CHAPTER 488: CHAPTER 427: HEAVENLY GOD AND EARTH DEITY, THE VASTNESS OF THE WORLD.

Donghua Jungle, Yin Mountain Range.

A valley shrouded in darkness all year round.

Dark clouds hung low, Yin Wind lightly swept through, and below, the valley was as dim as the twilight after the sun’s descent.

At the center of the valley stood a manor with black tiles and white walls.

Under the bleak, pitch-black skies, the manor appeared eerie and foreboding.

Outside the gate stood Rampant Soldiers with disheveled hair and red faces, flanked on either side by ten-zhang tall Little Giant Spirit Gods.

These were the Taoist School’s most powerful Taoist Soldiers, theoretically possessing Late-stage Core Formation cultivation.

Since Song Lin became a Heavenly Master, he rarely studied the Mystical Character Treasure Book himself, instead passing this cultivation technique down as the supreme treasure of Donghua Jungle for people like Wang Ziyue to study.

The main gate was tightly shut, adorned with numerous talismans painted with cinnabar.

It seemed to be some kind of restriction. From above, one could see the manor arranged according to the Yin Yang Eight Diagram.

Within, there were two grand halls, one representing Yin and the other Yang.

In the Yang Hall, countless corpses were stored—some heavily decayed, others reduced to bare, eerie white bones, while some remained lifelike.

The Yin Hall, by contrast, was filled with dense black mist and inscribed with twisted, jet-black tadpole-like characters, which seemed to wriggle as if alive—gazing at them invoked a bone-deep sense of deathly fear.

These characters were Netherworld Seal Characters, the script of the Netherworld in the Yellow Springs.

This manor was the Taiyin Refining Shape Temple.

Years ago, Song Lin and the Mount Tai Woman achieved spiritual enlightenment through dual cultivation, gaining comprehension of the Netherworld Seal Characters, which Song Lin then passed to Zhong Mountain. Through it, Zhong Mountain comprehended the method of drawing Yin energy from the Netherworld for the Taiyin Refining process.

Viewed through the Dharma Eye, the Yin Hall revealed itself as an infinite world of Yin Soil.

Numerous Divine Souls within it inhaled and exhaled Taiyin Qi.

Some were nearly tangible, some flickered between reality and illusion, as if on the verge of dispersing into nothingness the next moment.

The largest figure among them was an old man with white hair.

The old man’s expression was weathered, his face pale as paper. Endless streams of Demonic Qi surged into his soul body.

At a speed visible to the naked eye, his soul body became increasingly solid.

This man was none other than Yuanbo.

As his soul body solidified, Yuanbo gradually revealed his demonic form.

A green face with sharp fangs, and a ghostly visage crowned with red hair.

Beyond this, surrounding the demonic figure were nine smaller Divine Demons with features similar to him but differing in color, expression, and other aspects.

If Zhonghuang Zi were present, he would undoubtedly exclaim in shock that Yuanbo had merged with the Divine Demon.

Indeed, this was Yuanbo’s Dharma Image: the Nine Sons Ghost Mother.

The Ghost Mother was the source of the Nine Sons. As long as the Ghost Mother remained alive, the Nine Sons could be killed an infinite number of times yet still resurrect in perfect condition.

The Nine Sons wielded distinct Divine Skills, including ghost summoning, cursing, ghost fire, Yin Wind, immense strength, yin energy, and so on.

However, Yuanbo’s transformation into the Ghost Mother did not mean he had become female.

In this context, "Mother" represented the source of all things, rather than a literal maternal figure. Even before merging with the Nine Sons Ghost Mother, the Ghost Mother had displayed no female traits.

The appearance of the Divine Demon depended on the gender of the spellcaster, not the nature of the technique itself.

As such, it would be more fitting to call this entity the "Demon King" rather than the "Ghost Mother."

Once the Demon King took form, Yuanbo suddenly opened his eyes wide.

Looking at the Yin-dominated world around him, he felt a faint sense of confusion—wasn’t he already dead?

Before his death, he had explicitly arranged for certain affairs to be settled and departed this world in peace.

Wait—had his body shifted to a soul state?

Could it be that he had misremembered and never truly dispersed into oblivion?

Just then, a golden Primordial Spirit slowly approached, followed closely by an elderly man with white hair.

"Zhong Mountain? Palace Master? Did we win? Or are you all dead as well?"

Yuanbo asked.

Even now, he could not comprehend what had happened or why he was in his current state.

"We won and successfully established the Donghua Taoist Sect. Moreover, I’ve broken through to the Primordial Spirit Realm," said Song Lin.

"Congratulations!" Yuanbo responded.

"As for you, senior... I had Zhong Mountain use Taiyin Refining to reshape your soul body. How does it feel now?"

Yuanbo closed his eyes to sense it for a moment, then sighed with disappointment:

"It is but a hollow form, devoid of any power."

This was Yuanbo’s initial impression. Though he had become a Divine Demon, he couldn’t perceive even an iota of their strength.

"That’s to be expected. A soul refined through someone else’s Taiyin process cannot cultivate, and without external supplies, it has no mana to perform Divine Skills."

Before Yuanbo could reply, Song Lin continued:

"But there is a solution—through the Divine Dao..."

As he spoke, Song Lin scanned the surrounding spirit bodies.

Along with Yuanbo’s formation, Lu Mingyang, Heavenly Slaughter, Pei Yu, and Xiao Xuan gradually took shape as well.

