Starting with the Earth God, the path to immortality is deduced!

Inside Fengzhou City, the night watchman struck the gong for the third watch.

"The weather is dry, so be careful with fire!"

The sound was long and drawn out, but it couldn't conceal the undercurrents surging beneath the long night.

Zhou Yuan and Ma Ling'er sped along, completely oblivious to the fact that their actions were shocking.

They walked along the deserted alleyway, heading straight for the mortuary.

Throughout the journey, Zhou Yuan activated the [Netherworld Divine Eye].

The sight that he saw shocked him.

The once peaceful street.

At this moment, there were several times more wandering ghosts than usual!

They seemed to have been summoned by some kind of call.

They are all converging in the same direction in a daze.

That direction...

It's in the western suburbs!

"It seems Li Xiuwen has already made his move."

Zhou Yuan's heart sank, and he quickened his pace once more.

"Ghosts borrow the road, and a hundred ghosts roam at night."

"It's not even the Ghost Festival yet, and the scale of this event is already so large."

"If that day really comes..."

Zhou Yuan dared not think any further.

at last.

The two iconic white lanterns of the mortuary appeared at the end of the line of sight.

The mortuary, which is usually gloomy and terrifying.

At this moment, however, he seemed exceptionally kind to Zhou Yuan.

"Uncle Wang!"

Before even entering the door, Ma Ling'er started shouting at the top of her lungs.

"Something terrible has happened!"

"Uncle Wang, come out quickly!"

The door creaked open from the inside.

Uncle Wang, wearing a gray coat and carrying a pipe, looked at the two panting men with a surprised expression.

"What are you doing, trying to summon a soul in the middle of the night?"

"Weren't you two little kids supposed to be investigating a case?"

"How did you end up in such a sorry state?"

Although Uncle Wang complained, his eyes suddenly sharpened.

He worked at the mortuary his entire life, dealing with the dead more often than the living.

Just one glance.

He could smell the overwhelming stench of blood and... the stench of corpses emanating from the two of them!

That's the aura that only those who have experienced life-or-death battles and crawled out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood possess.

"Come in and speak."

Wang Bo's expression turned serious, and he stepped aside to make way for the gate.

He didn't ask a single unnecessary question.

Zhou Yuan strode into the mortuary, the familiar chilling atmosphere slightly easing his tense nerves.

He looked at Uncle Wang, without any concealment, and said bluntly:

"Uncle Wang, we've found the mastermind behind this."

"It's Li Xiuwen."

"But that's not the point."

Zhou Yuan took a deep breath and dropped the bombshell:

"The key point is that they want to create a god!"

"What?!"

The pipe in Uncle Wang's hand fell to the ground with a "thud".

Sparks flew everywhere.

This old man had spent his entire life watching dead people die in Fengzhou City.

At this moment, for the first time, extreme horror was revealed on that deeply lined face.

"What did you say?"

"Say that again?!"

Uncle Wang's voice even changed tone.

He rushed to Zhou Yuan and grabbed Zhou Yuan's shoulder tightly.

Those withered fingers unexpectedly unleashed astonishing power.

Zhou Yuan looked directly into Wang Bo's eyes and said, word by word:

"Three days later, it will be the Ghost Festival."

"The temple in the western suburbs is a place where all kinds of evil spirits are worshipped."

"Li Xiuwen intends to steal the position of the local earth god and attain the status of a ghost or deity!"

Dead silence.

A deathly silence.

The only sound in the entire mortuary hall was the slight cracking of the wood from the few coffins.

Uncle Wang's chest heaved violently.

He picked up the tobacco pouch from the ground, but his hands were shaking so badly he couldn't put any tobacco in it.

"What a tragedy..."

"What a terrible thing..."

Uncle Wang muttered to himself, a deep fear flashing in his cloudy old eyes.

Two hundred years ago, the Great Ling Dynasty was first established.

"There was once a heretical Taoist priest who attempted to commit this heaven-defying act in the southern border region."

"As a result, it triggered divine retribution, turning a radius of 500 li into scorched earth and killing 100,000 people."

"I never expected... I never expected it to happen two hundred years later."

"This tragedy is about to repeat itself in my Fengzhou City!"

Wang Bo suddenly looked up at Zhou Yuan:

"Who else knows about this?"

"Just us."

Zhou Yuan said in a deep voice:

"The county magistrate is a corrupt official; we can't count on him."

"Moreover, I suspect that the government office has long been infiltrated by people from the Wukong Sect."

"Right now, you are the only one we can trust."

Uncle Wang nodded, forcing himself to calm down.

He paced back and forth in the lobby, his shoes tapping rapidly on the bluestone slabs.

"No, this is too big of a deal."

"We old bones can't possibly hold on."

"We absolutely have to find outside help!"

Wang Bo stopped and stared intently at Zhou Yuan:

"Young Zhou, although you haven't been in this business for long, I, this old man, can't see through your skills."

