Madmen don't keep diaries

Chapter 444, Section 443: The Present-Day Divine Kingdom
Feng Xiuhu said confidently, "I've never heard of that—I've already told you the principles I've learned."

He doesn't even understand the history of this world yet, so where is he going to listen to legends and stories?

Shunzi, however, lacked confidence: "Um, I've never heard of it either..."

He's completely uncultured.

Fang Youliu sighed: "The legend is false, but it's not entirely baseless."

"They are all spiritual wood, so why is it called divine wood? Because it is an indispensable material used by the true god to construct the present-day projection of the divine kingdom."

Feng Xiuhu was taken aback. He had been to the courtyard of the Goddess of Wind and Rain, so he always thought that as long as someone was a true god, they would have the ability to project their divine kingdom into the mortal world.

It seems that the value of the Goddess of Wind and Rain is still increasing.

"Now you know why this tower was built so tall?"

Fang Youli pointed to the top of his head: "This Jianmu tree has not yet grown. When it grows to the height of the top of the tower, it will be time for it to fall into the pocket of the true god."

"The purpose of the Jingzhe Temple and the Church of the Night here is to protect it."

Fang Youliu nervously glanced around: "Not only that, constructing a divine kingdom projection is already a top priority for a true god, and the Jianmu tree is something that can't be obtained by chance. If we rashly barge in, what if there are true gods watching over us at all times..."

Before the words were finished, a figure suddenly emerged from behind the tree.

"You know quite a lot."

The three of them immediately looked over and saw that it was Zijin She, who had been missing for a long time.

He was no longer in a state of panic. He stood with his hands behind his back beside the tree, his expression as calm as ever.

Feng Xiuhu mimicked Granny Song's tone and complained, "You brat, you ran away halfway through the fight and then disappeared. I couldn't find you, and you made me worry for so long."

Zi Jin She: "..."

Shunzi slung his hunting rifle over his shoulder and shouted at Zijin She, "You broke two of my lead weights, and we're not done yet—do you want to keep fighting or just admit defeat?"

Unexpectedly, Zi Jinshe simply shook her head slowly and then sat down cross-legged next to the tree.

He placed the spear across his lap, reached out to stroke the rough tree trunk, and a look of reminiscence appeared in his eyes.

Zijin She spoke softly.

"I have been watching over this tree for five years, and I have watched it grow from a sapling into the sturdy tree it is today."

He turned his gaze to Fang Youliu: "You're right, but you make it sound so easy."

“The sacred wood is indeed precious to the gods, but it is even more important to my Jingzhe Temple.”

“With the imperial decree of Xi Jun, the young man was granted the title and ascended the altar. However, as soon as the temple was established, it was realized that believers were hard to find.”

“Every temple has been operating for hundreds of years, with millions of believers and incense offerings that never cease. Everyone knows the names of the gods. But my Jingzhe Temple is newly established and is deserted. Even when believers come to the temple to pray, they don’t know what to ask for.”

Feng Xiuhu couldn't help but interject, "You just happened to be born at the wrong time. Once electricity is widespread, there will be plenty of people begging not to pay their electricity bills."

Zi Jin She: "..."

His train of thought was interrupted. Feng Xiuhu was also a little embarrassed and said with an awkward smile, "Go on... you got to the part about your Jingzhe Temple having its customers stolen by competitors."

"Stealing customers?"

Zi Jinshe shook her head and said, "That's not right. Xi Jun had a divine decree beforehand. Those who seek help should believe in the gods. This is the natural order. Everyone who has a request should worship the god who can grant it. So there is no question of competing for believers. But what can our Jingzhe Temple ask for? At most, we just hope that a bolt of lightning will strike our enemy dead. In addition, the temple is newly established and has no reputation. That's why it has fallen to this state."

"Back when Zizai City was incorporated into the territory of Nanlu Prefecture, none of the many temples were willing to take over this place. In the end, they pushed it onto our Jingzhe Temple, saying things like, 'Jingzhe Temple is newly established and has very few believers. We won't compete with Jingzhe Temple for this great feng shui site.' Such high-sounding words."

"Ah."

Zi Jin She gave a self-deprecating laugh: "But what they said is not wrong. Although the place is different and it hinders the cultivators' practice, at least the believers are real, so the temple master nodded in agreement to this decision."

"Later, the Western Church came, and this place was assigned to the parish of the Church of the Night."

"They also discovered the special environment here, but these foreign monks are different from us. They believe that even if they don't practice, they should first occupy the territory, so they set up a prayer hall here."

"Until one day."

Zi Jinshe pointed to the ground beneath her feet: "A sapling has grown here."

"It was unremarkable and initially went unnoticed by anyone until a monk from the temple walked up to it and was surprised to find that his magical power had returned to normal."

"The chief priest at the time thought he had discovered some kind of unfamiliar spiritual material and did not think much of it. He simply reported the matter up the chain of command until the temple lord himself came and recognized it as a newly sprouted spiritual tree."

"Shortly afterward, the temple lord received a divine decree from the young master, instructing us to keep the news under wraps and to take good care of the sacred tree."

"The high priest at the time didn't know the gravity of the situation, and things got quite heated, so he couldn't keep it from the Church of the Night, which was also in the same city. I suppose you and the God of the Night also had some discussions, so shortly after I was sent to Zizai City, Jeffrey Zhang also arrived here."

"But it doesn't matter. It's already a great thing that a complete spiritual tree is being divided between just two true gods."

Feng Xiuhu asked in bewilderment, "Such an important thing is only guarded by a high priest and a bishop. Isn't that a bit too careless?"

Zi Jinshe retorted, "What do you know? The Grand Masters and Protector Elders above them are all very important figures. If they were also stationed in the city, it would only arouse suspicion. If the three of you hadn't suddenly barged in, this matter could have been kept secret for decades!"

Feng Xiuhu didn't believe it: "Who are you kidding? You can only bully ordinary people. Officials in the government office have normal personnel transfers. The president promoted them. If they want to leave, do you dare to stop them?"

Zi Jinshe smiled sinisterly: "I'm not afraid to tell you, those who disobeyed in the government office have all been killed long ago. The rest are all smart people. They know that if they want to live, they must stay in the city obediently."

Feng Xiuhu frowned: "How dare you! You dare to kill the President's men? I think you're planning a rebellion!"

Zi Jin She laughed loudly: "Haha! Why wouldn't I dare? Once the sacred tree grows, my husband will build a divine kingdom, and his status will be on par with the Goddess of Wind and Rain. The Temple of Awakening of Insects will naturally rise in status as well. When the temple is built high, believers will come of their own accord. What can the President say when a few insignificant officials die?"

Feng Xiuhu tried to bluff him but failed. Instead, he was made uneasy by the confidence that Zi Jinshe showed. So he whispered to Fang Youliu beside him, "Is what he said true?"

Fang Youliu nodded solemnly and said, "More or less. As far as I know, only three of the Eastern Gods have built a divine kingdom in the mortal world: the Goddess of Wind and Rain, the Heaven of Reincarnation, and Lord Jiang Liu."

Feng Xiuhu didn't understand: "But what does the divine kingdom in this world have to do with status?"

Fang Youliu shook his head and said, "You don't know this, this is a rule set by Xi Jun."

"True gods are not allowed to walk freely in the mortal world, much less to use divine magic without cause—except for true gods who possess a divine kingdom in the mortal world."

(End of this chapter)