Chapter 12: Divine Power

He didn't know why, but ever since he had used the Profound Dark Departing Fire True Art to blast a huge crater outside the courtyard, he felt that the wisp of Divine Light of Divinity within him seemed somewhat restless,

as if something in the unseen was calling to it—a feeling most mysterious. As for how this wisp of Divine Light of Divinity had come to be, Su Yuanshan wasn't entirely sure; he could only surmise it had some connection to having refined that Chenghuang statue.

That seemingly wondrous resonance was now growing ever stronger, as if coming from behind the divine hall?

Su Yuanshan deliberated briefly, then said to Liu Yiyi—the one person and one fox.

"You two stay here for now. I'm going out for a walk."

Under Liu Yiyi's puzzled gaze, Su Yuanshan walked out of the great hall and around to the back of the building, where he saw, behind the great hall and within the red walls, a very thick ginkgo tree planted. Its branches were lush and leafy, heavy with fruit at the tips, and because it was late autumn, the whole tree was a blaze of gold.

This great tree seemed to bear traces of having been struck by lightning; at the base, half of it had withered, forming a tree hollow taller than a person, and that mysterious sense of summoning came from this very hollow.

Su Yuanshan hesitated a moment, but still stepped into the hollow. Inside, apart from dead branches, fallen leaves, moss, and cobwebs, there was nothing else.

But the instant he stepped into this hollow, that strange feeling seemed to grow even stronger.

Su Yuanshan's heart stirred of its own accord. He crouched down and reached his hand to grope among the dead leaves, when suddenly his eyes lit up—he felt his fingers seem to touch something hard, and slightly cool.

He picked it up and looked: it was actually a seal the size of a palm-and-egg, its material faintly tinged with blue-green, somewhat like jade. The seal was tied with a golden wheat-ear-shaped silk ribbon, giving it a most grand appearance.

The four sides of the seal were carved with patterns of mountains, rivers, birds, and beasts—exquisitely crafted.

Su Yuanshan turned it to look at the front, where he saw six archaic seal-script characters carved upon it. He studied them for quite a while before making them out: they read "Town Chenghuang Mountain-River Seal."

He couldn't help being startled.

It was actually the Chenghuang Seal and Ribbon!

This talisman-seal token had clearly been left behind by the previous Town Chenghuang; for some unknown reason it had been hidden here.

According to the records in *Shuyiji*,

the Chenghuang Seal and Ribbon—that is, the Chenghuang's authority and divine office—belonged exclusively to deities. Only by mastering the Chenghuang Seal could one be considered a true Chenghuang god.

In other words, mastering this object was equivalent to receiving Heaven and Earth's recognition, becoming the de facto true master of the entire Qinling region! One could then command the Five Elements and wield divine powers, and could mobilize the power of rivers, lakes, seas, mountains, and the great earth within one's jurisdiction to suppress all.

In a certain sense, as long as he fully mastered this Town Chenghuang Seal, he would become the true and genuine Mighty Spirit Lord of Nanzhou Zhen.

So long as the divine seal was in hand, he could borrow the might of Heaven and Earth, wield the Five Elements divine arts, and within the entire Da Qinling range freely call upon the power of the rivers, lakes, seas, mountain ranges, and great earth within his jurisdiction for his own use, becoming a true deity exalted above all sentient beings!

Only then would he have a measure of power to protect himself!

Such were Su Yuanshan's thoughts.

He just didn't know how to truly master this Town Chenghuang Seal—would it require blood-sacrifice refinement?

He tried cutting his finger and performing blood-sacrifice refinement, but alas, the Town Chenghuang Seal showed no response whatsoever.

Huh? It actually didn't work?

Could the method be wrong?

Just how could he master this seal and ribbon?

Su Yuanshan tried other methods, but without exception they all failed.

Before Su Yuanshan could think it through, he sensed that wisp of seven-colored Divine Light of Divinity within him suddenly burst forth from his body and was completely absorbed by that Town Chenghuang Mountain-River Seal.

Suddenly, the seal in Su Yuanshan's hand burst forth with streams of radiant splendor, and an illusory figure emerged, rising higher and higher, and growing larger and larger. The next moment, the seal displayed one wondrous scene after another—lofty mountain peaks, rushing rivers...

Even the entire Chenghuang Temple, together with the ground beneath Su Yuanshan's feet, began to tremble. The thousand-year-old ginkgo tree swayed violently, sheet after sheet of yellow leaves fluttering down.

At that moment, Su Yuanshan seemed to sense that, centered on this divine temple, the mountain ranges and earth within a radius of a hundred li were all quivering—rocks and vegetation tumbled down, rivers and mountain springs churned with spray—and those mountain ridges were like crouching, slumbering giant dragons about to awaken.

But then, with a sudden "Clang—", the miraculous scene before his eyes seemed to vanish all at once. The seal was still that egg-sized seal, only slightly different from before—on its surface seemed to flow a radiant, shimmering light, as if it had already gained a spirit.

At that moment, holding this seal, Su Yuanshan suddenly felt a sense of flesh-and-blood connection, of hearts and minds in communion, as if this Town Chenghuang Mountain-River Seal had already become a part of him.

He could even sense the intimacy of the soil beneath his feet, sense the pulse and breath of the mountains, sense the joy of rivers and streams, and could even sense the joys and sorrows of every plant and every rock—as if every object within his jurisdiction, from the great mountains down to the tiniest grains of dust, had suddenly come to life.

After he activated the Town Chenghuang Seal, even the spirit pearl he wore underwent a strange change: on its surface appeared the image of a mountain forest, and even a tiny divine temple nestled within it; even the abandoned village at the foot of the mountain, and the tombstones on the graves behind the village, were clearly visible.

Su Yuanshan's eyes lit up at the sight.

Huh? Isn't that divine temple precisely my Chenghuang Temple?

He saw a region of white light enveloping this area, while farther places were zones of gray fog, impossible to see through.

He thought to himself: this thing seems to be a three-dimensional map—even the grass and trees upon it are vivid and lifelike; it's practically a miniature version of the real scenery around the divine temple.

This light-colored region should refer to the territory under my jurisdiction, while those gray-fog regions refer to areas not under my jurisdiction.

He boldly tested it and arrived at a conclusion: as long as he stayed within the white-light region, the spirit pearl's speed of absorbing spiritual energy would accelerate, and his own efficiency at swallowing spiritual energy and refining qi would be even higher.

But upon leaving this region, his abilities would decline.

"Young Master... Young Master Su!"

Suddenly a voice calling through the wind interrupted his thoughts. As he turned, he saw Liu Yiyi approaching with sword in hand, her face full of suspicion.

"What is Young Master doing behind the great hall?"

"Taking a walk!" Su Yuanshan's own words he didn't even believe himself.

Just as Liu Yiyi was about to speak, Su Yuanshan's eyes suddenly narrowed as he gazed toward the distant mountain forest.

He saw rolling black clouds in the sky and surging demonic qi coalescing into form; the already gloomy sky grew even darker, as if deep within the forest something terrifying was stirring. The demonic qi pervading the surroundings was almost tangible, with the air of a storm about to break.

Su Yuanshan's brow furrowed slightly, and he thought: Here it comes. It's finally coming.

Anyone capable of such a display of power—apart from the newly ascended Demon King, he could think of no second.

It seemed the show was about to begin.

He said calmly to Liu Yiyi.

"Let's return to the great hall. We'll have a visitor shortly!"