Chapter 86: The City God

“Haha…”

Wang Yu, with his hair disheveled, laughed toward the sky, “I never thought… your Wu family would also be unable to wait and become the Li family’s lapdog! Do you want to claim my head for a reward?”

“You are mistaken, young master!”

Wu Ming seemed to shake his head with a sigh: “If your Wang family hadn’t been pressing us relentlessly, how would I end up in this situation?”

Of course, he didn’t mention his secret assistance to Li Yu’s dragon qi, breaking the sealed prohibition, or aiding Bai Jiao.

After all, he hadn’t forgotten that the Wang family still had an injured City God ancestor!

In this world, the City God’s authority specifically governed over yin souls. If things were handled carelessly, once Wang Zhong captured Wang Yu’s yin soul, he would immediately discover everything.

Although this possibility was small, there was no need to take such a risk.

“…Previously, it was merely a small offense, and I can compensate…”

Wang Yu almost gritted his teeth saying this.

He was unaware that the Wu Ming standing before him was the very culprit who had brought him to his current predicament, and he had no intention of wasting time and energy here in a futile struggle. After all, Wu Ming’s past achievements still filled him with considerable dread.

However, although Wang Yu appeared sincere on the surface, his hand secretly gripped a magical artifact in his sleeve, ready to strike suddenly.

“Do you know why I’m telling you all this?”

Wu Ming ignored Wang Yu’s subtle movements, his expression somewhat strange: “Because in my eyes, you are already… a dead man!”

“A dead man?!”

Wang Yu was startled, about to throw his artifact, but suddenly his body trembled and he collapsed weakly.

“You…”

His lips quivered, unable to speak further, even black blood flowed from his seven orifices, and his spiritual sea’s magic power was tightly sealed.

“In warfare, the highest strategy is to outwit the enemy’s plans. As the saying goes, a son of a thousand gold pieces should not sit beneath a leaking roof. Why should I engage in a life-or-death struggle with you?”

Wu Ming stood before Wang Yu, his eyes filled with pity: “Moreover… this is not solely my doing. The River God of Nujiang entrusted me to send his greetings to you!”

“It’s come to this…”

Although unable to speak, from Wang Yu’s eyes, Wu Ming could read such meaning.

Wang Yu stretched out his hand, seemingly trying to grasp something.

How unwilling he was!

He was born under great fortune, his mother dreamt of holding the sun, and he was born as the legitimate son, enjoying smooth sailing all his life. How could he accept dying here?

Unfortunately, in Wu Ming’s eyes, this young man’s head was already shrouded in dark clouds, completely ruining his last bit of fortune.

With his life force broken, Wang Yu’s hand hit the ground, and he breathed his last.

“Pity, a brilliant figure of this generation, ends up with such a fate…”

Wu Ming sighed, then immediately stepped forward, his expression sorrowful as he chanted a spell: “By the decree of the Highest, I transcend your lonely soul, cleanse you, and guide you to rebirth elsewhere. Wealth and poverty, nobility and lowliness, are summoned by yourself. Once the karmic debts are settled, hasten to be reborn…”

This was a Daoist exorcism chant, specially used for delivering the souls of the deceased.

Wang Yu, with his fortune and Daoist achievements, would still be a formidable ghost even in death and might collude with Wang Zhong, so he absolutely could not be left alive.

Wu Ming opened his spiritual eye and saw that with the chanting of the spell, threads of clear light mixed with golden rays descended, while threads of black qi emerged from Wang Yu’s body, forming the semi-transparent shadow of a small figure.

This small figure had blood flowing from its seven orifices, its face blackened, filled with immense resentment.

Suddenly, it tried to escape.

“Why must it be this way?”

Wu Ming sighed again, his face showing compassion: “There is a distinction between Yin and Yang. Why must you cling to the past? Would it not be better to enter reincarnation sooner rather than later?”

With a wave of his hand, a layer of mysterious light immobilized the small figure.

Then, a layer of the underworld opened, emitting a force of attraction mixed with the aura of reincarnation, slowly pulling the small figure in.

“No…”

Wang Yu screamed, “I want to see my ancestors. I don’t want to reincarnate… I still want to cultivate to become a ghost immortal…”

With Daoist achievements and fortune, and under the protection of the City God, whether it was to cultivate as a ghost immortal or to become a divine official under the City God, it would be much better than taking a chance in reincarnation.

Unfortunately, how could Wu Ming give him this opportunity?

As he had said before, Yin and Yang are different realms. Wang Yu’s accomplishments in life were not necessarily his match, and after death, under Wu Ming’s current worldly power and the sweeping force of Yin-Yang laws, he was utterly helpless.

Despite Wang Yu’s struggles, he was slowly and steadily drawn into reincarnation, disappearing without even creating a ripple.

“This is… the reincarnation of this world?”

Wu Ming, for the first time performing a soul transcendence ritual, gained some insight.

The so-called cycle of six paths, dividing reincarnation into six realms such as gods, asuras, and animals, is actually a Buddhist concept.

In this world’s cycle of reincarnation, all living beings have spirits and can be reborn; how could there be only six paths? There could be as many as ten thousand!

Of course, if one were to say there was only one path, that path would be reincarnation itself.

“This River God… his methods are quite ruthless!”

After finishing the task, Wu Ming looked at Wang Yu’s blackened corpse, somewhat uneasy.

This monarch of three hundred miles of water naturally could manipulate things in the water, and could even be said to have entered the gates of hell the moment Wang Yu approached the waters.

