Having resolved everything, Chen Zhou, seated atop the Bone Altar, slowly opened his eyes.
The dream interlayer had completely shattered.
He was quite satisfied with the outcome of this operation, though the golden light that had flashed past at the very end left him slightly surprised.
Before he could dwell on it, the system provided two notifications.
【One of your Devout Believers has undergone faith sublimation, transforming into a Fanatic Believer.】
【You have gained a new Fanatic Believer.】
As the two system notifications appeared one after another, Chen Zhou clicked open the faith panel.
He rarely checked this panel on his own initiative because the number of Fanatic Believers had always been stable; without some great fortuitous encounter, it was almost impossible for their numbers to increase.
Today, however, the number in the [Fanatic Believer] column had strikingly jumped from 1 to 3.
He clicked into it.
[Ugly Hag] (Fanatic Believer - Paper Person Form)
[Hong Ling] (Fanatic Believer - Faith Sublimation)
[Plague Rat] (Fanatic Believer - New Addition)
"Oh?"
Chen Zhou's eyebrows twitched slightly.
'One sublimation and one new addition. So these two notifications were actually two different events?'
He felt it was a bit strange.
Hong Ling's case was easy to explain. She was already devout to begin with.
Now, having served as the vessel for his descent, she had personally experienced the shattering of the deep dream, witnessed the annihilation of Bodhisattva Jieyin, and, more importantly, seen the divine might he displayed.
It was a natural outcome for her faith to sublimate from a Devout Believer to a Fanatic Believer.
But what was up with this little rat?
Usually, he was shiftless and lazy.
If he could lie down, he would never stand; if he could scrounge food, he would never hunt for it himself.
His contribution to the City of the Wrongfully Dead consisted of nothing but fighting and complaining. While he was obedient enough toward 'Lord' Chen Zhou, he was a far cry from the word 'devout.' He was essentially a street-drifting loafer just waiting to die.
How did he suddenly become a Fanatic Believer?
Did he get beaten too hard while outside and reach some kind of epiphany, or did he have some fortuitous encounter of his own?
Chen Zhou stroked his chin. Though he found it odd, it was a good thing in the end.
All in all, this night had been a bountiful harvest.
Chen Zhou was quite satisfied with this result.
Then he looked up and locked eyes with a pair of massive yellow eyeballs.
He realized he was in a staring contest with a big turtle, whose eyes held a hint of laziness and curiosity.
It was an extremely massive tortoise. Its shell was a deep obsidian black, thick and rugged along the edges.
Ancient and vast patterns covered its back; upon closer inspection, they seemed to be miniature representations of mountains, rivers, and peaks.
Its limbs were thick and powerful. Currently, it was poking its head out from the small island constructed of Blood-Essence Jade at the center of the Blood-Prison Pool.
When did this old turtle get here?
And from the look of it, it didn't treat itself as an outsider at all.
Its massive body occupied nearly half of the island's area. Its four thick claws rested casually on the Blood-Essence Jade, looking perfectly comfortable as if it had settled down for good.
Along the shore of the Blood-Prison Pool, quite a few wet mud tracks and giant claw prints remained.
Chen Zhou's face darkened. He turned his gaze toward the edge of the Blood-Prison Pool, looking at the gnarled trunk of the unaging pine. "Did you do this?"
Hearing Chen Zhou's words, the unaging pine's intertwined branches rustled and shook. Then, it slowly turned its body, facing its wrinkled bark away from Chen Zhou.
It put on an act as if it knew nothing, had nothing to do with it, and was pleading with him not to ask.
"..."
Chen Zhou was so frustrated he laughed.
"You really know how to take advantage of a situation," he couldn't help but criticize.
"It's one thing for you to live here yourself, but you even invited your old pal over?"
"Are you two opening a nursing home here?"
The Wanshou Tortoise seemed to understand, but its reactions were slow. Its amber eyes blinked slowly, and then it continued to lie there motionless.
The unaging pine also shook its needles, pretending that all was quiet and peaceful in the world.
