Chapter 139: Even the Gods Need to Take Professional Qualification Examinations
As he walked along and entered the Zen room, Gu Qingyuan saw an old monk sitting cross-legged.

He was not wearing a Jinlan cassock, only a monk's robe, his hair and beard were all white, and he raised his hand and said.

"I am Yuanjue, please take a seat."

Gu Qingyuan sat down: "I am Xu Xuan, sorry to bother you, Master."

"Doctor Xu is a doctor who saves people. I recognize him. How come he has become so powerful after not seeing him for so many years?" Yuanjue was a little confused.

Gu Qingyuan smiled and said, "Some situations seem to help one break through the barriers and find one's true self. It's just a temporary delusion, and I'm confused, so I came to ask the master to solve my doubts."

Yuanjue slightly widened his eyes: "What is the true self? Where is the confusion?"

"All kinds of causes and effects, all kinds of illusions, it's like a new life. The first half of my life was wasted, and now I know who I am." Gu Qingyuan said mysteriously.

“It seems that the donor should have broken through the confusion in the womb, awakened to his past wisdom, and understood his previous life. I wonder where the confusion comes from?” Yuanjue fiddled with his Buddhist beads.

Gu Qingyuan uttered two words softly: "Reincarnation."

This world has the underworld, and naturally there are also the six realms of reincarnation. I learned a lot of information from Yang Taisui and got a glimpse of the appearance of this world. I am most interested in reincarnation and incense.

"It is normal for you to have such doubts. When a person dies, it is like a lamp being extinguished. The true spirit is immortal and will be reborn into the cycle of reincarnation. The heaven and earth are eternal, and the cycle of reincarnation is immortal." Yuanjue said.

"But now is different from the past. You, the reincarnated person, don't know whether it is a blessing or a curse."

Gu Qingyuan immediately asked: "How do you say that?"

"Well, let me tell you. All of us practitioners, whether Buddhist or Taoist, demons or ghosts, have a lifespan. Once our lifespan ends, the judge of the underworld, Wuchang, will come to take us away and determine our merits and virtues. Those with deep blessings will have a long lifespan in the underworld. Some will remain in the underworld as a hell, or they will be reincarnated as a celestial being after their lifespan ends."

"The wicked will naturally suffer all kinds of torment and be thrown into hell. Once their sentences are completed, they will become animals. There are heavenly palaces in heaven and hell on earth. Some immortals cannot bear the mortal desires or have made mistakes, so they will be reborn in the mortal world, go through tribulations and cultivate again. Humans and immortals will live together."

"The gods grant their positions to the gods. The Immortal Lord rules the world on behalf of the gods. There are nine grades of immortals, and the Immortal Lord is the only one. If someone is successful in cultivating immortals, he can be included in the immortal class. The rules of heaven are strict, and titles are evaluated according to their achievements and cultivation. They can get immortal salaries. Each period is evaluated, and the capable ones will be promoted, while the mediocre ones will be demoted."

"To rule the world on behalf of God and by man, I'm afraid there's a lot of room for promotion!"

Gu Qingyuan couldn't help but think of the ancient officialdom, and when he heard the heavenly rules, he couldn't help but think of the Jade Emperor's relatives who longed for the mortal world.

"Unfortunately, thousands of years ago, the connection between heaven and earth was severed, separating heaven and man. It was difficult for mortals to ascend to heaven, and for heavenly beings to descend to earth. The underworld had no support from heaven, and disasters occurred one after another. Ghosts rioted, the gates of hell opened wide, and the world was in chaos." Yuanjue continued.

"Is there no one in charge?" Gu Qingyuan asked.

Yuanjue shook his head, "Of course there are people. When the earth and the sky were connected, many immortals stayed in the mortal world to drive out demons and ghosts, close the ghost gate, and clear the evil spirits. However, the immortals have lived in the mortal world for a long time, and their hearts have been stained by the worldly affairs. They have all kinds of desires and are no longer immortals. Some of them hide in the Dayan Dynasty to manipulate the situation, or go to the underworld to become the chief official of the underworld."

He took out a copper coin from his bosom, which was golden in color. "This is an incense copper coin, which is refined from the power of mortals' offerings. When the Heavenly Court was there, they asked for incense and offered sacrifices to the gods. Thousands of families had incense. Now that the Heavenly Court is gone, the celestial beings and ghosts in the lower world will enjoy it."

"This copper coin seems to be able to improve one's cultivation?" Gu Qingyuan placed it in his palm and analyzed it carefully.

Yuanjue nodded: "Yes, if you don't want to practice peacefully, then this incense and copper coins are a way to go astray. Unfortunately, incense is poisonous and addictive. Once you are addicted to it, you can't stop."

"It seems that the problem lies in the incense coins?" Gu Qingyuan asked.

“The copper coins from incense are originally transformed from the thoughts of all living beings. Those who inhale incense will be corrupted by chaotic desires. There is an Immortal Washing Pool in Heaven, which can wash away the chaotic thoughts in the copper coins from incense and transform them into Tianbao copper coins, which are distributed to the celestial immortals, ghost immortals, and dynasties, and are determined as immortal salaries according to their rank, position, and merits.” Yuanjue said.

