Yellow Skinned Taoist Master

Chapter 154: Your Majesty, Please Lead Us in Another Charge

That City God was indeed provoked by Chen Huangpi.

If he had merely killed evil gods alone, it wouldn't have been a big deal.

No matter how many he killed, the evil gods would resurrect from the gray fog.

Furthermore, there weren't that many evil gods nearby to begin with.

But now, Chen Huangpi summoned hundreds of evil spirits and even took back the black smoke. Any evil god killed by them would be swallowed by the black smoke, causing the situation to intensify unceasingly.

The key was, he actually felt his own slaughtering efficiency was too slow.

He even lent the black smoke and Calamity Eyes to those evil spirits as augmentations.

In just a short moment's time.

The evil gods in this vicinity were completely wiped out without a trace by the evil spirits Chen Huangpi summoned.

Evil gods were subordinate gods polluted by the City God.They were also a part of the City God.

To make an analogy, if a person fell gravely ill and went for an injection, taking one shot was nothing—painless and itchless.

But taking dozens of shots in succession...

No person could endure that.

The City God was now integrated as one with Xuzhou City. Imposing this sensation of pain onto his body—while one couldn't exactly call it painless and itchless—it truly made him extremely uncomfortable.

Moreover, this City God swallowed a paper man roughly on par with itself.

Right now, he was in the metamorphosis stage of turning into a Misfortune.

Instinctively, the City God felt his own power weakening.

Reflected within that gigantic painting scroll with a black background and gray borders, the countless ashen human faces roaming around his massive body opened their mouths simultaneously.

Weng...

That painting scroll acted like a mirror surface rippling with waves.

An incomparably ear-piercing buzzing hum rang out.

In an instant, that dormant gray fog within Xuzhou City surged in succession.

One could not enter the gray fog.

Upon entering, one's six senses would be confounded, and they would be trapped inside.

Now that Chen Huangpi had his Calamity Eyes open, although he wouldn't be bewildered by that gray fog and could see through all falsehoods.

He could also see it.

That there was some sort of bizarre trait within this gray fog.

Confounding space and the six senses was only one aspect.

The second was pollution.

Chen Huangpi didn't fear this mere pollution, but those evil spirits were different.

It was highly likely they would be reduced to that City God's puppets.

Changing from the Chen family's evil spirits to the Song family's evil spirits.

Thinking of this, Chen Huangpi was about to open his mouth to sound a reminder.

However, among these evil spirits, there was an evil spirit with an even sharper eye than him.

"Quickly retreat!"

Who knows from where the shadow evil spirit procured a large banner with the character "Yellow" written on it. While waving this banner, it shouted loudly, "Fellow colleagues, that gray fog is bizarre, absolutely do not be tainted by it."

"I'm not afraid, I want to take down Xuzhou City for the Great King!"

"Evil gods... all die..."

"The Great King said to kill them all completely clean."

The evil spirits strongly disapproved of the shadow evil spirit's rhetoric.

Their minds were all straight lines.

Chen Huangpi was their Great King Yellow Skin.

In their thought process, since the Great King wanted them to kill the evil gods completely clean, then they would just kill the evil gods completely clean.

What's this about the gray fog being untouchable?

The Great King didn't say such a phrase.

Seeing this, the shadow evil spirit felt a headache coming on.

It finally got a chance to realize its ambitions, yet these evil spirits—who were just cooperating closely and behaving like extensions of its own arms merely a moment ago—had now immediately all become thorns in its side.

Fortunately.

Chen Huangpi saw this scene.

He instantly appeared amidst the evil spirits.

The numerous evil spirits became extremely agitated one after another.

"Great King, lead us in another charge."

Even an evil spirit as powerful as the High God Guangmu was merely the Great King's subordinate, and even that Immortal Corpse evil spirit had to give the Great King face.

If Great King Yellow Skin led them in a charge.

Wouldn't they be able to capture this Xuzhou City in an instant?

Although they didn't know what they would do after capturing it, and they didn't know if the merit, fame, wealth, and rank the shadow evil spirit spoke of tasted good or not.

Following the Great King was definitely the right choice.

Chen Huangpi shook his head and said solemnly to the evil spirits, "I have seen everything you have done with my own eyes. Only, you cannot call me Great King."

