In the open space of Abandoned Timber Yard, gray-white snow was rolled up by the cold wind, like a thin shroud, covering the surroundings of the dilapidated Land God Temple.
As soon as Chu Bai finished speaking, more than a dozen Demon-Slaying Guard dispersed like arrows.
They walked in unison, landed silently, and quickly sealed the place within a hundred steps.
"Hiss--!!!"
Sensing the intrusion of the stranger's yang energy, dozens of Year-End Wraith gathered in the ruins let out an extremely unpleasant roar.
This kind of sound is not just a sound, but also goes straight to Divine Soul, with a sense of decline and desolation that has been accumulated for a whole year.
Several Demon-Slaying Guards with weaker cultivation levels suddenly felt dizzy, and the scenery in front of them seemed to be cast in a gray shadow.
"Calm down!"
Chu Bai snorted coldly, and [General Star Destiny]'s killing will was like a heavy hammer, instantly shattering the resentful interference in the air.
The battle broke out instantly.
The figures of dozens of Year-End Wraith suddenly became blurry, and under the gaze of everyone, they sank into the shadows beneath their feet like melting ice and snow.
The criss-crossing shadows of dead trees and broken walls around Land God Temple instantly became their best cover.
"Sir, be careful, these evil obstacles will sneak into the shadows!"
Feng Qin shouted, unsheathed the long sword in his hand, and struck a shadow with a fiery sword light. However, the sword light passed by, except for splashing gray snow on the ground, and there was no touch at all.
Chu Bai stands in the center, looking terrifyingly calm.
Under Divine Sense, the opponent naturally has no way to hide.
"Directly ahead, three feet away." Chu Bai didn't even look back, pointing in the air with his right hand.
The empty shadow suddenly exploded into a cloud of gray smoke, and a Year-End Wraith screamed and was nailed to the trunk. Then, under the pressure of the heavy earth energy, its body disintegrated inch by inch.
Seeing that Shadow Escape was broken, the remaining Year-End Wraith no longer hides.
They jumped out from the shadows in all directions, spraying streams of gray mist from their mouths.
Wherever this mist goes, even the air is frozen into gray ice crystals.
A Demon-Slaying Guard couldn't dodge, and his cuffs were stained. His whole arm instantly became stiff and black, and his life was being robbed at a rapid speed.
"Stand back and form a formation!"
Chu Bai stepped down, [Firestep Dash]'s body skills were fully activated. His whole body turned into a traveling red line of fire. Before the fog surrounded him, he had already cut into the densest area of Year-End Wraith.
He made the secret with one hand, Five Phases flowing between his five fingers.
Subtlety-level "Origin Return Formula" showed his terrifying control at this moment. The originally scattered fire in the air, Earth Spiritual Energy, was forcibly stripped and reorganized by him.
Dozens of spiritual needles fell like rain within a hundred steps around Chu Bai. Each needle accurately avoided Demon-Slaying Guard and penetrated Year-End Wraith's transparent forehead like a roll call.
Every time Spirit Water Needle enters the flesh, it is accompanied by a splash of Year-End Wraith miserable green blood.
The evil thing that was about to condense into a solid body actually had shocking cracks appear on its huge body under Chu Bai's extremely subtle blow.
An angry and desperate roar came from the evil mist.
Several Year-End Wraith that had not yet fully fused rushed toward Chu Bai like crazy. They opened their small mouths full of tiny fangs and tried to bite Chu Bai's ankles.
Chu Bai didn't even use the magic weapon.
He backhanded with his right hand, and [Formless Cloud Hand] turned into a thick Spell Power barrier. The moment those Year-End Wraiths touched, they were shattered into pieces.
Forced into a desperate situation, Year-End Wraith became furious. They did not disperse and flee, but followed their instincts and crazily crashed into the half-collapsed clay statue in the center of Land God Temple.
"No, they have to be forcibly combined!"
I saw dozens of Year-End Wraith, like a ball of tumbling rotten meat, quickly entangled together.
The clay statue was wrapped in gray mist and had deformed limbs covered with spikes.
A huge head made of countless tiny human faces is slowly taking shape on the top of the statue.
A terrifying sense of oppression belonging to Qi Refining Late-Stage, accompanied by the pungent smell of decay, exploded!
"It's a beautiful thought."
