Chapter 373: Dog Hole Digging Tournament

But...

Evil God followers: Will we win?

Evil God: We will win!

Now Ji Ming dares to become a turncoat even for the fanatics of the Zhen Shen household—how could he possibly fear a few petty country gods who have to sneak around to do evil?

Thus, after explaining his speculation to Cang Lang, they discussed it repeatedly and finally concluded to at least go and take a look.

"What if I also..."

"You just stay home and look after your younger siblings; we only paid you for being a spy, dealing with the problem is our business."

Pushing the spy who still wanted to say something back into the courtyard, the two of them and the wolf hurried toward ShanShang.

But that spy is a novice; being able to tell them someone went up this road is already good, the rest of the intel, especially their exact route, is completely unknown.

After walking a stretch along the mountain road, they reached an intersection and were at a loss.

Moreover, this group of Evil God followers came well-prepared; Cang Lang almost resorted to investigative tactics, lying on the ground with a magnifying glass, yet couldn't find a single clue.

So he patted the dirt off himself and looked at Ji Ming.

"Strange, did they go east or west?"

Ji Ming thought my ability is limited to emotional intelligence; picking up clues from others' words and doing a little deduction is already my limit—you really take me for a detective?

Then he saw Cloi, who had been secretly idling for a long time, pretending not to exist.

"Please, help me."

"... But I'm a wolf."

"Help me, and I can give you something you want."

Cloi was about to excitedly say, "You don't mean you're going to release me, do you?"

But after a moment's thought, having finally gotten out of a tough spot and barely managed to become a big shot among captives, if I were to return to being alone...

That would be pure exile punishment!

So in the flash of lightning, she found the answer most suitable for herself.

"Um, I just... feel insecure, sigh... I know I'm weak, that's why I can hold this position, but I'm too weak now!"

Ji Ming nodded silently and reached out to grab Cloi's arm, which was almost as thick as his thigh.

"How about this?"

Naturally, he didn't mean he intended to become a wolf knight and lead this book to a perverse ending; rather, while making physical contact, he released a small bolt of lightning.

Since he is now a true and genuine deity, sharing divine power with loyal followers to boost the church's individual combat strength is basic practice.

For example, the Holy Light Church's protector knights, the outstanding among them are granted the title of Solar Crown, enabling them to pray to the deity in critical moments and receive divine blessings.

Then the question arises: with such great benefits and such powerful enhancements, why don't the gods universally bestow them on every believer?

Because transmitting divine power from the divine realm to the mortal world incurs great loss; the Old Sun wants to send one share to mortals, but here he must send out ten shares, and even a deep blue mana bar can't withstand that.

Moreover, if one day believers lose heart and are duped by the Evil God, tens or even hundreds of thousands might gather and all ask for blessings...

The Old Sun would either have to pay a high penalty for breach of contract or keep transmitting energy until divine power is exhausted—either way, it's basically dead.

Therefore, the Solar Crown title bestowed by the Holy Light God is extremely rare; only the most loyal and steadfast church guards can obtain it, their status roughly equivalent to quasi-divine chosen.

And what Ji Ming is granting Cloi now is a similar right; from now on she is no ordinary physical-system aberration wolf, but a dual-attribute lightning wolf deity.

Wuhu!

If it weren't to maintain the dignity of my position as Spirit Council Chairman, Cloi would have burst out cheering.

In future meetings, if they dare to be sarcastic again, I will incarnate as the Thunder-Lightning Dharma King and shock them severely!

Anyway, this is the deity's lightning; they definitely dare not resist, and might even have to clap and say electricity is good, come and taste a medium-well done to see if it's salty or light!

Therefore, for future glory, everything now is merely a necessary sacrifice.

So Cloi has no need to hesitate; she lunges forward, presses to the ground, and begins sniffing along the mountain trail upward.

As a canine creature, and moreover an aberration wolf with extraordinarily strong intuition, she quickly catches the fresh human scents on the road and tracks the Evil God followers' direction.

"Follow me, they went this way!"

