Chapter 41: Sacrifice

Li Zhen pressed his body tightly against the building’s wall, at least this way he only needed to be mindful of one direction in front of him.

Though he couldn’t see with his eyes, faint sounds of explosions still reached his ears.

Due to the influence of the mist, he was unable to accurately judge the distance between himself and the explosions.

At the other end of the street lay the county seat itself.

A quarter-hour ago, the Prefect had stood in mid-air before the County Seat, releasing his spiritual sense to perceive its protective array.

As he approached, he had already launched an attack on the array, but it failed to break through.

“An earth element defense array!” the Prefect said grimly. “What are you doing within the array?”

He didn’t recognize the ‘Houtu Dust Array’, which wasn’t surprising; few cultivators studied arrays.

The art of arrays was one that could only be mastered by those with innate talent. No matter how diligent one might be, without such aptitude, the essence of array techniques remained beyond reach.

The Prefect could only discern from the earth-like characteristics exhibited by the Houtu Dust Array that it was a type of earth element defense array.

Earth element was renowned for its defensive capabilities. An earth element defense array, by tapping into the power of the land itself, could create an invulnerable barrier.

What vexed the Prefect most was that this earth-type defense array drew its power from the second-tier inferior spirit vein within his own mansion.

Without such a vein, even against an earth-type defense array, he could have shattered it swiftly with his sheer offensive might.

But now, with the second-tier inferior spirit vein in play, breaking through this earth-type defense array would consume far more time than he had to spare.

Within the Houtu Dust Array, the demon cult leader knelt on the ground, fervently praying before a statue of the Wolf God.

Off to the side lay a heap of cultivators—among them, Constable Shang and over a dozen mid-Qi Refining stage policemen.

The demon cult leader chanted in a strange tongue, akin to wolf howls yet possessing a unique rhythm and cadence.

A black mist rose from the Wolf God statue, spreading outward and swiftly engulfing Constable Shang and the other mid-Qi Refining stage policemen.

Despair flashed across Constable Shang’s eyes; even if he wished to fight to the death, he found himself utterly helpless.

The black mist entered his body through every pore, causing him to rapidly shrink as his soul, spiritual energy, and flesh were all offered up by the demon cultist to their monstrous deity.

The statue of the Wolf God emitted a brilliant glow, and faintly, a phantom figure emerged from it.

“O mighty Wolf God,” the demon chieftain said, his eyes flashing with fervor, “this humble servant beseeches you to unleash your divine power, that it may cleanse the souls of all living!”

The phantom on the Wolf God’s statue nodded slightly. With a wave of its hand, a dense mist began to spread in all directions.

All those touched by the mist felt their very souls being drawn out and absorbed into the statue of the Wolf God.

As the mist expanded, the demon chieftain watched with increasing excitement as screaming souls were continuously pulled from beyond and merged into the statue.

These souls, entranced by the mist, constituted their offering for this ritual.

The Demon God would reward them handsomely according to the value of this contribution.

Around the county seat stood buildings belonging to Yunxi County’s government offices. Most people here were cultivators.

Now, as these cultivators’ souls were sacrificed en masse, the return on this offering would be unparalleled.

Noticing the mist spreading throughout the prefectural mansion, the county chief observed that it couldn’t approach him closely—the quality of the mist was too low for someone at his level. It might affect Qi Refining cultivators, but had minimal impact on him.

However, it was precisely because of the mist’s effects on Qi Refining cultivators that he realized its true horror.

He knew at once that the demonic individuals within the mansion had successfully connected with their demon god and were using the core area of Yunxi County as an offering.

“You despicable demons! How dare you call yourselves human!” he roared furiously. The mass death of cultivators in the county’s core would plunge Yunxi into utter chaos.

This incident would also severely lower the Xian Nation’s evaluation of him politically, making it impossible for him to secure more resources. His Daoist path might very well be interrupted because of this event.

“Break through! You shall all perish!” He channeled his full power into the flying sword, directing it towards the ‘Houtu Dust Array’.

He held nothing back now, pouring spiritual energy into the flying sword as if it cost him nothing.

The sword whirled and danced, striking the Houtu Dust Array’s protective barrier again and again.