Chu Bai snorted coldly, his eyes shining brightly.
The Jade-Nurtured Gourd on his waist vibrated slightly, and a mouthful of pure spiritual liquid was sucked into his belly, and the dried Spell Power was instantly filled up.
The [Fire Element Ring] under his feet exploded instantly.
His whole body turned into a red meteor, and at the moment when "Greater Year-End Wraith" made a mad counterattack, [Formless Cloud Hand] cut into its abdomen at a weird angle.
[Origin Return Formula]Subtlety-level spiritual power gathered in his palm. Five-Element Spiritual Power no longer circled at this moment, but outputted it with all its strength, producing an extremely destructive violent force.
There was a loud noise, and the entire collapsed Land God Temple was blown away by this palm.
The heart-shaped crystal exploded in Chu Bai's palm.
Countless screams came to an abrupt end in the wind and snow, and the gloom that originally enveloped the mass graves disappeared like smoke at this moment, completely Purification by the masculine energy exuded by Demon-Suppression Formation.
The battle ended in just a few breaths.
The entire forest farm shook violently.
The monster formed by the forcible fusion of dozens of Year-End Wraith let out its last shrill scream.
Under that heavy pressure, its messy body couldn't support it at all.
Like tofu being ground by a giant mill, the statue, together with the Year-End Wraith in it, instantly shattered into countless fine gray dust.
The surrounding Demon-Slaying Guards stared blankly at the ruins turned into powder before their eyes, and then looked at the back of their captain whose clothes were still intact, and their hearts were filled with turmoil.
This is no longer a simple battle, this is an absolute crushing in terms of personality.
"Clean the battlefield."
The voice of Chu Bai sounded in the silent snowy night.
"After tonight, Anping County is innocent."
Feng Qin and others spread out skillfully, began to burn the evil remnants on the ground, and sprinkled cinnabar powder to exorcise evil spirits around Land God Temple.
"Captain, annihilate them all." Feng Qin came over and wiped the wind and frost from his face, his eyes full of admiration.
This method of instantly deploying troops, precise positioning, and a thunderous strike in the middle of the night made even a veteran guard feel frightened.
"Close the team. Leave two people to keep an eye on the Earth Vein qi machine to prevent the remnants from resurrecting."
"The rest will continue to disperse and patrol, and will return to the headquarters with me at noon."
Chu Bai waved his hand, and his originally cold breath regained control at this moment.
When he returned to the Chu Household courtyard facing the first wisp of fish belly white on the horizon, his father Chu Xianglin happened to push open the door, holding a broom in his hand, ready to clean up the snow from last night.
Seeing the eldest son sitting on the stone bench, leisurely drinking a bowl of steaming Spirit Tea, Chu Xianglin was stunned for a moment, and then happily raised his hand:
"Big baby, you got up early enough. Happy New Year!"
Chu Bai stood up with a heartfelt smile on his face.
He looked at the quiet and peaceful village outside the courtyard wall, looked at the red sun rising from the horizon, and whispered back, "Dad, be safe every year."
In the afternoon of the first day of the Lunar New Year, the warm sunshine shines on the silver-covered streets of Anping County City.
The firecracker debris looked particularly bright in the snow, and the people pushed out the doors and wished each other a happy new year.
Chu Bai led Demon-Slaying Squad on patrol until noon. After confirming that the air in the city was clear and there was no sign of Year-End Wraith infiltrating, he led the team back to Demon-Suppression Office's check-in room.
"Sit down."
Zhang Cheng was sitting behind the case, looking slightly tired. He took the record of the forest farm's capture of Year-End Wraith presented by Chu Bai, and rubbed his temples with his slender fingers.
"This matter is a bit more serious than I thought."
Zhang Cheng put down the file and sighed, "Dozens of Year-End Wraith gathered together to form a body. If you hadn't taken action to nip it in the bud in time, once it became 'Great Wraith', I'm afraid Anping County would have sickened at least a lot of people tonight.
By then, I'm afraid Master County Magistrate's discount will be beaten back by Prefectural City again."
Chu Bai cupped his hands and said, "Don't dare to take credit for things that are part of your job."
