The First Battle

The light had power.

The wide-area purification spell covered a large swath of the crowd before them in an instant.

In the next moment, the people who had been shouting and charging at the Reincarnators suddenly froze. Unable to control their momentum, they stumbled and fell in all directions. Some were so frightened they just sat there in a daze, while others screamed in terror and frantically slapped at their own bodies.

"The purification spell works," Jacob said quickly. Pure radiance appeared in his hand once more. "It seems this isn't a god in the true sense of the word. It's not even divine power."

The people behind them kept surging forward in a frenzy. Yu Zhiwei raised her hand, aimed at the densest part of the crowd, and fired.

A rifle grenade packed with holy water and designed to disperse it in a powerful mist exploded above the crowd.

The mist sprayed outward, and everyone splashed by the vaporized holy water shuddered. Clarity shone in their eyes, but within seconds, confusion returned.

"Holy water works, but not very well. Hmm... Is it a matter of quantity and duration?"

"More likely a matter of regional differences." Several talismans appeared in Si Ming's hand. The instant they were exposed to the air, they began to burn fiercely. With a casual wave, he sent the Battle Qi-wreathed talismans fluttering into the crowd on the other side, where they proved remarkably effective.

"They're ordinary evil spirits, not rule-based entities. A sufficient quantity will solve the problem. So we need to act as quickly as possible and cut off the source of their numbers."

They reached an understanding in an instant. Jacob got the message, and pure light began to gather around his body, poised to erupt. Vast power continued to accumulate between his prayerfully clasped hands, but releasing it would take a little while—not long, but certainly not short.

He didn't say how long, but it was surely more than a minute. The sense of danger gathering around them surged, and in the next moment, something suddenly materialized in the sky and plunged toward the group of Reincarnators!

It was a hand. A pale, shattered hand, stained with decay and blood. Half a basketball court wide, it was a giant hand made half-spiritual—and it was moving incredibly fast. In an instant, it was almost upon the Reincarnators on the ground.

Voices of curses and hatred rose, accompanied by countless whispers suddenly ringing through the air. Every floating speck of dust seemed to be uttering the same words, and their meaning rang clearly in the ears of every living thing still in its right mind.

[Mortals, reveal your names.]

The people who had been awakened by the purification spell or talismans grew clouded-eyed once more. Their lips moved, about to speak the words that would cost them their lives.

"Hah!"

Five-Colored Blade Aura leaped skyward.

A blazing cloud of blood qi erupted around Song Tian, like a rainbow stripped of its color, and smashed into the sky. In the next moment, the blade's light cleaved through the half-spiritual, half-material hand, splitting it apart!

"KEEEEE—!" A shrill scream rang out.

It sounded like some kind of giant insect, crying out in shock from its hiding place after being wounded. Anger outweighed fear, but the blade's light continued surging skyward.

Until it tore through, until it pierced, until it shattered.

Si Ming frowned slightly. Four Illithids in cloaks appeared around him. The next moment, an invisible telekinetic barrier sprang up, blocking all the foul blood and gore spraying out from the shattered spiritual hand. In an instant, the spiritual matter rapidly dissolved against the expanding telekinetic force.

One of the universal rules of the Infinite Worlds: telekinesis had a degree of innate advantage against ghosts and evil spirits.

In the next moment, another pale, spiritualized arm suddenly thrust out from a nearby high-rise. The telekinetic force he directed smashed it to pieces.

He had dealt with one.

On the other side, another giant spiritual hand had yet to fully form when it vanished under Yu Zhiwei's gaze.

Three hands.

A deeper cry of pain echoed through the void.

The intangible sense of danger briefly subsided, and Si Ming turned his head slightly.

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

The correct answer was eight, but two of them had to maintain the hand seal for the curse. Perhaps they couldn't move.

Perhaps.

Perhaps it represented something more.

Valentina was still protecting the little girl. When Si Ming glanced over, she nodded. In the next moment, the girl was carried by telekinetic force to Si Ming's side, while Valentina's figure once again disappeared beneath her billowing cloak.

One second. Two seconds.

Six half-spiritual, pale giant hands suddenly appeared—on the ground, among the high-rises, and in the sky. All of them slammed down toward the Celestial Team's Reincarnators!

They were faster, and they were stronger. Three still bore the marks of having been severed and shattered, yet the moment they swung, they began to heal at a staggering rate.

The Illithids' vast psionic powers drew together, forming a thick, stable defense. Yu Zhiwei tightened her grip on the seemingly useless scepter, a faint light gleaming in her eyes.

