Immortality: Starting with a grave, I'm invincible when burying corpses.

The first day of the first month of the eleventh year of Qiming.

The first day of the new year arrived amidst a light, misty snowfall.

The snow fell at night, the sun rose in the morning, and the snow melted at dawn.

Unlike Qi'an City, which has a history of over a thousand years, Qing'an Prefecture, which started much later, is currently at the intersection of tradition and change.

If Qi'an City is the most dazzling pearl in the Nine Regions, it stands at the forefront of prosperity in this era.

Qing'an Prefecture has one foot in the road to the city that never sleeps, while the other foot remains on the traditional path.

This is related to the progress of development, but even more so to the mindset of the local people.

Whether a bustling city that never sleeps will emerge depends not only on economic and commercial development, but also on the local customs and traditions.

The rapid development of the past years has filled the people of Qing'an Prefecture with hope, and the success of others has made everyone yearn for it.

People naturally believe that hard work will inevitably lead to success, and if there is no success, it must be because they slacked off in the process...

The ideology of prioritizing results has spread throughout Qing'an Prefecture, influencing the vast majority of people.

In this process, the people of Qing'an Prefecture, who had not yet achieved success themselves, naturally placed their hopes on the next generation, creating a competitive atmosphere.

It encompasses knowledge, skills, hours of labor, and every aspect of life...

Compared to the glitz and glamour of Qi'an City, where people enjoy life, the people of Qing'an Prefecture are more inclined to work hard to make their families prosperous.

Against this backdrop, nighttime entertainment was naturally seen as something that was not easily permitted.

Even during the lively New Year season, after two hours of fireworks, the streets of Qing'an Prefecture gradually quieted down after 1 a.m. (1 a.m. to 3 a.m.).

Apart from a few scattered young people, the streets were deserted at night.

These unconventional young people are often referred to as "hooligans" by the older generation, and are people to be avoided.

That being said, as a newly emerging behemoth, Qing'an Prefecture also has its own unique characteristics and places where people can have fun.

The former Ling'an Temple has now become a gathering place for young people in Qing'an Prefecture. During festivals, Ling'an Temple holds a grand temple fair for people in the city to enjoy.

Ling'an Temple, located far from the city center, will not disturb other people in the city no matter how noisy it is or how sleepless it is.

More importantly, as long as it's said to be a visit to Ling'an Temple, even the strictest parents won't stop their children.

For energetic children, Ling An Temple is undoubtedly a paradise on earth.

Here, no one dares to be too outrageous. Even if parents don't like their children's behavior, they won't make a scene on the spot.

The answer to why is quite simple.

Ling'an Temple enshrines the sun of Qing'an Prefecture.

……

About forty years ago, the old monk of Ling'an Temple made a decision that went against the wishes of his ancestors.

Mu An was moved into the main hall of the temple.

The old monk, keeping up with the times, had a brilliant idea and gave the Five Elements True Lord a new title: the Five Elements Holy Buddha, one of the supreme Buddhas.

The later temple keeper was even more astute than the old monk. He pondered day and night and felt that the Five Elements Holy Buddhas should not be subordinate to other Buddhas.

The temple keeper genuinely believed that the Five Elements Saint Buddhas were the greatest deities in the world.

The temple keeper, a man of great ability, acted swiftly and, before anyone could notice, changed the main deity enshrined in the temple to the Five Elements Holy Buddha. In an instant, all the monks in the temple became the most loyal followers of the Five Elements Holy Buddha.

Moreover, the clever temple keeper felt that this was still not safe enough. After discussing it, the old monks decided that principles were not important at all.

A few days later, another statue of a deity named Wuling Xuannv appeared in the main hall of Ling'an Temple.

Several months later, the group of monks discussed it again and realized that the lineage of their temple wasn't actually that important.

The holy Buddha is so noble, he is actually a god-like being. How could he possibly share a temple with those unknown gods and Buddhas?

Ling'an Temple was transformed from a temple into a shrine, and the monks grew their hair long and became clergy.

Next to the golden statue of the Five Elements Holy Buddha, there is another statue of the Five Elements True Lord, symbolizing the two sides of the same god.

After several attempts, all the high-ranking officials in Qing'an Prefecture were dumbfounded, regretting that their brains were not as sharp as these monks'.

Amidst a chorus of high-ranking officials clamoring for the emperor's presence, they were left unsure whether to pay homage or not.

