Chapter 176: Envy, Jealousy, and Hatred, I Can Be a Dog Too!

Chapter 176: Envy, Jealousy, Hatred—I Too Can Be a Dog!

In the group chat.

Dongjiang He was arrogant and overbearing.

“I can’t compete with you old-timers, but crushing a newcomer is a breeze for me.

This newcomer, if he doesn’t listen to my words, will suffer a great loss.

Just now, I scoured ancient texts and incense records, yet found no mention of a divine dog’s true god.

That newcomer might know of a divine dog’s true god, but its incense offerings must have been meager in the past; even if visualized, it would only be at the most ordinary level.”

Dongjiang He held forth in the group.

Once, he visualized a rare three-star divine visualization method, drawing endless praise from guardian gods in the group.

He got carried away.

He taunted several people in a row, including Divine Cat Venerable and Black Dragon Venerable.

These two ancient gods had originally visualized rare one-star methods, overshadowed by Dongjiang He.

But after being taunted, they successively visualized rare one-star divine visualization methods.

The two often settled scores with Dongjiang He in the group.

A rare one-star divine visualization method could create subjects at the true god level, immensely powerful.

“That newcomer just now, I think he’s got potential!” Black Dragon Venerable spoke.

When he joined the group, Dongjiang He had asked his age, then exclaimed in shock in the group: Old man!

Black Dragon Venerable, called an old geezer, also held a grudge against Dongjiang He.

“Newcomer, you’re out—did you succeed in visualization?” Dongjiang He asked.

Perhaps to let the visualized ancient gods learn more about the divine visualization method, every ancient god who entered the Visualization Mountain would randomly join a specific chat group, and their consciousness would pass through it upon exiting.

They could also enter the chat group to talk at other times.

At this moment, in the eyes of group owner Dongjiang He, Qi Yuan was online.

The others were also curious.

“I barely succeeded in visualization.” At this moment, Qi Yuan felt both joy and unease.

“See? Anyone Dongjiang He taunts is bound to succeed!” Divine Cat Venerable said.

The others were excited too.

“A newbie has a question, hoping to ask all the big shots.

If I fabricate a deity out of thin air, visualize a divine visualization method, and give it to my subjects to cultivate, that should be fine, right?” Qi Yuan asked in the group.

“Don’t talk nonsense. A fabricated deity cannot be visualized.

It can’t pass the two heart-probing questions of Visualization Mountain at all.

Moreover, a fabricated deity hasn’t received incense offerings; even if it passes the two heart-probing questions, it can’t condense into a visualization method.

As long as a visualization method is condensed, it can be visualized without issues.” Dongjiang He, as group owner, was quite active in the group. “Tell us quickly, what level is the divine visualization method you visualized? Even if it’s very low, it’s fine—we’re all friendly and won’t mock you.”

Dongjiang He said this, but inwardly he thought that if the newcomer’s visualization method was very low-level, he could earn the right to bark like a dog for half a day.

The other ancient gods also watched the group messages, very curious whether the newcomer had visualized a divine visualization method.

“The level is indeed very low, barely reaching the average line, not as good as you big shots.” Qi Yuan looked at the level displayed on the visualization method, somewhat dissatisfied, as if it had just reached the average.

But thinking that there were still many high-level gods on Blue Star, Qi Yuan felt confident again.

“Average line? Ordinary one-star?” Dongjiang He’s words were already brimming with excitement.

He was already organizing his words, ready to properly educate the newcomer and suppress Divine Cat Venerable and Black Dragon Venerable.

“Rare two-star, alas, barely average.” Qi Yuan said.

There were seven levels in total; three before rare, three after—wasn’t that the average line?

A silence fell over the group.

Divine Cat Venerable quickly said, “Impressive, big shot! There really is a divine dog? Why don’t I know about it!”

“Rare two-star? Besides White Dawn Venerable, this is the highest! Indeed, anyone Dongjiang He taunts produces a gem!”

“Envy! A rare two-star means that as long as you have enough resources, one of your subjects is bound to become a true god!”

This also meant that if the world hadn’t undergone great changes, Qi Yuan would have had a chance to step into the Great Venerable realm.

For an ancient god to enter the Great Venerable realm, at least one of their subjects had to be a venerable god.

At this moment, White Dawn Venerable appeared in the group: “Newcomer, not bad. You have potential.”

Seeing White Dawn Venerable, Divine Cat Venerable, Black Dragon Venerable, and other group members frantically flattered him.

