The Five-Manifestation God of Wealth

After the death of the Five Impure Gods,

a strange, fragrant aroma slowly filled the room.

The scent seemed to carry a pain-relieving effect.

Though Wu Xian and Shi Ji were still clearly wounded, they no longer felt any pain.

Their bodies grew light and relaxed, as though some invisible shackle had been lifted.

It was a sensation of liberation—of freedom regained.

Everything around them began to blur.

In that haze, three divine statues slowly rose from the ground.

One of them, Wu Xian had seen before—it was the God of Fortune and Merit, robed in brilliant red, a heavenly official presiding over blessings.

The other two were unfamiliar.

One gleamed entirely in gold, round and plump, wearing a warm smile.

Despite his kindly appearance, the metallic luster of his skin gave him an eerie, inhuman presence.

This was the Heavenly Official—Five-Manifestation God of Wealth.

The other statue had the head of a man, but the body of a serpent.

Its form was covered in crimson fur, and densely packed with blinking, shifting eyes.

Those countless eyes slowly rotated, as if scrutinizing Wu Xian and Shi Ji, sending a chill down the spine.

This was the Earthly Official—Demon God Zhuyin.

There was something different about these three statues.

The divine seats of the statues Wu Xian had previously encountered were usually red-brown or grayish-brown in color.

But these three thrones shimmered with silver light—clearly a higher grade of divinity.

Each statue already had incense sticks neatly placed in front of them.

They could begin their worship directly—and receive their blessings.

Wu Xian was sorely tempted to claim all three rewards for himself.

But after some thought, he decided against it.

Shi Ji had also contributed in defeating the Five Impure Gods.

So, he gave the God of Fortune and Merit to Shi Ji, while he chose the Five-Manifestation God of Wealth and Demon God Zhuyin.

He'd never seen the effects of these two statues before.

Now was the perfect opportunity to discover something new.

Wu Xian stood before the statue of Demon God Zhuyin.

This was the first Earthly Official he'd encountered.

He already knew the Heavenly Officials granted talismans, while the Water Officials gave spiritual tools.

Based on the scriptures, Earthly Officials were said to bestow divine abilities.

But what exactly did that mean?

With anticipation surging in his chest, Wu Xian inserted the cursed incense stick into the burner.

Hiss—

The moment the incense pierced the censer, blood began bubbling out from within.

It spilled over the edges and pooled on the table, where it quickly formed into three distinct objects:

A sharp claw, a crimson feather, and a single eerie eyeball.

Wu Xian pressed his hand against each in turn, and information appeared in his mind:

Werewolf Claw: Transforms one hand into the claw of a man-wolf. Can tear through iron, shatter stone, and rip flesh asunder.

Golden Crow Feather: Replaces part of the user's body hair with feathers of the Golden Crow. Any attack, in any form, can be imbued with fire.

Roc Eye: Replaces one eye with the eye of the Great Roc. Enhances vision, grants a chance to pierce illusions and instill fear in mortals.

Upon reading the descriptions, Wu Xian immediately understood.

The gifts of the Earthly Officials were meant to directly enhance the body.

The blessings of Demon God Zhuyin were all beast-like mutations.

Notably, the latter two items had a faint silver glow to their names, indicating they were of higher quality than the werewolf claw.

Wu Xian immediately dismissed the werewolf claw.

Between the other two, the Roc Eye seemed more powerful—its ability to potentially pierce through falsehood and frighten commoners was impressive.

But… the key word was "potentially."

Probability-based abilities were unreliable.

If it failed when he needed it most, the cost could be fatal.

On the other hand, the Golden Crow Feather simply imbued attacks with flame—and that could be triggered at will.

Even better, there was a possibility it could synergize with the last remaining cast of his True Fire Talisman.

After a brief moment of deliberation, Wu Xian made his decision.

He reached into the blood pooled on the table.

The blood reacted like a living thing, slithering up into his body.

Soon, Wu Xian felt an itch in his chest.

He pulled open his robes—and to his surprise, saw a small patch of bright yellow feathers sprouting from his chest.

His expression darkened.

"Didn't it say it would replace hair? I didn't even have chest hair to begin with!"

Fortunately, the change could be hidden beneath clothing.

If it had altered something more obvious—like his scalp hair—he would've had no way to conceal it.

