A brilliant streak of light tore through the night sky.
The County Lieutenant's battered figure flew through the air before crashing heavily into the ground several hundred meters away.
He rolled several times before finally coming to a stop.
Blood covered his robes.
His breathing was ragged.
Behind him, the enormous Bullhead Ghost slowly turned its head.
Its scarlet eyes locked onto the fleeing figure.
A terrifying roar shook the surrounding buildings.
The ghost raised one enormous claw.
The Yin Qi surrounding it surged violently.
The County Lieutenant's expression changed drastically.
He knew that he couldn't escape.
His injuries were already severe, and the gap between his cultivation and this ghost was simply too great.
Just as the enormous claw descended...
The talisman hidden within his sleeve suddenly erupted with dazzling light.
Whoosh!
His entire body transformed into a streak of light and shot toward the distant forest.
The Bullhead Ghost's claw struck empty air.
Boom!
The ground beneath it shattered.
The County Lieutenant didn't dare look back.
His body was already covered in wounds, but he desperately forced what remained of his Innate True Qi into the talisman.
This was a Divine Travel Talisman personally given to him by one of the cult's masters.
Without it...
He would already be dead.
"That monster..."
The County Lieutenant gritted his teeth.
Their plan had been prepared for so long.
They had gathered countless living corpses.
They had secretly constructed the ritual.
They had even managed to conceal everything beneath Qinshan County.
Yet at the final moment...
The thing they had created had completely escaped their control.
Worse...
The statue had been taken by the Bullhead Ghost.
The thought made his heart ache.
That statue represented countless sacrifices and years of preparation.
Now it had become someone else's possession.
He could only flee.
At the same time...
Within Qinshan County.
Lin Sheng stood silently among the chaos.
Countless ghosts were still pouring from the enormous tear in the earth.
The Yamen officers were desperately fighting back while commoners fled toward the northern and southern gates.
Yet Lin Sheng's attention was no longer focused on the weaker ghosts.
His gaze remained fixed upon the tear.
Something was wrong.
A faint aura was emerging from within. It was extremely subtle.
So subtle that ordinary cultivators wouldn't even notice it.
But Lin Sheng wasn't ordinary.
His Spirit Platform had since passed the threshold of the mid-stage, and his Mental Perception had become extraordinarily sensitive.
That aura made his skin crawl.
It was close to his own level.
Perhaps even slightly stronger.
Lin Sheng's expression became solemn.
"What exactly is inside there?"
He didn't hesitate.
Both hands slowly rose.
The surrounding Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi immediately began moving.
Wind swept through the streets.
Dust and broken stones were lifted from the ground.
Countless strands of Spiritual Qi converged toward Lin Sheng's body before rapidly gathering around his palms.
His Martial Will spread outward.
For the first time...
He used the fourth form of the Zen Heaven Striking Technique.
The technique he had previously been unable to perform had finally become usable after comprehending Martial Will.
The surrounding space seemed to tremble faintly.
Lin Sheng's eyes narrowed.
Then...
He moved.
His hands suddenly thrust forward.
A terrifying force shot through the air.
Boom!
The sound resembled thunder.
A brilliant streak of energy tore through the night like lightning before striking directly into the enormous tear in the earth. The attack seemed to land before the sound was registered.
BOOM!!
The entire county town shook.
An immense shockwave erupted from the point of impact.
Buildings collapsed.
Dust and broken stones were blasted into the air.
Countless weaker ghosts were instantly torn apart by the violent force.
Even the surrounding Yamen officers and fleeing civilians were thrown backward.
Lin Sheng remained standing.
His robes fluttered violently beneath the pressure.
His eyes remained fixed upon the tear.
The smoke slowly dispersed.
The enormous crack was still there.
The attack hadn't destroyed it.
However...
The violent electric aura left behind by the Zen Heaven Striking Technique continued tearing through the surrounding space.
