The Kitchen God Takes His Place

It was still that same room, with the Metropolitan City God of Yuanning City seated by the table.

But this time, she was clearly different from before. Though she sat quietly without making any other movement, the entire room was steeped in a grave, oppressive air. Even a Divine Spirit Body could feel the pressure.

As expected of the Upper Spirit Sect. Even the Metropolitan City God of an entire prefecture must treat them cautiously. Unfortunately, the memories Zhan Yuan left behind are fragmented and incomplete. They only repeatedly describe the Upper Spirit Sect as immensely powerful, without introducing the sect's structure in detail. Otherwise, I could have learned more.

A City God was the supreme deity of a city, but there were distinctions among them.

The Yuanning City God before Qiu Yan resided in the seat of a prefecture and held a Fifth-Rank Divine Seat, making her a Metropolitan City God. Meanwhile, the City God of Qingchang County, where Qiu Yan's household registration was located, was merely Sixth Rank, only slightly higher than ordinary mountain gods and land gods.

"Did you go to the Pan Household last night?"

Just as Qiu Yan's thoughts churned, the Yuanning City God spoke. She did not beat around the bush and asked the question outright.

Qiu Yan nodded and admitted it. He had never intended to conceal it, nor did he think concealment would be useful. Even if he did not understand the methods of a Fifth-Rank deity, all of Yuanning City was the Domain of Law of the City God before him, and he had already joined her ranks. If she wished to investigate what had happened last night, it would be as easy as turning over her hand. No amount of denial would help, so he might as well admit it openly.

I wonder how this City God plans to deal with me.

As he thought this, Qiu Yan lightly flicked the fingers of his right hand and secretly remained on guard. Last night's events had largely been an unexpected accident, but since they had happened, there would inevitably be repercussions. Now it depended on just how powerful the Upper Spirit Sect truly was, and whether even the Divine Path could be interfered with and influenced.

Hearing this, the Yuanning City God nodded. "Good. It is good that you admitted it. I will help suppress this matter. After some time passes, the wind will die and the waves will calm."

"Hm?"

Qiu Yan froze for a moment, then heard the City God change the subject. "However, you cannot involve yourself in that mortal's affairs again. If you stir up any more trouble, even I will not be able to protect you. To tell you the truth, Tang Yi, who is staying at the Pan Household, is the successor of the Upper Spirit Sect, a major sect of the Shu Region. The Upper Spirit Sect possesses an extremely vast influence in the mortal world."

At this point, she paused. "Still, no matter how great its influence in the mortal world, it cannot reach above the Divine Path. However, any sect with some inheritance will inevitably have people skilled in Divine Abilities. Besides cultivators, they often have many who have been granted godhood. The Upper Spirit Sect's two patriarchs both hold posts in the Heavenly Court."

At those words, Qiu Yan's thoughts surged.

I never expected the waters to run this deep. Being able to hold a post in the Heavenly Court, even if their ranks are low, puts them beyond comparison with ordinary Earth Deities. They are like officials in the imperial capital in my previous life—close to the center, they can always borrow its power. But faced with such a force, the Yuanning City God still intends to suppress this matter. Is the force behind her even greater, or...

He glanced at the slender figure wrapped in armor before him.

Or is the matter in which she needs my help so important that she cannot spare a thought for the pressure brought by the Upper Spirit Sect?

At that moment, the Yuanning City God spoke again. "Since you have joined the Divine Office, there is no need for you to lodge in a mortal home any longer. Otherwise, it will be inconvenient to gather incense offerings. From now on, you may remain in the temple. Tonight, I will send ghost servants into the city to scatter dreams, so your temple may be established sooner and you will have a place to dwell."

Hearing this, Qiu Yan said no more. He had come this time prepared for the worst, yet the situation was far better than he had imagined. As for the warning hidden in the City God's words, it was nothing worth mentioning.

"I shall obey your command." Qiu Yan cupped his fists and accepted the order.

The Yuanning City God seemed somewhat surprised. "I thought you would make excuses again. I did not expect you to be so straightforward this time."

"Mortal affairs must be severed sooner or later. It is also time for me to formally set foot upon the Divine Path." Qiu Yan's answer carried two meanings.

