Wall.
The first people to see Chen Yun fight Yin Wumei to oblivion, burst out thunderous cheers.
"Alas! The demon king has been killed!"
"The Chen senior truly possesses immense power and boundless magical abilities!"
"That was a notorious great demon that even Master Du could not subdue! Yet, it was completely annihilated by Master Chen in just a short while? If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I really couldn't believe it! Master Chen, this exponent of profound magical abilities and a senior cultivator, could even be an avatar of the gods. Why have I never heard of him before?"
"Maybe Master Chen is indifferent to fame and fortune, as most cultivators prefer a peaceful life."
"Don't worry about Master Chen's previous lack of fame. The most important thing now is to spread the news that the demon has been vanquished and soothe the people's hearts. The magistrate and the county official are all waiting for this battle's outcome. Let's get to work!"
With the urging of some minor officials, the patrol officers, strong men, and other court officials hurriedly descended from the city wall.
Part of them went from street to street, informed the people of the battle's situation, and calmed their hearts.
The others were racing towards the magistrate's office to report the news to the local government officials.
Open-air tea stall.
Many people are gathered here.
One of the strongmen official of the magistrate is informing about the battle situation.
Many people back then were not quite convinced.
"Uh..."
"Is it true that Master Chen has indeed slain that demon king?"
"Uncle Officer, are you teasing us?"
"Master Du was not able to withstand the demon's power, could it be that Master Chen has actually tamed the demon?"
A crowd surrounds the strongmen official, asking questions.
The strongmen official quickly described in detail the battle situation he had just witnessed.
Indeed, the strongmen official has good speaking skills, and his description sounds like a storyteller.
Suddenly, the nearby crowd of people exclaimed in surprise.
"What?"
"Ah..."
"Is it true or false?"
"My God! I haven't attended school, don't fool me! A height of four or five zhang, with a blue face and sharp fangs, hair like cinnabar? My goodness, could Master Chen really be the avatar of a deity on earth?"
More and more people began to pay attention.
Everyone who heard the strongmen official's description was deeply shaken on the spot.
After being deeply shaken, these people quickly spread the news to others.
Then...
Well, the message kept getting more and more exaggerated.
Initially, the strongmen official only reported that Chen Yun had a blue face, sharp fangs, red hair, and dual wings on his back that resembled wind and thunder.
As it spread, the message began to change.
People started to add their own flourishes to the story.
Chen Yun gradually turned from being four or five zhang tall at the beginning, into being described as standing dozens of zhang high.
The only thing more outrageous is something that is still more outrageous.
For example, in a wine shop, the shopkeeper was vividly recounting to his customers a version of the battle story that he had only heard from others.
"......The demon spat out black mist from the sky, saying that at that moment it was either late or early. You guess how it was?" The shopkeeper spoke with enthusiasm and slammed his hand on the table, "I only saw Master Chen calmly unafraid, laughing loudly and changing his shape to become a hundred zhang tall golden armor deity holding the Heaven-upholding pillar facing the demon and shouting 'Fiend, I can see from one glance that you're not human. Hmph! Such trifling skills, dared to show off in front of others!'"
The story told by the shopkeeper has been "artfully embellished" through many layers.
However, the diners in the restaurant were still cheering and clapping continuously.
Similar things are still happening everywhere in Liuxi City.
Of course, the busiest places in the city right now are the various Daoist temples.
A large number of people are carrying incense and paying respects to the gods, wanting to thank Master Chen for subduing the demon.
However, they eagerly ran to the temple only to find out that there was no Master Chen's deity. They became agitated and insisted that the temple and the shrine add Master Chen as a main or even a secondary deity.
This caused great distress to the laypersons in charge of the temples, who had to continuously explain the reasons.
Perhaps it's because they noticed that there is no deity dedicated to Master Chen in the temple.
Many people found artists and had them paint a picture of Master Chen's "golden armor deity" appearance according to the rumors, to be kept at home as an offering.
For a time, painters in Liuxi City were highly sought after and their paintings were hard to come by.
......
"What?"
"Is it true that Master Chen really crushed the demon to dust?"
In the magistrate's office, the county magistrate, the deputy magistrate, and the chief clerk, among others, all involuntarily widened their eyes.
