345: Yin Shen worship system

Shang Wan Ning tapped the void, and a light screen unfolded, projecting a chart of the Underworld Gods: "Black and White Impermanence, Ox-Head and Horse-Face, Prefecture City God, Magistrate, Lady Meng... even her own statue as the Netherworld Empress was included."

Each one was depicted lifelike and possessed a majestic divine aura.

"Using this as a template, decree that the myriad clans of the Demon must enshrine portraits of the Underworld Gods."

"The higher the clan's rank, the higher the status of the Underworld God they must enshrine."

Feng Xi gasped upon hearing this. This was clearly an attempt to forcibly wedge the Underworld's faith into every corner of the Demon.

"Your Majesty, I fear this move will trigger a backlash from the various clans, especially those with long-standing heritages who have always seen ancestral spirit worship as their foundation."

"Backlash?"

Shang Wan Ning narrowed her phoenix eyes, a dangerous light flashing through them. "I have already shown them a clear path."

She leaned forward, the unique pressure of a deity weighing down, causing Feng Xi's breath to hitch.

"Clan Leader Feng, go and tell the clans of the Demon. For any clan that enshrines the Underworld God portraits, the criteria for judgment will be the sincerity of their hearts and the amount of incense offerings."

"Among them, the clans with the most 'sincere' hearts and the most abundant offerings will grant their outstanding disciples quotas for 'Fengdu City residency rights'."

"Fengdu City residency rights?" Feng Xi's pupils shrank suddenly. Fengdu City was the destination of the dead, where the spiritual energy concentration far exceeded that of the Demon. To the Demon race, it was practically a legendary paradise.

"Correct." Shang Wan Ning leaned back against her chair.

"Quotas are limited; first come, first served. Demon clans that move into Fengdu City can enjoy the same resource allocation as the Underworld's civil servant ghost messengers."

"They can also practice high-grade Underworld techniques, and their relatives remaining in the Demon will receive priority protection under the Underworld's laws."

Seeing Feng Xi's eyes suddenly light up, she added the final sentence. "Your Grass Spirit Dog Clan will be responsible for communicating and executing this matter, and the Underworld will dispatch envoys to supervise. If you do well, the number of spots for your clan's second batch of official Underworld posts will double."

"If you mess up..." A flicker of Netherworld flame rose in Shang Wan Ning's palm and vanished instantly.

Feng Xi shuddered, and all her hesitation vanished. Whether the Grass Spirit Dog Clan could truly take root in the Underworld and join the core depended entirely on this.

"Understood. Feng Xi accepts the command and will not fail Your Majesty's trust." She knelt heavily on one knee, her tone resolute... Demon, Grass Spirit Dog Clan territory.

The clan leaders and elders of various clans were urgently summoned. On the high platform, Feng Xi wore the standard official robes of the Underworld, holding a golden scroll engraved with a Netherworld talisman decree, looking majestic.

"By the decree of Her Majesty the Netherworld Empress: Starting today, the 'Underworld God Enshrinement System' will be implemented across all clans in the Demon!"

After the decree was read, the hall fell into silence. Enshrining the Underworld Gods—was this meant to forcibly change the foundation of their faith?

An elder of the Flameflow Lion Clan, whose fur was like raging fire, stepped forward and said in a voice like a booming bell, "Clan Leader Feng Xi, our Lion Clan has enshrined the Lion God lineage for over five thousand years. This is our foundation. Isn't the Underworld being too overbearing?"

"Overbearing?"

Feng Xi scanned the angry or suspicious faces below. "Her Majesty governs both the realms of the living and the dead and protects the Mercury Plane. Who do you think you rely on to multiply in peace, free from the intrusion of external gods and the oppression of Zhu Yan?"

"Hmph, rely on the Underworld?"

An elder of the Black-Armored Turtle Clan stood up slowly, the patterns on his shell glowing red with anger. "My Turtle Clan guards the Profound Water Pond, and our ancestral spirit altar has protected us from countless disasters. Why should we switch to the Underworld Gods?"

