Heaven-Born Deity

"A lesser god of little consequence, hardly worth mentioning."

As he spoke, Qiu Yan's true form carefully examined the deity before him. Though it inhabited a clay statue and had been born a god, it had been trapped in one small corner. This was the first time he had encountered another deity.

The Land God before him wore earth-yellow silk. Not only was he short, but his features were especially strange: his nose and mouth protruded outward in one large bulge. Yet Qiu Yan did not find it at all jarring.

In this world, the Divine Path flourished. Any settlement with even a little human presence would give birth to a Land God.

A Land God was an Earth Deity of a region, safeguarding its peace and tranquility and overseeing the household registers of the dead. They might seem ordinary, the grassroots of all deities, mostly holding Seventh Grade Divine Ranks, yet they were particularly important. Land Gods in villages also governed the fertility of fields, the growth of all things, and the withering and flourishing of the five grains—matters tied to the survival and well-being of countless commoners.

Generally speaking, Land Gods could communicate with the Netherworld Bureau and served under the City God of their region.

Above Land Gods were Great Land Gods, most of whom resided in major prefectural cities. The short Land God standing before Qiu Yan was one of them. Though he only oversaw the southern part of the city, he held a Sixth-Rank Divine Seat.

Qiu Yan had been trapped in the mountain temple for decades. Though he held the Dharma seal in his hand and had never met another deity, the seal itself contained its own mysteries, allowing deities to understand instinctively that divine ranks were divided into high and low.

When deities met, aside from licentious cult gods and wild gods, they could sense one another's divine rank and quality. That was why this Land God had readily revealed himself and treated Qiu Yan with courtesy.

Hearing Qiu Yan's vague reply, the Land God frowned slightly and was about to speak again. Then he suddenly froze, his eyes widening as he swept his gaze over Qiu Yan's true form from top to bottom once more. He sucked in a cold breath. "Spiritually lucid and crystal-pure, untouched by worldly dust... Brother, could you be a Heaven-Born Deity?"

Astonishment filled his face. He no longer cared about his original purpose and began questioning Qiu Yan eagerly.

"A Heaven-Born Deity? What exactly does that mean? The Crow Demon mentioned it before too. Could there be different breeds of deities? Am I some rare variety?"

As these thoughts ran through his mind, Qiu Yan voiced his question.

"Brother, you truly do not know? Then why are you following this scholar?" As the South City Land God spoke, he pointed at the flesh-and-blood avatar sleeping on the bed nearby.

"This scholar..." Qiu Yan's true form was briefly stunned, then his thoughts turned. "I was originally in the mountains and gave this scholar a few pointers, allowing him to escape the calamity of flesh and blood perishing. He remembered my kindness and said he wished to repay it by worshipping me, so I attached myself to his clothing..."

"That explains it!" The South City Land God clapped his hands. "How could an ordinary deity's true body leave the place assigned to it?"

Seeing that Qiu Yan still looked confused, he became even more certain of his judgment and immediately smiled. "Brother, you may not know this, but we deities must receive an edict before we can be granted godhood and take our positions. Yet such edicts differ—some come from the mortal court, others from the Heavenly Court. Those are enfeoffed gods. Beyond them are two other kinds: those born from the prayers of countless people, and those formed by the principles of Heaven and Earth. Of these two, one born from nothing is a Heaven-Born Deity!"

Once the South City Land God had decided that Qiu Yan was a Heaven-Born Deity, his attitude changed completely. His former businesslike manner vanished without a trace. "Since you do not know these things, Brother, you must not have encountered another deity since your birth. But never mind. Now that you have come to our Yuanning City, Lord Metropolitan City God will look after you from now on. Whatever questions you have, my lord will answer them for you."

"Uh, there is such a good thing?" Qiu Yan was startled. He had prepared an entire set of explanations, yet before he had said much, the mere words "Heaven-Born Deity" had utterly changed the Land God's attitude.

While Qiu Yan was still thinking, the Land God spoke a few more words before saying, "Brother, why not come with me to the City God Temple now and pay respects to my lord?"

