The Evil God that had caused the massacre had clearly devoured everyone’s souls.

Zuo Lingfeng had been ordered to investigate.

The Demon Suppression Guard he led had been tracking them all the way from Jinyang Prefecture to Qingyang Prefecture.

Of course, they were only tracking the trail of the Evil God Cult.

Having absorbed the souls of hundreds of thousands of people from an entire city, the Evil God’s incarnation or avatar was undoubtedly fourth-tier.

A fourth-tier Evil God Avatar or incarnation was not something they could handle.

Their mission was to lock onto its trail and summon a King’s Body expert.

However, this kind of tracking was extremely dangerous.

While they were supposedly hunting Evil God Cultists, the probability of encountering an Evil God Avatar or incarnation was just as high.

Basically, if they ran into one, they would die.

Perhaps Zuo Lingfeng could escape.

But them?

...

"I know everyone is under a lot of pressure." After the reprimand, Zuo Lingfeng’s tone softened, and he spoke gently, "To be honest, I’m scared too. But if we don’t root them out, the next to suffer might be Qingyang Prefecture City, and then Rongyang Prefecture City. It will continue step by step until it reaches the State City. We can retreat now, but if all of Luozhou eventually falls and is slaughtered by the Evil God, who do you think will be spared?"

Silence.

The Demon Suppression Guard members bowed their heads, not saying a word.

If the entirety of Luozhou were wiped out, none of them would be able to escape. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Even if the Evil God were slain afterward, they wouldn’t be coming back to life.

It was precisely because they knew this that, despite their fear, they continued to track the enemy.

Only by unmasking the Evil God behind it all could they relax.

"Don’t worry, everyone."

After a brief pause, Zuo Lingfeng continued, "Gu Zheng of Fengzhou. Grand General Gu. Gu King. I’m sure you’ve all heard of him. Grand General Gu and I are sworn brothers, friends who have faced life and death together. I have a way to contact him. As soon as we find a trace of the Evil God, I will immediately send him a message."

"Fengzhou and Luozhou are right next to each other. With Grand General Gu’s power as a King’s Body, it would only take him half a cup of tea’s time to get here—perhaps even less."

"So, in terms of safety, we’re not without a guarantee. As long as everyone is careful and we avoid running into an Evil God Avatar, we can still retreat."

Hearing this, the expressions on everyone’s faces relaxed slightly.

"Gu Zheng, Grand General Gu, Gu King! This Grand General is incredible. He’s already reached the King’s Body Realm."

"Yeah, when you compare him to us, it feels like we’ve wasted our lives."

"It’s a good thing Grand General Zuo and Grand General Gu are such close friends. He can call on him for help."

"Ahem! I believe Grand General Zuo will also be able to advance to the King’s Body Realm in the near future!"

"Right, right!"

...

The members of the Demon Suppression Guard all started talking, expressing their admiration and envy for Gu Zheng.

When they came to their senses and remembered that Zuo Lingfeng and Gu Zheng were once equally famous as part of the Seven Demon Slayers, they stopped their worshipful praise and switched to flattery.

They didn’t dare guess what Zuo Lingfeng, who was once equally famous as Gu Zheng, would be thinking as they heaped praise on his friend.

After all, the two of them had entered the Heroic Body Realm together and were originally on the same level.

Now, a huge gap had opened between them, like the difference between a tall mountain and a low hill.

’How could Zuo Lingfeng not feel something about it?’

’Anyone in his position would!’

...

Zuo Lingfeng did indeed have thoughts on the matter.

It wasn’t jealousy, though.

When the news of Gu Zheng’s advancement to the King’s Body Realm arrived, Zuo Lingfeng was initially shocked, then joyful. He was happy for Gu Zheng’s breakthrough.

But after the joy came waves of pressure.

Just as the others had observed, he and Gu Zheng had originally been on the same level.

Now, one was a King’s Body, while the other was in the second stage of the Heroic Body.

The gap between them was visibly widening and would be difficult to cross.

One had to remember how many people were stuck at the peak of the Heroic Body Realm, unable to advance another step in their entire lives.

Not to mention the "Half-Kings" who had opened their Sea of Consciousness but couldn’t form a Domain.

Throughout history, there have only been a handful of King’s Bodies.

Those who succeeded in breaking through were all geniuses among geniuses.

In the eyes of others, Zuo Lingfeng was also a genius.

But compared to Gu Zheng, he was still a big step behind.

