From Celestial Official to Great Celestial Venerable

Chapter 8 Land
Hearing the clear recitation of the Taoist priest in the mirror, even Father He couldn't help but put down his chopsticks and exclaimed in admiration:

"The new Heavenly Laws have truly arrived... but I wonder if they will bring us ordinary people a blessing or a curse?"

"Of course it's a good thing!" He Xingchen exclaimed loudly, "Since the Great War of the Heavens..."

He then began to speak eloquently about that period of history.

The so-called Great War of the Heavens was an unprecedented catastrophe in the history of cultivation. It refers to a fierce battle that swept across all realms, launched by a group of extraterrestrial sects led by Morality World in an attempt to unify the heavens.

……

After He Xingchen finished speaking, he suddenly asked Qin Chuan, "Fellow Daoist Qin, in your opinion, what is the most fundamental turning point in this battle?"

"As the scriptures say..." Qin Chuan answered verbatim, following the contents of the scriptures.

He Xingchen, however, had a different perspective, shaking his head and saying, "I believe that the fighting strength of the Moral World is insufficient to unify all the heavens..."

Qin Chuan listened to this interpretation that contradicted the scriptures, and seemed to be deep in thought.

He was, after all, someone who had diligently studied the classics for four years, and he could answer many questions. The two talked about history and current affairs, and before they knew it, two quarters of an hour had passed.

Qin Chuan noticed that the program in the Xuan Guang Mirror was nearing its end.

He Qingxuan obediently followed the family custom and switched the channel from "Dongsheng TV" to "Jiuchuan County TV"—not because she particularly liked watching the news, but because her favorite programs did not start until 4:45 PM, and 4:45 PM was always the time when her father and brother watched world events and local news.

Looking at the newly switched county TV screen, Qin Chuan asked, "Fellow Daoist Xingchen, which program are you hosting at the Langyin Pavilion in the county?"

"I've only recently been promoted to a full-time position, and I don't yet have the ability to host a program on my own," He Xingchen sighed softly.

As they were talking, the county radio station began playing the familiar news intro:

"Good evening, everyone... Here is today's main content."

[Announcement from Lushan Blessed Land: Zhao Zhongji, former deputy county god of Jiuchuan City God Temple, has seriously violated the Heavenly Laws and his Daoist heart is not firm... With the approval of the Zhuoxiantai of Dongsheng Prefecture in Lushan, he has been expelled from the Daoist ranks, his "Seventh Rank Mountain and River Assistant Register" has been revoked, his cultivation has been abolished, and his illegal gains have been confiscated... He has then been transferred to the "Xiezhi Temple" for trial and judgment.]

The newly appointed Deputy County God of Jiuchuan County is Daoist Sun Qinghan, who has been granted the title of "Seventh-Rank Assistant City God" and concurrently serves as the Jiuchuan Land God, granted the title of "Seventh-Rank Land God Altar Register."

"Next, we will play the resume of Fellow Daoist Sun Qinghan."

"Sun Qinghan, female, 28 years old, from Qinghe County, Yannan Blessed Land of Xiaoxiang Cave. She began her cultivation in 9716 of the Heavenly Venerable Calendar and officially entered the Dao in 9718, the same year she entered officialdom. She is a Bachelor of Agriculture and Sericulture at the Forbidden City Academy, with a mid-stage Golden Core cultivation level, a Water Element Engineer, and a Heavenly Rules major."

From 19720 to 19721, he served as the abbot of Dongsheng Temple in Pingjia Village.
From 19723 to 19728, he studied at the Heavenly Rules Department of the Forbidden City Academy.

In 19728 (currently), he served as the Deputy County God of the Chenghuang Temple in Jiuchuan County, a blessed land in Lushan, and also as the Land God of Jiuchuan County.

Upon seeing that this was the top news story on Jiuchuan County TV, Qin Chuan and He Xingchen exchanged a glance, both seeing shock in each other's eyes:
"The county... has changed."

Regarding the rank of Sun Qinghan, the Deputy County God, mentioned in the Mysterious Mirror, it should be noted that the ranks of immortal officials and Taoist priests in the Eastern Victory World are divided into the following grades:
Deputy village-level officials, village-level officials;
Deputy head of a township-level administrative office; head of a township-level administrative office.
Deputy county-level temple official, county-level temple official;
Deputy position at the level of the underworld, and full position at the level of the underworld;
Deputy position at the Heavenly Palace level, full position at the Heavenly Palace level;
Deputy Imperial-level official, Imperial-level official.

