Chapter 14

When Xun Yi came to his senses, he found himself sitting on the City God’s throne, with deities standing on both sides, waiting for him to speak.

"Master, you just used the Maolin Sword to seal away that evil deity. What should we do next?" Bai Fu and the others exchanged glances, glossing over what had just happened. They were not very clear about what Xun Yi had, or what had happened when he was seven years old. Only the City God Cao Hou and the Xun family knew.

But they had just witnessed it firsthand, understanding that Xun Yi possessed a power left by a higher deity, far surpassing the evil deity of the Fourth Heaven. With the Xuanyuan bloodline in Xun Yi showing signs of awakening, they dared not tell the truth. Taking advantage of Xun Yi’s lack of knowledge about the divine path, they fudged the details, attributing everything to the power of the Xun family’s Maolin Sword.

Xun Yi, not suspecting anything, examined the crystal bead on the table. "Is this the crystal bead left by the evil deity?" On the table was the crystal bead left by the evil deity, suppressed by Wen Pan’s divine power.

"That’s right. This crystal bead contains the evil deity’s divine consciousness—Master, be careful, ordinary people must not touch it casually." Seeing Xun Yi about to take the crystal bead, Bai Fu hurriedly stopped him. "We can seal this crystal bead in the Spirit Locking Tower later. But Ma Jingyi needs to be dealt with by you."

The City God’s residence has the Spirit Locking Tower to suppress all demons and evil spirits. But Ma Jingyi was an ordinary person, now purified by Xun Yi’s power, completely free from the evil deity’s control. What should be done with this former evil deity follower?

"Can’t we temporarily detain him in the City God’s residence? Is there anyone else involved in the Luoru Pen incident? We need to interrogate him to find the accomplices."

"The City God’s residence does not detain ordinary people. Now that you are here as a spirit, let alone an outsider? Currently, Ma Jingyi’s soul is detained by us, and his body is stored in the City God’s temple. If not properly handled, his body will eventually decay without a soul." Wu Pan said, "Of course, he assisted the evil, and now he reaps what he sowed. We can seal his soul in the Spirit Locking Tower and burn his body."

This implied that they were going to kill him.

Xun Yi frowned. Due to his heart condition, he tried to face life optimistically, filled with a longing for a healthy life, and was reluctant to take lives. He pondered and said, "Let’s do this: temporarily return his soul to his body and have our Xun family watch over him. I’ll try to interrogate him, and if it doesn’t work, we’ll throw him into the government prison."

The deities knew about Xun Yi’s usual behavior and were not surprised by his decision.

After setting the tone, Wu Pan returned Ma Jingyi’s soul to his body and instructed the temple keeper to send him to the Xun family’s small building.

"Since Master is taking the afternoon off, why don’t we close the case of the headless ghost from yesterday?" Bai Fu suggested. Xun Yi nodded reluctantly, "We’ll have to come here eventually. I’ll finish the work today and rest well at home tonight. Alright, bring the headless ghost in."

They deliberately made the headless ghost stand at the door and interrogated him about his grievances.

However, the headless ghost, without a head or mouth, could not speak, only instinctively wandering around the hall, gesturing wildly, leaving everyone puzzled.

"Without a head, is his mind also unclear?" Wen Pan, unable to discern, saw the headless ghost trying to approach Xun Yi and pushed him back with his pen.

Xun Yi was also puzzled by the headless ghost’s erratic movements. Everyone stared at each other, and finally, Bai Fu realized, "Do you want us to help you find your head?"

The headless ghost immediately stopped and repeatedly bowed to everyone.

Hearing this, Xun Yi found a piece of paper and wrote, "Is this your request? Don’t worry, I will definitely help you find your head and give you a proper burial."

Xun Yi was straightforward, and the deities hesitated. The headless ghost was not a common case. Even those beheaded and executed had their souls intact, with their heads still attached. The birth of a headless ghost had only two possibilities. One was being decapitated along with the head, and the soul being struck along with the body, which required divine power, not something an ordinary person could do. The other was being separated from the soul after death, which also required divine power.

"Is this the work of some sorcerer or demon?" Xun Yi had already agreed, and Wen Pan did not object. But the headless ghost seemed to want to express something more after Xun Yi wrote down the case. Wen Pan quickly sent him away and helped Xun Yi handle today’s paperwork.

With yesterday’s experience, today’s work efficiency increased. By the afternoon, Xun Yi, seeing it was getting late, put down his pen, "Alright, that’s it for today. Don’t look for me tonight; let me have a good night’s sleep." He stretched and was about to return to his body when suddenly the City God’s bell rang, and the sound of a horn echoed through the divine realm.

"Where is the City God of Qinglong? Quickly gather your troops and follow me to capture the rebel." Outside the City God’s residence, golden clouds appeared, and an imperial edict fell on the table.

Wen Pan helped open it and his face changed slightly, "This is an order for the City God to cooperate with surrounding deities to seal the earth’s qi, to help a higher deity capture the rebel."

"The City God is in the underworld, and Master is a spirit. How can he leave the City God’s residence?" Wu Pan said, "Let’s decline. Say we are not convenient to get involved, or let other deities in the city take over. By the way, which side is this edict from? It’s not the national deity of the Great Zhou, is it?" The national deity of the Great Zhou was the nominal leader of all City Gods. However, City Gods, each occupying a territory, formed their own forces, and powerful deities like Cao Hou could even transfer to the underworld.

"No, it’s a deity of good fortune. The Xuantan Baode Lingjun from the Heavenly Realm, judging by the quality of this divine power, it should be from the Sixth Heaven?"

