“The crimes of you two are beyond redemption, even through ten thousand deaths.” Yun Shu’s fingertips moved slightly, and two streaks of sword light shot out through the air.
“Divine Lady, have mercy! I was wrong...”
The pleas for mercy came to an abrupt halt.
Daoist Master Xuan He and Zhao Qian became breathless corpses, meeting the same end as the assassins.
“The Divine Lady killed them well! Corrupt officials who treat human life like grass and fraudulent sorcerers like them all deserve to die!”
“They should be cast into the eighteen levels of hell!”
“Yes, they deserved it!”
In the eyes of these fanatical believers, the Divine Lady killing someone was simply eliminating an evil for the people.
Even if the target was a regional governor or a local official appointed by the imperial court, they didn't feel there was anything wrong with it.
After all, divine authority reigned supreme over all things. Compared to divine authority, what did imperial power matter?
The lingering aura of the sword formation still remained, and the chilling killing intent had not yet dissipated from the air.
Most of the believers who had come from Creek Valley had previously seen her take action to punish the mountain bandits and Guo Pan.
Though they appeared to have lingering fears, their feelings toward her were more of awe and reverence than of sheer terror.
In contrast, the commoners of Xindu City were witnessing such a grand display for the first time. Aside from terror, there was nothing else in their eyes.
Standing atop the ritual altar, Yun Shu looked down and took everything in.
She knew in her heart that fear alone was not enough.
Fear could force submission and maintain order for a time, but it could not make people follow her or truly believe in her.
Furthermore, it would plant long-term hidden dangers. If they feared her today, and someone incited them tomorrow, that fear would turn into hostility and become a blade pointed at her.
Using both kindness and authority was the only way to endure.
With this thought, she slowly walked toward the edge of the ritual altar.
Below the altar, the commoners instinctively hunched their shoulders, their gazes shifting as they didn't dare to look the Divine Lady in the eye.
They even kept their breathing extremely light and slow.
It was as if the figure standing on the platform was not a deity, but a sword of heavenly retribution that could fall at any moment.
“I once said that if someone in the mortal world could successfully cultivate the Divine Seed sweet potato, I would bestow a blessing. I shall grant this land favorable weather and a bountiful harvest, ensuring three years without hunger.”
The ethereal celestial voice drifted down from the high platform, neither hurried nor slow. Every word was like a pearl falling onto jade, dropping clearly into everyone's ears.
The commoners of Xindu City shuddered in unison.
They snapped their heads up, the fear in their eyes not yet faded before it was replaced by unbelievable shock.
“Thr... Three years without hunger?” An old man tremulously repeated, hot tears streaming down his face. “Did I hear that right? Is this real?”
No one answered him, because the other citizens of Xindu also couldn't believe it.
It was a believer from Creek Valley who snapped back to his senses first. His voice was hoarse and he was shaking with excitement.
“What the Divine Lady said is true! The Divine Lady once met the God of Farming in the Heavenly Palace. Seeing the hardships of the mortal world, the God of Farming entrusted the Divine Lady to bring a Divine Seed called the sweet potato from the Heavenly Palace!”
“I saw that Divine Seed sweet potato with my own eyes. It’s completely different from the grain we usually eat!”
The commoners of Xindu looked at the believer simultaneously, then couldn't help but turn back toward the high platform. The fear in their eyes was gradually consumed by something else.
It was hope, wild joy, and a frantic disbelief that felt like it was about to explode from their chests.
“The God of Farming's Divine Seed? That must be amazing grain!”
“It's more than just amazing grain! The Divine Lady said that the Divine Seed sweet potato can yield two thousand jin per mu!”
Her words were like a stone cast into a still pond, stirring up a thousand ripples.
“Two thousand jin? For real?”
“Could the words of the Divine Lady be false?!” The believer glared unhappily at the person beside him.
“Is anyone planting that Divine Seed right now?” someone asked.
“Of course! We’ve been tending to the Divine Seed like it’s a precious treasure. A while ago, the little seedlings sprouted!”
“I really want to see what the Divine Seed looks like.”
The whispers spread like a tide, growing louder and more dense.
Apost the high platform, the Divine Lady looked down at the masses. Her thumb tapped against the joints of her ring, middle, and index fingers in sequence.
A moment later, she lowered her hand and spoke again: “I have just performed a divination. The Divine Seed has matured.”
“Today, I shall fulfill my promise and bestow this blessing.”
Before her voice had even faded, she reached out her right hand as if grasping the air, and a Nine-Ear Grain appeared out of thin air in her palm.
Holding the Nine-Ear Grain, the Divine Lady gave it a gentle wave.
A golden wave of light spilled out from the Nine-Ear Grain, spreading in all directions like ripples, silently brushing over every inch of the land outside Xindu City.
In the next second, a miraculous scene occurred.
The wheat fields outside the city, which had only just sprouted tender shoots, began to grow, head, fill, and ripen at a speed visible to the naked eye.
In just a few breaths, the green waves of wheat transformed into a heavy, golden sea.
The air was filled with a rich aroma of wheat.
Everyone was stunned.
Even Shen Jue and Shen Yu were dumbfounded.
They looked at the vast golden waves of wheat outside the city and at the ears of grain so full they seemed ready to burst. Their eyes were filled with shock and disbelief.
Every time they thought they had been sufficiently awed, the Divine Lady would bring them an even greater shock.
The commoners fell to their knees one after another, wailing and crying with joy.
“It’s ripe... the wheat is ripe...”
“This isn't a dream, is it? Darling, quick, pinch me! Pinch me!”
“The deity has manifested! The deity has manifested!”
Cheers and the sound of foreheads hitting the ground in kowtows intertwined, shaking the heavens and the earth.
The same miracle was occurring in Creek Valley.
The sweet potato seedlings in the fields suddenly began to grow vines frantically, their leaves covering the entire plot in an instant.
The soil ridges were split open by the expanding tubers beneath, revealing bright red skins.
A few sweet potatoes were so large that they arched right out of the soil, round and plump like fat babies.
“This... this...” Cui Erlang’s mouth hung open in shock, unable to utter a single complete word.
The hoe in the hands of a man beside him fell to the ground, hitting his foot, but he didn't even react, his eyes wide as copper bells.
Once he regained his senses, Cui Erlang lunged into the field, brushed away the loose soil, and pulled out a massive sweet potato, holding it up and turning it over to inspect it.
His lips trembled for a long time.
Finally, he squeezed out a sentence: “The Divine Seed has finished growing!”
“It must be the Divine Lady manifesting her power!”
Everyone’s eyes turned red with emotion. They bent their knees and kowtowed heavily in the direction of Xindu, shouting that the Divine Lady was merciful.
At the same time, the cheers in Xindu City were also deafening.
“The Divine Lady is boundlessly merciful!”
“We beg the Divine Lady to stay in Xindu City! Let us build a temple for you, sculpt a golden statue, and offer you sacrifices!”
“Divine Lady, please stay in Xindu City!”
【Shen Jue's Shock Value +100】
【Shen Yu's Shock Value +100】
【Cui Erlang's Shock Value +100】
【...】
【Current Shock Value: 136,000】
Yun Shu withdrew the Nine-Ear Grain and looked down at the various states of the people below. Her expression remained indifferent.
“If you can uphold goodness and integrity and treat all living beings with kindness, you are already honoring the heavens and the gods. There is no need for golden statues or temples.”
With that, her figure turned into mist and smoke, dissipating before the eyes of the crowd as if she had never appeared.
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