The game comes true, starting with the wandering spirits and gods.

[Ding! You have used Transformation on A-Yun, the Incense Carrier]

Your soul has entered her seven orifices.

Zhang Wenhao's finger hovered above the screen, and he pressed it without hesitation.

......

Ayun sat on a large rock atop Wanggui Peak. Her hundred years of cultivation imbued her every movement with a rhythmic quality.

The next moment, her consciousness seemed to plummet into an abyss.

She was startled and immediately began circulating her qi incantation, trying to regain control of her body.

But it was no use; her consciousness was still thrown deep into her body, and her eyes were covered with a hazy layer.

When I opened my eyes again, all I saw was a vast expanse of white.

The chill from the mountaintop pierced into the pores of my skin like sharp needles.

It should have been bone-chillingly cold, but he couldn't feel it.

Every gesture and movement was perfectly natural.

"It seems that in the past hundred years, Ah Yun has undergone earth-shattering changes."

Zhang Wenhao clicked his tongue in amazement, muttering to himself as he opened her panel.

[Incense bearer: Ayun]

[Level: lv3]

[Destiny: Spiritual Being]

【Body: 57】

【Spirit: 63】

Special Skill: Breathing Technique

[Introduction: The incense bearer, who had lived a solitary life for a century, had long ago perfected his Qi cultivation technique amidst a blanket of cold snow.]

Zhang Wenhao stared at the numbers on the panel, stunned for a full second.

He remembered that when she first transformed into Ayun, her body and spirit were pitifully weak, only "2+10", and she was only kept going by his blessing.

A century of solitude, it really wasn't for nothing.

He raised his hand and watched as his five slender, fair fingers slowly opened.

With a light flick of his fist, the force of the punch exploded in the cold wind, producing a dull thud.

Zhang Wenhao was startled.

When I played the game "God's Descent" before, I didn't really feel the strength of my physical body.

"The temple god...?"

Inside her body, Ah Yun's cautious voice rang out.

Cautiously, tentatively, like a timid fawn peeking out.

It also carried a poignant, almost humble, yearning that brought tears to one's eyes.

"A-Yun waited a hundred years..." Her voice broke, as if she had used a great deal of strength to squeeze out these words, "A-Yun thought you would never come back..."

"Ah Yun thought...you'd forgotten about Ah Yun..."

"Every day, A-Yun burns incense for you, wipes away the ashes for you, and talks to you every day... A-Yun dares not forget, A-Yun is afraid that if she forgets you, she will truly never see you again..."

As she spoke, her voice turned into a sob.

Although she lived for a hundred years, she spent most of her time as a high-ranking temple keeper, out of step with the villagers.

And now, the huddled soul deep within the body is quietly, little by little, unfolding.

After a while, she slowly recovered, and her tone became tinged with embarrassment and timidity again:

"I'm sorry, Temple God, A-Yun shouldn't have complained..."

"You must be somewhere else saving beings shrouded in evil spirits..."

Listening to this rambling, Zhang Wenhao suddenly realized something.

From his perspective, it was just a few days of game server shutdown and maintenance. When they met again, Ayun would still be that bright and gentle girl, and she would be overjoyed to see him.

But in the game, that was a hundred years ago.

Spanning a full century, the voice is exactly the same as when I first heard it in the ancient temple.

"Don't call me the temple god anymore," he said.

Upon hearing this, A-Yun felt a pang of anxiety and instinctively wanted to apologize.

"I have already been promoted to the Earth God," Zhang Wenhao explained in a serious tone.

"I... still prefer to call you Temple God."

Ayun's voice rang out.

"Whatever you want," Zhang Wenhao said with a hint of indulgence.

Zhang Wenhao nodded, then looked down at the chipped statue in his arms.

"What happened to Cangling Village afterward? How was the village after the village chief died?"

Ah Yun let out a soft "hmm" inside him, as if recalling something.

"The villagers demolished the village chief's house and used the bricks and tiles to build a temple. A few years later, the flash floods stopped, and the village gradually recovered."

"The village has now been renamed Qingdeng Village."

Zhang Wenhao was taken aback: "Qingdeng Village?"

This appeared in the game's narration, but I overlooked it and kept calling it "Cangling Village".

"Hmm." Ayun's voice carried a hint of pride. "The villagers said they would worship you for generations, so they changed the name of the village. Every household displays your clay and wood sculptures, and they offer incense on the first and fifteenth of each lunar month."

Zhang Wenhao's lips twitched.

"Then...wouldn't my idols be everywhere?"

"Hmm! Ah Yun has been to a few houses, and they carved very beautiful pieces." Ah Yun paused, then added, "But none of them are as beautiful as Ah Yun's."

Zhang Wenhao: "..."

Is this a competition for favor?

He decided not to engage with that topic and instead asked, "And what about you? Have you been staying in the temple all these years?"

He paused, then asked, "You are not involved in worldly affairs, so do you still know what happened in Cangling Village?"

Ayun nodded to herself, her tone carrying a childlike excitement, as if she were trying to please her parents:

"The temple god told A-Yun to protect the villagers, so how could A-Yun dare to disobey? It's just that she won't show her face to them now."

"Every few days, A-Yun would go to the village to check if any evil spirits were causing trouble, or if anyone was sick and no one was taking care of them. The villagers didn't know A-Yun was there, but A-Yun knew whether they were doing well or not."

As she spoke, a hint of pride crept into her voice:

"Two years ago, a peddler was bitten by a snake on a mountain road, and Ayun secretly applied medicine to him. When he woke up, he thought it was the local earth god appearing to him, and he knelt on the ground and kowtowed several times."

Zhang Wenhao's lips twitched.

The Earth God... that's fine too, it's him anyway.

"Do you know if there's a little girl named Wei Hongyao who went to the provincial capital?"

Ayun thought about it seriously: "It does have some impact. Is she the new temple keeper?"

Ayun's voice was soft, with a hint of barely perceptible probing.

Zhang Wenhao understood, but didn't point it out.

"Not yet, but it seems she's run into some trouble in the provincial capital. Also, she has a statue of one of my deities, but it's broken in one corner."

"I need your help to repair that statue."

After all, he was able to descend into the game world by relying on that statue.

Hearing this, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief and quickly agreed:

"My Lord Temple God, leave it to me. I'll set off immediately and should be able to reach the provincial capital in a day."

Zhang Wenhao felt that the century-old loneliness within this body was gradually dissipating.

Instead, a long-lost, vibrant energy has emerged.

Ah Yun hummed in agreement again, this time with a hint of trust in her voice.

The temple god wants me to do something; it's an honor I've always dreamed of.

"Temple God," she suddenly spoke.

"Um?"

"That girl...is she important to you?"

Zhang Wenhao was stunned for a moment.

Why does this question sound a bit resentful?

"It was Ah Yun who spoke out of turn..."

Ah Yun quickly smiled and stopped talking.