My words have become law; I truly have no desire to display my divine power before others.

He learned this supernatural power from a young age. What his master taught him and what his ancestors passed down was all about "inviting" – burning incense, chanting incantations, setting out offerings, and respectfully asking the gods for help.

The gods can come if they want, and they can stay away if they don't. Sometimes you even have to consider their feelings.

But this senior said that it's not about inviting, but about restraining.

"拘" is not "请".

Detention is mandatory; regardless of whether the other party is willing or not, they must come.

Lu Yang squatted beside the stone table, completely bewildered. He couldn't help but ask, "Immortal Master, why do you say 'it lies in restraint'? What's the difference between 'please' and 'restraint'?"

Ye Qingfeng glanced at him but didn't say anything.

He simply raised his right hand, spread his five fingers, and gently grasped at the void.

The movement was very casual, as if he were grabbing a handful of air.

But Lü Yang felt that the immortal master's grab was as if he had grabbed something very, very far away.

Deep in the mountains of Shiwan, there is a dilapidated temple.

The temple is small, with blue bricks and gray tiles, and a plaque above the door that reads "Temple of the Earth God".

The paint on the plaque has peeled off, the characters are blurred, and the original color is no longer visible.

Inside the temple was a clay statue with a ferocious face, covered in dark red bloodstains.

Something is sitting on the chair beneath the clay statue.

It has a human shape, but it doesn't look like a human.

His skin was grayish-white and wrinkled, like the skin of a dead pig that had been soaking for several days.

Her face was long, and her features were squeezed together, like a lump of kneaded dough.

His eyes were red and cloudy, like congealed blood.

It closed its eyes, leaned back in the chair, and snored.

It is the local earth god of this area.

It occupied this divine seal and designated the surrounding area, spanning dozens of miles, as its own territory.

This includes the ginseng-collecting village.

It doesn't protect the people on the land; instead, it treats them like livestock.

Every few days, I would catch one to eat, and after I finished eating, I would throw the bones under the offering table.

Below, a thick layer of bones had already been piled up.

Of course, he didn't dare to go to the ginseng-gathering village to catch them. After all, he was invincible within his own divine realm, but if he left the divine realm, he wouldn't be much stronger than some evil spirits.

But what about those who aren't in the ginseng-gathering village?

It was sleeping soundly when it suddenly felt the space around it shake.

It opened its eyes, and before it could react, everything went blurry.

In A Luo's courtyard, a crack suddenly appeared in the void, rippling outwards.

At the center of the ripples, something squeezed out.

The thing was grayish-white, wrinkled, with its features squeezed together, and its eyes were a cloudy red.

It landed on the ground, staggered for a moment, and then steadied itself.

It looked around and saw several people—a Taoist priest lying in a rocking chair, an old man with white hair standing next to a tree chair, a young man squatting next to a stone table, a man holding a teacup, and a girl holding a chubby baby.

Its brows furrowed, making its already squinted face even more constricted.

It opened its mouth, and its voice was hoarse and unpleasant, like sandpaper rubbing against a stone slab.

"How did I get here? Who are you? And where is this place?"

Lu Yang squatted beside the stone table, staring at the grayish-brown thing, not quite understanding what it was.

Yun Songzi stood beside the tree chair, staring at the thing with wide eyes.

He recognized it—it was the local earth god, an evil spirit that had seized the divine seal.

He lived in the Ten Thousand Mountains for nearly sixty years and had seen many such things.

They hide in their respective divine realms, and with the blessing of divine seals, no one can do anything to them.

Even if he uses the Binding Spirit technique, the other party must be willing to summon it.

But this senior casually grabbed it and pulled it out of its divine realm.

It's not an invitation, it's a detention.

Whether it wants to or not, just bring it over.

Yun Songzi's hands began to tremble.

He held the inheritance of the binding divine technique in his hands, feeling that it was now a joke.

His so-called "spirit summoning technique" involves burning incense, chanting incantations, and offering sacrifices, respectfully requesting the help of deities.

There's nothing he can do if people don't want to come.

But this senior's spirit-binding technique is truly effective.

Whether you like it or not, just grab them.

These are not on the same level.

His spirit-binding technique involved asking his grandfather, while this senior's spirit-binding technique was the true spirit-binding technique.

The local earth god was still looking around, his gaze shifting from Lü Yang to Miao Gui, and then from Miao Gui to A Luo.

It saw the chubby baby in Aro's arms, whose pale face had a split at the corner of its mouth.

There were no teeth; inside the dark, gaping mouth, a dark, indistinct mass was wriggling.

"It's been so long since I've had something this tender." Its voice was very soft, but everyone in the yard heard it.

It licked its lips, its gaze shifting from the chubby baby to A'luo, then from A'luo to Lü Yang, and finally settling on Yun Songzi.

It tilted its head back, chin held high, its face contorted in a gesture of authority.

"You lot, go and wash yourselves clean, and wait patiently for me to enjoy you." Its voice was loud and arrogant, as if it were ordering a few servants.

Lu Yang squatted beside the stone table, looking at the thing, his mouth opened and then closed again.

He recalled that he had just killed the hundred-year-old bear demon with a single sword strike, but the local earth god seemed unaware of it.

He then remembered that the immortal master was still beside him, and felt there was nothing to be afraid of, so he continued to squat and watch the thing perform.

Miao Gui held his teacup and looked at the object without saying a word.

His expression was strange; it wasn't fear, but rather an inexplicable amusement.

A Luo held the chubby baby and didn't move, just stood quietly by the threshold.

The earth god saw that these humans had no reaction whatsoever. They neither knelt, nor ran, nor cried out for mercy. They just stared at it, their eyes showing no fear, but something the earth god couldn't understand.

A surge of anger welled up inside it.

It is a god, the ruler of this land. Why do these mortals think of it this way?

Just as it was about to lash out, its gaze swept over the person lying in the rocking chair.

The Taoist priest was still lying there, squinting, holding a teacup, as if he hadn't seen or heard anything.

The local earth god became even angrier.

It reigned supreme on this land for decades, and no one had ever dared to act like this in front of it.

It pointed at Ye Qingfeng, its voice shrill and piercing: "You filthy Taoist, why aren't you getting up when you see me! This chair should be given to me!"

Ye Qingfeng opened his eyes and glanced at it.

That glance was very calm, like looking at a stone or a tree.

He smiled, a faint smile, but the local earth god felt there was something in that smile that made his heart tremble.

"Are you sure?" Ye Qingfeng's voice was neither loud nor soft.

The local earth god, neck stiff and chin raised even higher, declared: "I am a god! You, a mere mortal, dare to sit in my place? Get up!"

Ye Qingfeng did not move.

He glanced at the earth god again, then slowly sat up and stood up from the rocking chair.

He placed the teacup on the stone table, put his hands behind his back, and stood to one side.

The movement was slow and casual, as if offering a seat to a guest in one's own backyard.