Please be my partner.

Mellen first explained, "This is the method of commanding the gods, which can transform ghosts into deities. Ghosts and deities are fundamentally different beings."

After a moment's hesitation, he asked, "What's this... Your appearance has changed quite a bit."

With a wave of her hand, the Blood Flame Ghost King conjured a water mirror before her. Gazing at her reflection, she remained silent for a long time before muttering to herself, "How many years has it been? I've already forgotten..."

The Blood Flame Ghost King offered no explanation, instead saying, "Master, you possess such power, surely you don't intend to remain confined to a corner of the world? I have many subordinates in Fire Flame Mountain, including two Ghost Kings, who can all become your helpers."

“I have deployed a portion of them to a hundred miles north of Wushan. The original plan was to take advantage of Wushan’s weakness after the plan was launched here and complete the takeover. We can start with this part first.”

Mellen looked north and asked in confusion, "Baili?"

Although that area was beyond the coverage of the Wushan ley lines, he should have been able to sense it if a large number of ghosts gathered there. However, at this moment, that direction was a blank space in Mellen's perception, with nothing special about it.

The Blood Flame Ghost King said, "I once obtained a precious pearl that could conceal ghostly energy over a large area. With the pearl as a cover, no one outside could detect anything amiss."

Mellen nodded slightly, instructing the other deities to return to Wushan first, while he himself, accompanied only by the ghosts and puppets, followed the Blood Flame Ghost King to the location of the Fire Flame Mountain Ghost Army.

With the Blood Flame Ghost King present, Mellen's operation went exceptionally smoothly. He easily suppressed the Ghost King leading the team and completed his transformation. The rest was even simpler: Mellen wiped out all the high-level ghosts in the Fire Flame Mountain Ghost Army in one fell swoop.

After doing all that, the next step is naturally to head to Flame Mountain to receive the remaining ghosts.

Although the Ghost King left behind at Flame Mountain was quite shrewd and vaguely sensed something was amiss, he ultimately had no choice but to submit to the overwhelming power.

In just over twenty days, Melen took down all of the Blood Flame Ghost King's forces, including herself.

Through the Blood Flame Ghost King, Mellen also learned about higher levels of information in the Ghost Carriage world...

The world of ghost sedan chairs is divided into two major camps: the City God and ghosts. As for humans, they can only be considered a recyclable resource compared to the other two.

Although this statement is harsh, it is indeed the truth.

While the City God appears to protect humanity, in a sense, it is nothing more than domestication, essentially no different from humans raising chickens, ducks, pigs, and cattle. The only difference is that outstanding individuals among humans can choose to join the City God system.

Ghosts are similar. Based on the rules of the ghost sedan world, humans can easily become ghosts, whether they are alive or dead. Moreover, the ghosts they become vary depending on the environment and circumstances.

For example, those who died unjustly, their lingering resentment, once transformed into ghosts, become vengeful spirits that seek to take lives, making them extremely difficult to deal with.

As for ordinary people who die from just a little bit of yin energy, even if they become ghosts, they will only be the most ordinary returning ghosts. They have no intelligence, not even murderous intent or ferocity. They will not attack people, but will only linger near their own corpses. If left unattended, they will dissipate on their own after a few days.

Based on this, whether in areas ruled by the City God or in areas ruled by ghosts, there are cities belonging to humans. The difference is that the former has order, and the humans there live relatively well, while the latter is extremely chaotic, and the humans there often live in much more miserable conditions.

In fact, there is a third force in this world: the exorcists who are truly human. These people have their own unique abilities. They do not rely on the City God, but travel around to exorcise ghosts. The lineage that Elder You of Fengshan City belongs to is the exorcist lineage.

Unfortunately, due to a sudden change, all of You Lao's elders and his disciples died tragically, leaving him to eke out a living in a half-crippled state. In despair, he prepared to spend the rest of his life in Fengshan City, but unexpectedly, he met Mei Lun in his later years.

The City God system appears orderly, but each City God is a competitor to the others, and the most important point of contention among them is population.

