You, a tyrannical ruler, roam the heavens; you cannot understand my joy.

At this moment, in the back hall of the prefectural governor's residence.

"call……."

Lu Zuo slowly exhaled a breath of fresh air and wiped the sweat from his forehead. Removing the Netherworld Mark from the body of the Hundred Ghosts was more tiring than fighting a battle!

Internal strength and physical strength aren't a big deal, but the mental strain is too great!

With Lu Zuo's current mental strength, removing the marks from twenty-seven people in one go is already his limit.

In front of him, more than twenty people looked at each other, their eyes filled with disbelief as they stared at his hands.

"It's resolved..."

"Is it really resolved?"

"I can clearly sense that the cultivation I lost in the past is gradually increasing!"

"It really worked!"

poof...

One of the hundred demons, the Wounded Soul Bird, suddenly knelt on the ground, cupped its hands in a fist salute, and said excitedly, "Lord Lu!"

"From this day forward, my life belongs to you!"

The mark left by the Yin Emperor in their bodies is not as simple as causing them to lose power and decline in cultivation every year.

What they feared most was...

It's still that agonizing, unbearable pain that flares up every year!

Now that Lu Zuo has removed the marks from their bodies, how could these people not be grateful?

Thump! Thump...

One after another, the ghosts knelt before Lu Zuo.

"The Night Wanderer kowtows in gratitude for your life-saving grace, Your Excellency!"

"Today, my lord, you have freed me from my shackles. From this day forward, I will be your night watchman, willing to search for the world for you until my dying breath!"

Another young man, pale-faced yet exceptionally handsome, declared, "The Painted Skin Demon swears here that he will dedicate his entire life to you, sir!"

"The Seven-Step Snake thanks you, sir."

"The Emperor of Yin has been tormenting me with pain, making my life worse than death. Your Excellency has cured my chronic illness today; this kindness is heavier than Mount Tai."

"From now on, I will do whatever the adults tell me to do!"

"Hone-woman, I am willing to serve you, sir!"

"From this day forward, you will only serve as an accomplice to adults!"

"Daolao Ghost..."

"The Pipa Demon..."

Lu Zuo quickly stepped forward to help him up, saying, "This matter is due to His Majesty's boundless grace, who instructed me to relieve your suffering."

"If anyone should express gratitude, it should be His Majesty."

"besides……."

He paused, then added, "Now is the time when His Majesty needs capable people, which is why he proposed that your loyalty be the condition for the removal of the Netherworld Mark."

"But rest assured, everyone."

"His Majesty said that once the situation stabilizes, you may choose whether to stay or leave."

These words were both Lu Zuo's way of winning people's hearts and praising his "emperor status," and of course, they also had some sincerity.

The choice to stay or leave is up to you?

In the past, people were treated like dogs and horses under the control of the Yin Emperor, and were often tortured to the point of death. They never had a choice.

And now, this Lord Lu, and His Majesty far away in Jiankang, have actually...

The group exchanged glances, all feeling that they had made the right decision to come.

The cultivation levels of these people before him were higher than those of the Yin-Yang Judges when Lu Zuo first met them; they were all at the initial stage of the Innate Realm.

However, this does not mean that their original strength was higher than that of the Yin-Yang Judge and the Soul-Reaper.

Instead, he joined the City of a Hundred Ghosts later and suffered less torment from the mark, so his cultivation level was not significantly reduced.

"grown ups."

Judge Yang cupped his hands and said, "The Soul-Wounding Bird can also be connected to the three Ghost Kings of the Hundred Ghosts City."

Ghost King?

Lu Zuo's eyes narrowed slightly: "Who are they?"

The Wounded Soul Bird stood up, cupped its hands, and said, "Reporting to Your Excellency, the three Great Ghost Kings are, in order: Mighty Ghost King, One-Horned Ghost King, and Mangshan Ghost King."

"Their strength is second only to the Ten Kings of Hell."

Lu Zuo asked, "What is their strength?"

