Chapter 418: Chapter 290: The Power of Geomantic Omen VS National Destiny!
Xi Xia Province.
Silver City, Institute of Technology.
The Spirits Management Bureau discovered the “City God Temple Relics” in early August when Silver City Institute of Technology was just starting its summer break. Now that the new school year has begun, it is said that the institute’s students have all gone to the neighboring Xi Xia University for “temporary study.”
So now, the Silver City Institute of Technology has long since become a shell.
Like Wu City, Yin winds blow through the streets of Silver City, with paper money flying wildly, and faint ghostly shadows flitting here and there.
Silver City Institute of Technology, outside the main gate.
Two figures stand in the darkness of the street.
These two, one is a peak martial grandmaster, and the other is an expert at the Entering Dao Realm. They are none other than Director Chen Jingzhou of the Spirits Management Bureau’s Silver City Branch and Master Luan Haiping from the Maoshan Sect who is assisting in Silver City!
They stare intently at the Silver City Institute of Technology ahead with a grave expression.
Before them, the entire institute is enveloped in a gray mist, within which a huge stone statue appears faintly visible. Around the stone statue are smaller statue-like figures.
These statue figures come in various shapes, sizes, and behaviors, with red glints in their eyes, appearing extremely eerie in the gray mist.
“We’re in trouble!”
Master Luan shook his head and said, “The Ghost Realm has already taken shape. If we don’t remove it as soon as possible, I’m afraid the entire Silver City will be affected.”
“Is this the Ghost Realm?”
Chen Jingzhou has heard of the Ghost Realm but has never seen it with his own eyes.
The key is that the “City God Temple Ruins” are inhabited by some malevolent beings.
Since they are malevolent beings, why can they also manifest a Ghost Realm?
However, on second thought, it seems normal entwined spirit.
After all, malevolent and sinister spirits aren’t that different.
It’s not like the “Realm” transformed by malevolent beings can be called Evil Realm or Divine Realm, right?
As a martial artist, Chen Jingzhou’s understanding of Yin spirits and malevolent beings is, of course, not as deep as that of Luan Haiping, who is from the Maoshan Sect. Chen Jingzhou asked, “Master Luan, how can the Ghost Realm be destroyed?”
Luan Haiping said, “Killing the one who transformed the Realm will automatically destroy the Ghost Realm.”
“Kill?”
Chen Jingzhou smiled bitterly, “If it were that easy to kill, Minister Wang would have killed it already… The City God was a powerful being in life, and even though his current strength isn’t as strong as in his prime, he has created a Realm. His own strength is comparable to the Martial Arts Celestial Phenomenon Realm and Daoist Refining Deity Realm… What’s most crucial is that the City God can control the geomantic omen of the area. In Silver City, he is almost invincible!”
What is a City God?
A City God is a guardian deity of a city. A City God of a place is equivalent to the chief official of that place. Some powerful City Gods even have civil and military judges, various great gods, Generals Gan and Liu, Generals Fan and Xie, Ox and Horse Generals, Day and Night Wandering Gods, and Shackle Generals under their control.
In addition, there are the Yin and Yang Departments, Speed Reporting Departments, and Inspection Departments, which are like a “Small Netherworld.”
Luan Haiping pondered for a moment and said, “Previously, the City God Temple Ruins were deeply buried underground and hidden from sight. Now that the City God has shown himself and manifested the Realm, maybe we can ask Minister Wang to come and talk to him.”
He paused and added, “Of course, if Minister Wang is willing, there is no way to solve this problem here. If you want to talk about being invincible, at least in Da Xia, Minister Wang is truly invincible!”
Chen Jingzhou laughed.
He naturally knew what Luan Haiping meant.
Minister Wang has the fortune of the country, and compared to it, what’s the geomantic omen of Silver City?
It’s just that the cost of this is too great!
After all, this City God Temple has stood in Silver City for more than a thousand years, and the City God’s “control” over Silver City is too high. If he fought to the death to extract Silver City’s geomantic and water omen, although he could be eliminated, it’s likely that Silver City would be completely turned into barren land afterward!
