Chapter 8: Mixed News
Song Mugen's family finished burning their incense and headed home.
Xuanqing Temple fell quiet once more, left with only wisps of drifting smoke and the live chicken on the offering table — bound and struggling fitfully, but to no avail.
Though the night had grown late, Song Xuanqing was no longer human and had no need for sleep. He remained wide awake and full of energy.
Resting quietly in his hand was a small pill.
It was no bigger than a glass marble, completely translucent, and gave off a fragrance that was deeply refreshing to the spirit.
This was the Dew Restoration Pill Song Xuanqing had purchased from the System Shop for the princely sum of ten Incense Value.
He was eager to find out just how much Cultivation this pill — bought at the steep price of ten Incense Value — would actually give him.
Ten Incense Value spent on direct stat allocation would only raise his Cultivation by 1%.
If Refining this Dew Restoration Pill yielded less than 1%, he would have to think twice before buying anything from the System Shop in the future.
Because there might be a trap!
Taking a deep breath, Song Xuanqing closed his eyes and focused on Refining the pill in his hand.
Since Song Xuanqing had no physical body, he could not simply swallow the pill directly.
However, much like absorbing the essence of offerings, he could absorb the pill's aura — and doing so would achieve the same effect as swallowing it.
As he Refined the pill, Song Xuanqing felt as though his entire being had become light and weightless.
The sensation was so comfortable that it almost made him want to fall asleep.
As he continued Refining, the pill in his hand visibly shrank before his eyes.
Soon, it vanished entirely.
Refinement complete, Song Xuanqing let out a long breath and opened his eyes.
He then eagerly pulled up his system panel.
[Incense Offering Divine Ascension System
Host: Song Xuanqing
Divine Lifespan: 20/**
Identity: Feral God
Cultivation: Unranked (22.8%) +
Cultivation Technique: None
Divine Arts: Divine Might (Beginner) +, Dream Entry (Beginner) +, God-Merge (Beginner) +
Domain: Song Family Village
Incense Value: 91.8
Evaluation: A Feral God unrecognized by the Heavenly Dao, with meager faith and incense offerings, possessing neither Divine Rank nor Divine Position — adrift like duckweed, with negligible power.]
His Cultivation had gone up by 10%!
Song Xuanqing's eyes lit up in an instant!
This Dew Restoration Pill was actually this effective?!
A single pill had raised his Cultivation by 10%!
What kind of miraculous medicine was this?!
He had been worried earlier about whether spending ten Incense Value on the Dew Restoration Pill was worth it.
Now, Song Xuanqing felt it was absolutely, explosively worth it!
Spending ten Incense Value on direct allocation only raised Cultivation by 1%, but spending it on a Dew Restoration Pill raised it by 10%!
It simply couldn't be more worth it!
What a shame, though — the Dew Restoration Pill had a purchase limit of one.
If there were no limit, Song Xuanqing would buy as many as he could.
But alas, the System was too Stingy!
It even had a purchase limit — only one per cycle!
Song Xuanqing looked at the refresh timer at the bottom of the System Shop and sighed.
Fourteen more days until the System Shop refreshed. He had no idea whether the next rotation would have anything good he could actually afford.
He hoped it wouldn't roll the Immortal Yang Art again — something he could only stare at and drool over.
Great as it was, and much as he coveted it, he simply couldn't afford it!
Having finished Refining the pill, Song Xuanqing — still brimming with energy — idly studied the system out of boredom.
He found himself missing the days when he was still human.
When bored, he could at least sleep.
Now that he was a divine spirit dwelling inside a stone idol, he didn't even need to sleep.
He simply couldn't fall asleep at all.
After poking around the system and finding nothing new, Song Xuanqing chose to cultivate.
Yes, he was capable of cultivating.
He could absorb the essence of the sun, moon, and the Spiritual Energy of heaven and earth.
But the pace was agonizingly slow.
Song Xuanqing estimated that if he relied entirely on self-cultivation, his Cultivation progress would barely increase by 1% in an entire month.
