In the span of a month,
Four Seas Village had completed its transfer of power.
Li Youming, as the temple priest, stood firmly at the top of the power structure, commanding all directions of Four Seas Village.
Zhang Ronggui acted as Li Youming's assistant.
Li Deyang served as the village chief, overseeing the daily affairs of the village.
Chen Mazi and Liao Jinxian were deputy village chiefs, aiding Li Deyang.
Li Xiuwu and Li Xiuling each led fifteen warriors, forming two hunting teams that ventured into the mountains on weekdays.
The remaining ten warriors were assigned to the Temple Guard, tasked with protecting the Land God Temple and patrolling the village.
Just a month ago, the village had only twenty-six first-order intermediate warriors.
But now, fourteen more had received blessings from Zhang Yuegong and advanced to the same rank.
In addition, one more had reached the limit of the first order—Chen Ergou—who was appointed as the captain of the Temple Guard.
At present—
Four Seas Village had seven first-order limit warriors and forty first-order intermediate warriors.
"Temple Priest, are we preparing to take action?"
Li Deyang asked, his eyes bright as he looked at Li Youming seated at the head of the hall.
Chen Mazi and Liao Jinxian sat to his side.
Opposite them were Zhang Ronggui, Li Xiuwu, Li Xiuling, and Chen Ergou.
"Yes," Li Youming replied.
"There are only two months left until the divine decree expires.
We must fulfill Zhang Yuegong's command—not just adequately, but with excellence."
He looked solemnly at the group.
"Temple Priest, please give your orders," Chen Mazi said with zeal.
"We'll follow your lead!"
The village was preparing to expand, and as deputy village chief, his status would naturally grow as well.
"Since the fall of the Great Zhou Dynasty," Li Youming said,
"Demons and monsters have emerged everywhere. Evil spirits roam freely.
People are fending for themselves, and even the county city governs autonomously.
Towns and villages act independently."
He scanned the room.
"Let alone the whole world—even just within the four regions of our Azurewood Town, many people are still suffering under the threat of demons."
"To spread the faith, we must first wield force!"
His words carried a steely edge.
The others' eyes burned with fervor. Blood surged in their veins.
"Deyang, how many new houses have we built?" Li Youming asked.
"One hundred and twenty. Though they're simple wooden structures, they offer shelter from wind and rain," Li Deyang answered promptly.
This was the fruit of a full month of collective effort.
With many warriors now able to carry hundreds of kilograms of lumber in a single trip, construction had become far more efficient.
"Keep building," Li Youming instructed.
"What's the food situation?"
He turned to Liao Jinxian.
"We still have over 4,000 kilograms of pickled wolf meat. The hunting teams have done well this month, so we've stored a total of more than 7,000 kilograms.
In addition, we have more than 60,000 kilograms of grain."
This food reserve had been amassed by selling game in the town. Even demon-tainted wolf corpses fetched a good price.
Li Youming nodded.
Houses and food—these were the key to attracting new people to Four Seas Village.
In times like these, simply having shelter and enough to eat was a luxury.
That was why he had waited a month before taking action.
"Ronggui, Xiuwu, Xiuling—you three will come with me," he said.
"Bring the entire hunting force."
"Yes, Temple Priest!" the three responded without hesitation.
---
In the Divine Realm—
"Has it begun?"
Li Yue watched as Li Youming led his group from Four Seas Village, his expression calm.
As the Land God of Four Seas Village, he could only draw power from incense and faith offered within his Domain.
To clarify—
The Divine Realm was the core area governed by divine law.
The Netherworld Region was the outer layer governed by divine law.
The Jurisdiction was merely the outermost fringe, where divine law still radiated faint influence.
In other words—
Once outside his Jurisdiction, divine law no longer applied.
So offerings of incense outside his Jurisdiction wouldn't produce any faith power or divine energy.
And without incense and faith energy, there would be no divine power for him to harvest.
"But this past month alone has brought me fifty-two units of divine power," he murmured, a satisfied smile on his lips.
Through the Regional Chat, he had learned that most other gods from Blue Star hadn't achieved nearly as much.
At present, he was earning 1,922 units of incense and faith power per day.
Meanwhile, most wild gods from Blue Star were only collecting six or seven hundred units daily—some even less, around three or four hundred.
"This shows the importance of striking demons down with overwhelming divine power," he reflected,
"And of shaping an invincible divine image in the minds of believers."
It also reflected the benefit of bestowing forty-seven first-order Blessing Divine Talismans.
By contrast, most Blue Star wild gods who had completed Personal Task Three only had access to about seven such talismans.
With fewer blessings to offer, their believers' faith naturally lacked depth.
Also, for them to slay demons, they first had to lure the demons into their Jurisdiction—then act.
And the demons' power was often on par with the gods. Even if they won, it could damage their divine image.
Of course—
Every god had their own strategy.
Some were simply born to be divine.
There might be others out there reaping more faith power than even he was.
"But it doesn't matter—"
"There are fewer than four months until the next Grand Sacrifice…"
"And during the Grand Sacrifice, offerings yield a hundredfold return…"
His gaze grew anticipatory.
As for the offerings, he had not delivered any divine orders regarding them.
After all—
Offerings must not be tainted by direct divine cause and effect.
If he were to deliver a divine decree demanding offerings, it would establish direct causality.
Therefore—
The offerings had to come from Li Youming's own judgment and initiative.
Fortunately, he had faith in Li Youming.
As his temple priest, Li Youming was highly competent.
He was confident the man would prepare fine offerings for the year's second Grand Sacrifice.
He then opened the Regional Chat interface and entered a message once again:
> "Looking to collect a batch of spirit rice seeds—any variety. Contact me if you have them."
Over the past month, he had sent this message almost daily.
After all—
He had yet to use the Spirit Field Divine Talisman he'd received.
Why?
Because he lacked spirit rice seeds.
He had considered asking Li Youming to find some.
But spirit rice was not the same as spirit rice seeds.
Spirit rice sold in county markets couldn't be used for planting.
Spirit rice was special: only a few grains per harvest could be used as seed.
These seeds were carefully selected and closely guarded—the lifeline of the county's strongest powers.
There was no way they'd be sold publicly.
In the Regional Chat, he wasn't the only one searching for spirit rice seeds.
Other Blue Star gods who had completed Personal Task Three and slain demons had begun appearing as well.
Completion of that task granted them a Spirit Field Divine Talisman.
And once you had a talisman, you needed spirit rice seeds—or the field would be useless.
He didn't expect much—he was just sending his message routinely.
But unexpectedly—
A goddess named Chu Yue messaged him directly:
> "I have a batch of White Jade Spirit Rice seeds.
Twenty units of divine power. Interested?"
---