The evil spirits were incomparably blank.

If they didn't call him Great King, then what should they call him?

As if discerning the puzzles of the evil spirits, Chen Huangpi explained, "Because aside from the Hundred Thousand Mountains, the Great Qian Immortal Dynasty and the Underworld Yellow Spring are both Our (Zhen) family enterprises."

"Master previously asked, 'Zhen, Zhen, Zhen, what kind of Zhen are you?'"

"Do you guys know how Our (Zhen) replied?"

The evil spirits shook their heads like rattle-drums.

To the side, the Life-reaping Ghost looked towards the brass oil lamp.

The latter rolled its eyes and said in a low voice, "He was hung up and beaten by the Third Guanzhu. Crying with snot and tears from the pain, he promised he would never dare to do it again."

Chen Huangpi pretended not to hear.

This was the outside world; they weren't in the Hundred Thousand Mountains.

Even if he spoke some bad words about Master, Master wouldn't be able to hear it.

Otherwise, wouldn't his journey outside have been in vain?

"Just one sentence!"

Chen Huangpi extended a finger and said, "Our (Zhen) only said one sentence—'Our (Zhen) is robust; in robustness, transformations occur.' Master instantly realized he was wrong, and that he had underestimated Our (Zhen), so he hurriedly apologized to Our (Zhen)."

"Well said, Your Majesty!"

The evil spirits clapped and cheered.

"Our (Zhen) receives the mandate of Heaven."

Chen Huangpi couldn't help but reveal a proud and complacent smile, pointing at himself as he said, "The meaning of this sentence is that Our (Zhen) was born to be the Emperor. Now that Our (Zhen) possesses an enormous family enterprise, and furthermore has elite troops and capable generals, Our (Zhen) is the Emperor."

"The Emperor of evil spirits is still an Emperor."

Having spoken to this point.

Some evil spirits had already achieved sudden enlightenment and successively addressed him as Your Majesty.

The evil spirits with simple minds, or even without brains entirely, couldn't understand these convoluted curves, but seeing the other evil spirits acting this way, they also successively clapped and cheered, using their respective methods to compliment His Majesty.

"Your Majesty, please lead us in another charge!"

"The Great King was already extremely formidable, but now that the Great King has become the Emperor, wouldn't he be even more formidable?"

"With Your Majesty's body being worth ten thousand pieces of gold, how can you brave danger yourself?"

The shadow evil spirit suppressed the discomfort in its heart and bowed with cupped hands to the faux Emperor Chen Huangpi, "Your Majesty, as the saying goes, warfare is a path of deception. Previously, when we were like fierce tigers released from cages, we naturally fiercely pursued and relentlessly attacked. But now the situation within Xuzhou City is different; we can no longer act as such."

Although commanding numerous evil spirits and realizing its own ambition was indeed indescribably refreshing.

Leaving the city was the truly serious major matter.

Because this Xuzhou City was currently the City God's territory.

Once the other party metamorphosed into a Misfortune.

At that time, all the current glory and prestige would immediately be shattered by him.

Chen Huangpi was somewhat at a loss for what to do.

He only felt that the gray fog was undergoing changes, but he didn't feel any difference in the situation.

Consequently, he asked, "Beloved Minister Shadow, what brilliant insight do you possess?"

"What did Your Majesty call me?"

"Beloved Minister Shadow."

Chen Huangpi scratched his head; did he say it wrong?

Why did this shadow evil spirit suddenly start trembling all over?

His tone was clearly very gentle, how could this possibly scare it?

"Your Majesty! This lowly subject's surname is Yang!"

"Then it was Our (Zhen) mistake. Beloved Minister Yang, since you have expressly stated the situation in the city is different, do you have a strategy to break this deadlock to teach Our (Zhen)?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty!"

The shadow evil spirit's chest agitated endlessly as it calmly said, "This lowly subject's talent is shallow and virtue is thin. With Your Majesty asking thus, your subject can only temporarily think of three strategies to break the deadlock."

Chen Huangpi said pleasantly surprised, "Quickly tell Us."

