Journey to the West: I have Nine Golden Crows Inside Me
Chapter 811 - 630 City God

Chapter 811: 630 City God

Then, he saw a majestic temple, with the words "Town God" inscribed above.

This was the Town God Temple!

What is a Town God? It is the deity who guards the city, responsible for the major and minor affairs of the underworld within the region. Different regions have different Town Gods, who may even be elected by the locals themselves, with the chosen often being martyrs who perished for their country or upright and intelligent historical figures.

This was the divine system of the Fengdu Emperor established by Jiang Chen. In his vision, every city would have its own Town God Temple, enshrining a Town God to protect the city and manage its underworld affairs, thereby relieving the pressure on the Netherworld.

The Three Realms truly are vast, with people dying all the time, and their souls all heading to the Underworld after death to be judged by the Yama Kings: whether to reward or punish, to continue with reincarnation, to be sent to the Heaven Court, or to be cast into hell...

The Yama Kings’ staff is only so large, yet they have to handle countless matters every day. It’s inevitable that they will get overloaded, and over time, chaos will breed, unsettling the Ghost Realm and thereby affecting the human world, leading to an imbalance between the living and the dead, and gradually resulting in turmoil within Heaven and Earth.

The emergence of the Town God system was born to alleviate the pressure of the Yama Kings. The sins of the living beings on Earth, and where their souls should go after death, would all be judged by the Town God, who would then report to the Yama Kings. As a result, the burden on the Underworld would naturally be reduced significantly.

Of course, while this system is good, it could weaken the authority of the Underworld by cutting into its power, and the Underworld may not agree to it.

But what does it matter to Jiang Chen whether the Underworld agrees or not? After all, the Underworld isn’t his, and besides, his purpose in creating the Town God system might not be devoid of the intention to compete with the Underworld for power.

In the Netherworld, one voice was enough. After people died, they only needed to hear one voice—that of the Fengdu Emperor. As for the Underworld, a decayed regime was destined to be eliminated by him.

Beiyin Fengdu Emperor, the master of ghosts and deities, was truly the destined ruler of the Netherworld.

In Heaven, matching the Purple Mist Star. Among humans, corresponding to the Human Sovereign. On Earth, he is the master of ghosts and deities. Therefore, it was indeed rightful for the Fengdu Emperor to become the ruler of the Netherworld.

Perhaps the Fengdu Emperor was also a fate favored by the Purple Mist Star. Ever since the Upper Qing Saints opened his mind, Jiang Chen came to understand many things all at once.

If the earthly sovereigns are born in accordance with the heavenly fate of the Purple Mist Star, wouldn’t the emperor of the Ghost Dao be the same?

Keep in mind, the Fengdu Emperor also bears the title of an incarnation of the Purple Mist Great Emperor. By this account, the Fengdu Emperor is also a person favored by the heavenly fate of the Purple Mist Star.

One must always prepare for all contingencies; that way, if one path doesn’t work out, there is an alternative to fall back on, and one’s hopes won’t be entirely dashed.

The earthly sovereign is one contingency, and the Fengdu Ghost Emperor is another. Jiang Chen had been planning the path of the Fengdu Ghost Emperor for quite some time, and the Town God Temple before him was proof of that fruition.

In the past, Jiang Chen realized the Tao at Shangqing Palace and created two major magical systems for his disciples. The first one, the Shenxiao system, was mainly focused on utilizing thunder magic, and the disciples who practiced this system could take positions in the Shenxiao Bureau, wielding the power to mete out Heaven and Earth’s punitive laws.

And the second system was the one established by the Fengdu Emperor, mainly based on Ghost Dao. Disciples who practiced this system would transform into Town Gods, holding sway over a region’s authority, rewarding the good and punishing the wicked, commanding gods and guiding ghosts to accumulate merit.

The Shenxiao system wasn’t problematic, as it was a legitimate path of Immortal Dao, but as for the one established by the Fengdu Emperor, it was something Jiang Chen had specifically prepared for his deceased disciples; it was nominally Immortal Dao, but in reality, it was cloaked in the skin of Divine Dao.

Back then, Jiang Chen’s idea was simple: if you live, you practice Immortal Dao, and if you can succeed, you won’t die. But if you died, it suggested that you weren’t suitable for practicing Immortal Dao, so you might as well switch to practicing Divine Dao.

...

"Town God!"

Gazing at the Town God Temple before him, Jiang Chen’s eyes looked profoundly deep. The Town God Temple, which only exists in the region of Cang Mountain, hadn’t been made available elsewhere.