Zhang Cheng shook his head, stood up and walked to the window, looking at the smoke rising from the distance, Youyou said, "This is also a helpless move. It's a pity that in recent years, the imperial court has had no control over Edict Investiture's spiritual status. The control of grid affairs is becoming more and more strict. If all the villages under the jurisdiction of Anping County can have Land God guarding the incense, how can these small things condensed by bad luck dare to show up on New Year's Eve?"
Land God?
Chu Bai heard this, and his heart moved slightly.
He remembered that when Chu Family Village was a child, there was indeed a dilapidated small earth temple at the head of the village, and old people would occasionally go there to worship.
But I don't know when, the earth god never showed up again, and the people's prayers for rain and illnesses failed to work. As time went by, sacrifices were stopped, and the temple finally fell into the weeds.
In the Great Zhou Immortal Dynasty, although the people are simple, they are also the most realistic - worship those who can benefit the people and ensure peace.
Naturally, no one would be willing to waste precious incense offerings to those who do not manifest their spirits or protect them.
It's just that he has never thought deeply about it before. It turns out that the lack of these grassroots gods in Great Zhou actually has a hidden reason.
"Master, I have something unclear."
Chu Bai bluntly expressed his doubts, "Since the position of the gods can protect the place and stabilize the national destiny, why are Edict Investiture things happening less and less nowadays?"
Zhang Cheng turned his head, took a deep look at Chu Bai, and slowly said, "The land of gods was originally the great wish set by Taizu. It was intended that Heroic Spirit or the spiritual creature co-minister Celestial Court would be blessed by Great Zhou Fortune and exist to protect the people.
Once Edict Investiture Divine Seat is loaded into the 'Golden Seal and Jade Book', his personality will be considered to be rooted in Law Net, and it is logically impossible for him to do anything disobedient."
He paused for a moment and said something shocking, "The reason why Edict Investiture is declining sharply now is precisely because before... Edict Investiture made a big mistake that shook the foundation of Qingzhou."
"Big mistake?" Chu Bai's eyes narrowed and he suddenly became interested.
Since the gods are blessed by Law Net, their will should be highly unified with Great Zhou Law. How can they be disobedient?
"This incident happened decades ago. Although it has been suppressed now, it is not considered a secret among our Qingzhou senior officials."
Zhang Cheng stood with his hands behind his hands, with complex emotions in his eyes, "The god with the problem is named - [Primordial Origin, Beneficent Waters True Spirit]."
"True Spirit..."
Chu Bai felt a slight tremor in his heart.
According to the Divine Seat class of Great Zhou, anyone who dares to take the number "True Spirit" must be at least the Purple Mansion class.
Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Purple Mansion, Golden Core.
The god of the Purple Abode Realm is already a big figure who can control the wind and rain in a state, almost equivalent to the high-ranking official of the Immortal Dynasty.
"This True Spirit is not Heroic Spirit, but a 'Primordial Qi' born from heaven and earth."
Zhang Cheng introduced, "He was born with extremely high spirituality. Later, he was valued by the boss of Qingzhou Heavenly Edict Office at that time. He believed that his roots were pure and had great teaching potential. He made Edict Investiture a god and ordered him to guard the place, spread the Dharma to the people, and protect the beauty of the world."
Chu Bai said in surprise, "Since his roots are pure and he is deeply loved, why does he have problems?"
"The bad thing is the word incense."
There was a trace of regret in Zhang Cheng's tone, "The incense offered by the people is indeed a nourishing tonic for the gods, but mortal Vow Power carries endless human desires and cause and effect. That True Spirit has received the incense from the people for decades. He hears the suffering every day and feels the dream of practice that all living beings ask for but cannot get."
"Over time, He actually developed a shift in self-awareness, became 'rebellious' in his heart, and openly promoted the false - 'Education Without Discrimination' in the territory of Great Zhou."
Zhang Cheng When he said these four words, his voice was a little heavier.
Chu Bai took a deep breath.
In Great Zhou, cultivation resources and techniques are highly monopolized. Only those who teach can practice, and only immortal officials can break through.
And that True Spirit secretly taught the method of breaking through the shackles to those wild and even mortals who were not included in Dao Registry.
"There are even direct insights into the practice of Foundation Establishment and even Purple Abode Realm."
Zhang Cheng shook his head and sneered, "In those few years, a large number of unruly monks sprung up in Qingzhou who broke through privately and refused to obey discipline, causing trouble in all counties and towns. This is the famous 'Chengze Rebellion'."
