nearly ten thousand years. I can control myself, but I can't control others. It's better to avoid trouble. What do you think, Miss?"
Yun Tianjiao felt that Gong Xin was right, but a hidden anger rose in her heart. Seeing Gong Xin turn to leave, she suddenly took a few steps forward and shouted, "But if you yourself are not willing to speak up for yourself, if you yourself are not willing to admit that you are a Rat Immortal, then who in this world will be willing to speak up for you? How can the prejudices of this world be changed?"
At this moment, she is Yu Sishu, who has no memories of her past life; she is also Yan Meng, the deceased ghost princess; and she is also Yun Tianjiao, the eldest princess of Yunchi Kingdom.
Ultimately, she has never changed; she remains the same Desire Dream Goddess who, even when faced with the oppression and questioning of countless gods, still dares to loudly proclaim "I am innocent."
She is the goddess who, even when stigmatized, would readily admit that she had merely draped a garment over a dying general.
As Zhiwei gazed at the aloof figure daring to question the gods from within the Demon-Slaying Blade, her heart stirred. Unintentionally, she awakened the Demon-Slaying Blade's spirituality, and the blade flew out of its sheath, accompanying Yun Tianjiao beside him, emitting a faint clanging sound.
Gong Xin stopped in his tracks, glanced back at Yu Sishu, but ultimately said nothing.
Yun Tianjiao only breathed a sigh of relief after Gong Xin's figure completely disappeared. He thought to himself that he was really bold enough in this life. Wasn't he afraid of really angering this unfathomable god and making him kill them?
However, after this meeting, she felt that this Gong Xin should be the Gong Xin in Zhu Jing's memory, rather than the one who entered the memory with them.
The two sisters spent a few more days sightseeing in Blackwater County, buying some souvenirs, and preparing to set off home early the next morning.
The innkeeper was still persistent. Seeing that Yun Tianjiao and the others were about to leave, he took another opportunity to ask, "Miss, are you really unwilling to sell this black panther? Recently, the Beast Hunting Gang came into the city, and they also captured a black panther. I even went to see it myself, and the quality of its fur is not even a tenth as good as yours!"
"The Beast Hunting Gang?" Yun Tianjiao asked curiously, completely ignoring the innkeeper's comment about buying a leopard, "What do they do?"
The innkeeper immediately perked up and began to introduce the business with great enthusiasm, "Oh, they're a hunting team that makes a living by hunting wild beasts. Every now and then, when they get some good catches, they come to the city to sell them."
As she spoke, she glanced at the black panther and said, "Just a friendly reminder, make sure they don't catch your black panther, or they definitely won't give it back to you."
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