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

"Killing him would be the best way to solve the problem once and for all."

Zhang Zhengming's voice was hoarse, tinged with bitterness.

"But right now, with my crippled body, I'm afraid I can't even get out of this quiet room."

"Once I fall, the little bit of spirit that Jingning County has managed to gather will probably fall apart again."

Zhou Yuan did not respond.

He sat down cross-legged, his expression solemn.

Deep within consciousness.

The book of "Strange Tales of Gods and Monsters" that was floating in the sea of ​​consciousness was now moving on its own without any wind.

The rustling sound of pages turning echoed in his mind.

The immense yin energy accumulated from slaying evil spirits and destroying evil altars these past few days.

At this moment, I am being swallowed up by the ancient book, like a whale sucking in water.

"Deduction!"

Zhou Yuan silently recited in his heart.

He was deducing the origins of the [God-Eating Seed], and also deducing a way to break the deadlock.

The pages were being turned faster and faster.

Lines of ancient and obscure text emerged in the golden light.

It quickly breaks down and then reforms.

Zhou Yuan's eyes were tightly closed, but his eyelids were trembling slightly.

The veins on his forehead bulged out one by one.

Obviously.

The cost involved far exceeded his expectations.

This is far from a simple spell seal.

This is clearly a bottomless abyss!

a long time.

Zhou Yuan suddenly opened his eyes.

Two beams of golden light shot out from his eyes, making two crisp sounds in the air.

"call……"

He exhaled a long breath, his face somewhat pale.

"How is it?"

Ma Ling'er hurriedly came closer, her big eyes full of hope.

"Is there any way to get rid of that disgusting flower?"

Zhou Yuan shook his head, his expression solemn.

"Disaster."

"As difficult as ascending to heaven."

He stood up and pointed to the black lotus on Zhang Zhengming's chest.

"This thing is not the current Taoist method at all."

Its roots are in ancient times.

"It is called 'The Wrath of the Evil God'."

"This is an insidious method used by ancient evil cultivators specifically to hunt down deities!"

Upon hearing the words "hunting down gods".

Zhang Zhengming's body trembled violently.

Zhou Yuan continued:

"It's more than just a curse mark."

"It is a lock."

"A lock that binds the soul and connects it to the caster's very essence."

"Unless the caster voluntarily undoes it."

"or……"

Zhou Yuan paused, a fierce glint flashing in his eyes.

"Or there may be a vast divine power that surpasses this curse seal by ten or a hundred times, forcibly breaking it down."

"Otherwise, any external touch will become a form of torture for the victim."

Upon hearing this...

Ma Ling'er's face immediately fell.

"Ten times, a hundred times the divine power?"

"Where can you find such a master these days?"

"Look how desolate Shinto has become these days..."

She seemed to remember something.

He pulled a tattered animal hide scroll from his pocket.

That was the "Miscellaneous Records of Witchcraft and Sorcery" passed down through generations of the Ma family.

"Wait, you just said it originated in ancient times?"

Ma Ling'er flipped the scroll quickly.

The finger stopped on a picture with a ghost face drawn on it.

"Found it!"

"I also feel like this looks familiar."

"Look at this!"

Zhou Yuan leaned closer to take a look.

On the animal skin was a lotus flower that looked remarkably similar.

Next to it was a line of crooked, illegible shamanic script.

"The Soul-Devouring Flower feeds on gods; it can only be cured by the blood of a great sorcerer, and cannot be broken by the power of a true immortal."

After Ma Ling'er finished reading, she threw the scroll away in frustration.

"It's all over."

"The great shamans have long since disappeared."

"True immortals reside in the outer heavens."

"Isn't this a dead end?"

The quiet room fell silent once again.

Looking at the two worried young men, Zhang Zhengming smiled with relief.

"That's enough, that's enough."

Life and death are predestined.

"I hope that before I die, I can see this city completely wiped out of evil spirits."

"To see the people no longer suffer."

"He died a worthy death."

"No!"

Zhou Yuan abruptly interrupted him.

The voice was firm and resolute.

"The word 'accept one's fate' doesn't exist in my dictionary."

He turned around and looked directly at Zhang Zhengming.