How would they resettle nearly a million people in Silver City?
While the two were talking, several ghostly figures approached the Silver City Institute of Technology.
The next moment…
Hum!
The gray mist enveloping the Silver City Institute of Technology seemed to come alive, and several gray tendrils burst out, immediately enveloping the ghostly figures.
Screams came from within the gray mist, then faded away as if nothing had happened.
However, Chen Jingzhou keenly noticed that the gray mist enveloping the Silver City Institute of Technology seemed to have expanded a little.
His face darkened, and he immediately called the staff of the Spirits Management Bureau to guard the surroundings of Silver City Institute of Technology and strictly prevent any Yin spirits or ghosts from accidentally entering the school. He said, “In addition, contact the leaders of Silver City’s municipal government and have a meeting at 8 am.”
Soon.
Dawn arrived.
A meeting was held in the Silver City Municipal Building.
Unlike before, Chen Jingzhou, not the municipal leaders, chaired the meeting today.
At the meeting, Chen Jingzhou brought up the issue of the “City God Temple Ruins.”
He said, “Make arrangements for the residents living within two kilometers of Silver City Institute of Technology to be relocated and resettled… This must be done quickly, and be prepared. If the expansion of the Ghost Realm is faster than expected, then the relocation and resettlement of the people in a larger area will be necessary!”
Upon hearing this, the city leaders couldn’t help but smile bitterly, “Director Chen, the Silver City Institute of Technology is located on Academy Road, with schools, hospitals, and residential buildings nearby… This is a massive project. Our city’s finances are strained, and we’re afraid we won’t be able to raise so much money in a short period of time.”
Chen Jingzhou’s face darkened, and he said, “Human lives are of utmost importance. I’ll take care of the financial issues!”
Someone else said, “Even if we have money, what about the houses? We can’t just give these people money and let them sleep on the street, can we?”
“There have been so many property developments in Silver City over the years, with nearly 15% of the buildings vacant. All you have to do is contact the developers directly.”
“What if developers start hiking up prices and raising the rents?”
“Also, there are the residents… If we relocate and resettle them now, some people will undoubtedly want more compensation, and some will refuse to move. What should we do about these troublemakers?”
Bang!
Chen Jingzhou slammed the table angrily and stood up, saying, “During special times, special measures are required. Do you municipal officials really not know how to solve these minor problems? I’ll give you 24 hours to come up with a perfect solution. As for the troublemakers… Just explain the situation to them, and if they don’t want to move, let them be!”
………
At the same time.
Wu City.
Xu Yang, Ma Long, Wang Defa, and Xu Zhiyuan drank from 4 a.m. until 9 a.m.
Moutai bottles were scattered all over the floor.
Ma Long had been completely drunk and unconscious, lying on the ground, yelling that he wanted to take Wang Defa to “Purifying the Mind in the Moral Realm.”
“Purifying the Mind in the Moral Realm?”
Xu Zhiyuan was puzzled and wondered, “Old Wang, is this the secret cultivation method of your lineage? It sounds interesting.”
Wang Defa, with a straight face and fearlessly, bluffed, “It’s just a small technique, not really significant… all right, Xu Yang, let’s stop drinking for today. My disciple is drunk, and it’s the perfect time for Purifying the Mind in the Moral Realm. I need to take him there as soon as possible.”
Picking up Ma Long.
Wang Defa threw his disciple into the backseat of his Mercedes-Benz.
He then got into the driver’s seat, stepped on the gas, and disappeared down the street.
Inside the funeral shop, Xu Yang said, “Grandpa, let’s go for breakfast… We’ll go to Uncle Ma’s house. He’ll be thrilled to see you’ve returned!”
Xu Zhiyuan stroked his beard and laughed, “I haven’t had Uncle Ma’s buns and fried dough sticks in over four years… I do miss them.”
At this moment, the sun had already risen outside.
The whole Wu City was bathed in light again.
On the streets, those Yin spirits and malevolent beings had disappeared without a trace, hiding who knows where.
