Chapter 143: Chapter 123: Summoning the Land God and the City God: The Methods of a Magic Lineage Cultivator

On the mountain path outside Hanyang Prefecture.

Han Li took out two Yellow Talismans, tossing them into the air. With a jolt of his True Qi, they instantly transformed into two Paper Horses.

They swelled in the wind, and in the blink of an eye, they became creatures of flesh and blood. With manes flying and hooves nimble, they were indistinguishable from real horses, even snorting and puffing out wisps of white air.

This wasn’t Han Li’s first time handling a job to eliminate a rebellious Qi Cultivation Clan. He patted the Paper Horse’s neck and said casually,

"The Qi Cultivation Clans under our Dharma Lineage’s rule are as numerous as the hairs on an ox. They’re like weeds all over the mountains—cut one down, and another sprouts up.

Trying to restrain their actions one by one is just too exhausting and time-consuming."

He swung himself onto his horse with a practiced motion.

"It’s better to just cull and sweep through them in batches every once in a while.

As long as it doesn’t affect the stable total population of the common folk under our rule, it’s no big deal. Once you’ve been doing it for a while, there’s a well-established procedure."

Jiang Yi listened carefully. He had always been pragmatic and was quite humble when receiving guidance from an ’expert’.

He silently committed this to memory and swung himself onto the other Paper Horse.

As the two rode slowly along the mountain path, Han Li turned his head to offer some instruction.

"Junior Brother Jiang, this is your first time handling this kind of assignment. Stick close to me and watch carefully. After you get more experience, you’ll gradually get the hang of it."

Jiang Yi nodded. Before agreeing to Xu Yan’s request to come down the mountain for this trip, he had consulted the Celestial Book. The result was "no danger to life, no sign of great misfortune, but a possible experience of the pain of losing a loved one."

After he later eliminated Sui Liushu, he checked with the Celestial Book again, and only the first two parts of the prediction remained.

Therefore, this ’official business’ of exterminating a clan should proceed without any major complications.

It wasn’t until the end of the You hour, as the setting sun stained half the sky red, that the two "Qi Cultivation High Cultivators" from the Qianji Sect moseyed onto the flat official road of Hanyang Prefecture.

Han Li didn’t head directly into the city, however. Instead, he turned and ducked into a desolate City God Temple by the roadside.

Inside, cobwebs collected dust and the incense table was thick with ash. It was clearly deserted.

Han Li put on the airs of a senior and began to lecture earnestly.

"Junior Brother Jiang, you’re lucky you’re with me. I can teach you all the little details. If you were with Senior Brother Xu, I’m afraid you wouldn’t learn much."

He took out a few more sheets of talisman paper from his robes, pasting them in the four cardinal directions. As he worked, he said,

"A lot of greenhorns who only know Cultivation think that just because they have a mission from the Dharma Lineage, they’re some kind of Imperial Envoy with the power of life and death.

They swagger up to the door, announce their identity, and order them to surrender, only to end up being secretly assassinated by the rebellious clan."

Jiang Yi raised an eyebrow. ’These local clans are truly audacious.’

Most Dharma Lineage Disciples are at least at the Qi Cultivation Fifth Layer. They have opened their Primordial Gate, established their Inner Mansion, and cultivated a wisp of Life Qi that is recorded in a Talisman Decree.

If any of them were killed, their Dharma Lineage would notice something was amiss within three to five days at most.

At that point, it wouldn’t just be the clan’s extermination; every last member would likely have their soul extracted and refined, used as raw material.

After all, that was the specialty of Demon Cultivators.

Han Li sneered and continued,

"They never stop to think. Since those people dared to defy the Dharma Lineage, cause trouble in secret, and collude with Loose Cultivators, they must have made preparations.

Facing the risk of having their entire clan exterminated, why would they obediently offer up their necks to be slaughtered?"

Jiang Yi deeply agreed, playing the part of the supportive junior. "Senior Brother’s insight is profound!"

Since ancient times, ambushing imperial envoys and burning down granaries have hardly been rare occurrences.

’I really should be more cautious. It would be bad to capsize in a gutter.’

"How do you plan to investigate, Senior Brother?"

Jiang Yi asked proactively.

"Let me get a feel for the situation in Hanyang Prefecture. If I remember correctly, the ones causing trouble this time are two Fifth-Grade Clans, one the ’Wang’, one the ’Huang’. Hmph. They don’t know their own limits!"

