Chapter 185: Lord of Tranquil Valley

"..."

The Small Wooden Figurine on Yan Jing's shoulder seemed to sense something. It looked down at his body in terror.

Some force was erupting from within him. Reacting, the figurine tried to flee, but Yan Jing grabbed it and tossed it to Fei Yu, who caught it in one hand.

"..."

The Small Wooden Figurine struggled desperately, but it was useless. Its trunk-like upper body trembled in fear as it watched helplessly while Yan Jing walked step by step toward the incompletely matured Pathway Seed.

Then, Yan Jing slowly reached out toward the seed.

"Hum—"

Gray light bloomed above the seed.

An eldritch aura instantly surged from the top of the earthen wall, slowly rolling toward Yan Jing.

Billowing gray mist was on the verge of completely engulfing him.

This was the seed's resistance; it would not allow anyone to disturb its growth.

But a cluster of pitch-black mist materialized in Yan Jing's palm.

The moment that mist appeared, the surrounding eldritch gray mist automatically retreated.

And the Crystal on the wall began to tremble violently.

"You take too long to grow."

Yan Jing said calmly, smiling.

"Leave this Domain to me."

"I'll take good care of it."

The seed on the wall trembled even harder at his words. Naturally, it had no desire to toil only for his benefit.

But it no longer had a choice.

The black mist in Yan Jing's hand flew out on its own, pouncing on the Crystal on the wall and enveloping it instantly.

"Hum, hum, hum—"

The gray light around the Crystal flickered before completely dimming moments later.

Both Fei Yu and the Small Wooden Figurine sensed a brand-new power erupting from the mist.

Fei Yu's eyes flashed; she knew what that cluster of black mist in her young master's hand was.

It was actually a complete Pathway Seed!

Though somewhat shocking, her young master was always mysterious and had shown her even more astonishing things in the past.

So this was entirely within reason.

She just felt a little gloomy, because taking out something like this meant that when her young master had spoken of "go big and go strong" last time, it hadn't just been empty talk.

"Rumble—"

The ground of the entire Tranquil Valley began to shake violently. In an instant, sand and soil flew, vegetation filled the air, and the sky went dark, resembling a scene from the apocalypse.

All the eldritch creatures in the valley were terrified. They had no idea what was happening or what had turned the normally deathly-still Silent Valley into this state.

The Small Wooden Figurine in Fei Yu's hands curled into a ball, not daring to spare a single glance at the scene before it.

A thick pillar of dark light erupted from Yan Jing's body, shooting straight into the Firmament. It pierced through the clouds, flashing under the night sky.

This scene was several times more spectacular than when Yan Jing took over the Fear Amusement Park.

Within the pillar of light, Yan Jing reached out and called back the pitch-black mist that had devoured the gray Crystal, absorbing it into his body.

In that instant, he felt the connection between himself and this Tranquil Valley.

He could perfectly sense the scenery across every inch of land. Every breath taken by any creature was entirely within his grasp.

"Whoosh—"

The black mist surfaced and instantly transformed into a long black robe. On the pitch-black silk, the forms of eldritch creatures were depicted in varying shades of black. Within those shifting tones, the entire valley was encapsulated.

Yan Jing's heart suddenly stirred, for he felt a difference compared to when he took charge of the Amusement Park.

Back then, even though he controlled the Amusement Park, he couldn't mobilize its power in the outside world—at most, he could rely on the Pathway Seed to create some noise. But right now, he felt a certain connection between himself and all the creatures in this valley.

Their existence felt like trickling streams linked to him. As long as he willed it, he could mobilize this power and apply it to himself.

And the strength of this power was closely tied to the number and strength of the creatures in this Domain.

In other words, the more prosperous this Domain was, the stronger the power he could mobilize.

Lord of the Domain.

Only at this moment did he truly become the master of this Domain. As for why he couldn't do this with the Amusement Park back then, he wasn't sure yet.

The rules of this Domain also finalized as the mist within Yan Jing finished its transformation.

"Fear: Decibel"

"From 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM is the 'Clamor Time' of this realm."

"Any sound made in this realm will be amplified five times. In addition, Fear Spirits and eldritch creatures will roam simultaneously. The greater the fear felt toward the sound, the larger the Fear Spirits and eldritch creatures will appear. When fear reaches a certain threshold, the subject will be attacked by Fear Spirits and eldritch creatures."

"The other twelve hours are the 'Quiet Time' of this realm."

