The immortal is beside me

Chapter 119: The one who is the most powerful is the one who is the most respected. So you should respect me as the most respected.
Lu Zhenhai twisted the report in his hand and pondered for a moment: "Have you confirmed the other party's cultivation and methods?"

"We're still searching his soul, and we should be able to confirm it soon."

"When the results come out, give me a copy as soon as possible."

The commissioner left, and the office door slowly closed. Lü Zhenhai, sitting at his desk, picked up the documents again, the wrinkle between his brows growing even more prominent.

He sensed something was wrong.

In recent times, the frequency of extraordinary events has been ridiculously high. Just at the Liangzhou branch, first it was the Peach Blossom Spring, then the Buddhist sect, and now there is a revival of faith in wild gods. Each one of them can be rated as the biggest case in the past ten years, and now they are happening continuously in just half a year.

And
He stared at the document in his hand, his eyes sweeping over the lines of case descriptions.

Unlike the previous cases, the enemies this time were spread across the country. Within a week, the provincial branches had reported at least nearly a hundred vicious incidents, with extremely brutal methods. Each one of them could become a hot topic on Weibo. The hot pot restaurant tragedy was only considered a relatively mild one among them.

Even with the crisis public relations level of the Environmental Sanitation Bureau, they were already overwhelmed by this situation. They had to try their best just to control the spread of news and prevent it from causing widespread panic.

Large-scale, widespread, literal cannibalism, and suspected involvement of religious issues
If the other cases were just testing the edge of the red line, then this time it was dancing on the moral red line without any concealment, which shows that the enemy this time was extremely confident.

Years of experience told him that this would inevitably be a disaster far more severe than any previous one. Both the mortal world and the extraordinary world would probably be involved. Now was the stage when a storm was about to come, and they needed to nip many crises in the bud.

A buzzing sound rang out, and Lu Zhenhai picked up the phone beside him and answered it. His expression suddenly changed.

"Really? The other party's identity has been confirmed. Okay, send me a copy of the detailed information when the time comes."

He took a deep breath, a fierce look flashing in his eyes.

"Pass the order down. From now on, the branch is in a state of emergency. All combat personnel of Category II and above must gather at the bureau within the hour."

Fifteen minutes ago, in the secret room of the third observation station under the Environmental Sanitation Bureau.

The pale blue light made the room seem a little cold. Under the light was an iron bed. The chef who was captured yesterday was lying between the bed boards, with tubes connected to his hands. A special anesthetic was flowing into his body from the tubes, causing his pupils to gradually dilate and the whole person to fall into a semi-comatose state.

"The prisoner's spirit has reached the required level of openness." The surveillance officer at the bedside raised his eyes. "Begin soul search."

Hearing the words, a commissioner with an armband standing at the front nodded, walked forward slowly, and had a solemn expression on his face.

Under the modern legal system, soul-searching of living people is usually strictly regulated due to its implications for personal privacy and ethical issues. However, the authorities have now fully opened up their control of soul-searching, a move that in itself hints at the extraordinary nature of this incident.

The highest-ranking soul cultivator present personally took action and placed his hand on the prisoner's forehead.

As the spell formula was recited, the mind and soul resonated and connected, followed by a feeling of dizziness, falling, and blockage until it broke through a critical point, and countless phantoms of the past came to the face.

"It's been three months, Wang Yue. You haven't paid the rent for your hot pot shop for three months. I've done my best. The 3rd of this month is the final deadline. It's up to you."

"Mr. Liu, business has been really slow recently. My elderly family member is sick, and my daughter needs money for school. Could you please be kind enough to extend my stay for another month? Just one month."

"You've said this every time for the past three months. Are you the only one in the world who's short of money? I'll keep saying that. If you can't make up for it by the 3rd, I'll take your store and leave. This contract clearly states it. If you don't agree, I'll take legal action."

A chaotic stream of mutterings filled his ears, and vague memories floated before his eyes. The task force officer knew that he had resonated with the suspect and had entered his perspective.

He drifted in his illusory memories, watching countless lights and shadows pass by him, until he reached the end of his memories, where he saw a group of figures.

Their faces were broad and rugged, seemingly unlike those of modern Chinese. They stood at the end of memory, their bodies as massive as mountains, their hands raised to the point where they could block out the sky and the sun.