Therefore, it is difficult for the City Gods to have a hierarchical relationship. Although there are some loose alliances, they are generally unreliable when it comes to critical moments.

The situation is even more chaotic among the ghosts. Every ghost king has achieved his status through countless battles and plundering. Therefore, ghosts only believe in the law of the jungle, and any exceptions are extremely rare.

However, this also means that among the Ghost Kings, the strongest will prevail, and those powerful Ghost Kings often have subordinate Ghost Kings serving them.

Under the dominance of the two major factions, the City God and the Ghost Kings either formed alliances or waged war, making the entire Ghost Carriage world extremely chaotic.

There is only one way to end this chaos: for an absolute ruler to emerge, conquer both the City God and the Ghost King, and bring them under his control.

Mellen pointed to two locations on the sand table map and asked, "What are these two places...?"

Blood Flame Ghost King said, "That is the territory of Water Fiend Ghost King and Skeleton Ghost King. The three of us have territories that are close to each other, and we often fight each other. Unfortunately, our strengths were not much different before, and because we were afraid of others taking advantage of us, the fights were limited to minor skirmishes."

Mellen chuckled, "So now? Are you confident you can take them down?"

The Blood Flame Ghost King revealed a confident smile and said, "The power of the gods is indeed beyond my imagination. My current strength is much greater than when I was the Ghost King. I can take them down in a month at most!"

Mellen nodded and said, "In that case, let's do it."

After issuing the order, Melen left Fire Mountain and returned to Fengshan City.

When Mellen passed by Chunfeng Tower, he listened to the music of the zither and watched the beautiful women. He lingered for a moment, but finally decided to take care of business first and relax later.

Coffin shop.

Grandpa You lay calmly in his rocking chair. Hearing footsteps, he didn't even lift his eyelids and said, "You kid, you've been gone for months without a word. I thought you'd died out there. You actually know how to come back?"

Mellen knew that Old Man You's concern was not genuine, so he smiled and said, "Old Man You, I did something big when I went out. I came back this time thinking about whether I should bring you on board."

Old You chuckled and said, "What, have you found some way to make money? I'm old, I can't compare to you young people, so don't think about me if there's anything good going on."

Mellen waved his hand and said, "Let's go, let's have a good talk."

Old Yu glanced at Mellen before shakily getting up, closing the shop door, and leading Mellen to a room in the backyard.

Old Master You asked, "Speak, brat, what brings you here this time?"

Mellen casually drew a talisman in mid-air. The talisman exploded, and an invisible force enveloped the room.

This skill of drawing talismans in mid-air is astonishing, but Old Man You had long been numb to the shock of Mellen's talent, so he could calmly observe Mellen's methods.

After sealing off the room to prevent eavesdroppers, Mellen said, "Old Master Yu, I am prepared to become the King of the World, end the chaos caused by the City God and ghosts, and restore peace to the world."

"Oh," Old Master You responded calmly, picked up the tea on the table, took a sip, and remained quite composed.

Mellen blinked and continued, "Didn't you ask me what I've been doing these past few months? I went to Wushan and subdued all the ghosts there, big and small. I also thwarted the Wushan ghosts' decades-long plan to attack Fengshan City."

Old Master You remained expressionless as he placed the teacup on the table, afraid that if he held it any longer, the tea would spill.

"Then I lured the Blood Flame Ghost King over, subdued her, and then took over her forces, including three ghost kings including her, as well as tens of thousands of ghost soldiers."

Old Yu looked at Mellen with complete bewilderment, as if he were listening to gibberish.

"My purpose in returning to Fengshan City this time is to subdue the City God's forces here. After all, there are also many humans living in the Blood Flame Ghost King's territory, and I want to bring them into a normal life of order."

Old Master You's lips twitched, and after a long pause, he finally uttered, "You...you're serious?!"

Mellen laughed and said, "Huh? You actually believed such an outrageous statement?"

Old You seemed to choke on his words, and after a long while, he said in an annoyed tone, "You brat, are you trying to make fun of this old man?"