Mu Ling'er, who found it too outrageous, stepped forward. She originally wanted the people in the temple to dismantle the statue.

To everyone's surprise, Mu An stopped her and even designated Ling'an Temple as the official temple fair venue of Qing'an Prefecture.

Not only that, Mu An personally carved a new statue of Mu Ling'er and placed it next to his own statue.

To this day, Mu Ling'er still remembers what Mu An said back then.

"Why demolish it? Don't you think the name Ling'an Temple is quite nice? It just so happens to match our name. Such a coincidence is rare. If they want to worship, let them worship..."

No one knew what Mu An was really thinking. All people knew was that once Zhenjun expressed his attitude, the outcome was already predetermined.

Over time, Ling'an Temple flourished and developed into a sacred site in Qing'an Prefecture over several decades, attracting countless high-ranking officials and common people to worship during festivals.

As everyone knows, in recent years, the True Lord has lived a secluded life and rarely appears in public, so it is rare to see his divine countenance.

Flattery is a skill in itself.

Taking photos directly to someone's face can be too direct and easily come across as pretentious, which can backfire. However, if the message reaches the True Lord's ears through the mouths of the common people, the effect will be quite different.

If General Zuo prayed in front of the temple for one hour today, then General You will have to pray for two more hours tomorrow.

Strange competitions were once popular among officials in Qing'an Prefecture, but Mu Ling'er's stern rebuke stopped this trend.

Over time, the Ling'an Temple expanded dozens of times in size, making the neighboring Chaoyun Temple so envious that they wished they could directly betray their masters and ancestors and convert to Taoism.

The way the disciples in the temple looked at their old abbot had changed.

Look at them, and look at you, why can't you be a little more clever?

The first person to eat meat is always the one who gets to enjoy it. Even though other Taoist temples and monasteries in Qishan Dao later followed suit, none of them received the same benefits as Ling'an Temple.

Over time, Ling'an Temple has become a religious holy site for the entire Qishan Road.

Besides Mu An herself, who was revered as the supreme god, the Five Spirits Mystic Maidens, who represented Mu Ling'er, were also given various divine titles and a whole set of legends were created.

This is the most revered belief of the Qishan Dao, and no one is allowed to question it.

As everyone knows, there can only be one sun in the sky.

There can only be one sun in Qishan Road, and everyone living in Qishan Road must hold the True Lord in high esteem.

Anyone who dares to stop the Five Elements True Lord from going to pay homage is disloyal!

What? You're saying the child is playful and doesn't want to come home?

What a joke! Can you call it playing around when it comes to worshipping the True Lord? This is clearly the most devout faith in the True Lord!

What do you mean? How dare you spout nonsense like this?

Over the decades, the temple fair, where children could play to their hearts' content, naturally became a sacred place in their hearts.

Over time, the days for holding temple fairs became the default rest time for everyone in Qing'an Prefecture.

……

Mu An had never cared about these things, nor had she ever thought about others believing in her.

The idea that led people to erect such a temple actually stemmed from a previous thought he had.

Is it possible for faith to create a god?

The chances of success are slim, but Mu An is still willing to give it a try.

As for the current situation in Qishan Road, Mu An said he would not take the blame.

Qishan Road is a rather distorted social system, and it is only through his own efforts that it has achieved its current prosperity.

Its essence and that of the Great Qi were not substantially different from those of other feudal lords, except that it did a much better job in terms of people's livelihood.

It was indeed good at first, but that was all.

With the vigorous development of Qishan Road, the gradual solidification of the bureaucratic system, and the gradual locking of the upward ladder, its current state was almost an inevitable outcome.

Mu An used to be a sentimental person. He followed his old friends and they all received the treatment they deserved and enjoyed wealth and luxury.

Mu Ling'er, who shares the same lineage as him, is the same.

This was the case for both generations of rulers, which inevitably led to a situation where powerful and wealthy people inherited their positions without change.

Now that things have come to this, Mu An, whose divinity has increased year by year, has lost interest in the development of Qishan Dao, and Mu Ling'er, who is too busy to manage so many things, is also unable to do so.

Both of them believed that things were good as they were, and that they had done enough for Qishan Road. Ultimately, the future depended on the efforts of the people living there.

Over the past century, scenes that once unfolded elsewhere are now playing out on Qishan Road.

Much has changed, yet much remains the same, just like a new cycle.

……