Chapter 123: Suppressing a Thousand Miles
Chapter 123: Suppressing a Thousand Miles
A flood of information came pouring in, like autumn rain tinged with a hint of melancholy.
Li Si felt heavy-hearted. A single battle had cost him a precious friend. Alas, how could he bear such a loss?
He checked his friends list again; only the Evil God Giant Mushroom and the Mist Demon King remained.
In that moment, his heart felt as if it were being pierced by a knife, and sorrow welled up from within.
“It seems I need to go out and have some fun when I have time. The ancients said, having one more friend is better than having one more road,” Li Si comforted himself while deeply reflecting on whether he had been too reclusive. Young people should be lively and make more friends.
Exhaling a breath of sorrow, Li Si adjusted his mindset and, without another word, cast ten Track-Finding and Trace-Erasing Curses to erase all traces left by him, the two Ghost Shadows, and the other Fallen Mountain Deity.
This was crucial now because that unknown deity/demon, with its penchant for slaughtering Statue Avatars and his friends, was truly insane. He had to be careful in case the enemy became desperate.
If possible, the Track-Finding and Trace-Erasing Curse needed to be upgraded to a Primal Divine Ability.
After handling the aftermath and clearing all traces, Li Si proceeded to the first task: dealing with the Yunhua Law Seal.
Having previously infused 142 portions of Azure Fortune and 500 portions of White Fortune into it, the Yunhua Law Seal was not only fully activated but also ready for further upgrades.
Alternatively, he could extract these fortunes and restore the Yunhua Law Seal to its original state.
Li Si thought seriously for a second, then looked up at the bright sun in the sky and decisively made his choice: upgrade.
Even though this would surely make his territory a target for evil gods and the unknown deity/demon, the benefits were also immense.
Well, mainly because this time’s gains were quite substantial, and Li Si wanted to make an investment.
If it failed, it didn’t matter anyway—his foundation was the Old Madam…
Besides, upgrading felt so appealing.
Li Si carefully examined the information and found that the Yunhua Law Seal could be upgraded twice, with considerable benefits.
“Based on your identity as the Righteous God of Heaven and Earth of the twelve heavens, the Land Deed Seal can advance twice without requiring re-confirmation from heaven and earth.”
—The underlying meaning: I am the boss; I can stamp the seal, and no one else will know.
“Based on the sect status of the Yunhua Sect, the quality of the Land Deed Seal is automatically raised by one level. Note: The Yunhua Sect is a branch of the Yunhua Immortal Sect.”
“Consume 1 portion of Azure Fortune to advance the Land Deed Seal, obtaining the Mountain God Seal.”
“Consume 100 portions of Azure Fortune to advance the Land Deed Seal, obtaining the Water God Seal.”
“The Pure Land range the Land Deed Seal can currently suppress spans a radius of one thousand miles (adjustable, with a minimum radius of one hundred miles).”
“The total Fortune amount the Land Deed Seal currently suppresses is 100 portions of Azure Fortune. If the year is blessed with favorable weather and the nation is prosperous and peaceful, it can yield up to 100 portions of Azure Fortune; if insufficient, it can deduct up to 100 portions of Azure Fortune.”
“Discovered a small Pure Land (radius of one hundred miles). Do you wish to cover and govern it? Friendly reminder: This small Pure Land is already under the jurisdiction of a conferred Deity. Please choose carefully to avoid triggering war.”
——
Li Si’s expression turned serious—well, mainly curious—so he chose to cover the Kaoshan City Pure Land.
He expected war clouds to gather and the heavens and earth to change color, but nothing happened.
Not even an information prompt appeared.
The next second, he teleported back to his Quiet Room in Kaoshan City. He extended his divine sense—excellent, nothing had changed.
Except for himself, no one would know that a medium-sized Pure Land had covered this area.
However, Kaoshan City was quite far from the Yunhua Sect’s base—a straight-line distance of eight hundred miles, with a small town in between. Currently, that small town was in the midst of an uprising.
