Chapter 173: Gathering at the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge

Meng Hao was initially unconscious, firstly because of the injuries to his soul, and secondly because of the bad luck that had entered his body. The soul injuries had been mostly mended by the monk and the Daoist, and the bad luck had also nearly dissipated after such a long time.

This was also the main reason Meng Hao was now able to wake up.

However, for some reason.

Heaven and Earth had undergone an abnormal change, and Luck also showed signs of subtly reversing. The bad luck that had nearly dissipated from Meng Hao's body had actually transformed into Luck, nourishing him.

Fortunately, the remaining Luck was not much, merely returning to the level of an ordinary person. Moreover, the damage to his spirit and soul caused by the bad luck entering his body still existed, and it was estimated that he could only stop here.

"What happened to me? What occurred?"

Meng Hao was somewhat dazed as he spoke with difficulty.

He could feel the terrible state of his body, as if a carefully constructed house had been destroyed, foundation and all, with only a few broken walls and ruins left to support his cultivation.

A flash of deep sorrow crossed Meng Lingyun's eyes.

He explained to Meng Hao what had happened during this time.

After a long while, having heard Meng Lingyun's explanation, Meng Hao fell into deep thought. After a long silence, he spoke in a low voice. "So that's how it is. Am I crippled?" His expression was neither sad nor happy, as if he were not describing himself, but rather the affairs of a passerby on the side of the road.

"Xiao Hao, you don't need to be too sad. I will take you to the Prefecture; perhaps there is a peerless divine doctor in the Prefecture who can cure you," Meng Lingyun said slowly.

Of course, even he himself did not quite believe this statement.

"Heh, don't comfort me."

He shook his head, then immediately raised his head to look at Li Heng beside him.

"This Heaven destroys me; it is not the fault of the battle. You have won now, but I am not convinced. My background is higher than yours, my potential is stronger than yours, and I can reach a higher peak than you."

Meng Hao's voice became incredibly agitated.

But the next moment, it sank low again.

"But even if I am not convinced, what can I do? You won in the end."

His voice was as faint as the buzzing of a mosquito.

"Old man, you don't need to take me to the Prefecture either; let me stay here. At least here I can still be considered decent, but what if I go to the Prefecture? So there is no point in going there."

"Is that okay?" He looked at Meng Lingyun.

He was clear about the severity of his injuries; the soul injury alone would be one thing, but it was a soul injury caused by bad luck entering the body.

Li Heng watched all of this, his expression devoid of any fluctuation. Whether these words were a true outpouring of emotion or if he was harboring a fluke, wanting to make a comeback, he did not care.

The gap between the two had already been pulled too wide.

What truly concerned him was this Weird transformation of Luck.

However, was this transformation of Luck an isolated case or a universal one? If it were an isolated case, all the people with great Luck he had encountered seemed to have this transformation, to a greater or lesser extent.

But if it were a universal case.

The five points of Luck he possessed had not undergone any transformation.

He shook his head; with his current strength, he was unable to verify it.

It seemed there was one more reason to go to the Prefecture. That place was the center of a Prefecture; he would surely be able to encounter more experts and geniuses, and perhaps he could obtain information from them or conduct actual verification.

As for the drama of fatherly love that followed, he was too lazy to watch it.

He simply found an excuse and left directly.

In any case, his goal had already been achieved.

He strolled through the Demon Suppression Division when he suddenly heard the sound of gongs and drums, and funeral music began to play. This was... His curiosity piqued, he quickened his pace toward the direction of the sound.

After several twists and turns, he finally arrived at a small plaza.

Li Heng raised an eyebrow; so that was it.

Some Demon Exorcists were mourning the heroes who had sacrificed themselves in this catastrophe, and were setting up tombstones for them in this plaza, which, combined with the funeral music, rendered a sorrowful and indescribable atmosphere.

Watching this scene, he could not help but feel a bit emotional. He then walked into the crowd, looking at the tombstones erected before him. Most of these tombstones were engraved with the information and life stories of the deceased.

However, they were almost all strangers whom Li Heng did not know.

Until he scanned across a name: He Qing.

He Qing?

He was slightly startled and carefully browsed the information engraved on this tombstone. "He Qing, a native of Bei'an, died on the fifth day of the seventh month of the third year of Antong, perished outside Bei'an City..."

Li Heng was silent for a long while; a sacrifice who had gone out of the city to investigate.

He shook his head, took three sticks of incense from the offering table nearby, lit them casually, and inserted them into the tombstone. Wisps of smoke rose and spiraled upward, as if they could drift up to the Nine Heavens.

Although their friendship was not deep, it would not make him sad.

At most, his thoughts were complex.

But since they had known each other, and he happened to be here, he would use these three sticks of incense to end their connection, treating it as a farewell. At the same time, the living Demon Exorcists were also mourning their own friends and relatives in different ways.

After offering the three sticks of incense,

he left the Demon Suppression Division, intending to walk around Bei'an City.

Once he exited the Inner City.

He could again faintly hear funeral music playing everywhere, and he could not help but be stunned, then immediately understood something, lost in thought.

After all, living people are not cold numbers; they all have their own friends and relatives. Although not many people in the city died, outside the city in the countryside, everyone except those at the Sanshan Gathering had died.

It would be strange if there were no reaction to so many people dying.

"Brother Li? What a coincidence."

