Chapter 7: Purchasing the 'Divine Blessing Talisman' — Divine Grace as Vast as the Sea!
"An improvement in martial cultivation?"
"I didn't expect this village chief's heart for the martial path to be so strong."
"A pity his martial aptitude is poor — much the same as Li Youming's."
"Thirty-five years old, and he's only completed two Blood Transformations, reaching the mid first-grade of the Body Tempering Realm with no further progress."
"His conduct is fairly upright — minor faults here and there, but no grave wrongs."
"Small acts of kindness, but nothing great."
"Since his faith is so sincere..."
"I shall grant your wish..."
Li Yue's expression remained calm.
He held two first-grade Divine Blessing Talismans in hand.
A first-grade Divine Blessing Talisman could elevate a Believer with no cultivation whatsoever from an ordinary mortal to a first-grade Body Tempering Realm Warrior.
Moreover, upon elevation, the recipient would immediately have completed two Blood Transformations, becoming a mid first-grade Body Tempering Realm Warrior.
That was one of its functions.
But the first-grade Divine Blessing Talisman had another function as well.
It could raise a Warrior already at the first-grade Body Tempering Realm by two minor sub-ranks — though it could not cross into a higher major realm.
In other words —
Someone originally at the lower first-grade could advance directly to the upper first-grade!
Someone originally at the mid first-grade could advance to the peak of the first grade!
But even someone already at the upper first-grade could only advance to the peak of the first grade!
"As for the other first-grade Divine Blessing Talisman..."
His gaze swept across the list of Yi-Grade Believers.
At this point, the Yi-Grade Believers had grown to twenty-seven!
However, the majority were elderly or middle-aged.
Only two were young.
One was Li Xiuwu, twenty-two years old.
The other was Li Deming, twenty-five years old.
"Li Deming is Li Youming's second son."
"One family should not receive too much divine favor."
"This first-grade Divine Blessing Talisman shall be bestowed upon Li Xiuwu."
He murmured to himself.
As for selling a first-grade Divine Blessing Talisman in the Divine Store — that thought never crossed his mind.
A first-grade item, however remarkable the Divine Blessing Talisman might be, would fetch at most two units of Divine Power in the Divine Store.
Would he, a dignified Ninth Grade (Lower) Ordained Earth God, be short of that little Divine Power?
At that thought, a sudden idea stirred in his mind.
He couldn't sell them —
But could he buy more?
As a Blue Star transmigrator god, he had access to the Regional Marketplace.
Any Blue Star god could list items for sale in the Regional Marketplace.
And right now —
It was only the second day since the transmigration. By now, many Blue Star gods had likely completed Personal Mission I and received their mission rewards.
With one hundred thousand Blue Star gods in the region, surely some would be listing first-grade Divine Blessing Talismans for sale!
Though in his eyes, a first-grade Divine Blessing Talisman was worth far more than two or three units of Divine Power, perhaps some Blue Star gods valued those two or three units of Divine Power more highly.
He immediately opened the Regional Marketplace interface.
And sure enough —
A large number of first-grade Divine Blessing Talismans were up for sale.
"Compared to strengthening their Believers, quite a few Blue Star gods would rather have Divine Power..."
A faint smile tugged at the corner of Li Yue's mouth.
He was not short on Divine Power for the moment.
But items that could strengthen his Believers — those he needed very much!
Strong Believers meant better survival.
And they could better seek out Offerings for him!
He reached out and placed one first-grade Divine Blessing Talisman in the Divine Store to check its listed value.
Two units of Divine Power.
"Goodness."
"What a bunch of profiteers..."
"A first-grade Divine Blessing Talisman worth two units of Divine Power, and you dare list it for five units apiece?"
"Do you really think that just because everyone's become a god, there'll still be suckers out there?"
Li Yue was quite astonished.
He saw that some of the first-grade Divine Blessing Talismans on the Regional Marketplace were listed as high as five units of Divine Power each!
They really had the nerve to post those prices.
The majority were priced at four units of Divine Power each.
Only seven were listed at three units of Divine Power.
"Three units of Divine Power..."
"That price is acceptable..."
His eyes flashed, and he immediately bought all seven of the first-grade Divine Blessing Talismans listed at three units of Divine Power.
Total expenditure: twenty-one units of Divine Power.
Remaining: two hundred and thirty-four units of Divine Power.
The seven first-grade Divine Blessing Talismans materialized out of thin air, joining the previous two as they floated within the Divine Domain, radiating a white luminescence.
"Now I have nine first-grade Divine Blessing Talismans..."
Li Yue's gaze turned once more to the Believer Status panel.
Twenty-seven Yi-Grade Believers.
Setting aside fifteen elderly folk and farmwives, as well as Li Xiuwu and Li Deming, the remaining ten were all middle-aged men between thirty and forty.
"So be it."
"If one family receives a bit more favor, their faith may well grow even more devout."
He added Li Deming to the list of those to receive a first-grade Divine Blessing Talisman.
After all, with seven extra first-grade Divine Blessing Talismans now in hand, there was no need to be stingy.
Right after that, he selected six more from the remaining ten middle-aged men.
As for holding back a few Divine Blessing Talismans to bestow once more Yi-Grade Believers appeared later?
That thought did not occur to him.
The Regional Marketplace had first-grade Divine Blessing Talismans for sale anyway.
He could simply purchase more whenever needed in the future.
Besides —
He felt that first-grade Divine Blessing Talismans should not be difficult to obtain.
"The first-grade Divine Blessing Talisman contains six martial arts, and one may be chosen to bestow upon a Believer..."
"Let it be the Fierce Wind Blade Art."
"Swift and explosive — far superior to the Stone-Splitting Palm that Li Youming cultivates..."
Li Yue murmured softly.
Whoosh —
He flicked his fingers lightly.
All nine first-grade Divine Blessing Talismans instantly flew out from the Divine Domain!
* * *
Before the Land God Shrine.
Many people had already completed the three steps of kowtowing, offering incense, and making their wishes, and were preparing to leave.
Though Lord Zhangyue's divine manifestation had been thrilling, life still had to go on.
One couldn't just stay kneeling before the Land God Shrine forever.
But just at that moment —
Nine streaks of white radiance shot out from the Earth God statue, flashing in an instant into the bodies of nine Believers who remained kneeling on the ground with exceptional devotion!
Li Deyang was among them.
In that instant, Li Deyang felt a brilliant white Divine Talisman materialize within his body.
The talisman blazed with white light, then shattered and dissolved into a vast surge of blood-qi energy that coursed through his entire body.
In the blink of an eye, his blood-qi — which had previously undergone only two transformations — completed two more Blood Transformations!
His martial cultivation leapt directly from mid first-grade Body Tempering Realm Warrior to peak first-grade Body Tempering Realm Warrior!
Just one step away from breaking through to the second-grade True Qi Realm as a Martial Master!
At the same time —
The other eight individuals, including Li Youming's second son Li Deming, all erupted with powerful blood-qi energy.
In an instant, they went from ordinary mortals to mid first-grade Body Tempering Realm Warriors, having undergone two Blood Transformations!
Their cultivation was no weaker than the village's previous strongest warrior!
Moreover, the Fierce Wind Blade Art surfaced in each of their minds out of nowhere, along with a wealth of insights into the technique — as though they had spent untold hours painstakingly cultivating the Fierce Wind Blade Art themselves, reaching the mid first-grade level through their own effort!
In a moment, Li Family Village gained eight mid first-grade Warriors and one peak first-grade Warrior.
Such was the might of a god!