Chapter 174.1: If You Do Not Disdain Me

Qi Yuan looked at Qi Qi. "Are you here to eat at the feast?"

Qi Qi froze. Her brain lagged for a moment. After hesitating briefly, she answered seriously, "...Yes."

Qi Yuan's expression immediately changed. "What deep scheming! You traveled thousands of miles from Tianfu to Clearwater Village just to eat pig head!"

Qi Qi was completely dumbfounded. "I'm not here for a pig head."

Qi Yuan fired back rapidly. "Didn't you just say you were here to eat the feast?"

"I—"

"Then why are you here?"

"I came for what's inside the divine statue—" Qi Qi stopped mid-sentence, suddenly jolted awake.

She almost fell for it. As expected of a god! With just a few casual sentences, he had nearly led her into revealing her true purpose. Soon, she realized there was no point in hiding it.

Qi Qi said, "Lord God, I came here for an item inside the divine statue."

The villagers of Clearwater Village all exchanged looks. The divine statue seemed to be gone.

Qi Yuan dismissed her. "I'm waiting to eat the feast. We'll talk later."

Following that, Qi Yuan kicked the pig beneath his foot. It let out a shrill squeal as it flew straight into Wang Chongshan's arms.

Qi Qi was speechless. Beside her, her maid was also gripping a pig by the leg. There were too few villagers, so she had been asked to help.

Little Xue was full of grievances. "Miss, what do we do?"

As a young maiden, this was her first time dragging a pig.

"Follow them to eat at the feast," said Qi Qi.

***

The huge cauldron boiled violently, steam surging skyward. Intoxicating aroma wafted from the slabs of pork, filling the entire village.

Qi Yuan waved his hand grandly. "Wang Chongshan, call over the funeral band from Stone Village. The crying here is too restrained, the atmosphere is lackluster."

Wang Chongshan froze, then hurriedly nodded. "Yes, Lord God, I'll go right away."

Standing nearby, Shen Tu couldn't help protesting, "Our villagers can cry too!"

Qi Yuan glanced at him. "Forget it. Your crying is too fake."

Then, Qi Yuan looked at Chen Xifan from Chenxi Village and nodded approvingly. "Your village's head chef has good skills. You know how to prepare a feast. This is better than Stone Village."

Chen Xifan bowed deeply. "Venerable One, I am willing to prepare feasts for you every day."

Earlier that day, Qi Yuan had descended upon Chenxi Village in overwhelming fashion. Upon seeing a fat meat, Chenxi Village's god rushed out excitedly to greet Qi Yuan. His head rolled on the ground as a result.

Afterward, the temple guards turned into divine abominations and were slain one by one by Qi Yuan. Aside from a few villagers who resisted desperately, most chose self-preservation. After all, they had been forced to worship the new god. They had to offer young boys and girls as tribute every year. Resentment had long been brewing among them, but they simply lacked the strength to resist.

Hence, the people of Chenxi Village felt both fear and gratitude toward Qi Yuan. The feast continued. Fatty pork was served in succession, and everyone ate with great relish.

Yulei sat together with Shen Tu. There was a fat man and a skinny man beside them.

"Qiyuann Sovereign is our village's guardian god. The people of Stone Village fawn on him way too much," the skinny man said with a tinge of jealousy.

"

Haa...

It's my fault," the fat man said bitterly. "I tried to sell the divine statue for money and completely offended the Venerable."

After the battle with Stone Village, Clearwater Village had already been on the brink of ruin. The fat man had nearly starved thin. Keeping the divine statue served no purpose, and selling it wasn't unreasonable.

The skinny man said nervously, "But as his people, shouldn't we be the arms of our god? Our village's guardian god is a bit outrageous. He does everything personally. He just picks up a sword and charges in! That's far too dangerous."

It was akin to a king personally charging into battle every single day, rushing ahead of his soldiers. How could the villagers not be shocked? If the god suffered any mishap, Clearwater Village would be finished.

"It's because we're too weak," Yulei said, puffing on his dry pipe, smoke billowing.

The others fell silent, an awkward expression on their faces. Indeed, they were far too weak to shoulder any burden for their god. If they were stronger, they wouldn't fear being sidelined.

Shen Tu muttered, "Our strength is lacking, our mourning is lacking, even our feasts can't compare to Chenxi Village..."

They all looked helpless. They were supposed to be Qiyuann Sovereign's direct followers, yet all they did was stuff their mouths every day. Eating was nice, but without improving themselves, they would inevitably become unneeded.

Yulei said hesitantly, "Sadly, we're too weak to nourish the god in return. After the great change of heaven and earth, even gods can hardly reconstruct divine physiques..."

After the great change, ancient gods could no longer advance to True God realm. Many ancient gods no longer bothered to cultivate their domains. In ancient times, the stronger a god’s people became, the stronger the god grew in turn.

"Then, what if we imitate the new gods and assimilate with the Venerable?" the fat man suggested. "Wouldn't that make him stronger?"

New gods surpassed ancient gods for two reasons. First, they emerged endlessly. Second, they assimilated with their followers, merging the people into themselves.

Had the Stone Village's evil god survived, the villagers would eventually become temple guards. They were basically parts of the god itself, losing all self-awareness.

Shen Tu snapped. "What nonsense are you talking about? That's the work of evil gods! We can't even control such a thing!"

They laughed and dropped the topic. Deep down, a trace of anxiety remained. There was an unease about the future.

On the other side, Qi Qi gnawed on pig head meat while secretly glancing at Qi Yuan. She whispered, "Little Xue, what do you think of him?"

Little Xue's mouth was greasy. She hadn't eaten this well in ages. "He's a wonderful and amazing man!"

Anyone who let her eat well was a great benefactor.

Qi Qi said softly, "He seems carefree and unrestrained, but his mind is sharp. With just a few words, he nearly made me reveal everything."

If Qi Yuan knew her thoughts, he would cry injustice.

Little Xue praised him while chewing pork, "He is wise!"

"I heard he killed the new gods of Stone Village and Chenxi Village all by himself."

Little Xue praised him again. "Brave and strong!"

The pork was too delicious, she wanted to eat this every day.

Qi Qi glanced at Qi Yuan. "Do you think I should give him the Yinbirth Stone?"

A Yinbirth Stone would draw the covetous eyes of countless ancient gods and divine beings who coveted the True God realm.

Little Xue finally stopped eating, furrowed her brow, and thought deeply. After a long while, she gazed at the fragrant pork. "Other than him, we truly have no better choice."

Tianfu had fallen. The Qi family was destroyed. For years, Qi Qi and Little Xue had relied only on each other. People they could trust were exceedingly few. Perhaps Qiyuann Sovereign truly was someone they could rely on.

Qi Qi's thoughts churned endlessly. Finally, she seemed to make up her mind.