Chapter 60: Worshiping the Deity

A few more days passed, the woman's body barely improved, yet she insisted on personally bringing Hu Xiaocao to worship the Mountain God.

She also brought the eggs from home that she was reluctant to eat.

The woman devoutly knelt on the ground, kowtowing several times, saying, "Thank you, Mountain God Grandfather, for blessing my little grass to turn misfortune into fortune."

Regardless of whether others believed it or not, she herself believed it; moreover, Hu Xiaocao constantly chanted about it at home, speaking of it as if it were divine, making the woman even more firmly convinced.

Perhaps this also had a psychological cause, for she knew her days were numbered; when medicine and science could not save her, what could produce psychological reliance if not superstition?

At this moment she couldn't help but feel relieved, recalling that when she first learned Hu Xiaocao was worshiping and making offerings to the Mountain God, although she didn't believe in such things, she had not stopped him.

Hu Xiaocao's unwavering worship and offerings, rain or shine, likely earned the Mountain God Grandfather's favor, prompting him to bestow protection.

Otherwise, she might never have seen Hu Xiaocao again; the woman could not imagine that if Hu Xiaocao disappeared, she probably couldn't go on living.

Hu Xiaocao also followed her mother; just as the two were devoutly making offerings, they heard footsteps approaching from not far away.

Opening her eyes, she saw that it was dozens of villagers, some holding iron hoes, others carrying cement and bricks and tiles.

The woman stared, unsure what they intended to do, asking, "Whose family is building a house?"

She recalled that no one lived nearby.

The leader, Wang Dazhu, gave a simple smile, "Auntie of the Hu family, we're not building a house; we're repairing this shrine."

Both the woman and Hu Xiaocao stood frozen in place.

"Why suddenly want to repair it?"

"After all, it really looks shabby; if a heavy rain or strong wind came, it would just collapse."

When Hu Xiaocao originally built it, he used local materials—just mud and straw—so it barely had a shape.

The woman sensed the subtext in their words.

This shrine had stood for a while, and many villagers had seen it, but before this, no one had paid it any mind, after all they didn't believe there truly was a Mountain God in this world, and besides, it was merely Hu Xiaocao's pretend-play 'toy'.

But after this incident, some villagers began to have doubts in their hearts.

To avoid angering the Mountain God Grandfather, feeling they had been disrespectful, they decided to repair this humble shrine, perhaps thereby improving their relationship with the Mountain God Grandfather.

Afterward, the Mountain God would also bless them.

As the saying goes, belief makes it real, disbelief makes it nonexistent—just like going to a temple to burn incense and bow to the Buddha; even though they know it's false, they still seek psychological comfort.

Everyone being people of action, they picked up their tools and brought their gear over.

For such matters, both the woman and Hu Xiaocao were pleased to hear about it.

Hu Xiaocao clapped with delight, "Great, the Mountain God Grandfather now has a big house to live in."

With dozens of people working, the speed was fast; they weren't building a large house, a small shrine sufficed, like the common earth-god shrines seen by the roadside.

Red bricks and green tiles gave it a proper appearance; compared to the earlier mud-and-straw hut, it was far more impressive, though still only a little over a meter tall.

As for the Mountain God statue, they originally wanted to make a new one.

But considering the Mountain God statue was handcrafted by Hu Xiaocao, and the Mountain God Grandfather seemed to have no objection, most importantly, they had never seen what the Mountain God looks like.

Since Hu Xiaocao said it was a snake, then it is.

Thus they continued using that statue, moving it into the new Mountain God shrine.

Inside the impressive shrine stood a mud-made statue, odd-looking at first glance, but after a while one grew accustomed to it.

The villagers also dug out an old small cauldron from home, cleaned it, placed it before the shrine, and each person stepped forward to light a stick of incense, bowing devoutly.

Amid the curling smoke, the mud-made statue inexplicably gained a touch of divine aura.

From then on, the new Mountain God shrine was completed, and passing villagers would occasionally stop to pay their respects.

Yet the most frequent visitors were the Hu Xiaocao mother and daughter; they came every day, wiping the shrine until it was spotlessly clean and bright.

At this time, Ye Qin was completely unaware of what was happening down at the mountain foot; after dealing with that group of traffickers, he continued his cultivation as usual.

These matters were merely an insignificant trifle to it.

Having gone through the previous events, his mastery of the Illusion Divine Ability had become even more proficient.

The initial white mist that appeared was merely to confuse Yang Cheng and Ma Tian's vision, giving them psychological pressure, which could also be called a kind of psychological suggestion.

Because this mental-type divine ability, its effect is greatly weakened on those with strong willpower, and it is not something that can be unleashed without limit or condition.

To ensure this group of traffickers could not escape his illusion and to settle them quickly, Ye Qin acted in this way.

First came the white mist, making Yang Cheng and the others mistakenly think they were lost in the mountains; then came the ghost wall, further pressing on their nerves.

Finally appeared the White Bone Gazing at the Moon environmental domain, becoming the last straw that broke the camel's back.

Each time they thought they saw a hope of life, they actually walked into a dead end; this repeated back-and-forth tugging makes it hard for them not to go mad.

Ye Qin's actions cannot be called cruel; they merely reflect how this group step by step pushed themselves toward a dead end.

Yang Cheng, Ma Tian, and the others, the final hallucinations they experienced were actually caused by their own sins.

Heart demons entwined them, beyond remedy.

They believed the white bones were the phantoms of those once kidnapped and sold, coming to claim their lives; consequently they even went mad, seeing their own companions as white bones.

This is also why they killed each other and were frightened before death.

Ultimately, all of this is the karma they themselves created, and the time has come to repay it.

If they had not embarked on this sinful path, none of the subsequent events would have occurred.

Just like Hu Xiaocao, although she too was within the White Bone Gazing at the Moon illusion domain, she could see the truth at a glance and felt no fear.

Childish nature, pure-hearted; to her, white bones were just plain white bones, unaffected by anything else, so she could escape relatively quickly.

The deaths of Yang Cheng, Ma Tian, and the others can only be described as karmic retribution; everything was predestined.

Ye Qin's role within it was merely that of a guide.

As for Liu Siming, that was an accident; later, when Ye Qin's spiritual power was exhausted and the illusion could only dissipate, he still did not intend to let him go.

The other three teammates were dead; there was no reason to leave a single survivor, and Liu Siming himself had committed many misdeeds, so naturally he was sent to join them in the afterlife.

Good brothers, of course they should be whole and intact.

It seems that if the Illusion Divine Ability is used properly, it is still quite powerful; the only pity is that my spiritual power is currently too weak to sustain it for long or use it without limits. Against people with strong willpower, its effect is mediocre, and it's hard to drive them mad.

Just like this time, taking care of four traffickers in one go, Ye Qin hardly lifted a finger, except for the last one, Liu Siming.

Of course, this also relates to his earlier meticulous planning; one could say it was interlocking, gripping and thrilling.

He hasn't yet cultivated to the point where he can unleash a big move right away, causing people to die within the illusion, that realm.

However, after this training, he feels he has improved considerably; in the future, releasing it will surely be more effortless.

Most importantly, Ye Qin feels his spiritual power has also increased considerably.

Although he over-exerted himself and needed a few days of rest to recover, it was also a blessing in disguise; if he uses it again in the future, the illusion's duration will probably be a bit longer.

(End of chapter)