“Since going into secluded cultivation, This Lord has known very little of the outside world. I wonder what shape the mortal realm is in now, given these dramatic shifts between heaven and earth?”
Nan Zhi lazily shifted her posture to lie back down, her tail flicking slowly behind her.
“Your Fox Clan has always maintained good relations with the human race and is well-informed. Pick a couple of interesting things and let me hear them.”
Listening to stories?
Could the Mountain Lord be trying to probe for information?
He couldn't speak of his Hu family's matters, nor could he blab about things regarding Longhu Mountain or Maoshan. As for official news...
“With the Spiritual Resurgence, many evil demons and vengeful ghosts have begun awakening as well. Not long ago, in a small city near Great Xia's border, the entire town bizarrely vanished overnight. Hundreds of thousands of living people vanished without a trace. Yet strangely enough, satellite images showed that the small city was still sitting right there—it was merely that in human cognition, the city no longer existed. Oh, those satellites are like the Thousand Mile Eyes used by humans.
Along the southeastern coast, a typhoon blew in from Southeast Asia, bringing over quite a few filthy things. Among them was an evil Buddha statue, which was the most sinister. Any mortal who laid eyes upon this evil Buddha would drop dead the next day. A great deal of people died across those coastal cities, and in the end, the authorities dispatched emergency response units, sacrificing human lives in a desperate effort just to drive that sinister thing back.
And then over in the northwest, two royal corpses were excavated from the Western Xia Imperial Tombs. During transport, they weren't stored properly, and the pair reanimated into white-haired corpses. They killed and injured quite a few people before seizing the entire area surrounding the Western Xia Imperial Tombs. Now, living people can enter but never leave, turning it into a restricted zone where entry is forbidden.”
Hu Ban'er's eyes darted back and forth as thoughts whirred in his mind. In the end, he prudently chose to steer clear of news concerning Great Xia as he spoke:
“There is something else the Mountain Lord might not know. Right now, with the Spiritual Resurgence underway, it is not just demons inside Great Xia's borders that are slowly reviving—even other foreign nations have plunged into chaos...”
Nan Zhi half-squinted her eyes, listening while piecing together the clues in her mind.
The Spiritual Resurgence had actually begun a couple of years ago.
It was just that no one paid attention back then.
Now, within Great Xia's borders, supernatural incidents were erupting everywhere, and countless evil demons and ghosts were popping up like bamboo shoots after rain.
Every day, ordinary people held their phones, seeing a picture of peace, prosperity, and tranquil times. Yet they had no idea what an immense price the authorities were paying behind the scenes to buy such peace.
If things were like this domestically, foreign countries were faring even worse.
First was America. Religious beliefs there were complex, with as many as two hundred and fifty registered sects alone. Once the Spiritual Resurgence hit, werewolves, vampires, haunted dolls, and evil clowns all emerged to wreak havoc everywhere.
The most severe disturbance came from the spirits of the Native Americans. The territory of one particular state was originally inhabited by Indigenous peoples; later, the land was invaded and pillaged, and the skulls of the deceased natives were used as foundations for buildings.
With blood debts piling high and buffs stacked to the max, the local deities worshipped by the native inhabitants revived. It was said that an entire state fell into darkness, residents vanished, and even the local governor's scalp was stripped off and hung at an interstate highway exit for public display.
As for Japan, for unknown reasons, few of its traditional monsters appeared, but man-made urban legends came in vast droves. Slit-Mouthed Woman, Hachishakusama, Hanako-san, Human-Headed Balloons, Bloody Mary... all sorts of urban legends took turns appearing, turning the country into something akin to a battle royale.
Nowadays in Japan, as soon as night fell, the once-bustling streets became the domain of ghosts and urban legends.
As for Great Xia's neighbor, Kimchi Nation, "tragic" didn't even begin to cover it.
The country's beliefs were foreign religions to begin with, lacking orthodox divine worship. Coupled with rampant cults and evil deeds committed by chaebol conglomerates...
