After Transmigrating into an Evil God - Chapter 42

Pine winds swept through the ancient path, while sparrow shadows danced over the singing spring.

Chi Zhenzi walked along the ancient path, seeing the clear forest and secluded mountains, and couldn’t help but exclaim, “What a tranquil and fine landscape.”

The Shuigu Earth God nodded slightly, offering no reply.

This place was part of the Daqing Mountain range’s outer reaches. The spiritual qi was somewhat thin, but aside from that, there was nothing particularly wrong with it. However… judging by the dilapidated state of this road, could it be that the deity resided in some wilderness manor?

The Earth God had already observed along the way that in the nearby settlements where people gathered, they worshipped various demons and ghosts seeking to cultivate divine paths, but there were no believers of this deity to be seen.

Could it be that this deity required no faith? Or were his followers simply not located here?

Was he truly, as the Huai River Divine Lord had said, merely passing through this place while wandering the mortal realm, stopping here temporarily?

The Earth God pondered these thoughts as he followed behind Ding Qin deeper into the mountains.

Before they had even reached their destination, when the ancient manor in the forest had only just revealed a corner of its flying eaves, the atmosphere in the mountain forest began to change.

The spiritual qi became abundant, vitality flourished, vegetation turned verdant green, birds and beasts roamed leisurely, and a harmonious warmth permeated everything, creating an atmosphere of tranquility and peace like that of an immortal’s blessed land.

The Earth God couldn’t help but stop in his tracks, his eyes showing shock.

“Why do you pause, fellow daoist?” Chi Zhenzi stopped and looked at the Earth God in confusion.

He too had sensed the changes here, but such blessed lands were not particularly rare. In Diancang Mountain, there were many blessed lands and cave heavens even better than this. Even if a place’s spiritual qi was originally insufficient, with a cultivator’s methods and some arrangements, it could be achieved.

Given the divine power that deity had displayed in the dream, possessing such methods—what was there to be surprised about?

The Earth God opened his mouth but didn’t know where to begin explaining.

Chi Zhenzi did not cultivate the divine path, and his perception of the subtle aspects of heaven and earth was lacking. He could not see clearly, assuming such changes could be achieved through immortal path formations.

However, formations ultimately just used external force to forcibly gather spiritual qi and create blessed lands—everything was artificially manufactured. If one day the formation deteriorated, these immortal blessed lands would return to being ordinary. In essence, it was like painting over rotten wood—it looked bright and new on the surface, but its fundamental nature remained unchanged.

But the transformation in this mountain forest was entirely different. This spiritual qi and essence were not merely superficial, but naturally generated by heaven and earth itself. It was not forcibly created by some method, but rather the veins of this heaven and earth had been altered, causing it to truly evolve into a blessed land. Even if the deity departed in the future, the blessings bestowed upon this heaven and earth would continue to extend far into the future.

This was the great power to transform heaven and earth, accomplished through methods as gentle as a silent moistening rain!

Though the changes here occurred quietly and soundlessly, the difficulty involved was far greater than moving mountains and filling seas.

Shattering mountains and splitting stones only required great strength, creating scorched earth only required fierce fire, but to make barren, depleted lands produce spirit springs, and death-filled places generate vitality—that required profound understanding of heaven and earth’s operations, sufficient grasp of life’s creative forces, and a compassionate heart for all living beings within that heaven and earth.

The Earth God shook his head and said to Chi Zhenzi, “Fellow daoist, try connecting with this heaven and earth. Is it truly the same as the cave heavens and blessed lands you’ve seen before?”

He looked away from Chi Zhenzi and instead straightened his clothes and composed himself, performing a respectful bow toward the front before continuing forward.

The immortal path seeks freedom and ease; the divine path seeks verification through heaven and earth.

Many cultivators in the world entered the divine path merely to seek proper cultivation methods, yet never grasped the true meaning of divine path cultivation. Having resided in Shuigu Town for so long, he had grown accustomed to seeing divine path cultivators come and go. Though they performed divine duties, most only sought faith and accumulated incense offerings, forgetting their true nature.

Over time, even he had become somewhat confused about fundamentals and details. Today, witnessing this scene, he finally found his way back to the heart of the matter.

……

A broken stone path led to the ancient manor. Before the estate stood a massive split boulder with a vigorous young pine growing from the crack. On the plaque above were written two characters: “Li Manor.”

The Earth God felt dazed, vaguely recalling that several hundred years ago, there had indeed been a great Li clan family in this area. Since the Li family was not within his jurisdiction, the Earth God didn’t know much about them. Only upon seeing this today did he hazily remember that it had been quite some time since he’d seen anyone from the Li family coming and going in Shuigu Town. Now it seemed this clan must have fallen into decline.