At present, the Living Soul of his scholar incarnation had undergone a mutation and produced a Black Hole. The Divine Power of his true body and incarnation was interconnected. According to Qiu Yan's plan, it was time to separate his true body from his incarnation, even estrange them. At the very least, they had to appear as two unrelated individuals, thereby spreading out the risk.

Since he had already made preparations, Qiu Yan had no reason to refuse, whether for public or private reasons.

The Yuanning City God did not know of the connection between his true body and incarnation, so naturally she could not understand the true meaning behind those words. She merely nodded, said no more, and raised a hand to point. Emerald-green radiance scattered down, forming a doorway before Qiu Yan.

Once the door took shape, Qiu Yan bowed to the City God, then stepped inside.

Light and shadow shifted, and emerald radiance filled his vision. When the green light faded, an empty, solemn hall appeared before Qiu Yan. It was the Underworld Main Hall of the City God Temple, which he had visited once before.

Unlike that day, there were no other Earth Deities in the hall today, only rows of empty chairs.

On the platform at the very front stood a desk. Closest to it, there had originally been only one chair on the left, but now there was another on the right, faintly issuing a summons.

Feeling that summons, Qiu Yan's pupils contracted slightly.

What exactly is this City God thinking? I have only just arrived. Granting me a Divine Office would already count as generous treatment, yet now she is making me sit in the first seat on the right. Once this position is set, I will inevitably be burdened by empty fame in the future.

Though he understood this clearly, Qiu Yan knew he no longer had any room to choose. Shaking his head, he strode forward, stopped beside the seat on the right, then turned and sat down.

Then his figure vanished into the chair.

Bzzzz!

The entire hall trembled faintly.

At the same time, throughout Yuanning City, a sudden transformation erupted on a level mortals could scarcely perceive.

The Karmic Threads spread everywhere—tangled, complex, and invisible to ordinary people—began to twitch and shift rapidly, changing and relocating.

Even the city's meager spiritual energy began to boil.

"Hm? What is happening?"

In an exquisitely arranged room in the rear residence of the Pan Household, Tang Yi, handsome-faced and tall in stature, had originally worn a gloomy expression, still brooding over what had just happened at the City God Temple. Yet his heart stirred as he sensed the changes around him, and he fell into thought.

Elsewhere, in the city's post station, the sturdy, brawny General Lang had been eating the meat in his hand when he suddenly paused. But he immediately shook his head and continued tearing into it.

Only the hedgehog locked in a cage in the corner of the room curled into a ball and shivered.

Within the city, the incense offerings at the flourishing City God Temple were abundant. People came and went, and worshippers never ceased.

Inside the temple's main hall stood a clay statue of the City God, three zhang tall. Murals covered the walls on either side, depicting figure after figure. Some had light behind them, some had stars above their heads, and some stood upon clouds. Their appearances and attire were all different.

These were the Earth Deities said to serve beneath the City God.

Suddenly, a flash of light appeared on the right wall, nearest the divine statue, and another figure appeared: a man in a gray robe, with flame-shaped hair and specks of stars circling around him.

A lifelike portrait had appeared out of thin air.

Yet although the portrait had appeared so abruptly, the people moving through the temple noticed nothing at all, as if it had always been painted upon the wall.

Invisible ripples spread outward from the City God Temple. Weak and tiny, they quickly surpassed the bounds of Yuanning City and radiated in all Eight Directions. It was as though a seed had been buried between heaven and earth, though the day it broke through the soil had yet to come.

Within the mural, the divine true body resided there, quietly sensing the clusters of flames scattered throughout the city with absolute clarity.

When he obtained the Divine Office of governing Stove Fire, Qiu Yan had vaguely formed a connection with the city's stoves. But it had never been as clear as it was now. He could distinctly capture even the sights and sounds around every stove.

Bit by bit, they surfaced in his heart.

His heart-mirror was bright and clear!

Yet what concerned him even more was the change within his Divine Body—

The light of the Core Talisman rapidly changed. Amid the white appeared a trace of green, and that green quickly spread, soon covering and replacing the white light.

As the green radiance spread, the Divine Power Stars surrounding it also changed. Their white gleam gradually faded as green light rose, and they began to rotate around the talisman as their core.

"This is... advancing to a Sixth-Rank Divine Seat!"

The divine true body frowned.

P.S. Many thanks to brother "losttample" for the support and reward! You worked hard in the comment section of the previous book...

Mobile users, please read at m.