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

The City God Temple is located in the eastern part of the prefectural city, three miles to the right of the prefectural governor's office and two streets north of the East Market. It covers an area of ​​fifty acres, which is about half the size of the prefectural governor's office.

The underworld is located inside the City God Temple, but if you take into account the area of ​​the underworld, ten prefectural governor's offices cannot compare to one City God Temple.

Xiaoqing used her tail as a foot and stood upright as she followed Yao Zhizhao into the temple.

There was no incense burning late at night, and the servants who swept the courtyard had all gone to bed. Only a few underworld officials who passed by cast curious glances at them, but they did not disturb them.

In the center of the courtyard, a giant cauldron, as tall as a person and requiring three people to encircle it, is surrounded by a stone railing. An incense stick burns on it, and the people continue to burn incense until dawn to ensure that the incense continues to burn.

Xiaoqing was filled with excitement. "On the day I achieve Foundation Establishment, I should also have a cauldron this large!"

The two passed around the precious cauldron, went through the hall, and entered the main temple at the rear—atop which hung a plaque inscribed with "Jianxin Hall".

Xiaoqing felt inexplicably nervous and followed behind him with heavy steps. She saw Yao Zhizhao walk to the bottom of the bronze statue of the City God, lift the curtain of the base, and reveal a three-foot square space.

"Come with me."

Yao Zhizhao left a sentence and slowly walked towards the low cave. As he got closer, his figure began to shrink. When he stepped into the bottom of the low cave, he was only about ten inches tall.

He looked back, said nothing, and waited for the green snake behind him to make its move.

Xiaoqing swallowed hard and slowly took a step.

Everything around him was growing larger at a visible rate, making it increasingly difficult for him to move forward.

Suddenly, a ghostly messenger led the spirit past Xiaoqing and into the low cave, where it disappeared as if swallowed by the darkness within.

"This is the entrance to the underworld. The City God, the Left Judge, and the Ten Underworld Marshals all carry out their duties here."

Yao Zhizhao turned around and floated into the low cave, where a clear view suddenly appeared.

After waiting a while, finally sensing the green snake enter, he took another step and introduced:

"The underworld in various places is far less complete than the underworld, but it is still complete with all six realms, enough to support the reincarnation of living beings in a place."

The City God rarely attends to worldly affairs; all matters, large and small, are handled by this official and the Left Judge. Your summons is only due to the scarcity of deities in Qifeng County, so fellow Daoist need not worry; simply answer the question with peace of mind.”

Xiaoqing had never seen such a strange place before. She silently followed behind, crossed an iron chain bridge, and passed through a large area of ​​ghost houses. Finally, she saw a gray and misty palace.

Yao Zhizhao quickened his pace and entered the hall, where he saw a person sitting in the central hall.

He was dressed in a red robe and wore a winged turban. Below him was a square face with broad eyebrows and blue eyes, exuding an air of majesty.

Those blue eyes fixed on the green snake, making it dizzy and almost causing it to fall over.

"This is the River God of the Azure Dragon River, named Xiao Qing." Yao Zhizhao bowed solemnly and took small steps back. "This humble deity takes his leave."

The City God didn't actually exert any pressure. After examining the green snake for a while, he suddenly laughed:

"In my previous life, I also entered the Dao through kidney water, so it seems we are destined to meet."

Xiaoqing forced a smile, "I wouldn't dare."

"Hey—" The City God raised his hand to stop him, "Since we are both on the list of divine officials of the Martial Dynasty, we are colleagues, so there is no need to be so formal."

He withdrew four fingers from his outstretched palm, leaving only his index finger sticking out, from which a little water vapor quietly emerged.

"You are the first new god in Qifeng County in two hundred years, and you happen to share the same path as me. How about we have a duel based on our mid-stage Qi Refining cultivation?"

Before the green snake could reply, a large stream of water vapor condensed into a water snake and attacked.

Xiaoqing suddenly swung her arm, and kidney water appeared as well. In her panic, she faced the water snake, which exploded in mid-air, and the water energy scattered.

