Chapter 140

Gu family.

At the usually quiet and peaceful entrance of the Chinese-style manor, more than a dozen refrigerated transport trucks were parked, with servants unloading items from the vehicles and orderly sending them into the manor's back kitchen.

This scene had been repeating for three days. The farm owner delivering the goods couldn't stop grinning: "Boss, how long are you planning to hold this banquet? It's so lively. Should I bring the same goods tomorrow?"

The butler maintained a polite smile, not revealing any details about the master's affairs, and quickly brushed off the question with a few words.

After signing the acceptance form and watching the refrigerated trucks leave, the butler turned back to look at the Gu family manor, which was shrouded in clouds, and the fresh ingredients continuously being brought in. He couldn't help but take a deep breath.

Sigh.

The Gu family wasn't preparing for some grand banquet. Ever since the master of the Gu family had an accident, the entire manor had started closing its doors to guests. Except for a few specific individuals, no one else was allowed to enter.

However, the food delivered by the suppliers was being consumed every day—

After the butler checked everything and returned to the villa, he heard loud noises coming from inside.

"Hahaha! Come, drink!"

"It’s been so many years since I’ve tasted such fine wine, the craft of human winemakers has really improved. Once the big task is done, I’ll definitely keep a few people around to brew wine for me every day!"

"Bring more wine! Bring meat! Where's my meat?!"

The butler felt speechless and thought to himself, these people look so tall and strong, how can they all act so childish?

They even want to keep people around, not even afraid of being reported for illegal detention.

Despite this, they were important guests of the master’s family, so he couldn’t say too much. He kept a polite smile and went to bring them some meat.

What the butler didn’t notice was that, as he turned, the "important guests" behind him all gathered their gaze and scanned him up and down, each revealing sharp fangs.

But soon, their faces twisted in disdain.

"Too old, the meat must be dry and tough, not tasty."

"When the demon race takes over the human world, who will be unable to eat young, tender human flesh? By then, humans will be kept as livestock, providing us with endless deliciousness at all times — their fear and hatred will become our best medals!"

"The demon race is the true ruler of the world! When the demon race’s great cause is completed, I will make those damned humans pay for their deceit!"

"Long live the demon race! Long live the demon race!!"

The demons seemed to have already envisioned the glorious future of the demon race uniting the three realms. They all opened their blood-filled mouths and burst into sharp, shrill laughter, their deafening voices nearly piercing through the ceiling.At this moment, a slender young man emerged from the study on the upper floor. His smile disappeared suddenly as he swept his gaze over the chaotic scene below, and his expression darkened.

The people below sensed the change in atmosphere and immediately stopped their eating, drinking, and playing, all raising their heads to look up at the second floor.

When they saw the young man, their faces changed, and they quickly abandoned their things and knelt on the ground. "Lord Demon Ancestor."

The young man’s gaze swept over the heads of the demons, his eyes cold and distant, as if looking at a group of lifeless tools.

"Tianmo."

Tianmo, surrounded by many, knelt on one knee in front of the young man, lowering his head respectfully. "Lord Demon Ancestor, the human from the Gu family has already deceived the person from the Xiaoyao Sect. Should we set an ambush now and wait for them to walk right into our trap?"

The young man snorted softly, rubbing the ring on his finger. "Don’t underestimate him. Poxun sent word, that person has appeared."

The demons fell silent for a moment, their eyes revealing a deep fear from the very depths of their souls.

Even Tianmo couldn’t help but stiffen, as if the several blackened, irreparable wounds on his body were faintly aching.

The atmosphere inside the villa grew incredibly tense, until the young man spoke again: "Let’s go. Prepare some surprises for our old friends."

The demons instantly became energized. "Prepare surprises! Prepare surprises!"

"The demon race has returned, no one can stop us! The world will eventually belong to our demon race!"

"Long live the demon race! Long live the Demon Ancestor!!"

