Chapter 1 The Struggle Continues

The battle between the Heavenly Intent Teaching and the City Gods of the Underworld continued, with no sign of a victor in sight, even in the short term.

Throughout the many prefectures and counties of Daqing, the flames of war had ignited.

The only tacit agreement was that both sides avoided harming the innocent, with battles taking place either in remote, uninhabited areas or in alternate dimensions like the incense-burning realms.

For a short time, the common people remained unharmed.

However, as time passed and the City Gods of the Underworld suffered repeated defeats, a change occurred.

"Roar~~~"

Beneath the night sky of Tian'an Prefecture in Lingzhou, a roar filled with endless resentment and fury suddenly echoed:

"You abandon me, I would rather become a demon!"

The City God, dressed in black and wearing his City God coronet, tore off the coronet and roared at the sky, his hair disheveled.

Under the intermingling lights and moonlight, his body suddenly underwent a transformation. His human skin was instantly torn apart by black energy, and as the wailing resentment of the world poured in, he transformed into a demonic spider with eight legs and a hideous human face.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Eight limbs fell from the sky, crushing houses as they landed. The demonic spider opened its mouth and howled, spitting out webs as black as ink, enveloping the Heavenly Intent Teaching Daoists in mid-air.

City Gods are rooted in incense offerings and co-exist with humans. However, once abandoned, they can combine with the resentment accumulated over countless years to transform into demons and monsters!

Once transformed into a demon, the world changes color!

Countless people who witnessed this scene were terrified, running in all directions, trying to escape.

"Not good! This City God has become a demon!"

The Heavenly Intent Teaching Daoist stepped on his sword and rose into the air, his expression changing.

The resentment in the world was heavy, preventing souls from leaving their bodies unless they were at the Yuanshen level. Common people would quickly be corrupted into demons upon death.

While the souls of these City Gods were stronger than ordinary people, they were definitely not at the Yuanshen level. Abandoning the power of incense was akin to a mortal shattering their own body. Coupled with his automatic absorption of resentment, he had become a demon almost instantly!

Even he was unable to stop it.

He could only shout a warning to his companions, then, with a sword gesture, he unleashed a storm of sword light to strike the black demonic web.

His sword light was extremely sharp, instantly tearing the web apart.

Before he could breathe a sigh of relief, the torn fragments of the demonic web suddenly transformed into countless sharp blades, sweeping in all directions.

"This fiend's power has greatly increased!"

The Daoist's expression changed, and he retreated.

In the city, restaurants collapsed, and many people were buried under the rubble, caught off guard. More people screamed as they fled, their flesh torn apart by pieces of the demonic web.

"This monstrous creature deserves death!"

Another Heavenly Intent Teaching disciple waved his sword, deflecting the incoming attacks, and sneered:

"So what if you've become a demon? We'll kill you all the same!"

"Hahaha! City God Sun has become a demon, what are we waiting for?"

Further away, the City Gods who were fighting with the Heavenly Intent Teaching Daoists all gave a miserable laugh upon seeing this scene.

"We can't live anyway, then let's die together!"

One City God roared first.

Immediately, the surrounding City Gods followed suit, all tearing off their City God coronets, howling and swallowing the air of resentment, abandoning the power of incense.

They chose to become demons!

Rumble!

In an instant, under the night sky, a gale rose, and the city was filled with flying sand and stones. Buildings collapsed, and countless people were buried.

Screams and wails filled the air.

For a time, there were no more City Gods around the city, only demons who had lost their minds, filled with pure hatred, and the desire to kill.

They lunged towards the surrounding Heavenly Intent Teaching Daoists with reckless abandon.

"Heavens, heavens!"

In the yamen, the officials were pale with fear, their hands and feet trembling.

Bai Anmin, the prefect of Tian'an, was even paler, shrinking under his bed, afraid to come out. He knew what this meant.

City Gods cannot harm people. Although they can be deceived, demons will truly kill and eat people.

Roar~

Roar~

A sudden change occurred in Tian'an Prefecture. Many Heavenly Intent Teaching Daoists were caught off guard and were pounced on by demons in mid-air.

They let out heart-wrenching screams before being swallowed whole, skin, bones, and all.

"Mother, mother, I'm scared, I'm scared!"

