Seek and You Shall Receive

After checking once more to ensure there were no oversights, Ling Qing leaned against the large tree at the village entrance, using Heart of Nature to restore his original power.

He began to chant in a continuous cycle, starting from the Incantation of Mind Purification, moving to the Incantation of Mouth Purification, the Incantation of Body Purification, the Incantation of Heaven and Earth Purification, and finally, the Golden Light Mantra.

He used the Incantation of Mind Purification, Incantation of Mouth Purification, and Incantation of Body Purification to stack buffs upon himself, while the Golden Light Mantra bolstered his defensive capabilities.

The Incantation of Heaven and Earth Purification, meanwhile, allowed him to establish a favorable field, granting him the advantage of home turf.

As the sun slanted toward the west, he saw many yellow and black figures flickering through the grass and bushes.

The Tiger Demon had indeed arrived with its pack.

These beasts prowled the vicinity in silence, frequently revealing their forms only to vanish in an instant.

Ling Qing glanced at the Land God Temple again, finding it as still as it had been at noon, with nothing but the occasional flash of eerie light.

He had no choice but to steady his mind, stretch his limbs, and focus on his chanting.

After dozens of repetitions of the Incantation of Mind Purification, while he could not reach a state of absolute stillness where not a single thought arose, these minor tricks were no longer enough to shake his resolve.

Having survived the battle with the zombies and over a month of baptism by nature, combined with his cultivation of the Incantation of Mind Purification, he was no longer the ordinary man who would be terrified by a horror movie.

"Roar—!"

As the last ray of sunlight in the west sank behind the mountain, a dull, low roar echoed out.

The thunderous sound caused the surrounding earth to kick up a layer of dust, and the leaves of the tree behind Ling Qing rustled violently.

As the roar intensified, Ling Qing's previously calm mind began to tremble, like the surface of a lake struck by a heavy stone.

The golden light faintly shimmering on his skin began to dissipate.

Just as Ling Qing was about to lose his footing, the roaring slowed and eventually ceased.

Yet, in his ears, a lingering, ghostly rumble continued to echo.

At the same time, a thought began to devour his scattered focus, growing larger and larger within his heart.

Before Ling Qing could soothe this intrusive thought, a giant tiger with a shoulder height of three meters and a body length of nearly ten meters appeared before him.

This tiger was not only massive but possessed an aura of extreme ferocity and brutality.

Its yellow and black striped face looked like a demonic mask, chilling the hearts of all who beheld it.

A pair of emerald eyes, crystalline and deep, resembled bottomless cold pools or pearls in the dead of night, emitting beams of ghastly green light.

Simultaneously, the growing thought in Ling Qing's mind suddenly shifted, manifesting as a tiger's head that let out a soul-shaking roar within his consciousness.

"Roar—!"

He jolted violently, realizing he had fallen into the Tiger Demon's trap.

A flash of regret crossed his mind.

I was too rash. I didn't expect this Tiger Demon to have such tricks up its sleeve. And this pack is much larger than the tiger I transformed into.

Behind the Tiger Demon followed more than a dozen tigers; while not as ferocious or massive as their leader, their shoulder heights of nearly two meters and body lengths of over five meters were nearly double that of the largest modern Siberian tigers.

No wonder the Land God had dug such a massive pit trap; he had previously thought the Land God was just trying to save him some effort.

He hadn't realized that this was the standard size for such a pit.

Don't tell me this entire pack of vicious tigers has also stepped into the extraordinary? If so, how are we supposed to play this?

Feeling the waves of malice radiating from the pack that made his hair stand on end, Ling Qing did not believe he could use Wild Empathy to pacify them.

Moreover, the cruelty they displayed as they moved, and the way they looked at him as if he were prey—with a hint of lingering appetite—told him these were man-eating beasts.

"Do not fear, sir. This old one has arrived."

Just as Ling Qing's nerves were stretched to the breaking point while he resisted the Tiger Demon's psychic assault, a gentle voice reached him from his side.

"Grandfather!" He turned to see the Land God, who had been missing for the entire day, and couldn't help but ask, "Is it done?"

"It is done." The Land God smiled slightly. "Sir, please step back for now, steady your mind, and purge the Tiger Demon's malice from your heart."

"Understood." Ling Qing did not try to be a hero and took a step back.

After centering himself, he began to chant the Incantation of Mind Purification while opening his senses to the natural aura around him.

As he opened his mind, the ferocious aura of the Tiger Demon and its pack surged toward him.

Fortunately, the Land God was blocking the majority of the pressure from the front, and the Incantation of Heaven and Earth Purification he had been chanting for hours had already turned the surroundings into his own domain.

The malice of the tigers, weakened by these two layers of defense, could no longer cause him significant harm.

His thoughts gradually calmed as the power of the Incantation of Mind Purification suppressed the Tiger Demon's malice, and he began to adapt to the onslaught of the evil intent.

When Ling Qing opened his eyes, he saw the Tiger Demon pacing outside the trap, seemingly wary and hesitant after sensing the power of the Land God.

The pack of tigers behind, seeing their king remain motionless, paced back and forth restlessly, not daring to act out.

Ling Qing saw this and drew out the three incense sticks he had prepared. With a rub of his thumb and forefinger against the tips, sparks flickered to life, and three wisps of blue smoke curled upward.

"Primordial Origin pacifies and stabilizes, proclaiming to all spirits; True officials of mountains and rivers, Land God prays for spiritual power; Left altar and right grain, let no one be rashly alarmed; Return to the righteous path, internal and external purified; Each secure your position, guard the altar and court; The Supreme has decreed, to hunt and capture evil spirits; Dharma-protecting God Kings, safeguard those who chant the scriptures; Take refuge in the Great Dao, primal, prosperous, favorable, and upright."

Ling Qing held the incense high to his brow, channeled his mental energy, and chanted in a loud voice.

Once the incantation ended, he bowed three times and planted the three incense sticks before the Land God Temple.

Suddenly, the curling blue smoke moved without wind, winding itself toward the Land God.

The Incantation of Land God Pacification was originally intended for setting up altars and performing rites to summon Land Gods and Mountain Deities, so they might act on behalf of mortals to petition the Heavens and safeguard the righteous path.

However, an ordinary Land God lacks the ability to ascend to the Heavens, and the Celestial Court is not a place one can simply visit at will.

This Incantation of Land God Pacification was meant to provide the Land God with a boost of power, while simultaneously giving him a reason to ascend.

But this was a moment of crisis; there was no time to let the Land God ascend to petition the Heavens, and besides, even if a half-baked practitioner like Ling Qing chanted until his throat tore, he would not possess such divine efficacy.

He used this incantation, along with incense sticks he had consecrated for over half a month, primarily to grant the Land God an extra measure of strength.

Where there is a prayer, there must be a request; where there is a request, there must be a response; where there is a response, there must be a fulfillment.

Otherwise, if the Land God accepted the incense but failed to accomplish the task, he would inevitably suffer the backlash of the incense.

Of course, the request made by the petitioner must also be reasonable.

Delusional ravings naturally do not count.

What Ling Qing prayed for was the eradication of this pack of vicious tigers that were wreaking havoc and devouring people.

Although the Land God could not petition the Heavens with this request, as long as he could borrow the power of Heaven and Earth to subdue the Tiger Demon, it would count as acting on behalf of Heaven, fulfilling the prayer and achieving the result.

In this way, he would not only gain temporary assistance but also receive the incense Ling Qing had offered after the matter was concluded.