Mellen shook his head and said seriously, "No, what I said just now was true."

Old You rolled his eyes, but didn't reply, instead waiting for what would happen next.

Mellen put away his joke and said, "As I said before, I'm here to get you on board. I've developed a method of divine control that can transform ghosts into deities. The subjugation of Wushan and the Blood Flame Ghost King that I just told you about is based on this power."

Upon hearing what Mellen said, Old Man Yu's expression turned serious.

Mellen continued, "I plan to subdue the Ghost King and the City God step by step, and bring the entire world into the divine system I have established."

"However, this system cannot consist of only ghosts and city gods. I need some humans to participate to form a three-way balance. This is also the right I have reserved for the humans of this world in the divine system."

Upon hearing this, Old Man You's expression changed from solemn to horrified.

After a long silence, Old Man You exhaled and asked, "This world?"

Mellen remained calm and did not answer.

Old Master You didn't press further, but instead asked, "What are you planning to do?"

Mellen said, "Then we'll have to see if Elder Yu is interested in becoming a god, and also recommend some other people for me. I'm too lazy to deal with these things myself. If Elder Yu is unwilling to help manage them, then we'll talk about it later."

Seeing Mellen's indifferent attitude, Old Man You gave a wry smile. If a real opportunity were presented to him, how could he possibly entrust the fate of humanity to unknown individuals in such an unreliable way?

However, Old Man Yu did not respond directly, but fell into thought, and Mellen naturally did not urge him.

After a short while, Elder You suddenly asked, "You just said that the method of commanding gods that you researched can transform ghosts into deities? Is this method also effective against the City God and the Underworld?"

Mellen explained, "The City God and the Underworld are essentially ghosts, but these ghosts are special because they have absorbed the power of humanity."

Old Man You stared intently at Mellen and asked, "Then what do you mean by saying that humans should be incorporated into the divine system?"

"It means exactly what it says," said Murren.

Old Master You frowned and asked, "You mean, we need to become ghosts first, and then transform into...gods?"

Mellen paused for a moment, then said, "No need."

"Not needed?" Old You was taken aback and asked, "What do you mean, not needed? Not needed what?"

Mellen said, "Elder Yu, didn't you already guess the answer? You, or rather, the human race of this world, can directly transform into gods!"

Old Master You was struck dumb, and became completely dazed.

That's right. Strictly speaking, there are no humans in the Ghost Carriage World. The so-called humans living here are more accurately described as ghosts. This is an anomaly caused by the special rules of the Ghost Carriage World.

Therefore, Mellen's method of divine command can also be directly applied to the humans in the Ghost Carriage world, transforming them into deities.

After an unknown amount of time, Elder You sighed and said, as if talking to himself, "No wonder, the ancient scrolls recorded in our sect mention... 'Man is like a ghost, ghost is like a man.' I used to think it was just the ravings of our sect's elders, but perhaps... perhaps..."

Old Yu looked at Mellen and sighed, "Young man, you go first. I need to think this over carefully."

Mellen nodded slightly and said, "Alright, Elder You, you can take your time to consider it. There's no need to rush. As long as you speak, you will naturally have a place in the divine system I have set up."

Old You nodded, then closed his eyes wearily.

Leaving the coffin shop, Mellen looked towards the center of Fengshan City. His eyes gleamed with a divine light, seeing through appearances to the essence—the City God's Domain, located in the space corresponding to Fengshan City.

The so-called City God's domain is the core of each city's City God system. It is based in the city and expands as the city's population and beliefs grow.

The larger the area of ​​the City God's domain, the stronger the power of the City God's underworld within it.

Following the route, Mellen soon arrived at a bustling market town. Ahead, there was a lively crowd, and looking up, he saw the three large characters "Jingxing Fang" written on the archway.

A slight smile played on Murren's lips as he continued forward. As he stepped through the gate, the surrounding scenery changed drastically, as if space itself had been warped...

The brightly lit streets became dark, the dense crowds disappeared, and the noisy sounds subsided into silence. The surrounding streets remained the same, but seemed to have gained a sense of desolation and decay.

