The mortal world.
Beside a mountain road dozens of li from a certain city stood a Daoist temple that had once been extremely dilapidated but had now been hastily repaired.
Melons and fruits filled the offering table, and all three sacrificial animals were laid out.
In the main hall, several young men dressed as wandering heroes knelt beneath the offering table, awkwardly kowtowing.
Behind them stood a crowd of people, young and old, all wearing worried expressions as they gazed expectantly at the Divine Statue above.
Several women dressed in red and green like young wives hid behind the others, trembling as they whispered their prayers. "Great and merciful Mountain God... Please bless our husbands and let them recover soon..."
"May the Evil Spirit be driven away..."
"May the Evil Spirit be driven away..."
Amid the repeated prayers, everyone unconsciously fell asleep.
Pei Ling stepped out of the void and casually glanced around. With a sweep of his sleeve, he drew the hidden laws out of the young men's bodies. Then he took a single step and vanished.
The next moment, all the mortals awoke, having forgotten what had happened. The old and young continued praying, while the young men resumed kowtowing... Suddenly, one of them leaped to his feet and cried with wild joy, "Father! Mother! Little Sister! I think I'm cured!"
"I'm cured too!"
"Me too!"
"That's wonderful! The master in the city was right. This Mountain God really is efficacious!"
The white-haired old man wept with joy. He immediately bowed to the Divine Statue and solemnly promised, "Rest assured, Mountain God. From this day onward, even if we have to spend our entire fortune, we'll have your golden body recast and your incense offerings restored..."
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The territory of the Innate Religion.
Under Autumn Altar's jurisdiction.
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