[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-heavenly-official-bestows-evil":3,"chapter-heavenly-official-bestows-evil-heavenly-official-bestows-evil-chapter-497":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Heavenly Official Bestows Evil",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2317116,4530,"Chapter 497: The Master","heavenly-official-bestows-evil-chapter-497",497,"\u003Cp>The Niche saw Wu Xian and Shi Ji escape.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His face instantly changed; the candle’s flame erupted, and a ring of light spread outward—this must have been some kind of scanning ability.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But after releasing this ability, he received no response.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No response was also a response.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Niche sighed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His hands dropped, abandoning any thought of escape.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hah, it seems bad luck is mine—but you old bastards will die sooner or later. When that time comes…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before the Niche could finish speaking, Yu Rang appeared behind him and stabbed him over a dozen times, each strike hitting a vital point.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then Yu Rang leaped backward; as he rose into the air, a ring of flame appeared in his palm. By the time he landed, a fireball the size of a yoga ball shot from the ring, striking the Niche squarely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>BOOM! The flames exploded into a blazing fireball, its intense heat and temperature incinerating the Niche’s body completely; Wu Xian and Shi Ji quickly covered their faces.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the burning ended.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Xian stared at the ground where the Niche’s body had been—only a charred, deep pit remained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This… this is too…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Xian was not astonished by the power of this attack.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was only natural that Yu Rang could unleash such power—he was one of the highest-level Familiars Wu Xian had ever encountered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That fireball was his damn True Fire Talisman! Wu Xian’s first True Fire Talisman had produced only a flame as thin as a finger—how could Yu Rang’s be this massive?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Each advancement in Dao cultivation increases a talisman’s base power by ten percent—how many times would one need to advance to amplify an ordinary True Fire Talisman to this absurd level?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Coupled with the Niche’s remark about “old bastards,” Wu Xian suddenly realized Yu Rang’s age might be far greater than he’d imagined.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every time a Familiar enters a Blessing Land, they gain lifespan—meaning Familiars rarely die of natural causes. If a Familiar survives every Blessing Land…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then that Familiar’s lifespan is virtually infinite! Wu Xian swallowed hard: “May I ask, how old are you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu Rang did not answer directly: “Familiars live one day at a time—what time do we have to dwell on the past?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Xian dropped the question.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shi Ji walked over with a dumb grin: “You killed the Niche, but we helped too—we should get a good reward, right?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu Rang countered: “Who told you the Niche is dead?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Xian and Shi Ji both paled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Niche are hard to kill—far harder than cockroaches in the sewers. Unlike Familiars, they don’t gain power through worship; their strength comes from their ‘Niche Gear.’”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That hooded cloak and candle?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu Rang nodded: “Every Niche has a basic set of Niche Gear. Their power stems from it. When a Niche dies, the Gear self-destructs, and the Niche rebirths elsewhere. Only after the Gear has fully regenerated can the Niche be truly killed.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Xian wasn’t surprised—he’d once seen a Niche shot in the head by a sniper rifle before Yu Rang finally killed him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ordinary Niche have only one set of Gear. But if a Niche successfully cultivates something of ‘Evil Spirit’ rank, they gain a new set of Gear, new abilities, and a second life!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But any Gear beyond the basic set, once destroyed, cannot be reborn.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This Niche knew me—he’s an old one. He must have more than one set of Gear. Even so, dying twice here is enough to keep him quiet for a long time. That’s a major achievement.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Niche matter was settled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Xian turned to Zhao Licheng. His curiosity about this man surpassed even that of the Niche; he might as well use the lingering effect of the Spirit Summoning Technique to uncover his secrets.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Tell me—who are you, and where are you from?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Licheng sat against the wall, tilting his head up: “I am Zhang Jiusheng, Thirty-Ninth Generation Master of Xue Xin Temple on Tianqi Mountain!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Finished speaking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His expression darkened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“In this world, there probably isn’t a Tianqi Mountain…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“In our world, calamities run rampant, demons swarm, and senseless ghosts attack everyone indiscriminately.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My meager skills couldn’t even protect myself, let alone descend the mountain to save others. Yet Xue Xin Temple and the town of Yingzhou below still held on.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Because our temple possesses a divine talisman left behind by our founding Master before his ascension. As long as the talisman remains, anyone nearby who sincerely prays can draw upon its power to escape peril.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But one day, several strange people came to Xue Xin Temple.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“They were being hunted by an Evil Spirit and begged to shelter in our temple for seven days. I kindly took them in and warned them repeatedly not to touch the talisman.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But on the final day, as they were leaving, they snatched the talisman while I wasn’t looking, used it to kill the circling Evil Spirit, and vanished from the temple…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Here,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Jiusheng’s hair stood on end with rage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Evil Spirit died, they were saved—but what of my Xue Xin Temple? What of the hundreds of thousands beneath Tianqi Mountain?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“All dead. All dead!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then I met that elder. He told me about Familiars. I knew he wasn’t good—but my old self would have died before joining him. Yet everything he said was true.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My home is gone. What use are those principles now?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So when the elder said he could bring the last of us survivors to your world, I agreed without hesitation!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If you Familiars can destroy our world just to survive, then how could we, the homeless, ever pass up the chance to destroy yours?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After arriving in the real world,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Jiusheng used his sect’s inherited Dao arts—Soul-Buying Spell, Skin-Shifting Technique, Paper-Folding Art—to orchestrate one eerie incident after another. These orthodox Dao methods seemed strange, yet carried no demonic power, making them devastatingly effective against Familiars.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unfortunately, Zhang Jiusheng had no time to grow stronger. His first battle against Familiars pitted him against Wu Xian, Shi Ji, and Yu Rang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After hearing Zhang Jiusheng’s story,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>all three sighed faintly and fell into long silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Xian’s Blessing Lands always ended well—he could say he had no guilt. But Familiar actions were uncontrollable; they could just as easily bring disaster to a Blessing Land.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps those Familiars had hidden reasons for using the talisman—perhaps to save more lives, or merely for greater gain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But to Zhang Jiusheng, Familiars were unambiguous mortal enemies!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If Wu Xian had endured the same fate, he would likely have acted even more ruthlessly than Zhang Jiusheng.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet Wu Xian was a native of the real world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He did not wish to sacrifice himself to let Zhang Jiusheng succeed in revenge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So Wu Xian had only one choice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m sorry. But please rest in peace.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Macedonian spear pierced Zhang Jiusheng’s forehead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1152,"2026-06-20T14:31:07.793Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","6a2de48cfcd7acc0528006a6bc5fd5b8e4ad5a5fcfdc616089522987593bac86","heavenly-official-bestows-evil-chapter-498","heavenly-official-bestows-evil-chapter-496",556,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fheavenly-official-bestows-evil-cover.jpg"]