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

The streets of Pingyang County are colder than before.

That kind of cold wasn't the frost of winter.

Instead, it's like countless dead hands, pressed against your spine, seeping in little by little.

Zhou Yuan walked in front.

Those two eyes, one black and one white, gleamed with a faint light in the pitch-black night.

Like two will-o'-the-wisps guiding the way.

Ma Ling'er followed closely behind him.

The bamboo flute in his hand was soaked with sweat.

She dared not breathe deeply.

They were afraid that if they inhaled a breath of the city's pent-up resentment, they would freeze their lungs.

"Zhou Yuan".

Ma Ling'er's voice was very low, barely audible.

"Look ahead."

Follow the direction of her finger.

Zhou Yuan stopped in his tracks.

The end of the once empty street.

Sometime later, some figures appeared.

No.

That's not "some".

There were hundreds or even thousands of people, densely packed together.

They did not light any lamps.

There were no torches.

And so they groped their way forward in the darkness.

The footsteps were very light, yet very heavy.

It dragged on the ground, making a rustling sound.

It looked like countless snakes crawling.

"Were they those people who stayed indoors earlier?"

Ma Ling'er asked.

Zhou Yuan did not answer.

His dark left eye narrowed slightly.

【Night Tour - Asura Appearance】.

See into the darkness, gaze directly at the origin.

In his view.

These people were covered with invisible black lines.

These black lines are like the strings of a marionette.

One end was tied to the top of their heads.

At the other end, it plunges deep into the ground, extending all the way to the direction of the City God Temple.

"They didn't come out voluntarily."

Zhou Yuan's voice was frighteningly cold.

"They were 'lured' out."

The two approached silently.

At the entrance of an alley, Zhou Yuan reached out and stopped a middle-aged man who was walking forward in a daze.

The man was wearing coarse linen clothes.

She was still clutching a rag doll tightly in her hand.

It's probably his child's.

Zhou Yuan's fingers gently rested on the man's pulse.

It's cold.

There was no movement.

But this person is clearly still walking and still breathing.

"Uncle?"

Ma Ling'er tentatively called out.

Nothing happens.

That man was like a piece of wood.

His eyes remained fixed, staring straight ahead.

That's the direction of the City God Temple.

His pupils were dilated and unfocused.

There was no spirit in it.

There was no fear.

There wasn't even a sliver of light belonging to the "living people".

Empty and desolate.

He was like a walking corpse.

"His soul is gone."

Zhou Yuan withdrew his hand, his face extremely grim.

"His soul is gone?"

Ma Ling'er gasped.

"The three souls and seven spirits have all disappeared?"

"No."

Zhou Yuan shook his head.

"The soul remains, sustaining the physical body from death."

"But the Heavenly Soul, the Earthly Soul, and the main consciousness among the Seven Souls have all been extracted."

"Right now, he's just an empty shell that can breathe."

Ma Ling'er looked at the "people" wandering the streets.

I just felt a chill run down my spine.

If everyone in this city is like this...

Is Pingyang County still considered part of the human world?

This is clearly a tomb for the living dead!

"The Wukong Sect..."

Ma Ling'er gritted her teeth, her eyes filled with rage.

"Where exactly are they taking these people?"

"Go and offer sacrifices."

Zhou Yuan stood up, his gaze piercing through the crowd, fixing on the abandoned City God Temple.

"These bodies are the best containers for sacrifices."

"Walk."

"Let's go to the temple."

The two did not linger.

With lightning speed, using the shadow of the eaves, it swiftly sped towards the City God Temple.

The closer you get to the City God Temple.

The stronger the fishy smell in the air, the better.

It smelled of rotting flesh, incense ash, and old bloodstains.

It's disgusting.

at last.

They landed on an old locust tree outside the City God Temple.

Looking down from a high vantage point.

The entire temple complex was laid out before us.

If it were just the previous dilapidation, it would only evoke sighs of regret.

The scene now is simply hell.

The originally spacious square in front of the temple.

It has now been transformed into a massive altar.

Countless people who have lost their souls.

They knelt on the ground in dense numbers, like ants.

And in front of them.

That once solemn City God Hall.

It has now completely collapsed.

Only a few broken stone pillars remain, standing alone.

It looked like several severed fingers pointing towards the sky.

On the ruins of the main hall.

A high platform was built using a field of white bones.

Black command flags were planted all around the high platform.

Each command flag was painted with a strange black lotus flower.

It moves automatically even without wind.

