The Temple of Lady Baosheng is located outside Linjiang County, on Purple Cloud Mountain.
This temple was constructed by the county magistrate, and it is a legitimate temple officially stamped by the government.
What is a legitimate temple? A temple approved by the Ministry of Rites or officially sanctioned is called a legitimate temple.
The construction of a temple has been managed by the Ministry of Rites and local government from ancient times. The so-called official certifications include ritual registers, edict decrees, and granted inscription steles. As long as your temple has any one of these certifications, it moves beyond the realm of wild temples or ghost temples to become a legitimate temple.
Those temples that haven't been approved and have no certification are often referred to by orthodox circles as errant shrines or unrighteous sanctuaries, and belong to reckless worship practices.
These types of temples are easy to distinguish. Those that are self-proclaimed as some Grand King, some Great Immortal, or some True Person are mostly wild temples, with many of these deities being obscure. Many establishments of such temples aim to deceive incense and followers.
If it's like Immortal Hall, where things are clearly priced and tasks are completed, it's still somewhat acceptable. But the fear is with those wild temples that collect offerings but do not perform any services, or perform them improperly. If you make a wish at such places without results, it's still manageable, but if it works, you may end up with a spiritual debt.
Why is there such a saying? The reason is simple; it is because the moral standards of deities in wild temples are often very flexible.
You pray for wealth, and it steals money from others to give to you; you pray for a wife, and it snatches a maiden to throw on your bed.
This seemingly effective method, which ultimately harms others to benefit oneself, you can't say it isn't effective, but it truly is unethical!
Besides those 'effective' wild temples, there are also wild temples and even legitimate temples that only consume offerings and do nothing.
Such temples may be flourishing with incense, but the quality of the incense is very mixed.
According to what Xu Qing knew, incense offerings broadly fell into two categories: offerings of faith and vow, and offerings of merit and virtue.
Offerings of faith and vow are generated by wild temples and rogue gods, even legitimate temples that do not undertake practical matters and only consume empty echoes. This type of offering has only the people's faith but lacks the bonus of merit and virtue.
Offerings of merit and virtue differ; only when a temple is effective, shows miracles, and benefits the multitude, or when the people's prayers are answered, can there be a merit bonus.
Temples that do practical work receive heartfelt support from the populace, and when fulfilling promises, they do so without mixed intentions. Finally, in celestial response, offerings of merit and virtue are produced.
Ordinary offerings are white, offerings of merit and virtue are golden.
At least that's what Xu Qing had always believed since he first started temple-based cultivation, until recently, when he was forced to open a new temple line, he realized that offerings of merit and virtue were also distinct.
He provided disaster relief grain to disaster victims, along with the Cat Immortal Hall earning incense, presenting a majestic golden hue.
However, the offerings at the Temple of Lady Baosheng appeared as a pool of blood-red color.
Moreover, the offerings at the Temple of Lady Baosheng were noticeably more special than ordinary offerings of merit.
The abundant vitality contained within the blood lake of the Dharma Realm was something other offerings did not possess.
From it, Xu Qing could feel an affectionate wishing power from beyond the belief and devotion of worshipers. This kind of wishing power came from infants, pure and almost without any distractions.
In immortal cultivation, it was common to speak of the Golden Scarlet Path, which Xu Qing couldn't comprehend before.
Now, it seems the so-called Golden Scarlet Path should be the two distinctions of offerings of merit and virtue.
These offerings, one created by beings after growth with mixed emotions, and the other brought by newly born infants with no distracting thoughts.
If simplified further, it's essentially the difference between the acquired and the innate.
Xu Qing was very familiar with common golden incense offerings, which can fend off disasters and calamities, and can also be used in crafting incense fire Dharma Artifacts, or dealing with some evil heretics.
But regarding the newly acquired red incense offerings, Xu Qing was still quite unclear.
Currently, his development of this kind of offering remains at the stage of birth assistance and obstetrics.
The incense in the blood lake has the effect of restoring vitality and harmonizing the blood and qi of living people, essentially tailored for mothers and infants.
Beyond this, although Xu Qing is eager to develop further, he currently lacks the capability.
After all, without rice, even the cleverest cook cannot cook. The incense in his blood lake Dharma Realm is currently just a small pool; apart from aiding births, it can hardly accomplish anything else.
However, there is always uncertainty in cultivation, so Xu Qing is not in a hurry.
For instance, in the past, Xu Qing could never have imagined that one day he would possess a legitimate temple, and moreover, a temple built voluntarily from the hearts of others for him.
Even though the deity statue inside doesn't quite match...
Xu Qing's new temple now has official endorsement, and all the necessary inscription steles are in place. Over time, his Baosheng Temple might even become a geographical landmark of Linjiang County, recorded in local chronicles.
This treatment is a blessing that countless wild practitioners seek but cannot attain, though for Xu Qing, aside from the blessing, it has also added more weight to his shoulders.
After all, he is just a young zombie, yet at the age when he should lie dormant, he bears a burden that does not belong to his age.
With a temple, maintenance is necessary. Since he has received human incense offerings, he cannot act irresponsibly; otherwise, someday he will certainly invite misfortune.
Xu Qing walked the mountain path, full of worries, while Xuan Yu, resembling an unaffected cat, occasionally stopped to scratch and sharpen its claws on the tree root, or leap to catch insects and butterflies.
The zombie has far-reaching concerns, while the cat has no immediate worries.
At this moment, in Xuan Yu's eyes, there is only the scenery of the mountain path.
And Xu Qing.
"Xu Immortal Family, there's a ruined temple here—"