I logged into the God panel.

cybercafe.

Before re-entering the virtual world,

Lu Daosheng glanced at the man sitting next to him surfing the internet; the man had a faint, almost imperceptible smell of sulfur on him.

Huang Yu's subordinates were transformed using the flames of purgatory.

Once infected by Purgatory, the infected will have absolute obedience and absolute loyalty to the one who infected them.

However, their rationality will decline, making them susceptible to intoxicating delirium and leading to madness or even alienation.

Delirious ramblings don't only exist in the spirit world; profound knowledge, forbidden secrets beyond one's own level, and so on can all lead to delirious ramblings.

This is why the scholar path is more dangerous than the apprentice path.

But this is not a problem for Lu Daosheng.

He can easily quell the madness in others and restore their sanity.

The man beside her was the one who manipulated Huang Yu, and Huang Yu, in turn, manipulated her to come, essentially to "protect" him.

In the event of any unforeseen circumstances, the spirit that has entered the digital world can immediately return.

So, Lu Daosheng lay down at the computer desk again, and his spirit quietly entered the virtual world.

Wandering, quickly locating and traversing, moving through the digital world, the concept of 'speed' is downplayed—it's as fast as the information is transmitted.

Almost in the blink of an eye.

We arrived at Xiangye County, near the coast, at sea.

Lu Daosheng stood surrounded by endless numbers and information flows, quietly sorting through the network information in this county town.

Although it cannot tamper with or weave information, it can browse most of the information, but the speed is somewhat slow due to its own mental strength.

"Alas?"

He was slightly surprised.

It seems that Xiangye County is not as simple as I imagined...?

"There are believers here, though it's a small sect, which is to be expected."

Xiangye County, as its name suggests, relies on the cultivation of fragrant coconuts as its main industry. Fragrant coconuts are a local specialty and the only thing in the entire county that has any reputation.

In the center of the county town, right next to the county government, there is a small villa area that is quite unusual, and there is also an artificial lake next to it.

The villa area is called Jinghu Bay. It was built by Shen's Coconut Company, and most of the residents are government employees.

For example, a county magistrate.

However, the county magistrate lives in Villa No. 2 in Jinghu Bay—as for Villa No. 1.

That's the Shen family's territory.

"Greedy, greedy!"

Shen Xiwen slammed his hand on the nanmu wood table, making a loud thud, his face flushed red with anger.

"They've gone too far! Asking for three hundred million without even looking at it, what do they take the Shen family for? This is a county town, a county town!"

The Shen family members standing nearby were also filled with righteous indignation.

Grandpa Shen sat in the main seat, slowly and deliberately adjusting the teapot lid. Accompanied by the tinkling sound of water, he pulled the teapot high.

The tea flowed precisely into the cup like a thin stream.

The old man took a sip and commented:

"This 30-year-old white tea wasn't stored very well; it has a slightly stale taste."

"dad!"

Shen Xiwen took a breath:

"What time is it...?"

"Tea needs to be stored for a long time and properly; you can't rush it," Old Master Shen said calmly. "When doing things, you also need to be calm and focused. You must think things through thrice, consider potential dangers, anticipate changes, and know when to retreat."

"dad!"

"Alright."

Old Master Shen's eyelids drooped:

"After all, they are extraordinary individuals, priests of the Mirror Society. Our Shen family cannot afford to offend them."

Beside him, Shen Xiwu spoke in a deep voice:

"Dad, I asked a friend from out of town. The Mirror Society isn't an evil cult, but it's not a big church either."

Shen Xiwen nodded:

"I've also had someone investigate. Apparently, the world in the mirror is almost becoming a 'public world,' and the mirror god worshipped in the mirror is not a 'true god'...it seems far from it."

The old man took a sip of tea and calmly began to speak:

"and then?"

Shen Xiwen and Shen Xiwu exchanged a glance but remained silent.

The old man sighed:

"Even if it's just a small church, how could our Shen family afford to offend it? The Shen family has been rooted and developed in Xiangye County for 170 years, but has never taken the initiative to leave this island."

"This has ensured the stability of my Shen family to this day, but it has also limited us and prevented us from coming into contact with the extraordinary... Now that an extraordinary person has arrived, we can only obey orders."

"dad!!"

Shen Xiwen became anxious:

"Then we'll just watch helplessly as the Shen family's vast empire is handed over to that bastard..."

*Smack!*

The old man raised his hand and slapped his eldest son, silencing the words he was about to say.

"Didn't I teach you four siblings what to say and what not to say?"

He sighed and waved wearily:

"Everyone, get out."

Shen Xiwen covered his cheek and walked out of the room without saying a word, as did the rest of the Shen family.

After the door was closed.

*Slap, slap, slap*

Applause broke out, the sound coming from... a teacup.

Or rather, the tea from the cup, reflecting the ceiling like a mirror.

A young man stepped out of the tea room, hovering in mid-air.

"grown ups....."

Old Master Shen rose, leaning on his fox-head cane, and bowed shakily.

"That's right, you're the most reasonable person in your family."

