The Shattered Statue

With one step, space and time shifted, and Huang Huai found himself in an ancient-style bedroom, the very place he had just departed from.

Almost the instant Huang Huai appeared, a sudden clap of thunder boomed from the heavens in broad daylight. The thunder was deafening, as if containing boundless, overbearing majesty, seeming to cleanse all impurities from the world.

A wisp of incense and fire, imperceptible to the naked eye, rose from the bundle on Huang Huai's back. Amidst the swirling incense and fire, a figure could vaguely be seen paying homage to a statue.

Similarly, an imperceptible lightning bolt, like a winding dragon, entered Huang Huai's bundle and vanished.

Everything happened in an instant. Huang Huai only heard a clap of thunder and paused for a moment, but he didn't detect anything unusual.

He subconsciously glanced outside; the sun was shining brightly. Where was any sign of a thunderstorm? However, Huang Huai had always been meticulous and cautious. This daytime thunderclap was indeed strange. It didn't strike earlier or later, but precisely at the moment he transmigrated. This couldn't help but make Huang Huai overthink.

Immediately, Huang Huai's heart tensed, and he vigilantly scanned his surroundings. Even the mysterious portal that had disappeared reappeared. If there was the slightest sign of anything wrong, Huang Huai would absolutely flee at the first opportunity.

But after waiting for a while, everything was normal. No more daytime thunderclaps occurred outside, which allowed Huang Huai to relax slightly. He could only pray in his heart that the thunderclap had nothing to do with him.

However, deep down, Huang Huai secretly felt that the daytime thunderclap was indeed related to him. As for why there were no daytime thunderclaps the previous two times, Huang Huai naturally thought of the two statues in his bundle.

This was a world of the extraordinary. Statues possessed supernatural power. If anything he brought could provoke a daytime thunderclap, it could only be the two statues he brought.

Since nothing happened after the thunderclap, he figured that if there were any anomalies, they would have occurred by now. He let out a breath, and with a thought, the mysterious portal that had appeared in the air dissipated.

Huang Huai first walked quickly to the door and nodded slightly when he saw that the marks he'd made on the door crack had not been tampered with.

Although he had made arrangements beforehand, who knew if the innkeeper or the waiter might come in after he was gone for two or three days? As the saying goes, when traveling abroad, one must guard against others. Moreover, he was in another world, so he had to be even more careful and cautious.

He looked at the sky outside, took off the heavy bundle, and with a hint of doubt, Huang Huai quickly took out a statue wrapped in red cloth.

After unwrapping layer after layer, the statue of Holy Lord Emperor Guan, which Huang Huai was all too familiar with, appeared before him. He looked around, then lifted the statue of Holy Lord Emperor Guan with both hands and placed it on an altar in the bedroom.

It was evident that the inn was thoughtful, as even the bedroom had an altar for worshipping deities. From this alone, one could glimpse the underlying life of this world.

As a thought flashed through his mind, Huang Huai placed the statue of Holy Lord Emperor Guan on the altar. The statue of Holy Lord Emperor Guan was exquisitely crafted, with a face like a ripe date, lips like rouge, phoenix eyes full of majesty, silkworm eyebrows like mist, a turban on his head, a battle robe on his body, and battle boots on his feet. He held a saber in one hand and stroked his beard with the other. His eyes seemed to open and close, his gaze lowered, solemn and majestic, inspiring awe.

After placing the statue of Holy Lord Emperor Guan, Huang Huai's gaze naturally fell on the other statue he had brought.

However, this time, Huang Huai's expression changed slightly the moment he saw the statue. Although the statue of Great Spirit God was only palm-sized, it should have had a human-like form even when wrapped in red cloth. Yet, the shape beneath the red cloth now looked loose and somewhat strange.

Seeing this, Huang Huai became suspicious. He slowly stepped forward and opened the red cloth. The next moment, Huang Huai saw that the palm-sized, exquisitely crafted, lifelike statue of Great Spirit God was now covered in cracks, like a spiderweb.

As the red cloth that had been wrapping the Great Spirit God statue loosened, the entire statue fell apart as if it had been dismantled. To Huang Huai's astonishment, it shattered into pieces.

