75: Chapter 75 The Green Snake Goddess Appears!
He flicked his tongue.
From within the cave, he sensed a pure and clear aura.
Just like himself.
Xu Qing no longer hesitated; he poked his head out and slithered into the cave.
Fortunately, his body was long and slender, not a fat snake, so he slipped in quite easily.
As he went deeper, the surrounding stone walls became smooth.
Under the faint light, the water was exceptionally clear, without a speck of dust, permeating with Spiritual Qi.
He continued swimming like this until he reached the end of the cave.
The narrow cave opened up, revealing a circular hollow space.
In the very center of the hollow was a piece of unpolished jade emitting a white light.
The unpolished jade grew from the end of a hanging stone pillar, positioned at the dead center of the entire spherical hollow.
It was smooth and translucent, without a single trace of Impurities.
"What a fine piece of jade!"
Xu Qing swam up to the unpolished jade.
Just being bathed in the light radiating from the jade made Xu Qing feel completely refreshed.
It felt as if his body was being washed bit by bit, becoming clean.
Even though he was already clean enough.
"Spiritual Jade, it can dispel Impurities and filth."
As an Artifact Refining Genius rarely seen in a billion years, Xu Qing's hands—or rather, his instincts—immediately began to itch.
Though, as a snake, he didn't actually have hands.
Xu Qing examined the unpolished jade carefully before finally cutting it and the connecting stone pillar off at the root.
Then, he stored the unpolished jade within his eyes.
The surrounding light dimmed significantly.
At the break in the stone pillar above, spiritual light swirled and gathered.
Xu Qing was momentarily stunned as something he'd read in a miscellaneous book—snatched from some unlucky Cultivator—suddenly popped into his mind.
A Naturally Formed Treasure Land.
Crafted by heaven and earth, it could gather the spiritual energy of the surrounding mountains and rivers, slowly condensing treasures over the passage of time.
Although Xu Qing had taken the Spiritual Jade, given enough time, a new piece of Spiritual Jade might eventually condense here.
"I must remember this place."
A treasure land like this might come in handy one day.
Furthermore, these Naturally Formed Treasure Lands were difficult to discover even with Divine Sense.
Xu Qing had only found this place because he was connected to the West River.
He might need this place if he ever had to flee for his life.
"Pui, pui, pui! My big mouth!"
Xu Qing used his tail to slap his own mouth.
I can't just say things like that!
He had accidentally recalled the painful memories of being hunted and fleeing everywhere in the past.
"Time to leave."
Xu Qing slithered back into the cave he came from and swam toward the exit.
Even though the Spiritual Jade was gone, this place still remained free of filth and was unstained by dust.
Swimming up the West River and looking at that crude but massive River God Temple, Xu Qing felt a bit of a headache.
While being a River God was great, being called 'River God Goddess' with every breath left Xu Qing with complicated feelings.
And Xu Linger kept calling him 'Green Snake Goddess' over and over.
She's really asking for a beating!
Xu Qing needed to find an opportunity to give Xu Linger a thrashing.
He'd see if she stepped into the River God Temple with her left foot first tomorrow.
"More and more people are gathering here."
Xu Qing flew above the mist and looked at the area surrounding the River God Temple.
People from other sections of the West River had also come, drawn by his reputation, and were settling around the River God Temple.
One house after another was being built.
Of course, everyone kept a certain distance from the River God Temple when building their homes.
They were deeply afraid of offending the Green Snake Goddess.
In this way, what was once a dilapidated village had begun to take the shape of a small town.
At the center was the River God Temple, with its back to the West River.
Around the River God Temple was an open space, like a plaza, where people walked but no one built houses.
Further out...
...were circles of houses being built, radiating outward.
The houses closest to the River God Temple belonged to the original villagers and those from nearby.
Further out were residents who had moved there after hearing of his fame, as well as refugees fleeing disaster.
"This Snake really does have a talent for being a River God."
The more Xu Qing looked, the more satisfied he became.
If this continued, let's see who would dare call Xu Qing an evil beast.
Not only was he an Auspicious Beast now, but he was also a River God protecting a region.
His identity had been completely cleared.
However, those he protected were all Mortals; to develop into a regional power, Cultivators were indispensable.
Now he had a legal identity.
He even had a legal enterprise (the River God Temple).
Recruiting employees was also perfectly reasonable.
Xu Qing currently only had four employees; though they were few, they were all Foundation Establishment experts.
Silly Snake, Xu Linger, Lin Donglan, and Lin Yumo.
Lin Yumo had already established the Green Treasure Pavilion in the Central Region.
With the large number of high-quality Magical Artifacts and several Spiritual Artifacts he had left behind, she should be doing well in the Central Region by now.
"For now, I still shouldn't be too conspicuous."
"I'll continue developing after reaching Golden Core."
Xu Qing was very clear about his situation.
The large Sects were still warring with each other, and since he hadn't done anything evil, they wouldn't target a small green snake like him.
But establishing a faction and recruiting Cultivators...
...was equivalent to being a local tyrant and raising a private army; he would definitely be suppressed.
He would obediently be a River God and slowly accumulate strength.
He would clear out evil spirits in the West River and then use the evolution points obtained from killing them to evolve once more.
This was Xu Qing's goal.
After evolving again, his combat power would also increase greatly.
By then, he would be much more secure in this human world.
Even if he couldn't win a fight, his ability to escape and survive would be greatly enhanced.
"Green Snake Goddess!"
"Please, I beg you, save my child!"
Xu Qing felt a strong plea.
He connected to the statue's perspective and saw a peasant woman kneeling before the statue, holding a child who was as thin as a rail.
The child was unconscious, his Face flushed red with fever.
"Heal."
Xu Qing connected to the statue and activated the skill.
After all, he was the River God; if he personally healed every single person who came for treatment...
...how much Face would he lose as a River God?
He had to maintain a god's sense of mystery.
The statue could perform some simple skills, though the effect was certainly not as good as his true body.
It was probably only around the level of LV2.
But for healing a Mortal, the effect was naturally outstanding.
The lifelike green snake statue lit up with spiritual light, and a single scale on its forehead shot out a beam of green light, enveloping the skeletal child.
Before long, the child's body filled out.
His skin also returned to a normal color.
His frame only looked a bit weak now, rather than the shriveled state from before.
"The Green Snake Goddess has manifested! The Green Snake Goddess has manifested!"
"Thank you, Green Snake Goddess! Thank you, Green Snake Goddess!"
The peasant woman was overjoyed and kept kowtowing to the statue.
Her eldest son and husband had both been conscripted; if anything happened to this youngest son, how would she go on living?
Through the statue's perspective, Xu Qing noticed that the green light on the peasant woman had intensified several times over.
It wasn't just the peasant woman.
The pilgrims nearby who witnessed this scene also saw the green light on their bodies deepen significantly.
After all, they worshipped the Green Snake Goddess to ensure a prosperous fishing industry, but they had never actually seen her manifest with their own eyes.
A scene like this was something only seen in legends and chronicles.
Inevitably, the entire temple was filled with cries of "The Green Snake Goddess has manifested" and "The Green Snake Goddess protects us."
Xu Qing's inner feelings became even more complicated.
Why did it turn out like this?