Because Jiang Chen merely tested this path in Cang Mountain. If the results were favorable, he would expand it throughout the entire Three Realms. If it proved ineffective, he would have to summarize the experience and reflect on the reasons for its failure.

Seeing the Town God Temple bustling with incense, and as the people came and went, each face donned a smile without a hint of fear, it was evident they truly believed in him. From this, one could see that the local Town God was indeed capable, faithfully performing his duties and thus earning the recognition of the people.

Jiang Chen did not step forward to inquire. Observing a single Town God would not reveal much. Standing still, his body remained motionless, but his vision soared ever higher, rapidly taking in the entire expanse of Cang Mountain.

At the same time, within Cang Mountain, each Town God Temple, one after another, materialized before Jiang Chen’s eyes, swiftly lining up and emitting a faint light. These lights varied in intensity, primarily red with black as a secondary hue.

After a glance, Jiang Chen noticed that among the intermingled red and black lights, the black occupied a very small portion, not even one in tens of thousands, prompting him to breathe a sigh of relief.

The disciples of Shangqing Palace are acceptable, if not noble in character, at least they are compliant and upright, refraining from misdeeds.

As a beacon of Yin within Yang, the Town God Temple is an outer manifestation of the Divine Dao. Though illusory in nature, it possesses the power to intervene in reality, thus it is delineated by red light. The purer the red light, the greater its authority. The black light, then, represents the transformation of karma.

Even the judgment of the Heavenly Dao is not perfectly flawless, let alone that of men. After disciples from Shangqing Palace become Town Gods, even if they administer justice fairly, it is inevitable that some people will be dissatisfied.

And to speak of fairness, it is inherently unclear; no matter how one judges, achieving perfection to please everyone is impossible.

Dissatisfaction breeds resentment, and while a little resentment is inconsequential, an abundance of it can lead to various consequences.

Outside the Town God Temple, the black light within the red is the transformation of that resentment. The more intense the black light, the greater the resentment and public indignation, indicating that the Town God is not as competent as thought, displaying severe dereliction of his duties, leading to boiling public outrage.

When the black light completely overtakes the red, it will spawn immense tribulations, all falling within the Town God’s domain. Even if the tribulation is passed, it will result in great loss of vitality; if not, it will be relegated to history.

However, as it stands, the performance of these Town Gods is satisfying and has not disappointed Jiang Chen’s expectations.

"These people are doing quite well. It’s just that there are still flaws within the Beiyin Fengdu system. In principle, after a Town God accumulates enough Merit, they should be elevated to advance to the Netherworld and carve out a Divine Territory, transforming into a local Ghost God to continue their Practice."

"However, the current situation in the Netherworld is unclear. The officials of the Underworld have managed, not without difficulty, to kill the previous Fengdu Ghost Emperor, completely seizing the reins of the Netherworld. They definitely wouldn’t want me to step in and share a piece of the pie."

"If disciples of the Shangqing Palace rashly venture to the Netherworld, they will inevitably face rejection from the Underworld, with an uncertain future indeed."

"This is troublesome. One day, when the opportunity arises, I must visit the Netherworld to see if there is a chance to intervene."

Jiang Chen felt somewhat helpless, thinking himself a workhorse, with human affairs yet unsettled and the matters of the Netherworld already looming.

"Sigh..."

Shaking his head and sighing, Jiang Chen continued forward to inspect the locale. Observing Fate gave only a rough idea, but the specifics had yet to be seen with his own eyes to be certain.

Emerging from the crowd, he must ultimately return to them; one cannot stay detached from the populace too long, lest he becomes unaware of the common people’s hardships.

The responsibilities of the Town God are numerous, including not only protecting the city and managing local affairs of the Underworld but also ensuring local harmony, free from the invasion of evil spirits. The nearby mountain goblins, land deities, and mountain gods should, in theory, be under the jurisdiction of the local Town God as well.

However, Cang Mountain is Jiang Chen’s own territory, out of the reach of Heaven Court’s influence, and thus there are no land deities or mountain gods here.

Otherwise, disputes between Town Gods and mountain or land gods would be a significant trouble, very significant indeed. Such a situation could involve not just the Jade Emperor but also the Heavenly Emperor.

Deities such as mountain gods and land gods are, in fact, under the rule of the Heavenly Emperor, hence he is hailed as the Lord of Ten Thousand Gods. Yet, in reality, it is the Jade Emperor who enfeoffs them.