As the local officials, they couldn't possibly risk their own lives by going to the city walls to witness it.
To be frank, if anything were to happen to them, the whole Liuxi City would be thrown into chaos.
That is why the county magistrate, the deputy magistrate, and others like the chief clerk, among others, sent their subordinates such as the quick patrol officers and strong men to watch the battle and had them report back continuously.
Why is everyone so concerned about it?
Seven days ago, Yin Wumei launched an attack, boasting that if Chen Pipao did not show up within seven days, he would slaughter the city. This infuriated them.
However, the enemy immediately cast an all-encompassing spell over the city.
These local officials were all ordinary people without the ability to fight back, so they could only feel anger and terror.
The anger stems from their powerlessness.
Their fears stem from the possibility that if Chen Yun doesn't show up in seven days, they and their people will also be slaughtered.
Although Chen Yun had appeared earlier, the county magistrate, the deputy magistrate, and others didn't think he could win.
After all, even Master Du Guangting, whose fame resounded throughout the heavens, had been defeated.
Who would think that a man like Chen Yun, whose fame was not prominent, could slay demons and exorcise spirits?
Now that the guards on the city walls have returned to report the battle situation, the local officials, including the county magistrate and deputy magistrate, are all surprised and overjoyed.
The county magistrate hesitated and said doubtfully, "You... did not make this up, did you?"
The chief patrol officer, Xing Patrol Head, couldn't help but smile and said, "Master Zhang, we dare not deceive you. If you don't believe us, ask our brothers."
"It's true, Lord Mayor."
"We saw it with our own eyes, Lord Mayor! Master Chen crushed the demon to dust!"
"Master Chen is truly magnificent! In the beginning, he engaged in a battle with the demon for a moment, and then manifested his true divine form - blue-faced, sharp fangs, red hair like cinnabar, with wind and thunder wings, terrifying and appalling. My subordinates still remember it with emotion."
A group of quick patrol officers described everything they had seen in a jumble of voices.
Count Zhang and the deputy magistrate, the chief clerk, and others were all rather dumbfounded by the account.
Blue-faced, sharp fangs, red hair like cinnabar?
Wind and thunder wings, terrifying and appalling?
Just imagining that appearance gave the officials a shiver, and each of them felt awe-struck.
After a moment of silence, Lord Zhang said, "Master Chen has used his boundless powers to save our Liuxi City from danger. If we do not show our gratitude in some way, we may have chilled the heart of the deity."
"Ordinary things in the mortal world are not worth the deity's attention," the deputy magistrate suggested, "I think it would be better to build a temple for Master Chen, so that the people of Liuxi City can worship him."
Lord Zhang's heart stirred, thinking that the proposal seemed quite reasonable.
He glanced to the side and asked, "Is Master Chen recorded in our court's roster of deities?"
The chief clerk quickly replied, "I've checked the documents before. Master Chen's name is not on the roster of deities."
Lord Zhang furrowed his brow and said, "Then it seems that Master Chen is not a registered deity in our court. If we want to worship him, it would seem we're going beyond our authority."
The deputy magistrate blinked and said, "Lord Zhang, you can write a letter to the court and report the matter. Let the emperor decide."
Lord Zhang smiled brightly and said, "That's right. The emperor will certainly be delighted to hear about Master Chen's great powers. Once he decrees it, we can establish a temple for Master Chen."
At this point, he couldn't contain himself and, waving his sleeves, said decisively, "Bring me paper, ink, and brushes. I'm going to write a letter and send it to Luoyang to present it to the emperor."
......
Not to mention the situation within Liuxi City.
Chen Yun gradually collected his spiritual energy and returned to his original form.
A feeling of exhaustion began to arise.
However, to everyone's surprise, all his injuries had healed.
He reached out and gathered his flying sword, Li Huo Pearl, and other magical weapons.
Later, Master Chen retrieved the banners placed by Yin Wuji around Liuxi City and the "exploded" equipment, and put them all in his bag.
As for the specific "equipment" that Yin Wuji exploded, he didn't look at it carefully.
Because there are more important things to do now.
Master Chen restored his spiritual energy slightly.
He then rode the wind over to where Qin Liang and Ji Xin were.
At this moment, Qin Liang, Ji Xin, and the other divine soldiers and generals were fiercely subduing the demon soldiers and officers who were leaderless.
