The Exploding Number of Believers, Inspecting the Spirit Fields

"Just now—"

"Was I being watched by that rumored Orthodox Land God of Four Seas Village, Lord Zhangyue?"

"Could he truly be a deity?"

"Or perhaps a peerless demon?"

Zhao Jiuyuan took a deep breath, murmuring to himself.

He pressed a hand against his violently pounding heart.

As someone with a 'gifted talent,' he was born with a crimson heart, granting him perception far superior to ordinary people.

That was why, while others could not sense the gaze of a terrifying existence, he could.

It was also this that made his martial path exceptionally smooth; he had ascended to the third-tier Origin Essence Realm before the age of fifty, and by sixty-five, he had reached the mid-level of the third tier.

"Since the rumors claim the other party is a true deity."

"And the third-tier demons of Cangmu Town were indeed wiped out by those he sent."

"Lord Ming sent me here, so no matter what, I must see him."

"If he truly is the legendary deity—"

A glimmer of light appeared in his eyes as he clenched his fists.

Even if he were not a true deity, but a peerless demon, then Zhao Jiuyuan would merely be facing death.

What is there to fear in death?

Every year, are there few commoners within the borders of Xuan County who are devoured by demons?

Zhao Jiuyuan is also of the human race; he is no nobler than the other commoners, so why should he be unable to die?

With a firm gaze, he continued to stride forward, heading toward Four Seas Village.

"Interesting."

"A gifted human."

"Born with a crimson heart, no less."

"The heart naturally belongs to the element of fire; this man's heart possesses an intense fire essence, granting him innate, robust blood-qi and martial aptitude far surpassing ordinary geniuses."

Within the Divine Domain, Li Yue smiled.

Over the past half-month.

The population of Four Seas Village had grown day by day.

Every day, many human commoners from all over Cangmu Town arrived, dragging their families along.

Those who dared to come naturally believed Li Youming's words, convinced that he was a true deity rather than some demon in disguise.

But likewise—

Within the borders of Cangmu Town, there were still a vast number of human commoners who dared not come, fearing they would only be jumping from the tiger's den into the wolf's lair.

Li Yue did not care about them.

Regardless, once he ascended again and his "jurisdiction" expanded, these commoners would still become his believers.

It was merely a matter of time.

Hoo—

With a thought, he opened the "Believer Information" panel, a look of satisfaction appearing on his face as he looked at the number of believers.

[Daily Incense]: 10,173 strands

[Dao-Grade Believers]: 0 "Provides 100,000 strands of incense daily"

[Heaven-Grade Believers]: 0 "Provides 10,000 strands of incense daily"

[Saint-Grade Believers]: 0 "Provides 1,000 strands of incense daily"

[Grade A Believers]: 12 "Provides 100 strands of incense daily"

[Grade B Believers]: 652 "Provides 10 strands of incense daily"

[Grade C Believers]: 2,308 "Provides 1 strand of incense daily"

[Grade D Believers]: 1,455 "Provides 1 strand of incense every ten days"

"The total number of believers has reached 4,427."

"I can harvest ten units of divine power every day."

"Among them, there are two more Grade A Believers."

The life stories of these two Grade A Believers appeared in Li Yue's eyes.

One was named Li Xiudao, no more than eighteen years old. Like Li Xiuwu, he was an orphan who grew up on the charity of others, his parents having been devoured by wolf demons from Thousand Wolf Mountain years ago.

The other was named Li Xiuqi, twenty-three years old. He was already married with a son and a daughter, and his parents were still alive.

"In the original Li Family Village, there are already four Grade A Believers among the Xiu generation."

"Counting Li Youming and Li Deyang, the original Li Family Village actually accounts for half of all Grade A Believers."

Li Yue sighed with emotion.

It was already evening.

A large number of villagers had gathered before the Land God Temple to offer incense.

Two sticks of incense, morning and evening; although Li Youming had not set a strict time, it generally occurred at sunrise and sunset.

