'A thousand years old is still very young. Then wouldn't I be as young as a zygote?' Guan Xinghe ridiculed in his heart, then asked, "Then what should I call Benefactor Ancestor? How about 'Sir'? Oh right, Benefactor Ance—wait, I mean, Sir, what is your surname?"
"Surname Qin, given name Ye."
"Then in front of outsiders, I'll call you Mr. Qin. When there are no outsiders, I'll call you Benefactor Ancestor."
"That's fine."
Qin Ye played with the Heavenly Law Prison and returned to the temple.
Guan Xinghe checked the time. "Benefactor Ancestor, I won't tell the 749 Bureau about meeting you today, but can I tell my parents? I mean, just that I met Benefactor Ancestor, I won't say anything about the Black City God."
"No problem. Since that little rascal left behind family teachings, then go ahead and tell your parents." Qin Ye spoke as he cast a glance over.
"You're from the 749 Bureau?"
"Yes." Guan Xinghe proudly said, "Not long after I was born, because my dad had joined the 749 Bureau before, and since I had great talent, I was scouted and recruited by them. Now, I haven't disgraced Benefactor Ancestor—I'm already one of the Ten Grandmasters of the 749 Bureau." He had the expression of a child who scored a perfect 100 on a test, eagerly waiting for praise from his parents.
"Not bad, not bad. If that little rascal knew, he'd surely be very happy in the afterlife." Qin Ye smiled. He didn't really know what the Ten Grandmasters were, but judging from Guan Xinghe's demeanor and strength, his status was certainly not low.
After that, they chatted for a while. Guan Xinghe didn't stay long. "Benefactor Ancestor, I'll go make a call to my parents. If you ever need me for anything, just call me. I'm quite useful in the 749 Bureau—I can provide a lot of manpower and resources."
After parting Guan Xinghe immediately pulled out his phone and called his parents, telling them about meeting Benefactor Ancestor.
Not long after, upon hearing the news, Guan Xinghe's parents were also excited. "Good, good, good! The old ancestor's teachings were indeed right—Benefactor Ancestor is truly powerful. Son, where are you right now? I'll take a flight over immediately to pay my respects to Benefactor Ancestor."
Guan Xinghe's father couldn't wait to greet Qin Ye, and as he spoke, he had already entered his room, preparing to pack his luggage.
"Benefactor Ancestor is in the capital, but I've already parted ways with him."
"Dad, I still have missions to handle, so I can't stay with Benefactor Ancestor. After all, I can't drag Benefactor Ancestor into my mission, right?"
"You're on a mission? Alright then. But if you ever meet Benefactor Ancestor again, you must tell me—I'll come over to kneel and pay respects, or invite Benefactor Ancestor to our home for tea."
"No problem."
"Alright, son, since you're busy with a mission, I won't hold you up. Oh, wait—I almost forgot. What does Benefactor Ancestor look like?"
"I didn't take any photos of Benefactor Ancestor—he doesn't like being known too much. But I do know Benefactor Ancestor's name."
"What is Benefactor Ancestor's name?"
"Benefactor Ancestor is called Qin Ye."
"Qin Ye? Why does that sound familiar…? I seem to remember that not long ago, in the 749 Bureau's report on the Ailao Mountain incident, there was also a thousand-year-old ancient person involved. That person also had the surname Qin…"
Guan Xinghe's father didn't talk much more. He quickly ended the call and rushed to the bureau to check the Ailao Mountain incident records.
On the other side, Guan Xinghe put away his phone and muttered, "The thousand-year-old ancient person from the Ailao Mountain incident… is Benefactor Ancestor? If so, I should report this to the bureau and have Benefactor Ancestor classified as a protected target."
Suddenly he smacked his forehead. "…I was in such a hurry to tell my parents about Benefactor Ancestor that I forgot to ask why Benefactor Ancestor set up an illusion at the Earth God Temple."
Guan Xinghe rubbed his temples, feeling a little helpless. But he didn't call back or go ask Qin Ye in person.
"Forget it. It doesn't matter if I ask or not. With Benefactor Ancestor's kindness, the Earth God matter is unlikely to be related to him. The Black City God, on the other hand, is probably involved."
Mentioning the Black City God, Guan Xinghe's gaze turned sharp. The ancient bronze sword strapped to the guitar case on his back, as if sensing his emotions, let out a resonating hum.
He hadn't forgotten about being locked inside the Heavenly Law Prison. Recalling how Qin Ye effortlessly tore open the Heavenly Law Prison with his bare hands, while he himself had slashed at it with all his might but couldn't break it, Guan Xinghe couldn't help but murmur, "I thought that reaching the level of Grandmaster meant I had made some achievements, but now I see I was just being complacent. Compared to Benefactor Ancestor, I'm still far too weak."
"If it weren't for Benefactor Ancestor, encountering the Black City God this time would've left me with no choice but to await death."
At these words, Guan Xinghe's eyes showed firm determination. "The Underworld… might face a great calamity in the future. Whether for the Underworld or for suppressing the Black City God in the future, I must become stronger. I should take a trip to the Underworld and join the ghost-walking investigation team to explore it."
As a half-human, half-demon, half-ghost, especially with his primary bloodline being that of a ghost, if he wanted to grow stronger through proper methods, without resorting to evil or unorthodox ways, the Yang realm was inherently unsuitable for his cultivation. The Yin realm was the place where ghosts could best enhance their power.
———
On the other side—The capital, Earth God Temple.
After parting with Guan Xinghe, Qin Ye didn't forget his task. Playing with the Heavenly Law Prison, he studied it while visiting one Earth God Temple after another.
Yet, at every Earth God Temple he visited, there was no contact with the Earth Gods.
After visiting more than a dozen Earth God Temples with no response, even though he hadn't yet found the main statue of the Earth God, Qin Ye was already certain—this generation's Earth God had definitely met a major accident. He was most likely dead.
And this suspicion, at midnight, by using fragments of the Earth God's avatar statue, Qin Ye finally located the main statue and confirmed it.
At this moment, Qin Ye stood before an Earth God shrine. Inside the small shrine, there were two palm-sized statues of the Earth God and Earth Goddess.
Upon closer inspection, the Earth God's statue had a cracked head, with a fracture running down the center of its forehead.
To put it bluntly, if someone were to touch the statue, the head would surely break off and fall.
Qin Ye stopped playing with the Heavenly Law Prison. His usual relaxed demeanor vanished, replaced by a serious expression.
The sight of the damaged statue confirmed it.
The Earth God was dead.
Completely and utterly dead.
Even though he had expected this outcome, confirming it still left Qin Ye shocked.
One must know—gods are powerful beings. As Guan Xinghe had mentioned before, as long as incense fire offerings remain, their main form remains intact. Gods are nearly immortal.
Yet now, the Earth God was dead.
"What is the Heavenly Court doing? A dead Earth God, yet not a single reaction? No appointment of a successor either?" Qin Ye frowned and muttered.
A deity of incense and worship, especially an Earth God, who, along with City Gods and Mountain Gods, was one of the few deities still present in the mortal realm—should not have gone unnoticed by the Heavenly Court. It was impossible for them to have no follow-up measures.
If they truly had none, then there seemed to be only one possible explanation.
"The Heavenly Court is in trouble?" Qin Ye's gaze flickered, his expression turning strange.
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