Becoming a Deity from Planting the Bodhi Tree

Emerging from the kitchen was an elderly man, his hair and beard gray-white like the snow-covered pine trees, each strand bearing the sediment of years.

His frame was lean and frail, as if a breeze could topple him.

The old man's eyes were deeply sunken, his gaze calm, a calmness so profound it seemed to penetrate the human heart.

"Old Zhou is busy today, we're one short, so no mahjong," the old man said casually. "Have you had dinner yet? I made some pumpkin pancakes."

He is Ji Jingqiu's grandfather, Ji Bumian.

"I've eaten," inhaled Ji Jingqiu, catching the scent from the kitchen. He added, "I ate at the Martial Arts Hall. I've started training martial arts recently."

"Hmm," Ji Bumian gave him a thorough look over, "You do seem sturdier than before. Do you have enough money on you?"

"There's nowhere for me to spend it at the moment," Ji Jingqiu thought for a moment, realizing that he ate at the Martial Arts Hall and lived at home, hardly spending anything.

"No place to spend money?" Ji Bumian sighed and shook his head, "That would mean your training isn't going all that well."

Ji Jingqiu fell silent for a moment, then said, "… Explain first, what time did you come back last Thursday night."

Ji Bumian also fell silent: "Your Sir Zhuang came back. I went to see him that night, and he insisted on me staying, forcing me to have a few drinks with him."

"Sir Zhuang is back?" Ji Jingqiu exclaimed, "I'll visit him another day."

"Hmm, it's been a long time since you've paid your respects at the Divine Temple too, visit that on your way," nodded Ji Bumian.

The Sir Zhuang mentioned by Ji Jingqiu lived in the lower levels, serving as the temple priest of a dilapidated Divine Temple.

There were many Divine Temples on the East Three Bright Star, but most were in decline, not having even a single person to guard them.

Ji Jingqiu didn't believe in gods, or rather, he used to believe until he found it useless and stopped.

Adhering to realism.

Indeed, there were gods in the Federation.

Some among them could even intervene in the workings of local parliaments through influencing their followers.

Hence, in many places, deities with bustling incense offerings were among the first targets of government officials looking to curry favor. Their scale and status were not subordinate to those of oligarchic enterprises and certain noble families.

Unfortunately, these gods were also helpless against Evil Poison Disease, or perhaps they disdained him for his insincerity, unwilling to trouble themselves for his meager offerings.

"What Pile Skill did you learn? Perform it for me," said Ji Wumian with interest.

Ji Jingqiu didn't rush to perform. Instead, he sized up the old man and hesitantly asked, "You've also trained in martial arts, haven't you?"

Ji Wumian rolled his eyes and said, "What's so surprising about that? These days, anyone with money can learn martial arts. Not to mention me, your dad also once stole money from home to enroll in martial arts courses, but sadly, neither of us were that great at it."

Ji Jingqiu cautiously asked, "Does our family lack innate talent?"

Could this thing be hereditary?

"Your innate talent is passable, but we lack money," sighed Ji Wumian with his hands behind his back,

"I started to struggle even during the Body Refining Stage, let alone later stages. Which realm doesn't burn money like water? Our family truly can't afford it.

Back in my youth, I went mad training martial arts, even taking out loans to train. Later on, I figured, not to mention paying it off in this lifetime, it would have taken at least three generations of descendants to clear the debt.

In the end, I decisively ran away; otherwise, the East Three Bright Star would not be our hometown."

Ji Jingqiu was struck dumb.

He had never imagined his grandfather had such a colorful past.

"How much did you owe back then?" he couldn't help asking.

Ji Wumian glanced at him, "Are you planning to pay it off for me?"

Ji Jingqiu shook his head vigorously, like a rattle drum.

Life was already hard enough, how could he take on more debt?

"Then why ask?" Ji Wumian lifted his chin, "Show me your Pile Skill, I can still give you some guidance in the Body Refining Stage."