Chen Zhou let out a soft sigh.
Fine.
One was an immortal divine tree, and the other was a spirit tortoise reputed to live for ten thousand years.
With these two living fossils staying here, the spiritual aura of the City of the Wrongfully Dead had thickened considerably. He would just treat them as feng shui ornaments.
He stopped paying attention to those two squatters and turned his gaze to the Blood-Prison Pool beneath them.
The pool water still overflowed with spiritual energy while its bloody essence remained contained.
Those several golden dragon carp seemed even more active than before, swimming joyfully through the water.
They didn't mind their new neighbor at all, even circling around the Wanshou Tortoise's limbs.
A faint golden glow would occasionally ripple across the scales of the dragon carp.
'This light...' Chen Zhou's memory immediately flashed back.
The texture of this golden light was almost identical to that of the auspicious golden light he had glimpsed just before the dream interlayer shattered.
"So it was you little fellows playing tricks," Chen Zhou realized.
The dragon carp swam gracefully in the pool, blowing out strings of tiny bubbles, naturally unable to answer his question.
Chen Zhou remembered the expression of the Corpse Soul Sect elder when he first saw these dragon carp—it was one of such intense excitement that he had nearly lost his composure.
He also recalled the ancient legends about dragon carp that Xing Yue had once mentioned.
Clad in golden scales, they can outshine the sun and moon. With a vermilion crown upon their brow, they harbor the blessings of heaven and earth.
To gain their protection is to ensure the stability of mountains and rivers, extending fortune across ten thousand miles.
Such creatures were synonymous with being heaven-blessed and auspicious.
Back then, after the City of the Wrongfully Dead was built, the dragon carp had inexplicably appeared in the Blood-Prison Pool before even Chen Zhou noticed them.
"So, just now in Lantao City, was that golden light you lot running off to bestow blessings upon the masses?"
Chen Zhou was lost in thought. He noticed that since the last God's Grace Festival, these dragon carp had grown much larger.
In particular, the vermilion crown atop their heads had become more vibrant, like the highest grade of cinnabar.
And directly in front of the crown, at the position of the forehead, two fleshy protrusions had faintly begun to form.
"..."
Dragon carp, dragon carp...
Chen Zhou reached out and patted the head of one of them.
'Could these things... actually turn into dragons in the future?'
The moment the thought appeared, even Chen Zhou found it a bit absurd. However, the scene before him made him uncertain.
If he could really raise a few dragons...
As Chen Zhou was pondering, several breaths of time passed.
In front of the altar, Jian Huaishuang and Hong Ling—who had been sitting in meditation, their consciousnesses following Chen Zhou to battle in the dream—opened their eyes at the same time.
The sword intent in Jian Huaishuang's eyes flashed and vanished, quickly being reined in. He stood up and bowed deeply to Chen Zhou, silent as a rock.
As for Hong Ling, after she opened her eyes, she first quickly scanned her surroundings. Her gaze lingered briefly on the dragon carp and the Wanshou Tortoise; she had doubts and suspicions in her heart.
Finally, her gaze landed on Chen Zhou.
She stepped forward, her eyes clear and resolute. She bowed respectfully to Chen Zhou, her voice steady.
"My Lord, Lantao City has just been settled and everything needs to be rebuilt."
"However, the people are restless. Someone is needed to take charge, coordinate the various factions, stabilize order, and guide their faith."
"This subordinate requests to go to Lantao City to handle the aftermath of this matter."
Chen Zhou looked at her and nodded slightly.
He knew Hong Ling's capabilities. She had managed the City of the Wrongfully Dead with perfect order. Her volunteering now made her the perfect candidate.
"Granted," he said succinctly.
"Thank you, My Lord." Hong Ling bowed again. Without any superfluous words, she turned and left, her steps firm.
Chen Zhou watched her walk away, his eyes shifting slightly.
He couldn't quite put it into words, but he could clearly feel it.
Though she had the same face and was the same person, Hong Ling seemed to have shed some of her innocence overnight.
She had grown quite a bit.
Rate on N.U.
