Magpie's Nest, Dove's Occupancy

This means that in their Great River City, or rather, near Great River City, there exists such a powerful being. Such an existence is too distant for them at the Great River Sect; perhaps a single sneeze could cause Great River City to be annihilated.

As for the manifestation of an Imperial Sovereign Deity, it doesn't necessarily represent terrifying strength. No one had ever considered that. After all, a Statue of the Imperial Sovereign caliber absolutely could not appear in the hands of someone with low cultivation.

Any Imperial Sovereign Deity Statue, even if it just showed the slightest sign of existence, would already be targeted by countless powerful individuals and forces. Those with slightly weaker strength would only be fit to dream about it.

For the common people to covet an Imperial Sovereign Deity Statue, they could only place their hopes on the Imperial Sovereign caliber that might naturally form from the convergence of sentient thoughts between heaven and earth. However, such naturally born Imperial Sovereign Deities from heaven and earth are exceedingly rare; perhaps one might not even be born in thousands or tens of thousands of years.

After a long while, the gazes of the few people in the hall couldn't help but turn towards Yang Li and Zhang Yan, who were the Sect Master and pillars of the Great River Sect.

"Senior Brother, regarding such a powerful being who might be hiding in our Great River City, how should we respond?"

This matter concerns the life and death of the Great River Sect. After all, one careless mistake that angers the other party could lead to the sect's destruction, so the members of the Great River Sect had to be cautious.

Yang Li and Zhang Yan exchanged glances, seemingly having made a decision. He then said to everyone, "Everyone, restrain your disciples. Do not provoke trouble. At the same time, try your best to find this being. If you have any clues, report them quickly. Even if there's only a sliver of a chance, we must do our utmost to befriend them."

Such a powerful being, whether it was a blessing or a curse for the Great River Sect, was unknown. If handled poorly, it would be no different from a ticking time bomb. But if handled well, and they worked hard to befriend this being, this might be a once-in-a-thousand-years opportunity for their Great River Sect.

Upon hearing this, everyone's eyes lit up. They had only been thinking about the harm and pressure a powerful being could bring them, but they had forgotten what benefits they could gain if they managed to befriend them.

Compared to the reactions of the Great River Sect's higher-ups, some people in the city also looked up at the sky. Even though the celestial phenomenon in the nine heavens had already disappeared, the person remained standing there motionlessly.

After a long time, the middle-aged man's eyes were filled with astonishment as he softly murmured, "A celestial phenomenon of Imperial Sovereign caliber... which powerful being has arrived here? How could the small Great River City have such an existence?"

"Cough... cough..."

A burst of violent coughing erupted. In a courtyard, a middle-aged man, who looked about forty years old, was coughing violently. He was wearing a moon-white inner garment and a sky-blue long robe, one hand tightly covering his mouth. His face was as pale as paper. Even though he tried his best to suppress the cough, he couldn't stop the muffled sounds.

The middle-aged man's violent coughing sounded extremely harsh in the courtyard. Almost simultaneously as the man coughed, a figure darted over, and a voice, soft yet laced with a hint of scolding, rang out, "Grandpa, why aren't you listening? With such serious injuries, how can you get out of bed casually!"

The young girl's eyes were filled with worry and care as she gently patted Tang Yuan's back. She then channeled the refined qi and blood from within her body into the middle-aged man, but Tang Yuan stopped her. "Girl, there's no need to waste your qi and blood. For me, the qi and blood you've refined through days of hard work is merely a drop in the bucket."

After slightly stabilizing his internal injuries, Tang Yuan showed a gentle smile on his face. "Grandpa will listen to you. Help me back to rest."

Tang Lin, hearing this, helped Tang Yuan towards the room as she asked, "Grandpa, what were you looking at just now when you looked up at the sky?"

Tang Yuan's footsteps paused slightly, and then he smiled, "I wasn't looking at anything. Wasn't there a thunderclap during the day just now? I was just checking if it might rain these past few days."

Tang Lin helped Tang Yuan into the room and looked at her grandfather's pale face with some worry. She couldn't help but ask, "Grandpa, didn't you say before that an old friend of yours lives in seclusion here, and you came here to seek him to treat your injuries? Why..."

Lying on the bed, Tang Yuan dotingly looked at Tang Lin and smiled, "My old friend is temporarily out on business. When he returns, Grandpa will go find him."

He then said to Tang Lin, who was frowning, "Don't overthink it. Would Grandpa lie to you about something like this? Go cultivate quickly and strive to open your Dantian Divine Palace as soon as possible and enter the path of cultivation."

Seeing that Tang Yuan was temporarily fine, Tang Lin then left.

Watching Tang Lin leave, Tang Yuan softly murmured, "What a silly girl!"

In Shunfu Square of Great River City, a three-courtyard residence was currently extremely lively. Several tables were set up in the open space of the courtyard, laden with wine and dishes. Besides that, there was also an altar table, upon which rested a statue. The statue had a tiger's head and a human's body but possessed four claws.

This day marked the hundredth birthday of Zhu Yang's mother. Including Zhu Yang's siblings, grandchildren, sons-in-law, and grandsons, the entire family numbered fifty to sixty people.

The Old Madam Zhu, dressed in new clothes, was sitting beamingly below the statue. After receiving the birthday wishes from her children and grandchildren, she stood up and, along with her eldest son Zhu Yang, respectfully held incense and candles to offer to the Tiger-headed Humanoid God statue placed there.

"Deity above, we pray for the Deity's blessing for our Zhu family to have abundant descendants, peace and joy, and longevity..."

Meanwhile, the Tiger-headed Humanoid God statue was originally unremarkable. However, the moment the Zhu family members bowed and offered incense and candles, and as the birthday star, Old Madam Zhu, inserted the incense in her hand into the censer, the statue, which had originally been looking down as if observing its devotees, suddenly raised its head and gazed towards the high heavens.

What was originally just a statue carved from ordinary stone suddenly, forcefully, raised its head and stared intently at the nine heavens above.

This sudden change directly startled Old Madam Zhu, who was offering incense, causing her to cry out in surprise and then fall back onto the ground. The members of the Zhu family, who also witnessed this scene, all wore expressions of horror.

Under everyone's gaze, the stone statue of the Tiger-headed Humanoid God they had been worshipping began to undergo a terrifying transformation. Blood-red fur grew on the stone statue at a speed visible to the naked eye. The original four stone claws turned into furry, sharp talons. The original tiger face bizarrely morphed into a living rat's head, with its slightly exposed teeth flashing with a cold glint.

"This... this is an Evil God! How could this happen? When did the deity our Zhu family has worshipped for over a decade become occupied by a Magpie's Nest, Dove's Occupancy?"

Zhu Yang, who had traveled extensively for business, was considered knowledgeable. While the Zhu family members were stunned by the sudden change and didn't know what was happening, Zhu Yang's face showed fear.

He had never seen such a scene before, nor had he experienced it, but he had heard others mention it.

The common people of the world worshipped statues to seek divine protection against the encroachment of God, Demon, Malevolent Spirits. However, there were also some powerful God, Demon, Malevolent Spirits that could possess some flourishing incense-filled statues and perform the act of Magpie's Nest, Dove's Occupancy. Once they had devoured all the Incense and Fire Prayer Power, they would devour the entire family that worshipped the statue before seeking their next victim.