The young man smiled and said:

"Because you're so reasonable, I'll leave your Shen family a way out, a chance to eat... I'll give you three months to sort out the Shen family's assets and give me 90% of them."

Old Master Shen nodded silently:

"As you wish."

"in addition."

The young man yawned:

"Your granddaughter is quite pretty. Have her come to see me tonight. If she behaves well, I'll allow her to help me manage my business."

"Hmm, never mind. I need to focus on my efforts to become a priest these next couple of days, so I'll do it in a few days."

Old Master Shen raised his head, his lips trembling slightly:

"Sir, my granddaughter is only fourteen years old..."

The young man glanced sideways, and Old Master Shen swallowed the words he was about to say, closing his eyes in pain.

for a long time.

He spoke in a low voice:

"As you wish."

The young man smiled and stepped into the mirror-like tea, causing ripples to spread across the surface.

Old Master Shen sat there blankly for a long while, then walked shakily into the side room, where the ancestral tablets of the Shen family were kept.

At the same time, there are no mirrors, glass, or other objects here that can reflect light.

"Ancestors above..." Old Master Shen's lips trembled as he suddenly turned his head to look down into the shadows.

"Grandpa," the girl with a ponytail came out and said softly, "I heard everything."

Old Master Shen closed his eyes in pain once again.

for a long time.

"Grandpa, I can go," Shen Zhu said softly.

The old man suddenly seemed to have his spine removed, and weakly waved his hand:

"Zhu'er, go out... go out first..."

Shen Zhu responded softly and quietly left the side room.

After closing the door.

The old man looked at the ancestral tablets, bowed silently, and kowtowed once and twice.

The knock was very heavy.

As he kowtowed for the third time, he suddenly saw a faint shadow on the ground and abruptly stood up to look at it!

There was nothing there.

The old man was startled, then suddenly noticed that everything in the side room was trembling slightly, as if a breeze had stirred in the sealed room.

Tables and chairs, offerings, ancestral tablets...

They were all trembling.

The dust in the corner was stirred up, along with the wisps of smoke from the incense and candles, and together they formed a Taoist figure in front of us, suspended in the air!

"You, who are you?" Old Master Shen asked in surprise and doubt.

The wisps of smoke, carrying dust, rose and fell slowly.

The sounds came from all directions, one after another.

"The Defenders".

"You can call me the Eighth Defender, or you can call me..."

"Purgatory".

The reduplicated sounds rippled and swirled, like cigarette smoke curling and gathering.

Old Master Shen's expression was solemn as he cautiously began to speak:

"My lord, I was unaware of your presence at my humble abode. What brings you here...?"

"strength."

Hundreds and thousands of overlapping sounds collided in all directions.

"I can give you strength, and you, the Shen clan, must lead the way for my lord."

Old Master Shen's mind raced. His first thought was that yet another superhuman, like that Mirror God believer, had come to freeload.

But there are some differences.

strength.....

He crawled down without hesitation:

"This old man is deeply grateful for your kindness!"

The human figure formed from swirling smoke and dust appears to be smiling.

[Spirit: 5.92 >> 6]

[Attribute points: 0.08 >> 0]

Life has been granted to 5 people; 1 place remains in the God's grace program.

The second spiritual core suddenly condensed, and the middle priest was formed.

[Gift: 3 strands of Infernal Flames]

Old Master Shen groaned, his scalp was pierced and short horns grew out, his body swelled up and his breathing became scorching!

He was panting heavily, looking shakily at his hands, feeling the vitality and burning energy surging within his once old and decaying body!

The wrinkles on my face have faded a lot.

"thump!"

He prostrated himself again and kowtowed three times, even more so than when he kowtowed to the ancestral tablets.

"I will follow your word as if divinely ordained, and will lead the way for you."

The sounds, layered upon layered and perfectly synchronized, rang out once again.

"Remember the Lord's name."

"Great, primordial Creator, original sovereign of the city upon the hill, the true God who was, is, and is to come!"

"Also... there's one more thing."

After a while, the smoke and dust slowly dissipated.

Fifteen more minutes.

The general manager of the Xiangye County Communications Branch, along with his engineers, arrived at the villa, their brows slick with sweat.

An hour later, Old Master Shen designated the third basement level of the villa as a forbidden area for the family.

Two hours later.

The spirit world.

Lu Daosheng carefully pulled the network cable and inserted it into the newly constructed collapse point.

The network cable disappeared into it and instantly appeared next to the steam train.

Lu Daosheng followed, sat down in a chair, and quietly gripped the internet cable.

[Currently in a special environment, the virtual ghost has been temporarily upgraded to: Digital Overlord]

Mental energy probes into the network cable.

then.

It is a vast flow of information, like a tidal wave.

they--

They were all beneath Lu Daosheng's feet, even though, limited by his own mental strength, he couldn't control them all simultaneously, nor could he instantly know all the information.

But they are a vast treasure trove laid out before him, ready for Lu Daosheng to alter and weave at his will!

"Digital dominance... is complete."

So, what's next?

He wanted to take control of the entire county.

"By the way, is the forum almost finished upgrading?"