"Once a sound is made in this realm, it will draw the gazes of Fear Spirits and eldritch creatures. When the sound reaches a certain level, the subject will be attacked by both entities."

Entities recognized by the Domain would remain unaffected, whether listening or speaking.

And whether to recognize them was decided by Yan Jing.

"From now on, I, Luo Sheng, govern this realm."

Yan Jing spoke, and his voice instantly reached the ears of every entity within the Domain.

In an instant, Tranquil Valley trembled once again.

The eldritch creatures stared at the towering giant figures, completely clueless about what was happening, their eyes revealing sheer terror.

Meanwhile, the silent cultivators gathered in the village, all deeply shocked and panicked.

After announcing the rules of this Domain, Yan Jing gave these entities a choice: they could decide for themselves whether to stay.

If they stayed, they had to answer Yan Jing's call, but in return, they would be protected by this Domain.

Otherwise, without Yan Jing's recognition, these eldritch creatures would face extreme suppression in this territory, which had now become a complete Domain rather than a half-barren realm.

In the end, a portion of the eldritch creatures chose to leave.

But most of them stayed behind. Finding another half-barren land was no easy task; they weren't as powerful as the Ancestor Hand, capable of crossing Domains.

As for the silent cultivators, they all gathered at the village entrance to pledge their submission to Yan Jing.

"Are you really planning to make a move?"

Fei Yu looked at Yan Jing and asked after they returned to the cave from the village entrance.

"Yes."

Yan Jing nodded.

"Even as the Lord of the Domain, you can't summon these eldritch creatures to fight. Their strength would be drastically reduced upon entering Bianliu County."

Fei Yu reminded him.

"The only thing you can utilize is that portion of the Domain's power."

"It's enough."

Yan Jing nodded.

"But the opponents are all Fourth Tier."

"I know."

"Alright."

Fei Yu had nothing more to say.

News of Tranquil Valley gaining a master would spread quickly. These surrounding Domains wouldn't easily tolerate the rise of a new faction. This time, their opponents were Zhennan County, Mechanism Alley Entrance, Baile Manor, and Crop Plains.

It might even include the newly appointed county head of Bianliu County, who would soon take office.

"Luo Sheng" was only Second Tier, but the other side all had Fourth Tier existences.

It would not be easy for "Luo Sheng" to win.

Securing one's own territory in Minhu had never been an easy feat.

After all, it was common to see a larger faction looming over a smaller one—a small stream led to a small river, a small river led to a large river, linked together ring by ring.

To achieve autonomy, one had to display enough strength.

You either make the Lake fear you, or you make the Lake fear you.

Across the Lake would likely send someone over soon to ascertain exactly what this newly emerged Lord of the Domain was planning.

Fortunately, the most important matter at hand...

...was the county mayoral election.

...

...

The fourth day since Yan Jing arrived in this Domain.

There were only three days left until the final election.

Today in Bianliu County, the most important news was finally not just about him, Advisor Yan.

Aside from the annihilation of the Heaven Stealing Sect and the approaching county election, there was also...

Tranquil Valley changing owners.

The commotion caused when he took control of the Domain had been simply too huge; it was impossible to keep it a secret.

In just this short amount of time, the news had already spread everywhere.

First thing in the morning, Wei Nantian came looking for him.

"Advisor! Have you heard the news?"

"What news?"

"The news about Tranquil Valley."

"I've heard."

"What do you think of it, Advisor?"

"It doesn't have much to do with us."

"But there's still a connection, Advisor. The Lake has jurisdiction over all our Domains. You might think no one governs Bianliu County, but that's only because Lin Changgui and Bai Qiu are here. The others, including our Zhennan County, all have ties Across the Lake."

Wei Nantian continued, "Take Mechanism Alley Entrance, for example. All those items they make, who do they sell them to? Aren't they shipped by the trainload to the Lake? Without the Lake, relying on Bianliu County alone, they wouldn't sell."

"The same goes for our Zhennan County. Usually, when there's nothing else to do, we rob the town's residents, but in reality, the bulk of our income comes from the military pay issued from Across the Lake."

"We aren't like those factions by the small rivers. They can survive just by robbing passersby, but hardly anyone ever comes to our area."

"So, what are you getting at, Commander Wei?"

"What I mean is, if this new faction doesn't accept the terms from Across the Lake, the Lake will probably arrange for our factions to make a move. And if he does accept, the profits involved will have to be split from our own pockets."

Wei Nantian frowned as he spoke.

"Commander Wei."

