Cooperation 2013

  The mountain god, the land and the city wall, these three are all within the scope of the earth spirit. Although they have always been known together in the world, mainly the city wall is in charge of cities above the county level, and its actual status is much higher than that of the first two.

  In the mountain gods, there are still a few minority groups with prominent status like San Shan Wu Yue, while the land god who accompanies the lower seat is just a mediocre standard of village cadres.

  He politely gave a few copper coins to the innkeeper who led the way, and Lin Xu stopped in front of the Land Temple, sending out a tentative divine light. Unexpectedly, the Land Temple responded immediately, and a burst of yellow light flashed by. The originally small Land Temple suddenly expanded rapidly like a balloon being inflated. Lin Xu knew that this was the effect of some kind of divine technique, so he didn't try to struggle free, allowing the force to pull him into the gradually expanding Land Temple.

  As Lin Xiu stepped through the gate of the Land Temple, he found that the internal space was much larger than it looked from the outside, and the environment was also much neater and more orderly, at least having a semblance of what a divine residence should look like.

  "Old Jiang's family has gathered land, Huang Shiren dares to ask, who are you?"

  The speaker was an old man with white hair and beard, holding a staff made of ancient rattan in his hand, with a yellow gourd tied to the top, giving off a somewhat ethereal and otherworldly aura.

  Seeing this, Lin Xu rushed up to the land god and bowed his hands, saying:

  "In the lower new appointment Huo Mountain God Lin Xu, have seen the yellow land."

  At the sound, the Landlord Huang Shiran's eyebrows rose, and he revealed a hint of a smile, nodding his head and saying:

  "Oh, I just heard from the underworld's yamen runner that a new mountain god has appeared in Mount Huo. It turns out to be Your Excellency. I have long admired your great name."

  After exchanging a few pleasantries, Lin Xu finally couldn't help but get to the point and said:

  "I came to visit the land today for two things."

  Upon hearing Lin Xu's words, the disheveled Landlord Jiang from the Jiang family gathering let out a hearty laugh and said:

  "I don't know where this old man can be of service, I hope you won't hesitate to instruct me!"

  He intuitively felt that this old land was a bit too cunning, and Lin Xu couldn't help but raise his vigilance, saying cautiously:

  "The two words 'teach me' are really not worthy of me. Firstly, I hope to join forces with the Yellow Earth to stop those evil spirits that have been disturbing the mountain people. Secondly, I want to make a deal with the Land God and cooperate to promote a new play."

  As human followers are the key to limiting the source of divine incense, in dealing with the principle of monsters eating people, in general, the gods' stance will remain consistent, and Lin Xu does not need to persuade Huang Shiran much.

  In a later conversation between the two sides, Lin Xu again emphasized the oath system previously drafted, explaining its intention and specific operation mode.

  It took a lot of time to explain, but Huang Shiren finally understood the entire proposal and its prospects. He couldn't help but smile, stroking his white beard, and said in a low voice:

  "Huo Shan's meticulous thoughts are good, but in this mundane world, it's hard for ordinary people to make a living, and their livelihoods are still struggling. Who among the common people would need such a contract document?"

  The previous promotional activities were hindered, and the good plan was not implemented. Lin Xu naturally understood that his own calculations must have had omissions. When asked about the crucial point, he didn't dare to deceive the cooperative party and said seriously:

  "As I just said, that was a way out in peaceful years, and now there is a suitable way for the chaotic world, only..."

  Just as Lin Xu was halfway through his words, he suddenly stopped and hung up the other person's appetite before continuing to say:

  "In short, you can rest assured that for the next ten years, no matter how much incense I get from Jiangjia Village, you can take 30% of it."

  Just by looking at the exterior of Jiang's Ancestral Temple, anyone with an IQ above 50 can clearly understand that Huang Shiren, this Landlord, is in a pitiful situation.

  Although the price promised by Lin Xu to the other party is not very high, for Huang Shiren who is about to be financially drained, even a small gain is still a gain. After hesitating for a while, he finally nodded in agreement with this profit-sharing plan.

  Overjoyed, Lin Xu clapped his hands and burst out laughing, saying:

  "Alright then, it's settled."

  "A gentleman's word is as difficult to retract as a team of four horses is to stop."

  In the midst of obscurity, there is a master. Although it can be said that gods are in the eyes of ordinary people, they all possess unfathomable great abilities, but they also pay corresponding prices for this.

  For example, gods cannot easily break promises. Even verbal agreements have considerable binding force. Therefore, Lin Xu and Huang Shi-ren's agreement did not require a handshake or oath, it was already established as soon as the words were spoken.

  Unlike ordinary people who can recklessly curse and swear without fear of being struck by lightning, they wouldn't even think that it's related to the fulfillment of their past vows if they were really struck. Any god who dares to be so shameless will eventually face retribution. The Buddhist saying "Bodhisattvas fear causes, sentient beings fear effects" is also explaining this principle. Ordinary people appear ignorant and foolish because they don't know how the evil causes they create today will form the evil effects of the future, which is why they can be so reckless.

  Many ordinary people, until they are harmed by the evil consequences of their own previous misdeeds and have nowhere to turn to heaven or earth, only then begin to complain that heaven is unfair. This is truly a foolish and unbearable behavior.