Some of the demon soldiers and officers didn't have time to escape.
They were captured immediately by Qin Liang and Ji Xin, who led their divine troops.
Of course, the majority of the demon soldiers and officers had already dispersed and fled in all directions.
"Master!"
"Master!"
As they subdued two demon soldiers, Qin Liang and Ji Xin greeted simultaneously.
Master Chen addressed them, "Call back all the brothers, be merciful and don't chase them too hard. We should not cause unnecessary casualties."
"Oh?" Ji Xin was surprised, clutching a demon soldier and frowning at Master Chen. "Master, the strength of these demon soldiers and officers is not weak. If we let them enter the secular world without any constraints, they will surely cause harm to ordinary people, or even kill them."
Master Chen, of course, knew this principle, "I have a way to make them all come back."
Upon hearing this, Qin Liang and Ji Xin didn't dare to disobey, and immediately called back all the divine soldiers. At the same time, they also captured over two hundred demon soldiers.
They looked at Master Chen with curiosity, really wondering how the master would use his method to capture those demon soldiers and officers back.
Master Chen didn't say anything, and from the already "broken" and barely usable storage ring, he took out a control spirit bell.
He drove his divine consciousness and gently swayed the copper bell.
Ding!
Ding, ding, ding!
A series of copper bell rings resounded throughout the heavens and earth.
The next moment, gusts of evil winds surged from all directions, and countless demon soldiers and officers, looking dazed, were drawn back.
It only took a short while.
There were now over seven hundred and eighty demon soldiers standing in front of them.
Moreover, it had also attracted over a thousand wandering souls and ghosts.
Master Chen did not continue to use the control spirit bell to keep these demon soldiers, officers, and wandering souls and ghosts.
He put away the control spirit bell, and those demon soldiers, officers, and wandering souls and ghosts immediately became clear-minded.
Master Chen looked at them and spoke in a dominant tone, "You can either surrender or die!"
The wandering souls and ghosts had already been frightened by Master Chen's powerful aura earlier. There was no thought of resisting, and they kneeled down on the ground immediately, indicating their willingness to serve Master Chen.
The demon soldiers and officers exchanged glances and, after a moment of silence, started to kneel down one by one, all surrendering.
Subsequently, Master Chen had these demon soldiers, officers, and wandering souls and ghosts all crawl into the altars where the divine soldiers and generals resided.
After completing these tasks, he then used the Golden Light of the Earth to return to Jinquanshan.
......
The next morning, it was still dim at dawn.
In the streets of Liuxi City.
Perhaps today was the day for the market fair, and the streets were filled with people.
"Aunt Qiu, you've bought so much incense. Are you going to the temple to burn it?"
"I don't know which temple to burn the incense at. My son found a painter yesterday and drew an image of Master Chen. We put it up at home to worship. I will buy more incense back, and burn a few sticks every day to pray for Master Chen's blessings for our family's safety and prosperity."
"Oh no, Mrs. Qiu, your family also worships Master Chen?"
"Why is it strange to worship Master Chen? My uncle works at the government office, and he said that even the county magistrate worships Master Chen. Just think about it, a county magistrate! Even he needs to worship and pray for safety and to ward off evil spirits, so why shouldn't we invite the deity home to protect our safety?"
"Exactly, Master Chen saved all the people of our Liuxi City from the brink of disaster yesterday. If it weren't for Master Chen, maybe our city would have been overrun by the demon. Although the court has not yet officially recognized him, we can't establish a temple for him, but every household in our city worships him. After all, even if the government doesn't approve, I still worship him at home."
"My family also worships him..."
Perhaps it was because Master Chen showed such extraordinary bravery yesterday. Now, the entire Liuxi City is not only still buzzing with excitement but is also discussing his slaying of Yin Wuji. Moreover, every household has begun to worship him, with some wealthy families hiring artists to paint his portrait. The poorer families have had carpenters make altars for him.
Millions of burning incense!
The true spiritual fires of ten thousand families!
More than 200,000 people in the entire Liuxi City witnessed the magnificent scene of Master Chen slaying Yin Wuji. Despite not having become a celestial being nor being officially recognized by the court, the people are grateful and nearly every household is paying homage to him!
(This chapter is completed)
