Chapter 59: You Can Tell How Terrifyingly Strong He Is Just by His Stance

Boom—boom!

The sound of gongs and drums echoed continuously across the ritual square, the entire stage alive with festive glory.

Ghost villagers vigorously danced the lion, their movements fluid and lifelike, so vivid that for a moment one might think the lion had come to life; others held torches in hand while sipping wine, spewing roaring flames that stunned all onlookers; some even slashed open their own hearts with sharp daggers, tremblingly placing the still-beating organ upon the altar, yet their bodies continued dancing wildly as shamans.

Xiezhi and Ancheng’s Chief seemed to glimpse the former prosperity of Yin Yuan Village before it became a wasteland.

“If what they’re repeating is an old ritual, does that mean the Yin Yuan God reached out its claws to this village many years ago?” Ancheng’s Chief frowned.

The Special Affairs Bureau has existed for many years.

Its systems are now highly refined, effectively preventing or swiftly containing supernatural incidents across the country to prevent widespread impact.

Yet this place, Yin Yuan Village, was never detected before the disaster?

Even after the “Wasteland Village Chronicle” incident five years ago, they investigated here for two full months, nearly turning the ground upside down.

They still found no trace of lingering calamity or artifacts.

It was thus archived as a non-threatening calamity site, with some even arguing it shouldn’t be classified as one at all—there was truly nothing left.

Who the hell knew how those five idiots found where the Yin Yuan God was sealed!

“Hmm. After returning, write me a self-criticism. If the earlier investigation had been more thorough, if you’d sealed or dealt with the Yin Yuan God sooner, today’s disaster could’ve been avoided. You’re responsible.” Xiezhi spoke without expression.

Ancheng’s Chief: “?”

We’re the same rank, bro!

Why does it sound like you’re my superior?

“Heh, old Xiezhi, that joke’s a bit too cold.” He chuckled teasingly.

But Xiezhi slowly reached out and pulled ten talismans from thin air, speaking calmly: “I’m not joking.”

Shhh—shhh—shhh—

The talismans flew as if guided by eyes, instantly surrounding the ritual stage.

In an instant, a faint blue glow shimmered across the talismans.

Projections of each ghost villager’s face appeared above their heads, but all were bound tightly by strange chains.

“Court of Judgment! Open!”

Xiezhi’s voice suddenly became commanding.

The ghost villagers halted their actions and fell to their knees, bowing their heads to him.

At the same time, Xiezhi’s eyes glowed with a distinct golden light, as if piercing through all secrets and sins.

He scanned the ghost villagers on the stage.

After a moment, he sighed.

He waved his hand carelessly: “Grievous sins, foolish ignorance—your souls have rotted to the core. Repent in your next life.”

Crash—

The moment he spoke, the shackles binding the ghost villagers’ projections exploded.

They were no longer bound by the Yin Yuan God!

But before they could cheer,

Pale golden sword projections hovered above them, descending silently at Xiezhi’s gesture.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The next second, dozens of ghost villagers collapsed simultaneously.

Their souls screamed as the swords pierced through them, dissolving into the heavens and earth in pain and resentment.

“Next life” was Xiezhi’s joke.

Because they would never have a next life.

“To the ancestral hall. The source of these shackles lies there.” Xiezhi squinted toward the distant ancestral hall.

In his eyes, countless black chains extended from that direction, binding every villager, torturing their souls.

Yet Xiezhi felt no sympathy.

He could see their souls were already steeped in corruption.

But the sheer number of these chains…

Was too many.

The Yin Yuan God capable of binding so many souls must be far more formidable than he’d imagined.

Upon hearing Xiezhi’s direction,

Ancheng’s Chief’s lips curled into a faint smile.

He stomped hard and shot forward like a cannonball, raising his fists—knuckles thick with calluses—and smashing down.

Boom—

A cloud of dust erupted skyward.

The sight of shattered bricks, flying tiles, and collapsing buildings made Xiezhi’s lip twitch.

The once grand and finely built ancestral hall had collapsed nearly halfway under Ancheng’s Chief’s punch—especially the long corridor, now reduced to rubble.

Just as Ancheng’s Chief had said before entering the village—

He was excellent at hitting people.

Translation: in physical damage, he considered himself a powerhouse.

“Where are you ghosts? Come out and face me!” Ancheng’s Chief’s boastful voice rang from within the hall.

He tore through room after room, twisting his neck, his brutality making any observer shake their head in disbelief.

He had no fear of being mentally ambushed by the so-called Yin Yuan God.

Xiezhi was watching below.

He knew that stubborn mule.

Aside from the initial drop in mental energy upon entering Yin Yuan Village due to the sudden emergency, he had felt no mental assault since.

Clearly, Xiezhi had been secretly suppressing or blocking it.

He said he wanted a self-criticism, but he wouldn’t neglect the necessary actions.

What did the youngsters call it again?

A total stubborn pride.

“Ten o’clock, two hundred meters.” Xiezhi’s voice echoed in his ear.

Ancheng’s Chief didn’t hesitate.

He shot forward again.

Two hundred meters vanished in an instant.

There, floating midair, was a pig’s head, rotted down to little more than a skeleton.

Its hollow gaze held nothing, yet merely locking eyes with it made Ancheng’s Chief feel as if a hammer were pounding inside his skull.

Instantly, dizziness surged through his mind.

“Silence!”

Before Ancheng’s Chief could lose more mental energy, Xiezhi’s commanding voice—now amplified by the Court of Judgment—rang out again.

