The world is like a prison, my body is holy

When Wang Wen reclaimed the position of Yellow River Water God at the mouth of the Banzhu River, the eight hundred local deities under the command of the Huangshan Lord's Palace were also on their way to a new journey.

There are eight hundred local deities, including a county city god and a mountain god.

Unlike Wang Wen, a self-taught earth god who served as an official and general in the Great Zhou Dynasty, the eight hundred earth gods appointed by the Lord of Huangshan were all legitimate deities.

Upon arriving in their respective jurisdictions, they all unanimously adopted their "advanced work experience" from the Huangshan Temple, simultaneously investigating the activities of demons and monsters in the area and solving the practical problems of the local people. Step by step, they established their prestige and gained the trust and worship of the local people...

All the earth deities promoted in this round were ghosts and gods who had tasted the sweetness of accumulating good deeds.

As a result, every local deity appointed by the Huangshan Junfu (a government office in Huangshan) prioritizes accumulating good karma upon taking office.

This may seem somewhat utilitarian, but the actions they take to accumulate good karma are all genuine.

It should be understood that the calculation of one's karmic virtue is in the hands of the Heavenly Lord, and no one can interfere with it or deceive one.

Under such a near-absolutely fair mechanism, to accumulate merit, one can only act within the rules established by Heaven that allow for the accumulation of merit; any underhanded or wicked thoughts are futile...

Furthermore, the Huangshan Junfu's own oversight mechanism is not to be underestimated. Ever since the eight hundred local deities emerged from Huangshan, every day there have been local deities who became arrogant and overbearing, only to be overthrown and replaced by newly appointed local deities, constantly sounding the alarm for all local deities under the Huangshan Junfu system.

After all, the number of local deities under the jurisdiction of the Huangshan Junfu is limited, while the number of powerful underworld officials waiting to take their place is countless.

That intense sense of crisis was like a daily voice, like a tight headband, ringing in the ears of all the local deities under the Huangshan Junfu system: 'If you don't do it, plenty of underworld messengers will!'

It's like, as soon as the eight hundred local deities took office, they were presented with a carrot and a stick.

Carrots are the temptation to accumulate good karma and ascend to a higher divine position.

The big stick serves as a warning that those who act arrogantly, indulge in idleness and pleasure will be stripped of their power and never be able to recover.

The Huangshan Junfu (a local deity) used a carrot-and-stick approach, motivating the eight hundred local gods who had taken office to work harder than highly paid programmers in major companies. They all wanted to live directly in the homes of the people in their jurisdiction and protect them day and night...

The earth gods' overly enthusiastic efforts quickly yielded rewards...

One after another, city god temples, mountain god temples, and land god temples rose up in the vast Central Plains region. Whether they were majestic and solemn or low and simple, they all represented the wishes of the local people.

Almost all the newly built City God Temples, Mountain God Temples, and Earth God Temples have placed the statue of Huangshan Prefecture Lord Wu Yanzu in the main deity position facing south, while the City God, Mountain God, and Earth God, who should be sitting in the main deity position and enjoying the most incense offerings, are relegated to the side.

One after another, city god temples, mountain god temples, and land god temples were connected to form lines, and lines to form areas. They not only established the administrative system of Huangshan Junfu over the Central Plains, but also widely spread the fame of Huangshan Junfu Wu Yanzu.

Coupled with the excellent upward and downward management system of the Huainan Demon-Slaying General's Mansion, and his rising prestige, Wang Wen's control over the entire middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River and the entire Jiangnan region is gradually reaching an unprecedented level.

It can be said without any hesitation that half of the Great Zhou's territory is under Wang Wen's control during the day and at night, in the mortal realm and in the underworld!

Its power and influence far exceeded what a mere mountain god of the Five Towns should have received.

The Five Mountain Gods were originally just mid-level leaders in the mountain god system.

Back when Heaven and the Underworld still existed in this world, and the system of gods and deities was complete and well-established, the Five Mountain Gods probably didn't even know what a peach of immortality looked like.

In addition, there are historical issues of overlapping functions and unclear responsibilities that also exist in the system of gods and deities. The seemingly all-encompassing divine authority of the Five Mountain Gods is actually limited to their own small territory and can't really manage anything else.

At best, they are just mediocre figures who can be used as scapegoats, like "relevant departments" or "experts."

But now that the Heavenly Court and the Underworld have fled this world, and the system of gods and deities has collapsed to the point that only Wang Wen remains, the Five Mountain Gods, who originally had no power over anything, have suddenly become able to control anything as long as they are even remotely related to it!

