On North Chengxian Street, eight hundred red-faced Guan Yu figures, wielding Azure Dragon Crescent Blades;
On Middle North Hongwu Street, four hundred yellow-faced Door Gods, Qin Qiong, brandished their twin gold maces with flattened heads;
Central Ximen Street, Southern Huashi Street, Central Hongqiao Street, Southwest Gaojing Street, Southwest Pishi Street...
Door God Yuchi Gong, Slaughter God Fierce Zhang Fei, Emperor Zhao Shengjun Zhao Yun, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Erlang Shen, Third Prince Nezha, the Four Heavenly Kings, the Four Dragon Kings of the Seas...
Middle South Huowa Lane, Southeast Mafu Street, Southeast Taiping Street...
The Kitchen God, Pear Garden God Emperor Ming Huang, Biscuit God Emperor Xuan, Weaver God Zhang Heng, Weaver Goddess Zhi Nu, Earth and Wood God Patriarch Pu An, Thunder Messenger Lord She Ling Lei Shen, Tea God Lu Yu, Lacquer Sculpture Painting God Wu Daozi, Immortal of Calligraphy Cai Wenji, Brush God Meng Tian, Eye God A Luo, God of Poverty Dragon Head...
And those previously conjured in Gusu, the Protector God of Brothels White-Browed God, the Protector God of Peddlers King Deer-Head Fan Kuai.
The gods, driven by their divine forms, animated from wooden platforms and clay sculptures, imbued with spirit and form, drawing upon the incense offerings of millions of people, manifested and became sacred before the eyes of Ying Tian Prefecture's thirty-six guards and numerous White Lotus cultists!
A White Lotus Sect Earth Immortal cultivator witnessed this scene, and the eight hundred Guan Yu figures charged towards him!
Simultaneously, they shouted in unison: "We perceive this wretch as one heading for the slaughter!"
"Damn it! Attack!"
The White Lotus Sect Earth Immortal cultivator commanded the soldiers of the Southern Right Jinwu Guard, along with other White Lotus followers, to break through the blockade line of the eight hundred Guan Yu figures. At this moment, Zhang Fei's roar echoed from the adjacent street!
There was no deeper meaning. The divine skills of the divine visages were formed by the fixed impressions people held of them. Benefiting from the circulation of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms," the scene of Zhang Fei roaring and blocking the Dangyang Bridge was considered a classic. Therefore, on the adjacent street, where butcher shops were prevalent, every household worshipped Zhang Fei and Fan Kuai. Their appearance at this moment, like the Heng Ha Er Jiang, shook the heavens, causing countless White Lotus cultists and garrison soldiers to vomit blood!
And among this group of Zhang Fei and Fan Kuai, there were a few Li Kui. The popularity of "Water Margin" had also opened up a market for the heroes of Liangshan among the common folk...
"These are mere false gods! They... they!"
The White Lotus Sect Earth Immortal cultivator spoke halfway before falling silent. This was because even folk deities required wandering souls to inherit them, and positions like Guan Fei and Zhang Fei were not easily inherited. Even the lowest-ranking false Guandi required recognition from Guan Gong's statue, which was related to wishes.
But these beings before him were clearly not true gods, nor were they wandering souls transformed!
How they manifested before him, he could not possibly know!
"What's wrong with them?"
A soldier captain inquired of the great cultivator. The cultivator said fiercely, "They are possessed by monsters! That's it, attack them for me!"
However, the national might on the soldiers was useless!
Because these deities also possessed national might!
"They are formed by the wishes of millions of people. Unless these millions of people are not subjects of the Great Ming, the national might will be useless against them."
"Moreover, a considerable portion of them have been officially enfeoffed by emperors or dynasties."
"Those who are officially enfeoffed possess national might. You should understand this, right?"
A shadow soldier, distorted in appearance, manifested as Ji Xiang and appeared nearby, mocking the White Lotus cultivator. The White Lotus cultivator was startled, as he had no idea how this "person" had appeared beside him!
"Who goes there!"
The shadow soldier, transformed into "Ji Xiang," did not answer. He commanded the Guan Yu figures:
"These people are subordinates of the current treacherous officials, they are followers of evil cults, not cultivators of the righteous path. Guan Di, please strike swiftly and execute them here, to rectify the heavenly ears!"