He subconsciously adjusted his posture, and the second stream of water energy was already poised to be unleashed, but the City God smiled and withdrew his hand.

"Excellent, excellent! Both you and Qin Kaixian possess pure spiritual energy. The birth of two deities in Qifeng County within just one month is truly a cause for celebration!"

The City God flicked his sleeve and tossed something out:

"Consider this bottle of Yin Spirit Pills a gift for you, fellow Daoist—I've heard you possess a primordial spiritual treasure named Azure Dragon; may I have it examined?"

After a slight hesitation, Xiaoqing still retrieved the sword from the spiritual cave.

The Azure Dragon Sword left the City God's hand on its own and flew into his hand. A large amount of water vapor suddenly burst forth and then condensed into the sword.

This water vapor is not as stagnant as kidney water; instead, it is light and airy, with a golden light subtly appearing as it spreads. It is yang water, which is completely opposite to the yin water of the kidneys.

The strangeness on the Qingchi Sword gradually faded and flew back into Xiaoqing's hand.

"I have infused your spiritual treasure with a trace of yang water, so that it is both yin and yang, which will also benefit your cultivation after you establish your foundation."

Xiaoqing gripped the sword in her hand and felt the next spiritual acupoint pass loosen. Overjoyed, she kowtowed and said:

"Thank you, God!"

The City God nodded in satisfaction and waved his hand, saying, "Go now. From now on, focus on your cultivation and you will no longer need to come here regularly."

After Xiaoqing left the underworld, Yao Zhizhao returned to the main hall and said with a smile:

"This is a blessing for the people of Qifeng County."

The City God stroked his beard and smiled. The two exchanged no further words, everything was understood without being spoken.

It turns out that Liao Qingming had kept something from both Xiaoqing and Qin Kaixian.

A major event.

The Gods Conferring Office was aware of this matter, as were the officials of the Underworld. However, until they personally confirmed the spiritual energy within the Green Serpent, the latter would certainly not know one thing.

After the Immortal Dynasty was divided, there was still a divine path besides the naturally born gods.

The Investiture of Gods refers to this as: "Becoming a god through the power of one's will."

When the people mourn the dead, they have the opportunity to transform them into heroic spirits and gods, which is the righteous path.

The City God and the Left and Right Judges here are like this.

As for the Ten Underworld Marshals and numerous Underworld Officials, they are only able to retain their souls and memories of their past lives and remain in the Underworld to serve thanks to the grace of the City God. They have no divine powers.

However, if there are spirits and demons that wantonly slaughter humans, they may also gain the recognition of other races and have a certain chance of becoming gods. Such people are born evil gods, and their spiritual energy will inevitably be tainted with blood energy, which is difficult to remove.

Just like that fox demon at the Hanshan County post station, its fox stench was so strong that even a mid-stage cultivator couldn't withstand it; it could only survive with the blood of the post station commander.

Of course, there are also precedents of people directly becoming gods by relying on other races. These are considered alien gods, and they keep to themselves and the Wu Dynasty, maintaining a high degree of restraint.

"Although becoming a god through willpower doesn't grant the same spiritual authority as a naturally born deity, it can still benefit from the incense offerings. If this is discovered, we must be cautious. The Green Serpent's position doesn't contain willpower and depends on the incense offerings from the people of Li Family Village, so we can rest assured."

Xiaoqing is a born deity, a fact that Liao Qingming had already confirmed. However, the latter could not be certain whether her water essence contained blood energy. If he were to test her on the spot, it would inevitably result in mutual destruction.

This is also why the Fengshen Division is mostly only responsible for recruiting gods and does not take action to confirm their identities.

Unless there is concrete information about an evil god, they will not send people to besiege it, or they will pretend to appease it and then lure it out to kill it.

Yao Zhizhao smiled, then silently recalled something and sighed:

"Speaking of which, the local deity Qin Kaixian is also a born god. Heaven blesses my Qifeng County. With Him here, Xu Gong can lead his army without any worries about the rear."