Starting as a prodigy wanting milk? A world-destroying deception in the opposite direction.

Deathly silence!

Shen Zhen's back tensed instantly.

The air in the room seemed to freeze. Uncle Ge's face had long since lost all its humanity and emotion, and his eyes were devoid of any light, leaving only emptiness.

"Xiao Shen..." That cold voice rang out from Uncle Ge's mouth again.

"You haven't answered yet."

Shen Zhen's Adam's apple bobbed slightly as he silently recited in his mind: The first ironclad rule of the Spirit Protector: Don't panic in the face of trouble, stay calm!

"Uncle Ge, we're all wrong! We've all made a mistake!" Shen Zhen shouted suddenly.

"This divine embryo has long been spiritually corrupted and is now lying dormant in isolation."

"Pollution...?" Uncle Ge's eyes flickered for a moment, but then returned to their cold expression.

"But... does this have anything to do with my question? Is it... male or female?"

Shen Zhen's heart twitched, and she deliberately showed impatience on her face, calling him by his real name:

"Ge Ming, are you possessed? Watch your words! Divine fetuses don't distinguish between male and female! If you continue to disrespect the divine fetus, it will really lose its temper."

But Ge Ming seemed not to hear, standing stiffly in place with an empty look in his eyes.

These symptoms are so typical: repetitive lines, unchanging emotional outbursts, and persistent questioning even after being interrupted.

Shen Zhen secretly judged that it should only be a low-level [Memory Filth], which put his mind at ease, otherwise he would also be in danger.

Memory of filth, one of the aberrations born of the wrath of God.

It has no fixed form, is good at devouring memories, and likes the stronger the obsession, then repeats a certain obsessive memory in the host's body.

This thing isn't strong in direct combat, but it's extremely troublesome, especially when it's invisibly hidden in a person's consciousness.

Under normal circumstances, with his current cultivation level as a first-stage [Divine Protector], suppressing this Memory Filth would certainly not be a problem.

However, it would be difficult to force it out and capture it without harming Uncle Ge.

drag.

We must wait until reinforcements arrive.

Delay requires leverage.

Shen Zhen cursed under his breath, reached into the inner pocket of his robe, and pulled out a small, finger-length incense stick wrapped in oiled paper.

Concentration Incense.

The Temple of Grace's Treasury is a strategic resource under strict control. Anyone in the entire temple who has this thing in their pocket is a walking "invisible tycoon".

Shen Zhen's quota for this month is almost gone.

He was heartbroken, gasping for breath as he used even a little bit more.

Shen Zhen usually wouldn't use such a good thing, only taking it out in emergencies when faced with truly difficult cases or at crucial moments in his cultivation.

But right now, there's no time to worry about that.

Shen Zhen took it out; its body was dark brown with fine red lines on the surface.

A faint, refreshing scent spread out, and that familiar, peaceful aura eased his tense nerves slightly.

He carefully lit the incense, and wisps of smoke rose, carrying a calming power that slowly filled the small room.

"Watch closely, Uncle Ge," Shen Zhen said solemnly, as if he were performing a solemn ceremony.

"This is a secret method of calming the mind passed down in the temple; it is a baptism of divine grace!"

You must pray sincerely with me to appease God's anger!

As he channeled his meager mental energy, he guided the smoke toward the cradle, clasped his hands together, pressed them to his eyebrows, then quickly separated them, pressing his palms gently down toward Ge Ming, chanting:

"Peace and tranquility, mindfulness."

This four-character basic incantation is the only one he has mastered that can slightly appease the strange beings.

However, with his current cultivation level, the effect was limited to stabilizing the agitation of the low-level [Memory Filth], which just bought him some time.

as predicted.

As he inhaled the smoke, Ge Ming's eyes seemed to clear for a moment. The coldness lessened, replaced by a sense of bewilderment and pain, and a sob escaped his throat.

Shen Zhen calmed down a bit, continued to output her mental power, and kept repeating the simple hand gestures and incantations, while glancing at the doorway out of the corner of her eye.

Why haven't the reinforcements arrived yet?

With each breath, every moment felt as long as half a lifetime.

His incense for calming the mind won't burn for much longer.

Just then—

"Bang!!!"

With a loud crash, the wooden door was kicked to pieces from the outside!

Amidst the flying sawdust, a tall and imposing figure rushed in with a gust of wind. He was wearing a uniform and had a uniquely shaped long sword at his waist.

He casually brushed the sawdust off his clothes, his hawk-like gaze sweeping across the scene. Seeing the stunned Ge Ming, he immediately cursed:

"Damn it, how dare a low-level demon run wild on my turf!"