Buzz buzz buzz buzz!
Eight hundred Azure Dragon Blades were brandished, eight hundred large hands stroked their beautiful beards, and then... the blade light flashed!
The great saber suddenly struck before him!
The White Lotus Sect Earth Immortal cultivator was greatly alarmed. He used his magic artifact to block the Azure Dragon Blade, only to find it incredibly heavy, not like a fake object at all!
Then, the Azure Dragon Blade, with immense power, shattered the magic artifact and struck the White Lotus Sect Earth Immortal cultivator, severing three of his fingers!
"A bunch of wooden statues, even if they've become true gods, how can the Azure Dragon Blade made of wood still shatter my magic artifact!"
As his vital energy flowed, these charging Guan Yu figures actually possessed the strength of Earth Immortals!
The White Lotus Sect Earth Immortal cultivator unleashed his magic power and blew off the head of a Guan Yu figure, but the shattered head immediately transformed into incense smoke and was restored in an instant!
A body of incense, immortal and indestructible!
"How do you compare to Yan Liang and Wen Chou!"
This Guan Yu, whose head was blown off and then restored, roared and swung his saber!
The White Lotus Sect Earth Immortal cultivator cursed!
Yan Liang and Wen Chou were nothing!
I am an Earth Immortal, don't think you can do whatever you want just because you've been deified!
However, while he could contend with Guan Yu, the other garrison soldiers and White Lotus followers were no match for the Guan Yu legion. They were routed at the first encounter! The most important thing for soldiers to gather and defeat cultivators and demons was the national might they carried. Even Ming Dynasty cultivators without national might could not inflict much damage on soldiers possessing it.
But these things, they are incense gods!
And they had all been officially enfeoffed by the Great Ming!
"Guan Gong was enfeoffed as the Great Emperor of Xie Tian, Protector of the Nation, in the tenth year of Wanli. You White Lotus cultists are merely protected by a vassal king. Guan Gong's status is officially recognized by the Emperor. Your national might is ineffective. When encountering Guan Gong's national might, it will naturally be dispersed."
"Haven't you felt that the national might of Ying Tian Prefecture is continuously gathering and growing on these eight hundred Guan Yu figures?"
"Guan Gong's strength also depends on the amount of incense offered by the populace. If the wishes of a million people are equivalent to the Heavenly Heart Realm, and the wishes of ten thousand people have already reached the Ascending Realm, then if this is reduced to Guan Gong, and worshipped, making him a true god, he would at least possess the strength of an Earth Immortal, wouldn't he?"
The shadow Ji Xiang "reminded" from the side.
The White Lotus Sect Earth Immortal cultivator's face turned ashen!
Cold light shattered the void, and several Azure Dragon Blades slashed from above, below, left, and right!
...
Buzz buzz buzz!
"Damn it, the Door Gods are attacking! The Door Gods are attacking!"
"It's not even the first month, why are these people pasting Door Gods on their doors!"
Qin Qiong and Yuchi Gong jumped down from the main doors, and the divine statues from various households rushed out. They raised their gold maces and iron whips, smashing at the Ming army in Ying Tian Prefecture! One whip strike sent ghosts to heaven, and metal and stone cracked, emitting huge explosions!
And in some houses, old men wearing conical hats and straw capes, holding divine whips, jumped out. Hearing people outside shouting that Jiang Taigong had jumped down from the rafters!
In Huowa Lane, where tile workers, the working class, were gathered, there were many Kitchen Gods and Kitchen Goddesses. They now blocked the lane. A detachment of the Southern Prefecture Guard saw divine battles erupting on the street not far away, with clay sculpture gods coming to life and attacking people everywhere. The Southern Prefecture Guard's vanguard had already collapsed. This detachment of the Prefecture Guard prepared to detour through Huowa Lane, but upon entering, thousands of Kitchen God deities turned their heads in unison, staring at them with kind and benevolent eyes.
Old Man Old Woman Happy Lane.
Gulp.
