He became the True Lord of Ten Thousand Laws starting from Liaozhai.

"Mr. Xu, as you have seen, we spirits receive incense offerings from the people every year, all for this very scene today."

Liang Jing followed Xu Yi's gaze and looked over. The peaceful scene of fireworks filling the city was exactly what he, as the City God, wanted to see.

Although he cannot manage too much of the human order, if officials are disobedient, as a deity, he has plenty of ways to make them obey.

Although the method is somewhat extreme, it is ultimately useful.

Aside from the one in the capital who couldn't control it, city gods in various places would actually use this method to some extent.

Whether it's entering dreams or creating illusions, any means are acceptable as long as it benefits the people.

This method actually helped him indirectly.

"Esteemed guests, this is your order of 'Pine Dew,' along with some candied fruits and pastries. Please enjoy!"

The waiter recognized Liang Jing. He had never heard of this gentleman in the city, but he always drank the most expensive tea in the shop. He had been there many times and always drank the same tea, so the waiter naturally remembered him.

Today, since this gentleman is bringing guests, Qingyuanlou is willing to do him a favor and offer some snacks as a gift.

Thank you.

"Thanks for your hard work."

Xu Yi and Liang Jing thanked him at the same time. Although Xu Yi had some past grievances with the restaurant owner, the waiter's actions really made him feel good about him.

The tea leaves have a cool taste, mixed with the aroma of pine needles and moss. After swallowing, there is even a hint of sweetness on the tip of the tongue, like the clarity of an early autumn morning mist.

Unfortunately, Xu Yi didn't know how to appreciate tea. After pondering for a long time, he could only utter one sentence: "Good tea!"

This made Liang Jing burst into laughter.

"Sir, please try this pastry."

Liang Jing could see that Xu Yi was indeed very approachable, just as Zhang Zhengyi had said, and he didn't put on airs because of his cultivation level.

Just as Xu Yi was about to try the pastry, he heard a flock of birds chirping in the air. Sparrows chattered, doves cooed, and magpies, swallows, and other birds flew across the sky, darkening the sky.

A flock of black crows followed behind them.

A strange sound came from afar, startling passersby so much that they were unable to move.

The already strange sight made the people look up in disbelief.

"Hey, look at all these birds!"

"This is bad news! This is definitely an ominous sign!"

"Sigh, in all my decades of life, I've never seen anything like this!"

The people on the street were talking amongst themselves, as if the end of the world was coming.

The patrons in the restaurant all gathered at the window to watch this strange and bizarre event.

But when everyone heard this strange scream, a sense of fear inexplicably arose in their hearts.

"Oh no, oh no, has some kind of monster been born?"

"What nonsense are you talking about? What kind of monsters could there be in the city?"

"Yes, yes, if there really are monsters, the City God will drive them away."

"Having lived all this time, have you actually ever seen any monsters?"

Some people were so frightened by the strange noise that they stopped eating and went straight home.

The children on the street stopped playing after hearing this, and a large group of them burst into tears, terrified.

City God Temple.

Deng Youwen was about to return to the mansion with Old Master Deng when she heard this strange cry. She couldn't help but cover her ears and looked into the distance, where black flames filled the sky and obscured the blue sky.

Extremely terrifying images kept flashing through her mind: in the imperial court, all the civil and military officials had been drained of their flesh and blood, and were like walking corpses.

When she woke up in terror, she was too frightened to say anything.

This strange cry didn't have much of an impact on Old Master Deng. If the owner of the house had come to hear it, Old Master Deng might have been killed.

However, when it comes to mental attacks, one's own virtue can withstand far too much.

As a result, some of the guards showed signs of panic, while Old Master Deng only experienced a brief period of tinnitus before experiencing no further discomfort.

"That's strange, so many things have happened these past few days?"

Old Master Deng once served as the Left Chancellor. In his view, the court did indeed have a major problem, but it wasn't a problem with its operation; rather, it was because too many strange and supernatural events were being reported from various places.

To ensure the safety of the people, the court did not release much information; however, most of the disciples of the Imperial Observatory were secretly dispatched to various regions.

If this information were released, it would affect the stability of people's lives.

The Great Zhou Emperor was quite wise; he didn't become obsessed with immortality elixirs. His ancestors had already paid too high a price for it, and he had seen through it all. He thought it would be alright to learn a trick or two from the experts at the Imperial Observatory.

Immortality? No one can achieve that; one can only prolong life.

Therefore, the emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty was particularly diligent in his duties and obsessed with martial arts.