It rustled.

"Such a heavy yin energy."

Zhou Yuan's hands gripped the tree trunk tightly.

The fingernail dug deep into the tree bark.

As the [Fengzhou Tugong].

His perception of Yin and Yang energies far surpasses that of ordinary people.

The yin energy here.

It's so concentrated that it's practically watery.

Even in mid-air, a thick layer of black clouds formed.

It completely blocked out the moonlight.

"Zhou Yuan, look over there!"

Ma Ling'er suddenly pointed to the center of the ruins.

There.

There is a huge, deep pit.

Bottomless.

Visible plumes of black gas, like fountains, gushed forth from the deep pit.

And at the edge of that deep pit.

Something seems to be wriggling.

"That is..."

Zhou Yuanyun's eyesight was excellent.

next second.

His pupils suddenly contracted.

That is blood.

Fresh blood.

It flows continuously into the deep pit, following the grooves carved into the ground.

"They are performing a blood sacrifice!"

Ma Ling'er almost cried out.

She covered her mouth, her face pale.

"This is what the old beggar was saying..."

"A real person's 'preaching'?"

Zhou Yuan remained silent.

He slowly closed his eyes.

Take a deep breath.

then.

He suddenly opened his eyes.

The golden right eye burst forth with dazzling divine light.

"I am a local official in the village."

"An imperial edict was issued regarding the earth's veins in this area."

"Revealed!"

boom!

An invisible wave suddenly spread outwards from Zhou Yuan.

This time.

He was no longer testing the waters.

Instead, they resorted to forceful suppression!

Even if this is Pingyang, not his Fengzhou.

But his divine office is recognized by heaven and earth.

As long as your feet are on the ground.

He has the right to intervene!

Om-!

The earth let out a muffled groan.

It's like a desperate scream from someone whose mouth has been covered.

In Zhou Yuan's mind.

In an instant, countless chaotic images flooded in.

flame.

massacre.

Crying and screaming.

And there are desperate prayers.

"City God, save me!"

"God, please open your eyes and look!"

"I don't want to die... I don't want to die..."

Countless sounds exploded in his ears.

Zhou Yuan's face turned deathly pale instantly.

A trickle of blood escaped from the corner of his mouth.

This is a backlash.

This land bears too heavy a burden of injustice.

It was so heavy that even the gods could barely carry it.

"Joo Won!"

Ma Ling'er caught him.

"How are you?"

Zhou Yuan waved his hand.

Wipe the blood from the corner of your mouth.

His gaze, however, became sharper than ever before.

"I see it clearly now."

"The order underground has completely collapsed."

"The path between Yin and Yang is severed, the gates of hell are closed."

"The dead here cannot go to the underworld."

"The living here have no way to survive."

"What about the City God?"

Ma Ling'er asked anxiously.

"Did you sense his divine mark?"

Zhou Yuan remained silent for a moment.

He slowly shook his head.

"no."

"The aura of the divine seal has completely disappeared."

"Not a single crumb was left."

Ma Ling'er's heart sank.

"That means..."

"Has the City God of Pingyang truly fallen?"

Zhou Yuan stared at the dark, deep pit.

A trace of sorrow flashed in his eyes.

"The divine seal is shattered, and the golden body is destroyed."

"Logically speaking, he has indeed perished."

"but……"

Zhou Yuan suddenly changed the subject.

"I can't sense any fragments of his soul."

"What do you mean?"

"If one's soul and spirit perish and return to the world, there will surely be spiritual light to nourish them."

"But the Pingyang area is utterly desolate."

"This shows..."

"His spirit has not dissipated."

"But rather, he was...imprisoned!"

A murderous glint flashed in Zhou Yuan's eyes.

He suddenly pulled the book "Strange Tales of Gods and Monsters" from his pocket.

The ancient pages rustled in the wind.

"If it is imprisonment, there must be traces."

"Where there are wronged souls, there must be aggrieved parties."

"Connecting to the spirit world!"

Zhou Yuan gave a low shout.

He drew an intricate rune in the air with his finger.

It was slammed onto the book of supernatural tales.

Whoosh!

The pages of the book are turned.

A black vortex formed on the page.

"Wandering souls of Pingyang, heed my command!"

"Revenge for wrongs, avenge for grudges!"

"Show yourself immediately!"

call--!

A gust of cold wind swept by.

The temperature around us plummeted.

In the shadow of those ruins.

Countless transparent phantoms slowly emerged.

Some of them were decapitated.

