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

Jin Mantang turned around and looked at Li Yi, seemingly seeing through his thoughts, and said with a faint smile:

"Please rest assured, brother. Even if I suddenly attained enlightenment and was fortunate enough to condense a golden body and achieve the position of City God, I am still just a minor deity who has refined Qi. In terms of cultivation, I am not even comparable to the Earth God of the Great Yan Dynasty, let alone the Great Zhou Dynasty."

For over a hundred years, He traveled throughout the Great Yan region, often under the blazing sun, to protect the newly deceased ghosts on their seventh day after death as they returned home. The spirits of the dead were often scorched by the blazing sun, and it was already difficult for them to maintain their cultivation.

It wasn't until recent decades that a few golden statues gradually began to resist the intense yang energy of the sun, and the situation gradually improved.

If I had not attained enlightenment and become a deity this time, I would probably still need to work hard and persevere to perfect my lung meridian.

Although the county-level city god possesses profound Taoist skills, his authority lies with the spirits of the dead. In terms of the ability to fight against cultivators from the mortal realm, Zhu Xing is indeed stronger, and by a considerable margin.

"The Great Yan Wu Dynasty lacks divine protection. Apart from Huai County, Hetao, and even the capital area, most of the land has suffered from demonic calamities for many years. The cultivators in the temples are pampered and unwilling to risk their lives."

Emperor Wang believed that the Great Yan Dynasty was the only barrier between the two great Wu dynasties, so he spent his days indulging in pleasure and neglecting state affairs.

"I truly do not know that while Great Yan serves as a bulwark, receiving the favor and courtesy of both nations, it will also be a chaotic battlefield once war breaks out. What will become of the people of Great Yan then, who will suffer immensely?"

When Jin Mantang mentioned the Great Yan Dynasty, his eyes were filled with sorrow. Later, he almost cursed Wang Xianzhang, but in reality, he felt no anger, only helplessness after utter disappointment.

"The Wang emperor has long since surrendered and awaited his death, and the Great Yan court has also resigned itself to fate. What can I, a mere Qi Refining City God, do?"

The last rays of sunlight in the ghost village moved up from the east and onto the mountainside. The boy, who had not yet returned home to see his mother, was beginning to show signs of ferocity.

Jin Mantang pressed down on the boy's head, casually poured a stream of Lung Yin Golden Qi into him, restoring clarity to his eyes, and then clasped his hands in a fist and said:

"I still need to take this child to fulfill my wish. Please ask Brother Li to bring back the military situation here and explain our goodwill."

Li Yi was in a dilemma. From the Green Snake of Dahan Mountain to Qin Kaixian of Qifeng County, and now to Jin Mantang, the City God of Dayan.

Li Yi's shadow is everywhere. Although no one should think of these things, it's just a matter of chance.

However, if they conceal the truth, they will have to fabricate lies. Even if they make an agreement with Jin Mantang, it is hard to guarantee that the truth will not be leaked. At that time, wouldn't they have to continue lying, making them even more suspicious?

Having thought of this, Li Yi made his decision, clasped his hands in a fist and said:

"Then I wish Brother Jin a peaceful and prosperous journey in the afterlife—we part ways now, and may we meet again someday!"

Li Yi turned and headed towards the mountain pass. Jin Mantang waved with a smile, his clear voice echoing through the valley.

"I only wish for peace and tranquility in the underworld, and for the smooth flow of official documents."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Meanwhile, Zhong Wending and his party explored along the way and arrived in the eastern part of the capital region before dusk, where they saw a monkey sitting high on the city wall with a fierce look on its face.

Li Erhu and the others were so frightened that they almost ran away.

Suddenly, from the willow tree beside the four people, the spirit seed of the local earth god emerged, its face fierce, and said:

"The emperor has sent this damned Xu Xiaofeng to his side, but I, Zhu Xing, will not stand for it."

"Get back here right now and fetch your commander-in-chief. Tell him to play with me!"

"Yes, sir!"

Li Erhu quickly clasped his hands in greeting, immediately turned his horse around, and called out to his three brothers, Zhong, Guan, and Liu, as they returned along the road, leaving Zhu Xing stunned.

