Eating bizarre things in public upgrades my status; the Special Affairs Bureau wants me to join them

In the pitch-black night, a golden-red flame, radiating intense heat, raced through the darkness.

Wherever the light passed, the darkness retreated, and the twisted aggregates of evil thoughts fled in terror, as if afraid of being burned to ashes by the light.

And this golden-red flame...

Naturally, this refers to He Li, Jiang Hongxian, and others.

After leaving the rift valley where Feng Lizhui was, they rushed towards the valley settlement without stopping.

The return trip was much faster than the journey there.

After all, when they arrived, they were unable to directly confront the fire power of the dark and malevolent entity, which made their actions in the dark very difficult.

Now that He Li has mastered the Order Fire, the evil collective dares not approach the area illuminated by that firelight.

Without the obstruction of a collective of evil thoughts...

Their return journey will naturally be faster.

He Li, however, was walking briskly and didn't notice...

In the darkness, a pair of eyes, revealing surprise and doubt, were watching him.

If it were in the past, and He Li's strength had not been weakened, he might have been able to discover the existence of these eyes, or even sense the Netherworld Qi within them.

But now his strength has been severely diminished.

Therefore, he was unaware of the gaze emanating from the owner of those mysterious eyes—a powerful being whose strength far surpassed his own. However, although he didn't realize he was being watched…

But He Li's intuition was too sharp.

This still made him vaguely feel that something was amiss.

"What's wrong?" Jiang Hongxian asked He Li as he frowned and slowly looked around.

The latter shook his head upon hearing this.

"It's nothing, it's probably... just your imagination!"

"After all, there are too many evil entities in the vicinity."

He Li didn't care too much. The main thing was that his current body belonged to the native inhabitants of this era, and seeing him in this form meant that other powerful figures from later generations would see him...

They probably wouldn't even recognize it.

Under such circumstances, he naturally wouldn't feel that the inexplicable discomfort was because he was being targeted by the enemy.

In addition, the presence of the nearby aggregate of malevolent thoughts made him feel that his discomfort was caused by the hostility of those malevolent aggregates.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Hongxian did not ask any further questions.

She simply asked, "Have you thought of a way to completely eliminate the aggregate of evil thoughts?"

"Huh?" He Li looked at her in surprise.

Seeing this, the latter said, "Given the lack of information about aggregates of evil thoughts in later generations and your current situation... it's not hard for me to guess that dealing with aggregates of evil thoughts is related to you."

He Li nodded after hearing this.

"I've roughly come up with some ideas."

"But I can't do it on my own."

"This matter involves the Fire Ancestor, the Divine Tree, and Fang Xiangshi; it cannot be completed in a short time..."

Once He Li had mastered the Orderly Heartfire, he had a concrete plan for dealing with aggregates of evil thoughts.

First, we must address evil thoughts on a large scale.

This requires the help of the Fire Ancestor and the Divine Tree.

After that, Fang Xiangshi was to manifest as a special deity in the hearts of all living beings in this era, using his existence and inner fire to suppress evil thoughts and reduce the aggregate of evil thoughts.

Thus, as long as settlements in various regions of this era regularly conduct sacrificial rites to exert the power of the Fangxiangshi...

That aggregate of evil thoughts will cease to exist.

After all, according to historical records, Fangxiangshi's power was to expel plagues, evil spirits, and other such things. If he also wielded the heart fire fueled by the divine tree to illuminate positive power...

Even if evil thoughts still accumulate and give rise to experience...

It was probably completely annihilated before it even took shape.

And He Li's line of thinking...

This also aligns with the historical development of various regions conducting large-scale exorcism rituals to expel epidemics at specific times.

As for why the image of Fang Xiangshi changed in different dynasties, He Li believes that it was not that the image of Fang Xiangshi changed.

Rather, it's about the Great Exorcism Ritual...

It is very likely that after he returned to the future, the legacy was not passed down as he had imagined.

It's hard to say why this is the case.

It could be due to interference from the demon gods.

It could also be due to other reasons!

In short, the incomplete transmission of the tradition led to different images of Fangxiangshi in later dynasties, and the specific rituals of the Great Exorcism also varied greatly.

However, as history progresses, the image of Fang Xiangshi will become more and more complete until modern times...

Until he learned of these things across time...

