After much thought, Nan Zhi decided to visit the “Ba Yan Temple.”
—She had a faint feeling that the opening of the [Ghost City of Ultimate Bliss] secret realm might be related to this so-called Ba Yan God.
The temple where the great exorcist Sashu resided was not closed to the public.
Pyramid-shaped roofs stood in clusters, covered in gorgeous ceramic tiles that gleamed under the sunlight.
The interlocking brackets and carvings visible everywhere depicted the “achievements” of the Ba Yan God. The carvings were not simple patterns; wind, rain, thunder, lightning, flowers, plants, trees, and patterns of divine beasts were all gilded with gold and inlaid with emeralds.
On both sides of the long veranda were meticulously manicured courtyards tended daily by believers. Beneath the blooming cannas, a few blue peacocks occasionally spread their tails.
Not far away, there were even elephants draped in sheer fabric, slowly ambling through the crowd.
Outside the temple, it was exceptionally bustling.
Devout monks, shouting street vendors, flower girls paddling their small boats rapidly across the water, murmuring believers, and foreign tourists holding cameras, immersed in the beautiful scenery...
It looked nothing like the pitch-black, deathly silent scene of the night.
The tallest point of the architectural complex could be clearly seen even from outside the street—that was the Infant Spirit Tower, which enshrined a half-meter-tall statue of the Ba Yan God made of pure gold.
Unsurprisingly, the great exorcist Sashu did not meet with Nan Zhi and the others.
“The wedding of the Ba Yan God is tomorrow. The great exorcist needs to purify himself and cannot receive guests,” the welcoming believer explained with a smile. “You can come to pay your respects to the great exorcist after the wedding is over, but you need to book a year in advance. Of course, if you are devout enough to let the Ba Yan God feel your sincerity, the great exorcist will feel it too.”
How could one show devotion?
By donating money to accumulate merit.
The more merit one accumulated, the more sincere they naturally appeared.
Nan Zhi naturally had no interest in traveling thousands of miles to worship a fake god, let alone spending money to help an evil spirit accumulate merit.
She decided to stay far away to avoid being caught in the crossfire when heavenly lightning struck Sashu dead.
“According to the timing my master calculated from the heavenly secrets, the day the Ghost City of Ultimate Bliss secret realm opens should be tomorrow,” Nan Zhi whispered to Qin Yue, who was pretending to sightsee beside her while actually mapping out the terrain. “The catalyst for the secret realm's opening is very likely related to the Ba Yan God's wedding. We had best find a way to stay here, and when there are fewer people tonight, we can head into the Infant Spirit Tower to prepare in advance.”
“Little Aunt, are you planning to save the bride?” Qin Yue, highly intuitive, immediately guessed Nan Zhi's intention: “The Ba Yan God's wedding allows spectators. I'll immediately submit a report to see if we can get through Basong. We can say we want to promote religious and cultural exchanges and wish to observe the deity's wedding—”
“It seems someone has beaten us to the punch and already set an example for us.” Before she could finish, Nan Zhi suddenly interrupted her and signaled Qin Yue to look into the distance:
A misty drizzle began to fall from the sky. The temple keeper of the Ba Yan Temple stood with a face full of smiles, explaining something to a group of blonde-haired, blue-eyed Europeans behind him.
It was a group of “foreign journalists” carrying cameras and recording equipment, but their appearances were extremely unusual, making them stand out in the crowd at a single glance.
They seemed highly professional with all their cameras and equipment, but their actual makeup was quite complex.
What kind of journalists were all broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, with bulging pectoral muscles that almost burst through their clothes, as if they had grown up eating animal feed and protein powder?
They consisted of both men and women, and when they looked at people, their eyes carried undisguised killing intent.
They gave off a musky scent, which inexplicably reminded Nan Zhi of the black bear spirit she had encountered on the ship.
But they smelled more like the scent of wolf demons.
Leading them was a Black female journalist. She was tall, with delicate facial features, and her every move exuded immense charm.
Even with heavy makeup, it was difficult to conceal the raw, wild beauty that belonged to her.
“Wolves? They're werewolves and witches,” Qin Yue tapped her earpiece, and a minute later, she quickly whispered in Nan Zhi's ear: “According to the intelligence we received, America began developing a super serum six months ago and tested it on their Navy. It was only fifteen days ago that these soldiers semi-officially entered the public eye. And that female journalist, she is ostensibly a reporter for the American Washington Evening Post, but her true identity is a Black Voodoo witch, Harley Gisele. She is a transcendent who has appeared on official lists. She belongs to the ‘Night Sisterhood’ and is one of their registered witches. She has successfully handled the California Black Demon incident, the Texas Ghost incident, the Lithuanian ‘Curse of the Weeping Woman’ incident, the New York City Statue of the Virgin Mary Weeping incident... In short, she is a quite formidable figure who wouldn't appear here for no reason.”
Indeed, she was not to be underestimated.
【Jack Brown (Half-Demon): 2】
【Martin Dwight (Half-Demon): 3】
【Harley Gisele (Witch): 6】
【Kasha Cheek (Witch): 3】
【Sergey Mikhalkov (Half-Demon): 3】
...
A long string of character levels was laid out bare before Nan Zhi's eyes, the most conspicuous of which were Harley and the other witch.
“I've heard my master mention that in the past, some in the cultivation world also tried to create half-demons using demon blood, which is essentially borrowing a demon's power temporarily,” Nan Zhi's lips moved slightly as she whispered to Qin Yue. “But demon blood inherently contains a violent energy. Unless pure demon blood can be found, a human's constitution simply cannot withstand this power. Once the demon blood contaminates their own, and the cells in their bodies can no longer bear the brutal energy, it will instead turn the host into a walking bomb. Our people practice the 《Small Twelve Bone Forging Method》 and use the Snake-Bear Pill as a supplement to temper their own blood qi. It is not something a crudely made, inferior ‘serum warrior’ can compare to.”
“We need to pay attention to Harley Gisele and that blonde witch. The former's cultivation should be around Qi Refinement level 2, while the latter has likely just entered the path. Voodoo witches excel in poison arts and curses, not divination, but they might have calculated the opening time of the secret realm through other means. They are probably here for the [Ghost City of Ultimate Bliss] secret realm, just like us.”
Nan Zhi did not intend to stop these people from entering the secret realm.
She was here for the Ghost King.
Aside from the Nether Cold Fire, the other resources in the secret realm were optional to her and of little use.
The world is vast, and the great Dao is all about struggle.
As long as the other party did not actively take action against the Huaxia cultivators or try to lay a hand on the Nether Cold Fire, Nan Zhi would not kill without cause.
After all, she was not some bloodthirsty person.
It was also a good opportunity to let the Huaxia cultivators she brought witness foreign cultivators, so they wouldn't be caught off guard if they truly became enemies in the future.
Especially those three fools: Lyu Dongfang, Hu Manni, and Liu Guansheng.
...
Perhaps sensing something, Harley Gisele, disguised as a reporter, suddenly turned around, only to see an empty courtyard.
The gentle rain fell drop by drop, and a blue peacock squawked as it strutted past.
There was nothing.
Was it just her imagination?
Why did she feel as though someone had just been watching her?
Was it the evil spirit in this temple?
Harley suppressed the unease in her heart and grasped the Voodoo doll made of dried twigs worn on her wrist:
May the great Voodoo god bless her. She would follow the prophecy, successfully bring back the treasure, and obtain the qualification to enter the twelve great witch covens.
Rate on N.U.
