"Indeed, not a single person has been seen coming from Huaiyang Prefecture recently," Gu Sihai added from the side.

Xue Ding nodded gratefully at Gu Sihai, then continued, "Our initial suspicion is that a Demon Tribe has occupied Daliang Mountain, plundering the areas outside the mountain and ambushing passing commoners."

"Regarding this matter, I have already sent a message to the State City and am awaiting reinforcements."

"Qingshi County is very close to Daliang Mountain, so I thought I should come and inform you, so that Magistrate Tong can take precautions."

"Lord Tong has already ordered Han Ming to take men to the junction," Gu Sihai chimed in.

"That’s very thoughtful."

Gu Zheng nodded at Xue Ding. "I’ll go take a look at Daliang Mountain shortly."

"Thank you, Grand General Gu!"

Hearing this, Xue Ding quickly bowed and exclaimed gratefully.

Gu Zheng raised a hand. "Just as you said, Daliang Mountain is right next to Qingshi County. How can I let a den of Demon Fiends occupy my own doorstep?"

Daliang Mountain was said to be a mountain, but it was actually a small mountain range that cut across the northern part of Nanyun Prefecture.

To get here from Huaiyang Prefecture without taking a long detour, one couldn’t avoid the pass outside the mountains.

’Now, Demon Fiends have taken over the area in and around Daliang Mountain, preying on the people. Are they treating me, Gu Zheng, the Demon-slaying Grand General, as a mere decoration!’

"Let’s go."

After a moment of preparation, Gu Zheng strode out the door.

"We’ll be troubling you, Grand General Gu." Xue Ding bowed and followed behind him.

"Ping’an, be careful," Gu Sihai said out of habit.

"Alright."

Gu Zheng nodded. As he reached the courtyard and was about to leap into the air, he saw three people standing outside the gate. All wore Demon-Suppressing Armor, indicating they were Squad Leaders.

What made Gu Zheng pause was that he knew all three of them.

"Nie Yunxiao, Ke Xiaoxia, Xiaoqi?" Gu Zheng’s brows arched. "You three are Squad Leaders now too?"

"Greetings, Grand General Gu!"

Nie Yunxiao, Ke Xiaoxia, and Tao Qi saluted and shouted in unison.

"No need to be so formal."

Gu Zheng raised a hand. "Xiaoxia, is your grand-uncle doing well? And Xiaoqi, didn’t you used to call me Zheng?"

"Hehe, Zheng, long time no see." Tao Qi scratched his head and chuckled sheepishly.

"My grand-uncle is doing very well, all thanks to Lord Gu. Many people are fawning over him now." Ke Xiaoxia smiled and answered respectfully.

Nie Yunxiao remained silent.

Although they had all graduated from the Training Camp in the same batch and become Demon Suppression Guard Squad Leaders, Tao Qi was undoubtedly the closest to him.

After all, when Gu Zheng was the Chief Constable, Tao Qi had been one of his constables.

As for Ke Xiaoxia, his connection was through Ke Juzhen, the Master of Weapon Casting, who served as a middleman. He had also followed Gu Zheng on missions before.

Nie Yunxiao’s relationship with Gu Zheng was merely due to the Divine Wondrous effect produced when he cultivated the *Bibo Smoke Mist Technique*.

He was one of the lucky few who had benefited from a True Skill created by Gu Zheng.

...

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Gu Zheng leaped into the air, turning into an afterimage that vanished over the horizon.

Xue Ding, Nie Yunxiao, Ke Xiaoxia, and Tao Qi also left the Gu Mansion.

"Not bad, rascal. I didn’t expect you to actually know Lord Gu," Xue Ding said, looking at Tao Qi with considerable envy as he teased him.

"I told you already, and more than once! What can I do if you don’t believe me?" Tao Qi lifted his head, saying proudly, "Qingshi County is my hometown. When I was a constable here, my boss was Zheng!"

"And another thing, how many times do I have to tell you? Don’t call me rascal!"

"Okay, rascal." Ke Xiaoxia clapped Tao Qi on the shoulder, wiggling his eyebrows. "Lord Gu was your former Chief Constable. His younger sister... you’ve never had any ideas?"

"That’s right."

Xue Ding chimed in with a grin. "Lord Gu’s sister, the one named Gu Xue, you know her too, don’t you, rascal? She’s about your age. If you put in a little effort, you might just win her over. If that happens..."

"No, no, no!"

Tao Qi waved his hands frantically and shook his head. "Forget Gu Xue. I can’t handle her personality. If I were to marry someone, it’d be someone like Sister Pan’Er."

"So that’s it! You’ve got your eyes on Lord Gu’s older sister!"

Ke Xiaoxia grabbed Tao Qi with a wicked grin. "I never would’ve guessed. You, rascal, want to become Lord Gu’s brother-in-law..."

"I’m not, I don’t, don’t talk nonsense!"

Tao Qi denied it in a panic, waving his hands nonstop as he pleaded, "My two dear brothers, you really can’t joke about this. Zheng might not mind if he found out, but other people—the ones who admire Sister Pan’Er, including Master Gu—they might not be so forgiving. This little brother of yours would like to live a few more years."

"By the way, since Zheng went to Daliang Mountain, he should be able to deal with the Demon Fiends there quickly. If Jiang and Ms. Wang haven’t been killed, they might be able to come back. How about we go to the outskirts of the mountain and wait for them?"

