Starting with the Earth God, the path to immortality is deduced!

The sunlight cast Zhou Yuan's shadow long.

The shadow cast on the bluestone slab seemed even taller than the statues in the City God Temple.

Zhou Yuan clutched the warm City God's token in his hand.

He ran his fingertips over the newly engraved runes.

It's very hot.

It's not that the temperature is too hot.

This heavy weight of power is burning hot.

"Fertilizer, huh...?"

Zhou Yuan murmured something under his breath.

The fierce glint in his eyes did not disappear with Lin Xuan's annihilation.

Instead, it resembled a wasteland scorched by wildfire.

It sowed the seeds of an even deeper and wilder fire.

He didn't want to be fertilizer.

I don't want the people behind me to become fertilizer.

Since this world offers no way to survive.

Then let's trample this world under our feet!

"call……"

Zhou Yuan let out a long breath.

Consciousness instantly sank into the sea of ​​consciousness.

That book, "Strange Tales of Gods and Monsters," was floating in the center of my consciousness.

It was emitting a faint, mysterious light at that moment.

The battle just now.

It ate too much.

Lin Xuan's demigod soul, plus dozens of iron corpse puppets.

That was an unimaginable fortune.

"Book Spirit".

"Deduce it for me!"

Zhou Yuan silently recited in his heart.

No nonsense.

His mind was immediately focused on the item "Godhood Advancement".

Splash!

The pages of the book moved on their own even without wind.

The flipping was so fast that only afterimages could be seen.

Lines of ancient and simple seal script.

They swam out from the pages of the book like tadpoles.

It hovered in front of Zhou Yuan's eyes.

[Goal: Promotion to a higher rank (from village land deity to county city god)]

Current status: Insufficient conditions

[Analysis in progress...]

[Consuming Yin Energy: Ten Years' Worth!]

boom!

Zhou Yuan felt the yin energy in his dantian instantly decrease.

But he didn't even frown.

This is the amount of consumption.

Compared to what I just gained.

That's just a drop in the ocean.

Followed by.

More detailed information flooded into my mind.

[Analysis of the Divine Path: The Nine Ranks of the Divine Path lie in gathering the masses and uniting with the earth.]

The local land deity governs the local energy and protects the peace of the region.

The County God is the ruler of a county, in charge of both the yin and yang realms, and governs the earth's veins; he cannot be created simply by piling up divine power.

Promotion requirements:

[I. Divine Power Requirement Met (Already Satisfied).]

[II. Merit Standard Achieved (Slaying Lin Xuan and saving the souls of the entire city, fulfilled).]

[III. Earth Vein Integration (Not Yet Met). It is necessary to integrate at least two surrounding earth vein nodes of township or higher level, with Pingyang County as the core, to form a "Three Powers Gathering Spirit" formation, in order to forge the City God's domain!]

Zhou Yuan narrowed his eyes.

Earth vein integration.

The three elements gather their essence.

The meaning is quite obvious.

It's not enough to just mess around in Pingyang County.

We need to expand our network.

We need to make the plate bigger.

"My current base is in Liujia Village outside Fengzhou City. That is where I started my career, and it is also where the local earth god's shrine is located."

"A few days ago, Ma Ling'er and I dealt with the evil spirits in Jingning County. Although they haven't officially taken over yet, the day patrol envoy there owes me a huge favor, and the earth's veins aren't rejecting me."

"And then there's Pingyang County now..."

In Zhou Yuan's mind.

A rudimentary map quickly appeared.

Fengcheng (Liujia Village), Jingning, Pingyang.

these three places.

Geographically, they are arranged in a triangular shape.

They are mutually supportive.

If we could connect the ley lines in these three places...

They formed a continuous expanse.

That's more than just the county town god.

That was practically a small "country within a country"!

"Let's do it!"

Zhou Yuan suddenly opened his eyes.

Deep within the pupil.

The golden divine fire was flickering.

Since Zhang Zhengming asked me to compete for it.

Then I'll fight for the bigger one!

This round.

I want to take over the territory of these three counties.

I ate it all!

……

Half an hour later.

The backyard of the City God Temple.

This place was originally used by Lin Xuan to imprison prisoners.

It has now been cleaned up.

Ma Ling'er was squatting on the stone steps without any regard for her image.