"Since we can't solve it, let's just leave it for now!"

"Since we don't have enough divine power, let's borrow some!"

"borrow?"

Zhang Zhengming was taken aback.

"From whom should I borrow it?"

"To this heaven and earth, to all living beings!"

Zhou Yuan waved his hand.

"My lord, since this cursed seal grows stronger by absorbing your divine power..."

"Then we'll make your divine foundation bigger and stronger!"

"So big that it can't even swallow it whole!"

"Just hold out until I find Master Wukong and kill him."

"This round, we've made it!"

Zhang Zhengming was infected by the fanaticism in Zhou Yuan's eyes.

My once lifeless heart began to beat again.

"good!"

"Since you have such ambition, young friend, I'll leave my life to you to do as you please!"

Zhou Yuan stopped talking nonsense.

He removed the Earth God Seal from his waist.

"first step."

"Joint defense!"

"This is Jingning, and Fengzhou is next door."

"In today's chaotic world, going it alone will only lead to death."

Zhou Yuan raised the divine seal high.

The Yin spirit power within his body was poured into it without reservation.

"I am here in the name of the local chieftain of Fengzhou."

"We request the decree of the City God of Jingning!"

"Opening the path to the underworld, connecting to the netherworld!"

boom!

An invisible ripple spread out instantly.

Zhang Zhengming understood immediately.

Despite the excruciating pain, he activated the City God's Seal.

"allow!"

The two divine seals echoed each other in the void.

In an instant.

It was as if an earthquake had struck the entire underworld of Jingning County.

The Yin Path, which was originally blocked by the Wukong Sect, has been opened.

A dark road leads directly to Fengzhou City.

Countless ghost soldiers and messengers from Fengzhou City, led by Zhou Yuan's paper doll clones, were led by Zhou Yuan.

They drove into Jingning County in a grand procession.

With the addition of this new force.

The previously strained order of the underworld was instantly relieved.

Information sharing.

Resource allocation.

This makes the entire defense system as solid as an iron barrel.

After doing all this.

Zhou Yuan did not stop.

"Step two."

"To unite people's hearts!"

"Ling'er, take Gun Gun and let's go!"

"Where to?"

Ma Ling'er had just put a piece of apple in her mouth when she asked indistinctly.

"Go to the street."

"Go and give all the people in this city a lesson in common sense!"

……

noon.

This should be the time when Yang energy is at its peak.

But the streets of Jingning County still exude a gloomy atmosphere.

Although Wukong Sect collapsed.

However, most of the people who have been corrupted by evil magic are still mentally depressed.

Some were even mentally unstable, acting erratically.

"I don't want to live anymore! I don't want to live anymore!"

A disheveled woman was sitting by the well, wailing loudly.

He was holding a child whose face was bluish-purple.

"My son! Why won't you wake up!"

That's because they were frightened by evil spirits and lost their soul.

The surrounding people pointed and whispered, but no one dared to step forward.

Everyone was sighing.

It's really hard to live in this world.

Just then.

A series of heavy footsteps approached.

Boom!Boom!Boom!

The ground was trembling slightly.

Everyone turned around and looked.

A gigantic iron-eating beast strode in with an air of indifference.

A girl in red sat on his back, holding a string of candied hawthorns in her hand.

And next to the iron-eating beast.

A young man dressed in a blue robe walked with his hands behind his back.

The young man had a handsome face and an otherworldly air.

But those eyes were frighteningly deep.

"It's that little fairy!"

"The one who appeared at the City God Temple that night!"

Someone recognized Zhou Yuan and immediately exclaimed in surprise.

Zhou Yuan walked straight up to the woman.

Looking at the unconscious child.

"I've seen this child before."

"That night, the Wukong Cult wanted to use him as a sacrifice for their flag."

Upon hearing this, the woman grasped at a straw.

He knelt down with a thud.

"Gods, save me! Gods, save me!"

"If this dog can be saved, I, this humble woman, am willing to do anything for it..."

Zhou Yuan reached out his hand to help.

A gentle force lifted the woman up.

"No need to work like a slave."

"All you need to remember is this."