Qingyuan Tower.

Xu Yi and Liang Jing both showed a hint of solemnity on their faces. Liang Jing was also very surprised to hear such a voice. This was a great demon, an absolute great demon!

However, the distance is too far. If the great demon doesn't come, he won't be able to find the demon to slay. This is the limitation of the City God.

Liang Jing shook his head: "Sir, this strange cry sounds like it's coming from hundreds of miles away, and there are all sorts of strange phenomena. Sir, this means a great demon has been born."

"A great demon?" Xu Yi immediately thought of the Withered Glory Old Demon. Although he only cultivated one supernatural power, he could indeed be called a great demon. However, the thirty-mile Withered Glory Forest was the concrete manifestation of this supernatural power.

But Xu Yi didn't believe that a "great demon" like the Withered Glory Old Demon could emit a voice that could shake one's soul.

This great demon is very strong, but it must be very weak now. If we can kill it, will we be able to obtain a supernatural power?

Xu Yi was making plans in his mind, unaware that Liang Jing beside him was already starting to worry.

First, that sorceress with supernatural powers came to destroy the city, and today a great demon has been born. The world is getting more and more chaotic. The will of Heaven is unpredictable. Could it be that the Great Zhou Dynasty is truly doomed?

Liang Jing shook his head helplessly. He couldn't see through the mystery. In the past hundred years, the frequency of demonic creatures appearing has increased, and even cultivation has become extremely difficult. Although the incense offerings are indeed continuous, there is always a strange bottleneck that seems to be holding him back.

He wasn't the only one; he had asked many City Gods, and they all reported the same situation.

Although they lived for a longer period of time, the Great Zhou Dynasty had gone through eight hundred years of trials and tribulations. Even if they had lived for two or three hundred years, they had never witnessed the end of the dynasty.

Even some ancient texts do not record this situation.

However, Liang Jing could still sense that the world was beginning to change. It was no longer peaceful, and the people were encountering more and more strange things, with monsters appearing more and more frequently.

He usually goes to great lengths to defend against the demons and evil spirits that enter Fangyuan City. Some demons that have gone through the tribulation of transformation are very good at hiding their aura. Although he is the City God, it is extremely difficult for him to detect such aura.

Transformed demons are difficult to deal with, not to mention that various immortal and demonic arts are extraordinary. Without knowing the details of the opponent, it is very troublesome to take them down in one fell swoop.

But if you fail to succeed the first time, then even more trouble will follow.

It should be noted that not all demons are as sensible as Lady Li. Before transforming into human form, Lady Li was originally a spirit deer, gentle and intelligent, which was her nature.

"I hope it won't come and harm the people of my surrounding city."

Liang Jing then sighed, saying that he was powerless to resist the might of the powerful demon.

Although the imperial court suppressed such superstitious activities very tightly, it was ultimately difficult to see what the lives of ordinary people were really like.

Liang Jing heard that some powerful demons even enjoyed slaughtering entire cities. After destroying the city god's golden body and defeating the underworld's cycle of reincarnation, they would feed on the flesh and blood of the city's inhabitants, all in order to further enhance their cultivation.

However, when faced with such a powerful demon, there are naturally those in the immortal path who punish evil and promote good. In addition to the three great immortal mountains, there are also many forces and many independent cultivators in the immortal path who wander in the mortal world or hide in the deep mountains to cultivate.

Some people are fond of pursuing that elusive path, and naturally, some will cultivate to a certain level and then walk the mortal world, slaying demons and monsters.

For example, the Demon-Catching Alliance has powerful experts in charge. They are scattered throughout the mortal world, organized and hierarchical.

The secret techniques for cultivation are earned entirely through merit points gained from slaying demons; however, the demon corpses must be delivered intact to the alliance.

There are also many ruthless members of the Demon-Catching Alliance. In their eyes, demons are neither good nor bad. As long as they are demons, they are 'money' that can be exchanged for cultivation secrets.

......

Five hundred miles away lies Yunji Mountain, once a Buddhist sanctuary where many monks practiced their faith.

However, the spiritual energy of Yunji Mountain is decreasing day by day, and today it is extremely thin.

The monks had long since dispersed, leaving only the elderly abbot still holding on.

Yunji Mountain holds a secret: the secret of suppressing a great demon. Back then, a powerful Buddhist cultivator was unable to kill this demon, so he could only seal it here to slowly wear down its ferocity and diminish its cultivation.

