High above the heavens.
The City God of the prefecture gazed down at the rapidly reversing situation below. His originally clear, divine eyes gradually became tinged with crimson.
An impenetrable, pitch-black malevolent aura surged from his body, his oppressive might terrifying to behold.
He let out a chilling, ghostly laugh, his voice rippling outward in waves: “Fine! Very well! I always thought I’d taken good care of you all, and that you’d be grateful. But instead, for the sake of a few silver-tongued words and a baseless promise, you actually dare to betray me? Fine! Fine!”
Although Lu Chen had won over the three thousand Yin soldiers and generals, he had no intention of completely burning bridges with the Prefectural City God. He clasped his fists and said, “Lord City God, this matter may not be beyond redemption. As long as you’re willing to show mercy and let us leave, I will never forget this great kindness. As for what they’re getting—well, you certainly deserve no less. How about this number?”
He held up five fingers.
“Five million?”
“Fifty million!”
Another wave of gasps swept through the crowd.
The gazes of all the city gods from the various prefectures and counties snapped toward him.
But the Prefectural City God’s sneer only grew more vicious: “Boy, you really think money can buy anything? Today, a mere mortal like you has humiliated me to this extent—do you honestly believe I can still let you walk away?”
Before his words even faded, his form suddenly swelled, fangs tearing through his lips, his skin turning deathly pale. In an instant, he transformed into a terrifying ghost god ten zhang tall!
His overwhelming pressure crashed down like tidal waves, sweeping across all directions.
Behind him, the Prefectural City Gods and County City Gods all responded in kind.
In the blink of an eye, they too took on ghostly forms.
Every one of them bared their ferocious fangs!
Malicious aura roiled off them in waves!
However, their bodies, depending on their rank, were far less terrifying and massive than the Prefectural City God’s.
“General, be careful! The Prefectural City God is genuinely enraged!”
The three thousand Yin soldiers and generals roared in unison, their ghostly energy linking together to instantly form a massive barrier of light, shielding Lu Chen at its center.
“ROOOAR—!”
All the city gods howled as one. Their voices condensed into a tangible force, sweeping forward like a destructive storm!
Under that terrifying impact, the light barrier trembled violently, flickering in and out of existence—it was clearly about to collapse.
“Not good!” Xie Bian and Fan Wujiu’s faces changed simultaneously. “The Prefectural City God has murderous intent! General!”
Lu Chen’s heart also tightened.
He had thought that winning over three thousand Yin soldiers and generals would be enough to stand against the Prefectural City God.
But now it was clear that he had overestimated the strength of those three thousand troops—and underestimated the power of these city gods.
After all, no matter how you looked at it, the Prefectural City God’s strength was close to that of the Old King Yan.
He was probably not far inferior to the Four Dragon Kings either.
Clashing head-on with him on his home turf was simply unwise.
“Damn it, old man! Why aren’t you here yet?!”
Lu Chen’s heart was burning with anxiety.
Meanwhile, the Prefectural City God’s killing intent had already locked firmly onto him: “Don’t think that just because you’ve swayed a few of my underlings, you can do anything to me? How utterly ridiculous! Before I put down my blade, in your terms, I was a notoriously fearsome SS-class Ghost King! Three thousand Yin soldiers? Pfft. Even thirty thousand—I could crush them with a flick of my finger!”
He paused, his smile turning grotesque: “I was kind enough to offer you a way out.
You didn’t take it.
Then don’t bother leaving at all!”
With that, the Prefectural City God’s massive palm pressed down from the sky!
High above, a gigantic ghostly hand suddenly took shape and descended with the force of Mount Tai crashing down!
Because they were on City God Street—which was, after all, the Prefectural City God’s domain—
His power was greatly amplified.
At the same time, the strength of all the Yin soldiers and generals was severely suppressed.
“BOOM—!”
In just a single exchange,
the defensive barrier erected by the three thousand Yin soldiers and generals shattered inch by inch, crumbling completely.
Much of their ghostly energy was dispersed as well.
They had taken considerable damage.
Still, even weakened, three thousand Yin soldiers and generals were no pushovers.
Even as their defenses collapsed,
they managed to shake the Prefectural City God’s enormous ghostly hand until it burst apart and dissolved into nothing.
As the ghostly claw shattered, his actual hand recoiled as if struck by a heavy blow, trembling violently.
Clearly, the Prefectural City God had not come away unscathed either.
“Lord Prefect!” the nearby City God of Jiangdu called out with concern.
“I’m fine!” The Prefectural City God opened his gaping maw, his grin widening even further. “Today, I’ll teach these traitorous wretches a lesson—let’s see if they can take one hit, let alone a second!”
Xie Bian urgently shouted: “Prefectural City God! Do you truly wish to make an enemy of the Underworld and cross the Yan King? Do you know what relationship this general has with His Majesty the Yan King?!”
The Prefectural City God sneered: “A living mortal brazenly entering the underworld, seizing wandering souls, and causing chaos at the City God Assembly! Each of these alone is a capital offense! Even if he were the Yan King’s own disciple, today he would not leave my City God Street!”