"The three realms are stable, the gods and ghosts perform their duties, and the dynasty offers sacrifices to the gods. It's just that the connection between heaven and earth was too fast and too hasty, which caused chaos."

Gu Qingyuan nodded. Apart from one's own talent and understanding, the speed of cultivation is almost the same. If one person drinks poison to quench thirst and refines incense and copper coins, then others will naturally follow suit in order to protect themselves.

Just like the Sunflower Manual in The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, everyone has grievances and love affairs. If one person masters it and goes to seek revenge, will the enemy swing the knife to protect himself?

Naturally, this enemy also has his own rival, and they are entangled with each other and competing to get the chicken. I am afraid that in the end, all the birds will fly away in the mountains.

"So, the underworld is not peaceful now, so how did I reincarnate?" Gu Qingyuan asked knowingly. Yuanjue shook his head: "The underworld is in even more chaos than the human world, and the reincarnation cycle is in chaos. I don't know what happened to you."

"I once saw a god of incense and worship in a dilapidated temple. There I also gained my past causes and wisdom. Is the god of incense and worship different from the celestial beings and ghosts that the master talked about?" Gu Qingyuan asked again.

"The incense gods were mostly enthroned by the dynasties and worshipped spontaneously by the people. Once the incense is cut off, they are like bricks in a broken kiln. When it rains heavily, they will rot. The immortals and ghosts are different. They are given the throne by heaven and sit firmly on the jade platform. Incense is just something to increase their value. It's okay to have it or not. Another difference is that the incense gods can accept the incense as they wish, while the immortals and ghosts condense the incense into copper coins and pour them out on their hands." Yuanjue explained.

The two chatted for a long time, so long that Gu Qingyuan even had a vegetarian meal.

"Master, you are so open with me about everything you know. Aren't you afraid that I will deceive you?" Gu Qingyuan stood up and was about to leave.

Yuanjue chanted a Buddhist name: "There are immortals from heaven who have come to earth, and there are also Buddhas from my Western Paradise who have come to the world and reincarnated to experience tribulations. I have met Mr. Xu before and I can see that he has some Buddha nature. He has a connection with my Buddha, and maybe he is an old acquaintance of mine!"

"Master, is it you?" Gu Qingyuan pretended to be surprised. This monk had been chatting for a whole day and had been trying hard not to say that he was also a reincarnated person. He only revealed it at the last moment when he could no longer hold back.

"Yes, I am the reincarnation of Buddha, Amitabha." Yuanjue chanted loudly and changed his appearance. He wore a five-Buddha crown on his head, an eight-treasure robe on his body, and a gilded staff with beads in his hand. A golden body emerged behind him and Buddha's light shone brightly.

Gu Qingyuan suppressed the smile in his heart, bowed slightly, and stood up again. Yuanjue returned to his original appearance.

"May I ask what rank the master holds in the Western Paradise?"

Yuanjue sighed, "The Buddha said that all living beings are equal, so there is no distinction between grades." He paused, "I am just serving the Tathagata."

After resolving his doubts, Gu Qingyuan turned and left.

The theory of reincarnation is just to fool Yuanjue, so there is no need to explain it. Just give an introduction. If Yuanjue believes it, he will naturally find a convincing argument for Gu Qingyuan. If he doesn't believe it, no matter how much you say, it will be useless.

'Yuanjue probably believed it.'

When Gu Qingyuan walked out of the meditation room, a thought flashed through his mind.

In the Zen room, sensing Gu Qingyuan's departure, Yuanjue lost his calm demeanor. Behind him, a golden Buddhist scripture taller than a man opened up, and bursts of Buddhist chants and wonderful Dharma mantras echoed.

"How can there be a reincarnation of Buddha at this time? How is this possible? Could it be a plan by the Buddha?"

Yuanjue scratched his head for a while.

Gu Qingyuan only laughed when he arrived at his home.

"What a bullshit immortal, ghost immortal, you scared me, but they are just a few incense puppets."

'Granted a heavenly mission and fed by incense, yet corrupted by incense, a good immortal body has a heart of incense, unable to restrain the seven emotions and six desires, more like a human than a god.'

Gu Qingyuan was thinking about the so-called reincarnation of Buddha and the mixed thoughts entangled with the golden Buddha of Jinguan Temple. He did not see any emptiness of consciousness. His heart was full of distracting thoughts, but he was not aware of it. Gu Qingyuan's little thoughts could be heard clearly, but he had done a good job on the surface of round awakening, like a quiet lake.

The immortals and ghosts are also funny, bound by their duties, running around for money for incense and offerings, and having their ranks determined by their merits. I'm afraid they have to bring expensive gifts to their superiors during the New Year to ensure the security of their positions.

'A god who is testing the system?'

Gu Qingyuan raised his hands and looked up at the sky.

"Since you can't come down, don't blame me for lining up my troops and attacking. I want to see what's so high up there."

He stretched out his hand, and some of the golden body fragments flickered.

"Let's create a god for fun."

　Thank you for the reward from Fanjianhongchenke. These few chapters explain the settings, which took up some space. Please bear with me. I will start working on things tomorrow. By the way, I received a lot of votes in the past two days. I didn't expect that so many people would read my book.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)