Fierce Gods

"How could this be?" Xia Yunsi looked at the corridor of the main hall with surprise, her expression filled with confusion.

Zhengwu was a Buddhist Seventh Rank, and Ren Qianxing was an Eighth Rank of the Puppet Path. Even if the Malevolent Spirit was strong, it was unlikely that these two would show no signs of resistance.

Unless the thing they faced at that time was beyond their ability to handle.

If there was such a powerful Malevolent Spirit within Jinzhao Temple, there would be no need to hide in the shadows. It could have simply revealed itself and wiped out all of them, the Demon Subduing Captains.

"Ren Qianxing's puppets show no reaction. It seems he himself has met his demise," Ning Xiu said with a frown.

"What do we do now?" Xia Yunsi asked.

"You come with me, and we'll search around. Let's see if we can find any traces left by the Malevolent Spirit. Remember, do not separate from me. We cannot afford any more personnel losses," Ning Xiu said. He walked back to retrieve the Startling Thunder Hammer and then walked out of the Mahavira Hall.

They searched the entire Jinzhao Temple, inside and out, braving the heavy rain. However, they found no traces related to Ren Qianxing or Zhengwu.

With no other options, Ning Xiu and Xia Yunsi returned to the Mahavira Hall. Judging by the current situation, Zhengwu and Ren Qianxing had likely met their end, and might even be completely dead.

Ning Xiu placed the Startling Thunder Hammer on the ground and said with regret, "Before we could achieve anything, our two teammates have already died. When the rain stops tomorrow, we will head to Shen Family Town. We'll ask the post station to send a message to the Demon Subduing Bureau, requesting them to send specialists to investigate what exactly is wrong with this Jinzhao Temple, to be able to make two Demon Subduing Captains disappear without a sound."

Xia Yunsi was about to agree with him when her gaze was suddenly drawn to a white wall not far away.

She then exclaimed in shock, "Lord Ning, look over there!"

All along the way, Ning Xiu had told Xia Yunsi to simply call him Ning Xiu. The fact that she suddenly blurted out "Lord Ning" showed just how flustered she was at the moment.

Following the direction Xia Yunsi pointed, Ning Xiu immediately saw that two small figures had appeared on the white wall.

Ning Xiu was absolutely certain that there was nothing on that white wall before.

He quickly walked over and saw that the two small figures looked exactly like the missing Ren Qianxing and the monk Zhengwu.

One of them was looking around blankly, while the other had his palms clasped together, holding Buddhist prayer beads and chanting. Facing the vast white expanse, their postures and expressions were painted with vivid detail, lifelike.

Ning Xiu and Xia Yunsi exchanged glances, seeing the same thought in each other's eyes.

How did these two get into the mural!

"Lord Ning, I have a bold idea."

"Just say it, don't worry about whether it's bold or not."

Xia Yunsi's expression was serious. "If I'm not mistaken, this Jinzhao Temple has likely become a Fierce God."

"A Fierce God?! Can a temple become a Fierce God?" Ning Xiu asked incredulously.

The Compendium of Demons and Monsters compiled by the Demon Subduing Bureau did record the existence of dozens of Fierce Gods. Their main bodies were mostly mountains, peaks, rivers, lakes, and forests.

But Ning Xiu had never heard of a building developing sentience and becoming a Fierce God.

"Plants with intelligence become demons, and mountains and rivers with intelligence become gods. The difference lies in whether they possess innate divine abilities. Fierce Gods have various innate divine abilities; some can summon wind and rain, some can gather spiritual energy, and some can transmute stone into gold. All possess supreme mysteries.

I once heard a Bronze Leopard Demon Subduing Captain talk about something similar. He said that decades ago, a pagoda built by the Demon Subduing Bureau specifically to suppress a thousand-year-old Snake Demon inexplicably gained sentience and became a Fierce God.

In the end, it not only released the Snake Demon it was suppressing but also became its Dao companion, and they escaped the Great Shang territory together, with no trace of them found to this day. This shows that buildings can indeed become Fierce Gods.

This act of turning living people into mural paintings might just be Jinzhao Temple's innate divine ability," Xia Yunsi said seriously.

Since there had indeed been such precedents, Ning Xiu no longer doubted it. Instead, he quickly began to think about what to do next.

They were currently inside a Fierce God, and Zhengwu and Ren Qianxing had not been absorbed into the mural for long. If they could hurry, there might still be a chance to save them.

With this thought, Ning Xiu immediately grabbed the Startling Thunder Hammer and smashed it forcefully onto the ground of the Mahavira Hall.

If Jinzhao Temple was truly a Fierce God, then provoking its true form and engaging in combat might offer a slim chance of rescuing Ren Qianxing and the other.

When it came to investigating and searching for Malevolent Spirits, Martial Dao practitioners were not adept. However, when it came to fighting and battling Malevolent Spirits, Martial Dao practitioners were certainly not tired.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The 320-jin Startling Thunder Hammer fiercely struck the ground. Although Ning Xiu only swung it once, the Startling Thunder Hammer produced three thunderous roars against the ground.

It directly caused debris to fly and stone bricks to crack within the Mahavira Hall.