Two Raven people had undergone unexpected mutations and were rampaging, slaughtering indiscriminately. Meanwhile, the city lord’s Black Armor Legion and the Temple’s Priest and follower army had joined forces, and the two sides were locked in a fierce battle.
The ordinary citizens were utterly bewildered.
Well, easy enough to handle.
Li Si willed it, and the Yunhua Law Seal flew out on its own, descending over the small town. It instantly suppressed the two Raven people and incidentally checked on the Giant Mushroom’s Divine Idol.
Strangely, the Giant Mushroom’s Divine Idol seemed as if its connection had been cut. Despite being full of terrifying corrupting power, it couldn’t be activated at all, and there was no possibility of it causing death with a mere glance.
In fact, the moment the Yunhua Law Seal arrived, the thing contributed 600 portions of White Fate Firewood.
Then it shattered on its own.
What a good dog.
Li Si praised it but could roughly guess what had happened.
First, the Evil God was the Giant Mushroom.
Second, the Evil God Cult was not established by the Giant Mushroom; the Giant Mushroom indicated it was just a giant mushroom.
Third, the Evil God Cult and the seven Puppet Kingdoms were set up by the unknown deity/demon.
Fourth, the Giant Mushroom’s power had been exploited for a very, very long time.
Fifth, the Sacred Raven Kingdom’s national Fortune was gone. Combined with the suppression by the Yunhua Law Seal, the unknown deity/demon’s power was cleared out, so the Giant Mushroom’s Divine Idol really became just a giant mushroom.
Sixth, unknown.
This was the truth Li Si had deduced so far. He felt that the unknown deity/demon was truly a master at stirring trouble—look at what it had done:
Three thousand years ago, Spirit Cultivation Sects disappeared on a large scale.
One thousand years ago, the Seven Emotions Great Medicine Devil Mushroom went out of control.
Five hundred years ago, it supported Puppet Kingdoms, exploited the Giant Mushroom’s power, and established the Evil God Cult under the guise of the Giant Mushroom.
Calling it talented would be an understatement.
“So, the danger of the Giant Mushroom lies in its power going out of control—it’s pure corruption, completely unreasonable. When Muan fell into demonic influence and went deep into the Illusory Realm to fight the Giant Mushroom, it only poured fuel on the fire, making the situation worse.”
“That unknown deity/demon is the real master of provocation. First, it took out the Spirit Cultivation Sects, preventing the True Cultivator sects from effectively countering corruption, leading to a massive decline in talent. Then, it propped up the Puppet Kingdoms and the Evil God Cult, turning the Cultivation sects into public enemies and, essentially, hollowing out this world.”
Having understood this, Li Si didn’t hesitate any longer. He immediately controlled the Yunhua Law Seal to quickly resolve conflicts within a radius of one thousand miles.
Unfortunately, within the thousand-mile radius that the Yunhua Law Seal could suppress, there were only two small towns, four small settlements, with a total population of less than 100,000. The rest were vast, uninhabited mountainous regions.
At least there was the Blackwater River; in fact, both small towns and the four settlements belonged to the Blackwater River basin.
Li Si directly shielded Kaoshan City and added all its inhabitants, including the members of the Floating Cloud Sect, to the Yunhua Law Seal’s blacklist, allowing them self-governance.
Then he began issuing Divine Decrees across the entire area.
It was simple—just three things:
From now on, establish the Longevity Divine Temple and enshrine the Longevity Patriarch’s Divine Idol. Small towns must enshrine 18 statues, and settlements must enshrine 12. They didn’t need to be luxurious, but the quantity must not fall short.
Next, the original city lords would continue to serve as city lords, and the former Temple Priests would continue as priests in the Longevity Divine Temple. However, the pursuit and arrest of Cultivators was abolished. It was clearly stated that Cultivation sects could be established, and children capable of Cultivation could be selected to enter them.
Lastly, past crimes would not be pursued, but starting today, innocent humans must not be killed indiscriminately. Laws and regulations needed to be established, and those in power had to ensure the most basic survival benefits for the common people.
Violators would be executed!
