Master of Strange Dao

The second item is a Life-saving Pill, also made from Devil materials, but the raw materials are exceedingly rare, and the prices outside are extravagantly high.

The third item is the most precious; it is sweet rain diluted with Spiritual Liquid. Everyone who receives laci will have a small bottle. This item is priceless and cannot be found on the market; money cannot buy it.

Rushing through barriers, life-saving, dispelling Devil Thoughts—combining these three, Li Cang's eyelids twitched, his Qi-Blood surged, and he immediately put them away.

For a Cultivator, money is secondary. These three items are far more precious than money, precious enough that, with Li Cang's financial power and connections, it's impossible to gather them.

The only reason that allowed him to receive these three laci must be the merits he achieved earlier.

Li Cang immediately knelt to the ground, bowing grandly in the direction of the palace city, giving thanks for the grace.

All the colleagues around were at a loss for words, glancing at each other, silently guessing what merit Li Cang, the Prison Chief, had accomplished earlier.

The reward given by Emperor Dui couldn't be wrong.

Moreover, even if someone was reckless enough to reach out for the court's money pouch, they wouldn't dare touch Emperor Dui's laci—it would result in a terrible death, and implicating the whole family would be inevitable.

On the other side, in an ordinary small village, children and elders received welfare from the previous year, from cuts of meat with three-finger thickness to oil and live livestock, and some basic nourishing body pill and so on.

Outside Jiazi City, beside the rushing river, people from the court held Magic Decree Summoning, bestowing upon the River God of this place.

For decades, the River God here has worked diligently, adjusting the water flow during droughts and floods. Over the decades, the local great river has never had any issues, nor has any person or livestock drowned in it.

With the local agriculture and pastures flourishing every year, the River God has contributed significantly.

This time, they bestowed upon him a promotion, elevating his position from managing tributaries to overseeing the main flow of the local great river; the Temple also receives a one-level increase, quantity-wise a one-level increase.

The River God knelt in the water, somewhat nervous because when the Riddler led teams to meet Earth Deities before, it usually wasn't good news.

This time, it's an exception. After decades of tireless effort, the reward finally arrives.

"I, the River God of Bian River, bow in gratitude for the Emperor's grace."

Holding the summoning, the River God's body shimmers in halos, revealing a new Magic Robe, and in his palm appears a Seal, with Bian River patterns etched on it.

The River God of Bian River feels the change in himself, shocked beyond measure.

This isn't merely a gift from the Divine Dynasty; it also comes with a mysterious force that upgrades his Earth Deity status.

Once the reward is complete, an elder steps out, smiling at the River God of Bian River.

"Your achievements, every day and night, are all recorded by the court.

This time, the Emperor personally grants you the summoning; you must have sensed the difference.

You've survived the deity turmoil as an old River God. I hope you remember your original intention unwaveringly and persist.

This time, only five Earth Deities receive a reward.

And the only one personally honored by the Emperor is you.

Old friend, congratulations."

The elder smiles and congratulates sincerely.

Because this River God, back during the deity turmoil, was one of the very few.

Not only did he keep his original intention unwaveringly, but later riskily rescued those people who resisted the deity turmoil.

He is one of the few Earth Deities whom Jia Shisi specifically instructed his subordinates not to act recklessly during the massacre.

The elder is one of the people hidden in the river who survived the first tribulation back then. This time he personally walks through the process, also fulfilling the wishes of those who have fallen.

After the divine turmoil in Dadui, without purging all Earth Deities, allowing the people who had grudges against Earth Deities to accept them, was because there were still a handful of Earth Deities who could uphold the bottom line.

Cabinet Elder Zhang had also said that the Emperor mentioned discussing matters one by one; even if back then in a domain the people were transformed into Incense-eating People by Earth Deities, not all of them deserved to die.

Some individual Earth Deities were indeed not for power but for saving people.

The River God bowing towards the palace city was overwhelmed with emotion.

He was confused as to why this special reward this time would have such effects, but he indeed felt that the bitterness had finally ended.

Because the reward was based on the Divine Dynasty, but the honor was when Yu Ziqing borrowed the force of the Earth Deity Origin.

The former was considered a promotion, while the latter was considered an upgrade.

The combination of the two directly elevated the upper limits for the River God of Bian River.

Even if not like during the deity turmoil, just proceeding with ordinary promotions according to current rules, exceeding the current limit is attainable.

Perhaps, after two more rounds, a normally-ranked Earth Deity possessing a nine-floor treasure tower could emerge.

Throughout Dadui, happiness spread, and though the new year hadn't yet arrived, the joyful air was unmistakable.

Yu Ziqing nestled in the Dadui Book Library, flipping through classics, felt something and glanced outside, then smiled broadly.

Even from here, he could feel the uplifting force.

It seems the welfare distribution effect was quite good this time.

He continued reviewing classics, looking for ancient records.

He aimed to find relevant information about Jiu Nian, Demon, Ancient Demon, deep sea, Strange, Five-Colored Soil, and the like.

And now, what he's examining is actually what others have helped refine and simplify.

Because the records were too fragmented, some classics might only mention a single sentence.

Yet, it's precisely through these snippets that, when corroborated, a wealth of valuable information can be gleaned.