Infinite Professions

"Divine Judgment Hall!"

"The City God was once the God of Judge, fair and impartial, with an iron face devoid of favoritism."

"Back then, the Red Lotus Temple, driven by sinister desires, crazily imprisoned and harmed women, and even leveraged the power of the Buddhist Sect to attempt to hide the truth from the world."

"At that time, the City God, who was the Judge of the Punishment Department, acted with righteousness, first infiltrating the lair to slay the Red Lotus Demon Monk, and then confronting the false Buddhists in court, ultimately eradicating the Red Lotus Temple and avenging the wronged."

"The Emperor should be judged the same as commoners if he breaks the law; so was the City God, impartial and selfless, though the Qinghe Song Clan were his descendants during his lifetime, none were spared if they crossed the line, just like that Song Guan, truly the God of Justice, the God of Righteousness, the God of Judgment!"

"Judging the Yin at night and the Yang by day!"

"Impartial with an iron face, supremely fair and just!"

"It is precisely because of the righteous decree from the City God that Jinyang enjoys today’s bright skies and clear heavens."

"..."

"This is Ziwei Hall!"

"The City God is the incarnation of the Emperor of the North Pole and the Celestial Center, commanding all the stars, the Lord of the Celestial Center, and the Sovereign of Star Fate Numerology."

"In the City God Temple, among the four divisions of True Gods, there exists a Star Division controlling the power of the stars."

"The City God is the Ziwei Emperor Star, supreme and unmatched, instilling awe across the universe!"

"This is the Left Minister of Wenchang, Ye Judge, originally an assisting deity of the Ziwei Star, reincarnated many years ago as the Mountain Master Ye Yunxiao of Huangshan Academy, famously known as ’a singular feather among the eternal skies’, after death, regained his divine position as the City God’s Civil Judge."

"This is the Right Minister of Martial Arts, Song Judge, the grand Dharma Protector of the City God..."

"..."

"This is the Creation Hall!"

"The City God is also the God of Creation, overseeing the growth of all things, blessing bountiful fields, thriving livestock, growing families, and the sun, moon, stars, plants, mountains, rivers, lakes, oceans, wind, rain, thunder, and lightning, all within his command."

"This is the Destruction Hall!"

"The destroyer marks the end; with the cycles of heaven and earth, there is life and there is destruction. The City God is both the God of Creation and the God of Destruction, controlling life and death, overseeing reincarnation, and the birth and annihilation of all things are within his thoughts."

"This is Shenxiao Hall!"

"Shenxiao, the ultimate realm of heaven, embodies the five thunders, harmonizing with the celestial heart."

"The City God is also the God of Thunder, governing the five thunders, overseeing all laws, with Shenxiao Thunder Division among the City God’s four divisions, enforcing thunderbolt righteous law, judging all beings, sweeping away evil demons, and maintaining the heavenly order!"

"This is Taiyang Hall..."

"This is Taiyin Hall..."

"This is Fire Virtue Hall..."

"This is Shuide Hall..."

"This is Emperor’s Hall..."

"This is the Earth Hall..."

Within the temple, halls line up one after another, with thriving incense offerings, reaching the zenith.

Outside the halls, the high heavens stand tall, performing the ritual of Luo Tian to honor the revered City God.

This is the portrayal of the City God Temple, as well as the entire Jinyang Prefecture.

A prefecture covering tens of thousands of miles, with millions of Jinyang people; even with divine power to mobilize, it’s impossible for everyone to gather in the Prefecture City to attend the City God Temple fair.

But not being able to reach the Prefecture City does not mean one cannot participate in the festival; each town and county, each village and township has its own City God temples, each holding their own rites, while families also worship various divine portraits and idols, making it possible to pray to the deities without leaving home.

This is how the grand festival of Jinyang operates, offering incense and prayers.

The rising incense smoke drifts into the sky, reaching the vast unknown.

Eventually...

Lanruo Ghost Realm, Otherworldly Demon Realm.

"Boom!!!"

Though the Six Great Ghost Gods remain vigilant, guarding against an all-out counterattack, their offensive doesn’t decelerate much, each move still threatening.

Outnumbered and besieged, with his golden body breached, Shen Hex still does not retreat, relying on divine power to support the Twelve Celestial Gates, resisting the lethal assault from six directions.

Fighting fiercely till now, under the darkened heavens and earth, three days have passed.

Three days gone and yet, the Six Great Ghost Gods still have not succeeded in their attack.

This is quite normal.

Once a cultivator reaches a certain level, their sense of time diverges from that of normal humans; they may form tens of thousands of thoughts in a split second, or experience in a cave for seven days what equals a thousand years outside, expanding and compressing time drastically.

The deities are more so, not only endowed with immense divine power but also accumulating incense offerings, especially these gods with a history of thousands of years, rich in incense silver coins, all transformed into divine power during battle.

Thus, in a battle between deities, if evenly matched, it inevitably leads to a prolonged struggle and stalemate before an outcome emerges.

Even though the current situation is not entirely evenly matched, Shen Hex can barely withstand the six-direction assault by channeling divine power into the Twelve Celestial Gates.

