Oath Letter

  As soon as Lin Xu made such a clear and resolute statement, Dongmen Qiu's ancient bronze-colored face also showed a hint of joy. He leaned forward slightly, probing and said:

  "So, does the respected god also intend to slay demons and eliminate evil?"

  At the sound, he raised his hand and stroked the few strands of long white hair on his chin, which he had specially added to make himself look older. Lin Xu said in a firm tone:

  "I had this intention long ago, but unfortunately, I didn't have the capability. It's indeed a case of having a mind full of ideas but lacking the strength to carry them out!"

  In fact, most Mozi followers have very simple minds, and those who pursue fame and fortune can hardly stand for long in this group of idealists who take it as their duty to benefit the world. Dongmen Qiu is not as difficult to serve as Lin Xu had imagined, and he dare not speak ill of the gods behind their backs. It should be known that Mozi's teachings emphasize respect for heaven and service to ghosts, and they highly esteem ghosts and gods.

  The founder of the Mohist school, Mozi, believed that without the supervisory function of ghosts and spirits in the unseen world, people who are accustomed to seeking benefits and avoiding harm, and greedy for immediate small gains, would not understand the reason for revering Heaven and Earth. They will commit countless sins. If people do not understand how to revere Heaven and ghosts, many people will degenerate in secret places where others cannot see them, and they can do all kinds of wicked things that abandon their conscience. Therefore, in order to make the family and country stable, the existence of ghosts is an indispensable important link.

  Although the Mohists advocated for the importance of ghosts and spirits, they did not emphasize rituals such as sacrifices. In this regard, the Mohist approach differed significantly from that of the Confucians, who believed in showing respect to ghosts and spirits while keeping them at a distance, and who would offer grand sacrifices during festivals as if the spirits were present.

  Upon hearing the sound of the zither, one can understand the elegant meaning. When Dongmen Qiu understood Lin Xu's intention, he immediately exclaimed with joy:

  "Then, can't the great god join forces with me, Mo Men, to eliminate the evil spirits in Lanruo Temple?"

  "Can't find it!"

  Lin Xu replied extremely concisely, the most numerous in the vast Huo Mountain are monsters. These guys have become so arrogant that they don't even put this mountain god in their eyes. Let alone a Lanruo Temple, these hairy and horned monsters would all be killed, Lin Xu would probably be happier.

  At this time, Dongmen Qiu heard Lin Xu's reply, he solemnly straightened his body and said with a serious expression:

  "Why don't we make a pact by slapping our palms together?"

  Making a vow to the heavens is not a trivial matter, in this realm where gods and demons truly exist. Taking an oath is no joke. If you dare to speak without keeping your word, even if people don't hold you accountable, who knows whether heaven will look down on you and strike you dead with lightning, you deceitful swindler.

  Bang! Bang! Bang!

  Lin Xu didn't intend to break the promise, and he wasn't afraid of making an oath. He immediately stood up with Dongmen Qiu and they made a triple pledge together, indicating that the oath they had sworn was now in effect.

  The oath has been sworn, Dongmen Qiu raised his wine cup with a smile and said:

  "Let's get down to business first."

  Lin Xu, who was also in a great mood, raised his wine glass and said:

  "Wishing you success in beheading demons and monsters, may the world be peaceful, let's share this cup together."

  After making a vow with Mo Du in the small wine house, Lin Xu suddenly had an epiphany and began to think of a grand plan.

  The starting point of the entire idea is unusually simple, how to design an effective system for gathering incense and spreading it out to attract a large number of believers to come and worship voluntarily.

  Born in an era where material desires are rampant and people laugh at poverty but not at prostitution, Lin Xu's reverence for ghosts and gods was extremely lukewarm, and in this regard, he was no different from the vast majority of ordinary people living in the same era.

  In this mundane world, no one has lived a clear life, who still has the mood to care where they will go after death? Heaven? Hell? It's probably all meaningless anyway!

  From this, Lin Xu fundamentally did not believe that there would be unconditional faith in the world. Moreover, how many religious believers only mouthed the honorific titles of gods, occasionally quoting a few phrases from scriptures, and as soon as they turned their backs on people, they immediately went ahead and did whatever they wanted to do. From small things like perjury to big things like murder and arson, nothing was delayed because of religious beliefs. Apart from this, some even more sinister individuals used the excuse of divine will to claim that they would kill for God. Any faith that has become so crazy probably can only leave people speechless.

  The alliance with Mo Men gave Lin Xu an inspiration, since people have a realistic need to make vows, why can't this god be responsible for supervising the fulfillment of vows?

  It was based on this intention that Lin Xu began to rack his brains to think of a perfect oath system.

  To be on the safe side, he borrowed from the contract system commonly seen on Earth from the very beginning. Without a doubt, in earthly society, contracts signed by both parties are merely empty words. At least, those thin pieces of paper themselves have no substantial binding force. The deterrent power of a formal contract comes from the authorization of legal clauses, and the authority of the law is backed by the violence and authority of the state machine. The contract itself has no binding force at all.

  In this realm where gods and demons roam, the deity is a top-notch violent group and an unparalleled representative of authority.

