Chapter 97

The emaciated evil cultivator was in a panic, immediately ordering the evil cultivators behind him to channel their energy and speed up the awakening of the Nine-Dragon God.

The figures attached to the nine statues quickly detached from the statues, their tightly shut eyes opening one by one, scanning the group of Ke Xingzhou and his companions below.

In an instant, a tremendous pressure weighed down on everyone, and a wave of instinctual fear swept through the crowd. The lower-ranking Daoists nearly dropped their talismans in terror.

Ke Xingzhou, however, remained unperturbed. He furrowed his brow as he looked at the nine figures in mid-air, his expression one of slight surprise.

Zhu Chu was still somewhat disoriented. After all, in his heart, his master was the most powerful. The so-called Nine-Dragon Gods hiding secretly within the statues and stealing incense offerings were likely just evil spirits raised by the Nine-Headed Dragon using some other method.

Since they were ghosts, none could ever defeat his master.

Seeing that his master wasn't flustered, Zhu Chu naturally felt there was nothing to fear about these beings, and instead began to mock them: "Hey guys, you're living in these drafty, broken buildings at the Nine-Dragon Temple, with such poor benefits, and you're still working for them? Isn't that a bit of a self-deprecation? I think your appearances are unique. If you guys go cameo in a supernatural or fantasy-themed film, you’ll be a huge hit. Wouldn't the earnings as celebrities be higher than this? Many special effects movies make billions!"

The Daoists from Jiangcheng: "......"

The evil cultivators: "......"

The emaciated man probably hadn't seen such a nerve-wracked person in many lifetimes. His expression immediately darkened: "Who is talking too much over there?!"

Zhu Chu, full of confidence, responded: "What, are you saying that the temple's welfare is bad and now I can't mention it? Nowadays, no one promotes the exploitation of employees anymore! Our temple’s employees have a four-day workweek! You can’t deprive them of opportunities for better jobs!"

"......" The emaciated man remained silent for a moment. Perhaps he thought Zhu Chu couldn't understand human speech, so he directly ignored him and continued to urge the evil cultivators behind him to request the Nine-Dragon God's action.

Zhu Chu, however, felt the man was flustered, and turned his head toward the figures in mid-air, saying, "You see, I’m the one prying at the corners, and he won’t even give you some real benefits, just talking non-stop. Our Xiyao Sect isn’t like that. We provide meals and accommodation for our employees!"

The crowd: "............"

The Daoists were nearly in despair and hurried to cover Zhu Chu’s mouth, but unexpectedly, the Nine-Dragon God actually looked over at Zhu Chu.

The leader of the six-armed dragon god slowly spoke: "Xiyao Sect?"

Zhu Chu’s expression brightened: "Yes, yes, it’s Xiyao Sect! Do you guys have any interest in working with us?"

The emaciated man’s expression tightened.

Then, the six-armed dragon god sneered coldly, and gritted his teeth: "Xiyao Sect... Xiyao Sect!! So it’s you again!!"

Zhu Chu was stunned upon hearing this.

The tone didn’t seem like someone interested in working for Xiyao Sect; it sounded more like there was a grudge.

But his master had only just come out of the countryside before "All-Powerful Idol" began, and their Xiyao Sect had only recently revived, making its first appearance even in the capital. How could they have any grievances with the evil gods from the southwestern evil sect?!Zhu Chu immediately felt wronged and quickly clarified: "It’s a misunderstanding, comrade! Did you get the wrong sect? This Xiyao Sect is definitely not the one you’re talking about. Our Xiyao Sect is just a small beginner sect; how could we ever have the power to oppress you!"

Comrade... small beginner sect...

The Daoists from Jiangcheng present couldn't help but fall silent, staring blankly at Zhu Chu. For a moment, they didn’t even know which word was more deserving of being mocked.

The emaciated man also fell silent, speechless.

He didn’t even know if he was crazy, but there was actually a moment when he thought the Nine-Dragon God might be interested in "employment" at Xiyao Sect, and even got a little nervous.