But seeing a burly wolf-man taller than herself, crawling on the ground like a dog, Cang Lang suddenly felt odd and couldn't help looking at Ji Ming.

"Is this normal?"

"If it's to eradicate the Evil God, then normal!"

"Indeed."

With Cloi giving her all, they are like clearing the entire war fog while also gaining a bright marker on the map, so they quickly arrive at a canyon deep in the mountains.

"Hmm?"

But upon arriving here, Cloi suddenly stops her paw steps, stands up, and pats the dirt off herself doubtfully.

"How did the scent disappear? I don't see a stream here."

"Disappeared?"

Cang Lang is just called Wolf, not actually a wolf; and Ji Ming, though skilled in hearing, is mismatched professionally and can't help much.

So they pondered a moment and could only have Cloi sniff more carefully, checking all around, maybe the scent could be picked up again.

But although the scent was picked up again, after tracing both ends once, they found it cut off again on the west side of the canyon.

"Keep going."

Using a bottle of SpiritGathering Liquid as a reward, Ji Ming sketches while letting Cloi sniff hard along the canyon, ultimately obtaining a scent-marking map.

With summarization and synthesis being different, he discovered that all scents ultimately end at the canyon's west side, forming a winding line among them.

But having a clue also requires being able to pull something out; thus Ji Ming scratched his head and kicked the ground twice.

"What does this mean? Could it be that they're all ordinary folks, doing things in a proper way, and just dug into the ground following the trend?"

Before Ji Ming could speak, Cloi started digging, but unfortunately, digging three feet deep still failed to locate the severed human scent.

Could only lift the mud-covered claws.

Maybe… not?

Thus the hard‑found clue broke again, and Ji Ming felt let down.

Just as he was wondering whether to simply overturn the table, start a large hidden mission dungeon, and summon tens of thousands of players to thoroughly search the mountain, Cang Lang's eyes flashed with divine light.

Wait!

He grinned, walked up to Cloi, and scraped her claws with his sword scabbard.

This is a canyon, a low‑lying area; the soil under the grass should be dirt, but don't you think it's a bit too damp?

Huh?

Ji Ming looked left and right, took out a shovel, and poked again in the dog hole Cloi had dug, finding it indeed.

It hasn't rained today, and this doesn't look like a riverbed—how could the soil be so moist?

Could there be an underground river hidden here?

Thinking this, he walked a few dozen steps along the map and, as a human‑shaped shield machine, quickly dug a dog hole.

The soil here is much more normal—although it feels wet in the hand, it isn't exaggeratedly water‑logged.

Cang Lang looked at the soil in Ji Ming's hand, grabbed a handful, kneaded it, then tossed it to the ground.

All right! Reasoning goes like this—as long as you don't spout nonsense in court or documents, and don't maliciously make things up, you can boldly speak your mind, so my conclusion is……

He reached out and connected the points where human traces disappeared on the map with a line.

There is a seasonal river here, and it's a miracle controlled by some deity—appearing occasionally, vanishing quickly, used specifically to wash away scents and cut off the chance for pursuers to keep tracking.

Nice partner.

Ji Ming didn't expect this unknown evil‑god cult to have such a trick; it seems he really did, by following Cang Lang, accidentally stumble upon a big catch.

But since they've figured out the seasonal river's course on the east bank, finding its opposite bank isn't hard.

Thus, after walking another few dozen steps westward, they happily discovered……

Ah… this.

After pushing aside the vegetation, what met their eyes was a smooth stone wall with almost no slope—there was simply no path here.

Ji Ming touched the wall and found its lower half also damp; apparently the seasonal river had previously flowed right alongside this spot.

Could it be that we're supposed to climb up here?

Cloi stood up, sniffed, and shook her head.

Could there be a hidden mechanism on the stone wall?

Cang Lang tapped and probed with a small hammer, then shook his head.

Ji Ming stood in the middle, leaning on his shovel.

Then there are only two possibilities—heaven or earth; let's pick one.

Cang Lang couldn't help laughing either.