"All are the culmination of the Three Elements."

"What about the Ten Kings of Hell?" Lu Zuo asked again.

The Wounded Soul Bird: "The Ten Kings of Hell were all born when the world was first created, but most of them have already perished."

"Even if someone miraculously survives, I don't know where they are."

That means that at its peak, the City of a Hundred Ghosts had at least eleven cultivators at the Inner Heaven and Earth Realm!

No wonder this Yin Emperor dared to contend with the Nine Great Families and the Chen Imperial Family back then...

Putting aside everything else, eleven individuals at the Inner Heaven and Earth Realm are more than capable of directly confronting fifty to sixty thousand elite troops!

"Wounded Soul Bird, go and contact the three Great Ghost Kings, and ask them if they are willing to serve the imperial court."

"As for the others, keep a close eye on them these next few days."

Lu Zuo's eyes sharpened instantly, and he said in a deep voice, "Those Buddhist disciples who have returned to secular life will certainly not let this go!"

"I have received news from Prefect Shen that the Zhisheng Buddhist Temple and Qingheng Dreamland will be coming to Nantong to cause trouble for me soon."

"I suspect that these Buddhist disciples who have returned to secular life have already secretly contacted the Venerable Wangzheng and Venerable Qingheng."

After a pause, Lu Zuo looked at the Yin-Yang Judge and instructed, "You and Chu Yunlong should increase manpower and keep a close watch on the mechanical beast!"

"We must not allow Buddhism to suffer even the slightest damage!"

The two men cupped their hands in a respectful greeting: "Yes!"

……

Night falls in a village in Nantong.

In the wasteland, several Dangkang machines are roaring and operating.

They resemble giant wild boars, their tusks deeply embedded in the hard, compacted ground. Their massive bodies surge forward at breakneck speed, creating waves of earth and shattering hard rocks in their wake, demonstrating astonishing efficiency.

Many torches and lanterns were lit around the area, and some soldiers on duty and civilians watched from a distance, discussing the scene.

"Land that we wouldn't have dared to even dream of in previous years, has it been dug up like this?"

"The mechanical beasts crafted by His Majesty and Lord Lu are simply divine artifacts!"

"Once this land is cleared, no one in our village will starve to death anymore."

"More than that?"

Chapter update reminder: Chapter 132 The Three Great Ghost Kings and the Shocking Change in Nantong!, Read here.

"Third Uncle, Lord Lu also said he wants to use these mechanical beasts to cultivate terraced fields on several nearby mountains."

"By then, it will be much more than ten acres!"

"Everyone in our village gets over ten acres of land!"

A dozen or so acres?

The old man who spoke first had his eyes shining, his face unable to contain his excitement!

"in this way....."

"Not only will everyone be able to eat their fill, but they might even be able to save money to send their children to school for a couple of years..."

"study?"

A soldier who was ordered to guard the mechanical beasts laughed and said, "Lord Lu has been ordered by His Majesty to establish schools in all the counties of Nantong."

"As long as your child is smart enough to pass that 'memory test,' not only can they go to school for free, but your family will also receive one tael of silver, two shi of rice, and twenty jin of meat every month..."

Before the soldier could finish speaking, countless torches suddenly lit up in the distance!

"Kill them all!"

"Destroy these monsters!"

Suddenly, shouts of killing erupted from all directions!

The soldier looked up and saw a large number of Buddhist disciples surging towards the mechanical beast like a flood breaking through a dam in the mountains!

Clang!

The soldier immediately drew his long sword and shouted, "By order of the lord, anyone who damages the mechanical beasts will be killed without mercy!"

"Kill!"

The soldiers guarding the area, along with the martial artists from humble backgrounds, immediately drew their weapons and confronted the Buddhist disciples!

Boom!

Soldiers, martial artists from humble backgrounds, and Buddhist disciples clashed together in an instant!

Immediately afterwards, the sounds of metal clashing, roars, and screams filled the air.

