“Huh?” Zhang Yu thought to himself, watching the scene, “Is this some kind of remote worship over the internet?”

Just then, his phone vibrated.

*Department of the Myriad Peoples – Innate Great Deity of All Beings*

*Payment: 1000*

“Holy crap!”

Zhang Yu was stunned. He hadn’t expected a single click to kowtow would cost him 1000.

But what he found even more unacceptable was… he hadn’t even activated the payment account on his Talisman Codex! It just directly deducted the money from his bank card?

Before, when he used the Imprisonment Talisman at Songyang High School, Zhang Yu had used the temporary patrol team’s once-daily free allowance.

He tried to find a place for refunds or customer service, but he couldn’t find anything.

Worried about accidentally making another payment, he simply contacted Zhang Pianpian to ask.

Hearing what Zhang Yu said, Zhang Pianpian replied, “That’s how worshipping deities works. One click, one bow, one thousand each. Long-pressing allows for continuous bowing.”

Zhang Yu said, “No… I know I have to pay now. The problem is, I didn’t activate the payment account! How can it just take money from my bank card without even asking me?”

Zhang Pianpian said matter-of-factly, “That’s the divine power of the deities. They can mobilize funds from billions of accounts every second.”

“If they couldn’t even directly draw money from your account, what right would they have to be called gods?”

She reminded him, “So, no matter who you owe money to, never owe money to the gods.”

“What the heck…” Zhang Yu was speechless upon hearing this and could only mutter, “The Eight Divine Sovereigns are really powerful.”

Zhang Pianpian said, “But you don’t need to be afraid. The Eight Divine Sovereigns have their own rules and won’t act recklessly.”

“This time, it was because you wanted to worship a deity yourself that you were charged 1000.”

Zhang Yu sighed inwardly and asked, “Sis, can you just tell me about the functions of the Talisman Codex? I’m afraid I’ll accidentally get charged again.”

Zhang Pianpian said, “Daily kowtowing to deities is the most basic way to increase your faith level. The longer you kowtow continuously, the greater the increase in faith level with each kowtow.”

“But if you miss a single day, you have to start over.”

“For those with high faith levels or powerful talisman experts, daily kowtowing to deities is a mandatory practice.”

Zhang Yu understood. This was basically checking in, except each daily check-in cost at least 1000.

Zhang Pianpian continued, “Offering sacrifices to deities includes various methods such as lighting incense, virtue banners, ancestral tablets, and more. The more expensive it is, the better the effect on increasing faith level, and it can also enhance the power of talismans, increase talisman privileges, and have other miraculous effects.”

“You can click on the ‘Offer Sacrifices to Deities’ option and take a look. You still need to select an item after clicking in, but it won’t cost money.”

Zhang Yu was really scared by that sudden 1000 charge, so he carefully clicked on the “Offer Sacrifices to Deities” option upon hearing this.

He saw a price list for various items such as lighting incense, hanging virtue banners, setting up ancestral tablets, chanting scriptures, and more, with prices ranging from hundreds to tens of thousands.

After reading the descriptions for a while, he suddenly realized… these were all remote offerings, and after spending money, they would affect the deities’ temples in the spirit world.

Could these all be virtual items!?

Zhang Yu finally understood why the Eight Divine Sovereigns were so rich. These deities were basically making money while lying down!

Zhang Pianpian continued to introduce, “Seeking Guidance from Deities, as the name suggests, is to seek guidance on the Dao of Talismans from the deities. The cost here is very high, and your faith level is too low, so you don’t need to spend money here right now.”

“As for the options below that are shrouded in mist, you won’t be able to see them until you have a higher faith level, so don’t think too much about them now…”

After ending the call with Zhang Pianpian, Zhang Yu helplessly looked at the Talisman Codex in front of him, his heart filled with bitterness.

“This Talisman Dao… is really too difficult.”

“How much money would it cost to get first place in the high school Daoist Arts competition?”

Just as Zhang Yu was lost in thought for a moment, the ritual countdown in his mind started blaring again, reminding him not to space out and to hurry up and cultivate diligently.

Zhang Yu had no choice but to temporarily put aside his thoughts on this matter. He first poured out some beast meat powder to make himself a cup to drink, and then headed to the unfinished building, planning to start today’s practice.

No matter what, the Daoist Arts competition was still a few months away, and the nearest competition was the Martial Arts competition.

Thinking of martial arts, Zhang Yu suddenly became confident again.

“I am currently at Level 5 in Freehand Combat, Level 10 in Limitless Cloud Hand, and Level 6 in Heavenly Martial Heart Refining Art. If I go all out in the practical combat competition, my advantage will be extremely great. But the problem is…”

Zhang Yu thought to himself, “I have to hide these trump cards.”

Especially the Level 10 Limitless Cloud Hand, which he had obtained in the Dharma competition.

If he were to use Level 10 Limitless Cloud Hand in the Martial Arts competition, which was more than a month away, he was really afraid of attracting too much attention. Even Zhang Pianpian wouldn’t be able to protect him then.

“In the Martial Arts competition, I have to hide my high-level techniques, so I still need to improve my basic qualities now.”

Arriving at the unfinished building, Zhang Yu once again began to practice the Heavenly Martial Heart Refining Art.

As the martial arts will in his mind suddenly erupted, he simultaneously began to execute the nine sets of martial arts of the Heavenly Martial Heart Refining Art, both internally and externally.

Under the effect of the Heavenly Martial Heart Refining Art, Zhang Yu felt his whole body surge with hot blood, full of motivation. A will to fight the heavens and earth urged him to train like mad.

Just as Zhang Yu was fully immersed in his cultivation, constantly training the Heavenly Martial Heart Refining Art,

In the shadows of the staircase in the unfinished building, a figure was silently observing Zhang Yu’s hard training.

Zhou Tianyi thought to himself, “I can’t let Zhang Yu have time to use the Talisman Codex.”

“I have to wait until he is at his weakest, most vulnerable, and then succeed in one sneak attack…”

After waiting for about two hours,

Zhou Tianyi watched Zhang Yu’s movements gradually slow down, held his breath, and gradually raised the magical power in his Dantian… he was preparing to make his move.

Whoosh!

Just as Zhang Yu turned his back, Zhou Tianyi rushed out like a gust of wind. The Level 5 Gale Leg Technique was used to its limit, kicking towards Zhang Yu’s back.

Seeing that he was already within three meters of Zhang Yu, and the other party had not yet completely turned around, a glint flashed in Zhou Tianyi’s eyes.

He believed that with the power of his kick, as long as he hit Zhang Yu, it would be enough to knock him down.

Zhou Tianyi had already thought about which moves he would follow up with after Zhang Yu was knocked down, so as to completely knock the other party unconscious.

However, in the next moment, a white mist-like astral energy suddenly surged out from Zhang Yu’s back.

Bang!

Zhou Tianyi was shocked, feeling as if his kick had landed on cotton, light and weightless.

However, in the next moment, a surge of powerful force rebounded violently with the white astral energy, heavily hitting the bottom of his foot.