The earth quaked, sending sand and dirt flying.

Billowing dust filled the entire valley, obscuring all sight.

As the dust settled, the scene slowly came back into focus.

What came into view was a sea of people. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

The ten thousand people who had been standing a moment ago were now all lying on the ground.

SWISH!

Gu Zheng retracted his blades and stepped closer, selecting three people to examine.

They still had heartbeats and were breathing, albeit very weakly, but the flow of energy in their brains felt wrong.

Their Spirits were severely damaged!

As a result, they were still alive but would most likely never wake up.

’A vegetative state?’

Gu Zheng’s Divine Leech could help a dozen, even several dozen, people in such a state. Paired with Awakening Liquid, he could wake them.

But ten thousand people...

"Agh...!"

A sharp gasp of pain was followed by a pained groan.

Gu Zheng looked toward the sound to see a young man in Demon-Suppressing Armor sit up from a pile of bodies, clutching his head and groaning in pain.

’One of the two Demon Suppression Guards who were trapped in the mountain?’

’He cultivated a divine wondrous power, which made his Spirit strong enough to withstand the invasion of the Evil Divine Power?’

As he pondered this, Gu Zheng scanned his surroundings, searching for the other one.

Soon, he spotted the other Demon Suppression Guard in Demon-Suppressing Armor a little farther away, lying among the bodies.

This one was also groaning as they slowly sat up, their face twisted in pain.

"Open your mouths."

Gu Zheng said calmly, taking out the Awakening Liquid. A divine power surged from him, enveloping two drops of the liquid before he flicked them toward the two guards.

Jiang Qi and Wang Lei heard him and subconsciously opened their mouths.

Two drops of Awakening Liquid shot through the air and landed precisely in their mouths.

They swallowed instinctively. The next moment, a gentle, cool energy spread from their stomachs all the way to their faces. It brightened their eyes, nourished their Divine Souls, and soothed their Spirits.

For Jiang Qi and Wang Lei, the splitting headache—a pain so intense it felt as if their brains were being stabbed dozens of times—instantly diminished by more than half.

They stopped groaning and opened their eyes, looking around.

When they saw Gu Zheng, they froze for a moment before scrambling to their feet and jogging over to him.

Once near, they bowed respectfully. "Greetings, Grand General Gu!"

"Thank you for saving us, Grand General Gu. I am Jiang Qi."

"I am Wang Lei!"

The two of them remained bowed, their faces filled with gratitude.

Gu Zheng gestured with a hand toward the center of the valley, at the shattered remains of the Evil God statue. "Do you remember anything about that thing?" he asked.

"Well... I only remember that after I went deep into the mist, a voice in my head kept driving me to go deeper," Jiang Qi replied thoughtfully. "I instinctively wanted to back away, but I couldn’t control myself. Then, as I kept walking, I just lost consciousness."

"I remember a little more,"

Wang Lei said, rubbing her head in thought. "At first, there was also a voice in my head telling me to go deeper into the mountains. After entering the valley, I saw a crowd of people just standing there. Although no one was speaking, I could hear them muttering, chanting a strange incantation."

"An incantation?" Jiang Qi couldn’t help but ask. "Were you chanting it too?"

"Yes." Wang Lei frowned. "I couldn’t stop myself from chanting along. But I wasn’t saying it out loud—it was in my mind. My very soul was shouting the words. The more I chanted, the more excited and agitated I became. Right before I blacked out, I saw that tall, hideous, giant stone head emitting a red light. It was pulsing on and off, just like... just like it was breathing!"

"That..." Jiang Qi’s eyes widened in shock.

"Those are the methods of an Evil God," Gu Zheng said quietly. "This matter requires a thorough investigation, but that can wait. The most important thing right now is to wake these people up as soon as possible!"

Gu Zheng gestured to the people covering the ground.

"Right, right," Jiang Qi quickly agreed. "We need to get out of here and notify the people outside. We need to get help from the State City."

It was obviously unrealistic to expect the three of them to save everyone.

Gu Zheng only had a limited amount of Awakening Liquid. They would have to rely on the Demon Slayer Bureau headquarters to dispatch special Marvels or use other means.

Without delay, Gu Zheng grabbed one of them in each hand and carried Jiang Qi and Wang Lei out of Daliang Mountain.

Xue Ding, Ke Xiaoxia, and Tao Qi had just arrived.

Another group of people had arrived around the same time.

"Cheng!"

Gu Zheng set Jiang Qi and Wang Lei down and greeted the group’s leader, Cheng Zong, with a cupped-fist salute. "Congratulations on your breakthrough and promotion to Super Body · Celestial Ladder, Cheng."

Hundred Households Cheng Zong was an old acquaintance of Gu Zheng’s.

He hadn’t seen him in a while, and the aura now emanating from Cheng’s body showed that he had already stepped into the second stage of the Super Body realm.

"Hah, what’s there to congratulate? I just got lucky and found a few key Source Fruits, which was barely enough to break through," the old man replied nonchalantly, returning the salute. "Compared to Lord Gu, this little achievement is truly insignificant."

"Luck is a part of strength."

Gu Zheng smiled. "The fact that you were able to advance is worth celebrating, Cheng. But now isn’t the time. We can have a drink when we get back."

"The incident at Daliang Mountain this time wasn’t the work of Demon Fiends. It’s related to an Evil God."

"An Evil God?" At the mention of serious business, Cheng Zong’s expression turned solemn. "An Evil God has descended? No, that can’t be right. There haven’t been any major disturbances recently..."

"It wasn’t the True Form of the Evil God."

Gu Zheng shook his head. "Nor was it a clone or an incarnation. It was a ten-meter-tall stone head statue of an Evil God, imbued with a wisp of the Evil God’s will or a soul remnant. The thing itself wasn’t very powerful, but its mental invasion was extremely strong. It lured ten thousand people into the mountains and turned them into Puppets."

"You can ask Jiang Qi and Wang Lei for the details later."

Gu Zheng pointed to Jiang Qi and Wang Lei, then continued, "I’ve already dealt with the stone statue. But it left behind ten thousand people who can’t wake up. They’re not dead, but their Divine Souls are severely damaged. They’ll need special treatment to be saved."