"But against evil spirits of that level, your small frame is still no match."

"We need to find a true master!"

"A true master?"

Ma Ling'er curiously leaned closer:

"Uncle Wang, are you talking about my second uncle? But he went up north on business and can't come back in time."

Uncle Wang shook his head:

"Distant water cannot quench immediate thirst."

"I'm talking about a reclusive master in Fengzhou City."

"If he's willing to intervene, there's still a chance for things to turn around."

Zhou Yuan's heart stirred:

"You mean... Uncle Liu?"

Uncle Wang was taken aback, then gave a wry smile:

"You're quite clever, kid."

"That's right, it's your adoptive father, Old Liu!"

"He's no ordinary local deity."

"What happened back then... never mind, now is not the time to bring up old grievances."

"The key point is that Lao Liu said a few days ago that he was going to investigate clues about the Wukong Sect, but there has been no news since."

Zhou Yuan's heart sank immediately.

Uncle Liu has gone missing?

This is not good news.

At this critical juncture, Uncle Liu's disappearance has undoubtedly made the situation even more unpredictable.

"So what do we do now?"

"Are we just going to sit here and wait?"

Ma Ling'er was a little anxious.

At this moment, Zhou Yuan suddenly spoke up.

His voice was unusually calm, revealing a composure beyond his years.

"No, we can't wait."

"Since we can't find Uncle Liu, we'll do it ourselves."

"Uncle Wang, how much of that batch of 'corpse-suppressing nails' and 'black dog blood' is left in the mortuary?"

Uncle Wang was taken aback:

"What are you going to do?"

A ruthless glint flashed in Zhou Yuan's eyes:

"Since he's going to stage a parade of a hundred demons at night."

"Then I'll give him a 'lock the door and beat the dog' move!"

"The Western Suburbs Temple, right?"

"I'll be there, preparing a big gift for him!"

At this point, Zhou Yuan turned to look at the huge paper effigy placed in the corner.

Those are young boys and girls burned for the dead.

But in Zhou Yuan's "Strange Tales of the Gods and Monsters".

This thing, with just a little modification, can be used in conjunction with the offering of yin energy.

That's the best "bait"!

And the most deadly "bomb"!

"Decipher the supernatural and fantastical tales for me!"

"Objective: The fusion of the [Paper Doll Substitution Technique] and the [Exploding Flame Talisman]!"

"I want that so-called ghost or god to know."

"The territory of Fengzhou City."

"Not just any Tom, Dick, or Harry can run wild!"

At this moment, Zhou Yuan's aura subtly overwhelmed the gloomy atmosphere of the mortuary.

Life and death are bearish, if you don't agree, just do it!

Inside the mortuary hall, the candlelight flickered.

The air seemed to solidify into lead, making it hard to breathe.

As soon as Zhou Yuan finished speaking, Wang Bo felt as if all the bones in his body had been removed.

With a clang.

The pipe he had just picked up fell onto the bluestone slab once again.

This time, he even forgot to pick it up.

Those cloudy old eyes, usually half-closed and accustomed to witnessing life and death, were now wide open.

His eyes were bloodshot, and his pupils were constricted violently.

"Lishe...land?"

"And... you want to force yourself to become a god?"

Uncle Wang's lips trembled, and his face turned deathly pale at a visible speed.

It looked like a dead person's face that had just been pulled out of an ice hole.

There wasn't a trace of blood in it.

He staggered back two steps, his back bumping into a coffin that had just been painted black.

It made a muffled "thump" sound.

"This is insane...it's absolutely insane!"

"Does Li Xiuwen want to turn our Fengzhou City into a death trap?!"

Uncle Wang's voice was hoarse, with a tremor he couldn't quite hide.

He suddenly raised his head and stared intently at Zhou Yuan, as if trying to find a trace of a joke on the boy's face.

"Xiao Zhou, you can't joke like that."

"Although the village's land deity is only a low-ranking deity of the ninth grade."

"But that is the foundation of this land!"

"Once an evil spirit occupies that position, the earth's veins will reverse, and the yang energy will be cut off."

"At that time, he won't need to lift a finger."

"The hundreds of thousands of living people in Fengzhou City will be slowly eroded by the yin energy."

"In less than three years, this place will become a dead city where only wandering ghosts roam!"

"There will never be peace!"

Zhou Yuan's expression was calm and composed.

He didn't say anything, but silently took something out of his pocket.

It was a broken black tile.

It was still stained with a trace of dark red soil.

He found it on the edge of a hole in the ruins of the academy.

"Uncle Wang, you're an old man now."

"You should recognize the aura emanating from this."

Uncle Wang tremblingly accepted the tile.

Bring it close to your nose and take a gentle sniff.

A strong stench of corpses mixed with the pure earth's incense aroma assaulted my senses.

