Hu Ji squeezed past the fat man into the room, his gaze instinctively sweeping around.

The room’s decor wasn’t luxurious, but it exuded a sense of mystery. Against the wall stood a towering statue of a mysterious man in a black robe, his face completely obscured by the shadow of his hood.

Several men and women in black robes stood inside the room, each with three wavy lines sewn onto their chests, marking them as followers of the Black River God.

Hu Ji stood there, listening to their prayers, feeling increasingly agitated.

Before long, the fat man who had taken his money emerged from the inner room, holding a wooden box.

Hu Ji took the box and counted the pills inside, finding nearly half as many as before. Anger surged within him, but when he looked up, he saw several burly men in black robes appear beside the fat man.

“Brother Hu, these are the blessings of the Black River God. You’d better keep them safe. If you offend the Black River God and incur divine punishment, I won’t be able to protect you,” the fat man said with a smirk.

Seeing this, Hu Ji suppressed his anger and asked, “May I ask if these expensive pills from the Black River God can really cure the Green Poison Disease? My wife has been taking them for a long time, but she’s not getting any better.”

“How dare you question the Black River God! If your wife’s illness isn’t improving, it’s because her faith isn’t sincere enough. Go home and have her recite the Black River God’s scriptures a few more times, and the medicine will naturally take effect. Stop causing trouble here!” the fat man snorted, waving his hand. The burly men pushed and shoved Hu Ji out of the room.

Outside, Hu Ji stumbled and fell, barely protecting the wooden box in his hands. When he got up, the door had already closed. Seeing this, he could only turn and head back home.

Meanwhile, on the roof, a soul crow observed everything. As Hu Ji left, it flapped its wings and vanished into the ground.

…

Since his wife had already taken the pills, Hu Ji put the wooden box away when he returned home and started doing household chores.

However, a seed of doubt about the “Black River God” had taken root in his heart, mixed with a vague sense of resentment. But for now, he had no choice but to trust the “Black River God.”

Having some medicine was better than none.

After busying himself around the house and hanging up the washed clothes, Hu Ji returned inside, only to find a man in a plain long robe talking to his daughter.

Alarmed, Hu Ji rushed over to shield his daughter, but when he saw the man’s face, he froze.

“Benefactor?”

Yuan Ming smiled and nodded at him. “It’s been a while. Seeing you in good spirits puts my mind at ease.”

Hu Ji knelt before Yuan Ming, excited. “I was blind before and showed you disrespect on the way back. Thank you for your magnanimity, for not holding it against me, and for saving me from the Black Wind. I am forever in your debt and willing to serve you in any way.”

Yuan Ming looked at Hu Ji, a faint smile on his lips.

Hu Ji was indeed a smart man. He knew that as a cultivator, Yuan Ming wouldn’t seek him out for no reason. So, he expressed his gratitude and willingness to serve right away.

“I came to help you today,” Yuan Ming said, walking to the altar. He used his finger as a knife, wiping away the text on the Black River God’s plaque and carving three new characters—”Dark Moon God.”

“From now on, I want you to preach in the city under the name of the Dark Moon God. The more followers you gather, the greater your rewards will be. If you reach a certain number, it might even be possible for you to embark on the path of immortality,” Yuan Ming said.

Hu Ji didn’t hesitate. “I will follow your orders and do my best to live up to your expectations. However, I have one more request.”

Yuan Ming asked directly, “Do you want me to cure your wife’s illness?”

“Your insight is remarkable. That is indeed my request, but it’s not just for my selfish reasons; it’s also for the sake of your preaching,” Hu Ji explained.

“Tell me more,” Yuan Ming said, looking at Hu Ji with a hint of appraisal.

“I mentioned before that the Black Wind Desert is a melting pot of people from Qin, Zhao, and the Northern Wastes. Every city has a mix of people from these regions. I’m from Zhao Country, and my wife is from the Northern Wastes. Central Plains people don’t usually follow religions, but many Northern Wastes people already have faith. Spreading a new religion will be challenging.”