Vehicles passed by on the streets, with pedestrians and electric bikes rushing on the sidewalks.
Most of the shop doors were open, especially Uncle Ma’s breakfast shop across the street. Inside the several dozen square meters of the shop, many customers were lining up to buy breakfast. In the big pot at the door, deep-fried dough sticks were being fried, and steaming baskets were placed on the stove, filled with Uncle Ma’s famous “large buns.”
Uncle Ma’s wife was packing buns, fried dough sticks, and porridge for customers inside the store.
Uncle Ma was outside, scooping up fried dough sticks and cutting them into small pieces for customers.
“Uncle Ma!”
Xu Yang walked over and called out, “Uncle Ma, look who’s here!”
“Little Xu!”
Old Ma looked up, smiled, and said, “Who…”
As he uttered that word, the smile on his face froze and turned into fear. Trembling, he pointed at Xu Zhiyuan and exclaimed, “You… you… ghost!!!”
Throwing the fried dough sticks onto the cutting board, Old Ma crawled into the store and shouted, “Wife, there’s a ghost! A ghost in broad daylight! Take a look… Old Xu, Old Xu is back!”
With his shout,
the other neighboring shops were also alarmed.
These shops were Xu Zhiyuan’s “old neighbors.” Some of them had been there since Xu Zhiyuan had first opened the funeral shop. The owners came rushing out, and upon seeing Xu Zhiyuan, they were first shocked and then afraid.
One by one, they muttered words like “seeing a ghost” under their breath.
It puzzled the pedestrians who couldn’t help but gather around.
And then…
They recognized Xu Yang too.
Seeing that the situation was getting out of hand, Xu Yang quickly said, “Let’s just disperse, everyone, disperse… My grandfather just took a trip back home from the Underworld Palace. There’s nothing to see here.”
Upon hearing this, the crowd grew even larger.
“Ghost!”
“Oh my God!”
“Is it really a ghost?”
Some people even took out their phones and tried to take a picture of the old man.
“It looks like we won’t be having these buns… Xu Yang, I’ll go back to the shop first. Please bring me a fried dough stick and a large eggplant bun when you’re done!”
Xu Zhiyuan shook his head, speaking to Old Ma and some familiar faces, “I’ll be staying at the funeral shop for a couple of days. You’re all welcome to come over and chat once you’re done with your business.”
With that,
Whoosh!
He transformed into a wisp of Yin energy and returned to the funeral shop.
Only then did the crowd gradually disperse, and Xu Yang, after buying fried dough sticks and buns, returned to the shop just as Bai Wei and Wang Lin hurriedly arrived by car.
As soon as they got out of the car,
Bai Wei first expressed her gratitude to Xu Yang for helping her make a breakthrough.
Xu Yang waved his hand and said, “It was just a small gesture, nothing worth mentioning. Besides, it’s all your own effort. Your realm and cultivation were already there; I just let you experience the great terror between life and death, stimulating your potential.”
“By the way…”
“Why did you two have free time to come here today?”
Wang Lin and Bai Wei were among the first “cultivators” Xu Yang had met.
The two of them used to contact Xu Yang often, especially Wang Lin, who came to the funeral shop almost every day. But as Xu Yang’s cultivation and status grew higher and higher, Wang Lin didn’t dare to be as presumptuous as before.
Hearing Xu Yang’s question, Wang Lin said, “Master Xu, many things happened last night in Da Xia. I guessed that you might not know, so I specifically came over to tell you about it.”
He briefly described the major events that occurred last night.
When Xu Yang heard that Wang Hou had used the national fortune to slay dozens of ghosts and spirits with a single slash, he couldn’t help but frown and said, “With Minister Wang’s strength, he had to rely on the nation’s fortune… Could it be that the ghosts besieging Kyoto have Ghost Immortals among them?”
Wang Lin nodded and said, “According to the information I know… there might be more than one Ghost Immortal besieging Kyoto!”
“Interesting!”
Xu Yang tapped the table and said, “This indicates that this time the Ghost Gate has opened… Ghost Immortals have entered the human world. So… where are the remaining Ghost Immortals?”