Chapter 16: A God's Enemies — The Strange and Sinister
[Name]: Spirit Field Divine Talisman
[Grade]: First-Grade Divine Talisman
[Effect]: Upon use, transforms one acre of land into a 'Bing-Grade Spirit Field'
"One acre..."
"A Bing-Grade Spirit Field..."
Li Yue's eyes flickered.
This world had Spirit Fields too.
Spirit rice was grown and harvested from Spirit Fields.
From the memories he had obtained from Li Youming, spirit rice was extraordinarily precious.
And its preciousness was naturally due to the rarity of Spirit Fields!
As far as Li Youming knew, even the county seat had only one and a half acres of Spirit Fields — the lifeblood of the most powerful faction in the entire county.
And those one and a half acres in the county seat were merely 'Ding-Grade Spirit Fields' at that.
Far inferior to a 'Bing-Grade Spirit Field.'
"This 'Spirit Field Divine Talisman' can be used soon enough."
"But it should be a divine miracle in its own right — best to wait until Li Youming has brought those two villages into Four Seas Village before using it."
"I wonder how many new Believers the slaying of the wolf demon will bring me..."
He murmured to himself.
And furthermore —
He noticed that the number of Jia-Grade Believers had increased by one more.
"Li Xiuwu."
"To think the third Jia-Grade Believer would turn out to be him."
He had quite a clear impression of Li Xiuwu.
After all, he had once reviewed the full account of Li Xiuwu's life.
Orphaned at a young age, raised on the charity of the village, yet blessed with decent looks and a sharp mind.
Back when he had only two Divine Blessing Talismans to give, he had chosen Li Xiuwu over Li Deming.
That choice alone spoke to how outstanding Li Xiuwu truly was.
At the very least, among the young people of Four Seas Village, he stood out.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk —"
"Both parents dead — he already has the makings of a protagonist template."
Li Yue smiled.
Of course.
No matter what kind of protagonist someone might be, under his divine rule, they were his Believer!
"Now that he's become a Jia-Grade Believer —"
"It's time for him to advance once more."
His expression remained calm.
He still had a full thirty-nine first-grade Divine Blessing Talismans in hand.
He had his own philosophy when it came to bestowing blessings.
Only those who had reached the Yi-Grade Believer level would be eligible to receive his blessings.
The elderly and older women could receive the cleansing of the Illness Dispelling Art — purging their ailments and restoring their bodies to health.
Middle-aged people and young men and women, on the other hand, would receive a first-grade Divine Blessing Talisman, allowing them to become Warriors.
Of course —
Blessings could not be given too frequently.
Bestowing them only occasionally would keep the faith more fervent.
Alternatively, a single large-scale mass blessing event could also work.
"[Personal Mission III] has already been completed."
"I wonder what [Personal Mission IV] will be?"
Li Yue turned his gaze toward the [Personal Mission] interface.
He had no objections to the Personal Missions.
After all, who wouldn't love a mission with only rewards and no penalties?
The [Personal Mission] interface opened.
A new mission appeared.
[Personal Mission IV]
[Mission Description]: The wolf demon has been eliminated, and you may develop in peace for a time; however, as your growing faith continues to accumulate, it will sooner or later draw the attention of sinister entities...
[Mission Objective]: Reach a total of 1,500 Believers
[Mission Reward]: Five first-grade Divine Blessing Talismans, one second-grade Divine Blessing Talisman, forty units of Divine Power
"One thousand five hundred Believers..."
"It will draw the attention of sinister entities..."
Li Yue furrowed his brow.
This world was rife with demons and sinister entities.
According to Li Youming's memories, Four Seas Village fell under the jurisdiction of Cangmu Town.
And Cangmu Town itself belonged to Xuan County.
Within Cangmu Town, there was already a sinister entity lurking.
It was a paper effigy shop — no one knew from what era it had come — but it would appear from time to time without warning.
Any living creature that laid eyes on this paper effigy shop would be transformed into one of the paper figures inside it.