“When will White Dawn Venerable become a Great Venerable?”

“White Dawn Venerable once visualized three rare and one epic—truly a big shot!”

“It won’t be long before White Dawn Venerable probably becomes a Great Venerable.”

Those who had just praised Qi Yuan all switched to flattering White Dawn Venerable.

Qi Yuan joined in: “So you’re a big shot just one step away from Great Venerable—terrifyingly impressive!”

“Newcomer, which region are you an ancient god from?” White Dawn Venerable asked in the group.

“Lin Kingdom.” Qi Yuan answered truthfully.

Feihuang City belonged to Lin Kingdom.

“Lin Kingdom seems to be in the north, a fallen zone… Newcomer, do you want to leave there and come to my Hu Kingdom, to make a fortune together?” White Dawn Venerable extended an olive branch.

“Big shot, I want to come to Hu Kingdom too!”

“Big shot, take me in—I have no shoes to wear, no clothes to put on!”

“Wow, newcomer, you’re in a fallen zone—very dangerous!”

Seeing these replies, Qi Yuan felt warmth in his heart.

There was true feeling in the world.

“Thank you, big shot, but as an ancient god of my domain, I must defend my fief to the death. I would rather die than retreat!” Qi Yuan said with great righteousness.

The game’s mission was to protect Qingshui Village.

“The newcomer has guts!” Divine Cat Venerable said.

“If only there were more gods with such backbone as you.” Tianbao Venerable said in the group, his words revealing helplessness. “I once had a friend who defected to the new gods.”

At this mention, the group’s atmosphere grew heavy.

“Newcomer, I’m also in the northern region. If you have time, come visit me. I’m in Jiang Kingdom, not far from your Lin Kingdom,” Tianbao Venerable said in the group. “But you have to be careful of Lü Kingdom—that friend of mine is in Lü Kingdom.”

“Okay.” Qi Yuan replied casually.

Withdrawing from the chat group, Qi Yuan’s eyes held a look of anticipation.

With a wave of his hand, he inscribed a divine visualization technique onto a piece of cloth.

Upon it was recorded a method for visualizing a deity—the deity in question being... the Celestial Hound.

“Indeed, the more powerful the god one wishes to visualize, the more divine spiritual power is required.”

Even as he meditated, he had a premonition that the evil god spiritual power gained from slaying two evil gods could only barely allow him to visualize the Celestial Hound.

To visualize those even mightier gods, he would need to hunt down more and stronger evil gods, acquiring ever greater stores of evil god spiritual power.

……

In a hut built of mud and earth, the fat man sat in the yard, amusing himself with his black dog.

“Lucky I brought you some bones, or you’d have starved to death.” The fat man tossed a heap of bones to the ground.

These bones were all scavenged from the feasts he attended.

As the bones hit the dirt, the scrawny black dog let out a joyful bark and began gnawing at them.

Watching this, the fat man’s face lit up with excitement.

“Thank the Ancient God’s descent—otherwise, before I starved, you little bastard would have died!” he said, giving the black dog a disdainful kick with his rough foot.

The dog growled but dared not resist, simply continuing to chew on the bones.

“Hey, Zhu Zhuangshi, abusing animals, are we?” At that moment, Qi Yuan appeared in a blue robe, his eyes fixed on the black dog with keen interest.

The fat man scrambled to his feet: “Divine Lord, I was just playing with it.”

In his heart, he wondered what the Divine Lord wanted with him.

“Is this black dog the only one in the village?” Qi Yuan stared intently at the dog, its tail tucked between its legs.

“Yes,” the fat man replied, his heart tightening. “Divine Lord, this dog of mine is old and skinny—its meat isn’t good!”

The Divine Lord was known to love feasting; perhaps he had taken a fancy to the dog!

“Oh, lend me the dog for a while,” Qi Yuan said.

With that, he waved his hand lightly, and the big black dog, still clutching a bone in its mouth and its tail clamped down, followed Qi Yuan helplessly.

The fat man watched, his expression mournful, and only dared to wail once Qi Yuan’s figure had vanished: “My dog! My dog!”

By then, Qi Yuan had already brought the big black dog back to the temple.

The dog still held the bone in its mouth, but with Qi Yuan present, it dared not chew.

“A dog at the Yuan Dan stage—should be able to visualize, right?” Qi Yuan said, taking out the cloth inscribed with the divine visualization technique and tossing it before the dog.

“This is the visualization method. Take a look.”