Every ghost that attempted to approach the affected area was immediately struck by the lingering force.
Lin Sheng's eyes narrowed slightly.
"So that's the fourth form."
He could finally use it.
The result wasn't bad.
The destructive power was considerably greater than the previous forms.
More importantly...
The technique had successfully struck the tear directly.
Lin Sheng carefully extended his Mental Perception.
The terrifying aura he had sensed moments earlier was gone.
He couldn't sense it anymore.
His expression relaxed slightly.
At least the thing inside the tear hadn't emerged.
That was enough.
However...
The moment Lin Sheng was about to withdraw his perception...
His entire body suddenly stiffened.
That feeling returned.
The familiar sensation of being watched.
Not by a person.
Not by a ghost.
Something far more distant.
Far more profound.
Lin Sheng's pupils contracted.
He instantly understood.
"Heavenly Mechanism..."
The realization caused the hairs on his arms to stand upright.
He had already experienced this sensation before.
The moment he interfered too deeply with something connected to Heaven and Earth, that invisible gaze would appear.
He had no intention of testing how long he could remain beneath it.
His figure immediately erupted with Spiritual Qi.
Whoosh!
Lin Sheng transformed into a streak of light and fled toward the distant horizon.
He didn't look back and quickly rushed out of the town region.
He couldn't even have time to care about the chaos spreading throughout Qinshan County.
The moment the Heavenly Mechanism noticed him, staying any longer was simply asking for trouble.
His speed continued increasing as he rapidly disappeared into the darkness.
Behind him...
Qinshan County remained engulfed in flames, screams and ghostly howls.
And within their devastated town...
The enormous tear in the earth remained silently open.
------
Lou Feng was guiding the panicked civilians toward the southern gate in an orderly manner.
"Don't push!"
"Keep moving!"
"Those who can walk, help those who can't!"
His voice wasn't particularly loud, yet his words carried clearly through the chaos.
Fortunately, he had already sent Uncle Wang and Aunt Wang out of the county before the situation reached this point. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to focus on helping the others.
At that moment...
Another shockwave suddenly swept through the town.
BOOM!
This one was even louder than the previous explosion.
Yet strangely...
It wasn't destructive.
Lou Feng instinctively raised his arm to shield his eyes.
After the violent wind passed, he slowly lowered his arm.
The surrounding streets had become strangely quiet.
Several ghosts that had been rushing toward the civilians moments earlier were rapidly fading away, their bodies torn apart by the lingering electric force.
Some of the weaker ghosts had disappeared completely.
Others were still wandering through the streets, though their movements had become noticeably slower.
Lou Feng's eyes narrowed.
"That attack..."
He didn't know who had launched it.
But whoever had done so was clearly far beyond his current level.
Not far away...
The County Constable stared at the enormous tear in the earth.
His expression was filled with bitterness.
"The cultists..."
"They didn't know what they were doing."
"They opened something they couldn't control."
His hands tightened around his silver weapon.
"Now the people have to pay the price."
He looked at the increasingly materialised ghosts surrounding the streets.
The weaker ones were easy to deal with.
But the stronger ghosts were becoming materialised which is a danger.
If they continued absorbing the essence of living people...
Their strength would only increase.
The County Constable immediately charged forward.
His silver blade swept across the street.
A nearly materialised ghost was struck directly through the chest.
It let out a distorted shriek before dissolving into black Yin Qi.
Another ghost rushed toward him.
He turned and struck again.
The County Constable fought without retreating.
He knew exactly what would happen after this disaster.
The higher-ups would come and they would investigate. They would definitely search for someone to blame.
Perhaps the cultists would be blamed or the Yamen. Perhaps even he would be blamed for failing to prevent the disaster.
But they couldn't blame a man who had fought until the very end.
He had already done everything within his ability.
Whether Qinshan County survived was no longer something he could decide.
Meanwhile...
Lou Feng had already passed through the southern gate.
