Chapter 827: Immortal Stone Pine...
Upon closer inspection, those with traces of incense were all minor deities from the heavens above, such as those clearly dressed as celestial soldiers and generals, as well as celestial children and maids, Yellow Turban warriors, and so on. In contrast, the incense burners of the obviously higher-ranking immortals were completely empty.
Furthermore, these incense burners also come in different sizes.
Take the incense burner of the Yellow Turban warriors for example. It's only the size of a bottle cap. After one stick of incense has burned out, the ash can fill the bottle cap. But the incense burner of Erlang Shen, the True Lord of Manifestation, is as big as a water vat. Even if you burned a thousand or ten thousand sticks of incense, you still wouldn't be able to fill it.
Zhang Yibai pondered for a moment.
hiss--!
Is there any possibility?
Is this incense the fee for summoning the gods and immortals?
The few sticks of incense that Master Huajin gave him were just enough to summon a gatekeeper.
These celestial beings are pretty stingy...
Zhang Yibai had originally been thinking about how to tamper with things, but now it seemed unnecessary. He should try it out first and see what the situation was like.
He carefully selected one after another, and finally found a little god with wrinkled skin and a dwarf-like appearance.
This little deity, whose purpose is unclear, has half a pine tree stuck in its head and is covered in stones, looking rather filthy. Most importantly, its bottle cap-like incense burner is completely empty, meaning that even though its incense is very cheap, no one burns it.
As for why no one burned it...
Need I say more?
It must be a bad dish!
Since we have no choice but to hire someone, let's hire the worst one and see what happens.
With that thought in mind, Zhang Yibai took out an incense stick made of Heavenly Essence Jade Marrow and stuck it in the incense.
The incense sticks lit automatically, and the pale smoke rose straight up to the dome of the Lingxiao Palace, transforming into a thin column of smoke that shot into the sky.
Zhang Yibai and Gu Changsheng subconsciously took a half step back, staring intently at the dwarf-shaped stone statue with pine branches stuck in it and stones hanging all over it.
The originally dull, black stone surface slowly began to show a faint hue:
The wrinkled skin had a waxy yellow tinge, the stones on its body were stained grayish-brown, and half a pine branch showed a hint of green. The stone statue's eyes, which had been cloudy in stone, gradually became more lively, as if a soul was being infused into them.
A few faint cracking sounds rang out.
The little stone statue slowly moved its neck.
Then he raised his hand and patted the dust off his body, and actually walked down from the altar.
Both Zhang Yibai and Gu Changsheng were "inviting immortals" for the first time, and they were both a little confused. They didn't know whether the current situation was a proper "invitation of immortals to descend to the mortal world," but the process was somewhat unrefined.
They could clearly sense that the little god before them was different from them, both immortals and mortals, and that there was a qualitative difference in their power systems. Perhaps with just a casual spell, the other party would force them to crawl on the ground and submit.
However, this little god did not possess any of the ethereal and otherworldly aura that immortals should have. Instead, he was shrouded in a layer of gray mist, as if covered by a layer of filth that could not be washed away. Even his breath carried a musty smell, which was far from the image of an immortal that Zhang Yibai had imagined.
After landing, the little god first stretched his neck and inhaled the smoke from the incense stick, a greedy look on his face. Then, he raised his hand and grabbed a wisp of golden incense.
Instead of inhaling all the incense, he took out a palm-sized pouch from his waist, carefully stuffed the wisp of incense into it, tightened the drawstring, and put it back in his pocket.
Zhang Yibai saw it clearly, and the corner of his mouth twitched involuntarily.
This looks just like a starving ghost who hasn't eaten for hundreds of years. He finally gets some food, but he's reluctant to finish it all at once, afraid that he won't have another meal after this one. So he quickly saves it to eat slowly later.
Having done all this, the little god straightened his hunched back, struck a majestic pose, squinted his small eyes at Zhang Yibai and Gu Changsheng, and asked in a high-pitched voice, "Mortal, why did you summon this god to descend?"
As soon as it finished speaking, as if afraid that the two of them would not know the rules, it quickly added: "I am Shisong Daxian'er, the deputy of the Kunlun Mountain God, in charge of the plants, trees and rocks in a corner of Kunlun!"
If you have any requests to make of this god, you must offer incense as a gift—not a single word less is acceptable. You lowly mortals, don't even think about taking advantage of me!
After saying that, it deliberately puffed out its chest, trying to show off its "divine power," but its dusty appearance, coupled with its shrill voice, only made it look ridiculous and lewd.
Zhang Yibai and Gu Changsheng exchanged a glance.
The so-called assistants of the mountain god are probably similar to the celestial attendants beside immortals, the constables in the city god's court, or the ghost messengers in the underworld. They are not even as good as Ox-Head and Horse-Face, much less than Black and White Impermanence. They are probably... on the same level as the Jade Rabbit in Chang'e's arms.
But he is still an immortal after all, no doubt about it.
He was just really arrogant in his speech, and his eating manners were quite unsightly.
If all the immortals above Lingxiao are like this, Zhang Yibai said that once he becomes an immortal, he can go up and kick each and every one of these so-called immortals and gods.
"May I ask, Immortal, what offerings are required if I wish to receive your assistance?"
Zhang Yibai plastered a fawning smile on his face, feigning a flattering demeanor.
The title "Immortal" must have pleased the Great Immortal Shisong greatly.
It patted its shriveled belly, a greedy smile spreading across its face: "If you want this immortal to help you, you must offer spirit jade... give me a hundred or so mid-grade spirit jades..."
“Uh…” Zhang Yibai and Gu Changsheng were speechless.
Can a hundred or so mid-grade spirit jades be enough to sustain it?
That's too low a requirement.
It seems this immortal was truly starving, judging from his heavy breathing, as if he was thoroughly enjoying the spiritual energy of the Kunlun Immortal Palace.
Zhang Yibai definitely won't make that expense.
He cupped his hands and said, "Immortal, the one who needs help is the head of Kunlun Immortal Palace, True Person Hua Jin. We are only following her orders to come back and summon the immortals."
She said that the Kunlun Ancestor is enshrined in the Lingxiao Palace, and that we should burn incense to invoke him. We saw that you were majestic and powerful, so we summoned you down.
"Now that Master Huajin is still in danger, why don't you go and help him first? Then you can discuss the matter of the incense offerings with Master Huajin."
Upon hearing this, Shi Song's smile faded slightly.
The head of Kunlun Immortal Palace is the strongest being in Kunlun Immortal Palace, the strongest warrior below the immortals.
An enemy who can make things difficult for the leader must be at least a half-immortal, right?
Its face grew more serious: "Who is Master Hua Jin's opponent? There's one more thing I need to remind you: the more incense you use to summon me, the stronger my power to descend will be. You've only offered one stick of incense so far. If Master Hua Jin's opponent is very strong, I'm afraid..."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Yibai silently memorized the information.
He then said, "Hua Jin Zhenren's opponent is a demon immortal from the Great Thunderclap Temple named Wu E."
“Ugh… Ugh crocodile?!” Immortal Shi Song’s lips trembled, and his pupils shrank to pinpoints.
It pointed to itself: "You want me to deal with the Crocodile, one of the four great demon immortals under Emperor Kagura? Are you out of your minds?!"
It spat fiercely, then turned into a wisp of gray smoke and returned to the memorial tablet in front of Zhang Yibai and Gu Changsheng, solidifying into the stone statue from before.
Zhang Yibai and Gu Changsheng stood there stunned for a long time before they came to their senses.
The newly summoned "Great Immortal" Shisong seems to have... run away?
…
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