That gaze was desolate and clear, seemingly containing mountains and rivers, its depths unfathomable, yet carrying a hint of undisguised weariness.

It was as if he had forced himself to open his eyes, barely maintaining his spirit after a long slumber.

As the light in his eyes grew, the darkness in the entire room seemed to be dispelled, and the air was immediately filled with the scent of burning incense.

Both Sa Wuling and Yan Xiake felt a jolt in their hearts.

They saw in the gradually brightening temple an old man sitting cross-legged, his face square, his skin bronze, his tall frame resembling a fierce general from the battlefield, with long arms and legs.

The old man's face was full of vicissitudes, and beneath his stern expression was a deep weariness.

"Old City God..."

Yan Xiake knelt on the ground, kowtowing heavily, "Thank you, Old City God, for your righteous help."

"Though bones, still mindful of worldly affairs. You have done well. There are few scholars with your mettle."

The old man's expression softened slightly, and with a wave of his sleeve, Yan Xiake involuntarily stood up.

"You should not kneel to me, but I should kneel to you."

As he spoke, Qin Wuyi slowly rose to his feet. Before the latter could react, he bowed deeply, his sleeves touching the ground:

"Qin Wuyi thanks you, young friend, for your help!"

"You mustn't, you mustn't."

Yan Xiake hurriedly avoided the bow, his body creaking, his heart filled with excitement.

After bowing deeply, Qin Wuyi slowly opened his mouth:

"I must, I must..."

"Greetings, Old City God."

Sa Wuling also bowed.

He had much respect for this Old City God in his heart.

In the millennia since contact with the Netherworld had been lost, the maintenance of the City God system had rested solely on his shoulders.

Although he had not done it perfectly, it did not diminish the respect in his heart.

"Who is that Zhenren?"

Qin Wuyi's gaze turned to Sa Wuling.

Although he was sealed within the City God's mansion, he was not entirely unaware of external affairs, and had naturally sensed the battle at the Ten Thousand Dharma Altar in West Mountain.

"That is my teacher."

Sa Wuling's expression was respectful:

"My teacher still has matters to attend to, but will surely come to visit the Old City God afterward."

"It is I who should visit him..."

Qin Wuyi floated out of the room.

Only then did the two see clearly.

Qin Wuyi's tall frame was slightly hunched, and beneath his wide robe, his legs were still there, but without feet.

His aura was clearly as towering as a mountain, yet they felt a sense of illusion.

Like a flower in a mirror or the moon in the water, he seemed close at hand, yet also far away.

"Old City God..."

Yan Xiake's heart skipped a beat.

"The art of resurrection can only be performed by Third Brother and Fourth Brother. I am far inferior, and cannot save you."

Qin Wuyi was slightly apologetic.

Yuanshen were not omnipotent, and neither were City Gods.

Now that the Netherworld was out of contact, even he could no longer send souls to the Netherworld for reincarnation, let alone bring the dead back to life.

"You don't need to say that. Life and death are predetermined. The day I entered Qingdu City, I was already prepared. My current state is already good."

Yan Xiake shook his head, the ghost fire under his cloak flickering, seemingly without any emotional fluctuations.

"Well said."

Qin Wuyi smiled, seemingly letting go of something.

He looked up at the sky where the afterglow was gradually fading, and sighed softly:

"It has been a long time since I saw the light of day. The scenery is beautiful, it is just right to go for a walk..."

While Sa Wuling was slightly astonished, Qin Wuyi had already floated out of the City God Temple.

The two subconsciously followed him out.

Rumble~

As the three of them walked out of the City God Temple, they heard a loud noise.

Yan Xiake looked back and saw the City God Temple shaking and collapsing. Soil, stones, wooden beams, and dust rose up in an instant. In the blink of an eye, the large City God Temple was no more.

"Dust to dust, earth to earth, mud statues are still mud, better to return to nothingness, return to nothingness..."

Facing the two men's astonishment, Qin Wuyi laughed loudly and walked away.

He had no legs, but as he floated, he still moved up and down, like a dragon walking or a tiger striding.

The two were stunned for a moment, and Qin Wuyi had already reached the end of the long street, so they hurriedly chased after him.

But they could not hide the shock in their hearts.

The City God Temple was not just mud and stones. Its root was in the City God's mansion in the incense world, which was exceptionally solid. Qin Wuyi's City God Temple was even more like his incarnation in the Yang world. Ordinary people could not destroy even a tile.

Now that it was broken, there was only one possibility: Qin Wuyi had taken away his City God's mansion from the incense world.

In other words, he was no longer a City God!

Or perhaps, his time was up...