The Earth God shook his head silently, putting aside his wandering thoughts and refocusing his attention on this place.

A wilderness manor should be a place that evoked desolation in one’s heart, yet this place held no gloomy atmosphere of long abandonment, instead appearing tranquil and peaceful.

Before they could knock, Li Manor’s main gate opened and a figure emerged.

“Mister Hou Li,” Ding Qin called out, her expression showing the relaxed joy of one who had traveled far returning home.

Hou Li looked at her with a smile and asked, “Where are the others?”

“They went with Mister Li to select residences,” Ding Qin answered.

“You must be weary from your long journey. Go rest first,” Hou Li nodded, saying to her.

Ding Qin was perceptive and turned to glance at the three guests who had accompanied her, nodding to them before heading to her own courtyard.

Hou Li looked at the three guests and said courteously, “My name is Hou Li. The High God awaits in the southern courtyard. Please follow me.”

Chi Zhenzi and the others followed behind him while discreetly observing this guide.

His aura merged and harmonized with this manor… This was a Manor Spirit?

How rare.

Yet he seemed different from ordinary object spirits. His form was solid and his aura lively—had he already transcended the limitations of his original form?

Chi Zhenzi was secretly astonished.

Object spirits were similar to spirit gods, mostly spiritual beings born from the accumulation of human thoughts, their own souls incomplete. Even if they possessed formidable power due to their original forms, they often fell short of other beings far weaker than themselves when it came to the true path of cultivation. Only by breaking through confusion and generating self-awareness could they truly step onto the cultivation path.

Diancang Mountain had ancient heritage and deep accumulation, yet even now only two object spirits had reached this step. Both were spiritual treasures with unknown ages of inheritance within Diancang Mountain—their own power formidable, long experienced in worldly affairs, and constantly receiving the influence of teachings in the mountains—only then had they broken through this greatest obstacle.

Yet this one before them was merely an object spirit transformed from a mortal’s residence, and had already reached this step?

Was this also the influence of that deity?

They silently followed Hou Li to the courtyard where Li Chi resided.

In the courtyard were a spirit pool and an ancient tree. Spring water rose with misty spiritual fog, a silver fish leisurely flicked its tail, splashing water, while the ancient tree rustled in the wind, its sound deepening the stillness. Beneath the tree stood a stone table with a stone pot and bamboo cups.

The deity sat beside the table, his cloud-like sleeves hanging in the wind, holding a fresh green bamboo cup in his hand, his aura merging with heaven and earth. He seemed to dissolve into the wind, grow from the earth—as if he was right there, yet everywhere at once.

Until he raised his eyes to look at them, like light breaking through clouds.

“Please, sit.”

Such a deity… Chi Zhenzi couldn’t help but take a deep breath and bow respectfully with thanks. “This humble Daoist, Chi Zhenzi of Diancang Mountain, received your aid several days ago in Shuigu Town. I am deeply grateful.”

The Earth God also offered solemn and reverent thanks.

Li Chi shook his head slightly. “It was merely done in passing.”

Just as Chi Zhenzi sat down, sudden rustling sounds came from the tree. Everyone looked up to see a small monkey with white tufts on its cheeks tumble halfway out from the dense foliage.

Seeing everyone watching it, the little monkey chirped twice, jumped down from the tree, and somehow produced a wine gourd, preparing to pour wine for people in a serious manner, as if it hadn’t accidentally fallen out but had specifically come out to attend to guests.

Li Chi smiled. “Mischievous.” With a wave of his sleeve, he sent it off to play elsewhere.

The cups were prepared for tea—how could wine be added?

The three visitors paid this no mind at all. The little monkey’s appearance was timely, and the overly solemn atmosphere in the courtyard relaxed somewhat.

Chi Zhenzi spoke, “There is also another matter I must request.”

He explained that there might be another culprit behind the Dream-Eating Tapir, and requested, “Could you deliver that Dream-Eating Tapir to me?”

Li Chi asked, “Has this matter not yet yielded any leads, even though time has passed?”

Chi Zhenzi shook his head and sighed. “Shamefully, the mastermind behind this somehow has the means to conceal themselves completely without a trace. The Earth God of Taiwu has exhausted all methods yet made no progress.”

Li Chi shook his head. “That Dream-Eating Tapir has already been slain by me.”

Chi Zhenzi’s heart sank in disappointment, but then heard Li Chi say, “However, I did discover some leads from him.”

Li Chi raised his hand, conjuring a strand of strange aura in his palm.

Chi Zhenzi carefully observed this strand of aura. In his memories, that Dream-Eating Tapir’s body did indeed seem to carry this kind of strange aura, especially obvious in the parasitic formation it had conjured in dreams. But this aura was too faint and chaotic, causing him to fail to notice it before. Had the deity not been perceptive enough to separate and reveal it, even if he had obtained the Dream-Eating Tapir, he might not have been able to find this lead.

