(The backlog has run out for now. This poor Daoist has never typed very fast, so... wait until I've saved up a few chapters, and I'll do another burst next month. Ah, and thank you, fellow Daoists, for your help!)
The Deity Statue had clearly been damaged before it was sealed away years ago. Its eyes had been gouged out, and both ears had been melted shut with molten lead. There was even a hole between its brows...
"No wonder this Deity Statue's power was so weak. At its height, the Taiping Church had tens of millions of followers..."
Tang Changsheng muttered to himself. His eyes flickered as he noticed something odd about the cross-shaped sword held aloft by the statue.
He walked over and took the sword down. He immediately discovered that its hilt was hollow. There was something hidden inside it: a small tablet.
The Deity Statue stood over three meters tall, and the sword in its hand looked at least half a meter long. Yet the tablet hidden inside was no bigger than half a palm, densely engraved with writing that resembled runes.
Tang Changsheng could not recognize a single character. He only felt that the runes were strange in the extreme.
He had no time to examine the sword more closely. Something beneath the Deity Statue had caught his eye...
He called for the others to come over.
Since Tang Changsheng had come to the City God Temple on business, he had naturally obtained the Three Households' consent. He already had their authorization: whatever he did, everyone in the temple was to cooperate.
Tang Changsheng had sent them far away earlier. Now, summoned back, they saw that the courtyard looked nothing like it had before. They gaped, unable to utter a word.
Tang Changsheng ordered, "Find