When ghosts fused with the country's intensely suppressed collective emotions, cults bloomed everywhere. Every day, news reports on television were filled with dismemberment cases or family exterminations—utterly horrifying.
Of course, none of this could be shown openly to the general public.
Although Great Xia possessed vast lands and abundant resources, meaning it should logically be the hardest-hit area, whenever supernatural entities appeared, the authorities were able to clean up and lock down the scene immediately, minimizing the damage.
In addition, Great Xia possessed folk sects with relatively well-preserved inheritances, and the country had never suffered large-scale cultural invasions by foreign deities. With straightforward national conditions and relatively high happiness among the population, it neither produced vast quantities of urban legends from suppressed collective emotions like Japan nor suffered from rampant cults and endless murders like Kimchi Nation.
—Despite frequent supernatural events in many places, the people of Great Xia were well protected by their motherland. They surfed the web every day with grins on their faces, treating foreign news as mere stories and gossip.
Utterly unaware of how dangerous the world was beneath the darkness.
“However, it won't be kept hidden for much longer.”
Hu Ban'er raised his eyes, sneaking a cautious glance at Nan Zhi, trying his best to explain in terms she could understand:
“A while ago, there was a domestic variety show that went over to Thailand to do a live stream. Oh, that's equivalent to a group of performers going somewhere to film a story for people to watch—
When this unlucky crew was live streaming, they happened to run into a local temple haunted by ghost monks. Seven people died on the spot, blood and flesh flying everywhere, bone fragments scattering all over. In the end, Great Xia had to contact the local embassy to bring the terrified group back home.”
Precisely because it was a live stream, it was too late to block the news.
Although the video had since been deleted, the incident still sparked an uproar domestically.
Nan Zhi didn't even need to think to know that the Spiritual Resurgence was destined not to remain hidden for much longer.
However, her attention was completely focused on the point that "red-named monsters were everywhere overseas."
Those were all living, delicious experience bundles and spiritual energy clusters!
If Nan Zhi weren't too lazy to travel thousands of miles across oceans to hunt monsters, she would probably be on a plane right now.
Noticing Hu Ban'er's eyes glancing toward the pill in Corn's paws from time to time, she suddenly spoke up:
“This Lord's cultivation technique is somewhat special and requires devouring large quantities of evil demon souls and resentful spirit essences. Your Fox Clan is well-informed. If you can gather information on evil demons for This Lord, I naturally will not mistreat you.”
“I am naturally willing to serve the Mountain Lord! It is just that this minor demon has only recently arrived and is not yet familiar with the area. I beg the Mountain Lord to grant three days. In three days, I will present all the information you require!”
Hu Ban'er's eyes lit up. Hearing that Nan Zhi had obtained an immortal legacy did not spark envy in his heart.
—Every race had its own destiny. Back when the demon race of the Northeast declined, had their Old Master not acted decisively and used imperial qi to extend the Fox Clan's fortune, how could he be standing here talking to the Mountain Lord today?
Nan Zhi nodded, her expression composed:
“Pass a message to the people of the Demon Suppression Division when you return:
This Lord seeks only quiet cultivation and has no desire to consume the corpses of sentient beings. Furthermore, back when This Lord was an ignorant, unawakened little tiger, I received some care from humanity.
Therefore, in the future, as long as humans do not intentionally provoke me, This Lord naturally will not strike without cause.
However, if anyone attempts to force their way into Qingmeng Mountain and slaughter the living beings within...”
She bared her teeth, her bright red tiger tongue licking her lips. The character for "King" on her forehead radiated a natural dignity without needing anger:
“This Lord does not mind indulging a little and devouring a demon suppressor or two.”
Hu Ban'er's fur puffed up wildly in panic. The entire fox collapsed flat onto the ground, not daring to move an inch.
After a long while, when the killing intent dissipated, he tremblingly crawled out of the cave on his belly, grabbed his two granddaughters—one in each paw—and bolted as fast as his legs could carry him.
Wishing he could use every ounce of strength he possessed.
Rate on N.U.