With the three Divine Decrees issued, Li Si directly unleashed a massive wave of Divine Grace Baptism.
Calculated based on 100,000 people, each receiving five Divine Grace Baptisms, with each baptism consuming one portion of Gray Fortune, he spent 500,000 portions of Gray Fortune in one go—using up one-fifth of his pocket money…
But it was necessary because these 100,000 people were basically living in sources of pollution, enduring extreme hardship and severe contamination. The commoners were plagued by diseases, and even the upper-class warriors and priests were on the verge of mutation. It was really difficult.
If left unaddressed, within just two or three days, the population could be halved. By the time things stabilized, they’d be lucky if even 10,000 remained.
So, Li Si thought about it—mainly checked the balance of his pocket money—and then performed a second large-scale, precise Divine Grace Baptism for the warriors, priests, followers, and hidden Cultivators among the 100,000 people.
Thus, he spent another one-fifth of his pocket money…
This way, the two small towns and four settlements gained sufficient self-defense capabilities.
In the future, he could find ways to accidentally expand the Floating Cloud Sect’s business outward—exchange and mutual benefit, after all.
Also, if the Jiuxuan Spirit Sword Sect led by Sister Jiuxuan migrated here, he could gift her one of the small towns. Ah, how kind I am, truly unparalleled under heaven.
In just half an hour, Li Si’s meticulous control was complete. He wouldn’t micromanage everything like he did back in Kao Mountain Town; he now had to consider the bigger picture.
He also realized that the Old Madam’s support wasn’t entirely reliable. So, how about relying on me instead?
Ah, I’m getting carried away.
Whoosh—Li Si teleported back to the Yunhua Sect’s base.
Here, the sunlight was still bright, though blood clouds slowly drifted closer. However, they were much fainter and less aggressive than before.
So, in the future, this area should have brighter daylight than other regions.
As long as he kept working hard, the sun would eventually return.
Now, Li Si had to deal with the second matter: carefully counting his wallet. Now, he could probably say he had earned his first bucket of gold.
Currently, he had 836 portions of Golden Qi Luck Firewood left.
He also had 171 portions of Azure Fortune, of which 31 were extracted from the Yunhua Law Seal and wouldn’t be used for upgrades.
He also had 15,000 portions of White Fate Firewood.
And 1.2 million portions of Black Fate Fuel.
Fortune Fuel could be stored indefinitely in the Fate Forge. But once refined into Fortune, it would automatically integrate into Li Si’s body, using him as a vessel.
So now, Li Si could be considered a Child of Fortune.
He carried 171 portions of Azure Fortune, 12 portions of White Fortune, 50 portions of Black Fortune, and 3,000 portions of Gray Fortune.
Such a large amount of Fortune brought immense changes to him. If he had to describe it, calling him a mortal emperor wouldn’t be an exaggeration.
This made Li Si uncomfortable. Others might not notice, but experts like the Old Madam or the Phantom Bride could tell at a glance.
While it might not be a big deal if they saw, who could guarantee that the unknown deity/demon, having schemed against so many Spirit Cultivation Sects three thousand years ago, hadn’t planted spies in the True Cultivator sects?
So, it wasn’t necessary.
Also, for safety’s sake—that unknown deity/demon was far more terrifying than the Giant Mushroom. The more Li Si exposed himself, the higher the chance of being targeted through divination.
Therefore, it was better to stay low-key and be an ordinary, unremarkable Kaoshan Patriarch.
From now on, he would become Li Zhongyong, the Trash.
As for the 171 portions of Azure Fortune, he would keep 2 portions—one for deducing the Calamity-Dispelling Curse and one for the Track-Finding and Trace-Erasing Curse.
Then, he would deposit 160 portions into the Yunhua Law Seal. With the remaining 8 portions, plus 200 portions of White Fortune, he planned to use them to cleanse the Dusty Flying Sword.
It was time for this Acquired Spirit Treasure to make a dazzling debut.
It would become his greatest trump card. Of course, to unleash the full power of this Acquired Spirit Treasure, he needed to at least raise his Cultivation to the Nascent Soul Realm.