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

"Today, we gather at the Qitian Hall to hold the ceremony of appeasing the gods."

To quell the gods' restlessness, suppress their impending divine wrath, and protect the myriad people of the Wind and Cloud Empire.

Mu Qingfeng stood in the center of the white jade platform, his voice, imbued with pure mental power, pierced through the crowd and echoed in the air above the square.

The words fell.

The runes on the twelve dragon pillars lit up in response, and pale golden light flowed down like a stream, intertwining with the patterns on the table. A huge net of light slowly opened, enveloping the Qitian Palace.

The smoke from the incense swirled in the net of light, and the restlessness in the air gradually subsided.

The people held their breath, their eyes filled with awe.

May God have mercy on my land and protect my people!

May we all unite and overcome this difficult time together!

Mu Qingfeng clasped his hands together, channeling his mental energy to its maximum.

Chu Yao stepped forward, unfurled the ancient scroll in her hand, and began to read the ceremony's procedures in a clear voice:

"I bow to Heaven and Earth, praying for divine reassurance!"

"Recite the mantra to soothe the spirits a second time, and gather the hearts of all!"

"Draw spiritual power into the formation three times to stabilize the god's emotions!"

The practitioners in the square bowed in unison and chanted the incantation for pacifying the spirits, following Mu Qingfeng.

The deep incantations coalesced into an invisible force, flowing along the net of light into the sky.

Standing in the ranks of the Purification Division, Shen Zhen could clearly feel the dust of thoughts in the world becoming more active, gathering along the rhythm of the incantation and merging into the net of light.

Shen Xuan gripped Shen Zhenglan's sleeve tightly, her face tense and her eyes filled with nervousness.

Shen Zhenglan kept his mental power contained, but his gaze swept across the square like a hawk. As a sixth-level Divine Blessing cultivator, he fully activated his perception, not missing any abnormality.

Just as the second recitation of the Divine Soothing Mantra was about to be completed, a strange change occurred.

The sky suddenly darkened, not because of dark clouds obscuring the sun, but because of a deathly gloom.

Countless black wisps of smoke surged in from all directions, densely packed like a locust plague.

It was the same filth that appeared in the Ge Ming case before!

They were no longer scattered wisps, but converged into a black mist that blotted out the sky, carrying sharp whispers as they rushed straight towards the Qitian Palace Square.

"alert!"

A furious roar suddenly exploded, making people's eardrums vibrate.

The leader of Zhennian Hall, Yue Kunlun, was dressed in a white robe. His figure was as tall and strong as an iron tower. In an instant, he drew his long sword, and golden sword energy cut through the air, directly slashing at the several clumps of Memory Filth in front of him.

The black mist was cleaved apart by the blade's energy.

Some crumbled at the slightest touch, turning into wisps of smoke and dissipating, while others were merely cleaved open, only to regroup in an instant and surge towards the crowd even faster.

"Zhen Nian Tang, heed my command!"

Yue Kunlun pointed his long sword at the sky, his voice booming like a bell.

"Zhang Beichen sets up the Cleansing Evil Formation, Liu Yi leads his men to guard the perimeter of the plaza, Gao Zhan leads the Five Elements Flags to clear out the surrounding evil spirits, and the remaining disciples protect the common people!"

"Yes, sir!"

Zhang Beichen stepped forward in response. The deputy head of Zhennian Hall had a resolute expression and quickly formed hand seals:

"Quickly, freely form six-person formations! Purification Formation, activate!"

He uttered a single, decisive word: "Return!"

"read!"

"Bind!"

"spirit!"

"town!"

"install!"

Five voices followed one after another, and five Zhennian Hall disciples instantly filled in, the six of them moving in perfect unison.

The formation took shape instantly.

The six streams of spiritual power converged and flowed into a semi-transparent giant array, firmly protecting the dozens of people in front of them in the center.

This formation is several times more powerful than the one Lei Lie's team used before!

The black mist of memory crashed into the array membrane, emitting a sharp screech, and instantly turned into wisps of smoke and dissipated.

The others followed orders and dispersed, quickly forming six-person teams.

For a moment, the square was ablaze with light.

Hundreds of semi-transparent arrays lit up one after another, like stars in the night sky, firmly protecting the people in Qitian Palace Square and the streets.

Liu Yi, the garrison commander of Shen Du, led his men to act swiftly as well.

In a flash, he arrived at the east gate of the square. His long sword danced with light, and with his mental power, the sword light was like a waterfall, cutting down the attacking Yi Hui and forcing him to retreat step by step.

His eyes were sharp, his swordplay ruthless, each strike precisely aimed at the filth, preventing any wisp of black mist from getting close to the people.

"Five Elements Flags, follow me and kill!"

A rough shout rang out.