The demons leapt into the air, bouncing and jumping out, their superior physical strength and leaping ability allowing them to jump two or three stories high. In the blink of an eye, they disappeared into the manor’s greenery.

Wherever they passed, the carefully maintained plants seemed to have been hit by frost, with leaves turning yellow and falling.

The clouds in the sky seemed to grow much thicker.

After Poxun was captured, the sky over the capital city had been gloomy.

It was supposed to rain, but the air was oddly dry. When Ke Xingzhou and his group went out, they happened to run into the spring dust storm, with visibility obscured and the road conditions almost impossible to make out.

Their car had barely driven for long when a car accident happened ahead.

In the capital city, traffic jams could last for several hours, and everyone was used to it. They rolled down their windows and cursed a few times, then obediently queued up and moved forward slowly.

Zhu Chu quickly found the cause of the incident online: "Damn, Master, this person is so unlucky. He was just driving along the road when suddenly a falling advertisement board smashed into his car."

He handed over his phone, which showed a photo taken by a bystander at the accident scene.

A black private car was parked in the middle of the road, surrounded by a police cordon. Through the crowd, one could see a huge advertisement board, its sharp corner driven down into the car, creating a massive dent in the car's roof.

There were bloodstains splattered on the car window, and the people inside the car seemed to be in grave danger.

Ke Xingzhou couldn’t help but furrow his brow.

At this moment, someone suddenly shouted at him: "Daoist Ke!"

Ke Xingzhou and his companions turned around together and saw several local Taoist priests sitting in the car next to them, which had also been caught in the traffic jam.The seats in their car looked incredibly luxurious, clearly not something these usually frugal and low-key Taoist priests would use. As expected, after some questioning, the three learned that they had also received an invitation from Gu Xicheng to join him at the Gu family for a ritual.

It wasn’t just the local Taoists in the capital who had been invited; Taoists from other regions had also received invitations and were probably just getting off their flights and preparing to head to the Gu family.

The head of Qingyun Temple said, “The Taoists from Jiangcheng, who helped us eradicate the evil cult in the southwest, are coming as well. I got a call from them yesterday asking if you were going today.”

Ke Xingzhou found this a bit strange. “Why didn’t they call me themselves?”

The head of Qingyun Temple was momentarily stunned. Honestly, he was curious too. After all, these Taoists had worked together with Ke Xingzhou to eradicate the evil cult. Could it be that they didn’t even have his contact information?

It couldn’t be, right?

At this point, Zhu Chu leaned over to Ke Xingzhou’s ear and said with a hint of resentment, “Master, remember when we went to Jiangcheng last time? The Taoists there didn’t really welcome us at first, did they? They even stuffed our business cards all over the place. They must have lost them.”

Ke Xingzhou: "......"

The head of Qingyun Temple: "......"

The other Taoists on the car couldn’t help but feel a bit awkward.

To be honest, when they first heard of the Xiaoyao Sect, they had the same attitude as the Taoists from Jiangcheng. They thought that a newly established Taoist temple that was causing a stir online probably didn’t have any real skill.

Of course, that notion was quickly slapped down.

Out of consideration for their own dignity, they hadn’t shared their own experiences with others. But who would have thought that the Taoists in Jiangcheng would follow the same path, making the same mistakes they did?

The local Taoists in the capital couldn’t help but feel secretly relieved. They were glad that they hadn’t shown any obvious attitude and hadn’t made any enemies with the Taoists from the Xiaoyao Sect.

Zhu Chu’s social tendencies were always high, so he couldn’t resist leaning in and chatting with the Taoists after a bit of small talk, quickly forgetting about the grudge in Jiangcheng. They chatted happily.

Through their conversation, they learned that Poxun had already been sent to the Demon King for confinement.

“With the Demon King personally guarding him, there shouldn’t be any mistakes,” one Taoist said.