Some are missing arms.

Some were completely charred black.

These ones.

They were all ordinary people from Pingyang who died in this catastrophe.

They are also wandering ghosts who cannot be reborn after death.

"Sir...sir..."

A weak voice rang out.

A ghost dressed in official robes floated out, trembling.

He had a large hole in his chest.

His official hat was also askew to one side.

"Who are you……"

Zhou Yuan looked at the official robes.

"Daytime Inspector?"

That is the day-roaming deity under the seat of the City God of Pingyang County.

The ghost knelt down in mid-air with a thud.

Tears streamed down his face.

"Your humble servant, Zhao Dezhu, the Day-Roaming God... pays respects to the Supreme God!"

"Please, God...save my master!"

Zhou Yuan was startled.

really!

Where are your parents?

"Was it caused by that evil Taoist priest?"

The deity wept bitterly that day.

That night... the Wukong Sect demons suddenly launched an attack.

"That so-called 'real man,' accompanied by four guardians, stormed straight into the City God Temple."

"In order to protect all the people of the city, the lord has activated the city's protective formation."

But who knew...

The sun god's face showed an expression of extreme resentment.

"The county magistrate...that corrupt county magistrate!"

"He slipped 'Soul-Corroding Powder' into the incense offerings of the adults!"

"As soon as the great formation was activated, the master suffered a backlash."

"Golden Body..."

"The golden statue cracked on the spot!"

Ma Ling'er was so angry that she trembled all over.

He kicked a tree branch that was standing nearby, breaking it in half.

"Another mole!"

"Have these officials given themselves a heart?!"

Zhou Yuan's face was ashen.

He gestured for the day-roaming deity to continue speaking.

"The master was severely injured and unable to withstand the attack, and was captured by that evil Taoist."

"That evil Taoist priest... he didn't kill you, sir."

"He said...he said..."

The day-roaming god trembled, as if even recalling that scene required immense courage.

He said he wanted to use the soul of an adult as a "medicinal catalyst".

"A medicinal guide?"

Zhou Yuan's eyes narrowed.

"What medicine?"

"An elixir of immortality? Or a elixir of becoming an immortal?"

The day-roaming deity pointed to the huge, deep pit.

"Down there...down there is the 'Yin Sha Cave' that was suppressed by the City God Temple in the past."

"That evil Taoist priest nailed your soul deep into the earth."

"It is watered with the blood of living people every day."

"And then they used the resentment that filled the city to permeate it."

He said... he wanted to refine a "Myriad Spirits Blood Pill"!

"Help him...help him ascend to heaven in one step, straight into the tribulation of lightning!"

boom!

This news.

It was like a thunderclap that exploded in Zhou Yuan and Ma Ling'er's ears.

Everything makes sense now.

Why are the people of this city like walking corpses?

Because their vital energy and spirit were all drained away to refine elixirs!

Why did the City God's seal disappear, yet there was no divine soul to nourish it?

Because the soul was used as fuel in the alchemy furnace!

"What ruthless methods."

"What grand ambitions!"

Zhou Yuan's hands were trembling slightly.

This is not fear.

This is anger.

Extreme anger!

As a member of the Shinto sect.

What he couldn't stand most was this kind of blasphemous behavior that treated all living beings like dirt!

"What about tonight?"

Suppressing his murderous intent, Zhou Yuanqiang asked in a deep voice.

"What are they planning to do tonight?"

The day-roaming deity looked at the people kneeling all over the ground.

Blood tears streamed from his eyes.

"Tonight... is the day of Dan Cheng's completion."

"That sorcerer said that a final 'human sacrifice' was to be performed."

"These twelve thousand people..."

"They'll all be pushed into that deep pit."

"Skin and bones, turned into blood."

"To give that pill a final 'sealing'!"

Twelve thousand people!

Human sacrifice!

Ma Ling'er felt a chill run straight to the top of her head.

She gripped the bamboo flute tightly in her hand.

The knuckles are turning white.

"madman……"

"He's a complete madman!"

"Zhou Yuan, we can't wait any longer!"

"If we wait any longer, all of these ten thousand people will be gone!"

Zhou Yuan remained silent.

His gaze was fixed on the deep pit.

In my mind.

The pages of "Strange Tales of Gods and Monsters" are being flipped through frantically.

The text above flows like a waterfall.

[Target: Wukong Zhenren]

[Deduction in progress...]