Wu Xian tested it by throwing a punch into the air.

As he did, a wisp of fire surged from his fist.

But at the same time, his chest felt noticeably cooler—several of the yellow feathers had burned away.

So the flames did come at a cost.

He'd need to use this gift sparingly.

This experience also brought Wu Xian to a realization:

The rewards from worshipping in the Blessed Lands never granted one outright power over malevolent spirits.

Unless certain combinations were used to create a synergy that was greater than the sum of their parts.

And even then, it depended on compatibility.

Take him and Shi Ji, for example.

If they hadn't had that bottle of boy's urine to break the spell of the Five Impure Gods, no number of other relics could have saved them.

Now, Wu Xian turned to the golden-bright statue of the Five-Manifestation God of Wealth.

This god looked the richest and the roundest.

And if he was in charge of money… maybe he'd have something truly surprising to offer.

Wu Xian lit the incense and placed it into the burner.

And then—

Clatter, clatter, clatter...

A stream of colorful paper money began spraying out from the God of Wealth's open mouth, raining down onto the altar.

Then the glow faded.

The Five-Manifestation God of Wealth fell silent.

Wu Xian blinked.

"…That's it?"

Wu Xian was stunned for a moment, then quickly understood.

The blessing of "Divine Trifurcation" hadn't activated—likely because this particular statue didn't offer any selectable gifts in the first place.

He placed his hand on the stack of nether currency and read the information that surfaced in his mind:

Five-Manifestation Blessing: +150 Nether Coins

Karmic Merit Conversion: +60 Nether Coins

Total Acquired: 210 Nether Coins

Nether Currency: Issued by the Bank of Heaven and Earth. Can be used to bribe spirits, brought out of the Blessed Land, or used for transactions.

"So that's how it works..." Wu Xian muttered.

Scratching his curly hair, he looked slightly troubled.

There was no doubt that this nether money was valuable, but he still felt like he'd come out on the losing end.

What he needed was something to help him survive this ordeal—not some future benefit he might never live to use.

Sighing, he put the nether coins away.

On the other side, Shi Ji had just finished his own worship.

From the God of Fortune and Merit, Shi Ji had received a silver poison talisman. Without hesitation, he applied the talisman to the An Gang Blade—the blade that had been anointed with boy's urine.

After striking down two malevolent spirits, the blade had started to lose its luster. Corrosive marks had appeared across its surface.

But as soon as the poison talisman took effect, those marks vanished.

A ghostly green hue now shimmered faintly along the blade, giving the already ominous weapon an even darker edge.

With their prayers completed, the world around them began to shift again.

Intestines. Lungs. Mouths and noses, floating in midair.

Once again, the setting returned to that grotesque landscape—a living hell on Earth.

"Aghhh!"

Shi Ji let out a guttural cry, clutching at his face.

His mouth was in shambles—half his lips had eroded away, and his gums were almost entirely gone.

Wu Xian didn't fare much better.

His nose, lips, and skin were all screaming with pain.

During their battle with the Five Impure Gods, adrenaline had numbed them to injury.

Afterwards, the divine statues had suppressed their pain responses.

But now, the accumulated agony surged through their bodies all at once.

If this went on any longer, they wouldn't need another monster to kill them—Shi Ji would collapse right here, and Wu Xian wouldn't have the strength to fend off whatever came next.

"I really got the short end of the stick..." Wu Xian muttered through trembling lips.

With shaking hands, he pulled out a longevity peach from his pocket.

He'd obtained it back at Mr. Wang's home; the note said it had healing properties.

He split the peach in two, handing half to Shi Ji, then tossed his half into his mouth without hesitation.

Normally, longevity peaches served at birthdays were just sweet pastries—but this one was a real peach.

The fruit was juicy and fragrant, bursting with refreshing flavor that melted on the tongue.

Its effects spread through Wu Xian's body as a warm current.

Wounds on his skin, in his mouth, and elsewhere began to mend.

Before his very eyes, his body rapidly returned to peak condition.

Shi Ji clearly recognized the item—he accepted his half of the peach with deep gratitude written all over his face.

The peach's healing effect was even more dramatic for him.

Even his mutilated mouth began to heal and reform into something almost normal.

It wasn't a full recovery—but at least now, it wouldn't hinder him in battle.