That's great—if a deity can create a seasonal river to sweep away traces, its authority must be water‑related; are you planning to turn them into water‑arrow flying troops, or a high‑pressure water drill?

Huh?

At this point, the atmosphere between the two suddenly stiffened; noticing something off, Cloi turned to look at both of them, only to see Ji Ming slap his hand down suddenly.

Right! We were thinking too small—our perspective was too narrow!

Who said there could only be one evil‑god cult here?

Once again, I emphasize: their nature is actually that of a company, and this company……

Now the entire southern Huiguang is a battlefield of immortals—big and small, the sacred‑light players lurking in the dense forest, all kinds of forces mixed together, with people dying in the gutters every day.

In this situation, if you're the leader of a nameless little evil‑god cult, your natural choice is——

Huddle together for warmth!

Heh, turns out there's a whole big school of fish here—indeed, no amount of precaution is excessive.

And since it's a gathering of small fry, they naturally can't have every believer easily leap over cliffs, so the only option they have is——

Dig!

With a human‑shaped shield machine and a wolf with canine instincts, they quickly found a clue beneath the stone wall nearest to one of the vanished‑signal points.

After digging down a full two meters, Cloi finally regained that scent.

Following it, they discovered an underground deep‑lying rock cavern corridor with clear signs of artificial excavation.

Anyone there?

Sniff… at least there's no one now.

So the reason evil‑god followers can vanish here without a trace is that a water god and an earth god are working together.

One creates a road to the underground, the other washes away surface traces; as long as they combine forces, even for a lesser god this isn't particularly difficult.

Therefore Cang Lang didn't take the enemy lightly; he completed his full gear before leaping into the cavern.

Since the predecessor of the YangYue External Affairs Bureau was a small guild called 【Embroidered Uniform Nightwalk】, the field staff's attire naturally takes the Ming dynasty Embroidered Uniform Guard as its model.

Although the Embroidered Uniform Guard doesn't always wear the slightly ceremonial flying‑fish robe on duty, just as agents don't always wear suits.

But since this image is already deeply ingrained, there's no need to dwell on it here—so what appears on Cang Lang is a robe‑armor of similar style.

And to match his brute strength, his equipment isn't just a spring‑blade sword; he also wields an exaggeratedly sized horse‑cutting saber.

Hehe.

He gave a low chuckle, about to charge in and perform the act "Who am I? Where am I? I don't care! I only know I want to kill them all!" when Ji Ming grabbed him back.

Don't rush—let me go in first to scout the path; you can act when needed.

Ah?

Cang Lang was dumbfounded—after all, Ji Ming's words were like the party's support suddenly pulling out a forty‑meter‑long great sword, saying, "All you big C's and main T's, just sit tight for now; I'll go and come back!"

So Cang Lang naturally wanted to block him with a backhand, but before he could act, Ji Ming had already slipped into the cave entrance, tossing back a line without even turning his head.

"Wait for my signal; there's definitely more than one entrance and exit—we can't let any of the Evil God's followers escape!"

"You!"

In the instant he disappeared from Cang Lang's sight, he seized the black crown in his pocket and at lightning speed became the Shadow God's Chosen.

Indeed, he wasn't afraid of these rustic little gods, but with Cang Lang, a powerful enforcer, on the scene, why would he—a player whose supportive role was merely a pretense—need to do more?

So he would risk going alone for only one reason—he had sensed a hint of a familiar aura.

And Cloi had just said there was no one in the cave, which naturally meant someone had been here before.

Therefore, protected by the Breath‑Holding Talisman, Ji Ming hadn't gone far when he spotted a black‑robed person about to come on patrol.

That black‑robed individual was wrapped up tightly, revealing no identity or features, but as he moved, the constant clanking of metal beneath his voluminous clothes gave away that he was wearing decent armor underneath.

The possibility that a small cult was meeting in secret was thus completely shattered—such a formidable warrior would be more than enough to serve as a guard for the Wind Shadow Marquis, far beyond what an ordinary organization could support.