He was holding half a watermelon in his hands.

Those were just delivered by the people of the city.

Gun Gun sat down next to her.

He was holding a large pile of bamboo shoots in his arms.

One person and one bear.

They ate it with such gusto, it was practically dripping with juice.

"Smack smack..."

"Mmm, so sweet!"

Ma Ling'er spat out a watermelon seed.

The watermelon seeds were like bullets.

A fly three meters away was pinned to the wall and killed.

"Ling'er".

Zhou Yuan's voice suddenly rang out behind her.

"puff--!"

Ma Ling'er was startled.

The watermelon juice in his mouth sprayed directly onto Gun Gun's face.

"Huh?"

Gun Gun looked completely bewildered.

He stuck out his tongue and licked the red juice off his face.

Smack his lips.

It tastes pretty good?

"Joo Won!"

"You walk without making a sound!"

"Are you born in the year of the cat or the year of the ghost?!"

Ma Ling'er jumped up.

He wiped his mouth haphazardly.

She glared fiercely at Zhou Yuan.

"I am a male born in the year of the Earth element."

Zhou Yuan smiled.

They weren't being polite either.

He walked over and took the tenderest bamboo shoot from Gun Gun's arms.

I took a bite.

"Awoo!"

Rolling protested.

But under Zhou Yuan's ambiguous smile...

This guy shrank his neck without any backbone.

He tucked the remaining bamboo shoots tighter into his arms.

The Great Demon King is not to be trifled with.

endured.

"What do you want from me?"

"Let's agree on this beforehand."

"Don't come to me if you need to fight."

"My aunt now suffers from back pain, leg cramps, and other aches and pains."

"I can't move an inch."

Ma Ling'er looked at Zhou Yuan warily.

That kid is full of bad ideas.

He definitely wasn't holding back a fart.

"No fighting."

"It's just to let you go for a stroll."

Zhou Yuan swallowed the bamboo shoot.

His expression became slightly more serious.

I'm getting a promotion.

Five simple words.

This changed Ma Ling'er's previously somewhat languid expression.

It froze instantly.

She widened her eyes.

They looked at Zhou Yuan as if he were a monster.

"Promotion...?"

"Aren't you already a local deity?"

"Further promotion..."

"Is that a village pavilion? Or a market town?"

Although Ma Ling'er is a descendant of the Ma family.

However, he is not particularly proficient in the Shinto system.

After all, these days...

Those who genuinely practiced the divine path have all died out.

"It is the County God."

Zhou Yuan said calmly.

It was as casual as talking about what to eat tonight.

"Cough cough cough cough!!!"

Ma Ling'er choked on her own saliva.

He coughed so violently it shook the heavens and the earth.

His face turned red.

"The...the County God?!"

"A ninth-rank official?!"

"Big brother!"

"You're only sixteen years old!"

"Are you trying to reach for the heavens?!"

Ma Ling'er felt that her worldview had been shattered.

Her second uncle, Ma Xiaoling, spent forty years repairing it.

He has only just touched the threshold of the "Yin Shen" realm.

This kid has only been in the world for a short time... no, how long has he been cultivating?

That would mean directly transcending social classes.

He's the head of a county?!

If this gets back to the Ma family...

Those old relic in the house are probably so ashamed they'd all hang themselves.

"There's no time to explain."

"This is a rare opportunity."

"The earth's veins in Pingyang County have just been revitalized and are currently at their most active."

"Once it cools down."

"It will be difficult to integrate them again."

Zhou Yuan interrupted her shock.

He took out three newly drawn talismans from his pocket.

He handed it to Ma Ling'er.

"I'm going to go into seclusion here."

"Draw the earth veins of Fengcheng and Jingning here."

"This process will be quite significant."

"Those dirty things hidden in the shadows."

"They'll definitely smell it and come over to cause trouble."

"Zhang Zhengming is guarding Pingyang County, so I'm not worried."

"What I'm worried about is the area where the three counties meet."

"That's a node in the ley lines."

"It's also the weakest point."

Zhou Yuan pointed to the north.

"Where are you going?"

"Keep watch for me for three hours."

"Any evil spirits that wish to approach the Pingyang area."

"No matter what it is."

"Kill without mercy!"

