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

Shen Zhen turned her head to look.

In the distance, a middle-aged villager stood in the ancestral hall, wearing a coarse cloth shirt and muttering to himself.

The air around him distorted, and a strange wave of psychic energy spread out, which was the force controlling the villagers.

"Found you!" Shen Zhen's eyes narrowed, and he turned and rushed towards the ancestral hall.

The middle-aged villager noticed Shen Zhen's approach, stopped chanting, turned to look at him, and a fanatical smile appeared on his face:

"Another heretic!"

"Perfect, let's offer them together as a sacrifice to our ancestral god!"

With a wave of his hands, two gray psychic blades shot towards Shen Zhen.

Shen Zhen dodged to the side, and the white light of the Mind Ruler surged forth, piercing straight at the middle-aged villager:

"Spreading rumors and harming villagers, you will pay with your life!"

"Pretty quick! Looks like those two idiots failed." The middle-aged villager sneered, dodging the attack with a swift movement.

"You think you can stop me?"

Shen Zhen understood immediately, knowing that he was referring to the two mutated forms of the Illusion Demon and the Devourer of Delusions from Xiao Family Village.

He scoffed:

"Distracting us is a good idea, but the results are lacking!"

"Is that so?" The middle-aged man's lips curled into a mocking smile.

"Then let me show you the power of the Divine Ancestor!"

He suddenly clasped his hands together and muttered incantations, and the air in the ancestral hall instantly froze.

The ground suddenly shook and churned, and several vines emerged, wrapping around Shen Zhen.

Shen Zhen swung his ruler to cut the vines, and pushed his mental power to its limit. The white light transformed into a sharp sword, rushing towards the middle-aged villager once again.

The two were locked in combat. The middle-aged villager's strength far exceeded Shen Zhen's expectations; he was actually a second-tier Divine Master.

Shen Zhen had just advanced to the mid-stage of the first rank, and his mental power was not yet fully stable. Coupled with his previous overexertion, he gradually fell into a disadvantageous position.

"Xiao Shen, let me handle this!" Lei Lie rushed over, his long sword slashing at the middle-aged villager, roaring:

"I've been looking for you for ages, you've finally shown up!"

The blade, gleaming with a sharp golden light, aimed straight for the middle-aged villager's vitals.

He was also a second-tier Divine Blessing cultivator, with a cultivation level comparable to that of the middle-aged villager.

In the moment when the middle-aged villager was distracted in defending himself, Shen Zhen seized the opportunity. Taking advantage of the blinding afterglow of Lei Lie's blade, he used the white light of his Nian Jie Chi to burst forth and pierce the villager's chest.

"puff!"

The middle-aged villager coughed up a mouthful of blood, his fanatical smile froze, and his eyes turned venomous.

"The Divine Ancestor will not let you off..."

The wrath of God... will soon descend...

His body suddenly swelled up, as if he wanted to self-destruct.

"Not good!" Lei Lie's expression changed drastically, and he pulled Shen Zhen back quickly.

"Cleanse your mind, dispel delusions!" He took out a compass, and immediately golden light surged, enveloping the middle-aged villager in a golden light curtain.

"Bang!"

The force of the self-destruction was blocked by the light barrier, and the middle-aged villager was blown to pieces, leaving only a wisp of mist dissipating in the air.

As the instigator was eliminated, the fanatical villagers gradually regained their senses.

Faced with the charred ruins and injured relatives, weeping and regret filled the air.

Some people knelt in the ashes, their shoulders trembling violently, tears dripping silently onto the scorched earth.

The members of the Purification Division immediately took action.

Li Qingyan took out the wound medicine he carried with him and skillfully bandaged the villagers' wounds. Zhao Huaijin put away his usual arrogance and handed over the cloth strips and water.

Chen Xi knelt beside the women and children, gently comforting them, while Qi Xuejian held a compass, carefully purifying the remaining heretical spiritual power.

Wu Xian helped extinguish the remaining fire and take care of the children, while Lu Renjia stood guard with a knife.