"The one who saved him was not some Wukong True God."

"It is the guardian deity of Jingning County, the City God."

That's all.

Zhou Yuan extended a finger and gently touched the child's forehead.

[Soul Suppression]!

This was originally a powerful supernatural ability used to suppress evil spirits.

At this moment, under Zhou Yuan's micro-management, it has become the most precise surgical scalpel.

hum!

A glint of light flashed in Zhou Yuan's eyes.

An invisible pressure instantly penetrated the child's consciousness.

Those few wisps of evil spirit lingering in the child's soul.

Faced with this domineering pressure, they were like mice encountering their natural enemy.

"Squeak!"

Several screams, audible only to Zhou Yuan, rang out.

A few wisps of black smoke emerged from the child's nostrils and dissipated in the sunlight.

"Wow--!!"

The child, who had been unconscious, suddenly opened his mouth.

It let out a loud cry.

"She's awake! She's awake!"

The crowd erupted in chaos.

"A miracle! This is a miracle!"

The woman was overjoyed and wept, repeatedly kowtowing while holding her child.

Zhou Yuan did not linger.

He was like a tireless doctor.

I walked through every street and alley in Jingning County.

When encountering someone who is insane, a single finger can bring them to their senses.

If you encounter someone possessed by an evil spirit, just glare at them and they'll be driven away.

When encountering someone seriously ill due to the invasion of evil spirits, a pure yin energy is sent to protect the heart meridian.

Every person saved.

He always says:

"Pray to the City God and you will receive peace."

"Evil gods mislead people, while righteous gods protect them."

This sentence.

It's like a seed.

It has been planted in the hearts of every ordinary person.

down one day.

Zhou Yuan looked somewhat tired.

But his eyes grew brighter and brighter.

Because he saw it.

Streams of white energy invisible to the naked eye.

It is rising right above the heads of these people.

They converge into streams.

They surged toward the City God Temple.

That's incense!

That is the power of will!

Under the influence of that immense power of will.

Sitting upright in the temple, Zhang Zhengming's complexion finally regained some color.

That black lotus flower, though still menacing.

But under the suppression of the will, its rampant growth finally stopped.

situation.

Things have stabilized for now.

……

Night falls.

Jingning County was once again shrouded in darkness.

But that night...

It was no longer a deathly silence.

In front of every household, amulets obtained from the City God Temple were hung.

on the street.

Although there were no pedestrians.

But the eerie winds no longer raged.

Because there is a special patrol team that is inspecting the Yin and Yang realms.

"yawn……"

Ma Ling'er lay on Gun Gun's back, teasing her mount with a bamboo stick in her hand.

"I'm talking about Master Zhou."

"You've caught almost all the ghosts in this city."

"What are we still doing wandering around here?"

"Isn't it better to go home and sleep?"

Zhou Yuan walked ahead, his figure appearing and disappearing in the distance.

The compass in his hand was spinning wildly.

Something's not right.

Zhou Yuan stopped in his tracks, his brows furrowed.

"Something's not right?"

Ma Ling'er also sat up straight.

"It's too clean."

Zhou Yuan looked at the empty streets.

"The Wukong Sect has been operating here for twenty years."

"How could it only be those few wandering ghosts from that one night?"

"You mean...?"

"Are there still some who escaped the net?"

Zhou Yuan did not answer.

He suddenly squatted down.

He picked up a handful of soil from a dark corner by the roadside.

That's soil from a grave.

A faint trace of malevolent energy still lingered on it.

But this aura.

It wasn't just wandering around.

Instead, they were... fleeing!

"Follow me!"

Zhou Yuan let out a low shout, and his body instantly accelerated.

"Hey! Wait for me!"

Ma Ling'er patted Rolling's bottom.

"Giddy up! Chase after them!"

Two people and a bear.

They walked one after the other, passing through most of the county.

We arrived directly at the west gate of Jingning County.

Here.

It is the only way to the outside world.

Zhou Yuan stood on the city wall and activated his Yin Eye.

The sight before him caused his pupils to shrink slightly.

On the official road leading out of the city, one could see...

Sparse, ghostly figures were skimming the ground and rapidly drifting away.

