The Sea of Suffering

Hengyang's City God Temple stood in the western part of the city.

In recent years, repeated hauntings had plagued the city, bringing misery to merchants and commoners while making the City God and earth gods prosper.

Few figures could be seen on the streets, but voices clamored outside the City God Temple, where worshippers streamed in and out without end.

The old temple keeper was cheerfully handing out Peace Talismans, Ghost-Repelling Talismans, Protective Talismans, and Mind-Calming Talismans when a draft suddenly swept through the hall, sending the talismans covering his table flying.

Under their very eyes, the clear daylight gave way to a sky full of black clouds in mere moments, with thunder rolling overhead.

"Thunder! It's going to rain-bring in your laundry!"

The worshippers queuing to offer incense and kowtow scattered at once. Those already kneeling hurriedly bowed a few more times before rushing home.

The old temple keeper had no time to stop them. He gathered the talismans strewn across the floor.

These talismans were no fraudulent tricks. Drawn personally by Hengyang's City God, they had some power to repel ghosts and ward off evil.

Gust after gust swept through, raising clouds of dust. Withered branches and fallen leaves poured wildly into the City God Hall, forcing the temple keeper to cling to the table just to stay upright.

A figure walked out of the wind. Only when he stepped into the City God Hall could the old temple keeper make out his appearance.

White at the temples and sallow-faced, he wore black armor and carried a Golden Mace-the very guise Zhou Yi had used before.

Zhou Yi looked up at the plaque above the hall entrance. The words "Protect the Land and Keep the People Safe" hung high overhead, drawing a cold chuckle from him.

In the center of the hall sat the statue of Hengyang's City God, fashioned as a middle-aged official in his forties or fifties. Wearing the robes of a Seventh Grade official embroidered with a quail, he gazed down loftily from above.

"City God of Hengyang, get out here!"

Sweat beaded on the old temple keeper's forehead. The Golden Mace in the man's hand was as thick as his thigh. Mustering his courage, he said, "This is the abode of the City God, an Orthodox God. Do not behave so rudely..."

Before the old temple keeper could finish, the Golden Mace flew from Zhou Yi's hand, blazing with mystic light as it hurtled toward the statue's head.

Buzz!

Golden light spilled in every direction as divine power from incense offerings held the Golden Mace at bay.

The statue slowly awakened, its voice solemn and commanding. "Who comes before me?"

Zhou Yi's baleful intent and fury had nowhere to go. The City God was responsible for overseeing both the living and the dead, so directing his anger at him now was only right.

The Golden Mace's mystic radiance surged, and it abruptly grew to the size of a hall pillar.

Rumble...

With a tremendous crash, the City God's translucent soul was knocked out of the statue.

"Ow!"

Clutching his head, the City God tumbled down into the hall, his official robes crumpled into a heap.

At the sight, the old temple keeper's eyes rolled back, and he fainted outright from fright.

Among Great Qian's City Gods, those overseeing provinces belonged to the upper third grade, those overseeing prefectures to the middle third grade, and those overseeing counties to the lower third grade.

Divine Dao cultivation differed from Buddhism and Daoism. By refining divine power from incense offerings, even a lower third grade practitioner could form a divine dao golden body no weaker than a Body Refining cultivator. As ghostly divinities, they also enjoyed lifespans of three to five hundred years.

Within his jurisdiction in Hengyang, a lower third grade City God could draw upon the devotional power of incense offerings to fight a middle third grade cultivator on equal terms.

Unfortunately, the City God had encountered Zhou Yi, whose single mace strike left his head spinning.

The City God's statue shook. Figures emerged from beneath its pedestal: civil and martial judges, the heads of the three bureaus, ghost generals, and underworld officers, dozens of them pouring out in a rush.

"Protect His Lordship!"

"This is Great Qian territory! Who is this man who dares act so brazenly?"

"A living man making an enemy of the City God's underworld court-do you not fear the Great Qian Code?"

"Seize him first!"

Finding their clamor irritating, Zhou Yi sent the Golden Mace rolling across the floor, pinning every underworld officer beneath it.

Golden light flashed as his magical power suppressed them. No matter how the ghostly officers struggled, the mace did not budge.

"Immortal master, please show mercy!"

Straightening his crooked official hat, the City God said, "May I ask what brings you here, immortal master? I have worked diligently for decades to maintain order in Hengyang's underworld court. Even the King of Bright Spirits knows my name."

King of Bright Spirits was the title the imperial court had bestowed upon the City God of Luo Capital. Granted the rank of imperial prince as an underworld divinity, he commanded every City God within Great Qian.

"Worked diligently? Ha!"

Zhou Yi reached out and casually seized the City God, drawing him into his hand. He asked coldly, "When souls wander the living world instead of entering the underworld to reincarnate, what should be done?"

With his neck locked in an iron grip and all his devotional power rendered unusable, the City God knew he had encountered a formidable master.

"Immortal master, ghostly officers should be sent to investigate whether there are unresolved grievances, lingering obsessions, or the like, and then deal with the matter as appropriate."

"According to the Underworld Code of the Great Qian Code, what punishment is due a City God who neglects his duties and stands by while a fiend refines corpses and ghosts?"