Looking at Zhou Yuan's serious and murderous eyes.

Ma Ling'er put away her playful smile.

she knows.

This matter is very important to Zhou Yuan.

It is even important to the situation in the entire North Continent.

If Zhou Yuan really gains power...

With these three counties as a backing,

In the future, when facing the Wukong Sect.

They then had real confidence.

"Three hours, right?"

Ma Ling'er grabbed the talisman.

He carried the peach wood sword on his back.

He casually picked up the panda that was still gnawing on a bamboo shoot.

"Gun Gun, stop eating!"

"Get to work!"

"Huh?"

Gun Gun looked unwilling.

But under Ma Ling'er's tyranny...

The bear could only helplessly lower its head.

He let her drag him along.

I took a few steps.

Ma Ling'er suddenly stopped.

There was no turning back.

He simply waved to Zhou Yuan with his back turned.

Don't worry.

"As long as my great-aunt still has a breath left."

Even if it's just a fly.

"And don't even think about flying over the boundary!"

Done.

His figure flashed.

They disappeared beyond the courtyard wall with the rolling puffs.

Watching her departing figure.

Zhou Yuan's lips curled up slightly.

This girl.

Although he's a bit of a chatterbox.

At a critical moment.

It's really reliable.

"Next..."

"It's my turn."

Zhou Yuan turned around.

He strode into the main hall.

The main hall had already been cleared out by this time.

Zhang Zhengming personally led a group of underworld officials.

They stood guard outside the hall to protect the Dharma.

Zhou Yuan came in.

Zhang Zhengming bowed respectfully.

"Superior."

"Everything is ready."

"The central energy center of Pingyang's geomantic veins has been opened."

"It can be towed at any time."

Zhou Yuan nodded.

He walked straight to the altar.

Sit cross-legged.

"Let's begin."

As he finished speaking.

The pages of "Strange Tales of Gods and Monsters" in my mind began to turn again.

This time.

Zhou Yuan held nothing back.

"Sacrifice!"

"One hundred and eighty years of Yin energy!"

"Infuse all your divine power—[Daytime Travel]!"

Boom!

A vast, suffocatingly cold aura.

It burst forth instantly from Zhou Yuan's body.

This is not the chilling coldness of evil.

Rather, it comes from between heaven and earth.

The purest form of Yin energy.

[Deduction successful!]

[The supernatural ability to "travel by day" has undergone a qualitative change!]

[Advanced to: Divine Journey Through the Void!]

hum!

At the crown of Zhou Yuan's head.

A golden, radiant divine soul.

It suddenly shot into the sky!

It penetrated the roof of the City God Temple.

It pierced through the thick clouds.

It hovers directly above Pingyang County!

This is the prototype of Zhou Yuan's Yang spirit.

Although it has not yet survived the tribulation of lightning.

However, under the accumulation of a massive amount of yin energy.

It already possesses some of the power of a Yang God.

now.

In his field of vision.

The world has changed.

It is no longer that colorful material world.

It is a bizarre and fantastical world composed of countless lines.

Those golden ribbons of light meandering deep into the earth.

It's the earth's veins!

It is the lifeblood of this world!

"I saw it."

Zhou Yuan's spirit looked down from above.

His gaze was like lightning.

He saw the Pingyang geological formation beneath his feet.

Although it has just recovered.

But he still seemed somewhat listless.

Like a patient recovering from a serious illness.

He then looked westward.

There is a thin but resilient ley line there.

That's Liujia Village in Fengcheng.

That is his root.

Let's look to the East again.

The earth veins of Jingning County have a faint bluish hue.

Although it was damaged before.

But the foundation is still there.

"The three powers are back in their proper places!"

Zhou Yuan's soul let out a magnificent roar.

That sound.

Ordinary people cannot hear it.

But all living beings within a radius of a hundred miles.

All ghosts and monsters.

At this moment.

They all felt a shiver run through the depths of their souls.

Zhou Yuan extended his enormous, divinely powerful palm.

It is a Dharma image formed entirely from the power of incense offerings and the yin energy.

Cover the sky.

He reached out with his left hand towards Fengcheng.

He reached out with his right hand to grab Jingning.

"Give it to me..."

"come over!!"

Rumble—!!

The earth began to tremble.

