"As for the River God Temple, the Master has his own arrangements. We only need to guard the city."
Li Buwei suddenly spoke, withdrew his gaze, and led the few people beside him down the city wall, disappearing into the crowd.
A total of fifteen mountain and swamp cultivators were arranged near the county office. If there was any anomaly in the city, their strength would at least be able to protect the yamen temporarily.
This was also one of Ji Yuan's arrangements, fearing that the situation in Qianyu City would recur, where someone with ill intentions might want to sacrifice the city's citizens or have other plans.
Currently, the strength of the government in the city was weak. Once someone wanted to do something, or in an extreme situation, fight to the death, it would be easy to cause great chaos, leading to a large number of innocent citizens being implicated.
Moreover, with the influence of the River God Temple, which had been operating for over three hundred years, it would not be difficult to achieve this. As for the true stance of many forces within the city, perhaps no one other than themselves could be sure.
"If the River God's divine authority is sealed, what will you do?"
In a long-uninhabited small courtyard within the city, Jiang Yunzhou stood before a millstone and suddenly asked out of curiosity.
On the armchair beside him, Ji Yuan's main body lay leisurely, gazing at the clear sky.
After a long while, he finally said, "The county office has prepared the official documents. Once the situation at the River God Temple proceeds smoothly, they will be submitted along with some physical evidence."
"At that time, the Water God Temple will temporarily replace the River God Temple and gain control over the origin of the Linfu River."
"The rest will be a step-by-step process to uncover the truth and bring the person manipulating everything behind the scenes to justice."
As long as he could obtain control over the origin of the Linfu River, he could use his divine abilities to purify the yin energy within it, and with some other means, he could guide the vengeful spirits and water ghosts in the river.
In this way, the River God's power would naturally be weakened, and he could also take away a large amount of incense and wish power accumulated in the temple.
This was the most crucial step. Once he obtained the approval of the local county magistrate, and with his official seal pressed onto the incense and wish power, he could easily take it away without the consent of the original owner.
With such a vast amount of incense and wish power, coupled with his own sufficient cultivation level, he would surely ascend to the third realm in a very short period.
At that time, no matter what happened in the end, he would at least have enough self-protection and the strength to intervene in the affairs of Linfu County.
"Actually, it's not that troublesome. If I act now, everything can be resolved quickly."
Jiang Yunzhou said softly, "Not only will fewer people suffer, but it will also force the person behind the scenes to show themselves, avoiding many potential changes."
With his peak third-realm cultivation, capable of condensing divine status at any moment, there was indeed no opponent to be found here. As long as the other party did not have an existence of the same cultivation level, they would not be able to turn the tide.
Even the River God, with the power of the Linfu River's origin, would not be Jiang Yunzhou's opponent and would be easily suppressed.
At that time, if Ji Yuan still wanted the incense and wish power of the River God Temple, it would only be a matter of thought.
"But it's also possible that the person behind the scenes will completely go into hiding, making it impossible to find any trace."
He narrowed his eyes slightly and then smiled, "A mere River God can be dealt with in many ways, but the influence he has cultivated and the manipulator behind him are the most important keys."
Killing a River God was something he could do even without Jiang Yunzhou's intervention. The Xuan Tian Sword Art was once known as one of the top sword cultivation techniques in the Great Yu Dynasty for a reason.
Although his main body was still only in the late second realm, with the power of this sword art, killing a deity who had not yet fully entered the third realm was not too difficult.
However, doing so would cut off many future clues. The person manipulating behind the scenes might disappear completely, or hide in the dark and plot something, or simply go elsewhere.
The influence that the River God Temple had been cultivating for a long time would also lie dormant, like a volcano that might erupt at any moment.
Now that Ji Yuan regarded this place as a development ground for his divine avatar, he would not allow such a great hidden danger to lurk by his side.
That's right, his vision was no longer limited to a single Mount Xiaoyuan. He wanted to use this opportunity to occupy the incense and divine authority of almost all of Linfu County, and at the same time, gain the recognition of the imperial court.
If things went well, he might even gain the right to establish divine temples in various places within Feiyun Commandery. With the strength of the Nine Xuan Sect and the Ming Xin Pavilion.
To be conservative, let's set a small goal: opening a hundred branch temples wouldn't be too much, right?
"It is both a crisis and an opportunity."
Jiang Yunzhou slowly walked over, sat on a chair beside him, and curiously observed the person next to him.
After a long while, he couldn't help but ask, "When did you start thinking about these interlocking matters?"
Upon hearing this, Ji Yuan sighed. In fact, as soon as he discovered that someone might be secretly controlling the River God Temple from behind, he had already formed a general idea in his mind.
Now, with more information discovered, this idea was constantly being refined.
"But you have to be careful. Someone might use this matter to make a fuss."
Jiang Yunzhou reminded him.
How could Ji Yuan not have considered this situation? But now, he could only take it one step at a time, dealing with each challenge as it came.
As the two talked, the young county magistrate Zhang Qingyang led his team to the Linfu River. From afar, they could see the River God Temple, with its flourishing incense.
As the group walked forward, their imposing procession attracted the attention of the surrounding pilgrims, who had come to offer incense early in the morning and were unaware of the series of events that had occurred in the city.
When they were still thirty to forty feet away from the River God Temple, ripples suddenly appeared on the river surface. As the river breeze blew, the yin energy emanating from it was carried to the shore.
Even martial artists with strong vital energy felt a chill rise within their bodies. Under the shroud of the yin wind, their limbs even became somewhat cold.
Several martial artists with initial stage Bone and Muscle Realm cultivation also felt their vital energy being suppressed, and an unavoidable chill spread through their physiques.
If they were to fight in such a situation, their strength would be somewhat affected.
Just then, a golden light appeared from afar, and finally, in front of everyone, it transformed into a youth wearing a light blue divine robe.
As soon as Ji Yuan's divine avatar arrived, he waved his hand and scattered a shower of divine light, dispelling the chill from everyone's bodies and blocking the yin wind blowing from the river.