Chapter 124: One Year Later

Xiao Ke'ai, having learned that her master was on a wanted list, was baring her fangs and preparing to go reason with the old man in her family. However, before she could even step out the gate of White Dragon Temple, she was ruthlessly suppressed by Wu Zui, who grabbed her by the scruff of her neck.

The authorities in the United States of America were not particularly satisfied with this outcome. Helplessly, after the Purifying World Society suffered the decapitation of its leadership at the hands of Wu Zui, the members under Zi Tong's command, having lost her restraint, began to prey wantonly upon humans across the country.

Faced with a fire in their own backyard, the United States had no choice but to temporarily shelve the matter and focus all their efforts on purging the Purifying World Society members within their borders.

Upon hearing the news of Zi Tong's death, Yi Qiaosi, disregarding his own severe injuries, rushed to that three-story duplex villa. Do not mistake this for deep affection; as a frequent guest in her chambers, he had long coveted the advanced cultivation techniques accessible only to the elders of the Purifying World Society.

According to his analysis of remarks Zi Tong had inadvertently let slip, even those whose spiritual resentment had completely dissipated could use these advanced techniques to siphon spiritual resentment from others for their own use. Once he achieved that, he, Yi Qiaosi, would be able to fully recover.

A year passed by in the blink of an eye.

Accompanied by Xiao Ke'ai, Wu Zui lived a very comfortable life in White Dragon Temple. Their affection for one another grew, though neither had explicitly defined their relationship. Wuxiang and Jingqing, preoccupied with the grand affairs of the human race, could not help but shake their heads and sigh at this.

"How can petty romance compare to the fate of our race?"

Meanwhile, in the United States, Yi Qiaosi, having acquired the advanced cultivation method, had become the most ferocious spirit detective in the crackdown against the Purifying World Society. Naturally, he absorbed the spiritual resentment of those he hunted to bolster his own power.

Now a five-star entity, Yi Qiaosi had successfully usurped Zi Tong’s position in the United States. He was currently scouring the country for ghosts suitable for fusion, preparing to push his five-star power to its absolute limit.

"Wu Zui, the pain you caused me—I will pay you back tenfold, a hundredfold!"

After slaying a mediocre five-star ghost spirit and consuming its resentment, Yi Qiaosi could not help but gaze toward China, silently swearing to himself.

At the same time, the Electromagnetic Ghost Spirit (Sun Lang), having spent an entire year laying the groundwork in the United States, began to reach out with its own demonic claws. If all went according to plan, the Electromagnetic Ghost Spirit would be able to instantly occupy three provinces, including all the civilians within them. Once those over a hundred million people died and became its ghost slaves, it would instantly ascend to become a seven-star ghost spirit.

The situation in China was equally grim.

The world beneath the Dragon-Imprisoning Well in Yanjing, the numerous tomb complexes in Jinling, and the various stops along the bus route to the Underworld that Wu Zui had mentioned were all becoming restless. The Dragon-Imprisoning Well was manageable, as Wuxiang and Jingqing were nearby and could suppress it at any time. However, the situation in Jinling and at the various stops leading to the Underworld was far from optimistic.

Back at White Dragon Temple, Wu Zui was facing the final stage of purging the black substance. Wuxiang had already finished the morning bell, yet a trace of the black substance remained in Wu Zui’s body.

"What is going on? Why can't this last trace of spiritual pollution be removed?" Wuxiang pondered inwardly, withdrawing his focus.

Within Wu Zui's sea of consciousness, the final wisp of black substance remained on the chest of the blue figure. For some reason, the morning bells and evening drums of the past two days had no effect on it. According to the timeline estimated by Wuxiang and Jingqing, it should have been expelled long ago!

"Let us try together!" Jingqing said to Wuxiang from the side.

"Agreed!" Wuxiang replied, then instructed Wu Zui: "Sit cross-legged and steady your breath. The simultaneous ringing of the bell and drum will cause frequent energy pulses that might affect the stability of the blue figure in your consciousness. Use your magnetic energy to keep it steady."

"Please, masters, do not worry!"

Wu Zui sat down cross-legged as instructed, while Xiao Ke'ai clenched her fists, looking visibly nervous.

A large red drum carved with scriptures and a bronze bell similarly inscribed were moved into the courtyard by the monks of White Dragon Temple. Here, the power of the morning bells and evening drums could be maximized!

Wuxiang picked up the bell mallet, and Daoist Jingqing picked up the drum mallet. As they struck simultaneously, golden and white energy rippled through the courtyard. As the ripples spread from the temple, everyone nearby felt their distracting thoughts vanish, replaced by a sense of calm and peace. Awakeners passing by the temple felt their internal magnetic energy becoming unprecedentedly active.