Zhou Yi's eyes were deep and icy as he stared at the City God and demanded an answer.

"Well... that would..."

The City God's expression shifted slightly. He hesitated, unsure what to say.

Zhou Yi pointed at the martial judge pinned beneath the Golden Mace. "You tell me. What punishment is due?"

"According to the Underworld Code, when a City God stands by while a fiend wreaks havoc, the circumstances must be investigated. If there is no collusion, he forfeits a hundred years of incense offerings. If there is collusion, he must be stripped of his divine office and severely punished alongside the offender."

The martial judge oversaw sentencing and punishment, and knew the Great Qian Code by heart.

"Tell me, was there collusion?"

Earth-extreme spirit flame flared in Zhou Yi's hand. Underworld divinities also had ghostly bodies; touching even a wisp of it was like plunging into boiling water or a cauldron of hot oil.

"Spare my life, immortal master! This lowly official..."

The City God still wanted to argue, but the sight of those murderous eyes made him shudder.

"There was absolutely no collusion! I dared not intervene in this matter. That Single-Dragon Fiend has powerful spells. He threatened to destroy my golden body and temple if I dared report him..."

Zhou Yi asked, "Where is the Single-Dragon Fiend now?"

"I know, I know! I have been investigating in secret all along, gathering evidence of his crimes..."

Feeling the spirit flame against him grow ever hotter, the City God dared waste no more words. "A few days ago, an Earth Dragon Uprising struck three hundred li west of the city. Many people died in several mountain villages. The qi of earth sha gathered without dispersing, making it especially easy for a corpse infestation to develop..."

Thud...

The City God slammed into his statue, his ghostly divine body nearly breaking apart.

"Your death sentence may be spared, but punishment cannot be escaped!"

Zhou Yi flicked a finger, sending a strand of Sword Qi into the City God's body.

Sword wounds kept splitting open across the City God's body. When incense power repaired his abdomen, wounds appeared on his back. As soon as his back healed, new wounds opened on his face.

"Thank you for sparing my life, immortal master."

Enduring the heart-piercing agony of being sliced apart, the City God bowed in salute.

Zhou Yi snorted coldly, waved the Golden Mace back into his hand, and vanished in a streak of light.

Freed at last, the underworld officers stood bent over with their backsides raised, unable to straighten up. The Golden Mace's suppressive force had penetrated their ghostly bodies.

The civil judge stepped forward to support the City God and asked in bewilderment, "My lord, did you not report this long ago, only to receive no response from above? Had you told the immortal master the truth, perhaps you could have escaped punishment."

"Hmph. What do you know? By gritting my teeth through this, I can barely preserve my life. If I spoke out, every one of us would have our souls scattered."

The City God's face twitched with pain. That strand of sword qi was supremely yang and unyielding. With his strength, wearing it away completely would take at least several decades.

"That Single-Dragon Fiend relied on his backing to throw Hengyang into utter chaos. He deserves to die. When his soul reaches the underworld, remember to inform me. I shall administer his punishment personally!"

As he spoke, the City God suddenly turned toward the martial judge and demanded, "You're usually such a thickheaded brute. How did you recite the Great Qian Code so clearly just now?"

"Were you hoping I would die sooner so you could inherit the City God's position?"

"Spare me, my lord..."

The martial judge covered his head and scurried away like a rat.

Hidden atop the City God Temple, Zhou Yi listened to the ghostly officers talking below. Several times, he wanted to annihilate the temple with a single sword strike, but in the end he departed in a streak of light.

Three hundred li west of Hengyang, mountains towered into the sky.

Using the Qi-Reading Technique, Zhou Yi saw chaotic earth qi and resentful baleful energy soaring skyward.

An Earth Dragon Uprising, commonly called an earthquake, was one of the most terrifying natural disasters. In mountainous terrain especially, there was simply nowhere to escape.

As he sped along, he occasionally saw scattered survivors struggling blankly to stay alive.

Rather than seek out the Single-Dragon Fiend immediately, Zhou Yi flew through the disaster zone, carrying those fortunate enough to survive to safety.

Some were overjoyed, kowtowing endlessly in gratitude to the immortal.

Some cried to heaven and beat the earth, wailing over their departed loved ones.

Some were already dead at heart, standing numbly beside the road, not knowing where to go.

Others pointed at the sky and cursed, demanding to know why the immortal had not come sooner to save them.

Zhou Yi paid none of it any heed. Following the gathering baleful energy, he reached a place where four peaks converged and rivers wound around them.

With mountains bowing in homage and water encircling it, this had originally been a site of the finest feng shui. But the Earth Dragon Uprising had fractured the western peak, forcing the mountain river to reverse its course. The original waterway had silted up into a stagnant pool.

Flowing water turned back, the White Tiger opened its jaws, and deathly energy filled a yin pool, creating a natural corpse-nurturing ground.

Zhou Yi's streak of light landed atop a peak. He saw figures hopping in from every direction, gathering before finally leaping into the yin pool.

A pitch-black Demon Banner stood in the yin pool, continually releasing yin-demon killing intent and awakening the corpses of those who had died unjustly in the Earth Dragon Uprising.