I'm just an ornamental fish in the water.

The blessing from the Nine-Section Staff brought about a qualitative change in Jiang Li's Huaihuo authority. The terrifying power that directly usurped the Wei River and controlled the entire waterway was the true face of Huaihuo's authority!

The ancient ferocious god Wuzhiqi never knew what rules were, let alone what humility was.

Wuzhiqi only has ambition!

His goal at the time was to ensure that all the waterways of the nine provinces flowed into the Huai River!

Although Wuzhiqi was suppressed by Yu the Great, his original spiritual essence still contained the ambition to monopolize the water veins of the nine provinces!

It is precisely because of this that Jiang Li possessed the terrifying authority to slay the demon with a single sword strike.

The demonic warriors howled mournfully, their demonic energy rising as they tried to heal themselves, but under the relentless onslaught of the boundless water vapor, they could not succeed.

In the end, it could only scatter helplessly.

"Hey!!"

As the demonic formation collapsed, the tens of thousands of wronged souls who had been bound together in the army under Zhang Liang's command also disintegrated!

While such a formation that combines the power of ten thousand people into one is indeed terrifying, if the combined power of ten thousand people can be broken, then these ten thousand people will no longer pose a threat!

"Lord Zhang!"

Jiang Li shouted without turning her head.

"The Supreme Star, ever-responsive. Expelling evil and binding demons, protecting life and body. Wisdom clear and bright, mind at peace. The three souls eternal, the vital spirit without loss or decline!"

Zhang Wei, who was already prepared, stepped forward, chanted the purification mantra, and raised his hands high, holding a large, golden seal in his hands.

Above the seal are eight large characters: "Seal of the General Commander of Xingyang City God." This seal is the concrete manifestation of Zhang Wei's authority as the City God.

"Buzz!!"

As Zhang Wei unleashed his innate City God authority, the great seal suddenly emitted a hazy, dark golden light!

"You wandering souls, misled by evil, have now awakened to the truth and are ready to turn back! I, the City God, hereby command you to return my precious seal, clarify your sins, and enter the cycle of reincarnation once more!"

"Hurry, hurry, as the law commands!"

Zhang Wei's voice was powerful and resounding. Under the blessing of the City God's authority, the evil spirits of the countless wronged souls were illuminated by the City God's precious light, and their evil aura began to evaporate and be annihilated.

"Zhang Wei! Insubordination deserves death!"

Zhang Liang roared, and visible waves of energy, enveloped in incredibly dense demonic energy, spread in all directions!

The demonic energy and the City God's precious light were evenly matched, but the latter was clearly no match. In any case, Zhang Wei was ultimately just a county city god, and this place was not even his fiefdom as the City God of Xingyang.

Furthermore, the thousands of wronged souls were only affected because the formation collapsed after the demonic image of the army was destroyed, causing the demonic energy to become unstable.

But it was still under Zhang Liang's control!

"You are no longer my general!"

Zhang Wei gritted his teeth and further activated the City God Seal, causing the City God's precious light to suddenly shine brightly.

"A true general, who treats his soldiers like family and loves his people like his own children, would never commit such an evil act!"

As Zhang Wei further urged it on, the City God's precious light vaguely showed signs of rivaling the demonic energy, but it only lasted for a short moment.

In the struggle between demonic energy and the City God's precious light for the ownership of the countless wronged souls, the latter is inherently at a disadvantage.

Not to mention, Zhang Wei was originally a mortal, and all his supernatural powers relied on the position of the City God, while Zhang Liang was already a cultivator, a demonic cultivator who was close to the level of a true cultivator in the human world, and who had also become a demon after his body was destroyed!

As the City God's radiant light began to slowly fade, the critical juncture was about to be once again tainted by demonic energy, affecting countless wronged souls.

Jiang Li moved.

"By imperial decree."

Jiang Li slowly raised the giant sword in his hand, and the nine-section staff within it suddenly emitted a crimson-yellow glow.

The radiance emanated from the sword, but instead of shining brightly, it condensed into large, crimson-yellow characters. These crimson-yellow characters, when combined, formed a scripture.

