After felling the mountain and demolishing the temple, the truly troubleso matters began.
First, the villagers needed to be settled, at the very least gathered together instead of being scattered here and there.
Otherwise, the requirents for establishing a county would not be t.
A mountain city required fewer conditions, but a population of no less than ten thousand was indispensable.
However, gathering so many mountain dwellers posed the problem of food—there simply wasn’t enough arable land in the mountain ranges, and hunting alone could never feed over ten thousand people.
The only option was to have the Taoist Soldiers cultivate new land.
Song Lin decided to use the Kui Dragon to move a few small mountains. While larger mountains couldn’t be dismantled, repositioning smaller ones could create open spaces, and soil could then be transported to form a vast plain deep within the mountains.
This would give rise to the embryonic form of a county.
The land created this way wouldn’t be fertile, so Taoists would need to intervene, casting spells periodically every few years to ensure soil fertility.
Such minor techniques were within the grasp of any Taoist disciple.
In addition, Taoists would need to be stationed there, or else the demons would devour everyone before a single night had passed.
Thus, establishing a permanent Taoist Temple was essential.
Otherwise, relying solely on external resources would quickly beco unsustainable.
Song Lin planned to seek sponsorship from the Taoist School. At the very least, they could provide more materials; without support, the project would only incur growing losses.
Zhi Xin was currently in seclusion, so as of now, Song Lin could only turn to Earth Evil for help.
At this thought, Song Lin took out the Dragon Mansion Jade Gourd.
He poured out a dirt-yellow jade pendant from it.
"This is the Kui Dragon. It can transform into a Mountain Driving Whip or a Divine Dragon, granting mastery of the Mountain Driving Divine Power."
Song Lin handed the jade pendant to Shi Yinhua.
"By the way, I also have a Gu Technique and the Corpse Chasing Technique. Select a group of people to see who might be suited for these thods."
"Gu Technique? So that’s it. It seems the temple master has found a magic vein!"
Everyone suddenly saw the light.
They had been worried about how to maintain the operation of the county and the Taoist Temple.
This place was short of resources and located in a remote area. Every day it existed, it consud a considerable amount of money.
Without any revenue, it was only a matter of ti before it would collapse, amounting to no more than spending money in pursuit of yin rit.
No one expected there to be a Gu Technique.
"This thod doesn’t require refining True Qi. Instead, it absorbs various Gu poisons into the body, stimulating potential, refining True Qi, and forming Ten Thousand Poison True Qi. Its growth has no upper limit; it depends entirely on how many kinds of Gu poisons are absorbed."
Song Lin explained to everyone.
The Corpse Chasing Technique was acceptable; the Taoist Temple even had similar thods.
But when they heard about absorbing Gu poisons, many retreated ntally.
The Gu Technique was indeed powerful. It had been perfected within the Witch God Heavenly King Dao Alliance, where all sorts of bizarre secret techniques were developed.
However, it was also extrely dangerous. Without a special physique, one could harm themselves significantly through this practice.
Understanding their concerns, Song Lin said, "This thod isn’t as harsh as the one from the Witch God Heavenly King faction. With the use of pills for nurturing the body and a resolute mind to resist the Gu poisons’ influence, it’s entirely manageable."
In summary, the entry threshold was low, but mastering it was hard.
No matter what, selecting suitable candidates would allow them to cultivate disciples who could hold their own, leveraging the environnt of this place.
"Alright, I’ll conduct the selection tomorrow." Shi Yinhua accepted the spell.
"Temple master, I am willing to give it a try!"
At this mont, the warehouse steward Xiao Xuan stood up.
"You? Are you certain?"
Xiao Xuan was one of the few who practiced the Five Drawbacks and Three Deficiencies Skill in the Taoist Temple. With this technique, his cultivation speed was much faster than others’.
His cultivation level of early-stage Divine Establishnt placed him as a mid-to-upper-tier mber within the Taoist Soldier Departnt.
Could it be that he aid to beco the temple master?
"Yes! I wish to give it a shot," Xiao Xuan said resolutely.
"Very well."
Xiao Xuan did indeed possess a firm mind and comndable loyalty.
Several years ago, after achieving a breakthrough in his cultivation, Xiao Xuan went to ilin County and assassinated the forr subordinates of Zhao Wuji who had destroyed his family.
Since his return, Xiao Xuan had beco increasingly composed, exuding the deanor of a true expert.
"Good. From now on, you shall be the temple master of the Five Poison Zombie Temple. You and Shi Yinhua will be responsible for selecting disciples. For now, don’t worry about anything else. Focus on cultivating diligently."
"Understood!"
The eting soon dispersed.
