Underworld Authority

In the end, the Land God hesitated.

After hearing him out, he didn't accept it right away. Instead, he explained to Ling Qing, "This Stone Tablet holds a measure of land authority, as well as a trace of authority over the Underworld Administration, as far as this old man can sense.

"You've also obtained that scroll of scripture. Once you've mastered your cultivation and returned to that little town, you'll be able to use this Stone Tablet to become its Land God.

"You'll also be able to shelter the dead, take in ghosts, and guide them into the Underworld to be reborn.

"If the incense offerings grow plentiful and your merit becomes complete, then after some time managing that town, you might even be promoted to the City God of an entire city.

"Please think it over again, sir."

"There's no need. I've come here to Mount Lao to seek immortality and ask the Dao. That isn't where my ambitions lie."

Seeing the Land God behave this way, Ling Qing immediately felt that he hadn't helped the wrong person or misjudged him.

Instead, his own actions and intentions seemed a little underhanded, not quite open and aboveboard.

Nature might include darkness as well as light, and most Druids belonged to neutral alignments, striving to maintain nature's cycles and a balance between good and evil.

But both the education he'd received growing up and the immortal path Ling Qing yearned for had taught him to do good.

Ling Qing couldn't become absolutely good. His alignment wouldn't allow it, and he himself had no desire to be that way.

Still, neutral good was neutral, and lawful good was good.

He smiled faintly. "To meet a righteous and benevolent god like you today has taught me a great deal.

"I'll give this Stone Tablet to you. Please decide for yourself what to do with it.

"Though I've read the scripture several times, I still can't understand it for now, so I can't be of much help to you."

Regardless of whether he could join Mount Lao after this instance, simply meeting the Land God had already been more than enough to benefit Ling Qing.

In his eyes, the Land God's example was even more precious and enlightening than the Ancient Scroll.

After all, there would always be ways to gain power in the future. The Druid inheritance alone was enough for him to study and comprehend.

But if he strayed from the right path, he might regret it for the rest of his life.

Seeing that Ling Qing truly meant to give it to him, and seemed to have gained some insight as well, the Land God felt both glad and happy for him.

This time, he didn't bow as he had before. He simply thanked Ling Qing cheerfully and accepted it.

In his heart, he was certain that Ling Qing would achieve great things one day, and sincerely accepted the bond of fate between them.

Affection was kept in the heart; grand, elaborate rituals were more for strangers.

Afterward, the man and the god each went about their own business.

Ling Qing set about preparing poison. After making several batches of ordinary poisons, he began experimenting at random.

It wasn't entirely without reason. He mixed them according to his knowledge of plants and some principles of medicine.

As for whether they were poisonous or how potent they were, he didn't pay too much attention.

If they worked, all the better. If not, it didn't matter. Poison was only a supplementary method, after all.

Besides, ordinary poisons probably wouldn't do much against that pack of tigers, with their vigorous qi and blood.

He was making poison just to have one more straw at hand. Who knew? It might be the straw that broke the camel's back.

Meanwhile, the Land God began transferring the traces of land and Underworld Administration authority from the Stone Tablet into his own divine office.

Land authority could increase his divine power and jurisdiction, allowing him to exert influence more deeply and over a wider area.

Authority over the Underworld Administration would give him the means to deal with ghosts and monsters.

The office of an ordinary Land God also included the duty of guiding ghosts. He simply hadn't dealt with that aspect before, so he hadn't gained the corresponding authority.

The Stone Tablet held traces of this authority because it had been formed from a tombstone corrupted by murky ghostly qi, and then purified by the divine incantations of Ling Qing and the others.

Beyond the ability to guide ghosts found in an ordinary Land God's duties, this trace of authority also carried the power to refine and deliver their souls.

That would deprive the Tiger Demon of one of its crucial methods.

There was a saying, "To act as a chang ghost for a tiger." It meant that those eaten by tigers became Chang Ghosts, who led the tigers to others to devour.

From this, it was clear that tigers could control ghosts by nature. This Tiger Demon, having attained spiritual awareness, was no exception.

The reason it had come down from the mountain to eat people was to claim more Chang Ghosts.

The Land God had originally intended to use divine power to forcibly suppress those Chang Ghosts, but that would have made their souls scatter into nothingness.

Even if their souls hadn't scattered, once he killed the Tiger Demon, they would be left as wandering ghosts, unable to enter the Underworld Administration.

Now, with authority over the Underworld Administration and the power to refine and deliver souls, he could save those Chang Ghosts and refine away the baleful qi clinging to them, restoring their clarity.

Then they could enter the Underworld and be reborn.

By noon, Ling Qing had almost finished preparing everything he needed.

The Land God, whose spirit body had become divine, didn't need to eat, but Ling Qing hadn't reached the point of fasting.

He didn't plan to go into the village. He took some dry rations from the Book Box, drew a bowl of water from the nearby stream, and ate.

With the Heart of Nature, Ling Qing could sense the purity of water and tell which kinds could be drunk untreated and which couldn't.

Besides, the stream flowed past the Land God's temple and had been touched by his divine power, so it held no impurities.

But it was unlikely to have any special effects.

After finishing lunch, Ling Qing glanced at the Land God's temple.

Aside from an occasional glimmer of light, dark yet tinged with clarity, which he could sense within the temple and which gave off a mysterious aura, there was no sign of activity.

The Land God probably hadn't fully mastered his new divine authority yet.

That made sense. If it had been so easy, the Land God wouldn't have been so stirred up.

Without that Divine Script and Stone Tablet, who knew how long it might have taken him to gain the ability to guide ghosts?

It was now high noon, so the Tiger Demon probably wouldn't come at this time. The sun's radiant essence was especially fierce in its suppression of ghosts.

After resting for a while beneath the shade of a tree, he took three sticks of incense from the Book Box.

He had bought them from the Special Affairs Department with points. They were supposedly made from top-grade sandalwood, kneaded by master incense-makers, and aged in storage for several years.

Someone had acquired them but had no use for them, so they'd put them up for sale on the Special Affairs Department's platform.

Ling Qing hadn't bought the incense to burn. He intended to use it for cultivation.

The main reason was that, to cast the Incantation of Incense Offering and make it effective, he needed incense as a medium for the spell.

He had been blessing this incense with incantations for over half a month. It should have gained at least some spiritual efficacy by now.

Once the Tiger Demon arrived, he would use this incense with the Incantation of Invoking the Land God to make offerings to the Land God. That should give the Land God a little more support.

After adjusting the spells in his Spellbook, he prepared several sets of spell materials and placed them within easy reach.

He ran through the steps in his mind several times to make sure he could grab the materials immediately.

Then he picked up more than ten Ghost-Repelling Pills, strung them on a thin vine, and hung them around his neck to keep the Chang Ghosts from ambushing him.

He stuck the talismans he'd traded for from Zhu Guang onto his body, ready to activate them at any moment.

Finally, he placed the three Mud Pellets the Land God had given him within easy reach, ready to flee if things looked bad.