But no matter which possibility it was, it was a shocking event.

Beyond the City God Street were two more streets.

This was the famous night market of Qingdu City. Here, there were all kinds of small snacks and delicacies from all over the world. It was also the liveliest long street in Qingdu City at night.

Although it was only dusk, there were already many merchants and stalls on this street.

There were also more pedestrians.

Some were in groups of three or five, others came and went alone, sitting at the stalls tasting food, and talking loudly.

However, most of the discussions were similar, all of them inseparable from the great changes that had taken place in Qingdu City in recent years. The occasional celestial phenomena made many people nervous and frightened.

Everyone seemed to have a hint of worry on their faces.

If it weren't for the fact that there had been no casualties in the previous incidents, they wouldn't have been in the mood to come out at all.

Sa Wuling and Yan Xiake accompanied Qin Wuyi, strolling on this long street.

They watched Qin Wuyi eat from the beginning of the street to the end, watched him bargain with the small vendors, watched him criticize like a gourmet...

These scenes shattered the rigid impression they had of him.

They knew the Old City God's character.

It was said that this Old City God was the most unyielding in his work. He would not grant requests for wealth and fortune, and he would not pay attention to those who were unfilial or unkind. Whether it was the imperial court or high-ranking officials, he treated them all the same.

Even if their incense burned brightly, he would never pay attention to them.

Because of this, those above influenced those below, and most of the City Gods in the world acted in this way. While there were constraints from the Netherworld, many of them were influenced by him.

"Yin Gods can also eat things, but because they consume too much human incense, they have lost their taste. When the Netherworld was still around, there were still Netherworld cooks who could make some edible food.

That tavern that Lord, Seventh Brother, and the others liked to go to, it has been a long time since I went there..."

Qin Wuyi put down his bowl and chopsticks, wiped the corner of his mouth, and said with some emotion:

"These foods that you see as ordinary, I haven't eaten for one thousand six hundred and eighty years, four months, and thirteen days..."

One thousand six hundred years...

Sa Wuling and Yan Xiake were both speechless.

With their current state of mind, they could not understand how long this was, nor could they understand why he could pinpoint the day so accurately.

"Boss, let's settle the bill."

Qin Wuyi put down the silver, rarely not bargaining.

Sa Wuling and the two followed behind him.

But they found that he was not going to the location of the Heavenly Will Church's main altar, but seemed to be leaving the city.

"Old City God, where are you going?"

Seeing that the city gate was getting closer, Sa Wuling couldn't help but ask:

"Aren't you going to see my teacher?"

"I will always see your teacher..."

Qin Wuyi said lightly:

"But before that, I want to see another person..."

"Ah?"

Sa Wuling was slightly stunned, and saw that Qin Wuyi had already left the city gate, and hurriedly followed.

The upheaval in the imperial city had not yet affected the city gate. The soldiers guarding the city gate were as usual, guarding the city gate strictly. Now that the sky was getting dark, the city gate was about to close, and they didn't care about the three of them walking out.

After leaving the city, Qin Wuyi was still unhurried, looking at everything he encountered as he walked.

This made Yan Xiake's heart even heavier.

The three of them were not very fast, but compared to ordinary people, they were already extremely fast. When the moon was full in the sky, Sa Wuling stepped on the snow, looked ahead against the cold wind.

He saw Qin Wuyi standing in front of a desolate mountain temple.

Under the starry sky, the mountains were covered with snow. This desolate mountain was located in the northern suburbs of Qingdu, and it was extremely desolate. Because there were many mass graves here, and in the distance, you could see a mortuary with lights on.

This place was sparsely populated, and naturally there was no incense in this temple.

In fact, most of this temple had already been destroyed. It was more appropriate to call it ruins, with only half a wall and half a statue of a god.

"This is..."

Yan Xiake had a guess.

Qin Wuyi stood with his hands behind his back in front of the dilapidated temple, reflecting the starlight, his face slightly dazed:

"This is my temple, the temple before the City God of Chengdu. For more than a thousand years, if I hadn't protected it with magic, perhaps even these ruins would not exist..."

"This is your temple?"

Sa Wuling was a little surprised.

"Before the establishment of the Great Qing, there were thousands of countries standing on this land, fighting each other and the people were living in misery. Even though Lord Kong had emerged and wiped out the demonic atmosphere, sometimes, people were more terrifying than ghosts...

Bandits, horse bandits, evil cultivators, demon cultivators, and so on were wreaking havoc, and wars broke out from time to time. I don't know how many people were displaced...

At that time, I started from humble beginnings, relying on my three-point martial arts skills, and I also made a name for myself. I can be considered to have contributed to the local area. After my death, the villagers in several villages and towns built this temple for me..."