Guan Tian couldn't help but glance back a few times. Seeing that the monkey spirit hadn't chased after them, he felt relieved, spurred his horse, and caught up with Li Erhu, teasingly saying:

"Anyone who didn't know better would think you were the messenger of the local earth god."

Li Erhu glanced at him sideways, but instead of feeling ashamed or angry, he looked smug.

"You'd rather have to return to report to the scouts and gather intelligence than risk getting stabbed in the back and having your body pierced by splinters?"

Guan Tian couldn't help but curl his lip, "You have no backbone. If you become the commander-in-chief, you will be at a disadvantage in terms of morale when the two armies clash."

"That's called a strategy of arrogance, what do you know?"

"Stop rummaging through your meager collection of the Thousand Character Classic. I'm afraid if we argue any further, I'll burn your head out."

"..."

Seeing the group walk a hundred feet, Liu Zhi was still somewhat apprehensive and said helplessly:

"You two stop arguing, making such a racket—I wonder where Yi-ge is right now."

Chung Wending suggested, "Or shall we go to that valley to look for him?"

When the matter was brought up, Li Erhu stopped joking and pondered for a moment before saying:

"Let's forget it. We can't be of much help. It's better to stick to the plan and avoid missing out on Yi-ge'er."

The four of them explored the area, not only scouting the way, but also requiring Li Erhu to survey the route and Liu Zhi to record the terrain and human activity... In reality, they were not much faster than the main army.

Following the vague map distributed by Meng Yunjie, they traveled along the official road and soon encountered a large army, informing them of the matter of the monkey spirit and the local deity.

Liu Tianyun raised an eyebrow, showing no fear, and turned to talk to one of his guards.

"Brother Liao, our army breached the Great Yan border long ago at noon. We only need to assemble in the capital region, and the civil and military officials of Great Yan will naturally open the gates to welcome us..."

The guard curled his lips into a smile. "No need for you to trouble yourself, Vice Prefect. The battle is over now, so let's not risk damaging our relationship with the local lord. I, the Inspector, will handle his affairs."

After speaking, the man turned around and disappeared.

Li Erhu was dumbfounded. If Liu Shishuai hadn't turned around to talk to that person, he really wouldn't have noticed.

Isn't he Liao Qingming, one of the four inspectors of Qifeng County, who had met once before at Dahan Mountain and the Hundred Household Office?

This man actually went on the expedition with the army, which shows that he truly trusted Xu Gong implicitly and was certain that the Great Yan would be defeated in a short period of time.

……

East of the capital region, at the foot of the city wall.

Zhu Xing suddenly opened his eyes, looked at the man in the green robe who was slowly walking over from a hundred meters away, and narrowed his eyes.

"Are you one of the commander's close followers? You seem to be quite skilled. Are you here to lead the charge?"

Liao Qingming couldn't help but praise:

"Fellow Daoist's 'Spiritual Root Concealment' technique is indeed profound; even a nobody like me has taken notice."

He stopped five meters away from Zhu Xing, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and said:

"My name is Liao Qingming, and I am an inspector of the Fengshen Division under the Ministry of Personnel of the Great Zhou Dynasty."

Our job is to investigate new deities within our jurisdiction, to win over the gods for the people of Great Zhou, and to act as a bridge between various local deities, facilitating their exchange of resources—in short, all matters concerning local deities within Great Zhou are the responsibility of us.

Zhu Xing's eyes were mocking, but his words remained sharp and sarcastic.

"Specializing in earth deities and new gods? It seems your Conferred Gods Division can't even manage civil and military heroes and titled great gods? I don't think your position as inspector is anything special."

"Each person has their own task."

Liao Qingming smiled, "Fellow Daoist, you are quite young, yet as a local deity, you know about both civil and military heroes. You are truly knowledgeable—it seems you visited Da Li or Da Zhou in your younger days?"

Zhu Xing grinned, but said nothing more.

"Stop talking nonsense. You 'high-ranking cultivators' always think too highly of yourselves. You appear humble and polite on the surface, but who knows how many filthy thoughts are in your hearts?"

The monkey spirit transformed its paws into claws, and within a radius of a hundred feet, large swathes of withered trees outside the capital spontaneously sprouted new life, appearing menacing and shadowy in the twilight, like a ghostly shadow stretching endlessly in the sky, terrifying and horrifying.