Chapter Sixty-Eight: Baptism at the Spirit Well, Zheng Guoqiang Returns
Listening to the words of the middle-aged man, the River God of Ling Tianhe sneered.
"Do you really need to tell me? As if I don’t already know how crucial the Demon King’s Pearl is. Each of us is waiting for the Demon King’s resurrection. Should he return, the world of demons and monsters will be unified once more. We all anticipate it; why would I sabotage it? Still, that boy has annoyed me. Fine, let’s see whether he falls into your hands or mine first. Tomorrow will tell if he dares to come to the Temple of the City God."
With that, the River God turned and departed.
As he left, a wet trail was carved into the ground, strewn with pieces of decaying fish flesh.
Once he vanished, the middle-aged man took his pill and chuckled coldly.
"Anyone who enters my City God Temple never returns. The Demon King’s Pearl revives the Demon King? Ha! If not for the pervasive ominous energy, what qualification or power does the Demon King have to resurrect?"
"The Demon King’s Pearl contains the Demon King’s blood and soul. It would be better for me to seize it, to elevate my own strength. I’ve heard that atop those thirty-three mist-shrouded mountains lie treasures for our kind. If I obtain the Pearl, I’ll head there to join them... As for you, River God, you’ll likely become a part of me as well!"
With a loud bang, the middle-aged man arrogantly finished his speech and strode back into the City God Temple.
As he entered, the dust seemed to applaud him, rising as he advanced.
Gradually, his body began to deteriorate. Bit by bit, even his robes seemed to merge with the dust.
He and his jade scepter became one, transforming again into the statue at the heart of the City God Temple.
Like stone.
...
The rings of dust settled, and only the black cave nearby continued to howl its wind toward the temple.
The mournful cries within grew stronger, as though something was struggling to break free and emerge from the cave.
...
The stench from Lin Yi’s body increased. If not for the security cameras everywhere, he would have dearly wished to enter the mysterious space of the Divine Severance Sutra and bathe in the Spirit Well.
If he could do so, Lin Yi believed his physical constitution would experience another qualitative leap. But for now, it was just wishful thinking.
To vanish like that would be far too startling.
Lin Yi stood, preparing to leave the artificial lake and return home to soak in the Spirit Well.
Bathing in the artificial lake was only a thought; nothing compared to the comfort of the Spirit Well at home.
Strength, comrades, strength is the most important thing!
The Hell Organization has appeared, the River God and City God have taken the stage in turn, and these demons and monsters are all upgraded versions.
Their powers are growing more bizarre, harder to fathom, no longer mere superstition.
Yet Lin Yi remembered a phrase: his cousin, the exorcist, once told him that all demons and monsters are not so different from us.
Here, “us” meant humans. These beings can change form, create duplicates, wield strange powers—but ultimately, it's normal.
Humans themselves vary greatly; how much more so for demons and monsters?
Given the boost of ominous energy, it’s only to be expected.
Upgrades are upgrades. With the Divine Severance Sutra in hand, I remain unmoved.
Turning around, Lin Yi returned to Villa No. 17, washed up, his gaze turning cold, and suddenly entered the mysterious space of the Divine Severance Sutra.
Tonight, something might happen, so Lin Yi could not afford to linger long in that space.
---
Upon entering the mysterious space, Lin Yi hurried toward the Earth-level Spirit Well.
At the well, spiritual energy flooded the area.
Layers of mist formed beside the wellhead.
Lin Yi looked, then leaned over the well.
Through the blue bricks of the wellhead, he saw below a pool of spirit water, clear as jade.
The well could only accommodate one person at a time.
Lin Yi had considered fetching a ladder, but found it unnecessary—the well was only about one and a half meters deep. Even if he jumped in, his head would poke above the wellhead.
He shook his head, amused. This was no well, but a deep pool.
Estimating roughly, the liquid spirit water was only seventy or eighty centimeters deep.
