In the river, many spirits peeked out to watch, while some spirits whispered among themselves. The temple was quiet, and Chen Jing did not come out, but in his heart, he kept replaying the moment when Guang Han's sword was unsheathed. That sword was no ordinary object, he dared not confirm whether it was a pre-heavenly artifact, but Chen Jing was certain that even if his own Misty Heaven Sword rose several levels, it might not be comparable to Guang Han's sword.

  Chen Jing's peace was disrupted by Yan Luo Niang's master, and suddenly someone came to the River God Temple in Ba Ling City to offer sacrifices.

  The person who came was Yan Zhong, the city guard of Balington City in the south, with the word Changsheng. Also coming with him were representatives of those famous families in the south of the city, including Gu Mingyu from the Gu family. Like Gu Mingyu, there were not a few people who had learned some Taoist skills, but they were powerless against the evil spirit in the city, and many chose to leave Balington City.

  The evil aura in the city of Ba Ling suddenly appeared, and overnight it had already engulfed the entire city. Although the gods around Ba Ling had long felt the evil aura rising from the ground, they were all powerless to stop it.

  The people who came from the city of Ba Ling were just like those in Jun Ling Town at that time. They held a grand ceremony in front of the River God Temple and brought in a statue to be placed inside the temple. This was an invitation for the gods, but Chen Jing knew clearly that Ba Ling City was not a blessed land, but a cursed one. He knew that even if he went there, he wouldn't be able to help them drive out the evil spirits from the city; all they could do was abandon the city and leave. However, in this world where demons and monsters roamed freely, humans without divine protection found it difficult to survive even if they wanted to live quietly.

  Cheng Su was a great Confucian scholar, but he could sense the aura on the statue and knew that Chen Jing had not been invited to move. Instead, he didn't leave and even mobilized the people of Bailin City in the south to come and kneel down to worship. Chen Jing felt a strong desire for survival from them, so he attached himself to the statue and followed Nan Cheng Su into the city.

  A mighty procession, nearly a thousand strong. Some of the spirits followed him into the city of Ba Ling, but more remained gathered in the river domain of Xiu Chun Wan. Those who had accompanied Chen Jing into the city transformed and emerged from the river domain, flanking the bridge where Chen Jing's statue sat, adding to its majesty. City Guardian Yan Zhong watched with delight in his eyes.

  Chen Jing has been the River God of Spring Bend since then, and everything in the past has become more and more distant, like the marks on the wall, slowly fading away in the wind and rain.

  Chen Jing himself did not realize that as some of his previous memories gradually faded from his heart, his temperament was also slowly changing. This is a transformation that every cultivator will experience, and it can be said that human nature is transformed into divine nature. However, what kind of transformation it will become in the future depends on the experiences each person goes through during the transformation process.

  It's been three days since they left, and the people from Balington City, led by the overlord, almost had to make an offering every step of the way. Chen Jing felt a sense of helplessness and worry from them.

  It wasn't until they arrived outside the city of Ba Ling that Chen Jing realized he wasn't the only god being invited, but rather four gods had been invited, and he was just one of them. When Chen Jing was invited into the southern part of Ba Ling City, the other three were also invited from a hundred miles away, each from a different direction. They were the city gods of the three cities located in the east, west, and north of Ba Ling City. The city to the east, a hundred miles away, was Shou Chun City; the city to the west was Zhong Li City; and the city to the north was a larger city than Ba Ling, called Na Lan City.

  As soon as Chen Jingru entered the city, a surge of cold and gloomy air rushed towards him. This evil aura was even thicker than it had been several months ago.

  The people of the south city area all watched from the sidelines, but were very quiet, as if they were afraid of startling something. It was completely different from the excitement when the statue of General Shen was brought in from Junling Town. Chen Jing felt a few points of tension on their faces, accompanied by worry and fear.

  There are five City God Temples in Balingsuo, with one at each of the four cardinal directions and one in the center. The statue was moved to the front of the City God Temple in the south of the city, and Chen Jingcai only then realized that these temples had not been demolished yet.

  Chen Jing speculated that they must be afraid, so they would first invite themselves and then dismantle the previous temple.

  The dark eight-person sedan chair stopped in front of the Nancheng Temple, the city god in the sedan chair bowed and waved his hand, and the people who were already prepared immediately started dismantling the temple.

  This dismantling of the temple must be done with care, and a new deity must be invited to reside in it. It's not just a matter of replacing the statue inside, but rather the entire temple must be demolished, including the bricks and stones in the foundation. Moreover, the new temple cannot be built using the original temple's bricks and tiles.

  Suddenly a gust of evil wind blew out from the Nanjing City God Temple, and the people who were removing tiles on the temple's roof shouted and fell down. The surrounding area was in an uproar, with cries of alarm mixed with fear. Suddenly, another gust of clear wind appeared out of thin air and held the person up, allowing him to land safely on the ground. That gust of clear wind was Chen Jing Shi's magic, and the people outside obviously guessed it too, as they all knelt down and bowed.

