God Followed a Child's Cries, While a Hidden Heart Demon Stirred

This is a dilapidated ancient temple located in the wilderness. The temple is covered in dust, both inside and out, indicating that it has been abandoned for a long time.

Inside the temple, on the altar, stands a clay statue of a woman. She wears a phoenix crown, a long-sleeved, round-necked robe, and cloud-patterned shoes. She sits on a dragon-head chair, holding a small child in her left arm and resting her right hand on her knee.

The entire statue was spotless, and its eyes gleamed faintly, standing out prominently in the dim temple.

However, as a scream came from the statue, a phantom flew out and danced in the temple.

The phantom was a woman, glowing with a green light, but it was extremely dim. The soul of an infant lingered around her, emanating wavering and uncertain emotions.

"I have been careful enough. Over the years, I have hardly ever devoured human infants. I have only sought out the offspring of demons to consume in order to condense my divine power. I finally discovered a half-demon, who was actually a descendant of the Daoist Sect. I had only attached a wisp of Divine Sense to him, and yet, not long after, he was discovered by other deities!"

The woman's illusory figure was thinking when suddenly its expression changed drastically.

"Not good! That Divine Sense has been extracted! Heavenly Court deities have limited Divine Ability; to extract it without damaging Divine Sense is something I am far beyond my ability to handle. I must escape!"

She silently severed her connection with that Divine Sense, raised her hand to grab the infant soul shadow beside her, bent her five fingers, and crushed it.

"Wow wow wow!"

Suddenly, a loud cry came from the fragmented image of the baby, and the woman's Divine Body merged into the cry, scattering far away, leaving the temple in the blink of an eye, and disappearing into the dark Lin Zhong.

As she left, the eyes of the statue in the temple immediately dimmed, and then with a few crackling sounds, it shattered completely, turning into a pile of mud.

Inside the inn, Qiu Yan was having a meal with Zheng Yun, his eyes occasionally gleaming as he used his Spirit Eye Art to observe changes in Zheng Yun's aura. On a level unseen by Zheng Yun, the Kitchen God's Divine Sense was slowly pulling a phantom image of an infant from above his head.

The chubby baby, while being pulled, bent its arms and legs and cried loudly. Each cry unleashed a storm of thoughts, causing Qiu Yan's Living Soul to tremble slightly.

"What Divine Path power! I wonder which deity created it. Although it is isolated by the jade pendant, if left unchecked, it will eventually grow stronger by absorbing Zheng Yun's emotions and thoughts. Why did Brother Zheng's sect leave such a threat behind?"

This Divine Sense was hidden within Zheng Yun, making it difficult to detect. Even a deity like the Day Patrol God wouldn't be able to find it unless they focused their attention on Zheng Yun.

However, given the methods the man in blue had displayed, Qiu Yan didn't believe that the other party would overlook this matter. Since he ignored it, he must have had some considerations.

But now that Zheng Yun is by his side, Qiu Yan can't let him get away with it. If he's not careful and the true form of this Divine Sense discovers his true nature, things will get very bad.

Therefore, his first instinct was to use the Kitchen God statue in the inn to channel his Divine Sense and pull it out.

The worship of the Kitchen God is rapidly expanding in Jiannan Circuit. Since the Li Trigram hexagram was incorporated into talismans and the six lines were transformed into Divine Sense, reflecting back to the incense offerings, the Fortune of those who worship the Kitchen God has been gradually improved. Combined with the Divine Office of protecting the home and people, it truly brings peace and well-being to those entering the household. As a result, it has attracted more attention and people have begun to try worshipping him.

As a Daoist prefecture, Jiannan City was bustling with people and well-informed, so it began to have its own Kitchen God. Some inns and restaurants had also invited the gods into their establishments, and the one where Qiu Yan was staying was one of them.

After pulling with his Divine Sense, the Kitchen God then rolled up his sleeve, trying to trap the strange Divine Sense. Unexpectedly, the infant-shaped Divine Sense suddenly trembled!

"Oh no! I didn't expect them to be so ruthless and decisive!"

Just as Qiu Yan changed his mind, that Divine Sense suddenly exploded!

Fluctuation!

The fluctuations of divine power spread outwards, and the Kitchen God's Divine Sense, which was directly affected, shattered instantly, falling into pieces!

The infant's shadow scattered like a gentle drizzle, landing everywhere, even touching Qiu Yan. This caused his thoughts to race, and memories of his infancy surfaced in his mind. He vaguely saw his parents' smiling faces, and his thoughts slowly sank and solidified, showing a tendency to come to a standstill!

"Oh?"

Surprised, Qiu Yan felt his right hand swell with Qi and Blood and qi, and his flesh swelled. With a sudden grab, the four bookshelves in his Earthly Soul began to rotate, releasing scriptures and articles that dispelled all illusions and allowed stagnant thoughts to flow again.

But the next moment, the swollen arm began to tremble.

Qiu Yan's expression hardened, and in a flash, several thoughts containing profound meaning, along with a wisp of Heart Demon black mist, were simultaneously poured into that hand!

"Which deity is this? It seems to be related to infants? Could it be the Child-Giving God of Jiannan Circuit? The fragments that exploded from that Divine Sense just now had a childlike effect; once you were affected, you were no different from an idiot."

After the infant's Divine Sense explodes, it causes a person's mind to revert to childhood, but their body remains unchanged. This is equivalent to an adult with the wisdom of an infant, which can be described as ruthless.

"Uncle, what's wrong?"

Qiu Yan placed his hand under the table, swelling and clenching it, barely noticeable to others. However, the explosion of his Divine Sense affected the surroundings, which Zheng Yun sensed and couldn't help but ask—the shattered thoughts had no effect on him. He was still a child, and no matter how intelligent he was, his mind was still pure.

