Devil City

Rainstorm

A torrential downpour came from the sky.

Raindrops pounded and splattered on the ground, breaking into pieces. The fragmented droplets then landed on the surrounding puddles, creating even more ripples.

The Hu Mang lowered its head, and its face was reflected in the water, sometimes blurry, sometimes clear.

He looked up again, his eyes narrowed deeply. Perhaps due to the torrential rain, the entire thundercloud was rumbling incessantly, and bolts as thick as buckets of lightning were constantly striking certain buildings in the city, causing the already charred ancient buildings to emit new plumes of black smoke once more.

He remembered that it hadn't rained when he left.

It's only been two days, and it's already raining so heavily.

"Luckily, my new Thunder-Warding Robe is the rainproof version."

The Hu Mang muttered to itself.

He was wearing the latest Thunder-Warding Robe, and not just one layer, but five.

From fitted styles to reinforced styles, they have it all.

If five layers weren't already the maximum that wouldn't affect normal activities, he could have ten layers.

Meanwhile, he wore a necklace made of synthetic diamonds around his neck, with the fragment strung through it and hanging on his chest.

This time he returned fully armed.

"But why did the scene refresh?"

Hu Mang's gaze swept around again. This time, after traveling back, he was indeed back at the source, which was the site of the explosion of the Demon-Subduing Well.

Hundred-Well Abyss

However, wherever the eye could see, wisps of blue smoke rose from all the Demon-Subduing Well, and the dense Demon-Suppressing patterns on the surface of the wells had all disappeared.

It is true that a major safety accident occurred here, and it was caused by Hu Mang himself, but no matter what, it shouldn't have caused all the Demon-Subduing Well to explode at the same time.

More importantly, the Demonic Qi and shadows that were previously sensed from the Demon-Subduing Well, as well as the faint sense of danger, have all disappeared.

Something's not right.

Hu Mang muttered to himself as he pulled the hood of his Thunder-Warding Robe over his head.

"Conducting high-risk operations in heavy rain is prone to accidents."

"The problem is, I'm not even in trouble yet, but it seems like this Demon-Subduing City has already run into an accident."

Hu Mang arrived two days earlier than he had expected.

His original plan was to wait until all the "engineering equipment" arrived before towing it over.

This will take at least 5 to 7 days.

However, one thing interfered with his plans: his father's "online Buddhist practice plan" allowed him to break through the three barriers of the monks of the Form Realm: upholding precepts, accumulating merit, and purifying karma. He also mastered the Nine-Character Great Hand Seal, which connected with the five seals, and broke through a "Divine Fate energy channel."

In other words, he can now restore his "Foundation Establishment" anytime, anywhere, and it is a true Foundation Establishment.

With sufficient strength comes greater boldness.

Moreover, he is now full of confidence in his "cheap old man". He is not satisfied with connecting the three main energy channels of "Tiered Tower", "Heavenly Frog" and "Divine Fate" and wants to connect the ancient energy channels that intersect with each other, namely "True Form of Mountains" and "Spiritual Light of Water and Mist".

After the five meridians are opened, his success rate in achieving the Golden Core will not increase by 15%, but by 30%!

This is the conclusion reached by "Father Hu" after his deduction.

He now trusts the other party quite a bit.

In fact, even just connecting the three main energy channels is already quite satisfying.

During the Qi Refining Realm, the amount of Spiritual Qi stored in the Lower Dantian, the output speed of Spiritual Qi from the Lower Dantian increases by 50%, and the circulation speed of spiritual power increases by 80%. One is in a "pseudo- Unity of Heaven and Man" state at any time and in any place—this is not just a change in numbers.

It felt as if my Lower Dantian had been forcibly expanded.

When the Spiritual Qi burst forth, it was nearly twice as fast as before;

The spiritual energy flowing within the body was no longer a slow stream, but a torrent almost breaking free from the constraints of the physical body.

Once the Hu Mang concentrates its mind, its internal energy and spirit will spontaneously unite, and then that feeling will come.

Everything around seemed to have been filtered out of a layer of noise.

The subtle friction of the wind brushing against the hem of my clothes, the soft sound of water droplets falling on the stone surface in the distance, and even the sound of my own blood slowly flowing through my veins all became clearly audible.

It's not that my ears have become more sensitive, but rather that my heart has calmed down, calm enough to accommodate these previously overlooked subtle sounds.

Next, the boundary between the body and the outside world begins to blur.

He could feel the Spiritual Qi in his Dantian resonating with the heavens and earth.

When you inhale, it feels as if not only your lungs are breathing in and out, but the very essence of the entire space is being gently stirred;

As you exhale, the breath flows back along your meridians, like the receding tide, yet it never truly leaves.

Generally, this feeling can only be experienced by Hu Mang during extremely dangerous battles, and in such cases, it usually involves either separation by life or death.

"No wonder Boss Gu can push the sword technique Compatibility to over 90%. If someone like me, a 'pseudo-innate,' can achieve this, then his aptitude, which is at the forefront of true innate talent, must be even stronger."

"However, while the results may be excellent, it's not always a good thing."

In the torrential rain, Hu Mang stopped in his tracks. Rainwater flowed down his outermost Thunder-Warding Robe and onto his rain boots, where a visible layer of blood smeared into the puddles.

Meanwhile, on the left and right sides of the alley, on the bluestone bricks cracked by lightning, faint demonic shadows could be seen appearing and disappearing deep within those cracks.

And amidst the sound of rain, there was the faint ringing of bells. With each ring, a ripple would spread across the surface of the sea from the depths of the Hu Mang's consciousness.

