Jie Ning opened his eyes and sighed helplessly.
At this rate, the progress of the earth element path toward godhood may be far slower than I originally expected.
After my soul split, although the Sanctuary Main Body can still sense the fluctuations of the Earth Element, the overall speed of my thoughts when comprehending Mysteries is much slower than before.
Jie Ning pondered how to resolve his current predicament.
Although my Life God Power can now nourish the soul to a certain extent, its growth is still far too slow. Even just recovering to its original strength will take quite some time.
I need to use the Life Law more efficiently to strengthen my soul.
Or... should I try learning methods like those of the Death Rule? He knew perfectly well where "supplements" like Soul Golden Beads came from...
No, I can't open that door. Jie Ning knew human nature well. Once someone got a taste of its sweetness, human desire would come crashing down like a mountain torrent.
He did not want to test his own limits either. In his view, merely entertaining such thoughts was already an act of lowering his bottom line.
I won't. I'll just try it. Then becoming addicted... It was itself a process of compromise.
Desire would grow step by step until, in the end, it became impossible to escape.
Since he knew that, he had to reject it from the very beginning.
Jie Ning decisively abandoned that thought and turned his full attention back to comprehending the Life Law.
He believed that the Life Law was the origin of all life in the world. The Life Law surely possessed methods that could rapidly strengthen the soul.
Spring turned to autumn, and time passed like flowing water. In the blink of an eye, nearly a hundred years had gone by.
For ordinary people, that was already the length of an entire lifetime. But for the powerful, it was far from that.
Still, time had displayed its might. The world was moving forward, changing.
Let their gaze fall upon the once-barren Death Desert, later known as Life Duke's Territory.
Compared with its vast, sparsely populated state decades ago, Life Duke's Territory had now become a famous land of prosperity across the entire Bana Continent.
In the eyes of many who did not know the truth, this was a land of miracles, a blessing bestowed by the God of Life. Though it lay at the border between the two great empires, it was unexpectedly peaceful.
Over these past decades, people from every direction had gathered on this fertile land at every moment. They earned enough wealth here, then ultimately chose to settle down.
Gods' Festival, formerly known as War God Festival, had officially been renamed by the empire after Jie Ning and Gru became gods.
Although the festival's name had changed, one thing had not: this day was still the liveliest day in the Korur Empire.
Life Duke's Territory, City of Life.
Arannis and Jie Ning walked amid the crowd. The people around them naturally made way, yet judging from their reactions, they clearly had not noticed the two of them.
Watching this magical scene, Arannis exclaimed, "Jie Ning, you're becoming more and more unbelievable. We're clearly standing in the middle of the crowd, but everyone is turning a blind eye to us."
Jie Ning smiled faintly. "These are merely some little tricks I discovered by accident while studying souls over the years."
"Whether it's ordinary lifeforms, Saint Realm experts, or even God-level powerhouses."
"Their means of obtaining information are nothing more than the perceptions of the body and soul."
"Sight, touch... these are channels through which the body receives information."
"Spiritual power is the soul's channel."
"And as long as I replace the information they receive within those channels with the information I want them to receive."
"I can easily achieve the effect you're seeing now."
At that moment, an undetectable fluctuation constantly surged around Jie Ning. Generally speaking, unless Jie Ning wished it, no one on the road could possibly see the two of them.
"Boss, two candied hawthorn skewers..." As he spoke, Jie Ning suddenly took out some money and addressed a passing vendor nearby.
The vendor suddenly noticed a figure standing before him, but he did not think much of it. After all, there were so many powerful people in the world.
After taking the money, the vendor hurriedly handed Jie Ning two candied hawthorn skewers.
Just as he was about to give change, he blinked, and the figure before him vanished again.
The vendor trembled at first, then suddenly felt that this was perfectly normal. He turned around and cast the matter out of his mind.
Watching the vendor's expression recover from fear to calmness, Jie Ning handed one candied hawthorn skewer to Arannis and continued, "For ordinary people like him, even their emotions and cognition stem from this. Under my influence, if I wish it, they can accept my actions no matter how absurd they are."
Arannis bit into a candied hawthorn and frowned as she listened to Jie Ning's explanation. "That's far too evil."
As she spoke, she did not forget to evaluate the candied hawthorn in her hand. "And this candied hawthorn is nowhere near as good as the ones at home."
Jie Ning could not help smiling at Arannis's reaction. "Methods themselves are dead. Everything in this world operates under laws, and as long as we comprehend those laws, many things can be accomplished naturally."
"People are always evil, never the method itself."
Of course, Jie Ning would not tell Arannis that the laws did indeed possess such capabilities, but turning that part of the laws into a concrete method depended on one's own manipulation and ideas.
He was not trying to do anything bad, though. He had merely suddenly recalled some distant memories and studied them a little, which was how he came up with this method.
Then Jie Ning quickly changed the subject. "The candied hawthorn we eat at home already uses ingredients of much higher quality than what these vendors sell, so naturally there's no comparison." Jie Ning occasionally missed certain foods from his memories, and whenever he described them, someone would naturally try their best to recreate them according to his account, even if the ingredients had changed greatly.
Jie Ning was never stingy with rewards for such people. Before long, he discovered that most of the foods from his memories had appeared in Bana Continent versions.
As time passed, many foods that were convenient to make and spread gradually began circulating across the continent.
Too bad I still don't dare advertise them as being so good that even the God of Life approves... Jie Ning's thoughts drifted.
"That is true. Still, the candied hawthorn in the City of Life is also the best I've eaten outside." After thinking it over, Arannis agreed.
Jie Ning merely smiled without speaking. The land of the entire Life Duke's Territory had flourished because of the influence of his Life God Power, so naturally its local crops grew better than those from other regions.