"Oh."

Ji Jingqiu was now adept at Practicing Posture.

The stance flowed naturally, and the burgeoning Qi Force in his body gently swayed, turning into a dense cloud of steam that spread throughout his body with each breath.

Enveloped by this Qi Force, every inch of his body gradually soaked in a warm current.

Every inch of flesh and bone grew stronger under the nourishment of the Qi Force, which itself silently swelled bolstered by the vitality of his blood.

This feeling was simply wonderful, reaching the pinnacle of bliss.

Now practicing the Hidden Dragon Stance, Ji Jingqiu felt none of the initial soreness and discomfort, rather it was extremely comfortable, as if bathing in a hot spring every single moment.

After completing a full cycle, Ji Jingqiu finished his practice and looked eagerly towards his grandfather.

Ji Wumian stroked his chin: "Not bad at all, follow me."

"Is there anything I need to improve on?" Ji Jingqiu asked humbly.

Ji Wumian pondered briefly, his expression unchanged: "I just remembered, Practicing Posture is a personal matter, the best way is for you to figure it out on your own. By the way, how much savings do we have left at home?"

"About two hundred thousand or so," Ji Jingqiu calculated.

The money wasn't considered too little, but it wasn't a lot either. It couldn't even buy a stick of Purifying Divine Incense.

Furthermore, their household was living off dwindling reserves, with no stable source of income between the old and the young.

Ji Wumian turned and walked into the house, taking out his own terminal.

A moment later.

Ji Jingqiu's terminal suddenly popped up with a notification.

"Your account ending in 402X has received a transfer of 803,134.23 Yuan..."

"I have some private savings, take it to buy some gene enhancers, practicing martial arts requires a lot of resources; it's a pity our family doesn't have much to provide you with."

"Since you have decided, let's see how far you can go. The path of Martial Arts is obstructed and long, but by walking it, one will eventually reach the destination."

Looking at the string of numbers, both whole and fractional, Ji Jingqiu felt mixed emotions.

It's said to be private savings, but isn't it actually the money set aside for old age?

But… gene enhancers?

This was a byproduct from the gene editing craze 120 years ago, long since classified as contraband, only found in the underbelly of the black market.

Ji Jingqiu couldn't help but ask, "Can that stuff even be used?"

Ji Wumian glanced at him: "Others may fear it, but do you even need to be afraid?"

Ji Jingqiu opened his mouth to speak, but suddenly did not know what to say.

It feels...

Somewhat reasonable?

The old man's meaning was simple; he had endured the terrifying Evil Poison Disease for sixteen years due to gene editing—should he still be afraid of a gene enhancer?

In fact, the reason why these things still circulated in the black market was because there were people in this world who didn't need to consider the consequences.

Ji Wumian said calmly: "A normal 'God Building Needle' during the Body Refining Realm costs half a million per injection, and a full treatment requires eight injections, which our family cannot afford. So we have to find some alternative ways."

Ji Jingqiu couldn't help asking: "Is there a big difference with or without using that stuff?"

"Nonsense," Ji Wumian scolded sternly, "you should at least show some respect for the four million. Those eight injections could at least level out your innate deficiencies in root bone to reach the most basic starting line."

Ji Jingqiu: "…"

Ji Wumian asked, "What do you want to learn in the future? Boxing and grappling, or saber, sword, spear, and staff?"

Ji Jingqiu thought seriously: "Probably the saber, I think I would choose to learn the saber."

"Oh, why?" Ji Wumian was curious.

"I study history," Ji Jingqiu was curious as well, "What did you learn when you were young, old man?"

He loved reading history, especially about the chaotic times at the dawn of the establishment of the Federation.

According to the historical records, among the seven Founding Marshals who laid down the foundation of the Federation, the most commonly used weapon was the saber, followed by the sword, spear, and fist.

"Boxing," Ji Wumian said slowly, "I like to talk with my fists, and the thing I hated most in this life is the saber."