In a side hall of the City God Pavilion, Ji Yuan and the disciples of the Nine Profound Sect would typically meditate and regulate their breathing here.
The two inner sect disciples who had been hidden within the city had now rejoined the group; the situation no longer required them to scout outside for information. On the contrary, the two who were separated might very well be used by the mastermind to deliberately create some sort of trap.
Several days passed, and the incense smoke in the City God Pavilion gradually grew more potent, a sight unseen in a hundred years. At the current pace, another ten days to half a month might be enough to accumulate sufficient incense merit to awaken the sleeping City God and his officials.
It was on the sixth day that three cultivators arrived at the River God Temple of the Linfu River, delivering a letter bearing the divine seal of the Fu Yuan River Water God.
"They've finally arrived..." Ji Yuan murmured to himself, standing in the main hall after dismissing the messenger cultivators.
He cast a divine light, enveloping the pilgrims in the area, then turned and entered a space through the divine statue. This was a special space created by deities using incense merit, known in the outside world as the Divine Land, where they resided. With the River God's realm and cultivation, coupled with accumulated incense merit, the Divine Land had been opened to an area the size of a small courtyard. Legend had it that the Divine Lands of ancient innate beings were at least the size of a city, referred to by living beings as divine kingdoms.
Upon entering this place, Ji Yuan finally opened the letter in his hand. A page of paper then flew into the air on its own, emanating the divine might of the Fu Yuan River Water God. The content of the letter indicated that the Water God had learned of the events in the Linfu River and stated that since Ji Yuan had obtained the river's origin and occupied the River God Temple, he had inherited the divine position. According to the laws of the Great Yu Dynasty and the rules among mountain and river deities, he was now under the command of the Fu Yuan River Water Mansion and needed to report for duty in the near future.
After reading the contents, the letter returned to the envelope on its own, appearing unremarkable from the outside. Ji Yuan then sat down on a nearby armchair, the light in his eyes flashing repeatedly as his thoughts raced. For a superior deity to summon a subordinate for duty was not unusual, and since he controlled the origin of the Linfu River, he naturally fell under that Water God's jurisdiction. However, at this critical juncture, when the other party clearly knew what had happened here but had not sent anyone to investigate or verify the previous events, they instead demanded that he travel to the Fu Yuan River. This made Ji Yuan somewhat suspicious, prompting him to ponder the other party's intentions and even suspecting whether this River God was connected to the forces behind the scenes.
After much deliberation, Ji Yuan condensed the letter with incense merit, citing reasons such as his newly inherited divine position, the instability of his golden body, and the imminent threat of collapse. He then sent it out of the Divine Land to the messenger cultivator waiting outside the temple. Regardless of whether the Fu Yuan River Water God was friend or foe, it was best to be cautious at this time and not leave the Linfu County territory lightly. Only within this realm could his strength reach its peak; even a late-stage third-realm existence, while perhaps not victorious, would have the power to protect himself and delay until help arrived. Should he leave this place, no one knew what might happen on the journey, nor what situation he would face upon arriving at the Fu Yuan River's water mansion.
However, this meant he had to reconsider the attitude of the Fu Yuan River Water God. According to the court's laws and the rules among mountain and water deities, a superior deity could not turn a blind eye to the crimes of a subordinate deity within their jurisdiction, or to them being harmed by evildoers. Yet, two to three months had passed since the matter was revealed, and this Fu Yuan River Water God had remained indifferent, only sending a letter of summons today. No matter how one looked at it, there was an air of strangeness, making it difficult to fathom.
Since he could not understand it, Ji Yuan decided not to dwell on it. He closed the Divine Land, leaving only a wisp of divine sense within the divine statue. He then settled his mind and began to slowly comprehend the principles of the Dao imprinted in his soul light. This was the complete Dao principles contained within the origin of the Linfu River. Although it was merely an inconspicuous branch of a great Dao, it was not to be underestimated. If fully comprehended, it would be enough to elevate a cultivator in the Spirit Sealing realm to the Dao Illumination realm, with a formidable cultivation base. Although Ji Yuan possessed the complete Dao principles, it was like holding a magical artifact; he could use it but did not understand its underlying principles. What he needed to do now was to dissect this complete Dao principle and meticulously comprehend it from beginning to end. With the immense boost of merit, his speed of comprehending the Dao principles far surpassed that of his main body; even a late-stage third-realm cultivator would be inferior in this regard.
Five days passed in the blink of an eye. Suddenly, a group of seven people appeared in the City God Pavilion, incongruous with the surrounding pilgrims, as if they were from a different world. The appearance of this group naturally drew the attention of those nearby. Several squads of elite soldiers quickly arrived, surrounding the group. The leader of the group presented a token, and they were then escorted into the large hall behind the City God Pavilion.
"Your subordinate, the Magistrate of Linfu County, greets your excellencies!" Zhang Qingyang bowed respectfully, his hands clasped. Ji Yuan and others, who had already arrived upon hearing the news, learned the identities of these individuals through introductions from those around them. The middle-aged man leading them, along with the youth and the elder beside him, were from the Prefectural Governor's Mansion, belonging to the Prefectural Governor's faction. The youth and the elder on either side were a newly appointed constable from the Prefectural City Yamen and a retainer of the Prefectural Governor's Mansion, respectively. As for the middle-aged man, he was the Chief Clerk of the Prefectural Governor's Mansion, his power and status second only to the Prefectural Governor himself. In the Flying Cloud Prefecture, he was practically second-in-command. Even the leaders of sects with established lineages would have to greet him respectfully; only Great Cultivators of the Golden Core realm or above were exempt from this.
"I did not expect the Prefectural Governor's Mansion to take so long and finally send such an important figure." Ji Yuan's gaze fell upon the individuals before him, while he communicated with those beside him using his divine sense. He had originally thought that, under the influence of the forces above the mastermind, the Prefectural Governor's Mansion would at most send a few officials of moderate rank to go through the motions. They had even prepared to use the strength of the Nine Profound Sect to escalate the matter here, preventing those in the Prefectural Governor's Mansion who wished to cover it up from doing so, and ultimately bringing it to the prefectural city. But who would have thought that after such a long delay, the apparent second-in-command of the Prefectural Governor's Mansion would personally arrive with his trusted confidantes!