Then—

Crash! The windows of a nearby building burst apart. A man covered from head to toe in sacrificial scripture was hurled through them. Even in midair, he maintained the hand seal for the curse. His eyes brimmed with fanaticism, not emptiness, and before he struck the telekinetic barrier, he let out a hysterical roar.

"Fortune and calamity go hand in hand! Life and death are decided by a name!"

"Kill him," Si Ming ordered.

At that very moment, another nearby window burst open. This time, two fanatics covered in scripture were thrown out, with a slender line of sword light trailing close behind them.

The line sliced through their bodies, then darted through the air. It spun swiftly around the neck of the first man thrown out, while Valentina's invisible figure crashed into a building on the other side.

A voice rang out in the team channel. It was Valentina's quiet voice, reporting her reward.

"Evil Cultist, 20!"

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

Severely infected. Beyond saving.

The instant Valentina killed them, the six giant spiritual hands striking from six directions weakened sharply. They might have been able to shake the telekinetic barrier before, but now they couldn't even make its surface ripple. Yu Zhiwei simply waved her scepter, and all six spiritual hands broke off and fell.

They hit the ground and became a deadly poison that corroded holes in the concrete and asphalt with a sizzling sound. At that moment, Jacob abruptly raised his head.

"By the name of the God of Justice, I bless this land. Let no evil tread here. Let all who submit to darkness be punished!"

A sixth-circle divine spell: Holy Abode. He had increased its potency and range through incantation and buildup.

Pure white light burst from beneath his feet and spread rapidly in every direction.

Whoosh! A fierce wind surged.

The air seemed to fill with the stench of burning.

The white light swept over the four Illithids around Si Ming, and the specially prepared black cloaks covering them immediately released clouds of black smoke.

They were recalled at once, returning to the summoning space before they could be destroyed. Under Jacob's control, the white radiance continued spreading outward.

Fifty meters, a hundred, two hundred—the enhanced Hallowed Ground Technique kept expanding until it covered a radius of half a mile, only then coming to a halt. The frenzied crowds caught within its bounds all screamed as thick black smoke poured from their facial orifices!

They woke up, and the evil curses inside them were driven out. Among the crowd, several people in thick, tightly sealed clothing let out inhuman shrieks, like insects or beasts. Their bodies exploded beneath the holy light, and their scattered blood mist quickly gathered with the black curse smoke expelled from the others.

Just as expected.

The Great Black Buddha Mother had escaped six years ago, and in all that time, it must have made numerous preparations. That was why it could turn the situation upside down in an instant.

In the next moment, the black smoke, evaporating and dissolving within the Hallowed Ground, rapidly merged with the blood mist escaping from the Evil Cultists.

A massive form began to take shape.

Grotesque and terrifyingly huge. It hadn't fully appeared yet, but the people who had been restored to their senses by the Hallowed Ground Technique were already screaming in pain and terror.

An avatar. A powerful avatar that could persist even within the Hallowed Ground's range.

The sounds of crashes and impacts came from nearby buildings. Several more Evil Cultists were killed by Valentina's sword before they could complete their sacrifices. Song Tian took a sudden step forward and unleashed another Five-Colored Blade Aura, his blood qi boiling as it slashed through the air.

Clang! The strike hit its target, but only produced a sharp, metallic impact. The Evil Spirit avatar that had taken shape was now even harder than the Steel Colossus. The blow struck true, but left only a shallow wound.

"Attribute resistance." Song Tian's eyes narrowed. "Evil spirits' flesh and blood don't belong to the Five Elements. It's hard to break through by force?"

At his side, Si Ming only chuckled softly.

"Then let's try putting a little more power into it."

He already had a gun ready—or rather, not a gun. It was the Shoulder-Mounted Railgun he had purchased alongside the Fusion Gun, but had never found a suitable target for.

The projectile was loaded, the charge was full. The weapon's sights were locked onto the target.

In the next moment, the eight-armed Evil Spirit golem fully manifested amid roiling red and black—

Vmmm—

One shot. A headshot.

The headless evil spirit disintegrated in midair. Only then did the sonic boom caused by the air being torn apart roar around Si Ming, accompanied by a blast of wind.

It was over.

Along with the scream that echoed through the sky like an owl's shriek, the Celestial Team's Reincarnators finally heard the Main God's announcement in unison.

--[Killed the avatar of the Great Black Buddha Mother. All participants gained 2 D-rank side-story rewards and 1,500 reward points.]

A pittance, but a promising start.

The evil, ominous atmosphere hanging over the city rapidly faded. Before long, the city filled with cries, screams, and confused, panicked voices.

That counted as the ordinary sounds of human life, too.