The shadow evil spirit said, "The superior strategy is to gather all strength and target one spot. The abnormal changes within Xuzhou City all stem from that City God. By slaying him, the deadlock will be broken. However, now that we are inside Xuzhou City, every step is a struggle; this strategy is insufficient to rely on."

Chen Huangpi asked again, "What is the middle strategy?"

The shadow evil spirit replied, "The middle strategy is nothing more than the Dao of Military Strategy—evading the major momentum and facing the minor momentum. The evil gods in the city are numerous. Your Majesty only needs to let this subject lead the troops, fighting while retreating along the way, killing all the evil gods clean to weaken the City God's power. Afterward, the superior strategy might succeed."

"However, regardless of whether it's this middle strategy or superior strategy, they are only paper strategies."

Upon reaching here, the shadow evil spirit shook its head and said, "If this subject were that City God, I would only need to have the evil gods avoid battle to easily defuse these two strategies. Furthermore, Xuzhou City is too big, and there are too many cultivators and commoners."

"If this subject's estimation is not wrong, those established family cultivators within Xuzhou City should currently have already been sought out at their doorsteps by the evil gods."

There were too many Nascent Soul cultivators among the established families.

Every single one had robust human qi. If the evil gods swallowed them, they would all transform into rations for the City God's metamorphosis.

Therefore, this method of killing evil gods was viable.

But it didn't mean that the City God would just sit and wait for death.

The City God had merely sunk into a state of metamorphosis; it didn't mean he had truly become a fool.

He even clearly understood everything occurring within Xuzhou City.

"This won't work, and that won't work either."

Chen Huangpi shook his head and said, "Beloved Minister Yang, what is your inferior strategy?"

The shadow evil spirit said earnestly, "The inferior strategy is to leave the city. If Xuzhou City cannot be captured, then we won't capture it. As long as the green hills remain, there will be no fear of lacking firewood. The City God merely possesses temporary prestige; wait until Your Majesty accumulates strength, extinguishing him won't be difficult."

Chen Huangpi shook his head and said, "Beloved Minister Yang, what you said is very good. However, this City God wishes to kill Our (Zhen); Our (Zhen) cannot swallow this anger."

"Your Majesty, he who does not scheme for countless generations is lacking to scheme at all."

The shadow evil spirit curtsied deeply and said in a loud voice, "Your Majesty receives the mandate of Heaven and possesses the ambition to swallow clouds and spit out the sun. Why should you care about temporary gains and losses?"

"Beloved Minister Yang, We shall comply with your words."

Chen Huangpi sighed deeply, "If Our (Zhen) retreats in defeat from Xuzhou, who knows how the court historians will smear Our (Zhen) name."

To the side.

The brass oil lamp and the Life-reaping Ghost looked at each other in dismay.

The Life-reaping Ghost whispered, "Does the Contract Master really think of himself as an Emperor?"

The brass oil lamp sneered, "His mind is highly active; being flattered by the evil spirits like this, naturally, he can't distinguish who the true kings are anymore. Once we return to the Hundred Thousand Mountains, I will definitely file a minor report about him to the Guanzhu."

"That City God is about to turn into a Misfortune, and not an ordinary Misfortune at that."

"Good thing that shadow evil spirit is clear-headed and knows we must hurriedly leave the city now."

The Life-reaping Ghost shook its head slightly.

That shadow evil spirit was repeatedly saying 'Your Majesty' this and 'lowly subject' that.

Could this even be considered clear-headed?

Its mind was probably affected by the Contract Master's Calamity Eye, leading to mental confusion.

...

What the naked eye could see was a hazy gray fog everywhere.

Polluted by the City God and having transformed into evil spirits, the evil gods roamed about within this Xuzhou City.

From high-ranking cultivators down to mere mortals.

All were undergoing a disaster.

Cultivators ate humans, and deities also ate humans.

The difference was that the evil gods who had transformed into evil spirits ate both cultivators and mortals together.

At this moment, the barrier between cultivators and mortals finally ceased to exist.

No, it couldn't quite be phrased that way either.

Cultivators and mortals were ultimately different.

In the eyes of the evil gods, cultivators who cultivated using human qi were as dazzling as torches in this dark night. On the contrary, although most human qi originated from mortals, the trace amount of human qi on a mortal's body was too weak.

It was still the cultivators who were more eye-catching.