Qin Wuyi slowly narrated, sinking into memories:

"Protecting one place, I can be considered to have made some achievements, but Yin Gods are not easy to be. People are forgetful, and the world gradually became peaceful, and I was forgotten... That day, I met Lord Kong, and thanks to his guidance, I followed him and became a small ghost for a hundred years..."

Sa Wuling saw very clearly that when Qin Wuyi said the last sentence, a strong look suddenly appeared in his eyes.

It was as if a lost person had suddenly found his soul.

It made his heart tremble. What kind of person was that Netherworld Lord Kong? After disappearing for more than a thousand years, he still made this Old City God so awed, or rather... yearning!

"...Lord Kong loved to eat donkey meat and drink two cups of wine. Second Brother was stern and slovenly. Third Brother was erudite and gentle. Fourth Brother had a bad temper and would explode at the slightest provocation. If things didn't go his way, he would flick his whip...

Eighth Brother had a fierce face, was wide and fat, and small and dark, but his heart was very kind. Seventh Brother was the opposite...

He was the most murderous person in the world, without exception..."

Qin Wuyi seemed to be lost in memories, or seemed to be telling someone something.

Sa Wuling and Yan Xiake were silent, listening quietly.

They knew that these words were not for them to hear. Qin Wuyi needed only a listener, not for them to say anything.

After a long time, Qin Wuyi slowly stopped talking.

He looked up at the boundless starry sky and sighed for a long time:

"Seventh Brother, I'm leaving, won't you come to see me?"

Rumble!

As soon as Qin Wuyi finished speaking, a series of thunderbolts suddenly sounded above the starry sky.

It seemed that the sky was angry.

Visible dark clouds suddenly rolled in, and in an instant, they had covered the stars and moon. Under the rolling thunderclouds, streaks of lightning danced wildly, roaring and roaring.

In an instant, sand and stones flew across the earth, and countless snow was blown away by the wind, as if a heavy snowstorm was falling.

An indescribable sense of oppression suddenly filled the hearts of Sa Wuling and Yan Xiake.

"What is this?"

Yan Xiake's body creaked, feeling the vastness of the heavens, and that he would be crushed to pieces in the next moment.

Sa Wuling was even more不堪, trembling all over, almost sinking into the soil.

Heavenly Might!

Heavenly Might!

In an instant, all the creatures in the northern suburbs, whether hibernating or not, involuntarily curled up and crawled towards the ground.

And in Qingdu City, hearing the rolling thunderclouds, many people ran home in a panic, and some even cursed loudly.

And further away, the cultivators of the entire Qingzhou land, even those in seclusion, woke up at this time, looked up at the sky, and their hearts trembled.

"Damn heavens!"

Qin Wuyi's face was livid, and he gritted his teeth.

They heard a loud bang suddenly erupt from the depths of the void, followed by a cold scolding that overwhelmed the thunder:

"You bastard, I'm sending my little brother on his last journey, and you want to interfere?!"

"You keep shouting, aren't you annoying!"

Boom!

A roar that resounded throughout the heavens and earth, even louder than thunder, caused the earth for hundreds of miles to shake like waves, shaking all the snow, sand, and soil on the earth to the sky!

The heavens and the earth shook!

Sa Wuling was caught off guard and almost fell to the ground, looking up in horror.

He saw a pale white palm suddenly protruding from the void.

The palm was pale and terrifying, like a dead man's hand that had been soaked in water for many years, without a trace of light, making people shudder at the sight.

That was death energy!

Death energy that was so rich that it was indescribable!

Crack~~~

As the palm probed out, the thunder in the sky suddenly raged.

The dancing electric snakes and thunder dragons instantly swooped down, thousands, tens of thousands of thunderbolts falling like rain, carrying the power to destroy the heavens and the earth, rushing straight to the palm.

Sizzle~

As the thunder erupted, the entire palm finally probed out.

Rumble!

Streams of intense pale white flames erupted from the palm, turning into a boundless sea of fire that scorched the sky for thousands of miles.

The vast death energy spread out, surging up to the sky like a滔滔uninterrupted heavenly river.

Somewhere in the northern suburbs, An Qisheng was sitting on the top of a mountain, looking at the sky.

He saw that the vast death energy was interwoven, turning into mourning sticks that looked like iron but were not, and like bamboo but were not.

The mourning stick was so big that it could not be stopped, like a mountain standing on the ground and surpassing the sky, with an extremely huge volume.

Facing the rolling electric snakes and thunder dragons, he ruthlessly whipped at the sky:

"Kill!!!"