Mountain God Temple

The Village Building Order's attributes didn't contain any detailed explanations or clauses regarding the establishment of faith-based organizations. This meant Zhang Yang could do whatever he pleased, even declare himself a deity and have everyone worship him; it wouldn't matter.

But he also knew that if things were that simple, it would be great.

Given that the survival of the next three hundred years depended on it, he had to choose a faith organization that was the most widespread, the least difficult, and least likely to cause problems.

So, initially, he considered ancestor worship, or ancestral shrines, which was the most common form in Chinese civilization on Earth.

However, after careful consideration, he decided to build a Mountain God Temple first.

The reason was simple: he believed that a person living in this world must have reverence, whether it was a sense of awe or a feeling of respect.

While "fearless" is a commendatory term, if a person truly became purely fearless, it would be a disaster for themselves, for those around them, and for society.

But on the other hand, one couldn't be overly reverent, always fearful and hesitant, tying themselves and others down with rigid rules, only emitting a zombie-like stench.

These two standards eliminated a large portion of the religions Zhang Yang knew about.

The Mountain God Temple, while representing just a corner of a vast, mysterious, and ethereal system of gods and ghosts—a system that couldn't be fully described even after three days and nine nights—would not tightly bind people. At the same time, it could instill enough reverence.

Of course, Zhang Yang wasn't looking to delve into that larger system of gods and ghosts. He just wanted the people in his village to have something to revere, so they wouldn't be too free and undisciplined.

Furthermore, the Mountain God Temple could easily be linked to his Ghost Priest. If handled properly, the two might even complement each other.

Actually, Zhang Yang could also have built a Land God Temple or a City God Temple, but those would require more people first. In this desolate wilderness, a Mountain God Temple was more reliable.

Building a Mountain God Temple was simple, even easier than a Level 1 Residential House.

He found a scenic spot on the hill, built a simple hut, and Zhang Yang himself carved a peculiar Mountain God statue out of wood. As soon as he placed it there, two pieces of information immediately appeared.

"Do you wish to establish a special village building—Mountain God Temple? Please complete the enfeoffment of the Mountain God by finding a complete or incomplete Demon Soul, 50 units of demon blood, and 1000 energy points, and sealing them within the Mountain God Temple."

"Note: Different Demon Souls will have different effects. A complete Demon Soul might rebel after being enfeoffed as a Mountain God, but the Mountain God Temple's inherent building properties will also be stronger."

This information surprised Zhang Yang slightly. After thinking it over, he kicked over the crude Mountain God Temple, threw the Mountain God statue into the fire, and directly paused the construction of the Level 3 Residential House, instructing all the Artisans to build the Mountain God Temple. At the same time, he called Wu Yuan and had him personally carve a Mountain God statue.

After a full day of work, a significantly different Mountain God Temple was successfully built; at least it could accommodate over a dozen people for worship.

And the Mountain God statue that Wu Yuan personally carved… Hmm, why does it look so familiar? Isn't that Duan Jiu, who died at the hands of the Spider Lord? The one who fought alongside Wu Yuan, but then he died and Wu Yuan lived.

Zhang Yang wouldn't stop Wu Yuan from reminiscing about his comrades. When the life-sized Mountain God statue was erected, new information indeed appeared.

"Do you wish to establish a special village building—Mountain God Temple? Please complete the enfeoffment of the Mountain God by finding at least one complete Demon Soul of Level 5 or higher, or a sufficient number of incomplete Demon Souls of Level 5 or higher, 100 units of demon blood, and 2000 energy points, and sealing them within the Mountain God Temple."

"Note: An overly powerful Mountain God will definitely rebel. Please prepare for battle."

"A rebellious Mountain God, how interesting!"

Zhang Yang chuckled, waving for Wu Yuan to bring the Four Berserker Bears over. With them standing like iron towers at the entrance of the Mountain God Temple, he then took out the 9 remaining Red Hawk remnant souls he had saved and had the Village Building Order initiate the enfeoffment.

Immediately, white light flashed, enveloping the Mountain God statue. Within the white light, nine illusory Red Hawk figures screeched as they rushed into the statue. In just a few seconds, the statue actually came to life, exuding an imposing aura without needing to be angry, staring directly at Zhang Yang as if a thunderous rage was about to pour down.

But at that very moment, Wu Yuan and the Four Berserker Bears simultaneously took a step forward, radiating killing intent.

"Uh, humble deity—greets Village Chief."

Within the white light, the now-living Mountain God statue immediately revealed a brilliant smile, bowing slightly to Zhang Yang.

The next second, the white light dissipated, and the Mountain God statue returned to its original state, with new messages instantly appearing.

"Successfully built special building: Level 3 Mountain God Temple."

"Village Prosperity increased by 15 points."

"Building Function: You can spend energy to purchase Level 3 Invisibility Talismans/Protection Talismans/Vision Talismans from the Mountain God Temple. Each talisman costs 100 energy points."

"Building Function: Deterrence. When soldiers fight beast-type monsters, morale increases by 15%."

"Building Function: Faith. Villager loyalty increases by 5."

"Building Function: Submission. There is a small chance to subdue wild monsters."

"Building Function: Gods and Ghosts. There is a chance of haunting incidents in the village."

"Building Function: Blessing. There is a very small chance of successfully praying for favorable weather."

"This is excellent!"

Zhang Yang was very satisfied. As expected of a Mountain God Temple in a Fantasy Setting, it was very useful.

Immediately, he spent 6000 energy points and bought 20 Invisibility Talismans, 20 Protection Talismans, and 20 Vision Talismans in one go, then handed them to Wu Yuan to distribute among the patrol team members.

These three types of Talismans were very useful and could save lives at critical moments, although they also had significant drawbacks.

After dealing with the Mountain God Temple, Zhang Yang didn't rest but quickly went to check the Farmland that Wu Yuan and his men had reclaimed over the past five days.

A full two hundred acres, it was an impressive sight, and it also showed that Wu Yuan and his soldiers were dedicated and hadn't been lazy.

They first had to cut down trees, clear out huge roots, and then dig the land down forty centimeters with shovels. This was truly a massive undertaking.

As Zhang Yang personally stood in this large expanse of cultivated land, new information naturally appeared from the Village Building Order.

"Newly reclaimed land: 210 acres."

"Soil Fertility: Level 5."

"Land Reclamation Progress: Level 5."

"Soil moisture, Level 5."

"Weed density, Level 5."

"Cultivation successful. You have acquired 21 plots of Level 5 Farmland. Upon the first harvest of crops, Village Prosperity will be granted."

Zhang Yang was ecstatic at this information. He had previously wondered why Farmland didn't contribute to Village Prosperity, and now he knew it was because he had to wait until the first harvest.

Moreover, the Village Building Order's calculation method was that ten mu of Farmland counted as one building, and the Farmland's level was determined by indicators like soil fertility.

Good heavens, the land in this Primeval Forest truly wasn't just ordinarily fertile.

22 plots of Level 5 Farmland would amount to 198 points of prosperity. At that point, he would find a way to get the villagers' loyalty to 80, which would allow them to have three children.

This was incredibly significant for Zhang Yang. After all, he could only control things for 20 years, meaning he could really only direct this fourth generation of residents. The more children born during this period, the more confident he'd be about getting through the 280-year "cutscene" in the future.