[Analysis of the Evil Spell: Soul-Devouring Blood Transformation Array]

[Core principle: Using the soul as a catalyst, and flesh and blood as a furnace.]

[Weakness: Before the pill is formed, the earth's veins are unstable, and the soul's resistance is most intense.]

【warn!warn! 】

On the pages of the book.

Suddenly, a line of large, blood-red characters appeared.

[An extremely dangerous source has been detected!]

[Deduction: An evil god has descended!]

Once the human sacrifice begins, not only will the Blood Elixir of Ten Thousand Spirits be completed.

[It will even attract a wisp of projection from an extraterrestrial evil god, which will possess and reincarnate!]

At that time, the area within a thousand miles will be transformed into a realm of demons and monsters!

[Extinction of all life!]

Zhou Yuan slammed the book shut.

In the eyes.

The black and white colors flowed wildly.

finally.

It turned into a resolute, icy coldness.

"you're right."

"We can't wait any longer."

He turned his head and looked at Ma Ling'er.

"Ling'er".

Are you scared?

Ma Ling'er was stunned for a moment.

immediately.

A poignant yet wild smile appeared on her usually carefree face.

She reached out and pulled the hairpin off her head.

Her long, black hair danced wildly in the wind.

The bamboo flute in his hand was gently touched to his lips.

"What's there to be afraid of!"

"I am a descendant of the Ma family of Northern Continent!"

"Exorcising demons and catching ghosts is our duty; slaying monsters and eliminating evil is our sacred calling!"

"Even if it were the King of Heaven himself, he would eat people here."

"I'm going to break a few of his teeth too!"

She turned her head and glanced at Gun Gun, who was hiding under the tree, trembling with fear.

"Big guy!"

"Don't be a coward!"

"If we win today, I'll give you plenty of bamboo shoots when we get back!"

"What if we lose..."

"Let's go down there together and turn the world upside down!"

The panda seemed to sense its owner's determination.

It stopped shaking.

He suddenly stood up.

It let out a deafening roar.

Awooo—!

That roar.

Like a thunderclap.

The deathly silence in front of the City God Temple was instantly shattered.

Those people kneeling on the ground.

They all seemed to tremble slightly from the sound.

"Who goes there?!"

Above the ruins.

Several dark figures shot into the sky in an instant.

That was a protector of the Wukong sect.

They were all dressed in black robes, exuding a ghostly aura.

"The ones who will take your lives!"

Zhou Yuan took a step forward.

Its form resembled a black meteor, plummeting straight down.

A person is in mid-air.

His momentum was rising steadily.

[Night Tour - Asura Form] Fully Unlocked!

The air behind them seemed to be torn apart.

A faint phantom of a three-headed, six-armed Asura could be seen, appearing and disappearing behind him.

"Fengzhou Zhouyuan is here!"

"You old thief, Wukong!"

"Come out and face your death!"

This roar.

It is imbued with the divine power of the Earth God.

Like a heavy hammer blow.

It slammed heavily onto the platform of white bones.

Boom!

Bones flew everywhere.

The originally stable platform was destroyed by the force of that roar.

It shook so badly it was on the verge of collapse!

"How dare you!"

Deep within the ruins.

A sinister, cold laugh rang out.

Followed by.

Inside that huge, deep pit.

Blood splattered into the sky.

A terrifying, suffocating pressure.

Like a tidal wave, it swept towards Zhou Yuan.

"Since you're here..."

"Then let's stay together."

"To be used in my alchemy furnace..."

"This is the first medicinal ingredient!"

A giant hand formed entirely of blood.

Emerging from the deep pit.

It carried a nauseating, fishy smell.

He grabbed at Zhou Yuan, who was in mid-air.

Zhou Yuan did not retreat but advanced.

I don't know when it will appear in my hands.

An extra large seal appeared.

It was his "Xiangting Land Seal"!

"You want to use me to make medicine?"

"Aren't you afraid of breaking all your rotten teeth!"

"Ling'er!"

"Let's do it!"

"Yes, sir!"

midair.

A clear, melodious flute note rang out.

Ma Ling'er stepped on the broad, thick shoulders of the roll.

Like a butterfly flitting among flowers.

They attacked from the flank.

Several golden talismans in his hand swelled in the wind.

It transformed into several golden bolts of lightning.

It slashed fiercely at the black-robed protectors.

"The Ma Family Dragon Curse!"

"Lin, Bing, Dou, Zhe, Jie, Zhen, Lie, Qian, Xing!"

"Slay the evil!"

War.

It's on the verge!