Xu Ming looked at the five strands of divine beast bloodlines in his hand and didn't know who to give them to for a moment.
Perhaps he could hand them over to those demon clans he encountered on the Heavenly Staircase earlier, especially that toad.
They seemed to be the strongest beings in the Baiwa Secret Realm. This way, these five strands of divine beast bloodlines could help them reach even greater heights.
With that thought in mind, Xu Ming sent the five strands of divine beast bloodlines into the Toad Temple.
Inside the temple, a toad holding a hammer and busily hammering away suddenly froze. Putting down the hammer, it turned around and respectfully bowed to the air, saying, "Master."
For this toad to address Xu Ming as "Master" was entirely reasonable.
After all, Xu Ming was the lord of the secret realm, able to control everything within it, from the smallest blade of grass to the fate of any individual. Even if someone left the secret realm, Xu Ming would still exert a natural, innate suppression over them.
In other words, as long as Xu Ming willed it within the secret realm, this toad could be destroyed in both body and soul.
Of course, Xu Ming couldn't act recklessly. The heavenly laws had their own constraints, requiring balance.
For instance, Xu Ming could make someone the longest-living individual in the secret realm, but he couldn't grant immortality to everyone. Otherwise, the laws governing the Baiwa Secret Realm would be damaged, leading to its premature collapse.
Xu Ming's consciousness took the form of his own image, floating in the air. He glanced at the golden Buddha statue behind the toad. Interestingly, the golden statue didn't resemble the toad but rather had the appearance of a scholar.
"What are you doing?" Xu Ming asked.
The toad replied, "I am building a golden statue for you, Master."
Xu Ming chuckled. "You're making a golden statue for me, but what about you?"
The toad also smiled and said, "Previously, when the Baiwa Secret Realm had no master, I was more powerful than others, so the residents of Baiwa City respected me and built this temple for me. Now that the Baiwa Secret Realm has a true god, how could I continue to claim this honor?"
Xu Ming shook his head. "I'm just an ordinary person. This temple was originally built to honor someone else, so it should continue to honor that person. There's no need to change it. I won't meddle much in the Baiwa Secret Realm. If I take the incense offerings from the people but ignore their wishes, wouldn't that be wrong?"
The toad replied, "Master, you're too modest. As the lord of the Baiwa Secret Realm, it is only natural for you to receive incense offerings. If Master does not mind, I can help respond to the people's prayers on your behalf."
"No need for that," Xu Ming said, unwilling to become the kind of person who enjoyed benefits while letting others shoulder the burdens. "Let everything continue as it was."
The toad hesitated but said, "But Master, after the Dao rain you bestowed, the people are deeply grateful and wish to build a temple for you. This is their heartfelt desire."
Xu Ming thought for a moment. "There's no need to build a temple. If they must do something, let them build a small statue for me in some remote area. But make sure they understand: worshiping me will bring no benefit, and they don't need to bow or offer incense."
"Yes," the toad replied. Seeing Xu Ming's firm stance, it didn't press the matter further.
The toad couldn't help but feel deeply moved.
In the outside world, if someone acquired a secret realm, they would undoubtedly exploit all its resources for personal gain, paying no attention to the well-being of the realm itself.
But Master not only refrained from taking anything for himself, he even brought the blessing of Dao rain.
"Also, don't call me 'Master' anymore," Xu Ming said.
Xu Ming disliked the term. It made him feel as if the others were mere slaves, and no one was born to be someone else's servant.
The toad blinked and hesitated. "If I don't call you Master, then…?"
It wasn't sure what to use instead. It couldn't just call him by his name, and "Young Master" didn't seem appropriate either—it would suggest they were equals.
"How about 'Lord'?" the toad suggested after some thought.
"Anything but 'Master' will do," Xu Ming nodded.
"I have five items for you," Xu Ming said as he waved his sleeve. Five small statues of divine beasts appeared in mid-air and descended.
The toad reached out and touched them.
The moment its hand made contact, it felt an overwhelming pressure coursing through its bloodline.
"These five small statues contain divine beast bloodlines," Xu Ming explained. "They are the Shengyu bloodline, the Qilin bloodline, the Tengshe bloodline, the Xuanwu bloodline, and the Chenghuang bloodline. See which one suits you and choose one. As for the remaining four, give them to the demon clan members who stood in front of me on the Heavenly Staircase earlier."
"Thank you for your generosity, Lord," the toad replied, "but I follow the path of the ancient Taotie. None of these precious bloodlines are suitable for me, so I won't take them."
"What about the others?" Xu Ming asked.
"They likely won't suit them either," the toad replied. "The bird follows the path of the phoenix, which is fire-based, while Shengyu is water-based—unsuitable for her. The tiger follows the ferocious path of the Zhēngní, and the wolf follows the path of the Gědàn."
Xu Ming nodded. "If their paths are incompatible, then place these five bloodlines in five directions of the Baiwa Secret Realm. Let fate decide who obtains them."
"As you command, Lord." The toad bowed in acknowledgment.
Next, Xu Ming dropped a thousand jin of spirit rice, packed in cloth bags, one after another in front of the toad.
"Lord, what is this?" The toad felt an overwhelming surge of spiritual energy emanating from the piles of bags.
"Open them and see," Xu Ming replied.
With permission, the toad stepped forward and opened one of the bags. Inside was dazzling white rice—spirit rice of an exceptionally high grade!
"These are spirit rice seeds," Xu Ming explained. "Find a suitable spot in the Baiwa Secret Realm and see if you can plant them. This spirit rice has a high yield and requires less stringent growing conditions than ordinary spirit rice. If it can be cultivated on a large scale, let the people of the Baiwa Secret Realm eat this rice."
Xu Ming wasn't entirely sure how productive this spirit rice would be or how easy it would be to grow. After all, spirit rice typically needed areas rich in spiritual energy and irrigation from spiritual springs.
"Yes, Lord. I'll make the arrangements tomorrow," the toad assured him, though it couldn't help but marvel at the sheer wealth of its master.
It had initially wondered how the Baiwa Secret Realm would sustain Xu Ming. But unexpectedly, it was Xu Ming who was sustaining the secret realm.
"That will be all," Xu Ming said, his consciousness within the Baiwa Secret Realm beginning to fade. "Oh, one more thing—what's your name?"
The toad shook its head. "I have no name, Lord. The monk who saved me always just called me 'Toad.'"
Xu Ming nodded thoughtfully. "You should choose a name. Otherwise, I won't know how to address you."
The toad bowed low. "Then I humbly ask the Lord to bestow a name upon me."
Xu Ming looked at the toad for a moment and then said, "Yuan Yu. From now on, that will be your name."
"Thank you, Lord," the toad said, deeply moved.
Xu Ming's consciousness faded completely.
In the temple, the toad transformed into a chubby man dressed in a green robe.
"Yuan Yu," the man murmured softly, savoring the sound. "So this is my name."