"Nothing, are you full?"

Little Zheng Yun nodded repeatedly, and Qiu Yan then offered a few words of comfort before leading him back upstairs.

When Zheng Yun entered the room, his gaze fell on several books on the table. After receiving Qiu Yan's permission, he picked up one and began to read.

Upon seeing this, Qiu Yan was surprised. "Your father has already taught you to read?"

"Even without formal instruction, I can understand the meaning of words in a book with just a glance."

"Oh? He was born with this knowledge! Truly a gifted individual, a natural scholar. No wonder Brother Zheng looked so proud when he mentioned it."

Qiu Yan nodded and said no more.

When Little Zheng Yun was studying, he was able to calm down and recover from the anxiety of being separated from his father.

Qiu Yan walked to the side and opened his palm.

In that palm, there was a fragment of Divine Sense that was faintly pulsating, surrounded by Qi and Blood, black mist, and literary thoughts, which imprisoned the fragment within.

Just now, at the moment the infant-form Divine Sense exploded, Qiu Yan, while being impacted, felt suspicious and reached out to grab it, using his Qi and Blood to intercept a fragment of the Divine Sense. However, Qi and Blood and qi alone were still insufficient to completely imprison it, so he successively used the Heart Demon smoke and the thought of writing.

"There are ways to suppress Divine Sense in the mortal realm. Qi and Blood, thoughts, etc. are all methods. In the past, during the Imperial Examinations, the Divine Path around the Examination Hall were driven away by Literary Thought and Human Thoughts, making it difficult to penetrate. However, it still involves the issue of quantity. If Divine Sense and divine power are abundant, even if there is a lot of Literary Qi and Blood Qi, it may not be able to disperse the Divine Sense."

When Qiu Yan first arrived in Jiannan City, he was solely focused on the imperial Imperial Examinations. At that time, the city was filled with a Literary Qi that almost overshadowed the Divine Path aura. Now that the Provincial Examination are over, the Divine Path aura is gradually becoming stronger, unlike Qingchang County and Yuanning Prefecture, where the Divine Path is absent.

Looking at the Divine Sense in his hand, Qiu Yan pondered for a moment, then surprisingly opened his mouth and swallowed it. The Masters Section Bookshelf Sage works of sages burst forth, suppressing it.

Subsequently, the fragments of the Divine Path, along with the bookshelf, fell into the Soul Aperture and were transmitted to the Divine Body of the deity. Immediately, a large amount of Incense Faith surged forth, forcibly analyzing it!

"That Divine Sense exploded, causing significant damage to the deity itself. If it were Child-Giving God, there would be no need for such a desperate act. Perhaps there are hidden reasons, which is a good opportunity to investigate. The Kitchen God Sacrifice is spreading rapidly, and its influence is constantly increasing. Lü Liang will soon take action to stop it. Although he cannot touch the true form, hindering the worship is still easy. Understanding the composition of other deities will also be helpful in future confrontations."

Subsequently, a surprising piece of information was extracted from the fragment of Qiu Yan Divine Sense.

"Hmm? This Divine Sense contains no information about investiture, yet it shares a similar aura with my own divine power. Could it be...?"

As Qiu Yan was pondering this, the Heart Demon smoke in his hand suddenly sank and then began to vibrate!

"Huh? What's going on?"

The suddenness of this attack caught him off guard, but he quickly calmed himself down and the turmoil subsided. However, the Heart Demon Clone on the side of the divine being felt a summons, as if some the Unseen force was pulling at the Heart Demon.

"Hmm?" The Heart Demon Clone's thoughts shifted, and it calmed its mind, causing that the Unseen power to dissipate slightly.

Qiu Yan pondered for a moment, then gathered the Heart Demon smoke from the scholar's clone's hand and transmitted it Heart Demon through the Soul Aperture, at which point the Unseen power dissipated.

"This the Unseen force is no illusion! Speaking of which, this Heart Demon Clone of mine originated from the Supreme Demon Attraction. This demon was summoned here, so naturally it has a source. The Heart Demon... the Heart Demon... hmm, judging by the time, it should be returning soon."

Thinking this, a blurry figure soon appeared outside the window and landed in his hand.

This wisp of smoke was also Heart Demon in Fang Ziyan's heart. It had seeped into Fang Ziyan's heart along with that article, but it did not linger for long. It soon returned along with the State of Mind of the people along the way, but it only arrived at this moment.

"The Heart Demon Clone can split into many wisps of smoke, seeping into the cracks of others' minds, but there is only one dominant consciousness. However, there are millions of people in the world, and countless people have Heart Demon arising in their hearts. Where do these Heart Demon come from? Hmm?"

As Qiu Yan was thinking, he suddenly paused, sensing some information from the smoke in his hand.

With a faint smile, he swallowed the Heart Demon smoke in his hand and sent it back through the Soul Aperture.

Not far away, Little Zheng Yun was still studying. In the corner of the desk, Ginseng Baby quietly crawled out and listened attentively.

Qiu Yan got up and walked over, asking in a low voice, "Yun'er, would you like Uncle to teach you to write?"

"Okay!" Little Zheng Yun replied, stepping aside.

Qiu Yan smiled, knowing that the child was actually trying to read people's expressions, which was rather precocious, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he ground the inkstone, picked up his brush, and wrote down two characters—

Exhortation to Learning.

The moment those two words touched the paper, his Qi and Blood surged, and there was a vague, ethereal feeling about them. In Zheng Yun's eyes, it felt as if they were about to fly off the paper and land in his heart.

This was Qiu Yan trying to incorporate the characteristics of Heart Demon into his writing. Immediately afterward, his pen flew across the page, and a piece titled "Exhortation to Learning" quickly took shape. (To be continued)

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