Chen Zhou was thinking this, preparing to slip into the ghost domain to take a walk in the palace, when a sudden, special fluctuation rippled through his sea of consciousness.
It was a message sent through the threads of faith; only a few of his core believers were capable of such long-distance transmission.
Chen Zhou closed his eyes to sense it and discovered it was the Plague Rat.
Calculating the time, that fellow and Poison-Wing should have just about finished infiltrating the Eastern Region.
"Lord, Lord, can you hear me?"
The Plague Rat’s excited voice echoed in his sea of consciousness, the background noise seemingly filled with the crashing of waves.
"Speak quickly," Chen Zhou responded.
"That dumb bird Poison-Wing and I have reached the border of the Eastern Region, right near Shanhe Pass."
The Plague Rat began his report. "Lord, something is wrong with this Eastern Region."
"Shanhe Pass has been opened. Usually, they would be strictly inspecting everyone coming and going, but now the gates are wide open. Massive groups of fish, shrimp, and crab generals are heading out, looking like they're fleeing a disaster."
"There are also many human cultivators who were previously employed or married into families in the Eastern Region; they're all running away with their families in tow."
"Poison-Wing and I just caught a few stray small fish demons to interrogate. We heard that for some unknown reason, deep-sea black spots have recently appeared in many places throughout the boundless sea."
"Black spots?" Chen Zhou’s brow furrowed slightly.
"Yes. The Sea Emperor Merfolk race is driving out all sea creatures and forbidding them from returning for the time being."
"With no other choice, they can only migrate inland, and some even want to flee to our Northern Region."
"They've tasted the melted snow water from the Northern Region and said it's very clean."
A thought stirred in Chen Zhou’s mind. Black spots?
Was this also a precursor to the Golden Buddha’s descent into the world?
Chen Zhou instructed them to keep watching: "Be careful. Continue investigating the source of those black spots."
"The strength of the Eastern Region’s royal family is unfathomable, at least above the seventh-stage. If there is danger, prioritize your own safety."
"Leave it to this rat! I am the head of the auspicious ones; my life-saving skills are top-notch!" the Plague Rat guaranteed confidently.
Not long after cutting the connection with the Plague Rat, another piece of information arrived.
This message was extremely brief, consisting of only four words.
"West Region, in peril."
It was Piao.
Chen Zhou’s expression instantly darkened.
Though Piao spoke little and was slow to react, she rarely sent a message like this—failing to even explain the reason and leaving only the simplest warning.
Had she encountered a danger she couldn't handle?
Or was the West Region itself a massive source of danger?
Without a second thought, Chen Zhou prepared to activate 【Bone Incarnation】 to check on Piao's situation.
However, upon using it, he discovered that Piao was missing from the list of believer vessels he could choose.
This meant that Piao’s main body might have suffered heavy damage or even lost consciousness temporarily.
Chen Zhou’s brow furrowed tightly. He had to settle for the next best thing, choosing to descend into Jiu'er's body within the City of the Wrongfully Dead.
Before leaving, Piao had specifically left a flying locust clone in the Gathering Fortune Pavilion as a life-saving measure and a final point of contact.
Chen Zhou’s consciousness sank, descending across space.
Inside the Gathering Fortune Pavilion in the City of the Wrongfully Dead, the sleeping Jiu'er suddenly jolted on his bed.
The next moment, he opened his eyes. His innocent pupils instantly turned a deep, profound black, and his stature grew significantly.
Chen Zhou sat up. Without disturbing anyone, he walked straight to the window.
There, a fist-sized flying locust was perched.
Currently, this small insect appeared exceptionally weak. Its copper-colored carapace was dull and lusterless, and its antennae hung limp.
In front of it lay a large heap of bloody raw meat.
The locust was clutching the meat, devouring it frantically. After finishing one pile, the carapace on its back split open, and it divided into two slightly smaller flying locusts from the center.
Then, the two locusts continued to clutch the meat and eat, their speed even faster.
This was the regeneration talent of the realm earthworm that Piao had temporarily copied.
It seemed the main body had exhausted a massive amount of energy, perhaps even collapsed, such that even the clones needed to maintain their existence through this frantic method of eating and dividing.
"How is it? Are you alright?" Chen Zhou asked softly.
One of the feeding locusts paused. Its compound eyes flickered a few times as if identifying Chen Zhou’s aura.
A moment later, it opened its mouth and spoke in human tongue, though haltingly.
"Lord... Piao is fine."
"On the main body’s side... it seems they all died."
The insect stopped its movements, its antennae trembling incessantly as it seemed to organize the fragmented memories sent from the main body before its death.
Only after a long while did it speak again.
The words weren't very smooth, and the tone remained flat.
"West Region... the Yellow Spring Crossing has opened."
"It’s all sand. Death qi... very heavy."
Chen Zhou’s brow remained tightly knit.
The West Region had always been the most secluded part of Gloomlight Province, known as a forbidden zone for living beings. He hadn't expected it to open its passes just as the Golden Buddha was about to descend.
Chen Zhou ignored everything else, prioritizing his concern for Piao's condition.
Piao indicated she was mostly fine. If she ate more, she would soon grow back.
As she spoke, the locust beside her finished its meat and divided once more, becoming four.
Piao looked up, a hint of timidity flashing in her compound eyes—an emotion she rarely showed.
"Lord... could you... please not tell Mother about me for now?"
"I don't want Mother to worry."
"The way I am now is too ugly... too weak."
"I will work hard at eating. I can return to my original appearance very soon."
She was a monster born from famine, a natural killing machine.
But under the Ugly Hag’s care, humanity had been born within the monster.
She clumsily imitated human emotions, learning how to be a sensible daughter.
A sensible child must not make her mother cry.
Chen Zhou remained silent for a while.
He looked at the several locusts trying hard to piece together a human shape but only able to maintain their insect forms.
"Fine, I promise you."
"I won't go out of my way to tell her."
Chen Zhou then gave an order, directing the netherflames in the City of the Wrongfully Dead to bring over the new batch of fifth-stage flesh produced by the Flesh-and-Blood Pasture.
"Eat as much as you want. If it's not enough, there's more."
Raising a famine was indeed not easy, but fortunately, Chen Zhou now had a vast estate and plenty of Evil God Points.
Higher-stage flesh was hard to come by, but fifth-stage meat could already be mass-produced through the Flesh-and-Blood Pasture.
Looking at the mountain of meat, Piao was very happy.
Her happiness was simple.
Family, food, her Lord, and order.
The locusts divided into dozens in the blink of an eye, the sound of devouring rising and falling.
Seeing that Piao was not in serious trouble, Chen Zhou felt relieved.
As long as a famine can still eat, there won't be any issues.
"What did you encounter?" Chen Zhou asked.
While eating, the locust organized its language: "Outside the Yellow Spring Crossing, I saw a stone stele—the one Sister Su Xue mentioned."
"There were eight characters written on it. I recognized them all." A hint of small pride seeped into Piao’s voice.
"No entry for the living, no exit for the dead."
"I tried to nibble on that restriction. I couldn't break it; it was too hard."
"Later, it opened on its own, and I was sucked in."
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