Speaking of which, it was their first time actually seeing the Demon King in person. You see, nowadays, Taoists were far from the cultivators of old. They were merely a group of slightly stronger mortals who saw more than the average person.

In their lives over the past few decades, the Taoists had encountered the most unscientific beings, like vengeful ghosts who had practiced for years, but they hadn’t even seen a demon with awakened intelligence.

Yet, in these short months, they had encountered most of the beings that were once only seen in legends.

And all of this seemed to have happened around the time the Xiaoyao Sect rose to prominence.

The Taoists couldn’t help but feel a deep sense of awe, and their gazes toward the three from the Xiaoyao Sect became more complicated.

At this moment, Zhu Chu didn’t notice anything unusual, as his attention was drawn to a trending topic on the hot search list, which had suddenly jumped into the top 20.

“Strange figures spotted near East City, Beijing? Is it a haunting in broad daylight?”

He clicked on it and, sure enough, it was about a haunting.

At several nearby intersections, people posted about seeing translucent figures walking through walls.

Some even described a person who had just been knocked to the ground suddenly bouncing back to life, only to run into another car, get hit, get back up, and be hit again…Through this repetitive cycle of events, the driver was traumatized, and the scene became a mess of traffic. Meanwhile, the person was laughing loudly as they escaped under the blockade of traffic police.

Escaped...

At first, the netizens in the comments didn’t believe it. How could something like this happen? Walking through walls must be some kind of magic trick, and the subsequent car crashes were probably special effects, right?

Immediately, someone tagged a well-known expert to authenticate the video’s authenticity, checking whether it had been edited or altered.

The results hadn’t come in yet, but Zhu Chu, looking at the images below, instantly recognized that it was a ghost, and more specifically, a benevolent one that hadn’t done anything wrong.

However, as the video progressed, the resentment in the benevolent ghost grew stronger, and the karma deepened, rapidly transforming into a vengeful ghost.

Seeing Zhu Chu’s expression change, the Taoists also took out their phones to check the trending search, and upon seeing the situation, their faces couldn’t help but change.

“This is outrageous!” he angrily said. “There’s still a benevolent ghost in the capital’s jurisdiction that hasn’t come to work for the Xiaoyao Sect!”

The Taoists: "..."

So, this is what you’re angry about...

However, even if there were no one overseeing the benevolent ghost, it shouldn’t suddenly go crazy and disturb the human world like this. Didn’t the Taoists recently take the “Human Realm Residence Permit” exam, which included a question on this topic?

The Taoists felt a bit uneasy, sensing that something was about to happen.

Zhu Chu, however, was very angry and made a phone call. As soon as the call was picked up, a barrage of questioning came from the other side: “What’s going on? Didn’t you say all the benevolent ghosts in the capital had joined the Xiaoyao Sect? Why is there still a benevolent ghost causing trouble in East City?”

The person on the other side said something, and after a while, the Taoists saw Zhu Chu pull the phone away. A semi-transparent old man emerged from the phone screen.

The old ghost first greeted the Taoists present, then politely nodded and greeted Ke Xingzhou and Nie Chen before looking at the other phone Zhu Chu handed over.

While rummaging through his pockets, the old ghost continued, “Taoist Zhu, you must have misseen. I can assure you with my ghostly credentials that there isn’t a single benevolent ghost in the entire capital that isn’t a member of our Xiaoyao Sect. If there is one, it must be an evil ghost! Don’t believe me? Look, I’ve been floating around recruiting new benevolent ghosts into the sect, and I’ve gotten so thin from it!”

Zhu Chu didn’t respond but just pushed the phone toward him. “Look carefully before you speak!”

When the old ghost put on his reading glasses and took a closer look, his face immediately turned pale. “Impossible! This is absolutely impossible! I don’t recognize these two benevolent ghosts at all, Taoist Zhu!”

The Taoists: "..."

But you just said all the benevolent ghosts in the capital were in the Xiaoyao Sect!

