Journey to the West: From Fish-Chasing Boy to the Boundless Heavenly Venerable of the Golden Palace

[Dream Boy's level has been upgraded to lv12!]

……

[The Five Gods' level has been upgraded to lv8!]

……

[Gatekeeper's level has been increased to lv9!]

……

Before he knew it, the year was drawing to a close, and half a year had passed since Li Yue abandoned his life and went ashore.

"I have met the Grand Master of Ceremonies."

On the fifteenth of the lunar month, with the bright moon hanging high in the sky, the four chief priests of the God Worshiping Cult came to Li Yue's place as usual to "report on their work".

Thanks to its principles of not accepting money and granting all requests, the God Worship Cult has grown rapidly in the past six months.

As the number of people grew, Li Yue could no longer manage them all by himself, so he selected some village elders to assist him, and later simply appointed them as chief priests.

Today, not only in Yunqi Town, but also in the surrounding villages, many people have joined the worship of gods. The worship of gods has gathered nearly four thousand followers, and believers are spread throughout Hedong County.

One Grand Master is appointed for every thousand people, and these are the four Grand Masters.

In addition, each Grand Master oversees ten Junior Masters, and each Junior Master commands about one hundred believers.

This four-tiered structure is barely enough to support the framework of the worship of gods.

Of course, as the number of believers continues to increase and the coverage area expands, further refinement is needed, with different personnel assigned to different roles, so that no one person can hold all the power. But that will have to wait until later.

"As before, thirty believers will be selected each day to come to me to receive blessings from the gods."

After listening to the reports from the four chief priests, which contained nothing particularly noteworthy, Li Yue nodded and said something. Then, his expression darkened, and his voice suddenly became stern.

"Remember this: the Worship of Gods sect is for the salvation of all beings, not a tool for making money. If I discover any of you taking advantage of this opportunity to amass wealth or oppress believers, I will have your souls torn out and your bones cast into the deepest hell, and I will not forgive you!"

"Yes, we will remember."

The four chief priests were terrified and repeatedly agreed.

After bowing to Li Yue again, he took his leave.

"grown ups."

After everyone left, Qianqian emerged from the corner of the wall.

"They're dishonest. You tell them not to make money, but they still take money! And I've found out that now believers have to pay money to receive blessings, and they recommend whoever pays the most."

"They all charge money? There isn't a single one that doesn't charge?"

"Not a single one."

Qianqian shook her head, then suddenly revealed a fierce expression.

"Should I go and give them a warning tonight?"

"No need."

Li Yue waved his hand, a slight smile appearing on his lips.

In fact, he had expected this.

Once they gain power, how many can maintain their original aspirations?

Moreover, the people he recruited were all greedy and lustful; their original intention was simply to make money.

Come to think of it, how could someone who isn't greedy and lustful possibly join a cult of worship?

Admittedly, Li Yue could have Qianqian intimidate them, or simply replace or even kill these people!

But can the newly appointed head priest guarantee that they won't embezzle money?

I'm afraid not.

Whether they were accumulating wealth or engaging in debauchery with their followers, Li Yue didn't really care. All he cared about was the incense offerings!

As the saying goes, "If the water is too clear, there will be no fish."

As long as they can maintain the religion and allow it to continue to grow and expand, that's fine.

It seems to be working very well.

Besides, how many good people have joined the cult? It's just a dog-eat-dog world.

Immoral worship brings no blessings; one must bear the consequences of one's own actions.

"This is fine for now."

Li Yue felt pleased after glancing at the erotic talisman.

In addition to incense offerings, the large number of offerings rapidly elevated the status of the Five Gods and the Doorkeeper.

Furthermore, although Li Yue did not incorporate Meng Zhonglang into the God Worship Cult, the Dream-Entwining Branch transformed into a peach tree located in the center of Yunqi Town. Its flowers bloom year-round, and petals fall on the woman, thus granting her experience points every night, and her level slowly increases.

