Chapter 260
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Chapter 260: That’s My Silver, That’s My Money!
Mu Lin’s ferocious bloodlust came as a complete shock to Commander Mi.
After recovering from his surprise, the commander hurriedly argued, "We can’t slaughter them all. Ping An Ancient Street has too many residents. We might fail to suppress them, and countless casualties would surely occur during the fight…"
"Any deaths would be Ping An Ancient Street’s doing. Why should I care?"
"Besides, if you can’t eliminate them all – I can."
Without letting Commander Mi respond, Mu Lin waved dismissively. "I know you fear accountability. Hand everything over to me. I’ll assume full responsibility for all consequences."
This blatant power grab would have met fierce resistance from Commander Mi before. Even comrades competed for influence.
But Mu Lin’s explosive actions had already thrown Ping An Ancient City into turmoil. By seizing control now, he’d shoulder the main blame. After brief consideration, Commander Mi nodded.
"Since you insist, I’ll withhold further counsel. But heed this – don’t underestimate Ping An Ancient Street. While the youths appear weak, vicious old monsters lurk among them. Some shops conceal formidable hidden assets."
Mu Lin chuckled without concern. "Those fossils wouldn’t dare touch me. Deputy Commander Ji watches from above. Should they strike, she’ll gain perfect grounds to demonstrate her authority."
"What?"
Commander Mi gaped momentarily before exclaiming, "You’re acting so recklessly because you knew the Deputy Commander was observing?!"
"Obviously. I’m not an idiot."
Mu Lin’s initial plan involved establishing the City God Realm in Ping An Ancient Town through measured power-sharing – daytime governance by officials, nighttime rule by the City God, dividing mortal and supernatural jurisdictions.
But after scouting Ping An Ancient Street, he discovered the Yin Eight Sect’s entrenched corruption. They dominated Ping An Ancient Town, suppressing government forces while rejecting all outsiders.
This forced Mu Lin’s strategy to shift radically, though he originally remained cautious of hidden elders, intending to unite official and divine forces for joint governance.
Everything changed when Ji Hongyu arrived with overwhelming Oppressive Aura.
"Prudence? If I stayed cautious with Deputy Commander Ji present, her coming would be pointless!"
With this formidable backing, Mu Lin embraced aggression.
Though understanding better now, Commander Mi pressed one final concern: "Deputy Commander Ji might not act in time. Aren’t you afraid Young Master Bai Qi might suddenly slaughter you?"
"Men die when killed. You’ve only got one life."
Mu Lin’s smile turned mysterious. "Who claims I have only one life?"
In this extraordinary world, multiple lives existed. More crucially – had Mu Lin’s true body even entered Ping An Ancient County?
After seizing power, Mu Lin did not cease his movements.
At the first opportunity, he anchored his City God Realm.
—Under normal circumstances, Mu Lin would need to first construct the Yin City God Temple, obtain official recognition from the dynasty for the city god, then perform grand rituals witnessed by officials and citizens.
Only through such procedures could the City God Realm become fully fused with the land.
But these weren’t normal times.
Mu Lin’s city god manifestation hadn’t been dynasty-appointed, instead coalescing from gathered human fortune.
Thus unbound, he could anchor the City God Realm wherever he chose.
With a mere thought, the city god became tethered to Ping An Ancient County.
“Hum!”
The instant they merged, every resident felt the world shudder. Hearts clenched as if their collective safety now hinged on this pivotal event.
Truth rang through.
As humanity’s recognized legitimate deity, the city god’s emergence drew all human race fortune through the City God’s Law seal toward him.
The power of the spiritual veins followed.
“Hmmm…”
Human fortune mingled with spiritual vein energy inside the body of the city god, morphing into that special force—divine power.
This transformation elevated the realm into a divine domain.
Earth veins, fortune, and divine law combined to shift the city god into a shadowy limbo between worlds.
Where emptiness reigned, the unfolding divine domain birthed land—Yin soil—in this thug-gray space between Yin realm and mortal world.
This nascent City God Realm remained small, requiring Mu Lin’s continuous expenditure of divine power and earth vein energy to expand.
Even when developed, his Yin realm stayed barren wilderness.
Tradition dictated Mu Lin should now guard the human race, gather fortune and worship, slowly amassing divine power to nurture his domain.
With enough divine power, structures might eventually rise—city god’s temple, prisons, barracks. Yin soldiers, ghost officials, civil and military judges, day and night wandering spirits could manifest.
But such growth demanded centuries.
Mu Lin lacked such patience.
Fortunately, patience proved unnecessary.
"In my past life, city gods stayed rooted for millennia because they belonged to a rigid system."
Systems brought advantages—unsolvable problems could be delegated upwards.
The County City Gods reported to the State City God, who then reported to the Governor City God.
Even if the Capital City God couldn’t resolve issues, the Yin Court judges and celestial armies above them still could.
This multi-layered hierarchy ensured city gods in the past faced minimal risks.