These individuals each possessed cultivation levels no lower than Late-stage Core Formation.

"Palace Master!"

Upon awakening, they saw Song Lin.

Song Lin recounted the events leading up to this moment.

"Listen carefully!"

Suddenly, Song Lin’s expression grew solemn. His Pure Yang Primordial Spirit radiated brilliant golden light, sensed by all cultivators across the Yunzhou territory.

"Yuanbo, for your merit in safeguarding the Dao, I, in the name of the Donghua Heavenly Master, confer upon you the title of Nine Spirits Saint God and grant you the position of Yunzhou Territory Master, overseeing all affairs within Yunzhou territory."

"Lu Mingyang is appointed Yunzhou City Lord, in charge of the city, its City God, and the underworld."

"Xiao Xuan is appointed Mountain Master, overseeing all mountain ranges."

"Heavenly Slaughter is appointed Water Master, governing water flows."

"Pei Yu is appointed Yunzhou Yin Lord, in charge of all Yin Gods."

"I expect you all to establish your offices and gather suitable retainers promptly."

Among the four, Pei Yu’s role was unique. While mountains, waters, and cities formed the basic framework, there existed another category—referred to by Song Lin as Yin Gods.

These ranged from ancestral spirits worshipped by families to deities of flowers, homes, fire, lightning, stones, fertility, or blessings.

Theoretically, any Yin God outside mountains, waters, or cities fell under Pei Yu’s jurisdiction.

He would also manage and patrol Ghost Soldiers and oversee prisoners, holding authority comparable to that of the Five Star Sun and Moon Inspection Office and the Black Prison Prefecture.

Yuanbo, meanwhile, wielded a portion of the Yunzhou Society Commandery’s power to grant seals to subordinate gods—anyone wishing to enshrine deities would need to report to Yuanbo.

The other roles required little elaboration.

In essence, Song Lin had distributed the authority of the six prefectures entirely.

Once the appointments were finalized, Song Lin retrieved the Heavenly Master Seal and pressed a talisman for each individual.

The moment they held the talismans, a map appeared within their hearts, entirely under their control through sheer will.

"Is this... the authority of the six prefectures?"

At a glance, Yuanbo immediately recognized the feeling of controlling vast territories—this all-encompassing sense of dominion over heaven and earth.

"Did the Heavenly Master secure the Taoist Alliance’s permission for this?"

"No. Officially, I am maintaining the six-prefecture system. Spirit Treasure Celestial Master won’t interfere—rest assured," Song Lin replied.

"As for the rest who completed the Taiyin Refining process, make arrangements as necessary and report back to me when the time comes."

...

Xuanyu City.

The city was divided into eight sections, with a palace atop twelve golden stars at its center.

This was the Taiyi Golden Flower Palace, the Heavenly Master’s dojo.

Unlike the secretive Heavenly River Taoist School, Song Lin had boldly raised the Twelve Yuan Chen into the sky, leaving nothing hidden.

Standing beneath the dojo, Song Lin gazed down at the bustling masses constructing the city.

Beside him stood Shi Yinhua, Wang Ziyue, and Qingyu, among the most outstanding second-generation disciples. After years of effort, they had all cultivated to the Purple Mansion realm and were nearing the Three Flowers Gathering at the Top, making them Grandmasters of a sect in their own right.

"The city is vast, but it’s still insufficient. Now that conflicts between the Demon Clan and Human Clan are reigniting, the future will surely be our opportunity to make great strides," Song Lin said, his back to the group.

"We shall strive diligently in our cultivation, preparing for what is to come," they replied.

"Not enough. Time is insufficient. At best, we can barely defend ourselves. Even if we were to counterattack the Human Clan, we must unite the power of all," Song Lin stated, sharing his view of the current turmoil.

The Demon Clan was advancing aggressively, giving him no room to develop.

Raising cultivation levels was critical, but so too was consolidating forces that supported him—becoming a Taoist Alliance Celestial Master was the ideal outcome.

"How vast is this world?"

Song Lin suddenly asked.

"How vast? It should be quite large. Wu Country lies in the southeast corner of Shenzhou, yet Moyu Country and the Demon Country are dozens of times its size. The seas around the Demon Islands are boundless—capable of supporting hundreds of billions of people," Shi Yinhua pondered before replying.

"As for the stars beyond the earth, it is said that back when the Heavenly Court still existed, a Heavenly Master once rode immortal energy through the Gang Wind and found that the void beyond was infinite, that the stars were but massive fireballs and stones," he added thoughtfully.

"Indeed. Which is why we must strive harder," Song Lin said, ever focused on finding a way to reconnect with the Heavenly Court.

Should he manage to draw upon the Court’s power, the situation would shift drastically in their favor.

"With the demons approaching, prepare yourselves. Make sure arrays, pills, and weapons are fully stocked—do not be caught lacking when the time comes."

"Understood."

...

Twelve days later.

Song Lin returned to the World of Stories.

A year had passed, and the Kunlun Fairyland had grown populated with many peculiar beings.

The twenty-thousand-strong Undying Clan continued to resurrect endlessly.

Tianpeng, Kai Ming, and Sanqing—the three Great Emperors—had awakened, adding three more Primordial Spirit cultivators to their forces.

Heavenly Gods and Human Immortals were accounted for—all that was lacking were Earth Deities.

"I’ve heard the Five Masters and the Buddhist Sect have constructed many temples on the surface. Perfect—we’ll seize their nests. It’s time to lay all cards on the table—this ends now!"