Menlang Gong is already at level nine. Once he reaches level ten, in addition to awakening another supernatural power, he will be able to unlock a high-ranking divine position at the level of a true god.

"Take good care of my physical body."

The sound of the night watchman's drum came from outside the courtyard, indicating that it was already midnight. Li Yue gave Qianqian a few instructions and then used his Night Wanderer Soul technique to leave.

As his golden body became more stable and his soul more secure, in recent months, every fifteenth of the month, after sending away the high priests, Li Yue would wander around the surrounding area at night to check on the situation.

The entire Chechi Kingdom was divided into five prefectures and twenty-three counties.

Yunqi Town, where Li Yue lives, belongs to Hedong Prefecture and Hedong County.

As its name suggests, it was named after its location on the east bank of the Tongtian River and belonged to the westernmost prefecture of Chechi Kingdom.

The entire Hedong County has about seventy villages and three towns like Yunqi Town, with a total population of forty to fifty thousand.

So, if we calculate it this way, Hedong Prefecture has a population of about 200,000, and the capital city has a larger population, so the entire Chechi Kingdom has a population of about 1.4 million.

Indeed, small foreign countries cannot compare with the vast lands of the East.

Riding the wind and controlling the air, Li Yue did not go far, but only wandered around a few villages in the surrounding area before flying to Hedong County.

The situation was similar everywhere: black energy surged and evil spirits were everywhere.

However, there are no particularly powerful beings. Judging from the level of their evil aura, the most powerful ones probably have only four or five hundred years of cultivation, and most of them occupy a place in the desolate mountains and wilderness.

As I left Hedong County, I caught a glimpse of a small temple outside the city. Amidst the black mist, a faint golden auspicious light shone through. It was the Hedong County City God Temple.

However, intimidated by the tyrannical power of the One-Horned Demon King, the City God and his subordinate Yin deities could only hide in the temple and dared not show their faces.

Li Yue glanced at it, but did not approach, and left directly.

They wandered around for about an hour before returning.

It's getting late, time to go to bed.

Li Yue decided on his own that he would rest on the first and fifteenth of each month.

Even gods have holidays, don't they?

When dawn breaks, he inhales the incense offerings and blesses the believers chosen from various places, just as he did the day before.

"How dare you!"

In the main hall of the Hedong County government office, the magistrate looked at the petition in his hand, let out a cold shout, and his face showed anger.

Kneeling below the steps was a pancake vendor named Ding San.

According to Ding San's complaint, a cult leader forcibly took his wife. When he went to reason with him, the cult leader ordered his followers to beat him, nearly killing him.

Ding San was filled with grief and indignation. After his injuries had healed a little, he had someone write a petition and came to the county government to appeal his grievances.

"Such a wicked person, does he even have any regard for the law?!"

The magistrate's face darkened, and he ordered his men to arrest the young priest of the God-worshipping cult.

"grown ups."

But at that moment, the clerk next to him suddenly exclaimed softly and gave him a wink.

"Um?"

The magistrate paused slightly, his hand holding the decree still. Could there be some other problem?

With a slam of the gavel, the court adjourned temporarily.

Behind the county government office, while drinking tea, he ordered someone to summon the clerk.

"You just gave me a look to stop me from issuing a warrant to arrest him. Is there some other secret behind this case?"

"Reporting back to you, sir, there's nothing unclear about this case. The key issue is the God Worship Cult; it's not easy to handle."

"Oh, this is the first time I've heard of this so-called cult of worship in this county. Tell me about it."

"Yes."

The clerk nodded and explained to the magistrate in detail what he knew about the God Worshipping Cult.

"Thousands of believers!"

After hearing what the advisor said, the magistrate's face changed drastically. The population of Hedong County was less than 50,000.

So, does that mean that one in ten people is a believer in the God-worshipping religion?

After calming down a bit, the magistrate pondered to himself that if he didn't handle the situation properly, it could lead to a major mess!