Any ability, when developed to its extreme, possesses a power that ordinary people cannot fathom.

The ability to enter the Great Thousand Dreams is even more so.

It might seem like it only doubles the amount of time each day, but in reality, that doubled time allows for so much more to be done.

Huu!

Hiss~

As the night deepened, the light in the room faded, and An Qisheng's mind drifted. For a time, only the sound of his steady breathing could be heard.

At a certain moment, a dark cloud drifted over, obscuring the crescent moon, and even the starlight dimmed.

"Hmm?"

An Qisheng's eyelids twitched slightly, as if he had sensed something, but soon returned to their peaceful state.

Huu~

Under the dim night sky, a shadow approached from afar, blending seamlessly with the dark curtain of night, silently entering the courtyard.

The backyard, close to the main bedroom.

Sa Wuling lay on his side, asleep, using the 'Immortal Sleep' method taught by An Qisheng to meditate and nourish his qi.

Ding~

At a certain moment, the bell at his waist suddenly trembled.

"Huu!"

Sa Wuling seemed oblivious, turning over in his sleep, but his eyelids twitched slightly.

He had dealt with corpses his whole life, and naturally encountered many ghosts, so he was always on guard.

The moment the bell rang, he woke up.

Huu huu~

A gust of wind seemed to blow past the door, but after a while, nothing seemed to happen.

'Nothing?'

Sa Wuling muttered to himself, when out of the corner of his eye, he saw a shadow flowing in through the crack in the door. Then, a shadow enveloped his body.

"A little ghost?"

Just as Sa Wuling was about to shake the bell, he heard a faint voice in his mind:

"Daoist Sa, Daoist Sa! I am Pei Yuanhua, the City God of this county. My birthday is approaching, and I am hosting a banquet for my fellow Daoists..."

The voice was ethereal, yet carried a heavy sense of authority, and the intense scent of incense instantly filled his mind.

City God's birthday?

Banquet for fellow Daoists?

Sa Wuling's mind reeled slightly, and he saw a little ghost holding a large red invitation, bowing gently towards him.

An invisible wave followed.

Sa Wuling wanted to shake the bell, but suddenly heard An Qisheng's voice in his mind:

"Do not refuse. Go and take a look."

Buzz~

With just one bow, the surroundings changed drastically. Sa Wuling only felt his body lighten, and when he opened his eyes, he saw two skinny little ghosts, 'huffing and puffing' as they carried a sedan, with him sitting inside.

They were walking along a small path, dark on both sides, but bright ahead.

In the distance, he could see an ancient and majestic residence at the end of the path.

The residence had a two-tiered layout, which matched the standards of a county's City God.

"It really is the City God Temple..."

Sa Wuling was somewhat flattered.

He had been living in the Anuo County area for a long time, so he naturally knew that Anuo County had a City God. However, the City God was the master of the underworld in the area, with a high status, which he could not possibly meet. He had never seen a City God in decades, let alone attended a banquet.

If An Qisheng had not spoken, he would have refused.

"Immortal, sit tight."

The little ghost in front grunted.

"The City God is waiting!"

The little ghost behind added.

"I am just a wandering cultivator; I dare not accept the title of Immortal."

Sa Wuling waved his hands repeatedly.

Not just anyone could bear the title of Immortal.

Nourishing Qi, Receiving the Talisman, Warming and Nourishing, Natal, Entering the Dao, Achieving Truth - the sixth stage of cultivation was required to call oneself an Immortal. He was still far from that, how could he dare to accept the title?

"Immortal, we're here!"

The two little ghosts seemed to be huffing and puffing, but they walked very fast. In the blink of an eye, they had arrived in front of the City God's mansion.

Having arrived here, naturally more little ghosts came to greet him.

Sa Wuling was extremely apprehensive, but he forced himself to get off the sedan. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw about fifteen or sixteen other sedans like his own, indicating that the scale of this banquet was quite large.

"Calm down!"

An Qisheng's voice sounded in his mind again.

In the small courtyard in the southern part of the city, An Qisheng stood before the window in Sa Wuling's room, hidden in the shadows. He examined the old Daoist, who was breathing evenly, his eyes flickering, lost in thought.

Although the movements of the little ghost were small, how could they escape his notice?

However, the City God's night banquet was a good opportunity for him to understand this world. A county's City God was qualified to know many things.

Unlike ordinary people, who were unaware of news three feet away from the county town.

However, this method of invitation was quite interesting. The little ghost hooked the soul, directly causing astral projection for a night tour, which could be described as silent and imperceptible.

"A City God's birthday banquet..."

An Qisheng's eyes flashed, and then slowly closed. A wisp of divine intent had already entered Sa Wuling's body.

'Senior is indeed following me...'

Sa Wuling only felt his mind calm, all distracting thoughts disappearing. He calmed down and followed the little ghost into the City God's mansion.

With Senior watching over him, what was there to fear?

The City God's mansion was quite large. The courtyard had two entrances and two exits, with exquisite pavilions and towers, and quiet and beautiful ponds and corridors. Many little ghosts walked around, busy with their tasks.

Around, he could vaguely smell the scent of burning incense, which was the result of the City God being worshipped for a long time.

"Hahaha! It is truly an honor to have you, Daoist!"

Just as Sa Wuling was observing the City God's mansion, he heard a clear laugh from the main hall.

He looked up and saw a middle-aged scholar with a tall hat and wide sleeves, and an unusual appearance, laughing as he pulled a young man in a Daoist robe along.