A flag officer of the Southern Prefecture Guard swallowed hard and asked the company commander of this detachment:
"Commander, should we... should we fight? These are Kitchen Gods..."
Legend has it that offending the Kitchen God would shorten one's life by at least three hundred days.
The company commander, bracing himself, said with difficulty, "The Prince's order is most important now. What about the Kitchen Gods? Attack them!"
This detachment of the Prefecture Guard charged into Huowa Lane!
The Kitchen Gods grabbed cleavers and spatulas!
And struck down!
Then, a giant spear flew out from Huowa Lane, smashing the company commander into a pulp!
A black-armored divine general appeared at the end of Huowa Lane.
King Hengshan Fen, in Ying Tian Prefecture, there were temples dedicated to Mount Heng, and one of the deities enshrined was Xiang Yu. However, the incense offerings were not abundant, and he was merely a common martial god in folk beliefs, with a limited scope of worship, incomparable to Guan Gong.
...
On the banks of the Qinhuai River, in the Temple of Confucius, a powerful fist smashed out, turning an Earth Immortal cultivator into a pulp on the spot!
A giant statue, wearing a long robe and standing five to six meters tall, walked out!
In Ying Tian Prefecture's Temple of Confucius, adjacent to the Jiangnan Imperial Examination Hall, which was the largest imperial examination site from the Ming to the Qing dynasties, from the early Ming to the late Qing, there were eight hundred top scholars, one hundred thousand successful candidates, and a million provincial scholars!
And in this Temple of Confucius, there was a deity worshipped by everyone in Ying Tian, from princes and nobles to peddlers and laborers!
Confucius!
Beside the Temple of Confucius, several other figures also appeared: Yan Hui, Zeng Shen, Meng Ke...
On the banks of the Qinhuai River, some government troops who had finally arrived saw the Confucian sages emerge from the temple and then, with wide swings of their arms, block the intersection!
And Confucius found the fallen Prince Lu, and stepped on him with his large foot!
At the critical moment, Fire Lord and Crown Prince Lie Jie appeared, waved their hands, and used fire遁 (fire escape) to disappear from the spot!
Some Qianhu of the Ying Tian Prefecture army arrived here. Not seeing Prince Lu, they happened to collide head-on with Confucius.
What greeted them were fists as large as iron pots!
"The Sage is attacking!"
Among all the divine lords in Ying Tian, no one was stronger than Confucius as a true god!
...
The great changes occurring in Ying Tian shocked Qin Naxiu, who was fiercely fighting in the clouds. She froze for a moment and observed Ying Tian with her celestial eyes, discovering that folk deities were appearing everywhere in large numbers, engaging in battle with the thirty-six guards of Ying Tian Prefecture and the White Lotus cultists!
She saw that Prince Lu did not receive reinforcements from the soldiers, but Crown Prince Lie Jie and Fire Lord moved him with fire遁 to the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum.
"He escaped using遁术 (escape technique)."
Seeing Prince Lu's transfer, Yi Xingseng naturally dared not linger and immediately fled. The other Earth Immortal cultivators, including Jiang Qu Zi and Bai Wu Zi, felt as if they had been granted a great amnesty and fled towards the outside like fugitives!
In an instant, the thirty-six Golden Light Bodhisattvas transformed into thick incense and scattered across Ying Tian!
Bravely blocking a Heavenly Immortal, in just over a moment, more than a dozen primordial spirits had died. Another moment, and they might not even be able to save their own lives!
But in the face of an Ascending Realm cultivator, ordinary primordial spirits escaping was meaningless.
Qin Naxiu struck with a palm, which transformed into a blade, instantly bisecting the heavens and earth! Since the thirty-six Golden Light Bodhisattvas formation had been broken, and Yi Xingseng and other masters had retreated, did the remaining primordial spirits and the like still think they could escape from her blade light!
"Without those two Refining Spirit cultivators holding spirit artifacts, and without that Great Cultivator of the Pure Yang Realm, those in the Innate Realm with nimble legs might escape with six-colored auspicious clouds. You primordial spirits and Yellow Court cultivators, riding four or five-colored clouds, think you can escape from my hands?"
Having said that, she suddenly began to sing:
A swan goose flies high, covering a thousand miles in a single flight.