This is not an earthquake.

It's an earth dragon turning over!

The geological features of Fengcheng and Jingning.

Under the powerful divine pull of Zhou Yuan.

It began slowly and with difficulty.

Moving towards Pingyang County.

They were like two sleeping dragons.

I was abruptly woken up by someone.

They had to forcibly remove their heads.

Eating in the same trough!

This is not just a contest of strength.

It is also a confrontation with the rules.

"roar--!!"

Just as the two ley lines were about to come into contact with the Pingyang ley line.

A sudden change has occurred!

Deep underground in Pingyang County.

Beneath those pitch-black rock layers.

Suddenly, a sound filled with ancient vicissitudes rang out.

And it was accompanied by endless, violent roars.

That sound.

It's like scratching glass with your fingernail.

It sends chills down your spine.

I feel nauseous and want to vomit.

Followed by.

Thick plumes of black mist.

Like a volcanic eruption.

It emerged from the ground.

It slammed violently into the earth veins that Zhou Yuan was drawing upon!

"That is..."

Zhang Zhengming, who was guarding outside the hall, changed his expression drastically.

He sensed that aura.

That's not the evil magic of the Wukong Sect.

That is……

"Stagnation of ley lines?!"

"Is it resentment left over from ancient times?!"

Zhang Zhengming exclaimed in surprise.

For thousands of years.

Countless people have died on this land.

How many wars have broken out?

Those vengeful spirits of the dead.

Those lingering malevolent energies.

It settles deep underground.

Over time.

This forms a dirty substance similar to a "stone".

They usually sleep soundly.

All is well.

But now.

Zhou Yuan wanted to forcibly alter the earth's veins.

They disturbed their lair.

These are old antiques.

Angry!

"snort."

"There really is something dirty inside."

High in the sky.

Zhou Yuan looked at the surging black mist.

In the black mist.

Several huge, distorted human faces are vaguely visible.

Some only have one eye.

Some of them have fangs.

Some were simply a lump of rotten flesh.

They frantically tore at the two approaching golden veins.

They wanted to stop this merging.

"Trying to stop me?"

"Did you ask me about the book I have?"

Zhou Yuan sneered.

His current state.

It's better than ever before.

Blessed by 180 years of Yin energy.

It made him feel like he could punch a mountain to pieces.

"Divinity stripped away!"

"open!"

Zhou Yuan once again unleashed the divine power that had driven Lin Xuan to despair.

But this time...

The target is not a person.

Rather, it is all the evil spirits deep underground!

hum!

Zhou Yuan's enormous Dharma image suddenly clasped its hands together.

Then pull it apart to both sides.

A black crack stretching across the sky.

It appeared out of thin air.

It was as if God had opened a black eye.

He coldly watched the ants below.

"God said."

"Let there be light."

"I said."

"You will all die!"

Zhou Yuan's voice boomed like thunder.

Within that black crack.

It unleashed a terrifying suction force.

Those ancient evil spirits that were still frantically tearing at the earth's veins.

It was as if the pause button had suddenly been pressed.

Followed by.

It let out an extremely shrill scream.

"Aaaaaah—!!"

"No--!!"

"What kind of power is this?!"

"I am the Imperial Advisor of the previous dynasty..."

"I am……"

No matter how important they were in life.

No matter how many years of resentment they've accumulated underground.

Before the rules of [Gods and Monsters].

All beings are equal.

It's all dry food!

Whoohoo!

Those black wisps.

Those distorted human faces.

They were uncontrollably sucked into that crack.

They couldn't even put up a second of resistance.

This is a classic example of dimensional reduction attack!

This is the joy of cheating!

As a large number of evil spirits were devoured.

In Zhou Yuan's mind.

The notification sounds were flooding the screen.

[Sacrifice successful!]

[Gained: Fifty years of Yin energy!]

[Obtained: A wisp of Earthly Fiend Qi!]

[Obtained: Incomplete Divine Power "Earth Escape Technique"!]

[Sacrifice successful...]

Zhou Yuan didn't have time to check the rewards at all.

In his eyes now.

Only the three ley lines that are about to converge.

"Give me……"

"combine!!"

Take advantage of the moment when the evil spirits are cleared away.

Zhou Yuan pressed his hands down sharply.

boom!!