Wu Zui bore the brunt of it.

That wisp of black substance began to fluctuate along with the blue figure, but it remained stubborn, refusing to detach. Affected by the blue figure in his mind, Wu Zui’s face turned pale, and cold sweat streamed down his forehead.

After nine consecutive strikes, the surface of the blue figure had developed fine cracks, yet the wisp of black substance remained tenaciously attached to its chest, trembling but otherwise unchanged.

Just then, a wisp of red karmic fire surged from the Sword of Heart-Questioning within Wu Zui’s heart into his mind. A shrill, mixed scream of a man and a woman echoed in Wu Zui’s head, and the final wisp of black substance flowed out of his nostrils, finally expelled from his body.

"Han Bai... Zi Tong!"

Although it was just a scream, Wu Zui clearly identified who had uttered it. He had never expected that Han Bai and Zi Tong, who had long since perished, would have left such a contingency hidden within his body.

Wuxiang and Jingqing sensed the change in Wu Zui, as he had been within their domain all along.

"Since the spiritual pollution has been cleared, you two should go attend to your own affairs!" Wuxiang wiped the sweat from his forehead and left the courtyard with the bronze bell.

"Immeasurable Daoist, may we meet again by fate!" Daoist Jingqing performed a salute and left with the red drum.

Wu Zui and Xiao Ke'ai looked at each other, puzzled as to why the two masters were in such a rush to leave.

"Thank you, masters, take care!" Wu Zui called out after recovering, but the figures of the two were already gone from the temple.

"Master, your injuries are healed now. Where are we going next?" Xiao Ke'ai asked, clutching Wu Zui’s arm, eager for action.

Over the past year, Xiao Ke'ai had reached the threshold of six stars, while Wu Zui, unable to cultivate due to the spiritual pollution, remained stuck at the early five-star level.

"This..." Wu Zui hesitated.

According to his original plan, he should head to the Underworld to find the leader of the Purifying World Society, but he still had reservations about that realm. The memory of those enormous, blood-moon-like eyes left a profound, unsettling impression.

"Let’s go to Tianliang Street first and see if we can enter the Underworld from there. There is one last item in the hands of the Purifying World Society leader, and I need to retrieve it." Wu Zui finally decided to investigate the Underworld with Xiao Ke'ai.

As for why he wasn't going directly to the mountain tomb, but rather to the terminus of the 444 bus—Tianliang Street—it was because after Wu Zui left the mountain tomb, the people sent by Xiao Anguo had found no trace of the massive gateway to the Underworld.

"Yay! I'm going to smash them to pieces!" Xiao Ke'ai cheered, spinning around while holding the paws of Commander Cat.

Over the past year, Wu Zui had taught Xiao Ke'ai the Eight Extremities Fist, and even the blue furball at his side had managed to steal a move or two. How well they mastered these would depend on their future practice.

With Xiao Ke'ai driving the Soaring Dragon No. 1, the two headed straight for Tianliang Street. The car was now in Xiao Ke'ai's name, and after a year of playing with it, she drove it with great skill.

They arrived at the city's Tianliang Street shortly after leaving the temple. It was just past noon, and the streets were bustling with people—a scene of total prosperity, with not a single trace of supernatural activity. Wu Zui and Xiao Ke'ai searched the area near the bus stop but found nothing out of the ordinary.

"Could it have moved after I discovered it?" Wu Zui muttered to himself.

"Master, I didn't find anything. Or do we have to wait until midnight to see that bus?" Xiao Ke'ai whispered in his ear, having picked up Commander Cat who had just finished searching the area.

"Let's go check the Nanshan construction site first. The other locations are no longer in Yanjing. If we still find no leads, we'll come back and wait until midnight to see if we can catch that mysterious 444 bus," Wu Zui said, stroking his chin in thought.

With that, they hopped back into the Soaring Dragon No. 1 and headed toward the Nanshan construction site on the outskirts of the city.

If not for the fact that they were driving a luxury car and wearing magnetic protective suits, their stealthy behavior would have led passersby to mistake them for criminals. The Purifying World Society had expanded rapidly over the past year and was already showing signs of infiltrating China. In response, China had dispatched large numbers of personnel to crack down on the society’s members. Any member discovered was immediately and humanely destroyed by spirit detectives, with no room for negotiation.

Only through such iron-fisted measures had the expansion of the Purifying World Society in China been contained. If ordinary citizens mistook Wu Zui and Xiao Ke'ai for members of the society and reported them, it would inevitably lead to trouble—especially since one of them was an S-class wanted criminal, even if the bounty was only one yuan and a commemorative banner...

Still, you never know when some fool might try his luck.