Centered around the Startling Thunder Hammer, an area of at least fifty paces caved in. Spiderweb-like cracks rapidly spread outwards in all directions, revealing numerous lightning-like fissures.

The entire Mahavira Hall began to tremble violently as a result. Many roof tiles slid off the eaves outside the hall, shattering noisily on the ground.

Xia Yunsi's eyes lit up. Was this the power of a single strike from a Martial Dao Fifth Rank?

If Jinzhao Temple was indeed a Fierce God, then Ning Xiu's wanton destruction of the temple's ground was equivalent to damaging the Fierce God's body. Naturally, it could no longer pretend to be a building and remain hidden in the shadows.

This strike actually contained Ning Xiu's Internal Energy and triple hammer force, its power capable of penetrating three to four Zhang deep into the ground. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Ning Xiu had triggered a small Earth Dragon Overturn.

"Come out!"

Ning Xiu lifted the Startling Thunder Hammer. As he shouted, a burst of sparks actually spewed from his mouth and landed on the Startling Thunder Hammer.

The entire Startling Thunder Hammer immediately ignited, as if oil had been poured onto a raging fire.

After the Great Sun Profound Scripture was cultivated to the tenth level, it would naturally produce the phenomenon of Internal Energy transforming into fire.

And as Ning Xiu evolved the Great Sun Profound Scripture into the Burning Sun Grand Radiance Scripture, this phenomenon had now become much more miraculous.

Under Xia Yunsi's gaze, Ning Xiu swung the hammer down with all his might again. The momentum triggered by this strike was far more exaggerated than the previous one.

Unable to withstand the force of the hammer, the ground exploded. A large amount of flames instantly gushed out from the ravines and large cracks, filling the entire Mahavira Hall.

This scene was exactly like subterranean fire!

With almost two hammers, the Mahavira Hall, which had seemed very sturdy and could have lasted another hundred years, was now teetering precariously.

Without a doubt, if Ning Xiu swung a third hammer, the hall would surely collapse.

Just then, the entire Jinzhao Temple began to shake violently. Layers of colorful bubble membranes appeared all over the temple.

They squeezed towards the location where Ning Xiu and the other person were.

Before Ning Xiu could even react to what was happening, he found that the scene before his eyes had completely changed.

The surroundings were no longer the Mahavira Hall he was about to smash down, but a desolate wasteland filled with ruins and withered grass.

A few ancient trees, so withered that all their leaves had fallen, stood in the wasteland. Their branches grew wildly like flags, and several crows perched on them.

"Xia Yunsi?" Ning Xiu looked around but couldn't see Xia Yunsi's trace.

It seemed that either the other person was not in the same place as him, or he, like the Li Family Caravan, Ren Qianxing, and Zhengwu, had entered the mural.

"Just as Xia Yunsi said, this Jinzhao Temple is indeed a Fierce God. Drawing people into the mural is its innate divine ability. It hid itself quite deeply; even the Spiritual Eye Qi Observation Technique couldn't detect the slightest clue," Ning Xiu shouldered the Startling Thunder Hammer and then chose a direction nearby to walk.

Since he was in this situation, he decided to accept it and see what other tricks Jinzhao Temple had up its sleeve. He would also search around, and if he could find any trace of Ren Qianxing and the other person, that would be excellent.

However, just as Ning Xiu was about to leave, the crows perched on the branches suddenly let out a series of loud cries.

Caw caw caw!

The piercing caws instantly echoed throughout the desolate land. The sound was like a devil's chant, washing over the ears and mind, causing dizziness and discomfort.

A nauseating feeling, as if something was trying to crawl out from his abdomen and up his throat, arose within Ning Xiu.

Having experienced the effects of Evil Qi entering the body before, Ning Xiu instantly understood that the concentration of Evil Qi here was so high that even his Martial Dao Fifth Rank was affected. It was likely that it had accumulated to a terrifying degree.

Divine Ability: Blood Qi Furnace!

Ning Xiu immediately activated one of his divine abilities. His entire body instantly turned crimson. From head to toe, his skin was like a blazing fire, with steam rising.

Under the enhancement of the Blood Qi Furnace, Ning Xiu's powerful Blood Qi surged wildly, instantly dispelling the discomfort within him.

At the same time, this Blood Qi also affected the area around Ning Xiu. Visible black energy was being burned away and turned into smoke, dissipating around him.

For a martial artist, Blood Qi was the best means to dispel Evil Qi. When facing Malevolent Spirits, it could even exert great suppression on some Yin-type Malevolent Spirits, leaving them no ability to resist.

Caw caw caw!

The crows spread their wings and flew high. They each spat out a white bead, which fell to the ground. Before Ning Xiu could get a clear look at what they were, these beads burrowed into the soil on their own and disappeared.

Within a few breaths, the ground began to rumble, and then several mounds of earth rose high from underground, transforming into several giant hands that broke through the soil.

Each giant hand had a pair of emerald green eyeballs on its palm, all staring fixedly at Ning Xiu.

"It's good that you've revealed yourselves. It saves me the trouble of looking for you," Ning Xiu circulated the Burning Sun Grand Radiance Scripture, spitting flames and exhaling thick smoke. He stomped his foot and charged forward with his hammer.

Martial artists don't reason, they fight.