"Incense-infused corpse mud..."

Uncle Wang's hand jerked violently, and the tile almost slipped off.

"This evil entity is created when living people's flesh and blood are offered to the idol!"

"It's true..."

"It's actually true!"

Uncle Wang closed his eyes, and two streams of turbid tears flowed down his deeply lined cheeks.

He took a deep breath, as if making an extremely difficult decision.

After a while.

When he opened his eyes again, the fear was still there, but there was more of a resolute determination in them.

"If I don't go to hell, who will?"

"I've spent my whole life guarding this mortuary, seeing off countless souls."

"We must not let Fengzhou City be destroyed by a bunch of evil spirits!"

Uncle Wang bent down and picked up the tobacco pouch from the ground.

He pulled a tinderbox from his pocket; although his hands were still trembling, his eyes were unusually firm.

"call--"

With a puff of thick smoke, he exhaled.

Wang Bo turned around and walked to the very center of the main hall of the mortuary.

There hangs a broken bell covered in rust.

"Xiao Zhou, you're right."

"At times like this, the few of us alone are not enough."

"Although the spirit world in Fengzhou City has declined, we are not the only ones making a living from the underworld."

"Since we're going to fight, let's get everyone together!"

"when--!"

Uncle Wang swung his pipe and struck the bronze bell heavily.

A deep, resonant bell tolled, instantly piercing through the walls of the mortuary.

It spread in the quiet of the night.

The sound of the bell is strange.

To the average person, it sounds like the whistling of the wind blowing through a window; they wouldn't pay any attention to it.

But to those who deal with spirits year-round...

This was an extremely urgent summons!

"when--!"

"when--!"

The bell rang three times.

In the dead of night, people in every corner of Fengzhou City were suddenly awakened.

……

Half an hour later.

The heavy doors of the mortuary were pushed open once again.

The once empty and gloomy lobby was now packed with people.

Most of these people were dressed in coarse linen clothes. Some carried shovels on their backs, some had pig-slaughtering knives at their waists, and some held compasses in their hands.

They were the lowest class in Fengzhou City.

He is also the most inconspicuous "cultivator" in this world of strange powers and supernatural beings.

Or rather, a craftsman.

Only a handful of them had even the slightest fluctuation of magical power.

"Old Wang, are you trying to get yourself killed by banging on the 'Soul-Suppressing Bell' in the middle of the night?"

A butcher with a burly face and a pig-slaughtering knife at his waist walked in, cursing and swearing.

"I'm sleeping soundly. If you don't give me an explanation, I'll tear this mortuary down!"

"Yes, Uncle Wang, what serious incident has occurred?"

A fortune teller, as thin as a monkey, clutched two copper coins in his hand, looking flustered.

"I just had my fortune told, and it's a very bad omen!"

The crowd was noisy and buzzing with discussion.

Uncle Wang stood in the center of the hall, watching his colleagues who usually schemed against each other for a few taels of silver.

He coughed loudly.

"Ahem!"

The room quieted down a little.

Wang Bo looked around and said in a deep voice:

"I have called everyone here for no other reason than..."

"For just one thing."

"We're going to die."

These words were like a bucket of ice water, instantly extinguishing everyone's anger.

"Old Wang, who are you trying to scare?"

"Aren't we doing just fine?"

Some people complained.

Uncle Wang sneered and pointed to Zhou Yuan and Ma Ling'er beside him.

"This is Zhou Yuan, the newly appointed local chieftain of Fengzhou, and this is the descendant of the Ma family of Beizhou."

"Let them tell you what we'll face on the Ghost Festival in three days!"

Zhou Yuan stepped forward.

Without wasting any words, he directly activated the [Netherworld Divine Eye].

Two beams of light shot from his eyes, projecting an illusory image into the sky above the hall.

Those were the terrifying 108 earth stakes beneath the ruins of the academy, and the writhing black root system.

"This is the 'Hundred Ghosts Evil Sacrifice' formation set up by Li Xiuwen."

Zhou Yuan's voice was cold and clear, echoing in everyone's ears.

"Three days later, he will perform a blood sacrifice on the entire city and steal the divine throne."

"Once he succeeds, all of you here will be imbued with yin energy and magical power."

"It will be the best supplement for him."

"You will be the first to die."

"After death, their souls will be refined into vengeful spirits, never to be reincarnated!"

"boom!"

The crowd erupted in chaos.

Fear spread rapidly among people like a plague.

"What?! A city-wide blood sacrifice?!"

"Ghosts and gods?! Are you kidding me!"

"I quit! I'm packing my things and going back to my hometown!"

The butcher, whose face was covered in scars, turned pale and turned to run out the door.

"Yes! Run! Run now!"

"This is none of our business."

"This is a battle of gods!"

In an instant, the lobby was in chaos, with most people trying to rush out.

"Let's see who dares to leave!"