Gao Zhan, an eight-foot-tall burly man wielding a giant axe, strode out, followed by five Divine Protectors dressed in uniforms of different colors.

These are the Five Elements Flag Masters: Jin Feng, Mu Sen, Shui Lan, Huo Xiao, and Tu Yao.

The giant axe of the high warrior fell, golden psychic power wrapped in a strong wind, shattering a patch of lingering memories. The golden blade followed closely behind, the long sword as fast as lightning, accurately piercing the fleeing source of lingering memories.

Mu Sen formed hand seals, and various trees formed from his mental energy scattered leaves, tightly enveloping and binding Yi Hui.

Water, fire, and earth each displayed their unique abilities.

The five worked together seamlessly, trapping Yi Hui in place, making it difficult for her to escape no matter how hard she struggled.

Among the disciples of Zhenniantang, one person seemed somewhat nervous.

His name was Su Mingyuan. Although he was a scion of a noble family who came to gain experience, he was not a fool. Seeing the hordes of Yi Hui rushing towards the people around him, he activated his mental power and unleashed a sword strike.

Although the sword light wasn't particularly fierce, it still managed to shatter those lingering memories.

However, a hint of paleness instantly appeared on his face. Although he had already reached the late stage of the first level of mental power cultivation, he was still struggling to deal with this scale of memory corruption.

Hongwu, the Grand Commander of the Temple Guards, spoke in a loud voice:

"Defend the temple!"

He led the charge, commanding the Imperial Guards to rush towards the elixir, wielding his spear with ferocious skill, each strike annihilating large swathes of the elixir.

"Purification Division, advance!"

On the other side, Ling Buyu rushed out first.

As soon as Ling Buyu finished speaking, Lei Lie roared:

"kill!"

He had already drawn his sword, golden blade energy crisscrossing, echoing the people of Zhenniantang, and annihilating all the escaped Yi Hui.

Tie Xuan, as the head instructor of the Jingxie Division, also took the lead.

He was agile, his fists surging with mental energy, each punch accompanied by a whistling sound, shattering the approaching Memory Evil.

Han Yan moved like an arrow, her blue outfit standing out against the black mist.

She led a small team through the realms of memories and filth.

The longsword flashed with a cold light, each strike precisely extinguishing a wisp of lingering remnant. The movements were clean and swift, without the slightest hesitation.

Shen Zhen gripped the Mind Ruler tightly, his internal mental energy quietly circulating.

He did not act rashly. He noticed that these lingering demons were more aggressive than those encountered by the Ge family, and they seemed to be converging on the Fushen Platform in a regular pattern.

"Everyone be careful, something's wrong with these memories!"

Li Qingyan, a member of the new recruit team, remained remarkably calm. He chanted the Dust-Calming Mantra, and his mental energy transformed into a gentle halo, protecting several civilians around him while forcing back the approaching Yi Hui.

Zhao Huaijin drew his longsword, his arrogance radiating, and swiftly severed several wisps of lingering remnants, yet his face showed no trace of triumph. Qi Xuejian held a compass, its needle spinning wildly.

"Captain Shen, there are two familiar, unsettling fluctuations deep within the black fog!"

"Something's definitely not right. It's like we're being controlled!" Chen Xi analyzed calmly, her gaze fixed on the center of a patch of black mist.

As soon as he finished speaking, the black mist suddenly surged violently.

A giant face pieced together from food appeared, its eerie green eyes gleaming with mockery; it was none other than the Food Fantasy of Cai's Steamed Bun Shop.

Another wisp of gray mist followed closely behind, and the icy, chilling laughter of the Illusion Demon echoed throughout the arena:

"You got away last time, but this time, no one will survive!"

"It's the monster from Cai's Steamed Bun Shop, and that one from Ruanjia Alley!" The sound waves from Miao Erhu's copper bell caused a surge of filth in front of him.

"They are directing the necromancy!"

It seems... to be stronger than before!

Everyone was shocked and instantly realized that this must be caused by Jin Wanquan secretly giving the heretics the Nianchen Liquid.

The Gluttonous Maw opened wide, and countless green energy ropes shot out, binding the people at the edge of the plaza and dragging them into the black mist.

"The feast begins; all of you, come and be nourishment!"

The Demon of Illusion transformed into countless phantoms, burrowing into the crowd. Those touched by the phantoms instantly lost their gaze and began pushing and biting each other.

"Emotions are the best nourishment; let despair come even more fiercely!"

The area is closed.

The already vast number of Memory Evil beings, coupled with the manipulation of Devouring Illusions and Illusory Desire Demons, amplified the panic among the people to an extreme degree.

Many people began to flee frantically, which disrupted the defenses of the spirit protectors.

An old woman was entangled in a green rope, crying out in despair.

Her son tried to save her, but was controlled by the illusion of the Demon of Desire and punched the old woman.