In practice, this means that the practice of eight hundred local deities inviting Wang Wen's statue to the main deity position, which was both irregular and taboo, became open and aboveboard and a common practice because there were no higher-level gods or deities to govern or interfere with it.

In other words, Wang Wen, the Lord of Huangshan, the central town, actually enjoyed the same sacrificial rites as the Lord of Taishan.

Even... the sacrificial rites of the Three Pure Ones and Four Emperors!

After all, to put it mildly, he was only enjoying the sacrificial rites of the highest deity.

On a grander scale, he was enjoying the sacrificial rites of the highest deity in the world!

To put it more practically, ever since the eight hundred local deities went to their respective jurisdictions, the incense offerings to the Lord of Huangshan have increased exponentially. The immense power of the people's wishes has supported the Huangshan Grotto-Heaven to become more and more expansive and its laws more and more complete every day!
At the same time, the souls of the dead escorted to Huangshan Cave by the City God Temple every day gradually gathered into a ghost tide that resembled a "passing ghost army." The ever-growing ghost population filled the empty Huangshan Cave, gradually forming cities and villages that were no different from those in the human world.

The ever-growing number of the deceased's spirits provided a sufficient reserve of warriors and underworld officials in Huangshan Cave.

When the base number is large enough, no matter how low the probability of a high-quality ghost with good karma appearing is, it will gradually accumulate into a huge number over time!

This snowballing virtuous cycle came even faster than Wang Wen had anticipated!

In mid-September, Wang Wen returned to Huangshan and personally escorted the first demon-suppressing guard's spirit, cleansed of its malevolent and resentful aura, back to Yangzhou. The spirit entered the womb of a wealthy woman who was full-term pregnant, merging with the faint life force within her and radiating a steady and thriving pulse...

This signifies that the Huangshan Junfu has successfully entered the cycle of reincarnation!
……

At the end of September, after several rounds of probing and negotiation, Ao Hei, the water god of the Yangtze River, finally entered the main hall of the Yangzhou Demon-Slaying General's Mansion.

As it stepped across the threshold of the lobby, it felt as if tears were welling up in its eyes.

Some things, you'll never know how difficult they are until you do them yourself.

Just like Aohei, if it hadn't personally run around like a headless fly for a long time, it would never have imagined... that being a dog for someone also depends on qualifications!
"Little demon Changjiang Aohei..."

Upon entering the main hall, Ao Hei lowered his head and respectfully clasped his hands in a salute, without even glancing at Wang Wen on the hall: "Greetings, General! May the General live a long and prosperous life, as long as the heavens!"

Wang Wen, who was reviewing blueprints for a water conservancy project funded by a work-for-relief program, couldn't help but look up at him with a smile upon hearing the sound. He said with a light, indifferent laugh, "Who taught you all this flattery?"

Ao Hei paused for two seconds, then honestly replied, "I have an old tortoise under my command. It's knowledgeable and worldly-wise. It taught me that the general would be delighted to hear this..." Upon hearing its accent, Wang Wen switched to a Shanxi accent: "Eek, it's a Shanxi snake!"

Ao Hei looked up in surprise: "The General is also from Shanxi?"

Wang Wen smiled and shook his head: "No, I am from Yangzhou."

Ao Hei: ...

Wang Wen put down the blueprints in his hand and looked at the honest-looking, bald, dark-skinned, burly man below him with great interest. He said softly, "Why do you suddenly want to join my Demon-Slaying General's Mansion?"

Ao Hei met his scrutinizing gaze, recalling the flowery words the old tortoise had taught him to recite before his departure. After hesitating for a few seconds, he chose to tell the truth: "I heard that the Great General has beheaded that scoundrel, the Yellow River God, and I'm afraid..."

Wang Wen: "What are you afraid of?"

Ao Hei: "The Great General has beheaded the Yellow River God, so isn't it my turn next?"

Wang Wen: "You haven't done anything heinous, so why should I kill you?"

Ao Hei: "Uh, I dare not say..."

Wang Wen: "I'm asking you a question, so just answer truthfully!"

Ao Hei glanced at him furtively, then hesitated and whispered, "After all, I'm a demon. Whether I've done anything wrong or not, isn't it up to the General to decide? If the General says I've done something wrong, then I've done something wrong even if I haven't..."

Wang Wen couldn't help but laugh again, saying, "You certainly know what's good for you!"

Ao Hei chuckled along with him: "My nest had more than a dozen brothers and sisters, but I was the only snake that survived and even cultivated into a demon, all because I knew how to be pragmatic!"

Wang Wen suddenly asked, "Have you ever eaten people?"

Ao Heixin said, "They're here," and without thinking, he swore an oath: "I swear on my life, in all my life, I've never even bitten anyone, let alone eaten them. I used to avoid people like the plague..."

