Fierce God

After the Ghost Messenger finished speaking, the surroundings fell into a deathly silence, without the faintest sound.

Zhou Sheng tensed his body. One hand lightly reached for the Opera Box, while the other drew the Startling Hall Wood from his robes.

Though there was a trace of tension in his bright eyes, the unknown terror made them all the sharper. His mind was intensely focused, as though it had awakened the potential buried deepest within him.

In the unseen darkness, his intuition became even keener, like a hunter facing off against a ferocious beast.

The Magic Power in his Dantian burned like fire, coursing through his liver meridian, passing over his Governor Vessel, and charging straight toward his spiritual platform!

In an instant, he sensed a hazy figure.

It was neither ahead of him nor behind him, but... in the sky?

Above his raised head, pressure spread like an ocean.

That terrifying aura was like a blood-red sun blazing fiercely as it roamed the heavens, its light shining in all directions.

Even through the sedan chair, Zhou Sheng felt unable to breathe, as though Mount Tai were pressing down upon his head.

Not even Lu Bingyuan, the City God of Yang City, possessed such terrifying majesty!

He could not make a move!

Otherwise, he would certainly die!

In that instant, Zhou Sheng abandoned any thought of fighting head-on. He resolved to follow Lu Bingyuan's instructions and not leave the sedan chair no matter what.

He could only hope the other party would continue its heavenly patrol and ignore him.

Yet the very next moment, he sensed that terrifying figure stop directly above him. Not only that, it slowly descended.

The sedan chair swayed gently.

It seemed that figure had stepped onto the roof of the sedan chair and was standing right above Zhou Sheng's head.

Thump! Thump!

Zhou Sheng could feel his heartbeat accelerating beyond his control. He could only hold his breath, hoping to leak as little living Yang energy as possible.

But the next two words shattered that hope.

"A living person?"

The voice sounded from above his head. It was unexpectedly a woman's voice, yet it carried not a trace of life. Hollow and distant, faint and ethereal, it bore an inexplicable chill.

It was as if it had risen from the waters of the Yellow Springs, enough to make one shudder with dread.

"Reporting to Your Divinity, this is—"

The Ghost Messenger trembled as it tried to explain, only to be ruthlessly interrupted.

"Did I ask you?"

In an instant, even through the sedan chair, Zhou Sheng felt a dreadful Killing Intent sweep toward him. The Ghost Messenger's entire body shook, and it no longer dared to speak.

Zhou Sheng took a deep breath and calmed himself. Without waiting for the other party to speak, he took the initiative to speak from within the sedan chair.

"This one is Zhou Sheng—"

Before he could finish, he was interrupted once more.

"Living person, are you a Spirit Walker?"

"...No."

"Are you a ghost matchmaker?"

"No."

"Are you an incense bearer?"

"No."

"Are you a Ghost Opera Performer?"

"Yes."

"Have you completed your apprenticeship?"

Zhou Sheng fell silent for a moment, but still chose to tell the truth.

"Not yet."

For just then, he had used the Luo Shu to cast a divination. The result was that if there were even the slightest falsehood in his words, he would lose his life here in an instant!

"If that is so, then a living person traveling the Yin-Yang Road violates Underworld Law and should die, soul hooked and spirit taken."

"Will you do it yourself, or shall I do it for you?"

Yet even after he spoke the truth, the other party had no intention of sparing Zhou Sheng. She coldly pronounced his death sentence.

Had it been anyone else, even a Ghost Opera Performer with greater Dao cultivation, they would likely have felt themselves driven into a desperate corner, with death certain and no path to life.

But Zhou Sheng still had the Luo Shu. He did not believe he faced a dead end without the slightest chance of survival!

As the Luo Shu consumed most of its accumulated energy, streams of golden flame rose up, baking the tortoise shell within his sea of consciousness.

Accompanied by a faint crack, eight words surged into his mind.

"Ghosts and Gods are acting. Do not leave the sedan chair."

Zhou Sheng's thoughts flashed like lightning, and he recalled Lu Bingyuan, the City God's, instructions before his departure.