The Yamen officers stationed there were gradually being withdrawn.
The situation inside the county had become impossible to control.
Every passing minute...
The number of ghosts seemed to increase.
They continued emerging from the enormous tear beneath the Inner City.
Fortunately...
The rate appeared to be slowing.
Lou Feng glanced back at the distant county.
"Please..."
"Let the professionals handle this."
He turned around and began sprinting toward the forest.
He had barely travelled several li...
When he suddenly sensed several powerful auras ahead.
Lou Feng immediately slowed down.
Several figures emerged from the darkness.
They were martial artists.
More importantly...
They were members of the various gangs.
A group of gang members was escorting several older cultivators through the forest.
The elders wore different robes, but the insignias upon their clothing made their identities obvious.
They were the higher-ranking members of the gangs.
Lou Feng's expression gradually became cold.
One of the gang members suddenly recognised him.
"That's him!"
"The boy who killed Meng Yun!"
Another person's expression changed.
"He's Lou Feng!"
The elders immediately looked toward him.
A cold smile gradually appeared upon one of their faces.
"So..."
"This is the brat who caused so much trouble for the Wind Tiger Gang."
The elder stepped forward.
His aura spread outward.
Lou Feng's expression became solemn.
These people were far stronger than the ordinary gang members he had previously fought.
He didn't hesitate.
His hand immediately reached toward the spear strapped to his back.
The spear flew into his hand.
The moment the elder saw the weapon...
His smile widened.
"You still intend to resist?"
Lou Feng didn't answer.
He simply stared at them.
The elder raised his hand.
"Stop him."
Several gang members immediately charged forward.
Lou Feng's eyes flashed.
He didn't retreat.
Instead...
He threw his spear.
Whoosh!
The weapon tore through the air with terrifying speed.
The peak True Qi expert at the front barely had time to react.
Puff!
The spear pierced directly through his abdomen.
His body was lifted from the ground before being slammed against a nearby tree.
The entire forest fell silent.
The surrounding gang members froze.
Lou Feng calmly walked forward.
His empty hand slowly clenched.
"One."
The elder's expression finally changed.
"You..."
Lou Feng's figure suddenly disappeared.
He appeared directly before another gang elder.
The elder hurriedly raised his palm.
Boom!
Their attacks collided.
The surrounding trees shook violently.
Lou Feng was pushed backward several steps.
The elder's expression became increasingly serious.
"What monstrous strength..."
Lou Feng didn't give him time to recover.
He rushed forward again.
The two figures collided repeatedly among the trees.
Every exchange sent shockwaves through the forest.
The weaker gang members immediately retreated.
They knew very well that they had no place in this battle.
One careless attack could kill them instantly.
Another clash erupted.
Boom!
Lou Feng's spear finally returned to his hand.
He swung it with both hands.
The elder narrowly blocked the attack and clawed at his waist making him stumble a little.
Yet the enormous force still forced him backward.
Lou Feng stepped forward.
His body exploded with terrifying physical strength.
The elder's expression changed.
He suddenly realised...
This young man wasn't merely an ordinary External Martial Artist.
His physique was already strong enough to threaten someone at his level.
Lou Feng's eyes became cold.
He remembered everything his master had taught him.
Never underestimate an opponent nor allow yourself to become complacent.
And most importantly...
Finish the battle as quickly as possible.
His spear flashed.
The elder's defensive stance broke.
The silver-coated spearhead pierced through his chest.
Blood sprayed across the forest.
The remaining gang members immediately fled.
None of them dared remain.
Lou Feng stood silently among the trees.
Two powerful enemies had fallen.
Yet he didn't feel victorious.
He simply looked back toward the distant county.
The burning town was still visible beneath the night sky.
The screams had gradually become distant.
Lou Feng slowly tightened his grip around the spear and felt his torn waist as blood was dripping.
He quickly popped a healing pill into his mouth as he began moving through the forest path.