Chapter 165: Mutual Distrust

Watching the Land God’s resolute demeanor, which seemed quite knowing, Ji Yuan grew even more puzzled.

“What powerful thing?”

The Land God lowered his voice.

“It combines with humans without any demonic aura. It appears human but is truly an anomaly. There are hidden, shadowy eyes and a long tongue inside its belly. It’s neither ghost, nor human, nor god. This minor deity can’t be sure what it is, but it is truly terrifying…”

As he spoke, the Land God instinctively touched his left arm, as if he could feel the pain of his statue being torn.

“That day, when Huang Xingye came to my temple to seek divination, I didn’t actually see anything. But because the Huang family had been generous in helping to build my temple, I imbued Huang Xingye with spiritual energy to make his divination more accurate…”

There are two ways to interpret divination blocks. One is when a deity, like a City God, is closely connected to the supplicant and already knows certain situations, allowing them to communicate directly.

The other situation is “self-spiritualization,” often used when outsiders come to a City God’s temple or with deities who don’t typically handle mundane human affairs.

The human body naturally possesses spiritual essence, even in ordinary people. Both folk legends and some cultivation texts mention this; the human body also nurtures various spiritual consciousnesses that oversee the body’s organs and all functions, though they are usually suppressed by conscious awareness and thus do not manifest.

The Land God assisting Huang Xingye with the divination blocks was to help him “self-spiritualize” and self-test. His inner spiritual consciousness would then subtly sense things. This sensitivity is particularly clear during major ups and downs, and it would be even more accurate for someone with a special destiny like Huang Xingye.

“So, that divination wasn’t actually performed by you for Huang Xingye, but rather a manifestation of his own spiritual essence?”

“Precisely as the Immortal Master says. How could a minor deity like me possess the power to divine such an eerie demon? But when he threw the blocks nine times in a row and all indicated ill fortune, I realized something was wrong. I even detected a special, unstable spiritual energy on Huang Xingye. Seeing the ominous signs, I shattered half of the divination blocks on his tenth throw.”

The Land God sighed and continued.

“After Huang Xingye left, I felt uneasy. Although I hadn’t seen anything, both the divination and Huang Xingye’s own aura were so bizarre that I vaguely sensed I might have gotten involved in something major. As expected, trouble arrived that very night at midnight…”

Ji Yuan’s eyes narrowed.

“When your statue’s arm was broken?”

The Land God nodded.

“My temple wasn’t yet completed, so the doors weren’t closed at night. That evening, a strange person wearing a bamboo hat arrived. I assumed it was just a mortal seeking shelter for the night. The person entered the temple and stared at my statue, and their normally human eyes faintly glowed with a shadowy light…”

“There were also strange noises from inside its belly. Just hearing those sounds made me feel as if I were engulfed in malevolence. Then, it cursed ‘meddling’ and lunged at my statue. I instantly realized the danger and immediately fled. If I had been a step slower, it wouldn’t have just been the statue that was torn.”

“Oh, and the peculiar, guttural sounds, combined with the movements in its belly, made me recall a long-tongued ghost I encountered years ago. I knew it was the sound of a very long tongue hidden within the abdomen. But this person was definitely not a ghost!”

The Land God meticulously recounted everything he knew and thought to Ji Yuan, candidly stating that the entity felt extremely bizarre and dangerous to him. He instinctively felt that even the City God of Dongle County couldn’t handle it, and since he himself had been targeted, he simply hid. After all, land gods are notoriously difficult to find when they choose to conceal themselves.

Eyes with hidden, shadowy depths, a long tongue within the belly… Even the Land God, residing within his statue, couldn’t fully discern it…

From the Land God’s description, the situation was more complicated than imagined. Such entities, which hardly show any signs yet seem to fear neither ghosts nor gods, are indeed eerily dangerous.

Ji Yuan now somewhat understood how many gods and demons might feel when they looked at him.

“Land God, is that thing you spoke of still within Maotian Town? Can you find it?”

Upon hearing the Immortal Master’s words, the Land God shook his head.

“It should not be in Maotian Town now. During my hiding, I carefully pondered the sequence of events. What puzzles me is that the entity seemed to be trying to break Huang Xingye down by any means possible, rather than genuinely wanting to kill or devour him…”

Ji Yuan scoffed.

“Hah, or perhaps it intends to devour him only when Huang Xingye collapses and his spirit disperses. Rather than saying it wished to avoid complications, it’s more likely that it didn’t want the special essence within Huang Xingye’s destiny to detect it and escape.”

The Land God’s words had reminded Ji Yuan, allowing him to connect what that obscure, special essence in Huang Xingye’s destiny was. Previously, when observing his aura, he hadn’t considered this possibility. Now, it appeared to be Huang Xingye’s “Self-Nurtured Deity,” a “Human Body Deity” which even texts like the *Tales of Heretics* only speculated about without concrete proof.

This is a type of rare celestial spirit, rumored to appear only in humans, the “spirit of all things,” though instances are few. It’s closely related to human consciousness but distinct, representing the refined essence of the human spirit.

To use an imperfect analogy, it’s similar to the difference between a legendary ginseng spirit and an ordinary ginseng root.