At that time, Fang Xiangshi's image will be completely complete!

The power of Fang Xiangshi will also return to its peak!

Thinking of these things, He Li remembered that the future Sun and Moon Myriad Laws True Lord seemed to have said something when he saw him transformed into Fang Xiangshi and fighting against the Demon Court Heavenly Emperor and others.

The other person said he really was something...

Although the words were not clearly stated, He Li guessed that the future True Lord of Sun and Moon Myriad Laws was at that time...

What he probably meant was that He Li was indeed the embodiment of Fang Xiangshi's power, since He Li was using the body of an indigenous person in this era.

Therefore, even the True Lord of Sun and Moon's Myriad Laws...

Theoretically speaking, aside from the future Sun and Moon Myriad Laws Sect member who has experienced everything...

The True Lord of Sun and Moon Laws, who lived in other periods, might not have been fully aware of his situation.

As for why this is the case?

After all, the True Lord of Sun, Moon, and Myriad Laws controls time.

Regardless of the era, he should be able to see everything about He Li, but in reality... no power can come without a price.

It's impossible for them to be truly omniscient or invincible.

Those True Lords of the Sun, Moon, and Myriad Laws from other periods may well be affected by their glimpses into the future.

This resulted in not being able to see it in such detail.

That's why they didn't know about these things.

This is all He Li can think of for now.

As for the truth? Perhaps he can ask Kuruozi about it after he returns to the future.

As he pondered, he could vaguely see the light emanating from the tall campfire in the familiar settlement in the valley ahead. Seeing this, He Li stopped thinking and simply sped up to get closer.

Upon arriving at the entrance of the settlement...

He Licai noticed that many people in the settlement were waiting for him at the entrance, just like Mu Lan and Li Shang.

This surprised He Li and left him with mixed feelings.

After all, he was not the one to blame.

He knew very well that the reason why the indigenous people in the settlement were willing to wait for them to return safely in the dark was entirely because this body named "Jiu" had enough prestige.

The original inhabitants at the entrance of the settlement were all overjoyed when they saw He Li and the others return from afar...

"They're back! They're back!!!"

"To think he could come back alive from the darkness..."

"As expected of Kaku!!!"

"As expected, I knew it. It's impossible for someone as naturally gifted as Jue to perish so easily in the darkness."

"I wonder what they encountered in the darkness, or if they met any descendants of the Fire Ancestor. Alas, it's a pity we are not able to follow Jiu out to broaden our horizons..."

The indigenous people were discussing it animatedly.

Their gaze toward He Li and the others had become increasingly one of admiration and awe compared to before.

After all, in this era, going out at night was a death sentence, but He Li and his group went out and came back alive, which was nothing short of a miracle for the indigenous people.

It's no wonder they admire He Li more.

Even the elders...

The look in He Li's eyes now was more gratified than it had been during the day.

Seeing this, He Li's eyes darted around, showing no humility whatsoever. Instead, he was secretly scheming how to spread his fame even further.

The reason he thought that way...

Ultimately, it was because he wanted to perfect Fangxiangshi and make it an intangible conceptual god.

In this era, the conditions for becoming a god after birth are nothing more than gaining the recognition of heaven and earth, the support of all living beings, and faith. In order to achieve these conditions, one must be worshipped.

The settlements in the valleys alone are not enough.

He Li wanted more settlements, which he later gained support when he finalized the matter of the Fangxiang clan.

Thinking about these things...

He Liji thought to himself and said, "The night is dangerous. The reason I was able to return safely from the night this time is because I suddenly sensed something and received the blessings of the Fire Ancestor and the Divine Tree..."

"I have mastered the power to be fearless in the darkness."

"And this power, I need to understand it."

"When I have fully comprehended it and spread it to you, the night will no longer be dangerous."

He addressed the crowd loudly.

Upon hearing this, the indigenous people were first shocked, then overjoyed. They stared at He Li with worshipful and fanatical eyes, almost worshipping him as if he were their ancestor.

Seeing this, Jiang Hongxian and the others quickly guessed what He Lixiang was up to.

At the same time, regarding He Li...

They were also somewhat incredulous.

Because, based on what they already knew, they vaguely suspected that He Li was very likely Fang Xiangshi!

This is... a bit too incredible!