Han Li formed a hand seal with his right hand and chanted a Curse:

"Land God of this place, most spiritual of deities. Heed my talisman’s call and swiftly reveal your mighty form! So it is commanded!"

As Senior Brother Han’s Curse ended, the Spiritual Energy between heaven and earth seemed to roil, surging like a tide from all directions.

The wind howled, rattling the doors and windows with a CLATTER!

’It’s a bit like when I practice the Qi Cultivation General Outline of the Mixed Refining Origin. Heaven and earth respond, and Spiritual Energy follows suit.’

Jiang Yi’s Primordial Gate trembled slightly as his Divine Thought sensed the change. A trace of surprise flashed in his eyes. He hadn’t expected the thick-browed, earnest-looking Senior Brother Han to be hiding such an extraordinary skill as the Talismanic Spell for Capturing Spirits.

In just seven or eight breaths, a thick, condensed, earthy-yellow qi slowly emerged from the ground. It coalesced without dispersing, forming a white-haired old man about two feet tall.

He wore a patched, coarse brown robe and an old cloth cap. His back was hunched. Upon seeing Han Li and Jiang Yi, he bowed respectfully and spoke in a human voice.

"This little old one pays his respects to the High Cultivators! For what reason have you summoned this little old one?"

’Is this... the Land God?’

Surprise flickered across Jiang Yi’s face.

’Figures like the Land God and the City God, not to mention the Mountain God and the Water Monarch... in my impression, they should belong to the Divine Dao.’

’Can they really be ordered around by Demonic Cultivators?’

"Junior Brother, you haven’t been on the Inner Peak for long and you haven’t spent much time at the Skill Transmission Institute. I’m afraid your miscellaneous knowledge is lacking.

How can a proper Dharma Lineage Disciple like myself only know Cultivation? We must learn methods like using talismans to set up altars and summoning spirits for questioning. They come in handy."

Han Li clasped his hands behind his back. The feeling of being an experienced senior teaching a newcomer was truly satisfying.

"You are right to instruct me, Senior Brother."

Jiang Yi agreed smoothly, his gaze still fixed on the Land God.

Han Li said no more and got straight to the point.

"Let me ask you, what has the general atmosphere been like in Hanyang Prefecture City recently?"

The Land God-like, white-haired old man bowed again and answered respectfully,

"The city is mostly filled with Purifying Qi. There are only occasional miscarriages of justice, wrongful deaths, suicides by drowning, and bullying of the innocent. Although these things have created some resentful and hostile energy, they don’t affect the overall situation."

Han Li nodded slightly, having a general idea of the situation, and asked again,

"In the last five years, have there been any significant changes to the population figures of the counties and villages under Hanyang Prefecture’s jurisdiction?"

At this question, the white-haired old man seemed to freeze up. The earthy-yellow qi around him thinned in an instant, and his form became somewhat illusory.

A long moment passed before he could answer.

"In the past five years, Hanyang Prefecture has suffered five floods. The levees were destroyed, the fields were submerged, and countless people died or were injured.

Later, there were two major plagues. Thanks to the clans in the prefecture stepping up to provide relief and distribute congee, the disasters didn’t spread.

Compared to five years ago, the common population under its jurisdiction has decreased by about twenty percent."

Han Li seemed to understand and let out a cold laugh.

"Hmph, using natural disasters to cover up the truth of plundering commoners. A common trick of the clans, nothing new!

Junior Brother Jiang, you must remember this. Those Middle to Lower Class clans, the ones not in the Second or Third Grades, are the best at deception and misdirection.

They secretly destroy dikes to flood fields, then report a natural disaster. Next thing you know, they’re taking the displaced commoners who are selling themselves to survive and using them as raw materials, secretly extracting their blood and qi to refine Magical Artifacts. Utterly filthy!"

’Why did he specifically exclude the Second and Third-Grade clans?’

’Could it be because Senior Brother Han’s own Huangfeng Han Clan happens to be a Second-Grade clan?’

Jiang Yi grumbled inwardly.

The Qi Cultivation Clans were clearly stratified, divided into a hierarchy of nine grades, much like Cultivation Techniques.

First Grade was the highest, and Ninth Grade was the lowest.