Not wanting to face the fact that he was being influenced by Xiyao Sect, the emaciated man gritted his teeth: "Nonsense! How dare you offend Lord Nine-Dragon God! Let me show you what happens when you don’t know your place…"

With that, he pulled out a dagger with a fierce expression, and the evil cultivators around him began drawing their weapons from their belts.

The Daoists from Jiangcheng immediately braced for an attack: "Not good, they’re going to harm us!"

But just as the words left their mouths, they saw the emaciated man raise the dagger and plunge it—

Straight into his own chest.

The evil cultivators behind him followed suit, each one starting to harm themselves. Some stabbed themselves in the chest, others in the thighs. The entire hall quickly filled with the smell of blood.

The Daoists, on high alert: "……??????"

The Daoists quickly took a step back, subconsciously chanting the name of their ancestor. They almost wanted to write a prayer and burn it to prove their innocence.

Zhu Chu was also startled: "What kind of evil cultivators are these, even bringing in self-harm to frame us!"

The yellow-haired man: "Self-harm, what self-harm! My master is summoning Yin soldiers, do you understand?!"

Sure enough, as soon as the yellow-haired man finished speaking, a sudden gust of cold wind rose in the hall, lifting the banners at the entrance. The Yin soldiers that had disappeared at the foot of the mountain suddenly appeared inside the hall, each one snarling and growling, their claws outstretched.

The emaciated man spat blood but looked proud: "Watch closely. These are all fierce generals pieced together and refined by my Nine-Headed Dragon, who has been lurking at the borders for many years! Today, I will make sure you don’t come back alive!"

The Daoists' expressions slightly changed, and the emaciated man thought they were afraid. He immediately began to laugh loudly.

But the yellow-haired man fell silent for a moment, unable to hold back from speaking: "But, master…"

The emaciated man immediately stopped laughing and shot him a fierce glare: "Shut up! Don’t say another word!"

The yellow-haired man was taken aback, opening his mouth: "But…"

"No buts! Keep talking, and after everything is over, don’t blame me for being ruthless and silencing you!"

This was probably the first time the yellow-haired man had seen such a vicious and cruel master, and he was so shocked that he almost cried, covering his mouth.

The emaciated man finally calmed down and slowly raised his head, feeling exceptionally pleased.

He didn’t want to hear another word from this foolish disciple!

At that moment, he heard one of his subordinates from behind cautiously ask: "Why does it feel like there are many more good ghosts among the Yin soldiers than before?"

The emaciated man raised an eyebrow in confusion: "With Lord Nine-Dragon God's help, the number of good ghosts naturally increases. What’s so surprising about that? Nine-Headed Dragon Yin soldiers, listen up, assist Lord Nine-Dragon God with all your might and kill these righteous Daoists!!"

He raised his arm in a grand gesture, but after a moment, there was no response.The emaciated man looked up in confusion, confirming that it was indeed a formation of both evil and good ghosts, a formation he had created himself. Thinking it was due to insufficient blood sacrifices, he forcefully stabbed himself again: "Yin soldiers, obey my orders!!"

"……"

Still, there was no response.

The out-of-place voice sounded again: "Master, is he a bit brainless? Why is he stabbing himself over something that can be solved with a salary? Doesn’t that hurt?"

The emaciated man glared in the direction of the voice, and, sure enough, it was that noisy eldest disciple from Xiyao Sect.

His eyes were about to pop out, and he fiercely stabbed himself two more times: "Yin soldiers, obey my orders, kill that noisy brat first!"

Everyone: "……"

A sense of awkwardness filled the air.

The yellow-haired man, holding back tears, shook his head and then silently looked up toward the back of the emaciated man’s head.

The emaciated man finally sensed something was wrong. He suddenly raised his head and then turned around, realizing the source of the strange expressions on everyone’s faces—behind him stood a group of good ghosts with clear faces and pure souls, emitting golden light from their bodies, clearly not from his Nine-Headed Dragon group.

The elderly ghost leading them stared blankly at the emaciated man's bleeding wounds, then put an arm around the good ghosts beside him: "Brother, is this what he’s feeding you? No wonder so many brothers turned into evil ghosts! Eating this kind of thing makes you lose merit!!"