Wang Wen remained silent, but instead ran his fingers across his pupils, opening his divine eye to glance at the dark-skinned creature. He saw that although the demonic aura emanating from it was as dense as a thick fog, it was indeed unusually clear, like a drop of ink falling into a basin of clear water. Unlike the murky and muddy demonic aura of other monsters, it did not possess much resentment or malevolent energy.

That's strange!

He thought to himself, "Could I really be that lucky? Every time I encounter a monster I want to take refuge with, it's a monster that has never eaten a human?"
This is not weird at all!
He pondered for a few moments, still not quite believing it, and said, "Since you're willing to swear on your life, wouldn't you mind making a Heavenly Oath?"

Upon hearing this, Ao Hei pointed three fingers to the sky without hesitation and declared loudly and forcefully, "Heaven above, if I, Ao Hei, have ever devoured even one person in my life, I will surely die under the thunder of ten thousand lightning bolts, my soul will not enter the underworld, and I will never be reincarnated!"

It and the old tortoise had long pondered these questions, and it had also heard a lot about Wang Wen's deeds. If it had a guilty conscience, how could it dare to step into this hall?

When Wang Wen saw it swear to the heavens without hesitation, he was already somewhat convinced. It wasn't until after it finished speaking and there was no thunder in the sky that he truly believed the black creature.

"It's rare to find someone with such a steadfast heart that yearns for goodness and the Way."

He readily agreed, saying, "In that case, this general accepts your surrender!"

Overjoyed, Ao Hei immediately knelt on one knee, clasped his hands, and said, "This humble general Ao Hei greets the Great General. From now on, if the Great General orders me to chase chickens, I will definitely not chase dogs; if he orders me to chase dogs, I will definitely not chase chickens!"

Wang Wen smiled and shook his head, saying, "Let's make a solemn oath to Heaven. I don't believe in anything else, but I do believe in oaths to Heaven!"

What he had just seen with his divine eye was that the dark-skinned fellow's demonic aura was far stronger than that of Ao Qing and Bai Zimo, and was only on par with the yellow dragon that he had refined into the Dragon Gallant Spring Spear.

He would never have taken such a ruthless character under his command without the guarantee of the Heavenly Lord.

He wasn't worried about what this scoundrel would do to him if he turned against him later; rather, he was worried that this scoundrel might use the banner of his Demon-Slaying General's Mansion to carry out a brutal attack on the tens of millions of people under his jurisdiction at a crucial moment...

Ao Hei had sincerely pledged allegiance and had gone through countless hardships to reach this point, so naturally he would not back down. Without hesitation, he raised three fingers to the sky again and solemnly proclaimed, "Heaven above, I, Ao Hei, immediately submit to General Wang's command. From this day forward, my body is General Wang's body, and my life is General Wang's life. I will go through fire and water without hesitation. If I harbor any disloyalty, I, Ao Hei, will surely die under the thunder of ten thousand lightning bolts, my soul will not enter the underworld, and I will never be reborn!"

It was really going all out to get ashore!

"Click."

As soon as Ao Hei finished speaking, a bolt of purple lightning, as thick as a thumb, descended from the sky and struck it precisely on the top of its head.

While the attack made it smoke, it also purified most of the lingering black aura within its demonic power...1
"very good!"

Wang Wenxin stood up and stepped down from the hall to personally help the bewildered Ao Hei to his feet: "From now on, you will be the master of the Yangtze River Water Mansion under the command of my Huainan Demon-Slaying General's Mansion!"

Ao Hei subconsciously straightened his back, bowed his head and clasped his hands, saying, "It's all up to the General!"

Wang Wen grabbed its arm and pulled it toward the hall: "Come, come, I happen to have a bunch of water conservancy projects here that require the full cooperation of your Yangtze River Water Mansion. If you do a good job, I will personally go and get you an imperial edict of official recognition within three years."

Upon hearing this, Ao Hei was overjoyed and quickly replied, "General, if you have any orders, the entire Yangtze River Water Palace is willing to serve you with utmost loyalty!"

Wang Wen turned his head to look at it with a smile: "You've listened to quite a few operas, haven't you!"

Ao Hei grinned, showing off his white teeth, and said, "That old tortoise under my command has a thing for this. He's always lecturing me about loyalty, filial piety, and righteousness. I've heard it so much that I've picked up a few lines..."

"Not bad!"

Wang Wen nodded approvingly: "This old tortoise is interesting. Bring it over for me to meet it another day."

Ao Hei: "Yes, I'll definitely bring it to pay its respects to the Great General later!" (End of Chapter)