Immortality Through Array Formations

Chapter 1075: Chapter 672: Deities and Ghosts_3 Chapter 1075: Chapter 672: Deities and Ghosts_3 “Mountain Lord, what’s wrong with you?”

Lord Yellow Mountain jolted in surprise, then reluctantly forced a smile and said,

“N-nothing…”

“Oh.” Mo Hua shot a suspicious glance at Lord Yellow Mountain and asked again, “Can you tell me then? What exactly is a deity? How is it different from mortals?”

Mo Hua asked, expecting Lord Yellow Mountain to dodge the question again.

Unexpectedly, Lord Yellow Mountain seemed to tremble slightly. He then let out a deep sigh and said candidly, “Alright, I’ll tell you…”

“Hmm, hmm.”

Mo Hua immediately sat upright, his small frame filled with focus, ready to listen attentively.

Lord Yellow Mountain glanced at Mo Hua, his expression complicated, and then sighed slowly, saying,

“A deity is also one of the myriad spirits of heaven and earth. The difference is that unlike mortals, deities do not rely on flesh to exist but rather embody a powerful, independent, and pure form of divine thought.”

“However, that doesn’t mean deities don’t need a host to reside in.”

“Mortals possess both flesh and divine sense, and neither can be absent.”

“When mortal cultivation reaches a certain level, the divine soul can temporarily leave the physical body, but neither the flesh nor the divine soul can be injured or perish.”

“If the divine sense dissipates, the flesh becomes ownerless. If the flesh is destroyed, the divine sense also vanishes.”

“Likewise, deities aren’t entirely exempt from this principle…”

“Different deities reside in different vessels: some dwell in mountain stones, others in riverbeds. However, most deities harbor themselves within what is known as a ‘divine statue’…”

“A ‘divine statue’ is equivalent to the ‘flesh’ of a deity.”

“But divine statues come in various forms. There are lifebound divine statues, twin divine statues, preaching divine statues, and even other types of external-path divine statues…”

“Preaching?” Mo Hua asked in confusion.

Lord Yellow Mountain replied, “For deities to grow stronger, they must feed on the incense offerings of mortals and be nourished by faith. To achieve this, they must ‘preach’…”

“The wider the preaching spreads, the more worshippers there are, the deeper the faith becomes, and the stronger the deity becomes.”

“A deity’s preaching cannot involve moving its sole lifebound divine statue. Instead, it divides its essence and resides in preaching divine statues, scattering them across the Nine State to receive offerings from mortals there…”

Mo Hua suddenly understood, “So, the majority of ‘divine statues’ seen throughout heaven and earth are preaching divine statues, housing fragments of divine thoughts used by deities to feed on incense and accept worship?”

“As for lifebound divine statues, these are akin to the deity’s foundation, something that should not be revealed lightly?”

Lord Yellow Mountain nodded, “Correct.”

Mo Hua’s eyes suddenly lit up as he stared curiously at the clay sculpture that served as Lord Yellow Mountain’s vessel, “So, is this clay sculpture your lifebound divine statue or your preaching divine statue?”

Lord Yellow Mountain was startled and quickly covered his clay sculpture, exclaiming, “I can’t tell you that!”

If I tell you, everything will be ruined!

Mo Hua wasn’t adamant about knowing. Seeing Lord Yellow Mountain so flustered, he reassured him, “Relax—I was just asking casually, not plotting against you…”

Lord Yellow Mountain remained suspicious, clutching his clay sculpture tightly.

Mo Hua offered some kind words and handed him fruits to eat, finally calming Lord Yellow Mountain down.

“Preaching divine statues…”

Mo Hua thought for a moment and then suddenly asked, “Have there ever been deities who reside within humans?”

Lord Yellow Mountain’s eyes trembled, his expression growing terrifying.

Mo Hua paused upon noticing his look, “What’s wrong?”

Lord Yellow Mountain’s face visibly struggled, but he eventually sighed, “Yes…”

“Deities usually reside within divine statues. If they reside in humans, it means… they’ve become an evil god!”

“Evil god…”

Mo Hua’s gaze darkened slightly.

Lord Yellow Mountain’s expression turned grim as he continued, “Divine statues are typically composed of clay or stone—lifeless and mindless objects from heaven and earth. They are ‘clean’.”

“When deities reside within divine statues, they abide by their Dao and remain unaffected, encountering no major issues.”

“But humans are different. Humans possess divine sense, and within that divine sense lies an array of unknown greed and desires—impure elements.”

“Should a deity reside within a human, it will either corrupt the person or be corrupted itself.”

“Once corrupted, it inevitably degenerates…”

“It’s not just humans. Should a deity reside within a monster beast, a spirit beast, or any other living, conscious creature, it likewise indicates that it’s already an ‘evil god,’ or at the very least, has started down the path to becoming one.”

Lord Yellow Mountain’s gaze carried profound fear.

Mo Hua’s heart grew heavy, and he asked quietly, “Are evil gods truly terrifying?”

Lord Yellow Mountain nodded fearfully, his expression full of dread.

Mo Hua pondered for a moment but still didn’t quite understand, “Why does inhabiting living flesh lead to corruption, degeneration, and transformation into an evil god?”

“Is it simply feeding on incense and receiving faith that prevents degeneration?”

“What happens if it transforms into an evil god?”

“Why exactly are evil gods so terrifying?”

…

Mo Hua fired off a series of questions.

Hearing this, Lord Yellow Mountain smiled bitterly, “I’m just a small, downcast mountain god. How would I know? Evil gods are not something I dare to provoke…”

“That makes sense…”

Mo Hua nodded and refrained from further troubling Lord Yellow Mountain with terrifying questions about evil gods.

Lord Yellow Mountain sighed in relief.

“By the way…” Mo Hua thought for a moment and then picked a lingering question he’d always wondered about, asking slowly, “Can mortals become deities?”

Lord Yellow Mountain froze momentarily before shaking his head insistently, “What nonsense… That’s absolutely impossible.”

“Not even by feeding on incense like a deity?” Mo Hua asked.

Lord Yellow Mountain replied crossly, “Have you ever seen a living, breathing person feed on incense offerings?”