Gentlemen, it's time to enter the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls.

Chapter 227 It's about time to set off.

It is still the City God Pavilion of the Yellow Springs Taoist Palace.

This time, however, those tall figures, bathed in incense smoke, seemed to have shrunk by half.

Chen Ye stood before the gods, his right hand holding a ray of spiritual light, while his left fingertips danced, sketching profound runes in the air.

The invisible power of incense and prayers was drawn in, transforming into visible golden streams that continuously flowed into the ball of light in his palm, making its radiance even more intense and its aura even purer.

Chen Ye chanted softly, each word seemingly containing some profound truth of heaven and earth, creating a mysterious resonance with the nascent divine image that was taking shape.

"He patrols the yin and yang realms daily, overseeing good and evil, managing rewards and punishments during the day, and recording the merits and demerits of the world..."

He incorporated his understanding of the divine role of "Day Wanderer," his vision of "order in the mortal realm," and the concept of "cause and effect and reincarnation" that the Yellow Springs Sect sought to establish into the creation of this deity.

This is no longer a simple gathering of incense offerings, but rather using the divine authority of the day-roaming deity to bind the power of incense offerings, and using the power of incense offerings to fill this deity.

Amidst a distant and grand humming sound, a colossal statue, sixteen feet tall and radiating brilliant golden light, slowly took shape amidst the surging power of incense and prayers.

His figure was majestic and solemn, towering and upright. A golden divine mark stood between his eyebrows, like a heavenly eye. As the light flowed, it swept across the entire area, causing all the city god statues to tremble.

The statue was clad in a strange suit of armor that was as clear and translucent as glass, shimmering with iridescent light. Within the armor, countless mysterious runes flickered like stars, operating wildly and guiding the surging power of incense and prayers within its body.

The incense and prayer power extracted from those rebellious city gods was extremely vast, after all, they were ancestral spirits who had been worshipped for hundreds or thousands of years. Although their abilities were not great, the power they contained was strong enough.

These city gods are like newborn giant infants, possessing great strength but not knowing how to use it.

The Yin Divine Offices that Chen Ye and Qu Heng devised were derived from various Heavenly Books and Secret Techniques. Qu Heng, being one of the most powerful cultivators in the world, naturally knew better how to utilize this power.

As the statue's form became more solid, its stiff face seemed to gain a touch of spirituality.

Finally, the tightly closed eyes opened, and together with the golden mark between the eyebrows, they emitted a dazzling light.

All the city gods sensed the birth of this new god and knew that this day-roaming god was created from their deceased companions.

Some city gods felt resentful, some were afraid, and some worshipped them.

Chen Ye also intentionally let Mo Ci reveal his true form in front of these City Gods, because he would have to rely on Mo Ci to manage these primitive and barbaric gods in the future. This was a good opportunity to establish his authority in advance, so that Mo Ci could have an easier time in the future.

As the golden statue of the Day-Roaming God was completed, the sixteen-foot-tall statue quickly shrank to the size of an ordinary person, except that its glittering golden glass armor was particularly eye-catching.

Looking at the somewhat unfamiliar appearance of the Day-Roaming God, Chen Ye couldn't help but ask, "Master, why do you look like this..."

In Chen Ye's memory, Mo Ci was a crooked-nosed, slanted-eyed, and rotten-toothed beggar—an ugly creature beyond compare.

But the current Day Wanderer is handsome and dashing, with a touch of scholarly elegance amidst his imposing presence.

Mo Ci snorted coldly: "The face you saw was after I possessed someone else's body. I've always looked like this."

Chen Ye then remembered that Mo Ci was once a successful candidate in the imperial examinations, and was indeed a refined and cultured scholar.

Chen Ye then asked, "Master, how are you feeling? Is there anything wrong?"

Mo Ci stretched his arms and legs and then said, "My body is in pretty good shape now. I can finally catch my breath."

Mo Ci's soul was constantly weakening, and even the Myriad Soul Banner could not preserve it. But now, with his golden body reshaped and him becoming the God of Incense Offering, the damage to his soul has finally been repaired.

He survived, but from then on, Mo Ci would be bound by his divine duties and would not be allowed to do anything that violated them.

The strength of divine power is also limited by incense offerings, and it can no longer be improved through cultivation.

From the perspective of a cultivator, it's a hopeless path, not much different from being dead.

However, for Mo Ci, this may already be the best outcome.

“Come on, it’s been a long time since we master and disciple have sparred. Let me test the skills of this day-roaming deity.”

As soon as Mo Ci finished speaking, his figure disappeared, and Chen Ye only felt someone pat him on the back, but he didn't notice at all.

Chen Ye turned around, but still couldn't find Mo Ci. However, he was patted on the back again.

Such speed, such agile movements.

Chen Ye bestowed upon the Day-Traveling God the divine duty of traveling a thousand miles a day, possessing eyes that can see clearly good and evil, and specifically monitoring the gods of Fengdu Underworld and recording their merits and demerits.

But this is too fast.

Chen Ye is at the Profound Realm and has been nourished by the ginseng fruit, how could he not even see the hem of Mo Ci's clothes?

"Master, this place is not a good place to maneuver. Please come with me." Chen Ye summoned a crimson fire serpent beneath his feet, which carried him away from the City God Pavilion.

The snake moved at an extremely fast speed, exiting the Yellow Springs Palace directly and choosing an open space to wait.

"You kid, your supernatural power is truly amazing."

Chen Ye heard Mo Ci's voice, but no matter how he tried to sense it, he couldn't find Mo Ci's location.

This method of hearing the voice but not seeing the person truly surprised Chen Ye. He had figured out the golden body of the Day Wanderer himself, and it shouldn't have been this fast.

