Sprouting

Divine ranks were divided into grades.

Qiu Yan had originally possessed a clay statue and become the Minyuan Mountain God. His divine rank was Seventh Grade, allowing him to gather incense offerings and collect Divine Power.

Yet Mingyuan Mountain was rather desolate, its mountain temple abandoned. There was scarcely any incense for him to gather. He could only rely on hunters entering the mountains' fear of the forest's wild beasts, and the mountain birds' reverence for nature, accumulating these thoughts and turning them into wish power. But it was exceedingly meager; after several decades, he had gathered only ten Divine Power Stars.

On the other hand, it was precisely because of these restrictions that Qiu Yan had been forced to study Divine Power in depth and make effective use of it. This gave him a certain mastery over the use of Seventh Grade Divine Power. Though it had not formed a complete system, in terms of control and understanding alone, he was no worse than other deities—perhaps even better.

After joining the City God Divine Office, Qiu Yan's Divine Power Stars had surpassed a hundred, fuller than ever before. Yet he was still limited to a Seventh Grade Divine Rank. But now, as he sat upon the Divine Office's seat, his Divine Grade finally began to change—

The Divine Power Stars revolved in several layers around the Core Talisman, inside and out, like a glowing vortex.

A Stellar Vortex.

"A Seventh Grade rank allows Divine Power to control existence and nonexistence, and to interfere with the mortal world to a certain extent within the scope of one's Divine Office and Domain of Law. But this Sixth-Rank Divine Seat..."

Within the mural lay a vast Void connected to the City God Underworld Office. His true divine self floated there, light and shadow rippling over his Divine Body as the faint white glow was gradually replaced by azure light.

Suddenly, he raised his left hand. Azure radiance flashed in it, and a cluster of crimson flames sprang forth, leaping and twisting as it gave off light and heat.

Then he raised his right hand. Azure light likewise flickered in his palm. When it faded, it revealed a dry, hard clod of earth.

Next, the gray robe upon his true self stirred, releasing wisp after wisp of smoke.

"With a Sixth-Rank Divine Seat, Divine Power undergoes a qualitative change..." His brows slowly furrowed. "When I dwelled in the mountain temple and studied Divine Power, I discovered that it contained changes of the Domain of Law, but I was never able to see through them, much less use them. Now that I have ascended to the Kitchen God's rank, I have in truth been invested by another. Without understanding the essence of Divine Power, I can wield it freely, transforming it into fire and clods of earth."

He pondered for a moment, recalling the traits of Heaven-Born Deities that the Earth God and City God had once mentioned.

"Heaven-Born Deities can raise their own divine ranks. Looking at it from the other side, doesn't that mean advancement along the Divine Path is not something deities themselves control, but is governed by investiture? If so..."

His heart gave a thump, and Qiu Yan realized he had grasped the key.

"Divine ranks and offices, the evolution of Divine Power, even the raising of grades—all are bestowed by others. If they were taken back one day, would I be beaten back to my original form in an instant? Just like the Liu Household father and son: they worked at the Pan Household and seemed glorious, yet when a wave crashed over them and they were driven out by the Pan Household, they became destitute and helpless, trapped in hardship!"

At this possibility, even Qiu Yan, a deity, felt a chill run down the back of his neck, and cold dread rose in his heart.

"Could this be the essence of the Divine Path? The truth? Is that why Heaven-Born Deities are so precious?"

Qiu Yan was still thinking when his expression suddenly changed. He drew back his tangled thoughts, turned around, and looked behind him. A glowing human figure floated there.

Before him stood a refined man in a long azure robe, with a small beard. He was the deity who had sat to the City God's left that day.

When deities met, words were unnecessary. A single thought, a flicker of intent, was enough to know. Qiu Yan raised a hand in salute. "Greetings, Bai Wenpan."

This refined man was the Yuanning City God's chief aide, a deity who held the office of Wenpan. His surname was Bai.

Bai Wenpan returned the salute, then said, "Min Yuan Wenpan, you are too courteous. Our positions are the same; from now on, we are colleagues, so there is no need for formality. I have come this time for no other reason than to divide our responsibilities, so as to avoid trouble later. What is your opinion?" As he spoke, he lifted his eyes and glanced at Qiu Yan, but no emotion showed in them.

"Why make things so troublesome? This Lesser God has only just arrived. How could I possibly know how to handle matters? The office and duties of Wenpan should remain under your control, Bai Wenpan. As for me, I need only focus on controlling the city's hearth fires, so that I may gather more incense offerings. To be honest, this Lesser God's Divine Power has always been meager. I have been poor for too long."

