Shattered Statue of a Deity

With a single step across shifting time and space, Huang Huai already reappeared in an antique-style bedroom, which was precisely the place he had left earlier.

Almost the instant Huang Huai appeared, a sudden clap of daytime thunder boomed across the nine heavens. The thunderous roar was grand and resounding, as though imbued with boundless, overbearing majesty and dignity, as if it wanted to purge all filth in the world.

A wisp of imperceptible Incense Offering rose from the bundle strapped to Huang Huai's back. Amidst the swirling incense smoke, a figure was faintly visible paying homage to a statue of a deity.

Another bolt of thunder, as untraceable as a swimming dragon, vanished directly into Huang Huai's bundle.

All of this happened in the span of a breath. Huang Huai only heard a clap of thunder and was dazed for a moment, yet he sensed not the slightest abnormality.

He instinctively glanced outside. The sun was bright and clear; where was there any sign of a thunderstorm? However, Huang Huai had always been careful and cautious. This daytime thunderous roar truly appeared somewhat bizarre—it didn't explode early and it didn't explode late, but instead blasted the very moment he transmigrated. This left Huang Huai unable to keep from pondering.

Immediately, Huang Huai's heart tightened. He looked around with extreme vigilance, and even the mysterious gateway that had already vanished manifested once more. If there was the slightest hint of trouble, Huang Huai would definitely turn tail and run at the very first moment.

Yet after waiting for quite a while, everything remained normal, and no daytime thunder resurfaced outside. This caused Huang Huai to breathe a slight sigh of relief, and he could only pray in his heart, hoping that the thunder had nothing to do with him.

However, deep down in his heart, Huang Huai secretly felt that that daytime thunder probably really was related to him. As for why no daytime thunder had appeared the previous two times, Huang Huai naturally thought of the two statues of deities within his bundle.

This was A World of cultivation, where statues of deities possessed extraordinary mighty power. If he really had to say what things he had brought this time could provoke daytime thunder, it could only be the two statues of deities he brought.

Since nothing happened after the thunder, he figured that after so much time had passed, if there were any unusual changes, they should have happened long ago. He let out a breath and, with a thought, the mysterious gateway floating in the air dissipated.

Huang Huai first walked quickly to the doorway and nodded slightly upon seeing that the trick he had set at the door crack had not been disturbed.

Although he had given a heads-up beforehand, three or two days without going out meant nobody knew whether the innkeeper or a waiter might come in. As the saying goes, when traveling far from home, one cannot be too careful in guarding against others; furthermore, he was in A World, so he had to be all the more cautious and prudent.

He looked at the sky outside, unstrapped the heavy bundle, and with a trace of suspicion, Huang Huai quickly took out one of the statues of deities wrapped in red cloth.

Opening the layers of wrappings, that statue of Holy Lord Emperor Guan, with which Huang Huai was most familiar, appeared before him. Looking around, Huang Huai lifted the statue of Holy Lord Emperor Guan with both hands and then placed it on an altar table inside the bedroom.

One could tell the inn was also quite considerate, as even the bedroom was provided with an altar table for worshiping deities. From this point alone, a glimpse of the living conditions at the bottom of this world could be seen.

While these thoughts flashed through his mind, Huang Huai placed the statue of Holy Lord Emperor Guan upon the altar table. The statue of Holy Lord Emperor Guan was exquisitely crafted: its face was like a heavy jujube, its lips like painted grease; its phoenix eyes brimmed with majesty, and its silkworm-like eyebrows resembled mist. It wore a headband, donned battle robes, and stepped into battle boots. One hand wielded a blade while the other stroked its beard. Its eyes were half-open and half-closed, with drooping brows and a solemn, dignified air that naturally evoked a sense of awe.

Having placed the statue of Holy Lord Emperor Guan, Huang Huai's gaze naturally fell upon the other statue of a deity he had brought along at the same time.

Only this time, the moment Huang Huai saw the statue, his expression changed slightly. Although that statue of the Great Spirit God was only the size of a palm, wrapped as it was in red cloth, it should still have had a human shape. Right now, however, the form beneath the red cloth looked loose and somewhat bizarre.

Seeing this, Huang Huai grew secretly suspicious. He slowly stepped forward to unfold the red cloth, and the next moment, Huang Huai saw that the palm-sized, exquisitely crafted, and lifelike statue of the Great Spirit God was now densely covered with cracks like a spiderweb.

As the red cloth wrapped around the statue of the Great Spirit God was loosened like this, the entire statue instantly fell apart like a collapsed frame, shattering into pieces right before Huang Huai's astonished eyes.

"What is going on? Why did a perfectly fine statue shatter?!"

