"Jurisdiction" Expansion, Brother and Sister Ghosts

Li Youming looked at Zhang Ronggui, Chen Mazi, and Liao Jinxian in surprise.

These three were all of the same generation as him, and all were Martial Artists who had completed two blood-qi transformations.

In the past.

He, Li Youming, along with Zhang Ronggui, Chen Mazi, and Liao Jinxian, were the pillars of the Four Villages.

"I never expected that all of them could receive the blessing of Lord Zhangyue."

"It seems these old fellows are all very devout in their faith toward Lord Zhangyue."

A smile appeared on his face.

But thinking about it, it made sense.

As the pillars of the village, they bore the greatest pressure.

The safety of the villagers in the Four Villages was tied to them alone.

Now that Lord Zhangyue had manifested his spirit and slain the Wolf Demon, their faith was naturally devout!

Following that—

His gaze shifted to Li Xiuwu and Li Xiuling.

These two were the only believers who had received the blessing twice.

Now, both had become Martial Artists at the limit of the first rank, the Body Refining Realm.

"To be able to receive the blessing twice—"

"Their devotion to Lord Zhangyue is likely approaching my own level..."

He speculated in his heart.

Regarding this, he felt only joy and had no other thoughts.

The more devout the villagers' faith was.

It simply meant that his work as the Temple Keeper was becoming more successful.

"Now the village has six first-rank limit Martial Artists and twenty-six mid-first-rank Martial Artists."

He scanned the thirteen additional Martial Artists among the villagers, feeling happy in his heart.

So many Martial Artists; this was something he wouldn't have dared to even imagine in the past.

Previously—

The Four Villages combined had only eight Martial Artists.

Basically, each village had one elderly Martial Artist and one middle-aged Martial Artist, with the new generation yet to be cultivated.

But now—

There were so many more!

All of this was the grace of Lord Zhangyue.

And in the future—

He believed that more villagers would receive the grace of Lord Zhangyue and become Martial Artists!

Late at night, all was silent.

Li Yue walked out of the Divine Domain and stood on the ground.

He gazed at the crescent moon, clear as water in the sky, his expression calm.

He gently raised his hand.

The surrounding moonlight gathered, forming a strand of even more brilliant moonlight in his hand.

"In myths and legends, Demonic Creatures can evolve by consuming the essence of the lunar yin."

"Judging by this strand of moonlight, myths and legends are not without foundation."

"This strand of moonlight truly contains a cold, frigid energy."

"However—"

He turned his gaze toward his Jurisdiction.

Instantly, all the moonlight within the range of his Jurisdiction gathered and fell into his hand.

Yet, even after gathering all the moonlight within the range of the Jurisdiction, it was still only a strand of light slightly more brilliant than before.

The energy contained in this strand of moonlight was extremely scarce.

"The cold energy in the moonlight is too dispersed..."

"I feel that even if I were to gather the moonlight from the entire Jurisdiction for a whole night—"

"It probably wouldn't even amount to one-tenth of a unit of Divine Power."

He shook his head.

This was not even as much as the Incense Wish Power provided by a single 'Grade A Believer'.

At this moment, the range of his 'Jurisdiction' had also expanded significantly once again.

He sensed it briefly.

It was almost equivalent to three point two times the size of the original Li Family Village.

"A portion of the areas in Zhang Family Village and Liao Family Village are actually not within my 'Jurisdiction'..."

"Now, the area of my 'Jurisdiction' has reached fifty qing, not a fraction more, not a fraction less."

"Is this area the limit that a Subordinate Ninth Rank divine status can reach?"

He muttered to himself.

Fortunately, however.

Whether it was Zhang Family Village or Liao Family Village, the places where the villagers lived were all within the range of his 'Jurisdiction'.

Yet, the Lunar Essence gathered from fifty qing of land overnight did not even amount to one-tenth of a unit of Divine Power.

For ordinary Demonic Creatures, even if they were to consume Lunar Essence, it would be impossible for them to gather all the Lunar Essence within a fifty-qing range as he did.

Fifty qing of land was, after all, five thousand mu in size.

Therefore—

Relying on consuming Lunar Essence to strengthen oneself was truly difficult.

He reckoned—

Take the previous Wolf Demon, for instance; if it had spent a hundred years consuming Lunar Essence, the total amount of essence it could have condensed would likely only reach the level of ten units of Divine Power.

"No wonder Demonic Creatures eat people."

"Relying solely on consuming Lunar Essence to cultivate is far too slow."

"Humans are the spirits of all things; the Incense Wish Power formed by their faith alone surpasses what Demonic Creatures could gain from Lunar Essence in ages."

"Eating one person is likely worth many days of cultivation."

Li Yue sighed.

However, that was no justification for Demonic Creatures to eat people!

Since he had become an Orthodox Land God, he naturally had to protect the human race!

After all—

The human race was the source of his faith; losing one human meant one less person to provide him with Incense Wish Power.

He took a few steps and soon arrived at the former site of Liao Family Village, standing beside an ancient well that had been abandoned for many years.

There was a well cover on the ancient well, weighed down by some stones.

"Ghostly aura..."

He stared at the ancient well.

From the moment Liao Family Village became part of his 'Jurisdiction', this ancient well held no more secrets in his eyes.

There was a very dense ghostly aura and resentment within the well.

This indicated that there were ghosts dwelling beneath it.

He waved his hand gently.

The stones and the well cover atop the ancient well flew away.

As an Orthodox Land God, he only needed to expend Divine Power when casting divine arts.

In reality, however—

Being an Orthodox Land God did not mean he was powerless without casting divine arts.

On the contrary—

Even with just the basic abilities of a Subordinate Ninth Rank Orthodox Land God, his strength would be no weaker than the limit of the Third Rank.

For instance, at this moment, he could sweep away the stones and the well cover with a light flick of his sleeve.

This did not require the consumption of any Divine Power.

"There is more than one ghost."

His expression remained calm.

Clad in his Land God Vestments, wearing his Land God Crown, and holding his Land God Seal, he spoke indifferently:

"Are you not coming out to pay respects to this God?"

"Do you expect this God to come and see you instead?"

As his words fell.

An even denser ghostly aura surged from beneath the well, subsequently transforming into two ghostly shadows.

The one in front was a young man who looked to be only seventeen or eighteen before his death; his gaze toward Li Yue was filled with fear, yet he still gritted his teeth and stood in front of the other ghostly shadow.

Another ghost shadow cowered nearby; it was a young girl who could not have been older than fifteen before her death, her eyes filled with terror.

After all, in their eyes—

Li Yue's body radiated a vast divine light, his Divine Might like the heavens themselves!

Merely standing quietly before them, he gave off the sensation that he would completely dissolve them, reducing them to nothingness!

"Liao Xiu'er of Liao Family Village pays respects to the Venerable God!"

The girl hurriedly knelt down and tugged at the boy in front of her.

"Liao Chengping of Liao Family Village pays respects to the Venerable God!"

The boy followed suit and knelt down as well.

Both of them possessed dense ghostly energy, yet there was no trace of blood-red malevolence about them.

Clearly, they had never harmed anyone.

"Why do you linger in the world of the living?"

"From whence does the resentment upon you arise?"

Li Yue said indifferently.

In this world—

From the moment he became the Orthodox Land God, he could vaguely perceive the existence of an Underworld realm.

Although this connection was very faint, it made him understand that this world did indeed have an Underworld.

As for how the Underworld functioned or whether it was managed by deities, he had no way of knowing.

Yet, the souls of living beings after death should all be heading toward the Underworld.

"We beg the Venerable God to seek justice for us siblings!"

The girl bowed deeply, weeping as she spoke.