Chu Bai pondered for a moment and asked the core doubt, "Since He is a god who is Edict Investiture, and his personality is controlled by the imperial court, how can He violate the law and preach the law?"
What this True Lord did was truly outrageous.
Of course, this is for the superiors, if it is for the monks...
Chu Bai doesn't want to judge this move, he just wants to know how it is done.
Logically speaking, although the land of Mountain God has longevity, it will eventually be limited.
"This is the most terrible shortcoming of Edict Investiture, and it is also the game between humanity and divinity."
Zhang Cheng walked to the coffee table and sat down, "Those who accept the incense will be counterattacked by other creatures Vow Power.
Millions of people and monks were grateful to Him and worshiped Him. This collective power of consciousness actually changed the 'nature' of True Spirit, making him truly believe that he was the savior who spread the Dharma to the world."
"At that moment, in His Divine Soul, the desires of the people were greater than the laws of Great Zhou. He was not betrayed by himself, but was rewritten by the incense of all people."
If not, how many real Land Gods are there in this Anping County, why would you need to make this trip yourself to the Year-End Wraith on New Year's Eve?"
Chu Bai stood on the same spot, his face calm, but his heart was already in turmoil.
He thought of Alleyhead God that he secretly Edict Investiture.
Naturally, this move cannot be made public. After all, under such a system, it can be described as rebellious.
Of course, Locust Elder itself might be discovered, but Edict Investiture's actions should still be concealed.
[Fate Destiny], regarding the fundamentals of spiritual practice at Chu Bai.
"Since then, the superiors have discovered the shortcomings of Edict Investiture. Those who receive incense will get the wishes of all living beings. Over time, they themselves will also be affected by this."
When Zhang Cheng said this, he lowered his voice and said the ending that made Great Zhou's senior executives change their minds.
"Chu Bai, do you know the final outcome of True Spirit?"
Chu Bai shook his head. "But the imperial court deprived Divine Seat of his spirituality?"
"It would be a relief if I could just die."
Zhang Cheng smiled miserably and shook his head, "He was originally a Primordial Qi born from heaven and earth, almost immortal. In order to punish this disobedience, and also to frighten those beings in the world who attempt to spread the Dharma privately, Great Zhou Celestial Court did not completely kill him."
"The imperial court locked him at the top of the Jueshen Peak in the far north of Qingzhou."
"He was named Nine Bone-Piercing Gold Nails, and he was nailed to God-Suppressing Platform on the top of the mountain.
Every noon, when the yang energy between heaven and earth is at its strongest, Fortune Golden Crow patrols the sky, tearing apart his Primordial Qi transformed divine body, and devouring his spirituality that carries the 'obsession to transmit the Dharma'."
Chu Bai was shocked when he heard it. Purple Abode True Spirit was far more powerful than he imagined.
"Then isn't He..."
"Yes, He cannot die."
Zhang Cheng nodded, and then said, "Because He once taught the Dharma to all people, although the people dare not worship in public, the gratitude hidden in their hearts and Vow Power will still cross thousands of mountains and rivers and gather at God-Severing Peak in the middle of the night to reshape His divine body and stitch together His spirituality."
"So, He fell into an eternal reincarnation: during the day, he suffered from being burned by golden crows and thunder and fire; at night, he was painfully reborn by all people Vow Power. He was using eternal wails to pay for the sins of those Rogue Cultivator who had obtained His method."
"This lock lasted for thirty years. To this day, that True Spirit is still being tortured day after day on top of God-Severing Peak."
The room on duty fell into a deathly silence.
Chu Bai stood where he was, feeling a faint chill rising behind his back.
"So, do you understand?" Zhang Cheng turned his head and his expression returned to its former stern look, "Edict Investiture are becoming less and less because the imperial court no longer believes in gods."
"If this were not the case, Anping County might have a few more lands, and naturally there would be less evil spirits."
"However, don't think that this matter is inappropriate. The matter of spreading the Dharma is important, how can you do it rashly?"
"Thank you, Bishop Si, for your teaching. I have learned a lesson from you."
Chu Bai lowered his head and saluted, covering the deep thoughts in his eyes.
"Go and get busy, and spend time with your family during the Chinese New Year." Zhang Cheng waved his hand.