Chapter 120 - 118: Suspecting Lin Feng

Chapter 120: Chapter 118: Suspecting Lin Feng

Between seven and eight in the evening, peak hours for internet surfing, news of the Earth God’s manifestation in Lin Xian Village finally began to blow up online.

The incident was simply too incredible, holding a natural fascination for the online populace that generated even more buzz than the Medicinal Tea affair.

The capture of a criminal in the process made the whole affair even more dramatic.

"This is just old-world superstition. Stop spreading this crap, or the internet police will get you."

"Lin Xian Village is pulling another publicity stunt. Have they no shame? You guys stole the trending spot from my favorite star!"

"Everyone, let’s report them! How dare they promote this kind of superstition!"

"I was one of the tourists there today. I experienced it firsthand. It’s not superstition."

"Look, we’ve found a sucker. If you’re selling health supplements, he’s your guy."

"..."

As the story spread, it was met with a crusade of angry comments online from people who refused to believe it.

Clearly, atheists formed the majority of netizens. Most were fair-weather believers—praying when they needed something and dismissing it otherwise. It was a classic case of Schrödinger’s faith.

Even with many tourists trying to explain what happened, few people were convinced. How could something like an Earth God manifesting possibly be real?

The online reports soon caught the attention of certain government departments, and a notice was sent to Wuyuan County.

Lin Feng soon received a call as well. "Sir, we really aren’t promoting anything. It’s all just videos uploaded by tourists."

"You’re sure you didn’t promote it?"

"Not at all. You can have the internet police investigate. If they find any evidence that Lin Xian Village was involved in promoting this, we’ll accept the consequences."

Lin Feng was doing everything he could to avoid this kind of trouble. Why would he have someone promote it? He wasn’t an idiot.

However, the miraculous nature of the Land God Temple was already widely known, and there was nothing he could do to stop the news from spreading.

After Wuyuan County reported the situation up the chain, the internet police investigated the source of the posts and confirmed that Lin Xian Village was not, in fact, behind the publicity.

The videos and posts had all originated from tourists who had been there, a fact that was quickly passed up the chain of command.

"Then get to the bottom of this and issue a public statement."

"Sir, we’ve discovered that some professors from the Science Academy who are conducting research in Lin Xian Village are also posting about it."

"Perhaps we should consult with them first to see what’s really going on."

The leader then remembered that there were indeed Science Academy professors in Lin Xian Village. If someone were truly faking supernatural events, it was unlikely they wouldn’t have noticed.

A call was placed to the professors, and the information they gave back was almost unbelievable to the leader.

"Send a team to Lin Xian Village to confirm the situation. And, hmm, have a few people from the Religious Affairs Committee go with them. Hold off on the public announcement for now."

That night, the internet was full of keyboard warriors, all furiously typing out their arguments.

In the end, no one could convince anyone else, and the arguments were entirely fruitless.

Sun Guiyou, a streamer who specialized in debunking supernatural hoaxes, saw the online buzz and immediately set out for Lin Xian Village.

’This is my chance. I have to get to Lin Xian Village by tomorrow. This wave of traffic is mine for the taking.’

"Brother Sun, do you think the people in Lin Xian Village are out of their minds? They’re already so famous, why would they pull a stunt like this?"

"You guys just don’t get it. In this day and age, traffic is money."

"With this much buzz online, tons of people are definitely going to show up at Lin Xian Village tomorrow."

"We need to hurry so no one beats us to it and cashes in on this debunking trend."

Many other streamers who saw the news online had the same idea. In fact, plenty of influencers were still in Wuyuan County and hadn’t left yet.

They planned to rush over to Lin Xian Village first thing in the morning to livestream the event.

Lin Feng didn’t have a peaceful night either. His phone kept ringing with people asking about the Earth God’s manifestation.

His only explanation was that he didn’t know if there had been a manifestation, but the incense sticks had indeed emitted a peculiar fragrance.

Annoyed, Hu Xia simply turned off her phone and slumped into her chair, staring blankly into space.

"These people are so annoying! I already posted about it on my Friends Circle, but they’re still calling me."

Hu Zhiming, who had just walked in after getting off the phone, was also nursing a major headache.