"A deity from the Sixth Heaven? And a deity of good fortune sent to capture a rebel, it must be a martial deity of good fortune." Bai Fu’s face turned grim. The most notable feature of deities of good fortune was luck. Each deity of good fortune had boundless good fortune and strong protection. However, because of their continuous good fortune, many deities of good fortune had very weak combat abilities, with only a few martial deities of good fortune and evil deities of good fortune possessing strong combat abilities. These martial deities of good fortune were even more formidable than ordinary martial deities.

"The Xuantan Baode Lingjun, why does that name sound so familiar?" The Mountain Patrol General rubbed his temples, "A few years ago, the one who fell to our Qinglong City and later rose again was...?"

Wen Pan and Wu Pan also remembered the background of the Xuantan Baode Lingjun. "It’s him? Prince Longsun?" This was a person of great background.

"What’s wrong with this prince?" Xun Yi looked curiously at everyone, and they all shook their heads, "Nothing."

Wen Pan thought for a moment, "Our City God’s residence is not convenient to accept the edict. I’ll go out and decline." He walked out of the City God’s residence and knelt before the golden clouds, "Report to the higher deity, our City God is under the order of the King of the Underworld to establish a ghost kingdom in the underworld. The new City God has not yet arrived, and there is only a human acting as the City God, who cannot accept the edict."

From the golden clouds, a clear male voice came, "Then let this acting City God use the divine seal to lock the earth’s qi."

"This..." Wen Pan would not let Xun Yi take the risk and cautiously said, "This acting City God is restricted by our City God and cannot leave the City God’s residence, and may not be able to comply with the order."

"Oh?" A beam of mysterious light shot out from the golden clouds, and before the deities could react, Xun Yi was taken away. "Things have their priorities. I believe even if I break Cao Hou’s restrictions, he will understand."

"Sir!" Wu Pan drew his sword, and the Mountain Patrol and Ghost Catching generals summoned the City God’s troops to surround the golden clouds.

The person in the golden clouds lazily said, "What? Do you want to attack me?" The pressure of a higher deity flashed, and the deities below were severely injured, collapsing in the City God’s residence, unable to move.

"The City God and Earth Deity have always been on good terms with us deities of good fortune." The person in the golden clouds extended a hand and sealed the City God’s deities in the City God’s residence. "Don’t worry, I only want to capture the rebel from the Heavenly Court. I have no intention of attacking your City God’s residence. I’ll bring him back by tonight." With that, the golden clouds wrapped around Xun Yi and disappeared.

Bai Fu and the others were trapped in the City God’s residence, stomping their feet in frustration, "Damn! What’s this prince up to? Ordinary people can’t handle rebels from the Heavenly Court."

Wen Pan consoled himself, "Master has the protection of a higher deity, perhaps it will be fine? I’m just worried about the City God’s seal left by the City God, which restricts Master from leaving. If that prince forcibly takes him away, will it affect Master?"

"Didn’t you hear? That prince is going to forcibly break the City God’s restrictions. I’m worried Master won’t be able to withstand the impact of the divine power." Bai Fu was helpless, but a "禁" (prohibition) character was stuck in the sky, and the deities in the residence couldn’t even send a message. They could only hope that Xun Yi’s good luck would help him return safely.

In the Heavenly Cloud Pavilion, Xun Yi sat in a guest seat, holding a wine cup in both hands, sipping the wine slowly.

"Don’t be so formal. I rarely have guests in my Heavenly Cloud Pavilion. If you need anything, just say it." The Baode Lingjun, sitting in the main seat, tilted his head and slowly ate the delicacies on the table.

Xun Yi was uneasy, forcibly taken here, and the entire Heavenly Cloud Pavilion had no one else besides them. He observed the martial deity of good fortune, who wore a phoenix helmet, a dragon-embroidered armor, and leaned on a halberd. The man had a striking and handsome appearance, looking very young, and standing together, they looked more like brothers.

"Don’t worry, I only want to deal with the rebel from the Heavenly Court and need to use your City God’s power to seal the earth’s qi. I’ll send you home after it’s done."

"May I ask the name of the higher deity?"

"My name is Long Ge. You can call me Baode Lingjun if you prefer."

"Then, Brother Long Ge, can we change the wine?" Xun Yi made a wry face, "I’m not of age yet. Can we switch to a milder sacrificial wine? Or even a weaker fruit wine would be better."

The man heard this, tapped the table, and the silent Heavenly Cloud Pavilion suddenly filled with music. Dancers appeared from the clouds, some dancing gracefully in the center, others holding wine jugs in front of Xun Yi.

There were five bottles, each in a different color—green, white, yellow, red, and black, all secret divine wines.

"Choose any you like."

Xun Yi looked at the various colored bottles, hesitated, and picked up the red jade wine jar, carefully pouring himself a full cup. The crimson wine filled the cup, and he sipped it slowly.

"Green peach? You have some luck." The man stroked his chin, having noticed from the beginning that Xun Yi’s spirit was unstable. After the intense battle at noon, his energy was depleted, so the strong wine was initially given to nourish his spirit. Xun Yi said he couldn’t handle it after a few sips, so the man switched to other wines with different effects.

This Green Peach wine was a rare treasure from the Heavenly Realm, brewed by the Golden Sage Emperor from the Holy Peaches, capable of extending life.

As for the other bottles, there was the "Thousand Days Drunk," which would make even deities sleep for days, the "Three Cups Down," a modified version of a strong human wine, and the "Valley Black," brewed from the Nine-Grain Rice of the Leshan family...

"In terms of effect, the Green Peach is the most suitable for you." Long Ge smiled, "How about it, are you interested in becoming my subordinate deity?"