"Don't be a lamb waiting to be slaughtered. The so-called honorable ones are those with strong soldiers and horses."

"Offer your faith to the grasslands, bring your soldiers and horses, become ferocious beasts that devour human flesh and blood, and crush the enemy under your iron hooves - conquest is the eternal truth of the world."

The slowly flowing memories suddenly turned into surging waves, and the running memories flashed before my eyes frantically.

In an instant, those blurry figures seemed to rise infinitely, with endless grassland extending at their feet, thousands of horses galloping across the grassland, and the overwhelming wind and sand rushing straight in front of their eyes with a murderous air, dyeing the entire vision blood-red.

His vision became blurred, and memories filled with murderous intent flashed through his mind. In a trance, he seemed to see "himself" holding a boning knife, slashing at a man again and again, blood splattering, and limbs being separated. At the same time, he felt the pleasure of taking drugs, which was like a whirlpool that was about to pull him in.

—Your Excellency, it is done by those who have strong soldiers and horses.

"!!!"

The irresistible murderous aura rushed into the spiritual platform, and the special agent was shocked and immediately cut off the spiritual platform connection.

The chaos in front of him quickly faded away, and he stumbled backward until he hit the cold wall. He suddenly collapsed to the ground, gasping violently.

"Don't touch me."

He suddenly pushed away his companion who was trying to support him. There seemed to be a faint red light flashing in his eyes, as if he was trying his best to suppress the murderous intent in his heart.

"Tranquilizing powder, give me the tranquilizing powder! Quick!"

A nasal inhalation medicine bottle was handed to him. The agent took a deep breath, and the red light in his eyes gradually faded. Then he slowly put down the bottle, his whole body covered in cold sweat.

Just now, he clearly felt that he was only one step away from being swallowed by the murderous aura. This was definitely not a simple belief. The remaining fragments in his memory were so brutal that even a specialist who had been trained for many years almost lost his confidence.

"Hurry and report to Captain Lu. I've seen the dark forces behind the cannibalism. They're no pushovers."

As he spoke, he gasped for breath and described everything he had seen in a halting manner.

"I can't reach the deepest part of my memory. So far, I've only heard that one of the masterminds is called Aruhan. Where are they going next?"

It is located in the suburbs of Liangzhou, 10 kilometers outside the Huashan Scenic Area.

Dozens of figures were walking slowly along the remote mountain roads. Under the moonlight, one could tell that their faces were not those of modern Chinese people, but had obvious characteristics of grassland ethnic groups.

Each of them exuded a murderous aura, emanating from countless bloodbaths. Even the mere sight of them would cause palpitations in the hearts of ordinary people. "After hundreds of years, the Central Plains has become like this. These lambs are truly creative."

The leader turned his head and looked at the neon lights in the distance, with a sigh in his words.

His name is Aruhan, the current leader of the Tuva tribe on the grasslands. In Mongolian, people like him are generally called "Nayan", which means overlord.

After the fall of the Tang Dynasty, during the decades known as the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, the Tuva tribe penetrated deep into the heart of the Central Plains. Like the Jie tribe among the Five Barbarians, they used human sacrifices as a means to recruit a large number of central Chinese people as their patron saints, and the amount of patron saints they received was unprecedented at the time.

Now, they have all been incorporated into the Mongolian tribes and serve under the command of the supreme God.

"But as Na Yan said before, civilization may appear prosperous on the surface, but under true violence, it is nothing but a bubble that will burst at any moment."

A subordinate nearby spoke with great insight, "The Song Dynasty in the Central Plains was once a prosperous and civilized nation. But in the end, those lamb-like subjects were ultimately succumbed to the iron hoofs of the grasslands. In the face of absolute power, so-called order is vulnerable."

Hearing this, Aruhhan seemed to smile, and it was obvious that this was very much to his mind.

"Unfortunately, after hundreds of years, these lambs seem to have gradually forgotten this."

Aruhan shook his head slightly. "It's time for the Supreme Heaven to return and teach them once again what the true laws of the world are—just as our ancestors did a thousand years ago."

"I will listen carefully to what Na Yan says." Several subordinates bowed.

In the extraordinary world of the grassland, there are more than a dozen tribes like them that belong to Mongolia. This time they will come as vanguards to plant the first wave of seeds of faith in the Central Plains, so as to cooperate with the subsequent large troops inside and outside and tear open a gap for advancement.