However, this powerful cultivator was seriously injured in his battle with the great demon. After setting up the formation and passing on the incantation, he passed away.

It transformed into a relic and was suppressed within the formation.

But a hundred years ago, the relics were stolen.

From then on, Yunji Mountain began its decline.

First, the spiritual energy was declining day by day, and the monks all went down the mountain to find a way out. After all, the purpose of cultivating Buddhism is to achieve supernatural powers, but the spiritual energy here is turbid, and every time they cultivate, their minds are not at peace.

The monks gradually dispersed in this way.

Today, within a hundred miles of Yunji Mountain, dark clouds obscured the sun, and torrential rain poured down. The temples on the mountain were blown about by the fierce wind.

A millipede the size of a mountain crawled out from a crack in the mountain. It had been trapped for three hundred years and was only now seeing the light of day again. It emitted a chilling cry, a supernatural power that could bewitch people's minds.

There are no residents near Yunji Mountain. The outer layer of the immortal mountain is covered with a large maze. Unless you are destined or have reached a certain level of immortal cultivation, you cannot enter this place.

Therefore, although the centipede released such great supernatural power, its actual influence was only within a hundred miles. Those who heard the chirping were at most shocked, but it did not have much impact.

The centipede ate the last remaining monk on the mountain, regaining some of its magical power. It had been suppressed for over three hundred years, leaving it with too many gaps in its power, making even the use of its supernatural abilities somewhat difficult. Three hundred years had indeed eroded some of its supernatural powers.

But how could it be an ordinary being that it could cultivate to such a level? During this period, it even cultivated two Buddhist supernatural powers by relying on the power of the relics.

He has returned to the Five Elements Gathering Realm, but his magical power is severely lacking and he needs to recover properly.

Eating some accomplished cultivators would naturally be the best option, but given its profound cultivation and knowledge of many secrets, 'eating qi' is the best choice for it.

Absorbing the luck of others is what it desires most right now. There are too many drawbacks to cannibalism, and it doesn't want to eat too many cultivators unless absolutely necessary.

"Pudu, you old bald monk, you never imagined I'd see the light of day again! Hahahaha!"

The centipede transformed into a dignified and solemn-looking monk, dressed in a brightly colored robe, with a string of prayer beads around his neck and a pointed white hat on his head.

His appearance is based on the image of Pudu from back then. It can be said that he is exactly the same as Pudu back then, except for this demonic aura that cannot be concealed.

"From this day forward, I, this humble monk, will be your guide to salvation."

Pudu shook his head, spread his palms out, held them up in front of his chest, and performed a Buddhist salute, looking just like a highly enlightened monk.

"Hahahahaha!"

"Pudu, let me see this world for you, let me see this corrupt and incompetent world!"

"Before that, I need to find the person who stole your relics, hahahaha!"

Pudu laughed loudly again, and within a radius of a hundred miles, all the vegetation withered, and even the earth turned from soft to hard clods, as if it hadn't rained for many years.

Pudu took a deep breath, and the life force of a hundred miles converged on him. All the spirits in the mountains died on the spot, and they didn't even know how they died in their last moments.

He exhaled a breath of stale air, dispersing the clouds and smoke in the sky. This was too ostentatious; he had just been born and couldn't do such a thing. He had simply not controlled his strength properly.

If such a strange phenomenon attracts some cultivators with supernatural powers, then it will be troublesome. He has not entered the world for three hundred years and does not know the situation outside. Such ostentation will definitely ruin things.

He exhaled another breath of turbid air, concealing his demonic aura. He then used his Buddhist supernatural powers to manifest a sixteen-foot-tall golden body, with a solemn and dignified appearance, radiating dazzling Buddhist light.

The earth, drained of its life force, regained its vitality under the Buddha's light.

Looking at the lush greenery before him, Pudu laughed again, saying, "Look, this is what a sacred Buddhist site should look like."

Looking at the collapsed temple behind him, he frowned, feeling somewhat irritated.

"We should go out for a walk instead of staying in this gloomy place."

Pudu also cultivated a supernatural power of cause and effect. He was going to find someone with great fortune to devour. There was purple qi coming from the north and slowly approaching. It must be someone with great fortune.

Cultivators naturally possess a certain amount of luck, but cultivation is inherently defying the heavens. The higher one's cultivation level, the less luck one will have. How can one expect the protection of the heavens after seizing their destiny? There's no such thing as a free lunch.

The person who slowly approaches must be a member of the imperial court, and in a high position.

......