Song Lin went back to rest for the night.
Three to four months passed in the Golden Demon World.
Both the northern and southern regions remained peaceful.
The southern region was currently consolidating its territories. Since Song Lin no longer used thousands of avatars to manage state affairs, the replacent of old and new officials had slowed down.
However, with five thousand Taoist Soldiers and experts from the Qionghua Sect suppressing the region, the local wealthy nobles and landlords, who were powerless to confront them, couldn’t stir up any trouble.
In the north, Emperor Kang Zheng of Jing Country found his position increasingly precarious after suffering a crushing defeat in Yangzhou. He was preoccupied with maneuvering against powerful ministers, leaving him no room to pursue ambitions in the south.
This defeat had exposed previously hidden tensions completely, leading to repeated uprisings among the people of Jing Country. The empire was now teetering on the brink of collapse.
However, the Cultivation World remained strangely quiet. Apart from the Taizhen Sect appointing a new sect hierarch, there was no significant news.
Song Lin lingered in this narrative world for a month.
Then, he returned to reality.
...
Xuanyu City, Long Night Platform.
This place was shrouded in eternal darkness, filled with ghostly mists.
Under the pitch-black night sky stood a towering mountain.
Atop the mountain sat a majestic palace.
The entire palace was forged from crimson gold, radiating Divine Light and surrounded by countless ghosts in worship.
This location was the headquarters of the Qi of All Mountains Prefecture and the Blessed Land Spirit Forbidden Mansion.
At the palace entrance stood two yellow ornantal hills, each twenty zhang tall, resembling yellow jade. Inside, they were embedded with blood-red talismans, with three large characters at their center: Shi Gandang.
The massive gate in the middle bore an ancient bronze human face, its eyes tightly shut, its nostrils faintly twitching.
It seed to be so unknown demon beast.
As Song Lin approached, the face suddenly opened its eyes, its crimson pupils seemingly penetrating the depths of one’s soul.
"Who goes there?"
"I am the Donghua Master, here to request an audience with Earth Evil Taoist."
Song Lin presented his identity token.
The human face scanned his token with a glance.
Suddenly, beams of crimson light shot out from its eyes, striking Song Lin.
Whoosh!
Song Lin felt the world around him go dark. In the blink of an eye, he arrived inside a grand circular dod hall.
The do was adorned with gemstones depicting the sun, moon, and stars, their light casting down as though truly originating from the Nine Heavens.
Three dharma altars dominated the floor, each a different color—gold, yellow, and white.
They were constructed with Five-colored Soil, five zhang tall and nine zhang wide, covered with densely arranged yellow cloth talisman flags and various exotic delicacies, and in the center enshrined the Three Primordial Earth Sovereigns—three Great Emperors under Yuan Shi Heavenly King who governed heaven, earth, and water.
In front of these altars stood a short, thin old Taoist in a yellow robe.
Upon spotting Song Lin, Earth Evil turned around. Judging by his reaction, he had been expecting his arrival.
"You’re here?"
"Yes. I’ve secured a territory and plan to establish a Taoist Temple, so I’m here to apply for resources."
"Oh? Where?"
"Yin Mountain!"
"Interesting." Earth Evil raised an eyebrow. "The yin rit reward for expanding territories is indeed considerable. Technically, temple-building applications can only be made three years later. But for Zhi Xin’s sake, I’ll overlook this for now. What do you need?"
"Thank you, Taoist... I’d like so blessed lands, if possible."
As the master of the Blessed Land Spirit Forbidden Mansion, what else could he ask for?
"Be specific. Blessed lands co in various types."
"So Yin Soil and Spirit Fields, at least five hundred mu of each."
"Hmm, that’s standard." Earth Evil added, "But it’s not enough. Based on your status as a refiner, you can request higher-quality blessed lands."
Seeing Song Lin’s lack of understanding, Earth Evil patiently explained.
Blessed Land Spirit Prohibitions in the Holy Might Taoist School were divided into three types: heavenly, terrestrial, and aquatic.
Heavenly-level ones were generally of higher quality. For instance, the Little Golden Altar Cave Heaven that Song Lin owned previously was a low-grade heavenly level blessed land; heavenly ones often involved concepts of ti.
Yin Soil and Spirit Fields were categorized as the lowest grade under terrestrial-level.
Aquatic-level lands, on the other hand, often related to water, such as the Spirit Rain Blessed Land or the Jiuquan Blessed Land.
Blessed lands were primarily augntative, while spirit prohibitions served reducing or offensive functions.
Earth Evil tossed Song Lin a booklet.
Song Lin carefully flipped through it.
"Made a decision yet?"
...
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