  Chen Jing didn't pay attention to them. He saw that the evil spirit came from the South City Temple, and immediately got up and entered the temple.

  Many people in the city saw a virtual shadow passing through the curtain, coming out from the Black Bridge, and flashing into the temple. The people outside the temple fell silent, one by one retreating, listening to the movements inside the City God Temple, while some gods and spirits who came with Chen Jing were also distributed around the statue, guarding it.

  Only the faint sound of a sword humming was heard in the Chenghuang Temple, and a light came out from the temple. Immediately after, a shrill cry of despair echoed through the air. Suddenly, a half-real and half-illusory monster burst out of the roof of the Chenghuang Temple, shrouded in gray mist. As it appeared on the rooftop, its eyes glowed bright red with a venomous glare as it looked down.

  Even with the city's strict defense, a chill ran down his spine as he thought to himself, "This is bad. If they escape, the people of Castle South will never know peace."

  Just as the monster was about to disappear into thin air, a cold sword light broke through the void and cut the monster in half. The monster let out another mournful cry and dissipated into a cloud of gray smoke. A virtual scene overflowed from the void, and it was Chen Jing. The people in the city all looked up, feeling the coldness in Chen Jing's sword, and their hearts suddenly became excited. Chen Jing did not disappear, but instead stepped on the void, with a sword in his hand, drawing and swinging, forming one spiritual symbol after another.

  "Expel the evil! Calm and purify!" Chen Jing shouted. Two spiritual symbols spread out, covering the southern part of the city, his voice dispersing the fear in people's hearts along with the symbols.

  In an instant, Chen Jing vanished from the bridge top and disappeared.

  But the people who saw this scene suddenly no longer feared, no longer afraid. Looking at the Nancheng City God Temple again, there was no eerie feeling either.

  "This is the real God." An old man excitedly said to a young person beside him on the street corner.

  Chen Jingru was feeling a faint, inexplicable sensation in his heart. Just now when he was casting the "Expel Evil" and "Calm" spells, he had a different feeling from when he cast other spells. This difference was extremely subtle. He was still pondering what the difference was, concentrating on sensing it.

  Almost at the same time, similar scenes occurred in front of the City God Temple in the east, west and north of the city, only with different means used by the gods invited. Chen Jing did not relax his mind to observe, if he knew, he would have guessed that the act of inviting the gods into the city on the same day and demolishing the temple on the same day must be the result of a long preparation by the city's guardian merchants.

  Madam Gu sat in the mansion, with Ming Wei standing beside her, listening to Gu Mingyu's report. In the Gu Mansion, although Madam Gu didn't usually interfere with matters, she had the power to inquire about anything and held the power of life and death.

  "You're saying that the River God of Jinghe River was invited to our mansion before?" Madam Gu asked cautiously, her eyes narrowed and body slightly leaning forward.

  "Yes, Grandma, it was the person who delivered the Micro Sword Symbol." Gu Mingyu said with his head down. Although he had learned some Taoist techniques, he never dared to be rude in front of Grandma Gu. He still remembered that when he was a child, a demon suddenly broke into the inner courtyard, and several uncles who had mastered magic spells couldn't stop it. However, when the demon rushed into the hall where this silver-haired old lady lived, the hall burst with colorful lights, and the demon retreated even faster, fleeing in disarray.

  Madam Gu was deep in thought, muttering to herself: "It's actually him, he really isn't an ordinary person." Madam Gu recalled the old swordsman wearing a simple and unadorned robe, and in her opinion, someone who could teach Chen Jing couldn't be an ordinary person either. Meanwhile, Gu Mingyu and Gu Mingwei thought that Madam Gu was talking about Chen Jing.

  Gu Mingyu thought to himself that his grandmother had also been unaware of his true identity, while Gu Mingwei was somewhat excited, the sword token she had stuck close to her chest seemed to be burning with heat.

  "It turns out he is the river god of Jinghe River, why didn't I go take a look there?" Gu Ming thought to himself, then turned back to Old Lady Gu and said: "Grandma, since he is a river god and has a connection with our Gu family, shouldn't we invite him home?"

  "Let's not rush into this, we'll talk about it later. Ming Wei, when you were young, the River God held you in his arms and gave you a sword token, which means your connection with him is not shallow. You go and pay respects to the River God on my behalf."

  Gu Ming's heart was filled with joy, and he hastily replied, "Yes, Granny." After finishing speaking, he quickly exited the main hall, walking faster and faster, until he finally ran out of the Gu Mansion, heading straight for the South City Temple.

  But Gu Mingyu was puzzled in her heart, and asked Grandma Gu about Chen Jing's past. Grandma Gu said: "His original name is Chen Jing, he followed an old swordsman to live not far from our Gu Mansion..."