Just as I guessed, my divine domain is of the highest rank-and it has three SSS ratings.
That means divine domain ratings work like the letter grades in certain games. From highest to lowest, they should be SSS, SS, S, A, B, C, and D.
Looking at the information on the divine domain panel, Zeng Shen worked backward to make a rough guess about its ranking system.
At the same time.
He gained a general understanding of the conditions within his divine domain.
When he immediately looked down over his divine domain again.
He had a more concrete sense of it.
His divine domain was about the same size as Jinhai City.
A winding river flowed slowly out of the unseen darkness into the area his vision could reach.
Its water was so clear that he could see the pebbles on the riverbed. Like the divine domain's mother river, it wound through towering mountains before following two immense mountain ranges and splitting into two tributaries.
One flowed through an ancient forest, then continued across the plains, irrigating them into fertile land.
The other continued along the mountains toward the darkness beyond the divine domain.
After briefly looking at the river, Zeng Shen turned his attention to the depths of a canyon formed by the intersection of two mountain ranges.
There, a majestic, sacred palace radiated dazzling light.
Zeng Shen looked closely.
The palace had been built against the cliff face.
Huge stone pillars supported an ornate dome that reached the mountaintop, with small, majestic dragons carved across its surface.
They were Chinese dragons.
At a glance, it seemed as though a thousand dragons were soaring and dancing across the dome and the mountain peaks.
Zeng Shen's gaze moved down from the dome.
He was deeply awed.
The palace was beautiful. Its outer walls were built of white jade, polished like mirrors. From afar, it resembled a white cloud suspended in the canyon.
Two enormous statues stood on either side of the palace entrance.
One depicted a massive beast resembling both a wolf and a dog, its bearing mighty and flames burning endlessly within its huge maw. The other depicted a breathtaking woman holding a bow, her exquisite figure draped in sheer gauze, with a pair of butterfly-like wings behind her.
"Is this the wonder, the Divine Palace?"
"I wonder what it looks like behind those closed doors."
Zeng Shen murmured, filled with curiosity.
[While within the divine domain, the host can open the palace doors simply by focusing his consciousness. By concentrating his consciousness on a target, he can also see through any obstructing walls and perceive everything within the divine domain.]
Hearing the system's notification, Zeng Shen focused his consciousness on the palace doors without hesitation.
At once, the doors of the Divine Palace slowly opened, revealing a sliver of bright light.
Zeng Shen concentrated his consciousness through the opening doors. At his will, the palace's domed roof rapidly faded from view and became transparent.
In the blink of an eye.
Everything inside the Divine Palace appeared clearly before him, leaving him deeply awed and a little surprised.
What awed him were the enormous, priceless oil paintings hanging on the walls. They depicted various mythical deities wearing halos and holding divine artifacts, each with a different expression, as though displaying an air of sacred solemnity.
What surprised him was the enormous divine statue enshrined behind the seat in the central hall. It looked exactly like him, its details carved with lifelike precision. It was extraordinarily handsome, with a boundlessly majestic presence.
"Handsome. So damn handsome."
With that exclamation, Zeng Shen withdrew his gaze from the palace.
"But how do I bring my followers into the divine domain?"
As Zeng Shen murmured his question, the system obligingly sounded a notification in his mind.
[The host need only focus his consciousness and call upon the Divine Domain Gate to open it before him and bring believers into the divine domain. The host can also freely choose any location within his divine domain at which to open the gate.]
"I see. Then how do I leave this place?"
[The host can return by focusing his consciousness on his physical body.]
"Got it. Consciousness does everything. If I have any problems in the future, I'll just try focusing my consciousness first."
After that quip, Zeng Shen focused his consciousness on his physical body.
In fact, while his consciousness was within the divine domain.
Zeng Shen could clearly feel his physical body standing motionless in the abandoned hospital. Even then, he had felt that a single thought would let him rapidly withdraw his consciousness from the divine domain and return it to his body.
Once he withdrew his consciousness and returned to his body, Zeng Shen gently twisted his waist and bent his knees, loosening his joints.
After all, standing for so long had left his feet feeling uncomfortable. He then looked at the stray cats gathered around him, happily eating cat food.
He focused his consciousness and called softly.
"Divine Domain Gate, open."
In an instant, a spiral of white light appeared out of thin air before him, finally forming a ring of light spanned by an ethereal, transparent membrane.
Through that transparent membrane, he could see the towering Divine Palace radiating an incomparably majestic aura. A single glance inspired an inexplicable urge to bow, pray, and submit.
All the stray cats present were startled by the sudden appearance of the Divine Domain Gate.
Instinctively, they wanted to flee.
But when they saw the Divine Palace beyond the gate, they froze as though cowed by its presence, not daring to move.
Zeng Shen was delighted.
He had been wondering how to lure them into the divine domain.
Yet the sight of the Divine Palace had scared every one of them into immobility.
That certainly saves me some trouble.
He immediately picked up Big Black Cat, who struggled slightly in front of him, and tossed him through the Divine Domain Gate.
[Warning! The host's believer has no divine energy within his body. Upon entering the divine domain, each second will pass like ten years, causing him to age and decay rapidly.]
"What?!"
The notification gave Zeng Shen a terrible fright, and he was about to rush in and bring Big Black Cat back out.
But the next second, another notification sounded.
[Divine domain trait, Divine Protection, activated. The host's believer has received the protection of one point of divine energy and can live normally and safely within the divine domain.]
"Phew, that was close.
"So species without divine energy age and decay rapidly in a divine domain. No wonder every species card I draw says it contains divine energy. Species without it can't survive in a divine domain at all."
Zeng Shen let out a soft breath and wiped the sweat from his forehead, relief flashing in his eyes.
Thank goodness my divine domain has this Divine Protection trait.
Otherwise, I'd have lost my believer, Big Black Cat.
After that little incident, Zeng Shen quickly tossed the ten adult stray cats beside him, the other five kittens, his own Xiao Hei, and the cat dishes on the floor through the Divine Domain Gate.
Right afterward.
He stepped through the Divine Domain Gate himself.
The instant he entered, another notification sounded in his mind.
[Through the effects of the Divine Palace wonder, the host can freely and safely enter and leave his divine domain in his physical body, despite not yet being a true god.]
Listening to the notification.
Zeng Shen gazed at the magnificent Divine Palace before him. He picked up the little black cat beside him, who was curiously surveying their surroundings, and said:
"Good thing I have this Divine Palace wonder. Otherwise, until I become a true god, your master would probably only be able to enter his divine domain with his consciousness."
"Meow."
Xiao Hei meowed, seeming only half to understand.
The stray cats Zeng Shen had tossed in earlier still did not dare move after landing so close to the Divine Palace's entrance.
After a moment's thought, Zeng Shen tried carrying them to the edge of a forest twenty meters from the palace.
Only then.
Did the stray cats dare move about and inspect their surroundings.
But Zeng Shen noticed that as the stray cats, including Big Black Cat, looked around, their gazes held a trace of reverence whenever they turned toward him!