Li Youming looked at Zhang Ronggui, Chen Mazi, and Liao Jinxian in surprise.
All three were his peers, and all had undergone two Metamorphoses of qi and blood.
In the past,
he, Zhang Ronggui, Chen Mazi, and Liao Jinxian had been the pillars of the Four Villages.
"I never thought they'd all receive Lord Zhangyue's blessing."
"Looks like these old fellows are all devout believers in Lord Zhangyue."
A smile spread across his face.
But when he thought about it, it made sense.
As the pillars of their villages, they bore the greatest burden.
The safety of every villager rested on their shoulders.
Now that Lord Zhangyue had manifested and slain the Wolf Demon, their faith was naturally sincere!
Then—
his gaze shifted to Li Xiuwu and Li Xiuling.
They were the only Believers to receive blessings twice.
Both had now become Body Refining Realm Martial Artists at the limit of the first rank.
"To have received two blessings—"
"their faith in Lord Zhangyue must be nearly as devout as mine..."
He wondered to himself.
He was glad about this and had no other thoughts.
The more devout the villagers' faith,
the better a job he, the Temple Keeper, was doing.
"Now there are six first-rank peak Martial Artists in the village, and twenty-six mid-first-rank Martial Artists."
He surveyed the thirteen new Martial Artists among the villagers, his heart full of joy.
This many Martial Artists was something he never would have dared imagine before.
In the past—
the Four Villages had only eight Martial Artists altogether.
Each village had basically one elderly Martial Artist and one middle-aged Martial Artist; the younger generation had yet to mature.
But now—
there were so many more!
It was all a gift from Lord Zhangyue.
And in the future—
he believed even more villagers would receive Lord Zhangyue's blessing and become Martial Artists!
Deep in the night, all was silent.
Li Yue stepped out of the Divine Domain and stood on the ground.
He gazed at the clear crescent moon hanging in the sky, his expression calm.
He gently raised a hand.
Moonlight from all around gathered there, forming a brighter strand of light in his palm.
"In myths and legends, Demonic Creatures can absorb the essence of Taiyin and evolve."
"Judging by this strand of moonlight, those legends aren't baseless."
"This strand of moonlight really does contain a cool, pure energy."
"But—"
His gaze turned toward his Jurisdiction.
In an instant, all the moonlight within his Jurisdiction gathered and settled in his hand.
Yet even after he gathered all the moonlight in his Jurisdiction, there was still only a single strand, a little brighter than before.
The energy within that strand of moonlight was exceedingly scant.
"The cool energy in the moonlight is too scattered..."
"I think even if I spent an entire night gathering all the moonlight across my Jurisdiction—"
"it probably wouldn't amount to a tenth of a unit of divine power."
He shook his head.
That was less than the Incense Wish Power provided by a Grade A Believer.
By now, his Jurisdiction had expanded considerably once again.
He sensed its size.
It was nearly 3.2 times the size of Li Family Village had been at the very beginning.
"Some parts of Zhang Family Village and Liao Family Village aren't within my Jurisdiction..."
"My Jurisdiction now covers exactly fifty qing—not a fraction more or less."
"Is this the limit of a Subordinate Ninth Rank Deity's Jurisdiction?"
He murmured to himself.
Fortunately,
whether in Zhang Family Village or Liao Family Village, the villagers' homes all lay within his Jurisdiction.
And a whole night's worth of moonlight essence across fifty qing still amounted to less than a tenth of a unit of divine power.
For ordinary Demonic Creatures, even if they absorbed the essence of Taiyin, they could never gather all the essence across fifty qing the way he could.
Fifty qing was five thousand mu.
So—
relying on the essence of Taiyin to strengthen oneself was truly difficult.
He felt that—
even if the Wolf Demon from before had absorbed the essence of Taiyin for a hundred years, the total amount it had gathered might only have reached the equivalent of ten units of divine power.
"No wonder Demonic Creatures eat people."
"Relying entirely on the essence of Taiyin to cultivate is far too slow."
"Humans are the spirit of all things; the Incense Wish Power formed by their faith alone surpasses the essence of Taiyin Demonic Creatures absorb by who knows how much."
"Eating one person must be worth many days of cultivation."
Li Yue sighed.
But that still didn't justify Demonic Creatures eating 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. Every person lost meant one fewer person providing him with Incense Wish Power.
He strode forward a few times and soon reached the site of the former Liao Family Village, stopping beside an ancient well that had been abandoned for many years.
A cover sat over the well, weighed down by several stones.
"Ghostly aura..."
He looked at the ancient well.
From the moment Liao Family Village became part of his Jurisdiction, the well had held no secrets from him.
A thick ghostly aura and resentment seeped from the well.
That meant a ghost was lurking beneath it.
He casually waved his hand.
The stones and the well cover flew away.
As an Orthodox Land God, he only needed to expend divine power when using Divine Techniques.
In truth—
being an Orthodox Land God didn't mean he was helpless whenever he wasn't using Divine Techniques.
Quite the opposite—
Even with only the basic abilities of a Subordinate Ninth Rank Orthodox Land God, his strength was no weaker than that of a Martial Artist at the peak of the third rank.
For instance, with a casual flick of his sleeve, he could sweep the stones and well cover aside.
It didn't cost him any divine power.
"There's more than one ghost."
His expression remained calm.
Dressed in Land God Vestments, wearing the Land God Crown, and holding the Land God Seal in his hand, he spoke evenly:
"Why don't you come out and pay your respects to this God?"
"Must this God go and see you instead?"
As his words fell,
an even thicker ghostly aura surged up from below the well, then took shape as two ghostly figures.
The one in front was a young man, seemingly no more than seventeen or eighteen when he died. His gaze was full of fear as he looked at Li Yue, yet he gritted his teeth and stood in front of the other ghost.
The other ghost cowered behind him. She was a young girl, seemingly no older than fifteen when she died, and her eyes were filled with terror too.
After all, in their eyes—
divine light blazed around Li Yue, and his Divine Might towered like the heavens!
Simply standing before them, he made them feel as though they would be utterly dissolved, reduced to ashes!
"Liao Xiu'er of Liao Family Village pays her respects to the revered Deity!"
The girl hurriedly knelt and tugged at the young man in front of her.
"Liao Chengping of Liao Family Village pays his respects to the revered Deity!"
The young man knelt as well.
Both were wreathed in a dense ghostly aura, but neither bore the aura of bloodshed.
Clearly, they had never harmed anyone.
"Why do you linger in the Mortal Realm?"
"Where does all this resentment come from?"
Li Yue asked calmly.
In this world—
from the moment he became an Orthodox Land God, he had been able to faintly sense the existence of an Underworld Heaven and Earth.
The sensation was vague, but it had still made him realize that this world had an Underworld Heaven and Earth.
As for how that Underworld Heaven and Earth worked, or whether Deities governed it, he had no way of knowing.
But the souls of living beings should all go to the Underworld Heaven and Earth after death.
"Please, revered Deity, seek justice for us siblings!"
The girl kowtowed deeply and wept.
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