They did not attack people.

There was no sound.

They looked like a group of ants moving house.

He appeared unusually flustered, even... frightened.

"Is this the one who slipped through the net you were looking for?"

Ma Ling'er leaned closer and asked in a low voice.

What are they running for?

"We haven't even caught up with them this far yet."

Zhou Yuan sneered.

"Just grab one and ask them, and we'll know."

Before he could finish speaking...

He had already jumped off the city wall.

The Soul-Locking Chain in his hand was like a venomous snake emerging from its hole.

Whoosh!

In an instant, it grabbed a starving ghost who was running at the back.

"Ah! My lord, spare me! My lord, spare me!"

The starving ghost was so frightened by Zhou Yuan's trampling that its soul almost dissipated.

"I don't eat people! I really didn't eat people!"

"I just want to leave! I want to get out of here!"

Zhou Yuan exerted force with his feet.

A divine force pressed down, causing the starving ghost to scream in agony.

"Shut up."

"I ask, you answer."

"If you tell even one lie, I'll make sure you can't even be a ghost."

The starving ghost nodded frantically.

"Tell me! Tell me! I'll tell you everything!"

"Why run?"

"This...this city has been struck by a menace!"

The starving ghost had a mournful face.

"The City God has appeared, and there's also a fierce-looking Earth God catching ghosts everywhere."

"If we don't run now, we'll be taken to be refined into oil!"

Zhou Yuan squinted.

"Where are you headed?"

"Judging from the direction you're heading, it doesn't seem like you're just running around randomly; it looks like you're in an organized group."

The starving ghost's eyes darted around.

"I...we just wandered around..."

"Um?"

A flash of divine fire appeared in Zhou Yuan's hand.

"I'll talk! I'll talk!"

The starving ghost screamed in terror.

"Let's go to Pingyang!"

"Everyone's saying to go to Pingyang County!"

"What happened there?"

Ma Ling'er interrupted and asked.

The starving ghost said tremblingly:

"I heard... I heard that the gods over there don't care about anything."

"and……"

"And there's good food there."

"The leader... the leader has opened a new temple over there."

"Once you go to Pingyang, you'll have an endless supply of offerings and food..."

Zhou Yuan and Ma Ling'er exchanged a glance.

They both saw the shock in each other's eyes.

Pingyang County.

That is another large county that is adjacent to Jingning County.

Its population is 30% larger than that of Jingning!

"The Wukong Sect..."

Zhou Yuan loosened his legs and casually stuffed the starving ghost into "Strange Tales of Gods and Monsters" as nourishment.

He stood up and looked up at the dark night sky in the west.

That direction leads directly to Pingyang County.

It looked completely deserted there.

But in Zhou Yuan's eyes...

Above that place, a black aura several times denser than that of Jingning County was lingering!

original.

Jingning County is just the beginning.

Or perhaps... a discarded pawn.

The true foundation of the Wukong sect.

It has already spread to Pingyang without anyone noticing!

"These ground rats really know how to dig holes."

Ma Ling'er gritted her teeth and stomped her feet in anger.

"We just put out the fire here."

"It's on fire again over there!"

Zhou Yuan took a deep breath.

The night wind rustled his clothes.

An unprecedented sense of urgency welled up in my heart.

If we say that the Wukong sect in Jingning County is merely a minor ailment, then...

The situation in Pingyang County is probably already critical.

and.

Since that starving ghost mentioned the "cult leader".

Does that mean...?

That elusive and mysterious Master Wukong.

now.

Is it in Pingyang?

Thinking about this...

Zhou Yuan showed no fear whatsoever.

Instead, I felt the blood in my body gradually boiling.

He touched the scalding hot copy of "Strange Tales of the Gods and Monsters" in his arms.

A cold smile curved at the corner of his lips.

Since you've all come together on your own.

That would save me the trouble of searching everywhere.

"Ling'er".

"Um?"

"Looks like we'll have to go on a long trip."

Zhou Yuan's gaze was sharp as he pointed towards Pingyang.

"Since that Master Wukong has set up the stage..."

"If we don't go and show our support..."

"Wouldn't that be incredibly disrespectful?"