Not only was the food in the Hall of Life delicious, but the food throughout the entire duchy also had some nourishing effects on the body.
After wandering around for an entire day, Jie Ning and Arannis returned to the long-unseen Hall of Life that night.
"My lord, my lady, welcome back." Suddenly, an elf dressed in servant's attire appeared before them and bowed in greeting.
"Kaixi, long time no see." Arannis happily greeted the elf who had suddenly appeared, clearly unsurprised by it.
Jie Ning also nodded to her slightly. "We've been traveling outside these years. Thank you for taking care of the home."
Looking at her two masters, Kaixi replied neither humbly nor arrogantly, "It is what I should do."
Yet the faint upward curve of her lips also revealed her good mood.
Kaixi was an elf native to the Bana Continent and looked roughly similar to the elves Jie Ning remembered.
She had received help from Jie Ning and Arannis during one of their trips. Later, in order to repay them, she voluntarily followed them. She was now the chief steward of the entire Hall of Life, though there were not many people in the Hall of Life to begin with.
Arannis released Jie Ning's hand, stepped forward, and linked arms with Kaixi, enthusiastically sharing the experiences of their journey.
Watching the two laughing and chatting, Jie Ning seemed to see their first meeting thirty years earlier.
Back then, Kaixi had been nothing like the gentle woman she was now.
One day thirty years ago, Jie Ning had reached a bottleneck in his comprehension of the Life Law and had not found a better way to nourish the soul.
At the same time, Arannis had also grown restless from staying still for too long.
The two understood each other's thoughts with a single glance. That very night, their figures disappeared from the Hall of Life.
In a forest in the southwest of the Dinar Empire.
Kaixi carefully evaded pursuit.
Suddenly, two figures appeared not far from where she was hiding. A man and a woman wore clothing she had never seen before, leisurely wandering through the forest.
Yet in her eyes, the materials of their clothing were clearly extremely valuable.
These are two rich people. Kaixi immediately defined them as such.
Kaixi hesitated. If those two encountered the people chasing her, they might be in danger.
After all, this concerned the inheritance of the elf race...
Especially since they were humans... I should leave quickly...
Forget it. Kaixi gritted her teeth. Those people behind me only came here because they were following me...
The two were Jie Ning and Arannis, who had come here to travel.
Jie Ning and Arannis leisurely admired the scenery as though they had not noticed the elf hiding nearby. In reality, they were chatting animatedly in their minds—well, mainly Arannis was talking.
Jie Ning, that really is an elf! I'd only seen them in storybooks before. I never thought I'd get to see a living one.
Do you think that elf will attack us? Arannis was somewhat excited. Will she kidnap me first to threaten you? After all, I look so weak.
How about we pretend I'm a noblewoman you kidnapped, while you're a powerful bandit...
Listening to Arannis's rapidly spiraling thoughts, Jie Ning hurriedly stopped his wife's increasingly unrestrained imagination. Lannie, this friend isn't a bad person.
Jie Ning always felt that Arannis had spent too much time around the Dalut Family, and her overall style was beginning to become rather strange.
In truth, Jie Ning had long detected the life auras of both this elf and her pursuers. He simply did not care and had no interest in involving himself in such matters.
Yet unexpectedly, both groups drew closer and closer to them. This elf eventually even hid directly along their route.
And by the time the elf beside them had approached, not only Jie Ning but even Arannis had already discovered her presence.
After all, Arannis was now a Saint Domain Magic user.
Jie Ning had originally planned that if this elf intended to harm them, he would simply erase her life from a distance so she would not disturb their outing.
But unexpectedly, the elf's first reaction upon seeing them was concern for their safety. That gave Jie Ning a somewhat favorable impression of her.
As a Life Low-God, Jie Ning could not directly see the specific thoughts of others at present.
However, sensing simple emotions was still very easy for him.
After he briefly explained the situation to Arannis, she immediately took the elf's side and sent him a Telepathic Message. Jie Ning, this elf is a good person. According to the storybooks, the ones chasing her must be terrible villains. Let's help her take care of those bad people.
That can count as a reward for someone kind...
Jie Ning hurriedly stopped Madam Arannis's attempt to turn a storybook plot into reality again. Let's wait and see. This matter doesn't seem simple.
He had discovered something interesting, and Jie Ning had become curious about how things would unfold.
Jie Ning had long noticed that the pursuers had been following the elf in a straight line. Clearly, they knew her location and movements perfectly.
But surprisingly, they stopped after reaching a certain point. Jie Ning instantly sensed the flavor of a story.
This natural aura is very similar to that elf's. It seems the people chasing her are her own kin. Jie Ning gave the elf's hiding place beside him a meaningful glance.
Seeing that look, Kaixi instinctively shivered. What's going on? Have I been discovered?
Jie Ning sensed the pursuers' emotions. From their auras, he felt all sorts of emotions—anxiety, worry, and more—but no killing intent, not even particularly deep malice.
Interesting, Jie Ning commented inwardly.
Do we really have to send Kaixi? She...
If she fails, then the tribe...
We only learned of the God of Life from merchant caravans. Would a god truly be willing to meet us...
The smile on Jie Ning's lips deepened. So this was related to me as well?
Now I'm even more interested.
Jie Ning briefly relayed the "message" he had heard to Arannis. ...So, I have an idea. We'll do this...
As Arannis listened to Jie Ning's Telepathic Message, the light in her eyes grew brighter and brighter. She was very interested.
In the end, the two exchanged a glance and revealed matching pleased smiles.
Kaixi, hiding nearby, felt as though the weather had suddenly turned cold.
Before you continue