As expected — a Transmigrator still needed a cheat to get anywhere!
The moon climbed to the center of the sky.
Time quietly slipped to midnight.
All things fell still.
[Under the Host's protection, the people of the Domain — Song Family Village — are safe and sound. Today's Incense Value +3.2]
Song Xuanqing, deep in cultivation, was startled by the notification.
Hm? What's this?
Song Xuanqing opened his eyes and studied the message for a good while before he understood.
In addition to gaining Incense Value from villagers burning incense on the first and fifteenth of each month, he could also receive daily Incense Value simply by protecting the people within his Domain and keeping them safe and prosperous.
It was a small amount — only 3.2 — but the beauty was that it came in every single day!
Small amounts add up; over a month, he'd accumulate an extra hundred or so Incense Value.
Song Xuanqing was pleased again.
He just wasn't sure what factors determined the amount of daily Incense Value earned from protecting the Domain, or whether it could be increased.
Incense Value was far too scarce — never enough for what he needed.
Song Xuanqing was racking his brain trying to find ways to earn more.
* * *
It was early summer, and the days were long. The morning sun rose at dawn.
At Song Mugen's home.
Song Mugen's wife rose just after dawn to prepare breakfast for the whole family.
The moment she pushed open the door and stepped into the courtyard, she froze.
There, lying on the dirt ground of the courtyard, was an old hen — wings, claws, and beak all bound.
The hen was still alive, though clearly exhausted from struggling.
Song Mugen's wife recognized it immediately — wasn't this the very chicken they had offered to Lord Xuanqing last night?
How had it ended up in their courtyard?
She snapped out of her daze and immediately turned to shout into the house.
"Old Man, stop sleeping! Come out here and take a look!"
A short while later, the wooden door creaked open, and Song Mugen shuffled out, draped in his outer robe, bleary-eyed with sleep.
"What's all the fuss about this early in the morning?"
Song Mugen's wife pointed at the bound hen on the ground, her expression tinged with worry.
"Old Man, look — the old hen we offered to Lord Xuanqing last night has come back. I saw it the moment I stepped outside. Do you think Lord Xuanqing is displeased with our offering? That it's too humble?"
But they were a poor farming family. Even though hunting brought in a little extra, they were still far from well-off.
A live hen was already the best thing Song Mugen's wife felt they could offer.
Song Mugen stared at the hen in the courtyard, equally stunned.
After a long pause, he let out a slow breath.
"This isn't Lord Xuanqing looking down on our offering. The way I see it, Lord Xuanqing knows how hard life is for us common folk and simply didn't want to accept the chicken!"
His wife looked puzzled. "Is that so?"
Song Mugen sighed. "Lord Xuanqing must be a compassionate deity. Otherwise, why would he have sent the black cat demon to rescue me and Ming'er last night? A god that compassionate — it's perfectly natural he wouldn't want to take our hen."
His wife's heart eased. She had been afraid Lord Xuanqing thought them too poor.
"Old Man, then this chicken…"
"Keep it," said Song Mugen. "Lord Xuanqing doesn't want it anyway. From now on, let's make time to go burn a few extra sticks of incense for him."
Song Mugen's reasoning was actually quite right.
This old hen was different from the one or two small fish villagers had offered before.
A live hen was no small thing for a poor family.
And yet, the hen was of no use to Song Xuanqing whatsoever.
He couldn't eat it, and killing it would only make a mess — better to simply return it.
* * *
Song Xuanqing had no idea what was happening at Song Mugen's home, nor did he pay it any mind.
He had tossed the chicken back in the middle of the night and thought nothing more of it.
Although Song Family Village was his Domain, Song Xuanqing did not have complete knowledge of everything happening within it.
The information available to him was limited to what he could see and sense.
And his range of perception extended only about twenty to thirty meters in all directions.
Today was the second day of the month — not a regular incense-burning day — yet a fair number of villagers came to Xuanqing Temple to offer incense.
The sight of the black cat entering Xuanqing Temple the previous night had left a deep impression on many of them.
