Chapter 42

As the black large nail shot down, a white banner gently unfurled, wrapping the black nail in its folds.

The self-satisfied Lingya Laozu's expression changed as he felt the loss of connection to his black dog nail, immediately panicking and shouting, "Evil deity, return my magical tool!"

This black dog nail was a magical tool that Lingya Laozu had created by collecting foul air, killing ninety-nine spiritually aware black dogs, and using their blood to infuse a piece of black iron, which he had refined over several decades.

It had cost Lingya Laozu a great deal of effort.

After all, for a wandering cultivator like Lingya Laozu, obtaining a cultivation technique was already a great opportunity, and the methods for refining magical tools were almost impossible to obtain.

Therefore, such wandering cultivators could only use some talismans, the most powerful of which were talisman tools, which were pitifully weak.

Even so, these wandering cultivators treasured them as if they were precious treasures.

This black dog nail was Lingya Laozu's most precious protective tool. Losing it was like losing half of his strength. His mind clouded, he rashly charged forward without carefully considering that the person who could easily take his decades-refined magical tool was not someone to be trifled with.

As Lingya Laozu pounced, Zhu Ganglie finally decided to kill. He had taken Lingya Laozu's magical tool, originally out of pity for his cultivation, intending to warn him and make him realize the severity of the situation, so he would leave on his own. However, Lingya Laozu did not understand his intentions and did not know his fate, so he could not blame others.

Zhu Ganglie immediately appeared, holding the Ice Soul Banner. Instantly, white snowflakes began to dance, and the crowd felt a chill in the air.

Looking around, the world was white, wrapped in silver, and the pouncing Lingya Laozu was directly turned into an ice sculpture, wrapped in a white banner.

Beside the white banner, a young Taoist in black robes, wearing a purple-golden Taoist crown, with a handsome face, floated in the air, looking down calmly.

Countless white snowflakes danced around the Taoist, making a beautiful scene, but the crowd felt no joy.

"You all retreat. Do not offend this mountain's deity, or you will be punished!"

After subduing Lingya Laozu, Zhu Ganglie said coldly.

The crowd, hearing Zhu Ganglie's words, hurriedly bowed and scattered.

Seeing these people leave, Zhu Ganglie looked at the Lingya Laozu wrapped in the Ice Soul Banner. Although Lingya Laozu had reached the Manifestation Realm, he had not condensed a single unit of magical power. He must have taken some heavenly treasures to break through to the Manifestation Realm.

Seeing Lingya Laozu, Zhu Ganglie did not immediately kill him, as he had other thoughts.

Lingya Laozu, a wandering cultivator, had achieved his current cultivation, which was rare. After all, Zhu Ganglie himself had once been such a wandering cultivator, struggling for cultivation, living in constant fear and hardship, which was not something to be easily shared with others.

Most importantly, Zhu Ganglie saw Lingya Laozu's mindset and his skills in mingling with the mundane world, which could make him a suitable temple keeper for the mountain deity temple. This would not only add strength to his senior brother Qu Gai but also help expand the temple's influence and gain more offerings.

While Zhu Ganglie was thinking about these things, Qu Gai's divine soul walked out of the temple and came to Zhu Ganglie's side, asking with some doubt, "Why did you spare this man's life, junior brother?"

"Senior brother, although this old man's cultivation is weak, he has some skills in the mundane world and is revered by the people below as a deity. Why not recruit him to be your temple keeper, adding strength to you?"

Zhu Ganglie did not seal Lingya Laozu's senses, so he heard everything clearly.

"This is a good idea, but this old man has some cultivation, making him hard to control."

Qu Gai, hearing Zhu Ganglie's words, also had this thought. Now that he had become a deity, having an assistant would add to his safety.

"Senior brother, don't worry. I obtained a partial text from the Ice Soul Peak's library, which can create talismans and embed them into a cultivator's divine soul to control them."

Zhu Ganglie chuckled and passed the Supreme Right Spirit Talisman to Qu Gai.

Receiving the technique, Qu Gai deduced it for a moment, then his face brightened, "Although this technique only reaches the Manifestation Realm, it is profound and suitable for my current use. Thank you, junior brother, for passing this technique!"

Qu Gai said with a joyful expression, looking at Zhu Ganglie with more gratitude.

"Senior brother, there's no need to be so polite. Let's interrogate this old man first!"

Zhu Ganglie waved his hand, and the ice and snow on Lingya Laozu's body quickly melted.

"Lingya, are you willing to submit? If you submit, you might have a chance for an opportunity. Otherwise, I can control your divine soul even if I kill you."

Zhu Ganglie chuckled coldly, making a gesture as if to kill the old man. Qu Gai, seeing Zhu Ganglie's expression, understood.

This junior brother was playing the bad guy, while he would play the good guy to form a bond with the old man. He then said with a smile, "Junior brother, there's no need to intimidate him. From the looks of it, he has already submitted!"

He then said to Lingya Laozu, "You will serve as the temple keeper here to gather offerings. At other times, you will not be restrained. If you help me, I can teach you a technique to condense magical power, allowing you to reach the Possession Realm."

Lingya Laozu, hearing Qu Gai's words and seeing Zhu Ganglie's menacing expression, felt extremely bitter. He had come to show off, but instead, he had encountered two fierce enemies.

Now, he had no choice but to submit. He bowed and said, "I am willing to submit!"

As he spoke, he released his divine soul.

With Lingya Laozu's submission, Qu Gai casually refined a Supreme Right Spirit Talisman and embedded it into Lingya Laozu's forehead.

Along with the talisman, he also passed a technique to condense magical power, which made Lingya Laozu's face brighten with joy, feeling a bit more balanced, as if he had turned a misfortune into a blessing.

After running through the technique once, Lingya Laozu sincerely bowed to Qu Gai, "Thank you, great deity, for granting me this technique. I will not let you down!"

As he spoke, he looked at Zhu Ganglie with a pitiful expression.

"Hehe, your magical tool has no restrictions. Why would I covet it!"

Zhu Ganglie understood and waved the Ice Soul Banner, returning the black dog nail to Lingya Laozu.

"Thank you, Daoist!"

Lingya Laozu's face brightened with joy as he hid the magical tool in his robes, fearing he might lose it again.

"Since you have sincerely submitted to my senior brother, I will not treat you unfairly. This is a broken magical tool. Although its restrictions are destroyed, its material is unique and far superior to your current magical tool. With a bit of refinement, it can become a good magical tool. You can learn the refinement technique from my senior brother."

Zhu Ganglie threw a broken magical tool he had picked up from the Ying River to Lingya Laozu, doing a favor in passing.

Qu Gai also smiled and passed the Small Cloud Restriction Techniques to Lingya Laozu. The three then returned to the temple. The next day, countless people on Bai Zhang Mountain discovered that Lingya Laozu had become the temple keeper of the mountain deity temple.

Their respect for the temple deepened, and the offerings became abundant.

(Thank you, VIKIS, Zhen Lin, and Pan Xiaoxian for your support. I continue to seek support, collections, and recommendations.)

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