The City God

What did the official report say?

It stated that white funeral banners stretched for miles, demons ran rampant, and a mysterious great demon had descended upon the world. The City God’s soldiers and generals were unable to resist, suffering countless casualties.

Reading about it through the abstract text of a report didn't truly convey just how dire the situation was...

But now, having seen the scene in person...

Su Qing found that the situation here was far worse than what had been described in the documents.

Furthermore, the phrase 'white funeral banners stretching for miles' was not an empty boast or an exaggerated metaphor; it was the literal truth.

One could only wonder just how many people had died here.

Su Qing sighed softly in her heart. After a moment of thought, she said, "Let's go. We'll find the City God first and ask. I wonder if the City God is even still alive..."

Su Tingtong looked at the surroundings without much feeling.

She rarely visited the mortal world and felt little connection to mortals. Moreover, she didn't have much of a concept of death, so to her, this was merely a peculiar spectacle.

To her, whether it was people or objects, everything was essentially meaningless. The only ones she truly cared about were those two people.

As for Yudie, she had traveled many places with Su Qing, so her feelings for mortals were naturally deeper.

Consequently, her heart stirred slightly upon seeing this sight.

"The City God... should be fine, right? After all, she managed to deliver the report to Mother," Su Tingtong said, stroking her chin as she turned to look at Su Qing.

Su Qing shook her head and said, "I don't know about that... It takes time for reports to be delivered. Even though the speed at which I process documents is very fast, it still takes a day or two for them to reach my hands. So, I'm not entirely sure... what the City God's current situation is."

It always took some time for a document to arrive, and Su Qing could do nothing about that. Even though her procedures were quite streamlined, there was still a necessary process.

Besides, even ignoring the paperwork...

Even flying directly to her domain took time.

And matters changed every single day.

Though, most of the time, they changed for the worse.

"Is that so? Then let's hurry and take a look; then we'll know," Su Tingtong said with a beaming smile, not appearing very worried.

Su Qing understood her daughter's personality perfectly and knew she didn't have a clear realization of the gravity of death or the severity of these events.

However, she didn't mind.

After all, changing a person or a situation required time.

She still had plenty of time to slowly change her daughter.

Su Qing and the others moved quickly.

In a short while, they arrived before the City God Temple.

The temple was large, and the Incense Power seemed decent.

Contrary to Su Qing's expectations, after so many things had happened here, the Incense Power had not diminished; instead, it was growing stronger.

From this, it was clear that the City God Temple must have done a lot during this period...

And they had indeed saved some people—perhaps even a large portion of them.

Otherwise, the Incense Power here wouldn't be so substantial.

However, this also meant that the City God was likely still alive.

At most, they had lost some soldiers.

Su Qing felt a sense of relief.

She walked quickly into the main hall.

Without Su Qing needing to call out, the City God immediately manifested from the statue.

Upon seeing Su Qing, the City God hurried forward to bow and said, "Greetings, Azure Spirit Sovereign! You've finally arrived."

In truth, the City God was quite surprised. She had thought that, at most, someone would be sent to handle it...

She hadn't expected Su Qing to come personally.

However, this was not a bad thing. On the contrary, she could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

If it had been other immortals, they might not have been able to resolve the matter properly.

But if the Sovereign had come herself, no matter how great the trouble, she felt the Sovereign would certainly be able to solve it.

After all, everyone had witnessed Sovereign Su's strength and capability.

During the time Great Emperor Zhenwu was away, it was entirely thanks to the Sovereign that the various affairs of the Northern Continent were upheld.

Only...

Now that the Sovereign had come in person, while the pressure regarding the crisis was lessened, the pressure of facing her superior was much greater.

After all, the pressure of facing an official several ranks higher was different from facing an official at the very top.

Of course, if asked which pressure he would rather face...

He would naturally prefer the pressure of facing the Sovereign.

Su Qing watched the City God bow and nodded slightly, cupping her hands in return.

Now that she had been in this position for a long time, she understood that she needed to maintain a certain level of prestige. If she were too approachable, it would be detrimental to intimidating her subordinates. Therefore, when it was time to put on an air of authority, she had to do so.

"No need for formalities. I've come to discuss official business!" Su Qing's tone was calm, carrying a hint of the majesty of a superior. "Let's get straight to the point!"

Seeing Su Qing so decisive and efficient, the City God nodded quickly.

He wanted nothing more than that.

After all, the sooner this matter ended, the sooner the people could return to a better life.

As the City God of this place, he naturally couldn't bear to see the people under his jurisdiction suffer.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have fought so hard to save them, nor would he have earned such devotion from the populace.

"Of course, of course," the City God said hurriedly.

"Tell me the specific details of what happened! Your description in the report was a bit too general and brief. It's difficult for me to discern the current situation clearly, so I need you to explain things in more detail and tell me exactly what stage the situation has reached. Also... about those great demons," Su Qing said as she walked toward the exit of the hall.

This wasn't a good place for a conversation, so Su Qing intended to go elsewhere to talk things over slowly.

The City God understood Su Qing's meaning and followed quickly.

At the same time, his mouth didn't stay idle as he rapidly explained the beginning and end of the matter to Su Qing.

"About ten days ago, billows of black smoke suddenly erupted from the mountain to the south. That smoke was exceptionally strange; anyone touched by it would lose their sanity and become savage and violent."