If all of the above can be attributed to the "Pseudo-Unity of Heaven and Man between man and nature" creating a heightened sense of consciousness, then the surging Bone Devil Seed from the front prove one thing.

This Demon-Subduing City has become its negative example, the true demon city.

The same scene not only appeared before Hu Mang's eyes, but also in the rest of the Demon-Subduing City.

Demon-Subduing Drill Ground

One after another, the divine soldiers of the dynasty, clad in armor and with a faint demonic glint in their eyes, stepped out of the training ground and began patrolling the city as they had done in life. One of them flashed a spear, and a cultivator's corpse fell from his hiding place, still steaming.

However, these "heavenly soldiers" showed no reaction whatsoever to the demonic figure that brushed past them.

Instead of subduing demons, they kill people!

Above the Evil-Expelling Altar

The demonic clouds rolled in, and the corpses of Rogue Cultivator were thrown into them, causing the clouds to churn even more violently. Faces emerged from the clouds, some contorted in rage, others filled with terror.

Rebirth Shrine

One by one, the coffins that had been fitted with demon-suppressing nails were opened, revealing empty interiors; the filth inside had vanished without a trace.

Sword-Nurturing Sha-Cleansing Pool

Hundreds of demonic figures flashed past the edge of the Sha-Cleansing Pool, and half of the ten swords that were suspended in the air above the Sha-Cleansing Pool had already been corrupted by demons.

After the demonic shadow flashed past, four disheveled figures suddenly emerged from the Sha-Cleansing Pool.

Xu Qing, Old Chen Sheng, and Zhou Yu and his sister.

Old Chen Sheng spat out a few mouthfuls of pool water, and even in this environment, he couldn't help but boast about himself.

"See? I was right. In this city, only those places that rely entirely on mechanisms to operate are somewhat safe. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have any chance of survival."

"The old man is indeed as sharp as ever!" Xu Qing complimented.

Zhou Tong's face was full of discomfort. She was wearing coarse linen clothes, the kind that had just been taken off a corpse, and they reeked of a strong stench of death. She almost vomited several times.

Chen Sheng glanced at the other person and warned:

"Little girl, don't take off this 'death garment'! This Sword-Nurturing Pool kills but not kills. Once you take it off, this three-foot sword on your head will show no mercy."

"We risked everything to strip the dead of their clothes before they turned into zombies in the Rebirth Shrine, all for this very moment."

Zhou Tong nodded seriously, then said with a worried look:

"Don't worry, sir, I definitely won't do that, but my brother—"

If the other three emanated a fake corpse aura and a real corpse smell, then Zhou Yu emanated a real corpse aura. His once handsome face was now completely numb, especially his right eye, which had been gouged out. However, in the bloody eye socket, there was another pitch-black eyeball that was moving uncontrollably.

Old Chen sighed.

"That kid was really unlucky. He got infected by the Demonic Qi on his Rebirth Shrine of Life and Death, and was about to be transformed into Corpse Devil Seed. Fortunately, I happened to have a 'Eye of Devil Subjugation' on me. I used the Demon-Subduing True Intention in this eye to suppress the Demonic Qi, otherwise—"

The old man sighed and fell silent.

"Senior Chen, there's no need to blame yourself. I've already disregarded life and death; my only concern now is my little sister's safety."

Zhou Yu was expressionless, his voice numb and hoarse, giving the impression that he was on his deathbed.

Old Chen looked up, staring at the ten swords in the sky. He calculated with his fingers for a while before sighing, his old face full of worry.

"Originally, at least seven of these ten demon-slaying swords would have been transformed by Demonic Qi before this place became a truly ominous place. But I just calculated that the previous Rebirth Shrine was a 'white tiger rushing towards the cold house, no one burning paper money or offering sacrifices,' a standard haunted house. This one is even more ominous. 'Unable to cleanse the evil, it has become a demon, eyes growing on its blade to watch over the world.' This sword has eyes; if we don't leave soon, it will most likely be targeted."

Xu Qing and Zhou Tong quickly looked at the sword, and sure enough, a bloody eyeball had appeared on the hilt, seemingly watching the four of them.

Both of them felt a chill run down their spines.

"The only way forward is to find Brother Hu as soon as possible and, with the help of the Devil-Subduing Heavenly Soldier he commands, transform a place into a demon-suppressing site. Only then can our safety be guaranteed."

Old Chen was repeating the same words he had said countless times over the past three days.

Zhou Tong hesitated, while Xu Qing said with a hint of complaint, "Grandpa, didn't we risk going to Hundred-Well Abyss before? It was a complete mess. Brother Hu might be long gone. Didn't you witness that earth-shattering explosion firsthand? Who could survive in that kind of environment?"

Chen Sheng shook his head:

"No, Brother Hu must have survived, because if he had died, the position of 'Devil-Subduing Heavenly Soldier' would definitely have been transferred. This isn't a divine position that wasn't inherited, but rather one that had already been activated. The closer to the demon realm, the more pronounced the power of demon slaying would be. But since no new heavenly soldiers have been born, the only reason is that the divine position hasn't been transferred. And since it hasn't been transferred, Brother Hu isn't dead."

Xu Qing complained, "Brother, whether the other party is dead or alive, the key is that we can't find them. What do we do now?"

Old Chen glanced at the other man with his old eyes, feigning nonchalance. A seasoned veteran of the world, he wasn't one to hide his thoughts, so he cut to the chase:

"Take him to the city jail."

"Are you going to see my master?" Xu Qing's face lit up with joy.

Chen Sheng nodded noncommittally.