"Monsters, monsters! City God, save us!"

"We're going to die, we're going to die! Someone, save us..."

In Tian'an Prefecture, ten thousand people wailed. Listening to the inhuman screams in the sky, countless people trembled in fear and despair.

Many people knelt on the ground, praying to the City God, seeking help from the gods.

"Alas!"

On the eaves of a three-story restaurant, an old Daoist with white hair sighed.

After many Heavenly Intent Daoists fled or died in the sky, and after demons began pouncing down from the sky, he slowly put down his wine gourd and flicked his fingers, stirring up magical power:

"Three incense sticks have ten thousand uses, but once impermanence arrives, all is over! The world is foolish, yet they dare not fall into the mouths of demons!"

Buzz~

A wave of magic rippled through the sky.

Pure wish power born of extreme fear resonated with this wave of magic throughout the city.

The old Daoist leaned against the eaves, chanting:

"The Lord of the Netherworld, the Great Heavenly Lord of all Saints... The living return to the living, the dead return to silence..."

The incantation was long and convoluted, but the old Daoist spoke extremely quickly, completing the long incantation in just a few finger flicks.

Then, he let out a long shout:

"By the order of the Lord of the Netherworld, Kui Xing appears, and all evil retreats!"

Buzz~

The moment the last word was spoken, the sparks of incense energy erupting from the entire city surged.

Simultaneously, the images pasted on the doorsteps of every household, already yellowed and even torn, vibrated.

Boom!

With a loud tremor, Yin winds rose above the entire city.

The shadows of the night, accompanied by the sparks of incense light, outlined a hideous and terrifying ghost face in the sky above the city.

The ghost face covered the entire city, lifelike, and one could vaguely see its iron mask, bristling hair, and large, bell-like eyes. Its appearance was strange and extremely ferocious.

But as soon as this ghost face appeared, the demons that were lunging towards the city let out earth-shattering wails and scattered in all directions.

As if they had seen the most terrifying existence in the world.

The ghost face opened its mouth the moment it appeared.

And sucked!

Whoosh!

In an instant, the wind and clouds dispersed, and all the air currents above the entire city flowed backward.

The demons let out hysterical wails as they were dragged back by an indescribable force.

If one could understand the demons' babble, one would hear that the countless screams, high and low, only contained two words:

'Second Master!!!'

There are many who are called Second Master in the world, but there is only one Netherworld Second Master.

Second Master Kui!

On the eaves, the white-haired old Daoist looked at this scene, a trace of melancholy appearing on his face, and he bowed slightly:

"Thank you, Second Master, for your continued compassion for all living beings..."

Waves of demons were sucked in from the sky, from the ground, from the distance, and from high above. No matter how hideous the demons were, they were all sucked in.

It seemed as if it wanted to swallow all the demons in one gulp.

"Ah! Ah! Ah!"

Countless demons instinctively cried out in fear, but they could not resist at all.

But in the next instant, the huge ghost face suddenly closed its mouth.

Then disappeared.

"Hmm?"

The white-haired old Daoist's heart skipped a beat. He looked up and saw that all the demons had disappeared, replaced by City Gods who had awakened as if from a dream.

"Second Master!"

City God Sun, who was the first to choose to become a demon, knelt in the air, tears streaming down his face: "Why did you save us?"

City Gods do not harm the people, and the Netherworld does not harm the City Gods.

Second Master is dead, but he still adheres to his own path. We are alive, so how can we disobey the Lord of the Underworld?

Many City Gods knelt in the air, all silently shedding tears.

The Daoist Lian Sheng was moved, and then sighed in disappointment:

"If the Lord of the Underworld was still here, if all of you were still here...

How wonderful that would be!"

Unfortunately, the past is gone forever, and there will never be such a day again.

His name is Lian Sheng (Pity for Life), a disciple of the Human Path, and the successor of the Daoist lineage established by the former Lord of the Netherworld in the human world.

Unfortunately, with the loss of contact with the Netherworld, his supernatural powers were less than ten percent of what they used to be. If the Netherworld was still there, he could even borrow the power of the Eight Lords of the Netherworld to rival Yuanshen cultivators. But now, he no longer has that ability.

"How sad, how lamentable..."