"Brother Lin, what do you think is really going on with the Land God Temple?"

Hu Xia and Zhao Shiyun, who had also just entered, instantly perked up. They were curious as well.

If anyone among them knew the specifics, it had to be their boss, Lin Feng.

He was the one who had proposed building the Land God Temple. And there was still the Mountain God Temple to be built—would the same thing happen there?

"Don’t look at me. I really don’t know anything about this stuff. You’d be better off asking Daoist Qi and Daoist Feng. Maybe they have some answers."

Just then, Qi Yangming and Feng Ziling walked in. They had just seen off the last group of tourists and finally emerged from the Land God Temple.

They had come looking for Lin Feng, hoping to ask him if he knew anything about the situation at the Land God Temple.

But then they overheard what Lin Feng said. ’Looks like we won’t get any answers from him either,’ they thought.

"Brother Lin, don’t you have a Natural Daoist Skill? Can’t you just try to communicate with it? You might succeed."

"Yeah, yeah! You’ve already achieved a Natural Daoist Skill!"

Lin Feng looked at them, utterly speechless. ’A Natural Daoist Skill? That’s just a bonus from my title!’

"I don’t even know how I entered this state, let alone achieved some ’Natural Daoist Skill.’ I’ve never even finished reading a single Daoist Scripture."

"Daoist Qi, Daoist Feng, you’re here. Please, explain it to them."

Daoist Qi and Daoist Feng ignored him. Instead, they just stared at him, contemplating the feasibility of the idea.

"Seriously, you two Daoists? I’m not even a Daoist Disciple. You really think a method like that would work?"

Qi Yangming said, "You don’t have to be a Daoist Disciple to cultivate the Dao. Why not just give it a try?"

Seeing everyone’s eyes fixed on him, Lin Feng knew that if he didn’t play along, they would pester him endlessly.

"Fine, let’s go. You can see for yourselves whether it works."

The group went to the Land God Temple. The tourists had all gone home, and solar-powered streetlights now illuminated the plaza.

The Land God Temple itself was also brightly lit, and the tips of incense sticks that had yet to burn out glowed with faint red embers.

Lin Feng knelt and began to pay his respects. The others stared intently at him and the statue of the Earth God, but after several minutes, nothing had changed.

He stood up and looked at the group. "See? I told you it wouldn’t work, but you wouldn’t believe me."

In reality, if he actually wanted to fake a supernatural event, he could use his system’s reward and punishment function. That would definitely make them believe.

Of course, he’d have to be out of his mind to willingly take on such an identity.

Everyone was disappointed at not seeing the result they had hoped for. They had been thinking that if Immortals were real, perhaps they too could begin Cultivation.

Qi Yangming and Feng Ziling were the most disappointed of all. They had already tried meditating inside the Land God Temple. While it created a soothing spiritual calm, there was no trace of Immortal Spirit Qi.

Their practice remained the same as before—merely a cultivation of the mind. The peculiar fragrance only made it easier for them to enter a state of deep meditation.

They began to think that perhaps becoming an Immortal was simply a matter of spiritual transcendence. As long as they worked hard, they could eventually attain the Dao and ascend.

Qi Yangming decided to take up residence in the Land God Temple. Feng Ziling was also reluctant to leave, even considering quitting his job at the Medicine House.

It was only after his master persuaded him otherwise that he decided not to quit and went back to his own house to sleep.

In the dead of night, Lin Feng lay in bed, his mind racing with thoughts.

Although he had acted nonchalant during the day, the situation at the Land God Temple still led him to speculate about that Token.

Unfortunately, as miraculous as the Land God Temple was, he hadn’t made any other discoveries. Besides, the temple wasn’t the only strange thing in Lin Xian Village.

Most importantly, the appearance of the Land God Temple had caused no changes to the Cultivation Technique section of his personal panel, nor had it triggered any new quests.

’Looks like I’ll have to upgrade all the buildings to their maximum level. Perhaps then I’ll find something.’

’Especially the Mountain God Temple. That building is also related to Immortals. I’ll have to see if more clues appear when it’s built.’

He looked at the village’s panel, feeling that this data screen and the village’s attributes were not as simple as they seemed on the surface.