Granting Mortal God status is no simple matter.
Since ancient tis, yin souls and demon spirits have communicated in dreams, demanding incense offerings from the people, each employing different thods.
So are still considered decent, protecting the locals, even offering benefits like driving away pests or, like the Demon God of the Three Gorges, rescuing people in peril on the river...
Others deliberately bring disasters, only to eliminate them after being worshiped, thus deceiving the people for incense offerings...
Then there are those who directly force their demands, either creating storms or demanding blood sacrifices, offering boys and girls, which is also the origin of many demon legends...
During those ancient tumultuous tis, such thods could succeed, but now, all rites of sacrifice are regulated by the court and the Proper Xuan Sect.
All of these are considered licentious worship.
Whether it is the orthodox or Magic Veins, all might topple mountains and destroy temples.
Hence, acquiring the position of a Mortal God isn’t as simple as it sounds; it cannot be achieved without the support of the court.
For instance, the initial Demon God first rescued many locals and had to show himself when eting high-ranking court officials passing by.
During the Tang Dynasty, Li Jifu, and during the Song Dynasty, Kou Zhun, when they encountered storms passing through the Three Gorges, this god had erged to save them, even expending energy to appear before mortals and plead.
In essence, tis had changed.
For Tuo Master to obtain the position of Mortal God, there are two difficulties.
One, being inherently different, she naturally faces rejection unless she performs ritorious deeds that are widely praised.
Second, the cooperation between Xuan Sect and the court is indispensable.
East of Ezhou lies the Zen jurisdiction, and to the west, Zhenwu Palace holds sway. Tuo Master operates right between the two, possibly needing to appease both sides.
Moreover, there must be support from within the court.
Should this endeavor succeed, the benefits would be substantial.
Typically, it might be difficult, but now, Li Yan saw a great entry point—the war in the Southwest!
Thinking of this, Li Yan carefully reviewed the map again.
Between the mountains and forests of Ezhou, there lurked many old demons, much like wild beasts, each possessing their own territory, with both good and bad relations among them.
For example, near the Han River in Xiangyang, there was an old spirit known as Nanmu King, a Heavenly Spirit Earth Treasure phoebe sunk in the river, absorbing water and Yin Qi over many years into a demon spirit...
Or like the water route toward Dongting and Xiang River, where another old demon lurked, worshiped by Tusi City, its power even greater, so much so that even the old ancestors of East Lake could not advance southward.
And events like war in the human world often involve demons, the most famous being Yu the Great’s water control battle with the rebellious Qi.
With careful planning, Tuo Master could also gain rits during the great war.
If successful, the team would have a strong ally.
Tuo Master, becoming the Water God, would definitely restrain and subdue many aquatic creatures, providing them with a Navy within her sphere of influence.
As for dealing with humans, that certainly wouldn’t be acceptable.
But when encountering so powerful water demons, Lv San would set up the magic platform, and Tuo Master would co forward to beat the opponent.
And news of so Heavenly Spirit Earth Treasures could also be sought through her assistance.
In short, there were many benefits.
As for the other two treasures among the three,
The Soil of Breath was too mysterious, even Tuo Master hadn’t heard of it.
But there was news about Scripture Storage Forest from Zen Ancestor Wang Chan near Xiangyang, and so mysterious people were secretly searching for it.
They had captured so newly sentient Tuo demons. Tuo Master had intervened and rescued them, only then learning of this matter...
Of course, this matter still required careful planning.
Just then, Lv San erged from another room, already dressed and looking ready to leave.
Li Yan also hurried out, "Leaving already, aren’t you having breakfast?"
Lv San replied gruffly, "I’ll eat when I get back."
Li Yan knew what was happening.
Lv San had left in a hurry yesterday, bringing only the demon gourd and hawk, leaving Little Fox and the two rats, Rat One and Rat Two, at the Chamber of Comrce.
With the threat from the Tian Family not yet eliminated, Lv San couldn’t be at ease.
Li Yan didn’t say much, simply nodding, "Alright, then be careful on the road. I’ll watch over things here; you take care of everything there. After the ’Sharpener Rain,’ we can et up."
With only two days left before refining the Magic Artifact.
Even with the Jinzhou Chamber of Comrce’s protection, he felt uneasy and had to stay, waiting for the success of refining the Magic Artifact.
And with many experts at the Chamber of Comrce located within Wuchang City, as long as Lv San could provide early warnings, they needn’t fear stealth attacks by demons.
After seeing Lv San off, Li Yan ran to the backyard to check.
Master Lu’s work was indeed swift; various Magic Artifacts were already taking shape, now only the final touches remained.
They were just waiting for the day of the 13th of May to comnce the consecration.
And Sha Lifei, under Master Lu’s guidance, had mastered the formulation of new gunpowder, and so firearms had also been improved.
"Brother Yan, here, take these for personal protection!"
Sha Lifei, looking fatigued but with excitent and pride in his eyes, proudly took out two fire thorns and handed them to Li Yan.
These two fire thorns were no larger than the size of a fist, completely forged from tal and shaped into layers of scales, resembling pineapples, essentially resembling the prototype of a hand grenade.
The only trouble was having to light them manually.
Li Yan understood, knowing it must involve new gunpowder, and carefully tucked them in his leather waist pouch.
Sha Lifei, without further ado, turned and went back to work.
Although normally easy-going, he was very clear-headed about many things.
As the team’s strength rapidly increased, he might mainly handle communication, but the forces he encountered and the enemies he faced would beco increasingly strong.
Even though Li Yan was not a heartless man, he would eventually beco a burden and be targeted.
And the ergence of new firearms was his reliance!
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