He raised his hand once more, and terrifying ghostly energy began to gather again.
“General, run! This old City God has lost his mind!” Fan Wujiu urged.
At that moment, wails echoed all around, and fierce winds whipped Lu Chen’s robes.
His gaze was unwavering as he shouted: “I won’t hoard the glory alone, so how could I flee alone when trouble comes? I’m not leaving!”
But inwardly, he couldn’t help screaming: Old Yan King, what the hell are you doing?! Why aren’t you here yet?!
Yet his words hit the three thousand Yin soldiers and generals like a shot of adrenaline straight to the heart.
—”LOYALTY!!!”
The three thousand troops reformed their defenses once more, stronger than before!
The Prefectural City God flew into a rage: “Still loyal?! DIE!”
That devastating ghostly hand came crashing down again, intent on smashing Lu Chen’s very soul into oblivion!
“Prefectural City God! You dare—!!!”
BOOM!!!
But just then—
A thunderous roar exploded from what seemed like the deepest abyss, shaking the very foundations of the ghostly realm!
Another colossal ghostly hand burst forth from nowhere, seizing the Prefectural City God’s descending palm in a crushing grip.
The two sky-covering ghostly hands collided midair, the point of impact warping space itself, unleashing a continuous series of deafening explosions that sent tremors rippling through the entire underworld domain.
“The Yan King!” Xie Bian and Fan Wujiu’s hearts finally settled back into place.
“General, I’m back!” The ox-headed demon, who had returned, immediately clasped his fists toward Lu Chen.
“Ox, why did it take you so long?” Fan Wujiu asked with a hint of reproach.
“Eighth Master, we actually arrived a while ago…” the ox-headed demon rumbled.
“What?! Then why—?”
“Uh… the Yan King said he wanted to see how the general would handle things, but then…”
“Then what?”
“Then His Majesty the Yan King… was too stunned to act.”
Xie Bian and Fan Wujiu: “…”
While they were speaking, the midair struggle had already reached its conclusion.
“BOOM—!”
Due to the clear disparity in strength,
the Prefectural City God’s ghostly hand ultimately proved unequal to the task, and was crushed into nothing!
The violent shockwave erupted outward in a sonic blast, scattering the gloomy clouds in the sky to reveal a pale, full moon.
“Pfft!”
High above, the Prefectural City God coughed up a mouthful of “blood.”
Clearly, in just that one exchange, he had suffered considerable injury.
“Yan King! You!!!” He glared at Lu Chen’s rear, a mixture of shock and fury in his eyes.
There, a ghostly figure more immense and terrifying than all the Prefectural City God’s ghostly manifestations combined loomed, blotting out the sky.
The figure opened its eyes, its crimson gaze enough to make one’s very soul flee in terror.
Several County City Gods fell to their knees on the spot, repeatedly crying out, “Yan King!”
The Prefectural City Gods also turned pale, quickly retracting their true forms and resuming their official appearances, bowing in deference.
Then came the Yan King’s voice, dripping with murderous intent: “The hell?! You dare go for the kill against one of my people? Believe me, I’ll strip your cultivation today, shatter your divine seat, and leave you unable to live or die!”
The Prefectural City God was enraged: “Yan King! Are you going to break the rules too?”
“Break your mother’s rules! Since when do you get to question how I conduct myself? Release them—now!”
Down below, Lu Chen listened in silent awe.
Gotta hand it to our old Yan King—keeping up with the times. That “your mother” this and “your mother” that…
That’s some sharp tongue!
“YOU!!!!!”
At this moment, the Prefectural City God was truly furious to the limit.
A perfectly good City God Assembly had turned into this fiasco—an utter disgrace!
And the worst part was, he had been following the rules, only to have his troops stolen and be publicly berated by the Underworld Yan King!
As a Prefectural City God, when had he ever suffered such humiliation?!
“Yan King! Though we City Gods are under the Underworld’s jurisdiction, don’t forget—I answer to Heaven’s law above and abide by the Underworld’s statutes below! No matter which law you consult, what I did today was absolutely correct! And now, it’s you who are breaking the rules! Even if you are the Yan King, you have no right to insult me like this! Aren’t you afraid I’ll take this straight to the Supreme Lord of the Underworld—the Fengdu Emperor—and file a formal complaint against you?!”
He clasped his fists solemnly toward the eastern horizon.
“You? See the Supreme Lord?” The Yan King sneered.
“I may be lowly, but the Capital City God is not! If you don’t give me an accounting today, I will personally go to the capital, petition the Capital City God, and ask him to present this memorial to Fengdu himself!”
The Prefectural City God’s stance was resolute, leaving no room for negotiation.
With all the city gods of the province present today, if he backed down, how could he ever command respect again?
He had to fight for his dignity!
“You…!”
At those words, even the Yan King’s overwhelming aura faltered for a moment.
Clearly, he was somewhat wary.
Xie Bian: “Not good—it looks like the Prefectural City God has truly been pushed to his limit!”
