Roar——!

Perhaps it was the human smell on Zhang Kui that provoked it; this crocodile long turned into a zombie suddenly erupted in frenzy.

The chains trembled, dark currents rolled, and mud and sand surged.

More terrifyingly, from the mud at the river bottom, pairs of rotten arms suddenly reached out, and those resentful spirits surged toward Zhang Kui like waves.

Humph!

Zhang Kui snorted coldly and clenched his left palm forward.

"Forbid!"

The newly learned Qi Prohibition Skill was instantly activated.

This was a completely different sensation from other magic skills; the true qi within his body surged and seemed to resonate with the outside world, the flows of Yin Qi and their crucial points all within his grasp.

In an instant, the flow of Yin Qi solidified,

all those attacking resentful ghosts were frozen in place.

Zhang Kui frowned slightly; using the Qi Prohibition Skill on such a large scale was indeed strenuous, his mana replenishment couldn't keep up, and it was visibly consuming his energy.

He didn't hesitate anymore; the Demon-slaying Skill was activated simultaneously, the ghostly blue Gang Evil swept out along the Qi Mechanism, and those resentful ghosts were instantly corroded and dissolved.

Zhang Kui withdrew his hand, nodding slightly.

Though its power was a bit lacking, its convenience made it a brilliant move for clearing small monsters.

With the resentful ghosts cleared, the shattered corpses that surged from afar, merely stirred by the Yin Qi, looked terrifying but were actually of no real consequence.

Zhang Kui was in no rush as he scrutinized the Crocodile Corpse Demon.

This creature was likely a Grain Avoidance Realm demon in its previous life, but after becoming a zombie, its divine power and spiritual wisdom were completely lost, posing no threat to him.

The question was, who locked it here?

Was it simply to contaminate the water source, turning all the people of Lu City into zombies?

Wait a moment…

Zhang Kui frowned, suddenly noticing that the flow of the Qi Mechanism and spirit veins were abnormal, ultimately converging toward the Crocodile Corpse Demon.

It seemed to be a kind of array...

Unfortunately, he couldn't understand it.

Zhang Kui shook his head helplessly, "Today's been too extravagant."

As he spoke, he mentally activated two more skills.

Land Recognition Skill (Level 1): Passive Skill

Skill Description: Learn the basics of Feng Shui.

Array Formation Skill (Level 1): Passive Skill

Skill Description: Learn the basics of arrays and restrictions.

Since coming to Lu City, he had successively learned Medical Skill, Qi Prohibition Skill, Forbidden Water Skill, Land Recognition Skill, and Array Formation Skill, exhausting all his accumulated skill points.

Except for the Qi Prohibition Skill, the others were all support skills, which couldn't directly enhance combat power.

However, Zhang Kui didn't regret it, as these were Self-Cultivation Skills that would be necessary in the future and useful now.

Opening his eyes again, the feeling was entirely different.

This underground lake was a convergence of earth's energy, obviously the focal point of Lu City's energies. These water paths leading to wells were not dug randomly but constructed into a simple Spirit Nourishing Array.

Above, the resentment in Lu City was boiling; below, the Yin Qi water veins converged, corpse Qi overflowed, and resentful ghosts surged...

This was feeding corpses!

Using a Grain Avoidance Realm demon corpse as the cultivation partner, a single area's spirit veins as auxiliary materials, and the city's entire populace as fuel.

What a grand design and what a vicious method!

Fury surged in Zhang Kui's eyes; he didn't care what the other side was refining, but having encountered it, he wouldn't let it succeed.

Turning his palm, Zhang Kui wielded the Lu Li Sword entwined with Gang Evil and charged toward the Crocodile Corpse Demon...

...

Above ground,

a group of people gathered around the well, observing constantly.

"Why hasn't he come up yet?"

Ye Fei muttered anxiously.

Captain Chen shook his head, "Taoist Zhang's cultivation is remarkable; he must have some water avoidance technique and likely discovered something."

Despite saying this, his heart was full of anxiety.

This Taoist Zhang was reportedly not only highly valued by True Man Yu Hua but also had ties with his immediate superior, Eunuch Yin.

If something really happened in Lu City, he feared he would inevitably be implicated.

Just then, the ground suddenly rumbled and shook continuously.

"Is the earth dragon turning over?"

The people were startled.

Soon after, they saw water splashing from the well, quickly becoming turbid and floating with white, flower-like things.

Upon closer inspection, they were clearly human heads and dismembered limbs.

"What's going on..."

Captain Chen was dumbfounded, his words stammering.

Bang!

Zhang Kui leapt out of the well, the moisture on his body hissing and evaporating, quickly becoming dry.

Captain Chen breathed a sigh of relief and asked with cupped hands, "Taoist Zhang, what kind of demon is causing trouble below?"

