The woman was none other than the local Spirit Realm's mistress. To Tang Changsheng's eyes, white Divine Light clung faintly to her, but it was scattered, threaded with wisps of black qi.
Clearly, the Territory Lord had spoken the truth: Marquis Wu had indeed granted her title. But setting aside the fact that Marquis Wu had offended the Immortal Sects, every trace of the Divine Way within his borders had been smashed. This minor deity had escaped only because she dwelt in a remote place and possessed so little power.
Marquis Wu's state had long since fallen, his household destroyed, and the state itself in ruins. The divine office he had conferred on her had long since lost all legitimacy!
At present, she could still be called the mistress of the Spirit Realm if one was being generous. In truth, she was gradually falling from her divine station and reverting to a spirit.
"Are you asking me to help restore your decree as an Orthodox God? I'm sorry, but I'm only a Rogue Cultivator. That's beyond me!" Tang Changsheng refused outright, cutting her off before she could even ask.
"You're too modest, Mage. I was once a woman of this stockade. I had some small beauty, and the Great Demon Li He took a fancy to me and seized me as a concubine. He was savage and fed on flesh and blood; he did not spare even the people of this stockade.
"Later, when government troops marched into the mountains, I guided them. They took advantage of Li He's drunkenness and stormed his Cave Abode, killing him. For that small service, Marquis Wu made me mistress of this stockade, and our people moved down from the mountains. After I died, my clansmen chose me as their ancestral spirit. More than