"Team Leader Lei!" Shen Zhen called out softly, his tense body finally relaxing a little.

The newcomer was none other than Lei Lie, the captain of the second team of the Purification Division of the Funian Temple.

As his name suggests, he has a fiery personality and formidable strength, making him the company's recognized "trouble solver".

Lei Lie frowned as he looked at the Mind-Calming Incense in Shen Zhen's hand:

"Xiao Shen, are you alright?"

"You need to use the Concentration Incense to deal with such low-level taint? Your mental power at the early stage of [First Rank] is too weak. You need to work harder on your cultivation!"

"Report to the captain, the situation is a bit unusual."

I'm just a beginner at the first level, and I only know one move, "Dust-Calming Mindfulness," which is really beyond my capabilities.

"I can only use it to buy time until you arrive," Shen Zhen explained briefly, while also pointing out his embarrassing situation of having no skills.

"Enough talk, watch this!" Lei Lie laughed and cursed, turning to shout at the five team members behind him:

"Everyone in position, initiate the purification ritual: the exorcism array."

"Captain Lei, is this all the fuss about?" Shen Zhen looked at Lei Lie with some surprise.

"Either of you could handle this little thing, right?"

"That's too much trouble?" Lei Lie glanced at him.

"With superior numbers, we need to act quickly and efficiently!"

The other five team members immediately dispersed, surrounding Ge Ming in the center, forming a closed circle with their palms facing the center at the same time.

Their gestures differed, but they were perfectly synchronized.

Lei Lie spoke first, his single word ringing out: "Return!"

The rest of the team members followed suit.

"read!"

"Bind!"

"spirit!"

"town!"

"install!"

Six characters, one character per person, connected seamlessly.

The moment the words fell, a beam of energy simultaneously emerged from the palms of the six people, intersecting and converging in the center to form a semi-transparent array that hovered above Ge Ming's head.

The moment the array patterns lit up, a silent roar suddenly erupted from Ge Ming's body.

Almost simultaneously, a wisp of black, smoky gas emerged from the top of his head.

His body immediately went limp and he collapsed to the ground, his eyes glazed over, muttering something under his breath:

"My child, a divine being."

One of the team members, Miao Erhu, reacted quickly and used a specially made bottle to collect the wisp of black smoke. The two characters "镇秽" (zhen hui, meaning to suppress evil spirits) engraved on the bottle even flashed for a moment.

"Alright, that's a wrap!"

After Lei Lie finished speaking, he took out a compass. The needle spun erratically for a while before pointing to the cradle. His eyes narrowed.

"Something's not right. There's still a lingering scent of lingering remnants of memory."

Shen Zhen was startled; there was indeed something wrong with these claws.

Another team member named Ren Fei laughed and scolded:

"What a weirdo, a low-level Memory Fel doesn't even know how to find this kind of nest."

He pinched his paw, glanced at the vertical scar, frowned, and muttered:

"This thing... doesn't look like an animal claw. There seem to be stitches on it." He said, putting the claw back into the special bottle.

Lei Lie checked it again with the compass, and only after confirming that there were no problems did he say:

"Fall back, everyone. Clean up the mess. Take the claws back to the temple for unified destruction."

The crisis has finally been resolved.

Shen Zhen breathed a sigh of relief, but thinking of the nearly burnt-out incense stick, her heart ached terribly. She whispered to Lei Lie:

"Team Leader Lei, I've completely run out of supplies this month, you'd better restock me."

Lei Lie glanced at him sideways and laughed as he scolded:

"You little rascal, I'll get you two later, that'll be enough for you to use sparingly."

"Thank you, Captain Lei." Shen Zhen smiled, thinking to himself that he should speed up his breakthrough to the mid-stage of [Tier 1], so that his mental power would increase and he could learn one or two more useful spirit-soothing spells.

"By the way, Captain Lei, I received a message from the neighbors and rushed over in about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea. Why did you take so long to arrive?"

"I wanted to get there early too," Lei Lie sighed.

"The higher-ups are having a real headache lately!"

God's emotions are becoming increasingly unstable, and the phenomenon of instability in the will of Heaven is becoming more and more frequent.

Various aberrations are emerging one after another, making them increasingly difficult to deal with.

The temple is issuing mountains of tasks, and manpower and resources are stretched thin.

He paused, then continued:

"The main temple has issued an emergency notice, instructing all local protectors to be on high alert. A large-scale outbreak of the [Wrath of the Gods] may occur soon. We're going to be very busy."

Just as Lei Lie finished speaking, Ge Ming, who was standing next to him, suddenly coughed.

His eyes no longer held the coldness and emptiness they once had; only weariness and fear remained, along with a hint of madness.