The dizziness vanished instantly.

The pig’s head’s floating shell trembled, as if struck by some unseen force.

Xiezhi’s own figure had appeared beside him without notice.

“You’re the Yin Yuan God, aren’t you? I know you possess reason. Now, I ask—you answer.”

Xiezhi looked up calmly.

The ten talismans around him glowed brighter blue; his aura surged higher, radiating an inexplicable pressure.

Even Ancheng’s Chief, standing beside him, felt like a thief caught by a policeman—nervous, exposed.

As if his inner filth had been stripped bare, awaiting judgment.

Damn, this guy’s Court of Judgment has grown stronger—used to stand beside him and feel nothing like this.

“First: when did you begin meddling with Yin Yuan Village? Second: what is your purpose in descending? Third: who sealed you? Give me specifics.”

Xiezhi spoke slowly, calmly.

Like a seasoned detective interrogating a suspect with a fragile psyche, he had no fear of lies or defiance.

Under the Court of Judgment, spiritual entities could not resist.

At these words, the pig’s head turned its gaze.

Unexpectedly, it emitted only a strange mental pulse.

From this pulse, Xiezhi sensed its intended meaning—

“Corpse… face change… madman?”

“Penguin… aura… hatred?”

“Praise… calamity?”

Xiezhi’s expression grew increasingly unnatural.

The entity’s reason seemed fractured.

But those final words stirred unease in him.

【Praise Calamity】

That was the creed of the immensely powerful evil organization, the Cult of Calamity.

Meaning the Yin Yuan God was either originally created by the Cult of Calamity, or had been tampered with during its imprisonment.

“You...”

Hum—

Before Xiechi could continue the judgment,

a booming sound echoed in his mind.

Immediately after, some powerful restraint locked Xiechi’s spiritual energy, preventing him from activating any equipment designed to combat spiritual entities.

The talismans hovering beside Xiechi dimmed.

【Spiritual Chain Remaining Time — 30 Minutes】

【This is a Legendary Item effect; cannot be dispelled by items of the same or lower rank】

A triangular symbol gradually emerged on the pig-headed entity’s forehead, and instantly its aura crushed its own judgment hall.

“Damn it! This is a trap from the Catastrophe Cult!” Xiechi growled.

The symbol confirmed the entity’s connection to the Catastrophe Cult, and it had left behind a powerful, highly targeted trap item.

It would only trigger when equipment specialized for spiritual entities was used against the Yin Yuan Deity.

As if the entity had foreseen someone would come to explore Yin Yuan Deity’s memories.

It had pre-armed a safeguard.

Even a 【Legendary】-rank item!

This trap was aimed at me!

“Lao Quan! Run!” Xiechi shouted, face pale.

The Ancheng Director was no fool.

The moment he saw Xiechi’s talismans weaken, he grabbed him and turned to flee the Yin Yuan Village, planning to regroup later.

But then the Yin Yuan Deity moved.

Boom—

Rolling thunder crashed down, encircling the entire ancestral hall.

In an instant, it formed a lightning cage.

They were now caged beasts.

“Though I dislike male forms... your bodies are strong enough... your souls superior... as temporary vessels... barely acceptable.” The Yin Yuan Deity drifted toward them, speaking in halting tones.

It intended to use these two as temporary vessels for its descent into the mortal realm!

Its current state was far from stable.

This power was only temporary; soon it would lose both reason and strength again.

Unless it found a suitable vessel.

Only by consuming their souls and flesh could it sustain its power for a while.

That damned penguin’s casual throw of the seal was terrifyingly powerful; without a soul strong enough to possess, this humiliatingly stubborn thing truly could not escape.

Once back in the mortal world,

it would first hunt down that damn lunatic who could change faces—his body was the best!

Watching the pig-headed entity draw closer to Xiechi,

the Ancheng Director realized that no matter how he attacked, any physical damage passed straight through the pig-headed entity.

He grew afraid.

They might truly be trapped in a ditch!

Ding—

At this most tense moment,

accompanied by a whistling sound and the crack of shattering brick, all three within the lightning cage turned their gaze.

There, embedded in the ground, was a strange, rusted broken sword, its hilt wrapped in thick bandages.

A figure stepped into the cage from outside.

The moment his body touched the terrifying lightning, he paused only slightly, then walked in unharmed, as if stepping over a step.

He pulled the sword from the ground.

The boy raised his index finger to shoulder height, leaned slightly back, turned sideways toward the Yin Yuan Deity, eyes sharp, striking a pose straight out of JOJO.

He tilted his head and spoke calmly: “Trash, you still want to sleep underground for five more years? Or are you planning to sleep forever this time? Me and the black-hearted penguin can both accommodate you.”

No sooner had he spoken than Xiechi and the Ancheng Director saw the Yin Yuan Deity freeze midair.

It even pulled back a great distance.

It seemed terrified of the boy before it.

From his words, the Yin Yuan Deity recalled the helplessness it once felt facing that strange penguin—had the penguin wished, killing it would have been as easy as crushing an ant.

Its power could be stripped away at will.

Its body could be sealed at will.

This fear was amplified infinitely by Wu Wang’s 【Scatterer of Fear】 effect, as if the penguin were about to leap out and strike it with its cane again.

Of course, Xiechi and the Ancheng Director knew none of this.

To them, the boy had simply pointed and frozen the Yin Yuan Deity, who now seemed utterly terrified.

Just from his stance, he was terrifyingly strong!

Damn it! Who the hell is this guy?