Chapter 177: Investigate Carefully for Me

"What do you want?"

Forced back step by step by Shen Yu's gaze, the old man's face now showed a hint of panic, and he quickly pulled the young girl nearby to his side to shield himself.

This shameless posture truly disgusted Shen Yu.

The Haoran Righteous Qi erupted in an instant, enveloping the two people before him; under that sunlight-like radiance, the violent aura on their bodies rapidly dissipated.

On them, Shen Yu sensed that familiar negative energy.

Compared to He Yuan and the others, the negative energy on them was even denser, as if it had taken deep root, and it was unknown how long they had been infected.

"What happened to me?" Soon, the negative energy was completely extinguished, and the old man returned to his previous appearance.

It was just that his current state was very wrong; recalling the scene that had just occurred, he felt as if he had been struck by lightning.

The young girl before him was too young to even be his granddaughter, yet he had actually, actually done that. His lifelong reputation was ruined!

"Xiao Ru, I, I..."

The young girl to the side, however, had an even more painful expression; she dared not look at the old man or Shen Yu, curling up her body and hugging her legs while sobbing softly.

It was unknown whether she was aggrieved by being violated, or if she was recalling her own appearance of intentionally catering to him just moments ago.

Come to think of it, the two of them had been willing participants just now, so it seemed there was nothing wrong with that.

Silently sighing, Shen Yu stopped looking at the two people before him and strode toward the outside.

Walking on the main street, Shen Yu pushed his Haoran Righteous Qi to the maximum, using his Mental Power as a medium to shine upon these people.

The power of the Haoran Righteous Qi combined with Shen Yu's own mental energy, rapidly dispelling the negative energy that had been entrenched in them and infected them into this state.

There were ten thousand people in the entire town, yet it took Shen Yu nearly half the night, and the consumption was so great that even he could barely handle it.

Until he reached the most remote corner, an Ancestral Hall some distance from the town; Shen Yu had no time to be curious about why a building like an Ancestral Hall was built outside the town.

He walked straight in to save the last people inside the Ancestral Hall, and only then was all the work completed.

Recovery is always more difficult than destruction, not to mention that these negative energies had been entrenched in them for who knows how long, having long since grown deep roots.

Furthermore, Shen Yu still had to guard against these people committing suicide or self-harm out of self-reproach.

When madness returned to reason, recalling the unbearable scenes they had experienced and done, it was inevitable that some would be unable to accept it.

Self-reproach, regret, and various emotions led many to fall into suicide.

If saving people turned into killing people, that would change the nature of things.

Fortunately, Shen Yu was there; if it had been someone else, they probably wouldn't have been able to hold on, and casualties would have been inevitable.

This kind of death without dying is the most regrettable. The fault was not theirs; they were just simple, ordinary people.

The people here were isolated from the world, and the natural Great Array outside confined them here.

So, generally speaking, even if they were infected, they were merely harming each other.

Suddenly, Shen Yu noticed a jade pendant lying on the ground not far from his feet; it looked quite valuable, and he wondered who had dropped it there.

He picked it up casually, and upon seeing the characters carved on the jade pendant, his brows furrowed slightly.

The jade pendant was carved with the two characters "Run away!"; the handwriting looked sloppy, likely carved in a hurry—was this a warning?

Interesting, this is truly interesting!

"System, Sign-in!"

"Sign-in successful, obtained Ten Thousand Jun Thunder; under the thunder, all shall be ashes!"

"Whoa!" A fluorescent light flashed, and the terrifying image of the Ten Thousand Jun Thunder began to flash in Shen Yu's mind.

He had thought it was just a casual sign-in, but he hadn't expected the reward to be so generous.

Ten Thousand Jun Thunder can summon Ten Thousand Jun Thunder; before that terrifying natural force, human power is so insignificant. Although its power is not as strong as the Grass Sword Art, it must not be underestimated.

Just as Shen Yu had obtained the reward and hadn't had time to experiment with it, heavy Runes suddenly appeared from the sky, trapping him within them in an instant.

"Shen Yu, Master Shen, I have been waiting for a long time!"

A person walked quietly out of a hidden compartment in the deepest part of the Ancestral Hall, standing not far in front of Shen Yu, watching him silently.

"Master Shen does not seem surprised?"

"Then what kind of reaction should I have? Nervous? Afraid? Or should I beg you for mercy? You're overthinking it!"

"The only thing I am surprised by is how you address me. The people here are isolated from the world and shouldn't know me; you are not from here, are you?"

When he first stepped in here, Shen Yu had anticipated such a situation; even if the people here looked simple and kind, he still did not relax his vigilance.

The root of the negative energy was here, and it was possible that someone was spying on him in the dark.

When he appeared on the main street and walked swaggeringly, wasn't that a form of probing? Yet he hadn't expected that no one would make a move against him.

However, not making a move at this time does not mean they will never make a move. If things were as Shen Yu guessed, there would always be a time when they couldn't help but strike.

And what time could be better than when he had spent half the night and had fallen into a low point of strength!

"Master Shen is wrong; I am from here, and I am one of them. I should thank you, thank you for saving my clansmen so that they don't have to suffer every day."

"However, I must still strike at you, because I want to protect my clansmen!"

Standing opposite Shen Yu, the middle-aged man did not rush forward, but carefully guarded against this place.

For an expert like Shen Yu, no amount of caution is too much.

"Heh, why bother speaking so loftily? Everything for the clansmen—what a preposterous joke."

"The reason you made your move at night is simply because you didn't dare to move during the day. Once you moved, you would be discovered by me."

"But the night is different. If I'm not mistaken, you should know what this place becomes at night, unlike those ordinary people who have no memory of it."

"As long as it's night, all my attention will inevitably be drawn to the changes in the town, and that is when you can calmly arrange everything."

"Moreover, you are merely using your clansmen to consume my strength; in the end, your clansmen are nothing more than your Chess Piece."

"Why bother speaking so grandiosely, making yourself seem as if you are enduring humiliation and carrying a heavy burden, as if you are so aggrieved!"

"Not bad, everything Master Shen said is correct!" Being retorted by Shen Yu like this, the other party did not show the slightest anger or embarrassment, but instead seemed to accept it with an open mind.

"With the strength of you, Master Shen Yu, I dare not face you head-on; resorting to this inferior strategy was a last resort."

"Master has taken a fancy to Lord Shen, and I have no other way; only by doing this can I protect my clansmen. For the safety of my clansmen, I can only sacrifice you, Lord Shen!"

"Master?" Narrowing his eyes slightly, Shen Yu understood who this so-called Master was; it must be the person behind all of this.

Feeling the power of the Array trapping him, he released his Mental Power to begin probing continuously.

Suddenly, Shen Yu seemed to sense something; a flash of inspiration flickered through his mind, and some conjectures welled up in his heart.

"No, your identity is wrong!"