Wandering Gods of Day and Night-Chapter 60 - 57 Divine Presence in Dreams

60: Chapter 57: Divine Presence in Dreams

60 -57: Divine Presence in Dreams

“Uh…

what if the third incense still doesn’t work?” Zhou Xuan inquired thoroughly.

“Then light the fourth!” Yuan Buyu gritted his teeth and squeezed out the words.

Wow, isn’t this just like the silly wife making dough?

Add water if there’s too much flour, and add flour if there’s too much water, endlessly back and forth… frёeωebɳovel.com

“Kid, you’re really strange.

There are so many things about you that I just can’t figure out.”

Yuan Buyu admitted honestly, thought for a moment, and then said, “I should focus on things I can understand.”

After finishing a breakfast of two baskets of dumplings, two bowls of noodle tea, a bowl of beef noodles, and a cup of soy milk, Yuan Buyu led Zhou Xuan to the outer courtyard to teach him the real skills of a storyteller.

A few apprentice opera singers, seeing this, conscientiously returned to their rooms to practice, leaving the courtyard free.

Yuan Buyu first taught Zhou Xuan how to handle a folded fan and hold the gavel.

“Do we need to learn this too?”

“We are both divine people and artists.

As artists, we must stand with poise and sit with grace.

When we appear on stage, we must uphold our vitality.

When opening the fan, it should snap crisply, and the fan shouldn’t brush against the clothes, making it seem sloppy…”

With corrections to expressions and movements, Zhou Xuan opened the folded fan and struck the gavel with flair.

“Now that’s style.”

Yuan Buyu “snap” opened the folded fan and began the second lesson while circling Zhou Xuan, “A storyteller is the first in Jing Country to hear the divine oracle.

With gods nearby, they must be cautious in words and deeds, always exercising self-control and steadfastness.”

“What was the content of the divine oracle?”

Zhou Xuan’s focus was peculiar.

“It’s too ancient, it hasn’t been passed down.”

Yuan Buyu closed the fan, patting Zhou Xuan on the shoulder, and said, “Now about our skills.

As storytellers, when we narrate stories, what makes the audience listen entranced?

It’s because we use our voices as bricks, our bodies as beams, our expressions as tiles, constructing an invisible and intangible house of daydreams with our stories.

The audience is enraptured in this house of dreams until the gavel sounds, marking the end of the story, and they wake from the dream.”

“The skill of the storyteller lies in this daytime dream.”

“Were the cliff rocks, the thunder, the strange hand, and the folded fan yesterday all daytime dreams?” Zhou Xuan asked.

“Of course.”

“But I felt they weren’t like dreams.

I could sense their power.

Take that thunder, for example.

If it struck an inch lower, it could have taken off my nose.

And that folded fan, with a bit more force, could pierce me through…

Dreams shouldn’t be able to kill!” Zhou Xuan recalled the scene, still feeling his heartbeat rise.

“If I were in your dream, it would naturally be difficult to kill you.

But this daytime dream originated from my magic…

it is my dream.”

Yuan Buyu gazed at Zhou Xuan, “What is Dream Generation?

I use my perception to create my dreamscape.

In this dream, I am the master, I can summon the wind when I wish, strike with thunder when I desire, and decide who lives or dies!

The magic of Dream Creation spans the nine incense of the storyteller.

During the first incense, the dream is merely an illusion.

With the second incense, the dream gains substance; what others touch, hear, see, and feel is indistinguishable from reality…

…

If it burns to the ninth incense, the daytime dream is no longer just a dream you create; you become the dream itself!

At this level, you are the sole god in the dream.

Each thought you have can invade and taint those trapped in your dream!”

Zhou Xuan was enthralled, particularly captivated by the idea of the Dream God in the ninth incense.

“Lao Yuan, have you already burned nine incense?”

“Not even close.”

“Has anyone in the storyteller’s Tangkou burned nine incense?”

“Uh…

it’s been three hundred years…

No storyteller has ever passed the eight incenses in three hundred years.”

“…” Zhou Xuan.

They hadn’t even passed eight, let alone nine.

“So, you haven’t become a Dream God either, yet you’re telling me all about it.”

“Don’t be cheeky, meals are eaten one bite at a time.

Master the means of dream creation first, then we can talk about the Dream God.”