Chi Zhenzi took out a bamboo tube and collected this strand of aura within it. Deeply grateful, he thanked Li Chi once more.

Li Chi nodded, also breathing an inner sigh of relief. The strand of aura on the Dream-Eating Tapir was related to the peculiarities of his memories and actions in dreams, but he himself had no channels to investigate. Though he hadn’t obtained any leads from Chi Zhenzi, he could now use the power behind him to investigate and clarify matters.

Chi Zhenzi’s business was most urgent. After his matter was concluded, the Earth God finally spoke, saying earnestly, “Had it not been for your aid, High God, Shuigu Town would surely have suffered countless deaths and injuries. I am the Shuigu Earth God, deeply grateful from the bottom of my heart. Though my cultivation is shallow and abilities limited, I still have a heart for repayment. This modest gift—I sincerely hope you will not refuse!”

The Earth God spoke with determination. Though such a deity’s aid might have been merely done in passing, for him and the people of Shuigu Town, it was the profound grace of saving their lives. Though his meager repayment might not catch the deity’s eye, how could he not think of repaying it for that reason?

Moreover, what he had witnessed earlier in the mountain forest, though not the deity’s intentional guidance, had truly helped him rediscover the heart of divine path cultivation.

Li Chi did not decline. After the Earth God delivered his gift, he actually felt more relaxed, then turned to look at Wangyue, who had remained silent the entire time.

The Medicine Divine Lady of the Yun family had cultivated for a long time, her cultivation and merit both substantial, yet she had been stuck at the step of achieving demon godhood for hundreds of years without success. The Earth God was aware of this matter. Previously, he had also helped Wangyue investigate but couldn’t find the cause.

Wangyue, who had been trying hard to minimize her presence but was suddenly called upon: …….

She had been nervous to begin with, and after seeing both the Earth God and Chi Zhenzi—two cultivated individuals—treat Li Chi with such respect, she became even more nervous.

“The Medicine Divine Lady of the Yun family?” Li Chi asked with a slight smile. “Ding Qin has mentioned you to me. When she was in Shuigu Town, she received much care from you.”

“I—I dare not claim such credit,” Wangyue’s face flushed red at once, saying hesitantly, “I didn’t really do anything.”

She had merely asked Yun Ling to look after Ding Qin more when she first arrived in Shuigu Town and was still unfamiliar with the place. The two young ladies got along well—even without her urging, Yun Ling would have looked after Ding Qin anyway. But after hearing Li Chi say this, she indeed felt less nervous.

Wangyue took a deep breath and continued. “My name is Wangyue. You may simply call me by my name. I have come here with a request.”

She explained her predicament, then looked at Li Chi expectantly, at a loss for further words.

Li Chi did not immediately agree, but instead asked: “How did you learn that I could help you break through this barrier?”

“It was the guidance of the Heavenly Maiden Wuyou,” Wangyue said.

Heavenly Maiden Wuyou? Li Chi frowned inwardly. How did she come to know of his existence?

The Earth God spoke up. “I have heard of the Heavenly Maiden Wuyou. She is a righteous deity without a fixed temple, especially skilled in matters of fate and destiny, and often guides people through their confusions.”

Wangyue nodded vigorously and explained. “She guided me that the key to my breakthrough was related to Yun Ling. Some time ago, I saw your divine messenger beside Yun Ling and sensed your aura from her, which is why I came seeking you.”

Li Chi understood upon hearing this. The Heavenly Maiden Wuyou must have only seen the critical point in Wangyue’s destiny, just as the Huai River Divine Lord had seen that Yu Jian would have the opportunity to return home only after three years.

Since his existence had not been divined by someone, there was no need to worry too much. Karma condensed fate qi. Currently, the karmic ties on his body were simple—aside from the one connected to Li family descendants, everything else had only formed after his transmigration, so he shouldn’t be easily divined.

However, although Wangyue’s key to achieving demon godhood lay with him, Li Chi himself had no clue about it. Since her cultivation and merit were already sufficient, it must be some other reason…

Li Chi looked at the karmic threads on Wangyue’s body, divine light penetrating through his eyes.

He saw the divine position about to condense on Wangyue’s body. The divine position should have been able to condense already, but a karmic thread was tangled within it, carrying the aura of another divine position, preventing it from taking shape.

This karmic thread was long and resilient, intertwined like twins, extending far into the distance.

Li Chi activated his divine sight, looking into the karmic thread.

“……Wangyue……”

A woman’s voice extremely similar to Wangyue’s suddenly rang out.