Hu Ji knew Yuan Ming was testing his judgment, so he explained carefully.

“Moreover, the people in the Black Wind Desert are slaves to cultivators. Although their horizons are limited, they won’t worship just any magic. To gain their faith, we must solve their problems. The biggest issue in Quicksand City right now is the Green Poison Disease, which my wife also suffers from. If we can cure this disease, gaining their faith will be much easier.”

Yuan Ming asked, “Is this what the Black River God cult did?”

“Yes, the Black River God cult rose to power by addressing this issue and now sells divine medicine to gain followers. If you can teach me to make better elixirs, we can win over their followers,” Hu Ji said.

“Don’t worry about that. Their medicine is just mud pills with no spiritual energy, meant to deceive. My elixirs are a thousand times better, even if diluted in water,” Yuan Ming said, taking out a bottle of low-grade detoxifying elixirs and placing it on the altar.

Hu Ji was overjoyed and quickly took the elixirs, rushing into the bedroom.

Yuan Ming didn’t mind and didn’t follow him. He casually glanced around the room. At that moment, Hu Ji’s daughter approached him with a bowl, her voice clear and sweet.

“Benefactor, please have some tea.”

At six years old, she didn’t understand Yuan Ming’s status as a cultivator. Seeing her father’s respect, she instinctively treated Yuan Ming as an honored guest, offering him tea.

Yuan Ming was touched by her thoughtfulness but smiled wryly when he looked at the tea.

Floating in the pale green tea were a few broken leaves, and the rising steam carried a sour, astringent smell instead of a tea fragrance.

Yuan Ming had never drunk such tea, but seeing the girl’s sincere eyes, he couldn’t refuse. He took a small sip.

As the tea went down, Yuan Ming suddenly frowned and summoned Hua Zhi.

The girl was startled by the sudden appearance of the vine-like creature but bravely touched Hua Zhi’s arm, full of curiosity.

Yuan Ming ignored her and handed the bowl to Hua Zhi. “Check where the poison in this tea comes from.”

Hua Zhi took the bowl, dipped a finger in the tea, picked up a leaf, and swallowed it.

After a while, he concluded, “Master, the water is poisoned.”

Yuan Ming nodded. At that moment, a joyful cheer came from the bedroom, and Hu Ji emerged, supporting his wife. The spots on her face had noticeably faded.

“Benefactor, this is…” Hu Ji looked up and saw Hua Zhi, startled.

“This is my companion. Don’t worry about it. I have a question. Where does your household water come from? Has anyone tampered with it?” Yuan Ming asked.

Hu Ji thought for a moment and shook his head. “The water comes from the well. It doesn’t taste good, but there’s enough. Each family draws their own water, so there’s no contact or tampering.”

“Where is the well? Take me there,” Yuan Ming ordered.

Hu Ji nodded, helped his wife sit down, and led Yuan Ming to the well.

Soon, Yuan Ming reached the well and sent a soul crow down to investigate. Following the water, he found the underground river was deep and murky, obscuring visibility.

After some thought, Yuan Ming used an illusion to conceal Hua Zhi and sent him down the well to trace the poison’s source.

Hua Zhi followed the underground river, sensing the flow of toxins and moving upstream.

Before long, Hua Zhi surfaced in a spacious underground air pocket. There, a giant green insect, resembling a ladybug but human-sized, was feasting on other insect corpses. Green fluid dripped from its back, pooling on the ground and flowing into the river.

Seeing this, Hua Zhi attacked the insect.

The insect, a low-level demon, couldn’t even bite through Hua Zhi’s vines, and its toxic fluid was ineffective. It soon fell into a disadvantage and, sensing its impending defeat, curled up and extended its antennae towards Hua Zhi in submission.

Sensing its surrender, Hua Zhi marked it with a vine and led it back to the surface.

On the surface, Yuan Ming listened to Hua Zhi’s report, pleased that the water’s poison was resolved. He began to ponder how to use this to gather more faith.