At the mention of Daliang Mountain, Xue Ding’s expression turned serious. "Good idea," he said in a low voice. "Let’s go wait at the foot of the mountain. By the time we get there, Lord Gu might have already taken care of all the Demon Fiends."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let’s move!"

Ke Xiaoxia waved his hand and swung himself onto his horse.

...

...

「Daliang Mountain.」

Gu Zheng flew through the air, streaking all the way there.

When he arrived above Daliang Mountain, he didn’t sense the aura of any Demon Fiends.

Instead, he quickly detected a presence that was both familiar and strange.

It was familiar because Gu Zheng had just encountered it in the Royal Capital.

It was strange because this presence was completely different from the one he had met in the Royal Capital.

An Evil God!

That’s right, it was the unique presence released when an Evil God descended.

’An Evil God has descended in Daliang Mountain?’

’How is that possible!’

The True Form of the Evil God couldn’t enter the mortal world at all; it could only do so through an Avatar or an incarnation.

However, even for an Avatar or an incarnation, the commotion of an Evil God’s descent would be earth-shattering, resonating in all directions.

’The Demon Slayer Bureau couldn’t possibly be unaware.’

’Coming through a Domain isn’t realistic either.’

’The Rules of Heaven and Earth within a Domain have their own restrictions.’

Besides, from Gu Zheng’s perspective, there was no Domain Wall in sight.

There were no major disturbances anywhere around Daliang Mountain.

The only thing was that the deeper he went, the thicker the mist in the air became.

Gu Zheng activated his Eyes of Golden Flame and scanned the mist, abruptly discovering faint, silvery-white, translucent strands of light twisting and weaving within it.

He didn’t see any Demon Fiends, though.

Not a single one.

SWOOSH!

Gu Zheng descended, flying low and skimming over the dense fog to scan the ground.

He didn’t see a single person along the way.

There were no bodies either.

The mountain forests, the creek sides, the ravines—all were deathly silent. Not even the chirp of an insect or the call of a bird could be heard.

The entire mountain range was filled with nothing but a dead, oppressive silence.

It wasn’t until Gu Zheng crested a mountain peak that his Eyes of Golden Flame spotted two connected valleys packed with people.

Densely packed, at least ten thousand people stood together, swaying their bodies silently.

And at the very center of the crowd stood a ten-meter-tall, blood-red stone head with two ferocious faces. The bizarre carving emanated a faint glow that enveloped everyone.

’An Evil God’s stone head?’

’Is this ten-meter-tall stone head an Evil God Avatar?’

Gu Zheng stopped and scanned it carefully from a distance.

’The abducted people aren’t dead. That’s good news.’

’But the appearance of a giant stone statue with an Evil God’s aura is bad news—worse than Demon Fiends causing trouble.’

Gu Zheng’s Eyes of Golden Flame scanned back and forth from a distance. He confirmed that the stone head was indeed the source of the Evil God’s presence, but he couldn’t be certain if it was an Evil God Avatar.

With this in mind, Gu Zheng thought for a moment, then descended from the sky and silently approached the crowd from the edge.

BUZZ~

The moment he drew near and touched the silvery-white light, the Reversed Soul Scale automatically began to spin, releasing an invisible power that neutralized the spiritual invasion from the light, quickly dispelling it.

But as this portion of light was dispelled, the rest of it seemed to receive feedback or a warning and immediately fell into chaos, dancing and twisting wildly.

"HAAA—!"

A shrill cry pierced the air.

The once-silent valley instantly came to life. A mountain wind kicked up, sending dust flying, and the stone head erupted with a dense red light.

One by one, the people who had been facing the stone head turned in unison to look at Gu Zheng.

On their pale, dull, and numb faces, their eyes were utterly vacant, yet they held a strange, furious astonishment.

"Who are you!"

Everyone spoke in unison, the voices of men and women, young and old, merging into one that echoed through the mountains.

SWOOSH~!

Without a second word, Gu Zheng shot forward, lunging at the stone head.

While in mid-air, he summoned the Chaotic Heaven Shield, which transformed into three hundred and sixty blades that shot toward the stone head with a series of sharp whooshes. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

"WHOOM!"

A storm erupted from nowhere.

The stone head was shrouded in red light that spread outwards. The resulting shockwave kicked up dust and astral winds, forming a storm that swept out to block the blades.

PFFT PFFT PFFT~

Of the three hundred and sixty blades, half slammed into the storm, while the other half vanished, reappearing right beside the stone head.

SHINK SHINK SHINK!

With a series of strange noises, the blades pierced through the stone head, leaving a series of large holes.

"You’re courting death!"

Everyone spoke in unison again, their combined voices—men, women, old, and young—deafeningly loud.

"Human Cultivator, you brought this upon your..."

SWISH SWISH SWISH!

Golden blades of light suddenly danced through the air, transforming into a sky full of stars. They broke through the storm, crashed into the eerie red light, and descended upon the stone head.

Attacking from front, back, left, and right, they sliced and pierced through the ten-meter-tall stone statue, savagely and brutally crushing it into a pile of rubble.

The blood-colored hue, the red light, and the silvery-white threads instantly began to surge wildly.

Then, with a tremendous bang, they exploded and vanished.

BOOM!