Once I enter the pass, great Confucian scholars will surely debate the classics for me.

Located within Lion Camel City, at the foot of Flaming Mountain, lies the Spiral Town.

Zhou Qingfeng carried the Demon-Slaying Lamp to the outskirts of the town. The Demon-Slaying Lamp was emitting a ghostly green light, guiding the way forward. When the direction was correct, the light of the Demon-Slaying Lamp would deepen and brighten, turning into a ghostly green. When the direction was slightly off, the light would gradually change color to blackish-red.

"The Demonic Spirit of Words is right here, we're very close." Zhou Qingfeng could hardly contain his excitement. He had been waiting for a long time to find the Demonic Spirit of Words, the main ingredient. All that was left was to follow the light's guidance, find the Demonic Spirit of Words, and imprison it in the Demonic Lamp. Then, this mission would be a great success.

Jin Wei held the map and examined it carefully: "Young Master, there is a town marked here called Spiral Town, but... where is the town?"

Zhou Qingfeng glanced around and frowned slightly: "I don't know. Maybe the town was abandoned due to the changing times."

The town was completely unrecognizable, as the outer walls had collapsed and the houses were reduced to ruins. Ruins were everywhere. As Zhou Qingfeng and Jin Wei walked further in, they came across an open-air camp where three emaciated, ragged townspeople were eating a cow with knives.

The ox's abdomen was ripped open, yet it was still panting and letting out mournful cries.

As Zhou Qingfeng and Jin Wei approached, the three townspeople immediately drew their weapons, their faces turning fierce: "Get out of here, this is not a place for you."

Jin Wei stepped forward, standing protectively in front of Zhou Qingfeng, and said coldly, "We mean no harm, we're just passing by."

Upon hearing this, the three townspeople put away their weapons, returned to the fire, and continued to share the beef.

Jin Wei turned around and whispered, "Let's go, young master. These three guys don't seem to be quite right in the head."

In the wilderness, encountering strangers and attempting to approach and communicate usually results in being driven away; there's simply no possibility of communication. If you insist on staying to talk to someone, the end result is a pointless fight. There's no way around it; in the wilderness, people's hearts are unpredictable, and everyone harbors a strong sense of vigilance. If warnings are ineffective, they're simply regarded as troublemakers and killed. This happens 99% of the time.

It's savage, bloody, and cruel, with almost no regard for reason. This is the law of survival in the wilderness. But that doesn't mean the wilderness is like this everywhere. There are also a very small number of people who talk to strangers with good intentions. Such situations are extremely rare and can only be encountered by chance.

Zhou Qingfeng didn't want to cause trouble at such a crucial moment. Finding the evil spirit was the priority. So, he and Jin Wei bypassed the camp and continued walking. As they walked, they saw the wreckage of the fallen airship and small whirlwinds formed by evil energy moving around.

"Something's not right here." Zhou Qingfeng keenly sensed the danger. The wreckage of the airship was made of large aerial artifacts forged from toxic materials, practically aerial fortresses. The fact that something so powerful could crash here meant that the environment was extremely dangerous or that some powerful entity was present, causing this place to become a no-fly zone.

Those wandering whirlwinds were all ranked as evil winds, and even though Zhou Qingfeng was some distance away, he could feel an inexplicable danger.

Jin Wei said gravely, "Young Master, something's not right. Should we retreat first, make thorough preparations, and then come back to search for the 'Word Demon Spirit'?"

Zhou Qingfeng did not respond. He squatted down, reached out and touched the ground, raised his fist and slammed it down. However, he could not even leave a fist mark. Instead, his fist was hurt by the shock of the ground. This meant that the hardness of the soil here was above the poison level. Otherwise, it would be impossible for him not to leave a fist mark.

He hesitated for a moment, then said, "Let's find a local to ask about the situation first, and then make a decision."

The Demon Spirit of Words must be here, because the Demon-Slaying Lamp in his hand is constantly flashing with a ghostly green light, which proves that he is not far from the Demon Spirit of Words.

However, if one is focused solely on finding the evil spirit of words, other hidden dangers will be overlooked.

This place is so strange, and everything about it suggests something is not simple; we have to figure it out.

To avoid unexpected situations that could catch you off guard and lead to your untimely death.

So Zhou Qingfeng and Jin Wei continued their exploration, looking for a local who could communicate with them in a friendly manner. They soon found a female townswoman and tried to communicate with her, but the townwoman reacted as if she had seen a terrifying ghost when she saw the two of them. She was so scared that she turned around and ran away, not giving them a chance to speak at all.

Zhou Qingfeng and Jin Wei exchanged a glance and followed at a leisurely pace. They weren't in a hurry to catch the female townsperson. They just wanted to see where the female townsperson could have gone, since Spiral Town was now in ruins and full of debris. Maybe following her would lead them to where the townspeople were hiding.

In the blink of an eye, the female townswoman rushed in terror into a relatively well-preserved temple, where the gate was tightly shut.

Zhou Qingfeng and Jin Wei followed closely behind to the temple gate.

Jin Wei said, "Young Master, let me go in first to check and make sure it's safe before you come in."

Zhou Qingfeng nodded slightly: "Go ahead, I'll meet you outside the door."

The two worked together seamlessly, one going in to investigate while the other guarded the entrance, ensuring timely support and retreat should anything happen. Jin Wei slowly pushed open the temple gate and walked in, gripping the hilt of his sword with one hand as he cautiously explored forward. Once inside, he saw countless people hiding in the temple in terror.

Men, women, children, and the elderly appeared completely harmless; they were all just frail mortals.

Seeing this, Jin Wei relaxed a little. After looking around and confirming that there was no danger, he asked the mortals hiding in the temple, "What are you afraid of? I'm not a man-eating demon. Relax, I mean no harm. I just want to talk to you. Can anyone tell me what happened here?"

The mortals trembled and huddled together in silence, as if that were the only way to protect themselves.

Jin Wei scratched his head. He had never liked bullying the weak, let alone ordinary people. So, using brutal and tyrannical methods to capture an ordinary person and force them to talk would violate his principles. Besides, the information obtained by bullying others and coercing them to talk might not be true.

So Jin Wei turned around and walked out of the temple, telling Zhou Qingfeng what he had found: "There is no danger. There are just a group of terrified mortals in the temple. I tried to communicate with them, but it didn't work. None of them were willing to speak."

Zhou Qingfeng frowned, carrying the Demon-Slaying Lamp, and walked into the temple. The scene he saw was exactly as Jin Wei had described. He stepped forward, but as he approached, the mortals seemed to react, clasping their hands together in prayer: "Buddha, protect us, vanquish evil! Buddha, protect us, vanquish evil..."

A monk in a kasaya strode out and said coldly, "In this turbid and evil world, demonic waves and curses engulf Bodhi. Our Buddha saves the world, vanquishing evil and driving it away!"

As soon as the words fell, an undeniable force instantly enveloped Zhou Qingfeng and Jin Wei, controlling them to quickly retreat to the outside of the temple.

During this period, they couldn't even mobilize their magic power and supernatural abilities, as if their bodies were being controlled.

"Words become law!?" After Zhou Qingfeng and Jin Wei regained their footing, they exchanged a glance, their faces filled with shock.