"As a City God, I still possess the authority to send a living person down the Yin-Yang Road..."

"Remember, before you arrive, do not leave the sedan chair along the way under any circumstances. Do not lift the curtain and look around either..."

So that was it!

He had finally understood where his chance of survival lay.

The fierce god atop the sedan chair had not encountered him by chance. Rather... she had come prepared!

Her target was very likely him!

It was only because of the order of the underworld that she could not directly kill a City God's guest. Just as Duke Lu had said, a City God inherently possessed the authority to send living people down the Yin-Yang Road.

Unless that City God's guest... committed an offense first.

For instance, by deceiving Ghosts and Gods.

She had questioned him with overwhelming pressure because she had hoped he would lie. That way, she would have grounds to kill him.

Having understood the crux of the matter, Zhou Sheng did not relax in the slightest. Instead, he drew himself even tighter, as if facing a great enemy.

Why would a lofty fierce god want to kill him?

The only thing he could think of was Shen Jinhua's case, and the three words "Shore Flower" that Lu Bingyuan had mentioned.

Murdering to silence him!

Could the one standing atop the sedan chair at this moment... be the true culprit behind the scenes, the one even Duke Lu, the City God, feared?

"Do not delay. Though you have not completed your apprenticeship, you still have some ties to my underworld, which is why you have been given the chance to take your own life. If I must act personally, that will count as resisting orders and refusing arrest."

"When the underworld judges your crimes, and the magistrate passes sentence, your punishment will be increased by another degree. The taste of the eighteen levels of hell... is not pleasant."

Seeing that Zhou Sheng had remained silent for so long, she spoke again, but this time it was a threat.

Enormous pressure descended. The other party's Killing Intent was so overwhelming that even when Zhou Sheng performed Marquis Huan, it had been far inferior.

"Though I have not completed my apprenticeship, the City God guaranteed this journey. I ride in an official sedan chair, and a Ghost Messenger leads the way. What crime, then, have I committed?"

Zhou Sheng spoke, his voice having completely regained its calm. Neither servile nor overbearing, he stood his ground.

"Hehe? Do you think a mere City God of Yang City can protect you?"

A trace of anger seeped into her voice. Yin wind suddenly howled through the surroundings, blowing the entire sedan chair back and forth like a lone leaf boat amid raging waves.

Yet Zhou Sheng sat as steady as Jiang Taigong on his fishing platform.

"The City God of Yang City may not be able to protect me, but the laws of the underworld can!"

"Your Divinity... is a deity of the underworld. If you wish to hook my soul and convict me, then please explain exactly what crime Zhou has committed."

Such unyielding words frightened the Ghost Messenger beside him into trembling like a leaf, sweat falling like rain.

Yet strangely, the fierce god's Killing Intent instead calmed.

She was silent for a moment, then gave a soft laugh.

"Worthy indeed of one who has earned Lu Bingyuan's favor. You have some courage. Very well, come out and pay your respects to me. I will then open the net on one side and let you go, no longer pursuing this matter."

Zhou Sheng did not answer for a long while.

She was still acting!

"What? Does this so-called young hero not even have the courage to step down from the sedan chair and meet me?"

"Indeed, I do not. Moreover, I am not very confident in my appearance and fear I may disturb Your Divinity."

"Hehe, you living person are rather interesting."

"Since you refuse to come down and meet me, then..."

Her tone shifted, carrying a hint of teasing.

"I shall come up to meet you."

Boom!

The howling Yin wind directly slammed open the sedan curtain. An incomparably terrifying and frigid aura rushed into the sedan chair, and amid dazzling blood-red divine radiance, a figure flickered in and out of sight.

A pale, slender hand lightly brushed across Zhou Sheng's face, leaving a bloody mark. Beads of blood already clung to its sharp nails.

"With such a handsome face, yet you say you fear disturbing me. Who gave you the courage..."

She murmured softly beside Zhou Sheng's ear. A strange floral fragrance seeped into the sedan chair.

"To dare deceive Ghosts and Gods?"

Brothers, the contract was signed today! If you have any votes, please lend your support. Many thanks!