After saying this, he cast a regretful glance at the evil ghosts, letting out a heavy sigh: "If you had joined our Xiyao Sect earlier, our sect leader could have cleansed your grudges, allowing you to be reborn normally from mosquitoes and insects—though the summoning may be a bit disliked, as long as you don’t bite anyone, accumulate merit, and you’ll enter the right cycle! Now… sigh!"

The Yin soldiers: "……"

The emaciated man: "……"

The Daoists: "……"

When the Yin soldiers had disappeared earlier, the good ghosts from Xiyao Sect had disappeared as well. The Daoists thought they had returned to Xiyao Sect, but they never expected them to follow the Yin soldiers all the way to the Nine-Headed Dragon headquarters.

During this time, no one knew what had happened, but the Daoists noticed that the way the Yin soldiers were looking at the emaciated man had become extremely odd, and some of the evil ghosts were seething with resentment, showing signs of backlash.

In fact, there was no need for backlash; the emaciated man had already stabbed himself repeatedly, leaving himself full of wounds. If he weren’t possessed by a corpse, he probably would have died long ago.

The previously living evil cultivators behind him twitched a couple of times and finally breathed their last: "……"

"……" The Daoists fell into a deep silence.

They felt like they were superfluous here.

At this moment, the Nine-Dragon God, who had been ignored, could no longer hold it in. The six-armed dragon god, probably disgusted by the emaciated man’s embarrassing behavior, slapped the top of his head.

The emaciated man's recently changed undergarments instantly turned into a foul, rotting mess of meat, and then a dark, half-transparent figure was pulled out by the six-armed dragon god.

The six-armed dragon god, holding the emaciated man's soul, shoved it into his mouth.

The dark figure, unprepared for his divine idol to treat him this way, froze for a moment, then screamed in terror: "Lord Dragon God! I am your most loyal follower! You can’t do this to me! No!!"

The voice was immediately extinguished in the six-armed dragon god's mouth.

He slowly chewed a few times, and black smoke started coming out of his nostrils. The emaciated man's soul was already scattered.The other evil cultivators, seeing this, belatedly started to feel fear. Even the souls of the evil cultivators who had just died, before they could regain their senses, were already scattering in panic, fleeing in all directions.

However, it had no effect.

The Nine-Dragon God occupied all positions in the great hall, pulling out every escaping evil soul and devouring them one by one.

The hall was instantly filled with the shrill, horrifying screams.

Everyone was still stunned by the indiscriminate attack when the six-armed dragon god turned his gaze to the Daoists from Jiangcheng, brandishing his weapon and charging toward them!

The Daoists were greatly alarmed, but they had been on high alert from the beginning. They reacted quickly, immediately raising their magical tools to defend themselves.

Ke Xingzhou, however, looked as if he hadn't woken up. Since the Nine-Dragon God started devouring the Yin souls, he had been staring at the six-armed dragon god, not using the talismans in his pocket.

Xiang Ting, who had been observing Ke Xingzhou's every move, couldn’t help but feel anxious. He glanced at the Daoists, who were in a dire situation, then looked back at Ke Xingzhou. Finally, he gritted his teeth, bent down, and was about to rush out, but the moment he transformed into his true form, Ke Xingzhou grabbed him by the back of the neck.

Ke Xingzhou didn't even glance at Xiang Ting, now transformed into a wild cat the size of a small kitten. His eyes were focused on the six-armed dragon god in the center of the hall. He extended his hand to the side.

Zhu Chu, still confused about what his master was doing, saw his junior brother standing behind him at some point. In almost an embrace, his junior brother wrapped his arms around him.

He froze for a moment, unexpectedly feeling that his junior brother and master seemed oddly well-matched at that moment.

It was as if they were destined to be born in the same place, growing up together, perfectly matched in every way.

Then, Nie Chen bit his finger, placing his hand over Ke Xingzhou's hand, completely surrendering his body to Ke Xingzhou, moving in sync with his actions.

Ke Xingzhou's expression was serious as he slowly made the first stroke on Xiang Ting's smooth, snow-white fur.

Zhu Chu: "."

Xiang Ting: "……?????"