The text of the Taiping Jing!

"Where peace prevails, evil will be driven away!"

Supported by the Taiping Sutra, Jiang Li's body slowly floated up and met Zhang Liang's gaze.

Those eyes were filled with a reddish-yellow glow.

"Clang!!"

The giant sword was swung out in a wide arc, within which flowed countless peaceful scriptures.

Under this bolt of lightning, the demonic energy that Zhang Liang had been releasing was cleanly and efficiently melted away, just like pure snow in spring!

No matter how much Zhang Liang went mad, his cultivation was still based on the Taiping Sutra, while Jiang Li possessed the Taiping Dao's divine artifact.

This is innate self-control.

Not to mention, after Zhang Liang became possessed by evil, he was inherently evil, and the Taiping Jing, as the general outline of contemporary Taoist scriptures, inherently possesses the power to expel evil and avert disasters, and protect the territory and people.

"By imperial decree, collect the soul!"

Zhang Wei seized the opportunity and, without the suppression of demonic energy, the City God's precious light completely enveloped this section of the river.

The evil and demonic energy emanating from the countless wronged souls was dispelled, and like swallows returning to their nests, they flocked towards the City God's Seal in Zhang Wei's hand.

"Damn it!"

With a furious expression, Zhang Liang's figure flashed and he appeared in front of Zhang Wei, his spear aimed straight for Zhang Wei's heart.

However, Zhang Wei didn't even look at it, focusing only on maintaining the City God's Seal in his hand.

"bite!!"

The spear didn't hit Zhang Wei; it was blocked halfway through.

Jiang Li appeared in front of Zhang Wei without anyone noticing, holding a giant sword horizontally. The massive sword, as large as a door panel, acted like a shield, firmly blocking Zhang Liang's attack.

Just as the stalemate was at its peak, a pale blue divine light suddenly shot out from the side.

It turned out that Ao Bing had seized the opportunity, manifesting a half-human, half-dragon form with dragon horns on his head, pale blue scales covering his entire body, and his eyes flashing with azure-gold divine light. He held a dragon-headed greatsword that seemed to be forged from ice, and slashed it straight at Zhang Liang's neck!

This strike was both fierce and swift, and the one wielding it was none other than a true dragon from the East Sea.

Ao Bing is not like Zhang Wei, a ghost or god who only has supernatural powers by relying on the position of the City God. He is not only the Dragon King of the Wei River, but also a cultivator with extremely high cultivation level.

With a single slash, Zhang Liang's head fell to the ground!

The massive body, composed entirely of demonic energy, collapsed with a thud as its head was severed, and the once incredibly solid demonic energy began to dissipate.

This sudden and enormous victory stunned even Ao Bing himself.

Something's not right!

However, Ao showed no joy whatsoever. Instead, his expression hardened, and he pulled Zhang Wei away.

He knew his own situation best. Although his strike was aimed at a vital point, even he himself did not expect to be able to kill a half-step True Cultivator who had fallen into demonic possession with a single blow.

He simply seized an opportunity to injure Zhang Liang while forcing him to retreat.

After all, the most important thing now is to gather the souls of the countless wronged people.

But with this strike, Zhang Liang's head was severed, and he was about to dissipate.

This is definitely not normal.

Ao Bing didn't have much experience dealing with evil ways, but he knew that something unusual must be amiss!

He made the right choice: to ensure his own safety and that of his teammates first.

At this moment, Zhang Wei also gathered the last of the wronged souls, carefully put away the City God's Seal, and looked with Ao Bing toward where Zhang Liang's body was.

"It's gone..."

Ao Bing's expression was solemn.

In that brief moment of delay, Zhang Liang's head and body had already disappeared.

"It hasn't disappeared; it's still there."

However, Jiang Li shook his head, his eyes flashing with crimson-yellow divine light, and looked towards the empty space in mid-air.

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Liang's headless body slowly appeared where Jiang Li's gaze was fixed.

With a hiss, a crack suddenly appeared vertically in the center of the burly body made of demonic energy.

A pair of hands, clasped behind their backs, emerged from the gap and then suddenly separated with force...