Such an inner deity naturally differs from ordinary incense-worshipped gods. In some respects, it is more like an extremely rare, spontaneously generated celestial spirit. As the saying goes, the grand cosmos is outside, and a small cosmos is within; the Human Body Deity is a god spontaneously nurtured within this small inner cosmos.

Furthermore, influenced by the essence of the five internal organs, it can be classified by the Five Elements and Yin-Yang, manifesting as aspects of mountains and rivers.

Human Body Deities are extremely special. Although few have encountered them, *Tales of Heretics* mentions that these inner deities are highly perceptive. If they sense danger, they either dissipate their form or carry their essence to escape from the human body and vanish into the wider cosmos.

At the same time, this deity is also closely linked to a person’s consciousness. If the person’s consciousness is greatly impacted by extreme ups and downs, becoming muddled, the deity will also be affected by depressive energy.

“This Huang Xingye, seemingly just a landlord and merchant, can actually harbor such a divine anomaly…”

Ji Yuan murmured to himself. Although there’s no documented evidence for the formation of a “Human Body Deity,” it was difficult to reconcile with Huang Xingye himself, who had been terrified when he came seeking help.

He had glimpsed a trace of it on the mountain before, but Ji Yuan hadn’t recognized it at the time, as he’d never seen one and book descriptions were vague. Only now, reflecting on it, did he understand.

“Has the Immortal Master discerned something?”

Hearing Ji Yuan’s muttering, the Land God asked curiously and cautiously.

“Yes, I have some conjectures. I trouble you, Land God, to keep watch over Maotian Town. If you discover that person reappears, notify me immediately.”

“I obey the Immortal Master’s decree!”

The Land God, still far from a complete human form, respectfully cupped his hands toward Ji Yuan. After Ji Yuan returned the bow, the Land God transformed into a puff of green smoke and entered the earth. Compared to Ji Yuan’s slight unease, the Land God was now brimming with confidence.

Ji Yuan was somewhat troubled. This was no ordinary monster’s trickery or sacrificial scheme. The opponent aimed to make Huang Xingye mentally collapse, then seize the “Human Body Deity.” Whether for consumption or other purposes was secondary; the mere fact that the entity could discover and recognize Huang Xingye’s “Human Body Deity” was already extraordinary.

It was entirely possible that the opponent was intimately familiar with everything that could pose a threat in Maotian Town and even Dongle County, except for Ji Yuan himself.

Due to Huang Xingye’s condition, the entire Huang family had been tense recently.

However, with Qingsong Daoist’s arrival, Huang Xingye became much calmer. A master’s composure has a significant impact on his servants, and the Huang family gradually settled down. Field inspections, rent collections, and goods deliveries all resumed as usual.

Ji Yuan stayed at the Huang residence for half a month, yet nothing happened. The Huang family gradually grew secure.

During this time, the Yin Division of Dongle County dispatched a Judge and the Grand Deity of the Yin-Yang Bureau to patrol Maotian Town. The Land God also voluntarily appeared and described the previous events to the Yin Division.

However, since then, not only Maotian Town but the entire Dongle County remained uneventful, as if everything had passed.

Nevertheless, Huang Xingye still followed Ji Yuan’s instructions, delegating all tasks to his servants and not leaving the Huang manor himself.

One day, a distinguished guest arrived at the Huang manor: the eldest son of a wealthy family from Changchuan Prefecture with whom Huang Xingye had business dealings.

The Huang household bustled. Huang Xingye was entertaining a man named Chu Mingcai in the living room, drinking tea and chatting.

However, the lively atmosphere abruptly ceased when Ji Yuan entered the living room.

The moment Ji Yuan came in, the previously talkative Chu Mingcai fell silent, turning to stare fixedly at Ji Yuan, who was walking into the living room.

“Oh, allow me to introduce. Nephew Chu, this is Qingsong Daoist, also a distinguished guest of our manor. A while ago, I attracted some unclean things, so I invited the Daoist to exorcise them.”

“Qingsong Daoist, this is…”

Ji Yuan raised a hand to stop Huang Xingye. His Dharma Eyes were fully open, and Chu Mingcai had already risen from his seat, staring intently at Ji Yuan.

“Have you changed your human body again?”

Ji Yuan had removed the illusion from his eyes, which were now pale and calm like a deep pool. With his Dharma Eyes fully open, he saw obscure demonic energy and soul entwined within Chu Mingcai, churning but not escaping the body. Only his greedy desires were clearly manifest. This was no mere wisp of demonic energy, but a True Demon in human form.

In the cultivation world, the character “True” is used with extreme caution, and “True Demon” is no exception.

Although the human-form demon was not apparent, its desires were magnified. Had Ji Yuan not felt waves of greed and killing intent, he might not have realized the “main culprit” had arrived.

Chu Mingcai also eyed Ji Yuan warily. He had heard the Huang manor invited a mediocre Daoist and felt nothing special upon arrival. Had Ji Yuan not reached the doorway, he wouldn’t have sensed any aura.

But the immortal sword on his back and his soul-absorbing eyes were no joke.

In their mutual wariness, both Ji Yuan and Chu Mingcai had the same thought: ‘Who in the world is this?’