Zhu Chu also glared at the old ghost, his expression darkening.

In the time he had spent learning Taoist arts, he had also obtained contact details for several ghost messengers. So, when he was truly angry, the benevolent ghosts were a bit scared.

Seeing that Zhu Chu didn’t look like he was joking, the old ghost trembled and quickly admitted, “It... it’s the benevolent ghosts I recruited a while ago. But I haven’t given them any job training yet, and they just disappeared! I searched everywhere but couldn’t find them, this isn’t my fault!”

Zhu Chu pressed him for more details and found out that these benevolent ghosts had recently passed the “Human Realm Residence Permit” exam and had been sent up.

However, just as the old ghost had said, before he could begin their pre-job training, the new employees mysteriously ran off, which left him feeling quite frustrated.

The reason the old ghost had concealed this earlier wasn’t just because he was afraid of being implicated, but also because he had secretly taken a bribe and promised the new ghosts a salary lower than what the Xiaoyao Sect offered by one bundle of incense.

The Taoists: "..."

Zhu Chu: "..."Zhu Chu didn't even know what to say to him anymore. When he wasn't in the Xiaoyao Sect, he was pretending to be pitiful and not giving anyone a pass. Later, he even tried to secretly pocket the old lady ghost's startup funds for when she died next, and now he had even gotten involved in corruption!

And he did this right in front of so many outsiders!

Zhu Chu was furious and immediately stripped the old ghost of his position, fined his salary, and ordered him to go back and reflect on his actions in isolation.

Turning around, however, the earlier confusion still hadn't been resolved.

Zhu Chu scratched his head, puzzled. "I don’t get it. Why would they choose to become evil ghosts instead of doing a good job?"

The Taoists couldn't explain either, and the sense of unease in their hearts only grew stronger.

The head of the Qingyun Sect looked up, worried. "The sky seems to be getting darker."

At the same time, Ke Xingzhou's phone in his pocket began to vibrate wildly. He took it out and saw that it was a call from Xiang Ting.

Xiang Ting's voice was heavy, and he spoke rapidly. "Where are you right now? Are you on your way to the Gu family?"

Ke Xingzhou was confused. "Yeah, why?"

On the other end, Xiang Ting's voice was stern. "Hurry back!! Bo Xun is just a smoke screen released by those demons, they've awakened the Demon Ancestor Luo Hou!!"

Before he finished speaking, a voice of a Qilin came through. "Damn it, I knew they wouldn't be satisfied just releasing Bo Xun to deal with us without even bringing a Demon Luo along. Turns out they were waiting here! Xuanwu! Help me block this!"

There was a loud, earth-shattering noise, likely caused by something colliding with Xuanwu.

The call with Xiang Ting was cut off.

Ke Xingzhou and Nie Chen exchanged a glance, both furrowing their brows, then looked up at the sky.

Zhu Chu had just finished talking with the Taoists and returned to find them all staring at the sky. He looked up as well and couldn’t help but exclaim, "The weather... this is even darker than the day we returned to the Xiaoyao Sect's headquarters!"

He was about to sit next to Ke Xingzhou.

They had been out for so long, always sitting in a row with the junior and master, and now it was his turn to sit closer to his master, right?

Nie Chen silently stood between them, blocking Zhu Chu, then asked, "What happened to the people Gu Xicheng brought over yesterday?"

Zhu Chu's attention was immediately diverted.

"Gu Xicheng's people? Oh, you mean those punks pretending to be shamans." He thought for a moment, "The police said they didn’t cause any significant property damage, so they just gave them a warning and released them. Why?"

"Those punks can't fool the Gu family." Nie Chen looked up at the sky, his frown deepening. "Compared to last time, there are far too many and too thick dark clouds this time."

Zhu Chu was taken aback. At first, he didn’t understand how those punks from yesterday could be related to the weather. He stared at the ominous clouds above for a while before suddenly realizing, "Shit, is that demonic aura?!"