Killing a city god meant rebellion against authority – a capital offense punishable by clan extermination. In mythical terms, punishments grew harsher: souls faced eternal torment in the Eighteen Layers of Hell with no hope of reincarnation.
Essentially, becoming a city god in his past life made Mu Lin a government official.
While official positions offered security, anyone familiar with bureaucracy knew advancement proved difficult without connections or extraordinary talent. Higher positions resembled fixed slots – no vacancies meant endless stagnation.
Official status also meant Mu Lin couldn’t keep all resources produced in his territory.
In that mythical world, city gods surrendered over half their collected worship offerings to higher authorities.
Without promotion prospects yet still paying tribute, most city gods remained trapped in dead-end posts.
But here, Mu Lin stood as the sole city god, freely using all his territory’s resources.
No higher positions existed above him – not State City Gods, Governor City Gods, nor even Yin Court’s Yin Emperor could block his rise if he proved capable.
Under these circumstances, Mu Lin’s advancement required no tedious waiting.
"Yet fortune and misfortune intertwine. Independence means bearing all dangers alone."
"This world lacks existing Yin Court structures. I must build everything myself – the City God Realm, underworld domains, even hell itself."
Such challenges explained why Mu Lin planned to claim the land of Heaven’s Funeral rather than oppose joining the Demon Exorcism Division.
Building hell from scratch proved too arduous and time-consuming – better to repurpose the existing forbidden place for temporary use.
Joining the Demon Exorcism Division provided much-needed backing.
Establishing the City God Realm required Mu Lin to protect citizens for gathering human fortune and faith.
This inevitably meant confronting monsters and evil spirits.
While fearless against peers, Mu Lin remained vulnerable when older evils attacked. There were limits to overcoming power gaps.
But Demon Exorcism Division membership changed everything. Its authority made powerful spirits think twice before targeting him.
…
When the Yin Court’s City God Realm fully materialized, Mu Lin prioritized summoning over constructing his city god’s temple.
Channeling Ping An Ancient County’s earth veins and human fortune through the Beiwai Army’s tattered battle flag relic, he summoned spectral warriors from history.
"Heavenly powers, illuminate this mortal plane…"
As Mu Lin chanted prayers and manifested the lord’s altar from his dantian, Beiwai Army spirits materialized in the physical world.
Notably, the lord’s altar could manifest within the Yin Court. Whether due to This Place’s compatibility or Mu Lin’s rising value, the revealed altar stood nine zhang tall – resembling a miniature palace radiating ancient majesty. Its weathered stone surfaces bore an Oppressive Aura that made observers instinctively wary.
At this moment, the tattered battle flag of the Beiwai Army stood like a soul-summoning banner on the altar. Shadowy imprints of Beiwei Army spirits kept projecting from the flag.
"Buzz…"
These projections started as mere faint imprints.
Normally, Mu Lin would need to inject vitality of the living into their bodies to make them fully materialize and gain combat abilities.
But now, the human fortune and spiritual power of Ping An Ancient City handled this process instead.
With these energies sustaining them, Mu Lin could keep summoning spirit soldiers endlessly.
"Buzz…"
As more spirits appeared beneath the altar, the Beiwei Army’s presence grew heavier and more formidable.
Soon Mu Lin commanded over five hundred Beiwei spirits, with more still joining.
The city god’s combat power also rose sharply as Mu Lin fused with Ping An Ancient County’s spiritual veins and human fortune – reaching the Condensing Essence stage to become his strongest asset.
Crucially, within Ping An Ancient County, the city god drew power from local spiritual veins. Not infinite energy, but far beyond ordinary limits.
"Personal spiritual energy can’t match heaven-and-earth’s reserves, even when controlling just one county."
"Actually that’s not small at all."
A county contained both main city and surrounding towns with villages. By this measure, Ping An Ancient County held decent territory.
But this power came with fatal weakness – the city god only maintained Condensing Essence strength within the county.
Leaving caused rapid power loss.
At sufficient distance, he’d become just another ghost cultivator with minor tricks.
"Divine practice surpasses Qi Practitioners in some ways, but has greater flaws."
…
Mu Lin’s gloom didn’t last. He’d expected this limitation before becoming city god.
Moreover, he pursued both immortal and divine paths now.
Soon he found new cause for joy – Ping An Ancient County where his god-form resided wasn’t spiritually barren.
"These spiritual veins are rich enough to sustain a State City God! Only drawback is their Yin alignment makes them inhospitable for living humans."
"But perfect for me. The Yin Court’s deities and Yin soldiers and ghost officials thrive on Yin energy."
Yin-aligned veins were actually ideal for city gods.
Yet one issue troubled him – he controlled less than 30% of This Place’s spiritual veins, mostly scattered minor veins and Spirit Springs.
The main spiritual vein beneath Ping An Ancient Street remained firmly held by local shopkeepers and managers who kept exploiting it.
Mu Lin’s face darkened.
"That’s my spiritual vein! My treasure!"
