The establishment of the Celestial Dynasty began with the bestowal of the title upon the River God.

Ever since the River God displayed his power, Li Quan has stayed indoors all day.

His parents initially tried to persuade him, but after just one night, they seemed to have gone mad, staying at home muttering to themselves and unable to sleep.

Li Yi found a stone outside Li Quan's courtyard and sat down, listening to the abundant wood energy at the two spiritual acupoints of Hui and Shangguan, taking in all the sounds and movements in the courtyard.

"Qiao'er, your father-in-law and mother-in-law are sorry for you. They shouldn't have bought you into the mountains. If you have any grievances, take them out on this old woman. Don't make things difficult for Quan'er anymore."

Li Quan's mother was of average appearance, with many wrinkles around her eyes and neck, and a helpless expression that made her look truly pitiful.

She suddenly shuddered, feeling as if a chilling current had washed over her entire body. She immediately closed her eyes tightly and shakily inserted the three incense sticks into the incense burner.

"Tonight is your seventh day after death, and your wife has asked someone to buy a huge pile of gold ingots—"

The woman excitedly pointed to the "gold mountain" piled up in the yard and set it on fire.

"These are offered to you for now. Later, your father-in-law and I will find you a more auspicious burial site and give you a proper funeral. We beg you to let go of your grudges and be reincarnated soon!"

Li Quan's father knelt before the incense burner, trembling from the chilling aura he had just experienced. He listened to his wife's pleas without any response, and finally couldn't help but raise his head.

But then, a pale, ghostly figure hovered at the entrance of the main room. As if sensing the gaze behind it, the head slowly turned, and a cold glint flashed in the eyes hidden beneath the black hair, a sinister smile spreading across its lips.

"ah--!"

Li Quan's father screamed hysterically, then collapsed to the ground, watching helplessly as the shadowy figure slipped through the doorway and went to find Li Quan.

The woman smelled a strong odor of urine, but had no time to pay attention. She was so frightened by her husband that she was completely disoriented. When she saw him pointing into the house, her mind went blank.

Inside the room, Li Quan lay in bed, wrapped in a thick quilt. His dry lips were almost bloodless, and his eyes were vacant.

He caught a glimpse of Qiao'er out of the corner of his eye, grinned sheepishly, and said, "You've come to pick me up?"

Outside the courtyard, Li Quan's father finally regained his composure and pointed into the house, shouting, "She went to find the child!"

A couple scrambled into Li Quan's house and saw the child lying quietly on the bed, without making a sound, looking extremely peaceful.

……

The sound of a man and a woman wailing came from the courtyard. Li Yi sighed inwardly and got up to go home when he saw another shadowy figure drifting over.

His face was cold and inscrutable, revealing neither joy nor anger. He held a copper bell in his right hand. As he approached, he met Li Yi's gaze and immediately exclaimed in surprise:

"Oh, even these hillocks can grow seeds of spiritual cultivation?"

Li Yi quickly clasped his hands in greeting, "Greetings, Immortal."

Youying waved his hand, "What immortal? He's just a lowly ghost messenger of the county god, with only early-stage Qi Refining cultivation. You've got a lot of wood yang energy on you, stay away from me."

Li Yi quickly took a few steps back and began to chat with the ghost messenger: "Fellow Daoist, have you come to guide the souls of the dead in the courtyard?"

The ghost messenger raised his arm, and his sleeve retreated a bit, revealing his slender, pale forearm.

He twirled the copper bell, making a sound, and replied, "Yes, this family has a woman whose seventh day of mourning has arrived today. She should be guided into reincarnation—oh, not only that, there's also a new soul."

The ghost messenger was a chatterbox, and even though he disliked the yang energy emanating from Li Yi, he didn't hold back in his conversation.

"That Li Quan was destined for wealth and honor, but who would have thought that he would strangle his wife seven days ago. I should have taken Qiao'er's spirit away earlier, but Li Quan gave me extra trouble. Fortunately, Qiao'er was brave and really scared him to death."

As they spoke, two ghostly figures drifted over, drawn by the sound of the copper bell. Both were completely disoriented, their eyes vacant.

