Chapter 20 Incense and Divine Path in the East Sea
. On Mount Ziwei, Feng Zichen spent three hundred years deducing the Thirty-Six Transformations of the Heavenly Gang every day, but he had only managed to deduce five divine abilities—the Five Elements Great Escape, Golden Light Across the Earth, Summoning Wind and Rain, Standing Still Without a Shadow, and Mastering the Five Thunders.
After that, he abandoned his plan to continue deducing the Thirty-Six Transformations of the Heavenly Gang. Ultimately, his cultivation level was too low, resulting in slow progress, and continuing to deduce would be a waste of time.
It would be better to use this time to improve his cultivation level, and when his cultivation level was higher, the deduction speed would naturally increase.
Besides, with the current strength of the human race, five were already enough; any more would be a disaster rather than a blessing. Feng Zichen understood the principle of "possessing a treasure is a crime."
After all, in the primordial world, not every race had great divine abilities passed down through generations.
By no longer deducing the Thirty-Six Transformations of the Heavenly Gang, Feng Zichen could also do other things. Just as he was preparing to deduce a weapon-refining technique, he discovered a mysterious power gathering around him.
Trying to make contact with this power, a cacophony of sounds instantly filled Feng Zichen's mind, jolting him awake.
"This is—the power of faith!"
The power of faith, also known as the power of incense and vows, is the foundation of the acquired divine path and the source of its divine power.
Sensing the power of faith, various flashes of inspiration rapidly appeared in Feng Zichen's mind. The acquired divine path only appeared after the Great Tribulation of the Investiture of the Gods; now, in the era of the Lich Kings, the acquired divine path has not yet been born.
Since the acquired divine path will inevitably emerge sooner or later, why not create it himself and occupy the position of Dao Ancestor?
Thinking this, Feng Zichen immediately made a decision and began to fully deduce the acquired divine path.
At the same time, records of the power of faith from his previous life all surfaced in his mind, helping him create the acquired divine path.
A hundred years later, the power of faith surrounding Feng Zichen suddenly began to twist, eventually forming a figure identical to Feng Zichen, releasing a celestial-level pressure.
This is a divine avatar forged by Feng Zichen using the power of faith. Upon its birth, it possessed the cultivation of a Celestial Immortal, surpassing even the original body.
The main purpose of forging the avatar from the power of faith was to receive it, preventing the original body from being corrupted. After all, there have always been rumors that incense is poisonous, so caution is necessary!
The appearance of the divine avatar signifies that Feng Zichen has already established an acquired divine path. Instantly, the Heavenly Dao sensed this and bestowed boundless merit.
The essence of the acquired divine path is to maintain the order of heaven and earth, which is favored by the Heavenly Dao; unlike the demonic path that Feng Zichen established, which harms heaven and earth to strengthen itself, it is abhorred by the Heavenly Dao.
Therefore, this time, the Heavenly Dao not only refrained from divine punishment but also bestowed upon him a superior-grade innate spiritual treasure—the Myriad Gods Diagram—
to suppress the fortune of the acquired divine path.
Putting away the Myriad Gods Diagram, Feng Zichen activated the merit light, channeling the falling Xuanhuang merit energy into it. Instantly, the light of merit emitted a dazzling glow, generating six more acquired divine restrictions, thus advancing to a top-grade acquired spiritual treasure.
At this point, the light of merit possessed forty-two acquired divine restrictions; even a Grand Luo Golden Immortal would have to expend considerable effort to break through its defenses.
Thus, although Feng Zichen's cultivation level was low, he gained the capital to stand firm in the prehistoric world.
Even beings capable of killing him would have to consider whether they could withstand the karmic backlash after killing him, given his merit comparable to a Grand Luo Golden Immortal.
After refining his divine avatar, Feng Zichen used it to guard Ziwei Mountain, deducing various cultivation techniques, while he himself remained hidden behind the scenes, observing secretly.
Decades later, seeing that his avatar's presence at Ziwei Mountain had not caused any problems, Feng Zichen left the human race and headed to the East Sea.
