Chapter 25: The City God

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On the two battlefields, apart from Gu Xian, the astonishingly gifted young cultivator, there were many other remarkable figures among the younger generation.

One of them carried an ancient-looking sword case on his back, within which sword qi stirred faintly. At a mere thought, three longswords flew forth, tracing countless arcs through the air, their movements impossible to fathom.

The three flying swords worked in perfect concert, filling the sky with surging sword shadows. Wherever they passed, the demonic cultivators retreated in terror.

There was also a young man and woman dressed in the robes of the Three Suns Temple. Unlike the other Daoists, they did not form a battle array. Each held a longsword that shimmered with violet-blue energy.

The two swords complemented each other flawlessly. Their sword radiance surged like a tide, relentlessly reaping the lives of the demonic cultivators.

On another side, the young scholar from Azure Sun Academy, who wielded a spirit brush, was equally spirited.

Every gesture displayed the elegant ease of a man of letters. As his brush swept constantly through the air, brilliant golden characters appeared one after another, descending upon the heads of the demonic cultivators with overwhelming force.

Sword qi crisscrossed around Gu Xian. His swordsmanship contained few complicated techniques, yet its power was extraordinary.

Alone, he suppressed three demonic cultivators.

The sinister demon cultivator charged at him once more. Gu Xian’s sleeves stirred though there was no wind. Guiding his sword with his mind, he sent several slender beams of sword light shooting forth in an instant, weaving together in midair to form a sword net.

In the blink of an eye, it sliced the sinister demon cultivator into pieces.

Just then, the young woman behind him suddenly opened her eyes. The aura surrounding her was even colder than usual.

Gripping her sword with both hands, she shot forward. In an instant, she arrived before the towering demon cultivator. Her longsword rose high, sword qi surging until it reached its peak.

She brought the sword down in a single vertical stroke. Under the opponent’s terrified gaze, she split him in two.

Blood and flesh spilled everywhere, viscera tumbling out in a scene of horrific brutality.

Xia Qinghe turned her head toward the other short demon cultivator. Under her stare, his heart gave an involuntary lurch.

Xia Qinghe moved as swiftly as lightning and struck down once more. The edge of her sword radiated a bone-chilling menace.

Before he could flee, the sword had already severed his head.

With its master dead, the talisman seal suppressing Gu Xian from above dimmed and fell to the ground.

The man in blue put away the talisman seal.

He hurried to Xia Qinghe’s side. “Are you all right?”

Xia Qinghe turned slightly toward the man beside her, sensing the concern in his voice.

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She gave a slight shake of her head. “I’m fine.”

Then she charged back into the battlefield. Sword qi erupted like a raging tide, and a fierce aura radiated from her entire body. She was like an invincible immortal sword, every strike vicious beyond measure.

With one blow, she would either sever a demon cultivator at the waist or cleave him straight down the middle. The brutality of it drew frequent glances from cultivators on both sides.

Seeing this, Gu Xian formed a vague suspicion in his heart.

The man in blue also plunged into the fray. His swordsmanship was much simpler, but its power was no weaker. With the aid of the tiny bell, he moved as though perfectly at home.

One demon cultivator after another fell beneath his sword.

The two battlefields outside the city grew increasingly ferocious. People were constantly dying, their souls scattered, while the nearby ground was dyed a vivid red with blood.

Upon the city tower, Xu Mu’s face turned dark as water when he saw Gu Xian kill three of his most capable subordinates. He suddenly brought his palm down, and the table beside him instantly exploded into dust.

At that moment, a surge of golden radiance suddenly erupted from somewhere within the city, shooting straight into the heavens like a giant sword piercing the clouds. In an instant, it tore a great hole through the Twelvefold Soul-Refining Array.

The golden light then spread like a rising tide, steadily eroding the entire formation.

Before long, the Twelvefold Soul-Refining Array was already tottering on the verge of collapse.

Xu Mu suddenly realized what was happening. He hurried outside and gazed toward the city, his brows tightly knit.

“That place… is the City God Temple?”

Chen Mu understood at once. He cursed under his breath. “Damn it. The City God of Fengyang County has broken free. This is going to be troublesome.”

The confident composure he had displayed earlier had vanished from his face.

The next moment, the Twelvefold Soul-Refining Array was completely shattered. Two figures then rose into the air on their swords and sped toward the city tower.

They were Daoist Evergreen and the sword cultivator Xu Qingzhi.

The two were among the most powerful cultivators on the righteous side. They had sensed the upheaval at the City God Temple the instant it occurred, and had also detected Xu Mu atop the city tower.

Facing the two men who came rushing toward him with murderous momentum, Xu Mu’s robes billowed in the wind, yet he showed no trace of fear.

At the same time, within the City God Temple, the City God, who had been firmly bound by eighteen black chains, suddenly opened his eyes. Golden radiance burst from them like two blazing suns.

He shook his body, and the iron chains around him shattered inch by inch, producing crisp yet terrifying sounds.

With a thunderous shout, the City God sent golden ripples of sound spreading outward like tangible waves. Wherever they touched, demonic energy exploded apart. The entire temple was enveloped by this overwhelming power, and bricks and stones rained from the walls, raising clouds of dust.

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He walked into the courtyard, where the various divine officials of the City God Temple had also been freed from their restraints.

They now gathered in the courtyard, and upon seeing the City God, each one seethed with righteous fury.

The City God’s golden body shone brilliantly. In his hand he held a three-foot-long divine sword, its surface wreathed in dazzling golden light.

In a deep voice, he said, “Slaughter every last demonic cultivator.”

With that, the yin spirits from the various offices of the City God Temple sprang into action. Their forms dissolved into the void as they rushed toward the places where the demonic cultivators were gathered.

The City God’s figure flashed, and moments later he appeared in the rear courtyard of the county government office.

Inside the study, a fair-faced scholar sensed his arrival. He gave a bitter smile, yet still rose and walked outside.

The moment he saw him, the City God’s fury erupted. He shouted harshly, “Yang Zhao, I regarded you as a righteous gentleman. Who would have thought you were nothing more than a lackey colluding with the demonic path? Confess everything at once! Why did you commit such an unforgivable crime?”

Yang Zhao was the magistrate of Fengyang County. Without his covert assistance, the Longevity Tower could never have laid out such an enormous scheme in Fengyang City within only a few short years.

Before this upheaval, his relationship with the City God had been quite good. During their leisure hours, they often met to drink and converse, regarding each other as close confidants.

Yet on the night before the demonic cultivators launched their rebellion, Yang Zhao had suddenly come to the City God Temple to drink with him. To his surprise, the wine had been poisoned. The poison was extraordinarily potent. Even though he was the City God of the region, he had ultimately fallen into their trap.

The demonic cultivators then established a formation and sealed him within the City God Temple.

The City God governed the circulation of a region’s destiny. Even the demonic cultivators did not dare kill him outright, for doing so would bring down Heaven’s retribution.

The demonic cultivators had already violated numerous taboos; such an act would have been nothing short of courting death.

However, today the Demon-Slaying Office had attacked the city. Though it had failed to break the formation, its earlier assaults had nevertheless damaged the two formation foundations to some extent.

The formation sealing the City God Temple was also part of the Twelvefold Soul-Refining Array.

The attacks from outside had loosened the seal, allowing the City God to seize the opportunity and break free.

Faced with the City God’s accusation, Yang Zhao revealed a strange smile.

“I have always been a disciple of the Longevity Tower. How can this be called collusion?”