Following the order of "house, temple, shrine, government office, heaven, and imperial court," various levels of government offices were established in Dongsheng Tianxia from low to high.

Among them, the "County God" of the County God Temple is the master of the county and oversees the City God Temple; while the "Land God" is the government office responsible for the operation of the county's government affairs and is controlled by the City God Temple.

For example, Qin Chuan is about to take up the post of abbot of Nongling Temple, who is a senior official of the township level and has been granted the title of "Eight Wax Xingrang Register".

Qin Chuan is currently just a fire-crafting Taoist. Only if he can be successfully ordained and formally recognized can he become a "Heavenly Register Taoist".

Afterwards, one needs to accumulate merits or encounter special opportunities before one can be promoted to the "Deputy Temple" level Taoist.

Of course, he could also become complacent after his official appointment and instead request a transfer to the countryside to serve as a village official, known as "Land God." Although he would still be granted a ninth-rank official title, his path to immortality would likely end there.

Qin Chuan's mind raced, and this knowledge about the common practices of Taoists in this world quickly flashed through his mind.

He looked at He Xingchen and asked:
"What exactly happened to this Zhao County official... Zhao Zhongji?" "How could you and I possibly know about the affairs of such a person?" He Xingchen shook his head and said, "The appointment and dismissal of personnel in the county temple are all decided by the Fudi Zhuoxiantai. However, judging from this announcement, the offense is probably quite serious. But... it wasn't entirely without warning."

As a Taoist priest of Langyin Pavilion, he was exposed to such information every day and was good at catching the trend from news at all levels of state and county.

Sometimes, the news itself can reveal a lot—it's not who you meet that matters, but who you don't.

This is not the only one who has not appeared in the news these days.

Only then did He Xingchen belatedly realize that this Deputy County God Zhao had indeed not appeared on the county news for more than ten days.

No wonder the incident was handled with overwhelming force, resulting in his immediate imprisonment.

Seeing this, Mr. He lowered his voice, as if wanting to reveal some rumors circulating in the streets: "You young people don't know, but decades ago, the stories about this deputy county magistrate were widely spread..."

Before he could finish speaking, He Xingchen coughed lightly and interrupted, "Father, such matters are not something that Qin Chuan and I, as lowly figures, can interfere with."

"Absolutely, absolutely." Mr. He realized he had spoken out of turn and quickly fell silent.

Qin Chuan understood He Xingchen's implied meaning: he was also reminding himself not to speak ill of his superiors in private.

Even if the other party has already fallen from power, there's no guarantee that word won't leak out and cause trouble for no reason.

He suppressed this thought and ate his meal in silence, but his eyes kept glancing at the resume and portrait of the newly appointed deputy county god and county land deity, Sun Qinghan, which was being displayed on the Xuan Guang Mirror.

It was a portrait of a female cultivator dressed in a dark black Taoist robe, with black hair, a cold and aloof appearance, and a noble and otherworldly temperament, unlike ordinary people.

"A county-level celestial official at the young age of twenty-eight, with the cultivation of the Golden Core stage... truly a favored daughter of heaven."

Qin Chuan felt both awe and astonishment towards this woman who was about to take charge of Jiuchuan County and become the superior of hundreds of thousands of people and Taoists, including himself.

The Golden Core Realm grants a lifespan of five hundred years.

This woman, at only twenty-eight years old, has already reached this level and become the ruler of a region spanning a hundred miles, which is truly awe-inspiring.

As evening fell, Qin Chuan bid farewell to the He family and returned to his own room.

Before parting, He Xingchen invited him to join their group of young comrades' "scripture recitation meetings" after he settled down, saying that many of his historical insights came from exchanges with his peers.

Qin Chuan neither agreed nor disagreed, only saying that they would discuss it again after he was familiar with the affairs of Nongling Temple.

……

The next day, dawn broke.

Qin Chuan awoke from his meditation and looked inward at the spiritual energy particles flowing like starlight in his dantian.

"11,800 pills!"

He was thrilled with the results of the night.

The divine power of the first level of "Thirteen Transformations of the Gods" combined with the spiritual veins beneath Jiuchuan County allowed him to reap such abundant spiritual energy overnight.

At this rate, he could accumulate enough spiritual energy to condense "spiritual waves" and break through to the first level of Qi Refining in less than ten days!
Compared to what his third uncle said, "It takes an ordinary person half a year to reach the first level of Qi cultivation in the city," he might only need half a month to achieve it.

genius!

With the help of the Heavenly Essence Furnace, he has clearly stepped into the realm of "genius".

In a great mood, he even ate two extra sweet potatoes for breakfast.

(End of this chapter)