Ignoring the two ghostly spirits, the ghost messenger continued talking to Li Yi: "This soul-guiding bell can make ordinary ghostly spirits blindly follow you. Qiao'er got her wish, and her resentment has subsided a lot, which makes it easier for me to control her."

Li Yi suddenly thought that Li Family Village was notorious for its evil deeds, and there must have been many women with similar experiences every few years. Could it be that there were some superstitious rumors in the village?

"Fellow Daoist, are similar incidents common in Li Family Village?"

"It might happen once every three to five years, or maybe six or seven years."

The ghost messenger seemed to read Li Yi's mind and chuckled:

"Ordinary people who have not absorbed Qi, even if they die unjustly, will hardly amount to anything. Qiao'er's death on the seventh day after her death is when the evil Qi is at its strongest. Just then, Li Quan was tormented to the point of losing his kidney essence, and in his fear, he lost his will to live."

So, you could say he doesn't want to live anymore.

Li Yi nodded thoughtfully.

So that's how it is. If those who commit many evil deeds in the world were to receive their retribution in this lifetime, the world wouldn't be in such a state.

The ghost messenger once said that Li Quan was destined for wealth and honor, and that strangling Qiao'er was not something the City God had anticipated. Could it be that my decree to appoint the River God caused a chain reaction?

Thinking of this, Li Yi couldn't help but feel a little guilty, and clasped his hands in a fist and said:

"Thank you for your clarification, fellow Daoist. You just mentioned that you came to guide them into the cycle of reincarnation. I wonder what path Qiao'er will enter?"

The ghost messenger was very familiar with this matter. "Qiao'er has neither committed any sins nor accumulated any merits, and will most likely return to the human realm. If the City God takes pity on her, perhaps he can grant her an exception and allow her to choose one of the Asura realm, the human realm, or the animal realm."

Seeing that he intended to leave, Li Yi did not try to stop him, and clasped his hands in a fist salute, saying:

"I apologize for disturbing you, fellow Daoist."

The ghost messenger smiled, twirled a copper bell, and led the two departing souls away. Finally, a faint blessing drifted forth:

May fellow practitioners cultivate diligently, avoid entering the underworld, and be spared the suffering of reincarnation.

Li Yi remained rooted to the spot until the three shadowy figures disappeared from sight.

"The Underworld".

"City God".

As Xiao Lang pondered these two words, a fierce fire ignited in his heart.

"If I could bestow the title of City God and establish my own underworld, wouldn't I be able to control reincarnation and death, and no longer suffer the pain of joy and sorrow?"

As soon as Li Yi got home, he couldn't wait to share what he had just seen and heard with Zhang Junyi.

Zhang Junyi had long been cultivating Taoism in Qishan and knew little about the Heavenly Officials of the Wu Dynasty. She listened intently, her two red lips slightly parted, making her look quite charming.

Li Yi was slightly smug; he was always being lectured by the girls, but today he finally got the upper hand.

"...Li Quan's current predicament is a fitting retribution, but it's a pity for Qiao'er."

Zhang Junyi sighed softly, "The power of the city gods in various places is so profound that even a lowly ghost messenger can seize the opportunity on his own, leading to Li Quan's death."

Li Yi was speechless, never expecting Zhang Junyi to have such insights.

Li Quan certainly deserved to die, but if the order of the underworld is lax, how many people who shouldn't have died will suffer misfortune because of the laziness of the ghost messengers?

"In this world, gods are few and far between. I reckon the local city gods have considerable jurisdictions and their power must be astonishing—I just wonder if the Wu Dynasty has a supreme underworld that governs all the underworld?"

"Of course there are."

Zhang Junyi nodded and said, "The various celestial officials of the Wu Dynasty each perform their duties, which is why the six realms of the human world are at peace—as for the City God and the underworld, they should be under the jurisdiction of the celestial officials of the Ministry of Rites."

Li Yi felt a little disappointed. If the Wu Dynasty's underworld didn't have a chief steward, wouldn't he be able to create his own independent Six Paths of Reincarnation based on the Investiture of the Gods?