Incense

  The two deputy generals immediately verified the true identity of Lin Xu, the new mountain god, and knelt down to pay their respects. Meanwhile, Deputy General Wang Liang, who looked even older in appearance, was overcome with emotion, his face streaming with tears as he wailed uncontrollably.

  Seeing this, Lin Xu hastily went forward to support the two deputy generals and helped them up, comforting them with kind words:

  "All right, no need to be like that. When did my predecessor, the Mountain God, leave? What is the current situation with Mount Huo? How dare those little demons run to the front of the Mountain God Temple and cause trouble?"

  Upon hearing Lin Xu's series of questions, the man with a dark and stern face, sporting a thick beard resembling Zhang Fei's lieutenant Zhang Heng, stepped forward half a step, bowed and said:

  "Reporting back to the master, the previous grandmaster was summoned by the heavenly court three hundred and twenty years ago. As for why he left, we are not worthy of asking, and the grandmaster did not want to say, so we didn't dare ask. All we heard was that it was a grand gathering where all the immortals in this realm were summoned to discuss a matter concerning the fate of the world, and since then, the previous grandmaster has not returned."

  As soon as Zhang Xian finished speaking, Bi Jiang Wang Liang, who had just wiped away the two lines of old tears from his cheeks and looked like an old immortal with a youthful face and white hair, continued to say:

  "Reporting to the great master, since the previous master has been away for a long time, there is no one in charge of this mountain, and the various demon kings of Huo Mountain have gradually become disobedient to the Mountain God Temple. In recent years, these hairy and horned creatures have frequently disturbed the temple, seemingly wanting to occupy this land. If not for the great array protecting the temple, we would have been... The situation is urgent, and Zhang Bi and I dare not leave the mountain far away even for a moment. As for the outside world, we know very little about it, and we hope that the great master will understand!"

  Lin Xuan nodded in understanding, and it was clear to anyone that the current state of disrepair was a sorry sight. After a moment's thought, Lin Xuan said:

  "Oh, I see. How many people and horses are left in the temple?"

  Upon hearing this question, both Wang Liang with his benevolent and kind appearance and Zhang Xin who looked as fierce as Zhang Fei immediately turned red in the face. Deputy General Wang Liang bowed his head in shame and said:

  "In response to the old master's words, in the mountain temple, including us two, there are clerks, accountants, minor officials, soldiers, and strong men, all together totaling less than a hundred people."

  Lin Xiu's face twitched upon hearing this, and he thought to himself that this mountain god was already almost a lone commander before even taking office. This result was truly disappointing, but Lin Xuo had struggled in society for so many years, his life experiences were rich enough, even if he wasn't pleased in his heart, he wouldn't show it on his face.

  He nodded slightly and Lin Xu spoke up:

  "Ah, loyalty is hard to come by! You've all had such a tough time over the years and yet you remain dedicated to your duties, it's truly admirable."

  Upon hearing this, the two deputy generals also dismounted and expressed their loyalty in unison:

  "How could I dare? We, the lesser ones, have received great kindness from the former Mountain God, and need not go to the underworld to suffer punishment. To exhaust our loyalty is a matter of course for us."

  Three hundred years of vicissitudes, fleeting time, for mortals with limited natural lifespan, is a long period of time that can bury dozens of generations in the yellow earth. However, for those non-human existences that can live for thousands of years, three hundred years may not be short, but it's also not long enough to make them forget important things.

  With the rumored long-fallen Huo Mountain God secretly returning to the Mountain God Temple, this news was like a stone stirring up a thousand waves, spreading rapidly in various circles of Huo Mountain like wildfire.

  This unexpected stimulus also awakened the long-sealed memories of the monsters to some extent. For a while, many ghostly figures appeared around the mountain temple, peeking out from the dark to probe reality. The yin soldiers guarding the mountain temple had already received orders from their superiors to ignore the probing, and they took a passive attitude towards the spying behavior of these outsiders, maintaining a subtle balance and silent stance between the two sides.

  The external snooping and prying are indeed annoying, but for now, they don't amount to much of a big problem. Compared to the difficulties Lin Xu is about to face, those previous issues were just minor skin irritations.

  Sitting in the main hall of the Mountain God Temple, Lin Xu carefully took stock of his family's assets. After he figured out his situation, he paced back and forth in the main hall, scratching his head in distress. Lin Xu furrowed his brow, muttering to himself:

  "The incense has been cut off... This is going to be a big trouble, really big."

  It is true that, compared to those ordinary people who are busy with their daily routines and struggling to make a living, the gods can live well without worrying about food. However, this does not mean they do not have material needs.

  Incense is the most indispensable and important resource for gods. Incense, or more accurately, the collective wishes of all living beings carried in incense, is exactly what the gods yearn for.

  Apart from those innate True Saints who have long since disappeared into the annals of history, such as Zhu Long and Zhu Rong, Gong Gong and other ancient greats who were so powerful that they could exist forever without any external support, or those acquired Immortals who do not need divine positions to sustain their operation, only then can they truly spend their days roaming freely in the mortal world. Apart from this, most of the activities of the gods in the present world require the transformation of faith into divine power to maintain them. If they lack the incense and offerings of believers, the days of the gods are not much better than those of a fish out of water.

