First Battle

The light possessed power.

A wide-area Purification spell covered the large crowd before them in an instant.

The next moment, those who had been shouting and charging toward the reincarnators froze abruptly. Unable to control their momentum, they tumbled to the ground in a tangled heap; some were paralyzed by terror, while others let out shrill screams, frantically slapping at their own bodies.

"Purification is effective," Jacob said quickly, pure radiance manifesting in his hands once more. "It seems this isn't a god in the true sense. Not even a quasi-divine power."

The subsequent waves of the crowd continued to surge forward madly. Yu Zhiwei raised her hand, aimed at the densest area of the crowd, and fired.

A rifle grenade, packed with holy water and designed for high-efficiency atomization, detonated violently above the crowd.

Mist sprayed out, and those splashed by the atomized holy water shuddered. A look of clarity flickered in their eyes, yet within seconds, that clarity faded back into confusion.

"Holy water is effective, but the effect is minimal. Hmm... a matter of quantity and duration?"

"More likely a regional difference." Several talismans appeared in Si Ming's hand, burning fiercely the moment they were exposed to the air. With a casual wave, these talismans, wrapped in battle qi, drifted into the crowd on the other side, where they produced a significant effect.

"They are merely common Evil Cultists, not rule-based creations. A sufficient quantity will resolve everything. Our task is to act as quickly as possible and sever the source of its mass."

The communication was completed in an instant. Jacob understood, his body immediately releasing a restrained, pure light. Boundless power gathered continuously between his palms as he held a prayer gesture, though releasing it would require a period of time that was not short, yet certainly not long.

He did not specify the time, but it was surely over a minute. The sense of crisis gathering around them surged, and the next moment, something suddenly manifested from the sky and descended violently toward the group of reincarnators!

It was a hand. A pale, shattered, semi-spiritual giant hand, stained with rot and blood, its palm the size of half a basketball court. It moved with extreme speed, and in a mere heartbeat, it was nearly touching the ground where the reincarnators stood.

Sounds of curses and hatred arose, accompanied by countless whispers that suddenly echoed in the air. Every floating speck of dust seemed to be speaking with the same voice, and its content was clearly presented to the ears of every living thing that remained conscious.

[Mortal, reveal thy name.]

Those who had been awakened by the Purification spell or the talismans saw their eyes turn murky once more. Their lips moved, about to utter the words that would cost them their lives.

"Hmph!"

A five-colored blade light leaped up.

From around Song Tian, a scorching mist of blood and qi suddenly steamed—it crashed into the sky like a colorless rainbow, and the next moment, the semi-spiritual, semi-physical pale giant hand burst into fissures under the slicing of the blade!

"KEEEEE—" A sharp, shrill scream rang out.

It sounded like some giant insect emitting a cry of shock from a hidden corner after being wounded. The element of anger outweighed the fear, yet the blade light rushing toward the sky continued to advance.

Until it tore, until it pierced, until it fell apart.

Si Ming frowned slightly, and four cloaked Illithids appeared around him. The next moment, an invisible psionic barrier rose, blocking all the rotting gore that sprayed everywhere from the shattered spiritual giant hand. Instantly, the spiritual matter dissolved rapidly under the expansion of the psionic power.

One of the general rules of the Infinite Worldview: psionic power possesses a certain innate restraint against ghosts and evil spirits.

The next moment, another pale spiritual arm, suddenly thrusting out from a nearby high-rise, was ground into dust under the psionic impact he guided.

He had dealt with one.

On the other side, another spiritual giant hand was wiped out of existence under Yu Zhiwei's gaze before it could even fully form.

Three hands.

A cry of pain, deeper than the last, echoed from the void.

The invisible sense of crisis faded slightly at this moment, and Si Ming tilted his head slightly.

"I recall this thing having six hands? Or was it eight?"

The correct answer was eight, but two of them were likely required to maintain the curse mudra and perhaps could not move.

Perhaps.

Perhaps it symbolized even more.

Valentina continued to protect the little girl. She nodded when Si Ming looked over. The next moment, the little girl was enveloped by psionic power and sent to Si Ming's side, while the former's figure vanished once again within her fluttering cloak.

One second, two seconds.

On the ground, in the high-rises, and in the sky, six semi-spiritual pale giant hands suddenly manifested. They pressed down in unison toward the direction of the Celestial Team reincarnators!

They were faster, and their power was greater. Three of them still bore the marks of being severed and shredded, yet they showed rapid healing and repair the moment they swung.

The Illithids' massive psionic energy converged, forming a thick and stable defense. Yu Zhiwei gripped her seemingly useless scepter, a faint light overflowing from her eyes.

And then—

"Clang—" The window of a nearby small building shattered violently. A man covered from head to toe in sacrificial scriptures was thrown out of the window. Even in mid-air, he maintained the posture of the curse mudra. His eyes were filled with fanaticism rather than emptiness, and he let out a hysterical roar before hitting the psionic shield.