Hearing this, Qiu Yan shook his head. "To be honest, I suffered a slight injury a few days ago. My divine body is unstable and requires two days of quiet recovery. It would not be convenient for me to go out."

The South City Land God nodded repeatedly. "That is true. I was rash. You have left your Domain of Law, so naturally you would be affected. No wonder your Divine Radiance seemed dim. Even your Divine Power Stars must have been damaged, I presume."

"Precisely." Qiu Yan nodded, inwardly sighing.

"This Land God is truly helpful. I barely said anything, yet he filled in the whole story himself. What an interesting fellow."

Once that thought passed, Qiu Yan added, "Please help me offer an apology to the City God. In two or three days, I will certainly pay him a visit in person."

"Rest assured, leave it to me." The South City Land God accepted with a smile. "Since that is so, this lesser god will not delay your rest. I shall take my leave. When you have time, Brother, come sit at my temple. We may become colleagues in the future, so we ought to grow closer."

As he spoke, he raised a hand and pointed. A spark of starlight shot from his fingertip and landed on Qiu Yan's true form's hand.

"Of course." Qiu Yan nodded and watched the Land God bend at the waist, turn his body, and transform into a streak of green light that vanished into the ground.

"A Heaven-Born Deity? Becoming colleagues in the future? It seems the mysteries within the Divine Path run deep indeed."

After pondering briefly, Qiu Yan's true form turned to look at the sleeping flesh-and-blood avatar and narrowed his eyes. "But what surprises me most is that the Land God failed to see that this body of flesh is my avatar!"

As he spoke, two beams of light shot from his eyes and shrouded the avatar.

"Still, it is no wonder. Those Three Divine Hairs are incomparably mysterious. They could follow me into this world. My unusual fate after death is likely connected to them. Over these decades, apart from discovering that the hairs could create avatars, I have gained almost nothing else."

Within his light-filled vision, the flesh-and-blood avatar gradually changed. Its flesh, blood, and bones slowly became insubstantial, revealing several shifting phantoms of light—three rotating and seven drifting.

"I wonder whether other people's avatars also possess independent Three Souls and Seven Souls!"

As he thought, Qiu Yan's true form blinked, and the light vanished at once.

"But in that case, this avatar should be able to cultivate normally. The nature cultivation and life cultivation the Crow Demon mentioned should correspond to cultivating the soul and tempering the corporeal soul."

Humans possessed nature and life. The transformations of nature rested upon the heart, while the transformations of life rested upon the body.

Nature referred to one's disposition, thoughts, soul, and spirit, while the corporeal soul represented life, flesh and blood, physique, and matter.

Nature and life were thus the mind-spirit and physical form, together known as spirit and form.

"The Land God's visit was not unexpected. Though I do not know how the Divine Path is divided in this world, when I entered the city, I felt as if I had leapt into water. Clearly, I entered another's Domain of Law, likely belonging to this city's City God. Since I could sense it, he must have felt some pull as well. It is hardly surprising that he sent someone to question me."

Deities of the Divine Path each held their own divine rank and performed their own duties, governing a Domain of Law. If an outside god crossed into their territory, they would sense it immediately.

"The City God's wish to see me is an opportunity in itself. And from the Land God's words, Heaven-Born Deities seem somewhat special, which explains his altered attitude. Put together, this may open the way for me, allowing me to quickly gather some Incense and Fire Prayer Power and condense Divine Power Stars! But how exactly to proceed will depend on the results of my investigation over the next two days. Besides, I do not know whether that City God can see the connection between my true form and avatar."

With those thoughts, Qiu Yan's divine true form glanced at the flesh-and-blood avatar once more. Then it trembled slightly, scattered into the air, and became a painting of a Confucian scholar once again, sticking to the blue robe.

Elsewhere, after traveling away, the South City Land God had already arrived outside the City God Temple when he smacked his forehead.

"That is right. In my eagerness, I forgot to ask what Divine Office that person held and where he came from." As he considered how to make his report, he recalled that the discovery of a Heaven-Born Deity had made him forget his original purpose. "Still, a Heaven-Born Deity's Divine Office changes with its environment. If I report this matter, Lord Metropolitan City God certainly will not blame me. In any case, when that person arrives in two or three days, I can simply ask him."