Qi Yuan glanced at it as well.

[The Celestial Hound Chapter of the Divine Visualization Technique: Possesses growth potential.]

The big black dog seemed to possess a spark of intelligence.

It set down the bone and immediately fixed its gaze on the visualization technique.

As if it were the most fragrant food in the world.

“Good, so you can understand it,” Qi Yuan said, standing by and observing carefully.

The big black dog lowered its head, studying intently, its eyes taking on a human-like gleam.

Suddenly, the dog sat cross-legged on the ground, just like a person, and began to cultivate.

Qi Yuan could sense the dog’s power steadily increasing.

“Cultivating just like a human—how interesting.”

He watched for a while, but noticing no further changes in the dog, he lost interest.

“According to what my group friends said, once the visualization technique is used, it can rapidly elevate the strength of one’s subjects, achieving quick results.”

This visualization method focused on ancient gods who had fallen in battle.

In a sense, it recreated the power of those ancient gods within the subjects.

No need for slow, painstaking cultivation—it was a shortcut technique, exceptionally effective in the early stages.

About an hour later, Qi Yuan looked at the black dog still in meditation.

“Already at the late Yuan Dan stage?”

Initially, the dog had only been at the early Yuan Dan stage; in just one hour, it had reached the late stage—truly astonishing.

“It seems my own experience has increased quite a bit as well.” Delight shone in Qi Yuan’s eyes.

Indeed, the advancement of his subjects’ cultivation could be reflected back to him.

“Forget it, I’ll check in the morning. Time to sleep.”

Qi Yuan dug a pit, called out Xiao Jia, and the two of them crawled into the pit to sleep.

“Bringing you into the game means no snacks—alas.” Qi Yuan held Xiao Jia’s body, pondering whether to send her back to the Canglan Realm.

But after a moment’s thought, he gave up the idea.

Xiao Jia’s body was icy cold; he held her for a long time before she warmed up.

Clutching the wooden plaque for closeness, Qi Yuan drifted into slumber with Xiao Jia.

The next day, a blood-red light shone across the sky. The earth in the temple stirred, and a figure crawled out of the pit.

He looked at his own character level and broke into a grin.

“I actually leveled up!”

This level, of course, was not from slaying monsters.

It was the feedback from his subjects’ improved strength.

He immediately looked over and saw the big black dog still sitting cross-legged in the temple.

The aura it exuded was unmistakably... the early Purple Mansion stage!

“From Yuan Dan to Purple Mansion in a single night—how terrifying!”

Even Qi Yuan was stunned.

In the Liufeng Realm, mass-producing Purple Mansion cultivators had already been astonishing.

But that mass production had been from the late Divine Infant stage to Purple Mansion.

This, however—from Yuan Dan to Purple Mansion overnight—was beyond belief.

Even a visitor from the Continent of Dou Qi would have to call it terrifying.

Still, Qi Yuan could sense that after reaching the early Purple Mansion stage, the black dog’s cultivation speed had noticeably slowed, its progress becoming sluggish.

Of course, compared to normal cultivation, it was still far faster.

Qi Yuan gazed at the black dog, joy in his eyes: “It seems this visualization technique truly works.

My village finally has a great general!”

He looked at the black dog, filled with boundless anticipation.

“Exactly, this black dog’s strength rivals that of some village’s new gods.

I’ll stay here to continue revising the *Qi Yuan Scripture*, and let the great black dog slay evil gods for me, accumulating their divine power.”

Days earlier, Qi Yuan had already passed the test.

When his subjects slew enemies—creatures like divine aberrations—his own power also increased.

In other words, when these subjects killed, they gained no experience, but he did.

He had become the greatest exploiter.

……

Qingshui Village.

Village Chief Yu Lei wore a grim expression.

Ahead, Wang Chongshan of Shijia Village approached with a procession of aunts and uncles in mourning clothes, their faces alight with excitement.

“Is the divine lord about to strike against other evil gods?”

Village Chief Yu Lei nodded. “It should be so.”

He too had received word and gathered a fair number of people.

Just then, Chen Xifan of Chenxi Village arrived with several stout, chef-faced villagers.

“Chenxi Village is here—when does the feast begin?” Chen Xifan was also excited.

In the past, he only held feasts in his own village.

He never thought he’d be doing it in another village this time.

“We’ll set out once the divine lord arrives,” Village Chief Yu Lei said, glancing at the fat man behind him with displeasure. “I told you to organize a suona band—why the delay?”

