"Slay!"
Killing intent surged in Li Youming's eyes.
Five enormous golden blades appeared from every direction, and a bolt of thunder crashed down from the sky!
This time, not only had the Lesser Cloud and Mist Protection Technique become the Lesser Cloud and Mist Method, but he had also learned another spell.
The Lesser Heavenly Thunder Art!
Boom—!
The enormous black serpent was struck by the thunderbolt. Its body stiffened, then five enormous golden blades cut it into six pieces!
Cold snake blood splattered down.
The severed chunks of its corpse slammed onto the clouds, bobbing up and down, utterly lifeless.
All that remained in its once-cold, vicious vertical pupils was despair and deathly stillness.
The River Lord of the Shunling River had been slain by Li Youming!
In Cangmu Town, only seven or eight zhang away.
Every townsman who witnessed this scene gaped in shock.
What had they just seen?
...The River... River Lord...
Had been cut into five or six pieces!
At that moment, they all wondered if they were dreaming.
Otherwise—
How could they have witnessed something so unbelievable?
That was the River Lord!
A great demon who had come to Cangmu Town sixty or seventy years ago, and whom no human had ever been able to resist!
The River Lord, whom no one would dare use to frighten a child, even if that child were crying at night.
Because of the River Lord, Cangmu Town had lost far too many people over the past sixty or seventy years!
"Wh... How could this happen..."
"The River... The River Lord was slain..."
"Those lowly humans... How could they slay the River Lord..."
The spirit medium's face was deathly pale. She sank to the ground, muttering in utter disbelief.
From every direction.
One after another, the townsfolk turned to glare at her with fierce hatred.
"Beat this old hag to death!"
At a furious shout, dozens, then hundreds of people surged forward and savagely attacked the spirit medium!
Although she was also a Body Refining Realm martial artist at the First Stage, Middle Rank,
some of the townsfolk rushing at her were martial artists too. A few punches and kicks knocked her down, and then the masses swarmed over her and beat her to death.
At the Wei Clan's home.
"What did you say?"
"The River Lord was slain?"
The Wei Clan chief stared in disbelief at the clan member who had brought the news, his face alight with excitement.
"That's right!"
"Temple Keeper Li Youming slew the River Lord with golden blades!"
"The River Lord's corpse was cut into five or six pieces. It's outside the town!"
The clan member replied, bursting with excitement.
"R-Really killed it?"
The Wei Clan chief's eyes lit up at once. He turned to Wei Wei, overcome with excitement.
"The Temple Keeper from Four Seas Village really is that powerful? He actually slew the River Lord!"
Wei Wei's face was full of pride. He planted his hands on his hips.
"Of course!"
"The Temple Keeper is one of the people closest to the Deities, serving as Lord Zhangyue's emissary in the mortal world!"
He, too, was thrilled.
The Temple Keeper really was incredible!
"Could it be that—"
"There really are Deities in this world?"
The Wei Clan chief murmured to himself, then hurried out of the Wei Clan's home and ran toward the Shunling River.
In town.
Countless townsfolk heard the news from their neighbors. At first, they couldn't believe it, but soon they were all overwhelmed with excitement and joy.
In droves, they rushed toward the Shunling River.
They wanted to see the River Lord's corpse with their own eyes.
Countless others wept as they knelt and offered prayers for the family members the River Lord had eaten, telling them the tremendous good news.
In the "Divine Domain."
Li Yue glanced at his "Personal Quest."
It showed that a Third-Stage demonic creature had been slain.
"Li Youming's pretty quick."
A faint smile appeared on his face.
He had issued the Divine Oracle just yesterday, and today Li Youming had already achieved a successful demon hunt.
He was still very pleased with the Temple Keeper he had chosen.
Decisive and bold.
His gaze turned beyond the "Divine Domain."
More people from the Land of Demons had already been brought over.
"Last night, Li Youming went to the Land of Demons and wiped out all the demonic creatures there."
"Today, the hunting team went to the Land of Demons to bring people back, while he went to slay a Third-Stage demonic creature."
