Ji Yuan decided almost without hesitation to borrow the strength of Lin Yubai and others.
He would no longer hide, but openly display the banner of the Jiu Xuan Sect.
The reason was simple: he did not believe that the Peak Master of Lei Ze Peak would spend so much effort constantly watching him.
Only the Sect Master of the Jiu Xuan Sect, with the power at his disposal, could constantly monitor him.
And clearly, the reprimand from the Peak Master of Lei Ze Peak must have been at the Sect Master's behest.
The deeper meaning, of course, was self-evident.
With Ji Yuan's intelligence, he immediately understood the Sect Master's intention.
"It seems the Xuan Tian lineage still hides some secret."
His eyes flickered, and numerous thoughts arose in his mind: "It is even highly possible that an ancestor has not perished!"
Otherwise, he truly couldn't imagine why the Sect Master of the Jiu Xuan Sect would treat him so favorably.
If it were merely a matter of luck, it simply wouldn't hold water.
As a cultivator, and a renowned Golden Core stage existence, he had too many means to transfer his luck.
Yet, not only did they not do so, but they openly and implicitly showed him much favor.
The implication behind this was worth pondering.
In the following few days, no major events occurred.
The various forces within the county town remained peaceful, and their negotiations with the Prefect's Mansion, the Ming Jian Division, and the Shan He Gang proceeded in an orderly fashion.
There were no major upheavals in Luoxia County, and the people of the Shen Xuan Sect had not shown themselves.
However, Ji Yuan had a premonition that those fellows were lurking in the shadows, waiting for an opportunity to deliver a fatal blow.
Finally, after half a month, the negotiations on their side yielded results, with the influential figures behind each party giving their approval.
Then, with Ming Xin Xuan as the core, a large number of personnel began to act.
Armed with documents from the Prefect's Mansion, the already recruited craftsmen began to build temples along some of the trade routes.
Mo Yiyan and other cultivators from the Water God Temple, along with carefully selected mortals, began to travel through towns and villages near these trade routes, promoting the name of Tian Yi Water God.
At the same time, the Shan He Gang quietly convened several factions renowned in the martial world.
Under Tie Xiongxin's promise, a total of five martial world factions agreed, began to muster their subordinates, and started to rally allies.
Another month passed in the blink of an eye.
On this day, the third son of the Prefect, Fan Sulu, suddenly paid a visit.
"These are the fragments of the divine body you needed."
He took out a large wooden box filled with fragments of golden bodies of varying shades.
These were fragments of divine bodies that the Prefect's Mansion had shattered over the decades, most of which had been submitted to the court.
However, a small portion had been secretly kept by the Prefect.
Now, they were all benefiting Ji Yuan, but this was a point that had been explicitly mentioned in the previous negotiations, requiring no additional cost.
"With this, some matters will be even more secure."
Ji Yuan nodded, his eyes filled with satisfaction.
With this batch of divine body fragments in hand, he could refine a clone to serve as a conduit for his divine incarnation's will.
All that would be needed then were one or two divine artifacts and sufficient incense offerings.
This refined clone would be sufficient to exert the power of an early Third Realm cultivator.
"I will be going into seclusion for a period of time. The remaining matters will be hard on you all."
Ji Yuan smiled, appearing very at ease.
Whether it was the Prefect's Mansion, the Shan He Gang, or Ming Xin Xuan, the number of talented individuals was far beyond imagination.
It was indeed unnecessary for him to personally handle everything, and some matters could not even be done well by him.
After all, there was specialization in every field, and the more specialized the area, the harder it was for outsiders to intervene or comment.
After seeing Fan Sulu off, he returned to his quiet room, activated the formation, and began his seclusion.
Although his injuries had not completely healed, refining a clone powered by incense offerings was not a difficult task.
As for the related secret arts and techniques, they were detailed in the book gifted by the True God of Fu Yuan River.
Although he had not met his divine incarnation, the connection between his true body and his incarnation was sufficient for them to share memories and cultivation insights.
Even if Ji Yuan wished, his true body and his incarnation could borrow each other's understanding of the laws of the Dao.
However, doing so would undoubtedly greatly diminish the power that could be exerted.
When he finished refining and emerged from seclusion, a month and a half had already passed.
Over the past two months, the first batch of Water God Temples had been completed and had gradually received some incense offerings.
The first batch of dozens of temple priests, whom Mo Yiyan had trained, had also been dispersed to the Water God Temples in various locations.
"Senior Brother Lin, would you care to go out for a stroll with me?"
Arriving at a courtyard, Ji Yuan asked Lin Yubai, who was bored to death.
As their relationship grew closer, their form of address naturally became more intimate.
Within a sect, disciples often addressed each other as fellow disciples.
"Naturally, I would. I've been so bored these days!"
Lin Yubai laughed heartily, eager to set off.
Given his temperament, not having left home for two to three months had indeed made him extremely bored.
However, the current situation was special, and he could not casually go out for a tour.
Ji Yuan smiled, said nothing more, ordered a carriage to be driven, and took Lin Yubai out of the county town.
They traveled along the official road, following the trade route opened by Ming Xin Xuan.
The so-called trade route was not a road built by themselves.
Instead, it was an invisible path formed by clearing key points along a route.
Along this route, there were people and forces associated with Ming Xin Xuan everywhere.
This included inns and shops in the surrounding villages and towns, as well as local wealthy merchants, and even government offices of the imperial court.
It took half a month for the two of them to leisurely reach a small river by carriage.
This location was rather remote, with mostly villages nearby. A small, third-rate county town was only thirty to forty li away.
However, for Ming Xin Xuan's trade route, this place was very crucial, situated right in the center of more than half of the trade route.
From this location, one could reach over a dozen surrounding trade routes in the shortest amount of time.
"This Water God Temple isn't built grandly enough!"
Stepping out of the carriage and looking at the temple before him, Lin Yubai couldn't help but shake his head and say.
The temple, rushed to completion by the river, consisted only of a front and back courtyard, along with a main hall and side halls, and a single outer wall.
In terms of scale, it was equivalent to that of an ordinary mountain and river deity.
But for Ji Yuan, this was sufficient.
He was not seeking to usurp the authority of the local mountains and rivers, but merely to collect incense offerings and communicate with his divine incarnation.
Entering the Water God Temple, several cultivators who had been waiting for a long time, along with the temporarily trained temple priests, immediately stepped forward to respectfully bow.
After entering the main hall where the divine statue was placed, Ji Yuan took out the incense clone he had already refined.
The small divine statue, no larger than his palm, was lightly tossed into the air. With the casting of various hand seals, a faint fluctuation emanated from it.
He took out the incense offerings that he had asked the Prefect's Mansion to borrow from the City God Pavilion and injected them all into the small divine statue.
Silently, a will descended from the void.
In just over ten breaths, the divine statue suddenly emitted a golden light and transformed into a young man clad in a deep blue divine robe.
The youth had rosy lips and white teeth, with a refined and elegant appearance, resembling Ji Yuan's appearance from several years ago.
As soon as he manifested, he lightly flicked his divine robe, and the rivers embroidered in gold on it immediately emitted roaring waves.
A resplendent divine might instantly filled the entire temple, even making it appear as if it were shrouded in a dazzling divine light from afar.