An evil god holding a scroll and wearing a scholar's cap knocked on a door.

"Open the door, open the door."

"The God of Opening Intelligence, Awakening Spirits, and conferring Great Wisdom has arrived. Cao family cultivators, why haven't you swiftly opened your doors to welcome this god's enlightenment!"

The main gate of the Cao family residence was tightly shut, and furthermore, there was the golden light of a formation flowing about.

The Cao family fell far short of the Song family.

Yet they were still an established family with a renowned name and surname.

There were numerous cultivators within their residence.

Furthermore, their inheritance was well-ordered and systematic.

At this moment, there were over a thousand cultivators sitting cross-legged in various corners of the Cao Manor. Above all of their heads, Nascent Souls had left their bodies, sitting cross-legged three feet above them. Streaks of true essence magic power—or rather, human qi—mutually reflected each other.

This was a Protector Grand Formation.

Before the mutation of the heavens, worldly cultivators mainly belonged to sects.

Therefore, back in those years, one could almost say things like Protector Grand Formations were everywhere.

After the mutation of heaven and earth, spiritual qi vanished, and Ancient Methods became forbidden methods that couldn't be cultivated.

But formations were different.

As long as the formation wasn't the type that demanded specific magical power cultivated from a certain sect's inheritance technique to activate, it was universal. It was just that using human qi to drive it weakened its power by thirty percent.

Dong dong dong.

The knocking on the door continued.

The evil god outside the door was still shouting, demanding the Cao family cultivators open the door.

Finally, the leading Cao family cultivator could no longer hold back and coldly reprimanded, "This is the Cao family residence, and furthermore, the Protector Grand Formation is present. While the formation remains unbroken, the main gate shall not open. You evil god, why haven't you quickly retreated?"

That evil god laughed and said, "Cao Daoshuai, this god is here to bestow blessings upon you all, to open your wisdom. When the time comes for your established family disciples to go to Jingcheng to pass the imperial examinations, you will only remember this god's kindness."

"Retreat!"

Cao Daoshuai stated coldly, "Every disciple of my Cao family is like a dragon; why would we need your blessing? There are numerous mortal commoners within Xuzhou City; they are the ones who need blessings. If you refuse to leave, then continue tasting the closed doors."

"After daybreak, you will naturally leave."

Evil spirits laid dormant during the day and came out at night; this was the conclusion the cultivators had reached to this day following the mutation of heaven and earth.

It wasn't that they feared the sun that radiated light.

Rather, the evil spirits instinctively disliked the daytime.

Even when situated within a massive city, the evil spirits would find a dark corner to hide in. Unless they passed right by their eyes, evil spirits absolutely wouldn't commit murders.

The evil god stringing outside the door laughed unceasingly: "Cao Daoshuai, this Xuzhou City will no longer have a daytime. Lord City God has become a Misfortune. After he awakens, he will be the sky of this Xuzhou City. Whether it is black or white, a single thought from him decides it."

"Though there are many mortals, consuming their human qi and eating their flesh and blood is this god's right mandated by Heavenly Principles. And the Heavenly Principles dictate that this god must open wisdom for you all. With you all acting this way, perhaps you are attempting to defy the heavens?"

While speaking, this evil god looked left and right.

Without anyone knowing when, gray fog had already spread over the surroundings.

Within that fog, numerous tall and terrifying figures surfaced.

A moment later.

The Cao family was reduced to a patch of ruins.

Devouring sounds and miserable shrieks echoed endlessly in the ears.

And events like this rose and fell continuously within Xuzhou City.

Up in the sky, from the City God seated upright in the painting scroll with a black background and gray face, the aura around his entire body grew even more terrifying. Furthermore, meridian lines resembling tree roots grew out and slowly pierced into the earth of Xuzhou City.

He was indeed about to transform into a Misfortune.

Accurately speaking, this Xuzhou City was about to transform into a Misfortune.

The earth pierced by the City God's meridian lines squirmed, acting just like flesh and blood, growing large patches of purplish-black scars.

Sizzle, rip...

Those scars split open, forming a bloody maw. Countless gray faces squirmed within the mouth, spewing out streaks of gray fog.

Consequently, Xuzhou City truly became a city of fog.