Such was the legend of the sinister entity of Cangmu Town.
Every living being that had ever seen the paper effigy shop was already dead.
"Demons are powerful; sinister entities are strange and unpredictable."
"Whether demons or sinister entities, both are the great enemies of gods."
Li Yue's expression turned cold and stern.
The Thousand Wolf Mountain was merely a nest of demons lurking outside a few remote villages.
But in this world, far more powerful demons existed beyond counting!
And sinister entities were even more insidious.
"A pity that Ninth Grade (Upper) is still so far away."
"The road ahead is long and arduous..."
He murmured softly.
A considerable sense of crisis weighed on his heart.
His most pressing task right now was to complete [Personal Mission IV] as quickly as possible and claim the mission rewards.
The more Believers he had, the more Divine Power he could accumulate.
The stronger his Believers, the higher-grade the Offerings he would receive at next year's Grand Sacrifice.
With a hundredfold amplification on top of that, the benefits he stood to gain would only grow greater!
"One thousand five hundred Believers..."
"Even merging four villages together wouldn't reach a thousand Believers."
"Four Seas Village will need to expand outward..."
His expression remained composed.
But none of this could be rushed.
A god's advancement required time!
* * *
The villagers of Four Seas Village returned home in high spirits, hauling wolf carcass after wolf carcass back to the village.
Crowds of elders, women, and children gathered around them, beaming with joy.
So many wolves — how much wolf meat would they get to divide up?
How long would this last them?
In the times they lived in, for the people of a village, simply not starving to death over the course of a year was already considered a blessing.
Eating meat?
That was the most extravagant luxury imaginable!
Only during the New Year could they catch even a hint of something meaty; the rest of the year was spent eating bran and wild greens.
So seeing this many wolves all at once naturally sent everyone into a frenzy of excitement.
No matter whether wolf meat tasted good or not — it was still meat!
"Ninety-three wolves in total — butcher them all into strips of meat."
"Every villager of Four Seas Village receives ten pounds of wolf meat per head."
"Divide up the offal and scraps as well."
Li Deyang waved his hand and gave the order.
Ninety-three wolves — by his estimate —
Would yield at least thirty thousand pounds of wolf meat.
After all, none of these wolves had been small.
Four Seas Village currently had four hundred and fifty-nine residents; ten pounds per person came to four thousand five hundred and ninety pounds.
As for the remaining wolf meat, a portion would be set aside for when Zhang Family Village and Liao Family Village were absorbed.
Another portion would be taken to the town to be sold.
And beyond that —
There were also six ferocious wolves that showed signs of demonic transformation, having reached the mid and upper tiers of the first grade.
The meat from these six wolves would be distributed exclusively among the Warriors of the village.
"All of you, remember this — this was bestowed upon us by Lord Zhangyue!"
"Without Lord Zhangyue's protection, without Lord Zhangyue slaying the wolf demon, none of us would be living this good life!"
"Lord Zhangyue sees clearly who among us worships him with the most devotion!"
"There are gods three feet above your head!"
"Follow me first to make offerings to Lord Zhangyue, and give thanks for his slaying of the wolf demon!"
Li Youming spoke up, sweeping his gaze across all the villagers.
"Yes, yes — we must first go offer thanks to Lord Zhangyue for slaying the wolf demon!"
"My father was eaten by the wolf demon — Lord Zhangyue avenged my father. I, Li Dehu, will worship Lord Zhangyue for the rest of my life!"
"Let us go give thanks to Lord Zhangyue for slaying the wolf demon!"
The villagers immediately fell in behind Li Youming and made their way toward the Land God Shrine.
A great surging crowd of people.
And at the same moment, from two other directions, equally large crowds of people came streaming toward them.
"Zhang Ronggui, Liao Jinzhi — what are you two doing here?"
Li Youming spotted the large groups of villagers from Zhang Family Village and Liao Family Village. A smile rose in his heart, though his face betrayed nothing as he spoke.