Da Zaojun

Chapter 7: People's hearts cannot be deceived

Tian Chengbi then grabbed the City God's hand and said, "County Lord, since we are now in a state of shared destiny, the only way is to unite the entire county and strive for victory in this battle. This will deter those restless demons and allow us to breathe a sigh of relief, preserve our lives, and pursue development in this chaotic world. I wonder if County Lord would be willing to help?"

Upon hearing this, the City God could not help but say, "County Lord Tian, ​​population is precious these days, and we must not waste it too much. The more people there are in the city, the stronger their will to survive, the stronger the city's defenses will be, and my power will slowly recover."

"If you're talking about identifying refugees and recruiting them, I naturally agree."

"As for fighting demons, I can only say that I can offer advice and strategies, but I am not good at fighting. Like County Lord Tian, ​​I am a civil servant."

"Besides, as the City God, it's your duty to protect the territory and the people. Even if you have military force, you should focus on deterrence and maintain peace. You can't leave the city easily, lest you be spied on by other demons. You must know that the demons we have to deal with are never just one or two, but all of them."

"To defeat the demons and clip their wings, we must wait for the Judge, Wandering God, Impermanence, the Golden Gate, the Silver Lock, and other auxiliary gods to return to their positions, and for the twenty-four departments to resume their operations. Only when both yin and yang are governed and peace prevails can we achieve political order and social harmony. We can suppress them with great momentum and completely eliminate the threat of demons attacking the city. It is not possible for one person to perform heroic deeds to change the outcome, and we must not be greedy for success and act rashly!"

Tian Chengbi disagreed with the County God's view and said bluntly: "Without sacrifice, how can we have confidence and believe that we can win the battle?"

Then he sighed and said, "How could I not know that I should take it step by step, and think carefully before taking each step. It is best to obtain the greatest and most long-term benefits at the lowest cost."

"But such an idea is inherently unrealistic. If you and I don't demonstrate genuine righteousness and act like brave men, how can we intimidate them? These demons, though intelligent, are still beasts at heart, bullying the weak and fearing the strong."

"If we choose to remain silent, the demons will know we can be bullied!"

"Not only do the demons think we can be bullied, but even the fragile human hearts will be bullied. Only a fight can give us a glimmer of hope. This is what the county lord thinks, and so do I."

"When the city is broken, you will fall from the altar and be shattered to pieces. I will be killed by the monster and buried with the city. That's all."

"I will immediately have people prepare these things and search for the right person to receive the imperial edicts. There are one hundred and eight imperial edicts."

"No matter what, the Criminal Justice Department must be fully staffed by tonight. The county has also detained some of the most heinous criminals, and we'll also arrest some of the usurers and casino operators. These people have done a lot of harm to people, and if they can contribute to the fight against the evil, then they're still of some use."

"Those who took advantage of the situation and fanned the flames can also be apprehended and used to make suitable shackles, manacles, and other instruments of torture."

The City God sighed and said, "Since the county lord has made up his mind, I can only cooperate with him. It's a pity that there is no temple for sages in Taichang County. Otherwise, you could communicate with the sages and inherit their teachings. You would be able to cultivate a righteous spirit and drive away the evil spirits with a single rebuke."

"How could I not wish for such great power? I wish I could kill demons myself like butchering dogs!"

……

Outside the city, Song Wuji was sitting in a daze beside the campfire. Although he seemed to be in a daze, he was actually "refining the demonic energy".

Demonic energy is different from human energy and is considered a "foreign object". If a person is infected by demonic energy, he may suffer a serious illness at the very least, or become transformed into a demon, becoming neither human nor demon, and his temperament will change drastically.

To refine this demonic energy, one needs to consume true energy to operate the magical power of consumption. Depending on the difficulty of refining, different amounts of true energy will be consumed.

Song Wuji had just tried it. He just chewed on the dead branches and firewood. It was a little bad for his teeth, but as long as he used his magical powers, it only consumed a little bit of true energy to completely refine it. At least Song Wuji was not hungry now.

Even after eating two kilograms of wood, Song Wuji still maintained a state of "excessive strength and brushing", that is, temporarily increasing a little strength and toughness.

Since there is no specific number, Song Wuji doesn't know how to calculate it.

And although this magical power solved Song Wuji's biggest problem now - hunger, there is real food available. Who would want to eat wood?
The evil spirit comes from the minions, but the original source is a tiger demon.

Refining demonic energy is not just about taming the breath, but also a test of the "spiritual" level. At this moment, Song Wuji's mind frequently appeared the illusion of the ghost being eaten by a tiger when he was alive.

In the illusion, Song Wuji first saw a spotted tiger with hanging eyes, about three meters long. Before he could react, he felt a sharp tearing sensation coming from his shoulder or neck.

The tiger demon's teeth were like sharp blades, biting through the flesh in an instant, and hot blood spurted out like a fountain.

I wanted to scream, to struggle, but my body was going numb, my vision was blurring, and my strength was draining away.

Then one could clearly feel the tiger demon's claws grabbing the torso like iron hooks, pinning it to the ground.

Its teeth once again tore open the skin and flesh, opened the belly, and pulled out the intestines, but this time the man was not yet dead and was still conscious.

Especially the five senses, which were unusually sensitive. The only thing that filled the nose was the smell of blood, and the only thing that was heard in the ears was the sound of chewing.

Then, the whole world collapsed with that horrible chewing sound. Everything began to distort, and consciousness gradually dissipated like mist. Finally, everything became powerless, and all the pain and struggle turned into darkness...

Until he was transformed into a ghost, he was willing to be a slave to the tiger demon.

……

"call!"

After Song Wuji finished refining, he was panting and sweating profusely.

Just by refining a trace of its aura, I felt the fear of facing the tiger demon head-on!
Not to mention a tiger that had become a demon, even if it was a tiger that hadn't become a demon, Song Wuji felt that he could just slide over and fill its belly.

Fortunately, it was an illusion and I wasn’t really eaten.

However, at least he had refined a trace of the original demonic energy. Song Wuji opened the stove book to see what the effect was.

[Experience the illusion of a tiger pouncing on you, concentrate on understanding the tiger's pounce, but fail due to lack of understanding]
[Refine the original demonic energy. Slightly increase the energy of the three treasures]
The energy of the Three Treasures increased slightly by 0.1, but it also destroyed the state of "Three Talents at Peace".

However, there is no way around this. Unless there is a one-time increase of 0.3 and then an even distribution, the balance will be easily broken.

While Song Wuji was refining the second strand of demonic energy, the Zhongcai Market in Taichang County was brightly lit.

This Caishikou is a crossroads, a place chosen by the City God and County Lord as "where yin and yang meet and all directions are connected."

There is a table on each side of Caishikou, one in the north and one in the south.

The chief official in the north was Tian Chengbi, the magistrate of Taichang County.

The chief official of the South is actually the City God of Taichang County.

One official and one god, both dressed neatly, with a gavel and an order on the desk.

(End of this chapter)