His only consolation was that his own fortuitous encounters weren’t bad. Given the benefits he’d obtained in the Nine Heavens Shadow Realm, he too could advance to the King’s Body Realm if he had enough time.

It just wouldn’t be as fast as Gu Zheng.

It would take two to three years at a minimum...

’Sigh!’

He sighed inexplicably in his heart.

Zuo Lingfeng shook his head, suppressing his emotions.

After being reassured, the men dispersed and continued their search for traces of the Evil God Cult.

By nightfall, they had found nothing.

The next day, they went outside the city to search.

Any Demon Fiends they encountered along the way were summarily slain.

But they still found no sign of the Evil God Cultists.

...

...

「Fengzhou.」

In a county town in the northern Linjiang Prefecture.

WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH~

VMMMM!

The space trembled, sending out ripples like water, spreading out over a vast area.

The southeastern district of the county town had long since been reduced to rubble, and the ground was covered with mangled corpses.

In the air, thick, long, cylindrical tentacles filled the entire sky like a giant net, shrouding the county town.

SWISH SWISH SWISH~

The tentacles shot back and forth, moving ceaselessly. The aura and fluctuations they generated roiled the Power of Heaven and Earth, and the winds they stirred up slammed into the ground, demolishing one house after another.

Throughout the county town, shrieks and screams rang out everywhere, only to grow fewer and fewer.

This was because whenever the tentacles heard a sound, they would descend from the sky and suck up the person who made it. The victim would be stuck to the tentacle’s surface and then, within the span of three breaths, be dissolved and absorbed.

Flesh and bone, all of it devoured!

Because of this, the cries in the city rapidly diminished.

But the tentacles in the sky continued to dance and weave, constantly descending to roam the streets and alleys.

From time to time, they would bore into houses or simply crush them.

A rumbling crash would sound out every few moments.

Until...

SHOO~ SHOO~ SHOO~!

Streaks of light abruptly appeared in the southern sky.

The light formed into blades, appearing and disappearing, only to rematerialize beside the thick tentacles.

PSHH~ PSHH~ PSHH!

The Sword Gang, thin as thread, sliced through the thick tentacles, dicing them into segments.

The splattering Demon Blood was corrosive, leaving pits in the qingshi-paved ground and on the walls.

The citizens hiding in their houses and basements didn’t see it and successfully avoided the spray.

As for those who hadn’t hidden, they were already dead.

"A human King’s Body?"

A deep, resonant voice, as if naturally amplified, echoed through the air.

At the source of the tentacles—their center—a grotesque, fleshy orb covered in tumors vibrated the air to produce the sound.

"Good of you to come. This god has yet to taste a human King’s Body..."

SWOOSH SWOOSH SWOOSH!

Instantly, the severed tentacles either grew back rapidly or simply sprouted new, fully-formed sections from the stumps, charging toward the southern sky.

WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH~

The piercing sound of them tearing through the air was particularly striking under the light of the blades.

But...

PFFT PFFT PFFT!

A sweep of the Sword Gang severed all the tentacles once more. This time, they were cut more thoroughly, turning into chunks.

CHHH~!

At the same time, a brilliant, rosy slash of light descended from the sky, heading straight for the fleshy orb.

"Hmph!"

A cold snort rang out.

The ugly orb of flesh vibrated. It ignored the severed tentacles, instead gathering a massive amount of blood-red mist around itself. This mist transformed into streams of sinister demonic energy that swallowed the descending slash of light. Then, in an instant, the energies merged, combining to form a Blood Shadow Divine Realm.

The moment the vast Divine Realm was born, it descended, attempting to envelop the entire county town.

WHOOM~!

A tremendous roar suddenly erupted.

A series of tornadoes, accompanied by scorching blade-light, arrived from the south and blocked the Divine Realm’s descent.

TSSS~ TSSS~

BOOM! BOOM!

The tornadoes and the fiery blades, two forces acting in succession from below, first held back the Divine Realm and then drove it upward into the sky.

BANG~!!

A massive boom like muffled thunder echoed throughout the city.

The sinister Divine Realm shot whistling into the high heavens.

"Dammit!"

The deep, resonant voice was now laced with fury.

The rising Divine Realm suddenly exploded, transforming entirely into serpent-like masses of energy. They were similar to the tentacles but several times larger, and they scattered to lunge at and bite the tornadoes and fiery blades.

With just the first "bite," they devoured more than half of a tornado!