Associating it with the thunder from earlier, Huang Huai looked again at the shattered statue of the Great Spirit God, and a guess vaguely arose in his heart. Could it be that the shattering of the statue of the Great Spirit God was related to that abrupt clap of thunder?

Yet while this thought arose, Huang Huai instinctively looked toward the safely placed statue of Holy Lord Emperor Guan. Fortunately, the statue of Holy Lord Emperor Guan had no issues whatsoever.

At this, Huang Huai was somewhat unsure what to make of it. The shattering of the statue of the Great Spirit God definitely had a reason, and it was extremely likely because of that bolt of thunder. But why, when both statues of deities had been brought by him, did the statue of the Great Spirit God shatter beneath the thunder while the statue of Holy Lord Emperor Guan remained completely intact?

He frowned and pondered for a long time, but unfortunately, his understanding of this world was ultimately limited, and he simply could not figure out the crux of the matter. Unable to puzzle it out, he ultimately had to temporarily suppress his doubts.

Taking out a stick of God-Worshipping Incense, Huang Huai wore a solemn expression as he respectfully bowed toward the statue of Holy Lord Emperor Guan before him, and inserted the sandalwood incense into the incense burner. Through the swirling incense smoke, in a trance, Huang Huai felt as though the statue of Holy Lord Emperor Guan before him had come alive for a split second, gaining a bit more divinity. Vaguely, it seemed as if an emperor dwelling high in the clouds stood holding a blade with drooping eyes, whose mighty and vast divine power captured one's heart and soul.

"Mh!"

Composing his mind, Huang Huai blinked his eyes, and upon looking again, he found that the statue was still the very same statue he knew so well, looking just as usual amidst the swirling fragrance.

He frowned and watched for a while, but the statue remained the same statue without any changes. Only then did Huang Huai, with lingering doubt, cup his hands and bow to the statue once more before slowly stepping out of the bedroom.

As the bedroom door closed, the sound of Huang Huai's retreating footsteps echoed from the courtyard. Inside the bedroom, however, the incense and candles offered by Huang Huai burned slowly, their fragrance swirling within the room until a stick of God-Worshipping Incense burned completely down. Then, a strange phenomenon suddenly occurred: those wisps of fragrance did not disperse; instead, guided by a mysterious force, they drifted toward the statue of Holy Lord Emperor Guan. Amidst the swirling fragrance, a sacred entity seemed to dwell within, currently enjoying the Incense Offering.

Meanwhile, among the continuous clusters of buildings in Great River City, disciples of the Great River Sect were each going about their duties. In a courtyard, Great River Sect's Second Elder Zhang Yan—still maintaining his unkempt appearance—lay lazily reposing on a chair, holding a wine flask in one hand and listening with drowsy, wine-fogged eyes to the report from Han Song, a Great River Sect disciple standing before him.

"Master, we disciples have already sent people to investigate. Up to now, the missing people in the city whose lives and deaths remain unknown number around a hundred. Moreover, the missing individuals are scattered all across the city, making it completely impossible to pinpoint a target through the range of their disappearances!"

As he spoke, Han Song added, "Fortunately, there are still no instances of families being completely destroyed."

The reclining Zhang Yan abruptly opened his eyes, and an intangible momentum swept outward, startling Han Song. Then he saw Zhang Yan wear a grave expression as he said, "A full hundred people are missing, yet there are not even any instances of entire families being destroyed. I am afraid that demon did it deliberately, not wanting to provoke us too much. If all these missing people have been reduced to Blood Food, coupled with those hundred villagers from Niujia Village, and further combined with such restraint and caution on its part, there can only be one possibility: I fear the evil god worshiped by that demon is about to succeed in achieving godhood!"

Han Song's expression changed slightly. Although it could be determined that the opponent was only at the First Realm in cultivation and realm, once the nurtured evil god successfully achieved godhood, ordinary First Realm High Gods would definitely be no match for it. The most terrifying thing was that once the opponent's strength broke through and it began to ruthlessly destroy entire families without restraint, the people in the city would inevitably panic as a result, and their Great River Sect would also lose all face from top to bottom.

Filled with worry, Han Song could not help but look toward his master and say, "Master, what is to be done? If that demon does not exercise restraint, I fear even more people will fall victim to its cruelty!"

A cold and chilling intent flashed and vanished from Zhang Yan's body as he gave a cold snort and said, "You must know that succeeding in achieving godhood is bound to be accompanied by strange phenomena. At that time will be the moment its body dies and its dao vanishes."

Just as they were speaking, Zhang Yan's expression suddenly changed. With a single step across the void, he exited the room in an instant, raised his gaze to look toward the sky above Great River City, and a look of shock appeared on his face.