After thirty strikes, his face paled from the massive depletion of his spiritual energy.

He quickly pulled out a pill that restored spiritual energy from his robes, swallowing it down to hasten the recovery process.

The pill worked effectively; before long, half of his spiritual energy had been replenished.

As the flying sword approached forty strikes, the Houtu Dust Array finally reached its limit and could endure no longer.

The moment the Houtu Dust Array was broken, the prefect pulled out a talisman and activated it on his forehead.

This talisman, called the God Protection Talisman, had little effect against ordinary psychic attacks. However, it proved remarkably effective against those emanating from the statue of the Yao God.

As the array dissipated, the phantom above the statue revealed a pair of eyes that grew increasingly luminous, their gaze fixed unwaveringly on the prefect.

The God Protection Talisman on the prefect’s forehead endured a surge of malevolent psychic energy. In response, the talisman spontaneously combusted without an external flame, absorbing the evil attack in place of the prefect.

Seizing this fleeting opportunity, the prefect’s flying sword struck true upon the statue of the Yao God.

The phantom let out an enraged roar of defiance as its glowing eyes remained locked on the prefect. Gradually, the phantom’s form grew more tenuous until it finally vanished into thin air.

With the formation broken, the demonic people instantly recognized the prefect’s terrifying might and scattered in all directions.

In its retreat, the leader of the demons cast several black beads into the air. These beads exploded, releasing vast clouds of foul-smelling toxic mist.

“Escape won’t be so easy!” After destroying the demon god statue, the prefect’s flying sword began to slaughter the fleeing demonic people at a speed nearly imperceptible to the naked eye.

To his attacks, both mid and late-stage qi cultivators were but weaklings, each felled by a single sword stroke.

After several black pearls exploded, he took heed of the ensuing toxic fog. The monsters’ poisons were no simple matter; many originated from the Yao Kingdom, home to numerous monster beasts skilled in using toxins. These potent venoms allowed them to attack even more formidable opponents, making them a force to be reckoned with.

He navigated around the poisonous haze and spotted its source: the monstrous leader emitting the toxic miasma.

The prefect could fly, far swifter than any ground-bound monster chief. At this point, the latter dared not invoke their demonic form, knowing it would exert little pressure on the prefect even if transformed.

Moreover, while demonic transformation preserved some intelligence, it fell short compared to their normal state. In such a guise, they couldn’t guarantee clear thinking or sound judgment.

As the monstrous leader fled at full tilt, they sensed the approaching prefect behind them. Realizing escape was futile when they perceived the prefect’s aura, panic set in.

Too much sensitive information weighed upon their shoulders. Falling alive into the prefect’s hands would deal an irreparable blow to the Demon-Worship Cult.

Their mind focused inward, connecting with the dantian—the reservoir within their abdomen. Besides spiritual energy, a malevolent force rested there—a gift from the Monster God itself.

They activated this sinister power, merging it with the spiritual energy in their dantian.

The fiendish aura mixed with spiritual energy, causing a violent reaction.

In reality, the demonic nation’s fiendish aura was merely another form of spiritual energy. However, it was far more volatile than that found within humans, requiring immense physical strength to suppress its instability.

The fiendish aura possessed by demonic people originated from blessings bestowed by the Demon God. Upon receiving this gift, they naturally gained control over their own fiendish aura.

This type of fiendish aura could only be obtained through such divine bestowal; any other method would result in uncontrollable energy once absorbed into one’s body.

As the demonic leader fused his fiendish aura with spiritual energy within his dantian, he pushed the total amount of fiendish aura far beyond what he could safely contain.

At that moment, he resembled nothing less than a bomb internally overloaded with energy—a bomb already in the process of detonation.

Just before the explosion, the demonic leader felt the storage pouch at his waist vanish without a trace. This pouch had been given to him by Constable Shang.

When the demonic leader exploded, he was positioned within ten meters of Li Zhen.

Sensing multiple spiritual objects nearby, Li Zhen instinctively moved to collect them. Among those present, he managed to secure just one item.

Moments later came an eruption of power as the demonic leader’s fiendish aura exploded outward. It first tore his body to shreds before unleashing a shockwave radiating outwards in all directions.