The Restriction Dissipates
The sky’s rosy glow scattered, revealing the deep blue hue of the firmament.
The You hour was nearing its end, and a yin wind began to stir.
In the courtyard outside the dilapidated temple, the withered old tree cast swaying shadows. Qing Li’s figure slowly materialized upon its branches.
As soon as she returned to reality, she immediately turned her gaze toward the temple’s main gate.
The lord from the Underworld had just elevated her cultivation once more. Now, even if she encountered a ghost creature of the sixth layer of the 【Tongue-Tearing Hell】, she could stand her ground in battle.
That little human race brat’s cultivation was merely at the second layer of Qi Refining. His tribulation likely involved dealing with, at most, ghost creatures of the third or fourth layer of the 【Tongue-Tearing Hell】.
This old lady could now take on a hundred of them!
Thinking this, Qing Li let out a sinister chuckle.
In the distance, the daylight rapidly faded, the silhouette of the distant mountains gradually dissolving into paleness as the sky darkened completely.
The moment night fell, the entire town seemed to flicker, as if some restriction isolating it from the outside world had instantly crumbled to dust, leaving the town fully exposed under the night sky.
The Yin Qi between heaven and earth abruptly surged, the temperature plummeting rapidly, and dew quickly crystallized on the tips of the grass.
Qing Li immediately turned her head, looking toward the town entrance.
She sensed that a large number of ghost creatures had suddenly invaded the town.
Moreover…
Qing Li slowly raised her head. Tonight, the moonlight flowed like water, and against the deep blue canopy of the sky, a massive skeletal hand hovered.
The skeletal hand had seven fingers: pale, clean, devoid of even a trace of flesh or blood. When spread open, it was large enough to cover the entire town. It was surrounded by vast, rolling black clouds, and the pale, almost radiant finger bones flickered in and out of view within the darkness.
Each finger bone was connected to dense black threads, like strings controlling puppets, cascading down and spreading across the entire Town of Lasting Fortune.
One of these black threads descended precisely into the dilapidated temple where Zheng Que was cultivating.
The Underworld.
Zheng Que stared at the newly appeared name in the Book of Life and Death and was momentarily stunned.
Xu Houde; this was the town mayor’s name.
The town was small, and to his knowledge, no one in town shared the town mayor’s name. Moreover, the age matched perfectly.
Had Qing Li killed the town mayor??
No.
“Died suddenly during the Xu hour” — this manner of death was suspicious. If Qing Li had killed him, the town mayor should have been hanged.
Just as he was thinking this, more names continued to appear in the Book of Life and Death.
…Madam Xu Cheng. Place of Origin: Town of Lasting Fortune, Great Peace County, Marsh Province, Great Li Dynasty. Lifespan: Fifty-three years, six months, and one day. Died suddenly at the exact Xu hour.
…Xu Mao. Place of Origin: Town of Lasting Fortune, Great Peace County, Marsh Province, Great Li Dynasty. Lifespan: Twenty-five years and ten months exactly. Died suddenly at the exact Xu hour.
…Xu Chang. Place of Origin: Town of Lasting Fortune, Great Peace County, Marsh Province, Great Li Dynasty. Lifespan: Seventeen years, eleven months, and four days. Died prematurely at the exact Xu hour.
…Xu Xiaobao. Place of Origin: Town of Lasting Fortune, Great Peace County, Marsh Province, Great Li Dynasty. Lifespan: Six years, eight months, and two days. Died young at the exact Xu hour.
This…
Zheng Que’s eyes widened instantly. These were the names of the town mayor’s entire family.
Had the town mayor’s whole family been killed?
Had some ghost creature broken into the town mayor’s home?
Moreover, the town mayor’s house wasn’t exactly close to the dilapidated temple. At such a distance, could the Book of Life and Death still record it?
Before he could ponder further, the text in the Book of Life and Death continued to appear, flowing down in entire columns like a stream.