A deafening roar.

The sound resounded throughout Pingyang, Jingning, and Fengcheng.

All the people.

Everyone felt the ground beneath their feet sink slightly.

Followed by.

A profound sense of weight that is hard to describe.

It surged up from the depths of the earth.

The air was originally somewhat murky.

It instantly felt refreshing.

It's like the sun shining after the rain.

Three ley lines.

Under the grasp of that invisible hand.

at last.

They collided violently!

No explosion occurred.

It is a perfect fusion.

Golden light.

It gushed forth from the ground.

It transformed into a massive pillar of light.

Soaring straight into the sky!

Within that pillar of light.

It not only has the rich history of Pingyang County.

It has the vitality of Jingning County.

Moreover, it possesses the stubbornness and vigor of Liujia Village in Fengcheng!

The three energies unite as one!

Divine essence coalescing!

hum!

Zhou Yuan's soul.

Bathed in this golden light.

There were originally some illusory figures.

At this moment, it became as solid as jade.

A brand new black official robe embroidered with mountains and rivers.

It appeared out of thin air on him.

Wearing a purple-gold crown.

He wore the seal of the City God at his waist.

Wearing cloud-patterned boots.

A majestic, vast, and inviolable divine power.

Centered on this.

It spread wildly in all directions!

It instantly covered the entire three counties!

Promotion successful!

[Current Divine Rank: Ninth Grade - County God (Lord of Three Counties)!]

[Gained Supernatural Power: The Descent of the Law Domain!]

[Gained supernatural power: Words become law (false)!]

[Divine Power Limit: Increased tenfold!]

……

Outside the City God Temple.

Zhang Zhengming stared blankly at the figure in the sky that looked like a god descending.

He felt that terrifying aura that made him want to worship.

Tears streamed down his face.

"It's...it's done!"

"It really worked!"

"Three counties merged into one!"

"Such weather..."

"Even when the City God was promoted back then."

"It's nothing special, is it?"

at the same time.

The junction of three counties.

Ma Ling'er sat atop a mountain of corpses belonging to evil spirits.

panting.

The peach wood sword has already chipped and dulled.

Gun Gun was so tired that he lay on the ground sticking out his tongue.

Sudden.

A golden ripple swept across.

Ma Ling'er felt a sudden lightness throughout her body.

The originally depleted magical power.

It recovered almost completely in an instant.

Even the wounds on his body.

It is also healing rapidly.

She looked up.

Look towards Pingyang County.

There.

Golden light filled the sky.

Auspicious clouds swirled around.

Indistinctly.

It seemed as if one could hear celestial music playing.

"This guy..."

"Why make such a fuss?"

Ma Ling'er wiped the blood from her face.

A bright smile appeared on his lips.

"This is what they call..."

"One person attains enlightenment."

"Even chickens and dogs ascend to heaven?"

"Huh?"

Suddenly, the panda next to him raised its head.

He seems quite dissatisfied with the phrase "chicken and dog".

It's a panda!

It's an iron-eating beast!

It's not a dog!

but……

The golden light shone on them.

It's so warm.

I think... I'm hungry again.

Click.

Gun Gun pulled out a stone that he had hidden somewhere from under his buttocks.

They happily started munching on it.

The sky is falling down.

That pervert is taking the blame.

I am Xiong Ye.

All they're responsible for is eating.

……

High in the sky.

Zhou Yuan slowly opened his eyes.

Two beams of golden light shot out from his eyes.

It pierces through a hundred miles.

He clenched his fist.

Feel the divine power surging within my body like a river.

That feeling of being in control of everything.

It's mesmerizing.

But he didn't indulge in it for long.

Because he knew.

This is just the beginning.

County God.

It's just a stepping stone to Shintoism.

The real challenge.

It's still to come.

He lowered his head.

My gaze pierced through layers of clouds and mist.

They looked north.

There.

It is the direction of the headquarters of the Wukong Sect.

It was also the capital of the Great Ling Dynasty.

"The Wukong Sect..."

"Ancestor..."

"And that dirty thing from outer space."

Zhou Yuan's lips curled up slightly.

A sinister smile appeared on his face.

"Wash your neck clean."

"Wait."

"I'm coming right now."

"The debt has been collected!"