Here in Hanyang Prefecture, the Huang Clan and the Wang Clan were both Fifth Grade, controlling the surrounding counties and villages;

But Han Li’s Huangfeng Han Clan was a proper Second-Grade clan. Although they were all clans, the difference in their status was night and day.

"Alright, you may leave."

Han Li waved his hand, dismissing the talisman’s spiritual response.

He then took out and lit three Incense Sticks, formed another hand seal, and began to chant. His tone was much more polite than before.

"I beseech the Hanyang City God to hasten to this place! All-powerful spirit, I rely on this true incense as a universal offering. I extend my invitation and pray for your grace-filled presence!"

Jiang Yi observed that Senior Brother Han’s demeanor and tone this time were far more solemn than when he had summoned the Land God.

’It seems the rank and importance of a City God are far above that of a Land God.’

When the three Incense Sticks had burned halfway, a vast and mighty surge of Essence Qi, resembling a yellow dragon, rushed into the City God Temple with a BOOM.

The dilapidated, dust-covered temple was instantly enveloped in a golden light, brilliant and majestic, sweeping away all its previous decay.

A figure about ten feet tall manifested. He was dressed in a Vermilion and Purple Official Robe, with a Jade Belt at his waist and a high crown on his head. His face was stern, and his aura was imposing.

"I was not aware that a High Cultivator from a Dharma Lineage was passing through Hanyang Prefecture. You have summoned me, this official; is there an important matter you wish to ask about?"

Han Li performed a Taoist salute and replied in a deep voice,

"I am a Disciple and Cultivator from the Qianji Sect. I have received a Dharma Lineage Decree to eliminate traitors to the Dao and sweep away the vermin!

I implore the City God to reveal, under the clear light of day, where in the counties, villages, and wilds around Hanyang Prefecture Blood Evil is rising and where death qi is gathering."

Two beams of brilliant light shot from the City God’s eyes, as if they could penetrate mountains and cities, inspecting them inch by inch.

After a moment, he answered in a voice like a great bell.

"Two hundred and eighty li from here, there is a ’Goose Mountain’. Blood Evil appears intermittently in the mountain, and death qi is gushing forth. It is also deeply connected to the Huang Clan and the Wang Clan of Hanyang Prefecture."

"Just as I expected!"

Han Li clapped his hands and laughed.

"They take in the disaster refugees as servants, then ship them in batches to the lairs of those Loose Cultivator vermin to be slaughtered and used at will!

And they thought they could get away with such a crude scheme?"

Seeing this, the City God said flatly,

"If there is nothing else, this City God will take his leave."

With a tremendous BOOM, the vast and mighty Essence Qi suddenly disintegrated, transforming into specks of golden light that merged with the surrounding land and vanished without a trace.

The golden light in the City God Temple also faded, and it returned to its dilapidated state.

"I have now grasped about seventy or eighty percent of the situation in Hanyang Prefecture."

Han Li pondered for a moment, then said slowly,

"The Huang and Wang Families are Fifth-Grade Clans. It’s possible they still have an ’Elder Ancestor’ who hasn’t passed away, probably around the Qi Cultivation Seventh or Eighth Layer. In my opinion, I should enter the city tonight and pay them a visit under the name of the Huangfeng Han Clan to probe for information.

Junior Brother, you stay outside the city as backup. If you don’t hear from me by tomorrow, request aid from the sect. Have them dispatch people from the Acquisition Institute and the Supreme Merit Institute."

Jiang Yi nodded.

"Senior Brother Han is truly a model for all Inner Peak Disciples, so thorough in all your considerations! I will wait here for your good news."

Han Li smiled slightly, a look of confidence on his face. He strode out of the City God Temple, summoned his Paper Horse with a raise of his hand, and swung aboard, galloping toward Hanyang Prefecture City.

Jiang Yi remained in the temple. He used his Divine Thought to draw over a wisp of Clear Nourishing Spiritual Qi, using it as a "cleaning agent" to wipe the dusty ground beneath him completely clean.

He then sat down on the ground. His Black Shadow Magical Robe already had the effect of absorbing Spiritual Qi and repelling dirt, so he wasn’t worried about getting it dirty.

But not long after he sat down, the space between his eyebrows began to twitch uncontrollably.

’Strange... I wonder if something unexpected has happened on Senior Brother Han’s trip to Hanyang Prefecture?’