During their time in the Central Plains, they and other tribes had already spread much of their faith. However, compared to their ultimate goal, spreading faith from scratch was too slow, so they decided to awaken and search for the legacy left by their tribes in the Central Plains, and resurrect the faith of a thousand years ago.

When they reached an open space behind a mountain, the group stopped.

"The aura of our own race is unmistakable. The remains of the faith that was once condensed must be buried here."

Several people who were accompanying them walked forward, formed a circle, and pressed their hands on the ground. Invisible vibrations spread out, and the loose soil within a range of dozens of meters in the center was directly penetrated in the blink of an eye. The sand and gravel were stirred up, revealing the buried objects under the ground.

It looked like several totem poles with animal patterns, intertwined and buried in the mound. After thousands of years, there seemed to be no signs of corrosion.

These are traces left by the Tuva tribe of yesteryear, objects of their faith. They are not usually visible, but as descendants of the same bloodline, they can already feel the imprints on these relics resonate with their own bloodline.

Such a vast territory and so much heritage, if we can recover them all, it will be equivalent to the efforts of tens of thousands of people.

Aruhan walked slowly forward, placed his hand on the totem pole, and chanted a strange spell, and the whole land seemed to tremble.

Complex colors flooded into his senses, and fragments of memory like snowflakes flashed before his eyes. Countless memories merged into a group of blurry figures with outlines similar to his.

A wave of joy surged through him. The fact that they had been able to awaken this fragment of consciousness showed that the faith they had gathered back then still existed. Their plan had taken the most crucial and important step.

"My ancestors, I ask you to wake up and grant us the old faith. Let blood and iron reappear on this land, and let the iron hooves of the grassland crush all veneers."

He urged his mind to convey a message to the figures in front of him, and then he saw the figures in front of him shaking their heads rapidly.

[Go back quickly, go back quickly, stop spreading the faith, and stop showing up in the Central Plains]

Go back soon?
Fragmented but strong emotions were transmitted into his spiritual consciousness, but Aruhhan was stunned for a moment, as he was not expecting the answer given in the mark.

"Why do you want to go back?"

The remaining consciousness trembled, and the incoming emotions became more and more intense.

【Because Zhou Tong will find you.】

Will Zhou Tong find you? Who is Zhou Tong?
As if sensing what he was thinking, the fragments of memory in front of him burst open, turning into a fiery picture that flooded his entire field of vision.

In the center of the picture, a man in red was standing in the flames, stepping on countless corpses as he walked towards him. In his vision, the figure looked like a Shura walking out of hell.

【According to what you have said: Venerable, it is done by those with strong soldiers and horses.】

The voice from a thousand years ago resounded throughout the spiritual platform. The figure slowly raised the spear in his hand. As the flames swept across, he saw the other party's dark eyes reflected in the flames, as if burning.

【Then you should respect me.】

The flames swept up, engulfing the entire field of vision. Extreme murderous aura surged into his mind like a tidal wave, instantly destroying his defenses.

"That Yan?"

The expressions of the subordinates waiting on either side suddenly changed as they watched Aruhan's eyes suddenly open, bloodshot. He pulled his hand back from the totem pole as if touched by fire, his fingertips trembling slightly.

"Zhou Tong." He murmured the name, "Back then, it was Zhou Tong."

Zhou Tong? This unfamiliar word made the subordinates around him look at each other in confusion. Just as they were about to ask in detail, the sky above them suddenly brightened.

A huge aura rushed into their senses. They raised their heads, and the light of the formation covering the entire world was reflected in their pupils. Several official monks floated in the air, unfolding a large formation covering the sky. Under the light of the formation, countless guns were pointed at their heads.

"China Environmental Sanitation Bureau. We now consider you a major supernatural suspect. Resistance will be immediately executed. Surrender will be spared."

A warning blared from the external speakers. On the battlefield's commanding heights, Lü Zhenhai trained his binoculars on the central figure, his face a look of intense anticipation.

Ever since he received the intelligence from the observation post, he immediately brought people here and brought the most elite personnel of the branch. It can be said that he was dealing with the enemies in front of him with the highest standards.

He adjusted the focus of the telescope, and the moment he saw the other person's face clearly, a hint of confusion flashed across the eyes behind the lens.

Does that person look scared?
(End of this chapter)