From the Carp that Brings Children to the Celestial Officials

Chapter 292 Contract-Oriented Talents

However, these settlements are entirely inhabited by humans; there are no other races to be seen.

But in this newly opened territory spanning thousands of miles, there are still tens of thousands of [Mountain Spirits].

That was a divine being created by You Ming in partnership with the City God and the River God using the [Creation Pool].

Compared to the humans in the village, these mountain spirits are the main source of the incense offerings.

After all, the human population is only slightly over ten thousand, while the mountain spirits have multiplied rapidly in recent years, with their numbers increasing to over eighty thousand.

In its early days, there were only 60,000 mountain spirits, which took form from the mountain's energy.

In just five years, the total number of mountain spirits has reached nearly 90,000. The voices of children can be heard everywhere. They live in scattered groups, and the composition of the group has become more complex, with distinctions of rank and age beginning to emerge.

The Mountain Spirits are different from ordinary people. Their reproductive characteristics are closer to those of beasts. They can give birth to up to three offspring at a time, and in special circumstances, it is common for them to give birth to five or six.

Therefore, as the population continues to increase, these mountain spirits will automatically migrate, clearing forests and planting new trees along the mountains, and then using straw ropes and talismans as guides to settle in new houses.

They are naturally averse to worldly affairs, revere mountains and forests, and dislike being tainted by human affairs. They rarely leave the mountains, only going down the stream during seasonal changes to conduct simple transactions with small human settlements, such as exchanging firewood, spiritual fruits, salt, cloth, and so on.

In these settlements, due to a lack of materials, it was impossible to construct large-scale temples and sculptures.

Therefore, they used materials found on-site, carving the trees directly into the likenesses of the three deities while continuously praying. If the tribe migrated, they would carve the statues at the new site.

"It seems I need to arrange for some Mountain Spirits to enter the Shinto path when I have time. With their Mountain Spirit deities as a starting point, the faith of ordinary Mountain Spirits will become more devout in the future."

You Ming scanned the surrounding environment with his divine sense.

Although the lives of the people in this newly developed land were not as prosperous as those in the county seat or the prefectural city, the smiles on their faces were clearly happier than those in the city.

After all, those who enter Yinshan first can be allocated land, with each person receiving fifty acres, which is much better than staying in their hometown.

Having made the rare trip to Yinshan, You Ming had originally intended to catch up with the Qingji Divine Sword.

But after searching around, they couldn't find any trace of the divine sword.

Perhaps the Blade Spirit had something to do lately, so Youming didn't insist.

The sword spirit is always elusive; if she refuses to come out, you'll never find her no matter how hard you search.

Thinking of this, You Ming sighed softly.

Mentioning the Azure Sky Divine Sword reminded him of the Crimson Meteor. Qing Ji had asked him to search for any trace of the Crimson Meteor Divine Sword, but he hadn't come across any information related to it yet.

Perhaps one day when I complete the quest to find the Crimson Meteor, the Azure Divine Sword will appear on its own.

……

"Little carp, do you want a magic weapon?"

You Ming had just finished his inspection tour of Yinshan and returned to Yuanlingshan.

Just as they were about to rest for a while, a golden light suddenly flashed in the void, and a delicately carved child wearing a bib and a golden necklace jumped down from the void.

The boy had not yet fully appeared when he spoke.

"Greetings, Golden Boy God."

Although You Ming is now a teenager, the Golden Boy God still looks like a child.

But a superior is a superior after all, and he still bowed respectfully.

"Ah... a magic weapon?"

You Ming opened his mouth, but actually he didn't care about magic weapons. If they weren't handy to use, it would be better not to have them at all.

However, although he is quite wealthy now, he doesn't own many magical treasures.

When he participated in the [Autumn Hunt in Zhenshan], he snatched some magic weapons from those cultivators, but since none of them were suitable for him, he secretly sold them all.

He only kept one five-colored cloud. But now that he has the [Transformation of Others] supernatural power, the five-colored cloud is outdated, and he's thinking of finding an opportunity to get rid of it.

But since the Golden Boy God Lord specifically sought him out and said something so abruptly, there must be something he wanted to tell him.

"My Lord, please speak plainly if you have something to say."

You Ming straightened up and said with a hint of helplessness.

"Hey, it's boring."

"Here's the thing, the [Volcano Hell] in the Underworld has run into some trouble and is requesting help from the Heavenly Realm. The task has been assigned to our [Department of Fertility], which requires at least one person from us. I see that you happen to be in the mortal realm, which is relatively close to the Underworld, so I've decided to give you this opportunity."

The Golden Boy God suddenly felt that the little carp was not as cute as it had been when it was a child.

After listening to the Golden Boy God's account, You Ming's eyelids twitched.

How many people with connections are there in our [Fertility Department]? They've brought in a whole bunch of people, but I'm the only one doing the work?
"Ahem. Don't rush. The main thing is that this matter isn't that big. If we send someone like me down, it will seem like we're making a big fuss. If we only send one divine official, it will seem stingy."

"After counting and comparing, your rank and strength are both suitable."

Golden Boy God straightened his head, trying to make it seem as if he and his companions were not so bureaucratic.

However, when his eyes met You Ming's, he seemed somewhat lacking in confidence.

"No problem, I'll handle this."

You Ming sighed. He had worked in the corporate world in his previous life, and he knew that there were always three types of talent in a company.

Contracting type, undertaking type, and his type of contracting.

"But one thing is true: the Volcanic Hell is full of treasures. Everyone knows that the Volcanic Hell is the armory of our divine path. Even a random little devil there could be a master blacksmith."

"Look, don't say I didn't take care of you."

The Golden Boy God looked around and suddenly stretched out his hand to create a barrier, separating the two of them from the outside world.

He tossed a piece of parchment into You Ming's hand.

The paper contained a simple map, seemingly a geomantic map of some place, but You Ming didn't recognize any of the place names.

"What is this? A volcano..."

"Shh..."

You Ming raised his head and looked at the Golden Boy God. He was about to speak when he was interrupted.

"Have you memorized the blueprints?"

"remember."

You Ming nodded, and then the parchment in his hand turned into wisps of smoke, leaving not even ashes.

"The Volcano Hell, which serves as the Shinto armory, has been thrown into chaos. The higher-ups are furious and will surely investigate this matter thoroughly."

"But this has nothing to do with you. Just remember these locations. If you have the chance, take one or two treasures. No one will bother you."

"But remember, don't be greedy."

Golden Boy God patted You Ming on the shoulder before dispelling the barrier.

Hey, just the other day, the higher-ups were about to check the accounts at the armory in Volcano Hell when trouble broke out there. What a coincidence!

"Remember, know when to stop."

The Golden Boy God gave You Ming another instruction, then transformed into a golden light and disappeared.

(End of this chapter)