"Water God!"
The young county magistrate, Zhang Qingyang,'s expression brightened, and a smile immediately appeared on his face.
He dismounted and, in front of everyone, called out, using a rich smile to show his familiarity.
As soon as he spoke, a hint of surprise appeared on the faces of the surrounding crowd, who were clearly aware of the matter of the Xiaoyuan Mountain Water God Temple.
They simply hadn't expected the newly appointed Water God on that small hill to leave his territory and appear outside the River God Temple.
As cultivators, they naturally knew that ordinary deities would never easily leave their territory, adding danger and trouble to themselves out of thin air.
"With the Water God's assistance, this undertaking will surely be extremely smooth."
Zhang Qingyang said with a smile, while also informing those around him that the Water God of Xiaoyuan Mountain was merely there to help, and the true leader of everything was still him, the county magistrate.
Upon hearing this, some people exchanged glances, immediately understanding the young county magistrate's intentions.
Ji Yuan also understood, but he didn't care. In fact, he was happy about it. Compared to so-called merits, he only needed to ensure that he could receive the authority of the Linfu River and the incense offerings in the River God Temple.
With the addition of the Xiaoyuan Mountain Water God, Zhang Qingyang and the others immediately felt a bit more confident. The fight by the Linfu River the previous night might not be clear to ordinary people, but they were aware of it.
Although they didn't know the outcome, the fact that this Water God could appear here unharmed was enough to explain many things.
The procession advanced again and smoothly arrived outside the River God Temple. However, the expected resistance and obstruction did not appear. There was even a temple keeper helping to disperse the nearby pilgrims.
The group instinctively looked at each other, all sensing that something was unusual. But the arrow was already on the string, and there was no turning back. Since they had come this far, they would not return empty-handed because of the slight anomaly before them.
The officers and soldiers immediately spread out, clearing the entire River God Temple and blocking all pilgrims outside.
Dozens of constables surrounded the main hall, while the other martial arts practitioners dispersed, ready to fight any enemies that might appear.
Zhang Qingyang straightened his official robe and, accompanied by Constable Xu Kaiyang and several martial artists in the Bone-Tendon Realm, entered the main hall together.
Seeing this, Ji Yuan naturally followed suit, maintaining a distance from the young county official to ensure he could be rescued immediately if anything unexpected happened.
At the same time, he was making preparations in secret, ready to escape with Zhang Qingyang at the fastest speed if they encountered an insurmountable situation.
However, after they entered the main hall, a long time passed without any unusual events. They saw no enemies before them, only a group of temple keepers standing neatly together.
"We confess!"
Just as the few were feeling perplexed, a total of twelve temple keepers suddenly knelt down, their foreheads touching the ground in a prostrate position.
As soon as their voices fell, the statue on the offering altar immediately emitted a soft light, followed by the golden body of the River God emerging and walking down from the altar step by step.
He stood before the county magistrate, flicked his robe, and then knelt down, presenting the scepter symbolizing the River God's authority with both hands.
"I... confess!"
A deep voice resounded in the main hall, causing everyone to freeze.
Everyone had already prepared for a life-or-death battle with the deity here, but unexpectedly, as soon as they arrived and before they could even ask for accountability, the other party directly knelt down and confessed!
Looking at the River God standing before him, clad in divine robes, Zhang Qingyang's expression flickered. After a long while, he took a deep breath and slowly walked forward a few steps.
Seeing this, everyone's hearts were in their throats, fearing a trap and ready to act at any moment.
However, until Zhang Qingyang took the River God's scepter and handed it to the Water God beside him, there was still no abnormality.
In fact, it was so calm that it made people suspect it was some kind of conspiracy or trick.
"By the authority granted to me by the court, I hereby strip your divine power, remove your divine position, and seal your golden body!"
Zhang Qingyang took out his official seal. With each word he spoke, a wisp of imperial aura emanated from it.
As his words gradually faded, the official seal in his hand flew out on its own and heavily imprinted on the River God's forehead.
In an instant, the divine might on him became imperceptible, his originally powerful aura rapidly declined, and his vast divine power was sealed within his golden body, rendered completely unusable.
In less than a quarter of an hour, Zhang Qingyang led his men away. Two constables behind them escorted the River God, putting him into a specially made prison cart and transporting him back to Linfu County under the public gaze.
This scene was witnessed by a large number of pilgrims, who could hardly believe their eyes, feeling as if the sky had fallen or they were trapped in a nightmare.
It was not until the government yamen runners and constables posted official notices outside the River God Temple and informed the surrounding pilgrims of the River God's various evil deeds that some people seemed to awaken from their stupor.
But more people still refused to believe it, thinking that the government had been deceived by villains, and someone was deliberately framing the benevolent River God.
"It must be that Water God from Xiaoyuan Mountain!"
"That's right! It must be that wild god! He wants to seize the position of the true Water God!"
"Your Excellency! Please do not be deceived by an evil god!"
Upon hearing that the River God Temple here was temporarily taken over by the Xiaoyuan Mountain Water God, cries erupted from the crowd.
More and more common people knelt on the ground, crying out with heartbreaking sobs, urging the government to release the true Water God, the River God, and punish the slanderous and malicious god.
Ji Yuan stood in the main hall of the River God Temple. With his current cultivation, he could hear everything within a radius of several miles without deliberate effort.
Let alone the cries outside the wall, which were already as intense as surging waves, as if they would engulf the entire River God Temple at any moment.
"You... or the person behind you... what exactly do you want to do?"
He gazed at the River God's scepter in his hand and couldn't help but murmur to himself.
He could feel that there was nothing wrong with the scepter in his hand. It was connected to all the authority of the River God's divine position and to the entire Linfu River beside it. Furthermore, no one had left any hidden traps within it.
In other words, as long as he wished, he could immediately possess the River God's authority, become the deity of this river, and elevate his own divinity by a considerable margin.
However, the imperial decree had not yet arrived, and coupled with the suspicious nature of today's events, he truly dared not incorporate the divine authority of this place into his own divinity at this moment.
Fortunately, regardless of what the River God or the person behind him had in mind, at least his plan had been partially completed.
Now that the River God's divine authority was in hand, the remaining part was the incense offerings and wishes.
Ji Yuan looked up and saw that the statue enshrined on the altar contained immense amounts of incense offerings and wishes, accumulated by the River God over more than three hundred years.
Although some of it had been consumed during this period, the remaining amount was still astonishing.
For example, the River Demon in Qianyu City had accumulated a hundred years of incense by establishing an unauthorized shrine, but it was not even a fraction of what was here.
One dared only act in secret, while the other had endured offerings from all directions for over three hundred years, so naturally, they could not be compared.
After checking that there were indeed no other hidden traps or ambushes, he gently struck the ground with the scepter in his hand, dispelling the restrictions on the statue, and then began to absorb the immense amount of incense offerings and wishes accumulated within.
At the same time, the soldiers, yamen runners, and constables who remained here also began to search inside and outside the River God Temple, looking for any evidence of wrongdoing.