Zhou Shi, Ren Fei, Miao Erhu, Shen Zhen, Lei Lie, and others finally extinguished the last remaining embers.

The riots only subsided somewhat as the sun began to set.

"Alright, the rest is up to the village and the government." Lei Lie wiped the dust from his face, his voice weary.

"Let's return to the Jingxie Division to report."

The atmosphere was somber on the way back.

The sound of horses' hooves echoed on the silent mountain road. Most of the people remained silent, still reeling from the previous carnage.

Wu Xian rode his horse alongside Shen Zhen and whispered:

"Captain Shen, thank you for helping me out of the illusion today."

He recalled the fear of being controlled by the Devouring Demon and the Illusion Demon during the day, his voice still trembling with lingering fear.

Shen Zhen turned around and glanced at him, then smiled:

"You're welcome, and you did a great job today too, without backing down."

Zhao Huaijin followed, turning his head to look at the woods by the roadside, his arrogance slightly diminished:

"For a second-tier opponent, you were able to seize the opportunity and strike successfully. Not bad."

Shen Zhen shook his head: "It was because Captain Lei held me back that I was able to land a successful shot." He then looked at Qi Xuejian, his expression serious:

"Xuejian, what exactly did you mean by what you said in Xiaojia Village?"

Qi Xuejian's expression hardened, and she immediately replied:

"When we were in Xiaojia Village"

The compass needle suddenly trembled slightly, pointing directly at you, but the phenomenon was fleeting.

Shen Zhen still couldn't figure it out, and after a pause, he said:

"It might be the residual psychic energy of the Illusion Demon within me."

Ren Fei frowned:

"Really? This is no small matter."

Miao Erhu chimed in:

"Yes, Xiao Shen, you have to be careful. Maybe that Demon of Illusion has left some tricks on you."

Shen Zhen nodded silently without replying. He recalled the despairing mental power he had fused with from the Illusionary Desire Demon last time, and wondered if there was a connection between them.

Li Qingyan looked at Qi Xuejian, his tone calm:

"Could this be due to the influence of reciting the ruler?"

Qi Xuejian nodded slowly:

"Perhaps... so it is."

Lei Lie and the others remained silent, seemingly pondering the reasons behind it.

Since there was no answer, Shen Zhen said:

"Forget it, don't think about it. I'm fine now, aren't I? Getting on the road is the priority."

When they returned to the Jingxie Division, it was already late afternoon.

Ling Buyu was already waiting in the lobby. Seeing everyone return, he glanced at their tired faces and said in a deep voice:

"How is the situation?"

Lei Lie stepped forward and gave a brief report on the riots in Xiaojia Village and Zhangjiawan, the situation of the instigators, and the tragic scene of villagers self-immolating. He added at the end:

"The bewitcher has been killed; he was a heretic with the cultivation level of a second-tier Divine Blessing Master."

After listening to the report, Ling Buyu nodded:

"This incident has had a terrible impact; you all did a great job..." Ling Buyu said to the crowd in approval.

"Especially the rookie squad, they performed exceptionally well on their first mission."

Then, changing the subject,

"Furthermore, Jin Wanquan has been captured by Han Yan, and there is likely an even bigger conspiracy behind this..."

Shen Zhen's heart skipped a beat, and Lei Lie spoke first, asking:

"Master, what crime has Jin Wanquan committed?"

"Colluding with heretics and stealing the Divine Grace Treasury's Dust Liquid," Ling Buyu explained simply.

"You all go back and rest first. We'll organize the case files in detail tomorrow."

The crowd accepted the order and dispersed.

After leaving the Jingxie Division, Shen Zhen wanted to go to the Ceremonial Office.

He still had some doubts about the question from earlier, and he wanted to consult Lord Wang Juan, who had a deep understanding of heresy and aberrations.

The sun was still hanging low in the sky before dusk, turning the streets orange-red.

Just as he was hurrying towards the Ceremonial Courtyard, a dashing woman walked towards him. It was Captain Hanyan, followed by several members of the Jingxie Division.

I could only vaguely hear her say:

"...We must get Jin Wanquan to talk..."