"The population of Four Seas Village keeps growing."
"After the second Grand Sacrifice, Four Seas Village will have to become Four Seas Town."
"And I'll have to advance to the Subordinate Eighth Rank Divine Rank..."
Li Yue's gaze flickered.
His "Personal Info" showed that he needed to expend fifteen thousand units of divine power.
But in reality—
There was another hidden requirement to advance to the Subordinate Eighth Rank Divine Rank.
"Once I reach the Subordinate Eighth Rank Divine Rank, I won't be the Lord of the Land of a village anymore."
"I'll be the Lord of the Land of a town."
"To become the Lord of the Land of a town, Four Seas Village must first become Four Seas Town."
His eyes gleamed.
His Land God Temple stood in Four Seas Village.
Four Seas Village was his foundation.
Only once Four Seas Village became Four Seas Town could he truly advance to the Subordinate Eighth Rank and become the Lord of the Land of a town!
Of course,
It was too soon to talk about that.
After all, fifteen thousand units of divine power was a huge hurdle.
He didn't have much divine power right now.
So—
He was looking forward to the second Grand Sacrifice.
He hoped the offerings, after Hundredfold Amplification, would let him exchange for enough divine power to advance to the Subordinate Eighth Rank!
"Too bad the Blue Star Deities aren't wealthy right now."
"A Third-Stage Yin Soldier Artifact definitely won't be easy to sell..."
He shook his head.
There weren't many Principal Ninth Rank Orthodox Land Gods yet.
A single Third-Stage Yin Soldier Artifact cost as much as fifty units of divine power to make.
He'd have to sell each one for at least a hundred units of divine power, wouldn't he?
At this stage—
Who could afford to spend a hundred units of divine power on a Yin Soldier Artifact?
Never mind those Subordinate Ninth Rank Deities.
Even he—
wouldn't be willing to part with that much.
Just then, he suddenly sensed something unusual in a certain part of his "Jurisdiction."
"Hmm?"
His gaze immediately turned that way.
It was along the mountain path leading from Four Seas Village to Cangmu Town.
There had originally been nothing there but an unremarkable patch of shrubs.
But now—
A Paper Effigy Shop had appeared there.
Seven paper effigies stood at the entrance, their lips curled in eerie smiles and their faces painted with thick rouge.
The black door stood open, and all sorts of cheerful laughter seemed to echo from within.
Yet even with his status as the Principal Ninth Rank Orthodox Land God and master of this "Jurisdiction," he couldn't see what lay inside the Paper Effigy Shop.
"An Evil Specter..."
Li Yue's eyes narrowed.
He hadn't even noticed how this Paper Effigy Shop had appeared within his "Jurisdiction."
Although that spot was near the edge of his "Jurisdiction,"
it was still entirely within it!
"Jurisdiction"—
was the area reached by the radiating power of his Divine Path Law.
Now, somehow, a Paper Effigy Shop had appeared inside his "Jurisdiction" without him noticing at all.
"It even drove away the power of the Divine Path Law radiating over this area..."
"So this is an Evil Specter?"
"Why does it feel..."
Li Yue furrowed his brow.
Of course—
He could tell that this Paper Effigy Shop wasn't very powerful, at most reaching the Fourth Stage.
But it was extremely strange, and seemed to contain a trace of the power of laws!
And it was similar to the Divine Path Law!
Whoosh—
He stepped out of the "Divine Domain" and appeared outside the Paper Effigy Shop.
At that moment—
The surroundings changed in an instant.
The mountain path was gone, replaced by a flat stretch of land covered in enormous, scattered rocks.
Beyond the piles of rocks, the Paper Effigy Shop, black as ink, gave off dense, billowing clouds of dark energy.
A little girl in a pink-and-white bib, her face deathly pale as a corpse, walked out holding a Rattle Toy.
She tilted her head and smiled sweetly.
"Big brother, let's play hide-and-seek."
"If Ayin finds you, you'll have to stay here with Ayin forever..."
Before you continue