Chapter 118 - 116: The Magical Land God Temple

Chapter 118: Chapter 116: The Magical Land God Temple

Lin Feng didn’t dare to randomly add attributes to the Arrow Tower, opting to only add a "Sturdy" effect.

[Arrow Tower (Level 2): Protects the village and deters enemies. Vision range increased by 300%. The Arrow Tower is much sturdier.]

The Arrow Tower was now basically a tourist attraction, so there was no need to add any other miscellaneous attributes. Besides, it could be dismantled. If he wanted to change it in the future, he could just tear it down and rebuild it.

As for the signal tower, used for predicting danger, he directly improved its information accuracy, making it easier to monitor the village’s surroundings.

[Signal Tower (Level 2): Monitors for enemy activity, detects enemies, and relays information. Early warning accuracy increased by 20%.]

As for the other buildings, he upgraded them all to Level 2. Some received new items, while others remained the same as before.

Lin Feng had wanted to check on the progress of the Orchard and the Medicinal Herb Garden. These two buildings were unique; fruit trees and herbs had to be planted before they could be converted and upgraded.

But halfway there, he got a call from Hu Zhiming telling him to come back. The Earth God Statue was being delivered.

A large crowd of tourists had gathered in the Lin Xian Village square. The truck transporting the statue was already in position.

The preliminary hoisting work was also complete; they were just waiting for him, the boss, to show up.

Daoist Qi stood inside the newly roofed Land God Temple, inspecting it for any last-minute flaws.

Feng Ziling was thrilled. ’Should I quit my job at the Medicine House and manage the Land God Temple instead?’ he wondered.

"Wow, I didn’t know there were male and female Earth Gods!"

"Before the Southern Song Dynasty, there was only the Land God. The Land Goddess gradually appeared in folklore later on."

"The Earth God is also known as the God of Fortune and Virtue. They’re basically a local administrative deity. Most people probably think they’re all male because of the Land God’s portrayal in *Journey to the West*."

"Yeah, in *Journey to the West*, whenever there was trouble, Sun Wukong would summon the local Earth God, who always looked so weak and helpless."

"But he was actually an official on the celestial books with considerable power in the mortal realm."

"This couplet is nice, too: ’The earth can birth all things; The land can grant a thousand blessings’."

When Lin Feng arrived, everything was ready.

"Daoist Qi, when do we move the statue into the Land God Temple?"

"The auspicious time is in two *ke*—about thirty minutes."

Feng Ziling clarified, "That’s in half an hour, at 11:18 AM."

Some of the tourists watched for a bit, but when they heard it would be another half an hour, they wandered off.

When the auspicious time arrived, firecrackers were set off. Then, under Daoist Qi’s direction, everyone worked together to install the Earth God Statue inside the Land God Temple.

The Land God Temple wasn’t very large, only about thirty square meters. The statue was placed right in the center with an offering table set before it.

Following Daoist Qi’s instructions, Lin Feng took some incense, bowed in reverence, and placed the sticks into the Incense Burner.

Just then, a few tourists gathered around, bowing toward the Earth God from outside the temple.

After placing the incense, Lin Feng eagerly initiated the Land God Temple’s conversion. He knew from experience that the process wouldn’t cause any visible strange phenomena.

[Land God Temple (Level 2): Sacrifices made on the second day of the second lunar month will grant the Earth God’s Blessing. The temple can bless the growth of flora and fauna. The prayers of the virtuous will bring peace and safety to their homes, while the offerings of the wicked will surely bring disaster. Added functions: Ethereal Fragrance, Judgment.]

Looking at the changes to the Land God Temple, Lin Feng realized this special building was truly different from the others.

It didn’t just have its own unique interface; its functions were so powerful they left him stunned.

The second day of the second lunar month was the festival of the Earth God. The deity was traditionally responsible for the land, the growth of plants and animals, and the good and evil of mortals within its domain, as well as guiding the spirits of the dead and protecting households.

Except for the ability to guide the dead, all the other functions had appeared, and it even gained the ability to punish the wicked.

The two new functions, Ethereal Fragrance and Judgment, seemed to have nothing to do with the items he’d added.

’Apparently, the abilities the Land God Temple gains through upgrades might be inherent to it,’ he thought.