Buddhist disciples were fierce, while lay disciples were like mad tigers, and martial artists from humble backgrounds and soldiers fought desperately, making the battle extremely brutal!

People from both sides kept falling to the ground and dying, leaving the onlookers dumbfounded...

"Damn it!"

"We finally have land to cultivate, and these bald monks come to cause trouble?"

"Hey guys, come with me..."

Tsk!

Before a burly man could finish speaking, a Buddhist disciple slashed his throat with a blade of energy.

"Hmph, how dare these criminals shout?"

He had barely finished speaking when another martial artist from a humble background pierced his chest with a longsword, then shouted to the distant crowd, "Don't come any closer!"

"This is not something those of you who don't know martial arts can participate in!"

……

The battle lasted for a full half hour...

The moonlight was pale, and the wasteland was littered with corpses, the air thick with the stench of blood.

Several Dangkang helicopters stood amidst mountains of corpses and seas of blood, their cold shells splattered with blood and bits of flesh.

The twenty-odd monks stood up unsteadily, their sharp eyes fixed on the mechanical beasts.

"Finally, we can dismantle this monster!"

A monk, holding a steel staff, chuckled coldly, then suddenly kicked out with both feet, creating a deep pit.

A loud sound!

The monk rushed to Dang Kang and swung his staff down hard!

Clang!

Metal and steel clashed, sparks flew!

The force of the recoil made the monk's arm go numb, and he frowned slightly: "So hard?"

"This humble monk refuses to believe you are indestructible!"

Then, he swung his staff and brought it down heavily!

Seeing this, the other monks also stepped forward, swinging their staffs and launching a fierce attack on Dang Kang.

Ding ding ding...

The crisp sounds continued incessantly, and sparks flew incessantly.

"Don't smash it!"

"Buddha, Buddha, please, stop! Don't smash anymore!"

"That's the hope of our whole village!"

In the distance, the people knelt on the ground, kowtowing and begging for mercy.

"That's a field! It's a field for survival!"

"If we smash them, many people in our village will still go hungry next year!"

"Buddha! Bodhisattva! Have mercy!"

Damn it!

One of the monks, thoroughly annoyed by what he was hearing, stopped what he was doing and turned to walk towards the people.

"shut up!"

"A bunch of ignorant and sinful people!"

"Your poverty and toil in this life, your inability to even have enough to eat, are all the karmic retribution for your lack of good deeds and the heavy sins you committed in your past lives!"

"You were born destined to suffer and pay your debts; this is your fate. How dare you dream of having enough to eat, receiving land, or studying this worthless book?!"

"That corrupt official Lu Zuo destroyed Buddhist temples and seized their property; he is an unforgivable demon!"

"Instead of reflecting on the Buddha's compassion and disrespecting the Three Jewels, you sing praises to that demon and elevate his evil ways to the status of a god?"

"Such actions add new evil to the existing sins!"

"Your karmic obstacles are already as deep as the sea, and you will never be able to escape them!"

"Amitabha……"

"May the Buddha have mercy on you, seeing you all sinking deeper and deeper into the mire, burdened by sins, and growing ever more mired in the sea of ​​suffering. This humble monk cannot bear it."

"Fine..."

"Today, this humble monk, out of great compassion, will send you, these foolish men and women who are drowning in sin, to be reborn in the Pure Land!"

"May you quickly ascend to the Western Pure Land and escape this boundless sea of ​​suffering!"

"This is the greatest compassion I can offer you!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the monk's eyes sharpened, and he slammed his feet into the ground, instantly appearing in front of an old man. His staff, accompanied by a whistling sound, struck towards the old man's head!

Clang!

Just then, a figure shot over from a distance and blocked the old man's path.

A thick, heavy black iron ruler was placed horizontally, forcefully blocking the fatal blow.

The Seven-Step Snake held a ruler in one hand, its body as steady as a mountain, its cold gaze sweeping across the surroundings.

"I'm late..."