Thunder Dragon Emerges from the Sea of Clouds, Mud Jiao Bows in the Mountain Ravine

Jinhua County had long since been gripped by panic. Cries and wails echoed throughout the county seat. Above hung a gloomy sky, flashing with lightning and rumbling with thunder; beyond the city walls surged towering yellow mud amid howling wind and torrential rain.

The entire Jinhua County had become a scene of apocalypse.

Though Jinhua County had several hundred thousand people, and its county seat was a large city capable of holding over two hundred thousand, densely populated and rich in incense offerings, no matter how high its walls were, how high could they truly be?

And how many wild ghosts and gods could a single county possess?

The Mud Jiao had been born of the heavens and earth of the Mountain Sea Realm.

After the Mountain Sea Realm became trapped behind a void rift deep within chaos, its spiritual energy gradually thinned, and the will of the Heavenly Dao ceased to manifest.

The filth of the world had originally been purified by heaven and earth. But with the Heavenly Dao languishing and the human world in chaos, filth gathered for ages without dispersing, impossible to cleanse. Over time, the accumulated filth became tainted with the aura of the mortal world, transforming into Mud Jiaos that began their draconic passage. Wherever they passed, great calamities followed.

Each of these Mud Jiaos born from the heavens and earth of the Mountain Sea Realm possessed, after taking form, the highest realm mortal cultivators could reach: the Nascent Soul realm.

This did not mean Mud Jiaos could only reach the Nascent Soul realm. Rather, the sparse spiritual energy of the mortal world only allowed cultivators to reach the Nascent Soul realm.

To advance further, they had to rely on the incense and faith of the mortal world, using the empowerment of incense spiritual