It wasn’t that Zhu Chu was slow, but with Ke Xingzhou and Nie Chen around, his simple little Heavenly Eye didn’t come in handy much.

When he was near Ke Xingzhou, the only time he would consciously distinguish the difference between what he saw with his regular eyes and his Heavenly Eye was when he followed Ke Xingzhou in performing rituals. Otherwise, he almost never remembered that he had a Heavenly Eye.

Moreover, the area covered by these "dark clouds" above their heads was just too large.Zhu Chu gazed into the distance.

Earlier, when he thought these were just dark clouds, he didn’t feel anything wrong. After all, the "Yinyang Sky" phenomenon, such strange weather, wasn’t something one encountered often. Now, the endless sight ahead was the most common weather he usually saw.

But they had driven all the way from the Ke family, and along the way, they hadn't seen the sky itself.

Everything was gray, and there was traffic. In such an environment, even if someone felt upset, they'd attribute it to external factors.

With the constant spring dust storms in the capital, even if something unusual happened, it was often obscured by the limitations of their sight.

Overcast weather only made people feel a bit oppressed and gloomy. Now, knowing that all of this was demonic energy, Zhu Chu felt awful. "I—what? Such a large area of demonic energy, did we enter the demon clan's main camp?"

But that didn’t make sense either! The Demon King Bo Xun had been captured by them. Logically, the demon clan should have been leaderless, a complete mess by now.

At such a critical moment, instead of tidying up the mess in the demon world and figuring out how to redeem their Demon King, why were they still causing trouble in the human world?!

His exclamation was heard by the Taoists nearby, who all turned to look at him.

The Taoists were startled. "The demon clan is nearby?!"

Ke Xingzhou nodded slowly, his gaze shifting from the dark clouds above to the traffic jam ahead. "Xiang Ting said they awakened the Demon Ancestor Luo Hou."

The Taoists were immediately alarmed. "Luo Hou? Isn’t he a Demon Ancestor born at the beginning of the world, ranked alongside Grandmaster Jun Hong?"

"It’s said that Luo Hou was heavily injured and fell into a deep slumber during the great battle ten thousand years ago. He didn’t even show up when the demon clan was sealed. How could he suddenly be awakened?!"

Ke Xingzhou shook his head, about to say something when he suddenly heard a disdainful sneer from beside them.

"Crazy, playing tricks."

Everyone turned to look and saw the owner of the car behind them.

The traffic was completely jammed, and the car had been motionless for a long time. The nearby drivers had grown impatient and got out of their cars to see what was happening ahead.

The good ghosts weren’t visible to ordinary people, and since they hadn’t lowered their voices, the driver behind had overheard their conversation.

However, the other party clearly didn’t believe in ghosts or demons. At this moment, their expression was full of disdain as they took out their phone and aimed it at them. "Family, take a look. Today I saw a living elderly person with a middle school complex. Talking about ghosts in broad daylight, which mental hospital did they escape from? Come on, claim them!"

The Taoists: "..."

The Taoists were helpless and were about to explain, but suddenly saw the person in front freeze. The camera slowly moved from their faces to behind them.

The driver looked puzzled, his finger swiping on the screen as if zooming in. He squinted his eyes and carefully examined for a while, then his face changed suddenly—

"What the hell, what is that?"

The Taoists' hearts skipped a beat, and they immediately turned around. In their field of vision, several dark figures were jumping on top of the car.

The dark clouds were too low in the sky, so they couldn’t see their exact appearance, but they could see the purple-gray demonic energy emanating from them.

An ominous premonition grew stronger, and the Taoists' faces subtly changed. The answer in their hearts was about to emerge—

The ground beneath their feet trembled slightly. Ke Xingzhou looked at the Demon Luo jumping closer and the fear-stricken screams spreading. He reached into his pocket for his bow.