Although Song Wuji was dead, he left behind some things. Ji Xiang finally breathed a sigh of relief, then kicked the pile of yellow talismans and reached out to rummage through them. A large amount of incense smoke emerged, far more than what was obtained from the fire spirit Zheng Da Fu.
Three sticks of incense counted as one portion of incense smoke.
Zheng Da Fu had very little incense smoke. Although he had received incense smoke for fifty years, that incense smoke was not supplied to him. Like Ji Xiang in Fu Li, he had to rely on scavenging to strengthen himself.
And ever since Emperor Jiajing left, he had basically lived on three sticks of clear incense every day. As an incense spirit monster, he had to rely on incense smoke to sustain himself, otherwise he would dissipate into smoke.
The incense smoke Ji Xiang obtained from Zheng Da Fu was only fifty-seven portions, which showed that the little incense spirit was very frugal. After all, from Emperor Longqing to the present, this thing had not eaten well for about thirty years.
Since Emperor Longqing took away all of Emperor Jiajing's sacrificial utensils, there was no incense smoke in Longde Hall. For Zheng Da Fu, it was not easy to retain his appearance and a certain amount of incense smoke power, after all, he was using up the emperor's legacy.
And the incense smoke left behind by Song Wuji was a huge amount!
"Over three thousand two hundred portions of incense smoke!"
This was because the Fire God Temple was located within the inner city of Shuntian. Since Emperor Jiajing had built the outer city, a large number of people had migrated outwards. Those who remained in the inner city were either people with considerable property or those who were wealthy and noble.
These people worshipped in temples not only generously but also very frequently, visiting every few days. They were not short of money.
Although the worship had not been for long, only two to three months, the quantity was enormous!
Poor people offer one stick of incense, while nobles offer a pound of incense...
Ji Xiang inherited Song Wuji's large estate, and the amount of incense smoke reached over three thousand portions. This couldn't help but make Ji Xiang sigh. He had scavenged for a hundred years in Fu Li to get the incense smoke of ten thousand people, while this guy, just a small fire spirit, acted as an assistant to the Fire God by substituting for someone else, and in two to three months, he had obtained over three thousand portions of incense smoke!
"This is the difference between a pauper and a tycoon!"
Ji Xiang sighed. At this moment, besides the incense smoke, there was an additional gain.
The blank divine tablet in his inner world suddenly began to glow. Instantly, from the pile of talismans, an invisible force was absorbed into Ji Xiang's body, and the divine tablet immediately displayed the introduction of this power: .oγg
[Great Ming National Prestige (Lingering Prestige): National prestige shakes the land, embracing all directions; thunder and rain, all are heavenly grace.]
[The Great Ming National Prestige (Lingering Prestige) stolen by the Fire God Song Wuji possesses the power to awe gods, ghosts, and spirits. With national prestige, one is immune to all deterrence, bewilderment, illusions, and fear (except for the Great Ming Emperor).]
The divine tablet displayed the description, and the moment Ji Xiang obtained the national prestige, he suddenly became aware of various movements from all directions. Within this Forbidden City, the actions of all the palace maids, eunuchs, ministers, and guards were all known to him!
"Now that I have obtained the national prestige, I have established a connection with the national prestige in the Forbidden City!"
Song Wuji, relying on national prestige in the Forbidden City, controlled the overall situation, while the national prestige of the Forbidden City ignored him. At this moment, Ji Xiang felt that within the Forbidden City, there were still three "righteous gods" who had been enfeoffed!
Just as Ji Xiang was feeling the changes within him, Luo Sigong in Longde Hall had already come out. The remaining Imperial Guards around him all breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Song Wuji beheaded.
Luo Sigong saw Song Wuji dead and felt immense joy at surviving the ordeal. However, before the joy could last for a few breaths, the urge to celebrate his survival immediately turned into immense fear!
Song Wuji was dead, but there must be other Fire Gods! They intended to kill the emperor tonight, so there couldn't be just one Fire God appearing!
"Daoist Master! Daoist Master, we must hurry..."
Luo Sigong called out to Ji Xiang, but before he could finish speaking.
Ji Xiang turned his head. In that instant, a great pressure enveloped Luo Sigong. Even though he was a mortal, he could feel a sense of deterrence. At this moment, in his eyes, the person standing in the courtyard was not Ji Xiang, but some Grand Secretary of the Cabinet or a royal prince!
Luo Sigong was startled but quickly recovered. Ji Xiang also realized that he had just unleashed the deterrent power of his national prestige. Fortunately, Luo Sigong was just a mortal. If he were some spirit, Ji Xiang's glare just now would have directly deterred a weaker spirit, rendering it unable to move.
At this moment, if Ji Xiang told these spirits and ghosts to stop, they would truly stop!
Ji Xiang marveled in his heart, "Although Song Wuji obtained the body of a righteous god, he did not have the title of a righteous god, so he could not use his national prestige. He only used it to wander around the Forbidden City. Now it has benefited me..."
"Song Wuji, rest in peace. I will surely develop this power and send your companions and descendants to accompany you. A family should be together."
Ji Xiang thought to himself and then said to Luo Sigong, "This god has been slain by me. Commander Luo, you can rest assured!"
"I still need to prepare some things here. Please ask Commander Luo to find a way to notify the Northern Commandery, and quickly go save His Majesty!"
Luo Sigong immediately said anxiously, "Moreover, without His Majesty's order, the Northern Commandery cannot enter the Forbidden City!"
"Daoist Master! We brothers are all mortals, and we cannot kill these evil gods. The remaining people from the Southern Commandery are the same! Those banner guards and great generals, although they have the imperial golden token, you saw it, the golden token is useless against these Fire Gods!"
"His Majesty is in grave danger! Now, in the Forbidden City, the only person who can save His Majesty is you! The situation is critical now, so quickly come with me! How can you linger here!"
Luo Sigong naturally wanted to drag Ji Xiang, the sorcerer, to go with him. If he went alone, it would be suicide, and not only suicide, but a meaningless death, a gratuitous offering of his head to the Fire God, achieving nothing. Ji Xiang shook his head:
"No, I cannot go out yet. Killing Song Wuji earlier consumed too many of my talismans, and these magical artifacts are also worn out. I suspect that there are three more Fire Gods like Song Wuji in the Forbidden City!"
"If I don't prepare, I will also die if I go, and then there will be no one to deal with them."
The three Fire Gods that Ji Xiang had just sensed seemed to have slightly lower divine power than Song Wuji, but precisely because of this, he could not be careless and had to be fully prepared.
Ji Xiang thought to himself, "Perfect, I've stripped over three thousand portions of incense smoke from Song Wuji. I'm going to draw some grand talismans!"
"Commander Luo, don't panic. Among these blessed yellow talismans, there are still usable ones. Take all these yellow talismans with you, they can delay a lot of time."
Luo Sigong had no choice but to have his men pick up all the yellow talismans, stuffing as many as they could carry. He then took his men back first to report as quickly as possible, and left two junior banner officers with Ji Xiang for easy communication.
Ji Xiang urged him, "Commander Luo, please go quickly. I have my own ways to find you."
After the remaining Imperial Guards left, only two junior banner officers remained. The two banner officers reported their names to Ji Xiang, their attitudes being very respectful.
"Southern Commandery Junior Banner Officer Zhuo Deyuan, thank you, Daoist Master, for saving my life."
"Southern Commandery Junior Banner Officer Shi Xiang, thank you, Daoist Master, for saving my life."
Ji Xiang nodded, "Please wait here for a moment, and do not let anyone in. I will be writing talismans in the hall."