Upon hearing this, Bai Wenpan's expressionless face immediately changed, revealing a faint smile. "You are overstating things. None of these matters are difficult..."

Since Qiu Yan's words held no intent to contend for power, Bai Wenpan naturally lowered his guard. The atmosphere of their conversation changed as well. After exchanging a few more words, Bai Wenpan prepared to leave. Before departing, he left behind one sentence—

"In the next day or two, ghost emissaries will enter dreams to spread Your Excellency's name. Before long, temples and shrines will be built."

"Many thanks..."

After bidding farewell to Bai Wenpan, his true divine self fell silent within the City God Temple mural.

Until the Kitchen God's shrine and temple were built, he would stay here for the time being. Still, as a member of the City God Divine Office, remaining in the City God Temple and staying close to incense offerings and believers brought quite a few benefits.

Time flowed on, and in the blink of an eye, three days passed.

During those three days, a strange occurrence began to spread among the common people—

Quite a few people encountered a deity in their dreams.

This deity was said to be a City God Wenpan, in charge of lighting fires, preparing meals, and ensuring peace at every meal.

This deity, who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere, did not strike people as abrupt. On the contrary, after it was confirmed that many people had undergone similar dream experiences, quite a few commoners no longer doubted his existence. Some of them even began to show suitable respect for the new deity before cooking each day.

However, although his fame and reputation rose rapidly, the building of shrines was still far off. Omens and dreams alone were not enough to cultivate believers, much less make anyone willing to spend money and labor to build a deity's shrine or temple.

Only through day after day and year after year of subtle influence, until the concept of the new deity took root in people's hearts, would temples and shrines naturally emerge. This process would be exceedingly long, perhaps lasting several generations.

But to deities, the passage of time was not a problem. Perhaps after one period of slumber, when they opened their eyes again, several decades would already have passed.

Yet while his true divine self could disregard the passage of time, his scholar incarnation had no choice but to count the days.

With one horizontal stroke and one vertical stroke, after finishing the final character, Qiu Yan's scholar incarnation set down his brush. He rose, gathered the sheets of paper on the table, blew on them several times to dry the ink, folded them, and tucked them into his robe. Then he pushed open the door and walked out.

Three days had passed.

Three days had passed since the fierce battle at the Pan Household that night. During those three days, Qiu Yan had concentrated on practicing calligraphy every day. After many attempts, he gradually grasped the knack of strengthening his Living Soul through calligraphy.

Still, he was feeling his way forward on his own, so his method was somewhat crude. While the Living Soul grew stronger, it also produced quite a few impurities.

In truth, impurities were unavoidable in Soul Dao cultivation. No matter what method one used, they were difficult to completely avoid. But good cultivation methods and inheritances naturally possessed techniques for purifying soul essence and removing or separating impurities. Step by step, the Living Soul would grow ever firmer.

Like Qiu Yan, immersing his mind in writing through calligraphy, strengthening his will, and drawing upon the writings of Sages to empower his own soul could in fact be seen as a form of self-hypnosis. Emotions would inevitably be carried into it, becoming impurities within the soul.

However, compared to others, Qiu Yan possessed an enormous advantage: the existence of his true divine self—

Every night, when all was quiet, Qiu Yan would use the Black Hole at the center of his Living Soul to draw over Divine Power, using it to comb through his Living Soul, grind away impurities, purify his soul, and sweep away future troubles.

By day he practiced calligraphy to strengthen his soul; by night he used Divine Power to comb through and guide it. In three days, Qiu Yan not only stabilized his explosively increased soul power, but also brought his rapidly growing Living Soul under control. His vitality, spirit, and bearing improved with every passing day.

When he stepped out of the room, he saw an empty courtyard. Liu Huai and Liu Yue had gone out early in the morning, while the women of the household remained by Pan Rongniang's side, ready to attend to her at any moment.

Over the past three days, the Liu Household father and son had tried to find work, but their efforts had never borne fruit.

"Having offended the Pan Household, I fear no family in Yuanning City will dare employ Uncle or Cousin anymore."

Qiu Yan understood this clearly, but Liu Huai and his son were unwilling to give up so easily.

"So be it. Let them run into walls for now. Once I have arranged things, Uncle and the others should give up hope. Then we can leave this land of trouble together. Only then can I study and nurture my soul in peace, and settle the Karma of this life."

Just as he was thinking this, his ears twitched, and the corners of his mouth curled upward.

"They have finally come."

The moment he spoke, a bang rang out as the courtyard gate was violently smashed open, and several people filed inside.