Yan Jing laughed. "If everyone else's interests shrink while yours alone expand, would you still think this way?"

"Naturally not."

"So since you're asking me, my opinion is that once you become the county head, whatever happens to this faction won't matter to you at all."

After Yan Jing finished, Wei Nantian cupped his fists:

"Thank you for the guidance, Advisor. I wonder which ballot you are targeting today?"

"Zhang Family Cloth Shop."

"I'll leave it in your hands, Advisor."

"You're too polite, Commander Wei."

Yan Jing headed out.

In less than a morning, he obtained the ballot from the boss of the Zhang Family Cloth Shop.

Looking at the ballot, his eyes flickered, and he let out a faint sigh.

"Getting these ballots is becoming easier and easier."

"Commander Wei, oh, Commander Wei. Everyone had the exact same idea. You can't blame me for this."

"..."

"..."

On the fourth day, Yan Jing obtained a ballot from the Zhang Family Cloth Shop and another from the incense shop at the entrance of Feinan Temple. Along with the two he already held, his total number of ballots reached six.

On the fifth day, Yan Jing got one ballot from Tang's Puppet Shop, one from the grain seed store, and one from the gambling house at the foot of the mountain, bringing the number of ballots to nine.

On the sixth day, Yan Jing picked one up off the ground, bringing the number of ballots to ten.

Watching the ballots increase bit by bit, Wei Nantian was extremely pleased. There were twenty-six ballots in total. If he could get thirteen, he would be in an invincible position.

As for the final three, he had already decided to go to the other two factions in his Zhennan County.

After all, they had no hope of winning the election anyway.

There was a high probability they would yield the two ballots in their hands.

Because of his growing trust in Yan Jing, he gradually stopped inquiring about how the ballots were obtained. After all, no matter how one looked at it, Yan Jing handled everything flawlessly.

Moreover, Yan Jing would report everything with absolute clarity every day.

His subordinates would also relay the matters to him again.

On the afternoon of the sixth day, he gave Yan Jing half a day off.

"Advisor, I'm going to meet the leaders of the other two factions this afternoon. Take half a day off to rest. You've worked hard recently. Now that you're free, you can take a nice stroll around Bianliu County."

"Once these two ballots are in our hands, our grand enterprise will be complete."

"Tomorrow night, we will drink and celebrate!"

"Hahaha, then I shall congratulate you in advance, Commander Wei."

That afternoon, Yan Jing really did casually stroll around Bianliu County, just as Wei Nantian had suggested.

He crossed from West Street through East Street to North Street, and then from North Street through East Street back to West Street.

By now, he had become a "celebrity" in Bianliu County.

Everyone who looked at him wore an expression of terror. They automatically took detours, not daring to meet his eyes.

The combat records and methods Yan Jing had displayed over these past few days were simply too terrifying.

And with Wei Nantian backing him, everyone was completely helpless against Yan Jing.

It could be said that the vast majority of Bianliu County's townsfolk now hated him with a passion, gnashing their teeth in resentment.

Even if Yan Jing were to complete this task using only his current "results," his evaluation score absolutely wouldn't be low.

The name of Advisor Yan had already surpassed Big Landlord Lin and Boss Bai; he had become the number one villain in Bianliu County.

Yes, in the hearts of the people, the other two were also villains.

Except no one dared to say it out loud.

Just like now, where no one dared to gossip about Yan Jing either.

Yan Jing kept wandering around until finally, an usher at a restaurant discreetly handed him a slip of paper as he passed by.

Yan Jing opened the note. On it was written:

Liji Teahouse, second floor.

Looking at the note, Yan Jing smiled faintly.

He soon arrived at the entrance of Liji Teahouse.

After using Anomalous Energy Detection, he took out a bottle of Mental Immunity Potion, drank it, and then went up to the second floor.

It was late summer, and quite a few people were drinking tea.

But right now, the second floor was completely empty.

Only one person sat by the window, sipping tea mouthful by mouthful.

Seeing Yan Jing, he laughed.

"Advisor, you came after all."

"Didn't you invite me here, Boss Bai?"

Yan Jing chuckled.

"Though I am the one who invited you."

Bai Qiu reached out, gesturing for Yan Jing to sit, and smiled.

"It was only because I saw that you wanted to see me that I called you over."

Yan Jing's movements throughout the afternoon had mainly been in East Street, and the place he passed by the most was the largest restaurant under Boss Bai's name.

Yan Jing took his seat and smiled.

"Although I wanted to see you, I knew you would meet with me. That is why I came."