Lost His Wife and His Troops

Jiannan Circuit, Jiannan City.

In the past two days, the people in the city have been feeling unwell, with heavy steps, dizziness, and occasional weakness, as if some of their strength has been drained from their bodies.

"These past two days, there's been a foul odor in the city."

In a mansion in the north of the city, Li Qi dressed in Confucian robes, placed a black chess piece on the chessboard. He was only thirty years old, yet he had already risen to the position of imperial censor, wielding the power of justice and having the responsibility of reporting, interrogating, and impeaching. His imposing presence was extraordinary, and he possessed an awe-inspiring authority.

Across from me sat a Daoist priest, handsome with sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, a long beard, and a wide-collared robe, reminiscent of a renowned scholar from a previous dynasty.

Seeing Li Qi make his move, the Daoist priest stretched out two fingers, picked up a white piece from the chess box, and pressed it onto the chessboard without thinking.

Clatter

The sound of the piece being placed was crisp and pleasant.

"It must be due to the changing seasons and the gods leaving the palace to inspect. Since Your Excellency is so concerned, why not pay homage to Heaven and the gods and offer sacrifices at the City God Temple?" After placing his piece, the Daoist priest spoke slowly, his voice clear and melodious.

"Master Jingquan is joking," Li Qi shook his head. "I'm new here, and I should keep a low profile and Cultivating Prestige. How could I do anything that would attract attention? Besides..."

He smiled as he placed a black stone, then looked up and stared directly at the Daoist priest, his eyes gleaming. "This sacrificial ceremony requires the presence of a supreme Daoist master to demonstrate respect for the deities. If the Inspector does not appear, how can anyone else possibly take his place?"

"The Inspector General?" The Daoist priest narrowed his eyes and placed a white chess piece on the ground. "His entire focus is on his son's studies, and he probably won't be able to concentrate on the Autumn Examination. Even so, Your Excellency, you still refuse to step forward?"

"The observer sees the New Party as a thorn in his side," Li Qi said with a smile and a shake of his head. "Even if I were willing to intervene, it would be useless. In the officialdom of Jiannan Circuit, I, Li Qi, am practically a lone wolf. Ah, you flatter me. I won this round by three and a half points."

The Daoist priest shook his head, stroked his beard with one hand, and flicked his sleeve with the other. The chessboard, chess box, and chess pieces instantly transformed into black and white streams of energy, falling into his sleeve. Then he stood up. "I understand the Censor's intentions. I've disturbed you."

"Not at all, Daoist Master. If you come again in the future, I will certainly welcome you with open arms." Li Qi stood up and saw the Daoist to the door before returning.

"These reclusive scholars also want a share of the benefits of the reforms. We might as well make use of them, but we must be careful, as one of them might be a spy sent by the Old Party."

Thinking to himself, Li Qi instructed his servant, "Go and summon that scholar. Since he is a junior Virtue Learning and a fellow student of mine, I should meet him and test his abilities. This is the territory of the Shu Learning; if he lacks talent, it will backfire, after all, the Shu Learning is famous for its eloquence."

After giving his instructions, he looked up at the sky and squinted, "The atmosphere these past two days has been too oppressive; I wonder when it will calm down."

At the same time, the Daoist priest who had left the mansion passed by the City God Temple. He turned his head and glanced inside, a cold smile on his face.

Underground, in the City God Underworld Office.

Inside the main hall, numerous deities and Earth Deity still gathered. There was no conversation, no telepathic communication; they all appeared cautious and solemn.

Divine power and Divine Sense surged from the gods, converging towards the depths of the hall.

On the innermost screen of the main hall, surging People's Wishes emerged, merging with the divine power and Divine Sense of the gods, and together they merged into the figure in front of the screen.

Lü Liang, the Jiannan Circuit City God.

This reincarnated god sat with his eyes closed, his Divine Body glowing with an inconsistency of light and shadow. The left half of his body shimmered with a dark blue light, while the right half flickered with silver light.

At first glance, Lü Liang's figure was blurry, like a watercolor painting soaked in water, but as the People's Wishes and divine power converged, his outline became clearer and more robust.

But the atmosphere in the entire hall grew increasingly oppressive.

Inside the hall, the two Fifth Grade deities at the head held their breath, not daring to make a sound, and not even daring to look at Lü Liang on the throne.

Depressing, dull.

This situation began after Circuit City God Lü Liang returned.

Lü Liang's trip to Wuxin had three main purposes: first, to record evidence of the crimes committed by the Daoist Sect; second, to capture the new god; and third, to quell the fluctuations in Fortune and complete his final task as the Circuit City God.

However, the final result surprised the gods. As a reincarnated god, Lü Liang had advanced to the Third-Grade Divine Rank, but not only did he gain nothing from the trip and fail to achieve any of his three objectives, he was also severely injured!

Even the calming of the fluctuations in Fortune had little to do with him.

With his Divine Body destroyed, Lü Liang didn't even have time to escape into the Yin-Yang Road. In the end, he only managed to escape with a concept of his Divine Office, bringing back his True Spirit and divine aura. He had to use the aura of the Divine Office and the People's Wishes of the entire Jiannan Circuit to reconstitute the talismans and Divine Body.

But what surprised the gods the most was that Lü Liang's already advanced to the Third Grade of Divine Rank was now wavering, showing signs of falling!

Reincarnated gods are different from ordinary gods; they are similar to Natural-born God and can advance to Divine Grade on their own. However, if their Divine Grade falls, there will be serious consequences, and they may become mediocre!

Now, Lü Liang is doing everything in his power to maintain his Divine Rank and prevent his fall, even to the point of sacrificing everything. But even so, the decline in his Divine Grade is still happening slowly and steadily.