The Six Great Ghost Gods, despite possessing the utmost moves that could shatter the Celestial Gate, were cautious of Shen Hex’s desperation, afraid he might take them down with him in a blaze of glory. Thus, they were not in a hurry to end it with a decisive strike but chose instead to deplete him through a cautious strategy, ensuring a secured victory.

This strategy posed no issue, as the situation was already clear. Shen Hex’s Golden Body was broken, trapped within the Ghostly Demon Realm, with no power to borrow, no retreat possible. Unless he could break through the encirclement, his death was certain.

In such a situation, there was no need for hasty actions; a methodical depletion was the most sensible and safest strategic choice.

The advantage lay with us, and through wear and tear, the opponent’s defeat was merely a matter of time.

So it was...

"Earth-Piercing Seal!"

The Jinling Prefect launched another attack, the Earth-Piercing Seal descending with a roar.

Among the Six Great Ghost Gods, the forces of Jinling and Weishui were undeniably the strongest and took on the primary offensive role.

As for the Lanruo Old Demon and the Three Religions of Daoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism, the former was a demonic entity heavily restrained and unable to fully exert itself, while the latter were newly appointed Junior Third Grade gods, with shallow foundations and limited depth. Though they had used the Supreme Destiny Divine Light earlier to shatter Shen Hex’s Merit Golden Body, they themselves were greatly depleted in Primordial Qi.

Thus at this moment, these four Junior Third Grade Ghost Gods could only serve as side distractions; their attacks were present but not critical.

This was also the reason Shen Hex was able to endure for so long.

If these Six Great Ghost Gods were all at the true Third Grade peak in full strength, even the twelve Celestial Gates could not have lasted until now.

But currently...

"Bang!!!"

A tremendous sound erupted as the twelve Celestial Gates blocked the Earth-Piercing Gold Seal.

Though withstanding the strong attack, Shen Hex’s steps still faltered, ripples rolling around him as the Celestial Gate Qi Shield violently shook, breaking through five layers one after another, with no sign of immediate recovery, seemingly depleted of strength.

"He can’t hold on any longer!"

"Gather strength once more!"

"The river surges into the sea!"

Upon witnessing this, the Six Directions were urged into action, with the Weishui River Dragon Monarch striking fiercely, a palm striking forth as the river surged eastward towards Shen Hex with mighty waves.

"Boom!!!"

With a loud explosion, amidst the rumbling quake, the river dashed against the rocks, shattering into a sky full of white waves.

But again, the yet unrecovered Celestial Gate Qi Shield was breached through six layers of defense, leaving only the final barrier in a perilous state.

"Hand over your life!"

Seizing this opportunity, the remaining four Ghost Gods immediately acted, with the Venerable of the Pure Lotus Sect, bearing the guise of an elderly White Brow Monk, revealing the Vajra Fury appearance, advancing mightily to launch a direct attack on Shen Hex.

The Six Great Ghost Gods, each with their own motivation against Shen Hex.

The Weishui formed ties of cause and effect, harboring enmity that obstructs the path.

Jinling acted for gain, engaging in the struggle for the True Dragon.

Lanruo, a pawn caught in the crossfire, affected by the flames of the city gate.

Finally, among the Three Religions of Daoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism, the Daoist Sect’s Celestial Heart and the Buddhist Sect’s Pure Lotus bore blood feuds, while the Confucian Sect’s Donglin sought alliance with the Northern Lands, with ambitions for the Hidden Dragon.

Which of these motives was the strongest?

It was indeed from the Pure Lotus Sect!

The Daoist Technique of the Celestial Heart spread across north and south; although the Northern Emperor Sect and Qingping Temple originated from the same lineage, there was little camaraderie. This time, their presence was partly driven by the Northern Hidden Dragon’s influence and partly by orders from the Celestial Heart Ancestral Court, with aspirations to assert themselves as the orthodox of the sect.

It was different for the Pure Lotus Sect. Huide held significant esteem within the sect, along with numerous peers sharing close bonds, all eager to avenge the blood feud with the East Lotus Temple.

At this moment, the Arhat of the Pure Lotus Sect surged forward, revealing the Vajra Fury appearance, aiming for a desperate strike.

Thus...

"Bang!!!"

A tremendous noise, the final defense shattered.

Shen Hex’s feet faltered, standing on air, his hand pressing on his chest, releasing the fury of the Vajra.

With a cold gaze, though calm, a trace of red appeared at the corner of his mouth.

Blood spurted, the golden light faded, the body of the Divine Being suffering its first wound.

"Great Sun Lotus Fire!"

Seeing this, the Venerable of the Pure Lotus Sect intensified the Buddha Power, the Vajra Fury Palm trembling once more, poised to unleash the Great Sun Annihilation Fire.

But unexpectedly...

"Boom!!!"

A blaze flared up, the destructive might rebounding on the adversary.

"Ah!!!"

In agony, the destructive divine flames rebounded on the Buddha body, unable to withstand it, the Venerable of the Pure Lotus Sect was sent flying by the fiery waves, spraying golden sap along the way, the brilliance shattering, suffering heavy injury.