"The Temple Master is not in the Main Hall today; most likely, the Suffering Scholar is guarding him. Force through Seven Incense Sticks, and he should be hiding within this large house."
The Painter first cupped his fists toward Zhou Xuan, then turned to Gu Ling and Li Chengfeng, shouting: "Divine Communication, Heavenly God Scholar, heed my command! Protect my divine form, form the Three Talents Tao Array, and locate the City God Temple Master."
The City God and Bone Elder are both branches of the Taoist sect, their incense methods influenced by Taoist practices.
Gu Ling and Li Chengfeng received the order and forged an unspoken understanding.
Li Chengfeng walked to the southwest corner of the house, taking the southwest "Earth" position.
Gu Ling stood in the southeast corner, taking the "Wind" position.
The Painter stood at the northern corner of the house, taking the "Water" position.
Earth, Wind, and Water—Three Talents entered their positions. The Tao Bell inside the house rang long and deep, greatly empowering the Painter’s incantation.
The Painter pinched a seal with his right hand, raising it to his brow, and began to chant the incantation slowly:
"Ancient temple as face, fresh blood as garment,
Unconsecrated, it’s but a clay house; consecrated, it wields divine skills,
Temple’s left listens to the netherworld, temple’s right hears the mortal realm,
You are born of the temple, nameless, without surname,
Now your left hand carries justice, your right hand grasps righteousness,
Bearing the name, punishing evil ghosts, shielded by sword, banner, seal across the four directions,
Divine weapons blazing, righteousness supporting the Heavenly Gang..."
This incantation is called "City God Leaving Temple Technique." Years ago, Bone Elder used this technique to splatter fresh blood across major temples, resonating with wish power to birth City Gods.
Later on, if a City God committed crimes, hidden away using magic artifacts, Bone Elder would recite this technique to draw them out.
As the incantation proceeded, three links emerged from the Temple Master within the underground Taoist temple.
The links were locked tight; the Temple Master sensed them and sighed deeply once again.
"It’s over. Everything is over."
The Temple Master’s heart sank into despair, recalling the pride he had felt when taking the helm as City God’s Master, bestowed with the title of "Temple Master."
At that time, he thought himself to be stepping atop all of Mingjiang Prefecture.
Especially when he assumed the role of "Sun Controller" of Mingjiang’s Traveling God Department, this feeling reached its pinnacle.
In the Temple Master’s eyes, it was nothing more than layers upon layers, steps toward the peak of the incense road.
What he spoke, what he thought, and what he professed—those were justice.
And righteousness, what is it?
His interests—they were righteousness.
A boy who once slew evils ghosts had now become one.
faced with either death or the fate of a prisoner.
No matter the destiny, he refused to accept it.
The pride of yesteryear could not allow him to calmly embrace inevitable defeat.
"The final bloody battle."
The Temple Master opened his eyes within the Taoist temple, blood vessels bursting until his eyes turned to bleeding orbs.
"You stubbornly resist, unyielding still."
The Painter sensed the Temple Master’s last ferocious intent and harshly scolded.
"I break into Seven Incense Sticks, using the City God Taoist Temple to fight you all."
Within the underground Taoist temple, the Temple Master’s flesh melted rapidly, harnessing the power of his own blood and flesh to elevate the incense to Seven Sticks.
Under the Seven Incense Sticks, the Temple Master raised both hands high, and the entire large house transformed into a Taoist temple bathed in divine radiance.
Zhou Xuan, standing within the large house, stood within the Temple Master’s City God Taoist Temple.
The aura of divinity, like a massive grinding wheel, crushed everyone within the house.
Fortunately, Zhou Xuan possessed the Sukuna Hand, bearing the Heavenly God Aura, rendering him less affected by the divine presence. But Lv Mingkun and Lao Dao Bazi suffered greatly under the crushing force.
Each time the Divine Stone Mill ground over them, the two felt as if their flesh was about to be violently torn apart.
Zhou Xuan hoisted Lao Dao Bazi onto one shoulder, his other arm wrapping around his fifth senior brother’s shoulder, alleviating much of their pain.
"Temple Master, you’ve betrayed the trust of the Bone Elder Association and the City God."
Facing the Divine Stone Mill within the Taoist temple, the Painter felt no pain, only deep sorrow and anger.
The City God’s divine name was "Shui Yong," whose divine seat had been replaced countless times over two millennia.
The disciples of the halls would slay the Old Gods, becoming New Gods, only to be slain themselves by more powerful disciples... this seemed to form an endless cycle.
Yet no matter how many times "Shui Yong" had been replaced, the Painter’s greatest admiration remained for the first Shui Yong.
In his heart, the first Shui Yong was the most divine of all Gods.
After the darkest battle in Jing Country’s early history, twenty-four Gods and Alien Ghosts ascended to the Heavenly Dome.
Most of the Gods and Alien Ghosts no longer cared for the human world, but Shui Yong’s eyes held human justice, his heart cherished the living beings of the realm. He left behind his four magic artifacts—the "Armor, Sword, Banner, Seal"—in the human world.
Beyond the artifacts, he severed his most significant Dharma Body, leaving it in the human world.
The Dharma Body became the City God Temple.
The City God Temple divided into three parts: City God Taoist Temple, Shen Miao Qingfeng, and Temple Gate Stele.
The divided Dharma Body was inherited by three major masters of each generation of City Gods.
After inheritance, they became the Temple Master, Qingfeng, and Stele King.
"Shui Yong left behind four magic artifacts and severed the Taoist Temple’s Dharma Body to make City Gods the demon-slaying sword of the human world. Yet you’ve used it against the Bone Elder, committing vile acts?"
The Painter’s rage reached its peak, and he tore apart his own chest and abdominal cavity, spilling blood and entrails across the ground.
Gu Ling, using his left hand as a blade, severed his right hand and foot, tossing the dismembered limbs into the Three Talents Tao Array.
As ancient members of the Suffering Sect, their methods were excessively brutal; Li Chengfeng, belonging to the more refined Praying Sect, acted with much more grace. He controlled his lantern, letting it fly into the array’s center.
Blood, lantern, dismembered limbs, and viscera propelled the Tao Array, causing it to expand and collide with the City God Taoist Temple.
Within the large house, the sharp sound of metal and stone clashing erupted violently.
Each collision caused the Temple Master’s divine soul to waver.
Having already depleted his flesh to elevate the incense to Seven Sticks, the collisions now left his soul trembling, making the control of the City God Taoist Temple unstable and the divine aura intermittent.