Above the Great Dao

Chapter 1213 565: The Difference Between Immortal Gods and Gods

After a moment, Lady Houtu came out from the back hall, already changed into a man's attire. Her upper body was dressed in a black form-fitting waistcoat, and her lower body wore a black skirt, with a big red skirt adorned with golden branches and green leaves underneath, which would reveal the red inner skirt as she moved—the contrast between black and red was quite striking.

Her hair accessories were much simpler, just tied up with a blue cloth, intertwined with a wooden hairpin.

She didn't wear any other earrings or head ornaments, only applied a thin layer of gauze on her face.

"We can depart now!" Lady Houtu said, her eyes sparkling, appearing very spirited.

Chen Shi thought for a moment and said, "Do you know what the Red Yuan Pill Furnace looks like, Lady?"

"I know!"

The two of them arrived at the lotus platform, leaped up, and jumped into the rosy clouds, following the glow.

Outside the rosy clouds, it was dim and obscure.

Walking within the rosy clouds, one could clearly smell the scent of incense.

This was the divine power of the goddess, different from the immortal divine skills.

Chen Shi was on the path of becoming an Immortal and didn't know much about becoming a god, so he asked Lady Houtu. Lady Houtu smiled and said, "The path of the divine initially follows the route of becoming an Incense Fire God, but when cultivation reaches a certain realm, it requires following the path of a Daoist God. A Daoist God refers to the birth of the Great Dao. For example, the God of Wealth governs the way of wealth. The God of Wealth is divided into civil and martial; the way of wealth governed by the civil God of Wealth differs from that of the martial God of Wealth."

Chen Shi suddenly realized that Emperor Guan was the martial God of Wealth, mastering the way of wealth through fighting and killing, which follows the path of a Daoist God. Mazu, the goddess of protecting sailors, mastered the way of the sea, which also follows the path of a Daoist God.

Some divines protect a region, like the Sage King of Kai Zhang, who protects a region, follows the route of becoming an Incense Fire God, and has not yet reached the level of a Daoist God.

"Divines who guard a region often shoulder responsibilities for marriages, seeking wealth and children, favorable weather, which are relatively lower level, hard to grow in influence, unable to transform from an Incense Fire God to a Daoist God, and can only remain in the mortal world. If an Incense Fire God cultivates long enough, it may also possess extraordinary power, not necessarily much weaker than a Daoist God."

Lady Houtu explained the path of divine cultivation in detail and comprehensively.

"In the Four Great Continents, there are quite a few such Incense Fire Gods with extraordinary strength. These types of gods are often called Lords. Another type of god is where the Sun, Moon, and Stars go through the incense fire of mortals and gradually develop a divine image, giving birth to divines. This type of god is called a Star Lord."

"What kind of divine is Godmother?" Chen Shi inquired.

Lady Houtu smiled and said, "I was first an Incense Fire God, then entered the Netherworld and became a Daoist God. Wherever there is land, there is the Nether, where there is a place of life and death, it is my domain. But within reincarnation, within life and death, all life, whether heaven, earth, humans, gods, ghosts, scales, feathers, fur, or insects, all fall under my Great Dao's jurisdiction."

Chen Shi couldn't help but be horrified and exclaimed, "Doesn't that mean great power?"

Lady Houtu sighed and said, "It seems like great power, but in fact, it's merely being a slave to the Great Dao, driven by it, allowing no freedom. Moreover, immortals who have jumped out of reincarnation are no longer under my control. Some immortals interfere with the Nether and disrupt reincarnation, committing evil without retribution."

She seemed somewhat indignant, likely due to accumulating grievances.

"Isn't there a way to punish them?"

"Perhaps there is. Maybe the Opening Tribulation is a means to punish the immortals. But immortals also have treasures like Earth Treasure Spirit Roots that can help them through the Opening Tribulation."

Lady Houtu shook her head as she spoke.

Chen Shi asked, "Are there goddesses born innately?"

"There is the innate Dao, but no innate god."

Lady Houtu smiled and said, "Without consciousness, how can there be divinity? Divines are born from the consciousness of living beings. Without the consciousness of all beings, divines do not exist. Perhaps in the cosmic starry sky, there are mysterious places that give birth to inherently powerful beings, but if no one worships or prays to them, they are not divines, merely stronger beings. The Primordial Worm is mostly a powerful being discovered in the dark. There are many strange things in the darkness surrounding the Earth Immortal Realm."

She slightly furrowed her brows and said, "Many spiritual objects that can survive the Opening Tribulation come from the darkness. In the past, The Three Pure Ones conquered the Great Shang Xuan Bird Heavenly Court, established the Haotian Heavenly Court, opened up the Dark Sea, and defined the Earth Immortal Realm. In these years, although the immortals have greatly expanded the domain of the Earth Immortal Realm, they still know little about the darkness outside the Earth Immortal Realm."

Chen Shi was greatly shocked.

Was the Earth Immortal Realm opened up by The Three Pure Ones?

Has the darkness outside the Earth Immortal Realm not been fully explored yet?

Why haven't these powerful immortals been able to open up the darkness? Is it due to some resistance?

Then, where exactly is the West Bull New Continent located?

The edge of darkness? Or deep within darkness?

No wonder this place is a land of exile, even Lady Houtu is not willing to come to this place.

Chen Shi reined in his wandering heart spirit and asked, "Godmother, immortals are also seekers of the Dao, what is the difference between gods and immortals?"

"The difference is significant."

Lady Houtu decided not to hurry and walked alongside him amidst the rosy clouds, saying, "Divines can be dead, divinized after death, or can be living beings sanctified in the physical body. They can also be non-living objects birthed with intelligence in incense. They are confined and restricted by the expectations of all beings and are not free.

"Immortals can only be cultivated by living beings. All living beings, with humans as the most intelligent, naturally awaken their spiritual consciousness and can cultivate. Humans desire immortality and mastery of the Great Dao, thus there are immortal techniques, immortal laws, and the Immortal Dao."