It is said that in ancient times, a divine being created a secret method capable of refining collected wishes into pure wish beads.
The effect of these beads not only allowed for a better understanding of the principles of heaven and earth but also enabled the gathering of immense spiritual energy from the world for one's own refinement into vast divine power.
Although this method still exists, at least within the territory of the Great Yu Dynasty, it is strictly controlled by the court, and its leakage is absolutely forbidden.
Even without the ability to refine wish beads, one could still achieve many similar effects once they began to refine wishes.
Li Buwei and the other three were currently enjoying this benefit. While the effect was certainly weakened, it was undeniably a significant fortune.
For half a month, the four of them meditated in the main hall of the River God Temple. With the elixirs provided by Ji Yuan, their cultivation realms saw substantial progress.
Although they did not directly break through to a minor realm, they saved more than half a year of arduous effort. All they needed to do was to spend some time cultivating peacefully, and reaching the next level would not be difficult.
And on a noon half a month later, the divine might radiating from Ji Yuan suddenly surged several times. With sufficient incense offerings transformed into pure divine power, he finally and smoothly entered the Third Realm!
His realm had already been elevated to a point incredibly close to the Third Realm within the inheritance divine hall of the Yu Clan. All he needed was a little digestion to make the breakthrough.
During the fortune brought by the spiritual spring, he not only comprehended immortal cultivation techniques but also spent considerable time deducing various aspects of the divine path.
In this regard, his attainment was no less than that of anyone who had cultivated for dozens or hundreds of years. He had transitioned from touching the Third Realm to becoming a solid early-stage Third Realm cultivator.
Now, with a large amount of incense offerings gradually being refined into pure divine power, Ji Yuan naturally elevated his divine manifestation to the Third Realm.
Another day and night passed. Feeling the immense divine power within him and his stable realm, he slowly opened his eyes.
As soon as he stood up, the divine might within his golden body surged outwards in all directions like a tidal wave, naturally alarming the four people around him.
"Congratulations, Master, on entering the Third Realm!"
Li Buwei and the others immediately stood up, clasped their fists, and congratulated him loudly.
Whether it was the divine path, the immortal path, or other paths, the Third Realm was undoubtedly a watershed. Before it, one was merely initiated; at the entry level, one was just beginning to tread the path. Only in this realm did one truly step into the grand hall.
Amidst the congratulations, Ji Yuan moved his mind, and the divine power within him roared like waves in the ocean.
Thanks to the Nine Yuan Heavy Water Scripture and the Nine Refinements Nine Yuan Heavy Water Secret Technique recorded within it, the stability of his golden body far surpassed that of deities of the same realm, and his divine power was exceptionally potent.
Despite being named Yun Lu, and having been a god for over three hundred years, the total amount of his divine power was only about twenty to thirty percent of Ji Yuan's.
Furthermore, as he continued to comprehend techniques and secret arts, the total amount of divine power within him would continue to increase. If cultivated to its extreme, he could even possess ten times, or even more, divine power than deities of the same realm.
"It seems you have also gained a lot!"
Ji Yuan swept his gaze over the four people before him, feeling a slight surprise in his heart.
Among them, Liu Qi had the least improvement. Half a month of enlightenment had not enabled him to push his realm to the mid-stage of the Spirit Unlocking Realm.
Compared to Liu Qi, Zhu Tao had clearly fared much better. With perhaps one or two months of closed-door cultivation to accumulate enough mana, he would be able to break through to the mid-stage.
As for Li Buwei and Mo Yiyan, although their realms had not seen significant improvement, they had further consolidated their cultivation and solidified their Dao foundations.
Despite no significant change in their realms, the strength of both individuals had undoubtedly increased considerably, making them not inferior to disciples of any sect with a proper inheritance, and even giving them an advantage in any fight or skirmish.
"Without the fortune bestowed by Master, we would not have gained such rewards."
Mo Yiyan spoke the truth, causing those around him to nod instinctively.
Upon hearing this, Ji Yuan merely smiled and then let them attend to their own matters, while simultaneously receiving messages from his main body.
During the half-month he spent refining incense offerings and wishes to improve his realm, many events had transpired in Linfu County.
Firstly, the twelve temple keepers had been interrogated one by one. These individuals had confessed to all their crimes without any concealment, and their guilt had been verified.
This matter caused many residents of the city to fall into silence, and their faith began to waver.
Even the temple keepers, who were closest to the gods, were all heinous criminals. How could the River God, as a deity, be completely unaware of this?
With the irrefutable evidence, except for a few who were glib-tongued or simply stubborn, no one else dared to question further.
In fact, most of the common people, though unwilling to admit it, were actually anticipating the judgment of the River God in their hearts, seeing it as a way to put an end to the matter.
However, the interrogation of a deity was not within the purview or authority of the county magistrate. The normal procedure should involve the local City God, who would then submit the results to the Prefectural Governor's office and the City God of the prefecture, before being passed up the hierarchy.
Finally, it would be submitted from the Prefectural Governor's office to the prefectural city, and then to the Imperial Observatory in the capital.
The official documents sent by the City God would ultimately be handed over to the Mountain Guardian God or the Great River God who governed the region.
However, the current City God of Linfu County, along with his subordinate spiritual officials, had vanished, and their whereabouts remained unknown to this day. The only certainty was that they had not perished.
Otherwise, the court's Imperial Observatory would have received news of the deity's demise and dispatched powerful cultivators to investigate.
Since no one from the Imperial Observatory had arrived, it was likely that no news of a deity's death had been received.
Several days prior, County Magistrate Zhang Qingyang had already dispatched someone to deliver the official document to the Prefectural Governor's office, so that they could report the local situation to the prefectural city and subsequently notify the Imperial Observatory.
However, for the people in higher positions to arrive and handle the subsequent matters would take several months.
According to Ji Yuan's estimation, it would take at least three to five months, and this time was sufficient for him to accomplish many things.
The immediate priority was to refine the Linfu River as much as possible, while also transcending the vengeful spirits and water ghosts within the river. By firmly grasping the origin of this river, he would also earn a substantial amount of merit.
When the emissaries from the Imperial Observatory arrived, he could then leverage his subsequent plans to secure an officially recognized position as a Water God and the qualification to build a temple in Feiyun Prefecture.
To progress far in the divine path, immense incense offerings and wishes were required for support. Besides one's own realm, the firm faith of believers was also crucial.
As for the mastermind manipulating the River God Temple, they would naturally be handled by the Prefectural Governor's office, or even the court's Imperial Observatory.
What he could do in the meantime was to ensure that no major incidents occurred in the area before the officials arrived, and to stabilize the situation as much as possible.
Once the emissaries arrived, the Nine Xuan Sect would also intervene. Ji Yuan would only need to play his role well to achieve a great feat.