Chapter 308 - 163: Night Patrol God, Beastkeeping Authority

Chapter 308: Chapter 163: Night Patrol God, Beastkeeping Authority

In the main hall of the temple stood a cast-iron statue, a full thirty feet tall.

The statue’s face was cold and stern. It held a bamboo-segmented Hard Mace in its right hand and cradled a flameless lantern in its left. Its eyes were closed, exuding an effortless, intimidating aura.

Right then, dozens of candidates in assorted attire were gathered below the statue.

These people were no longer fighting amongst themselves. Instead, they prostrated on the ground with devout expressions, chanting an ancient prayer in unison.

"Great Deity above."

"Master of the night watch, suppressor of darkness, driver of demons, protect our journey home. We offer our Wish Power in return."

"Keep us safe as we walk the night, may your divine grace shine forever. With tribute and drum, we worship at your feet!"

The sound of the prayer echoed throughout the vast, empty hall.

A Cultivator with a sword at his waist shuffled forward on his knees. With a solemn expression, he extended his hands. In his palms, he held ten crystal-clear Cyan Nether Pearls.

As he placed the pearls into the stone trough before the statue, the once cold and silent cast-iron figure emitted a soft chime.

A mysterious, blue Spiritual Light flashed from the statue’s eyes and was gone in an instant. Immediately after, the ten pearls disintegrated into dust and vanished.

In return, a faint wisp of blue light descended from the statue’s fingertip and sank into the space between the Cultivator’s brows.

"It’s working! The Evil Qi in front of me is receding!"

The Cultivator’s eyes flew open, and a faint, mysterious blue Spiritual Light could be seen swirling within them.

He looked ecstatically toward the cyan mist outside the hall that had previously blocked his sight. To his eyes now, the flow of the deadly Evil Qi had become perfectly clear.

"Ten pearls for the vision of Night Gaze... it’s true! I can see right through the Evil Qi! Now the ambushes of those wretched creatures will never harm me again!"

The Cultivator kowtowed in excitement. "Thank you, Divine Venerable, for your Blessing! May your divine grace shine eternal!"

Seeing this, the dozens of candidates behind him began to breathe heavily.

"Next! Hurry up! Don’t delay the Divine Venerable’s revival."

At the front of the crowd, a young, fair-faced Cultivator idly waving a paper fan spoke calmly.

He didn’t exude much of a murderous aura, yet he possessed a natural aristocratic air that commanded respect. This was the leader of the small faction known as the Cyan Stone Alliance.

He looked at the crowd behind him and pointed to the cast-iron statue. "Everyone, this Secret Realm is treacherous. If we all fight alone, we will eventually be worn down and killed by those abominations at Qi Cultivation Perfection. But heaven always leaves a way out. This temple enshrines the ancient Night Patrol God."

"Offer ten pearls to receive Night Gaze, allowing you to see through Evil Qi and anticipate your enemies."

"Offer a hundred pearls to receive the Night Travel Body. With it, you can move as if on level ground even under five times the Gravity, and travel without a trace."

Feverish ambition glinted in the young man’s eyes as he snapped his fan shut. "As long as we work together and offer a thousand Cyan Nether Pearls, this Night Patrol God can re-form its Spirituality and revive its authority!"

"Then, within a hundred-li radius, we will be a people under a Divine Spirit’s protection! Not only will we be able to perform a Purification of the Evil Demons, but with the Merit gained from protecting a Divine Spirit, we might even be able to directly sense the location of the Celestial Ladder!"

"A thousand pearls is by no means an impossible task if we work together!"

"That’s right! There’s strength in numbers! It’s better than getting chewed to death by Demon Beasts out there!"

The crowd of Cultivators roared their agreement. In this desperate, lawless Secret Realm, a temple that could grant tangible "buffs" was the only lifeline they could cling to.

Following the young leader’s instructions, the candidates began to form teams in an orderly manner.

"We’ve hunted most of the wretched creatures nearby. From today, three teams will leave the city and venture thirty li into the ruins. We’re not aiming for quantity, but for steady progress. Every Cyan Nether Pearl brought back will be recorded. When the Divine Venerable is revived, everyone will be rewarded!"

"Yes!"

Streaks of light flashed as teams of Cultivators skillfully rode their Escape Lights, plunging into the distant darkness.

They didn’t know that a hundred li away, atop the peak of Lingma Mountain, a pair of eyes had already pierced through the heavy mist to watch the rise of this fledgling power.

This effort to build a tower from grains of sand, in a Chaotic Burial Palace that had been silent for millennia, was like individual embers being quietly kindled in every corner.

「Cyan Nether Secret Realm, Extreme North Land.」

The climate here was entirely different from elsewhere, covered year-round by desolate, lifeless forests and rotting Black Water swamps. The air was thick not only with cyan Evil Qi, but also a viscous, primal savagery born from millennia of decay.

In the heart of the forest, a Spirit Temple constructed from pale blue-green stone stood proudly.

Surrounding the Spirit Temple stood twelve massive, stone-carved beast heads. They ranged from mundane tigers and leopards to extinct, Scale-Armored draconic beasts. Each was carved with lifelike detail, and despite millennia of erosion from the Evil Qi, the ferocious aura in their eyes was still enough to make one’s blood run cold.

This was the hub responsible for shepherding Divine Beasts and commanding all living creatures—the Beastkeeping Spirit Temple.

A tiger’s roar shattered the forest miasma.

A thirty-foot-long Earth-Splitting Striped Tiger lay docilely below the Spirit Temple. Its massive claws, capable of shattering a Dharma Artifact, were carefully retracted, allowing a young man in silk robes and a Jade Belt with a bright yellow tassel to stand atop its head, hands clasped behind his back.

Wuu Ziqing, the Crown Prince of the Wuu Family of Dayuan Prefecture.

The paper fan in his hand waved gently, his expression a mask of calm, strategic confidence.

Behind him, in addition to three formidable Demon Beasts exuding the aura of Qi Cultivation Perfection, stood a young Cultivator. His expression was exhausted, his face a mask of indignation.

The Cultivator’s surname was Lin, and he was the prodigy of a Humble Family from a certain County. A collar of pale-cyan Divine Dao Spiritual Light was wrapped around his neck, digging into his flesh like a venomous snake. The light seemed faintly connected to the aura of the Spirit Temple above.

"Wuu Ziqing! You dare use the Divine Dao Authority of this place to keep a fellow cultivator like livestock..."