Of the well’s one and a half meters, only half was filled with spirit water.
Luckily, the wellhead was narrow, while the well itself was wider—about two meters in radius. Otherwise, it would have been awkward.
Knocking on the blue stone bricks, Lin Yi found they were not ordinary stone; they were unnaturally hard.
Given his current physical toughness, ordinary stone would have shattered under his fists and feet, yet these remained pristine.
Clearly, these stones could serve as perfect weapons—good for knocking enemies out.
Yet this meant his idea of expanding the Spirit Well would have to be abandoned.
Blinking, Lin Yi jumped into the well.
The sound of water splashing was sharp.
Within the well, Lin Yi could feel the spirit water transforming his body.
An intense, tingling sensation spread through every cell; Lin Yi felt himself metamorphosing again.
It was exhilarating—truly delightful!
As his body absorbed wave after wave of spiritual energy, the Great Cavern Sutra became highly excited.
Countless streams of spiritual energy flowed through his pores, being absorbed by the Sutra’s power.
Through this endless cycle, more impurities were expelled from Lin Yi’s body.
He felt increasingly clear-minded, and sensed a breakthrough was imminent.
His whole body seemed as light as a swallow; unable to resist, Lin Yi submerged his head entirely in the Spirit Well...
Outside, on his phone, a certain surveillance feed changed!
---
Opposite Lin Yi’s Villa No. 17 was Villa No. 16.
Earlier, when Lin Yi returned from the artificial lake, he moved quickly, entering from the side, without greeting the three old brothers in No. 16 or anyone else.
At that moment, the corpse of the deceased Yang Wanshun lay quietly sealed in a black coffin.
The coffin lid, blown off during the procession of the ghost soldiers, had been replaced; the talisman patterns drawn by Zhang Qiang and Song Yuyan, previously damaged, had been fully restored.
When the coffins were brought out, the others asked Lin Yi if anything else needed to be done. Lin Yi simply shook his head.
---
The steady beeping of radios sounded.
Three middle-aged brothers sat watching Lin Yi’s villa, chatting excitedly.
Their topic was Lin Yi’s remarkable performance, how fortunate they were to know him.
For these three, misunderstanding Lin Yi—mistaking him for a weak rookie—had become a lifelong boast.
The misunderstood rookie turned out to be a hidden master. If written into a novel, it would be clichéd, but surely popular.
Their banter drew in others, who joined the conversation, chatting energetically.
Amid the noise, suddenly—
Nearly every radio received the same transmission.
Everyone recognized the voice.
Not long ago, they had met this person.
He was a man of real authority, able to obtain a master radio, just like Lin Yi’s, enabling him to communicate with all radios and listen to any.
It was all because the speaker was truly respected; in Talent Garden, his word was law.
Zheng Guoqiang!
The president of Talent Garden!
He was the one.
Though he’d seemed insignificant before Zhang Qiang, Jin Huishan, and Lin Yi, he was in fact the real leader.
Unexpectedly, Zheng Guoqiang returned and spoke over the radio.
Previously, he had solemnly requested Lin Yi to eradicate the demons and monsters, to save Talent Garden.
Despite his confidence in Lin Yi, fear had driven him away after Lin Yi’s words.
No one expected Zheng Guoqiang to come back and speak again.
"Today’s video—whoever reported it to the authorities, things are now troublesome. Measures must be taken. Because of the demon and monster issue, everyone must gather all corpses again, bring every black coffin out, and assemble them at the villa entrance."
"Apologies, I don’t know if Master Lin Yi is listening, but... this is my responsibility. There’s no helping it; the authorities found me, and the incident has blown up... Attention, residents: don’t worry about respecting the dead for now. Bring all the black coffins to the Talent Garden villa entrance."
His tone was tinged with resignation as he urged everyone to quickly gather the bodies.
He cited orders from above.
Without such orders, no one would do this, since moving coffins is itself a grave disrespect to the dead.