Chapter 134: Bat God Temple

It’s not uncommon for spirits and creatures of the wild to establish temples and receive offerings of incense from humans.

In Gu Ning’an’s view, as long as such wild deities genuinely perform good deeds for people, it’s only fair for them to be worshipped and offered incense.

Of course, in the eyes of orthodox deities, these illicit shrines and cult worship practices are absolutely intolerable.

This isn’t merely because wild deities compete for incense offerings, but also because they often cannot resist their greed.

Many of these beings might have initially been worshipped by people out of confusion or misunderstanding. Over time, as they absorbed sufficient incense energy and their intelligence developed, they transformed into wild deities.

Once greed took hold, they commonly resorted to sinister methods and dark arts to gain even more incense offerings.

As such, if a City God discovered illicit shrines or cult worship within their jurisdiction, they would immediately eradicate them.

“At first, the Bat God indeed performed some good deeds. For instance, when people walking through graveyards became possessed by wandering spirits, it would exorcise the evil for them.”

“But later, the Bat God grew dissatisfied with its small shrine, which was similar to a simple Earth God temple. It craved more incense offerings. So, it began appearing in people’s dreams, commanding them to build a grand temple and sculpt a statue of it!”

“As a result, the Bat God received increasing amounts of incense offerings. Its cultivation advanced significantly, and it even began driving out stray spirits and ghosts to harass the populace. When the afflicted people came to the temple to pray for help, seeking exorcism and protection, the Bat God would demand a continuous seven-day offering of incense before agreeing to help.”

Hearing this, Gu Ning’an glanced at Daoist Qingyuan with a smile and said, “Daoist Qingyuan, your methods wouldn’t happen to be learned from the Bat God, would they?”

“Mr. Gu, I’ve already admitted my wrongs. Please don’t tease me further…” Daoist Qingyuan sighed helplessly before continuing, “Most of the people who came to offer incense were farmers who relied on their fields to survive. A continuous seven-day offering left them no time to tend their crops.”

“But without farming, they had no money for food, let alone to buy incense. While the effects weren’t immediate, over time, many who lost their livelihoods turned to theft, or even to arson and murder!”

Gu Ning’an frowned and asked, “You’re a cultivator. Surely you know about the existence of the City God. Did you not seek help from the local City God?”

“Sigh!” Daoist Qingyuan let out a long sigh. “Of course I thought of asking the City God to resolve this matter.”

“But the problem is, although there are some people living in the mountains and forests, there is no City God temple in that area. I once invited the City God from a neighboring county, but when we arrived, the Bat God temple had vanished into thin air!”

“The area doesn’t fall under the jurisdiction of the neighboring county’s City God. After finding nothing there, they thought I was playing tricks on them. If not for my status as a Daoist, they would have taught me a harsh lesson!”

“Vanished into thin air? The temple disappeared completely?” Gu Ning’an found this hard to believe.

Even though a City God’s power would be greatly diminished outside their jurisdiction, it still shouldn’t be to the extent that they couldn’t detect the presence of a wild deity’s temple.

Unless the Bat God possessed an extremely advanced concealment technique, coupled with a level of power far surpassing that of the county’s City God.

Daoist Qingyuan said earnestly, “It’s absolutely true. But as soon as the City God left, the Bat God temple reappeared shortly afterward.”

“If even a City God couldn’t locate it, what makes you think your spell could deal with the Bat God?” Gu Ning’an asked, puzzled.

“Mr. Gu, you may not know, but the more wish-powered copper coins I gather for my Golden Thread Coins spell, the more powerful it becomes.”

“I originally planned to gather a thousand copper coins, pair them with this wooden carving left by my master, and suppress the Bat God Temple for a brief period.”

“Then, I would seek the assistance of the county’s City God to eliminate the temple entirely!”

Seeing that Daoist Qingyuan showed no sign of deceit while explaining, Gu Ning’an nodded and said, “If that’s the case, I’ll accompany you to the Bat God Temple and see it for myself.”

Though he didn’t know the exact cultivation level of this man in the green robe before him, Daoist Qingyuan was certain it far surpassed his own by a large margin.

The more hands, the more strength!

Gu Ning’an’s willingness to help made him very happy. With an enthusiastic “Good!” he quickened his pace to lead the way.

By the third quarter of the hour of the Rabbit (around 6 AM), the sky was just beginning to brighten. Normally, the air at this time would be at its freshest, but the mountains and forests here were filled with a thick, lingering scent of incense.

Following the direction where the incense was strongest, they eventually spotted a temple.

The temple was neither large nor small, surrounded by dense forest. Seeing this temple amidst the greenery, it felt somewhat out of place, as if it disrupted the natural harmony of the environment.

Around fifty people holding incense stood before the Bat God Temple, chatting and laughing. The atmosphere was lively.

“You won’t believe it! The Bat God is truly miraculous! My wife and I had been married for years without having a child, but after praying here, she became pregnant not long after. Look at her belly—it’s so round, it must be a big, healthy boy!”

The speaker was a rough man in his thirties. Beside him, his wife’s belly was indeed swollen, and it looked like she would give birth very soon.

“Oh dear! With a belly like that, she shouldn’t be running around! She should stay home and avoid the wind!” an elderly woman advised.

The man waved dismissively. “With the Bat God watching over us, there’s nothing to worry about. As long as we offer sincere incense, even if she gives birth right here in the temple, we’ll be safe from harm!”

“Isn’t that right, dear?”

The pregnant woman nodded and gently stroked her belly. “Yes! If I could give birth here in the Bat God Temple, it would be a blessing for both me and our child!”

“Who knows, maybe the Bat God will favor our child and make them extraordinarily clever from birth!”

Standing among the crowd, Gu Ning’an and Daoist Qingyuan witnessed this scene with varied expressions.

Lowering his voice, Daoist Qingyuan remarked, “The Bat God’s abilities are truly impressive. It even has the power to bless people with offspring!”

“That’s nothing more than a trick…” Gu Ning’an shook his head as he stepped over the temple threshold and entered.

The interior of the Bat God Temple was simple. A statue of the Bat God stood at the center, with five prayer mats arranged in front of it. Each mat was accompanied by an incense burner, which was filled with the remnants of incense sticks.

Devout worshippers knelt before the Bat God statue, some holding red incense sticks as they poured out their desires, while others prostrated themselves repeatedly with their foreheads touching the ground.

On either side of the statue, additional mats were tightly placed. A quick count revealed that the two sides combined had about thirty mats in total.

Daoist Qingyuan whispered an explanation to Gu Ning’an.

“These extra mats were added later to provide resting spots for those who need to pray here for extended periods.”

Streams of incense smoke, along with an invisible “power of faith” that ordinary people couldn’t perceive, continuously flowed toward the Bat God statue.

“Get out of my way!”

A sharp, angry shout suddenly rang out.

A tall, skinny man stormed into the temple. Wherever he passed, a breeze stirred, carrying with it a faint scent of blood that even the thick incense couldn’t conceal.