Chen Ye couldn't help but ask, "Master, how did you do that? Even if the day-roaming deity runs very fast, it's impossible for him to be faster than my sight."

Chen Ye's eyes swept across an area of ​​dozens of feet; even the Black Whirlwind couldn't escape his gaze.

Mo Ci couldn't possibly be faster than Black Whirlwind.

Chen Ye was unconvinced and searched for Mo Ci's figure again.

But it was impossible to find him with just a pair of eyes, so they added a snake, then a second, a third... all the way up to the sixth Crimson Fire Snake, before they finally saw where Mo Ci was.

The golden-armored general stood majestically behind Chen Ye, perfectly positioned in Chen Ye's blind spot.

But Mo Ci swayed a few times and disappeared from Chen Ye's sight once again.

Chen Ye could only increase the number of red-striped snakes again until there were no blind spots left, which finally left Mo Ci with nowhere to escape.

Realizing she had been discovered, Mo Ci couldn't help but say, "Your supernatural power is too shameless."

Chen Ye laughed and said, "Otherwise, how could I surpass my master? I am now the number one person in the Profound Realm."

"Number one in the Profound Realm..." Upon hearing Chen Ye say this, Mo Ci no longer had the teasing expression she had before, but instead exclaimed with emotion, "You have been a disciple of mine for less than two years and you have already reached the Profound Realm, and you are number one in the Profound Realm."

Mo Ci only got halfway through his sentence before falling silent.

Chen Ye's achievements have exceeded Mo Ci's comprehension. Hundreds of years of cultivation are not as good as this kid's two years.

Back then, Chen Ye was just a naughty little brat who stole money from beggars' bowls. Who would have thought that in the blink of an eye, Chen Ye would surpass his master? When he teased Chen Ye about ascending to immortality in three years, it was just a joke at the time, but now Mo Ci had some expectations. Maybe, just maybe, next year, his disciple would really become an immortal.

Perhaps the best thing Mo Ci ever did in his life was taking this disciple; otherwise, he would have long since vanished with his sins.

Seeing Mo Ci's face full of emotion, Chen Ye said proudly, "Master, don't you suddenly feel very proud? My disciple has made you proud, hasn't he?"

Mo Ci glared at Chen Ye and said defiantly, "You ignorant and arrogant disciple, if you continue to be so careless, you will suffer a great loss."

Chen Ye rolled his eyes. Mo Ci was the most traditional kind of spoilsport elder, and you would never hear a word of praise from her.

Having gone through life and death together, Chen Ye didn't care about Mo Ci's stubbornness. He simply reminded her, "Then Master, please prepare yourself and come with me to Rift Sky Mountain."

"Lietian Mountain?" Mo Ci had never heard of this before, so he asked, "That's not just a little far away, Lietian Mountain is overseas."

"Of course I know, but the five major sects are preparing to hold a grand gathering at Rift Sky Mountain..."

Chen Ye explained to Mo Ci in detail that Zhang Qi's days were numbered and that the five major sects were making preparations for it. He had previously only told Mo Ci that he was going to rebuild Zhang Qi's golden body because he was worried that Mo Ci would be distracted, and had not mentioned anything else.

Having heard Chen Ye's words, Mo Ci went from surprise to excitement, and couldn't help but say, "With Zhang Qi gone, no one in the world can suppress the Demonic Sect. Lu Xingzhou can at most guard the Incense Burning Sect, but he probably won't be able to help anyone else. Other sects don't even have anyone at the Dao Integration Realm; they'll be lucky if they can even protect themselves."

"The Demonic Sect is destined to rise! The Demonic Sect is destined to rise! When that time comes, it will be the time for my master and me to truly display our skills..."

Mo Ci was halfway through her sentence when Chen Ye coughed lightly and reminded her, "Master, our Yellow Springs Sect is now a heretical sect; we are no longer demons."

Mo Ci awkwardly shut his mouth, and after a while he said, "Ahem, I'm used to being a demon, and I forgot about this for a moment."

Chen Ye couldn't help but laugh. Originally, the old demon and the little demon were hiding in the deep mountains waiting to die. Two years have passed in the blink of an eye. One has become the god of incense offerings, and the other has become the master of a side sect. Not to mention that Mo Ci couldn't react, Chen Ye himself felt that the change was too fast and he was not used to it.

Moreover, the invitation from the five major sects this time is tantamount to acknowledging that the Yellow Spring Sect is a significant sect among the unorthodox sects, and Chen Ye has become a big figure in the cultivation world.

The word "fate" is truly mysterious, and Chen Ye must constantly remind himself to adapt to this change in status. He is no longer an unknown nobody, but a cultivator capable of influencing the world's格局 (geju, a concept encompassing overall situation, overall structure, and overall dynamics).

Chen Ye said to Mo Ci, "Master, Lietian Mountain is far overseas. If we want to attend on time, we should probably set off soon."

Mo Ci nodded. Although he had just transformed into the God of Incense, this divine body seemed to be much more powerful than his previous physical body. The abilities of the Day Wanderer God were just right for him to make use of his talents.

Mo Ci said with a hint of pride, "Let your master protect you again, so you won't be bullied by the disciples of those major sects." However, Mo Ci quickly asked, "By the way, how are we going to get to Rift Sky Mountain? We can't just run there on foot, can we?"

“Of course we’ll fly there.” Chen Ye smiled and took out the Ten Thousand Souls Banner that Qu Heng had reforged, saying to Mo Ci, “Master, it’s time to put the Ten Thousand Souls Banner into the banner.”

(End of this chapter)