"Ancestral traditions cannot be broken!"

"Can the Profound Water Pond block Zhu Yan's pollution source? Last year, when your turtle hatchlings were infected by the pollution source, who sent ghost doctors to treat them? It was the Underworld."

She paused and tapped the golden scroll. "Can ancestral traditions increase the survival rate of your turtle eggs from thirty percent to seventy percent? The Underworld can."

"You!" The Black-Armored Turtle Clan elder was choked for words, and a burst of laughter erupted around him.

The clan leader of the Cyan-Feathered Eagle Clan flapped his wings, the cyan light on his feathers flickering: "Feng Xi, don't use those things as an excuse."

"If the Fengdu City quotas are all taken by your Grass Spirit Dog Clan, wouldn't we be working for nothing? Who knows if you've already colluded with Lord Prefectural City God?"

"Heh." Feng Xi sneered, the appendix she unfolded rustling in the wind.

"It's clearly written on the golden scroll: sincerity is judged by incense offerings, regardless of race. If your Eagle Clan is willing to offer the thousand-year Wind Spirit Crystals you've hoarded, your quotas might not be fewer than ours."

"On the contrary, you'd rather let the spirit crystals rot in your storehouse than exchange them for cultivation resources for your clan's younglings, and now you complain about unfairness?"

These words hit the sore spot of the Cyan-Feathered Eagle Clan. They were the most avaricious, and their faces instantly turned red.

Feng Xi looked at the noisy clan leaders below and curled her lip inwardly: A bunch of fools.

What's the use of clinging to broken ancestral traditions?

Back when Zhu Yan brought chaos to the Demon, these large clans ran faster than anyone, never caring about the life or death of small clans like theirs.

Now that the Underworld has offered a clear path, they're still here dawdling and haggling.

She didn't wait for them to argue further and continued with the pressure of the divine decree: "The residency rights for Fengdu City have limited quotas."

"As long as you enshrine with sincerity and provide abundant incense offerings, the elites of your clans can move into the Netherworld! Enjoy the same treatment as the Underworld's civil servant ghost messengers—techniques, resources, protection, everything."

"What?"

"Residency rights in Fengdu City?"

"Same treatment as civil servant ghost messengers?"

The clan territory instantly erupted into a frenzy. The previous suspicion and anger were swept away by uncontrollable 'greed'. Fengdu City was a place even more desirable than the Demon King's Court.

"Clan Leader Feng, how will the quotas be evaluated?" the clan leader of the Hundred-Refined Snake Clan asked with a hiss, his eyes gleaming.

"With the 'sincerity' of the enshrinement as the measure."

Feng Xi unfolded the appendix at the end of the golden scroll, which clearly listed the ranks of the various Underworld God portraits.

It included the corresponding basic enshrinement standards and a list of precious spiritual items that could be exchanged for incense points.

"Enshrining the statue of Her Majesty the Empress provides the highest base score for the sincere; enshrining core Underworld Gods like Lady Meng and the Magistrate comes next."

"The amount of spiritual energy contained in the incense offerings is the manifestation of 'sincerity'. The Underworld has divine envoys to monitor and record, so it cannot be faked."

"Evaluations are held once a year. The clans with the most outstanding enshrinement sincerity will receive the quotas."

Feng Xi looked around, seeing the calculations in the eyes of the large clan leaders and the uncontrollable excitement of the representatives of small and medium clans. She said coldly, "Those willing to enshrine, register immediately and receive the god portraits; those who question or defy..."

She didn't finish her sentence, but the grim yin energy of a high-level Underworld Soldier Legion faintly emanated from outside the hall.

It sent a chill through the hearts of all the Demons, leaving them in dead silence.

Σ(っ °Д °;)っ

The command, like a mountain collapse or a tsunami, spread throughout the entire Demon.