  It is often said that a single coin can be difficult for even heroes to spend. Similarly, for the gods, having the incense and candles in their own temple extinguished is no less a severe survival test than being a mortal wandering aimlessly on the bustling streets of a metropolis with empty pockets.

  There is no love without reason in this world, but there is hate without reason. If it weren't for the pressing need of reality, why would those high and mighty gods bother to care about the trivial matters of insignificant mortals? Do they really believe in their own petty problems?

  "Alas, everything needs someone!"

  Helplessly letting out a sigh, Lin Xu analyzed the relevant data left behind by his predecessor, Huo Shan. His heart full of worry and anger could only be turned into a sigh.

  There is no doubt that humans are the most important source of divine power, and for this reason they have also become the best potential believers.

  Although it can be said that all living beings in the world have the power of vows, it is not that other lives do not have the power of vows to provide, but human beings with short lifespan and extremely strong desires and emotions are worthy of having the greatest potential for excavation.

  Assuming that a human believer's incense offering can provide ten units of willpower, a yokai believer, also an intelligent being, would have at most one unit of willpower. The average difference between the two is tenfold, and what's more, yokais who cultivate themselves are rarely willing to worship gods, believing in their own fists rather than seeking divine intervention. In fact, it's crystal clear that even if the gods loudly proclaim equality among all living beings, when they have to make a choice between humans and yokais, the gods who value willpower will take a stance that is easy to guess.

  The heavenly god and the earthly god are often referred to together, but their relationship is not as intimate as outsiders might think, and internal conflicts within this system have never been rare.

  Those who serve in the Heavenly Court and are directly managed by the Heavenly Emperor, their status is equivalent to that of officials at all levels under the direct jurisdiction of the central government in a standard Huaxia dynasty, belonging to the standard official position.

  Although the gods have considerable authority, they do not have their own fixed domains, and the usual incense offerings are mainly allocated by their superiors. In other words, even if a god makes a mistake while handling affairs on earth, it's no big deal - he can just pat his butt and leave, as long as he can return safely, he can still sit comfortably in his divine position afterwards.

  The land gods belong to the sitting tigers, and they can be regarded as local officials managing a country. The size of the land god's power and the amount of incense offered depend on the management status of their jurisdiction.

  If the Earth only chooses to escape when facing a crisis in its own territory, then the vows it obtained earlier will immediately backfire and fall into the eighteen layers of hell for introspection until the end of the universe. It's not an exaggeration. That's why Lin Xu felt that this position of Huo Mountain God was like a hot potato, but he didn't dare to give up easily. Even if the current internal and external troubles are not just figurative language, if Lin Xu dares to abandon his territory, his fate will also be bleak.

  After the plane crash that brought Lin Xu to this world, his physical body no longer existed. Even without other punishments, just the backlash of his own will and the collapse of his golden body would be equivalent to death. If Lin Xu wanted to give up, it would be an unconditional act of suicide.

  Two evils, choose the lesser one! Lin Xu thought seriously about the feasibility of retreating without a fight and the outcome of fighting to the end. He finally made up his mind to work hard for his second life.

  Having made up his mind, Lin Xu's attitude also became more determined. He turned around and walked towards the main hall of the Mountain God Temple, coming to the front of the two deputy generals, and asked:

  "Which village is closest to Lishan Temple?"

  At the sound, General Zhang Xin, who looked majestic and powerful, bowed his head and said:

  "Reporting to your lordship, it is three hundred li directly north."

  Lin Xu frowned upon hearing this news and waved his hand, saying:

  "......Alright! And where is the nearest town?"

  This time it was Wang Liang, this kind-hearted and benevolent old man, who spoke up, saying in a soft and slow voice:

  "Reporting back to the master, it's over 280 li east from here, after passing by that ancient temple Lanruo Temple, you'll reach Jiangjia Village."

  "Huh? The village is actually farther away than the town, Lin Xuan was at a loss for words and scratched his head in confusion. A little later, he suddenly felt that he had missed something in his daze, and then Lin Xuan turned back to look at the two deputy generals and said:"

  "What was the last thing you just said?"

  At the sound, Zhang Xin and Wang Liang looked at each other in dismay, then Wang Liang hesitated and said:

  "Reporting to the master, 280 li east of here, Lanruo Temple is further ahead, and then you will arrive at Jiangjia Village."

  This time, Lin Xu's expression changed greatly as he caught sight of the key words. He stretched out his hand and grabbed Wang Liang, asking:

  "What? You're talking about Lanruo Temple? There won't still be tree demons lurking there, will there?"

  Facing Lin Xu's surprised inquiry, Bi Jiang couldn't help but feel that his superior, Wang Liang, was overreacting. There were tens of thousands of monsters in Huo Mountain, did they need to make such a big fuss?

  The old servant couldn't help but smile at Lin Xu and said:

  "Old Master, you are absolutely right. When the previous Mountain God was still around, that tree demon had already been cultivating in the mountain. It's just that at first, it was intimidated by the previous Old Master's reputation and didn't dare to be too evil, only occasionally eating some escaped prisoners and strong men. Later on, when the previous Mountain God was no longer there, this demon became even more arrogant and took advantage of the chaos a few years ago to occupy the ancient temple of Lanruo."