"Fortune and misfortune are intertwined! Life and death are dictated by fate!"

"Kill him," Si Ming gave the clear order.

At that very same instant, another window nearby shattered. This time, two fanatics covered in scriptures were thrown out, and a thin, slender line of a sword trailed tightly behind them.

That line sliced through their bodies, moving rapidly through the air, spinning quickly around the neck of the first person thrown, while Valentina's figure, hidden in the invisible, crashed into the building on the other side.

A voice rang out—the voice Valentina emitted on the team channel. It was her whisper, and her recitation of her own gains.

"Evil Cultist, 20!"

--[Killed 1 Evil Cultist, obtained 20 reward points.]

Severely infected subject, beyond saving.

The moment Valentina struck them down, the six spiritualized giant hands reaching out from six directions weakened abruptly. What might have originally shaken the telekinetic shield could now barely stir a ripple upon the barrier. Yu Zhiwei merely waved her scepter casually, and the six spiritualized hands snapped and fell in unison.

They hit the ground, transforming into a virulent poison that hissed as it corroded deep pits into the concrete and asphalt. At this very moment, Jacob suddenly raised his head.

"In the name of the God of Justice, I bestow a blessing upon this land. Let no evil tread here, and let all who submit to darkness be punished!"

Sixth-circle divine art, Holy Abode. He had used chanting and energy accumulation to enhance the spell's potency and range of interference.

Pure white light erupted from beneath his feet, extending rapidly in all directions.

Boom— A fierce wind surged.

The air seemed to reek of a scorched, foul stench.

The pure white light swept over the four Illithids surrounding Si Ming, and the specially treated, pitch-black cloaks covering them immediately erupted with black mist.

They were instantly recalled, returning to the summoning space before they could be destroyed. Under Jacob's casting, the pure white radiance continued to push outward.

Fifty meters, one hundred meters, two hundred meters—this enhanced Holy Abode pushed its coverage radius to a full half-mile before finally coming to a halt. The next moment, all the frenzied people caught within the Holy Abode screamed as thick black mist spewed from their facial orifices!

They awoke, the evil curses within them purged. Amidst the crowd, several figures dressed in thick, heavy clothing let out inhuman shrieks like insects or wild beasts. Their bodies exploded under the radiance of the holy light, and the drifting blood mist rapidly converged toward the black cursed vapor being expelled.

So that was it.

The Great Black Buddha Mother had successfully escaped six years ago, and in the time since, it must have made many preparations. That was why it could stir up such chaos at this very moment.

The next instant, the black smoke that had been continuously evaporating and melting within the range of the Holy Abode merged and mixed violently with the blood mist dissipating from the bodies of the Evil Cultists.

A massive form began to take shape.

Hideous, gargantuan, and terrifying. Before it had even fully manifested, the people who had just regained their senses under the Holy Abode began to shriek in collective pain and terror.

An avatar. A powerful avatar capable of persisting even within the range of a Holy Abode.

Sounds of explosions and collisions echoed from nearby buildings as several more Evil Cultists died under Valentina's blade before they could complete their sacrifices. Song Tian stepped forward abruptly, unleashing another five-colored blade aura, his blood and qi boiling as he struck from a distance.

Clang—! It hit the target, but only produced a sharp, metallic ringing sound. The coalescing evil avatar possessed a hardness that surpassed even a Steel Colossus. The strike had landed, yet it left only a shallow, superficial wound.

"Attribute suppression," Song Tian's eyes narrowed. "The flesh of this evil entity does not fall within the Five Elements; it is difficult to break through by force."

Beside him, Si Ming merely chuckled softly.

"Then try increasing the output."

He had already prepared his weapon—no, not a gun. It was a Shoulder-Mounted Railgun he had purchased alongside the Fusion Gun, for which he had previously found no suitable target.

The projectile was loaded, the charge was at maximum, and the weapon's reticle was locked onto the target.

The next moment, the eight-armed evil idol fully manifested amidst the boiling red and black—

Hum—

One shot, headshot.

The headless evil entity disintegrated in mid-air, and the sonic boom caused by the tearing of the air roared violently around Si Ming, accompanied by a shockwave.

It was over.

Following the shriek that echoed through the sky like the cry of a night owl, the Celestial Team reincarnators finally heard the synchronized announcement from the Main God in their ears.

--[Killed the 'Great Black Buddha Mother' avatar. All participants receive 2 Grade D side-story quests and 1500 reward points.]

Mosquito legs, but a good start nonetheless.

The evil, ominous aura covering the city faded rapidly. Soon, the city was filled with the sounds of crying, screaming, and the bewildered, panicked voices of those who had no idea what had happened.

It was, in its own way, the genuine atmosphere of the mortal world.