The Ethereal Fragrance had already manifested. A very light, delicate scent began to drift through the Land God Temple as the incense sticks burned.

Inhaling the fragrance calmed the mind and helped one focus.

As for the Judgment function, there was a meter that increased by a minuscule amount as the incense burned.

To use this function, he would need to expend whatever was in the meter. It seemed to be a form of faith or worship, similar to the power of incense offerings, but also slightly different.

There was no detailed description for the Judgment function; he would have to use it to find out what it did.

Feng Ziling whispered, "Master, do you smell that unique fragrance?"

As he spoke, his gaze was fixed on the incense sticks in the Incense Burner, from which the scent seemed to be originating.

Qi Yangming had noticed the Ethereal Fragrance the moment it appeared and was currently staring intently at the incense.

He assumed there was something special about the incense sticks themselves, perhaps a rare spice had been added to produce such a pleasant aroma.

’I’ll have to ask where they bought these,’ he thought. ’I’ll order some for myself when I get back. They’re much better than the ones I make.’

"It’s likely just the fragrance from the burning incense," he said. "Young Friend Lin, where did you purchase this incense? I’d like to buy some to take back with me."

Although Lin Feng knew it was the Ethereal Fragrance ability, he couldn’t let on.

Lin Feng turned to Hu Zhiming. "Where did we get this incense? The scent is amazing."

Hu Zhiming looked puzzled. "Just from the worship supply store at the foot of the mountain. They were ten yuan a bundle."

Feng Ziling exclaimed, "Ten yuan a bundle? Are you sure? You probably couldn’t buy incense with a fragrance like this for even a thousand yuan."

Daoist Qi picked up an unlit stick from the bundle and sniffed it, but there was no fragrance. He then crushed the tip between his fingers and sniffed again—still nothing.

Thinking the scent might only be released when burned, he lit the stick. Still no fragrance.

His expression turned to one of astonishment as he looked at the incense burning in the Incense Burner. He then lit three more sticks, bowed reverently to the Earth God Statue, and placed them in the burner.

At that moment, the ethereal fragrance began to slowly drift from the rising smoke.

This miraculous phenomenon left him bewildered. He looked up at the Earth God Statue.

’Could it be... a divine manifestation from the Earth God?’ he thought in shock.

"Master! Master, what are you doing?"

Feng Ziling tugged on his master’s arm, snapping him out of his trance.

"Take three incense sticks and go pay your respects to the Earth God."

A moment later, Feng Ziling was also staring in amazement, his eyes darting between the burning incense in the Incense Burner and the Earth God Statue.

"Master, is the Earth God really showing its power?"

The others in the temple had already noticed something was amiss. They too lit incense sticks and stepped forward to offer their respects.

Hu Xia said, "It’s incredible! Any incense stick placed in the Incense Burner starts giving off this fragrance."

"Sis, do you think this is a sign from the Earth God?"

"Maybe it is," Hu Xia replied. "What is the Earth God in charge of?"

"The growth of plants and animals, the safety of one’s home, guiding the spirits of the dead, and the good and evil of humankind."

Hu Xia immediately knelt and prayed, "Earth God, please bless my family with peace and good health."

After witnessing the miracle, the others also began to worship with sincere devotion.

The news spread quickly. Some disbelieving tourists rushed over to the Land God Temple to see for themselves.

When they arrived, they found a long line had already formed.

"The Earth God has shown its power! It really has! I smelled the fragrance! HAHA! The Earth God is blessing me!"

"Who has incense? I’ll pay a hundred yuan for three sticks!"

"Is there any incense? Boss, hurry up and get some more! We’ll pay for it!"

"Please, everyone, calm down! We’ve already sent someone to buy more. It’ll just take a little time!"

Looking at the long queue, Lin Feng and Daoist Qi realized the Incense Burner they’d prepared was far too small. They would need to get a much larger one.

They had already confirmed it: the Ethereal Fragrance was a direct result of worshipping the Earth God.

What’s more, the fragrance’s intensity didn’t change regardless of how many incense sticks were burning, which was truly miraculous.

The news spread as if it had wings, flying not only among the tourists in Lin Xian Village but also onto the internet as visitors began posting about it.