A voice of surprise rang out. Li Heng turned his head and saw that Constable Xing Yong, carrying a blue bundle and dressed in plain, tight-fitting clothes, walking out from the Inner City.

"You are..."

"Oh, that Ren Bapi had an accident, didn't he? With that, I was freed, so I resigned from my position as a Constable and plan to go out and venture into the world; I don't want to stay in Bei'an County anymore."

Xing Yong said with a smile.

"Then where do you plan to go?"

"I might head straight to the Prefecture, or I might wander through the various county towns along the way to see the local customs; after all, I can't just guard the gate forever." He scratched his head.

"That's fine too. I wish Constable Xing a smooth journey."

"Hey, I'm not a Constable anymore, just call me Xing Yong. But I appreciate Brother Li's kind words, thank you. I'm off then." After a brief exchange, Xing Yong bade farewell to Li Heng and strode away.

His gait was so light, as if he had unburdened himself of many things.

What was this? Joy amidst sorrow?

Li Heng smiled lightly, feeling a bit more relaxed. He began to stroll through the outer city, eating snacks, buying souvenirs, and teasing the children running by the roadside, blending into the mortal world.

This could also be considered a farewell to Bei'an City.

Yin World, Ten Thousand Demon Ridge.

These days had been anything but peaceful for the many demons and Weird beings of Ten Thousand Demon Ridge; they would trip over stones while walking, get food stuck in their teeth whenever they drank cold water, and some even laughed themselves to death while laughing.

Combined with the nearly blood-colored sky above.

Some Demon Kings couldn't help but suspect that those three Great Kings had stirred up some trouble and provoked the wrath of Heaven, and they pondered whether they should run away; they had such bright futures, they couldn't just die from bad luck.

But before they could make up their minds to run.

People from major powers similar to Ten Thousand Demon Ridge gathered at their doorstep, as if to hold some kind of meeting, causing them to run back and forth to serve these guests.

Come to think of it, these guests were extremely difficult to serve.

Some guests liked human intestines, and specifically said they had to have a bit of yellow on them. Others liked human livers, and these livers had to glow according to the diner's mood—what kind of demand was that?

"Damn it, what exactly do they want to eat!"

As a Demon King and the cook of Ten Thousand Demon Ridge, Zhu San listened to the dishes, menus, and ingredients reported by the minor demons, and with a forceful chop, he split a braised head, embedding the blade deep into the chopping board.

"I don't care, I only know how to make these few things, take it or leave it. Damn it, now that I'm so unlucky that even drinking cold water gets stuck in my teeth, these outsiders still dare to pick on me?"

Zhu San snorted.

"But... but the Third Great King said, there will be a heavy reward for doing it well."

"It's all bullshit, who doesn't know how to draw a big cake? I've been with them for so many years, don't I know their ways?" Zhu San didn't finish, then looked around at the kitchen assistants and roared again.

"What are you looking at? Hurry up and serve the food!"

"Oh, oh, yes, yes, yes!"

The minor demons and kitchen assistants hurriedly replied, plating the various prepared dishes and arranging them into different shapes. For example, a steamed human face had to simultaneously possess the six expressions of joy, anger, sorrow, happiness, worry, and grief.

Afterward, these minor demons sent the dishes to the banquet.

Zhu San's mood calmed down.

He pondered in his heart that those three guys were running Ten Thousand Demon Ridge into the ground, and if it weren't for the support of Hanging Mountain, it would have collapsed long ago. Should he find an opportunity to run away?

And he heard that it would be very easy to go to the Present World in a while...

At the banquet.

Qingshi, Baixiang, and Jinpeng sat in the main seats.

The eldest, Qingshi, looked at the guests who had come from afar and laughed loudly. "Thank you all for coming from afar. I have specially set up this banquet to welcome you; don't be polite. This is all wild human flesh, not the Human-Livestock kept in captivity."

The people from these powers couldn't help but be surprised upon hearing this.

They had long heard that Ten Thousand Demon Ridge had established a connection with Hanging Mountain, and it seemed to be true. A while ago, they had obtained a bunch of Human-Livestock from Hanging Mountain and held a Great Banquet; it was quite impressive.

And now, this banquet could even use wild human flesh?

It seemed this connection was quite deep?

"Hehe, Demon Saint Jinpeng came with a Hanging Mountain Token to invite us, so how could we dare not to come? But what exactly happened that required us to be mobilized, so many of us?"

A Weird soul dressed in merchant robes said in a chilling tone.

As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere at the scene stiffened.

No other reason, this was the plain truth; if it weren't for the Hanging Mountain Token, they really wouldn't give the three demons any face. This was also a direct reveal of their true intentions, and they didn't know how to respond to this remark.

"This shopkeeper is indeed straightforward."

"I wonder which number agent of the Buying Life Money you are?"

Jinpeng said calmly.

"I cannot disclose that, Demon Saint Jinpeng. You should just get to the point. Everyone is very busy, don't invite so many of us here for a trivial matter."

"Could it be that it's really just for a meal?"

Hearing this, Jinpeng frowned slightly, his mind communicating secretly with Qingshi and Baixiang, and finally, they reached a consensus.

"Oh, this shopkeeper is straightforward, so I can only speak the truth and not waste everyone's time. My purpose in inviting you all here is to ask you to attack the Present World in advance, how about it?"

He stood up, looked at the Weird beings and demons present, and smiled.