73: Chapter 73 The Yellow Immortal Statue Containing Hidden Evil Arts

[ incense points: 1630 ]

Having just claimed 3,000 incense points, now only 1,630 points were left.

And considering he had previously consumed 2,500 incense points just to increase his Xiansheng Realm cultivation by 10%.

Made Qin Ling realize that wanting to raise his Xiansheng Realm cultivation to 100% would require him to have over 20,000 more incense points.

This was just the incense points needed for his cultivation; the incense points required for divine arts matching his cultivation and for making talismans hadn't even been factored in yet.

incense points!

He still needed incense points far too much!

Although outside of Qin Family Village, he had also expanded his jurisdiction to include the Pearl Reef on the East China Sea Seabed, it was definitely still not enough for Qin Ling.

The slower the incense points were collected, the slower his cultivation improved, and the more dangerous his situation became!

He had long since witnessed the ways of this world!

Qin Ling tapped his fingers lightly twice on his knees, and Zhou Family Village popped into his mind.

Zhou Family Village should have long ago become a village under his jurisdiction, and those villagers of Zhou Family Village should have long since come to Qin Family Village to invite the deity.

The villagers of Zhou Family Village were quite devout toward him; if not for Huang Zu forcefully sticking his foot in, he would have already collected quite a bit of incense from Zhou Family Village.

Thinking of this, Qin Ling felt that the sword strike with which he severed Huang Zu's neck was extremely satisfying.

However, now that Huang Zu was dead, he definitely still had to bring Zhou Family Village into his jurisdiction.

Right now, Huang Zu's Yellow Immortal statue was still placed in the temple of Zhou Family Village, and those villagers were still being forced to offer incense to it.

As he thought about it, Qin Ling's brows furrowed.

Huang Zu was indeed dead, that was true, but before its death, it had issued the order in the capacity of the magistrate of Guanhai County.

Replacing the deity statue had been completed through an official, proper document issued by the Guanhai County yamen, stamped with the yamen's official seal.

Although he was a deity, handling this matter was indeed not easy to operate.

If he forcibly made Zhou Family Village change it back, it would be defying the government and acting as a licentious cult.

The villagers of Zhou Family Village were all ordinary commoners, and he did not think this was any wise move.

But soon, Qin Ling thought of a method; he gave a faint smile and closed his eyes.

At the same time.

Inside the temple of Qin Family Village, one of Qin Ling's avatars swept toward the direction of Zhou Family Village.

...

Moonlight leaked out from behind the clouds, falling onto the roofs of Zhou Family Village.

Those low eaves shimmered with a grayish-white light under the moonlight, like a thin layer of frost.

The courtyard door of Zhou Ping's home was ajar, and a bit of moonlight leaked through the crack, falling onto the ground.

Zhou Ping lay in bed, his eyes closed, but his brows were tightly knitted.

Ever since that Yellow Immortal statue was carried into the ancestral hall, and ever since that piece of official document was posted at the entrance of the village, his brows had never relaxed.

Even though he was already asleep at this moment, those two deep lines were still engraved between his brows.

Zhou Ping felt that he had failed the protection of Lord Qinling, and even if he went to Qin Family Village to personally confess his crime to Lord Qinling, it wouldn't be able to alleviate this emotion.

He had grown thin, much thinner than before he went to Qin Family Village; his cheekbones protruded and his eye sockets sank inward.

Just at this moment, Qin Ling's avatar walked out from the moonlight, silent and traceless.

He stood before the bed, lowering his head to look at Zhou Ping, the village chief of Zhou Family Village who was lying on the bed and had grown a circle thinner.

He looked at those tightly knitted brows, looking at the newly added white hair.

Qin Ling was silent for a breath, then raised his hand, a speck of soft golden light lighting up at his fingertips.

Divine art, Dream-Entering Technique.

That speck of golden light drifted out from his fingertip, landing between Zhou Ping's brows.

Zhou Ping's brows moved slightly, as if being stroked by something.

The two lines were loosening bit by bit, not because of relaxation, but because something was pulling him deeper.

He sank into a dream.

Inside the dream was a patch of hazy, gray fog.

Zhou Ping stood in the fog, seeing nothing and hearing nothing.

A ray of light lit up from the depths of the fog.

It was not the kind of dazzling light that made people unable to open their eyes, but a warm and gentle light.

That light grew closer and brighter, the fog being dispelled by the light, revealing a human figure.

Zhou Ping raised his head and saw that figure standing in the light.

He could not clearly see that face, but he knew who it was.

His tears gushed out all at once, his knees went soft, and he knelt on the ground.

"Lord Qinling... Lord Qinling..."

His voice was hoarse, carrying a crying tone.

"This believer is incompetent; this believer has failed Lord Qinling."

"That Yellow Immortal's statue, I cannot move away; that official document, I cannot tear up. Believer Zhou Ping has failed Lord Qinling."

That golden figure did not speak, just standing there, looking at him.

Until Zhou Ping had calmed down a bit more, Qin Ling finally spoke.

"Zhou Ping."

Zhou Ping shuddered all over and raised his head.

"Inside that Yellow Immortal statue, sorcery is concealed."

Zhou Ping's eyes suddenly widened.

"Sorcery?!"

He recalled the face of that Yellow Immortal statue; it was indeed somewhat strange.

Every time he walked into the temple, he had a feeling that made his whole body turn cold.

He had thought that was his own illusion.

Now he knew, that was not an illusion.

That was sorcery!

"Early tomorrow morning, bring an axe, go to the temple, and chisel open that statue."

The golden figure's voice was still as calm as ever.

"After chiseling it open, you will be able to see where the sorcery inside lies."

Zhou Ping knelt there, engraving Lord Qinling's words into his brain.

Chisel open...

Chisel it open!

The golden figure spoke again.

"Right now, all the commoners of Guanhai County are worshipping this Yellow Immortal that conceals sorcery."

"What you need to do is not just about Zhou Family Village."

"The commoners of Guanhai County need you, Zhou Ping, to reverse this matter."

Zhou Ping knelt there, looking at that figure standing in the light.

Looking at that face he could not see clearly, looking at those calm eyes.

His tears gushed out again, but this time it wasn't because of guilt.

But rather because of Lord Qinling's trust.

He heavily kowtowed, his forehead touching the ground.

"Rest assured, Lord Qinling; this believer Zhou Ping will definitely do his utmost."

Zhou Ping raised his head, but that golden figure had already grown faint, dissipating like fog.

Only that warm ray of light was still shining before his eyes, slowly dimming, dimming, until it vanished.

Zhou Ping abruptly opened his eyes.

He lay in bed as the morning light outside the window shone in, casting upon his face.

His chest was still heaving violently, his heartbeat as fast as a beating drum.

At this moment, the sky was just turning bright, and a star that hadn't had time to fade was still hanging on the eastern horizon.

Zhou Ping pushed open the room door, holding an axe in his hand.

That axe had just been rummaged out from the woodshed, polished to a bright sheen, reflecting the daylight and emitting a cold white light.

The axe handle was made of old elm wood, polished oily and bright by sweat and the passage of time, feeling heavy when held in the palm of his hand.

He stood on the threshold, taking a deep breath.

The morning breeze blew over from the direction of the sea, carrying a salty and fishy dampness that poured into his collar, feeling chilly.

He raised his head, gazing in the direction of the ancestral hall at the east end of the village.

A corner of the Yellow Immortal temple's roof was revealed in the morning light, looking hazy and gray.

Seeing this, Zhou Ping spat a mouthful of saliva.

Today, he was definitely going to chisel open this Yellow Immortal statue!