This was a schedule the villagers had spontaneously formed after a long period of adjustment.

Of course—

There were villagers who came during the day or even at noon, but Li Youming paid them no mind.

He only required that all Four Seas Village villagers offer two sticks of incense morning and evening; they were free to offer more at any other time if they wished.

Fragrant incense permeated the air.

Smoke curled and drifted.

The entire Land God Temple appeared much more ethereal.

"The White Jade Spirit Rice has sprouted; I can use the 'Spirit Rice Essence' to accelerate its growth..."

"Additionally, I have ten Tier 1 'Blessing Talismans' and three Tier 2 'Blessing Talismans' on hand."

"Those suits of armor have not been bestowed yet either."

"Then today, I shall bestow them all."

Li Yue's expression was calm.

He glanced at the 'Spirit Rice Essence' floating within his "Divine Domain."

Suddenly—

The 'Spirit Rice Essence' flew out of the "Divine Domain"!

Deng Jiu'e was patrolling the spirit fields.

Every single day, she would meticulously inspect every stalk of White Jade Spirit Rice.

Now that the White Jade Spirit Rice had sprouted, the field was a lush, vibrant green, a sight that filled her with great joy.

These—

Were all future spirit rice!

She hadn't understood how precious spirit rice was before, but the village chief had come to check on them many times and explained their value to her.

"These are all resources for the village to become stronger in the future."

"Since Lord Zhangyue has bestowed such divine objects upon us, we naturally cannot let them go to waste."

Deng Jiu'e whispered to herself.

Suddenly—

She spotted a blue-gray insect with wings, gnawing on the tender leaves of the White Jade Spirit Rice.

Her gaze sharpened, and without a word, she drew her blade and struck.

A flash of light crossed the air, and the blue-gray insect was instantly sliced in two. Its carcass fell into the soil, while the tender leaf of the White Jade Spirit Rice remained completely unharmed.

It was evident that her mastery of the 'Gale Blade Technique' was already quite high.

"It is fortunate that the Temple Keeper brought back a Tier 1 Spirit Blade; otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to kill this Tier 1 'Spirit-Eating Bug' in a single strike."

A smile graced Deng Jiu'e's pretty face.

The shell of this Tier 1 'Spirit-Eating Bug' was extremely hard; if one failed to kill it in a single blow, it would immediately fly away.

This was the primary purpose of her patrols: pest control!

She bent down, picked up the two halves of the 'Spirit-Eating Bug' carcass, and placed them into the small pouch at her waist.

Inside, there were already three or four such carcasses.

"I manage to kill about four or five 'Spirit-Eating Bugs' every day."

"I heard from the Temple Keeper that after these carcasses are dried, each one can be sold for over a dozen taels of silver."

When Deng Jiu'e first heard this, she was quite shocked.

After all, back when she lived in the Land of Demons, even a single tael of silver was incredibly precious.

Now, the bug carcasses she collected just from daily pest control could sell for sixty or seventy taels of silver, which made her realize even more just how precious this patch of spirit rice truly was.

She had long since made up her mind.

Even if she, Deng Jiu'e, were to die, she would absolutely not let anyone destroy this patch of spirit fields!

Just at this moment—

She saw a streak of brilliant white radiance fly over from the Land God Temple.

"A divine gift from Lord Zhangyue?"

Deng Jiu'e shuddered and hurriedly knelt on the ground.

Then she saw—

That streak of brilliant white radiance scattered a vast amount of starlight, which shimmered as it fell upon every stalk of White Jade Spirit Rice in the entire field.

Immediately following—

She discovered in shock.

The tender shoots of White Jade Spirit Rice touched by the starlight instantly shot up by a significant margin at a speed visible to the naked eye!

"Grade C Spirit Field!"

"White Jade Spirit Rice!"

"Spirit Rice Essence!"

And this scene—

Was also seen by Zhao Jiuyuan, who was being led toward the Land God Temple by the Four Seas Village Temple Guard.

His body jolted, and he gasped out loud.