…Cui Fugui. Place of Origin: Town of Lasting Fortune, Great Peace County, Marsh Province, Great Li Dynasty. Lifespan: Forty-one years and five days. Died suddenly at the exact Xu hour.
…Cui Ni’er. Place of Origin: Town of Lasting Fortune, Great Peace County, Marsh Province, Great Li Dynasty. Lifespan: Fifteen years, three months, and twenty-four days. Perished at the exact Xu hour.
…Zhao Lao’er. Place of Origin: Town of Lasting Fortune, Great Peace County, Marsh Province, Great Li Dynasty. Lifespan: Eighteen years, nine months, and sixteen days. Perished at the exact Xu hour.
Upon seeing this, Zheng Que immediately furrowed his brow.
The names of the Cui father and daughter and Zhao Lao’er had appeared in the Book of Life and Death. They were all dead.
What on earth had happened?
Had the ghost creature that killed the town mayor’s family suddenly moved to the Cui household, then instantly to Zhao Lao’er’s home?
Just as he was filled with confusion, the names in the Book of Life and Death continued to increase rapidly.
…Zeng Liniang… perished at the exact Xu hour.
…Chi Da… died prematurely at the exact Xu hour.
…Chi Cheng… died suddenly at the exact Xu hour.
…Yin Cao’er… perished at the exact Xu hour…
More and more names appeared in the Book of Life and Death.
The time of death for everyone was exactly the Xu hour. Although the terms for the manner of death differed due to age, in essence, they had all died suddenly.
Gradually, Zheng Que’s expression darkened.
The Town of Lasting Fortune was not large; this small town had only about a thousand people.
Given the current situation, it seemed not just a few households were affected. The entire town was in trouble.
He was also a resident of this small town.
His lifespan was until the Hai hour, only one shichen longer than those who had just died.
Some irresistible danger was about to engulf the entire town.
With this realization, Zheng Que broke out in a cold sweat. He instantly understood what calamity he was about to face and why his master had seemed to know he wouldn’t live long when he left.
Perhaps his master hadn’t foreseen his personal calamity but had seen the disaster about to befall the entire Town of Lasting Fortune.
Thinking this, he stared anxiously at the black Qi between his brows.
Before the Book of Life and Death absorbed all the Yin Qi, he could not return to reality.
Although there was still one shichen until the Hai hour, at a time like this, escaping the town as quickly as possible was undoubtedly best.
He certainly didn’t believe that a disaster capable of destroying the entire town was something a mere Qi Refining second-layer cultivator like himself could handle.
At this moment, the names in the Book of Life and Death were still rapidly increasing, and the total number of new names had already exceeded a hundred.
Fortunately, as the Book of Life and Death rapidly absorbed the Yin Qi, the black Qi between his brows grew increasingly sparse.
Finally, the last wisp of black Qi, faint and nearly imperceptible, was also swept away by the Book of Life and Death.
Zheng Que quietly sighed in relief, already prepared to return to reality.
But in the next moment, a large surge of ink-black Yin Qi erupted from the Book of Life and Death before him. This Yin Qi seemed exceptionally purified, dense and refined, swirling and churning in the air like a dragon or snake in flight. In the blink of an eye, it transformed into a symbol resembling both an insect and a fish, floating above the scroll and emanating an ancient, weathered aura.
This was…
An Edict!
Zheng Que’s expression changed immediately. The formation of an Edict was related to the number of names recorded in the Book of Life and Death. With the entire town now in calamity, the Book of Life and Death had instantly gathered enough names for the second Edict.
However…
If this Edict had arrived a bit earlier, or a bit later, it would have been a good thing.
But of all times, it had to be now.
As he was thinking this, the newly formed Edict transformed into a streak of dark light and shot into his brow.
Just like last time, Zheng Que felt as if his mind had instantly exploded. Accompanied by intense pain, his consciousness plunged into a blank void.