Everyone had unanimously concluded that Lord Xuanqing had manifested his divine power and personally dispatched the black cat demon to rescue Song Mugen and his son.
So even though it was not the usual time for offerings, quite a few villagers came to burn incense for Song Xuanqing today.
It made Song Xuanqing's mouth water with envy.
Why was it that only incense burned on the first and fifteenth could generate Incense Value?
If everyday incense could also generate Incense Value, he'd have raked in dozens, maybe even a hundred or more Incense Value today alone.
Watching the smoke drift before him, Song Xuanqing was filled with anguish!
A good number of villagers had come to offer incense today. Song Dashan stood outside Xuanqing Temple holding incense and offerings, waiting his turn.
Several other villagers were also waiting outside, chatting among themselves.
"Dashan, didn't you say the other day that the Three-Eyed Lady's idol over in Liu Family Village was smashed by some thief?"
"That's right, what about it?"
"Tsk, you came back too early yesterday. If you'd stayed just a bit longer, you would've seen quite a show!"
"What show?"
"My nephew came over from Liu Family Village this morning. He told me that yesterday afternoon, a group of people showed up in Liu Family Village — looked like wandering martial folk, every one of them fierce and armed with blades at their waists! Apparently they came specifically to investigate whoever smashed the Three-Eyed Lady's idol a few days ago!"
"Did they find anything? Was the culprit dealt with? Let's hope they don't come to our village and offend Lord Xuanqing!"
"No idea. All I know is that after questioning the people of Liu Family Village, they left in a hurry — looked like they might have a lead."
"Let's hope they catch whoever smashed that idol."
"Oh, and I heard the one who smashed the idol is from something called the Tianshan Sect. Apparently the Tianshan Sect goes around smashing idols, killing people, and committing all manner of evil!"
Inside the idol, Song Xuanqing — who had just received this firsthand piece of news — successfully shifted his attention away from Incense Value.
At this moment, Song Xuanqing felt mixed emotions.
On the bright side, the Tianshan Sect members who had smashed the idol were now being hunted down.
With trouble nipping at their heels, they couldn't go around smashing idols and causing harm as brazenly as before.
On the worrying side, he had no idea whether those Tianshan Sect members had actually been dealt with.
As long as they hadn't been completely eliminated, Song Xuanqing felt as though a stone were hanging over his heart.
Alas — his power was simply too weak.
If he were strong enough, he wouldn't have to fear anyone targeting his idol.
He'd just go up and deal with them directly.
Song Xuanqing wasn't even sure how strong he currently was.
But judging by the system's evaluation, he had very little confidence in his own abilities.
If he wanted to grow stronger, the fastest way was still to accumulate more Incense Value and use his cheat to power up.
Song Xuanqing didn't have much Incense Value left — only about 95 points remained.
He held off on spending it for now. After all, it was wise to keep some in reserve for emergencies.
Besides, with so little, spending it all wouldn't make much of a difference anyway.
* * *
After finishing their offerings, the villagers each returned home to tend to their farmwork.
The farmland of Song Family Village had long been laid out with drought in mind, so most of the fields were situated close to a river — a tributary of the great river running through Wan'an County.
In the fields, the villagers busied themselves weeding, fertilizing, and watering.
They worked straight through until noon, when they either headed home to eat or waited for family members to bring food out to them.
Song Sishui was about to head home for lunch.
But just as he climbed up from the fields and stood on the riverbank, he nearly let out a scream.
"In the river — there are dead people in the river!"
That cry of alarm caught the attention of the other villagers, who all turned to look.
There, among the dense river reeds along the bank, floated two bodies.
Both were dressed in white robes of clearly fine quality — nothing like the coarse hemp cloth the villagers wore.
Carried by the current, the two bodies had drifted against the bank. Their faces, pale as death and drained of all color, were turned upward, eyes tightly shut.
"Good heavens — there really are two dead people!"
"Are they actually dead? Are they still breathing?"
"Go down and check!"