Yuan Buyu spoke to Zhou Xuan about the storyteller’s skills and then began explaining how to accumulate incense and Dao level.

“Your heart’s incense is inserted in the incense burner within your secret realm, and the flame on that incense is called incense fire.

The more vigorous the incense fire, the faster the heart incense burns, and the swifter your secret realm’s ship sails.

Once the first incense is burned out, your ship reaches the position of the second incense’s incense point, and you must see if your incense fire is strong enough.

If it’s strong enough, you can immediately ignite the second incense.

If not, you need to cultivate the incense fire until it’s strong enough to ignite.

Once you light the new incense point, you transition from one incense to two incenses, ascending a layer in level, and naturally enhancing your Dao level.

The higher the incense fire level, the more techniques from the Tangkou you can master, and the foundational techniques become more exquisite.

So, for Tangkou disciples, incense fire level is extremely important when honing skills.

The incense you lit yesterday still has some power, enough to support your secret realm navigation for seven to eight days, but afterward, you must actively cultivate incense fire yourself.”

Zhou Xuan carefully committed these knowledge points to memory.

Yuan Buyu added,

“Incense fire is almost equivalent to divine skills.

So, how do you accumulate incense fire?

By taking the stage to tell stories!

The larger the stage you take, the more audience below.

Once they listen and admire you, that is a form of wish power.

Each person offers a piece of wish power, and when the numbers increase, it accumulates into a substantial amount.

Wish power as fuel can make the incense fire flourish.”

Oh,

Zhou Xuan suddenly realized that this was how incense fire was accumulated.

No wonder the alien ghosts enjoyed gathering followers and opening Tangkou, seeking to absorb the wish power of their followers to gain incense fire.

“Alien ghosts take from both ends, wish power indeed increases incense fire, and consuming blood and soul of spiritual nature boosts it too.”

Yuan Buyu continued, “Once you gain spiritual communication, you will be able to perform face reading, which is the most coveted spiritual trait for storytellers.

It makes accumulating incense fire easier.”

Fearing Zhou Xuan might not understand, Yuan Buyu explained, “Storytelling differs from singing opera or performing comedy.

When opera singing reaches a colorful climax, the audience below can cheer loudly.

When comedy reaches a funny point, the audience laughs aloud.

But in storytelling, the audience is immersed in the tale, almost silent throughout.

Whether they like it or truly appreciate it is hidden within them, who could know?

To make the story excel, experience is indispensable.

The more times you’re on stage, the more experience you accumulate, then you’ll know if the audience enjoys it, whether they genuinely appreciate you, and if your incense fire has increased,

usually requiring ten to fifteen years of observation until the storytelling presentation matures to a remarkable level, allowing for a significantly faster pace of incense fire accumulation,

but often by then, both the person and the story have aged, wasting much time.

With your ability to read faces, while telling stories, you can see the audience’s faces—whether they’re bored and restless, ecstatic, or their thoughts drift with the characters in the story,

By reading faces, once you sense that the audience is finding your storytelling dull, you can promptly adjust the story content, performance skills, still earning applause, and after a session, the incense fire accumulates quickly.

When the incense fire prospers, the level naturally rises quickly.

You, dear, are simply the chosen one of our storytelling Tangkou.”

Zhou Xuan listened, excited, and was eager to practice immediately.

“Can I learn the Dream Creation Technique now?”

“To learn the Dream Creation Technique, you need a partner for practice…

using perception to create a dreamscape around the partner, to see if they can perceive any flaws in your dreamscape.”

Yuan Buyu explained further, “But I can’t be your partner.

My level is too high.

No matter what kind of dreamscape you create, to me, it’s full of flaws, easily broken.

It’s best to find an opera apprentice.”

“Can we involve outsiders?

Aren’t you afraid of secrets being leaked?” Zhou Xuan worried.

“They haven’t pledged to the storyteller’s Tangkou, so even if they know the Dream Creation Technique, it won’t be of use.

Find someone.”

…

“Little Fuzi, you’re in luck today, the Young Master is personally helping you dream.”

Zhou Xuan found Little Fuzi, who had done some cleaning for him.

“Young Master, Master wants me to practice.

I can’t take part in dreaming.” Little Fuzi declined Zhou Xuan’s invitation.

“Forty bucks!”

“It’s not that I’m greedy, I just love dreaming.” Little Fuzi had no resistance to money…