With that thought, he stepped into the temple.

Nothing happened that night.

Early the next morning, Qiu Yan rose early. He first exercised briefly in the courtyard, then, after breakfast and seeing Liu Huai and his son off, he found an excuse to leave. He did not return until evening.

During dinner that night, Liu Huai heard of this and said a few words, roughly telling Qiu Yan to watch the situation lately and avoid going out casually if possible.

But Qiu Yan used his search for books as an excuse to persuade Liu Huai. The next day, he still left early and returned late, and this continued until the third day.

On the third evening, after dinner, Qiu Yan returned to his room early. He took a scroll from beside the bed and spread it upon the table. Painted within was a man in Confucian robes—Qiu Yan's divine true form.

Over those three days, he had found a scroll and transferred his true form from the blue robe onto the paper. After all, carrying around a torn cloth robe was far too conspicuous.

After laying out the painting, Qiu Yan lay down on the bed and closed his eyes to sleep.

Once the hour of Xu had passed and the hour of Hai had just begun, white light flickered from the paper, and the divine true form appeared.

The true form raised a hand, and a spark of starlight appeared. The starlight trembled and scattered, transforming into lines of characters.

"What an impressive method, what a Divine Ability."

Looking at the lines of characters before him, Qiu Yan sighed inwardly.

This starlight was what the South City Land God had left behind before departing that day. Thoughts flowed within it; with the slightest contact, one could understand its contents without needing to recognize the characters at all.

This too was a method of using Divine Power, yet it was far more ingenious. Qiu Yan knew he could not achieve the techniques contained within it. At most, he could use Divine Power for minute manipulations, but without any coherent method.

Divine Power was mysterious and varied, but at its core, it was a method of transformation. At the level of a Seventh Grade Divine Rank, it chiefly consumed Divine Power to transform between existence and nonexistence.

Like when Qiu Yan had made the wild beasts in the mountains carry his scent, or three days earlier when he had made Wang Qiao'er forget his name—those had both been manipulations of existence and nonexistence.

"Contact with other deities is imperative. At the very least, I can learn methods to strengthen my control over Divine Power. But when I go this time, the first thing I must ask about is the cultivation of nature and life. The Land God and City God should know something about it. Once I learn it, this fleshly body will have a path forward as well."

The starlight characters gave two addresses and a method. The addresses recorded the locations of the City God Temple and the South City Land God Temple. There was no need to dwell on that. Over the past three days, Qiu Yan had wandered through the city and gained a general understanding of its layout; the locations of the City God Temple and Land God Temple were already clear in his mind.

The method was far more important. Anyone could enter or leave the temples and shrines that worshipped deities throughout the world, but the places where deities' true bodies resided contained the power of the Underworld Office. Not only mortals, but even other deities could not enter lightly. One required someone to guide them or a corresponding method to approach. What lay before Qiu Yan was precisely such a method.

Silently reciting the method, Qiu Yan's true form pounced toward the ground. White light seeped into the earth, and the scene before his eyes changed, swiftly becoming a solemn and imposing temple.

Having left the bounds of Mingyuan Mountain, Qiu Yan had lost his connection to the forests and could no longer gather Divine Power. Yet he had also broken free of those restraints. He was no longer confined to a single temple and could travel and move about.

At the same time, within a spacious residence in the city, lights blazed brightly. Its owner was hosting a grand banquet for numerous guests.

In the main hall, Yuanning Prefect Wen Anguo sat at the seat of honor in casual attire. At the foremost seat to his right sat a burly man with a stern face and no smile, utterly out of place amid the lively atmosphere around him.

"General Lang," Wen Anguo said, raising his wine cup toward the burly man. "General Lang, you arrived so suddenly that my preparations were inadequate. Please forgive me."

General Lang shook his head. "Lord Wen worries too much. The food is fine. It simply does not suit my appetite."

Wen Anguo smiled. "Oh? What does the general favor? Tell me, and I shall have the cooks prepare it."

General Lang's lips moved, baring a row of ghastly white teeth. He opened his mouth and said, "Human flesh."