This is the City God's domain.

Chapter 681 The person I'm looking for has no right to refuse.

In Mellen's view, the City God Realm is essentially no different from those ghost realms, except that it is more friendly to humans because it has incorporated human power.

The area where Mellen was located seemed to be a projection of the real world. Apart from the lack of bustling crowds, the environment was not much different, only it looked a bit dilapidated.

As Mellen surveyed his surroundings, some rustling sounds emanated from the shadowy corners of the street. In the dim light, he could see many dark figures swaying and approaching him.

A quick glance revealed that the densely packed shadows were all ghosts.

Raising an eyebrow, and seeing the ghosts that had already surrounded him, Mellen drew a talisman to exorcise the ghosts. Then, he touched the talisman with his finger, and it instantly transformed into a dense series of superimposed images, as if it had been copied into hundreds of copies in an instant.

Streaks of ghostly fire flickered, each one landing on a ghostly creature, clearing the path in front of Mellen.

The remaining ghosts continued to surge toward Mellen without showing any emotion, which made him realize that these ghosts were all low-level ghosts with only instinct and no reason whatsoever.

Since he didn't intend to get entangled with them, Mellen prepared to step into the City God's domain.

Just then, a voice came from afar: "Wanderer, be careful! I'm coming to your rescue!!"

The next moment, a young man dressed in a black constable's uniform jumped down from the rooftop next to him and landed in front of Mellen.

The young constable gripped his knife in one hand, looking ready to draw it at any moment. He appeared somewhat tense, but his eyes were extremely determined as he shielded Mellen behind him.

When the young constable saw the situation clearly, he was stunned for a moment. Then he immediately reacted, grabbed Mellen and ran quickly out through the passage that Mellen had cleared earlier.

They ran until they reached a place with lights, then the young constable slowly stopped and breathed a sigh of relief.

Mellen sized up the young constable and asked, "Who are you?"

Just as the young constable was about to explain, several other men, mostly of similar build, strolled over lazily. The leader of them, with a smug smile on his face, said, "Hey, Dong Xiao, you're really fast! You disappeared in a flash. We all thought you got lost!"

As if in agreement with his words, the people behind him burst into laughter.

Dong Xiao frowned and said, "Hong Qihua, we clearly received an alert about intruders during our patrol. Why are you still so slow? Aren't you afraid of being punished by General Zheng?"

"Hmph!" Hong Qihua sneered and said lazily, "Every year there are always a few unlucky ones who accidentally enter the City God's domain. Even if they die at the hands of those wandering ghosts, it's their own fault."

“You…!” Dong Xiao’s face flushed with anger.

Hong Qihua ignored him and laughed loudly, saying, "Young Dong, thank you so much! You rescued this intruder, and we'll get a reward too. Brothers, hurry up and thank Young Dong!"

The others also wore grinning expressions, saying things like, "Thank you, Brother Dong," "Brother Dong is really amazing," "Yes, yes, no wonder Lord Sizheng values ​​him so much," and "Of course, Brother Dong is different from us..."

Dong Xiao's fists clenched so tightly they cracked.

As Hong Qihua turned to leave, he said, "Dong Xiao, since you saved him, you should go all the way and take him out. Let's go, brothers, let's collect our reward and go have some drinks!"

Only after Hong Qihua and the others left did Dong Xiao slowly exhale and say, "I'm sorry, you must have found this amusing."

At this point, it's quite clear that Dong Xiao and Hong Qihua are likely part of a patrol team. They are responsible for patrolling and have an obligation to rescue any strays they encounter.

However, apart from Dong Xiao, the others clearly didn't take the matter to heart. Even though they knew the intruders would be in danger, they still acted slowly, obviously having no intention of risking their lives to save them.

Of course, there seems to be a reward for rescuing someone, and the whole team gets a reward. So, even though Dong Xiao 'rescued' the person by himself, as long as Hong Qihua and the others report it, they can naturally receive a reward as well.

Unless Dong Xiao directly complains to the general and explains the whole story.