The Undead

The outcome was already decided, only the process was a bit convoluted.

Many Demon Hunters were seriously injured.

If it weren't for the Grand Scholars from the Academy being present to suppress these two Demonic Spirits, the Demon Hunters and the Sky-Toppling Observatory would have likely failed.

The most important ability of these two Demonic Spirits was actually controlling the large group of people outside, and using them to act. With that, even the County Magistrate would have likely been unable to escape, and starting a rebellion would have been easy.

However, there was no benefit for the Barbarians to expose this pawn too early.

The unrest in one city or one region couldn't shake the rule of the Great Jin Immortal Dynasty.

Many of the Demon Hunters' wills were easily affected by these two Demonic Spirits, and they would often become dazed while fighting.

Ming Shu was so scared that he didn't dare to go up and help, continuing to hide below and watch.

They leaped and jumped across the rooftops, breaking through the roofs of many houses and tearing them off.

Chong Li discovered that women were less affected when dealing with the female Demonic Spirit, so she tried to avoid Master Ximen as much as possible.

With the Kirin not yet intervening and Grand Scholar Kong continuously using Word Spirits, the Demonic Spirits' power was finally worn down.

As they were finally beaten to the ground and the Demon Hunters prepared to complete the final capture ritual, a Taoist descended from the sky.

He thrust out his sword, clashing with the well-prepared Kirin.

The Kirin counterattacked consecutively. The Taoist was very strong and had been hiding in the shadows, preparing for a long time. He didn't engage the Kirin and dodged its attacks.

When the Kirin's offensive ended, he cast a spell. A cloud of smoke and mist billowed out, and then the Taoist and the two heavily injured Demonic Spirits vanished.

"Damn it!" The not-so-upright Demon Hunter jumped up and cursed.

"Bastard!"

Only the Kirin and Kong Sansanshi remained expressionless.

The current outcome was already considered quite good.

Qing Shui County and its over a hundred thousand people were saved, especially Li Jixu and the faction behind him, who were temporarily out of great danger.

As for the two Demonic Spirits, under the suppression of the Sky-Toppling Observatory's secret arts and the Academy's Holy Words.

"They shouldn't be able to recover their human forms for at least fifty years," the Kirin made a preliminary judgment.

"If the chaotic times begin and they resort to any means necessary, they could recover in ten years at most," Mr. Kong added. "As for how many lives it would cost, that's beyond my calculation."

Mr. Kong was severely unbalanced in his studies. Was his math not good? Although Ming Shu didn't fully grasp the situation either, he had been watching the whole time, enjoying the drama, and had recorded a lot of good stuff in his Fate Book.

For example, he had written down a few phrases of [Word Spirit] used by Li Jixu and this Mr. Kong. So far, he hadn't found any special feedback.

There was also their conversation just now. The prophecies about chaotic times that he had been hearing repeatedly lately.

And the powers used by the group of Demon Hunters.

Except for the Demonic Spirit on the Kirin, the Fate Book provided no feedback. The Demonic Spirit on Chong Li was the most special, it was [Earth Hero Star Heavenly Eye General].

It should be two parts. Like his own Demonic Spirit [Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King], and Ren Yuan's Demonic Spirit [Sky Pillar], they were just relatively simple names.

Moreover, there wasn't just one Sky Pillar; another Demon Hunter had one. This indicated that Demonic Spirits were not unique, at least his was not.

The other Demonic Spirits didn't seem very powerful. However, he silently recorded them all.

Demonic Spirits: [Iron Head Monkey], [Golden Palm Bear], [Bronze Whip Leopard], [Wolf Howling Moon], [Eagle Screaming Sky], [Butterfly Loves Flower], [Mountain Leaper]. Why do they feel related to Demon Beast Spirits?

Are they Demonic Spirits or Demon Beast Spirits?

Hybrids?

He seemed to have encountered Demon Beast Spirits before? Earlier, outside the city, a few Demon Hunters had some War Hounds with them, which were said to be Demon Beast Spirits.

Demon Beast Spirits have physical bodies. Ghost Spirits possess spiritual bodies. Demonic Spirits, on the other hand, need to possess a host.

Or rather, Demonic Spirits possess people, while Demon Beast Spirits live on demonic beasts?

Ming Shu recorded his own findings.

He would find an opportunity to ask a professional later. This situation wasn't suitable.

The Academy and the Demon Hunters, as representatives of the Academy and the Sky-Toppling Observatory, the two big shots conducted a simple review of the entire incident on the spot and unified their statements.

The County Magistrate would represent everyone and report to the Immortal Dynasty to request commendation.

As for the losses, as long as it didn't escalate to a point where it couldn't be covered up, the Emperor wouldn't know what had happened here.

Everyone maintained a tacit understanding.

Kong Sansanshi turned to ask the Kirin, "Was it a fragment of the Holy Grail of the Undead?"

"It had that scent, and only that thing could control so many Ghost Spirits over such a large area." The Kirin, having fought him up close, confirmed the aura of that person.

The two big shots walked aside and began to discuss the subsequent handling and arrangements in low voices.

According to the original plan, Ming Shu was supposed to continue heading east with Old Zhao, Little Zhao, Chong Li, and Ren Yuan after the incident was basically resolved.

However, for the next few days, they had to stay in the courtyard behind the county office and wait.

This was the residence of County Magistrate Li Jixu. He had been busy dealing with various matters recently and had no time to go home.

Ming Shu had to wait because Chong Li and Ren Yuan still needed to help. There were too many things for them to do, especially with that large group of people controlled by the Demonic Spirits' power.

Each one needed to be carefully examined, even tested to see if any of the Demonic Spirits' power remained within them.

Old Zhao and Little Zhao had nothing to do, so they stayed with Ming Shu to rest and learn.

Little Zhao continued to practice martial arts, while Old Zhao also taught Ming Shu some physical training exercises to strengthen his body.

Ming Shu borrowed a few books from the County Magistrate's study and began learning from the beginning.

Regarding the cultivation of power related to Demonic Spirits, he didn't mention it proactively, nor did Chong Li and the others have the energy to teach him.

He also took the time to organize the vast amount of information recorded in the Fate Book during this period.

Especially the fragmented information about the Holy Grail of the Undead that he heard last, which immediately triggered a response when Ming Shu tried to record it in the Fate Book.

The so-called Holy Grail of the Undead was a particularly high-level treasure with a rule: it could resurrect one person every ten years before automatically splitting into seven fragments scattered across various locations.

After three years, each year, one fragment's mark and power would be released randomly.

Once all fragments were collected, it would take at least another ten years. Then, the wish-maker could fill the Holy Grail with their own blood and resurrect the person they wished to revive.

The price would be enormous.

Furthermore, after a wish was made, all records and memories related to the Holy Grail of the Undead in the world would be automatically deleted and reset.

Everything would begin anew.

Only a very small number of higher-ranking items could retain related records.