"Pei Yuanhua, the City God of Anuo County, and Jia An, the master of the Heavenly Will Sect's branch temple!"

Sa Wuling recognized the middle-aged scholar at a glance.

Although Anuo County was just a county town, it had a history of thousands of years. This county's City God had naturally existed for many generations. It was said that this Pei Yuanhua was a Confucian general from the previous dynasty, who died protecting the people from demons. The local people built a temple for him.

After two hundred years of incense, he became the City God.

He also recognized the young man in the Daoist robe as Jia An, the master of the Heavenly Will Sect's temple stationed in Liangzhou Prefecture.

However, the Heavenly Will Sect was stationed in various places, taking away a lot of the City God's incense. Rumor had it that the two sides were usually at odds with each other. Today, they were actually shaking hands and laughing. Could it be that the rumors were false?

Sa Wuling's arrival did not attract much attention. Or rather, there were quite a few people invited to this City God's banquet.

It seemed that all the cultivators in the city had been invited.

Sure enough, after his arrival, many more people arrived, adding up to no less than thirty people.

Anuo County was just a small county, with a population of only 300,000, but it actually had so many cultivators.

Sa Wuling was slightly surprised. Among them, there were many he recognized, such as those like him who were nominally disciples of the Heavenly Will Sect.

Only those on the City God's left and right sides, including Jia An, were truly Invested.

"Who is that old monk?"

After scanning the area, Sa Wuling's gaze settled on an old monk at the head of Pei Yuanhua's left hand.

The old monk had a kind face and gentle eyes. He was old but not thin, but rather very round and crystal-clear.

Who was this old monk?

In the Imperial Heaven World, the left was considered the more honored position. The fact that the old monk could sit on the left could only mean that in Pei Yuanhua's heart, the old monk's status was higher than that of Jia An, the Heavenly Will Sect's temple master who was stationed in a prefecture.

"Tomorrow is Pei's birthday. Today, I had the thought to host a banquet for everyone. Pei is overjoyed that you could come!"

After everyone was seated, the City God Pei Yuanhua released the young Daoist's hand, raised his wine cup, and said with a light smile.

"You're too kind, you're too kind!"

"How could we not come to the City God's banquet?"

"That's right, that's right! It is our honor to attend today's banquet."

Everyone dared not neglect him. When the City God raised his cup, they naturally followed suit and drank the spiritual wine, saying flattering words.

Sa Wuling naturally drank it as well.

He only felt a cool sensation upon entering his mouth, making his whole body feel comfortable and relaxed. He felt greatly refreshed, as if he had slept soundly after not sleeping for several days.

"This wine is made from rare herbs from the Netherworld, and brewed with incense as fuel. It is extremely precious."

The young Daoist Jia An also finished the wine in his cup, and smiled slightly:

"It's rare that Brother Pei is willing to part with it."

"It's just some external items and wine. Now that everyone is here, would Pei care about this?"

Pei Yuanhua smiled faintly and clapped his hands.

Many little ghosts walked in from outside, carrying various dishes and placing them on the small tables in front of everyone.

These dishes were all extremely extraordinary, because theoretically, ghosts and gods could only use incense, and souls could not randomly touch incense. Therefore, they must have been made from special materials from the Netherworld, cooked with incense.

They were most nourishing to the soul, and were of great benefit to cultivators.

Whether they understood or not, everyone was not polite, and naturally ate faster after tasting the benefits.

Pei Yuanhua smiled as he talked to the two people on his left and right, occasionally raising his cup to drink with them. The old monk also did not avoid wine, meat, or fish, and ate with great relish.

His fat face trembled like waves.

"Everyone!"

After the banquet had passed its midpoint, Pei Yuanhua clapped his hands, attracting everyone's attention, and then slowly said:

"I forgot to introduce everyone."

"The master sitting on my left hand is a high monk from the Rulai Monastery in the capital. He has come here to build a temple and save all living beings."

"Amitabha!"

As Pei Yuanhua introduced him, the smile on Jia An's face gradually disappeared. The old fat monk put his hands together and chanted a Buddhist prayer:

"This humble monk, Dexing, greets all fellow Daoists."

The people in the hall looked at each other, but no one spoke.

Everyone could see that the old monk had not come with good intentions.

Originally, there were already undercurrents between the Heavenly Will Sect and the various City Gods, and now another Rulai Monastery had come, which was likely to make things even more chaotic.

Those like Sa Wuling, who were nominally disciples of the Heavenly Will Sect, dared not congratulate him in front of the temple master.

'The Heavenly Will Sect is so powerful, how dare this Rulai Monastery compete with the Heavenly Will Sect?'

Many people were pondering the meaning behind this.

For a time, they fell into an awkward silence.

The three people at the head of the table seemed unsurprised by the reactions of the people below.

Jia An was expressionless and naturally had no intention of breaking the silence. Pei Yuanhua watched with a smile, shaking his head occasionally, not knowing what he was thinking.

"Amitabha."

Only the old monk chanted the Buddhist prayer again, and then slowly opened his mouth:

"City God, I heard that the demonic fiend who committed crimes in Clear Water County some time ago has fled to the Anuo County area. Is that true?"

"That's right."

"That is a Wood Spirit that has become a demon. It roams the mountains and forests, and controls all the plants and trees. Even we City Gods cannot do anything about it once we leave the city..."

Pei Yuanhua nodded slightly, his lowered eyes flashing before he concealed them:

"Master, do you have any advice for me?"