Only three seconds? He's already the Lord of All Realms, so it doesn't matter.

Heavenly Immortal Venerable?

The county magistrate, along with everyone else present, did not believe that the young man in front of them had drunk too much in broad daylight and had come here to boast.

They witnessed firsthand that the guard leader, whose cultivation was at the fifth level of Qi Refining, had no chance to resist the young man before him.

The sight of the willow tree bursting open and growing inside his body left everyone speechless. "A celestial willow..."

The magistrate swallowed hard and immediately smiled ingratiatingly:

"Oh, Your Excellency, I was blind and offended you. Please forgive me."

The magistrate immediately gave a signal, instructing others to drag the brutally murdered guard leader out and clean up the scene.

He welcomed Ye Xuan to the main seat, not daring to think about whether the young man in front of him was some kind of immortal venerable or immortal willow. To him, a mortal with no cultivation, the methods the other party displayed were already those of a true immortal.

"I didn't know that Your Excellency had descended upon our humble Changning County. Is there anything I can do to help?"

In his opinion, dealing with this matter shouldn't be too troublesome. He figured the young man in front of him was probably just a cultivator passing through Changning County who, having heard that there were no experts left in the city, was just passing by and decided to plunder it.

As for the name "Immortal Willow," it's just a gimmick from Shuitian Village to scare them. How could a willow tree transform into human form?

Money is ultimately just an external thing; if you want to give it away, then give it away. The county magistrate only receives that small salary each month, and he doesn't want to risk his life.

Ye Xuan sat down calmly, his gaze sweeping over the trembling magistrate and his guards.

"Bai Donglin is dead. Should Changning County submit to the dynasty or...?"

The magistrate was taken aback by these words. His mind raced, and he immediately replied:

"Since the Celestial Venerable has descended to earth, we should naturally submit to him!"

Ye Xuan was quite satisfied with him and said, "Now that you have seen the method of the Immortal Seed, do you know that this is the opportunity to change your fate?"

and many more!

The immortal's mind went blank. Wasn't this official here to rob the county government? Why is he talking about so much nonsense?

He seemed somewhat bewildered, his eyes darting around erratically. "I am ignorant and do not understand what you mean, sir..."

Ye Xuan changed the subject, his gaze falling on the willow sapling that had sprouted from the corpse outside the hall.

"The Immortal Willow takes root in Shuitian Village, bestowing its teachings upon the people. Those who seek the Dao voluntarily bear the risks; if they succeed, they will live for a hundred years; if they fail, they will be transformed into nourishment for the willow trees."

He paused, his gaze slowly shifting back to the magistrate's deathly pale face.

"Now, some people in Lanzhen are already worshipping the Immortal Willow, and the people of Changning County can also choose for themselves. As for you officials, what should you do?"

The magistrate shuddered, suddenly recalling the recent rumors—

Legend has it that the magical willow tree that appeared in Shuitian Village can enlighten mortals, but only at the cost of their own lives...

He knelt down with a thud, and the guards behind him looked at each other for a moment before kneeling down one after another, stammering.

"I'll wait, I'll wait..."

He never expected that the young man in front of him was not there to rob the county government, but was actually the legendary man-eating willow tree.

Is it really possible for a willow tree to transform into a human? The situation before him was clearly beyond the magistrate's comprehension.

"There's no need for such delay. Simply answer whether you are willing to offer sacrifices to the Immortal Willow?"

Ye Xuan's fingertips once again condensed a faint light, but it was not a murderous aura, but a warm and gentle blue light.

He flicked his fingertips, sending the wisp of cyan spiritual energy flying out, hovering in mid-air and swirling around everyone.

Sensing the presence of that wisp of spiritual energy, the guards in the hall, who were at the Qi Refining stage, felt greatly uneasy.

"Well then, seeing is believing, hearing is deceiving. Besides, as the county magistrate, you should set a good example."

As soon as he finished speaking, the wisp of spiritual energy floating in mid-air entered the magistrate's body from his forehead and went straight to his dantian.

He suddenly felt a strange sensation enveloping his entire body, and his body inexplicably grew hotter and hotter...

The magistrate stood up in despair, recalling the scene of his guard being pierced through the chest by a willow sapling.

Tears streamed down his face as he roared almost hysterically in the hall:

"I don't want to die!"

But after a while, when the warm feeling in your body disappears, it is replaced by a coolness, a coolness that penetrates to the core.

In just a few breaths, the magistrate seemed to have escaped the gates of hell and been reborn. He stared at his body in disbelief.

He pinched his cheek hard, and his old face, which was originally full of wrinkles, felt much smoother to the touch.

"What...what's going on?"

The others also noticed the change in the magistrate, and Ye Xuan then spoke to them:

"This is the magic that the people of Shuitian Village received, making them worshippers and planting the seed of immortality within their bodies."

"As long as I can break through the Qi Refining stage in the future, I can restore my lifespan of a hundred years and then make decisions daily."

Everyone was taken aback upon hearing this.

Several guards who had reached the Qi Refining Realm found it not difficult, and the county magistrate, though unfamiliar with the path of cultivation, felt it was quite good when he heard that the actual situation was very different from the rumors.

"You short-lived creatures are born to receive offerings in ancestral halls in order to preserve your lives, but what if there were other options?"

Although refining one's Qi is difficult, with the protection of the Immortal Willow, success is almost guaranteed.

After saying that, Ye Xuan got up and walked out of the hall, leaving everyone there to ponder the pros and cons.

He then leaped into the air and quickly arrived at the Immortal Temple in the city.

There were no guards at the ancestral hall, making it much easier to enter and exit than the county government.

Ye Xuan strode into the ancestral hall and, without saying a word, captured the two ritual masters. He then kindly explained the matter of the Immortal Willow to them, and in the end, no one dared to disobey.

"very good."

He looked at the two priests tied to the roof beam, nodded, and was quite satisfied.

Turning his head, he saw the tall immortal statue, raised his hand and unleashed a powerful palm strike, the azure whirlwind instantly blasting the statue into dust.

"From now on, there will be no more shrines to immortals in Changning County, only temples dedicated to the immortals. Are you both aware of this?"

The two ritual priests, tied to the roof beam, were face to face, nodding their heads like rattles.

"I know! I know!"

After leaving the Immortal Shrine, Ye Xuan returned to the county government, only to find that the magistrate and his guards had all thought things through.

He immediately presented the official seal to Ye Xuan, saying, "From now on, Changning County will be entirely at your disposal, sir!"

Ye Xuan nodded slightly. He had no desire to accept the official seal and spend his days dealing with the trivial matters of Changning County.

"You remain the magistrate of Changning County, and all of your positions remain unchanged."

All that's needed is to build a temple on the site of the original ancestral hall in the city.

Temple? The magistrate was puzzled. If the young man in front of him was truly a willow tree in disguise, how could he live in a secluded temple if he were to revert to his true form?

Although he couldn't understand the reason, he still accepted the order and carried it out.

The news spread quickly throughout Changning County; it happened in the morning and by the afternoon it had reached the entire city.

Ye Xuan didn't have any particular requirements for the temple, so the county government made some minor modifications to the original ancestral hall.

Based on his image, a stone statue of the immortal was carved and placed in the temple.