As for the rest, it was merely the River God using Wu Ming’s hand to settle karmic matters.

“However… with Wang Su and Wang Yu dead, it can be said that the Wang family in the real world has been mostly destroyed, leaving only their foundation in the underworld…”

The true foundation of the Wang family was actually the Wang Zhong in the underworld!

With the City God silently accumulating Yin virtue, it could be said that even if the Wang family in the mortal world was oppressed and hunted, they would surely leave a trace of their bloodline.

In fact, if the opponent hadn’t been seriously injured and fallen into a coma, the father and son Wang Su and Wang Yu wouldn’t have successively perished!

“However, this matter naturally has the Li family doing it for me, I just need to go and see the end result…”

Wu Ming smiled.

When it came to fearing this City God deity, the Li family’s concern was definitely greater than his own.

Moreover, the Li family had the blessings of the mortal world, the power of authority, and could mobilize more resources and forces than he could.

…

“The Prefect’s decree: The Wang family plotted rebellion and caused chaos, even though the entire clan was annihilated, their ancestors cannot be spared. Their ancestral worship is forbidden, all temple properties are to be confiscated! Temple keepers and priests are to be registered and sent back to their hometowns for reformation!…”

More than ten officials dressed in black and red uniforms with long knives at their waists loudly read the proclamation in front of the City God Temple.

Around them were crowds of people looking as if they had lost their parents, along with small vendors who had been driven away. Temple keepers with ropes around their necks, their faces gray and defeated, were herded out in a line.

“No! What you are doing… will bring divine punishment!”

The other temple keepers were relatively calm, but when it came to an old man who was a gatekeeper, he was very stubborn, tightly holding onto a pillar, tears and snot streaming down his face: “City God, quickly show your presence and punish these cursed ones!”

“Hehe… cursed?”

The squad leader was a burly man with a mole on his face, from which a single hair grew, his face full of ferocity. Hearing this, he sneered and stepped forward, suddenly drawing his sword.

Sliiiice!

A flash of white blade, followed by blood spilling on the ground. The old man fell to the ground, twitched a couple of times, and was silent no more.

“The master has given his orders! Anyone who dares to resist will be executed without mercy! Who else dares to oppose?”

The squad leader held his sword and sneered. The surrounding people all took several steps back, and the former temple keepers lowered their heads even more.

“The people’s hearts are as firm as iron! The law is like a furnace! How many ‘brave’ souls truly dare to confront power without fearing the destruction of their families?”

Therefore, once this ban was issued, this area would inevitably become desolate, which was certain.

“Cutting off the fuel beneath the cauldron and striking precisely at the right moment…”

Wu Ming, watching from afar, had his eyes flicker: “There are indeed capable people in the Prefect’s mansion! They actually know that now is the best opportunity with Wang Zhong seriously injured and in a coma…”

This rebellion by the Wang family nearly succeeded, even the original Prefect Li Zhen was seriously injured, how could Li Yu not be furious?

And to resist the Wang family’s counterattack, this young man’s method of completely destroying the City God Temple was quite ruthless and decisive, deeply understanding the essence of military strategy.

The City God Temple was the foundation of the City God Wang Zhong.

Now, using the power of the mortal world’s government to directly brand it as heretical worship and cut off its source of faith, perhaps the gods of rivers and mountains like the River God and Mountain God could still rely on the nourishment of natural forces, but for a human-oriented deity like the City God, it was a huge problem.

Without this supplement, it was very likely that Wang Zhong would remain seriously injured and in a coma until his eventual demise!

“These methods truly befit a dragon’s nature!”

Seeing the constables behind carrying wooden buckets, inside which was a dark red liquid emitting a pungent odor, undoubtedly containing things like black dog blood and other substances, Wu Ming sighed again.

First, they banned the worship, then defiled the statues of the gods, and finally sealed all four gates with official seals to suppress the divine power with human fortune.

With this series of measures, even the River God might find it hard to cope, let alone Wang Zhong.

Of course, someone might ask, why weren’t such simple methods used before?

This is because the circumstances were different at different times.

Previously, Li Zhen was merely a prefect appointed by the imperial court, and every action he took had to follow the court’s legal system. Without concrete evidence, he could not move against the Wang family, otherwise it would cause a stir throughout the court and the land would become unstable! The Wang family’s network of relationships was no laughing matter.

But now, after Li Zhen was seriously injured and Li Yu took power, it became a matter of personal interest, wielding power and authority at will.

If Li Zhen was merely a manager of Chufeng Prefecture before, then Li Yu was at least a director, and the difference between them was immeasurable.

Then, using the pretext of the Wang family’s rebellion, carrying out a purge, no one could say anything against it.

Of course, Wang Zhong’s serious injury was also a contributing factor, otherwise the retribution from a deity would still be enough to make people fear.

…

“Mr. Xu… what do you think?”

In a teahouse not far away, Li Yu, dressed in a simple scholar’s robe, gazed at the commotion at the City God Temple with Mr. Xu.

Mr. Xu silently focused his arcane power, waiting carefully. After a moment, he saw a gray-black aura in front of him, vastly different from the usual colorful incense and prayers, and the golden light that filled the City God Temple. He couldn’t help but rejoice and say:

“Congratulations, young master! The great task is accomplished!”

“Good!”

Li Yu nodded slightly: “This evil god secretly used his Yin virtue and rashly interfered in human affairs. I must ensure he understands divine punishment and human retribution!”

The killing intent in his words made Mr. Xu shiver, realizing that this young master was indeed different from before!