The fat man, Zhu Zhuangshi, looked aggrieved. “Our villagers are uneducated; they don’t know how to play well.”

Wang Chongshan of Shijia Village quickly chimed in, “Our village has a musician—why not let us handle the suona playing?”

Village Chief Yu Lei shot him a glare.

Was Shijia Village trying to snatch this job too?

How shameless!

Qingshui Village was the divine lord’s direct line.

Seeing this, Wang Chongshan dropped the matter and turned to the fat man. “Zhu Zhuangshi, we’re about to march—why the long face?”

Zhu Zhuangshi gave him a vicious glare in return.

Wang Chongshan felt baffled.

Village Chief Yu Lei then scolded Zhu Zhuangshi, “It’s just a dog. If the divine lord wants to eat it, so be it.

When the lord descends, will you look at him like that too?”

Zhu Zhuangshi’s mournful expression eased a little.

The people from the three villages gathered together, their faces solemn yet expectant.

Soon, they would witness the ancient god’s mighty power.

Just then, the voice of the divine officer Shen Tu rang out: “Under the ancient god’s throne, the divine hound arrives!”

The crowd was puzzled, unsure what was happening.

In the distance, a massive black shadow appeared, its body covered in black fur, with two bulges on its back as if something was about to break free.

The colossal beast opened its mouth, revealing rows of sharp fangs, looking far from approachable.

“A black dog?”

“A great black dog!”

“Zifu realm!”

The villagers were astonished and bewildered.

How had the divine lord acquired such a powerful divine hound?

The Zifu realm—this rivaled the new gods of nearby villages!

The fat man Zhu Zhuangshi’s eyes widened as he stared at the divine hound. “This is… my great black dog, my great black dog!”

His eyes shone with surprise.

So this was his great black dog.

The black dog seemed to hear the scoundrel’s voice and turned its massive head.

It stretched out a leg, just as Zhu Zhuangshi used to kick it, and pinned him to the ground.

Zhu Zhuangshi’s belly was pressed down by the thick dog leg, unable to move, his face pleading. “Dog lord, I was wrong, I was wrong—you’re not my dog, I’m your dog!”

The divine hound was satisfied and released its leg.

The onlookers, witnessing this, were stunned, their shock lingering.

Village Chief Yu Lei stared at the black dog, his eyes gleaming. “The Art of Spirit Observation!”

Only the Art of Spirit Observation could explain the black dog’s sudden surge in power.

And from Yuandan to Zifu—this meant the art was of no low level.

The other villagers now looked at the great black dog with envy.

Zhu Zhuangshi’s eyes were wide too; he hadn’t expected that when the ancient god took his dog, it was to grant it such an incredible fortune.

He was envious, he was jealous—he wished he could go back to that day when the divine lord asked for his dog, and bark once himself, saying he could be a dog too.

“Point the sword… at Xiaoshi Village!” the divine officer Shen Tu declared.

Thus, led by the great black dog, the mourning procession, the suona band, and the feast chefs set off in a grand march toward Xiaoshi Village.

At that moment, in Xiaoshi Village.

The evil god Liu Yan’s gaze was heavy; he looked at the villagers behind him with a cruel glint in his eyes.

“Are you all rebelling?”

The villagers behind him trembled.

“Divine lord, we dare not!”

“We would die for you!” The assimilated villagers’ eyes glowed red.

Their consciousness had long been merged, becoming part of the new god.

“Hmph, what is the lynx wolf of Kuangfeng Town doing? I sent word so long ago, and still no one comes to help?” Liu Yan said angrily.

In the lynx wolf’s presence, he naturally wouldn’t dare say such things.

But with the lynx wolf absent, he grew bolder.

Behind him were his subjects; he feared no leaks.

Just then, a burly man approached, his face urgent. “Divine lord, the people from Qingshui Village have arrived.”

There were those playing suona horns, and mourners wailing, and others carrying pots and pans!

Upon hearing this, Liu Yan's face grew even angrier: "Quite well-prepared."

Then, as if struck by a thought, he asked, "Did they bring a coffin?"

The burly man was taken aback: "No, nor did their deity come. Leading them was a black dog—from its aura, it was extremely fierce!"

Liu Yan flew into a rage: "To send a mere mongrel against me! That brat insults me so. If this can be endured, what cannot?"

Even an evil god has his dignity.

Before he had formally clashed with the deity of Qingshui Village, he did not believe himself to be weaker than that god.

(End of this chapter)