Earth God's True Body

The Land God, his appearance drastically transformed, pressed his advantage while the Tiger Demon was caught off guard.

He swung his giant staff, aiming a heavy blow directly at the Tiger Demon's head.

Though his movements lacked refined technique, he made up for it with his immense stature and raw strength.

Every gesture whipped up gusts of gale-force wind, forcing the Tiger Demon into a frantic, clumsy retreat with no room to counterattack.

The Tiger Demon had only released its Chang Ghost because it realized it couldn't best the Land God, yet the spirit had been swept away by a single token before it could even make a splash.

Stunned by this, the demon took a direct hit, and once it fell into a disadvantageous position, its situation became even more dire.

Fortunately, the demon possessed extraordinary resilience, a sturdy frame, and its own strange arts; whenever the Land God commanded the fluid-like earth to form mud ropes to bind it, the demon would simply flash with black light and slip free.

It even stomped its feet and lashed its tail, sending out ripples that shattered the Land God's spells.

From time to time, black light shot from its eyes toward the Land God—this was a form of the Art of Enslaving Gods recorded in the second volume of the Divine Script.

Any deity struck by this black light would be instantly controlled, stripped of their freedom.

Ling Qing, unsure of the depth of these powers, stopped his own spellcasting after a few attempts failed to even singe a hair off the beast, wisely choosing to hang back and prepare to flee at a moment's notice.

Remaining where he was would only increase the danger to himself and distract the Land God.

If he were to be captured by the Tiger Demon, it would only add to the Land God's troubles.

The battle between god and demon did not drag on for long; the Tiger Demon was already outmatched, and its initial blunder had cost it the initiative.

While it could shake off the Land God's magical bindings, it could not dodge the crushing weight of the giant staff.

After taking several heavy blows to the head from the Land God's staff, the Tiger Demon finally succumbed to the crushing gravity channeled from the entirety of Locust Tree Village.

Though its skull remained intact, the violent shaking of its brain left it unconscious.

Unable to use its arts to break free from the Land God's control, it was soon bound by mud ropes infused with the weight of the earth.

"Clang~~"

The Land God swung his giant staff with all his might, slamming it into the tiger's head. The shockwave of force turned the brain—now devoid of magical protection—into mush, which sprayed out from the demon's seven orifices.

The Land God then reached out, grasping a token that had suddenly appeared, and swept it across the tiger's head.

Instantly, a phantom image of the Tiger Demon emerged from the carcass and was sucked into the token.

"Roar~~"

It was the soul of the Tiger Demon; though it struggled and roared in defiance, it was to no avail.

As the Land God shook the token once more, the souls of the tigers previously slain by Ling Qing flew out from their remains and were likewise drawn into the token.

"Grandpa..."

Just as Ling Qing stepped forward to offer his congratulations, he saw the Land God's body shudder. His towering frame turned a deathly gray, and as the wind blew, it crumbled into dust that fell in a steady stream.

"Grandpa!!"

Ling Qing was shocked and rushed over, calling out repeatedly.

"Sir, do not panic," a voice, extremely weak, drifted up from beneath the pile of dust.

After a moment, the Land God emerged, having returned to his original form, though his entire body was now semi-transparent and he walked with a stagger.

"The origin is pacified, all spirits are notified..."

"Wait, wait!"

Just as Ling Qing prepared to recite the Incantation of Land God Pacification again, the Land God, who was panting heavily like an exhausted man, jumped up to stop him.

Ling Qing was startled and immediately ceased his chanting.

"Wait, sir."

The Land God let out a long sigh of relief and said slowly, "Wait, sir. This old one truly cannot endure this incantation again."

Once the Land God caught his breath and stabilized his phantom spirit body, Ling Qing finally understood what had happened.

It turned out that after the Land God absorbed the incense offered by Ling Qing and was stimulated by the Incantation of Land God Pacification, a sensation of being able to control everything within the range of his divine office had surged into his heart, bolstered by the power of heaven and earth.

When he attempted to gather all that power into himself, following the ancient methods of the Divine Script he had just grasped, it happened exactly as he had wished: the convergence of power transformed his divine body into the True Body of the Earth God, the giant form Ling Qing had witnessed.

At the same time, he understood that this True Body of the Earth God allowed him to channel the power of the entire Locust Tree Village into his own form.

This divine body was effectively the avatar of the land itself, possessing all the strength that this territory could bear.

Much like the legend of Guangchengzi wielding the Seal of Heaven-Turning, crafted from a fragment of Mount Buzhou, he was essentially using the land itself to strike his foe.

Or rather, he had become a living version of the "Seal of Heaven-Turning," with every strike carrying the crushing, immovable weight of the earth.

Had he not obtained the method so recently, leaving him unable to master it in such a short time, he would have likely pulverized the Tiger Demon with that initial strike.

Although he could not achieve total success, he was still able to engage the Tiger Demon in hand-to-hand combat, and even hold the upper hand.

One must know that this Land God belongs to the category of Yin spirits; usually, he relies entirely on spells and divine power to manifest his wonders, possessing no ability for physical combat whatsoever.

However, the price paid in return was immense.

Because his realm was insufficient, he could not maintain the True Body of the Earth God permanently.

Consequently, after the battle, not only were the incense offerings and the Natural Force borrowed through divine incantations exhausted, but even his own divine power and the incense he had accumulated over many years were completely depleted.

This was why he could not maintain his divine form after the fight ended, becoming as translucent as a ghost.

Therefore, seeing that Ling Qing still intended to chant, he hurriedly stopped him with repeated cries.

If he had to do it again, he could not guarantee whether his divine body would disintegrate and his soul would scatter into nothingness.

"Grandfather, although the night is still young, we have both endured a fierce battle and are exhausted. Why don't we rest for now and tidy up tomorrow morning?"

After Ling Qing apologized for his recklessness, he surveyed the surrounding wreckage and turned to speak to the Land God.

"That is all we can do." The Land God, lacking even a shred of strength within his body, nodded in response.

After all, even if he wanted to clean up, he had no strength left.

While Ling Qing still had some energy, he lacked the ability to haul the tiger pack out of the pit.

As for spells, whether those recorded in his spellbook or his own Natural Force, they were all essentially depleted.

Only a few daily tricks remained, but they were of no help in this situation.

After bidding farewell to the Land God and watching him vanish into the temple, Ling Qing leaned his back against the large locust tree.

He then opened his mind, recovering his Natural Force while sinking into the silence of nature, and drifted into a deep sleep.

"Chirp, chirp~ tweet, tweet~"

As the sky turned a pale, fish-belly white, Ling Qing awoke to the sound of birds chirping in the distance.

The birds were in the forest far away; after all, the corpse of the Tiger Demon was still lying here.

Although it was dead, the fierce aura it radiated still caused the surrounding birds, beasts, fish, and insects to flee, not daring to approach.

"Morning, sir!"

By the time Ling Qing finished his morning practice and completed a round of the Five Animal Frolics, the Land God was already standing behind him, watching quietly.

"Morning, Grandfather! What is this?"

Ling Qing turned his head and discovered that the Land God's appearance was slightly different from before.

Although he remained somewhat illusory due to his divine power not having fully recovered, his physique was sturdier than it had been yesterday.

His hunched back had straightened, the wrinkles on his face had diminished, making him look much "younger," and the staff in his hand appeared thicker.

His form was now more reminiscent of the True Body of the Earth God from yesterday.

The image of a deity rarely changes, and when it does, it must mean that their divine office has undergone a transformation.