"What's going on? Why did a perfectly good statue break?"

Recalling the thunderclap just now, Huang Huai looked at the shattered statue of Great Spirit God and a guess began to form in his mind: Could the shattering of the Great Spirit God statue be related to that sudden thunderclap?

However, as this thought arose, Huang Huai subconsciously looked at the statue of Holy Lord Emperor Guan that had been placed properly. Fortunately, the statue of Holy Lord Emperor Guan showed no signs of damage.

Now Huang Huai was unsure. The shattering of the Great Spirit God statue must have had a reason, and it was highly likely due to that thunderclap. But why were both statues brought by him, yet the Great Spirit God statue shattered under the thunderclap while the statue of Holy Lord Emperor Guan remained intact?

He frowned and pondered for a long time, but his understanding of this world was limited, and he couldn't figure out the reason. Unable to understand, he could only temporarily suppress his doubts.

Huang Huai took out a divine incense, his expression solemn. He respectfully bowed to the statue of Holy Lord Emperor Guan before him and placed the sandalwood incense in the censer. Through the swirling aroma, Huang Huai vaguely felt as if the statue of Holy Lord Emperor Guan had suddenly come alive, gaining a touch of divinity. It seemed as if an emperor, high in the clouds, stood with a saber, his gaze lowered, exuding a majestic divine power that captivated the soul.

"Hmm!"

He steadied his mind and blinked. Looking again, he saw that the statue was still the one he was so familiar with. Amidst the swirling incense, it was as usual.

After frowning and looking for a while, the statue remained unchanged. Only then did Huang Huai, with a hint of doubt, clasp his hands in a salute and bow to the statue again before slowly leaving the bedroom.

As the bedroom door closed, Huang Huai's receding footsteps echoed in the courtyard. In the bedroom, the incense and candles offered by Huang Huai burned slowly, their aroma filling the room. When a stick of divine incense completely burned out, a strange phenomenon occurred. The wisps of incense did not dissipate but were instead drawn by a mysterious force towards the statue of Holy Lord Emperor Guan. Amidst the swirling incense, it seemed as if a deity was residing within, enjoying the Incense Offering.

At the same time, among the sprawling buildings along the Great River, disciples of the Great River Sect went about their business. In a courtyard, Zhang Yan, the second elder of the Great River Sect, still in his slovenly appearance, lay reclined on a chair, holding a wine gourd. With drunken, hazy eyes, he listened to the report from Han Song, a disciple of the Great River Sect, standing before him.

"Master, my disciples and others have sent people to investigate. To date, approximately a hundred people have gone missing in the city, with no sightings or bodies found. They are scattered throughout the entire city, making it impossible to pinpoint a target based on the area of their disappearance!"

Han Song added, "Fortunately, there have been no cases of entire families being wiped out."

Zhang Yan, who had been reclining, suddenly opened his eyes. An invisible pressure emanated from him, startling Han Song. Zhang Yan's expression turned grave as he said, "A hundred people missing, and no families wiped out. I fear the Mo has deliberately done this, not wanting to provoke us too much. If all these missing people have become Blood Food, coupled with the hundred villagers from Niujia Village, and their cautious and restrained methods, there is only one possibility: the evil god that the Mo is worshipping is about to achieve godhood!"

Han Song's expression changed slightly. Although it was certain that the opponent's cultivation was only at the First Realm, once the worshipped evil god successfully achieved godhood, ordinary First Realm High Gods would not be its match. The most terrifying thing was that once the opponent's strength broke through and they began to recklessly destroy families, the city would inevitably fall into panic, and their Great River Sect would lose all face.

Worried, Han Song looked at his master and said, "Master, what should we do? If the Mo does not restrain himself, more people will fall victim to his cruelty!"

A cold killing intent flashed and disappeared from Zhang Yan's body. He snorted and said, "Know this: the successful attainment of godhood will surely be accompanied by an anomaly. That will be the time of his death and the destruction of his path."

As he was speaking, Zhang Yan's expression suddenly changed. He took a step and instantly left the room. He looked up at the sky above Great River City, his face filled with horror.