Zhang Kui's expression turned serious,

"Immediately have all wells filled, I'll explain in detail once we return to the inn."

Seeing the look on Zhang Kui's face, Captain Chen had a bad feeling, quickly ordered the wells to be filled, and then followed him back to the inn.

...

"What?!"

After hearing Zhang Kui's account, both Captain Chen and Ye Fei felt a chill run down their spines, a sense of coldness creeping into their hearts.

They originally thought the epidemic was caused by a demon, but never imagined it was a threat to the city's entire population.

"Thankfully..."

Ye Fei's face turned pale, "Taoist, you broke the water vein, otherwise the city would be full of resentful souls."

"No, it's not good at all."

A sudden object appeared in Zhang Kui's hand, instantly filling the room with a sinister coldness and a bloody stench, as if the screams of men and women echoed around them.

Ye Fei and Captain Chen focused their gaze and realized it was a blood-covered meatball, swirling with black aura.

"What is this?"

The two were taken aback.

"It's a Corpse Pill!"

Zhang Kui frowned slightly,

"I initially thought the other party was practicing corpse magic, but I didn't expect they were refining such an evil pill. I'm afraid an Old Monster at the Grain Avoidance Realm is already furious."

"An Old Monster at the Grain Avoidance Realm?!"

Captain Chen swallowed hard, feeling his throat dry, cold sweat breaking out.

"That's right."

Zhang Kui sneered, "I have a guess as to why the clues suddenly appeared. Tell me about the River King Temple?"

Captain Chen's face turned awkward, then he bit the bullet and said, "I'm not afraid of Taoist laughing, the land of Qingzhou is already corrupt, it's like this everywhere."

"As you know, since the 'Stone Man Tomb' bounty was issued, demons and evil spirits have been swarming, seizing cities here and there."

"That River King, I don't know what kind of demon it is, but it occupied the Reed River, built a temple to monitor Lu City, and checks every newborn with resentful ghosts."

"Good heavens!"

Ye Fei got angry upon hearing this, "You bunch of worthless officials, idling away while allowing demons to run rampant."

"What do you understand?!"

Captain Chen was evidently upset as well,

"Eunuch Liu had ordered us not to meddle, and besides, that River King only wanted to find someone, we are no match for it; provoking it might lead to greater disasters."

Ye Fei was so angry he gnashed his teeth but didn't know what to say, and slammed the table.

Captain Chen ignored him, instead looking toward Zhang Kui.

"Taoist, are you saying the River King is up to mischief?"

Zhang Kui shook his head,

"I'm afraid it's a more powerful Old Monster behind this, something the River King can't handle, so it passed the buck."

Captain Chen swallowed hard, "That's it, Taoist, should I send someone to seek aid quickly?"

Zhang Kui laughed, eyes filled with sarcasm,

"Are you sure the National Guardian True Man, Tianji Zi, has time for this now?"

Captain Chen was immediately speechless.

Tianji Zi had ordered a search for an unnamed Banshee across the regions, disregarding even the demon gathering in the southwest, clearly not caring about Lu City.

"Then... what should we do?"

Captain Chen's face was ashen.

Zhang Kui was also somewhat helpless,

"If it was just one Old Monster, it would be manageable, but with the River God also secretly watching... I'll try my best to maneuver. Unfortunately, True Man Yu Hua has returned to the Capital City, and as a Loose Practitioner, I can't call upon any comrades for support."

Captain Chen seemed to recall something, suddenly fell silent, face wavering, then gritted his teeth.

"Taoist Zhang, to be honest, I was once a disciple of the Taoist Sect, my master Songfengzi is also at the Grain Avoidance Realm, unrivaled in Swordsmanship, cultivating at Tingyun Mountain a hundred miles away."

"Alas, I was unfilial, found cultivating swordsmanship too tough, enamored with the pleasures of the mundane world, secretly descended the mountain and joined the Astronomical Bureau under a false name."

Saying this, he took out a sword-shaped jade pendant, eyes showing a hint of guilt, "It's been thirteen years, I don't know how my master is doing, but he abhors evil, surely he'd come to help. But, I really don't have the face to seek him out..."

"Too much nonsense!"

Ye Fei snatched the token in anger, "I'll go invite him, it's about the lives of the city folk, enough with the dithering."

"Alright, alright..."

Captain Chen inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief, awkwardly said, "In Lu City's current situation, I really can't leave."

After discussing their plans, they immediately set off separately.

Captain Chen went to the Astronomical Bureau to organize the personnel, bringing out the major weapons from the warehouse, preparing for battle.

Ye Fei rode a fast horse toward Tingyun Mountain.

What they didn't know was, at the same time Zhang Kui broke the array, an angry howl sounded from a withered mountain hundreds of miles southwest, startling the crows into frantic flight...

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.