The edge of the human territory was the East Sea coast; protected by the barriers set up by the Goddess Nuwa, Feng Zichen encountered no trouble and arrived at the East Sea smoothly.
... Of all the waters under heaven, none is greater than the sea. All rivers flow into it, yet it never overflows; its outlet flows into it, yet it never runs dry; it remains unchanged through spring and autumn, unaffected by floods or droughts. The flow of its waters is immeasurable.
Standing atop the vast Eastern Sea, Feng Zichen felt its immensity, unmatched by any other in the world.
At this time, more than five hundred years had passed since Ao Xue's departure, and more than fourteen hundred years remained before the Dragon Gate opened.
Thinking this, Feng Zichen was not in a hurry to go to the Dragon Palace, intending instead to take a stroll around the Eastern Sea first. Currently, the Three Pure Ones had not yet attained sainthood, and the Shangqing Daoist was still in Kunlun Mountain, not yet relocated to the Eastern Sea.
The countless immortal islands of the Eastern Sea had not yet been occupied by the Jiejiao immortals, so he could try his luck and see if he could find a few innate spiritual treasures.
Feng Zichen was very confident in his luck—no, he was very confident in his accumulated merit. Those with great merit inevitably possess great fortune.
Those with great fortune are favored by heaven and earth, able to turn misfortune into good fortune and attract opportunities from all directions. These were all universally acknowledged throughout the primordial world.
With this in mind, Feng Zichen flew towards the depths of the East Sea.
However, he hadn't gone far when a gigantic tentacle tore through the sea, lashing out at him with a ferocious aura.
Seeing this, Feng Zichen's mind stirred, and hundreds of sword lights flew from his divine apertures, slicing the tentacle into pieces.
Then, he flicked his finger, and the sea before him instantly parted, revealing a ferocious octopus, its ferocity no less than that of a celestial being.
With a grasping motion, the sword lights in the air converged into Feng Zichen's hand, forming a purple sword. He
gently swung the sword at the octopus, and a dazzling sword light flashed, splitting the octopus in two.
This was the Zichen Sword, forged by Feng Zichen from the light of stars, a postnatal spiritual treasure with twelve divine restrictions.
A furnace flew out from his body, absorbing the octopus's corpse and refining it into pure innate energy. This was the Heaven and Earth Furnace, Feng Zichen's innate divine ability.
Having easily dealt with the ferocious beast, Feng Zichen hadn't even left when several more ferocious beasts surrounded him. Fortunately, these beasts weren't high-level, all only at the Celestial Immortal realm.
He formed a Dao seal with his right hand, unleashing a bolt of Myriad Manifestations Divine Thunder, which manifested the sun, moon, stars, mountains, and rivers, instantly killing one of the beasts.
In the void, endless starlight fell, forming a gigantic handprint, accompanied by the shadows of the Five Emperors, pressing down on another ferocious beast.
"Destroy!"
Feng Zichen uttered softly, and the power of heaven and earth emerged, annihilating another beast.
In the blink of an eye, several more ferocious beasts were killed.
However, the beasts seemed inexhaustible; as soon as one was killed, another immediately took its place. Not far away, several more beasts at the Profound Immortal realm were arriving.
It seemed Feng Zichen had forgotten that the Four Seas were currently in turmoil.
The sea eye was raging, and the ferocious beasts in the deep sea were taking advantage of the situation to wreak havoc on the surrounding waters. Although the Dragon Emperor led numerous Grand Luo level experts of the Dragon Clan to suppress the Sea Eye and slay ferocious beasts, the Four Seas were vast, and the Dragon Clan's experts were few in number.
Therefore, the Dragon Clan's main targets were ferocious beasts at the Taiyi Golden Immortal realm. Ferocious beasts of the Celestial Immortal and Profound Immortal levels were simply wiped out upon encounter, and not sought out specifically if they weren't found.
Thus, many ferocious beasts roamed the seas.
(End of Chapter)