Its wings are already formed, traversing the four seas.
The north wind howls, and the form of a giant swan goose spreads its wings. At this moment, a surge of destiny descends from the Heavenly Dao, seemingly from that dragon of destiny. Qin Naxiu felt the weakening of this destiny and could not help but sigh:
"The destiny of the Han Dynasty has already declined, now barely a trace remains. Fourteen hundred years, dynasties change, how many events of ancient and modern times have all turned to dust and blown away by the wind."
"Awe-inspiring, as if still present."
"Who says the Han has perished."
The Swan Goose Song transformed into blade light, carrying destiny upon it. If it were during the Han Dynasty, wielding this blade would have easily shattered the formation of the thirty-six Golden Light Bodhisattvas. But now it was not so. The destiny of the Han Dynasty had weakened to the point where it could only slay minor villains, and could not achieve much against the peak experts of the human world.
A single blade covered the heavens and earth, and all the primordial spirit cultivators were annihilated. The clouds in the sky cleared, revealing only the dazzling stars beyond the firmament.
Fourteen hundred years, even the stars had shifted their positions slightly, indicating that the thousand years of mountains and rivers, and the thousand years of inner mountains and rivers, could not be treated the same.
Qin Naxiu praised: "The Heavenly Gate opens, vast and boundless. Mu Bingping gallops, to feast. Light illuminates the night, virtue and trust are evident. Spirits immerse in the vastness, longevity and joy..."
During the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, the gods greatly opened the Heavenly Gate, and the Taiyi Immortal manifested, seen by Emperor Wu.
Legend has it that after Emperor Wu's death, his spirit ascended to immortality through this Heavenly Gate and never returned to the mortal world.
"Right, where is that kid?"
Qin Naxiu looked around and did not find Ji Xiang's true body. She descended into an alley and saw the shadow soldier transformed into Ji Xiang's appearance.
"You are... Xiao Xiang's avatar?"
Qin Naxiu looked at this shadow soldier with interest. The shadow soldier nodded: "Outer body avatar."
"Why were you allied with Prince Lu, that treacherous official, and now you are rebelling against him? What is going on?" Qin Naxiu asked.
The shadow soldier asked, "Why is Sister here, and why do you want to assassinate the Prince? What enmity do you have with Prince Lu?"
Mentioning enmity, Qin Naxiu seemed to lose some of her interest: "The divine general from Jinshan Water Mansion, wasn't he his subordinate? I wouldn't kill someone just because of a divine general who went astray, but Prince Lu has done some things that I occasionally noticed while I was looking for my two teachers."
"Most importantly, someone gave me a benefit, asking me to intercept and kill him here. I figured killing him would be eliminating harm for the people and helping this Great Ming court solve the problem of a rebellious vassal king. Nowadays, there are very few immortals in this world. If this vassal king were to ascend to immortality, then the emperor of the Ming Dynasty could also be replaced."
"I deliberately waited until before his ascension to make a move, for fear of alerting him beforehand. He himself is an ultimate expert among the Pure Yang realm. Although he cannot defeat me, if he were to run, I definitely wouldn't be able to find him."
The shadow soldier curiously asked, "The one who asked Sister to kill him, could it be Wei Ji Vajra?"
"Oh? How do you know?"
Qin Naxiu looked at the shadow soldier with curiosity: "That dark-faced Vajra is quite good, much more polite than the Heavenly Immortals I met from the Ten Continents and Three Islands before."
"I have no ill feelings towards Buddhism. When I killed people, Emperor Huan of Han protected my life. He himself was the Buddha Emperor of the White Horse Temple. This dark-faced Vajra said that his teacher when he first entered Buddhism was the Abbot of White Horse, who was also Emperor Huan of Han's teacher. On this basis, I, out of old friendship, came to help him kill this prince."
"As for the benefit I received, here."
Qin Naxiu threw a small box to the shadow soldier: "Take this back to your main body. This can help you ascend to immortality again."
"I don't have anything particularly needed in the world, but I remember your cultivation is almost ruined, so I asked for something to help you."
The shadow soldier was stunned, and even Ji Xiang's main body in Fuli was stunned, then fell silent.