  The gods' vision is far higher than that of mortals, and they are very clear about the terrible consequences of casually forming karma. Would they be idle enough to test whether the law of cause and effect really works as rumored?

  They soon finished discussing the promotion plan for the oath book and moved on to the next topic, but the atmosphere was no longer so relaxed.

  The Landlord Huang Shiran stroked his own two long eyebrows that could rival other people's beards, and said with a worried expression:

  "Alas, forget about the previous plan, Hoshan Shen, you just said you wanted to exorcise demons, this matter is difficult!"

  When Lin Xu heard the words of Huang Shiren, the Land God, with a hint of politeness but refusal, he couldn't help feeling a bit displeased. No matter how powerful that tree demon was, two Earth Gods joining forces, plus the manpower of the Xia Mo sect, should be enough to deal with it.

  Lin Xuan tried his best to calm down and speak in a gentle tone, avoiding any sharp words that might escalate the situation:

  "Isn't there something in here that makes it difficult for the gods?"

  Lanruo Temple is only a few miles away from Jiangjia Village, and it's indeed close enough. As the neighbor of the demon, Huang Shiren, the land god, naturally knows more about the family background of the tree demon granny than others.

  At this time, Huang Shiren smiled bitterly and explained to Lin Xu in a good tone:

  "Alas, this matter is a long story to tell. The tree demon in Lanruo Temple has been difficult to deal with for thousands of years, and recently it has even taken refuge with the Northern Mang Mountain's Black Mountain Old Demon, its momentum is overwhelming! Let alone us small gods, I'm afraid that even if the Heavenly Court dispatches heavenly soldiers and divine generals to descend into the mortal world to slay demons and eliminate evil, it won't be an easy task."

  Upon hearing this, Lin Xu, a seasoned horror movie enthusiast, once again recalled the scene from the "A Chinese Ghost Story" series where Hei Shan Lao Yao personally took action to chase and kill Bai Yun Chan Shi and Xiao Hei at night. Thinking of those shocking scenes that were not inferior to Hollywood blockbusters with computer-generated special effects, Lin Xu couldn't help but take a deep breath. Indeed, if compared to the standard of the thousand-year-old tree demon granny, as the big boss, Hei Shan Lao Yao's cultivation was at least over 1,500 years, a top-notch demon.

  If we were to attack the Lanruo Temple and provoke the hidden boss, Heishan Old Monster, it would be like treating two tables of guests with one table of wine and dishes. At that time, instead of exorcising the monster, we might end up being exorcised by it, and both our dignity and reputation would be lost.

  He nodded slowly and said with a serious expression:

  "It seems that the matter of exorcising demons requires a long-term plan."

  The worldly-wise Huang Shiren noticed that Lin Xu's mood wasn't great, so he started chatting with him about trivial matters. At this moment, Lin Xu suddenly remembered something and cupped his hands to say:

  "There is still one more thing unclear below, and I would like to ask for guidance from the Yellow Land."

  He was taken aback for a moment, then followed Huang Shiren's laughter and said:

  "What's going on?"

  "Do you know what really happened at the gathering of heavenly immortals three hundred years ago?"

  It was as if Lin Xu's question had exceeded the old land's psychological expectations, and he blinked his eyes, bowed his head in thought for a while before hesitantly responding:

  "I'm just a humble old man from a small town, my words carry little weight! I don't have the qualifications to participate in such a grand conference. However, I did hear a certain yinshi mention it later, and all I can say is that I know a thing or two about it."

  It's good to know that the valuable information obtained from two subordinates is too little, Lin Xu has been wanting to ask someone about the inside story of that gathering. At this moment, he excitedly said:

  "Great, I was just about to ask for your advice."

  As long as you live long enough, even with ordinary talent, you can accumulate enough capital to become a wise man. Originally, the meaning of wisdom refers to the profound philosophy refined from endless experiences, and Huang Shiren, the landlord, undoubtedly meets this selection standard.

  In the past, after the world of Honghuang was shattered, apart from a few large pieces that were taken away and used as their own Daoist temples by some powerful beings, who should be called "piece boundaries" in professional terms, the remaining numerous piece boundaries could only be left to drift with the wind, drifting aimlessly in the endless void.

  In the days when the Desolate World still existed, any outsiders who did not originally belong to this world found it difficult to penetrate and operate within. After all, the repulsive forces between different worlds were a terrifying power equivalent to the laws of causality. If one was careless, they would be sucked in and lose their skin if not killed. However, as the Desolate World became a distant historical legend, those unguarded realms became ownerless treasures, and any outsider could take a scoop. Just like the realm where Lin Xu is currently located, it was one of the many abandoned lands that the powerful beings of the time did not have the leisure to care for, and it became a floating island drifting in the endless void.

  As for this point, Lin Xu had also heard his two deputy generals mention it before, but the specific content was not as detailed as what Huang Shiran said.

  When it came to the gathering three hundred years ago, Huang Shiren's face was filled with a mixture of admiration and disappointment. At that time, the powerful beings living in this realm, in order to unite against external invasions, held a meeting under the arrangement of the Heavenly Court, determined to counterattack the invading enemy. The conference gathered the elite forces of the entire realm, whether it was immortals or demons, all of whom unconditionally joined the grand battle against the invading enemy. However, the outcome of this void battle was unusually tragic and sad.