Chapter 2 The Early Morning Departure
The next day, at the crack of dawn, Ji Yuan and Jiang Yun Zhou left the inn.
Instead of lingering in the city, they hired a young inn servant to act as their guide, leading them to a scenic spot outside the city.
Half the day passed leisurely before they were led by the servant to the banks of a small river.
This river was the Lin Fu River, no more than two to three li wide at its broadest, and tens of li long, directly connecting to the Fu Yuan River and serving as one of its branches.
As soon as they approached the river, a cool breeze blew towards them. While the water was not exceptionally clear, it wasn't murky either, and the scenery on both banks was quite pleasant.
"In the summer, people from the county often come to the riverbank to cool off and escape the heat," the servant said as he led the way, explaining to the two guests behind him.
However, it was clearly those from affluent families in the county who had the leisure to come here without having to work.
Upon hearing this, the two exchanged a knowing smile, realizing that the potent, dense Yin energy in the river was enough to make midsummer feel like early winter.
Yet, the local populace believed this to be the River God's benevolence, and during the summer, the incense offerings at the River God Temple would increase by severalfold.
It was hard to imagine how many innocent lives had been lost in the river, and what unholy methods had been employed to gather such a vast amount of Yin energy.
Before long, the three arrived outside the River God Temple. Even without opening their spiritual eyes, they could see clusters of auspicious clouds gathering in the sky above it from a distance.
These clouds, which might appear as ordinary white clouds to mortals, radiated colorful hues to cultivators, with even dense golden incense and wishful power visible within them.
"How ironic, countless corpses in the river, yet a small temple by its banks thrives with incense," Ji Yuan transmitted telepathically, his gaze growing cold.
He also began to realize the immense power of the River God in this place. Such an obvious and unmasked display could be seen at a glance by any passing cultivator.
Yet, it had remained undisturbed for two to three hundred years. Even the Jiu Xuan Sect had not found the slightest trace of it; otherwise, given their status as a righteous sect, they would have dispatched disciples long ago to raze this River God Temple.
Jiang Yun Zhou's expression also turned grim. The Jiu Xuan Sect was known as the overlord of the prefecture, not just enjoying the benefits of its reputation, but its disciples also bore the responsibility of upholding righteousness for the prefecture.
However, for over three hundred years, a River God had harmed countless people, yet still lived comfortably, with no rumors escaping.
Regardless, this was a dereliction of duty on the part of the Jiu Xuan Sect, for which they bore undeniable responsibility.
As they approached and even entered the River God Temple, the two could feel the overwhelming density of incense and wishful power, rivaling that of the City God pavilions in ordinary first or second-class counties.
Looking at the continuous stream of devotees, they could understand why. Even people from surrounding towns came here to offer incense, so how could the wishful power be scarce?
At this rate, the River God's cultivation was likely far beyond the rumored late stage of the second realm.
With such abundant wishful power, even an ordinary person could likely ascend to the second realm, let alone the River God who already possessed cultivation techniques and experience.
It was probable that the River God had already, silently and without notice, broken through to the third realm and was progressing rapidly within it.
The servant, acting as their guide, took out a silver coin after entering the temple and bought a stick of incense, which he respectfully placed in the large cauldron before the main hall.
This scene surprised the two. Given his status, two silver coins a month was already quite good, yet he was now spending half of it just for a stick of incense.
It was evident how important the River God's reputation had become in the hearts of the people of Lin Fu County.
"Why don't you two buy a stick of incense as well? It's a bit disrespectful to the deities to enter a temple without offering incense," the servant hesitated for a moment before turning to the distinguished guests and saying.
In fact, the saying "enter the temple and offer incense" was not only widely spread among mortals but was also highly valued by cultivators.
It was considered a rule of etiquette; otherwise, it would be seen as disrespecting the deities. Even though the divine path had declined, few would choose to ignore it.
Historically, many cultivators who felt they didn't need to offer incense or worship had angered local deities, leading to their demise.
Although the divine path had declined, it did not mean there were no powerful beings. In some remote wilderness areas, the guardian might even be an ancient god at the Golden Core stage.
However, the two had no intention of offering their wishful power. They smiled, shook their heads to refuse the servant's kind offer, and then began examining the temple on their own.
Surprisingly, despite the River God's rampant wickedness, the River God Temple's structure did not exceed norms. Besides the main hall, there was only a backyard for the temple keeper.
Upon entering the main hall, the two finally understood why the local people held the River God in such high regard, and why even a humble inn servant would spend half his monthly wages just to offer a single stick of incense.
On the walls of the main hall, exquisite murals were painted. Their content depicted the numerous natural disasters and man-made calamities that had occurred in Lin Fu County over the past three hundred years, and how the River God had displayed his divine abilities to quell them.
Whether these stories were true or not, Ji Yuan and Jiang Yun Zhou could not ascertain. However, they were certain that even if such events had occurred historically, they were likely orchestrated by the River God himself.
Otherwise, could a mere River God truly control the wind and rain, easily accomplishing what even a local City God could not?
However, this also indicated how deeply entrenched the River God's operation was. Despite such extensive manipulation, no news had ever reached the outside world.
It was as if Lin Fu County and other regions were separated by an invisible barrier.
Even a powerful sect with several hundred years of history would find it impossible to achieve such a feat.
Unless they had significant influence among the local officials, it would be impossible to control all information in the area.
Suddenly, the two felt a divine sense fall upon them. A cultivator at the third realm was actually spying on them!
Ji Yuan and Jiang Yun Zhou remained outwardly composed, even desperately concealing their cultivation, pretending not to notice the divine sense and continuing to observe the murals in the main hall.
After a moment, the divine sense quietly withdrew, but the two did not relax. They could sense that someone was now using more covert means to scrutinize their every move.
This scrutiny only gradually dissipated after they left the River God Temple and had traveled several li away, as if it had never existed.