The moment these talismans touched the evil black energy, they were instantly assimilated and absorbed, becoming its power.
With a flick of its claws, the evil creature ripped open a bloody gash in the man's chest, causing his internal organs to gush out mixed with blood. He screamed in agony and then died.
In just a few breaths, two members of the Fire Lotus Society perished at the hands of the evil spirit.
The deaths were extremely gruesome, and the remaining two completely collapsed, collapsing to the ground and kowtowing repeatedly, begging for mercy incoherently.
But the evil spirit wouldn't listen. It approached step by step, its demonic nature growing stronger and stronger, and wherever it passed, the ground was assimilated into its color.
It first broke a person's leg bone, and as it listened to the person's screams, a glint of pleasure flashed in its eyes.
It then reached into his head, pulled sharply, and seized a transparent soul in its hand.
It greedily opened its mouth and swallowed, for it craved living souls more than flesh and blood.
At this point, only one person remained, and he was so frightened that his limbs were twitching and he had lost control of his bladder and bowels.
The evil spirit, however, had no intention of letting him go. It pressed its claws against his chest, and black energy seeped into his body through his seven orifices.
In a short while, the man's body visibly withered away, eventually turning into a pool of black ash, and even his soul was completely devoured.
The dungeon was instantly filled with corpses and black ash; the stench of blood and evil energy mingled together, making one want to vomit.
The Dark Bodhisattva stood beside the corpse, licking the blood from its claws, its scarlet eyes turning towards Lin Yu.
He immediately dropped his demonic demeanor, a hint of smugness creeping over his head. But when he saw Lin Yu's cold gaze, he restrained himself further, obediently stepping aside and daring not to move again.
Lin Yu frowned slightly as he looked at the mess on the ground, but didn't say anything.
These scoundrels have their hands stained with the blood of the people of the Dragon Nation. They are deeply sinful and reek of filth. Even if it were up to them to kill them, they would find it too dirty to cleanse their hands.
They died at the hands of the god they believed in, which can be considered a fitting punishment.
Lin Yu raised his hand to put away the bead, then turned and walked deeper into the dungeon.
Lin Yu found more than twenty refugees imprisoned deep in the dungeon. They included the elderly, the weak, women and children, all of them emaciated and with their hands and feet chained with barbs.
He shattered the chains with a wave of his hand, then took out some food and handed it to the group. Watching them devour the food, he said softly, "You're saved. I'll take you to the city; the government will take care of you."
After reuniting the refugees with the pregnant woman from before, Lin Yu personally escorted them into Hangzhou City, left them some money, and then turned to leave.
Lin Yu also left several paper figures to protect the homeless pregnant women. These paper figures were indistinguishable from real people, except that they couldn't speak.
That would be perfect for taking care of them.
Lin Yu didn't linger after that. With a flash of Spiritual Power beneath his feet, he headed towards Nanjing.
Of the three bases identified by Honda Hayato, only the one in Nanjing remains undetected.
In the blink of an eye, Lin Yu arrived outside Nanjing.
He concealed himself in the clouds, his Divine Sense spreading out like a tide, yet he did not detect the slightest trace of the Fire Lotus Society's evil aura.
Just as he was wondering, he sensed a faint fluctuation of Spiritual Power in the distant suburbs, mixed with a trace of lingering blood.
Lin Yu followed the scent and flew over, only to find several corpses dressed in kimonos scattered on a clearing in the mountains. Judging from the mutilated fingers on the corpses, they were clearly members of the Fire Lotus Society.
On the other side of the open space stood three cultivators dressed in Daoist robes, tidying up their magical artifacts.
Clearly, they have eliminated these heretical practitioners.
Lin Yu hid among the clouds and watched for a while before preparing to leave. Since the matter had been resolved, he wouldn't linger any longer.
As for showing himself and talking to them, that was impossible. Lin Yu wasn't used to dealing with others. After observing for a while and confirming that the Fire Lotus Society's stronghold had been cleared and there was no danger, he flew away.
There are also Onmyōryō or other evil cultivation practices in the north, and countless shady characters causing trouble in the shadows. Lin Yu wanted to go and see for himself.
In the days that followed, Lin Yu traveled north, and wherever he passed, he would take action whenever he sensed any evil aura.
When he encounters petty people bullying the common folk, Lin Yu will also take appropriate action.
Although cultivators shouldn't meddle too much in worldly affairs, Lin Yu said that he was accidentally caught up in some of it during his battle with the evil cultivators, which was unavoidable.
This is just bad luck; they insist on coming here, and there's no stopping them.
Over time, the story of the minor deities of the North punishing evil spread.
The rescued people couldn't describe Lin Yu's appearance, only remembering that he was dressed in blue with golden light emanating from him. They spread the word that he was a god sent by heaven to clean up their lives.
Lin Yu simply laughed off these rumors. He was just acting according to his conscience, and he never expected them to elevate him so much.
That day, Lin Yu had been in the city for too long, and the constant flow of people and noise was making him a little tired of it.
So he headed towards nature, and Lin Yu went to the deep mountains and forests in the north to experience nature.
He walked through the forest, and there was no sign of any Spiritual Power emanating from him.
The tangled bushes around him automatically parted to the sides, their branches swaying gently, as if guiding him.
These plant spirits seemed to sense the Golden Light of Merit and the gentle aura emanating from him, and spontaneously showed him goodwill.
Lin Yu walked forward on the soft, decaying leaves, the crisp sound of his shoes crunching over the dry branches particularly clear in the silent forest.
Experiencing the entire universe, seeing people, trees, and grass—all of these are forms of spiritual practice.
Understanding the universe is also a profound principle.
I travel to the North Sea in the morning and visit Cangwu in the evening, eating morning dew and feasting on clouds and rosy hues.
Only by traveling around could he broaden his horizons.
Just then, the crisp sound of the shoe soles crushing the dry branches was suddenly drowned out by a soft sound.
He looked up and saw a red fox peeking its little head out from behind the bushes.
A few strands of downy fur clung to its snow-white chin, and its fluffy red tail swayed from side to side behind it like a dancing flame.
The red fox paused noticeably when its eyes met the human's, a hint of curiosity flashing in its amber eyes.
However, upon seeing Lin Yu move, she seemed startled.
It turned quickly, flicked its tail, and disappeared into the tangled woods.
Lin Yu watched the direction it had gone, a smile playing on his lips. This forest certainly had some kind of spirit.
But after walking only a few steps, the red fox ran back and nimbly leaped onto a withered branch not far away.
It chirped and babbled at Lin Yu, its clear voice sounding like it was greeting him.
Seeing Lin Yu looking over, it turned around and ran back. After running a dozen steps, it didn't forget to look back. Seeing that Lin Yu wasn't following, it turned back, circled the tree trunk twice, and continued to coo.
Lin Yu then realized that the little fox wanted to take him somewhere.
He scanned it with his Divine Sense and discovered that the red fox had cultivated for decades. Its spiritual energy was pure and without any evil. It was obviously a spiritual creature that cultivated by absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.
"You want me to go with you?" Lin Yu crouched down and asked softly.
The red fox seemed to understand, nodded with a "ee-yah" sound, and then turned and ran into the depths of the forest.