When Lü Liang returned, only half of his arm shimmered with Fourth-Grade Netherblue; now it had expanded to half his body.

In the oppressive atmosphere, a beam of light suddenly appeared, flying straight in from outside the hall.

"Hmm..."

Lü Liang opened his eyes and spoke softly, his voice hoarse.

"This is the conscription order I issued..."

His senses swept over the area, and he learned the origin of the radiance.

The destruction of Divine Body and the near fall of Divine Grade are significant Karma, enough to ignite an irreconcilable conflict between deities.

Unlike mortals, the Karma between gods is not ethereal but traceable. After escaping, Lü Liang returned to the Underworld Main Hall and immediately used the Karma connection to summon the god's true form. He wanted to rely on the rank and duties conferred by the Heavenly Court to openly summon the god's true form and then suppress him on the spot!

"His Divine Rank is about to fall. Besides the damage to his Divine Body and talismans, the influence of his State of Mind is even greater. However, if we capture the new god, strip him of his talismans and magical Divine Office, and imprison him in the Heavenly Prison, he can be freed from the shackles of Karma and State of Mind, and stabilize his realm! If he disobeys orders, then we might have to invoke the Heavenly Laws!"

With this thought in mind, Lü Liang sent out his Divine Sense, which struck the light.

Snap!

The brilliance shattered, transforming into a line of text.

"I am Min Yuan, the Great Mountain God of Nine Spirits Mountain, under the command of the Southwest Mountain Envoy. I have no affiliation with the Circuit City God, therefore I do not obey the summons!"

I will not obey the summons!

"What!"

His thoughts and plans were directly disrupted. Lü Liang's expression changed, and the dark blue light that had permeated half of his Divine Body expanded even further. If he hadn't calmed himself down in time, this one move would have been uncontrollable.

"The Nine Spirits Mountain God? Isn't this god the civil judge of Yuanning Prefecture? He should be under my command, so how did he become the god of Nine Spirits Mountain?!"

Lü Liang spoke in a deep, resonant voice, his tone low and filled with anger. The anger spread, causing the entire Underworld Main Hall to tremble slightly. Two deities dressed as civil officials stepped forward, their faces filled with fear, and said, "Please calm your anger, Circuit City God. We will go and verify the records immediately."

They said they were just flipping through a book, but with Divine Sense, the two judges already knew the answer.

One of them Human Path, "Your Circuit City God, Min Yuan is indeed no longer under City God command and has been stripped of his position City God's Judge!"

Lü Liang's face darkened, a cold glint flashing in his eyes. "What? Why didn't you notice it before?"

The two judges felt a chill run down their spines and quickly replied, "Your Honor is wise. It was not Yin Xiao'e who stripped this deity of her Divine Rank, which is why the Yuanning Metropolitan City God did not submit a case file. The previous search was too hasty, resulting in some oversights."

"If it's not Yin Xiao'e, then who is it?" Lü Liang's face grew increasingly gloomy, feeling as if he were being manipulated by someone else.

The two judges exchanged a glance before cautiously saying, "This... it is Your Circuit City God who personally went there and forced Yin Xiao'e to seize Min Yuan's Divine Rank in court."

"It was me? You mean not long ago...?"

Upon hearing this, Lü Liang's expression immediately twisted. He recalled that he had been entrusted with using his Divine Power Avatar to put pressure on Yin Xiao'e.

"At that time, I forced Yin Xiao'e to seize the Divine Rank of several deities, but they were all incompetent Lesser God. However, Min Yuan's final attack clearly demonstrated his understanding of the secrets of the people's hearts, and his Domain of Law spread throughout the entire city. How could I possibly have overlooked such a deity? In that case, didn't I dig a pit for myself, allowing Min Yuan to escape control and become unruly?"

As he pondered, anger surged within him, and Lü Liang suddenly let out a muffled groan, the blue light on his Divine Body expanding once more!

"Oh no! He's so angry he's had a stroke!"

Lü Liang was startled and quickly suppressed his anger, managing to slow down the spread of the blue light. However, most of his Divine Body was already covered by the blue light.

"Don't get angry, don't get angry..."

He was furious, but he had to suppress his anger. What made it even harder for Lü Liang to accept was that the same god was responsible for this contradictory outcome. At this thought, his pent-up frustration exploded uncontrollably.

Frustrating!

"Min Yuan, don't be so smug! Using the excuse of not being subordinate to each other seems like a good move, but it also exposes your fatal flaw: secretly manipulating the Talismanic Godhood. Hmph, that Southwest Mountain Envoy has been asleep since the fierce battle more than ten years ago, but he won't stay asleep forever!"

Thinking of this, Lü Liang took a few breaths to calm his anger, and then gave a few instructions to the gods.

The gods who heard the order looked surprised, but dared not ask. Several of them bowed and quickly left the hall.

Having done all this, Lü Liang calmed down and revealed a cold smile.

"Let's see how long you can stall. However, the most urgent task is to stabilize the Divine Rank, at least to prevent it from deteriorating further. Once we capture Min Yuan, we can eradicate him completely..."

"I wonder what measures Lü Liang will take. If I were him, I would definitely try to revive the Mountain Envoy. However, this period of time is perfect for me to accumulate strength. If, after the Mountain Envoy revived, my strength and influence are still insufficient to resist him, I might as well abandon my position at Nine Spirits Mountain and use the name of the River Earl to delay him. If I'm not mistaken, Lü Liang won't be able to afford to delay any longer."

As Qiu Yan thought to himself, the deity himself flipped over and dodged a surging river.

After flying for nearly a day, he finally arrived at the River of Forgetfulness, and then he noticed the thoughts swirling in the river water!

This River of Forgetfulness, which stretches across the sky, doesn't flow with water, but with memories and thoughts!