"At the time, once I noticed the black smoke, I naturally sent people to handle it immediately."

"However, by the time my people arrived, the black smoke had already begun to dissipate."

"So, at that time, we all thought the matter was resolved—that it was just a false alarm..."

"But who could have expected that just a few days later..."

"Many man-eating demons emerged from the forest to the south..."

"Those demons all shared a common trait: their bodies were shrouded in black qi. Although they were powerful, they had no sanity, acting like monsters that only knew how to hunt."

"At that point, I realized the trouble was significant and hurriedly dispatched my subordinates to deal with those demons and protect the safety of the people."

"However, even then, I still didn't anticipate how troublesome this matter would become, nor did I foresee how much worse it would get."

"Those powerful demons were quickly dealt with by my subordinates."

"But the more we killed, the more demons appeared..."

"Eventually, even more powerful demons began to emerge."

"Gradually, my subordinates began to find it difficult to cope."

"And it was at that moment that I realized just how dire the situation had become. I understood that this was no longer something a minor City God like myself could handle. That was when I began drafting the report to send to the Sovereign."

The City God explained the general course of events in one breath.

Su Qing understood most of it after listening.

She nodded, and after reaching a pavilion, she found a place to sit. "Then I'm curious, just how powerful is the great demon you mentioned? And have you ever fought it?"

This was the point Su Qing cared about most and was most worried about.

If the great demon's strength was too great, she might be able to handle it, but her daughter might be in danger.

Additionally, a battle with a great demon would definitely cause much more commotion than fighting other demons, which might affect the normal lives of the surrounding mortals.

The City God was momentarily stunned by Su Qing's question.

After a moment, he said, "I've only caught a glimpse of that great demon. Its strength is unfathomable, but it has never made a move... I only know that it can command those demons and control them to eat people."

Su Qing fell silent for a moment upon hearing this, then nodded. "In that case, I think I understand..."

What Su Qing understood, of course, was not the great demon's strength.

She understood that this City God's strength was limited and he simply couldn't see through the great demon at all.

Su Qing shook her head helplessly. "Never mind. If you can't see through it, then you can't. I'll have to kill that great demon eventually anyway. Its exact strength isn't particularly important. Also, do you know the specific source of that black qi? I'm curious about it and need to check the situation."

Hearing Su Qing's words, the City God fell silent for a short while, seemingly thinking about the exact location where the black qi appeared.

"It's in a cold spring on Apricot Flower Mountain to the south! When I sent people to handle the black mist earlier, they searched for a long time before finding the source of the mist in that cold spring. However, before they could deal with it, the black mist abruptly stopped," the City God said with a helpless smile, shaking his head as he answered.

Su Qing nodded. "In that case, I'll go check the source of the black qi first. This thing likely has a fundamental connection to this incident..."

"This... actually, I think so too. Only... the cold spring is no longer emitting black qi. I sent people to investigate, and they didn't find anything unusual," the City God said.

"You don't need to worry about that; I have my own reasons. Besides, since that black mist can confuse the minds of demons and animals... there's no reason it couldn't confuse yours as well. It's just that the way it affects you might be different."

Su Qing spoke calmly. The black qi generated by the omens of the Great Tribulation was very extraordinary and incredibly strange and overbearing. After all, even she had been caught off guard by it once. She continued:

"In short, there is definitely a problem with that cold spring... you just can't see it."

The black qi produced by the omens of the Great Tribulation was very special and bizarre. It wasn't something an ordinary immortal with no knowledge of the matter could handle.

Therefore, Su Qing didn't believe the City God when he said no problem was found...

If he didn't find it, it was simply because he couldn't.

The problem definitely existed.

Hearing this, the City God naturally didn't dare say more. He simply nodded and asked, "Then, do you need me to send someone to escort the Sovereign?"

Su Qing shook her head. "Just give me a map."

Su Qing didn't intend to let anyone escort her...

Because if something really happened, those weak guides would instead become a burden. So, she naturally didn't need them.

"Yes..." the City God nodded, showing no dissatisfaction.

She was the boss; whatever she said was surely right.

Su Qing said, "Oh, right, one more thing. Are you still fighting those demons?"

"My subordinates have been fighting those demons non-stop. The reason I am here is only to wait for the Sovereign to send someone... though I didn't expect it would be you, Sovereign," the City God answered truthfully, not daring to be negligent.

"Mm." Su Qing nodded. "In that case, take Su Tingtong along to deal with those demons. Her strength is quite decent; she can help relieve a lot of your pressure. Also, it will help draw some attention for me..."

Hearing this, Su Tingtong was a bit dissatisfied. She wanted to follow Su Qing to solve the heart of the trouble...

Unfortunately...

Su Qing didn't seem to intend to let her do that.

She was simply sending her to other, weaker places to train.

"Yes, Sovereign." The City God naturally had nothing to say; he would do whatever Su Qing told him.

As for Su Tingtong...

She curled her lip in slight dissatisfaction, but eventually agreed helplessly to go and deal with the lesser demons.

Seeing this, Su Qing smiled. "Don't worry. When I need you for other things, I'll tell you... I certainly won't let you be done after just this small task. Of course, if you can't even handle this small task well... then that's another matter."

Hearing this, Su Tingtong gave a light huff. "When I make my move, Mother just watch."