  Strictly speaking, the deterrent power of the gods against sinners far surpasses that of secular national machinery. Suppose a person commits the most heinous crime in the mortal world; at worst, one death is all it takes to be freed from punishment. However, if the same thing were to fall into the hands of the gods for disposition, it would be truly unforgivable - death would merely be the beginning. Similarly, the eighteen layers of hell, a judicial institution that makes even the most heinous criminals tremble with fear, is not just a mere ornament.

  A person who has committed a wrong can die repeatedly countless times and must endure all sorts of cruel torture, an absolute life-and-death predicament.

  The extent of this endless punishment and the degree of chilling pain are far beyond what human authorities can match. It is precisely because of this that the deterrent power of the gods against those who break their vows must also be taken to a higher level.

  As scheduled, Mo Du finished his reconnaissance mission at Lanruo Temple and bid farewell to Lin Xu after autumn. He embarked on the journey home alone.

  Today's Mohist school is no longer a prominent school that can rival Confucianism, and even if everything goes smoothly, it will take some time to gather enough strength to sweep away the Lanruo Temple. Eliminating the thousand-year-old tree demon of the Lanruo Temple requires at least three to five months of preparation. Lin Xu sees this very clearly, and after sending off Dongmen Qiu, he immediately shifted his main energy to considering how to promote the new oath system and open up new sources of incense.

  It has to be said that the Oath Project is great, but its implementation is difficult.

  Lin Xiang tried the method of entering a dream several times in a row, and he very much hoped to recruit a batch of customers who dared to eat crabs, but unfortunately, he neglected the external objective conditions.

  In this era of ignorance, the foolish far outnumber the wise. Those who were lucky enough to be chosen by Lin Xu to have prophetic dreams either woke up the next morning and completely forgot what they had dreamed about the night before, continuing with their daily lives as usual. Or else they nervously ran off to find a shaman to exorcise evil spirits, suspecting that they were possessed by ghosts. In short, Lin Xu's propaganda campaign had not achieved even the slightest positive effect. His perfectly good promotional plan had ended up in such a state that even if Lin Xu was unwilling to admit it, he could only acknowledge that he really wasn't talented in the art of propaganda.

  If the oath-taking system is to be continued, it may be necessary to take a different approach in the future. After clearly recognizing this point, Lin Xu turned to consider whether there was a possibility of joining forces with other gods, and his gaze finally fell on the Landlord of Jiangjia Village.

  The land temple of Jiangjia Village is just like those in other places, only a small temple no more than three feet high, located under the shade of a banyan tree at the intersection of a lane.

  If it weren't for Lin Xu inviting the inn's staff to guide him early in the morning, as a stranger who was unfamiliar with the place, he would have had a hard time finding the temple even if he ran around until his legs were tired.

  This small temple is not surprising, after all, most temples in the world are like this. What's really unbearable is the dilapidated state of this temple, with a thick layer of dust accumulated on the ground around it, measuring several inches deep. Years of neglect have caused the paint to peel off the statue of the Land God, revealing its original yellow earth color. The broken tiles on the roof of the small temple have grown into lush weeds, and a spider web filled with sparkling dew droplets has blocked more than half of the entrance. Alas, what a desolate and bleak scene of decline!

  Seeing this scene, Lin Xu also couldn't help but start to suspect that the Land God of Jiangjia Village had followed in the footsteps of his predecessor, Huo Mountain God, and had fallen hundreds of years ago. Lin Xu hesitated and wondered whether he should go inside or not.

  As the sun sets and the moon rises, in a remote Taoist temple at the foot of Mount Song's southern slope, an elderly Taoist priest wearing a crane cloak stands still beneath the ancient cypress trees.

  The old Taoist stood with his hands clasped behind him, gazing up at the starry night sky, his fingers constantly calculating, muttering to himself, and his facial expression changing unpredictably.

  "Master, it's late at night, you should go back to your room and rest."

  A young Taoist came up behind the old Taoist and put a cloak over his shoulders, saying:

  At the sound, the old Taoist shook his head and sighed:

  "Child, don't sleep yet! I observed the celestial phenomena at night and found some omens. Alas, my Tao is not enough, and this star sign is really unclear. Sigh, the heavenly way is high and far, beyond human reach!"

  After finishing speaking, this majestic and elegant old Taoist lowered his head, and a few hints of melancholy appeared on his ruddy face, which was as robust as that of a young man.

  Nowadays, people with insight can see that the luck of the great Qin Empire which was supposed to last for a thousand years is coming to an end, and the future situation is still unclear.

  So will this land be reborn from the ashes, giving birth to a new dynasty, or will it follow the old path of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period? No one dares to say that they can see the big trend clearly. Practitioners seeking divine guidance are also inevitable.

  The ancients said: When heaven sends a killing intent, the Big Dipper changes and the stars shift. When earth sends a killing intent, dragons and snakes rise from the ground.

  Since ancient times, the stars have been seen as a sign of the direction of future development. Now, let a cultivator with a deep understanding admit that he cannot see the changes in the stars, and this change is certainly not trivial.

  It is precisely in times of chaos that religion flourishes. The more painful and unbearable real life is, the more chaotic the situation is, the more people feel helpless, and the more people who are suffering want to escape this torment and seek a refuge where their souls can find a moment's peace. This is why religions in times of chaos never lack followers.