The sigh gradually faded away as the Daoist Lian Sheng drank wine and sang loudly:

"Heaven does not pity me, the human world is full of disasters, the earth does not pity me, all living beings suffer. On the day when a hundred ghosts walk at night, how many people can sing joyfully..."

Whoosh whoosh~~~

The night wind blew.

Sa Wuling, who was running around the city to save people, finally breathed a sigh of relief, almost collapsing to the ground.

"The people of the Heavenly Intent Teaching are crazy, and these City Gods are crazy too..."

Sa Wuling's expression was quite ugly.

If it weren't for the appearance of the Kui Xing phantom, and dozens of great demons had pounced into the city, he wouldn't have been able to save anyone, no matter how capable he was. He might have even died here himself.

After all, he wasn't even at the Wen Yang realm. After these City Gods turned into demons, they were all great demons at the very least at the Benming realm!

Mu Longcheng, who had been silent for who knows how long, spoke again:

"Let's go, to the next city. This world is getting interesting..."

.......

Smack!

The gilded imperial decree was thrown on the ground.

The two eunuchs who had come to deliver the decree stood there with ugly faces, not knowing whether to cry or laugh, and daring not to show the slightest anger.

"You're afraid now?"

Xiao Feng glanced at the two eunuchs coldly, and with a flick of his sleeve, he knocked them to the ground: "Take the imperial decree and get back."

"Master Xiao, Master Xiao."

The two eunuchs picked up the imperial decree in a fluster and cried out: "You, how can we explain it to the Emperor when we go back?"

"Tell him the truth, tell him this master is busy and he can wait!"

With that, Xiao Feng flicked his sleeves and left.

Leaving behind two eunuchs with extremely ugly faces who couldn't even cry.

Walking out of the courtyard, Xiao Feng's face immediately darkened.

The incident in Tian'an Prefecture was not an isolated case. Several major states had already experienced the complete annihilation of Heavenly Intent Teaching Daoists. Not only the people of the Heavenly Intent Teaching, but also many experts from the heretical and external paths who had been invited to help had also fallen.

The number of City Gods in the world may not be more than that of the cultivators, but the Heavenly Intent Teaching cannot represent the entire cultivation world.

In fact, most sects were watching coldly, some wanting to see a joke, and some eager to take advantage of the situation.

Even some sects had already taken other actions.

For example, the Tathagata Monastery.

Xiao Feng's killing intent deepened in his heart, and with a movement, he arrived in the backyard.

In the simple Daoist temple, in front of the thatched hut, the Heavenly Intent Master was watering the lingzhi, carefully and meticulously, not like the master of a teaching, but more like an old farmer in the countryside.

Even when Xiao Feng came in, he didn't seem to notice.

Xiao Feng glanced at him, his brows slightly furrowed. He could feel the fluctuation of the Heavenly Intent Master's aura.

For a Yuanshen True Person whose Yuanshen doesn't leak, such a thing is unbelievable, which means that even at this time, he has not been able to completely suppress that Qin Wuyi.

"You have something on your mind?"

The Heavenly Intent Master put down the water pot and slowly stood up to look at Xiao Feng.

His expression was normal, as if he hadn't been overwhelmed by the continuous bad news.

"Master! That old codger was indeed moved by those bald thieves, and he actually wants you to compete with that Ruyi Monk in the winter of the year after next to determine the ownership of the world's incense!"

Xiao Feng took a deep breath and said respectfully:

"The Tathagata Monastery is ruthless enough, and the Crown Prince is ruthless enough. He even cut off his own head and sent it to the Tathagata Monastery to gain the old Emperor's trust!"

"That's not surprising. He couldn't have lived after committing treason, so it doesn't matter if he sent it to the Tathagata Monastery."

The Heavenly Intent Master turned around and said quietly:

"It's that Ruyi Monk who dares to act like this, I think his cultivation is about to succeed. The winter of the year after next? That's a bit of a coincidence..."

"Master, you..."

Hearing this, Xiao Feng's eyes lit up.

"Recall the many disciples, temporarily cease the war, and notify the many major sects to come to the capital in the winter of the year after next."

The Heavenly Intent Master stood with his hands behind his back, his eyes cold:

"Everything, should come to an end!"